When Dahyun woke up, she was met with some shoulder pain. Good thing I’m in a hospital- she thought. She just didn’t have the heart to wake up the peacefully sleeping girl next to her, so instead, she opted to play on her phone until the girl woke up. 

Eventually, the girl did stir awake, and her eyes widened when she was met with a soft smell of vanilla and striking mono-lid eyes staring back at her. Sana quickly moved away, embarrassed, and mumbled a quick ‘sorry’, smiling shyly.  

“It’s okay, Sana-unnie. Did you sleep well?”  

“A-ah, yes Dahyun-ah, I slept well, like a boulder!” Sana giggled, trying to keep eye contact with the pale girl beside her. Dahyun just stared at her weirdly. 

“You mean you slept like a rock?” Dahyun asked, tilting her head. 

“Yeah, that! Sorry, I couldn’t think of the right thing hehe,” Sana looked away timidly. Dahyun just grinned and laughed, shaking her head. Then Sana remembered that they’re in a hospital, surrounded by people, who were staring at them strangely. She blushed. 

“Oh, right, unnie, I have to go check in on my friend, she’s the reason why I’m here, I’ve just been waiting for you to wake up,” Dahyun said, suddenly standing up. “You can come with me, only if you’d like of course.” 

“I’d love to, Dahyun-ah,” Sana said. Dahyun reached out her hand without warning, staring at her. Sana looked at her hand for a couple seconds before she got the memo, and didn’t hesitate to softly grab her hand, smiling at the younger girl. 

Dahyun led them down the hall to room 203. “Oh, the room my nana’s in is near here, we can go there after, yeah Dahyun-ah?” 

“Sure, sure, we’ll just quickly pop in and say hi to Chae first,” Dahyun said as she opened the door to room 203 slowly, making sure to check if Chaeyoung was asleep before barging in. Before entering, they noticed another person there with her, and it doesn’t take a genius to tell it was Mina, from Chaeyoung’s blushing face. 

“Chaeng Chaeyoung, heyyyy!” Dahyun exclaimed loudly, grinning at her friend who was now glaring at Dahyun; the latter just smirked. “Oh, hey Mina, I didn’t notice you, how long have you been here?” 

“Dahyunnie! I just got here, actually, I just wanted to check up on the cub, you know?” She showed off her radiant gummy smile, and Chaeyoung couldn’t help but smile back, despite being embarrassed. “I decided to take a couple days off to stay here, though, since my parents allowed me to, so I’ll be here a while.” 

“That’s good, I’m sure Chaeyoung won’t mind,” Dahyun declared, ignoring Chaeyoung’s killing stares. Then Dahyun remembered that she’s with Sana, and quickly introduced her. “Oh, also guys, this is Sana-unnie, a new friend I met here yesterday.”  

Sana smiled at them, introducing herself. “Hello! I’m Sana, from Japan, but I moved here recently, and I’m here with my grandmother.”  

Dahyun glanced at Sana and noticed how they were still holding hands. She didn’t try to separate them, though. Weirdly, she found it comfortable. Sana’s hand was soft and warm, and Dahyun found that she liked holding it. Meanwhile, Sana hadn’t noticed, she was nervously shifting under the gazes of everyone in the room. 

Chaeyoung broke the silence, bursting into a wide smile, as she shouted excitedly, “Japan? That’s so cool! My friend Momo is from Japan too, but she’s a pabo-” she quickly got shushed by Mina, who was embarrassed by how loud she was. The cub quieted down real fast.  

Sana giggled at the interaction, lifting the mood of the room. Dahyun smiled at this, and whispered to Sana, “Did you want to go to your room now? I can come check up on these idiots later, yeah?” 

Sana looked over at her and nodded, leading her out of the door, oblivious to the stares of Mina and Chaeyoung. Dahyun was not so oblivious, shockingly, and was a little shy, waving to Chaeyoung and Mina before getting dragged away by an excited Sana. 

The two walked down the quiet, empty hallway in silence- both drowning in it. That is, until Dahyun suddenly broke the silence. “So, unnie, what’s your grandma like? She seems really important to you.” 

