Eunbi notices it the moment Sakura walks into her apartment after work. It’s subtle, but the way the door shuts just a little bit harder tells her that something is different. It’s not unusual for her to come straight over to Eunbi’s place after work; in fact, Sakura is over so often that she’s sort of joked about the younger moving in with her.

Sakura could move in tomorrow if she wanted to; Eunbi would love that. Eunbi has already cleared out space for Sakura’s things in her closet, whenever Sakura is ready.

Eunbi pushes those thoughts away when she looks up from the couch and turns to see Sakura walk into the living room. Her bag hits the floor with a loud thud as she blows out a sigh. Eunbi’s book gets tossed to the coffee table as she stands up to greet the Japanese girl. Sakura has already opened her shirt buttons as she works to shrug off her suit jacket.

“Hey, gorgeous.” Eunbi says softly, hoping the endearment will bring a smile to her face. She tries not to be disappointed when Sakura lifts her head up as she’s tugging her suit jacket with a frown.

“Hey, sweetheart.” The usual sweet infection in her tone is nowhere to be found; Sakura sounds like she is a million miles away from the living room where they stand. Eunbi can usually find warmth in her hazel eyes, but when she looks into Sakura’s sullen face, she can only find pools of sadness mixed with anger.

Eunbi gets on tiptoe to kiss her lips gently before she pulls away to rest a hand on her cheek. “Are you okay?”

Sakura shakes her head as the suit jacket is shucked from her shoulders and tossed to the back of the couch. “Just a bad, bad day at work,” She mutters.

Sakura works for a consulting firm – once believed to be her dream job, she told Eunbi – and for months she has been put under a great deal of pressure from her boss, Bae Yoon Jung. It doesn’t help that Sakura also deals with conniving co-workers; a guy named Wooseok is the worst of them. Eunbi has encouraged her to quit the firm, but she always insists that she stick it out. Too good an opportunity, a great learning experience…many excuses fall from her lips when she brings it up.

But tonight is the worst Eunbi has seen her come from work. Everyone has a bad day or two, but Sakura’s job is the life from her.

Eunbi hasn’t said anything to her, but she really misses the Sakura she first met months ago when they randomly bumped into one another at the coffee shop where she likes to write the lyrics for her songs sometimes. She doesn’t often hear that deep, rich laugh that brings a toothy smile across her face. Sakura is distracted even when they are simply laying on the couch and watching a movie. The younger turns down opportunities to hang out with their friends on weekends in exchange for working on reports for Mrs. Bae.

Eunbi has remained patient, waiting is something she’s awfully good at doing, and Sakura is worth waiting for. She’s worth the time Eunbi has spent working to get past her walls and be invited into her life. Sakura has loved and cherished her more than anyone ever has, and it’s time that she really lets Eunbi do the same for her.

She pushes some of Sakura’s hair away from her eyes and smiles at her warmly. Sakura may object to this idea, but tonight, she’s going to take the reins.

“Kkura-ya, why don’t you go get undressed?” Eunbi waits for the younger girl to have something to say about that, but she only nods her head. Work must have been a real killer for her, and Eunbi’s heart sinks at the thought of Sakura continuing to work at such an awful place.

“I think I’ve left some clothes here, right?” Sakura asks, already heading back toward Eunbi’s bedroom. Eunbi looks over her shoulder to watch her disappear through the doorway.

“Yeah, just check the third drawer.” The older girl shouts back as she steps into the kitchen. Her mind begins to catalogue the items she has in the pantry. Eunbi scolds herself for not doing her grocery run today. She doesn’t have much in the way of dinner since she was planning to order take out, but she remembers she at least has enough to make one of Sakura’s favorite meals.

Eunbi has her back turned as she searches her cabinets when Sakura walks up quietly behind her. Sakura has changed into a pair of jeans and one of her old college tees that she insisted she keep here for “just in case.” Sakura raises her brows when Eunbi grabs a pot and begins to fill it with water.

“We can just do takeout; I don’t want you to have to cook for us.” Sakura tells her. Eunbi gives her a small shrug before she puts the pot of water on the stove to boil and begins to search for instant ramyeon and kimchi.

“I want to make you dinner.” Eunbi replies as she steals a glance at the Japanese. “I’m going to make kimchi ramyeon, if that’s okay?”

“Um, yeah, that’s fine. But, unnie, really, you—”

“Sakura, I want to do this for you.” Once she has gathered the ingredients she needs, Eunbi pauses to step over and lay her hands across the other girl’s chest. “Let me take care of you tonight.”

A storm begins to form over Sakura’s features; her brow knits together closely as she works her jaw. “Wh..what do you mean?”

“I mean let me take care of you. Let me make you some dinner and maybe…” Eunbi runs a hand through Sakura’s hair. The silky strains slip through her fingers with ease, and she has to stop herself from gently tugging it. “If you want, I can try to help you relax. But for now, go chill out on the couch while I make us dinner.” She playfully shoos Sakura from the kitchen so she can get to work.

Instant ramyeon with kimchi is simple enough, and she wishes she had more on hand to make a more elaborate meal. Sakura told her once that this was one of her favorite meals, and she hopes it’ll be enough to lift her spirits a little tonight.

Time passes quickly as she cooks and prepares their dishes. She may not have had all the things she needs to make her kimchi ramyeon extra special, but with the garlic and extra seasonings, it’ll still be tasty. She grins to herself when she finds several bottle of soju. While digging in a drawer for soju glasses, she finds a couple of left-over candlesticks from the first time they had a date night in her apartment.

At their first date in Eunbi's apartment, Eunbi had lit candles for the dinner table for effect, but Sakura had other things on her mind. Sakura had made sure she had dessert before dinner when she picked Eunbi up to put her on the counter and buried her face between her legs. Eunbi still grows weak in the knees when she thinks about it.

She decides to light the candles and place them on the table. Eunbi begins to open the soju bottle when she feels Sakura walk up behind her.

“Here, let me.” The younger tells her gently as she takes the soju bottle and pours them in glasses. Eunbi smiles up at her when she hands the bottle to her.

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