Strictly No Dating

Chapter 13

Eunbi, Sakura, Hitomi and Nako were getting on the earlier flight out from Gimpo to Haneda that morning. The four of them had a schedule to attend, which was an appearance in a show called UTAGE. They’ll be performing a special stage of KARA’s Mister, the song that used to take Japan by storm, that features energetic dance moves. Though Eunbi’s the one with the weakest Japanese among all the Korean members, she was going with them as the leader and also the dancer.

They had been training for the stage for a week prior, all four of them. Things had improved between her and Sakura, until Sana came visiting their dorm. Sakura had been cold to her since then, avoiding her and ignoring her again. Eunbi wasn’t feeling well, she was still recovering from cold, and she has no energy to deal with Sakura. They also didn’t have the time to talk privately. There’s always people around them, the members, the managers, the coordi, the trainer, the makeup artist and the list goes on.

Eunbi climbed onto the backseat of the van and decided to sleep all the way to the airport.

“Is Eunbi unnie, okay?” asked Hitomi to Nako.

Nako glanced at the leader who was sleeping at the backseat.

“She’s okay. She told me that she took some meds this morning so that she’ll get better in time for recording,” she replied.

Sakura overheard them but she stopped herself from looking at the backseat. She still has a lot of pent up feelings inside, and the leader didn’t bother to ask.

Why should I care about her, then?

They arrived at the airport and Sakura was the first to get out of the van. Nako and Hitomi followed suit. Sakura didn’t bother to do her makeup or wear presentable clothes. She was wearing a fit black tee and black pants, with a cap and a mask to cover her face. Unlike the other two Japanese girls who looked like they’re about to go shopping in town.

“Where’s Eunbi-chan?” asked a female Japanese staff.

The three of them looked at her blankly.

“I can’t believe you guys,” she said, shaking her head. She headed back inside the van and soon came out with a groggy looking Eunbi.

The female staff is their costume designer, Matsu. She had been working for AKB for years, and now is working with izone in producing their stage outfits. She’s one of the Japanese staff that’s quite close with Eunbi. Matsu put a white cap on Eunbi’s disheveled hair and then they begin walking through the crowd of fans and reporters.

**

The four girls sat at the waiting area while waiting for their flight to Tokyo. Eunbi was sitting next to Sakura, but they were sitting way too far from each other, as if one of them carries a contagious disease. Nako and Hitomi can’t help but noticed the foul mood between them. Though it was only an hour flight, but it felt like it was a really long ride.

They went straight to the studio for the show filming. Their managers were briefing them about the show, saying that Nako and Hitomi will have to leave the studio before 10pm, leaving only Sakura and Eunbi.

“Sakura, you have to help Eunbi if she’s lost, okay? It’s gonna be a three hours show. You have to take care of each other,” said Jenny as the girls were being prepped up by their makeup artistes.

Sakura smiled weakly and nodded, “Of course I will. Don’t worry.”

Eunbi glanced at Sakura and smiled at her, only to be greeted with a glare.

Jenny left after finished with her briefing, and Matsu came by Sakura’s side. She smiled at the younger girl, and then proceeded to fix her outfit.

“What’s the problem between you and Eunbi-chan?” she asked in a hushed voice.

Sakura gulped, “What do you mean problem? We’re okay.”

“You’ve been cold to her since this morning and everyone saw that. Are you two fighting?”

“N-No! Why are we fighting? We’re doing just fine!”

Matsu sighed, “Whatever problem you have with her, you better fix it. You’re going to spend 3 hours together and I don’t want you two look like a divorced couple that’s forced to sit together.”

**

Eunbi was really nervous, for a lot of reasons.

She’s the only Korean member that’s attending, on a major Japanese TV show, and they’re going to sing and dance live to Mister, and the show will take 3 hours, plus recording process, it will be more than that. That means hours of sitting next to Sakura, it’s like a date but caught on tape. It would be exciting, like a date, if only Sakura wasn’t treating her so coldly.

“We can do this!” Eunbi cheered with her members before the filming starts.

Nako looked at her, pouting, “I’m really nervous, Eunbi unnie.”

“It’s okay, we can do this,” Eunbi replied, her hand clutching on Nako’s tightly.

Sakura looked at Eunbi and their eyes met. For the first time since 2 days ago, Sakura smiled at her.

“You too. Don’t be nervous, Eunbi-chan,” she said.

Eunbi smiled back, for some reason she felt some butterflies.

“Thanks Kkura chan.”

The show went on smoothly, with the experienced host handling it so well, and then came their time to perform. The four of them performed flawlessly, despite being nervous, they were professional and managed to finish the stage with loud applauses.

When it was time the emcee asked them questions, Eunbi and Sakura exchanged looks. Sakura then answered the questions lightly, enticing laughs from the audience like a pro she is. The leader can’t help but felt relieved. Sakura is so dependable while they’re in Japan, she always felt assured whenever they went to new shows or unfamiliar settings, because Sakura is there with them.

Soon it was time for Nako and Hitomi to leave. Eunbi scooted closer to Sakura and they sat together at the middle of the artistes’ seats. The show continued with more performances, but most of the songs are unfamiliar and the jokes seems to be funny, but she barely understands anything. Her eye lids were getting heavy and soon she yawned.

Sakura looked at her, “Unnie, are you okay?”

“I’m sleepy, Kkura-ya. Can I sleep?”

Sakura snorted, “No you can’t. Do you want to be caught sleeping on TV?”

Eunbi pouted and sighed.

“I barely understand what they’re saying. Can you explain them to me?”

Sakura bit her lip, trying not to laugh. Eunbi was being too adorable.

“I can’t keep translatin