Genre: Fluff

Summary: They say cat ladies would end up single forever, but what if the cat itself would bring the one to her hooman's seemingly non existent love life?

Word Count: 11087

Hashtag: #KkubiFestival_MatchmakerMaruchan

Matchmaker Maru-chan

Ring! Ring! Ring!

A woman started stirring underneath the blanket. The alarm clock continued to ring for a few more times.

[Ugh, until what time does she intend to sleep? The alarm clock's killing me!]

A Scottish Fold cat opened its mouth to let out a huge yawn while stretching her front legs down. She jumped onto the bed easily and walked to her owner's head.

[You're asking for it, so I'll give it to you.]

Wearing a smug, annoyed face, without further ado, the cat lifted its paw, and smacked the hell out of the sleeping woman.

"AH!" the woman yelled in pain. The cat smacked her again repeatedly and the woman flailed her arms in the air, trying to escape from her pet's wrath.

"Y–yamete yo, Maru-chan! I'm awake, I'm awake!!!" She finally opened her eyes, and sat right up immediately with a hint of grogginess. She dismissed her alarm and grunted softly from the sleepiness still lingering caused by her lack of sleep. She ran her palm onto her face, up to the strands of her hair, brushing it back with her fingers.

[Ha. Finally, the woman's awake.]

The woman dropped her feet to the floor and stood up. She walked towards her work desk and immediately opened her computer to check an email. She clicked open a new message and scrolled through it while reading.

'Sakura-chan, as always, these panels are great! I am expecting the new chapter by next week.

P.S.
    Do you plan on giving the girl some love interest?

    - Sashihara'

Finally, a day-off. Phew. But what really caught her attention was the question by Sashihara. Being a mangaka or a manga artist really is hard work, and it's what she likes to do, so having her passion as her job is a win-win for her. Sakura heaved a sigh. She just only has one problem: she doesn't know how she can draw her character falling in love. Sure she knows how it looks, as she's seen it on the movies and television countless times, but how does it feel? She can't draw something unless she knows fully what she's doing. She's really mindful of how convincing and authentic her work should be. 

[Oi, I'm hungry already. Stop sulking!]

"Meow," Maru meowed, sounding a little bit impatient at Sakura.

"Oh yes, of course I'm gonna feed you first Maru-chan," Sakura responded. She stretched her lean limbs before finally going out of her bedroom with Maru following after her. "It will definitely be scary if I forgot to feed you," she murmured as she took a big pack full of cat food and shuddered at the thought while preparing her cat's food.

Maru could only roll her eyes in her mind. [She thinks I'm not gonna hear it?]

------+-----+------

"Aigoo, why does the elevator have to be under repair this time?" a woman complained while she carried a huge box as she walked up the stairs. She took her keys to open her new apartment. She saw a delivery guy approaching and made way for him. The delivery guy stopped just behind the woman, in front of the apartment adjacent to her.

"Hello, delivery!" the man shouted as he rang the doorbell. Sakura put down her bowl on the coffee table and walked to her doorstep. She opened the door and dealt with the delivery guy, signing the receipt and just took the box, never bothering to check her surroundings outside and letting the door close on its own. Maru leisurely played with her yarn ball rolling it forward to somewhere as Sakura was busy with it.

Sakura finally entered her living room with her newly received package. "Are? Maru-chan?" Sakura looked around her unit and realized that her cat was nowhere to be seen.
 

-----+-----+-----
 

[My yarn ball... it went in this door.] The ball accidentally rolled into the neighbor's door in front of Sakura's unit. Maru started scratching the door.

Meanwhile, the woman earlier started moving the boxes further inside her unit.

"Huh?" she stopped what she's doing and focused on the sound she's hearing. "Where did the scratching come from?" She followed where the sound emerged and ended up on her doorstep. She opened the door without a thought and saw a cat.

Maru noticed the door finally opened and she looked up. [Ah~ thankfully it opened.] The woman looked down and smiled at Maru.

Now Sakura suddenly heard a squeal outside.

