Before we start the story here are a few things to keep in mind:
-Dialogues
Red = Japanese Blue = English Black/standard colour = Korean
-Throughout the story, you will see a few superscripts (like these ^[1] ) scattered around each chapter. This connects to a footnote at the end of each chapter to provide extra information on that particular matter.
-I am not a writer so there are going to be spelling and grammatical errors.
-Thank you for your time and...Enjoy the story!

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“Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome Miyawaki Sakura!!!”

The deafening scream of the crowd inside the dome could clearly be heard from an at least a mile or two away, drowning the sound of the guitar that currently being plucked.

My baby, sweet baby

I see you smiling when I close my eyes

‘Cause I miss you, I need you right now

The crowd goes silent before singing along with the singer who was now on stage, sitting on a stool with her guitar.

「ただいま」もろくに言えなくてゴメンね

Never knew I'd make you feel lonely

癖の「疲れた」も僕は言い過ぎだね…

帰りを待つ方が辛いのに…

And we're back to screaming

些細なことでまた

Can't stop the rain

So 互いに譲らずに気がつけば

Together again

'cause only you can drive me crazy

My baby, Sweet baby oh

いつも素直に出来ない僕を

あなたは優しく包んでくれる唯一の人だよ

Everyone stares at the idol in complete silence when she sings out the bridge of the song.

Meanwhile…

“I just love Sakura,” a girl sitting on a black leather couch said as she watches the star in admiration through the re-run of his solo performance on the television. Unfortunately for her, someone blocks her precious view. “Chaeyeon!”

“Oh. I’m sorry Eunbi eonni. Am I blocking your view of whats-her-name?” The girl named Chaeyeon asked with a monotone voice.

Eunbi nodded and said in a threatening voice “Move it or lose it, sister.” Chaeyeon rolled her eyes in response and walked away.

“Girls, here are your suitcases.” Mr. Lee said as he entered the room with his wife trailing behind him.

“Come and pick up your clothes first. We’re leaving right after school tomorrow.” Mrs. Lee said, setting the laundry basket close to Eunbi, who began to pick her clothes out.

“No. No. Ew.”

From the kitchen, Chaeyeon stared at her sister in disgust

“In less than 24 hours I will be in Tokyo where Sakura lives! What if she picks me up at the airport?”

Chaeyeon bewildered by her sister’s statement asked, “Why would she do that?”

Eunbi scoffed. “I’m a first generation and an original member of her fan club. I follow her minute by minute blog post. Also, I send her emails every day.” Chaeyeon stared at her in astonishment. “Trust me. She wants to meet me.”

As if on cue Mrs. Lee entered the kitchen looking over a list of what to do’s before their flight the next day.

“Is it too late for me to be an only child?” Chaeyeon asked her mother.

Mrs. Lee stopped what she was doing and pretended to think. “Yes.”

“Then can I please stay home?” Chaeyeon pleaded her mother which prompt the older woman to stare at her in disbelief.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’re grandmother have not seen you in two years.”

“Plus you’re a minor and it’s illegal,” Mr. Lee said.

On the other hand, Eunbi who had enough of her family talking over the television yelled. “Everybody! Shhhh. It’s news about Sakura.”

“The fabulous Miyawaki Sakura picked up 6 awards from last night’s award ceremony just in time for her new album, ‘Hero’, to reach a double platinum award. We managed to get a few words out of our favourite idol from last night.”

Eunbi stared at the TV, completely entranced by the idol.

“Well, first I’d like to thank my fans. Thank you so much for supporting me, for buying the singles and albums I’ve released, for coming to my organized events and to my concert. You guys are the reason why I love what I do. You guys are the best fans in the world. Thank you.”

“She is such an amazing person.”

“She’s definitely not amazing.” Chaeyeon countered.

Eunbi looked at Chaeyeon and defended her idol from her sister’s harsh remarks. “SHE. IS. AMAZING. If you knew her like I do, you wouldn’t say that.”

“Hello, we live in Seoul. You don’t know her.”

“But I do,” Eunbi stared into space, “I know everything about her. I know where she works, eats, shops, swims, and parties.”

====================

The loud roaring of a 1964 Aston Martin DB5 convertible (A/N: I love cars) could be heard from a half-mile radius as it rolled in front of an exclusive club in the center of downtown Tokyo

“You ready to party?” A foreigner looking woman asked the young woman who was sitting right beside her. ^[1]

“Absolutely,” she replied with a playful smile.

“Well let’s do it!” The woman exclaimed with excitement as they got off the car. “You know out of all your cars, Miyuki’s my favourite.”

“Miyuki?”

“Yeah,” she replied wrapping her arms around the young woman's neck causing her to buckle her knees by the action. “Hey Saku chan, does that valet look a little shifty to you?”

