Lee Kaeun. 25. Reaper. Goddess. Demon. Coward.

 

 

Miyawaki Sakura. 20. Likes picking up shiny things off the floor.



 

"And the worst part is that this, this could be you."
__________________________________________________________________________

It was like waking up from a dream.

 

Almost as if those 3 weeks spent living with a crime family never happened, Sakura was back to her regular life. Struggling with university classes while still being critically unemployed used to be the norm for her, but now it was something that she had to readjust to again. It was almost scary how quickly she became accustomed to a life of comfort and luxury.

 

She had to remind herself that it was a life on lease. That wasn’t her. She wasn’t a trained killer, she was a highly inept Business Administration student who was currently sitting in her university’s cafeteria trying—and absolutely failing—to catch up to the weeks of course material she had missed.

 

“There she is. How was your vacation?” Sakura looks up at the familiar voice the very moment two figures occupied the empty seats opposite her.

 

“Yeah! Yeah! Where were you?? Where did you go?!” Yena asks a little too loudly, making Yuri nudge her from the side and Sakura wince at how loud the git was being. Phone conversations don’t really do justice to the sheer volume of Choi Yena’s voice in person.

 

“It was good. Some much needed time off, I guess.” Sakura ignored Yena’s question and chose to answer Yuri’s easier one instead, aware that she couldn’t give too much away and she hoped that her best friends wouldn’t be too insistent for specific answers.

 

“Where. Did. You. GO?!!” Yena shouted, slapping an open palm against the table at each syllable. 

 

Well, so much for not being insistent.

 

Sakura wracked her brain, trying to channel Lee Kaeun levels of indifference and nonchalance to sell whatever lie she could come up with. She probably should have prepared for this conversation prior to this inevitable meetup.

 

“....Seoul...?” the uncertainty clearly evident in her own voice was not missed by her two friends, who replied Sakura’s timid answer with questioning looks and confused stares.

 

“Why would you leave one metropolitan city to go soul-searching in an even BIGGER metropolitan city?” Yuri asked, tilting her head in question while Yena nodded in agreement from next to her. 

 

Sakura was sweating like a pig to slaughter, subjected to the scrutinising gazes of her two best friends.

 

“I...uhh...you know how they say the best place to hide a tree is in a forest? Yeah! I found my soul while I was...surrounded by...other souls.” That was perfect Miyawaki Sakura! Wow if she could bend that far backwards she would pat herself on the back for coming up with such a convincing reply. She even nearly convinced herself with that one! Maybe hanging out with criminals and crooks was good for her after all!

 

“You weren’t alone, were you?”

 

“WHAT!” Yena shrieked upon hearing Yuri’s accusation and seeing the flustered expression on Sakura’s face.

 

Dammit Yuri why are you so Goddamn smart and perceptive?! 

 

“O-Of course I was! W-Who else would I go with?!” Sakura tries, feeling her rock-solid (not really) lie crumbling to pieces around her as Yuri presses forward with her theories.

 

“I don’t know. Maybe a certain bug exterminator I remember you mentioning once...?”

 

Her extremely accurate theories. how was Sakura going to talk her way out of this one?

 

“I’M SO LOST!” Yena screamed, eyes darting back and forth between her girlfriend and the wide-eyed and flustered Japanese girl sitting across from her.

 

“Don’t be ridiculous Yuri!” Sakura tries to laugh it off, a last ditch attempt because her pitiful brain failed to come up with any alibis and excuses that was solid enough to get her out of this situation.

 

“It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it though. I probably shouldn’t have pried.”

 

“I...I....”  Sakura struggled. This was Yuri’s ultimate weapon. The Guilt Trip™. She could see the sad look in Yuri’s eyes and dammit if the lawyer-to-be did not look just like an injured animal with those dejected doe eyes and pouty, trembling lips and—

 

....and Sakura knew she was fighting a losing fight.

 

“Fine. I was with her.”

 

“WHAT?! YOU HAVE A GIRLFRIEND?!” Yena was loud again, and now the entire cafeteria thinks Sakura has a girlfriend. She smiled and bowed weakly to the curious onlookers who have had their peaceful meals interrupted by the duck’s noisy outbursts.

 

“I don’t. I mean—not yet! I mean—it’s complicated!” Sakura tried to defend herself but really she had not planned on spending the day defining the relationship she shared with one beautiful albeit extremely dangerous mafia enforcer that she had kissed that one time on that one morning.

 

She wished these two would just...give her a break. Sakura had no idea herself where she stands with Kaeun and that was upsetting in itself. She didn’t need her best friends making her feel awful about it.

 

“You were off in Seoul for a few weeks with her and she isn’t even your girlfriend?” Yuri pressed on, sounding less like a best friend and more like a worried mother.

 

“WHY DON’T I KNOW ABOUT THIS GIRL?!” Yena continued to lose her , and Sakura was about two syllables away from flinging her lunch tray down the duck’s esophagus. Yuri managed to settle the problem in a more diplomatic way by kicking the loudmouth in the shin, promptly shutting Yena up.

 

“We’re figuring things out. Some things are more complicated then they appear to be.”

 

“...Were you even in Seoul?”

 

Sakura hesitated. The truth was slowly coming out, and she’s probably lost too much ground to continue her “Seoul” story. She figures if she were to continue to lie that would just make Yuri a lot more curious and knowing just how smart that girl is...the truth will find it’s way out anyway.

 

“I wasn’t. I was just downtown...” Sakura paused, gauging their reaction before continuing. “...staying at her place.” 

 

Ignoring Yena’s dramatic gasp next to her, Yuri continued the current interrogation session without missing a beat.

 

“But it looked like a hotel when we video called?”

 

“She has a...big house.”

 

“On an exterminator’s salary?”

 

Sakura let out a loud pathetic whine, giving her best impression of a dying animal. “C’mon Yul....Give me a break will you?”

 

The Japanese girl was begging—nay, pleading—her best friend to just let it go and surprisingly after a quiet moment of intense eye-contact, Yuri finally sighs and holds her hands up in surrender. “Fine. Fine. So when do we get to meet her?”

 

Sakura breathes a sigh of relief. She didn’t know how much more of that she could have taken before she started to spill everything she knew about the Red Roses here in this very cafeteria. Yuri was insistent, but she was also reasonable. Sakura was grateful for that.

 

“Eventually. Once I’ve sorted out what I am to her and stuff. Y’know. The technical things. I promise you’ll meet her.”

 

The promise brings a warm smile to Yuri’s face. “Looking forward to it.”

 

Sakura wonders how Kaeun would get along with her two best friends. She’ll probably enjoy Yuri’s company, seeing how bright the girl was. Yena on the other hand...was a little bit of an acquired taste. Speaking of Yena, the girl looked like she was hitting her limit on how long she can go while staying quiet. It was quite impressive that she’s even made it this lon—

 

“WHY AM I STILL LOST?!!” 

 

—and there it is. 

 

Time for Sakura to do even more explaining.

 

 

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

 

The days seem to pass by fairly slowly for Sakura. Uneventful and dull, she finds herself yearning for the action and the life that surrounded her just a week prior to this. Her classes went on as usual, she still had leftover money from when Kaeun generously gifted some to her a few months back so groceries weren’t much of a problem, but something just seemed to be missing.

 

That something finally reared it’s beautiful head in the form of a phonecall on a late Friday evening. Sakura found herself scrambling to answer the phone because really barely anybody calls her asides from Yuri and Yena and she had just bid goodbye to them a few minutes earlier so this had to be someone from the Red Roses right?

