???

Petrichor. The pleasant smell of the earth permeating through the surroundings after a drizzle or rain.

Sang Mina liked this smell very much. For her, it meant a decrease in the surrounding's temperature. From hot breeze to cool breeze. From a hot sunny weather to a cool, cloudy one.

And during these times, what Sang Mina liked to do was to just chill in their dormitory room's sofa and stare at the scenery outside. Or lay in bed and watch a drama or read a web novel.

That was why when her roommate, Si Wan-er, invited her to go to their university's food district to grab a bite, Sang Mina was quite reluctant to go.

While tying her hair into a layered ponytail, Si Wan-er tried to convince her to go. "Mina, are you going or not? My card is going to be completely stamped after this meal. You can have a free burger and smoothie of your choice."

Sang Mina paused the drama she was watching on her laptop and looked at Si Wan-er. From her bed, Sang Mina could see Si Wan-er's smiling face which was reflected in the mirror of her roommate's vanity table.

"Why do you want me to go with you?" Sang Mina asked, not that she was really curious though. Sang Mina truly did not want to go. She was too lazy to go outside especially if the weather is too hot. Though it just rained and the temperature was cool, she really was too lazy to move.

There is a type of person that conserves her energy and Sang Mina belonged to this type. If it was not necessary for her to move, she would not move. That was why all the things she needed in her daily life was near her bed so she would not have to waste her energy walking an extra step if she could just reach for them by extending her arms and bending her body.

Ah, but I really want a choco-banana smoothie right now. But I'm too lazy to move. But I want that smoothie. What to do...

"So?" Si Wan-er turned around to look at Sang Mina but after seeing the expression on her face, Si Wan-er walked towards her until she was standing in front of her bed. "You're too lazy to go outside again?" Si Wan-er said while putting a hand on her waist. "You'd only have to walk for a few hundred meters and there's even free food waiting for you at the end but even that loses to your laziness? Seriously?" Si Wan-er shot her a disbelieving look.

Hearing her roommate's words, Sang Mina pondered for a moment before making a decision. She put her laptop in hibernate, combed her hair that reached to her chest with her fingers, pat and smoothed her clothes, and put her wallet, keys, and phone in a shoulder bag. All of these she accomplished in just a minute. Sang Mina turned to her waiting roommate, and said sheepishly, "Let's go?"

???

Forever Summer Cafe. That's where Sang Mina and Si Wan-er is heading to. It was a pretty famous cafe in the food district for its delicious smoothies and chicken wings.

And even more students come due to the gift card they give to their regular costumers. Each card contains ten stampable circles. One meal or one visit to the cafe earns a costumer one stamp and once one managed to get all ten circles stamped, one could claim a burger and smoothie of your choice.

When Sang Mina and Si Wan-er reached the cafe, they were lucky to find an unoccupied table for two in one of the corner of the cafe. Oftentimes, they have to wait for a couple of minutes for a vacant table.

In her rare moment of unlaziness, Sang Mina offered to be the one to queue on the line to order. Surprised, Si Wan-er looked at her up and down before telling Sang Mina her order and giving her the card and money.

It was not long before it was Sang Mina's turn to order.

The cashier, Yu Fei, as it said on his name tag if he's wearing the right one, looked surprised for a moment before he smiled delightedly, "Whoa, the arts and letters department's elusive noble young miss graces us with her presence today! This is a rare event! Today must be my lucky day. If young miss can give this servant a handshake, then this servant can sleep peacefully and deeply tonight."

The cashier stuck out his right hand over the counter. Sang Mina expressionlessly looked at it for a second before her gaze returned to the cashier's face.

"Ai, it seems this hand is too unworthy of the young miss's touch. Tsk tsk. My beautiful young miss, can this servant know what food suits your palate on this fine day?"

In response to the cashier's overly dramatic words, Sang Mina just blinked her eyes.

Seeing that Sang Mina was not responding to him, Yu Fei could only stop. "Haha, I'm only kidding Miss Sang. What would you like to order?"

