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Sakura had battled with her friends for weeks on end, trying her best to worm her way out of embracing the Halloween festivities with them, but it was no use. She wasn’t one to shy away from ghosts or ghouls simply because she didn’t share the same belief as that of her peers, nor did she despise the play–pretend of horror movies or video games. The one thing she feared the most? People. The cruel tricks and games that human beings could play on eachother, was something she simply couldn’t wrap her head around; why would anyone want to treat another so unkindly?
As much as she was against the idea of being frightened by several paid actors all night, Sakura wasn’t the kind to let her friends down, and knowing the rest of the group would be attending, she didn’t want to miss out on their weekly reunion either. Besides, she’d received countless text messages from Kazuha – at this point, Sakura would attend purely to stop her phone almost exploding from the sheer number of notifications ringing through the locked device.
For what could have quite possibly been the one–thousandth time, Sakura heard the sharp hum of her smartphone’s vibration, alerting her of yet another message. As if now automatically blocking out the repetitive sound, she continued to get ready for the evening, debating between one of three or four different outfits. Well, if these people want to try and scare me out of my wits all night, I may as well be wearing something comfortable, she thought to herself, finally landing on a pair of high–waisted grey sweatpants and a baggy white t–shirt that she tastefully tucked into the waistband, puffing out ever so slightly as to not be too tight against her slim figure.
That was until she heard the rapping of knuckles against the front door of her apartment, in conjunction with the chime of a cheerful doorbell tone. Huh? Sakura briefly thought back to the way her device had been lighting up all evening. Peering through the peep–hole, she sees a familiar head of red locks, patiently waiting on the other side of the PVC entrance. “You didn’t think to tell me you were on your way?” Sakura queried while opening the door for Yunjin.
“I sent you like four text messages, Kkura! What have you been doing?”
Oh shit. I blocked out Kazuha’s million messages, but didn’t consider they might not have all been from her. “Ah… Perhaps we need to ask Zuha to chill out. She’s clearly on her phone enough so why doesn’t she talk like that in the group chat?” Sakura let out a small chuckle, nervously rubbing her nape. “I’ll just grab my shoes and then we can head out.”
Yunjin nodded in agreement, noticing a sense of nervousness in her friend, but decided to keep a distance and awaited their exit from the apartment.
Upon arriving at Yunjin’s vehicle at the adjacent street kerb, Sakura spotted their friends occupying the row of back seats, leaving her with no choice but to sit up front. In reality, it was a better position for her to be in, preventing such motion sickness from sitting away from the large windscreen, but not so much for her heart.
Sakura feigned feelings from her younger friend, emotions that she pushed down so far due to feeling they were redundant given they were both girls. She assumed that Yunjin wasn’t into women but at the same time, she’d never asked the question either. She sighed softly, unnoticed. The chatter and laughter between her travel companions had started to blur into the background as she stared at her passing surroundings, deep in thought.
As such, she was interrupted by a light touch pressing against her knee, a quiet sign of attracting attention. The touch was unfamiliar and quickly snapped her out of her musing. “Hm?” Sakura questioned, a hint of sudden surprise in her response.
“We’re going to stop off and get something to eat – do you want me to pick anything up for you?” Yunjin asked, a soft reassurance spread across her face.
“Oh… I’m good!” Sakura replied, nodding her head slightly.
“You ok? Seemed a little out of it just then.” Yunjin was still holding her hand in place. Sakura noticed the rest of the group had already alighted the vehicle so soon after the engine was switched off, and a pink blush crept into her once–pale cheeks at the realisation. She always did her best to push away such fleeting feelings of thrill when her friend would get so close to her. It happened so frequently but Sakura knew nothing could come of it – Yunjin isn’t like that, she would always think to herself.
“Maybe I’ll grab a coffee. I’ll come in with you.” Yunjin liked the sound of that, providing a small squeeze in agreement before removing her seatbelt and exiting through the driver–side door. Visibly elated, Yunjin smiled at the shorter girl and linked an arm through her own. That same blush coloured Sakura’s face but as the cold autumn air struck, it was easy enough to mask as something it wasn’t.
Nervousness spread throughout Sakura’s body as the group entered the lobby of the establishment housing the “haunted” attraction. Not really sure what people find attractive about this though, Sakura thought to herself, her hands trembling ever so slightly. It wasn’t that she was scared of ghosts and ghouls and that’s what turned her off regarding the whole situation, in fact she didn’t believe in the reality of them at all, she just knew that the moment they paid the entrance fee and stepped into the darkened hallway, the jumpscares were imminent. It may well take all of her strength to not have a physical reaction to these paid actors— she made a silent apology in advance.
It was something of a walkthrough, unbeknownst to the other girls, but Sakura had done her research prior to this night so she could prepare for what was to come. Masked figures lurking in dark corners, while others acted out as entities hiding in plain sight; bellowing screams could be heard from afar in all directions. What she wasn’t aware of, however, was those who would follow closely behind, despite not being welcomed to their group. From harsh shackles that rattled loudly against chain–link fences to bottomless, mirrored bridges made from glass to get from one side of an expanse to another, Sakura could rapidly feel her heart rate rise and her legs weaken in each passing moment. The feeling of overstimulation wasn’t something that she expected to experience in such a place, but as her pulse quickened, she could feel herself going into fight–or–flight mode.
