Sakura went to the convenient store with Minju, Chaewon and Yena before their practice. They've been busy preparing for their  Korean comeback this November. When she returned to the dorm she saw her dongsaes at the living room. She handed them some snacks she bought. She asked if Chaeyeon already came back. Yuri, Wonyoung, Nako, and Hiichan nodded and pointed to their room. Sakura immediately went to Chaeyeon.

"Jjaeyeon?"

Chaeyeon rise up from her bed to greet Sakura.

"Saku-chan!"

"Are you feeling better?"

Chaeyeon nodded. She has been feeling under the weather the past few days. Her mom picked her up to go to the hospital for check-up. Fortunately, she was able to return to their dorm right away.

"Do you need anything? You want something?", Sakura asked.

"I'm okay. Thank you", Chaeyeon replied.

Sakura sat on Chaeyeon's bed and placed her hand on Chaeyeon's forehead, then on her neck. Chaeyeon just smiled as she looked at her bestfriend worried about her. Chaeyeon suddenly hugged Sakura. 

"Don't get sick, Jjaeyeon-ah."

Chaeyeon tightened their hug.

Sakura has been sleeping in the storage room also known as her gaming room while Chaeyeon has been sleeping in the living room. As everyone is getting ready to sleep, Sakura stayed at the living room with Chaeyeon. Both of them are busy with their phones. Sakura rushed to her room and immediately returned to the living room. She showed something to Chaeyeon. It's their polaroid picture. Sakura took her phone and placed the polaroid picture at the back. She proudly showed it to Chaeyeon. The two smiled at each other.

Sakura lied down on the sofa as she kept browsing at her phone. She stopped when she saw Chaeyeon used her leg as her pillow. She just smiled and quietly took a photo of her bestfriend. Eventually, the two fell asleep on the living room.

Chaeyeon was the first to wake up. She was surprised to see Sakura sleeping on the sofa too. She moved her a little bit and covered her with blanket. 

IZ*ONE is headed to Japan for Vampire hi-touch. Although they are focused on their Korean comeback, their schedule sometimes overlap with their activities in Japan. Inspite of all these, the members always greet the fans with bright smiles.

During hi-touch, fans get the chance to converse with the members though the time is really short. Fans ask random things about the member they lined up to. They sometimes ask about their thoughts on their co-members, among other things. 

Since airport photos of IZ*ONE were uploaded, a fan noticed the polaroid picture on Sakura's phone. During hi-touch, a fan asked Sakura who's in the picture. She didn't understand it at first but in the end she said it's Chaeyeon. There is also a fan who said she likes KkuChaen, Sakura and Chaeyeon's pairing. Sakura thanked the fan and wrote, 'KkuChaen Always' on the album sleeve.

Chaeyeon was asked about Sakura and she said everyday, they become stronger. The fan also requested Chaeyeon to draw Sakura. She did. 

After their hi-touch, IZ*ONE returned to Korea. They got into comeback preparations again. Their debut anniversary is in a few days too. After another day of tiring practice, the girls returned to their dorm. 

Sakura went to her room, her gaming room. It's practically her room now. The members even had to excuse themselves when they enter that room to get something. She decided to sleep there. Everyone is tired from practice so the dorm turned quiet in an instant. Sakura suddenly woke up when she felt someone is beside her. She slowly opened her eyes to see who it is. It's Chaeyeon.

"What are you doing here?", Sakura asked.

"I can't sleep", Chaeyeon answered.

"Come here", Sakura invited Chaeyeon to come closer.

"Saku-chan...do you know what day is it?"

"Tuesday?"

Chaeyeon blurted a short laugh.

"Not that."

Sakura took her phone to check the time, it's almost 2:00 am, October 29.

"It's our debut anniversary."

"One year since we debuted as IZ*ONE."

There was a short silence.

"Saku-chan, do you think we'll stay like this even after IZ*ONE disbands..."

"Of course, we'll always be like this."

"Promise?"

Sakura rise up and sat on the bed. 

"I wanted to debut with you. I'm forever grateful that we debuted together. It's fate, the 12 of us. I think no matter what happens, IZ*ONE will be IZ*ONE. We'll always be one."

Chaeyeon placed her head on Sakura's lap.

"I think WIZ*ONE will be with us too even after our contract ends. Once a WIZ*ONE, always a WIZ*ONE. I'm really thankful for all of our fans. They are the reason we exist."

Sakura gently caressed Chaeyeon's head. 

"Promise, KkuChaen always", Sakura uttered.

Chaeyeon slowly got up and hugged Sakura. 

"Promise", Chaeyeon responded.

She thought of something as she realized it's almost time for the members to wake up. She felt sorry that Sakura didn't get enough sleep. But Sakura didn't mind it. They thought of cooking breakfast together for the members.

As they finished setting the table, they woke up the members one by one. They greeted each other happily as they realized it's their debut anniversary. They gathered on the dining table and saw the food Chaeyeon and Sakura prepared. Everyone got excited.

After a few moments, they started tearing up. The laughter turned to tears. They ended up hugging and comforting each other. 

"Yah! That's enough... We're crying because we're happy, right?", Chaeyeon said.

Everyone agreed.

"Let's stop crying now. Let's continue to work hard and give our best. Let's show everyone how thankful we are for their love and support to us."

They gathered around and placed their hands in.

"Who are we?", Sakura called.

"I, I, IZ*ONE!"

"Let's eat", Wonyoung said.

Everyone laughed.

As they finished eating, the members got ready for their schedule that day. Their group chat is very much alive as they keep greeting one another, from one dorm to another. When it's their call time, everyone went down and hopped in the van. The usual loud IZ*ONE appeared. The noise died down when Eunbi started to speak. 

"Everyone...Happy Debut Anniversary!"

Loud cheers followed after. The leader can't help but get emotional as she continued to speak.

"I love you all. Let's work hard as IZ*ONE who's always grateful to our WIZ*ONEs."

-END-

It's been a year since IZ*ONE's debut.

Let's keep supporting them, loving them always.