 

It had to be someone that could take her away from this dreary life. It HAD to.

 

Sakura was almost pleading as she answered the phone.

 

It was a pleasant surprise that she was right; it was the Red Roses. It was an absolute delight, however, to hear Kaeun’s gentle voice on the other end of the phone. Sakura was suddenly conscious of the fact that she hadn’t brushed her teeth yet (despite the fact that they were talking on the phone and Kaeun couldn’t possibly know that) and listened with more attention than she has ever given anything as Kaeun told her that the latter had been instructed to come down to Sakura’s house the very next day.

 

Such short notice. Her place was a mess, but she couldn’t possibly say no.

 

The next few hours were spent cleaning up her admittedly small abode, but even the smallest of spaces could provide a challenge when it comes to cleaning. Especially when one is aiming for perfection. Not even a single speck of dust must be present when Kaeun walks in through that door. No stray cat fur and no crumbs on the dining table.

 

Everything had to be perfect for Kaeun.

 

Because Kaeun was perfect.

 

And Kaeun kisses like an angel, but that wasn’t something Sakura should be focused on. Especially since chances of said kiss happening again didn’t seem too likely.

 

Sakura was restless as she waited by the door the next day like a dog would the morning paper for Kaeun to come visit. Even Maru-chan was starting to look worried. 

 

Her doorbell rings a little past 10 in the morning, jolting Sakura out of her seat and making her run to greet her visitor. The mug of hot tea she had been nursing to calm her nerves nearly spilling all over her counter with how frantic she was.

 

Kaeun was here! Sakura did a quick check on her appearance in the mirror she hung next to the entrance. Was her hair alright? Did she have crumbs on her shirt? Was her breath okay? A second ring of the doorbell causes Sakura to throw those thoughts out of her head. She shouldn’t keep Kaeun waiting any longer in the cold.

 

“Hey.” Kaeun greets simply as the door swings open wide enough to reveal herself to the younger girl.

 

She was dazzling.

 

The cold air creating a natural blush to the Reaper’s cheeks, she stood on Sakura’s tiny porch wearing a simple white button down shirt and a pastel pink blazer. Sakura would’ve never assumed that Kaeun would own anything in such a bright and demure shade, but it was easy to see why Kaeun owns said blazer. She looked beautifully ladylike in it. Her current getup was fundamentally similar to the Red Roses uniform she often sees the Reaper wearing, but the brighter colours made a world of difference.

 

“H-Hi.” Sakura responded dumbly. She only said one word but she still managed to stutter and mess it up. 

 

Was she standing too awkwardly? Maybe she should...lean against the doorframe? Maybe that will make her look cooler? Just casually—yeah like this. Yeah she probably looks cool now doesn’t she—

 

“May I come in...?” Kaeun asked uncertainly, making Sakura realise that the woman was still standing (and freezing) on her porch.

 

“Oh! Yes! S-Sure! In! Of course!” Sakura gets off from the doorframe to allow Kaeun to walk past her and seek shelter in her house’s warmer enclosure.

 

“I swear, Eunbi keeps finding new ways to waste my time.” Kaeun grumbles, taking her blazer off and draping it against a wooden armchair. The Reaper’s offhand statement causes an uneasiness in Sakura’s gut. 

 

“Am I just a waste of your time then...?”

 

“Of course not. You’re perfect.” Kaeun replies simply without even looking up to acknowledge the startled Japanese girl, brushing off Sakura’s concern with so much ease it made the whole concern sound stupid as a result. “I’m saying this whole ‘normalcy’ thing is just a waste of resources.”

 

“I’m perfect...?”

 

Kaeun finally looks up upon hearing the disbelief that Sakura’s voice carried. The cherry blossom was still stood by the entryway, albeit now wearing an expression that was a mixture of wonderment and confusion.

 

“First time hearing that or something?” Kaeun asked, a velvety chuckle leaving .

 

“Yeah. That would be a first, yes.”

 

“Well, you’re perfect, Kkura.”

 

It doesn’t get any less sweeter hearing it a second time. The dumb smile that spread across Sakura’s face was probably there to stay for a very, very long time.

 

Kaeun couldn’t help but smile herself, seeing Sakura’s goofy reaction to her compliment. “You’re so weird.” 

 

“That’s the first time you’ve called me Kkura.”

 

Kaeun pauses, frowning uncertainly as if she had only realised herself that she had called the cherry blossom by that name. “...Is that okay?”

 

“Yeah! Yeah of course! Nicknames are cool!”

 

Nicknames are cool. Well they’ve already kissed each other so who are they to fret about nicknames right? Sakura wonders how the hierarchy works in Kaeun’s head. Kissing, followed by cute nicknames, and then maybe stealing glances full of longing from across the classroom perhaps...? They’re doing this all in reverse. Everything was out of order.

 

Kaeun plops down onto Sakura’s couch with a loud groan, draping her arms over the backrest as she looks up at the house’s owner with a small grin.

 

“So, Kkura, I heard you’re the brains of this operation. What’s the plan, champ?” 

 

Champ?

 

Was Kaeun trying to be cool or something? Granted Sakura had tried to do the same thing earlier by the door so she shouldn’t be judging but it was weird how out-of-character the Reaper was acting. It was kind of cute. Sakura decided to keep her realisation to herself just to see just how long Kaeun could keep this up.

 

Well, as the champ, Sakura has spent all of yesterday thinking about what Eunbi had told her on her last day in the Red Roses’ Headquarters. Take Kaeun out for a day of normalcy. Have her experience what a normal person would experience. 

 

Turns out even the plainest creation this side of vanilla icecream had trouble coming up with an itinerary full of normalcy. Maybe Sakura wasn’t as normal as she thought she was.

 

“I was thinking we could go to the mall, have a look around, do some shopping maybe?”

 

Kaeun frowns, head tilting to the side in a perfect imitation of Maru-chan when the cat was curious and/or confused about something. “Never been to a mall before.”

 

“What? Really? That’s impossible.”

 

Kaeun shrugs, her small habit breaking through the ‘hip sk8r-g1rl’ persona the Reaper had suddenly developed. “I usually get other people to do my shopping for me. Too busy with training and trying not to die and stuff.”

 

Sakura scratches her chin in contemplation. “Y’know...I’m pretty good at that myself. Not dying, that is.”

 

“Yeah?” Kaeun looks as if she was trying to hold back her laughter, a struggle that Sakura shared as well.

 

“Yeah. I don’t mean to brag, but I’ve been living and breathing for 20 years now. It’ll be 21, in March. Some might even call me an expert at staying alive.”

 

“Oh? That’s really impressive, Miyawaki-san.” 

 

“Maybe we could trade notes on the subject.” Sakura shrugged nonchalantly, a perfect imitation of the Reaper and Kaeun finally allowed a loud guffaw to escape her. It wasn’t a competition, but by making the Reaper laugh Sakura definitely felt like a winner.

 

“We could. And you can tell me about how I saved your life from an insane mass murderer while we’re at it.” Kaeun counters back, and that promptly shuts Sakura up.

 

Okay. So Sakura was reckless. But she was still alive wasn’t she? Wasn’t that the score they were going for? But Kaeun was right. Her perfect track record for staying alive probably would have ended if Kaeun didn’t step in that day.

 

Sakura decided not to argue, and Kaeun’s lips curved upwards into a triumphant smirk.

 

The nerve of her.

 

Kaeun shakes her head, gazing at Sakura’s dumbstruck expression with traces of fondness in those grey eyes. “Dork.”

 

Sakura huffs at the insult. “That’s not very nice!”

 

“What, calling you a dork?”