Sakura chose flight. Without hesitation, she reached out her hands to Yunjin and grabbed the girl’s right hand with her left, ignoring whatever nonsense consequences her mind would create for her – the two are friends, afterall, so there is no issue with this kind of skinship, especially in a situation like the one they were in. That said, the taller girl was still taken aback in surprise. Abandoning her own fears and understanding those of her friend, Yunjin returned the gesture and held on tight. In the darkness of their environment, little waiting time was left before their fingers were interlocked.
To Sakura’s advantage, the attraction wasn’t too large, and they were nearing the end of it. Their other three friends were quite a way in front of them, but it wouldn’t be long before they caught up. “Don’t worry,” Yunjin said softly as she felt Sakura’s hand shaking within her own. “We’re almost done.” Sakura nodded in acknowledgement, picking up her walking pace slightly, eager to get out of there.
She wasn’t sure if she was eager to leave the disturbing acts behind her, or to retract her palm from Yunjin in panic. As much as she loved the opportunity to be so close to the girl, she wasn’t aware of any reciprocated feelings, nor if her own were obvious to the younger girl. She didn’t want to get her hopes up so much that she would only hurt herself if it wasn’t mutual; her second biggest fear. In that moment, though, Sakura felt a little bit desperate, requiring the comfort of someone who would remind her she was safe. That’s part of what Yunjin was to her— a safe haven.
Sakura felt Yunjin match her step as they saw the dim light shining along the crack of the exit door as it swung open and close from visitors passing through – the end was in sight. They saw their friends milling in the gift shop, seeing them exclaim in excitement, but too far to hear any sounds. Sakura took this as an opportunity and made a sharp right turn through the exit, guiding Yunjin to the side of the building where they could have a moment to themselves.
Sakura’s distress was plain to see. The younger girl was worried but knew that after a moment of calm and ease, they would both be able to relax and come down from the adrenaline rush they had just endured. The closeness of their relationship is what helped Yunjin to understand her well, and Sakura sensed she would know what was needed in this moment. Whilst looking at the ground, she could see in her peripheral vision that the younger girl was approaching her.
Gently, Yunjin cupped Sakura’s face on one side for a short moment, lifting her head to provide a look of reassurance, before remembering where they were and with whom— remembering that this moment could be taken out of context at any given moment should they be noticed. Silently, she stroked the cheek of the shorter girl with her thumb before retracting her palm. This simple action sent thoughts running several laps around her head at lightning speed, her pulse quickening once again. To limit their chances of an awkward encounter, Yunjin took Sakura’s hand in her own, holding on gently but firmly, starting to lead them both back to the group they had become separated from in their diversion.
Sakura, however, had other plans. Although she knew this could well be a make–or–break moment in their friendship, it was time for her to take her leap of faith— to relieve her feelings in a time when she needed Yunjin the most. Before the two girls were able to return to their friends, Sakura stood firmly in her place and tugged at Yunjin’s arm, forcing the taller girl to turn suddenly and reeling back. She was puzzled, but had no time to provide a reaction before Sakura pulled her close into an embrace. She safely tucked her head into Yunjin’s chest, hearing the comforting sound of her friend’s heartbeat thrumming at the side of her head, silently giving thanks for taking care of her by giving a reassuring squeeze. Yunjin understood the act of appreciation without a hitch, ran her fingers through the hair of the shorter girl and held her ever closer.
Without words, Sakura looked up with soft eyes and a small smile. Gently, she took Yunjin’s chin between her thumb and forefinger, gesturing to meet her in the middle before connecting Yunjin’s sweet vanilla–flavoured lips with her own, moving her hand to hold the younger girl’s face. At that moment, Sakura registered her action and her mind began to race with many thoughts of “what if”. Had she made a mistake? Would this break their friendship?
Her thoughts were silenced at the very feeling of Yunjin returning the gesture with as much need as her own. Sakura could tell she wasn’t the only one wanting this. She smiled into the kiss before breaking away.
The two stood for a moment, taking in what had just transpired between them, still holding eachother in their arms. Bliss, Sakura thought. She felt the blood rushing through her cheeks at the realisation of what she’d done and looked away shyly, averting her eyes to the ground, holding her head low. Though she could tell Yunjin enjoyed that too, it felt as if her brain was short–circuiting and she couldn’t help but—
“Don’t worry”, Yunjin cut off her train of thought. “I liked it.”
Sakura blushed all the more. “I’m happy you’re here with me, Yunjin. Thank you…”
“I liked it, and I’d really like to do it again,” she said with a blush across her cheeks, and so once more, Yunjin pressed her lips against those of the older girl and squoze her hands gently. “I’m happy we’re here together. Come on, let’s get back to the others before they start sending out a search party for us.” The two chuckled together before heading back to the attraction lobby.
From that moment, Yunjin realised that she didn’t just want to protect Sakura from those fearsome actors at the haunted house, but to be by her side always, protecting her from any harm that may come their way.