𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬 ✓ | ᵇᵇᵃⁿᵍˢᵃᶻ

05

The two girls were doing their own things, sitting side by side. Hanni was back reading her astrophysics book, not in a hurry, and Minji could be seen trying to solve the endless maths problems presented in the workbook with music blasting from her headphones. Around fifteen minutes later, Minji placed her book down and laid herself on the sand behind her, feeling the rough grain make contact with her back. Hanni glanced at the opened pages, curiosity got the best of her and she began to switch the books on her hand, eyes scanning the unanswered problems.

"Can I try solving a few of these?" Minji, too worn out to sit back up, lifted her thumb, letting Hanni do whatever she pleased with that damned book, wishing she would set it on fire accidentally. Hanni was now immersed in scribbling down the numbers and methods, not realizing Minji was already up from her short escapism to spy on her doings.

"How?"

The owner of the book caught sight of the neatly written numbers beside every problem, with the answer circled at the end of each one. "You solved all of these?" Hanni nodded, ending the last stroke before craning back at her. Minji was about to say another word but a loud grumble from her stomach stopped her act. Hanni snickered at her, "Wanna go grab some food?"

"Yeah, that was kinda embarrassing. Where are we gonna eat?"

"We can ride my bike to the minimarket."

"You drive a motorbike?"

"No, bicycle." Hanni stifled a laugh, packing her things. The two got on her bike with Minji sitting on the seat behind Hanni, their bags stuffed inside the big basket in the front. Hanni carefully paddled her ride through the countryside street, downhill, and passed the alley, feeling the soft wind tickling their skin. The whole ride was silent, an undisturbed peaceful one.

Once they reached the store, Hanni went through the instant noodle section right away, leaving Minji no option but to follow the latter. "We can cook these and eat them here. Which flavor would you like? Wait, sorry, are you okay with this? Or do you want something else?"

"Woah, slow down. I'm all in for noodles."

"Glad to hear. Would you like an egg in it?"

"Yes, please."

Hanni grabbed two of her favorite packs and went straight to the counter. "Oh, you brought a friend." The delicate sound of a woman in her fifties welcomed Hanni. "Eggs?" She asked after accepting the cash. "Yes, two please." The familiar cashier gave Hanni a pair of bowls, two eggs resting inside the top one. "Thank you."

She dashed back to where Minji waited, leading her to the small cooking stations consisting of a stove, a sink, and a small stash of various condiments and utensils. "I didn't know we can cook for ourselves," Minji uttered while putting the noodles and seasonings into the pot of boiling water. "Pretty cool right?"

After the short wait, they enjoyed their meals just on the lone table outside the minimarket. The street was quite sparse, with only one or two cars passing by every minute or two. Minji could see the girl slurping on her noodle as if this was her last meal. Her plump cheeks were so adorable from the visible smoke. Her hand reached forward to swipe a few of Hanni's hair strands back to her ears, making the other freeze on the spot.

"I thought I was the hungry one."

Their bowls were cleaned out in a flash. "Should I take you back home? Or maybe the beach? It's getting late already." Hanni was right, the dark sky was decorated by a few glowing stars. "You can drop me at the bus station near there." And with that, Hanni paddled her bike back to the same path toward the stop. She waited with Minji until her bus came, parting ways to end the day.

"Thanks for the short bike trip and noodles," Minji mentioned with a wide smile before waving goodbye and entering her ride which Hanni reciprocated.

God, that smile.