 

“Calling me names inside my own house!”

 

“My apologies.”

 

Sakura folds her hands across her chest. “Just for that, I’m making you pay the train fare.”

 

The statement succesfully causes the playful smirk to drop from Kaeun’s face as the Reaper does a double-take. “We’re not going by chauffeur?”

 

“Nope. We are using public transportation.”

 

“You’re kidding.” Kaeun sounded hopeful, before her expression dropped upon realising that Sakura was serious.

 

“You’re not kidding. Totally not rad.”

 

“You’ll just have to live with it, Tony Hawk.” 

 

“Tony...?”

 

Sakura was really trying to not burst out into laughter now. It was probably the most effort she’s ever placed into anything in her life.

 

“I mean—“ A snort manages to escape Sakura. “—who the heck even uses rad these days?’”

 

“Don’t all kids these days talk like this?” Kaeun tried to defend herself, but there was a tinge of pink starting to colour the Reaper’s cheeks in embarassment.

 

“...I wouldn’t know. I’m not a kid. Neither are you.” Sakura shrugged again in her best impersonation of Kaeun, while the Reaper simply looked appalled in reply.

 

Kaeun looked as if she had a remark waiting on the tip of her tongue, but thought better of lashing out in retaliation. Instead what ever comeback she had was reduced to low grumbles and mumbling.

 

Kaeun’s weird skater persona died that instance, which was a shame. Sakura was beginning to enjoy it.

 

 

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

 

“That wasn’t so bad was it?”

 

“That was horrible. Terrible. Being stuck in a metal tube full of strangers with no way out. What if they had weapons? What if they wanted to kill me? What would I have done then?”

 

“Kill them back? Like how you always do it?”

 

Kaeun looked at Sakura as if she had just suggested the most absurd thing the older woman has ever heard. It was frankly quite entertaining, seeing the calm and collected Lee Kaeun that Sakura had become accustomed to almost literally freak out and spazz up in the hectic lunch-hour train ride to the nearest mall. It would appear that Kaeun doesn’t do too well with crowds, with the Reaper’s training having made her jumpy and paranoid of anyone approaching within feet of her.

 

The Reaper looked haggard, as if she had just gone through a rough battle. Sakura sighed, almost pitying her.

 

“Unnie, this is the normal world. Statistics-wise you were never in any danger. Nobody goes around with—you brought your gun with you, didn’t you?” Sakura narrows her eyes at Kaeun, who scoffed in response.

 

“Do you expect me to leave the house without it?”

 

Ahh. Of course. One of the major essentials one never leaves the house without. Keys, wallet, phone, and gun. 

 

...Sakura massaged the bridge of her nose, already foreseeing how rough the day was going to be.

 

“This was supposed to be a normal day.”

 

“This is normal for me.” Kaeun replied, having the audacity to shrug at Sakura. As if she wasn’t carrying around a loaded weapon in a public mall full of people who have probably NEVER seen a real gun before in their lives.

 

So this was why Eunbi made it into a mission. And here Sakura thought she was going to be able to enjoy a quiet day with her crush, maybe even go so far as to treat this outing as a date. She was unaware of just how sheltered Lee Kaeun was.

 

“Urgh unnie you’re being such a brat!” Sakura whined out of nowhere, seeing the chick flick-esque date that she had envisioned in her head burning up in smoke before her very eyes.

 

“Me?! Me a br—you’re pushing your luck Miyawaki Sakura!”

 

Kaeun huffed, visibly annoyed by the juvenile name-calling Sakura was doing but Kaeun’s behaviour was deserving of it. She really was acting like a brat, and the Japanese girl wondered for an instance if the Reaper has ever been called out like that before. Has anybody been so dumb as to purposely antagonise the country’s most proficient killer?

 

Sakura was. Dumb, that is. She was also curious what would happen if she pushed enough of Kaeun’s buttons. She secretly liked seeing Kaeun so out of character. She liked seeing the Reaper behave like a lost and confused 25-year old woman, instead of the calm and cool killer she was used to seeing.

 

Perhaps it was that curiousity and stupidity that convinced Sakura to step up to Kaeun, boldly entering the personal space of a woman with a loaded gun and looking up at the taller woman with a challenge in her eyes.

 

“Oh yeah? Well what’re you going to do about it anyways unnie?”

 

Kaeun froze up, and Sakura wondered briefly if she had gone too far but she suddenly notices Kaeun’s eyes flicker down towards her lips and the mood surrounding them seemed to turn on it’s head into something quite familiar. It was similar to the tension she felt the other day, on the couch as she stared deep into Kaeun’s grey eyes as the sun rose around them.

 

They weren’t in the privacy of the Red Roses’ headquarters now though. They were standing in the middle of a mall, where everyone could see them and judge them and weirdly enough Sakura couldn’t care less. Instead she was too preoccupied to see if Kaeun would actually go through with what she thinks Kaeun is thinking of doing.

 

“Don’t.” The Reaper warns, voice barely above a hoarse whisper. “I’ll wreck you.”

 

“Sounds inviting.” Sakura replies with a questionable level of boldness. She steps even closer to Kaeun, and the Reaper’s entire body seemed to twitch in response. 

 

She knows Kaeun wants to do it. She sees Kaeun her dry lips. She sees the inner conflict in those grey eyes, but why won’t she make a move? Why won’t she do something about this? Can’t she see that she’s keeping Sakura on the edge of her seat as well? Can’t she see just how badly Sakura needed to feel those lips pressed against hers again one more time?

 

It took an eternity. It was forever and a day, but Kaeun eventually cleared and took a step back to create some distance between her and the disappointed Japanese girl. “Mission. Can we proceed with the mission?”

 

Sakura rolls her eyes at Kaeun’s attempt at changing the subject.

 

Coward.

 

“We’re here anyways. This is the place.”

 

Kaeun’s eyes look past Sakura’s shoulder so that she could fully take in exactly where “here” is, and Sakura could see the confusion in the Reaper’s eyes only grow more rampant as she tried to take in all the lights and sounds emanating from this place Sakura had taken her to.

 

“—and let’s not call it a mission, yeah? We’re here to have fun.” Sakura continued, ignoring the apprehensive look Kaeun was giving her establishment of choice and grabbed onto the Reaper’s wrist to physically drag her into the premises.

 

“What is this place?” Kaeun asked as they entered, sensitive eyes and ears obviously overstimulated by the sensory overload this place was capable of inducing. It was Sakura’s favourite place to be. It was like home away from home, and she really wanted to bring her crush here. She’s been entertaining the fantasy for awhile now.

 

Sakura runs ahead, past the gaggle of prepubescent teenagers and noisy machinery only to turn around to face Kaeun with her arms spread open wide in a grand gesture. Like a showman would as he was presenting his performance for the night, Sakura wore the proudest smile on her face as she showed off to Kaeun this...

 

....this dump.

 

“This, unnie, is where people go to escape their horribly mundane lives for a few minutes and some loose change! I call this place PARADISE!”

 

Hardly.

 

If this was paradise then Kaeun was quite okay with the thought of going to Hell. “What if my life isn’t horribly mundane?”

 

“Then you may call it a gaming arcade.” Sakura replied, not letting the Reaper’s lack of enthusiasm take anything away from hers.

 

The Lotte Outlets Gaming Center. Sakura has spent an embarrasing amount of her youth and hard-earned money in this establishment. “The Poor Man’s Disneyland”, as she likes to call it. Yena would call it a cesspool for the unemployed. Yuri would call the place a total waste of time. Judging by the expression currently playing on Kaeun’s face, the Reaper agrees with both of them.

