"SO are you two dating?"

Irene turned to her classmate whose eyes were glittering with curiosity. She was so busy thinking of what to cook for dinner that she wasn't even paying attention to whatever they were talking about. It was that one question that brought her back to earth.

"Dating who?" She innocently asked.

The girls she's with rolled their eyes in sync. "Do you really have to ask that?" The other one scoffed. "We are talking about Cherry here! Cherry who used to be the number one woman hunter of this school!"

"Cherry?" Irene repeated. "Do you mean Sakura?"

The girls giggled even more. "She even has her own name for her!"

"Stop it…" Irene sighed. "It is her real name. I just got used to calling her like that."

The girls just looked at her with disbelief in their eyes. Irene could only shake her head.

Their morning class had just finished and they were on their way to get lunch when the girls started talking about Sakura.

Well, someone opened up about dating but it ended up with Irene getting interrogated about Sakura.

"Her answer doesn't matter at all." One of them said, "It's very obvious that they are dating."

"No, we're not!" Irene answered, there was even a hint of disgust in her tone. "We're just friends!"

"Friends?" The girls repeated as if they're in some sort of a choir group.

"There's no way you guys are just friends! You even declined going out with us because you said you'll be having dinner with her."

Irene's right eyebrow rose. "Come on, today is the last episode of the drama that we are watching. You can't expect me to choose a party over seeing the ending of my current favourite drama!"

The girls just laughed at her, obviously not believing her reason.

"I can’t even imagine Cherry being able to sit and watch an hour-long drama without getting bored and making any move." One of them said, "She knows how to get through every woman's weakness. I don't believe she has ever made her way on you."

"Come on..." Irene's shoulders dropped. "We are really just friends. She's like a younger sister to me. There's really nothing between us."

"Well I wonder if Cherry thinks the same! Do you think she would quit that lifestyle of hers just to watch dramas with you?"

The girls agreed to the statement but Irene could only classify the conversation as nonsense.

There's just no way that she and Sakura would date.

It is true that her meeting with Sakura is one of the most memorable first meetings she could ever have. After being a Dean's Lister, Irene was given a task to take care of a certain troublemaker sophomore who kept on either sleeping in class or completely skipping it. Since the said student is half-Korean, the faculty thought that having Irene knock sense to that student was the best idea.

And so, she did go to meet her—Miyawaki Sakura. And oh, she would never forget their first meeting.

Irene went to visit Sakura at her dorm since she didn't go to school that day. When she arrived, the door opened with a girl dashing out of the room. Shortly after, another girl came out while pulling her shirt downwards. Her hair was all over the place and her face was filled with lipstick smudge especially near her lips.

It was Sakura, and it was so obvious that she didn't like Irene's sudden visit. She didn't even have to introduce herself since Sakura was already informed about her. She already knew about having a tutor but she still didn't go to class to meet her. Sakura also insisted that she didn't need one and to let her live her life the way she wanted to.

But being the responsible girl that she is (or just can't accept that she would fail a task given by the Dean) Irene wasn't fazed by Sakura's showcase of annoyance. She continued bothering her, ruining any make out session that the girl is going into, she even went to chase after her to the extent of stepping in a club which she never thought she would be entering to.

When did it start again? When did Sakura start changing? When did she start opening up to her? When did she start spending more time with her than fooling with other girls?

"Could it be that she just realised that studying now is more important than wasting her time on meaningless stuff?"

The girls just gave up on her thinking that it would be even crazier if Sakura really did pick studying if having feelings for Irene is indeed not true.

"We're really just friends…"

"Yeah, we're just friends."

Gasps were heard from the girls when Sakura suddenly appeared. She was actually waiting for Irene by the stairs. She looked at Irene with an obvious forced, faint smile.

"Hi, Irene." Sakura greeted her, only her.

The girls hid behind Irene as if Irene's figure could cover all of them. They started murmuring about how being in love with Irene is painted all over Sakura's face. She's evidently hurt that Irene only thinks of their relationship only to that level.

"Kkura?" Irene called. "Do you want to eat lunch with us?"

"I actually wanted to eat lunch with you." Sakura answered.

Gasps were heard again from the girls, discussing how insensitive Irene is even with Sakura acting like this towards her.

"W-We'll excuse ourselves then. I guess someone just can't wait for dinner. You better eat with her, Irene."

"Are you guys okay with that?" Irene asked. "She can eat with us anyway."

"Irene." Sakura called once again. "I said I want to eat with you."

"Okay, okay~ See you later, Irene!" The girls hurriedly went away while giggling. Irene watched them leave before turning back to Sakura.

"And what's that for, Kkura? Did you really drive my friends away?" Irene asked with a pout which the younger girl found really cute, awarding her a light pinch on the cheek.

"Let's go and eat." Sakura ignored Irene's question and extended her hand to the other girl. "I heard the menu today is good."

Irene, without really thinking about anything, held Sakura’s hand and started walking. Their fingers intertwined.

“I really don’t understand why they think that we’re dating.” Irene sighed.

Sakura only smiled.

SAKURA turned her phone off and threw it away on the empty couch. Irene worriedly turned at her.

“Something’s wrong?” She asked.

“Nah…” the younger girl sighed as she sank on her seat. “People just keep on calling me to hangout.”

“Your girlfriendssss?” Irene teased.

