Chaewon exits with a sweet smile on her face and a spring in her steps. Her soft brown hair bounces when she looks back to bade goodbye, the way those layered strands sway with every little movement she does is so cute — whoever's had the chance to thread their fingers through those silky strands Sakura deems lucky. And the way those chocolate-coloured tips caress Chaewon's petite shoulders, Sakura wishes they were her fingers instead.

 

No, maybe she shouldn't.

 

Her fingers are coarse from handling hundreds of coffee orders a week and some of her nails are chipped from occasional slip-ups and tactless work.

 

The door soon closes and the bell chimes.

 

Sakura blinks at the sound ringing in her ears, snapping out of a trance Chaewon doesn't know she always pulls Sakura into. Her eyes linger on the door but her smile doesn't.

 

Sometimes, Sakura feels as if she's dipped her feet a little too deep underwater. She sits at the edge with nothing to cling on, watching through ripples as the blue abyss underneath calls out to her. She hates that when she falls in love, it's deep and inescapable yet she finds herself constantly being drawn to it.

 

It nips and tugs on her ankles and Sakura would merely stare into the void that lay beyond the blues — absentminded, perhaps savouring what warmth is left of the tides before they could turn cold and reel her in.

 

Chaewon makes her feel like that, yet Sakura can't bring herself to hate her.

 

Rubbing her neck, Sakura sighs and turns around to lean her back against the cool edge of the marble counter, head thrown back as she stares mindlessly at the cobwebbed ceiling.

 

Then she goes back to work, doesn't wonder who the other coffee Chaewon had ordered was for.

 

So far, her day has gone great.

 

She woke up today feeling surprisingly fresh despite six hours of sleep, won one competitive game of Overwatch just before her morning lecture, there weren't any assignments today and handling the cafè has been nothing but a breeze right then.

 

When a day passes by a little too well, Sakura feels skeptical because more often than not, there's always 'the ening' that awaits the seemingly perfect day.

 

Well, she's deliberately overlooking the fact that her crush is probably having her carefully brewed coffee with someone else right now — it's good enough that Sakura gets to see that pretty face walking into the cafè once in a while.

 

She doesn't consider that depressing enough to be a ening situation though (apparently, brushing aside her feelings like they're just dust isn't depressing).

 

"Sakura! I need your help! So freaking badly!"

 

Huh Yunjin — redhead, unapologetically loud, hot, extravagant and most definitely sought-after by every living, breathing being she passes by — comes bounding from the staff lounge with haste. Her pinched eyebrows and upturned lips are all Sakura needs to know that whatever's gonna come out of the girl's mouth isn't going to be anything good.

 

"Can I say no?" Sakura sags even further against the counter, looking up at Yunjin pointedly.

 

Yunjin gives her an immediate head shake, and that's when Sakura is already sensing the dark clouds slowly hovering over the (ridiculously) taller girl to herself.

 

Why do I feel like I'm gonna be bombshelled with the most ridiculous ... Sakura internally grimaces, prays to all deities so that her hunches will end up wrong because lord, why is it always the bad ones that come true?

 

"Nope! Because you got no choice and I'm only asking to sound like I have basic courtesy but at this moment I'm so very sorry in advance!" Yunjin has her hands clasped together, phone within her desperate grasp that Sakura thinks, any tighter and that poor phone is going to be pulverized in that titan grip.

 

She gives the redhead a weird look, then glances back to see if any customers looked their way because- did she mention that Yunjin is ing loud loud?

 

So she takes this opportunity when the line's empty and drags Yunjin back into the staff lounge by her elbow.

 

Sakura folds her arms across her chest after she closes the door, Yunjin's refusing to meet her eyes now and instead, finds the ceiling much more interesting than this confrontation at hand. She's scratching her head as if she hadn't called out for Sakura like someone's grandma's cat died or something.

 

"What the hell- okay out with it, couldn't be worse than when you asked me to unclog your toile-"

 

"You're my girlfriend now!"

 

No one moved, the air suddenly seems thick, everything was still, except for that stubborn gecko (which they had been trying so hard to catch since last week) that just zoomed past on the wall behind Yunjin.

 

If it wasn't for the subdued chatter amongst the patrons outside, you could have probably heard a pin drop in the silence that engulfed the two of them instantly.

 

Suddenly, Sakura thinks being mercilessly awoken by a phonecall at three in the morning to unclog some idiot's toilet doesn't sound so bad. Because weighing the options, at least that incident didn't involve risks too much for her emotional baggage.