"Oh? Whose cat are you kitty?" she heard a woman speak. She walked to her doorway and turned the doorknob open.

"Uhm... excuse me..." she said in a soft tone.

"Oh. Yes?" the woman seemed to have heard her on first call. Sakura thanked the woman in her head.

"M–my cat..."

"Ah, is this your cat?" Sakura nodded in response. "She kept on scratching on my door and she suddenly purred on me." The woman is speaking slowly in Japanese. It looks like she's a foreigner. She sounds cute— like a baby… Sakura shut her thoughts up and looked at Maru who's suddenly acting strangely to the woman.

[This nee-chan seems nice. I like her.]

"Maru-chan, let's go," Sakura called on Maru. The cat seemed to not pay attention.

"Meow~" Maru started meowing on the woman.

"Hm? What do you want– Maru-channie?" the woman asked in a foreign language as she squatted down on the floor to pet Maru.

[Wow~ her touch feels nice ><] Maru responded to the woman's actions favorably, her eyes closing in bliss.

What the hell? How dare Maru-chan act like that to a stranger? Sakura suddenly felt jealous with how close Maru immediately got to a person she met just now. If this were a manga, and she's a character, a cruciform (💢) would appear just on the side of her forehead right above her eye. She can feel her veins popping out from a little bit of annoyance, but this is the real world. She's actually more jealous rather than annoyed.

Sakura cleared and called on Maru once again. "Maru-chan," she called quite firmly.

[Yada.] Maru continued to interact with the woman.

The woman, somehow feeling Sakura's desperation to get Maru back, said, "Maru-channie, you should go back to your owner."

Maru stopped purring and looked up at the woman incredulously. [Gasp! Oh my— she's giving me away!]

"Meow. Meow," Maru meowed, trying to convey a message.

That's it. Sakura trudged towards Maru. "Let's go Maru."

Sakura picked Maru up.

[O-oh? No, no, no! Hiss! I won't let you!] Maru started resisting, trying to pry away from Sakura's hold, swinging her paws helplessly.

[Yada yada yadaaaa!] Maru swung her paw hard which scratched Sakura's face.

"Kyah!" Sakura yelped in a high-pitched tone. She stretched her arms to keep Maru away from her for a bit.

[Chance!] As soon as Sakura turned her head away from her cat's adamant defiance, Maru took it as an opportunity to get away from her owner.

"Omo!" the woman gasped seeing Sakura's forehead with a little bit of bleeding. She approached Sakura and held her shoulder to make her see what happened.

"W-what are you doing?" Sakura yanked the woman's hand away from her shoulder out of reflex.

The woman was a little taken aback by Sakura's action. "I— you… have a scratch… on your forehead..."

Maru peeked at Sakura and she saw a light scratch caused by her claws. [Oops, I may have gone overboard there...]

She lowered her head to avoid the woman's gaze further. "I–I'm fine. Let's go Maru. That's enough for today," Sakura said in a soft, yet cold tone.

[Yabai. I must have pissed Sakuchan.] Maru lowered her head down and started to take small steps toward Sakura when a hand tugged the hem of Sakura's sleeve.

[Hm?] Maru halted as soon as Sakura stopped on her feet. She turned her head to the woman, who's looking overly concerned with her hooman.

Seeing Sakura still facing away from her, the woman took the courage and spoke again. "Don't go yet. I want to treat your wound,” the woman spoke in broken Japanese.

"Y–you don't need to. I can take care of—"

"Please, I insist." The woman's lips tugged into a small smile. "Also..." the woman trailed off and looked down at Maru.

[Oh?] Maru also made eye contact with the woman. She then looked back up at Sakura. "Maru-channie might be wanting to enter inside."

She took a side glance at her pet for a bit and looked forward, raising her head up a little. Without looking straight up on the woman, she felt warm and friendly towards her.

"O–okay..." Sakura agreed, a little bit hesitant.

The woman plastered a slight grin on her face. She opened her door wider and then gestured to them to enter. "Please come inside."

