//

 

slender fingers lightly combed through short brown locks, the tenderness of the touch giving her an ephemeral rush of subtle shivers. sakura has gotten used to the way wonyoung’s fingers thread through her hair, it isn’t only her habit it seems. often, the other members, too liked to play with her hair (which has grown blatantly longer). 

 

sakura bites her tongue— not that it helped easing the spiciness of the ramen she’s currently eating. now who was it that had told her that the ramen ‘wasn’t spicy at all’? 

 

“ah- wonyoungie, do me a favour and fetch me a glass of cold water please? i forgot about it earlier...” sakura requested in between catching breaths, fanning with her hand frantically. 

 

the youngest springs up from the couch behind her, her soft giggles could be heard but sakura pays no mind. 

 

“okay but first, please make your payment!” wonyoung exclaims as she occupies the spot beside sakura who then gives her a questioning look.

 

wonyoung opens and points, implying the obvious. with an amused chuckle, sakura gladly feeds her some of the ramen. 

 

“yum~ payment complete! i’ll be right back!” and off the youngest goes into the kitchen, jumping over the couch (and almost hitting nako in the process) like the energetic rabbit she is. 

 

“thanks!” sakura smiles as she watches her go, amazed by the mechanism that is wonyoung’s lithe legs (as always).

 

just as she turns her head to carry on watching her drama, the doorbell sounds, signalling a rather eager guest as it continues to ring relentlessly. 

 

“i got it!”

 

amazingly, yuri rushes from their shared room to open the door at the speed of light, swiftly gliding across the polished wooden floor with her adorable super mario socks. sakura inwardly gushes, glad that she had bought them for yuri seeing how much the girl likes it.

 

yuri had just barely unlocked the door when it suddenly bursts open (fortunately, she wasn’t flattened), giving way to yet another energetic critter. ahn yujin, still clad in her school uniform, dashes straight towards the cherry blossom with a sheet of paper flailing in her hand, her backpack bouncing along her springy steps.

 

“sakura unnie! kkura unnie! unnie! i did it-“ the highschooler shouts with a level of enthusiasm which seems to burgeon every time her feet leaves the floor. 

 

even though sakura is used to yujin’s extraordinary energy, it overwhelms her at times (like these). teenagers sure have a lot of vigour, sakura would think. was she ever this energetic when she was at their baby line’s tender age? 

 

“woah, calm down! what’s got our doggo so pumped up?” sakura had to pull on yujin’s wrist to halt her little jumping session.

 

those endearing dimples that formed when a huge grin carves its way onto yujin’s plump lips, cute! then she proceeds to shove the paper which she had been flailing around in sakura’s face, causing the older to jerk back on instinct.

 

sakura’s eyes immediately traveled to the striking red ink (which seemed to be screaming at her) on the top right hand corner of the mathematics paper. 

 

“i did it unnie! i scored above 55 for my math test for the first time!” yujin exclaims proudly as she points eagerly to the number 63 out of a hundred written on her paper.

 

eventually, sakura’s lips curved up. it may not have been a big deal for some people with a brain practically identical to that of einstein’s but for yujin, she knew that it is rather a big deal. considering she would normally get a score ranging around fifty-five and below (yujin is sensitive about this). like yujin, sakura could feel bliss— or rather, pride— engulfing her whole being.

 

“now that’s an achievement to be very happy about. see? i told you, you can do it!” sakura praises her fondly, ruffling yujin’s hair playfully.

 

if it’s from sakura, yujin wouldn’t mind her hair being messed up. she releases a child-like giggle from the gesture, feeling warmth tickling her insides. 

 

“yeah! and it’s because i listened to you well!”

 

sakura nods in acknowledgement.

 

“what did i tell you? practice makes perfect!” she dons a cocky smile as she folds her arms across her chest, proud that her help and advice for yujin worked like magic.

 

all those times spent re-doing demoralising math practice papers definitely showed its worth, as much as yujin hated it. 

 

“thank you so much, unnie! please tutor me more!” yujin suddenly jumps on her, wrapping her arms around the japanese to reel her in for a fleeting, bone-crushing hug. 

 

“ooh~ is that ramen? can i have some? i feel like i could eat a horse!” 

 

sakura is really thankful that her bowl of ramen distracted yujin, else she would have completely dysfunctional lungs.

 

“sure yujinie, dig in.” she says as she sits up after being tackled by yujin to the floor.

 

looking through yujin’s math test paper, sakura would say she was rather impressed. all the concepts that yujin previously found hard to understand had been mostly cleared, aside from a few careless mistakes. certainly pleased with yujin’s improvements, sakura countlessly praised her and would gently pat her head for every question she skimmed through.