Sakura looked at her companion, then to the valet. “No, not really.”

“Well, he looks a little shifty to me.”

Sakura chuckled and wrapped her arms around the woman. “Anna, stop. Let’s go find you a real girl.”

“Wha- but-” before Anna could continue, her eyes trailed to another woman in front of the club signing various things that were given by the crowd. “Oh look who we have here. Miyawaki Sakura’s girlfriend, the fantabulous fabulous, Kang Hyewon.”

Anna rolled her eyes in annoyance. Sakura bit her lower lip to prevent herself from laughing and looked at the young woman who was now walking towards them.

“Hey sweetie,” Hyewon said giving Sakura a kiss on the cheek. She then turned to the woman beside her girlfriend. “Anna.”

Anna nodded in acknowledgement, not bothering to hide her annoyance towards the presence of the girl.

Sakura noticing the almost tense atmosphere around the two women cleared and smiled gently at her girlfriend. “You look beautiful tonight Kang chan.”

Hyewon smile back. “I know. Wait ‘till you see what I’m wearing tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” she looked at her confused.

“Tomorrow.” Hyewon looked at her girlfriend who was clearly still confused at what she meant. “My birthday.”

Shocked at what she had clearly forgotten, Sakura looked at her best friend for help. However, she found none seeing how Anna was on the brink of laughing out loud.

“Baby, you promised you were going to sing,” Hyewon looked down and sulked.

“Right.” Sarura, a little guilty, gently held her chin and lifted her face up. “I’ll be there. I promised right?”

Hearing her reassuring words, Hyewon’s face lit up. Sakura sighed in relief and held her hand. The trio then made their way towards the entrance of the club.

“Wait,” Hyewon said. “Something’s wrong.”

“Yeah, you’re here,” Anna said, still irritated by the presence of the other girl. What she said, however, earned a glare from Hyewon and a warning look from Sakura. “What? It’s best friends night out.”

Hyewon diverted her attention towards Sakura, looking for help. “Where are the paparazzi?”

Sakura once again looked confused until Anna, who had realized what the other girl had done, exclaimed. “You did not blog again did you?!”

On cue, vans filled with photographers from different magazines pulled up in front of the venue.

Sakura looked at her girlfriend in disbelief before rubbing the bridge of her nose. Hyewon, on the other hand, was having the time of her life. As the reporters got closer and started invading her personal space, their personal space, she started to gently push the reporters back.

====================

RING!!!

“You’re not invited.”

“Everybody is invited Eunbi eonni. It’s a school dance.”

“The operative word is dance.” Eunbi chuckled. “Embarassing~”

Chaeyeon rolled her eyes at her sister. “Don’t worry. I’m just going there to cover it for the school newspaper.”

Eunbi stopped giggling, “Oh.”

A few moments later, Eunbi’s friend, Choi Yena interrupted the sisters’ conversation. “Hey Eunbi, are you bringing your camera to Tokyo?”

Eunbi looked at her friend with a deadpanned expression. “Yena, of course, I am.”

“Good because we still need pictures of Miyawaki Sakura!!” Yena said taking a big scrapbook out of her bag which shocked Chaeyeon. “Talking, walking, singing, dancing, moving, breathing,-”

“Why are you both so hung up on this girl?” Chaeyeon asked with an incredulous look.

Both Eunbi and Yena looked at the younger girl, annoyed by what she had just said.

“This GIRL?!?” Yena exclaimed.

“Now you see what I live with.” Eunbi rolled her eyes and continued, “Little sister, when we go to Tokyo, you can play board games with grandma but I’m going to meet THE Miyawaki Sakura.”

“And just how are you planning to do that?” Chaeyeon asked crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Yena placed the book down on top of the ticket booth table. “We’ve mapped out her moves for the past 18 months. We know when and where she’s likely to-”

What the!? Are they like stalking this girl for real?!

“-be every second of every day.”

Eunbi nodded. “And by the time we live for Tokyo, she would be having her meeting with her managers.”

====================

In a private suburban luxury house in the outskirts of Tokyo, one could see large posters of a young woman framed and hung up on the walls. Platinum record awards, lined up in a neat and organized way were also mounted on the walls. Also, shelves of cabinets were decorated not by figurines but by trophies won at various award ceremonies.

In the house, are two people, a man and a woman dressed formally, casually walking around the living room.

“Where is she? She’s late.” The woman said, tapping away on her phone.

“Don’t worry, she’ll be here,” the man said in a nonchalant way, fixing a large cut out of the same young woman in the posters.

“You need to manage her better.”

“We both manage her.”

“She needs to know opportunities like these don’t come in every day.” The woman argued.

“She knows, alright. She's not a kid anymore.”