 

(Yunjin had reasoned that no one else was answering her calls, her parents were out of town and there were no plumbing services available dead into the night — gee, Sakura wondered why.

 

"Did you take the fattest dookie that it jammed the pipes or what?"

 

"Ew no! I was tryna kill a mosquito in here and I was swinging my arms everywhere and then I smacked the out of my toilet rolls that the whole thing flew in there! Stupid toilet rolls..."

 

"...You're a and you owe me so much for this. What use is having a boyfriend when you won't even call him to do this nasty for you instead of me in the first place??"

 

"He sleeps like a dead man. And do you want me to sponsor you sleeping pills? 'Cause you're looking like the raccoon in my grandma's backyard."

 

"Another word and I'm shoving this plunger down your throat, Yunjin-ah."

 

"Sorry... and I love you! Thanks so much, you're my saviour!")

 

Oh, what could possibly go wrong with a lesbian like her pretending to be a straight woman's girlfriend?

 

(There's already alarms blaring off in her head.)

 

"Uh... excuse me?" Sakura scoffs after Yunjin's outburst, eyebrows knitted together and she's not sure what the hell she's supposed to say after that deafening silence.

 

Maybe she's waiting for Yunjin to finally change that stiff look on her face to a dumb smile then she'd laugh at her whilst clutching her stomach because she's fallen for her prank (everytime!).

 

Sure, Yunjin makes corny, toe-curling jokes when the opportunity presents itself (personally, Sakura thinks Opportunity should stop) and all Sakura would do is give her a million eyerolls (she's not going to admit that she found some of them funny) but this one in particular did not tickle her fancy.

 

Yunjin exhales, loud and visibly nervous as she keeps shifting her weight from one foot to the other as her hands flailed around.

 

Oh, Sakura sure as hell can't wait to hear about this.

 

"So you know my stepdad, yeah that jerk who lowkey hates gays and also the one I'm always ing to you about nonstop 'cause he keeps trying to find suitors for me?" Yunjin says and of course Sakura knows, there's not a day that passes by where Yunjin doesn't talk smack about that man.

 

From whatever Yunjin's been telling her, her dad did sound like the passive-aggressive controlling type — definitely not the stepfather starter kit Yunjin was looking forward to when her mom remarried.

 

Sakura is already feeling her lips twitching, trying so hard to keep herself composed as she idly scratches her cheek with a finger while listening to Yunjin rambling her off. If only she was bigger than Yunjin, she would have probably performed a suplex on her by now.

 

"Yeeeah... he called earlier about a dinner with some dude I seriously do not give a about and I kinda sorta maybe retaliated saying I like girls now and that I have a girlfriend...? Aaaand I told him it's you, haha... ha..."

 

By the time Yunjin finishes, her voice has slowly diminished (which was highly uncharacteristic for someone like her), shoulders hunched as she fiddles with her fingers nervously with a sheepish smile on her stupid, pretty face.

 

And when the redhead doesn't go 'April Fools!', that's when Sakura can safely conclude, Ah, there it is, the ening.

 

Whatever dread that's been awaiting her at the end of her perfect day turns out to be Winx Club's Bloom's real life doppelganger who's also the part-time barista she's been working alongside for the past four ing hours-

 

Oh , Yunjin really wasn't kidding.

 

Sakura in a deep breath through her teeth, her hands now on her hips as she looks pointedly at the floor. A humorless chuckle escapes her lips before she pinches the bridge of her nose.

 

"You know that time when I said if I ever quit this job, it'd be 'cause of you? Yeah, I hate when my predictions are right-"

 

"No please! You're the only one I know on this job and I really don't wanna be stuck in another shift with someone else!" Yunjin's practically imploring her with how fast she cut her off, rushing to grab her by the arm with a pleading face.

 

"Yunjin, you're straight as a ing pole! How and why the hell did you bring me up in that phone call?!" Sakura snaps and groans, trying to wrest her arm from Yunjin's tight hold but to no avail.

 

If she ever gets robbed, she's doomed.

 

"I-I don't know, I was panicking and you're the only one working with me right now and the staff lounge door was ajar and my eyes were on you so I just blurted out your name and you know how I hate my stepdad! Ugh, can't stand another dry dinner with him- I seriously don't know what my mom saw in that douche!" Yunjin cries out, tugging at Sakura's arm desperately.

