Miyawaki Sakura. 20. Painfully average.

Lee Kaeun. Seems To Leave A Mess Everywhere.

"And if this world doesn't seem right by you, I'll burn it down and set it anew."

____________________________________________________________________________________

By all intents and purposes, Miyawaki Sakura has all the makings to be an excellent protagonist. At only 20 years of age, she was young and spunky, the few friends that she has would (probably) tell you that she’s full of charm, heck she even has the tragic backstory required of your standard fare main character.

Sakura lost her parents at a young age. Too young for her to be significantly affected by their deaths, but old enough to have a hazy recollection of the incident that claimed both their lives. It wasn’t anything particularly heroic or awe-inspiring, which doesn’t lend anything to her claim of being a protagonist. 

It was the combination of a particularly nasty Fukuoka winter, an icy patch of road, and a runaway milk truck slamming into their vehicle that claimed both her parents’ lives. Sakura managed to survive the incident with little more than a scar on her shoulder that vaguely resembled a lightning bolt if you squinted your eyes slightly and wished hard enough, but that was all there was to it. She didn’t become a witch, and the Korean equivalent of Hogwarts did not send a half-giant to knock down her door on her eleventh birthday.

She was just...Sakura.

After the death of her parents, she was sent to Korea to live with an uncle who took good care of her. He was a good man. Gentle and kind, from the day she appeared on his doorstep 15 years ago, to the day he passed away 13 years later. She was still in highschool when she received the call that her only living relative had passed away from a peanut allergy. Not remarkable, but at least that was consistent with the rest of her life.

Being 18 years old at the time she had the option to live alone, which she did. It wasn’t easy by any means, but she learns in time that there wasn’t much she couldn’t do if she tackled the situation with enough determination and aggressive optimism. 

With all these positive traits, why does young Miyawaki Sakura feel like she isn’t even worthy of being the protagonist of her own story?

Well, it was because there really wasn’t much going on with her. She doesn’t have any set goals in life. No aim, nothing to keep her going,  which would make for a pretty ty story, and in effect make her a darn boring protagonist. 

In an attempt to have something to work towards, Sakura decided to further her studies and attend Chonnam National University. It wasn’t a crazy prestigious school, and it was mainly chosen due to the university’s location (which was in the same city she lives in) but it was good enough for her. She even chose a generic Business Administration course because she wasn’t sure if her level of commitment was enough to power her through brain-draining subjects like Law or Mechanical Engineering. 

Miyawaki Sakura was a 20 year old orphan, no living relatives and works in a small bakery in the comparatively large city of Gwangju to cover the cost of her daily expenses and her sometimes-excessive tuition fees. Her biggest struggle in life is juggling between purchasing the 700₩ bar of chocolate that would be more filling but tastes like cardboard, or the 1200₩ bag of chips that is 60% air but 100% deliciousness.

She wasn’t the protagonist of this story, but it was most definitely hers to tell.

***************************************

It was a beautiful day in Gwangju. 

The kind of afternoon where one would normally expect to spend frolicking outside like a woodland creature, basking in the sun and rolling about in the dry leaves instead of sitting cooped up in a half-empty lecture theatre learning about Business Logistics.

Sakura could only sigh. There was only 20 minutes left in this class, followed by a short 30 minute break before she had to walk across campus to Building C where they held the Statistics class that she would totally have dropped in Week 1 if it wasn’t a requirement. Classes would end at 3, and she’ll have approximately an hour of leisure before she had to report to work. 

Life was mundane. 

Yena was snoring a bit too loudly next to her. Yuri should probably do something about that before the former starts sleep-talking again. Actually, that would be quite a welcome development since the last time it happened it was extremely entertaining. Seeing an unconscious and unaware Yena confess her (very poorly hidden) feelings to a very confused Yuri and having to explain herself afterwards was a riot.

