"Do we have Biology today?" Sakura turned to Yena who sat behind her in class. 

 

 

"It's Wednesday sooo.. Yeah, next period. We have two hours bio today, right?"  Yena answered and immediately noticed the downcast expression Sakura reacted with. "What's wrong? You've been kinda down.. Not feeling well?" 

 

 

"...I think so.." Sakura slumped on her table. 

 

 

"Kkura-yah? Are you okay? " Their classmate and friend, Kang Hyewon, called out to Sakura from the front. 

 

 

"I think she isn't feeling well." Yena leaned forward and patted Sakura's back in worry. "You want to rest in the infirmary? " 

 

 

If biology was the next subject, this meant she could spent her time in the infirmary in peace. She just nodded weakly and looked at Yena with her puppy eyes. 

 

 

"Ah.. Okay, Okay." Yena got up from her seat and started to help Sakura stand up. "Hyewon-ah~ Let's take her to the infirmary." 

 

 

Hyewon nodded quickly as she took quick steps to them. Each supporting one side, the three headed for the back door. 

 

 

"Why, why, why?" The eyes of another one of their friends, Jin Seoeon, was filled with worry. "She's kinda pale.. Infirmary?" 

 

 

"Mhm." Yena nodded and Seoeon got up to open the door for them. 

 

 

"Take her and hurry back, alright? It's almost time for the next period." 

 

 

"Okay~" Yena replied cutely and they went on their way. 

 

 

 

 

...

 

 

 

 

"What's wrong?" As expected, they ran into their biology teacher on the way to the infirmary. She IS the school nurse; She's always in the infirmary when she has no scheduled classes.

 

 

"Ah! Ssaem!" Yena greeted and bowed her head slightly and Hyewon did the same. "She's been looking pale today so we're taking her to rest. Don't worry! We'll hurry back once we get her there." 

 

 

"...Have you been eating right? " Gaeun softly asked but Sakura didn't answer. 

 

 

"You can go ahead to class, Ssaem. We got her." Yena assured the teacher before walking past the woman. 

 

 

Hyewon looked back at the woman for a second, sensing.. something. Maybe she was reading too much into it but she felt like the teacher knew something. After all, she knew about Sakura and Gaeun being childhood friends. 

 

 

It's a private fact but Sakura trusted their group enough to tell them. While the other two didn't seem to pay it much mind, Hyewon was sure Yena and Seoeon had hunches too.. She'll have to talk to them later. 

 

 

They reached the infirmary and as Yena was going to open the door, it suddenly opened, revealing two of their juniors, both of which were familiar faces. 

 

 

"Ah! Hello." One of them, Kim Minjoo, bowed down politely while the other, Kim Chaewon just nodded her head at the three. Chaewon was Yena's best friend and so she was casual with Yena's close friends as well. 

 

 

"Quickly! Out of the way!" Yena playfully pushed through them, making the two back up into the room again. 

 

 

"What going on? Is is Kkura-unnie okay?" Minjoo watched them as Hyewon and Yena helped Sakura get comfortable in the infirmary bed. Minjoo was Sakura's junior in the theater club. 

 

 

"She isn't feeling well." Yena said as she tucked Sakura in and patted the girl's head. "Just rest, alright?"

 

 

"I get it~" Sakura weakly replied. 

 

 

"Get well soon.." Minjoo walked over and squeezed Sakura's hand. 

 

 

"What's with you guys?" Sakura laughed, "I'm not gonna die. You should all go back to class." 

 

 

After a few more words, the four left her alone and the silence begun to swallow her. She really took the opportunity to come there when she knew Gaeun wouldn't be there. As much as being spoiled by the woman sounded great, she didn't want to give in to that. 

 

 

"You have to let go.. Little by little.. You need to stop hurting yourself like that." 

 

 

She repeated the words to herself... It was like she was trying to hypnotize herself. She kept going for 10 years.. Hasn't there been enough signs saying she should just give up?

