To give you UWU feels:

1. Butter (cover) - Sugarvine
2. Kana Hanazawa - Sweets Parade
3. Maggi X Nyan (arrange ver.) - Summertime

 Enjoy Reading! 

 

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 bagel 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 let out in a cheerful tone. Eunbi immediately realized 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.

 

EUNBI: I forgot to say something earlier.

  Let's be friends!

 

[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 nonstop 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 yet.

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.

“Oi Maru-chan!” Maru suddenly heard Sakura shout. Maru already got the flower and looked down to the ground.

[Oops. How do I go back down?] “Meow!” [I don’t know how to go down! Wahhh] Maru meowed once again, sounding distressed.

“Maru-channie seems to not know how to go down,” Eunbi assessed the situation.

“Agh! How am I gonna get you back down Maru!” Sakura irritatingly bursted out.

[Yabai. I’m definitely in trouble.] Maru gulped down nervously.

“I’ll get her.” Eunbi walked towards the tree without hesitation.

“Y-yah Eunbi!” Sakura tried to stop Eunbi, but she already grabbed onto one of the branches, and started climbing up by keeping her feet on the trunk, using it as a springboard to move up towards the branch where Maru got stuck. It actually went on smoothly, with Eunbi finally arriving to Maru's rescue. Maru successfully got down the tree with Eunbi’s assistance. While going down, she wasn’t careful enough and her foot accidentally slipped down the trunk causing her to lose her grip on the branch.

“Eunbi!” Sakura came to her aid to catch her, but Sakura wasn’t able to hold Eunbi’s weight properly and so they stumbled together and fell down on the grass, with Sakura on top of Eunbi, like a typical, romantic, K-Drama.

Beat.

“Oh.” Sakura realized how close she is with Eunbi.

Eunbi found herself caught by one of Sakura's arms, as she laid on it gently. She didn't realize she's holding tightly on Sakura's biceps. Seeing the mangaka this close, her big brown orbs gazing at her, she felt a foreign feeling on her chest. Her cheeks felt warm, and she didn't know if it was because of shock from the accident, or because of the close proximity between her and Sakura. Maybe both but more on the latter.

Sakura, on the other hand, just remained frozen. She immersed herself on the situation and processed how they ended up like this. Realizing how they are right now, she felt like this is a shoujo manga, wherein Eunbi is definitely the shoujo. She feels like an ikemen with how she got Eunbi and they clumsily ended up lying on the grass together. Staring at the woman, she found how her doe eyes are full of purity and beauty. She may look dependable, but she needs someone to support her also. That could be me— shush Sakura!

“Uhm…” Eunbi was the first to get out of their trance.

“Oh, right. Hehe.” Sakura removed her arm that caught Eunbi just before they finally fell. She stood up slowly and stretched out a hand for Eunbi to take, which the woman gladly took.

“Thank you Sakura. You saved me,” Eunbi huffed a relieved sigh knowing she got back down, still safe.

“No worries.”

Again, they just stared at each other, quiet, but the moment was short-lived when Sakura's phone rang. Uh, here we go again. It won’t stop unless she answers, so she did, though unwillingly.

“Argh! Sasshi!” Sakura finally snapped as soon as she answered the call. Eunbi turned to look at her and found the mangaka cute with her irritated face.

“Woah, Sakuchan. What a nice start after 50 attempts to call you.”

“Sasshi, please. Can you give me more time?” Sakura pleaded. Eunbi heard a faint sigh from the opposite line.

“Sakura— that would be…”

“Can you postpone the release? I'm sorry but I really can't produce anything,” Sakura paused for a bit. Not hearing a word from Sashihara, she decided to continue. “You know how meticulous I am in my published works. I don't submit half-hearted outputs, they should be one hundred percent authentic.”

Another sigh came out from the opposite line. “Okay… I won't ask further, just give me something I can publish for the meantime.”

“Thank you Sasshi! I'll definitely send you some of my Grandma’s umeboshi, for sure,” she beamed in happiness.

“Thanks for the bribe Sakuchan. Just do your thing. I'll give you a month at best,” the call ended. 

“What did she say?” Eunbi asked curiously.

Sakura can't do anything but sigh. “I have a month.” She combed her hair back due to stress.

“Meow.”

“What is it Maru-chan?” Sakura looked at her, looking a little bit irritated.

