Imperfectly Perfect (MiChaeng SaTzu)

69 : Interlude

—— On the way back to the school ——

Mina and Chaeyoung are now in a taxi cab, on their way back to the junior dorm building of the university from the local park near their past senior high school. The two girls are sitting closely, comfortably quiet on the second row with the bouquet of flowers carefully placed to the soccer ace's side.

"Umm..."Chaeyoung started when they were just about a kilometer away from one of the school gates. "Sir, can we change the location of our drop-off?"

"It depends, miss." The driver glances at her from the front mirror. "Where am I dropping you off instead?"

Mina softly taps the lap of the girl beside her, promptly getting her attention. "Why, Chaeng? Did something come up?"

"Y— Yeah." Chaeyoung shyly scratches her nape. "Kind of."

"Is it some kind of emergency?" The council president's voice immediately shifts into something worried. "If you need to be somewhere right now. You can just drop me off at the nearest taxi stand or bus stop. It's totally fine with me."

"Ahh. No, Minari." The soccer ace waves her hand in dismissal. "It's not that kind of—"

"Where am I dropping you instead, miss?" The driver interrupts and asks again in a bit of annoyance. "We're nearing the gates."

"Ah— Sorry, sir." Chaeyoung quickly responds. "Could you please drive us to the elliptical driveway of the university's main building instead?"

"Okay, that won't be a problem then since it's nearer. I'll drop you off there in place of the junior dormitories."

"Chaeng." Mina calls out again. This time, she rests her hand on top of the smaller girl's lap.

"Hmm?"

The council president raises one of her eyebrows. "It's Sunday. What would you possibly need from the main building on our school day off?"

"N— Nothing."

"Huh?" Mina looks at her in confusion. "Then, why are we..."

Chaeyoung laughs awkwardly. "I... just want to... stretch a little? And— and walk from there before going back to the dorms."

"Okay. If you say so." Mina finally just nods, though still looking obviously unconvinced.

—— On the way back to the junior dormitories——

The two girls have now passed the pavements from the area around the lecture buildings and are now walking towards the open field.

"Minari." Chaeyoung gently holds the council president's arm, halting the latter from stepping directly onto the open field. "Wait."

"Hmm? Why?"

"Should— Should we take this route instead?" The soccer ace points to the jog path lining the side of the open field.

Mina looks at the path Chaeyoung was pointing at, then turns to simply stare at the girl in front of her.

"Let's walk along the jog path."

"Huh? Why— why do we have to follow the jog path?" Mina scrunches her eyebrows in confusion. "Walking directly across the field is a shortcut. It's okay since it's a weekend and none of the athletes are officially occupying the field. There is no danger of being suddenly hit by flying balls and sweaty bodies."

"Umm..." Chaeyoung pauses for a second, thinking of an acceptable answer. "More... exercise?"

The council president scoffs. "Are you trying to drag me into some kind of physical training of yours?"

The soccer ace simply apologetically smiles. "Pleaseee?"

"Ugh." Mina rolls her eyes. "Okay, okay."

—— In front of the dorm building——

Chaeyoung and Mina have now reached the front of the junior dormitories. It is now around five in the afternoon. The sun is preparing to set after a long day shining in the sky.

"Bye, Chaeng. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

The smaller girl stayed silent and simply nodded.

Mina then turned to the direction of the building's entrance. She was about to take her first step towards it when her body was halted by a soft tug on the back of her shirt.

The council president smiled, seemingly to have an idea now about what was happening. She slowly turned back again to the smaller girl who is now shyly looking at the ground. "Why? What is it, Chaeng?"

"Umm... Can— Can we—" The soccer ace is fidgeting with her fingers with her eyes still glued down. "Can we stay together a bit longer?"

"But, Chaeng..." Mina made her best to sound oblivious. "We were with each other for almost the whole day now. You still want to stay longer together?"

Chaeyoung simply glances at her and nods.

"Tell me the truth. Since that ride from the taxi cab earlier... you've been simply trying your best to not let me go back to my dorm room, haven't you?"

"Sorry." The soccer player pouts and mumbles. "I just wanted to stay with you a little longer. Can't we do that, Minari?"

The council president stayed silent, eyeing the girl in front of her while stifling a gummy smile. She is obviously enjoying the view of an adorable baby cub right now.

When Chaeyoung did not hear any response, she pouts some more and looks at Mina with sad eyes. "N— No? Is your silence a no, Minari?"

Mina closed her eyes for a couple of seconds, slowly biting her lower lip in the process. She contemplated for a moment before heaving in a deep breath, opening her eyes, and answering in a playful, calm tone. "Hmm... Why do I suddenly feel like I'm so hungry? But I don't know if Sana is already back at the dorm and she maybe has eaten something with Dahyun. What do you think, Chaeng? What should I do now?"

Chaeyoung quickly flashes a wide, accomplished smile. "Then, do you want to have a snack with me?"

"I should, right?" The council president grins. "It would be bad for my health if I don't eat anything when I'm this hungry."

"Yeah." The soccer ace giggles as she energetically skips to Mina's side. She carefully gets the bouquet of flowers from the council president's hand and swiftly puts her free arm onto the council president's waist. She consecutively pulls her gently towards a direction. "Come one. I'll guide you to the school cafeteria."

"But— Hey, Chaeng."

"What?" Chaeyoung innocently chirps at her with a wide smile.

"Where are we going? We could just take the connecting path here." The council president points to another direction that is almost the opposite of what they were going. "This is the shortcut to the school cafeteria. I'm pretty sure that all the students, including you, already know that."

The soccer ace flashes a playful grin. "Exactly. That will take us faster to our location which is why we're not taking it."

"Hu— HUH?" Mina rolls her eyes and whines although she just lets the smaller girl drag her freely. "Ugh. Son Chaeyoung! I swear this is too much walking for a day."