Day 121
DaydreamsDay 102
“It was nice of your Senpai to organize this with us,” Nako said as she skipped happily beside Sakura.
“Yes, she’s very thoughtful. She knew about my issues with singing and wanted to help me face them head on,” Sakura said.
“I prepared my playlist last night. I picked a lot of girl group songs that I’m sure the cheer dance club will like,” Nako said as she showed Sakura her phone.
“I’m sure they’re going to love it. I heard from Senpai that they love playing around by doing things like random dance.”
“Are you going to participate? Have you even danced to anything recently?” Nako asked Sakura doubtfully.
“I know the choreo for that one group if we’re talking about kpop. For jpop, I think I know some of the signature moves for some songs, but probably not the full routine of any of them.” The thought of dancing in front of people she didn’t know was scary enough without Sakura thinking about Nako’s questions.
“You actually know how to dance to kpop?” Nako’s question showed that she remained skeptical.
“What? Don’t look at me like that. I actually ended up getting my own Red Velvet albums since I liked them so much. I may also have spent the last couple of weekends falling down the Youtube rabbit hole. So, yeah, I guess you can say that I know some dance moves now.” She’d only been able to practice them in front of her bathroom mirror, so she had no idea if she was even doing the moves right.
“I guess that’s just like you. You really go all out when you become interested in anything. I see you’ve replaced Sae on the back of your phone.” Nako pointed at the back of her own phone. Sakura could see that it was a picture of some idol that she didn’t recognize. It made her a little disappointed. When the girl was younger, she used to have pictures of the two of them there.
“Sae’s still in my heart,” Sakura said defensively. She held out her phone to show that she still had the cute girl as a wallpaper. “I’m not like you. I don’t rank my idols by where I keep their pictures. I like to rotate the ones that I like. The next cute photo of hers that I find I’ll put there.”
“I don’t rank them,” Nako said as it was her turn to be on the defensive.
“Oh, please. I know that you keep your favorites in your wallet. The ones on your phone are like second best. Who do you have in your wallet now? Is it still that one that just graduated from being an idol? Or is it that other girl? The leader of that kpop group you like. Probably both.”
“They have names you know,” Nako said, sounding a little miffed. “And you’re wrong about the pictures in my wallet being my favorite. They’re just… pictures.”
Sakura rolled her eyes at how fishy Nako was acting. She caught the girl opening her wallet more than once while smiling with a goofy looking smile. Nako was usually pretty upfront about the idols she was infatuated with, so Sakura felt a little curious about what the girl was hiding. “Sorry, it was Sashi, wasn’t it? Before that it was Mayu? Now, it’s Jihyo?”
Nako stared at Sakura. She seemed to be at a loss for words.
“Hey, I did tell you that I had been listening to the music you listened to. I also paid attention to who caught your attention,” Sakura said, shrugging at Nako.
“Yeah, I guess you have been paying attention to some things,” Nako said wryly. “More than I thought.”
“What do you mean by that?” Sakura asked.
“Nothing,” Nako replied as she continued to skip beside Sakura. It seemed to her that the girl had a bigger bounce in her step than before.
“I’m surprised to see you at school today,” Sakura said as she wheeled the push cart and walked beside Wonyoung. The younger girl was dressed in her school uniform even though there weren’t any classes.
“The other student council members are here too. It seems they’re all pretty passionate about doing as much as they can for the rest of the year. We all decided to come during the break to get some extra work done,” Wonyoung explained.
Sakura would say that it was probably because they were all inspired by Wonyoung, but she knew the girl would deny it. “I’m sorry that I had to take some of your time to help me pick up some stuff from the kitchen.”
“It’s no problem. I was at the school anyway. Do you need me to help you set up as well, Unnie?”
“I’ve taken a lot of your time already. I can handle it.” Sakura took her hands off the push cart to show off her biceps.
Wonyoung bent down and made a show of looking very hard for Sakura’s not well-defined muscles. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, don’t worry. There are people there that can help me. You’ve already been a big help helping me load up this cart. I was lucky running into you.”
“Well, it actually wasn’t that much of a coincidence,” Wonyoung said shyly. “I knew your club, the cheer dance club, and the light music club were doing a joint activity today. The council did approve of the expense after all. So, I might have been taking a break and hoping to bump into you earlier.”
“Aw, that was sweet of you. Thanks for approving our expense by the way,” Sakura said, tilting her head slightly at the girl. “I hope it wasn’t too unreasonable.”
