Sakura huffs as she is done cleaning the surfaces near the window. As she turns to head out, she is surprised to see Eunbi standing outside the bedroom door with an intense stare. Why is she staring like that? To break the unknown tension, Sakura decides to say something. “I cleaned most of the surfaces just in case pollen got in. Your room should be safe now. The room’s position is not in your favour as the wind seems to be blowing the pollen in so it is best to keep your window closed.”

Then Sakura is relieved as Eunbi seems to have broken that heightened gaze when she slowly smiles. “Unlucky me and my room. Gonna be a little stuffy but it is definitely better than pollen coming in. Again, thanks for helping.”

“Stop saying thank you!” Sakura giggles as she makes her way to the kitchen with the cloth in hand. “That’s what friends are for. Plus you will do the same for me wouldn’t you?”

“I definitely would.” Eunbi stares endearingly at Sakura’s back.

Consecutive sneezes can be heard when Eunbi walks out of her bedroom and settles by the dining table. Sakura had firmly told her to rest while she prepares dinner for the both of them; Eunbi discovered that it is hard to argue with a stern Sakura and so she gives in.

“Smells good.” Eunbi comments while waiting for Sakura to finish up.

“Can you even smell with all that sneezing?”

“I am just being polite since I can’t do anything.” Eunbi laughs hoarsely.

Sakura laughs as she brings over the dishes. “Soup is here so it will not be that difficult for you to swallow the rice.” Sakura lays them down gently in their respective positions. Just then, Eunbi suddenly jumps aside and lets out a big cough. “Sorry”, she mumbles as she walks back to the table.

Upon seeing that, Sakura contemplates for a bit before suggesting, “How about you take my room tonight? I think there is lingering pollen in yours from this afternoon’s breeze and it’s not helping because you are still recovering. My room is facing the other way so there’s likely lesser pollen.”

Eunbi swallows her food down before resisting. “No I can’t do that. I can’t take you out of your own bedroom. Don’t worry, I can vacuum the room after dinner and it should take most of the remaining pollen out.”

“Your eyes are still swollen, cough and sneezes are still going on. Your body is not strong enough even against a little bit of pollen.”

“Sakura, I am putting my foot down on this. You have done a lot for me today and I am very grateful. But I would never trouble you to the extent where you don’t get to sleep in your own bed.”

The younger girl tries to interject but the older girl continues, “You would feel guilty if you were in my position too wouldn’t you?” And that finally stopped Sakura from trying. The girls continue to eat in silence and when they were nearly done with their food, Sakura speaks.

“What if we share the bed? It’s a double so it should not be too much of a squeeze and importantly, there will be no guilt and lesser pollen.”

Sakura waits for Eunbi’s reaction and regrets it immediately. Oh my god it is weird to share a bed isn’t it? Why did I suggest it? Are we close enough? Or are we too close-

“Okay sure.” Eunbi’s swift answer interrupted her overthinking spiral. “I guess that solves both of our worries.” Eunbi coolly stacks up her utensils.

“Great.” Sakura abruptly stands up, not believing that Eunbi easily accepted her crazy idea, and is about to pick up the plates when Eunbi places her hand over hers.

“I’ll do it.”

Heat instantly starts rising towards Sakura’s cheeks. Why am I feeling this? She wants to protest against Eunbi’s decision but chooses instead to escape from this confusing feeling. “I will clean up my room before we sleep.” Sakura throttles away without looking back.

Eunbi grins amusingly at the departing back.

As agreed, the two girls cleaned up their respective stations before getting ready for bed. In fact, Eunbi tried to vacuum her room but was stopped right away by Sakura. She reasoned that pollen would be flying around and hence dangerous for Eunbi. Naturally, Sakura ended up cleaning the room with Eunbi sidelined.

“I am going to say thank you again please don’t kill me.” Eunbi jokes as she walks into Sakura’s room before awkwardly stopping near the foot of the door, not knowing where to go.

“No problem.” Sakura laughs. “I have cleaned up my room to the best of my abilities so I hope this is okay. You can take the side of the bed further away from the window. I have closed it just in case.”

Eunbi eyes Sakura’s room. She has been here quite a few times before when they take turns with cleaning the house. Generally, Sakura is quite a clean person aside from her habit of piling up used clothes - Eunbi finds it amusing that the pile has now disappeared. Sitting by the side of the wall is Sakura’s study table which is filled with sketchbooks and an architectural model of a building that Eunbi likes to stare at. Sakura has been building that for her upcoming assignment and it is interesting to see it slowly getting into shape. Alongside these are Sakura’s gaming gear, a laptop and a colorful keyboard; Sakura had lamented before about not having a proper computer. However, since she is only going to be here for a year, she decides it can be some sort of motivation too to focus on her studies - although it doesn’t stop Sakura from grumbling about the lagginess of her laptop. Recalling these incidents causes Eunbi to chuckle, confusing the other girl in the room.

“Hey what’s so funny?” Sakura pouts. “I have a guest so I really tried.”

Eunbi pats Sakura on the back, complimenting her for her work. Once Eunbi settles onto her side of the bed, Sakura turns the lights out. She then tries to get into bed as normally as possible without lo