March 27th, 6:33am.

You had always loved the sky. There was just something about the certainty of it; the way the sun rose and set without fail, and how the stars coruscated brilliantly every night. To you, the sky was the single, most consistent thing in your life. It was predictable, but beautiful all the same.

Unlike your life which was simply boring, dreary and plain, the sky and its myriad of colours had always been something that intrigued you.

You had no illusions about your life. You knew you were fortunate to have a stable job with a secure income and a decently sized apartment, but it didn’t change the fact that nothing seemed to interest you.

Sitting up in bed, you watched in awe as the golden hues of sunlight gently shone through your bedside window. While you hated to admit it, you felt terribly lonely in that moment. You used to find solace in your solitude, but you’ve been feeling immensely lonely lately. You were so close to believing that you were fine alone.

You sigh and continue to look outside your window as people begin to go about their day. You think you need a cigarette.

You don’t even smoke.

(You wonder if you would ever be able to find anything that could compare to the love you feel for the sky.)

((You wonder what it would be like to have someone watch the sky with you.))

April 15th, 4:37pm.

You are not an outgoing person. You wish that you were; it would definitely make your life easier as you attempt to keep up with Yena’s adventurous personality.

For a socially avoidant person who doesn’t like leaving the house, you end up leaving the house more often than you would like because of your very sociable and persuasive friend. And for a person who doesn’t particularly enjoy drinking alcohol, you end up at bars more often than expected because of the same said friend. And this is not to mention that it is 4pm in the afternoon.

If you were the type of person who enjoyed socializing or alcohol, you might just talk to Yena’s friends or enjoy the alcohol, but you are not. So, you just end up looking like a loser as you sip your single bottle of beer at the bar instead. You know that Yena will make fun of you later as per usual, but you pay no mind to it. Instead, you focus on observing the people around the bar – people watching is almost the only reason as to why you let Yena drag you out of the house.

As you watch the different ways in which people carry themselves you find yourself staring at a certain woman dressed in black. She looks confident, and she looks like the type who can definitely hold her alcohol. You find yourself feeling small as she sits on the chair next to you. You can feel her staring at you. You sit in silence as you avoid her eyes and continue people watching.

It doesn’t take her very long before she starts up a conversation with you, “So, what’s a homebody like you doing out here at 4pm in the afternoon?”

“I uh- A friend dragged me out. But she’s probably busy making out with her girlfriend in the bathroom so here I am, I guess. People watching as I attempt to finish this terrible tasting yellow liquid.”

“Here, let me help,” the woman says, as she takes the bottle away from you and finishes the remaining contents in less than five seconds.

Your eyes widen as you watch her finish the remaining half of the beer you had left. You never were good with alcohol, but clearly this woman is. You want to ask her for her name but you feel like she’s out of your league, so you just blatantly stare at her.

The woman notices this and lets out a hearty chuckle. “I’m Eunbi. Kwon Eunbi. And what’s your name, princess?” She leans forward, smiles and puts her chin in her palm as she patiently waits for you to respond.

“Sakura. Miyawaki. I mean, Miyawaki Sakura. You can call me Sakura. Or Kkura. Or anything you want, actually.” You feel the heat rise up your cheeks with the nickname, but you pray and hope that Eunbi doesn’t notice your nervous rambling.

You feel your heart rate rise as the corners of her lips turns upwards. You don’t know what it is that you are feeling but one thing that you’re certain about is that you are very, very attracted to Eunbi.

She asks if you would like to get some fresh air with her and you agree because you’re starting to feel suffocated in this bar (and because you’d like to spend more time with this unbelievably attractive woman).

You find yourself feeling relieved as you leave the confines of the bar. You are shocked to find out that you were in the bar for nearly three hours, your watch telling you that it’s 7:26pm. The sun is setting beautifully and you’re happy that you left the bar when you did because now you get to watch the sunset.

Your eyes subconsciously drift to Eunbi, who is equally mesmerized at the soft glow of the sun. You watch as the orange light of the fading sun falls onto Eunbi’s skin, painting her pale skin in an earthen hue. You can’t help but smile at what you are seeing. You just met this woman two hours ago, but she has already garnered your interest; you can’t remember when you last felt this much interest in anything or in anyone, as a matter of fact.

The woman that you’re thinking about breaks your chain of thought as she offers to take you home, “C’mon, I’ll book a cab and drop you off.”

You simply nod, trying to hide the disappointment of your soon-to-be parting with Eunbi. You try to muster the courage to ask her for her number, but nothing comes out of your mouth. You think that perhaps there’ll be another chance later.

Your cab arrives and the both of you board it, with you letting the driver know your address. The ride is engulfed in silence and all you can think about is when you’ll see Eunbi again. Soon enough, the cab arrives at your apartment, and Eunbi steps out first to open the car door for you.

Your heart rate begins to rise once more as you attempt to keep your composure. It’s now or never. You take a deep breath.

“I- Um. Do you think I could uh- I mean, could we uh, do this sometime again?” You internally curse yourself for being unable to formulate a coherent sentence.

Eunbi tilts her head and the right corner of tilts upwards ever so slightly, “And what exactly is ‘this’ that you’re referring to?”

“I mean, I just-“ you huffed. You take another deep breath and decide to bite the bullet. “I really enjoyed spending time with you tonight and I would really like it if we could spend more time together. So… Would you mind if I contacted you again to hang out with you again?”

“And what if I say that I did mind it?”

“Oh.”

Deflated, you look to the ground to avoid Eunbi’s eyes. You take a moment to think about your next action. You decide that you should just avoid embarrassing yourself again so you try to play it cool, “I see. Uh, thanks for tonight then. I’ll see you when I see you, I guess.”

Eunbi lets out a laugh and grabs your arm. “I’m kidding, Sakura. I’d love to hang out with you again. My number’s on the napkin in your pocket by the way, it was there since like two hours ago, just so you know.”

Turning away in an attempt you hide your flustered state, you respond, “Um I-. Yes I’ll call you. Or text you. Whichever you prefer.”

You turn slightly and look over your shoulder to find Eunbi still looking at you with a soft smile on her face, eyebrows raised in an amused manner. You continue, “Tha