 

The latter is stumped, between doing a favour for a friend that could possibly lead her to lose her sanity OR maintaining her loyalty to Chaewon and remaining less until she gets noticed — there's hardly any difference (because both costs her ing sanity) but all she knows is that it didn't matter because it's not like Chaewon wasn't seeing someone else...

 

Although Chaewon never publicised any information about her love life, Sakura definitely knew she was courting someone. Otherwise, who else would voluntarily wake up so cheerily every morning with starry eyes and the cutest poodle smile on her face...

 

So yeah, whatever she's got for Chaewon is obviously unrequited. Adding salt to her own wound, what a hobby.

 

"Yunjin, this might just be much more unforgivable than you ending our UNO matches with power cards." Sakura says, pushing away Yunjin's pouting face that invaded her personal space.

 

"Please please please please-" Yunjin starts begging profusely and Sakura really thinks the girl isn't going to stop unless she agrees.

 

Funny how the day started with birds chirping sweet tunes to her ears and it ends with a gun pointed to her head.

 

Sakura groans loudly, knows she's going to regret her decisions, her next words — she's already regretted just waking up this morning. So she it up like any other day and rubs her temples in exasperation before she finally speaks.

 

" me... What do I get out of this, 'cause I'm totally not about to live through this Wattpad situation I'm suddenly thrown into for free."

 

Well, she should at least bargain if Yunjin is going to use her as her temporary fake (gags) girlfriend (retches) just to piss off her annoying stepfather and hopefully all of it wouldn't be in vain and it would stop him from bringing home Yunjin's future husbands like they were starter Pokèmons.

 

She's going to take advantage of this situation as much as Yunjin will be.

 

(Seriously, where does her dad even find those dudes?)

 

"Money! Five dollars per session!"

 

Luckily, Yunjin acknowledges equivalent exchange and is quick to come to an agreement. But then Sakura's ears perk up again when she hears the last two words.

 

"Per session- this isn't a one time thing?!" Sakura shrieks, visibly flinching at the realisation and almost sent an uppercut to Yunjin's jaw.

 

"Um... no? I have to convince him you know! You think me going 'Oh hey dad, this is my hot, short, pint-sized girlfriend, I like girls now' one time is gonna work?? Man, not after all those times I ditched with like a bajillion reasons..." Yunjin grumbles with pursed lips, huffing in annoyance at herself.

 

"I hate you so much right now." Sakura shakes her head, slapping a hand to her forehead because she suddenly feels dizzy trying to process the hullabaloo for the last ten minutes.

 

"I promise I'll buy you a Sombra skin! Or or... whatever Overwatch skin bundle you want- just please!!"

 

Darn Yunjin and her persuasion tactics.

 

"...Make it 20 per session, you think I'm cheap?" Sakura huffs, hands shoved in her apron pockets as she side-eyes the redhead with a snarl on her face.

 

"17? Come on, we're friends!" Yunjin bats her eyelashes knowing damn well it doesn't work on Sakura (especially her being bad at deliberate cutesy stuff) but hell, it doesn't hurt to try and she's honestly desperate.

 

"15 bucks. Pulling the friends card in this type of situation is so 101 manipulation core by the way. You ." Sakura rolls her eyes as she sighs in defeat while Yunjin cheers on the other hand.

 

"Sold! And I'm really sorry! I'll treat you to anything after this." Yunjin giggles, suddenly throwing an arm around Sakura's shoulders, the weight almost causing her to fall over.

 

"Why am I doing this..." Sakura curses under her breath, body slumping all while Yunjin is bouncing up and down.

 

"Because a friend in need is a friend indeed!"

 

"Kiss my !"

 

Yunjin guffaws, gives her one last squeeze before Sakura shrugs her off and plops down on the couch with a frown that she's sure is going to stay glued to her face throughout this bull.

 

"I promise you, it won't interfere with whatever you got for Chaewon." Yunjin adds, a hand firmly placed on her chest as she nods seemingly in understanding, a corporate smile drawn on her lips — one that's teasing and all-knowing.

 

"What's Chaewon gotta do with this??" Sakura glares up at her, unconsciously becoming more defensive as she suddenly sits up.

 

Yunjin snickers, joining her on the couch and pats her thigh while maintaining that annoying smirk on her face.

