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When Sang Mina opened the door of the classroom, she saw that the chatter in the room is louder and more... lively.

Usually, her classmates were more subdued and most of them talked in hushed tones with their friends and seatmates but today, it was like everybody is talking to each other.

Sang Mina scanned the room and saw new faces in the class. They must be the students who have transferred to their class and the reason for the new atmosphere in the room, she concluded.

Only a week had passed since the new semester. Transferring to, adding, and cancelling classes are still allowed.

Nobody noticed when the door was opened but when Sang Mina walked in, a few students glanced in her direction. A young woman with wavy chest length hair, wearing a flower printed halter top and jeans shorts waved at Sang Mina.

"Sang Mina, you're here! Great! Do you know who transferred to our class today?" Sang Mina's gossipy seatmate, Chen Young Mi, could not contain her excitement and decided to share some of it to her beautiful but quiet seatmate.

Without waiting for Sang Mina's reply, Chen Young Mi continued to talk. "Look at the second to the last row. Guess who our new classmate is? None other than. The. Han Zekai!" Chen Young Mi gushed, her hands fanning her face.

When Sang Mina turned her head to look at the newcomers, she met Han Zekai's eyes across the room. He nodded at her before turning back to the lady who was talking to him.

"Isn't he very cool?" Sang Mina's focus returned to Chen Young Mi's gushing. "I very much like to know what kind of girl he likes? The petite-cute combo? Tall-cool beauty type?" Dreamily sighing, Chen Young Mi turned to Sang Mina. "What do you think?"

Sang Mina stopped for a bit, her brows furrowing as she pondered seriously. After reaching a conclusion, she then answered, "Someone like you?"

"W-what?! H-How could he possibly-"

Sang Mina observed Chen Young Mi's cheeks turning pink. The way her seatmate's cheeks rapidly changed colors was very fascinating for Sang Mina.

"D-do you really think so?" The shy young woman asked. Sang Mina could almost see sparkles in Chen Young Mi's eyes.

"Yes." Sang Mina nodded seriously. "Beautiful, sociable, fashionable, and very lady-like. I think that's the kind of girl he likes."

Hearing her seatmate's answer, Chen Young Mi's face turned even redder than before.

"But this is just an opinion of mine. It's not guaranteed. So you don't have..." Looking at her conversation partner, Sang Mina realized that Chen Young Mi is already in her own bubble so she let her words trail off. What's the use of talking when the supposed recipient of her words is already busy with other things, Sang Mina thought.

As if on cue, just after their conversation, their professor arrived and the idle chatter inside the room stopped, signalling the start of the class.

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"Excuse me, excuse me!" A hurried voice shouted from behind. Sang Mina thought that it is pretty useless to shout. No one would care even if one is in a hurry because all of them are rushing to get out.

One of the perks of sitting near the door is that whenever the class ends, Sang Mina was able to rush to the door first, avoiding the onslaught of people crowding the door trying to get out of the classroom.

Sang Mina looked at her wristwatch. 10:32 AM. She still has less than four hours before her next and last class for today which is at two thirty in the afternoon.

Hmm, where do I go? Should I go and eat lunch? Or read in the library?

While pondering on what to do to pass time, Sang Mina felt a tap on her shoulders. She turned and saw a young woman smiling brightly at her.

Sang Mina recognized the girl. She was the one who was talking to Han Zekai earlier. Sang Mina wondered what the girl wanted from her.

"Hello!" The girl greeted cheerily. "Do you have something urgent to do?"

Sang Mina shook her head. She still has four hours of vacant time after all.

"Oooh! That's great! I'm He Xi Xi, a writer for our university paper." The young woman held out her right hand.

"Sang Mina." Sang Mina shook He Xi Xi's hand while introducing herself.

"Oh, yes I know! You're quite famous among us arts and letters students."

Sang Mina wondered if that's true. As far as she can remember, she did not do anything that can make her famous.

The two talked as they walked side by side along the paved sidewalk.