 

you can bet yujin looked at her with stars in her eyes as she praised her continuously.

 

unbeknownst to the duo, wonyoung had been eyeing the (digustingly) cute exchange they had from the kitchen. with every interaction they had, her lips unknowingly formed a pout, eyebrows furrowed along with a faint feeling of j-(redacted). it’s rather childish, wonyoung would rather not say it. but it was normal for ‘babies’ like her to feel a wee bit of it right? especially when their favourite person dotes on another ‘baby’.

 

“here’s your water,” wonyoung says in a slightly firm tone as she places the glass of cold water on the coffee table with a thud.

 

“oh thanks wonyoungie-“

 

“kkura unnie’s water.”

 

nako, who had only watched the whole (chucklesome) situation with amusement, shakes her lightly. 

 

“i guess the unnie line isn’t enough for sakuchan, oh dear.”

 

nako reckons sakura is going to have a hard time, because... babies. no other words needed.

 

///

 

jang wonyoung lives for every moment sakura’s soft lips would make contact with her forehead. she gets them when cutely asked, sometimes she gets them without having the need to ask. it almost perfectly depicts how pampered she is by the older members.

 

/

 

sakura kisses her forehead before she goes to bed; 

 

“kkura unnie...” wonyoung’s calls out in a hushed baby-like tone, sitting up on her bunk whilst gently clutching her blanket.

 

her eyes trailed after the figure approaching her bunk. sakura stands on the first step of the ladder connected to their bunk, then on the second (because she still couldn’t reach wonyoung’s eye level).

 

feeling the familiar warm sensation settling in the pit of her stomach, wonyoung slightly leans forward, just at the right angle for sakura to plant a light kiss on her forehead. 

 

“sleep well baby bunny, don’t grow too tall. spare some inches for nako.”

 

sakura decides to ignore the piercing stare burning through the back of her head even though she could feel her skin crawl under the intensity.

 

/

 

sakura also kisses her forehead when she wakes up;

 

“wonyo, jjaeyeon made breakfast. time to wake up, little one.” 

 

sakura’s head peeks up at the side of her bunk, smiling warmly at the sight of the dazed youngest. being not the quite morning person, wonyoung releases a whine, not exactly wanting to wake up yet. she hugs her blanket close, the silky fabric embracing her lithe figure like a warm cocoon.

 

sakura pulls her shoulder, gently forcing her to turn around. wonyoung is awake, she can get up but knowing she’s close to the side of the bed where sakura is peeking from, she doesn’t open them. she doesn’t think she’s ready to be blinded so early in the morning.

 

but when warm lips connect to her forehead, she flutters her eyes open with a sheepish curve to her lips.

 

“good morning, unnie.”

 

/

 

and sakura kisses her whenever she thinks wonyoung needs a recharge.

 

“tired?” 

 

wonyoung laid sprawled on the cold concrete floor of the company’s practice room, the coolness slowly seeping into her warm back. her hair is sticking onto her face, it sort of tickles. her muscles are worn out, she knows she would wake up all sore waist and below tomorrow. ultimately, trainings are hard but for their fans, she’ll do anything— which includes putting up the best possible performance for their upcoming concerts. and for her to go all out, it means a whole lot of cardio training.

 

how does tomi-unnie do it? this, sometimes she wondered about.

 

so with the little amount of energy she has left, she nods (just barely) at the cherry blossom’s question. 

 

a tug on her forearm, then a startling cold sensation to her left cheek. wonyoung pouts when sakura pulls away the bottle of cold drink from her face. 

 

“c’mon, get up. you’re not supposed to lay motionless after a hard workout. move around and drink some water.” sakura instructs like the professional she is, offering the bottle.

 

heaving a sigh, wonyoung slowly rises to her feet— her muscles practically screaming in agony in the process. water never tasted so good right then.

 

“looks like this bunny needs to be energised,” sakura says, seeing that the youngest looks like she’s barely functioning.

 

wonyoung blinks as she angles her head down to look at sakura who reached up to brush the strands of hair sticking to her forehead. and before sakura could bless her forehead, wonyoung halts her with a light holding grip on her shoulder.

 

“don’t, my forehead is sweaty.” she frowns, making the older one chuckle lightly.

 

that didn’t stop sakura though, because then she uses her sleeves to wipe wonyoung’s forehead dry before standing on her toes to place a light kiss her forehead.

 

“there you go.” sakura steps back with a lopsided grin etched on her lips.