 

"Girl, don't act like you don't have the fattest crush on her... After this is over, you can go back to being a sore loser pining over Chaewonie, trust." Yunjin prods, nudging her in the side until Sakura shoves her away lazily.

 

It's no secret to Yunjin that Sakura has a thing for Chaewon, well, more like it was supposed to be a secret, but then Sakura might have underestimated Yunjin's observation skills and ended up exposing herself. Now she's left to endure the taller girl's neverending teasings everytime Chaewon visited the cafè for a drink or two.

 

"I hope your dad eats your favourite guitar picks for breakfast, lunch and dinner."

 

"Hey that's mean! And disgusting!" Yunjin fakes a gagging noise beside her, the reaction evoking a silent laugh from the older girl.

 

"Wait, when did you say the dinner was again?" Sakura suddenly lifts her head up from the backrest, eyes open and gaze fixed to the floor with parted lips.

 

"Tonight? Like right after our shift-"

 

"Ugh seriously, talk about bad timing- I have to fetch my brother from cram school you redheaded human skyscraper!" Sakura buries her face in her palms, grunting every few seconds when she realises that it's a Wednesday, the typical day where she'd end her shift earlier than usual and would often pick up her younger brother from cram school.

 

Yunjin scoffs, mindlessly staring at the cherry blossom with an elbow on the backrest, cheek pressed against her right palm.

 

"Wow, added to the list of insults you called me. Also, I can hitch you a ride to his school, send him home and then we'll go for the dinner." Yunjin suggests, and as tempting as it sounds, Sakura isn't forgetting what would happen after.

 

"You, as a tall person, are an excessive carbon footprint offender, you should be ashamed." Sakura narrows her eyes at her, a finger jabbing lightly on her shoulder that Yunjin couldn't help but smile in amusement.

 

"Right, I'm sorry. I'll make sure to put the tampers in a higher shelf next time, Miss Pint-sized Kkura." Yunjin teases her again, always swimming in treacherous waters whenever she jokes with Sakura.

 

Fortunately, she always knows when to retreat, at the very last moments.

 

"You..."

 

"Okay okay! Before we start throwing more curses and slurs at each other, we have like the last two hours left! Let's power through this!"

 

Before Sakura could run and possibly whoop her with the all curse words available in the dictionary, Yunjin shushes her and jumps out of her seat. With another boisterous laughter escaping her lips, Yunjin grabs Sakura by her arm and starts pulling her towards the door.

 

"Why do you sound stoked?! You're literally dragging me to hell!" Sakura chides, practically walking in big strides as Yunjin drags her along to resume their work.

 

Yunjin turns around before she could open the door and faces her with a gleam in her eyes.

 

"Because the Miyawaki Sakura is my girlfriend now! Wow! Let that sink in because for the love of god, when was your last relationship?"

 

Yunjin shakes her head in disapproval at the fact, yet her sheepish smile remains. Sakura doesn't reply, stares at her with a resting face for a second or two until she herself decides to swing open the door, deliberately almost smacking Yunjin in the face.

 

"...I'm gonna put my hand in the grinder."

 

"No! I need those hands to hold mine when we go to dinner!"

 

Yeah, so far, Sakura's day has been fan-ing-tastic.

 

---

 

"This is triggering something in me and I do not like it."

 

They're at the parking lot building of Yunjin's house. Sakura's been wiping her clammy palms on her skirt nonstop ever since they dropped off her brother at the latter's family house. After which Yunjin drove her back to her lonesome apartment then because Sakura had insisted on changing clothes, claiming that she refused to attend Yunjin's stupid family dinner smelling like roasted coffee beans. When Sakura came out with a different hair parting, off-shoulders and a pretty patterned skirt, that was when Yunjin started to feel bad because that cute outfit really shouldn't be wasted on her ty dinner.

 

And now they have arrived, alas, waiting for the elevator which was connected to the parking lot building and Yunjin's family apartment complex — Sakura is visibly restless, walking back and forth in place with darting pupils and sweaty palms.

 

Yunjin can already see the hem of Sakura's skirt crumpling up slightly.

 

"It's social anxiety, babe." Yunjin says calmly in contrast to the cherry blossom, watching the older girl suddenly transitioning from doing quick breathing exercises to giving her the nastiest glare known to mankind.

 

"I'm pretty sure it's the primal urge to strangle you. And don't call me that, ew." Sakura crinkles her nose, feels a militia of chills crawling down her spine the moment that pet name left Yunjin's mouth.