Alas, the 20 minutes passes by excruciatingly slow and uneventful, with Yena failing to accomplish the sole reason Sakura tolerates her, which is as a source of entertainment. That was the only good thing about Yena anyways. She’s an absolute git otherwise.

“Miyawaki.” 

“Mmm?” Sakura hummed, acknowledging the girl seated next to her with as little effort as possible.

“Are you making fun of me in your head again?” 

Sakura glances to the side, seeing Yena looking back at her with narrowed eyes.

“...No.”

“Lies!”

“I try not to keep you in my head, Yena.”

Sakura hears more than sees Yena’s pout and tries her best to avert her eyes. Despite everything, Yena could somehow find a way to be absolutely adorable when she starts pouting. Blame it on those bloody duck lips the girl has.

“Do you believe in happy endings?”

This time Sakura turned to face Yena, frowning slightly as she tried to figure out if she had misheard her friend’s question. Finding Yena patiently waiting for a reply, Sakura deduced that she had not misheard, and that it has come to that time of the day when Yena starts doing Yena things.

“...What?” Sakura asked, confused by the random switch in topic and luckily enough it seems she wasn’t the only one left befuddled by Yena’s brain.

“It’s a bit early in the day for you to start being weird, isn’t it Yena?” Yuri laughed from next to Yena, reaching out to lightly pinch the duck’s cheeks.

“Oh c’mon Joyul~ humor me~” Yena cooed while Yuri continued laughing, the top of the pouting girl’s head. Sakura sometimes wonders if all the affection Yuri shows Yena is a sign of reciprocation for the latter’s feelings, or if Yuri is just painfully unaware that she has the tiny duck hooked to her every gesture without even needing to try.

“...Not really, I guess.” Sakura finally answers after a pause.

Yena looked surprised. “Really?”

“I mean, I just feel like a sad ending is a more probable outcome to things. A slice of bread always lands butter-side down. If it was the other way around, we’d call it a miracle.” Sakura finished while checking the time on her phone. 22 minutes before their next class. Maybe she should grab a snack before she goes.

“Wow you’re a depressing one, aren’t you?” Yuri lightly slapped Yena’s shoulder for the latter’s tactless comment, who looked as if she had no idea what she had done wrong. 

That was the usual dynamic between the three of them. Yena and Sakura were always at each other’s throats while Yuri was the sane one of the three, keeping the peace between them and making sure the two don’t tear each other’s ears off. It was all in good fun though. Sakura was actually very fond of Yena, having known the duck since high school and building a solid 5 years of friendship.

There was a time back in senior year when Sakura had started to develop feelings for Yuri, having heard the girl sing a sappy love ballad during one of their first outings together at a karaoke bar. Yuri sang like a husky-voiced angel. Melodic yet edgy, like a distorted harp. Sakura honestly thinks the girl would be much better served auditioning for an entertainment agency in Seoul instead of studying Law here in Gwangju.

After a few more outings, Yena had started to display signs that she was catching emotions for the singer/law student as well, so Sakura quietly backed off. Yena was important to her, although she would never admit it out loud. The girl would NEVER let her live it down. If only the duck would actually BUCK UP and do SOMETHING about her feelings for Yuri though. Sakura was getting sick of waiting for ANY development. 

It’s been 2 YEARS.

The closest Yena has gotten to making a move was that confession in her sleep two weeks ago.

“Where did this sudden question pop out from?” Yuri asked Yena, bringing Sakura back to the present and reminding her of the ridiculous subject matter at hand. 

Yena shrugged simply in reply, awkward smile on her face. “Was reading my sister a book last night, and it ended with a ‘and they lived happily ever after’. Which is complete bull by the way, because the characters were cartoon chickens, and we all know the only happy ending for chickens is when they end up in Yena’s belly.”

“Did she just refer to herself in third person?” Yuri asked with a raised eyebrow while looking at Sakura from over Yena’s shoulder. 

“She does that sometimes. Keeps her from forgetting her own name.” Sakura replied with a shrug, causing Yuri to let out a loud snort while Yena huffed indignantly.