[My, my. She looks scary.] Maru suddenly looked heartbroken and approached Eunbi, taking cover behind Eunbi's legs. Sakura just stared at her, following where her cat is headed with her eyes. “Meow.”

Eunbi looked at Maru who seemed to be worried and a little bit afraid. “Hm? Why Maru-channie?” She spared a glance at Sakura and found her looking at her cat with an unreadable expression. Eunbi seemed to have understood what's going on and decided to play along with it.

“Maru-channie, why don't you come back to Sakura?” Maru looked at her with widened eyes.

[I don't want to onee-chan…] Maru whimpered inside her mind.

Eunbi chuckled lightly and picked Maru up. “Come on Maru-channie, hm?” she asked in a cute tone. She was about to hand her to Sakura when Maru turned her back away from Sakura. She nestled Maru in her arms like a baby and Maru instantly nuzzled closer to her chest. “Aww.”

“Oi Maru-chan, stop it or I won't give you any treat,” Sakura declared with a hint of warning.

[EEK!]

“Meow.” Maru decided to jump down from Eunbi’s hold and picked up the flower she took from the tree with and looked up at Sakura waiting for her owner to take it.

“Is this a peace offering?” Sakura asked in her usual tone, yet feeling cautious. Eunbi watches their interaction full of anticipation. Sakura bent forward and stretched an arm about to receive the flower, but Maru is a sneaky cat. She suddenly turned away from Sakura and instead walked towards Eunbi.

“O–oi Maru—!”

“Aww, is this for me Maru-channie?” Eunbi looked at Maru lovingly.

“Meow,” Maru faintly let out through with the flower still held firmly by her teeth. Eunbi took the flower and sniffed it briefly.

“Thank you Maru-channie,” Eunbi cooed and pet Maru by giving her a pat on the head.

“Psh, Maru-chan, you sly cat,” Sakura mumbled, puckering her lips, annoyed.

Eunbi once again thought that, “You're so cute, Kkura.” She let it slip out of again for the second time, plus with a nickname.

“Kkura?” Sakura looked at Eunbi in surprise.

“Uhh yeah…” Eunbi couldn't say anything and just trailed off. Now she cannot think of any excuse.

Sakura finally chuckled. “It's okay Eun. It sounds cute to me,” she said, with ‘Eun' naturally rolling out of her lips too. The nicknames sound endearing, and she likes it. They stared at each other from their recent exchange. They both broke into a giggle and soft laughter. Now it seems that they are fully accustomed to each other.

 

[Phase 2. Success!]

 

=+=+=+=+=

 

Ever since then, the neighbors would often walk together early in the morning, playing with Maru at the park, and Sakura would always visit Yena's café every afternoon.

“Oh, Sakura-nim, I see you've been going frequently here huh,” Yena commented as she welcomed Sakura.

“Kkura-yah!” Eunbi called as she noticed Sakura and immediately walked up to her. Yena looked at Eunbi and then to Sakura and smiled knowingly.

“I guess I know the answer already,” Yena smirked. “I'll leave Sensei under your care as always, Eunbi-unnie.” Yena walked away from them and went to the counter to wait for new customers.

“So Sakura, what have you been up to?” Eunbi asked as she served the donut and warm coffee Sakura ordered. She didn't forget Maru and gave her a bowl of milk to drink. Eunbi sat across Sakura and placed her own plate of macaroons with americano.

“I think I’m getting there? Ever since I started going outside frequently,” Sakura confirmed. Eunbi watched Sakura draw on the sketch pad she brought along with her. Sakura put down her pencil and showed Eunbi her sketch. “What do you think of this?”

Eunbi stared at it in awe. “Woah, that’s nice! Amazing, even!”

“Really?” Sakura asked with a glint of excitement in her eyes.

“Yeah, definitely! I guess all you really needed was some time outside of your lair huh,” Eunbi jokes.

“Well, I guess it’s working out–” Sakura flipped to a blank page of the sketch pad– “especially having been able to see you...” she mumbled the last part.

“Hm? What did you say?” Eunbi asked right after she finished eating her macaroons and taking one last sip of the americano.

Sakura didn’t answer. Ever since she met her new neighbor, Eunbi has left quite a bold, yet sincere and loving impression on her. Having a friend like her, she feels energized and motivated to try new things. Instead of dwelling on her last statement, she asked a question, “Have you fallen in love before, Eunbi?” while scribbling on her sketch pad. “How can you say it is?” she followed up.

