“Wow!” Mina’s gasp prompted Chaeyoung to follow her gaze to the window glass. And indeed, the sight was magnificent. It looked like the snowfall last night had wrapped everything in a layer of white, creating a magical ambience, especially this early in the morning, when the pristine white wasn’t ruined under the feet of many pedestrians and vehicles.

“It must have been snowing last night!” Chaeyoung exclaimed.

There weren’t many snow days where they were living; and this must be one of those rare days of the year. No wonder why it was extra cold this morning and she woke up to find Mina nudging into her side. It was no big deal. Ever since finding out the blanket pile inside Chaeyoung’s room, Mina had asked to use it, and Chaeyoung was totally useless when Mina use kitten eyes on her. Besides, how could she deny Mina when the hybrid looked so relaxed and happy when she crawled in the blanket pile every night?

Yes, every night, because “it’s warmer than the other room and I feel safe with you here.”

Chaeyoung was surprised she didn’t melt into a puddle right there and then. She hid her blushing face under the blanket but couldn’t do anything to stop the fuzzy feeling inside her stomach. Some nights, when it got too cold, Mina would crawl into her bed and sleep beside her. It’s only natural, right? Cats loved warm places and all that stuff. Plus, Chaeyoung didn’t have many nightmares like before. It’s a win-win situation. Or at least that’s what Chaeyoung told herself, to calm down the whirlwind of butterflies in her belly every time she woke up and Mina’s face was just inches from her, a warm breath blowing lightly on her face.

Chaeyoung shook her head to clear her daydream and the flush that’s creeping up her face. Still, her gaze fell on the other being in her house (it’s only natural) to see Mina was yet to turn away from the window, a pensive look casting over her face.

“I never knew snow would be this beautiful.” Whispered as her nose was just inches away from the glass that separated them and the outside world.

“Have you never seen snow before?”

“Only when it melted. I always hated it because it was so cold, especially when you’re in the basement.” Mina shrugged and Chaeyoung felt her heart sink at the image. How cruel and heartless one could be to treat this precious hybrid like that?

“Do you want to go out?”

She watched Mina chewing her lower lips in contemplation. She hesitated, yet couldn’t turn her eyes from the wondrous fluffy heaven on the other side of the window panes.

“We can just play in the front yard, no need to go far.” She offered, knowing the reason why Mina hesitated.

“Can we?” Mina finally tore her eyes off the window to look back at Chaeyoung, her eyes twinkling in a way that would outshine the snow outside. The fuzzy feeling was back and Chaeyoung found herself smiling at the girl’s excitement.

“Of course. But we have to dress up first.”

Only after making sure both of them are thoroughly wrapped in warm clothes did Chaeyoung let Mina go outside. The fluffy gloves made Mina’s hand feel like they were tied, and the scarf made her nose itchy but she endured it, knowing Chaeyoung would worry if she didn’t wore those. The first step was strange. This spongy white material crunched under her feet like floppy sand and stayed that way when she took the next step, creating a trail of shoe prints behind. She scooped a bit of the snow up and touched it with her nose. Whoop. It’s cold and wet. Curious, Mina put some in and immediately winced at the coldness. It tasted just like water, bland. Somehow, she had expected it to taste like the colourful ice-cream scoops that they had after dinner.

Hearing snickering behind, she turned back to see her favourite human standing there with a silly smile on her face, obviously witnessing her whole snow-tasting thing. Mina huffed, and bared her teeth but that obviously only fueled the girl further as she burst out into a big laugh, showing all her teeth and dimple. Feeling her cheeks heated up, probably from embarrassment, Mina threw the rest of the snow in her hands to the girl’s direction. Chaeyoung yelped when some landed in and Mina grinned satisfied. It served her right. But when Chaeyoung stopped laughing and stared at Mina intensely, the hybrid suddenly got worried. Did she cross the line this time? Before she could open to apologise, a mischievous glint flashed in Chaeyoung’s eyes, and the girl loudly declared.

“Snow fight!”

A scoop of snow hit her face and Mina shuddered at the cold. She shook the remaining