“Up yours, Miyawaki.”

“So were you trying to make a point by asking that question, or were you just asking for the sake of asking?” Sakura asked, subconsciously aware that she only had 15 minutes now to get to her next class which was quite a ways away. The thought of it made her feel even lazier to go.

“The second one, I guess. I’m bored. You working after classes again?” Yena prodded Sakura’s side causing the Japanese girl to yelp and slap the intruding appendage away.

“Aren’t I always?”

“At the rate you’re working, you’d think you’d be filthy rich by now.” Yuri chimed in.

“I’m only a baker. We get paid in peanuts and free bread.” Sakura sighed. It was getting awfully tiring, but she had commitments to upkeep and bills to pay. “Plus, living isn’t cheap. I can’t believe it costs this much just to stay alive sometimes, when I didn’t even have a choice in the matter! Did you know you have to pay to fill up your bicycle’s tire with air? Why do I have to pay for AIR?!”

Yena and Yuri watched as Sakura laid her head on the table in defeat and depression. She was having another one of her internal server meltdowns again. The two of them are quite familiar with this scene, but it doesn’t seem to get any less sad to see it.

“I guess it’s just me and Joyul at the mall again then...?” Yena trailed off, before recoiling in surprise when Sakura’s head shot back up like a bullet.

“Aren’t you sick of her yet Yuri? You see her everyday.” 

Yena gasped at the insinuation, looking back and forth between Sakura and Yuri only to gasp a second, much louder time when she realised Yuri was actually taking time to deliberate an answer.

“Y’know Kkura, I just can’t bring myself to say no to her. Sometimes I want to say no, but then she always sounds so excited to hang out that I feel bad. It’s like she’s in love with me or something.”

Sakura burst out laughing, high-fiving Yuri from across a red-faced Yena. Yuri had the cheekiest grin on her face while the duck looked like she was suffering from the combined effects of embarrassment and annoyance from her crush’s jab that was a little too on-the-nose.

“Yah! Joyul! Miyawaki! Stop being mean!” Yena pouted, crossing her arms in front of her as she huffed in her seat. 

Sakura was the first to apologize and throw her arms around the seething duck, with Yuri following soon after. They doted and babied the girl in their arms before Yena herself started laughing, being incapable of staying mad at her two best friends.

Sakura ended up being 20 minutes late to her next class. She didn’t feel like she missed much though. She was busy with more important things.

**************************************

Message from Choi Yena:
I hate you but I need you here right now.

Sakura stares at the message on her phone as if it had just insulted her late mother. 

Message sent: 
Don’t let Yuri read that. She might get the wrong idea.

Message from Choi Yena:
Shut up Miyawaki! I think she’s bored! Am I a boring person? What do I do?

Sakura would normally ignore her phone during working hours because it wasn’t a good look on her and her boss has a tendency for surprise visits. She really needs this job to last this time, because it was one of the highest paying ones she’s had in awhile and she could only go through so many jobs before she gets kicked out of the studio apartment she lives in. Still, it was a particularly slow day at the bakery, and Yena was being especially gullible today....

Message sent:
Try holding her hand. See what happens.

Sakura sees that Yena has read her message. She waits patiently by her phone, checking the oven on occasion in case she burns her brioches. It takes awhile, and Sakura was starting to feel the first tinges of disappointment when her phone rings again.

Message from Choi Yena:
MIYAWAKI!! 

Sakura bites her lip in anticipation. There’s no way she did it right? Nobody is that gullible. She had to be sure, before she starts making assumptions and a fool of herself.

Message sent:
?

Message from Choi Yena:
She just looked at me weirdly like wHaT THe heLL it was SO AWKWARD I’M NOT LISTENING TO YOU EVER AGAIN!