Now Maru disappeared from their table. They were deep into the conversation neither of them realized what the cat could have been plotting in her head.

“Hmmm.” Eunbi leaned forward on the table and propped an elbow on it, resting her chin on the palm of her hand.

Maru came back and returned to their table, holding a pamphlet with her teeth. She casually plays with it seemingly trying to make sense of what she took.

“For the record, I did fall in love in the past. Well, I’d say it’s love when just from a simple gesture that person made your heart beat, and then when your eyes meet, you’d feel something inexplicable, way beyond the mysteries of this world,” Eunbi answered, deep in thought.

Sakura finally looked up at Eunbi. “Wow, that’s deep,” she mused in amazement.

“Well~” Eunbi flipped her hair back wearing a smug expression.

“Okay, Master Eunbi, the love genius,” Sakura acknowledged, chuckling at Eunbi's baseless confidence.

Eunbi stole a glance at Maru to check what the cat is up to until—

“Oh right. Kkura!”

Sakura was quite startled at Eunbi’s sudden burst of excitement. “Yeah?”

Eunbi took the pamphlet Maru is busy playing with.

[O–oi what you gonna do— okay, take it. Mehehehe.] Maru flashed a bummed expression but deep inside she's grinning from her plan earlier. [Hoping it works~]

Eunbi showed Sakura the pamphlet. “I want to go to this famous amusement park,” she said eagerly.

“Eh?” Sakura looked at Eunbi incredulously.

“Please?” Eunbi pleaded in a cute tone, pouting. Why are you pouting Eunbiiiii? That's too cute to resist >.<

“Why me?” Sakura asked in a hushed tone.

“Cause I want you,” Eunbi said casually. There was a short silence between them. “I–I mean, I want to go with you! I bet we’d have a fun time together,” she spouted in a hurry.

Sakura definitely heard it. “Sure...” was the only word she uttered.

Eunbi’s lips tugged into a huge grin. “Then it’s a date!” she cheered. Sakura felt her cheeks heating up. A date...

 

[Phase 3. Success!]

 

=+=+=+=+=

 

The amusement park date has finally come. Both women have been dwelling on what to wear, as Eunbi mentioned that it's a date. Seeing Sakura's cheeks blushing that day, she also felt her cheeks doing so too. Well at least she's putting her boldness into good use. Inside the mangaka's home, Sakura has been quite reluctant on her choice of clothes, but ended up not minding it too much. All she cares about is her comfort and to look decent at best.

Sakura was about to leave when Maru ran to her, standing by the door, preventing her from leaving that easily.

“What Maru-chan? You wanna come too?”

“Meow.” [Of course, I need to watch out whatever you guys might be up to. This is gonna be a historical moment, I'm sure.]

The neighbors decided to meet up at the train station. Sakura is greeted with Eunbi wearing a crop shirt and a denim jumper short topping it with an oversized cable-knit cardigan, completing it with black combat boots. Meanwhile she is wearing a bit oversized long-sleeve cream polo covered with a plaid, v-neck, wool vest, finishing off with casual cotton shorts and sneakers.

Once they arrived, Eunbi traveled her eyes throughout the entrance of the amusement park, taking in the scenery.

“Let's get some headdresses to wear there!” Eunbi grabbed one of Sakura's hands and pulled her to the souvenir shop. Eunbi bought a bunny hat while Sakura bought a headband with cat ears, personally picked by her neighbor.

“It looks good on you. Such an adorable cat,” Eunbi complimented.

“Meow!”

“Sorry, but not you Maru-channie, but Kkura over here,” she smiled apologetically.

[Heh. Borderline whipped.]

“Eyyy~ you don't really think it is, Eun.” Sakura pondered as she reached over her head to feel the cat ears perking up from the headband.

“Believe me, Kkura-yah–” Eunbi held Sakura's shoulders and coaxed her to face onto the mirror– “you do,” she whispered, flashing a knowing grin.

The date has been going smoothly so far, until Eunbi suggested a certain ride she wanted to try. 

“KWON. EUN… BI!!!” Sakura shouted as the roller coaster sped down from the . “AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”

Eunbi doesn't know if she would find it funny, or would pity the girl from her fear of heights.