 

“...It smells horrible.” Kaeun states simply. 

 

“You’ll get used to that.” Sakura brushed off Kaeun’s apprehension and the older girl looked as if she really DID NOT want to get used to it.

 

“...Looking forward to it.” Kaeun sighed. Sakura rolled her eyes at the Reaper’s evident hesitance. Would it kill the woman to have fun once in awhile?

 

“Here. We can start here, since this might feel a little more familiar to you.”

 

Kaeun studies the machine that Sakura was pointing towards. “Time Crisis”. The Japanese girl sees the older woman reach out for the gun-shaped controller and raise an eyebrow at the cheap plastic contraption in her hands. Delivering her patented shrug, she inserts a few tokens (that Sakura readily kept on hand) into the machine and readied her fake plastic gun to kill some fake digital terrorists.

 

...although as it turns out, the digital terrorists had nothing to be worried about. 

 

Because Kaeun .

 

She was horrible.

 

The 8-year old at the cabinet next to her actually took pity on the 25-year old woman and started giving out pointers before abandoning the task due to how hopeless the cause was. After her 15th straight death, Sakura could see the Reaper’s hand twitch dangerously close to where her real gun was concealed and that was the cherry blossom’s cue to usher Kaeun away from the machine. That was enough Time Crisis for today.

 

“It’s no wonder people are such horrible shots, if these are the machines that they practice on.” Kaeun grumbles as Sakura wracks her brain for another game to play. With Kaeun’s current level of aggression, Whack-A-Mole would be a good choice but unfortunately this particular arcade doesn’t carry that one.

 

“How are you with dancing?”

 

Kaeun looks at Sakura and scratches her head in contemplation.

 

“I don’t know.” The Reaper shrugs as an answer. “I guess we’ll find out.”

 

It becomes very apparent early on that Dance Dance Revolution was Kaeun’s game. Sakura foolishly thought her own years of experience in the arcade would give her an advantage over the Reaper, but as she played a round against Kaeun she realised the error of her ways. Kaeun had easily beaten her the first time, and the second, and the fifth, all while increasing her own difficulty level.

 

It was like child’s play. Sakura was the child. Her feelings and emotions were the things getting played. 

 

“Why...Why are you so good at that?!” Sakura slouches against the machine 15 minutes later,  completely out of breath.

 

Kaeun shrugs. “The arrows move in slow motion to me.”

 

“That doesn’t...that’s not FAIR...” Sakura wheezed, actually feeling the injustice of Kaeun’s superior physicality for the first time. This must be how the other Red Roses feel when compared to the Reaper. 

 

Who would have guessed that the Reaper’s skills would transfer horribly to shooting games, but shine to great effect in dancing of all things?

 

“What’s that?”

 

Despite still feeling dejected Sakura looked up to see what Kaeun was curiously pointing to and her eyes lit up immediately. 

 

“JERRY!”

 

Fatigue be damned Sakura bolted up from her sorry little perch and ran towards the familiar machine, further adding to Kaeun’s confusion. 

 

“This is what they call the biggest scam on the face of this planet!” Sakura hollered upon reaching the claw machine, slapping the glass surface in predisposed indignation. “They put an ADORABLE thing like Jerry the Penguin in this machine, and you have to try to win it but it won’t work cause it’s a scam but look at him! Poor Jerry is stuck inside this machine, looking out hopelessly...”

 

Sakura pressed her face against the glass, tears nearly streaming down her face as the stuffed dolls looked out at her helplessly from inside the machine. They were so adorable! So cute! Why was she unable to help liberate these penguins from their glassy confines?!

 

She’s tried numerous times, despite Yuri and Yena’s constant eye-rolling.

 

“You really want this stuffed doll that badly?”

 

Kaeun was standing next to her now, probably scrutinising the Jerry dolls and thinking to herself how she managed to get stuck with someone as pathetic as Sakura for the whole day. Despite what she might think however, all it took was Sakura nodding to her with eyes full of longing and despair to convince the Reaper that these dumb penguin plushies were the most important things in the world right now.

 

“Okay then.” 

 

Like the hero of an action movie Kaeun calmly rolls her sleeves up, preparing to take a crack at the machine. She tries once, just to get the hang of it. Just to figure out how the machine works, and predictably fails to grab a Jerry doll with the crane game’s metallic claws.

 

No sweat. Nobody succeeds these things on the first try. Kaeun knows this herself. So she tries again. And again. And again. She swears by the 17th try that she was starting to get the hang of it. Luckily the machine accepts monetary notes instead of tokens so she didn’t have to keep exchanging her money. She could play as much as her heart desired, and as long as she still has money left and to be completely honest Lee Kaeun had A LOT of money to spare.

 

Killing people was a very profitable business.

 

She hasn’t had much practice in killing and destroying inanimate objects though. Maybe this dumb machine could serve that purpose.

 

“Unnie, I think that’s enough...” Sakura chimes in after Kaeun fails for the 32nd time in a row. 

 

“ONE MORE! ONE! MORE! TIME! THIS THING IS SO—“ Kaeun begins to yell and Sakura had to physically restrain the Reaper, dragging the raging woman away from the machine as the latter kicks and screams in protest.

 

“Unnie, please don’t be too upset. You’ve already spent too much on that thing.” Sakura assures the woman when they were far enough away from the claw machine and Kaeun has calmed down somewhat. It feels like a familiar conversation. Sakura now understands how she must look like to Yuri and Yena.

 

Kaeun sighs, dejected an defeated. The Reaper probably doesn’t have that happen too often to her. Losing, that is.

 

“I promise I’ll win that for you Kkura. Eventually.” Kaeun says finally, a look of pure determination in those grey eyes of hers, and Sakura couldn’t help but laugh and fall for the woman all over again. 

 

Sakura pumps her fist in support of Kaeun, and laughs again when the Reaper imitates the gesture.

 

“I’m rooting for you, unnie!”

 

 

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

 

 

Despite the earlier burst of determination, Kaeun spends the next few minutes with a dejected look on her face, not taking her defeat to the claw machine very well. Sakura finds it amusing, how the usually poised and collected woman acted similar to a pouty child when it was just the two of them together.

 

Perhaps it was the absence of her juniors. No need for pretenses, no need to maintain an air of seniority and general collectedness. Kaeun was free to be herself around Sakura, and for that fact the latter felt extremely privileged. There were probably only a select few people who have had the honour of seeing a Reaper pout.

 

Sakura turns around to see that Kaeun has (once again) disappeared from her line of sight.

 

Honestly the woman was like a toddler in public. Always needing to be kept an eye on. She should probably tie the woman onto her persons to prevent Kaeun from wandering off unsupervised, but the very mental image of Lee Kaeun wearing a leash was nearly enough to trigger a nosebleed for the Japanese girl.

 

“What’s this, Kkura?”

 

Sakura follows the voice to see Kaeun standing next to a photobooth machine, inquisitive grey eyes studying the contraption with all the curiosity of a cat. Maybe that’s why Maru-chan was so territorial against Kaeun. The feline probably assumed that Sakura had brought home another cat.

 

“It’s a photobooth. Takes photos and prints them out as stickers. Want to give it a try?”

 

Sakura barely managed to get the question out before Kaeun had already climbed into the booth, gesturing for Sakura to follow her. The Japanese girl shook her head with a smile on her face as she entered the (extremely) tight confines of the photobooth along with her crush.