“You know I never had a girlfriend. All of those are just short-time flings.” Sakura snacked on her popcorn.

"You really don't want to go?" Irene asked, still in teasing Sakura.

Sakura stayed quiet for a while. "There will be drinking and smoking there for sure and you don't like it when I get wasted or when I reek of the smell of cigarettes."

Irene suddenly felt her heart skip a beat. Now that she thought of it, Sakura lessened her alcohol intake and actually quit smoking... and she did that just for her? For some reason, she actually felt happy.

"It's fine, silly. You can still go if you want to, just drink moderately…"

"No, it's fine." Sakura answered with a smile. "Today is the last episode of your favourite drama and I want to know what will happen so that I can respond to you when you start talking about it."

Irene's heartbeat started to become really audible. She's heard Sakura talk like this a thousand times but it's the first time that it actually took effect on her.

Was it because of the constant teasing of her classmates? She doesn't know... She chose not to know the reason.

"Also…" Sakura took her eyes off of the TV screen and turned to Irene. She looked at her straight into those doe eyes. "There's someone that I'd rather be with than fool around outside."

Irene suddenly felt dry up. When did Sakura start to look attractive like that?

"Kkura..." Irene's attention was then caught by Sakura's free arm. She's obviously inviting her to sit closer to her.

"Come here, Irene..."

Irene froze, she wanted to go. She knew she wanted to go and be inside Sakura's embrace. She knew she wanted to be closer to her but she also knew the things that may happen if she gave in to that invitation.

And Irene spent many nights regretting and crying about not letting herself be free in the arms of Sakura. She tried to make herself believe that the foreign feeling would not last and it would fade away in time. She also fooled herself that Sakura might just be playing with her just like what she did with other girls when she knew so well that the other girl's feelings for her are sincere.

The next thing she remembers is having been called by her parents for dinner and ending up with a ring on her hand. She could clearly remember Sakura's pained expression when she saw the said ring. The spark in her eyes disappeared. She rarely saw her smile again. Sakura even went back to drinking and smoking but she never shut Irene out. She still responded whenever Irene called out to her. But things were never the same. She started calling her Bae just like how their other friends call her.

Never the same.

She suffered whenever she saw Sakura hanging out with some other girl so, even though she already graduated, she hovered around in hopes that Sakura would not forget her face. At that time she didn't know that it was a selfish act. She thought she just wanted to see a friend, to hangout... She didn't know that she was actually making the two of them suffer even more by simply staying.

But she couldn't help but to stay… Sakura also couldn't help but to be with her as well. They both couldn't let go of each other until Sakura took the initiative to move on.

Irene thought it would be the best for her, for them. She pursued her relationship with the man she was arranged to marry but it didn't work out. The distance and the time spent away from Sakura only watered the undying suppressed feelings she has for the other girl. When she couldn't take it in anymore, she brought everything out to light and turned her back to everything she thought was important.

But it was late... Oh so late...

Someone has already taken the place that was supposed to be hers. Someone else has already answered the invitation.

She missed Sakura even more, especially at times like this. The girl was always one text away and she would come running to her house to tend to her when she's sick, something that even her ex-fiance wasn't able to do for her.

But now... for real... No Sakura would be coming for her.

IT was already 3:30AM when Gi was dropped back at Irene’s house. She made sure that the hot woman won’t call her after convincing her to delete her number, even her call history. She did the same to her phone. Seul must never know about her having a fun time.

But was it really fun?

No.

Rather she felt even more empty.

The rain has also stopped but it was still misty all over. She input Irene’s password and entered the house only to see a part of the floor wet.. She traced the direction of the water and found its end by the couch where she found Irene sleeping. It looked like she barely managed getting on the couch.

“.”

Irene was shivering in the cold as she curled to somehow bring heat to herself. Gi knelt by her side and saw how drenched the girl was. Her hair still hasn’t dried up while only the part of her clothes that’s out in the air got dried up a little. She gently traced Irene’s face with the back of her hand, drying the tears that randomly fell down.

“What the hell did you just do, Irene?” She whispered. “Did you really run in the rain after me?”

Irene started moving, her puffy eyes slowly opened up but Gi remained there looking at her.

“Gi?” Irene called in a weak voice. “Are you back?”

“Yeah.” The taller girl thriftily answered as she took her hand back.

“H-How did you get in?” Irene asked. She pushed herself to sit up. “H-How did you know the password?”

“I saw it yesterday. I made sure to memorise it.”

“I see…” The smaller girl managed to sit on her own but her sight started spinning to the point that she couldn’t lift her head up. “I thought you didn’t know it so I waited here.”

Gi stood up, her eyes still fixed on Irene. “I wouldn't dare to go out if I didn’t know.”

Irene held her head. “Okay, I’m glad you’re already back… Go and sleep now.” She took a deep breath. “I-I’ll go back to my room as well.”

“Alright.” Gi coldly turned her back on Irene and started walking towards her room. This wasn’t what she was expecting. She actually prepared herself for Irene’s nagging but the girl didn’t even show any sign of anger towards her.

“Irene-unnie is sick. If you can please look after her. Please don’t do anything bad to her… Irene-unnie also has her own situation. She’s also hurting inside. Please… Don’t do anything that would hurt her more. She’s a very special person to me.”

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