"Is it okay if I interview you? It's for our next month's newspaper."

Sang Mina thought about it. She didn't know why He Xi Xi chose to interview her out of the thousands of students in their campus.

So she asked. "Why?"

"It's like this. Due to insistent public demand, we decided to feature an article about our campus princes and goddesses. So for the article, I need to interview the subjects." He Xi Xi shrugged. "But it's alright. You can decline if you don't want to." He Xi Xi scratched her head. It didn't seem like her head really itched, just a habit. "Though it would really help us if you agree. Because we're aiming for a perfect article - which means all subjects should be interviewed."

Sang Mina was familiar with the term campus princes and goddesses. She vaguely recalled Si Wan-er informing her about them.

"So, please please, noble young miss. This slave writer begs you." He Xi Xi clasped her hands and showed her a pitiful expression. "Do I need to kowtow?"

"You may interview me." Sang Mina cocked her head, still confused about something. "But why me?"

Covering her mouth with her hands, He Xi Xi gasped, eyes bulging. "Seriously? You don't know?"

Sang Mina shook her head.

The writer stared at Sang Mina, seriously studying her. Then she chuckled, amused at the puzzled expression of the pretty girl beside her.

"It seems that the rumor about you being forgetful and unaware of her surroundings is true." And like a senior advising her junior, He Xi Xi patted Sang Mina's shoulder as she began to explain. "Remember when every college conducted a survey and a poll on who are the most good-looking guys and girls in their colleges?"

"Yes."

"And then those who won their respective college's poll became their college's representative. You were the representative of our college's female population. Remember that?" He Xi Xi continued her questioning.

Sang Mina tried to remember. She scoured her memories but nothing came up. Maybe Si Wan-er did mention something like that to her before but she didn't pay attention to it.

Her mind has a filter - if something is not related to food, anime, manga, webtoons, novels or asian drama, it is highly probable that she would forget about it.

A poll about good-looking guys and girls? Being a representative? Definitely not on her checklist.

"Hmm. I don't remember."

Hearing Sang Mina's reply, He Xi Xi shook her head resignedly. "You don't care about it, do you?"

"It's just isn't in my scope of interests." Is Sang Mina's no nonsense answer.

"Right. Another fact about the noble young miss I heard today. Oh there!" He Xi Xi pointed to a bench along the sidewalk. "Let's sit there so we'll be more comfortable. And I can't really write down stuff while walking."

"Mm."

As Sang Mina sat down, she saw He Xi Xi bringing out a recorder, a pen, and paper. He Xi Xi turned to her looking like she's ready to battle - recorder turned on, pen and paper on hands as she posed to write.

"Okay, here we go. Today is August 13, Monday. I'm here to interview one of our campus goddesses, the one dubbed as noble young miss, Miss Sang Mina." He Xi Xi began. "Miss Sang, can you please tell us about yourself?"

"I'm twenty years old. I'm a third year BA in Creative Writing student."

Seeing that Sang Mina already stopped talking about herself, He Xi Xi took the initiative to ask. "What are your hobbies? Your interests?"

"My hobbies and interests.. Reading novels and manga and webtoons, writing, watching anime and asian dramas." Sang Mina paused as she licked her lips. "I also love eating desserts and anything tasty."

"Are you what people call an 'otaku'?" He Xi Xi joked. "What genres do you like to read? And your favorite dessert? What do you mean by tasty? Can you give an example?"

"Fantasy, romance, slice of life, comedy. Just about every genre. Anything interesting and fresh." Sang Mina paused, mulling over the questions. "Hmm, Spanish flan. I love it the most.. Tasty is, something salty with a rich flavor or umami taste. Example.. Crispy chicken with a tasty gravy. Or ramen."

Sang Mina swallowed her saliva. Thinking about her favorite food made her hungry. She turned to He Xi Xi, holding her tummy. "I'm hungry. Can we talk while eating?"

He Xi Xi was momentarily surprised but she quickly recovered, chuckling a little. "It's fine. Where are we gonna eat? AL food court, food district, or in the galleria?"