 

It was like the cheesiest of romance novels. The sappiest of chick-flicks as Sakura feels her shoulder get mashed rather uncomfortably against Kaeun’s. The photobooth’s small confines not allowing much space to exist between them. She was very much in Kaeun’s personal space, and breathing in Kaeun’s rosy perfume and just...there was just too much Kaeun all of a sudden. She was beginning to feel lightheaded and giddy, when the first flash  of light catches Sakura by surprise and brings her head out of the clouds.

 

A second flash, and Sakura finally gathers the wherewithal to make an attempt at posing for the camera. Perhaps unsatisfied with Sakura’s poses, or maybe she had run out of poses herself but Kaeun throws an arm around Sakura’s shoulder as if it was a normal thing. As if they were both accustomed to such levels of casual intimacy.

 

It was electric, suddenly being this close to Kaeun. Sakura couldn’t help but look up at the older woman in awe of the brazen act of skinship, while Kaeun continued smiling brightly for the camera. She’s never really seen Kaeun smile like that before.

 

Sakura wasn’t even sure if the Reaper was capable of smiling that frequently without pulling a muscle but Kaeun does so without any effort, and gosh is her smile absolutely dazzling. 

 

She was completely awestruck, and the final few flashes of the camera manages to immortalise Sakura’s dumbstruck expression as she gawks at the taller woman.

 

Kaeun laughs a little while later as she checks on the finished sticker photos, pointing to Sakura’s series of dumb facial expressions. The cherry blossom insists on going another round, but Kaeun simply shakes her head and passes a set of the photos to Sakura before pocketing her own.

 

It was a curiosity, what Kaeun would do with those photos but Sakura doesn’t question it. She was just happy that Kaeun was wearing the most satisfied smile she’s seen the Reaper wear yet.

 

 

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

 

 

“....I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy the movie, unnie.”

 

Kaeun grumbled next to her, once again pouting like a child while Sakura tried her best not to burst out laughing.

 

Their day out was coming to a close with Sakura fast running out of suggestions on things to do, not helped by the fact that the Japanese girl was usually too broke and too boring to come up with ways to entertain herself in the first place. As a last ditch effort to prolong their time together, Sakura had suggested they catch a movie.

 

Unfortunately for Kaeun (or rather extremely fortunate for Sakura), the only movie available at the time was a C-list zombie film that one would probably struggle to even find a rating of online.

 

It was bad. Absolutely dreadful. Sakura has seen better practical effects used during Halloween on her university campus.

 

But it was enough to have the fearsome Reaper shriek and jump and cower in fear with each predictable zombie appearance.

 

“You look absolutely apologetic.” Kaeun grumbled, increasing the pace of her walking in an attempt to physically distance herself from the humiliation she was feeling.

 

“I just...didn’t expect you to be that scared.” Sakura chuckled despite herself. The marks in her forearm from when Kaeun had dug her nails into it in terror would probably hurt in the morning, but as of right now it was a hilarious reminder.

 

“I kill people for a living, Kkura. Can you imagine what would happen if those people decided to come back to life?”

 

Sakura hummed through a mouthful of burger, their chosen dinner for the night. It was also Sakura’s brilliant idea to go for a walk through the nearby park while they finished their meal, a suggestion that Kaeun easily could have turned down considering the fact that it was dark out and the Reaper was still jumpy from the earlier movie.

 

But Kaeun went along with her anyways, despite being so visibly shaken. The gesture made Sakura’s heart flutter like the butterflies in her stomach.

 

“It would be an awkward conversation, that’s for sure.” Sakura finally answered Kaeun’s earlier question, and the latter grunted in reply.

 

“I’d prefer it if the people I killed stayed dead.”

 

There she goes again, grumbling like a child. Despite being 5 years younger than the woman, times like these made Sakura feel like the older of the two. It was honestly cute and endearing.

 

“How’s your burger?” Sakura asked politely in an attempt to change the subject, deciding that she’s teased Kaeun enough for one night.

 

“I hate it.”

 

Kaeun’s answer came fast and prepared, almost as if she had meant it. It was probably a lie though. Sakura detected no hints of sincerity or seriousness in the older woman’s voice that suggested she did not enjoy the burger.

 

That, and the fact that Kaeun was currently holding onto an empty burger wrapper, with no trace of burger in sight. 

 

“...Really?”

 

Kaeun paused, a hint of pink coloured her cheeks for the briefest of moments, made barely visible by the park’s dim streetlights. “...It’s absolutely delicious and I wish I upsized it.”

 

Sakura made no attempts to conceal the proud “I-told-you-so” grin that was stretching across her face.

 

“Told you. The regular size is too small.”

 

Kaeun grumbled again, probably out of refusal to admit that Sakura had been right but the sad look on her face and the way she was stealing glances at the burger that Sakura still hadn’t finished yet was enough to reveal what was on her mind.

 

Sakura wasn’t going to offer the rest of her burger to Kaeun though. Serves the Reaper right.

 

“This park is pretty quiet, isn’t it?” Kaeun asked after a few minutes of walking in silence. 

 

It was a sound observation. It was secluded, with large trees surrounding them and the general scarceness of light makes it look a tad more suspicious than a public park had any right being. Maybe this wasn’t one of Sakura’s most brilliant ideas. 

 

“Are you afraid a zombie will jump out and get you?” Sakura joked, attempting to use humour to disguise the sudden paranoid chill that was creeping up her spine. 

 

“Not funny.” Kaeun said simply, as she hastened the speed of her walking.

 

Sakura polished off the rest of her burger and doubled her speed to catch up to Kaeun, who appeared to be navigating the thick trees with relative ease despite this being her first time here.

 

She didn’t know what the rush was. Sure this place looked scary, and this would be the perfect moment for a zombie to jump out and surprise the both of them, and the mosquitoes have started to come out to play despite it being a frigid night in February, and the horrible lighting has reduced visibility to a paltry level....

 

But they were both alone. And Sakura hasn’t been able to get Kaeun properly alone since that one morning after Valentine’s Day. Just like that morning, the moonlight seemed to wash over Kaeun’s features making her almost glow ethereal. The bluish tinge in the light seeping through the gaps between the trees was a perfect complement to the cold grey of the Reaper’s eyes.

 

Was it so wrong for her to want to have this moment? Was it brazen of her to make selfish requests, when Lee Kaeun looked that beautiful?

 

“Unnie.”

 

At the breathy tone of Sakura’s voice, Kaeun’s footsteps still. Heavy boots crush dry leaves as they come to a stop, leaving a gap almost a metre apart between their bodies. Kaeun doesn’t turn around, leaving Sakura to stare longingly at the Reaper’s back, the pink blazer she wore doing a poor job of concealing how muscular and fit the figure in front of her was.

 

“What is it?” 

 

It came as a surprise however, just how equally breathy Kaeun’s voice was. Could it be from fatigue? From having sped-walked through the park for the past 5 minutes?

 

No, that couldn’t be it. Lee Kaeun was a world-class athlete. Sakura has seen with her own eyes the way Kaeun is able to move, and if the cherry blossom herself was nowhere near winded, then the labored breathing must be coming from something else.

 

“Could you turn around for me?”

 

Kaeun visibly stiffens, but Sakura reaches out to grab hold of the older woman’s wrist and she feels the Reaper melt into her touch. It took very little effort for her to coax Kaeun into turning around, and once the latter was fully facing her Sakura sees those beautiful grey eyes widen in surprise upon realising just how close they were.

 

Kaeun’s breath hitches as Sakura steps in even closer, and a sneaking suspicion develops as to why that is.

 

“Do you want to kiss me, unnie?”

 

Again she sees those grey eyes widen in alarm, and she knows even without Kaeun answering that she has managed to hit the nail on it’s head.