Maru went inside first, running to the innermost part of the apartment. [I need to find my yarn ball.] She started to roam around the unit frantically searching for her missing toy. Maru-chan really wanted to come inside, huh.

"Sit here, please," the woman invited Sakura to sit on her couch. She immediately went to her bathroom to get her first aid kit. She came back and sat beside Sakura, facing her. She opened the kit on the table, took a cotton swab and squeezed out a pea-sized amount of wound-healing cream. The woman was about to dab the cotton swab on Sakura's forehead when the latter leaned back.

"W–wait."

"Hm? Nani?" the woman asked in a cute tone. She leaned back and tilted her head on the side with curious doe eyes. Uhm, does she have to do that?

"You... haven't introduced yourself yet," Sakura answered.

"Oh, haha," the woman chuckled lightly. It sounds angelic.

"You haven't even introduced yourself too. Anyway, I'm Kwon Eunbi," now introduced, she held out a hand for a handshake.

Even her name sounds angelic. "Uh, I'm Sakura. Miyawaki Sakura," Sakura introduced in Korean as she slowly took Eunbi's hand. Eunbi held it firmly and shook it.

"Nice to meet you, Sakura. You can speak Korean, I see," Eunbi spoke in her native language and gave her a toothy smile. 

Sakura just tugged the corners of her lips up shyly. “You can speak Korean to me if you’d like.”

"Thank you,” Eunbi smiled curtly. “Now, can I apply this already on your forehead?" she asked.

"Yeah... sure," Sakura nodded. Eunbi moved over forward, closing the distance between her and Sakura. Eunbi brought her hand over to the younger girl's forehead, and gave the abrasion a gentle dab.

"Ah," Sakura hissed at the sudden stinging pain.

"Oh, sorry," Eunbi apologized quickly. She resumed once again. Sakura flinched even before the cotton swab made contact with her wound. "Don't move, I'll be gentle," Eunbi murmured as she held Sakura's chin out of reflex and moved her head so she could see the wound properly.

Sakura’s cheeks blushed without her knowing. She remained still and got stiff from the small distance remaining between Eunbi and her. She's not really fond of close contact especially with people she just met. She usually feels uncomfortable but something entirely the opposite has started to bubble up inside her.

Out of all the strangers she's met, strangely, this person feels comforting to be with.
 

-----+-----+-----

[Where is my yarn ball— AH! YATTA!] Maru strided happily toward her yarn ball. She just found it behind a tall box and kicked it along as she came to where her owner is. As she finally got to the living room, she saw how Eunbi is talking to Sakura, and how her owner acts around the new neighbor.

[Hmm, Saku-chan and Eunbi-chan look good together...] She watched them with observing eyes. She smirked inwardly, as if planning something.

"Meow!"

"Oh?" Eunbi stopped tending to Sakura's wound which freed Sakura's chin from her hold, and looked down on Maru. Sakura also looked at Maru and saw the familiar yarn ball that Maru loves to play with.

"You were looking for it?" Sakura asked Maru.

"Ah~ so that's why she's been scratching on my door," Eunbi lit up in realization.

Sensing that it's time to go, Sakura was about to stand up when Maru jumped on her abruptly, causing her to sit back again on the couch.

"What the—"

"Omo, are you okay?" Eunbi asked, filled with concern once again.

"I'm fine. I was about to stand up to leave already," Sakura scratched her nape from embarrassment.

"Eh? Wait, I'm not done yet! Just a bandage and you're good to go."

Maru lied on her back on Sakura's lap and yawned as Eunbi covered the wound with a bandage and secured it with medical tape.

"There, all done!"

"Thank you so much... you even went through such lengths just to help me."

"No problem! Besides, I'm new here, so I could also use some time to get to know my neighbors, right?" Eunbi answered in a matter-of-factly tone.

Sakura stood up from the couch without warning which made Maru surprised.

[What the—!] Luckily Maru got away from Sakura's lap before her owner got to stand upright.