 

"Phew, didn't know you were into those things. We gotta get into the act now, so calling each other corny is inevitable, sorry dude." Yunjin reminds her, and the elevator arrives on cue.

 

Sakura enters the elevator and is suddenly hit with a wave of anxiety — she's never done this before, having dinner with the parents of her past lovers or in this case 'pretend lover'. Sure it was all a feint, but these were still Yunjin's parents, much less she's literally pretending to be their daughter's lover. It was all so bizarre that it was hard to comprehend she's actually doing this.

 

Throughout the ride up the elevator, Sakura kept her intent gaze straight, posture rigid and her tight-lipped smile was certainly hard to miss.

 

Yunjin sees all this of course.

 

"Hey, move." The taller girl says as soon as they got out of the elevator, but she doesn't prod Sakura further when she sees the look of discomfort on her face.

 

When Yunjin tries to pull Sakura by her wrist, she finds that the older was literally rooted to the ground.

 

"I-I... ugh..." Sakura gulps, staring at her wrist which was enveloped by Yunjin's hand in embarrassment. Her heart was palpitating so hard it felt like it was going to leap out of her chest.

 

Yunjin studies her again for another second, then feels the sudden surge of guilt building up in the pit of her stomach. She pulls her lower lip between her teeth, loosens her hold on Sakura's wrist before cautiously approaching the nervous woman.

 

"If you really can't do this, we'll just go. 'Cause for real, my dad. We can ditch this, it's not like I haven't before." Yunjin reassures her genuinely out of the blue, hands gripping Sakura's shoulders as she dips her head to catch a glimpse of Sakura's lowered face.

 

She might have been a prick for involving Sakura in her familial problems but she still wouldn't hesitate to put the cherry blossom's needs first right now.

 

The irony of it all causes Sakura to chuckle dryly. She slowly looks up at Yunjin, a small smile appearing on her lips when she notices the genuine look of worry on the redhead's face. At least Yunjin was trying to comfort her.

 

"You couldn't have said that before we ended up at your house?" Sakura heaves a sigh.

 

Yunjin doesn't meet her eyes then, shrugging her shoulders slowly it was so evident she was feeling very guilty. Especially as she takes a step back and her limbs hang by her sides, shoulders stooped.

 

"Well I mean... I did just realise how super selfish I was for dragging you into this without considering how you really feel so... and with you liking women and then I pull this? Yeah, that's pretty y of me huh. I'm starting to hate myself now." Yunjin grimaces, pinching her own thigh as if she was chastising herself.

 

Yunjin looked like a puppy who knew she had done something wrong and didn't know how to face the consequences. She has the decency to be remorseful, that, Sakura is grateful for at least. Either way, they've gone this far and pulling back would just be a waste wouldn't it?

 

Plus, she was kind of looking forward to the minute reward afterwards. So maybe, it will all still be worth the trouble.

 

"It's... it's fine. We're here now, aren't we? And not gonna lie, I kinda wanna see what your dad's reaction would be like when his all-time straight daughter suddenly brings home a girl and announces that she plays for both teams now." Sakura admits, clutching her purse tighter as she tries to picture it all in her head.

 

She's only ever seen Yunjin's stepdad once, the man had a serious case of RBF (Resting Face) and just thinking about having to sit around such a daunting looking man for dinner in mere minutes is making her break into cold sweat.

 

At least Yunjin doesn't seem the least bit afraid of him, she detests him with all her guts.

 

From what Sakura can conclude, two stubborn people confronting each other often never ends well, and assuming she's about to witness probably the most entertaining night of her entire life, she's going to be seated for it.

 

Literally.

 

"My house. My mom and I. That dude is an extra. Also yes, me too, I really wanna shove it in his stupid man face!" Yunjin hisses, a hand balled into fist and there's a fiery look in her eyes.

 

Sakura scoffs in amusement at Yunjin's lively expressions.

 

"If, by any means, the skinship is making you uncomfortable, pinch me super duper hard on my thigh. Also if in any situation we're forced to kiss, at most I'll do is lean in super close or just graze your cheek. I really don't wanna cross the line than I already have, push me away if you want to." Yunjin informs her, palms up as if to let Sakura know that she really doesn't want to cause her anymore discomfort than she already has, never intentionally.

 

"Can I punch you?" Sakura tilts her head, her blunt question making Yunjin gasp sharply in surprise before the she clamps shut.

