It was busy, so busy that all the members couldn’t really enjoy themselves until it was time for a Vlive where they can interact with their fans and have fun with each other. Off camera, they were struggling. The Korean members knew how hectic it was before a debut or comeback but nothing could really prepare them for it since they were a well anticipated group. The Japanese trio had even more frustrations as they had to learn another language on top of their normal preparations in such a short amount of time.

They were only glad they didn’t have to travel as often in between such important schedules. They missed their home country of course, but they were adapting to their new home and their members made it very comfortable.

In Sakura’s case, it was very comfortable. She was well liked by everyone. She was weird and relatable, sometimes you can’t find that in someone who had such a high profile as she did.

However, that came with a price for Sakura’s Korean best friend.

Chaeyeon was Sakura’s first real friend on Produce48, they stuck together through thick and thin. They promised to never leave each other, it was a bit childish considering how old they were. Everyone on the survival show really envied how close they had gotten, and most trainees didn’t even get a chance to become so close to another stranger.

Even though they made such promises to each other, when the final line up had gotten a chance to bond. Chaeyeon was irrationally threatened. She knew inside that thinking this way was unbelievable since she was getting closer to others too. But she couldn’t stand watching someone she had become so close to, become close to others.

Sakura, on the hand was oblivious to this. She was a well-liked senior in the AKB48 groups for a reason, she was friendly to everyone and treated everyone with an enormous amount of affection and kindness. Chaeyeon wasn’t used to this. All her past friends were exclusive, mainly because they had a close-knit group she had trained with.

So, when Sakura started to talk to Hyewon more, Chaeyeon felt betrayed somehow. Hyewon was a nice girl, always had been, shown by the intimate relationship she had formed with Minami. The pair had also grown closer from being in the same team for an evaluation. Training together in rough times really does strengthen the bond.

One night, Chaeyeon laid in her bed, staring at the ceiling thinking about all this again. She did for almost every night they didn’t have to spend practising.

She had excused herself from the living room, where all the other members were playing with boardgames, saying she was tired (which wasn’t a lie, they were all tired).

She looked around the room she shared with her best friend. On Sakura’s bed there were countless stuffed toys, gifted by her loyal fans when they were still allowed to accept them. On her bedside was the Nintendo Switch she played with at night when she thought Chaeyeon was asleep. And a Korean language book she was currently studying.

‘’I wonder if shes going to sleep here tonight….’’ Chaeyeon whispered.

It had been a few weeks since the J-line had officially moved into the dorm. Unfortunately, Sakura had sleep overs in Hyewon’s room. Chaeyeon spent several nights alone. She fondly remembered the time when she had too many things covering her bed. So, she slept with the second oldest that night.

It was nearing winter, so the nights were cold. She didn’t want to get up to close the window but heroically, Sakura had thrown the blanket over Chaeyeon, shielding her from the cold.

Chaeyeon thought how cool it looked and felt, her heart thumped just thinking back to it.

But now she didn’t even see her until they started day, during the day, they were too busy to talk. Chaeyeon felt lonely, even lonelier than what she had experienced when she lost the two previous shows, leaving all her friends. Chaeyeon’s eyes started tearing up, she clamped them shut hoping that would hold them off, but they kept dropping.

Just then the door opened, the little charms on the side of the door jingling. Sakura poked her head in, her adorable eyes widening at the sight of Chaeyeon’s state. She quickly went in, locking the door for privacy in case any of the girls decided they would like to dogpile them again.

‘’Chaeyeon?’’ She called out, the girl in question opened her eyes to acknowledge who was calling her but she shut them again because she knew she would cry harder if she had to keep looking at the face she missed.

‘’Chaeyeon….Whats wrong?’’ The Japanese girl was confused to no ends, she didn’t want her friend to feel this way. She sat on the bed next to Chaeyeon, tucking one leg underneath the other. ‘’Please talk to me, is it because of the antis?’’

Chaeyeon shook her head, she wasn’t over the antis but the reason she felt this way hurt way more than mean comments on the internet.

Sakura the top of her head gently, fixing