Sana looked down and grew a small, yet soft, smile. “Of course, she’s special to me, Dahyun-ah, she’s my nana. My only nana. I grew up with her, and she’s been by my side through thick and thin.” Dahyun smiled sweetly at this, glancing at Sana before looking ahead again.  

“She sounds like a wonderful person, Sana-unnie. I hope she’ll like me,” she said, nervously glancing at Sana, to find her looking back at her. She was in a trance; it seemed like time slowed for them, until she got shoved gently by Sana. 

“Dahyun-ah, she’ll love you. I know she will, trust me,” she said, looking back ahead to the door they’re now nearing. 208. “Even if I don’t know you well, you’re a good person. She loves good people,” Sana winked, opening the door gently before guiding a grinning Dahyun inside. 

Instantly, Dahyun was hit with a strong scent of flowers. Strong, yet soft and pleasant. She thinks the smell will be etched into her memory, and she doesn’t mind that. “Nana, I want you to meet my new friend, Dahyun-ah,” she heard Sana say softly, even softer than the scent that’s filling her nose, if that’s even possible. She doesn’t mind that being stuck in her memory, either. It’s weird. 

“Da...hyun? It's so nice to meet you. I want you to treat my Sana well...” Sana’s grandmother trailed off, eyes unfocused, but for the most part on Dahyun. Dahyun could hear how weak and frail she sounded, and it caused her heart to ache, but she still put on a smile as she went to stand next to Sana, who was sitting next to her grandmother now. 

“Of course I will, Ms...” Dahyun said, not knowing what exactly to call her. Nana? No, that’d be weird, she thought. 

“You can call her Sakura. Or nana, it’s up to you,” Sana says, understanding Dahyun’s unasked questions.  

“You don’t have to worry about Sana, I promise to take good care of her, Sakura-nim,” Dahyun said, faking a salute to Sakura in hopes to lighten the dark atmosphere, at least a little. Sana slightly snorted, trying to hold in her laughter, as Sakura’s smile got a little wider. Success! Dahyun thought, grinning to herself. 

Sana and Dahyun noticed how Sakura was struggling to keep her eyes open, so they just opted to stay there, talking to each other until she fell asleep. It was distracting to Sakura- a good distraction. A much needed one. 

With a smile on her face, Sakura just thought. Of course, she couldn’t stay up for long periods of time, with her condition, but it was nice. It was nice hearing her granddaughter finally getting along with someone, after so long of stressing; after so long of over-working herself, it was just nice to see her relax a bit. And Sakura saw that with Dahyun. Dahyun is good, she thought. She will take care of Sana. She can rest easily, knowing that Sana will be okay.  

Sakura never wanted to let Sana down. After all, she was pretty much all the family she had left. Sana’s parents were rarely ever around. They just didn’t have time for her, so instead, Sana had to rely on her grandmother to give her the love she desperately needed. Sana’s favorite activity used to be flower picking, with her favorite grandma, of course. She’d always go out on weekends with her and pick the prettiest flowers. 

And flowers, just like that, became Sana’s life. She’d always pick flowers and bring them to her grandma, showing off her picking skills, and showing off the flower's beauty. In return, Sakura would explain the flowers meaning, and that always meant everything for little Sana. She was always in awe of how just one simple flower- a small, pretty, soft flower- could hold so many different meanings. And Sakura would tell her stories of herself, involving the flowers in her silly memories, and smile so, so sweetly at how stars would appear in Sana’s eyes, and how full of life they once were. 

 “Nana! Nana! Look at these! What are they, what are they! They’re the prettiest ones I’ve ever seen!” Sana would say, eyes full of wonder and everything good in the world, gently holding onto the delicate flower, putting them in some soil, caring for them. 

However, there aren’t any stars in Sana’s eyes anymore. They aren’t glowing, and they aren’t full of life. Despite Sana’s efforts to hide that, she just couldn’t. Sakura knew. Sakura knew it was fake, but she didn’t have the heart to show that. But now, even if she did leave this Earth, she could just tell, that Sana’s new friend, Dahyun, would be there for her. She knew- that Sana would be okay. She can go now, and rest easily, with the scent of flowers all around her, filling her senses. With the soft mumbles fading into the background of her wonderful, lovely granddaughter and her friend. Fading into the background. Fading. She can rest easily. Rest. 

And just like that, she did rest easily. Sana will be okay.