Day 1

Chaeyeon smiled brightly as she watched Sakura draw some caricatures of herself on the blackboard. “That’s something else.”

“Well, I am an art club member,” Sakura said proudly.

Chaeyeon laughed and picked up a brush to erase Sakura’s drawing. “Can you do one of me?” she asked, even though she had already made the poor girl draw three drawings already.

“Okay,” Sakura said immediately and went at it again.

Chaeyeon had been surprised by how talkative and how easy it had been to get along with Sakura. The girl had been quiet for almost the entire day. Even during their class introductions, the girl had been barely audible. However, Chaeyeon always gave everyone the benefit of the doubt and knew that some people took time to adjust to a new environment. “Why is my mouth so big?”

“Because you have a big mouth,” Sakura said before looking at Chaeyeon with shock and held a hand over as if she couldn’t believe she said that.

“Hah, I do, don’t I?” Chaeyeon laughed again.

“I meant to say that you smile a lot,” Sakura said sheepishly. She seemed to realize that Chaeyeon didn’t think of her comment as an insult though. “I like to think my drawings capture the essence of people. When I look at you all I see is your smile.”

Chaeyeon rarely ever became embarrassed. But Sakura’s innocent comment was close to making her blush. She felt another giggle well up as she looked at her new friend. “Well, we better to finish up cleaning and get you to your club or we’ll be here all day.”

“Chaeyeon-san, you asked me to do this,” Sakura said with a bit of a whine which made Chaeyeon giggle even more.

Day 2

Chaeyeon smiled when Sakura came up to her at the end of the class. She could see that the girl was still shy around the other students and had waited until Chaeyeon was alone. “Sakura-san, how are you finding the class?” she asked when it looked like Sakura was hesitant to speak first.

“Ah, it’s okay,” Sakura answered with a shy smile. “Congrats on being the class representative.”

“Thanks! There weren’t any other nominees, so I only won by default,” Chaeyeon said modestly.

“There weren’t any other nominees because everyone thought that you were perfect for the role,” Sakura said, shaking her head at Chaeyeon’s comment.

Chaeyeon had meant her comment as a light-hearted deprecating joke but seeing the seriousness in Sakura’s face touched her. “I’ll have to do my best then to meet up with the class’s expectations then.”

“I’m sure you will do fine,” Sakura said firmly. “Well, I have to go and open my club up, so I’ll see you later.”

“Hey, I’ll go with you,” Chaeyeon said as she grabbed her school bag so that she could walk beside the other girl. “Do you already have club activities planned for today?”

“No, not really. You saw the club yesterday, right? We’re quite small. I need to prepare some posters and other materials for our open house on Friday,” Sakura said as the two of them left the classroom.

“Are you going to be okay with that?” Chaeyeon asked with a serious tone of voice. The question was a little blunt she had to admit, but her concerns outweighed her thoughts on propriety. Although she’d only known the girl for all of two days, she had a strong feeling that Sakura was not used to handling something like club recruitment.

Sakura looked at Chaeyeon with surprise. After a moment, she looked down with a small wane smile before looking at her again. “I’ll have to be. My senpai is counting on me to carry on the club. Thanks for asking though.”

“I’ll be busy with my own club activities starting up soon as well, but the least I can do is lend an ear if you need it,” Chaeyeon said and felt relief when the girl immediately responded with a smile.

Day 10

“I’ve never seen anyone so happy to be on cleaning duty before,” Chaeyeon laughed when she looked at Sakura’s wide smile at the end of the class.

“That’s because I get the work with you,” Sakura said unabashedly.

The girl’s cheesy lines were starting to chip away at Chaeyeon’s defenses. No high school girl talked the way Sakura did to a friend. “I am fun to be around,” Chaeyeon said jokingly.

“You also do a great job cleaning. You’d make someone a fine housewife,” Sakura said with a wicked grin.

Chaeyeon laughed. The girl had gotten her with that last one. She had literally felt herself go ‘aww’ at Sakura’s earlier comment and then wham. It seemed crazy to Chaeyeon how quickly she was connecting with this girl who she had wrongly thought of as a quiet girl.

Chaeyeon moved to the back of the classroom to get the cleaning supplies. As she moved, she unconsciously twirled and skipped to some beat that only she could hear. She hummed when she got to the locker and pulled out the things that they would need.

“You’re so good at that. Is that the new routine you’re always talking about?” Sakura asked.

“Ah, I guess so,” Chaeyeon answered vaguely, slightly ashamed that she had still been thinking of the routine that she had sworn she would forget. The routine was in actuality a specific routine for the center position. A position that wasn’t hers.

“I saw some of your club’s routines last year when you guys held an exhibition. Whenever you did anything, I would hear all the girls in my class cheering for you,” Sakura continued. She looked up with a distracted smile as if remembering the scene.

Sakura was still saying all these nice things. “Uh, they were probably just cheering for all of us. I doubt they picked me out specifically.”

“Well, I definitely was shouting Jjaeyeon when I heard who the lone first year in the exhibition was.”

“Jjaeyeon?” Chaeyeon laughed and could see Sakura go bright red.

