The door to Iz*one's dorm opens, revealing an exhausted Sakura, making her way in. She comes in, huffing as she lugs her bag inside.

 

 

 

"Unnie, welcome back" Nako greets her by the door. "I saw the pictures. Wiz*ones are getting better at spotting you."

 

 

 

Sakura smiles and nods as her way of acknowledging. She was spotted again as Nako had said, so she stayed a little bit longer to pose for photos. She was happy to see the fans, but it was quite funny that they only seem to see her when she's coming from Japan and not when she's leaving Korea.

 

 

 

She walks further in as her eyes scan the living room as if she's looking for something. Nako seemed to understand as she answers Sakura's obvious question, following behind the older.

 

 

 

"It's still only me and Tomi unnie. The others are not here yet."

 

 

 

Sakura nods again, as she sat down on the couch, she already knows it. Ever since the news, it has always been only the three of them at the dorms. With the cancellation of their comeback and schedules, it left them with nothing to do. The other members opted to stay with their family during this period, but her, Hitomi, and Nako remained in the dorms but would go to Japan a few times in between.

 

 

 

But now that their comeback is confirmed, she had thought the other members would come back too, even if it is still a few days away.

 

 

 

"Have you eaten unnie? Me and Tomi are going out to eat."

 

Sakura thinks for a while; she is kind of hungry, but she just came back, and she's quite frankly too tired to do anything else except sleep, so she shakes her head. "Nah, I'll just sleep. I'm so tired."

 

 

 

Nako nods as the door to one of the rooms opens. Sakura immediately angles her head towards it and sees Hitomi coming out. Her knee jerk reaction did not go unnoticed by Nako as the girl raises an eyebrow at her.

 

 

 

"Hi, Unnie," Hitomi greets her, effectively stopping Nako's incoming teasing. Which Sakura is quite thankful for.

 

 

 

"Hi, Hii chan."

 

 

 

But Nako does not seem to let it go as she smirks, "You're not coming because it's only me and Hi chan, right?"

 

 

 

Sakura's eyes widen, glaring at the girl. This little sh-. Hitomi watches in curiosity between the two girls. She could feel that something is going on. Realizing what Nako had said, Hitomi turns to Sakura and pouts.

 

 

 

"You're not eating with us, unnie?"

 

 

 

Sakura turns her attention to Hitomi, but not before she glares at Nako again, but this only makes the girl laugh.

 

 

 

"I'm really tired, Hii, so I think I'll just sleep. But you guys have a nice meal, okay?"

 

 

This seemed to work as Hitomi just nods and tells her to rest well. As the two leave, she could hear Hitomis's muffled voice, "Why are you laughing Nako chan?"

 

 

 

Sakura shakes her head. She really regrets telling the girl anything. But to her credit, Nako didn't really know at; first, the little monster just happened to be there when Sakura was so blatant with her feelings.

 

 

 

As she goes into her room, she frowns at the emptiness it feels. She stares at the bed above hers, and she could see Wonyoung's face. She unknowingly smiles as she remembers how the younger would greet her whenever she came back from Japan.

 

 

 

"Kkura unnieee, welcome back," the maknae says as she comes down excitedly, towering over Sakura to hug her.

 

 

 

Then she could also see Yuri on her bed with her earphones on and a notebook on her hands. Yuri would always take one earphone off to greet her as well.

 

 

 

"Welcome back, Kkura, unnie."

 

 

 

She drops her bag on the floor and lays down on her bed. She sighs as she looks up. She misses the members than she would admit. (Yes, even Yena) She is the type of person who does not really express her feelings a lot — the reason why she usually wallows on it by herself when she's alone.

 

 

 

How long has it been? Three months? Yeah, it has been three months since the news. That makes it around two months since all 12 of them are in the same place. The last time was when they were practicing for their new song while waiting for whatever the adults decide. She could still clearly recall how anxious everyone felt. How scared and helpless they were. Even their leader, Eunbi unnie, who always puts on a strong front showcase that what is happening is weighing her down too.

 

 

 

It's not like she hasn't seen the members since then, albeit at different times, Wonyoung would come by during the weekends. Yuri, because she lives in Busan would only come every other week. Chaewon and Eunbi stayed in the dorms just like them before also going home during Christmas and haven't returned since then. She met up with Hyewon and Yena the most, mostly because they usually play at the dorms. And just the other day, Yujin and Minju came to hang out.

 

 

 

But there is one member she misses the most despite how frequently they keep in touch through chats and video calls. Chaeyeon. Her best friend. Chaeyeon was one of the first ones to leave for home during the news. Sakura could see that everyone has their own way of dealing with the situation. In Chaeyeon's case, she needed to be with her family. She did meet up with Chaeyeon a couple of times after that, but the girl seemed to be taking the news too hard because she could see Chaeyeon breaking down every time.

 

 

 

They couldn't even gather for Chaeyeon and Minju's birthday too since the company had told them to stay low because any action will turn negative because of the controversy. So, she could only call.

 

 

 

"Happy Birthday, Jjaeyeon!" she says as soon as she saw Chaeyeon's face on the screen.

 

 

 

"Thank you, Saku chan..."