Eunbi walked Sakura through the doorway. She opened the door and Sakura, along with Maru, stepped out. Eunbi leaned on the door to talk to Sakura one last time.

"Sakura-ssi." Sakura turned around to face Eunbi. "Thank you for letting me treat your wound."

"I should be the one to thank you. You've been kind enough. I should be asking sorry because my cat must have disturbed you from your move-in." Sakura briefly gave Maru a knowing glance which Maru returned.

[Why do I feel getting scolded later? Anyway~]

Maru suddenly approached Eunbi and roamed around her in a circle and purred, rubbing herself on Eunbi's rough denim jeans.

"Meow," she meowed happily and contentedly.

"Aww," Eunbi cooed at Maru's action and bent her knee a bit, one hand resting on top of it while her other pet the cat shortly.
 

-----+-----+-----
 

As soon as the cat and her hooman is back...

"Maru-chan."

[Oops. She's gonna scold me for sure.] Maru stopped on her tracks and turned slowly to face her owner.

Sakura walked towards her as if it was about to be a dramatic moment.

[Why is Sakuchan walking slow? Or am I imagining it?]

"Don't. Do. That. Again," Sakura ordered in a reprimanding tone.

[Eh?]

Sakura walked over to the couch and sat, slumping her shoulders down. She sighed and leaned her head back, closing her eyes.

[I must have made her upset.] Maru jumped onto the couch and approached Sakura.

"Meow," Maru meowed, sounding apologetic.

"I'm not angry, Maru-chan," Sakura started to pet her by giving gentle . Sakura kept quiet afterwards. Her earlier interaction with her new neighbor played back inside her head. Maru-chan caused quite a scene, but I guess it’s fine. She looked onto the ceiling and smiled sheepishly.
 

=+=+=+=+=+=
 

"You're early, Eunbi-unnie."

"Yena-ya. Good morning," Eunbi exchanged greetings with Yena as she stood up from the bench just outside the café she'll be working in from now on. The shop is finally opened and they both enter, getting into their work diligently.

"How's the neighborhood, Unnie? Are you adjusting well?" Yena asked as she checked on the coffee machine.

"It's nice. The landlady's a little bit nosy, and I haven't seen some of my neighbors that much, but it's going pretty well," Eunbi answered as she wiped the plates and other utensils dry. "Oh, but I met someone."

"Hm? You already 'met' someone?" Yena asked curiously, intrigued. She was about to but Eunbi cut her to it.

"Not 'met' like a date, it's my neighbor in front of my unit."

"Oh? Who? I might know that person," Yena inquired, getting more engrossed on who that someone is.

"She introduced herself as Miyawaki Sakura," Eunbi responded, immediately remembering Sakura’s name.

"Ah~ Sakura!" Yena reiterated. "She's popular in the neighborhood!"

"Eh? Why?" Eunbi paused in drying the dishes to focus on Yena. Yena dropped what she's doing and went to the bookshelves on the far corner of the café. She came back and urged Eunbi to sit with her.

"Here," Yena slid the book on the table to Eunbi.

Solo Flight.

Eunbi flipped it open.

"Stop." Yena held out her hand to stop Eunbi.

"Why?" Eunbi looked at her cluelessly.

"You opened it in the wrong direction.” Yena then explained further.

"So, she made this?" Eunbi asked as she scanned through the book which she learned to be known as a manga. The synopsis is great, about a young traveler who travels around the world alone trying to search for something she doesn’t even know herself yet.

"Yup, apparently, she's a manga artist— a mangaka," Yena started. "There's not much known about her that's why she's so popular here. Doesn't go outside much, she's living a very quiet life," Yena added.

"Ahhh," Eunbi responded as her focus is mainly on the manga she's holding. Upon reading it, an image of the mangaka appeared in her mind. Her cute, shy, timid demeanor standing out. Smiling, she mumbled, "She's interesting..."
 

-----+-----+-----
 

"Agh!!!" Sakura grunted as she crumpled another sheet of paper, tossing it away aimlessly.