 

Still, she wanted to hear it from Kaeun herself. She wanted to hear those words escape those lips, even if it was just an ego thing. Sakura wanted to hear how she was the one who could complicate the Reaper’s breathing.

 

“More than anything.” Kaeun admits with so much honesty that Sakura is taken aback.

 

She sees the way the taller woman is eyeing her lips. Realises, that those grey eyes have been stealing glances at her all day and rejoices inside upon knowing that she wasn’t the only one who wanted this. She wasn’t the only one who needed to feel the other woman against her.

 

“Then, why aren’t we kissing yet...?” Sakura breathes more than asks, barely above a whisper as she steps in even impossibly closer to Kaeun. She boldly wraps an arm around the older woman’s waist, fueled by the knowledge that Kaeun wanted this just as badly as she did.

 

Sakura stands on the tips of her toes to reach the taller woman, but frowns in confusion when Kaeun gently wriggles free from her clutches and advances. Kaeun shakes her head, and Sakura was about to begin an entire onslaught of questions when Kaeun very  readily cuts her off with an answer to her unasked queries(which were meant to be rhetorical).

 

“...Because we have an audience.”

 

The answer brings a confused frown to Sakura’s face. Audience? Where? They were in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by trees. Even Sakura herself wasn’t sure where they were and this whole thing was her idea to begin with.

 

“Who—“ Sakura begins but before the answer could even leave her lips she feels strong arms grab hold of her shoulders and gently pushing her towards the trees. Bewildered, Sakura looked up to see Kaeun nodding pointedly before the latter walked away, leaving Sakura alone by the trees, obstructed by dark shadows.

 

The realisation that Kaeun was trying to hide her finally sinks in, as well as the understanding that this was not a weird joke on the Reaper’s part. She was deadly serious. Perhaps this was why Kaeun was in such a hurry to leave the park. When did Kaeun realise that they were being watched? Who was watching them, and how long have they been doing so?

 

“Do you lot have any idea who’s night you’re ruining?!” Kaeun yells out into the empty park.

 

The question was greeted by an eerie silence, tense and heavy. Several seconds pass by and Sakura wonders if Kaeun had been imagining the whole thing. Paranoia kicking in perhaps. 

 

And then suddenly, the sound of crunching leaves and snapping twigs fill the air. A chorus of footsteps, and as figures start to fill the clearing across from where Kaeun was now standing, Sakura is reminded to never doubt the Reaper’s ears ever again.

 

“Of course we do, Reaper! It’s the least we could do after you ruined our LIVES!” A man standing furthest to the left shouts.

 

Three men and two women, making it 5 of them in total. Or at least, there were 5 of them currently visible. The trees were tall and visibility was poor. There could be more hiding, biding their time. 

 

Sakura shrinks further into the shadows of the trees, although it seemed as if none of them were interested in her. All 5 pairs of eyes were trained onto Kaeun and nothing else.

 

“Ahh. Black Dahlia survivors. I thought I smelled filth in the air.” Kaeun noted casually, the insult naturally rolling off her tongue like a song.

 

Sakura sees them grow ever more agitated as Kaeun’s taunts hit their mark. Kaeun herself seemed to stand completely aloof and relaxed, as if she wasn’t even going to bother putting her guard up. As if the 5 of them standing before her weren’t much of a threat.

 

“You took EVERYTHING from us! You—You killed our entire family! Our friends are DEAD because of you!” One of the women shrieked, anger and unbridled fury coating her voice.

 

Another man, the one standing in the middle and the tallest of the bunch steps forward. Even from here Sakura could see the rage practically pouring out of his every pore. “You killed my wife right in front of my eyes! What sins have we committed against you, Reaper?! Why did you take her away from me?!” 

 

Kaeun shrugs, the corners of her lips twitching upwards into the ghost of a smirk. “If you were present when I murdered your wife, then you should be dead as well. Unless...” Kaeun paused for dramatic effect, seeing them hang onto her every word. It was a game for the Reaper. A showman with a willing audience.

 

“....Well, unless you sat by and hid while she died. Only reason why you’re probably still alive.”

 

“ YOU, YOU MONSTER!” The man screamed, drawing his gun and pointing it straight at Kaeun who looked impossibly unimpressed and unfazed. 

 

They were playing right into her hands. Sakura has attended enough of Kaeun’s coaching sessions with the Red Roses to pickup on what the Reaper was trying to do. Unhinge the enemy. Distract them. Make them lose focus, and get then emotionally involved. That was the best way to handle situations where you’re outnumbered. Anger makes them predictable. 

 

The normally calm and quiet Kaeun was surprisingly great at getting a rise out of people.

 

Another man steps forward, placing a hand over the angered one’s gun and shook his head. “No Jihoon. Remember the plan. We can’t win if we take her on one by one.”

 

The tall one—Jihoon, or whatever his name was—appeared to hesitate, but eventually lowered his gun. Kaeun narrowed her eyes slightly at the calm man from earlier, assessing his role in this whole ordeal.

 

He looked to be the leader, or at the very least the voice of reason. Kaeun clicks her tongue in annoyance upon realising that goading these people into making mistakes has just become marginally harder with the presence of a level head on the playing field.

 

“May we ask why you did it, Reaper? Why did you go on the rampage you did? Can we just...just reach an understanding?” A woman who looked to be no older than Kaeun herself asked. 

 

The Reaper slowly reached into her pocket and everyone including Sakura jumped. 5 guns were instantaneously drawn, pointing to Kaeun but despite the danger and predicament she was in the most proficient killer in South Korea simply smiled coyly. She withdrew her hand but instead of a weapon, the Reaper held in her hands a....

 

....carton of cigarettes...?

 

Sakura wanted to simultaneously facepalm and slap the older girl. Does Kaeun not feel the thick tension in the air?! How could she just nonchalantly light a cigarette while she had people pointing their guns at her?! 

 

And then it occured to Sakura that this was another one of Kaeun’s tactics to unnerve her enemies. All 5 Dahlia survivors were absolutely perplexed by the Reaper’s calm disposition and it was quite obvious that neither one of them had any idea how to deal with this situation. Even from the safety of her hiding spot Sakura could see the subtle smirk tugging at the corners of Kaeun’s lips.

 

“...Who knows why I killed your friends. Maybe I was bored. Maybe I just felt like it. Maybe one of your Enforcers had kidnapped somebody who means a great deal to me and tortured that person for her entertainment.” Kaeun’s voice dropped several octaves as she alluded to Chaeyeon. “...Maybe said Enforcer had just pissed me off enough to eradicate every single one of her known associates.”

 

Cold.

 

The air was cold, and it wasn’t due to the weather. It was as if Kaeun herself was radiating a killing aura that was capable of chilling the very air around her. Sakura felt her blood run icy cold just staring at the way Kaeun’s grey eyes locked onto each and every one of the Dahlia members standing before her.

 

“T-There’s nothing left for us to lose, Reaper. It’s either we avenge our fallen comrades and friends, or die trying!” The angry man from earlier shouted, losing all the bravado he once held.

 

Sakura couldn’t blame him. The 5 of them were literally staring Death in the face. No traces of the warm and fuzzy Lee Kaeun remained. The woman currently standing in the small clearing, facing down 5 guns as if they were nothing but toys with a smile on her face was the Red Roses’ Reaper.

 

“Your hands are shaking.” Kaeun chuckled, dropping her cigarette onto the ground and stamping it out with the heel of her combat boot.

 

“You have the advantage. My gun is not drawn, while all 5 of you have yours pointed right at me. Can you make the most of it?” 