At that moment, the young woman in question enters the room.

“Morning!” The young female cheerfully greeted the two.

“You’re late Sakura,” the woman walked to the couch facing a large flat screen TV.

“Sorry mom,” Sakura smiled and gave her mom a kiss on the cheek and hugged her dad.

Mrs. Miyawaki looked at her daughter up and down, and it dawned on her that her daughter had worn the exact same clothing as a few days ago. “Oh, honey you could’ve cleaned up a bit.”

Sakura sniffed herself. “But I’m totally clean.”

The woman frowned at her answer and looked at her husband for help. “She looks like a street kid and not a movie star.”

Mr. Miyawaki let out a chuckle before answering his wife. “She looks fine.” He then looked at his daughter and gave her a reassuring smile. “Just be yourself Sakura.”

Just then the doorbell rang, indicating that person they have been waiting for arrived. Mrs. Miyawaki rushed to the door while her husband gave their daughter one last pep talk. “All right. This is it bud. We finally get a shot at what we’ve always wanted.” The duo then heard the door open and close and immediately moved towards it.

“Mr. Akimoto it’s a pleasure to have you here.” Mrs. Miyawaki greeted with a smile.

“The pleasure is all mine.” Both then walked into the house only to be greeted by the father and daughter duo.

“Mr. Akimoto welcome!” Mr. Miyawaki reached out to give the movie director a handshake in which he gladly accepted.

“Great place you guys have here.”

Mr. Miyawaki gave a hearty laugh before saying, “Actually it’s Sakura’s. My wife and I just work here.”

The director laughed before giving his full attention to the young woman standing beside her father. “Miyawaki Sakura. My children are a BIG fan of yours.”

“That’s amazing Mr. Akimoto!” Sakura said with a big smile.

The group walked towards the living room with Mr. Akimoto growing in awe with every step he took. Once they had reached the living room, the director went straight to why he had come to the house.

“Let’s get right to the point. Shall we?” The family nodded. “I’ve been watching you Sakura, and I like what I see. You are a very talented kid. You can sing and dance. I do hope you can act because I like you for this movie.” The director smiled.

Sakura’s parents were delighted with what they have just heard and looked at their daughter proudly.

“Thank you so much, sir. To hear it come from you is such an honour. To work with you-”

“But. My people don’t necessarily agree with me. You see, all they see is a spoiled kid who likes to play with the paparazzi.” The director showed a magazine with Sakura on the cover with an angry look on his face.

Mr. Miyawaki stood up. “Mr. Akimoto, you know how the tabloids are. They twist and manipulate everything they-”

“Mr. Miyawaki I know. All I want to say is that a chance like this comes once in a lifetime and I want to give you a shot. However to do that you have to prove to me that you are a serious and committed actress.”

“How do I do that?” Sakura asked.

“On Monday, I’m going to have a meeting with my people and try to convince them that you are the perfect fit for this movie. In the meantime, you keep your face out of the tabloids. No press. Good or bad. Got it?”

Sakura nodded.

“In fact. Stay. Home.”

Sakura stood and thanked the director for his offer. “Thank you, sir. I really appreciate it.”

====================

Meanwhile in Haneda Airport’s car rental station…

“Chaeyeon, you brought homework?” Eunbi asked her sister.

“Uhh no. It’s called reading. You should try it sometimes.”

“I read.”

Chaeyeon looked behind her and saw her sister’s bag open. She picked up a teen magazine and held it up. “This is not reading. It's all pictures.”

Eunbi grabbed the magazine away from her sister’s hand. “Don’t touch this. What’s taking mom and dad so long. I mean all they have to do is get me a car so I can go meet Miyawaki Sakura!”

Chaeyeon looked up to her sister. “Eonni, you can’t drive.”

“Yes, I can. License,” Eunbi said holding up her license.

“No, you can’t. Sign,” Chaeyeon said pointing towards the door of the airport car rental building.

Eunbi turned around and read the sign that was in big bold letters.^[2]

~Haneda Airport Car Rentals~

YOU MUST BE AT LEAST
25 YEARS OLD
TO DRIVE/RENT A CAR FROM
HANEDA AIRPORT CAR RENTALS.

She then turned and faced her sister once more. “How am I supposed to do what I want to do?”

“And what would that be?” Mrs. Lee who just came out of the building asked her eldest daughter.

Eunbi let out a nervous laugh and walked towards Chaeyeoni. “Take Chaeyeon sightseeing.”

“I think your grandmother’s got a car you could use.” Mr. Lee said. “Let's go.”

The Lee’s then drove a little past downtown Tokyo towards their grandmother's house. When they arrived, Mrs. Lee saw her mother on a ladder with the help of her neighbour.

“Mom! Be careful.”