 

 

Most people would argue that having your feelings brushed aside for 10 years was as good as a direct rejection and to some extent, she agreed... But is it wrong for her to want her feelings to be recognized.. and be treated like it's real? 

 

 

She found tears appearing in her eyes and she laughed bitterly. "I didn't even cry after we talked.. Why am I suddenly.." 

 

 

Soft whimpers suddenly resounded in the room. 

 

 

In the 10 years she pursued Gaeun.. She never cried. Not once. 

 

 

Maybe she was stupidly hopeful. She was thinking about how things would get better one day and before she knew it, she had wasted 10 years of her life on one person. 

 

 

But what could she do? She loved her.. She loved her so much.

 

 

Gaeun was wrong. 

 

 

Sakura didn't fall in love with Gaeun because they were always together.. 

 

 

It was because Sakura loved Gaeun that she did everything so they could keep being together. 

 

 

If Sakura hadn't felt the way she did, she would never have come all the way to Korea just so she didn't have to part with Gaeun. She went through the trouble of convincing her parents that she could do it and because she was responsible, they believed in her enough to let her transfer to Korea.

 

 

It wasn't easy living in a different country. Even with Gaeun helping her get used to it, it was a big move for her to decide something like moving countries.. and all that she did for Gaeun yet.. 

 

 

Why can't Gaeun take her feelings as it is?

 

 

All these questions circled her head like painful reminders stabbing her all over. Little by little, her cries were silenced as she ever so slowly drifted to sleep. 

 

 

 

 

 

~ + ~

 

 

 

 

...She opened her eyes to find herself looking at the infirmary window. From how the sky looked, it was already late. It must be dismissal already. 

 

 

"Ugh.. Did I sleep for that long? " Sakura closed her eyes tightly and then sighed. 

 

 

"Considering you pushed yourself to go to school when you weren't feeling well and went pale, I'm not surprised." A voice caught her attention. 

 

 

Sakura sat up immediately, looking to her side to see Gaeun sitting down on her table, looking through some files. 

 

 

"I should take you to a hospital." Gaeun looked at her with.. a different expression. It wasn't the gentle look she was used to. It was more serious.. mature. 

 

 

Maybe.. for a second.. Sakura found it attractive. 

 

 

She shook her head and quickly got out of the bed, ignoring the pounding in her head. "No. It's fine. I'll just rest some more when I get home and I'll be fine." 

 

 

"Come home with me." Gaeun suddenly requested.. No, it was more of an order.

 

 

"What? Weren't you the one who said we needed a time off?" 

 

 

"We've had enough time off." Gaeun started clearing her table, placing the papers in the drawer before picking up her bag. "It's obvious that you haven't been taking care of yourself. I'll cook for you so come home with me." 

 

 

"If I say no?" Sakura asked, back turned from Gaeun. 

 

 

"I'm not giving you choices, Miyawaki." 

 

 

"Yeah.. Because you love deciding things for me." Sakura laughed in a very sarcastic manner. "You even decide what I feel and don't feel, right?" 

 

 

"Sakura." Gaeun was stern, strict.. Maybe it was her being in character because as long as she was in school, she was a teacher.  

 

 

"No. I'm not going with you." Sakura faced Gaeun with a glare, taking Gaeun by surprise. The older woman tried to stop her eyes from shaking and kept a straight face as Sakura looked directly at her. "This is a bit beyond your duty as a teacher and the school nurse, Ssaem." 

 

 

"I'm not doing this as your teacher."

 

 

"Then what? "

 

 

....

 

 

Gaeun couldn't answer the question. 

 

 

"Is that my bag? " Sakura pointed at the bag next to Gaeun's table.

 

 

"...Y-Yeah.. Hyewon dropped by earlier and brought it here." 

 

 

Sakura walked close to table and swore she saw Gaeun flinch a little when she took her bag. "See you tomorrow, Ssaem." 

