I reached across the table and took Sakura’s hand in mine. Her skin felt soft and warm against my callused fingers. I lifted her chin up with my other hand, holding her face gently.

“Hey.” I whispered, taking in her blush-stained cheeks. “We don’t have to. It was just an idea.”

“No, it’s fine.” She took my hand out from underneath her chin and kissed it, sending tingles down my arm. “Why not? You’re cute. We both like books and you make great cakes.”

Her phone began to ring, clattering against the table as it buzzed. She let out a deep sigh as she checked the caller ID.

I let go of her hand and started to clear the breakfast dishes in an effort to give her some semblance of privacy.

“You can take that into my bedroom if you want.” I offered, dumping pancakes into the trash. Jack prodded my leg with his nose, whining for the scraps.

“It’s fine.” She waved my suggestion away and answered the phone.

“Jin?”

I the faucet, trying to block out the sound of her voice. I wasn’t sure why I had suggested that we date, except that I loved the feeling of waking up next to someone. I loved pressing gentle good morning kisses against her skin. I loved making breakfast while she sang to herself in the shower. I loved having someone to pass the time with. I’d been alone for so long, lonely even before then. Maya had left me a long time before she broke up with me. We’d been together, but her heart had been far from me.

I could tell Sakura knew the feeling.

What was the point of being a romantic if you had no one to share your romance with? I’d spent too many nights alone, turning the pages of other people’s romances in musty books, reading about emotions I’d long since ceased to feel. The only thing Maya had left me with was the unfruitful bloom of unrequited love.

There was no comfort in loving someone who had long forgotten about you.

I finished the dishes and turned off the water, wiping my hands on a towel I left hanging on the refrigerator handle.

“Jimin?” Sakura’s gentle voice drew my attention.

“Yeah, sweetheart?” I replaced the towel and turned to her with a smile. It quickly slid from my face as I noticed the tears pooling in her eyes.

I strode over to her and crouched down, wiping her tears away as she sniffled.

“What happened? Hmm?” I held her hands as she bent down and sobbed into my shoulder. “You can tell me.”

“H-He doesn’t lo-love me.” She clung to my shirt, wiping her snot on me like a toddler. “I love him s-s-so much, but he doesn’t care about me.”

I sat down, pulling her into my lap. She curled her fingers around the fabric of my shirt, taking deep, shuddering breaths as I patted her back.

I rested my head against hers as she cried, rocking her back and forth slowly. I knew how she felt. I wished someone had been there to hold me and wipe away my tears when Maya left me.

“I can’t do this anymore.” She whispered, burying her face in the crook of my neck.

“You don’t have to.” I her hair and immediately regretted my decision. My fingers got caught in her gelled curls. I tried to extricate myself without her noticing, but I only succeeded in pulling her hair.

“Sorry, sorry!” I apologized, yanking on her hair as I further entangled my fingers. She started to laugh, tearful, hiccupping laughs.

“Jimin, stop. You’re pulling my hair.” She giggled, calming down and holding my hands. “I’ll free you.”

“Sorry.” I said again as she carefully released my fingers, now sticky from her gel. “I ruined your hair.”

“You’re not the first person to get tangled in my mane.” She returned my fingers to me and scrunched her hair into a bun. Her eyes widened as she took in the disheveled appearance of my shirt. “I got snot all over your shirt.”

“Yeah, you did.” I turned my head and plucked at my shirt, examining the damage. “Cute.”

“I’m so sorry.” She grabbed a napkin from the table and dabbed at the mess, trying to clean it.

“It’s fine.” I covered her hand with mine, stilling her fingers. She looked up at me, long lashes framing her eyes. “You’re okay.” I whispered, grazing my fingers against her cheek. I stared into her eyes for a few moments, dark brown jewels sparkling against her tanned skin, before gently meeting her lips with mine.

“Jimin, we can’t.” She whispered, breaking the kiss. Our foreheads touched, her warm skin burning like a fever beneath me.

“Okay.” I breathed, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Sorry.”

“I love Jin.” She mumbled, almost to herself, placing her hands against my chest, subtly pushing me away.

“Yeah, I know.” I let go of her, my fingers sliding reluctantly down her face. “I know you do.”

She climbed out of my lap and I went to go sit on the couch, elbows bent and resting on my legs. Sakura sat down on the opposite end of the couch, crossing her legs and shooting me shy looks from time to time. I suddenly felt hyper and antsy, tapping my foot restlessly.

“Sorry for crying.” She broke the silence.

“Don’t apologize.” I hastily waved away her concern. “, when my ex-girlfriend, Maya, broke up with me, I was a wreck.”

“Yeah?” Sakura looked over at me, placing a hand on the cushion between us.

“Yeah.” I sighed and flopped back against the couch, propping my feet up next to her hand, and laying my head on the armrest. I observed her through half-closed eyes. “I drank Hennessey and wrote bad poetry for like a week straight. I only went outside to take Jack for walks and even then, it was either really early in the morning or the dead of night. I was a mess.”

“Did you cry?” She bit her lip, holding it between her teeth for a moment before letting go.

“At night.” I admitted softly, playing with the hem of my shirt. “Lying in bed alone always gave me such an empty feeling.”

“I know what you mean.” Sakura hesitated for a moment, then crawled over and laid down next to me. I held my breath as she gently rested her head against my chest. She looked up at me, her nerves showing through her shaky fingers.

“You okay?” I asked, patting her head. A few curls spilled out and I wound one around my finger.

“Can you just hold me for a little while?” She asked in a small voice. A few tears found their way down her cheek and onto my shirt.