Maru just watched from afar as she waited for the pair to finish, not even seeing what actually happens. When she heard Sakura's endless screams, she just squinted her eyes from its loudness. [I didn't know Sakuchan is that scared, or maybe she's just faking it? Jeez.]

Sakura's nightmare doesn't end there, because she's sure she'll meet a living nightmare as they entered the haunted house.

“YADAAAA!!!” Sakura yelled in protest as she just let herself be guided by Eunbi.

“Open your eyes Kkura-yah!” Eunbi instructed as the room was getting louder with the music. Sakura did what she's been told to, and found nothing but darkness. She unconsciously gripped unto the sleeves of Eunbi's cardigan and stuck closer to her.

“GYAH!” A bulked up Frankenstein welcomed them.

“AH NANI NANI NANI!?!?!?!?” Sakura chanted as different monsters and ghosts sprang up and surprised them on the way.

Eunbi was so focused on looking out at Sakura and their sides that she didn't notice a decapitated dummy released and hung down, swinging from the ceiling.

“KYAHHHH!”

“KKURA!” Eunbi yelled to stop Sakura from screaming. She took off her cardigan and covered Sakura's head with it. “Okay we'll get out of here. Don't look anywhere anymore,” she instructed in a stern tone.

“I'm scared,” Sakura murmured, shaking in fear.

“I'll protect you,” Eunbi answered seriously. She placed an arm over Sakura's shoulder to keep the cardigan from falling while her other hand supported its hem on top of Sakura's head. They started walking faster with Eunbi leading the way out, while Sakura kept her head down. Sakura's heart kept beating rapidly from fear (and probably from the heartwarming gesture too).

When they got out of the haunted house, Sakura immediately looked for a bench to sit on. She plopped down on it, looking worn out.

[Was she that scared? Gee, scaredy-cat Sakuchan. Pssh.] Maru just shook her head and jumped onto the bench and leaned against Sakura’s arm to give her comfort.

“Were you that scared, Kkura? I’m sorry I forced you to go inside...” Eunbi apologized, full of worry and guilt.

“No, Eunbi, it’s alright.” Sakura sat up properly.

They continued exploring the amusement park. Sakura noticed that it got a little bit quiet between them. She thought that it was because of her getting too scared from the earlier rides.

[They feel a little bit awkward again… sigh.]

Sakura was thinking what she could do to break the silence when her peripheral vision caught a shooting game. She spotted a cute bunny plushie displayed as one of the prizes.

“Eun, let’s go there.” Sakura initiated this time, grabbing Eunbi's hand pulling her neighbor along with her gently. She paid a small amount to the man managing the stall and was given the toy gun.

“Go Kkura-yah!” Eunbi cheered her on. Sakura aimed at one of the balloons. She held the gun firmly and tried to close one of her eyes, struggling to keep her other eye from closing. She aimed one last time and slowly pulled the trigger.

Bang! Pop!

“Wow! Kkura!” Eunbi clapped her hands in amusement.

“Congratulations ojou-chan,” the man congratulated Sakura. “You can pick one of the prizes here, young lady.”

Sakura didn’t need any more time to choose and immediately picked the huge bunny plushie. She made a mental note to give it to Eunbi later.

 

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

 

After long hours of trying out different rides, the sun has finally set and they decided to take a break to eat dinner. It was a pub located in the wild west-themed area of the amusement park. They ordered some chicken and a can of beer, with fries and chips on the side. There's an open stage inside the pub, where there were tourists and visitors volunteering to sing and perform for their fellow customers. They are currently enjoying the music and have been casually talking about any topic they can think of.

“Sakura, I need to go to the bathroom, quick,” Eunbi informed Sakura before standing up.

“Sure Eunbi.” Her neighbor disappeared immediately in the sea of crowd gathered inside the pub. Sakura took a sip of her beer as she let Eunbi take her time. The stage is currently empty and she wonders when a new person would come up to perform. Since they were almost done eating, she fished her phone out of her pocket and checked it for important messages or calls, since she had put it on silent mode since early morning.