“Not at all. You’re using equipment and food from the school and you’re doing this on school grounds. Compared to some other requests, this was really an affordable expense.” Wonyoung always seemed to stand up straighter and speak with more authority when she talked with her student council president’s voice.
“When you talk like this, I feel bad about babying you all the time,” Sakura said as she looked at the younger girl with pride.
“I like it when you baby me,” Wonyoung said immediately dropping the mature tone from earlier to a more babyish one. “Pat me on the head again.”
“Yes, yes,” Sakura said as she reached up to pat the girl on the head as she was told. The girl could ask for the moon and Sakura would find some way to give it to her.
Wonyoung giggled as Sakura fulfilled her wish. “Thanks. You’re the only one that gives me head pats.”
“Well, I’ll always be here to smother you with love and treat you like the kid you are whenever you want it.”
Wonyoung’s expression seemed to change as she gave Sakura a thin smile. “Always is a long time. I guess that’ll do for now.”
“For now? Listen here, missy, even after I graduate and even you end up going to a different university, you can always reach out to me, okay?”
“Don’t think that graduation or separate universities is going to stop me from doing that, Unnie,” Wonyoung laughed. “I’d like to think we’ll be on a more even ground by then and maybe I’ll be the one that’ll be babying you.”
Sakura smiled at the thought of the younger girl being the mature one in their relationship in the future. She reached out to try and ruffle the girl’s hair to show what she thought of that, but this time Wonyoung giggled and dodged. Somehow, she couldn’t stop seeing the younger girl as the giant baby that she was.
“Yujin, you were great,” Sakura complimented the younger girl as they worked together to prepare the barbeque. “Eunbi and I didn’t prepare anything and didn’t really think we would need to talk about today’s event. Luckily you were here to be our MC.”
“It was nothing,” Yujin said modestly. However, as amazing as she had been earlier, the girl was now having trouble preparing the simple side dishes.
“Here, let me,” Sakura said as she moved to where the other girl was and demonstrated again how to form an onigiri.
“See, this is difficult. Just talking isn’t that hard.” Yujin seemed to be frustrated as she tried to form the triangle shaped rice ball like Sakura did.
“If it were me and I knew that I had to say something before hand, it would have taken me all night to prepare. I would’ve needed to organize everything I wanted to say. Trying to present something without looking like you’re given a boring presentation is hard. It would have taken me hours just to think of some light-hearted jokes. But you did all of that without any preparation.”
“I guess I have some experience as a class representative in junior high. I used to present news and upcoming events to the class. Like I said, I don’t think it’s that big a deal.”
“You’re a weird one. You never let me praise you at the things you’re good at and you get stuck on things that you’re not good at,” Sakura said as she watched Yujin’s frustration mount as she again tried to form another onigiri.
“I guess it’s kind of embarrassing being praised for stuff that I don’t think I’m putting any effort into. It’s like being praised for being tall.”
Sakura knew that she was guilty as one those people that made a big deal over Yujin’s height. “I don’t think they’re quite the same. Being tall and being able to speak well are pretty different.”
“Well, I guess to me, they’re not so different. I’d rather people compliment me on the stuff I work hard at.”
“See, that’s a problem in itself. You’re like a genius and you pick up everything that you like so quickly. The things you don’t like, I’m not sure you’re putting much effort into like studying for tests.”
“Well, not everything I like I’m good at,” Yujin muttered. “It’s embarrassing to say, but I like cooking like this with you. But even doing something simple like this is difficult for me and I am trying.”
“You have a point,” Sakura said as she looked at the three oddly shaped onigiri that Yujin made. “Well, presentation is only part of what makes food delicious. Here let me try one.”
“Wait,” Yujin said as she grabbed one of the onigiri balls and moved it slowly to Sakura’s mouth when she saw that Sakura’s hands were occupied.
“Mmm, it’s actually pretty good. Well seasoned. Good filling to rice ratio. You did good,” Sakura said after she finished a bite.
“You’re so embarrassing, Senpai,” Yujin said, blushing. It was rare for her to be able to tease the younger girl who usually did most of the teasing. The girl’s cheeks remained a rosy color as she fed the rest of the onigiri to Sakura.
“You don’t have to force yourself, Yuri,” Sakura said with slight disappointment as the younger girl made a face.
