A/N: With half of the world in some kind of standstill, I'm getting a bit busier at work, ironically. Sorry the pace of updates seem to have slowed down, but we're down to the last stretch. There is going to be something, but no more Eunsaku//Kkubi drama--so please enjoy without any worry!! Stay healthy :)

Eunbi woke up early from last night’s rest, even though she’s now curled up in Sakura’s embrace inside a futon in one room, while Nako and Miku occupy the other. Apparently, this was Aunt Haruka’s room.

Aunt Haruka---Sakura’s birth mother-- the daughter of the chirpy Obaasan, who met her for the first time yesterday and welcomed her with open arms. Despite all that, when it came to the minute that Sakura had wanted to tell her about their relationship, Eunbi abruptly stopped her from saying anything and disappointed her, once again. She sighed and wiggled out of Sakura’s arms, triggering a moan from her baby.

“Where are you going, Eun?” Sakura whines in her half yawn, but her eyes are still shut and her tug is easily resisted.

“Going for a morning run.” She kisses her forehead to appease the sleepyhead. “So you wanna come with, huh?”

“Yada--” Sakura’s arms retreat quickly as she burrows back into the futon.

“Thought so.” She climbs out in one swift move and quietly snuck out of the house. Eunbi doesn’t count herself as a morning person, but the dawning skies and chill breezes invariably clear her mind wherever she is. As she jogs, she lets her mind roam free, studying and counting blocks of houses scattered sparsely down the slope and around the blocks as she goes.

Flashback to last evening in the living room

“You look just like Kaeun-chan...ne?”

The pointy canine teeth of Obaasan flashes along with her warm grin as she puts down her tea and studies Eunbi’s face, her eyes sparkling with childlike curiosity. Nako is right, she really does look like a squirrel. She blushes at the thought of finding such a senior person in the family innocent and cute.

“Eh? Have you met Eomma?” Sakura, who’s sitting beside her, exclaimed in surprise.

“Ah~ I am too old to travel to the wedding, but they did come to me before to ask...my....” Eunbi lost what she said due to the language but she kind of got the gist of it.

What, Eomma has been to Kagoshima? I never knew that.

“They were such a good couple... I’m glad you both get along so well!”

Flashback ends

Eunbi’s daydream is disrupted by someone calling out of a house. She’s already completed a loop and is halfway up the slope back home, in fact. Pausing and turning sideways, she found an old lady walking out and smiling brightly at her.

“Good morning, Kyary!”

Eunbi quickly checked and ensured that she’s the only human being in sight.

“Good morning…?” She bowed slightly and pointed at herself questioningly.

“That’s great! I thought I’ve mistaken you for someone else!!” The old lady closes in and pats on her arm like they’ve known each other for a long time. ”Kyary-chan, you’re finally back from Korea, ne? Sasshi must…...Yuuchan waiting…..”

The lady started speaking sentences at break-neck speed, and Eunbi is totally lost. She could only nod and respond with an unsure… ‘Hai?’ before she suddenly found the lady hopping on her back and nudging her to go up.

“Sashihara..house?” She could only ask again and question her piggyback rider.

“Yes, yes, go ahead. Ah~it seems your Japanese has gotten worse…” The lady kept muttering as Eunbi started climbing up the slope unsurely. What am I doing right now...did I just kidnap a stranger? But she is bringing her to Grandma’s place...at least, she will know and can take care of her neighbor?

Swinging the gate open, Grandma just came out to welcome Eunbi back.

“Breakfast is ready!” The smile on her face switched to shock when she saw the other granny that’s on Eunbi’s back.

“Nyan Nyan!” Grandma rushed towards them and quickly waved at the other old woman to come down. “What are you doing to my grandkid?! Do your own walking, you lazy bum!”

“Yuu~~” The taller lady disembarks from her ‘vehicle’ that is Eunbi. “Why didn’t you tell me Kyary-chan is back! Sasshi’s gonna be so happy!”

“No!!! She’s Eunbi-chan!” Grandma playfully hits the ‘Nyan’ lady and corrects her as the go inside. “Come on in, we are about to have breakfast!” She glanced back at Eunbi and gave her a wink, whispering, “Sorry about that, Eun-chan, Nyannyan has …..”

Eunbi couldn’t quite follow the word but she followed behind, relieved that she'd not accidentally abducted someone but also puzzled by the whole situation. Who is this other Korean girl that’s called Kyary…..what kind of name is that?

The dinner table is already half occupied with NakoMiku and Sakura sitting in their seats, waiting to dive in.

“Ara! Isn’t that Haruka!!” ‘Nyannyan’ lady pointed at Sakura and exclaimed. “Shouldn’t you and Gentaro be in Fukuoka right now?”

“I’m Sakura, not Haruka-Obasan. How are you, Koji-baachan?” She simply chuckled and invited the granny to sit beside her, while patting on the empty seat so Eunbi could join her on the other side.