[Ah.] Maru frowned a bit as the crumpled paper Sakura threw away landed on her head unintentionally.

Sakura huffed out a few more annoyed grunts, grabbing her hair by her hands and balled them into fists. She tugged her hair frustratingly and ruffled it after in annoyance. She leaned back on her swivel chair and hung her head backward on the headrest, her eyes shut.

"How do I make this protagonist go on with life? It's open to so many possibilities but with its popularity, people would be looking forward to its love interest..." she paused for a while. As much as romance sounds cliché, well… "How do I make her fall in love? How does a person fall in love?"

[Sakuchan's distressed. Distressed than ever.] Maru looked at her hooman, trying to think of a way to lift her spirits up. Maru beamed in realization.

"Meow." Sakura felt Maru's weight on her lap.

"What is it, Maru-chan?" Sakura dejectedly mumbled, still in her current position. Maru stood up on her owner's lap and leaned forward on Sakura's body, clinging on Sakura's shirt.

"Meow."

Sakura eventually opened her eyes and lifted her head up, staring down to see Maru looking sad for her. She picked her up with both hands and raised her, looking desperate.

"Aww Maru-chan. If only you could talk, can you tell me how it feels falling in love?" Sakura asked without thinking much. She realized how silly she’s acting and settled Maru back on her lap. She smiled, feeling foolish. "Heh. But who am I kidding. You're just a cat, how can I ask you—"

"Meow," Maru cut off Sakura.

"Huh?"

"Meow. Meow. Meow, meow," Maru said several times.

"You're answering my question?" Sakura asked.

"Meow," Maru responded. [But rather than an answer I'm actually suggesting something.] Maru suddenly tried to climb unto Sakura.

"Hey hey hey Maru-chan. What— are you— doing!?" Sakura tried to get Maru off but she immediately succeeded in climbing on top of her hooman's head. She sat down on top of Sakura's head, letting Sakura feel Maru's weight as she shifted all of it on Sakura.

"Get down Maru-chan," Sakura commanded, her voice faint, and not being able to see anything because her cat literally sat on her face. Maru unexpectedly complied, but it was such a difficulty bearing her cat's weight she got irritated.

"Maru-chan!" she exclaimed as she turned her swivel chair to finally catch her cat. Before she even got to stand up, Maru got out already and started scratching on the main door.

Sakura seemed to understand already. She put her hands on her waist and looked at her cat. "You wanna go out?" she asked with a deadpan face.

"Meow."
 

-----+-----+-----
 

Sakura walked with Maru ahead of her. She wore a comfortable sweatshirt and jogging pants with a cap on, not wanting to gain any attention from the neighborhood peeps. She's got a place she always goes to every time Maru wants to go out, since she hates staying under the sun.

"Welcome!" Sakura is welcomed with a cheerful greeting as she enters the café. Yena emerged from a corner and walked to her.

"You’re here, Sakura-nim."

"Yeah, one of those days again, hehe," she answered shyly in Korean. Yena noticed Maru and crouched down to pet her.

"Maru-chan~" she was about to touch Maru but the cat avoided her, rejecting Yena's attempt.

[I don't want you ducky, go away.]

Yena stood back up and pouted, her lips puckered. "Such a meanie, hmph," she grumbled.

"Oh, Sakura-ssi!" a new yet familiar voice called her. Sakura waited for Eunbi to finally approach them.

"Hello Eunbi-ssi..." Sakura greeted shyly.

[Oh? Eunbi-chan works here? This is what you call destiny! Or maybe I’m just a genius.]

"Meow," Maru meowed, directed to Eunbi.

"Huh? Maru-channie is here too!" Eunbi exclaimed, clasping her hands in delight.

"Meow, meow," Maru walked towards Eunbi and circled around her just like last time, purring.

"What the hell Maru-chan you've got your favorites," Yena mumbled, upset at Maru's favoritism. "Yah, Eunbi-unnie, make sure Sakura-ssi is served properly and satisfactory. I'm out of here— hmph," Yena ordered Eunbi before walking away from them. Instead of Eunbi finding it rude, she found it funny.