“No, no, I really like it,” Yuri said, obviously lying. tried to form a smile as she bit into one of the onigiri that Sakura had made.
“Umeboshi isn’t for everyone, I guess. I should make a separate pile for these.” Sakura was pretty confident that most of the Japanese students would probably like them, but she didn’t account for the Korean students’ tastes.
“Sorry, about that,” Yuri mumbled, still trying to finish the rice ball she had in her hand.
“Hey, it’s okay. That’s the thing with cooking. Not everyone’s tastes are the same,” Sakura said while she tried to reach for the piece that was in Yuri’s hands.
“You’re working so hard making food for us, I don’t want it to go to waste,” Yuri said as she held the onigiri away from Sakura. “It’s just a little sour. I think I’m getting used to it.”
“Well, okay, then.” Sakura moved to sit down next to the girl. It looks like she was watching the other girls set up some of the games they would be playing after lunch.
“Did you think it would be like this at the beginning of the year?” Yuri asked as she watched their respective club members in front of them.
“I had hopes of course, but this is better than what I imagined. Last year, our summer event was just me and Eunbi-senpai and the ghost members. It was nice, but not very lively. After I only managed to recruit Yujin and you, I remember being worried that this year’s summer event would be the same.”
“I had actually been hoping it would be like that,” Yuri said weakly. “So many people from the cheer dance club who I don’t really know. I’m not good at socializing with new people.”
“You did pretty well with your new club members.”
“That’s a little different. We’re all in the same year and we all have the same interest in singing. Honestly, I would have preferred to stay home and sleep. But when I think about how much you were looking forward to this, I couldn’t help but feel the same.”
“Actually, I think I’m the same way. I’m pretty introverted and I value my private time. But when I think about Senpai and how much work she’s done for the club, I feel like I want to do something for her. And really, not just for her, but for everyone here, myself included. I think everyone would like the chance to create good memories with their senpai before they leave.”
Yuri looked at Sakura with a smile. “Yeah, I get that.”
“Next year, when it’s your guys turn to plan the summer event, maybe then you can make it a sleepover or something. Then you don’t have to leave the house,” Sakura joked.
“Senpai, are you trying to see me in my sleepwear again?” Yuri asked with an exaggerated gasp. “Well, if it’s just you…”
Sakura looked at Yuri and flicked a finger at her forehead.
“How is the meat doing?” Sakura asked Chaeyeon as she returned to the grill.
“Pretty good. Should be ready in a few minutes,” Chaeyeon replied as she fanned herself.
“Thanks for you hard work,” Sakura said as she handed a cold cola to Chaeyeon.
“Thank you as well. You and Yujin did a pretty good job on the other dishes.” Chaeyeon took the cold bottle and put it up against her face to cool herself off. She then popped the lid and took a sip. “Is this full sugar soda?” she asked as she made a face.
“Oh, sorry. Let me get you another one. I’ll take that one,” Sakura said as she went over to the cooler for another drink.
“If you wanted to share a second-hand kiss, you didn’t have to take such a roundabout way to do it,” Chaeyeon joked.
Sakura looked at her best friend and rolled her eyes. “We practically eat off each other’s plate during lunch. I think whatever germs you have I already have.”
“Thanks,” Chaeyeon said as Sakura handed her another drink. “You don’t get flustered when I make jokes like that anymore. I miss the innocent Sakura who blushed at everything.”
“It just shows how much you’ve corrupted me.” Sakura looked over at the girl who immediately opened her eyes wide in shock before nearly collapsing over herself with laughter. Chaeyeon’s laughter never failed to make Sakura smile herself.
“Well, if you think I’ve corrupted you, you haven’t seen anything yet,” Chaeyeon said after she recovered. She grabbed Sakura by the small of her back and pulled her up close so that they were face to face with each other.
If it were any other girl, Sakura would be blushing like crazy. “Hmm, I think I can see your nose hairs from here.”
Chaeyeon immediately let Sakura go and then laughed. “That’s not fair. Don’t I make your heart race anymore?”
Sakura shrugged. Truth be told, her heart still raced quite a lot whenever her best friend was not her wacky self. She was half glad that the girl was cooking and not taking part in the dance game. She knew she would be caught with open watching avidly. But then, she knew she wouldn’t have been alone as many of the girls here were zealous fans of Chaeyeon. She was also half disappointed as that meant she didn’t get to see Chaeyeon dance which she had been looking forward to.