 

wonyoung purses her lips, tightens her grip on the bottle because curse her unnie for being too darn cute! she’s lucky she had just finished her cardio workout, because then her members wouldn’t suspect her reddening cheeks. 

 

she fakes a cough, or two. and then meets the owner of those brilliant brown eyes who stood before her.

 

“you’ve been giving me kisses, now i want to return them.” she speaks firmly, her demure nature suddenly transitioning into a sly one.

 

sakura stares at her with confusion, barely having the time to react when wonyoung swiftly leans in to peck the spot dangerously close to the corner of her lips.

 

and for a moment, her brain refuses to operate, leaving her completely stunned. her ears— her whole face scorched and then there’s the youngest currently running away from her laughing her heart out, shocking her with how fast she regained her energy.

 

“j-jang wonyoung?!” within seconds, a sudden game of tag ensues. 

 

subsequently, the door opens, revealing yujin who then watched the two, perplexed. shortly after though, she joins them even though she had no idea how it all began.

 

sitting on a table at the corner of the room, nako smiles in amusement, thinking that it was better off yujin doesn’t know. else, a baby (but chaotic) version of world war iii would commence.

 

/

 

“yujin-ah... you know that i’m really sorry,” 

 

for all sakura knew, it was that teenagers are rather hard to please. they’re at the age where they feel various emotions at once— leading to odd mood swings, and that they require (want) attention almost equivalent to that of a child.

 

ahn yujin shrugs off the hand holding onto her shoulder, her head turned to the other side with her plump lips jutting out. she’s upset, part of it because sakura missed her birthday live but most of it because she recently found out (from yuri) that sakura peppers their youngest with kisses while she doesn’t receive any.  

 

she‘s aware that it’s childish, but teens tend to be affected by little things. it’s alright, sakura emphatises. she was like that when she was yujin’s age.

 

even though they uploaded a post on their instagram regarding sakura and yuri’s birthday message to her, yujin wished sakura’s message was a little longer.

 

“is our precious sun mad? you know i had to get my makeup done.” sakura peeks into her peripheral vision, looking up at yujin with her big eyes.

 

“i know but... unnie,” yujin turns to her, and sakura is convinced that she’s looking at an actual low-spirited puppy.

 

lord, help... she’s having a heart attack due to this girl’s unexpected cuteness. actually, she should be arrested for merely making yujin upset. the ‘criminality’ is eating her alive internally, how dare she draw a frown on the face of their endearing sun. 

 

“...why does wonyoung get kisses and i don’t?”

 

it caught sakura off-guard for a moment, leaving her lips parted as she stares at yujin blankly. then she breaks into a fit of giggles, because jealous yujin is beyond adorable and all she wants to do now is spoil her to the best of her ability (yikes).

 

“‘cause i’m her favourite!” before she could answer, wonyoung exclaimed from the kitchen, sounding ever so smug as if she won something of high significance.

 

“you play favourites?!” yujin suddenly yells, distressed by now as she gives sakura a look of disbelief.

 

sakura rolls her eyes. then she places her hands on yujin’s rigid shoulders firmly. 

 

“no, i love each and every one of my members equally.” she truthfully proclaims, eyeing the girl with an intent gaze. 

 

because she really does. playing favourites means unfairness, all of her members are amazing in their own ways. she didn’t want to be misunderstood.

 

“except for yena unnie,” 

 

sakura whips her head to the smallest member. she shakes her head and puts up an index finger. maybe it was because of the fact that the duo were labelled as tom & jerry that nako had said that (though it was a joke). true, they bicker 25/8 but that doesn’t mean sakura loves her any less (because she could never). if anything, they probably have a unique chemistry whenever they are together. 

 

“nako, that’s not true. that kid teases me a lot but i still love her.” she clears because she admits she’s a little embarrassed having to say that out loud.

 

it’s very fortunate that the duck isn’t here to hear all that, else yena would get weirdly affectionate with her.

 

nako laughed— or cackled— as she gave sakura a look of mischief. she waves her phone in one hand and sakura instantly knew what she plans to do.

 

“...yena unnie needs to hear what you just said.”

 

“NO! forget what i said-“

 

sakura heaves a long sigh because honestly, she knows nako is going to tell that duck regardless so she didn’t see the point in stopping the savage mid- nako. she turns back to yujin, who’s still sulking beside her about not being given kisses.

 

sakura feels thankful to be one of the older members, because she gets to baby the younger ones. (yes, she likes pampering them, so what?) often, their dorm(s) feel like a childcare.