"Math building." Was Sang Mina's rapid answer.

"Oh." He Xi Xi didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She named several places where one can choose from several stores but unexpectedly Sang Mina chose to eat at a college cafeteria where there are fewer choices which made her curious of the reason why. "Why do you want to eat there?"

"I'm craving for some chicken cordon bleu. Their cordon bleu and the sauce are the best. I'm sure you'll love them," Sang Mina confidently guaranteed.

He Xi Xi reached into another conclusion about Sang Mina. The famous young miss is a foodie.

When they reached the cafeteria inside Math Building, there are already quite a lot of students eating their lunch but luckily there are still a few vacant tables. They chose a table in the corner.

He Xi Xi observed that Sang Mina is a slow eater, carefully slicing the cordon bleu and slowly chewing her food. He Xi Xi also noticed that Sang Mina eats a lot of rice. With Sang Mina's two cups of rice and one order of chicken cordon bleu, He Xi Xi had already finished her lunch while Sang Mina still had half of hers left.

So He Xi Xi decided to continue interviewing Sang Mina.

"You mentioned earlier that you also read romance novels and manga. Are you a hopeless romantic? What's your view in romance and love?"

Sang Mina answered after she took her time chewing. "No, I'm not. I read romance because there are many novels and manga with the romance genre. They are quite enjoyable to read also." Sang Mina sliced the cordon bleu as she talked. "I think romance and love is nice."

He Xi Xi scratched her hair. "Uh, can you explain your last statement?"

Sang Mina once again began eating, chewing slowly before swallowing. He Xi Xi patiently waited for her to finish.

"Mm. The process and the act of falling in love is quite a curious thing, for me."

Love is a topic that most girls enjoy talking about, He Xi Xi included. So she put her whole attention to Sang Mina. She really want to know how the famous reticent young miss views love.

"The usual questions: how, what, when, why. Why do people fall in love? Why fall for that person? How do people know when they're already in love? When can you say that you're already in love? You know, stuff like that." He Xi Xi nodded as she listened. Sang Mina resumed. "I'm very curious I want to experience the process and act of falling in love too."

"What?!" He Xi Xi was flabbergasted, her voice louder and an octave higher. Quite a few students looked curiously at them. He Xi Xi flashed them an apologetic smile before turning again to Sang Mina. "You mean you want to fall in love for the sake of sating your curiosity? Are you for real?!"

Sang Mina didn't know why He Xi Xi was so worked up. She wrinkled her brows as she asked. "What's wrong with that? I am curious about it so I want to research it and firsthand experience is the best."

"What's wrong?" He Xi Xi leaned close to the table, wanting to hold Sang Mina's shoulders and shake her. "Because it's-" He Xi Xi paused, trying to find a good reason. As she thought about it, she realized that there was really nothing wrong with it. "Well, nothing's wrong. Haha. It's just, your reason for wanting to fall in love is uncommon, unique."

He Xi Xi leaned back on her chair, as if her earlier outburst didn't happen. "Usually, girls want to fall in love because they want to be loved too. Also, the feeling of being in love and being loved back by someone you care for feels addictively good. But for reasearch?" He Xi Xi smiled wryly. "First time I heard so something like this."

Taking a deep breath, she asked her next question. "You're a foodie and please don't deny it." He Xi Xi grinned. "Any food store or cafe recommendations?"

"Forever Summer Cafe for their smoothies and burgers and chicken wings, Jellycious Tea for milk teas, Gourmeat for grilling meat and barbecue, Love at First Bite for their desserts especially their spanish flan, red velvet cookies, sans rival and sylvanas. All of them could be found at the food district."

Sang Mina paused as she swallowed the last of her lunch. She drank water from her tumbler and wiped her mouth with a floral white handkerchief. "In the galleria - Itadakimasi for authentic japanese food, Bulgogi Haven for authentic korean food, Pizza Royale for their delicious pizzas, and Okawari for buffet. Oh and Serenity Cafe if you're a bookworm. They have a library there where you can borrow and read books inside the cafe. Other stores.. Yuna's food stall near Archi building for her pandan milk tea and Yummyyy for finger foods."