“Ahem,” a voice echoed through the mic. Sakura looked up from her phone and saw Eunbi taking a seat on the chair behind the microphone while holding an acoustic guitar. She placed it on her lap and positioned her fingers on the strings to get ready. She adjusted the mic and set it near . “Konbanwa, minna-san~” she greeted in a cute tone. Everyone clapped as they acknowledged her presence. “Eunbi-chan desu,” she introduced. The locals watching chuckled lightly at Eunbi's baby-like way of speaking Japanese. “Today I went out with a friend–” she paused as she slowly came up with her words. The crowd understood and whispered “ooh” in realization.

The words Eunbi used didn't go unnoticed by Sakura. ‘Went out?’ Maybe she just said so because she's still struggling with Nihongo. She shrugged at her thought.

“This friend I went out with is very cute and she's so adorable. I took her to the roller coaster and she screamed so much, then I dragged her to the haunted house next. She was a bit worn out when we got out because of too much screaming. I feel a little bit sorry for her because she must have felt forced to join me,” Eunbi slowly narrated and ended with a pout. The customers went “aww” from the story. “So tonight, I want to sing a song for her to apologize for earlier,” she ended in a cheerful tone and smiled at the audience, sparing a glance at Sakura.

Eunbi started strumming and Sakura was sure she felt her heartstrings getting tugged along with the light beat.

Eunbi's soft, melodic voice echoed throughout the whole place, giving everyone watching a musical treat. Sakura looked at the way Eunbi closed her eyes as she swayed to the melody.

 

"Time is a strange thing

Only after it passes, you long for it

A sweet dream, when you open your eyes, it may still be clear

But soon, it gets far away and disappears, lala

You and I, this moment right here

I’m going to cherish it deep in my heart

The soft touch of your hand, even today’s air

I’m gonna remember it all

It’s so precious"

 

There was a pause for a split second, and Eunbi immediately opened her eyes and caught Sakura's eyes with her own.

 

"So make it count

Remember this day

When the gentle breeze blows and flowers bloom

Each minute, each second, make it count

Then I’ll be forever

Gathering all the moments

I’ll give it to you

 

Even after time

I really hope we make it count"

 

Eunbi strummed, and just displayed a smile towards the mangaka.

 

Throughout the song, Sakura felt warm inside her heart. It was as if flowers had bloomed inside her heart, opening a new season of her life.

 

Beat. Beat. Beat.

 

The song has come to an end and the audience wasted no time to clap for Eunbi, with some whistling to express their awe for the great performance. Eunbi flashed a proud grin and bowed before going back to Sakura.

 

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

 

“The view is breathtaking,” Eunbi whispered as she marveled at the picturesque night scenery they're seeing as the ferris wheel brought them high up. Sakura looked outside of the window and saw how bright the stars are twinkling, and how the sea is shining as it reflects the moonlight, and the bustling city.

“Thank you for today, Eun–” Sakura smiled sheepishly– “I may have screamed a lot of times, but overall I had a great time with you.” She handed over the bunny plushie she won earlier. “Here,” she scratched her cheek with her index finger in shyness. “A token of appreciation, and somehow a little bit of a peace offering from being such a scaredy-cat in the roller coaster and the haunted house earlier,” she continued, smiling lopsidedly from the embarrassing yet funny memory.

Eunbi just stared at her, took the bunny plushie and held it with both hands. She felt her cheeks heating up, so she lowered her head down and sneakily hid the lower half of her face behind the bunny plushie to hide her cheeks getting tinted with a pinkish color. She's grateful it was a little bit dark inside and Sakura might not see it.

“Thank you, Kkura-yah…”

Sakura chuckled, “You're welcome, Eun.”

[They totally forgot about me... Oi Sakuchan! Don't leave me out, it's my name on the title!] Maru just laid down beside Sakura's seat, stretched her limbs comfortably and nestled her head on Sakura's thigh, enjoying the cool night breeze.

 

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

 

After spending all day at the amusement park, Sakura and Eunbi decided to ride a bus back home, rather than a train. The journey is quite long, almost a three-hour drive. Eunbi is getting sleepy and is struggling to keep her head up. Sakura, who's looking out of the window, felt a weight pressing on her side. She faced Eunbi sitting beside her and found her eyes closed already. She grabbed Eunbi's bunny hat and slowly took it off her head. Eunbi automatically leaned her head on Sakura's shoulder, and embraced her bunny plushie tighter.

“Meow~”

“Shhh. Eunbi’s sleeping. Get some rest too, Maru-chan,” Sakura whispered, prompting Maru to lie down on her lap and caressed her back gently.