The absolute actually DID IT! Sakura broke out into raucous laughter, nearly rolling on the floor in her sheer joy at yet again getting Choi Yena to do something stupid to embarrass herself. Sakura wishes that there were TWO of her so that she could give herself a high-5 and a pat on the back. Then again, Yena probably wouldn’t be able to survive two Miyawaki’s.

Message sent:
Oops. My bad. 

Message from Choi Yena:
This is so embarrassinggg~ Why do you give such bad advice? Do you hate me?

Message sent: 
Not as much as Yuri now does.

Message from Choi Yena:
MIYAWAKI!! 

Sakura was still laughing. Leave it to Yena to make working at an empty out-of-the-ways bakery seem not so boring. Sakura places her phone onto the counter momentarily as she takes her bread out of the oven, giggling as the phone continues to ring incessantly.

She returns after a few minutes to a wall of messages on her phone’s screen, one even coming from Yuri, politely asking Sakura to stop teasing Yena before the duck gives herself an aneurysm.

She might consider it. Yuri was a saint after all.

Message from Choi Yena:
I thought we were BEST FRIENDS! 

Message from Choi Yena:
Why do you relish in my misfortune?!

Message from Choi Yena:
Is my name in your phone still saved as Choi Yena? That's too formal!

Message sent:
....no.

Message from Choi Yena:
MIYAWAKI!! ㅠㅠ

Sakura decides to end it there, because she could probably go the entire day just poking fun at Yena and the many misfortunes that always seem to befall the girl. Granted a very small portion of those so-called misfortunes were caused by Sakura herself, but she digresses.

Work continued being as uneventful as before Yena had started texting her. A few patrons came in and sat down for coffee but it never really got busy enough that she couldn’t handle the floor alone. Sakura was at the cashier, she made the bread, the coffee, the cleaning up after, and even then there wasn’t that much activity to keep her occupied.

Sakura sighed as she wiped the tables clean in preparation for closing time. With so little foot traffic, it wouldn’t be strange if the bakery would have to close it’s doors for good soon. She should probably start looking into future career options again. She had another two years left of University, and tuition fees just keep on getting pricier and pricie—

SLAM!

Sakura jumps out of her skin at the sound of the front door slamming closed. What the hell was that? Wait a minute. Did the door just....close? Why did the door close? Did somebody open it? She was the only employee here and there were no customers to be seen.

A chill runs up Sakura’s spine as she continues staring at the glass door. She didn’t like this. She was a coward at heart and one of the many reasons she chose to work here in the first place was because she’s never heard of a bakery being haunted before. Which ghost would haunt a bakery?!

....well if she died, Sakura could definitely see herself haunting any establishment that sold food, so fair call on that she supposed.

Suddenly the headlights from a random car passing by outside momentarily illuminated something on the floor by the shop’s entrance. It was...glistening. And wet. A weight dropped in Sakura’s stomach. No, no that can’t be what she thinks it is...

“Hello?” Sakura called out into the empty shop like a fool, hearing no reply much to her relief. 

She held the cleaning rag tighter in her hand. Whatever it was, it was Sakura’s job to clean it up. Slowly inching towards the entrance of the shop, mustering every ounce of courage she could find within her tiny body, Sakura stopped right by the mysterious stain on the floor and her heart nearly stopped as well.

It was blood.

A small puddle of it.

There was no mistaking it. She’s been forced to watch enough horror movies to know how this situation would unravel. Sakura’s eyes dart towards the glass door next to her, not wanting to end the night as a statistic. She wasn’t a hero. She wasn’t going to investigate this random puddle of blood. She was ready to leave and come back tomorrow morning fresh from any paranormal experiences so good day to you sir she bids you farewell and—

—and was that a groan coming from behind the cashier counter?

Upon closer inspection, the puddle of blood seems to continue past the initial one she found, creating a trail of tiny droplets that seem to lead behind the counter.

No. No Sakura. You are not a hero. You are not the protagonist of this story. You are not obliged to follow random trails of blood.