 

"Oh um... Preferably not in the face?" Yunjin's eyebrows furrowed, and Sakura is just trying to suppress her laughter seeing how Yunjin genuinely looked concerned.

 

"I'm joking. Well, good luck to the both of us then." Sakura says, earning a nod from Yunjin.

 

The redhead wordlessly holds out her hand and patiently waits for Sakura, who gives her a nod of acknowledgment before taking the polite hand.

 

Yunjin holds her hand the entire time they walk towards her house, even as they enter and settle awkwardly into the dining room.

 

Her stepdad of course, didn't seem to give a damn about Yunjin's words and still brought in an unwanted guest to dinner. In his eyes, Yunjin was doing the same.

 

Coming home with Sakura by her side, clutching the latter's hand with their fingers intertwined, it gives Yunjin the first bit of satisfaction seeing her stepdad's face muscles twitching when he saw their laced hands.

 

Sakura was merely persevering through it all, she probably looks as stiff as a board with that forced, crooked smile on her face but luckily, it seems that Yunjin and her stepdad were too busy having a glare-off to give a about the awkwardness and tension stiffling the air.

 

"Hey, I'm Jay. Yunjin, right? Nice to meet you."

 

A young man around their age was the guest alongside Sakura. He looked good, clean with an immaculate fit, faded haircut that suited him well and Sakura thinks this man was definitely the kind of man she'd see Yunjin with. Sakura is definitely a lesbian but she isn't blind — the man was fairly handsome, it's just that... Sakura can't shake off the feeling that she's probably seen him somewhere.

 

Jay looked familiar but unfamiliar at the same time that it was so uncanny, especially when he flashed that lopsided charming grin of his. The answer was at the tip at Sakura's tongue but alas, the situation has her tongue-tied so she couldn't figure it out.

 

Nevertheless, Sakura watches on as Jay and Yunjin exchanged greetings before he finally turned to her.

 

"And you are..?" He nudges, smiling so kindly that Sakura honestly feels bad because this dude is probably not gonna like what she's going to spit out next.

 

Sakura opens , glances at Yunjin for a split second who only encourages her on with a gentle tug of their interlaced hands, those big brown eyes already sparkling with anticipation and mischief.

 

"Oh, I'm Sakura. And I'm uh... I'm Yunjin's girlfriend." She finally says it, and by the end of it, her diaphgram feels unusually tight.

 

Her response brings shock to the table, well mostly to Jay and Yunjin's mom (also, why hasn't she said a word?). One risky, nervous glance at Yunjin's stepdad and Sakura thinks, Oh this man is an immovable mountain.

 

That stoic face with that distinct cowboy mustache is going to haunt Sakura in her dreams tonight.

 

"G-girlfriend- oh..." Jay stutters, stunned and confused as he then looks towards Yunjin's dad with a questioning brow, "Sir...? You didn't mention your daughter has a girlfriend?"

 

Sakura bites the inside of her cheeks as she begins to look at them to and fro. She feels Yunjin squeezing her hand underneath the table briefly, and she silently remembers to take a deep breath.

 

It's okay... Yunjin will handle all of it... I'm just here for show... oh my god, I hope this man doesn't murder me...

 

Someone's chair drags across the floor and the screeching momentarily startles Sakura, whose nervous eyes briefly met the stepdad's before those steel cold eyes glared back into Yunjin's.

 

"She doesn't. As far as I'm concerned, my daughter has never batted an eye to women and this is my first time hearing about her... girlfriend. Perhaps a hoax, to avoid romantic connections with you, I suppose. Lord knows what she bartered with that friend of hers to come up with such a cheap, dirty scheme."

 

Well, now Sakura knows where she stands. Not inside the man's circle of standards that's for sure. Hell, he's not even properly looking at her.

 

He's a stranger to her but even then, that didn't mean it didn't prick like a thousand needles pressing into her skin. To be someone not even worth looking at by another — it hurt and it annoyingly stings like an open wound. And when it bleeds, she'll be the one to lap up her own blood.

 

"Stepdaughter, old man. Get it right. I don't care if you believe it or not, Sakura's my girlfriend and I won't have you talking like a stuck-up jerk to my girlfriend."

 

Whatever face Sakura was making probably riled up Yunjin's anger even further. If there was one thing that woman hates, it was when her friends were blatantly hurt right in front of her eyes.