“Chaeyeon! Geez, that was last year,” Sakura said with a pout.

Chaeyeon watched the girl amusedly as she brought the supplies back. As she watched the girl, she thought about her dilemma and wondered again if she should talk with Sakura about it. It had been eating up inside her for the better part of a week and she could still not make a decision. And it wasn’t like she could talk about it with her teammates either.

“What is it?” Sakura asked as she looked at Chaeyeon with concern in her voice.

Chaeyeon looked at Sakura. She must have looked silly standing in a daze. “Ah, sorry, it’s nothing.”

“Um, I might not be able to help, but when you told me that you would lend an ear if I ever needed it, it made me really happy. I just want you to know, I would do the same for you.”

Chaeyeon sighed, again feeling the burden that she’d been keeping to herself. She hesitated before nodding at Sakura’s offer. “Thanks. Well, I guess something has been on my mind. Every year, our club needs to decide on the center for some of our routines. I’ve been thinking of trying out for it.”

“You should do it!” Sakura shrieked with glee and smiled broadly. “You’re so good, it’d be a shame if you didn’t try for it.”

“You think so? I’m worried about some of my teammates. I know there’s a few that want to be center and some of them have asked for my blessing. I think I might hurt some of my friends if I compete for it as well.”

“Ah,” Sakura uttered and froze on the spot, seemingly not expecting the other facet to Chaeyeon’s dilemma. “That does sound like a problem.”

“Right?’ Chaeyeon said glumly. Although, she still didn’t know if she should do it yet or not, Sakura’s immediate response had made her happy. It had been the same reaction she had had when she first thought about the center position tryouts.

Day 25

Chaeyeon watched as her tired friend slept beside her. She was glad she had invited Sakura over for a sleepover. The way the girl’s eyes lit up at the invitation had been really cute. The way the girl’s eyes were slightly open as she slept, however, was not so cute.

She looked at her phone to make sure that she had captured Sakura’s sleeping form. They would have a good laugh over it tomorrow, she was sure. It was funny how she was absolutely certain of it. They’d only known each other for less than a month, but here she was acting as if they’d known each other forever.

Chaeyeon always considered herself a friendly girl who got along with most people. It seemed most people generally liked her as well. However, she always felt that she never truly had many close friends. Friends close enough to share her worries with. She had so many worries sometimes that it became suffocating and she found herself having trouble breathing literally.

Then came Sakura. The girl always listened to every one of her gripes seriously no matter how small or big. She found the worries that had once suffocated under gradually becoming lighter. She still worried about her place in the cheer dancing club, whether her teammates were angry with her for taking the center position, or whether she deserved it. But simply knowing that someone was on her side at all times made it all bearable.

“Good night,” Chaeyeon whispered and laid her head on the pillow. She watched the girl until her eyes got tired and she dozed off.

Day 43

You could dance in front of me for the rest of my life and I wouldn’t get tired of it, Chaeyeon’s thoughts kept going back to Sakura’s words. Again, she was caught off guard by the other girl’s seemingly innocuous comments.

Chaeyeon had never felt shy about dancing before today. Now, she wondered if she could ever dance in front of her friend ever again. Why did she have to go and say that?

Day 56

Chaeyeon clutched at her and Sakura’s exchange diary. She let herself fall on the bed backwards and stared up at the ceiling. The year before when their club had started traveling for the cheer dancing competitions it had been a little difficult. She’d never really left her sisters’ and mother’s side before, so it had taken some getting used to.

Leaving her friend of only a couple of months behind, however, had been brutal. Every day she thought about Sakura and how the girl was handling being on her own. Chaeyeon worried if the girl sat alone for lunch or if she was handling the class representative duties okay or if she simply missed her. Reading the diary had alleviated some of her concern over her friend’s well-being. But it had also completely wrecked her by reminding her how much she missed her friend.

Day 72

Is this too much? Chaeyeon wondered as she looked at herself in the mirror. The dress seemed way too fancy and revealed way too much of her shoulders. Tonight was just supposed to be a celebratory dinner between two friends.

Would she get the wrong idea? Chaeyeon continued to worry as she turned around to get a full view of the dress. And what would be the wrong idea? That Chaeyeon was feeling things that one should probably not feel for their best friend? No, that wasn’t right. There was nothing wrong with what she was feeling.

So, why can’t I just come out and say it? Chaeyeon knew the answer to the question even though she asked it of herself over and over. There was the possibility that Sakura didn’t feel the same way and their relationship would change as a result.

Chaeyeon resolved that the only solution was to make Sakura confess how she felt first. That was easier said than done, however.

Day 73

Chaeyeon rubbed her thumb along the picture frame. The present that Sakura had given her was now her most precious item in the whole world. While she hadn’t gotten Sakura to admit that there was anything between them outside of friendship, she still thought the dinner had been productive.

Sakura’s eyes seemed like they would pop out of their sockets with how much she had been ogling. Chaeyeon had pretended not to notice how blatant Sakura was. All in all, it seemed like a good first step in evolving their relationship to something more.