“Mmm, can you smell that? I think they’re really going to like it,” Chaeyeon said as she moved back to the grill to start plating.
“You’re too nice. You make food that you don’t really eat for other people. You slave over the grill while other people have fun.” Even Sakura had taken time away to at least watch some of the activities. Chaeyeon hadn’t moved since she arrived.
“This is fun for me. And if I took part in the random dance, I think people wouldn’t have as much fun.” Chaeyeon seemed to know that all eyes would be on her.
“That’s actually what makes it fun for us. Everyone here wants to see you go all out. You’re denying them that but staying here.” Sakura moved over to the grill and took the tongs from Chaeyeon. “Go, have fun. I’ll finish up here.”
“Thanks,” Chaeyeon said as she took off her apron and put it on Sakura.
Sakura smiled happily as she felt Chaeyeon pause as she put the apron around her neck and then pulled her into an unexpected hug.
“Are you enjoying it?” Sakura asked Yena.
“Yeah,” Yena tried to say in between mouthfuls.
“Let me get you another drink?” Sakura went to grab a bottle of cola when she saw Yena’s bottle half empty.
“Now, you’re being creepy,” Yena said, imitating Sakura’s sound of disgust from a few weeks ago.
“Hey, I told you I was sorry for calling you that. I’m just trying to make sure you’re having a good time.” Sakura puffed out her cheeks to show that she took offense at the girl’s remarks.
Yena responded like she usually did by protruding her lips. “Hey, it still stings. Anyway, I’m fine. Stop your fussing.”
“Okay, sheesh,” Sakura said as she moved to sit beside the girl.
“You’ve been tense all day,” Yena said after she finished off her plate.
“I just want to make sure everything goes perfect. It’s my first time helping organize something like this,” Sakura said as her eyes darted around their site.
“Stop that. You’re going to make some people uncomfortable,” Yena snapped and elbowed Sakura lightly in the ribs.
“I’m not good at this kind of thing,” Sakura lamented as she finally took her eyes off her surroundings to look at Yena.
“Not everyone is good at everything,” Yena declared.
“According to you, you are good at everything,” Sakura couldn’t help but reply.
“Maybe not everything,” Yena conceded. “It just takes practice. You’ll get use to it.”
“How do you do it? You seem like a natural. I think I’ve seen you talk with every cheer dance club member and every light music club member.”
“I don’t think I do anything special. Chaeyeon, Yujin, and your friend Nako are also pretty good at making friends and socializing.”
“Normies,” Sakura muttered.
“Hey, it’s not a bad thing. If I have to say what the difference between you and us is, it’s probably that our desire to talk with people is greater than our desire to not inconvenience them,” Yena said with a philosophical tone.
Sakura blinked, not expecting Yena to make a sound critique. “I guess that’s usually what I’m worried about. I really want to talk with people, but I constantly worry that I’m bothering them.”
“Okay, I’ll help you practice then,” Yena said as she got up and put down her plate.
“Hey,” Sakura gasped as Yena pulled her up and wrapped an arm around her body as if to prevent her from escaping.
“Kkura, we’re going to socialize the socks off these people.” Yena proceeded to drag Sakura to the biggest gathering.
“You look tired,” Sakura said as she handed Eunbi a bottle of sprite.
“Well, it’s been a while since I danced so much,” Eunbi said as she gratefully accepted the drink.
Watching the older girl drink her favorite drink was not something that Sakura knew she needed until she saw it. Eunbi was like one of those beautiful actors in a commercial as she lifted the bottle and gulped down the drink. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as the beverage washed down the other girl’s throat. The sweat glistened off her body finishing the moment.
“What are you looking at,” Eunbi asked as she put down the bottle.
“Ah, heh, nothing. I’ve just never seen you so thirsty before,” Sakura said as she hastily averted her eyes to look back at the group that was still dancing. You’re the one that’s thirsty, her traitorous brain told herself.
“Yeah, I used to down bottles of these a day when I was dancing. The art club is not as strenuous for sure.”
“How is your leg?” Sakura asked worriedly as she remembered why it was that her senpai hadn’t danced much.
“Don’t worry, I was careful. I worked up a sweat, but I went easy on anything difficult,” Eunbi said as she looked down at her leg.
“Yeah, I’ve never seen you like this,” Sakura said, too shy to look at her senpai’s flushed body wet with perspiration. She looked around a found a clean towel and handed it to Eunbi while trying to keep her eyes on the girl’s face.
