//

summer comes fast, with no more wintry breeze to gnaw at their sensitive skins or clog up their noses. weeks ago, sakura had perpetually whined about the harsh bleak weather and begged endlessly for summer to arrive to embrace her freezing .

she had known that summer was just around the corner, however, she didn’t expect summer to come so soon. the sun is blazing, the afternoon is searing with languor and sakura is more than thankful to be sauntering in the mall instead of having to suffer in the sweltering heat outside. 

even so, the glare of the sun rays through the skylight isn’t of much help. to add on to the heat, the mall is bustling with life and packed like sardines. people kept coming in the mall like a stream, desperately wanting to escape the suffocating heat outside. 

now, there‘s a trace of regret, sakura should have appreciated the frigid weather before. suddenly she misses the cold biting her toes. when she gets home, she’ll blast the air-conditioning and the fans. and she’s definitely not letting minjoo stop her.

“hey dunce, what do you think about this?” 

with her elbow propped against the clothes hanger rack, sakura grumbles for the umpteenth time. minjoo just had to drag her along for one of her spontaneous shopping trips when she could have been at home lying under the air-conditioning while messing around with her nintendo switch.

truthfully, sakura doesn’t hate shopping but she isn’t too fond of shopping trips with minjoo. mainly because the latter always ends up being indecisive about the things she wants to purchase. that and the amount of time minjoo spends picking out items— well, shopping overall, takes forever.

at one point, sakura was more than certain that minjoo had ventured to each and every shops in the mall. she would complain about her aching heels while minjoo would look back and give her a look of disbelief, saying, “stop complaining, we’ve only been walking for awhile.”

apparently, walking around the mall for nearly three hours was considered ‘awhile’ to minjoo (while it meant ‘torture’ for sakura’s heels). poor japanese could barely keep up.

all in all, sakura dislikes having to pick everything for her irresolute roommate or generally go shopping with her. 

nonetheless, sakura picks up her head wearily and peers at the redhead who had asked for her opinion. minjoo stood infront of her with mixed expressions, looking at her with anticipating eyes as she rests a hanged blue-striped off-shoulder one piece against her body. 

sakura lets her eyes dart between the one piece dress and minjoo, her cheeks are gradually painted with tints of scarlet as her lips part. an image of minjoo sporting the said off-shoulder one piece flashed in her mind and it was enough to set her insides aflame (the stifling heat surely isn’t helping). 

apart from hating being dragged to the mall by minjoo, this was probably the only reason why sakura ended up following among other reasons. oh devil, come take her soul now.

realising that she’s been silent for a prolonged amount of time, sakura clears and looks away promptly, acting nonchalant as if her face wasn’t burning a second ago. 

“can you just snatch anything and stop asking? you’ll look pretty in anything regardless.” sakura stated truthfully, standing up straight before crossing her arms across her chest.

minjoo facepalmed internally, every time she asks the same thing, sakura answers the same thing. pretty, pretty and pretty— it was endless. she needed proper analysis than just sakura repeating the same over-used adjective.

“ugh, your biasness isn’t helping. i need proper critique than just ‘pretty’!” minjoo puffed her cheeks in annoyance, putting back the one piece dress in place as her trust in sakura’s judgement began to waver.

“but it’s true?! you do look good in everything-“

“oh yeah? what about that one frilly green dress?”

“oh god, don’t even mention that eyesore. it’s horrible! not you, the colour-“

“i’m having a hard time trusting your judgement. i probably looked ugly in half of the clothes i tried on earlier. you- uh... why is your face like that? what’s behind me-“

noticing how sakura’s eyes practically buldged out of her eyes with how her jaw slackened, minjoo was about to turn around to see what sakura was bewildered at but she was abruptly dragged forward and pushed into the fitting room. 

in a flash, sakura locks the door and backs minjoo up against the wall, putting a finger on her lips as an indication to keep silent. 

“shh,” sakura hushed her, eyes never leaving the door as her ears perked up.

utterly stupefied by her roommate’s panicked actions, minjoo squirms in her pinned spot and swats away the finger placed on her lips. her forehead creased as she threw sakura an irked glare, demanding to know what was happening.

sakura better had an extremely good reason for suddenly shoving her in the fitting room without any warnings. minjoo’s heart was pounding due to her impulsive actions.

completely clueless about the situation, she decided to quiz her panicky roommate whose gaze was still fixated on the door.

“what’s going on-“

“shh!”

“why are you-“

“SHH!”