“This is the Kojima family’s granny.” Nako whispers close to Eunbi’s ear. “She and Grandma are close friends, but she’s suffering from dementia these past few years, so she acts mischievously and mistakes most people around her as someone from like...20 years ago-- all except for Grandma.”

Ahhh, so that’s why she thought she knew me. Eunbi nods as she considers the old couple’s carefree laughs while they go on a friendly banter as they try to rearrange the dishes in front of each other. 

“Grandma has been taking care of Koji-baachan, since they both live alone now.” Sakura comments as she watches the two in amusement.

So, there seems to be a good reason why they haven’t met before. At first, Eunbi was apprehensive of how she might be opposed to their parent’s relationship, but now, it seems that she has completely misunderstood. Perhaps, she and Sakura could really come out with their relationship to her soon? She felt a slight tug under the table as Sakura slyly slipped her fingers in between and held her hand tight. The kitty smiles sheepishly at her as well, clearly affected by the cuteness overload of the elders in front of her.

It will be nice if I could grow old with you like this one day too, Sakura.

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After breakfast, the sisters and Miku hopped on a car they rented for the day in order to go visit Sakura’s birth mother at the family grave. It isn’t too far away, but it does take around an hour to get there, as it was near where the Miyawakis had lived before Haruka’s passing. Being the only person who could drive in the group, Eunbi took the wheel while Sakura translated whatever the GPS lady was saying whenever she saw a flustered look on her face.

“Finally…” Sakura’s playful mood has transformed into a solemn look as they approached the hillside and exited the car.

Nako is holding Miku’s hand but she looks relatively calm compared to the middle sister. Eunbi recalled the time that they visited their parents’ graves near Incheon, and Sakura was in a vulnerable condition too. It was shortly after her reveal to Nako about their father’s history, and the way she wept in front of Okasan’s tomb was a scene imprinted in Eunbi’s heart. The amount of guilt she carries for being absent in the new family and hiding the truth from Nako is something she could relate to.

“Kkura…” She walked up close and put an arm around her shoulders to support her. “Take a deep breath.” She just wants to remind Sakura that she’s here.

“I’m okay, thanks, Unnie.” Sakura gently smiles back.

The group did the preparation and reached the grave, greeting their aunt and the family in a short silent prayer before proceeding with the cleanup. Sakura took a scoop of water and poured them slowly on top of the shiny marble, watching the water trickle down, reflecting specks of sun rays off as it meanders through the engravings.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it, were you lonely?” Sakura was the first to speak. “We used to come here so often, and then we moved to Fukuoka...and to Seoul… I have missed you, Mother.”

The heaviness when she uttered the last word is not missed. This is probably the first time Sakura greeted her birth mother out loud. She proceeded to polish the stone with a cloth, while Nako arranged the flowers, and Eunbi and Miku cleaned up any debris they could find. Nako eyed Sakura every once in a while, and saw tears b in her eyes as she started tracing the words over again. Seeing that she probably wanted to break the dense silence, Eunbi took the cloth away from Sakura’s hand, gesturing to her that the cleaning is enough, so Sakura could move back to contemplate more peacefully. 

“I missed you too, Aunt Haruka. How are you?” Nako started speaking. “We have been doing well these past few years. I’m still in high school but I’ve found my path, while Sakura is working hard every day to realize her dreams, and today, we’ve also brought a very important member of the family to meet you-- Eunbi-ne.”

Nako shifted a bit to let Eunbi walk up and crouch beside Sakura. “Nice to meet you, Aunt Haruka, I am Eunbi, Rino-Kaasan and Kaeun-Kaasan’s daughter. Rino Kaasan was a great mother to me, and Sakura and Nako, great sisters. Thank you for being their family.”

Eunbi clasps her palms together and bow again, in full gratitude that her aunt has given birth to the most important person in this world-- Sakura. She silently promises her that she will strive to be a good enough lover for Sakura, and ask her to entrust her daughter to her.

I promise, I will never make Sakura regret her choice. Please give us your blessing.

She looks back up sideways and sees that Sakura is equally silent in her own prayers. Eunbi wonders if she’s also talking about their relationship, or asking her about her father, or telling her things about their lives in Seoul? 

She was about to stand up so that Nako could have her time, but she felt her arm grabbed by Sakura’s hand.

“One more thing, Haruka-mama. I want to let you know that I’ve found somebody I want to spend the rest of my life with-- Eunbi. You are probably going to be a bit surprised, but happy to hear this-- I love Eunbi-neesan as a woman.” Turning towards Eunbi slightly and curving up her eyes into crescent shape as she smiles, Sakura continues, “I love Eunbi, my girlfriend and my reliable older sister. Please watch over us with warm eyes.”

This time, it’s Eunbi’s turn to feel the wetness in her eyes. “Kkura-ya…”

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