“Hmm? Have you found a new appreciation for me?” Eunbi asked, seeming to sense weakness in Sakura.
“Senpai, please, you’re sweaty!” Sakura shrieked as Eunbi enveloped her in a tight hug.
“Hmph, you never seem to complain when the other club members hug you. I saw you were okay with skinship when it was with Yujin, Yena, or Yuri,” Eunbi pouted, not letting go of her hold on Sakura.
The other members were not as developed as their senpai and did not make Sakura think certain things. Well, as much, at least. “Uh, well, they weren’t sweaty for one thing.”
Eunbi seemed to finally feel self-conscious about her perspiration and released Sakura. She took the towel and wrapped it around herself. She was still pouting however. “Yena even calls you Kkura. I thought only I got to call you that.”
“I don’t think she knew that you called me that. It kind of just happened with her. You’re not jealous of that are you?”
“I guess so. I was missing some of things that belonged only to us,” Eunbi said as she smiled ruefully at Sakura. “Seeing you having fun with them makes me remember that I don’t have much time left with you in this club while they will have you for at least another year.”
“Our memories belong only to us, you know,” Sakura said after she thought for awhile. “Last year, when it was just the two of us, I’ll never forget those memories. It’s something only the two of us share. The feelings I get from those memories will last me a life time.”
“That’s a nice thought,” Eunbi agreed while cocking her head as if seeing those memories that Sakura spoke of.
Sakura sang to herself happily as she brought the equipment she borrowed back to the kitchen. Today had been an amazing success as far as she was concerned. It looked like everyone had fun and Eunbi was able to spend time with her former club members. So engrossed in her singing, she didn’t notice the other person as she rounded the corner with her cart.
“Ah,” Minju cried out as she bumped in to the cart.
“Minju, are you okay?” Sakura asked in a panicked voice as she rushed over to the girl.
“Ah, Sakura. I don’t know. Let me see.” Minju looked down and wiggled her leg.
Sakura bent down to see where she could have hit the girl. Minju has worn her school uniform today so her legs were uncovered which allowed Sakura to see if she left a mark or not. The girl’s legs were flawless as usual. “Minju, you’re fine.”
“Really? Are you sure?” Minju asked in an overly dramatic voice as if she were asking a doctor if she really didn’t have cancer.
Sakura stood up and rolled her eyes at the girl. Occasionally, she found herself falling for the girl’s over the top reactions. Since the girl reacted like this to almost everything, it made it difficult to discern when it was real and when it was an act. “You got me worried sick about you.”
Minju pouted and wrung her hands. “I guess I wasn’t sure because of the shock of seeing you. I mean you haven’t contacted me all summer, so it was a surprise to see you all of a sudden.”
Pouty face Minju was absolutely adorable. Sakura was finding herself ‘bullying’ Minju more and more just so that she could see this face. She reached out to grab one of the girl’s hands to stop her from wringing them. “Summer’s just started. I was going to message you, but I was busy organizing this event.”
“Okay,” Minju said as her pout immediately turned into a shy smile at Sakura’s touch.
Sakura’s face felt flush as she let go of the girl’s hand. It wasn’t the first time that she casually initiated bodily contact with the girl, but she still wasn’t quite used to it, nor was she used to Minju’s shy reaction to it. “Uh, why are you here today?”
“Our club had decided to be open during the summer. We heard the new student council was lenient on expenses for summer activities if we did them on school grounds. I was glad because I think I would have just spent the summer alone at home reading and writing.”
“Really? What are you guys doing?” Sakura asked. Even after she let go of the girl’s hands, she found that neither she nor her stepped away from each other. Although they were no longer touching, they were still standing quite close to each other.
“Reading and writing in the club room,” Minju said brightly. So brightly that it was almost blinding to Sakura from this distance.
“Isn’t that the same thing?” Sakura asked hesitantly, afraid to dampen the girl’s mood.
“No, it’s very different. When I’m tired of reading or writing, I can talk to one of the other members. They can do the same. You can find out a lot about a person by what they like to read or by their writing. I’m getting to know the members really well.”
“I’m happy for you then.” Sakura has been worried for Minju as it seemed like the girl wasn’t doing a good job opening herself up to her club members. But it seemed that it was working out.
Sakura groaned inwardly as it looked like Hitomi has dressed up and prettily at that. Did all girls dress up when they went out for dinner with a friend? It wasn’t like Sakura had much experience with this. All of it happening this year in fact. “Hi, Hii-chan.”
