A/N: Happy Belated Birthay Sakura-chan! I can't believe I missed posting this chapter on time yesterday but yeah...poor time management is the culprit here. Finally it has come to the chapter which is half of this story's namesake, concluding the 2nd arc of the story! I hope you all like it and thanks for reading through all these long and slow chapters and riding the ride along with me. Stay safe, stay inside if you can, and stay healthy! 

Eunbi came back home after wandering aimlessly in her scooter for the rest of the afternoon. Something in her clicked after listening to Irene, but she still couldn’t quite shake those complex emotions off. Irene is seeing her as an individual, as Eunbi-- and so are others too. Bizarrely, that’s not something she’s ever thought of, even though it sounds so simple and basic now. She’s not just a daughter and a sister of the Kwon family. She knows what the right decision is, and there is no question that Sakura should always come in first place, but she’s still too scared to take the step, in case that is really the wrong decision.

Between family and desire…

Eunbi is trapped in deep thought as she finds herself outside the balcony of their house again. It’s always been her secret hideout, just like what the store room is to Kkura. The weather is getting warmer now, but as the sun went down, she’s still finding her fingers numb from how little she’s wearing for the daytime weather. The door behind her slides open.

“Nako?” Eunbi turned to find Nako holding a tray of tea and ice cream.

“Hold on to it…” Nako passed the tray onto the older girl as she went back to retrieve a thick blanket, closing the door behind her and draping it over Eunbi.

“Even if you want to stay away from us, beware not to catch a cold while you sulk, Unnie.” Nako smiles and opens the ice-cream tub, taking a bite from it. “Woahh….it’s cold!”

“Of course it is, Nako-ya!” Eunbi snatches the tub from her hands and replaces it with the steaming cup of tea. “Better now?”

“Aren’t you going to have some?” Nako asks, gesturing at the ice cream that’s now in her unnie’s hands.

“As if it’s not freezing already…” Eunbi chuckles but still takes a bite at her favorite food. ”Em...it’s freezing...but this feeling is oddly nice.”

The two girls just sat there and watched the city go dark as the lamp posts light up one by one, stretching all the way towards the busy highways. They took alternate bites of the ice cream, then sipped on their tea to warm themselves back up from the icy punch.

“Thanks for accompanying me, Nako-chan…” Eunbi said as she emptied the tub in one last scoop, then fed Nako with the bite. 

“No problem-- has been a while since I stepped into Unnie’s corner. Thanks for having me.”

The two girls look at each other and break into smiles. 

“Unnie, I want you to understand that you will always be my unnie, no matter what happens. There is no escape in your lifelong debt of ice cream to your little penguin, okay?”

Nako reaches out with her pinky finger and hopes Eunbi would take it.

“I…” Eunbi lowers her head and tries to bite the tears in her eyes away. “I...I’m so close to breaking this promise to Eomma...Nako-ya. I’m so sorry.”

Nako taps on Eunbi’s lap gently to make her look at her. “Eomma also told me to always be there and support you, and I don’t intend to break this promise either. I want you and Sakura to be happy together. Seeing you both suffer is breaking my heart.”

“Nako-- sorry, it’s all Unnie’s fault.” Eunbi wipes off her own tears and tries to control her sobbing before she continues. “I’m too scared to bring disgrace upon this family, and betray what our mothers have built up.”

“I understand, Unnie, I truly do.” Nako’s eyebrows droop as she gives a sad smile. “After all, I’m also a daughter of two people who never loved each other. My father probably even hates me for coming to this world…”

“Nako…” Could she have known…?

“I learnt what happened from Irene-Unnie.”

That’s right, Nako is a poor girl who got rejected by her father as well. Eunbi wants to be more sensitive about the situation, but she can’t bring herself to say anything comforting, because…

She’s felt rejected for her whole life too.

“Does she know yet?” She whispered softly.

“No. But Irene-Unnie has gone mad after seeing how much Saku-chan cried from the fight you guys had this morning. She’s probably gonna tell her soon because Saku-chan is just perplexed about the situation.”

“I...I am such a nuisance to everyone after all…”

“Shhh--Unnie. I feel guilty too-- about being a burden to Okaasan all her life, right after I understood why they’ve had me. I… I can only begin to imagine how much more horrible it is to be in your shoes. You probably know already-- as I have known all along as well-- that Okaasan never stopped loving me, and Eomma had always loved you too.”

That’s also right, the problem is not about doubting Eomma’s love, but whether she could redeem herself as a daughter who actually deserves it.

“The way I see it is-- the gift she left behind for you is like ingredients for making baked potato. There’s the potato, there’s tartar sauce and bacon and cheese. She wants you to be happy with it-- so what if you want to eat fries instead? You can still make it with the same ingredients, and they will taste just as delicious.”

“The family they left behind for us is unmistakably ‘love,’ not some arbitrary roles or responsibilities. Love is love, no matter what form it is.”

Nako pats on Eunbi’s shoulder and stands up.

“Nako-ya…” Eunbi wanted to stand up and say something, but she’s lost for words. Everything they say-- Chaeyeon, Irene, Nako-- they are all correct. Her heart is still clenched up in fear though.

“You don’t need to say anything.” Nako gestures to Eunbi to sit. “Just brood for however long you want. I’m going to make dinner so Saku-chan doesn’t come back starving and make instant ramyeon herself.”

“Oh, and one more thing, Unnie. You are always my favorite--Daisuki.” She gave her heart fingers before slipping back inside the house.

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Since that night, with the encouragement of Nako at the dinner table, Eunbi had invited Sakura back to sleep in their bedroom, but there’s still a distance kept between them as none of them broached the subject of their relationship again. For a few weeks, Sakura was busy completing the joint project with Irene’s company, while Eunbi slowly fell back to the routine of running the cafe and teaching dancing on the weekends.

Both girls are trying to keep themselves fully occupied, except now, Eunbi also had to keep the incessant gifts, calls and visits to the cafe from Irene at bay. This woman will not give up, no matter how much of a cold shoulder Eunbi gave her. She finds it impossible to ignore her, finding it amusing that the intensity had exceeded all the romantic pursuits she had, even those from Sakura. Plus, she gets a regular supply of Kkura’s news, making it even harder to resist.

‘She’s coming to the Bae Museum for our ENOZI game launch party this afternoon. You should come, baby sis.’

Eunbi shuts the chat message from Irene as she sighed and rolled out of her bed, getting ready for another morning. Just when she came back from her morning jog, she saw Kkura getting ready to leave the house, slightly earlier than usual.

“Kkura, good...good morning.” She’s struck by the sight in front of her.

“Good morning, Unnie.” She’s dressed up in a long, slim-cut pink blazer, her hair shiny and tied up neatly in a low ponytail. Two hoops of clip-on earrings dangles from her cute, slightly protruding ears.

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