Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Slice of Life, Family

Summary: “What if Nako comes and joins us here?”

“Still the most comfortable feeling ever.” Sakura said, “I’ll have my sun and my universe in my arm.”

Eunbi smiled shyly before bringing Sakura’s hand to her lips. She kissed the back of the younger’s hand before mumbling, “You’re my universe too.”

Word Count: 4367

Hashtag: #KkubiFestival_MySunAndMyUniverse

My Sun and My Universe

Sakura watched the traffic piling up at the intersection near the office, sighing once she realized she would be among that mass some time soon. Sun had started to set, giving the crowded and busy town a gentle brush of orange hue in the sky. At least there’s something beautiful about this mundane town, she thought as she inhaled her cigarette, watching the burnt part lit up as she did so.

Her attention shifted when the door behind her pushed open gently. She turned her head to see a familiar woman standing by the door, looking mildly surprised at her own presence.

Sakura chuckled.

“This is not the first time you saw me here, Minjoo.” She said, turning off her cigarette then tossed it to a nearby trashcan. She her heels, leaning her back against the handrailing while waving her hand to dissipate the smoke. She hated it whenever Minjoo caught the smell of her smoke.

“Let me be surprised, unnie.” The younger laughed, walking closer to the older. “Are you done with your job?”

“I am. Do you want me to take you home?” Sakura asked, picking up her handbag from the floor.

Minjoo smiled sweetly, something that always swooned over the older. Or used to, thanks to another certain someone who has been camping in Sakura’s mind the last few weeks.

“Yes, please. Chaewon actually told me to ask you. Her homicide case hasn’t done yet and the higher-ups are pressing her team to finish it as soon as possible.”

Sakura chuckled, “Poor little Chaewonie.”

“She’ll kill you if call her that, unnie.”

“If it was other people, of course. But for me? You two look up to me too much you always listen to whatever I say. You two wouldn’t get mad over something like that.” Sakura stepped closer to ruffle Minjoo’s hair. She chuckled when the younger whined and tried to get away from Sakura’s hand.

God, how much she loves the two Kims.

“Let’s go, unnie.” Minjoo said once she had successfully escaped Sakura’s playful hand. Sakura led the way as the two left the building to the parking lot, stepping into a black Hyundai sedan parked in a designated parking spot right in front of the building.

“Do you want to stop by the market?” Sakura asked, buckling her seatbelt while Minjoo did her own. “Do you know what time Chaewon will go home?”

“Around midnight, I think?”

“Then let’s cook something meaty tonight. What do you want?”

“Are you sure, unnie?” Minjoo’s eyes went wide with excitement and Sakura couldn’t stop chuckling at the younger’s comical expression. They were already in their first half of 30s yet Minjoo still acted like an innocent teenager.

Sakura watched the orange hue in the beautiful sky as the car left the parking lot, her mind suddenly reminded about a certain girl.

Would Nako grow like Minjoo too?

Local news accompanied their evening in the background as the two enjoyed their dinner. Sometimes laughter filled the small kitchen, other times it was their cutleries softly clashing against their plate. Overall, it was an enjoyable night.

And Minjoo took the chance to finally bring up about that topic.

“I heard Nako-chan is coming back.”

Sakura almost choked on a piece of potato. She took a big gulp of the water, trying to save face by acting as if nothing happened though she knew it went futile.

“She is. Now that the travel ban has lifted off, they’re coming back in few days.”

Sakura tried her best not to flinch at her own words. They…

“Oh, that’s cool! I miss little Nako.” Minjoo put her cutleries down. “Can I go see them after their quarantine has finished?”

“Why do you ask me?” Sakura chuckled, nervous slightly hinted in her tone. Minjoo decided it was time to take their empty plates and bring them to the sink.

“I don’t know. I feel like I had to ask you.”

“Well, ask her and not me. She’s Nako’s mother.”

“But you’re Nako’s mother too, unnie.”

There was a brief silence before Sakura responded, “What are you trying to do right now, Kim Minjoo?”

The younger stopped when she heard her full name. They know very well what would happen whenever Sakura called her like that. She stood still, biting her lips before eventually shrugging and continued washing the dishes.

“I’m going to smoke outside,” Sakura announced, trying to be careful to not hit anything on her way. It was her habit whenever she got nervous.

We had to push her, not only for Kkura unnie’s sake but to all three of them, Chaewon’s voice echoed in Minjoo’s head and the younger quickly turned her head.