“Senpai, you’re here,” Hitomi said as she welcomed Sakura with a quick hug.
“Did you wait long?” Sakura asked as she moved over to sit down across from Hitomi.
“No, I just got here a few moments ago.” Hitomi seemed to be the very definition of a glow-up. When she reacquainted herself with the girl at the beginning of the year, she had marveled at how Hitomi had transformed into the slender athletic girl she was now. Tonight, she wore a one piece dress that showed off her slim build and bare arms. The girl always wore minimal makeup before, but here, she was breathtaking. Her bangs were also parted for once so that her forehead could make its glorious appearance.
“Wow, Hii-chan, you look amazing,” Sakura blurted out. Normally, she could somehow manage to keep these thoughts in her head, but the girl was blowing her mind.
“You look good too, Senpai.” The normally weak-to-compliments Hitomi gracefully accepted the compliment without trouble. It was as if her whole attire was battle armor and protected her from Sakura’s attacks.
Sakura looked down at herself. She hadn’t gotten a chance to go home and change and she had just worn her school uniform since she couldn’t be bothered to wear anything else. She had done her makeup in the morning and managed to only just touch it up minimally before dinner. “You’re joking, right?”
“No, you’ve made lots of changes since the beginning of the year,” Hitomi frowned as she quickly denied Sakura’s question.
“I mean sure, but I don’t think it’s nearly as impressive as how you’ve changed since junior high, right?” Sakura asked. Some people had commented on her changes before, Hitomi included, but she didn’t pay much attention to it beyond feeling happy that people had noticed.
“Senpai, I don’t know how to tell you this,” Hitomi said as she looked at Sakura straight in the face. “But the you before was really, how do I put it, not good.”
“Ouch,” Sakura had heard of people remarking about Hitomi’s snarky remarks before but had not really ever been on the other end of it.
“Well, you’re a lot better now,” Hitomi said with a cheeky smile. When Sakura saw those cheeks, all of her attempts to be upset simply vanished. “I’ve always thought that the way you present yourself matters. When you’re out with your friends, you represent your friends. When you’re out on a school event or even near the school, you represent your school.”
“I guess I came to the same thought recently when it comes to my friends and that’s why I’ve made an effort to change somewhat.”
“To you it might seem like a small thing, but to me, I feel like the you now and the you back then are like night and day. It seems like every other week I see something new. Just recently you permed your hair lightly, didn’t you? You only used to have short and straight hair. You even wear a clear nail polish which you would never do before. I’ll know things have really changed if you ever decide to grow your nails long.” Hitomi reached out to hold Sakura’s long fingers up to look at the clear coated short nails.
“That’ll never happen. I like gaming too much,” Sakura said with a slightly overwhelmed voice.
“Maybe we can experiment how long you can grow them,” Hitomi said as she let go of Sakura’s fingers. “But I did mean it when I said you looked good.”
Sakura could see Hitomi look down with a blush at that last sentence. It seemed like her attire could only armor her from such embarrassing comments so far. “Thanks,” Sakura said, also blushing.
Sakura was surprised to see a familiar looking figure bent down playing with another familiar looking cat. “Kim?”
“Ah, Miyawaki,” Chaewon stood up abruptly as if Sakura hadn’t already her caught in the act of making funny faces at a cat.
“I thought you would be back at home for the holidays,” Sakura said as she walked up to Chaewon. She bent down and picked up Maru-chan so that the cat was in between the two of them. She fought hard to keep a straight face as Chaewon alternatively switched between a cool expression and a soft one as she looked between the cat and Sakura.
“I did go back, but I prefer doing homework here, so I come back occasionally. Plus, I miss the freedom of my own place.” Chaewon tried to sound mature, but it was hard to take her seriously when she kept glancing at Maru-chan.
Sakura decided to let Chaewon off easy and let Maru-chan down. “Get back home you,” Sakura said to Maru-chan as if the cat could understand her.
“Bye,” Chaewon waved the cat off enthusiastically before realizing what she was doing. When she turned to face Sakura, she was all business again.
“You know that study guide is not the latest one for the university we’re applying for,” Sakura said now that she got Chaewon’s full attention.
Chaewon looked down and noticed the books that she had put beside the road. She went and picked them up. “Ah, you noticed?”
