Sakura sat down as she arrived at Pour Toujours, now waiting for her date. 

She wasn’t the type to go on blind dates, or dates at all to be frank, but her best friend, Chaeyeon, had managed to convince her to do so. Of course a copy of ‘Kingdom Hearts 3’, which she was dying to get her hands on and play, was involved in the deal so she figured it wasn’t too much of a loss. 

Having finally gotten comfortable, she crossed her arms on the table as she waited for her date, now actually quite excited.

As Sakura looked around the dimly lit room, admiring the abstract artwork and immersing herself into the live piano being played, she was glad that Chaeyeon had suggested this restaurant to her. 

It really was perfect for a first date.

______________ 

Taking her fourth sip of water since sitting down, she finally admitted to herself that she was bored and grabbed her phone out, hoping for some temporary entertainment. 

Scrolling through twitter, Sakura retweeted and saved Golden Slumber’s new fancam. As she intensely watched the video, basking in Irene’s beauty, she tried her best not to make any facial expressions, looking around every now and then to make sure no one was staring.

Moving on, she noticed that there was a new update for one of her favourite seulrene fanfictions. As she read through and commented, it became increasingly more and more difficult to restrain herself from screaming with excitement and embarrassing herself in the middle of the restaurant.

After finally calming down, she briefly checked the time and was shocked to find that 30 minutes had already passed by. Beginning to feel a bit concerned, she quickly texted Chaeyeon again, asking her where her date was. 

“Hmm... just wait a bit longer. I told her to meet at 7,” the younger girl replied. 

Maybe I’m just too punctual, maybe she’s stuck in an emergency, Sakura told herself in attempts to mitigate the situation.

______________

Feeling slightly more optimistic, she began to stare at the walls again as she secretly eavesdropped on the dinner guests around her.

Already feeling the boredom, she turned to her last resort and started reading the menu. Inspecting every single word on the two page menu, Sakura could feel time progress even slower than it previously did. Reading through the menu for what seemed like the 10th time and having already decided what to order long ago, she let out a sigh of frustration as she thought, now would be a great time for you to come.

Succumbing to the boredom, Sakura took out her phone and started playing Fortnite. She had to find a way to entertain herself somehow. 

Losing track of time, she battled another player intensely and was just about to defeat them when-

“Excuse me Miss, are you ready to order now?” Startled, she jumped in her seat and was instantly killed by her opponent.

“Arghh!!” She yelled, pissed off that she had almost reached a new level only to be interrupted and unable to earn enough XP points.

About to scold the waitress, she looked up and realised that the waitress was clearly frightened. Realising what she had done, she quickly apologised and hid her face in her hands in shame.

“It’s okay Miss. I just wanted to ask if you were ready to order yet,” the waitress inquired for the seventh time that night. 

Noticing that an hour had already passed since she first arrived, Sakura looked around and saw that people were starting to stare at her with apologetic looks. 

“Um....just a bit more time please,” she hesitantly asked, now aware of the pity she was receiving. But she really couldn’t blame them, it looked like she was going to be stood up. 

“That’s okay,” the waitress said as she sighed and walked away.

Waiting until the waitress was out of sight, Sakura frantically picked up her phone again and started texting Chaeyeon. 

“Chaeyeon, she’s an hour late already,” she sent, nervously tapping her feet.

“Oh my god really?! Okay I’ll see if I can contact her.”

“Should I just leave? She’s not gonna come and this is humiliating,” she hopelessly proposed. 

Attempting to reassure her best friend, Chaeyeon promised, “It’s okay she’ll come I’m sure of it.”

Sakura couldn’t help but wonder, “Chaeyeon-ah...what if she stood me up.”

“She didn’t, trust me she’ll come.”

Feeling hopeless, Sakura added, “This is why I never go out,” before throwing her phone on the table and hiding her face in her hands as she sighed heavily.
______________

Jittering uncontrollably, Sakura kept checking the time while also avoiding the pitying eyes of the other dinner guests.

As she bit on her lip with anxiety, her heart continued to beat at an inhumane speed. She could see a line of people waiting to be seated and felt guilty for holding the table for so long, but she had to be optimistic. She had to hold it in.

Every person that walked through the door made Sakura even more nervous, desperately wanting them to be the girl, who would walk over to her table and say, “I’m so sorry I’m late,” but ultimately make it all worth it.

Thing is, she didn’t even know anything about her. Not what she looked like, not even her name. She was really beginning to wish that she knew a bit more about the girl before agreeing to this.

Looking around the restaurant, Sakura realised that after all the time she spent waiting, it was like she knew everyone already.

The table on her left sat an old couple, celebrating 30 tumultuous and yet, fulfilling years of marriage together. 

Next to them were a pair of sisters who had been reunited after one had spent years studying in the States. 

Behind them was a couple who seemed to be in a blossoming relationship, careless of everything around them except themselves.