But she was curious, and curiosity was the greatest enemy of all. Curiousity was the poorly disguised predecessor to stupidity and regret. Maybe just a peek? Maybe she could chance a glance to see what injured creature had wandered into the bakery? Maybe she could even catch a glimpse of it before it inevitably eats her alive.

Taking a deep breath, Sakura cautiously makes her way around the counter, following the blood trail closely and as she rounds the final corner she steels herself for whatever manner of supernatural entity or zombie that was lurking behind the wooden counter waiting to jump out at her.

What she did not expect to find however, was a woman sitting on the floor, back leaning against wooden cupboard doors, dripping blood all over the wooden parquet flooring.

The woman looks up at Sakura with a small smile on her face, and Sakura loses her completely.

“Hey. Got a smoke?”

“AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!”

Sakura shrieks out in fear and surprise and panic and about twenty different emotions. What the . What the ity . What the actual blue . Why was there a WOMAN in a RED SATIN SHIRT and PERFECTLY FITTING SLACKS sitting on her recently cleaned wooden parquet flooring BLEEDING ALL OVER IT?! Sakura wasn’t sure if she wanted to run away or ask this stranger who her tailor was. She was torn between calling the cops and handing this woman a mop to clean up her own mess.

“Okay okay you don’t smoke geez I get it! Don’t gotta be so dramatic about it....” The stranger mumbles, looking disgruntled and tired.

Frozen in place, Sakura tries her best to steady her heart and absorb the situation in as calm a manner as she possibly could in the current moment. 

There was a woman. Maybe in her mid 20’s, bleeding all over the floor of her bakery. She was dressed far too nicely for what ever activity she may have gotten involved in that could lead to that massive wound on her thigh. A strip of cloth was tied above the gaping hole, acting as a tourniquet and preventing an even messier situation but it didn’t seem to be enough. 

The wound still looked too severe to be left as is.

“Y-Your leg...” Sakura tries to start, but the woman cuts her off easily.

“Oh this? Got into a fight with a cat.”

“You’re bleeding so much!”

“....BIG cat.” 

Sakura stares at the woman like she had just said the most absurd thing in the world, which she admittedly just did. Another pained groan from the woman on the floor and Sakura snaps back to attention.

“Hospital! Gotta c-call the h-hospital—“

“NO!” The stranger shouts out forcibly. Sakura freezes, one hand already in her pocket curled around her phone. “No hospitals! I’m fine! Just...just gimme a minute to rest.”

Sakura wasn’t sure if that’s how the human body works. Resting cures headaches and mood swings, not gaping holes in one’s thigh. There was only one reason Sakura could think of that would explain this woman’s aversion to seek professional medical attention despite her injury.

It was then that Sakura notices the cold glint of metal tightly clasped in the stranger’s bloodied hand. A gun. Sakura has never even seen a gun in person before, and this was not the way she would have preferred her first time to be. Tears start to well up in the corners of her eyes at the realisation that this was real. This was happening to her right now. The gun wasn’t being pointed to her, but just the mere knowledge that this blood-soaked stranger was in possession of a lethal firearm...the fact that the possibility existed that said firearm could be used on her tonight....

Sakura was absolutely terrified.

“I’ll be fine.” The stranger assures Sakura, probably mistaking her tears for concern. It was concern, just concern for herself and not this stranger that she didn’t even know.

“—Could use some coffee though.”

Sakura blinked her tears away, confused by what the stranger had just said. 

“Coffee. Could you make me some?” 

What on earth was this woman asking of her? Coffee? It’s 10pm! 

“We’re already closed for the day...I can’t brew a whole pot just for one customer.” Sakura replied, belatedly realising how dumb she sounded right now refusing coffee to this armed woman. 

The woman grumbled in frustration, shaking her head and tossing her shoulder-length hair about. She looked...exhausted. Cold, steely-grey eyes looked up to meet hers and it momentarily felt as if Sakura was staring down the barrel of a gun. As if she was staring at literal death in the face. Never before has Sakura ever felt this amount of fear just from looking at someone.

