We spent most of the car ride there chatting absentmindedly about various things. I learned some things about her, like her favorite song, her favorite book, her favorite food. She’d asked me the same questions. The conversation flowed naturally. I started to feel a little more confident about convincing people I was her new love interest. We had good chemistry.

We pulled up to the venue and Sakura got out, politely handing her keys to a valet. I surveyed the luxurious surroundings, nervousness pooling in my stomach. There was no way I’d be able to pull this act off.

“So, you’re a rich girl?” I whispered in her ear.

“My parents are rich.” She corrected me. “I’m just barely scraping by in my bookstore business.”

“Still,” I persisted. “You grew up in this? You’re a society girl?”

“I was a society girl.” She said, taking my arm as we walked up the palatial steps into the building. Was this an art museum? Were we at a benefit or something? “Not anymore.”

I grunted skeptically.

“No, seriously, Jimin.” She insisted. “I’m breaking away for good this time. I only ever stayed for Jin.”

“I thought he didn’t want this life either. Did you guys ever talk about this before you broke up? You might not have needed to.” I said in a low voice. I didn’t want anyone to hear our conversation.

“Jin doesn’t want me or this life. Talking about it did nothing. He always tried to convince me to follow in my family’s business.” Sakura said quietly. I could sense the sadness in her tone. “Let’s not talk about Jin anymore.” She smiled up at me. “You’re my date tonight.”

I nodded and opened the huge oak doors for her. Seriously, what was this place?

“Where are we?” I asked as we strode confidently into a huge foyer. People in expensive looking costumes milled around, politely picking at appetizers offered by immaculately dressed waiters.

“Jin’s parents’ house.” Sakura said mildly, nibbling at a crab puff.

“This is someone’s house?” I cried, forgetting to lower my voice.  A couple of guests glanced over at me, disdain apparent on their faces. Sakura shoved the rest of her crab puff in my mouth in an effort to shut me up. She only succeeded in making me cough and spill food out of my mouth. Great. The night had just started and already I had made a fool of myself. I probably looked like a poor blue-collar boy in borrowed finery.

“Jimin, just relax.” Sakura whispered in my ear. “You’re doing fine.”

“Everyone’s staring at me.” I muttered, tugging at my bowtie. It suddenly felt too hot in here. I wanted to go home to Jack and a good book.

“Yeah, because you’re handsome.” Sakura pointed to a gaggle of girls in increasingly silly costumes. They all giggled and turned away when I glanced over at them. “You’re like the best looking guy here. And you’re a new face, so everyone’s curious.”

“Do you know everyone here?” I asked, helping myself to another crab puff. The waiter smirked at me and I wondered if he had witnessed my previous encounter with a crab puff.

“Yeah, we all grew up together.” Sakura discreetly pointed out various people to me, informing me of their names and their positions in society.

“Wow, you really rub shoulders with a lot of important people. Are your parents really only into textiles?” I stared around me, impressed.

“Ah…actually, they kind of own Fruit of the Loom.” She said, trying and failing to sound casual.

“Your parents own Fruit of the Loom?” I demanded, my voice just a little too loud.

“Jimin, hush.” Sakura pinched my wrist. “Act cool. If you keep shouting like this, you’re going to stick out like a sore thumb.”

“Why do you run a bookstore when you could just never work again?” I asked, rubbing my wrist.

“Because.” Sakura looked down at the ground. “This whole thing ruined my relationship with the only man I’ve ever loved. I don’t want to be an unhappy, pampered wife like my mother. I want to work hard and do something I enjoy. I want to be in a relationship with someone who wants to be with me.”

“That’s awfully idealistic of you.” I said quietly, thinking of how hard it was to make a profit at the bakery and support myself and my sister’s family.

“I just want to respect myself.” She murmured, almost inaudibly. “It’s exhausting being with someone who doesn’t love you. I feel sorry towards my parents, but I’ve always dreamed of owning my own bookstore.”

“Always?” I asked as she pulled me into a more secluded corner.

“Yeah.” She answered absentmindedly, looking distracted. I followed her line of vision and spotted Jin walking in to the party alone.

I glanced back at Sakura. The sadness and longing were apparent on her face. Without thinking, I pulled her into my arms and gave her a hug.

“What are you doing?” She hissed in my ear. “Everyone will see!”

“Isn’t that the point?” I pulled away and kissed her forehead. “Aren’t we supposed to be a new lovey-dovey couple?”

“Yeah, but just like hold my hand or something.” She said. “It feels weird to be hugged by someone other than Jin.”

“It didn’t bother you so much when you kissed me before.” I reminded her, smiling. I reached down and interlaced our fingers.

Sakura was too busy staring at Jin to answer. I glanced over at him and noticed that he was staring right back, his eyes round in shock. The two looked like they had engaged in some sort of weird staring contest.

Jin strode over towards us. Sakura squeezed my hand tightly. I think she was trying not to chicken out.

“What the hell is this?” Jin demanded, yanking Sakura away from me. “I told you to come, not to bring a date! You’re my date!”

“We’re broken up.” Sakura said mildly, plucking his fingers off of his arm. “I’m not your date. I’m Jimin’s date.” She gestured to me and I smiled winningly at Jin. He scowled at me for a brief moment before turning back to Sakura.