 

 

"Excuse meeeee..." the door opened slowly, revealing Chaeyeon. "Ah! Thank goodness.. The nurse is still here.. and Sakura-unnie?" 

 

 

"Chaeyeon? Why? Are you okay?" Sakura looked at Chaeyeon and noticed she was limping as she walked in. "What happened?" 

 

 

"Ah~ We didn't have dance practice today but I was practicing alone and uh.. got into a little accident." Chaeyeon waved. "It's not that bad though but I still thought I should get it checked."

 

 

"Yah, Ssaem." Sakura turned to Gaeun. "Why are you just sitting there? She's injured."

 

 

"A-Ah.. Right." Gaeun shook her head in attempt to regain focus and stood up to assist Chaeyeon. 

 

 

"Unnie.. She's a teacher." Chaeyeon giggled, unable to sense the atmosphere in the room due to her attention being on her aching ankle. 

 

 

"Your safety first, respect after." Sakura joked despite how heavy she was feeling. She can't drag Chaeyeon down with her mood. "Want me to wait for you?" 

 

 

"Is that okay?" Chaeyeon beamed. 

 

 

"You're staying on the 2nd floor." Sakura laughed. "I'd like to see you drag yourself up there alone." 

 

 

"You two live in the same dorm?" Gaeun asked as she started applying some gel on Chaeyeon's ankle, massaging it gently. 

 

 

"Yeah~" Chaeyeon nodded. 

 

 

"You close?" Gaeun kept going for idle talk; distracting the patient while she gets her work done.. but maybe she had some other motive behind her questions. 

 

 

"No." 

 

 

"Ouch." Sakura frowned and fake cried when Chaeyeon denied it. 

 

 

"We don't talk much!" Chaeyeon laughed and Sakura found herself laughing at Chaeyeon's laugh. 

 

 

"What kind of laugh-" The two kept laughing while Gaeun seemed slightly distracted. 

 

 

She started wrapping bandage around Chaeyeon's ankle as the two students kept joking around. "I think this is good.. I was just about to go home for the day. I'll drive you two to the dorm." 

 

 

"I'd pass but it would take Sakura-unnie and me forever if we walked." Chaeyeon smiled gratefully. 

 

 

"I'll help you walk." Sakura went to Chaeyeon's side as soon as Gaeun had left it and ever so slightly, maybe Gaeun felt something from it. 

 

 

Maybe.

 

 

 

 

~ + ~

 

 

 

 

"Thanks for dropping us~" Chaeyeon looked into the car through the passenger seat's open window. She had her arm around Sakura's shoulder, relying on the older yet shorter girl for support. 

 

 

"No.. It would've been wrong of me not to do anything." Gaeun smiled with her eyes. "Take care."

 

 

"Yes~" Chaeyeon gleefully replied before the two of them begun walking to the building.

 

 

"Ah.. Sakura." Gaeun called out.

 

 

"What?" Sakura spoke rudely again, prompting Chaeyeon to hit her arm. 

 

 

"....Come to my house after school tomorrow." Gaeun said firmly before closing the window and driving off. 

 

 

....

 

 

"What was that..." Chaeyeon looked at Sakura suspiciously. "Did she just ask you to go to her house???"

 

 

"What the- You speak Japanese???"

 

 

"That's not important!! She just asked you to come to her house tomorrow!!"

 

 

"Chaeyeon.. It's not what you think."

 

 

"Are you and.. her.. like that? Are you two.. Heol.."

 

 

"Chaeyeon.. No.. I'm telling you that's not it..."

 

 

"Oh my god.. 6 years .. It was Gaeun-ssaem???" 

 

 

"I mean- It is- But what you're thinking is wrong."

 

 

"Oh- So she was the one you were talking about???"

 

 

"Ugh.. It's a long story."

 

 

"My roommate will be home late."

 

 

"What?"

 

 

"We can talk about it."

 

 

"Chaeyeon- I-"

 

 

"I already overheard what she said. It's too late to decide not to tell me anything."