“sakura-“

everything in her mind is eliminated promptly when minjoo feels a pair of moist, strawberry lips smashed onto hers, efficiently sealing her lips from anymore ramblings. she goes wide-eyed when she sees sakura’s closed eyes so near, her delicate long lashes tangible.

a sly dunce.

and the next thing she knew, her body turned submissive, having little to zero control of her own body as she shuts her eyes tightly while sakura’s compelling lips occupied hers. 

feeling dazed as sakura kisses her hard, minjoo’s hands grip onto the sides of her shirt, neither pulling nor pushing away. it was more like grasping onto her for support because out of the blue, minjoo’s knees feel like giving out, her hands are slightly trembling and the uproar of her heartbeat is getting abnormally inordinate.

even though minjoo felt like she was out of her mind at that point in time, she could feel sakura smiling slightly against her lips. she could pull away and start barraging her roommate with punches but again, somehow she doesn’t have full control of her body— like it was yielding as sakura held her in place.

what the hell...

there’s something... ticklish (?) emitting in her stomach and she was entirely sure she had felt this familiar sensation before. but when it happened, it was always around chaewon.

her jumbled thoughts were brought to a standstill when sakura’s mild lips retracted, and minjoo is thankful for the support of the wall because if it weren’t for the wall, her feet would have gave out a long time ago.

“you talk too much.” sakura remarked with a low, alluring voice as her eyes stare intently into minjoo’s, breathing ragged from the lengthy kiss.

she was still holding minjoo in place, against the wall, mesmerised by the redhead’s flushed features. sakura finds it adorable when minjoo is unable to maintain eye contact, her eyes darting everywhere but her own. her glossy lips wet from the fervour kiss earlier was making it hard for sakura to hold back from diving for another kiss, but she managed. 

she can’t afford to lose anymore kisses at the moment, not wanting the game to end so soon. she wants to savour those spellbinding lips of minjoo’s, she wants to take her time  and cherish those lips she badly wished were hers, for she knew she had three kisses left.

“hmm, do you think this dress would suit me?”

“ah... seriously, who told you to be this pretty? i might just sue you for being too gorgeous.” 

those voices...

there is no doubt about it, those voices belonged to hitomi and chaewon respectively. minjoo recognised them in an instant and her eyes instantly traveled to sakura who was currently looking back at the door, engrossed in the couple’s conversation outside. 

then it hit her. were they the reason of sakura’s panicky gestures? it would be sensible since the one who caused her tears on that fateful day was literally standing outside with her lover. sakura must have wanted to avoid the sight of them just for minjoo in case it would trigger her.

minjoo’s eyebrows furrow as she gives sakura a soft look. she was still concentrated on the conversation outside that she failed to notice minjoo’s attentive eyes on her. there’s a small smile on minjoo’s lips.

you... compassionate idiot.

the things this dunce roommate of hers does for her goes far beyond compassion that it’s quite unfathomable.

“hiichan, why don’t you try this dress? i’m sure it’ll look great on you.”

“chaewon... ask me that again and i won’t hesitate to break up with you.”

“what?! but it’s a nice dress!”

“it has mint-choco ice cream designs all over it!”

“h-hey, wait! hiichan, i was just kidding! wait-“ 

as their footsteps faded into the distance, the roommates found themselves giggling quietly after hearing the couple’s laughable conversation (especially the break up threat coming from snarky hitomi). 

“hiichan detests mint-choco so much it’s too hilarious.” sakura guffawed silently as she bends over, clutching her stomach which was aching from the result of too much laughter.

“idiot chae!” minjoo added, covering to stifle her giggles.

after what felt like centuries (minutes), the duo finally exits the fitting room, the colour of their faces resembling red cherries as they earned a suspicious look from one of the staffs who saw them take their leave.

minjoo would not blame the staff for being so dubious because she would be feeling the exact, same way if she ever saw two people instead of one coming out of the fitting room after spending too much time in there doing god-knows-what.

so to avoid possible interrogation, the two gave the staff sheepish smiles before dashing out of the store, making sure to turn a couple of corners. (in case they were being chased, which is unlikely.)

heaving a sigh of relief, the roommates exchanged glances before bursting into yet another fit of laughter. it took awhile for their laughter to subside and they were sure that the people passing by gave them weird looks but they couldn’t care less. it was as if there were only the two of them at that moment and nothing else seemed to matter.

“you know, i actually wouldn’t mind meeting them.” minjoo articulated as her hands combed her hair in order to tame the wild strands.

“you mean... chaewon and hitomi?” sakura tilts her head as she fixed her bangs, her eyes looking up with a slight frown.

minjoo nods and donned a wry smile. 

“i’m fine with them, is that why you shoved me in there? you thought i’d be unhappy if i see them together? ...or was it just to kiss me?” 

when sakura catches minjoo’s suspicious gaze pointed at her, she immediately brings her palms out to protest, sporting a wide (defensive) stance.

“eh?! no! i-i just thought you’d be... bothered.”

sakura’s ears evidently turned a shade of red and minjoo decides that she was only speaking the truth (half truth?). she didn’t forget the moment when sakura was smiling in the midst of their kiss. she wasn’t perturbed though, so she doesn’t bother asking about it. moreover, sakura is already embarrassed enough.

“it’s alright, sakura. i told you i’m getting over her.” minjoo truthfully vocalised and gave sakura a genuine smile to reassure her.

albeit sakura’s actions were superfluous, minjoo was still thankful because she looked out for her. well, not that sakura looking out for   her was anything new. (sakura looks out for her, many a time.) sakura’s tenderness towards her is something minjoo absolutely treasures besides sakura herself (as a whole). however much minjoo would