 

 

 

Sakura could see that her smile does not quite reach her eyes. She knows everyone is feeling the uneasiness, the helplessness, the nervousness because of the situation. They all avoided going online, but even so, they still knew. And she understands why Chaeyeon is feeling it ten times more, this was her last chance, and she's scared that it will end so soon. The uncertainty is what makes it hard.

 

 

 

After that call, Chaeyeon was quiet. And Sakura respected it, giving the girl space. Although they kept in touch, the last time, she saw the girl was maybe three weeks ago. That was when she went to the dance studio to watch Yena and Chaeyeon practice another song. The girl had texted her when the news about their comeback in February is finally confirmed.

 

 

 

They were texting like always, and Sakura couldn't keep it to herself anymore, she just came back from Japan again and was feeling the yearning a lot more than usual. She wanted to see her; she wanted to see Chaeyeon. Before she could even stop herself, she was already typing a message and sending it, only to regret it as soon as it showed that it was already posted.

 

 

 

 

To: Jjaeyeooon

Where are you? I miss you.

 

 

 

 

She gets off her bed pacing; she was panicking as she turned to Nako, who was watching her weirdly from her bed above when she had suddenly shrieked.

 

 

 

Her panic rises when she hears the notification from her phone. She slowly eases herself back to her bed, reaching out towards the area where she carelessly threw it earlier. Once her hands are in contact with it, she grabs it with her two fingers as if it was hot and quite slowly looking at it with one eye open. Nako rolls her eyes at her ridiculous actions.

 

 

 

There were two messages; her hands shake when she opened the first one.

 

 

 

 

From: Jjaeyeooon

I'm at the dance studio with Yena. We're finally coming back, Saku chan! Wiz*ones are the best.

 

 

 

 

The first one made her smile; she's pretty sure everyone feels the same; they all feel happy and excited. Wiz*ones are definitely the best.

 

 

 

 

But the next one made her heart skip a beat.

 

 

 

 

From: Jjaeyeooon

I miss you too.

 

 

 

 

Before she could even think about it, she was already on her feet, getting herself ready to go out. Just as she was about to go out, she could hear Nako call her attention.

 

 

 

 

"You should tell her already unnie."

 

 

 

 

Sakura turns to her, "I'm scared, what if she doesn't feel the same"

 

 

 

 

Nako sighs that happening is still a possibility. But it's frustrating to watch her senpai being all gloomy and restless. She's pretty sure Sakura would feel better if she let it out of her chest. She adjusts her body to turn entirely towards her, "Then I'll be here with your favorite Yukhoe."

 

 

 

 

This made Sakura smile. And Nako returns it, "You almost lost that chance when our future was uncertain, don't waste it now. I don't want you to have regrets."

 

 

 

 

Remembering what Nako had said, Sakura sits up from her bed as she rummages her bag for her phone. She smiles when she saw a message from Chaeyeon that she received as soon as she landed.

 

 

 

From: Jjaeyeooon

Welcome back, Saku chan, I can't wait to see you!

 

 

 

 

Sakura stares at the photo of Chaeyeon in her phone, and her smile lingered. She knows her feelings are pretty clear; it only grew when they were apart. As the saying says, distance makes the heart grow fonder. And she knows she needs to let it out, the feelings will only continue to grow, and the hurt will equally be bigger. So, she needs to tell her, so in the event that Chaeyeon does not feel the same, she can turn her steps into moving on. So yeah, Sakura can't wait to see her too. Cause the next time she does; she'll definitely tell her then. Even one of the possible scenarios is her heartbreaking.

 

 

 

 

Or so she had thought. Of course, she would be scared; of course, she would back out. Because as soon as she saw Chaeyeon in the flesh when the girl finally came back to the dorm that night, all thoughts went out the window, and the fear came knocking back.

 

 

 

 

She wasn't even able to prepare herself then. She woke up from her sleep when she heard the noise from outside. She was about to scold Nako and Hitomi about being loud but was surprised when she stepped out of the room and saw that the members are there, all of them. Eunbi unnie, Minju, Wonyoung, Yujin, Chaewon, Hyewon, Yena, Nako, Hitomi, and even Yuri.

 

 

 

 

She could see them gathered around the living room, playing some kind of game. They all greet her smiling, with maknae Wonyoung and Yujin crushing her in a hug. Sakura felt the elation in her heart. She was just thinking about them, and now they're here; her heart grew.

 

 

 

 

But when her eyes met Chaeyeon's who was already grinning and walking towards her, her heart pounded so loud, and the tingly feeling in her stomach went overdrive. Her nerves got the better of her, and she was rendered unable to speak. She could see Nako shaking her head at the corner of her eye, clearly disappointed with her senpai.

 

 

 

 

But what can she do? Seeing Chaeyeon after quite a long time made her feel a lot of things at once. Happiness, Longing, and Lo—, Sakura shake her head before she could finish the word in her head. She does not know when she had these scary feelings for her best friend, but she does, and it only grew more now that she could see her face to face.

 

 

 

 

She could tell that the girl had kept her hair short and that the girl had lost quite a bit of weight. Not that she doesn't think she was beautiful before, but the loss of weight definitely made the girl's features more pronounced. And now, seeing her up close, Sakura does not know what to do.

 

 

 

"Are you okay, Saku chan?" Chaeyeon asks, worried about Sakura's weird reaction.

 

 

 

 

"Uhhh… yeah I'm okay.." she stuttered, making Nako facepalm