“Then I’ll take the whole damn pot! Just...I can pay.” The woman pleaded, eyes softening significantly with each passing syllable until all that was left looking up at Sakura was a tired woman in her mid-20’s. Any other circumstance and Sakura wouldn’t be able to differentiate this stranger with her usual patrons of college students suffering from examination stress.

“...Okay. Okay one pot of fresh coffee coming right up.”

She doesn’t know why she agrees. Maybe it was the fear. Maybe it was the gun still clasped tightly in the stranger’s right hand but Sakura begins brewing a fresh pot of coffee while the stranger watches her work from the floor with laboured breathing and the occasional cough.

There was a tense moment of silence shared between them as Sakura waited for the water to boil. Sakura didn’t dare say anything or even move a muscle, aware that those sharp eyes were locked onto her every minute movement. 

She was pretty. That much Sakura couldn’t help but notice despite her predicament. The woman’s wrinkled red shirt fit her lean figure extremely well, and if it they had met under any other circumstances Sakura could imagine herself blushing like a little schoolgirl in this woman’s presence. 

“You working alone here tonight, Sakura?”

Sakira’s eyes widen at the usage of her name. She was about to question it when she notices the woman’s gaze settling on her chest, and she realizes that she had her nametag pinned to her shirt. There were probably severe downsides to having your name known by dangerous individuals such as this bleeding girl on the floor probably was, but there was no helping it at this point.

“Yeah. It’s not a very busy shop.” Sakura confirms. Was this the stranger’s way of surveying her surroundings? She wished her statement had been a lie. She wishes she wasn’t alone here tonight with Miss “I-Have-A -Gun-So-Let-Me-Bleed-All-Over-Your-Wooden-Floor”.

“I’m Kaeun by the way. Nice to meet you.” The stranger offers, and Sakura flips out in return.

“Why are you telling me that?! I don’t want to know your name! That’s responsibility! I don’t want to be responsible for this, whatever this is! Now I know your name, I’m in it now!”

This “Kaeun” laughs weakly upon hearing Sakura’s outburst. “My name will be all over the news tomorrow morning. You’ll find out anyway. Might as well introduce myself to you like a proper lady would.”

A proper lady wouldn’t be covered in blood and carrying a gun around, but Sakura couldn’t be sure. She herself was probably the furthest thing from being a proper lady but she just had a hunch. Something was telling her tha—

Sakura’s train of thought faces a major derailment after a loud explosion echoes through the street outside, followed by a distant chorus of frightened screams and panicked yells.

“Don’t mind that. Kids and fireworks, you know how they get this time of year.” Kaeun chuckled, trying to reassure Sakura but she was doing a right job at it. In the first place that was too loud to be any firework Sakura was familiar with. Secondly, what does she mean “this time of year”? It’s the middle of November! That’s hardly fireworks season!

Sakura bit her lower lip nervously. Kaeun still hadn’t loosened her grip on the gun in her hands, and the mass hysteria happening right outside her shop was doing things to her nerves that she did not appreciate. It could be the end of the world for all she knew.

“Am I going to die?”

Kaeun looks at Sakura curiously, a playful smile tugging on the corners of the woman’s lips that sent a chill down the Japanese girl’s spine.

“We...all have to die eventually.”

“Am I going to die tonight?” Sakura rephrases, and the smile on Kaeun’s lips falters slightly.

“Hell if I know. I’m not a fortune teller.”

Sakura was convinced Kaeun was just messing with her right now. Somehow the well-dressed woman managed to replace a minuscule of the fear Sakura was feeling with mild annoyance instead.

“Are you going to kill me?” It was a question that demanded an answer. Sakura was tense. The gun in Kaeun’s hand seemed to speak with the loudest voice in the room and it had Sakura hanging onto every word.

“Not unless you give me a reason to, Sakura.”