 

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

 

“Did you have fun, Kkura?” Eunbi asked as they walked along the hallway towards their apartment units.

“Yup. I enjoyed it a lot. Thank you, Eun,” Sakura smiled as they are now in front of their apartment units. “Before you enter–” Sakura showed Eunbi’s bunny hat she took off earlier and put it on the woman’s head– “you wouldn’t want to forget this.”

After Sakura’s unexpected gesture (which she also has no idea how she was able to do so), the atmosphere got quiet again.

Chuu~

“Oyasumi, Kkura-yah. And you too, Maru-channie,” was all Sakura heard. Eunbi just gave her a kiss on the cheek. She stood alone in the hallway, touching her cheek where Eunbi's kiss still lingered, leaving her stunned.

“Meow!” [Sakuchan, yoo-hoo~]

“Oh, right. Let’s get inside, Maru-chan,” Sakura murmured absentmindedly as she opened her apartment door.

 

Beat. Beat. Beat. Beat. Beat.

 

[Phase 4. Success!]

 

=+=+=+=+=

 

Sakura cannot sleep that night. She walked over her computer and logged into a chatting app. She saw Sashihara’s message and was about to read it when she received a new message.

 

EUNBI: Kkura! I enjoyed our date today. Thank you for this bunny plushie

/a selfie of Eunbi hugging the plushie attached/

 

EUNBI: Let’s have another one someday! Good night and sweet dreams Kkura!

/kiss emoji/

 

Sakura typed a reply.

“AHHH! This is totally out of the blue. It’ll totally set her off,” Sakura blurted out as she jumped to her bed and buried her face with a pillow. Maru walked towards her hooman’s work desk and climbed onto the table. She stared at the monitor.

[Sheesh, Sakuchan. What are you afraid of?] Maru reached out her paw towards the keyboard and pressed ‘enter.’

Upon hearing the keyboard clicked, Sakura jolted up from her bed and hurried over to her desk.

“What did you do Maru-chan?”

 

SAKURA: Sure… but can it be more than a friendly date?

 

Sent.

 

Sakura cannot believe what she just saw. Her jaw dropped upon seeing what Maru had done.

“MARU-CHAN!!!”

“Meow?” [What?]

Sakura felt her knees weaken. She plopped down on her bed face first wanting to bury herself from embarrassment. “Maru-chan… why’d you have to do that?” Sakura spoke weakly, her voice muffled.

“Meow. Meow, meow.” [Just be honest Sakuchan.]

“What am I gonna do? She probably saw it by now,” Sakura mumbled hopelessly. Maru jumped onto the bed and poked Sakura.

“Meow.”

“Uhhhhhhh not now Maru-chan.”

[Uh, this woman. If not for you being a kind hooman I would have left you already, but I won’t because I need you and moreover you need me.]

“Meow!” Maru finally snapped.

“Argh nani!” Sakura rolled over and faced Maru looking stressed.

Maru’s expression softened and approached Sakura.

“Meow,” Maru meowed softly. Sakura stared at Maru and listened.

“Meow. Meow,” she started meowing, hoping Sakura might understand her, or at least get the gist of what she wanted to convey. [Sakuchan, don’t be afraid. Tell her how you feel. You’re too lonely and you’re too engrossed in manga, anime, games, and of course me, but you also need to find love.]

“Why are you being like this Maru-chan?” Sakura mumbled as she kept her stare at Maru.

Maru placed a paw on Sakura’s cheek gently. [Confess, Sakuchan. You can do it. I believe in you.]

Sakura seemed to understand what Maru meant. She furrowed her brows and widened her eyes full of burning desire and passion. She sat up abruptly, making Maru jump out of surprise. She pumped her fist up, and finally said, “Yosha! I’ll confess!” with determination. She immediately got off her bed and approached her desk. She took a sheet of paper, a pencil, wore her glasses, and rolled her sleeves up. She fixed her glasses, pushing it upwards to the bridge of her nose. “Let’s get it.”

 

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

 

For a week, Eunbi didn’t get to see Sakura. The mangaka never visited the café, and haven’t even sent her a single text, except for her last message on the night of their amusement park date.

