♫ 공기남 (Airman) - Gloomy Star

“There was a natural flow to us from the beginning, making you seem familiar even as a stranger.”

J. Iron Wood

“Rules?” Sakura asked, dumbfounded.

“Mmhmm.” Chaeyeon replied with an unchanging expression.

“Why do you have rules?”

Chaeyeon became quiet for a moment. Her eyes wavered for a moment, seemingly like she was trying to find the right words to say.

“I have my reasons for my rules.” Chaeyeon finally answered.

“Do you do this with your other friends too?”

“I don’t have any friends actually, but I think it’d be nice to have you as a friend.”

“Then why the rules then? I don’t understand that. Aren’t you worried that something like this will just push people away or freak them out?”

“Yes. Of course I thought about it, and that is what happened before. People didn’t agree to following my rules, so I never became friends with them. But like I said, I have my reasons for doing this. You don’t have to agree if you don’t want to though. I’m not forcing you to be my friend. That’s just my condition if you would like to be though.” 

Sakura broke their eye contact. She pressed her lips together as she contemplated her decision.

Why is she so weird? Why do I need to follow rules to be her friend at all? Maybe I shouldn’t be her friend then. There are clearly some red flags going off about her, and yet, why am I not that worried. It just makes me more curious. Why do I want to know her so much?

Sakura contemplated for a few minutes before making up her mind. 

I really want to know you, Lee Chaeyeon. Why do you have rules? There must be some reason for them, right? And your strange ways, and actions, and the hold you have on me. What harm can come from this anyway, right?

“Fine. I’ll follow your rules. I would like to be your friend.” Sakura said as she looked back at Chaeyeon.

“Great!” Chaeyeon replied with a smile.

“So, how many are there? Are you going to tell me all of them right now?”

“That’s a secret, and no. I’ll tell you when I think it’s the right time to tell you.”

“So, you’re just going to make them up as we go?” 

“No. They’re not random. It’s already set in stone. I told you, I’ll let you know.”

Sakura was already curious, and wanted to press on about it, but decided to just go with the flow. Chaeyeon looked adamant about not saying anymore anyway, and it kept things interesting, she concluded.

“The first rule goes into effect right now.” Chaeyeon suddenly said.

“Okay. So what is it?” Sakura asked, on the edge of her seat.

“Rule number 1. Every morning and night, you must tell me good morning and goodnight.”

Sakura was a little bewildered. The first rule was unexpected. Actually, Sakura didn’t know what she was expecting, but considering Chaeyeon’s weird personality so far, Sakura was expecting something else. But then again, she was relieved it wasn’t something bad. If anything, she was a little glad. It gave her a reason to be talking to her more, other than just meeting at the library sitting in silence and stealing glances every once in a while.

“So… how do you want me to do that? Text? Call?” Sakura asked.

“You can do one or the other, or a mix of both. Whatever is more comfortable for you. You can even leave a voicemail if I don’t pick up.” Chaeyeon replied.

“How about language then? You speak Japanese like a local, but you might prefer Korean. I’m quite versed in Korean too, so I have no problem with whatever.”

“I mean, we’ve been speaking to each other in Japanese so I have no problem with continuing that, but let’s do both. I’m always looking to improve and learn whenever I can anyway, but I guess speaking in Korean while I’m here will be nice too. I can talk to you in Japanese and you in Korean to me. It’ll be our little thing.”

“Alright. I’ll start by contacting you tonight and everyday after I guess.” 

“There’s also another choice I would like to give to you.” Chaeyeon said, her tone turning serious.

Sakura slightly furrowed her eyebrows upon seeing Chaeyeon becoming serious.

“And what is that?” Sakura inquired.

“At any point that you feel uncomfortable following my rules, you can stop. You can tell me and we can act like nothing happened. And we can stop being friends. Is that okay with you?”

Sakura stared at Chaeyeon for a couple of seconds, bewildered. She didn’t really like the idea, but there was nothing she could do about it since she agreed to follow along. Plus it wasn’t a bad idea since she can pull the plug if things get out of hand. She nodded and agreed to her option. Suddenly, Chaeyeon’s phone received a notification. She took a quick look at her phone and told Sakura that she had to leave and wouldn’t be back for the rest of the day. Chaeyeon waved goodbye before she left, leaving Sakura alone again. 

•~•

Sakura got up from her desk to stretch, walking out to her balcony for a moment for fresh air and a break from studying for a while. After Chaeyeon left, Sakura stayed in the library for a few hours but then decided to just go back to her apartment to study since she didn’t feel like being out anymore and was feeling a little hungry. Being out in public for too long stresses her out sometimes. If it was for something important, she wouldn’t mind, but other than that, she’d prefer otherwise. She was a homebody who would just like to stay at home all day and play games if she could, but obviously, medical school was quite demanding. Especially since it’s her last year before beginning her residency, and she had a thesis to work on so she hasn’t touched any games in the past 4 years. She dearly misses them and can’t wait to lay her hands on them again oneday. As she stretched, she noticed that it had already turned dark. She tilted her head to take a look inside at her alarm clock on the nightstand and was shocked to see that it was already midnight.

“Crap, it’s already this late? I haven’t texted her yet.” Sakura said to herself.

She rushed back over to her desk and grabbed her phone. She clicked on her contacts list and scrolled to Chaeyeon’s name. She pressed on Chaeyeon’s number to message her, but then she hesitated for a moment.

Is she even awake right now?

Sakura didn’t want to disturb Chaeyeon this late at night, but she also didn’t want to break the rule on the first day. She carried her phone to her bed and laid down, contemplating what to write. She could’ve just written goodnight, but that seemed a bit crude and distant considering she’s trying to be her friend now. She began writing something, but then erased it and she kept repeating this process for a while. After many attempts, she finally settled on something.

A/N: Sakura’s text is on the left, Chaeyeon is on the right.

Sakura thought she should see if Chaeyeon was awake first. If she wasn’t, she’ll just tell her sorry for texting her late and end it with a good night. If she was still awake though, maybe they can have a little conversation.

Are you awake?

Sakura looked at the message screen, anxiously waiting for a response. Suddenly, she saw the icon of someone typing. She quickly sat up and stared even closer at her screen.

Yes, I’m still awake.

What took you so long to text me?

A little smile crept up on Sakura