 

 

"I-" Sakura was going to retort but found that she had no excuses to say. She just gave up and agreed, saying, "Agh.. God.. Okay, fine. Since I ended up knowing about your little thing with the Pres.. I'll tell you."

 

 

 

 

.

 

 

 

 

.

 

 

 

 

.

 

 

"Soo... You two are childhood friends?" Chaeyeon recalled everything Sakura told her. They were in Chaeyeon's room, chilling on Chaeyeon's bed. Like she said, her roommate wasn't there yet so they were able to talk about the details comfortably. Okay, maybe not comfortably. Sakura was somewhat forced to spill. 

 

 

"Yeah..."

 

 

"And you went to Korea because of her?"

 

 

".....Why do you have to keep repeating these things.."

 

 

"Yah! That's amazing though." Chaeyeon kept looking at Sakura with admiration. "For you to be so dedicated to someone.. Not everyone can do something like that. To think you lasted 10 years.. We didn't even last a single year..."

 

 

Sakura could feel Chaeyeon's aura changing again and begun to pat the girl's head. "Don't suddenly get gloomy on me!" 

 

 

"Sorry.. I suddenly remembered.. I'm not doing a good job of moving on, Am I?" 

 

 

"That stuff takes time... I mean, look at me. It's been 10 years and I'm not over it." Sakura laughed at her joke regardless of how much it pained her to say it. 

 

 

"Don't say things like that.."

 

 

"Sorry, sorry~" Sakura leaned on Chaeyeon's shoulder, surprising the girl a little but she didn't resist. 

 

 

They had a little moment.. and then the sound of the door unlocking got both of their eyes turning to the door. 

 

 

"I'm home-" Chaeyeon's roommate, who so happened to be Minjoo, suddenly started bowing when she realized who was in the room. "Ah- Kkura-unnie! Helloooo..."

 

 

"What are you so awkward for?" Sakura got up from the bed and greeted Minjoo with a hug. 

 

 

"It's just- I didn't expect you to be here." Minjoo smiled before hugging Sakura back. "I didn't know you guys knew each other."

 

 

"We just talked recently." Sakura let go to give Minjoo the chance to change into her slippers. "So you two are roommates."

 

 

"We're childhood friends, Chaeyeon and I." 

 

 

"Ahhh." Sakura nodded. "Hm.. It's late already.. I should go and let you two rest." Sakura excused herself. 

 

 

"You can stay longer though.." Minjoo pouted. 

 

 

"Don't look so sad~ We see each other all the time.. Aren't you tired of my face already?"

 

 

"No~ Kkura-unnie is really pretty and I like you a lot~"

 

 

"Aish~ But you rejected me~ You don't want to be Miyawaki Minjoo.. You want to stay Kim, don't you?" 

 

 

"OH-" Chaeyeon got what Sakura implied and was wiggling her brows at Sakura. While Chaeyeon already had a different view on who Sakura implied, she was still supportive of Minjoo. 

 

 

"Unnie!!!" 

 

 

"You like K.C. more than me.." Sakura faked disappointment before leaving their room. 

 

 

"Y-Yah! Unnie-" Minjoo tried to stop her but Sakura already closed the door.

 

 

 

~ + ~

 

 

 

||a/n: Yo yo yo~  Seems like a lot of things happened this day, huh? 

First off, I missed Class 3-1's group~ SeoYenHyeKura!! I missed writing about their dynamic~ It's cute how they're always looking out for each other whenever one is down. The fight with Gaeun really threw Sakura's system off..

On one hand, from how she reacted to Sakura's confession, isn't it already obvious that Gaeun doesn't feel the same way? That's how Sakura sees it but there seems to be more to Gaeun's reactions and behavior... Was she asking Chaeyeon about her relation to Sakura as a sister figure or? 

Well! That was chapter 2~ Chaeyeon and Sakura are starting to get closer.. as broken-hearted buddies? Whatever it is, it's something. Hope you liked this chapter. See you on the next one~||