 

“Don’t let her touch her gun! You know exactly what she can d—“ 

 

The supposed leader didn’t manage to complete his sentence. Faster than Sakura’s eyes could follow, Kaeun had already closed the distance between her and the Black Dahlia members to bury her knife hilt-deep into the throat of the man barking orders. There was a sickening gurgle as Kaeun twists the blade before pulling the weapon out, creating a fine spray of red.

 

The other four Dahlia members were in a state of shock, and Kaeun takes the momentary lapse in action to jam her knife into the chest of the nearest person she could reach. This triggers the other three members into action and they begin firing at Kaeun, who effortlessly weaves through the hail of bullets while using the man her knife was embedded in as a makeshift riot shield.

 

In a display of inhuman dexterity, Kaeun kicks the man her knife was currently hilt-deep in towards one of the women while simultaneously drawing out her own gun. As the woman stands surprised at her friend’s lifeless body being sent flying towards her, Kaeun effortlessly shoots her right between the eyes.

 

In a span of less than 10 seconds, Kaeun had already killed 3 out of the 5 people coming after her. It made sense now to Sakura just how Kaeun was able to take down an entire organisation on her own.

 

The Reaper was a God.

 

It was either an act of hubris or desperation. It might have even been an attempt to just gain some level of satisfaction but the angriest man from earlier abandoned his gun and began making a simple beeline towards the Reaper, fist at the ready.

 

With a disinterested expression on her face Kaeun effortlessly takes a half-step to the side, dodging the punch as well as a bullet shot by the 5th person in the back. It was like a haphazard dance performed by 3 people. Kaeun’s sharp grey eyes were locked onto both the angry man and the last woman, avoiding both their attacks while trying to find an opening to retaliate.

 

There was movement on the ground, Sakura notices out of the corner of her eye. With a start Sakura realises that the second man whom Kaeun had stabbed in the chest was still alive. Her eyes dart back and forth between the ongoing fight in the distance, to the struggling man who had begun to draw his gun. 

 

Kaeun was too preoccupied. Her focus was fixed exclusively in the fight she was in, and Sakura dared not break that concentration by calling out to the Reaper. She did not know how to warn Kaeun that there was a man still left alive. Her heart races as her mind frantically runs through a list of options. Maybe she could get a thick branch and knock him in the head with it. It was a godsend that he was too injured to aim properly. The man was taking his time to line up the shot, his injuries causing his arm to tremble. It bought Sakura time. Time to think. Time to—

 

Her foot connects with something heavy in her scuffle. Somehow she knew. Sakura knew even before looking down what she was about to see the moment she turned her gaze to her feet, and as she did so she felt the world around her stop in it’s tracks.

 

A gun.

 

There was a gun lying at her feet.

 

It probably belonged to one of the Dahlia members. It must have been sent flying here the moment Kaeun had killed them. The moment their lifeless hands were no longer able to keep a firm grip on their only means of staying alive.

 

In hindsight it was actually scary just how easily her brain came to the decision. As if on autopilot, as if it came naturally to her, Sakura picked the gun up and pointed it towards the injured man on the ground. Her hands were trembling. Was it normal for a gun to be this heavy? Oh God it was so heavy. Her frail arms could barely hold it up. She reached a finger out, feeling it wrap comfortably around the trigger like it belonged there.

 

This was too easy. Why was this too easy? All she needed to do was pull the trigger. Pull the trigger and Kaeun would be saved. Pull the trigger and the man would be dead. Pull the trigger...

 

....Pull the trigger and she’ll cast her humanity away.

 

“AAAH!” Sakura screams out of instinct. She pulls the trigger once. And then again. And again and again until she hears nothing but empty clicking but she still persists. She’s still shooting the man. She’s continuing to take his life over and over and over and—

 

“Kkura. That’s enough.”

 

Sakura’s eyes snap open and Kaeun was standing in front of her. The Reaper had a firm grip on her wrist, pointing it upwards so that the gun was aimed at the sky and away from everybody else. 

 

They were all dead. There was nothing but dead bodies scattered throughout the park.

 

“D-Did I....?” Sakura began to question. She didn’t know at which point she had begun to cry but the tears were continuously streaming down her face.

 

She searched Kaeun’s face for answers, eyes widening when the Reaper smiled gently and shook her head.

 

“No. It was me. I killed him.” 

 

“I-I-I didn’t know what to do! You d-didn’t see—unnie I...I almost—“ Sakura’s legs were shaking as the sheer gravity of what she had nearly done hit her all at once. She had nearly murdered somebody. She had nearly taken a life. Her. HER. Her sobs grew louder as the fear wracked her tiny body. 

 

“But you didn’t. You didn’t kill him. Sakura—Sakura look at me.” Kaeun addressed firmly, holding onto Sakura’s shoulders to keep her from trashing about. Grey eyes bore into hers, and Sakura immediately stopped her panic attack. 

 

“You didn’t kill him. I did.”

 

Kaeun leans down, planting a soft reassuring kiss to Sakura’s forehead and embraces the girl tightly. All manner of fear and panic melts away from her body and is replaced with Kaeun’s warmth. So warm. The scent of roses cloud her mind, and Sakura nods. She doesn’t know if she believes Kaeun, but she nods anyways because she would much rather believe in Kaeun than anything else at the moment.

 

“Can we go back now?” Sakura asks, voice small and broken. Kaeun nods gently and gives the shorter girl one last peck on her forehead.

 

“Yeah. I’ll walk you home.”

 

Kaeun leads the way, reaching back with one hand to intertwine her fingers with Sakura’s. Despite her mental state being a mess the Japanese girl still had enough wherewithal to blush when she feels the older woman’s thumb rub gentle, reassuring circles on the back of her hand.

 

The rest of the journey was quiet. Sakura rested her head on Kaeun’s shoulder during the lengthy train ride home, trying her best to avoid the stares and harsh whispers from the other passengers as they openly pointed and gawked at the streaks of blood decorating Kaeun’s white shirt. 

 

They could probably guess who she was, despite there never being a clear picture of the Reaper’s face on the news. A young woman covered in blood wasn’t exactly a common sight. Common sense would tell Sakura to disassociate with Kaeun. To stay away for fear of being implicated with her, but all the stares only made Sakura cling on tighter.

 

They met with some more minor inconveniences from the authorities along the way to Sakura’s home. Someone in the train must have informed the police about a bloodied woman on board, with some added exaggeration based on the size of the outfit waiting for them at the station. 

 

Kaeun kept Sakura close by her side, glaring at the police officers with so much murderous intent that all 10 of them physically trembled in fear. That was probably all it took for them to recognise exactly who was standing before them, and the police officers made way for the Reaper much to the confusion of the onlookers. 

 

It wasn’t a good look for the police force, but they have probably heard enough stories of the Reaper’s many exploits to not care. With a small nod of her head Kaeun walked past them as they commanded for the onlookers and rubberneckers to delete all footage of the incident they had recorded on their phones.

 

Now they stood in front of Sakura’s door, quietly waiting for one of them to break the silence that had settled between them since they left the park.

 

Funny how a quiet day of attempted normalcy could end up like this.

 

“I’m uh...sorry our day ended the way it did.” Kaeun said first, as if she was thinking the exact same thing.

 

Sakura shook her head. It wasn’t Kaeun’s fault. This was beyond her control. “There’s always next time, unnie.”

 

Kaeun laughed weakly, gaze dropping down to the floor. “I’m not so sure about that.”

 

Sakura looks inquisitively at Kaeun, ushering the woman to elaborate further.