Then there was her. 

A pitiful girl, who on this night had somehow and unfortunately, been stood up.

______________

As the night continued to pass and guests came in and out of Pour Toujours, Sakura sat there feeling sorry for herself. She was a mess and she didn’t know how long she could wait for anymore.

In the corner of her eye, she could see the waitress, who she felt like she knew all too well, come back for what seemed like the billionth time. Only this time she wasn’t holding the familiar notepad anymore.

Dreading what she had to say, Sakura looked down at the table as the waitress nervously said, “Miss, I’m terribly sorry, but if your date isn’t going to come and you’re not planning to dine here yourself, I’ll have to ask you to leave.” 

Sakura winced at her words. After all she went through, it really looked like she had been stood up. 

Her date wasn’t going to come.

Feeling powerless, she sighed and complied, “Okay, I’ll let you have the table then. I understand you have other guests waiting.”

As she reached for her purse, she could feel tears b on her eyes, but she tried her best to hold them back. It simply isn’t worth it, she told herself.

Just as she began to get up out of her chair and leave, Sakura felt a firm grip on her arm, pushing her back down into the chair. Startled, she looked up and saw a raven haired woman, that was truly quite beautiful and frankly, out of her league. 

Who’s this girl? Don’t tell me she’s my blind date, Sakura thought.

Sitting herself into the seat opposite Sakura’s, the stranger explained loudly for all to hear, “Sorry I’m so late, the traffic was really bad.” 

Leaning in, she quietly added, “Hi, I’m Eunbi. Just go with it, yeah? Whoever didn’t bother to show up is an idiot that clearly didn’t know what they were missing out on.”

Dumbfounded, Sakura just stared with agape, frankly quite glad that the woman, Eunbi, wasn’t her official date for the night. Slowly scanning the room, Sakura tried to read the facial expressions of the other guests as they avoided eye contact with her.

Her attention was suddenly brought back to the woman, who grabbed the menu and asked her, “So...have you decided what to order yet? I noticed you were extensively analysing the menu before.”

Surprised at Eunbi’s question and still holding her purse in her hand, Sakura thought, wait, is she gonna take this all the way?

Leaning in to get closer to Sakura once again, Eunbi quietly noted with a reassuring smile, “Don’t worry. It’ll be my treat.”

Sakura thought for a while, Should I just go with this? I mean, what do I have to lose? I’ve already lost more than an hour of my life and all my pride.

Having come to a decision, she promptly returned her bag back to its place under the table and opened the menu to inspect it once more, as if she hadn’t already decided what to order an hour ago.

Glancing at the black haired beauty, Sakura thought, maybe this isn’t too bad after all, as she smiled to herself.

______________

Taking a sip of wine, Sakura began to feel herself loosen up, deciding to make the best of the situation.

“Let’s introduce ourselves first,” the stranger proposed. “My name is Eunbi. I found a girl tonight who seems to have been stood up and decided to step in,” she admitted with a cheeky smile. Sakura’s heart fluttered as she realised that perhaps going out every now and then wasn’t too bad.

“Hi, my name is Sakura and I seem to have been stood up by my blind date, but I think the night has changed for the better,” she replied, with an evident smirk on her face.

“It’s nice to meet you Sakura. So, tell me a bit about yourself.”

“Well, there’s not much to tell really,” she answered modestly, “I like video games, I don’t like going out, but somehow my love for games got the better of me and now I’m stuck in this kind of situation.”

Curious, Eunbi pressed, “Come on, there must be more to you.”

“What about you?” She countered, “What made you decide to intervene tonight?”

Pausing for a second to think about her answer, the woman confessed, “Well I was sitting at the bar, alone I might add, and was watching you all night.”

Now staring straight into Sakura’s eyes with an earnest smile, Eunbi added, “When you were about to leave, I just thought, I couldn’t let such a beautiful girl be stood up like that.”

Feeling a warmth rising to her cheeks, Sakura looked down at the table, briefly breaking the intense eye contact.

Smiling, she looked at Eunbi again and said, 

“Well, I’m glad you didn’t.”

______________

The night continued, full of laughter and small talk. 

Every minute the pair spent together, the more they learnt about the other and forgot about the night’s previous events. It was like as if they were two pieces of the same puzzle. 

One would tell a joke and the other would instantly laugh. One would tell a story and the other would instantly relate. One would start a sentence and the other would finish it for them. 

This time Sakura also lost track of time, but for different and much better reasons.

Instead of analysing the font of the menu, she was getting lost in Eunbi’s eyes. Instead of listening in on conversations, she was getting caught in Eunbi’s amusing stories. Instead of tuning into the live piano, she was getting addicted to Eunbi’s spirited laugh. 

When time came for the restaurant to close up, she found herself getting disappointed that their time together had come to an end. 