"That's.. A very extensive recommendation.  I'll be sure to check those out. Especially Yuna's. I love anything with pandan so it's my first stop. For the next question, what do you feel about being called 'noble young miss'?"

Sang Mina shrugged her shoulders. "It's fine, I guess. But I prefer if people call me by my name. Mina is shorter by two syllables."

He Xi Xi burst into laughter. "You have a sense of humor. I give you a like."

But I wasn't being funny. Noble young miss is really wordy...

"What can you say about our campus' princes?"

"They really are modern day princes." Sang Mina was back to short answers. Like she said, anything that wasn't in the scope of her interests, she cares little for them.

"That's it?" He Xi Xi prodded for a more detailed answer.

Sang Mina cocked her head, thinking. "They are really nice to look at."

"Uh-huh."

"Well that was what Si Wan-er said."

"Huh? Wait, wait! Who is Si Wan-er? No, don't answer that. I mean," He Xi Xi paused, organizing her thoughts. "The 'really nice to look at' was what this Si Wan-er said?"

Sang Mina nodded her head.

"How about the modern day princes thing?"

A shake of the head. "That's what I think."

"Okay." Exhaling a relieved breath, He Xi Xi asked. "Why modern day princes? Also, who among them would you like to date?"

"Because according to Si Wan-er, she's my friend and roommate. She said that they're all good-looking and very dreamy and perfect. Also, people call them princes. So yeah, they're the modern version of fairytale princes." Sang Mina shrugged. "I haven't met all of them so I can only conclude based on what other people say. I don't really know them that well. So, no one. Besides, I think they're all out of my league."

"Ooohh. So you met some of them already?" He Xi Xi asked, donning a mischievous smile.

"Yes."

"Who are they?" He Xi Xi pressed on, eyes twinkling.

"Yu Fei and Han Zekai."

"Ooohh!" He Xi Xi gushed, and her smile widened. Finally, something interesting came up, she thought. Feeling excited, she asked successively. "Where did you meet them? When? What's your impression of them? Oh! And what do you mean by the princes are out of your league?"

Sang Mina was starting to feel tired answering all of He Xi Xi's questions. But it feels wrong to back out all of a sudden so she persevered, answering the questions in one take.

"I met them at Forever Summer Cafe last week, last Wednesday I think? My impression of them.. They're quite friendly especially Yu Fei."

Sang Mina opted to not mention Han Zekai giving her his smoothie because she thought that it would make He Xi Xi ask more questions. She didn't want that to happen. She's feeling sleepy already.

Sang Mina continued while wishing for this to end already so she could take a nap. "They're out of my league because they're princes. I'm not a princess material. And I don't think I'm the type of girl they would go for. You see, we don't walk on the same paths, if you get what I mean."

He Xi Xi nodded. "Like you walk on a rough and rocky road while they walk on an express way?"

"Yes."

He Xi Xi hummed. A knowing glint in her eyes as she mumbled to herself, "I don't think so." She faked a cough and cleared her throat. She turned to Sang Mina who was getting antsy. Time to end this, He Xi Xi thought to herself. "So, second to the last question. What's your type of guy, your ideal man?"

"Hmm." Sang Mina thought for a moment. "Someone who understands me and accepts my passion and hobbies."

"I'd like to say that that's a really low requirement for a guy who wanted to date a goddess but I think guys, well, people like that in general are hard to find." He Xi Xi smiled cheerily at Sang Mina. "I know that you're near the end of your patience so for the last question, do you have something to say to our readers?"

Sang Mina did not hesitate to answer. "Please join The Otaku Guild and or Novel Enthusiasts. Thank you."

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? Megumi's Ramblings: Aaaand that's chapter two. A long interview chapter. You'll see the ML next chapter, don't worry ?

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