"Yes boss," she responded trying to suppress her chuckle. "Oh right, Sakura-ssi, please take a seat," Eunbi said as she gestured to one of the seats around the café.

"Uhm, I'd like to have my usual. Green tea latte and a bagel," Sakura told Eunbi her order.

"Sure, coming right up!" Eunbi answered enthusiastically. Sakura smiled unconsciously because of the woman's energy.

Eunbi appeared minutes later, setting down a plate of muffin followed by a fresh cup of green tea latte on the table. “Here you go, Sakura-ssi.”

"Thank you," Sakura thanked Eunbi after looking away from the window to her freshly served order.

"And to you Maru-channie," Eunbi placed a bowl of milk just adjacent to Sakura's plate.

[This unnie is so considerate!] Maru climbed up the table and sat down.

"Meow," she lets out in a cheerful tone. Eunbi immediately realizes that Maru is being thankful.

"You're always welcome, Maru-channie," Eunbi says with an eye smile, reaching out her hand to pat Maru’s head.

"Is it okay if I sit?" Eunbi asked Sakura.

"Yeah, sure," Sakura let Eunbi sit on the seat across her. The atmosphere is kind of awkward.

A little bit farther from the neighbors, Yena looked at Sakura's table to check her regular customer out. "They look like a couple set up on a blind date." Hearing her thoughts, she snickered at herself before looking away from them and going back to work.

"I didn't know you were a manga artist," said Eunbi to start a conversation. Sakura paused on taking a bite of her bagel.

Nodding timidly she answered, "Yeah, I am..." She paused for a while, then continued. "You might have seen it and found it boring or something."

Eunbi widened her eyes from the mangaka's own remark. "No, no, I actually find it very amusing... and interesting!" She followed up, "Yena showed me its first volume and your drawing style piqued my interest. The story is unlike any other stories I’ve read."

"You don't need to flatter me Eunbi-ssi... it might be going good at the start but it gets harder from there," Sakura mused as she took small bites of the bagel, keeping her gaze on her plate.

"It's your work, how can you say that... and it's not flattery, it's genuine," Eunbi defended.

Sakura didn’t reply. She thought about it for a while. She's never had such a conversation with a stranger. Well, she's not practically a stranger, but an acquaintance. They're neighbors. But still it might be too much to share such detail to her. Well it's about work. And work is a typical topic among adults so...

"I don't know if I should share this or something, but... I'm in a pinch. The plot is too open for possibilities, but my editor is most probably waiting for a love interest."

"Oh. A love interest. Uhm, isn't it a bit easy? Since the plot is open for possibilities?" Eunbi inquired without much thought.

Oh. Here goes the borderline of 'too much.' If I tell her my hardship was just because of my nonexistent love life, it'd be embarrassing!

Sakura started to ponder on what she should say. She scratched her cheek with an index finger, a habit that she always had whenever she thinks or when she is shy. "I uhm..." she trailed off trying to put together her words. She chuckled nervously. "It's so petty, really. It's not that big of a deal—"

"Meow!" Maru-chan suddenly meows loudly at Sakura.

"Eh?" Sakura stared at her cat incredulously.

[Admit it Sakuchan you never had a love life!]

"Why do you look like you really want me to say it?" Sakura asked no one in particular as Maru won't be able to answer in a language she could understand. Maru once again meowed directly at her, staring at Sakura. The telepathy must have worked, and Sakura finally accepted defeat.

"Hah... Maru-chan's too persistent huh," she then cleared before stating the reason for her writer's block. "I don't... know how to do it," she answered vaguely.

"What?"

"I mean... I don't know how to express... love..."

It took Eunbi a few seconds to finally realize it. The only sound that came out of was, "Oh."

Sakura facepalmed from embarrassment. "I shouldn't have said that," she mumbled in regret.