 

Yunjin turns to Jay afterwards, trying her best to sport a polite smile just for his sake. Honestly, Sakura is just glad that he looks just as intimidated as she was about this situation. At least they're on the same page.

 

She wonders if he was forced into this situation too like she was, because he for sure looked like he'd rather be somewhere else.

 

"Also, sorry to turn you down before we could even start, dude. It's not like I wanted this dinner anyway." Yunjin casually adds, Sakura feels the girl releasing her hand underneath, not forgetting to give her a comforting tap on the wrist before she lets go.

 

The next few moments happened like a fever dream. Sakura vaguely remembers Yunjin's stepdad slamming the table with his palm that all the cutlery and plates shook, she feels herself shrinking into the chair while Yunjin remains indifferent, keeping her intent stare at the man she despised so badly.

 

"Watch your manners, girl. I won't have you being disrespectful in front our guest."

 

Yunjin scoffs, drops her spoon and it clatters on the table as she leans in with an annoyed look. Sakura swallows nervously, keeping her gaze fixed on her plate where a lone well-done steak so perfectly seasoned sat waiting to be devoured.

 

As scared as she was, her big ears were definitely not just for show, listening intently to every word being thrown back and forth between the two hotheads like they were playing an aggressive game of pingpong.

 

"Guests. You're such a hypocrite, how about you respect my girlfriend first then we'll talk about manners?"

 

"Get rid of that vile tone when you're talking to your elders, you insolent brat."

 

"Not until you drop that condescending attitude and speak to Sakura nicely."

 

"Honey..." Everyone's gaze shifted to the one person who hasn't said a word until then.

 

Yunjin's mom could barely croak out anything else before getting interrupted. Sakura realises how the woman wore a jaded expression on her face, perhaps being exposed to two of her beloveds constantly being at each other's throats for a lot of times would do that to someone. It was enough for Sakura to gauge the dynamic in this household, and boy do they need to see a family therapist.

 

"No mom, if you're not gonna defend your own flesh and blood over some douchebag you probably picked off Tinder, then I think it's best that you don't say anything. Just like you always do." Yunjin spat, and Sakura would say that she went a little too far but she wasn't going to meddle knowing nothing about what goes on behind the scenes.

 

Yunjin huffs in exasperation and then the room is filled once again with suffocating silence. Her stepdad doesn't retaliate this time but there was no mistake that he was silently seething in his seat, Sakura sees it in the way he clenches and unclenches his jaw rapidly, fingers turning yellow from gripping his cutlery too hard.

 

"Now, the two of us just got back from listening to headache-inducing morning lectures, a gruesome half-day shift at the cafè and we're hungry as hell right now so excuse us while we dig in." Yunjin announces without a care in the world, more inclined to feed the beast that growled deep within her stomach than the one that sat before her.

 

Sakura thinks that it's scary how Yunjin is good at this.

 

"Eat up baby, even when the company is bad, it's okay because the food is good." Yunjin tells her, that warm tone accompanied with a sweet smile on her face, even going as far as cutting up a piece of Sakura's steak for her.

 

"You too, Jay. Don't let the sour mood ruin your appetite, dude! My mom cooks the best dishes, just unfortunate that she has bad tastes in men. Then after this, we'll all go on our merry way!"

 

"R-right..."

 

Yeah, that dude is totally blacklisting this house.

 

---

 

"That was... I didn't know I signed up for a whole drama back there."

 

"Sorry, you're probably overwhelmed."

 

Sakura has never been more pleased to find herself still in one piece after that ghastly dinner. When she sat in that dining chair, she felt her five senses being invaded all at once — it was unpleasant to the max. Thankfully, she's free from her shackles (for the time being) and has done her part for the night.

 

Should she tell Yunjin to increase the price since she was put through all that?

 

"Overwhelmed is an understatement. You're crazy and that was the most bat insane dinner I've ever been to, I just don't know what to say except what the actual ?" Sakura slaps Yunjin on the shoulder, yet an amused smile makes its way to her lips.

 

Entering the parking lot with full stomachs, the two started giggling their way towards Yunjin's car. The redhead was just glad that Sakura didn't seem to mind too much despite all that happened, choosing to revel in the fact that she managed to witness such legendary act of Yunjin being a complete menace for the first time.

 

"I know I know, you're so used to the soft, loser Jen everyone likes to tease until you put me in a room with my stepdad. A whole new ing world huh?" Yunjin laughs, fishing out her car keys from her pockets.

