Chapter 10

“Marry me.”

Sakura looked at Irene who was kneeling down in front of her.

She had never thought of seeing her this way, down on one knee, proposing to her. She had waited years for this day to come, and all the memories came to her at that moment. She still remembered how Irene used to avoid talking about marriage and commitment.

“Where do you see us in ten years from now?”

Irene looked away and sighed.

“Sakura, why are you talking about the future?”

“Rene, I need to know where are we heading, where this relationship is going..”

“Does it matter? I’m with you now, isn’t I?”

“You won’t leave me again… right?”

Irene never answered that question.


Sakura felt like laughing, seeing the irony of the situation. There were nights she spent crying, worrying that Irene will slip through her fingers but now, she’s offering her a lifetime commitment.

“Why now?” Sakura asked.

Irene was speechless.

“I-I don't know about this anymore...” Sakura mumbled.

She took a step back away from Irene and about to leave when Irene quickly grabbed her hand.

“Think about it!” she said, desperate.

Sakura looked at her and bit her lower lip.

“Sakura, at least think about it. Don’t give me the answer now... I can wait.” Irene continued.

She stood up and grabbed both of Sakura’s hands.

She looked straight into Sakura’s eyes,

“Just think about the times we had gone through together.”

Sakura looked away.

“Though they’re not all sweet memories…”

“Give me one last chance to make it up to you, with the rest of my life.” Irene added.


**


Sakura sat down on their usual park bench that evening, waiting for Eunbi after work. She gazed blankly at the green field, as she was lost in her sea of thoughts. There were so many things on her mind, all cluttered and tangled with one another.

Suddenly, she saw a young woman in dark blue jacket walking with rapid steps towards her. Their eyes met and she waved at her.
 

“I’m sorry I’m late!” I said, bowing apologetically to Sakura. I was almost half an hour late.

But she wasn't angry at me. She smiled ever so adorably when she looked at me.

“As expected of Kwon Eunbi,” she said, teasing.

I sat down beside her and puffed, “Hey, it’s not like it was intentional! They gave me too much work so I had no choice to get off later than everyone else!"

“Aww, bad day at work?” She asked with her sparkly eyes.

I almost gasped, “N-No. Everything was okay, don’t worry.”

It was a lie.

Nothing has been okay since I was forced to put down my camera. They've assigned me all the chores that no one else want to do. I just spend the whole day photocopying documents for others. For the first time, I hate going to work.

“Where’s your camera?” Sakura suddenly asked.

She noticed that I was only carrying my small handbag.

I gulped as I quickly think of an excuse, “I-I didn’t bring it to work today. Even though I’m a photographer, I’m not taking photos every day.”

She nodded in response, believing everything I just said. “Ohh, it’s just weird seeing you without it since you carry it with you almost all the time.”

“Enough with the camera! Do you miss the camera or its owner?” I asked, trying to distract her from asking too much.

Sakura laughed and I forgot how stressful I was at work earlier.

“Of course I miss the owner.” She said and then playfully patting my hair.

I smiled, “Okay, so what are we going to do tod-

I didn't manage to finish my sentence when Sakura suddenly plugged an earphone into my right ear. I looked at her in wonder.

“Let's listen to music together.” She said gently.

I can't help but chuckled at Sakura’s hobby of forcing other people to listen to her favourite songs. It was not the first time she's plugging earphones to me.

A song played. It was a Japanese song.

Sakura looked at me and I looked back at her with a blank stare. I only know a few Japanese words from the anime I watched.

“Do you like that song?” She asked, smiling.

“Ah..it was okay..”

I liked the melody but I wasn't really sure what the lyrics were about since I only caught a few lines.

Sakura looked at me with shifty eyes.

“You don’t understand it, don’t you?” She asked, an eyebrow raised.

I gulped, “Wh-What? Japanese? I do understand it! What makes you think I don’t? I’m multilingual!”

Sakura laughed. “I think I can tell it when you’re lying. You're so bad at lying!”

“Hey hey! I’m not lying!” I retorted.

“Okay then prove it.”

“Prove..what?”

“Speak to me in Japanese to prove that you’re not lying.” She said, crossing her arms in demand.

I gulped.

“Wakarimasen (Sure)!” I said in Japanese.

She seems impressed with my usage of ‘sure’ so I was feeling confident.

“Okay, go on.” She said, in English.

I took a deep breath.

“Hi, nice to meet you. My name is... Eunchan-

Suddenly Sakura starts laughing. I looked at her, puzzled. I don't think I said anything weird yet.

"Your name is Eunchan?" She asked, still pressing her stomach and laughing.

"It's Eunbi-chan desu!" I corrected, laughing along. It doesn't matter if she was laughing at me, just seeing her so happy made me feel like I just saved a country.

"It’s just too cute, you soun