“Let’s go visit them together, unnie!” She shouted just in time before Sakura slid the door to the balcony shut.

Sakura watched the traffic on the street below her floor, a lit cigarette being her companion for the night. At this rate, she might as well become a traffic observer with how often she watched it.

Her saliva went to the wrong pipe and she coughed, pushing the cigarette away from her face. It was quite a heavy cough that her face ended up flushed red like a boiled octopus.

“Maybe I should have stopped smoking.” She mumbled to herself, turning off the half-lit cigarette and put it away. And then maybe she’d come back.

Sakura couldn’t stop a sad laugh coming past her lips. Would she? She thought. Sure, they met each other because she wanted to help her to stop smoking. And she did, as it became the start of their blossomed relationship. But now...Sakura doubted if what happened between them could be mended by her stopped smoking.

“I...don’t think we should keep this anymore, Sakura.” She had said that, in that unforgotten night that still haunted Sakura every day. They just had a fight, a big one at that, and they weren’t on their right mind when they decided to parted ways.

We should’ve waited, Sakura thought, waited until we have calmed down and talk.

But what should we talk about? Breaking up? Or breaking up? Or breaking up? The other side of her asked back inside her mind.

We should’ve talked about Nako.

And suddenly, her mind went silent. Not because she had nothing to talk about, but because there was a lot springing up in her mind at the same time that she had no idea what to think.

Taking a deep breath, she fished her phone and opened a certain chatroom

June 18th. Usual place. Come before dinner.

Two weeks have passed and in contrast with Minjoo saying how two weeks came by in a blink, Sakura felt exactly the opposite.

In those two weeks, Sakura had lost count how many times she almost lost her life for being clumsy. Too many, in fact, that her superior had to pull her out from a case she has been working on.

Taking a deep breath, Sakura straightened her coat and made sure no dust exist anywhere on her. It has been months since the last time she saw her daughter so she wanted to impress the little girl…

And her mom, if Sakura could.

With a nervous breath, Sakura eventually pressed the ring bell button and waited expectantly. Things were running in her mind as she waited, like what should she say to Nako? Or would she be able to hold herself? Or worst, would they be fighting like they used to?

Those thoughts were thrown out of the window when the door eventually opened, revealing Chaewon dressed in a warm light blue sweater and tight pants. The younger didn’t even look surprised as she greeted her.

“Hey, KKura-unnie.” She said, stepping aside as if she has been expecting her, “come in.”

“What...are you doing here?” Sakura asked dumbfoundedly as she stepped into the foyer. Chaewon ignored her as she took the older’s coat off and hung them on the wall beside the door.

Sakura walked deeper into the apartment and saw Minjoo sitting comfortably on the couch.

“Oh, hey unnie.” She greeted.

“Minjoo, you…” Sakura growled, ignoring Chaewon who walked past her and took the space next to Minjoo on the yellow couch. “You said we should come together.”

“I did?” Minjoo tilted her head, turning innocently to Chaewon who smiled at her, “Oh yeah, maybe I did. But you took too long to prepare that I asked Chaewon and decided to go first.”

“I didn’t take my time!”

“You did.” Chaewon smirked, “We thought you were planning to go on a date.”

A plate fell to the floor, catching the three’s attention. Though when Sakura turned around, she felt like her breath got knocked out of her at the sight of the woman staring straight at her with surprised eyes.

Kwon Eunbi, looking the same breath-taking as ever in a yellow casual dress.

“K-Kkura…” Eunbi stuttered, totally forgetting about the fallen plates on her feet. Thankfully she didn’t break them.

A little girl sitting on the kitchen island whipped her head. Her big toothless grin appeared once she saw Sakura.

“Mom!” Nako shouted excitedly, jumping off the stool and sprinted to the woman. She didn’t even care if they would fall when she launched herself into Sakura’s torso like a koala. “I miss you, mom!”

“I-I miss you too, Nako-chan.” Sakura forced a smile, her eyes never leaving the woman standing alone in the kitchen. She kneeled down and let Nako climbed higher to rest her tiny legs on her waist. She then put Nako’s arms around her neck before putting her own under the girl’s to keep her safely locked to her body.

“Thank you for coming,” Eunbi spoke. She had walked closer and was looking down at the two before Sakura flashed another smile (a genuine one this time) and lifted the girl up. “It’s been a long time since we last saw each other.”

“It has.”

“Um, have you had dinner?”

“No, not yet. I’ve been running around the office, doing the desk job because my superior took me off from my current case.”

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