"One chicken wings meal. Garlic rice. And one strawberry mocha smoothie." Sang Mina said Si Wan-er's choice first then showed the card with nine stamps to the cashier. "With this I want a double cheeseburger and a choco banana smoothie."

Yu Fei, the cashier, apologetically smiled at her, "Sorry but we just ran out of bananas a while ago. Ah Qi went out to buy but he still hasn't come back. You can wait for him if you're willing but I don't know when he'll be back. Are you going to change your order?"

Hearing that she still has to wait if she wanted a choco banana smoothie, Sang Mina was disappointed.

She thought to herself, If I knew I would have to wait I shouldn't have come. Sigh.

But since she was already here, she has to get one or else her effort in walking those few hundred meters would have gone to waste.

While Sang Mina was pondering on what to get, she heard the cashier talk.

Seeing Sang Mina's pretty face with an expression of disappointment, the beauty-loving Yu Fei couldn't bear to look at it without feeling guilty. So he called out to the table near the counter and asked, "Han Zekai! Are you willing to give your choco banana smoothie to Miss Sang here?"

The man with his back facing the counter turned his body and responded, "Why? What's the matter?"

"The situation is like this. The smoothie you ordered was the last because we ran out of bananas. Miss Sang here also wanted a choco banana one. So I'm asking you to be a gentleman and give your smoothie to Sang Mina. Got it?" Yu Fei lectured Han Zekai before sending a wink to Sang Mina.

Han Zekai stood up and leaned his arms on the bar counter. "Hey, what's with your unequal treatment between men and women? I remember there was one time you also ran out of bananas but you didn't ask the girl who got the last one if she's willing to give it to me."

Judging by the flow of their conversation, the two seem pretty good friends.

As expected of the engineering department's prince. His social circle even includes a cafe's cashier.

Holding up his arms like he's surrendering, Yu Fei replied to Han Zekai's accusation, "I'm a fair and just person. Don't charge me with false accusations just because of one event! That's generalization!"

Han Zekai scoffed, "Fair and just? Then how come you want to give my already paid smoothie to other people?"

Yu Fei gasped and put his right hand over his chest, "You didn't... How dare you call our noble young miss 'other people'?"

The both of them laughed at their fake argument.

"So, you're not willing to give your smoothie to Miss Sang?" Yu Fei inquired, gesturing his hand to Sang Mina's direction.

For a moment, Han Zekai silently looked at her, as if debating whether or not to give her his smoothie.

Sang Mina also quietly looked at Han Zekai standing beside her. In her mind she repeatedly urged Han Zekai, as if trying to hypnotize him to give his smoothie.

I really want it so give it to me. Just like petrichor, I really love the smell of choco banana.

As if reading her mind, Han Zekai's lips quirked upwards. "I'll give it to you then if you really want it."

"Ah?" Sang Mina blinked her pretty phoenix eyes.

"You said you really want it so I'm giving it to you." He then turned to Yu Fei and changed his order to a mango smoothie.

Sang Mina was puzzled. Did he read my mind? Impossible! Even though I like anime, this is real life not fiction.

And so Sang Mina decided to question the man standing beside her.

"Excuse me. Did you read my mind?"

Both Yu Fei and Han Zekai was stumped with her question, not knowing whether to laugh or answer her seriously.

Sang Mina was serious though. If Han Zekai really did, she might end up changing her major to anything related to the brain in order to study related powers like mind reading and telepathy.

Sang Mina can already formulate a hypothesis for her thesis. Do brain waves exist?

While her mind was side-tracked and seriously pondering about the existence of brain waves, both men were curiously studying the pretty lady staring blankly into the space.

"Sang Mina, are you there?" Han Zekai asked while waving his hand in front of her face.

Sang Mina woke up from her stupor. "Huh?"

Looking amused at Sang Mina's reaction, Han Zekai replied, "Nothing. You can have my smoothie. I'm going back to my friends. See you."

Before Sang Mina can reply, Han Zekai was already walking towards the table and talking to his friends.