Kaeun’s last reply came out hoarse, and it was only then that Sakura realises the woman on the floor was sweating bullets, taking shallow and labored breaths. The injury on her leg must be getting to her. Sakura was not a doctor, but she knew enough to deduce that the small pools of blood decorating her bakery’s floor was much better served circulating inside Kaeun’s body instead. She felt concern for this bleeding stranger that she did not know much about, but Sakura knew that she did not want to see Kaeun die in front of her tonight.

Grabbing a fresh mug Sakura carefully fills it up with freshly brewed coffee, her shaky hands not doing her any favours in the act. She was scared. Terrified. But Kaeun wanted coffee, and Sakura felt a weird obligation to fulfill the request.

“Here.”

Kaeun looks up, previously sharp and steely eyes reduced to something unfocused and unsteady. Kaeun looked as if she was a few seconds away from losing consciousness. The woman reaches up to accept the drink, hands equally as shaky as Sakura’s albeit due to a different reason.

“Thanks. This...I don’t know how much this is but it should be enough.” Kaeun barely breathes out as she reaches into the pocket of her black slacks with her free hand and pulls out a wad of paper bills, offering them out for Sakura to take. 

The Japanese girl visibly hesitates, seeing the excessive amount being given to her (at a glance that had to be at least 100,000₩), and upon realisation that the paper bills were all covered in Kaeun’s blood. 

“It’s okay. T-This one is on the house.” Sakura shakes her head, causing a confused Kaeun to wave the money in front of her as if she was coaxing a cat. Sakura smiled weakly, gently pushing away the money being offered to her while trying her best to not seem offensive. “I insist, Kaeun-ssi. This coffee is on me.”

For a brief moment, Kaeun looked to be stunned by Sakura’s gesture but she quickly recovered. A small but impish smile tugs at the corners of Kaeun’s lips. The woman appeared several years younger, with just one smile. As if all those years of hardening disappeared in an instant.

“Well...guess who isn’t dying tonight then.” Kaeun winked, and despite the veiled threat in the comment, Sakura actually found herself chuckling along.

The baker’s eyes followed the mug as it is brought up towards Kaeun’s lips, watching in odd fascination as the blood-soaked woman takes elegant sips of the coffee. She watches as colour returns to Kaeun’s face, as the steel and fire in her eyes return with a quiet vengeance.

“It’s good.”

Kaeun’s smile was wide as she finishes the rest of her coffee. Sakura finds that despite the precarious situation she was currently in, she couldn’t help but admire just how pretty Kaeun looked when she smiled like that. It was very unlike Sakura to swoon over strangers like this, but she couldn’t help it this time. Kaeun was beautiful.

“You’re a good person, Sakura.” Kaeun states with a small laugh and the sound of it sends tingles down Sakura’s spine. She was pretty sure she was currently blushing at the simple compliment. 

It was fascinating, how she’s already forgotten about the gun in Kaeun’s hand, and the fact that for all she knew Kaeun could be a murderer on the run, seeking shelter in her bakery after committing a heinous crime. Kaeun’s grey eyes seem to come to life with the added caffeine flowing through her veins, and the way they twinkled and danced in the store’s dim lighting spelled danger for Sakura.

Kaeun was dangerous.

Kaeun was also drop dead gorgeous.

As she finished that thought, the front door slams open with a violent bang, causing Sakura’s head to whip upwards in shock. Kaeun was right there with her as she seemed to momentarily forget her leg injury. The (now evidently) taller woman was on her feet in a flash, pointing her silver gun towards the auburn-haired newcomer by the door.

“Unnie—!” The new girl began, until Kaeun cuts her off with a loud sigh of relief.

“Took your time didn’t you Yunjin? I’m dying here.” 

“I thought you said you were FINE?!” Sakura shrieks in panic, eyes darting towards Kaeun’s leg with was now spouting blood like a leaky faucet. Kaeun grunts as the latest exertion takes it’s toll on her, causing her to sink back to the floor just like before.

