♫ Shota Shimizu - 桜 (Sakura)

"You are brighter than the sunlight and bolder than a rainbow. You are the reason spring was created in the first place."
- Toni Sorenson

(Flashback)

“Jjaeyeon-ah!” A girl called out to Chaeyeon from afar while jumping and waving her hands in the air for Chaeyeon to spot her easier. The older girl had asked Chaeyeon to meet her at the Seoul Forest park today for a special occasion.

“What are we doing here today? You usually don’t go out that often, not to mention ask me out at all. Are we going on a date or something?” Chaeyeon asked with a light giggle.

“Hmm, I suppose you can call it that. But even if it wasn’t a date, do I need some fancy reason to get out of my house or to see my best friend?” The older girl retorted.

Chaeyeon’s cheeks glowed pink as she was slightly embarrassed the older girl had even suggested that their meetup could be a date. Aside from feeling that way though, Chaeyeon was also happy the girl had asked her out. Up until now, they’ve never really gone out together. Chaeyeon was only able to meet the older girl a couple of times every few weeks when the girl attended dance practice.

She seemed to always be busy with other things or maybe she was just a homebody, but weirdly enough there was always a man who went everywhere with her every time they met. He never really spoke to anyone and only answered to the girl. He also never left her side, no matter what the situation was. Chaeyeon always wondered who the man was, but the older girl always reassured Chaeyeon that he was like a chaperon and nothing serious to worry about. Whatever the case was, they still managed to become close rather quickly. However, this was the very first time today Chaeyeon was alone with the older girl without the man around.

“Come on, let’s go! I don’t want to waste anymore time.” The older girl rushed her as she pulled Chaeyeon along towards the entrance of the park.

Chaeyeon was amazed by the view that greeted them. From every direction around her, there were rows of fully bloomed cherry blossoms that stretched as far as the eye could see. The trees along with the warm sun shining through the cracks of the branches lit the whole park in a pastel pink hue made it seem like she was in a dream. She had been to a few cherry blossom viewing locations before, but she has never experienced one quite like this. Something about this time made the experience a lot more mesmerizing and special.

“So you asked me here to view the cherry blossoms with you?” Chaeyeon asked as they walked along the path, arms linked.

“Mmhmm. I thought it’d be nice since now is the best time to view them this year.” The older girl replied.

“Why didn’t you pick the one at Yeouido park? They have a festival every year and it’s filled with events and good food. It’s a really popular tourist spot too around this time of year.”

“That sounds nice and all, but it gets quite crowded with all the locals and tourists right?”

“Yea, you have a point. I went with my friends last year and we got separated from each other within 15 minutes into the festival. It was a mess trying to find everyone and it made everything less fun.”

“That’s why I chose this place, it’s less crowded. We can walk freely, smell the cherry blossoms, have a picnic, but most of all, I get to enjoy it with you.” The older girl said as she turned and gave Chaeyeon a big smile.

Chaeyeon’s heart skipped a beat at the older girl’s words. She was slightly confused and didn’t understand what exactly she was feeling at the time, but she was happy the older girl enjoyed her presence as much as she enjoyed hers.

•~•

After walking around the park for a while, Chaeyeon kept hearing something strange. It was like a low growling sound, but she couldn’t quite put a finger on what it was. She turned to the older girl walking beside her to ask if the girl was hearing what she was hearing. However, Chaeyeon noticed she was walking a bit funny. She was walking while slightly hunched over, her arms were wrapped around her stomach.

“Are you okay?!” Chaeyeon asked, worried the girl might be in some kind of pain.

“No, I’m fine. Nothing is wrong.” The older girl replied, brushing Chaeyeon’s concerns aside.

“Are you sure? You’re walking really weird. Is your stomach hurting? Do you need to go to the hos-”

The growling noise struck again and interrupted Chaeyeon. An amused grin slowly appeared on Chaeyeon’s face as she had figured out what the sound was. The older girl had also figured out that the younger girl had caught on. The older girl squatted down, burying her head in her knees. Chaeyeon giggled at the sight and squatted down with the older girl.

“Are you hungry?” Chaeyeon said as she covered to prevent any laughter from escaping.

The squatting girl who still had her head buried in her knees, slowly nodded her head. Chaeyeon then grabbed the older girl and pulled her up, revealing her face, which was brighter than a tomato. Chaeyeon looked around, scanning the ar