Among other things, Sakura thought. As soon as she had walked up to the girl, her brain picked up on the fact the girl was not in her school uniform. She had been lucky once before catching the girl outside in casual wear. However, she was dressed much more modestly then she was now. The jean cut-offs and sleeveless shirt she wore right now was much easier on the eyes.
“You didn’t need to tell me. We’re essentially competing for the same scholarships.”
“I wouldn’t feel right knowing that you were using the wrong guide and I didn’t tell you,” Sakura admitted.
“I guess I’m not as ahead of the curve as I thought I was,” Chaewon said glumly as she looked at the study guide.
“I think you probably still are. The guide is probably still useful for the most part. Um, if you want, I could bring you my notes of the current guide the next time we see each other.” Sakura found herself emboldened by her ‘training’ with Yena in talking with people. Normally, at this point she would be worried to death about overstepping her boundaries with Chaewon, but her desire to help and have more to talk about with the girl ended up winning out.
“Thanks, I’d like that. In the mean time, I guess I’ll need to go and find the latest copy,” Chaewon said.
“Yes, you should,” Sakura agreed.
Chaewon stood there and stared at Sakura for what felt like a few moments before waving goodbye. “I guess I’ll see you around.”
Sakura waved back timidly. As the girl walked out of her line of sight, a sudden realization hit her. She had been so busy congratulating herself on proactively engaging Chaewon with study notes that she failed to see the bigger picture. You idiot! Why didn’t you say you could help her find the study guide!
[Kwangbae: You ready?] Sakura laughed as soon as she saw the message on her screen.
[39Kura: You’re so impatient! Yeah, I’m ready. I told my parents I’ll be gaming all night at the PC Bang and to not wait up for me.]
[Kwangbae: They were okay with it?]
[39Kura: I think they’re just happy that I’m not huddled up in my room doing it. They claim they don’t know if I’m alive or dead. If my shoes aren’t at the entrance, they can assume I’m out and alive.]
[Kwangbae: Your parents are funny. My brother comes into my room all the time, so he let’s my parents know I’m just gaming.]
[39Kura: How old is your brother? Mine’s a lot younger than me. He’s still in elementary. He seems scared of me most of the time though and I have to be the one to find him to play with.]
Sakura was surprised when she didn’t get a reply immediately. She wondered if it was sensitive subject. [39Kura: Sorry, you don’t have to tell me. I didn’t mean to pry.]
[Kwangbae: No, it’s not something sensitive. He’s three years younger than me. I was just a little surprised. You don’t usually talk much about your personal life or your family for that matter.]
Sakura paused for a moment before she replied to her friend. In the beginning, Sakura had just been making sure she wasn’t being catfished or anything. She was still hesitant to tell the other girl real names or anything, but over time, other things that she was scared about sharing like her personal life, she found that she wanted this friend of hers to know more and more about. [39Kura: It’s not that sensitive either. I guess it was just something that I thought didn’t matter or that you would care to know about.]
[Kwangbae: Of course not! I would love to know about anything you care to tell me. You’re one of my best friends!]
[39Kura: You’re one of mine too.] Thinking that Kwangbae was one of her best friends made her feel bad that she been keeping part of herself from her conversations with the girl. How could she consider this girl one of her best friends if she didn’t feel comfortable divulging anything personal? She knew almost everything about the other girl’s love life, but she only glossed over hers when the other girl expressed concern about it.
[Kwangbae: So, your brother must be a cutie if he’s so young.]
[39Kura: Yeah, I think so. He kisses me every day when I find him.]
[Kwangbae: Voluntarily? Even my brother didn’t do that anymore after he started school.]
[39Kura: Well, he’s a tsundere, so I have to make him say he loves me and make him kiss me or he won’t do it.]
[Kwangbae: I didn’t know you were that kind of girl…]
[39Kura: Eh? What do you mean?] Sakura laughed as she typed and realized that she and her friend hadn’t even talked about what game they were going to play.
Chaeyeon: You made your brother kiss you?
Sakura: Didn’t you make your sisters kiss you?
Chaeyeon: No. If they did, they would have done it because they wanted to.
Sakura: I would have made Chaeryeong and Chaemin kiss me if they were my sisters.
Chaeyeon: …
Author’s note:
News of IZ*ONE’s resumption of activities was absolutely the best present I could receive even if it was after Christmas. I’m looking forward to the lack of sleep as I wait for teasers and news of their comeback.
Let me know your thoughts!
Comments