Unlike before when an hour felt like 3 long hours, 3 hours with Eunbi barely even felt like one.

______________

“Here you go,” said the waitress as the placed the bill on the table.

Sakura reached for her purse but was halted when Eunbi said, “Don’t worry about it. Remember I said it’d be my treat.”

Seeing that Eunbi had already taken out her credit card, Sakura protested, “I can’t let you do that. This is the least I could do to thank you for saving me tonight.”

“No it’s fine, it really was my pleasure Sakura,” responded Eunbi as she placed her card in the bill folder.

Sighing, Sakura retreated with a pout, disappointed that she couldn’t repay the favour, but also charmed at Eunbi’s actions.

How did I find someone like her? She thought, while smiling to herself.

Or rather, how did someone like her find someone like me?

______________

As the two girls walked out the mellow restaurant and into the harsh winds, the smooth sounds of piano were replaced by the bustling of cars rushing past. 

After the best non-planned date ever, the pair turned to each other, disappointed that the night had come to an end.

“So...what now?” asked Eunbi.

“I guess I better be on my way. It’s getting pretty late.”

“I guess it is…” Eunbi slowly admitted.

As the two girls stared at each other, an awkward silence overcame them as neither knew what to do next. 

“Thank you Eunbi, really,” Sakura said with an earnest smile, “I can’t ever repay you for what you did for me tonight.”

Grinning, Eunbi countered, “Sure you can,” as an idea came into her head.

“How?” 

“Well…” with a cheeky smile, Eunbi proposed, 

“You could give me your number.”

Sakura’s heart skipped a beat at the woman’s abrupt request. Slowly, she could feel a heat rising to her cheeks as she avoided eye contact with the woman and looked down at the ground instead.

“I hope this isn’t the last time we speak.”

Smiling at the woman’s confession, Sakura admitted, “I hope so too.”

The pair exchanged their phone numbers and Sakura watched Eunbi attentively as the woman concentrated on getting every digit correct. Wow, she’s really something special, isn’t she? She thought with a slight smile.

Looking up, Eunbi saw that Sakura’s intense eyes were fixated on her. For a second the two girls couldn’t take their eyes off each other. 

And at that moment, when the world seemed to pause around them, white flakes of snow began to descend.

The first snow.

As light specks of snow fluttered in the breeze, the girls smiled to each other, knowing the implications. 

“So I guess this is it.”

“I guess it is,” Sakura answered, disappointed yet anticipated.

“I’m glad you had a fun time tonight. You deserve it and so much more.”

Earnestly, she replied, “It’s all thanks to you.”

“It’s the least I could I do. Are you sure you don’t want me to walk you home as well? I really don’t mind,” she asked charmingly.

Reassuringly, Sakura countered, “No no, it’s fine. Don’t worry, I’ll be okay.”

About to protest, Eunbi hesitantly yielded. “I’ll be on my way now then. Get home safe, yeah?” Eunbi said with a bright grin as snow started falling on her hair, making it sparkle.

Sakura nodded and said, “You too.”

Slowly and unwillingly backing away, Eunbi waved Sakura goodbye. Sakura watched with disappointment as her saviour slowly left her. 

Walking backwards, the woman kept her eye on Sakura as well, every now and then blowing her a kiss or forming hearts with her body.

Concerned for her safety, Sakura laughed as she tried her best to tell the girl to turn around and walk home safely, but to no avail. 

With the biggest grin on her face, Eunbi waved one last goodbye before turning the corner and leaving Sakura’s sight. 

Smiling to herself, Sakura turned around and jumped with joy, wanting to scream for the whole world to hear.

Maybe the night changed for the better, she thought, it feels great to be stood up. 

______________

Finally home safely, Sakura took a much needed shower, wanting to relieve herself after the day’s stressful events. 

As she lightly dried her hair with a towel, Sakura heard a buzz as her phone lay on her bedside table. Wondering who it could be, she slowly walked towards her phone and picked it up, but was pleasantly surprised to see that it was in fact, her hero. 

“Thank you for tonight. I hope you got home safely,” it read. Excited, Sakura smiled and walked over to lie on her bed.

Giving herself time to think about her response, Sakura replied, “No, thank YOU. You saved me from one of the most embarrassing moments in my life.”

Waiting patiently, she saw that Eunbi responded, “Ah it wasn’t much. I just had to save the damsel in distress. I do have a question to ask though.”

“Go on…”

“We had such a fun time tonight, so I was wondering,” Eunbi sent.

Staring at the three dots, Sakura couldn’t prepare herself enough when she saw that Eunbi had sent,

“Do you think I could see you again soon?”

Holding her phone to her heart, Sakura screamed with excitement and kicked her legs in the air with joy as she wriggled around on her bed.

Realising that the girl was probably biting her lip with worry on the other side of the phone, Sakura regained her composure before she simply and honestly replied,

“I’d like that.”