A click, and Sakura’s eyes dart back to the newcomer who had a gun pointed right at her. Sakura could tell from the look this “Yunjin” was sending her way that this tall (admittedly gorgeous as well) freak of nature had absolutely zero reservations about pulling the trigger.

Sakura barely had time to panic when Kaeun’s commanding voice cuts through the air like a knife.

“Don’t. She’s harmless. Let her live.”

“Are you sure, unnie?”

“I promised her.”

Without any visible hesitation Yunjin lowers her gun and quickly makes her way towards her injured....friend? Partner? Colleague? Lover...? What was their relation, Sakura wonders. They were even wearing very similar outfits, with Yunjin dressed in a red satin shirt and black slacks. The only clear difference was that the newcomer wore a black coat over her shirt, hinting that somehow throughout the night Kaeun had lost hers.

Yunjin moves in closer and Sakura’s eyes widen as she realises just how tall the girl was. She had to be about 5’9-5’10. Sakura actually had to look up towards her just to meet her face.

“Unnie we have to go. Can you walk?” Yunjin asks as she helps Kaeun to stand up and the older girl winces in pain at the movement. 

“I can crawl...with terrifying speed.” Kaeun huffs out, panting. The caffeine rush has obviously worn off because the colour has drained from Kaeun’s face again. She looked absolutely haggard.

As if maybe realising her drop in condition, Kaeun reaches out past Sakura to clasp her empty hand around the pot of coffee. Yunjin offers the older girl a look of confusion and utter disbelief.

“Leave the coffee! What are you doing?!”

“I’d...rather...die...” Kaeun moans as she pulls the pot of coffee closer to her chest with one hand, hugging it as Yunjin drags the both of them out of the bakery.

Sakura watches as they hobble out towards the door, Kaeun with one arm draped around the other’s shoulder. Yunjin kicked the door open, nearly sending it flying off it’s hinges before Kaeun turned around to give Sakura one last smile.

“Thank you, Miyawaki Sakura. I hope...we never meet again.” 

And with that statement (and a two- salute from Yunjin), the two girls exit the bakery, turning around the corner and disappearing from sight.

Sakura stays transfixed for a moment, staring blankly at the open door as she stands in a rapidly coagulating pool of Kaeun’s blood. She has no idea what on earth just happened. The girls would probably never believe this story. She regrets not taking a picture. Or asking for Kaeun’s phone number. Should she even have an obvious criminal’s phone number in her registry? Yunjin had a gun too. Why do they all have guns? Where can Sakura get a gun?

A few more explosions reverberate in the distance, accompanied by terrified shouts and screams. Police sirens blare from a few streets down, barely concealing the unmistakable sounds of gunshots.

Sakura decides that maybe she doesn’t want Kaeun’s phone number after all.

_________________________________________________________________________

Hello. This is a new fic, by me, the author who can’t commit to fics. Hahahahhaha real talk tho, I promise I’ll complete this one. I’m real proud of the story and world I’ve crafted for this, and I’m excited to share it with all of you.

This fic was inspired by many different things, such as the John Wick movies (although I’ve never watched ANY of those movies) the synopsis’ that I’ve read inspired me enough to come up with the foundation of Kaeun’s character. 

I also listened to a hella amount of rock songs from the 80’s-90’s to get the grungy, gritty character of Lee Kaeun. The title of this fic came from Blue Oyster Cult’s - (Don’t Fear) The Reaper, as Kaeun herself is derived from a mix of Aerosmith’s Crazy and Jaded, and Kiss’ Forever.

I tried to make Sakura the adorably awkward girl that we all know and love, giving her extremely relatable and human reactions to situations that are anything but. She’s a normal person, thrown into a world far larger than she’s used to.

Thank you so much for reading, and PLEASE give me feedback on this first chapter. I want to know if I’m headed in an interesting enough direction!

Till next time!