Day 192

Chaeyeon watched from the door as her best friend did something she’d never expected to see. Sakura was dancing. I didn’t even know she was interested, Chaeyeon thought.

But of course, Sakura must have been interested. Chaeyeon had learned a lot of things about her friend this past year. Chief among them was that Sakura had wanted to be an actor or an idol when she was a child. Recently, the girl had been coming to terms with her regrets and started singing again. Dancing would be something she probably used to love as well.

So, then why didn’t Sakura tell her best friend, who the girl always claimed to be a great dancer. Instead, the girl was dancing in secret when Chaeyeon had left her alone. Watching the girl, Chaeyeon could guess the answer. The girl was ashamed to bring it up with her.

“Ahem,” Chaeyeon said as she opened the door wider and stepped in. “That’s pretty good. Was that a girl group dance? It looks like the latest from Red Velvet, right?”

Even though Chaeyeon tried to be casual about it, she could see all color drain from Sakura’s face as the girl immediately stopped dancing. “Ah, I was just fooling around.”

“Really? You’ve got some good moves for just fooling around,” Chaeyeon said, trying again to sound as if it wasn’t a big deal.

“Yeah, just fooling around. Why are you back so soon? Did you make sure to get all of the cleaning supplies that we’re out of?” Sakura asked, deflecting the topic again.

Chaeyeon sighed inwardly as it looked like the girl was in no mood to continue the conversation in the direction that she had wanted to take it. She kicked herself mentally for screwing it up. She gave herself another kick for not noticing Sakura’s desires sooner.

Chaeyeon had been so preoccupied with trying to get Sakura to admit that they shared mutual feelings for each other that she had lost sight of being the girl’s supposed best friend. What can I do to help Sakura when she won’t even dare to dance in front of me?

The obvious answer was that she needed Sakura to become more comfortable about the idea of dancing together. What she had tried earlier was the correct stance to take. She needed to continuously bring it up and downplay how big a deal it was.

Day 208

Chaeyeon closed her eyes as she held Sakura in a big hug. She had done it. She had finally gotten Sakura to agree to practice dancing with her.

A part of Chaeyeon felt bad about using Sakura’s kouhai and the girl’s desire to help against her. But in the end, she still felt glad. It had been ridiculously long and difficult process to get Sakura to listen to any of her pleas for the two of them to dance together.

Chaeyeon felt relief from some of the guilt that she had felt by not noticing Sakura’s desires earlier. Everything had an order to it. Making sure that her friend was doing well needed to be done first before she could even consider confessing her feelings.

Day 222

“Can you believe those two?” Chaeyeon laughed awkwardly as she closed the door to her room.

“What they said was true though. If I married you, they would become my real sisters,” Sakura said dreamily as if already imagining Chaeryeong and Chaemin as her sisters. “Do you want to get married?

“Wha..,” Chaeyeon stammered as she looked at Sakura’s serious face.

“Let’s do it!” Sakura said as pulled Chaeyeon over to the bed and sat her down. She then dramatically got on one knee and looked imploringly at her. “Would you marry me?”

Sakura really was an amazing actor. One could tell that she had some acting experience. It would be so easy to roll with it and just say yes.

“Was that too gross?” Sakura said when Chaeyeon didn’t reply. She got up off the floor and sat next Chaeyeon.

“No, no. You were very suave. So suave, I think I bit my tongue in shock.”

“Hey, I wanted to thank you again for helping me and Hitomi practice dancing,” Sakura said. “Hey, don’t get angry. I know you told me not to bring it up and I won’t again after tonight. I just wanted you to know how much I appreciated it.”

Chaeyeon remained silent as she watched her friend speak. She found that she couldn’t say anything, so she instead took a hold of Sakura’s hand while the girl spoke her thoughts.

“I didn’t want to tell you this, but I felt really embarrassed at the thought of us dancing together. I know that you don’t like to hear it, but our levels are so different from each other.”

Chaeyeon shook her head and finally found her voice. “Would you feel the same way if I asked you to help me learn how to play video games?’

Sakura hung her head. “No. I get that it was silly and rude of me to think that way. You are my best… no, I want to say that you are one of the most important people in my life.”

“You are one of the most important people in my life too,” Chaeyeon said with a smile. She could see Sakura look back up at her also with a smile. This would have to do for now.

Day 2414

“Are you winning?” Chaeyeon asked Sakura as she watched her play while they sat next to each other.

Sakura rolled her eyes at Chaeyeon. “You don’t win at Animal Crossing.”

Chaeyeon grew confused. “Then why do you play it.”

“Well, let me ask you a question. What did you get by posting those dance covers on your YouTube channel?” Sakura asked.

“Hmm, maybe a dollar? I was demonetized because I used the copyrighted music,” Chaeyeon answered with a shrug.

“Then why do you do it?” Sakura asked the same question Chaeyeon had posed earlier.

“That’s fair, I guess,” Chaeyeon said with a laugh. “Luckily your channel actually makes money.”

“You know while I did say that I could watch you dance forever…,” Sakura started to say before Chaeyeon pulled her down to nuzzle at her neck, stopping her from completing the sentence.

Sakura: …