"No, no, it's fine. I was just quite surprised..." Eunbi explained. “And… I think it’s cute.”

“Eh?” Sakura asked, flustered.

“Huh?” Eunbi didn’t know why she said that out of the blue. She panicked a little bit and immediately thought of something else to do. “I— Oh, my breaktime is ending,” Eunbi mumbled as she checked the time on her wristwatch. “Let’s exchange phone numbers, Sakura-ssi,” Eunbi said as she held her hands out. Her one hand holding her phone for Sakura to take while her other hand asking for Sakura’s. Sakura got flustered because of Eunbi’s forwardness.

Sakura decided to go with it and handed her phone to her neighbor. After a few minutes they took their phones back from each other. Eunbi stood up from her seat and pushed the chair back under the table.

“Well, I need to go before Yena scolds me. Enjoy your food, Sakura and Maru-channie. See you later!” Eunbi finally walked away from their table, leaving Sakura alone with Maru. Sakura just watched Eunbi disappear from her sight. She just called me ‘cute’ right?

[Wow, Eunbi-chan’s so forward… she immediately got Sakuchan’s number!]

Later that evening, Sakura received a message.

[Phase 1. Success!]

=+=+=+=+=

It has been a week since Sakura and Eunbi met. Sakura still hasn't gotten any idea on what she would do next in her manga. Sashihara has been bugging her for the next chapter and the pressure is taking a toll on her creative thinking.

Meanwhile, Eunbi is inside her apartment, woken up early in the morning.

Back to Sakura, notifications have been continuously popping up, with her ringtone ringing non stop because of countless call attempts from the editor which are all becoming missed calls.

“Sashii!!!” she yelled as she hoped that her editor's endless bugging would end. Miraculously, her messaging app stopped ringing from endless notifications and calls. “I suddenly feel trapped inside the house,” she mumbled, feeling tired without having done anything.

Upon hearing this, Maru immediately ran to the doorway and started to scratch on the door again.

[Chance!]

“You wanna go out Maru-chan? What’s gotten into you lately?” Sakura questioned curiously, eyeing her cat, thinking what could possibly be going on with her. This is the second time she's done this…

Eunbi wore her workout clothes preparing for her morning run. She took her phone and a small purse.

Maru is hyped up to go again outside, though she also takes after her owner. Sakura opened the door.

“Oh.”

“Ah, Sakura!” Eunbi flashed a surprised look, elated, as she also opened her door at the same time.

[Perfect!]

“Where are you going?”

“Just take a walk... my editor has been bugging me for that manga…” Sakura answered honestly.

“Well, would you like to walk with me?” Eunbi offered. For someone Sakura just met a few weeks ago, she's very direct, and yet there's a sense of warmth emitting off her.

“Hm, fine with me. I also don't know where I'd go so…”

They started the early morning together. Despite Sakura being the one who lived longer in the neighborhood, Eunbi is the one leading the way. They finally arrived in a park to cool themselves down. They popped their can open from a vending machine right when they sat down on a bench.

“Sprite early in the morning? Peculiar,” Sakura commented as she witnessed Eunbi chugging down the soda.

“Sprite is life,” Eunbi remarked in a philosophical tone. Sakura just chuckled.

“So Sakura, what are you gonna do with your manga?”

“Hm? I don’t know yet,” Sakura replied sadly.

“How do you usually write?” Eunbi asked, thinking she might make the mangaka realize something for her work.

“Well, mostly based on my experiences, or feelings I have felt before. And also my imagination.”

“Then you need more experiences,” Eunbi concluded. “Spend more time out and try building a social life,” she suggested further.

“It sounds tiring already...” Sakura mumbled, looking exhausted already. Being the huge homebody that she is, she can't fathom how many hours she'd have to stay outside and what plans she should make to spend time out.

[This conversation’s kind of dull to me. They’re getting nowhere.] Maru stealthily walked away from the bench the neighbors were sitting on. She approached a tree and started to climb up. She saw a lone flower sticking out from one of the tree’s branches.