“What’s gotten into her?” she asked herself. She tried thinking of a number of reasons and she doesn't know what it could be. Today for some reason, she feels irritated. Yesterday, Yena suggested a magazine she could read, since Eunbi loves reading them. It is read from back-to-front, and she thought it could be a great way to learn Japanese casually. She lied down on her couch and opened the magazine, hoping she could relieve some stress. She scanned through the pages, until she caught an interesting page.

“Hm? Sakura's manga is being released here?”

Solo Flight is temporarily discontinued. Meanwhile, here's another one-shot special made by Cherry-sama!

 

MATCHMAKER MARU-CHAN

 

Eunbi chuckled lightly at the title. Matchmaker Maru-chan? The title panel featured a Scottish Fold cat in a matchmaker outfit, wearing traditional Japanese clothes, sheltered under an open red wagasa (Japanese umbrella) which was adorned with cherry blossom patterns. She cooed at how adorable the drawing is. She flipped to the next page.

As soon as she saw a panel of Maru-chan and a woman standing by the door (as the girl looked like her, in manga version), she realized how familiar the events are.

 

Maru-chan had always been stubborn, and naughty.

 

Our first meeting. The café scene.

 

Eun: And I think it's cute.

 

She definitely heard it huh. She thought when she remembered the first time it slipped out of .

She saw how the comics have been detailed wonderfully.

A panel of the characters hanging out in a park, with Kkura on top of Eun lying on the grass showed a small square inside bearing Kkura's expression at that very moment.

Kkura's blushing cheeks, her irritated expression on Maru, how she looked when she was rejected by Maru and was not given the flower, how Kkura looked forward to the amusement park date, and how the date itself went…

“HAHAHAHAHA,” Eunbi laughed boisterously at how exaggerated Kkura's expression was in the manga during the roller coaster ride and the haunted house. There was a closed up panel of trembling hands gripping tightly on a jacket sleeve. She immediately remembered how Sakura held unto her like she'd pass out any minute from shock and fear. There was also a drawing of Eunbi covering Sakura's head with her cardigan, styled like a dramatic anime moment.

Then there was a drawing of Kkura looking worried because she might have destroyed the mood of their date because of her scaredy cat attitude and how she tried making up for it by playing a shooting game and winning it for Eun. Kkura was shown holding the gun coolly and one of her eyes closed, struggling to let the other one to remain open, with a serious expression.

 

Kkura: Do I look cool?

 

She read the dialogue, immediately concluding that Sakura must have been conscious of making great impressions on her and redeeming herself from all the screaming she did. Silly Kkura.

The scene shifted from Kkura in the crowd listening to Eun singing and playing the guitar, the bus ride where Kkura took off her hat gently and let Eun sleep on her shoulder, until she put it back on Eun's head with a speech bubble revealing her thought, “I always wanted to say throughout the day that you looked really adorable in that bunny hat.”

Aww.

And last but not the least the stunned expression Kkura had when Eun kissed her on the cheek, leaving her stunned, with her hand holding the cheek she kissed.

 

Maru-chan may have been stubborn and naughty, but I think it’s fine. I believe she’s more courageous than I am…

 

The scene cut into a drawing of Maru pressing a key on the keyboard, making Kkura panic.

 

… and that’s what I’m thankful for.

 

Lastly, a drawing of Maru showed up, standing on her hind legs, her front legs raised as if she's leaning forward onto something, drawn in a third-person perspective, with Maru's cute face staring directly at the reader. It was almost as if—

 

Scratch, scratch, scratch.

 

Eunbi caught the faint noise, and stood up from her couch. She placed the magazine down on the coffee table and followed the noise, ending up in front of her doorstep. She opened it and found Maru outside.

“Maru-channie,” she smiled automatically as she crouched down to pet Maru, letting the door close on its own. “Have you lost something again? As much as I remember you found your yarn ball already a long time ago.”

“Meow.”

“Hm? Do you need something?”

Maru didn't respond and walked, stopping behind the woman. Maru nudged her head to Eunbi's calves which prompted her to stand up properly.

“Eh? What do you want Maru-channie?” she asked as she looked over her back to see Maru.

“Meow,” Maru meowed, raising her paw and placing it on Eunbi's ankle, as if pushing her. Eunbi must've understood, so she tried to take a step forward.

“Oh, okay, you want me to walk.” She walked down the hallway and took the stairs. As they got outside of the building, Maru stepped forward and faced Eunbi.

“Meow,” and Maru started walking again.