“Sakura, stop this nonsense.” Jin hissed. “You’re embarrassing yourself and me. What will our parents think?”

She shrugged. “My parents already know we’re broken up. Didn’t you tell your parents?”

Jin glared at her. “They assumed we’d be getting back together. We always do.”

“Well, not this time, Jin. It’s over between us.” Sakura took my hand again. “I’m with Jimin now.”

“Sakura!” Jin could hardly contain his anger. “Stop this! We love each other. Stop using this poor boy to get back at me.”

I glanced around the party to see several pairs of eyes staring back at me. Certain members of the crowd seemed very interested in our little conversation.

“Hey, don’t you think we should have this discussion in private?” I asked in a low voice, nodding my head at the curious bystanders.

“We’re not having a discussion.” Jin directed his glare towards me. “Sakura and I are having a discussion.”

“I have nothing to say to you, Jin.” Sakura said decisively.

“I have a lot of things to say to you, Sakura.” Jin spat, grabbing her wrist. He yanked her close to him and pulled her into a side room. He slammed the door shut behind them, leaving me standing there stupidly.

I sighed and leaned against the wall. We’d barely been here for an hour and already the night had been filled with melodrama. For someone who’d broken up with her over the phone, Jin sure seemed confident that he could win her back. I wondered if she really was using me to get back at Jin. Did she want to make him jealous or something? At my apartment, she seemed pretty confident that they were over for good this time.

After a couple of minutes of standing around uselessly, I decided to follow them. A normal guy wouldn’t let his love interest get yanked away by her ex-boyfriend, right? I glanced around the room before opening the side door and sneaking in.

Behind the door lay a strange, dark hallway. I could see light far down at the end. Was this like a secret tunnel or something? I’d heard of old fancy houses having them, but I’d never actually been in one. I crept down the eerie hallway, feeling significantly creeped out.

“Jin.” Sakura’s muffled voice came drifting down the hallway. I followed the sound until I stood outside the door on the other side of the hallway. I hesitated, wondering if I should knock, but her voice interrupted my thoughts.

“Jin, I can’t do this with you anymore. I’m tired of breaking up with you and getting back together. You don’t want this. You don’t want me. Just let it go, okay?”

“Sakura, I love you. Don’t you know that? We’ve been together since we were kids. We’re meant to be. Why are you throwing that all away for some low-class baker?”

I frowned at his description of me. I wasn’t rolling in money, but he had no right to look down on me.

“Don’t talk about Jimin that way. He’s a nice guy.” Sakura said defensively.

“Don’t talk about other men in front of me!” Jin cried angrily. “You’re mine! You’ve always been mine and you’ll always be mine.”

“No, Jin, I’m not. I’m living my own life now. I don’t want to pretend anymore. I came here to say goodbye.”

“What do you mean, goodbye?” Jin asked quietly.

“I’m out, Jin. I’m done with this life. I’m moving on.”

“Moving on? What do you mean moving on? This is your home, Sakura. This is where you belong. This is where we belong.”

“Not anymore, Jin.” She said softly. “I have to get back to Jimin.”

“Don’t.” Jin said suddenly. “Don’t leave me.”

“Jin.” Sakura said his name pleadingly. “Just let me go.”

“No. I love you, Sakura. I can’t let you leave with another guy!” Jin cried. I heard a loud bump against the door and then Sakura cried out.

“Jin, stop! Don’t touch me. I don’t want to do this with you anymore.”

I knocked on the door. “Sakura? Are you in there?”

“Yes!” She called back, sounding flustered.

Jin opened the door with a scowl on his face. He straightened his tie before brushing past me, bumping into my shoulder on purpose.

I moved away from him and walked into the room, only to see Sakura slumped on the floor, crying. I crouched down next to her and wiped away a tear from her face. She looked up at me, vaguely resembling a raccoon as mascara ran down her cheeks.

“Are you okay?” I asked quietly. She shook her head and took a deep breath.

“I don’t want to leave him.” She whispered, her voice heavy with the weight of her tears. “I still love him.”

“I know.” I patted her head soothingly. “I know.”

We sat there for a few minutes silently while she tried to calm down. I found some tissues and gently dabbed at her ruined makeup, trying not to smear it.

“Let me fix this for you.” I offered when she finally stopped crying.

“You know how to do makeup?” She asked in surprise.

I nodded. “Yup. My sister owns a beauty salon, remember? She always used me to experiment and also made me help out in the salon. I’m pretty handy with a mascara wand.” I grinned.

She handed me her purse and I redid her eye makeup, making casual conversation to distract her from Jin.

“You’re very sweet, Jimin.” She commented once I was done. I just shrugged and helped her stand up.

“I know what it’s like to have to leave someone you love.” I said. “But you’ll get through it.”

“Yeah.” Sakura whispered. She took my hand and we walked out of the room and down the spooky hallway. “Do I look like I’ve been crying?” She turned to me.

“You look beautiful.” I said softly. “Jin’s gonna eat his heart out.”

She gave me a small smile and stood on her tiptoes to peck my cheek. “Thanks, Jimin.”