Sang Mina turned to Yu Fei and saw him smiling at her. "Then I'd take his smoothie and a double cheeseburger. Here's the card and the payment for my previous order."

Yu Fei took the payment and handed her the change. "Okay. Here's the change. The food will be served in your table shortly. Thank you."

Sang Mina nodded and went back to their table. As she was taking her seat, Si Wan-er asked, "Did you just have a conversation with the science department's and engineering department's prince? Ahh I should've went there to order instead of you! I've lost my chance to talk to them! Ahh! I'm so envious!"

Yu Fei the cashier was their university's science department's prince.

Han Zekai, on the other hand, was engineering department's prince.

They were called princes due to their impeccable appearances. An appearance that women and gays with the same aesthetic sense found a feast for the eyes. The type where just looking at their faces makes a person feel content.

In the whole university, there were six of them so-called princes and Han Zekai was crowned as the most covetted prince slash the ideal man of most girls based on the number of votes he received during the last poll.

But Sang Mina doubts that it was a fair poll. Just look at how many students the engineering department has. Since their university is famous for its excellent engineering department, students who wanted to have first class engineering education flock to the school. That was why almost one-third of the university's population comes from the engineering department.

And that makes Han Zekai have the most fangirls out of the six princes. That includes Si Wan-er even though she was from the arts and letters department like Sang Mina.

With the constant urging of Si Wan-er, Sang Mina had no choice but to recount her encounter with the two princes or else she would not stop pestering her. Even when their orders arrived, Si Wan-er still had not finished gushing about the princes.

Sang Mina was used to Si Wan-er's non-stop chattering so she was able to tune out most of it and nod at appropriate times.

"So. Noble young miss, do you still think that the princes are out of your reach?" Sang Mina heard Si Wan-er say.

Without hesitation Sang Mina replied, "Yes."

"You were just conversing normally with them a while ago and you still think they're like stars, a million light-years away from you?" Rolling her eyes at Sang Mina, Si Wan-er ate a mouthful of rice. "Tasty as always."

"Yes." Sang Mina wanted to say that it's not about the physical distance but more on their respective interests and circle of friends. The loner her could not possibly be able to attract the princes.

Not that she's interested in them romantically. Not that she wanted to explain all these to Si Wan-er either. Sang Mina was too lazy for that.

"Mina, your parents gave you an attractive face and body! Be more confident in what they had given you, won't you, noble young miss?"

Not that she's not confident in her face and body either. It's all in the difference in their perspectives. Si Wan-er thought that Sang Mina had a chance with one of the princes but Sang Mina did not really care about all that. She was content reading her web novels and manga and watching anime and dramas.

Also, even if she knew about how others were calling her as the 'noble young miss', Sang Mina didn't care either. But apparently, due to her I-don't-care attitude and laziness that resembles an ancient young miss of the nobility, her coursemates started calling her noble young miss or young miss for short.

And before she knew it, that moniker stuck to her and spread to their whole campus.

Furthermore, some time ago Si Wan-er heard and consequently told Sang Mina that she was even being called as goddess along with some other girls.

But knowing Sang Mina, of course, she showed no reaction. When asked by Si Wan-er why she didn't react at all, this was what she said: Goddess? Will that help me earn some coins in exchange for a few episodes on tapas?

Si Wan-er knew she should have expected that but still, she was left speechless.

Si Wan-er clapped her hands. "I almost forgot. Come on, come on. Take a picture of Han Zekai's gift to you." Sang Mina looked at her roommate questioningly.

"The smoothie you received from him! Hand me your phone!" Si Wan-er urged once more as she held out her hand to receive Sang Mina's phone.

Looking at Si Wan-er's waiting hand, Sang Mina let out a sigh before handing her phone to the overly enthusiastic girl.

As Si Wan-er busied herself with taking pictures of the choco banana smoothie, Sang Mina continued to eat peacefully. Her thoughts occasionally drifting to a certain person who piqued her interests.

Han Zekai.

Can he really read minds?

Nah.

???

? Megumi's Ramblings: Aaand that's the first chapter!