 

she palms yujin’s soft cheeks, her lips curving up as she gently gazes into those pretty eyes of yujin’s. (it’s super effective!) a look of pleasant surprise replaced yujin’s sulky look, she’s visibly frozen and her lips are pressed into a (tremulous) thin line. 

 

“ahn baby yujin, what unnie likes most about you is your unmatched energy. you easily inject laughter and happiness into everyone, your dimples are highly fatal that you make everyone swoon just by smiling at them,” sakura doesn’t break their eye contact, because she wants to convey her sincerity not only verbally but also through her warm, holding gaze.

 

then her smile was quick to dissolve into a tight-lipped one. her brows slightly creased as she squishes yujin’s cheeks, the action seeming to enhance her already plump lips. her soft gaze abruptly shifts to an intent look.

 

“but just because you’re in charge of energy in our group, doesn’t mean you don’t need to recharge yourself. your happiness comes first, because you are just as important as everyone else. you smile for everyone, but never forget to smile for yourself. if you have any concerns, i’ll always be your listening ear.”

 

yujin only nods when sakura gave her a look of reassurance, the seriousness of her gaze soon dissipates back to tenderness in all its splendour.

 

“i’m always watching you from afar and you always make me proud.”

 

sakura’s lips pressed on the corner of her left eye, lingering for a few seconds, was enough to make yujin’s eyes well up and her chin to tremble like a child. the sudden surge of emotions made a lump in , those words were what she had been wanting to hear coming out from the cherry blossom’s lips.

 

“u-unnie... you-“ with her choking on her words, clearly, she wasn’t emotionally ready for it.

 

when the first bead of tear trickles down her flushed cheek, sakura wipes it away with her thumb.

 

“come here you crybaby.” then she kisses away the rest when the dam broke.

 

after a series of comforting kisses on her face, yujin’s muffled cries eventually turned into laughter. sakura’s kisses are kind of ticklish yet they feel so warm and soft against her skin.

 

“more more!” 

 

“you greedy doggo!”

 

“only for your love, unnie.”

 

it amazes sakura how yujin could easily switch from a crying mess to a teasing and shameless airhead. 

 

“oh my god, yujin...”

 

cringing, sakura began pushing her away when yujin playfully leaned in with her long arms locked around her shoulders. there’s a hint of mischief reflecting in her eyes.

 

“perhaps... one on the lips?”

 

bewilderment flashes across her face and sakura begins to ponder how and where the hell the younger members gained the instant confidence from. yujin was even shameless about it. quickly, she covers her assailant’s lips when she got too close.

 

“stop the childish contest with wonyoungie on trying to get my undivided attention and maybe i’ll think about it.”

 

“yeah... i’mma hold you on that.”

 

sakura really doesn’t understand why kids dislike sharing. but when she thinks back to the moments when she refuses to let anyone touch her umeboshis, then she understands.

 

we all have that one thing that we really just, do not want to share.

 

unfortunately (is it really?), she happens to be the ‘umeboshi’ in her group.

 

///

 

if there is one (of many) odd thing ahn yujin loves doing, it would be playing with sakura’s biceps. she’s convinced that there’s nothing much more intriguing than poking fun at sakura’s biceps. first of all, she claims that it’s soft and squishy, as if there’s just the right amount of flesh located there. they’re as soft and squishy as the numerous plushies situated on her bed. 

 

secondly, she finds them rather satisfying when she squishes them within her palms or when she playfully pinches them. (this is justified by yena as well.) it’s even better when sakura wears sleeveless shirts.

 

...without context, this is highly unusual.

 

“yujin, what are you even doing to sakuchan’s biceps? stop disturbing her, she looks so done with... whatever you’re doing.” chaeyeon sounds from the kitchen, seated on one of the dining chairs currently peeling tangerines. 

 

“but chaeyeon unnie! it’s so soft and cute, let me play with her arm a little longer!” yujin grins broadly, paying chaeyeon no mind as she continues playing with sakura’s arm. 

 

sakura thinks that what’s even more ‘soft and cute’ is none other ahn yujin herself at the moment.

 

“now that’s just weird.” chaewon, who had came over to their dorm (to ensure yujin doesn’t wreak havoc), stops munching on her pringles to give yujin a scrunched look.

 

yujin rolls her eyes, sticking her tongue out at her dormmate.

 

“try touching it and i guarantee you’ll totally take back your words.” 

 

you see... sakura has long given up trying to push yujin away— even though it actually tickles and gives her shivers. but if merely playing with her alleged ‘soft’ arms makes yujin a j