 

Sakura merely nods, All it takes is one bad egg.

 

"Probably the closest I've ever felt to being in a courtroom with a super resolute lawyer trying to defend her client. Thanks by the way, I felt it you know, when you were fighting for me." Sakura says, thankful of Yunjin's effort to constantly protect her and she knew her well enough to know that it wasn't all just an act to infuriate her stepdad.

 

That's when Yunjin gushes at her sentence, immediately latching her hands on Sakura's shoulders as she spoke from the bottom of her heart.

 

"Hey, I'll always fight for my friends. For you." She asserts, lips curving up in a soft and sincere smile.

 

Sakura knows Yunjin means every word. Yunjin is the type to look straight at you when she's sincere about something and wants you to know it. Looking into those bright eyes, the way they look back at her intently with raw determination, the brown hues in those orbs were a calming contrast filled with warmth and reassurance.

 

Sakura feels all of it.

 

Despite their daily bickering, there was no doubt that the two of them were always on the same wavelength when it came to deeply understanding each other.

 

"You know, I was wondering why Jay looked familiar until it hit me. Your dad brought home a Roblox man face dude, and then decided he wants him to be your future husband." Sakura points out, glancing at Yunjin's car when it lit up the moment it unlocked but the two remained outside to continue their fruitful conversation.

 

They probably should have gotten in the car though, because Yunjin starts belting out her thunderous laughter right after Sakura blurted out her sudden epiphany. Sure enough, her laughter echoes across the parking lot building and Sakura is just glad that no one else was in the vicinity, else she would have smacked the hell out of Yunjin until her vocal cords jumped out.

 

"Roblox man face- haha! I totally see it now! That was the funniest ing thing you've said all day. Oh thanks for a good laugh, I needed that." Yunjin has tears in her eyes, holding onto the hood of her car for her dear life as her knees quivered trying to recover from her laugh.

 

Sometimes, her reactions make Sakura believe that she's the funniest person in the world.

 

(She is.)

 

"Are you gonna be okay when you get back? You know, with everything going on with your stepdad..." Sakura asks moments later when Yunjin's taking her well deserved breaths, leaning against the side of her car and looks at the younger in concern.

 

Yunjin scoffs and is quick to dismiss her worries with a wave of her hand, "Oh it's fine, it happens often. We're either raising our voices at each other or we pretend the other doesn't exist. If he ever raises a hand at me, I'll just have Somi put her black belt to use."

 

"In all honesty, I'm sorry you have him as a stepdad." Sakura hums, feeling a tinge of awkwardness and a whole lot of sympathy as she thinks back to the mess.

 

She was still not certain how she got out of there unscathed, how Yunjin's stepdad was basically stabbing the hell out of his steak each time he took a bite as if he was imagining someone else was on his plate. He didn't utter out a single word after Yunjin's outburst but occasionally shot the latter with death glares that could halt a charging bull.

 

Interestingly enough, Jay was considerate and courageous enough to stir the stiffling atmosphere away by (nervously) engaging the rest of the table in small talks (he stuttered like a broken record but hey, at least he was trying). In the end, Sakura only remembered Yunjin's dad deliberately leaving himself out of their conversation, only answering with annoyed grunts and piercing stares.

 

The whole time, Sakura did not dare to spare a single glance his way.

 

"You and I both, girlie. Now let's get my pretty girlfriend home, shall we?" Yunjin shrugs it off, her smile never leaving her face.

 

It turns into a smirk as she playfully winks at Sakura and suddenly flicks her chin with a finger flirtatiously.

 

"Ugh stop that, I think I just felt my stomach lurch..." Sakura fakes a gagging noise, shaking away the goosebumps that immediately appeared throughout her body.

 

She lazily pushes Yunjin away when she tries to do it again, the redhead laughing her heart out when Sakura suddenly took hold of her shoulders (on her tip toes) and whirls her around before pushing her to the driver's seat.

 

"You're gonna have to get used to it! I'll have you know I take this fake girlfriend job very seriously!"

 

"Noooo..."

 

"Yeeessss... do you want your $15 or not? Now get your pretty little in the car!"

 

This is how Sakura's daily life is going to be now — it's dumb, potentially risky and not the type of fun she'd expect to be incorporated in her life but hey, she's gotta admit that it's better than spending the rest of her monotonous days brooding about a girl who's never gonna love her back.