 

“Trouble seems to always find you whenever I’m near.”

 

....That was true. Maybe Kaeun had a hand in tonight’s occurrence after all, if one were to take the time to think about it. That wasn’t Sakura’s strong suit though. Thinking. She would much rather tackle life recklessly and let the consequences haunt her later.

 

“...Well at least you’ll be near enough to save me then, won’t you?” Sakura shrugged, earning yet another chuckle from Kaeun.

 

“That’s...a highly naive way of looking at things.”

 

Naive. That was true as well. Sakura would say anything though, if it meant being able to be with Kaeun. If meant that Kaeun didn’t stay away from her. She wanted the Reaper, and all the dangers that came with her.

 

“Would you like to come in?”

 

The question was followed by a moment of dull silence that was inappropriate considering the context of what was asked. Sakura shuffled nervously in place, hands in her pockets, trying to look everywhere but at Kaeun because the question she had just asked the woman made her feel infinitely more exposed than she has ever been. She didn’t even know where it came from but it was too late to take it back now.

 

“I probably shouldn’t intrude.” Kaeun replied, seconds before Sakura could interpret the silence as a form of rejection. There was a trace of something else lingering in the timbre of Kaeun’s voice. Uncertainty. Hope. 

 

“I wouldn’t mind.” Sakura said shyly. The smile that graced Kaeun’s face was automatic, as if she had been waiting for Sakura to insist. As if she was expecting Sakura to not take no for an answer.

 

Kaeun nods once, and Sakura hurriedly unlocks the front door. Trembling hands fumbled with the keys but she still tried to play it cool although her blood was running hot. She steps aside, allows Kaeun to slip past her and she follows in right after, closing the door behind them before she could chicken out and before Kaeun could change her mind.

 

Sakura bolts the door shut and the minute she turns around she feels a warm body pressing up against her, pinning her towards the wooden surface behind. Kaeun’s hair falls over both their faces as she leans down, like a black curtain separating them from the rest of the world. All Sakura could smell was the sweet scent of roses, all Sakura could feel were the featherlight kisses trailing along her jaw.

 

Her skin was on fire. Lee Kaeun was setting her entire being ablaze, and it just occured to Sakura exactly just how long she’s been wanting—nay, needing—for this to happen.

 

“Unnie...” Sakura breathes, feeling lightheaded from the way Kaeun kept teasing her. The older woman was panting too. This wasn’t easy for either of them, but neither wanted to be the one to initiate the next step.

 

“Hmm?” Kaeun hummed, pulling back so that she could look straight into Sakura’s eyes. Those familiar grey irises glowed like molten steel in the dim lighting of Sakura’s apartment. Sakura stared at those lips. Plump and wet and just...

 

...this woman would be the end of her.

 

Sakura reached up with her hands and interlaced her fingers behind Kaeun’s slender neck. Only one word left the Japanese girl’s mouth. Only one word, and that was enough to convey all the emotions she has been feeling for the past few months. Everything she’s felt since Kaeun first stumbled into that bakery, gunshot wound in her thigh. Just one simple word.

 

“...Please.”

 

The next thing Sakura knew their lips were already mashed against each other, Kaeun devouring her with so much hunger she wondered how did the older woman manage to keep it bottled up inside her all this while. Kaeun tasted divine. Every bit of her. Her salty skin, her velvety tongue, the soft moans that left the Reaper’s mouth that Sakura was made to swallow down...

 

Their jackets were the first to be discarded. Heavy articles of clothing that obstructed far too much had no place in this situation. Sakura feels her sweater get pulled over her head and before she could even let out a word Kaeun’s lips claimed hers again. Sakura felt her knees go weak because Kaeun was just too much. Too wonderful. Too amazing at whatever it is she’s doing.

 

“I want you.” Kaeun pants in between kisses, grey eyes clouded over with lust and other emotions that Sakura did not have the wherewithal to decipher as of tonight. She pauses after the statement to capture Sakura’s lips one more time before continuing. Gosh this is getting out of hand.

 

“...In probably the most unromantic of ways, but I want you.”

 

Kaeun was looking for consent. Permission, to do to Sakura what she has been holding back from doing all this while. She’s been hiding it very well, hasn’t she? That cool and collected demeanour hid such hunger and ferocity....Sakura wanted to see Kaeun in her moment. She wanted to see how the Reaper was like when she was not in control. When she loses herself in her own emotions.

 

Sakura nods once, giving consent.

 

“I can settle for unromantic.”

 

Kaeun smiles. Warm and kind. It was beautiful, and Sakura briefly wondered if this was what being in love feels like before that moment of childlike wonder is tossed to the floor along with her skirt. Kaeun owed Sakura some new clothes, and based on the satisfied smirk on the former’s face Sakura assumes that getting Kaeun to pay for a new wardrobe wouldn’t be much of a challenge.

 

Kaeun picks Sakura up almost effortlessly, carrying her across the length of the small apartment before tossing her unceremoniously onto the bed. Sakura leans up on her elbows, watching Kaeun step out of her own clothes to join the cherry blossom in her state of undress.

 

“Are you a Reaper or a Goddess...?” Sakura asks dreamily as Kaeun discards the last article of clothing she had on. The older woman grins widely, eyes scanning the Japanese girl’s body like a predator would a prey and the analogy sent a shiver up Sakura’s spine.

 

“Why don’t you tell me which you think I am in the morning?” Kaeun suggests before she her lips and dives into Sakura’s willing form.

 

Sakura gets her answer in the wee hours of the morning when all she hears is Kaeun’s soft giggles as the cherry blossom stares straight at the ceiling, completely spent and unable to move a finger.

 

The Devil. Lee Kaeun was the very Devil herself.

 

 

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Hello!

 

Has this been my biggest gap between updates? I’m sorry! It’s like I always start these footnotes thing apologizing for how slow my updates are. I’m sorry! Real life has been...pretty crazy. Crazy hectic.

 

As a quick explanation, I run my own company. So I have to travel a lot. And when I travel I don’t write cause if I’m not on the go, I’m asleep in my hotel LOL so yeah...that explains the slow updates hahaha

 

As for this chapter! It’s pretty long isn’t it? I had to fit all this in to set up the mood for the coming chapters. Probably that’s what took so long; it got kinda tiring writing this chapter after awhile because there wasn’t much going on until the very last scene. I hope none of you found this boring!

 

This chapter was supposed to be Sakura and Kaeun’s first kiss. The last chapter was supposed to be a tease, like AhnYu was supposed to interrupt them before they actually kissed but I decided to let them kiss anyways because I had a feeling this chapter would take awhile to be completed. 

 

That last scene, with Sakukaeun in Sakura’s apartment...that was supposed to be longer. And a lot more detailed. It was really a few sentences away from turning into full blown but I had to dial it back a whole lot because I didn’t feel like changing the fic’s rating lol 

 

Just a slight heads up, the next chapter will be pretty uneventful too. Just a whole lot of Sakukaeun fluff. So if you’re a fan of that, hey you’re in luck! If you’re not...then you probably won’t see the action scenes for awhile. Sorry!

 

Huge shoutout to belbet7, duburi, kaeunigma, MelanieKlein, jinjoosthetic, and Excelsium for the upvotes! They really motivate me, cause like I said, this fic was originally started because I wanted to beat my other fic’s upvote record hahaha still a long way to go though, but I think we can get there!

 

Please leave a comment and let me know how you feel about this chapter! Feedback yay!

 

Thanks for reading! See y’all at the next update!

 

P/S: I’ve updated my kpop room! hahaha