“Okay… you want me to follow you…” Eunbi followed Maru, still a bit hesitant wherever the cat must've been wanting to go. She focused on Maru and didn't realize that they ended up in the park she and Sakura hung out in.

 

“Hey, Eun.”

 

Eunbi heard the voice she never heard for a week. She looked up and saw Sakura standing under a certain tree— the tree that caused her to fall into Sakura's arms.

Sakura displayed a nervous smile at her. She suddenly raised an eyebrow and looked at her, and she noticed how a corner of Sakura's lips twitched before she walked slowly towards the mangaka. Maru walked along with her and sat attentively beside Sakura.

“I believe you owe me an explanation, Miyawaki-san,” she uttered, crossing her arms.

“Right…” Sakura smiled sheepishly and scratched her nape in guilt. “I shouldn't have left you hanging like that.”

Eunbi remained silent. She stopped just a few steps away from Sakura.

“But let me explain, Eun,” Sakura added, pleading. Eunbi still remained silent. Sakura took this as a sign that Eunbi is ready to listen.

Sakura gulped nervously before starting. “I typed the message, but it was Maru-chan who pressed ‘enter.’ I was hesitating sending it to you, because I thought it might have been abrupt to say that. I mean, we only met each other a month ago and you were so friendly to me, you were the first friend I had in this neighborhood, so I might just bring us into an awkward situation if I asked you that. Well, you told me you want more dates, but I don't know what kind exactly, and you sang me that song, which is a love song… I don't know if you exactly feel the same way but I guess it's fine it isn't.” Sakura paused for a bit and gathered her courage before looking up finally and stared into Eunbi's eyes.

 

“I like you Eunbi,” Sakura blurted out.

 

There was silence between them. Sakura opened to say something when Eunbi cut her to it and said…

 

“I like you too, Sakura.” Eunbi's lips slowly crept up into a smile.

“Jaa… the next date is not just a friendly date?” Sakura asked for confirmation.

Eunbi chuckled lightly, “The amusement park date wasn't really a friendly one. I was giving you hints, silly.”

 

Sakura froze on her spot.

 

[Ey, Sakuchan, wake up.] Maru nudged her on her ankle and handed her a bundle of cherry blossom flowers she bought and purposely had it arranged like that. Sakura took it from Maru's mouth and handed it over to Eunbi.

“For you Eunbi, for making my life blossom into something so much more than just work, play, and loneliness. I never thought love would come my way but here you are proving it to me.” Sakura smiled at her confession.

Eunbi took the flowers and sniffed it. “They smell sweet and lovely.” She stepped forward, closing the distance between her and Sakura. She tiptoed and pressed her lips against Sakura's. Sakura cupped Eunbi's cheeks and responded to the kiss, as the tree provided some shade for them under the heat of the scorching afternoon sun.

 

Maru just watched how her hooman ended up finding love, of course, thanks to her. She pumped her fist inside her mind and complimented herself, feeling smug.

 

[Phase 5. Success!]

 

 

New volume of Cherry-sama's ‘Solo Flight' released, manga's title to be changed with ‘Solo Flight No More,’ revealing the young traveler finally found what she has been looking for! Cherry's famous manga to date takes a huge turn, making it a big step to her career as a rising mangaka.

 

 

Eunbi’s song earlier:

Make it Count (Touch Your Heart OST) by Chen (EXO)

https://genius.com/Genius-english-translations-chen-exo-make-it-count-english-translation-lyrics

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... And done! I hope you guys liked it. I'll definitely upload a cover for this, I just need to study and look for references to make this cover.

A little TMI:

While I was reading comments during the contest, I saw a comment saying that they wanna see this adapted into a manga or a short drama. While writing this story, the plot gives me manga or anime vibes. I also draw fanarts, and I suddenly had this plan to do it someday. So yeah, in the future, when I get better in drawing, I'll definitely make a manga adaptation of it (making a manga was one of my bucket list too). And I'm also an aspiring scriptwriter, so let's see, I might make a screenplay for this. I'm making too much plans I hope I can get them done in the future lol.

And, I don't know, with the manga that I said Sakura was writing there, I might have just created an AU inside an AU HAHAHAHA. Let's see~ hehe.

Anyway, that's it guys. Please upvote and comment, your comments also motivate me to write.

Thank you and till the next read!