Mrs. Kwon ^[3] turned to where the voice came from before looking at the man, her neighbour, saying “Here comes the cavalry.”

Mrs. Lee still in shock by what she just saw said, “You could fall and break a hip.”

“Oh, now Hana chan calm down. Ryokun had my back.” Mrs. Kwon gave her daughter and son in law a hug.

“We take care of each other Hana chan,” Ryo said with a smile.

“GRANDMOTHER!” Chaeyeon ran into her grandmother’s arms.

“Chae chan! I’m so happy to see you.”

“I missed you so much,” Chaeyeon mumbled.

Mrs. Kwon broke the hug and saw her eldest granddaughter looking at her twilight blue pearl coloured 2000 Nissan Maxima. “Eunbi chan, you can take it for a little test drive if you want. Don’t worry about the engine, Ryokun just gave her a tune-up before you guys came.”

Eunbi looked at her grandmother and the old man beside her nervously. “Huh, oh yeah.” I don't ever want to be seen in this car.

Chaeyeon realizing her sister’s behaviour smiled mischievously and asked, “Does that mean you’ll be joining us in playing boardgames?”

That night…

Eunbi paced around her room in nervously as she talked to her friends on the phone. Chaeyeon, being told by their grandmother to go check on her sister as she was making a lot of noise while pacing, knocked on the open door.

“Grandma said for you to stop pacing. You’re creating a lot of noise.”

“I just got a call from Yena and the group. They got info from a chat quoting a blog that says Sakura is performing at Kang Hyewon’s birthday party. I have to go.”

“Good luck convincing mom and dad,” Chaeyeon said about to walk away from the door until she heard her sister say something.

“Go with me.”

“No.”

“They’ll let me go if you go.”

“How many times do I have to tell you I’m not interested in meeting a stupid celebrity. I mean, I’m sick and tired of hearing about this Miyawaki Sakura. She’s all you talk a-”

“I’ll shut up.”

“What?” Chaeyeon looked at her sister with an are-you-serious look.

“If you go with me, and I meet Sakura, I’ll stop talking about her.” Rino paused momentarily before saying, “For the rest of the trip.”

“How about for the rest of your life?” Chaeyeon suggested.

“Please.”

====================

“What are you doing Eunbi eonni?! This is a no parking zone!” Chaeyeon nagged her sister who got out of the driver’s seat to move to the back of the car.

“As long as one person stays in the car it’s not parking, it’s waiting.”

“It doesn’t matter. We’ll get a ticket.”

“Get behind the wheel.” As Chaeyeon was not moving, Eunbi stared at her seriously before, “Do it!”

Not wanting to argue with her sister, Chaeyeon got behind the wheel as she listened to her sister sing a song she had to endure listening to for hours at their home.

“Just stay in the car,” Eunbi said before leaving the car.

“Great I’m going to be here forever.”

====================

Behind the exact same exclusive bar, Miyawaki Sakura sat in the passenger seat of her best friend's car, a cherry-red custom built 2017 Porsche 718 Cayman.

“I don’t know about this Sakura.”

“I’ll be fine Anna!”

“No. I mean you shouldn’t even be here. We should be at your house chilling at the party you’re parents are throwing.”

“Since when did you ever want to party with my parents?” Sakura laughed.

“Are you kidding me? The caterer they hired is from Argentina. There’s going to be steak for dessert.”

“Tempting but I promised Hyewon that I will be performing at her birthday. I’m not going to let her down.”

“You and you’re stupid friendship rules!” Anna groaned.

“You benefit from it too, don’t you? Stay at my house for free, eat my food, drive my ca-”

“Okay. Okay. But in return, you get to hang out with me, THE Murashige Anna.”

====================

“Hyewon! Happy Birthday!” Anna got out of the car and hugged Hyewon who was standing at the door of the club.

“Where’s Sakura?”

Anna looked around before saying, “She couldn’t make it. She’s at home. Eating stake.” She made sure that the reporters that were waiting outside the club could hear what she had just said. When Anna and Hyewon were about to enter the club, Eunbi, who had been waiting for the perfect time, ran towards the two and pretended to know Eunbi.

====================

Somewhere in a dark alley, a hooded figure approached a metallic looking door. The figure knocked on the door a couple times before it was opened, revealing Anna.

“Looks like we pulled it off,” Sakura said.

“What would you do without me.”

A few mins later, Sakura came out on stage to perform. The crowd went wild at her sudden appearance and Eunbi who had just come back from the ladies room rushed to the front of the stage. However, a huge crowd had already blocked her only way to the stage and unfortunately her view of the stage too.

After a couple of songs and Sakura performing a duet with her best friend, she said her greetings to Hyewon and left through the back. She opened the door and...

“Ow.”

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