“Yeah.” I wrapped my arms around her and planted a soft kiss on top of her head. “I can hold you.”

“You write poetry?”

I let out a rueful laugh, winding and unwinding her curl. “Bad poetry. Bad, drunken, lovesick poetry.”

“I like poetry.” She whispered, burrowing deeper into my chest. I was sure my shirt was covered in snot by now, but I didn’t really mind.

“You wouldn’t like my poetry. Hell, I don’t even like my poetry.” My breath hitched in my throat as she pressed a gentle kiss on my chest.

“Jimin?” She asked.

“Yeah, sweetheart?” I ran a finger along the curve of her jawline.

“I wanna eat cupcakes.” She left a line of kisses along my collarbone.

“Cupcakes, huh? I think I could whip up a few of those.”

She sat up and climbed off the couch, grinning at me.

Fifteen minutes later I was decked out in an apron in the kitchen, stirring cake batter. She sat on the floor and played with Jack, meeting my eyes occasionally. I kept catching her peeking at me as she ruffled Jack’s fur, dotting his head with kisses. She’d immediately look down, but if I watched her long enough, I’d see her peek back up at me shyly.

I thought she was cute.

“Who would have thought one day you’d be wearing my clothes in my apartment when you came into my bakery a few weeks ago, huh?” I asked, crouching down next to her and petting Jack.

“It’s probably your dream come true.” Sakura kissed Jack’s nose, black curls leaking from her bun like tiny streams of satin. “You’ve been into me since the moment you met me.”

“Well, you’re very pretty.” I sat back on my heels, toes scuffling against the carpet as I tried to find my balance.

“I’m not pretty.” She disagreed. “I’m just your type. Guys like you see my hair, my tights, and my nose piercing and immediately just think I’m pretty because I’m your type.”

“Your little rose tattoo on your hip didn’t hurt, either.” I teased, lifting up her shirt just a snatch to reveal it. “And you’re right. You are my type. But, regardless, you’re very pretty.”

“What’d your ex-girlfriend look like?” She asked, crossing her legs and letting Jack attack her face with kisses.

“Maya?” I ran a hand through my hair, sighing as her name left my lips. “She wasn’t my usual type.”

“Oh, yeah?” Sakura glanced over at me, pushing Jack’s wet, black nose out of her face. He barked happily before bounding over to me. I laid down on the ground and wrestled with him for a little while before answering.

“She was beautiful, though. She used to always drink red wine. I don’t know why, but at the time, it seemed like the classiest thing ever.” I turned and half-buried my face in the carpet, overwhelmed with memories of Maya. “She used to take me out dancing all the time and make me drink wine with her. I don’t even like wine, but I loved Maya. Every so often, I’d drag her to a poetry reading or a book club, and she’d complain under her breath the whole time. She’d whisper in my ear, telling jokes and making me laugh at serious moments. Told me she had a bookworm for a boyfriend, but she’d smother me in kisses when she drank old-fashioneds, so I kept taking her.”

“Why’d you guys break up?” Sakura asked, lying down next to me. Jack ambled off into a corner, chewing on his favorite rope toy.

“She left me.” I said softly, closing my eyes. “She fell in love with another man.”

“I’m sorry.” She whispered. I felt her fingertips against my skin, catching in my hair.

“I had a feeling a long time before she actually left me. I knew she didn’t love me anymore, but I couldn’t let her go.” I turned over onto my back and stared at the ceiling, images of the day she left me appearing before my eyes. “I really respect you for leaving Jin. It’s not something I could ever do with Maya. Even now, if she came back and told me she wanted to be with me, I’d probably say yes.”

“Maya’s foolish for leaving someone like you.” Sakura’s voice was quiet as she took my hand, interlacing her fingers with mine.

“That’s how I feel about Jin.” I turned my head to look at her.

“I’m tired of being in love with someone who doesn’t love me.” She rested her head on the carpet, her turn to stare at the ceiling and think of her lost love.

“I know the feeling.” I murmured, pressing my palm against hers.

“You’re a stranger to me.” The words tumbled out of in a sigh. “But you understand what it’s like to look into the eyes of someone you love and they can’t even see you at all.”

“I’m starting to forget about Maya.” I admitted quietly. “Which is both relieving and terrifying to me at the same time. I still love her, but I can’t remember the way her hair smells. The way she used to look when she’d catch me staring at her. The little things she’d whisper to me before we fell asleep. All the things I swore I’d never forget are slipping away from me and I can’t get them back. I can’t get her back. I still have all of these feelings, but they’ve got nowhere to go. She doesn’t want them, but I can’t get rid of them. She’s fading, but I still wake up and wish she was lying there next to me.”

Sakura didn’t say anything, but I felt her squeeze my hand just a little bit tighter.

“I won’t treat you like a replacement Maya.” I whispered. “You’re Sakura.”

“And you’re Jimin.” She whispered back.

Silence hung in the air between us before I turned to her. She was already looking at me.

I shifted closer to her, curving my hand around the back of her neck.

“Can I kiss you?” I asked softly, pressing my forehead against hers.

“Yeah.” She ran her tongue over her lips, peeking up at me.

She met my lips hesitantly, curling her fingers in my hair before pulling me closer, eagerly leaning in to me.

“Thank you, Jimin.” She whispered as we broke away, eyes heavy from the weight of the kiss.

“For what?” I asked, running my fingers across her cheek.

“Just…for sweetening my bitter moments.”

She smiled at me, a rare, warm smile and I felt the eternal sadness pinpricking the edges of my heart begin to blur.

“You’re welcome, sweetheart. You’re always welcome.”