Chapter Text
Miyawaki Sakura is a transfer student from Kagoshima, Japan, who is quite popular in her hometown. She moved to South Korea because her father's job required them to move.
When she first arrived in South Korea, Sakura couldn't speak Korean. It got worse when she enrolled in a high school, where all the students took it as an opportunity to talk about her behind her back.
Sakura was walking down the school hallway quietly until bad whispers were heard in the background while looking at her with disgusted faces.
"Look at her."
"She's a weird girl. I don't want to be friends with her."
"Why did she transfer to South Korea if she can't speak our language? How annoying! She should just go back to her home country."
"She looks so ugly. The ugly girl, hahahaha."
Sakura didn't understand every word they said, so she didn't really care about it. It was better like this than her feelings being hurt.
A girl looked at her from afar with an angry expression and her hands clenched tightly. "What a bitch," she whispered under her breath.
She approached her and grabbed Sakura's hand, then pulled her to a quiet place.
"Yah, why don't you fight them? Slap their faces!!" She said, her voice laced with anger, her tone high and loud.
Sakura flinched and her shoulders lifted, her eyes filled with confusion. Oh, wait, she forgot that this Japanese girl couldn't speak Korean.
She sighed, then extended her hand and was accepted by the other girl.
"I'm Kwon Eunbi,"
She introduced herself in a loud and confident voice. A wide smile etched on her face.
"Miyawaki Sakura..."
Sakura replied in a soft voice.
That was the beginning of their friendship. Eunbi helped Sakura to learn Korean, and the girl began to understand the language. But the more she understood, the more hurt she felt when she heard the bad words that were said by other students.
"What did I do wrong?"
Sometimes Sakura asked herself what she did wrong to get treated like that. She really didn't understand. Was she that bad like what they said?
Eunbi realized it, then would always skip class just to accompany Sakura, who was feeling sad. She would always go to the school roof and hug her tightly. Without a word, both of them could understand each other's feelings.
Their feelings began to grow into something more than friends. Sakura, who began to like Eunbi, did not know what to do. While Eunbi was afraid that if she confessed her feelings, their friendship would be destroyed.
After a month, Sakura decided to confess. The sooner, the better, she thought. She gathered the courage to write a letter and put it in Eunbi's locker.
To Eunbi,
Please meet me on the school roof after school. I want to tell you something.
From Cherry Blossom.
After school, Eunbi walked to her locker and opened the door. Then she found an envelope there. She took it without thinking, opened it, and read the contents. Her eyes widened in surprise when she finished reading the letter; there was someone who wanted to confess her feelings to her.
Eunbi rushed to the school roof while her mind thought of many scenarios. If it was anyone else, she thought about rejecting them.
Arriving in front of the door from the school roof. Eunbi stopped, and her hand wrapped around the doorknob. Then she opened it as she stepped in, a gasp left her mouth. Eunbi saw Sakura standing, waiting for her. She stared at her in surprise, and her mind went blank.
Eunbi stepped closer, then stopped when they were facing each other at close distance.
Sakura looked at her with determination in her eyes. She took a breath while cheering herself up.
"I-I like you, Eunbi. Will you be my girlfriend?" She confessed her feelings before bowing and extending her hand. The way to confess love in Japan.
Eunbi froze, but she felt so happy. With a big smile, she accepted Sakura's outstretched hand.
"I like you too, and of course, I want to be your girlfriend."
Kang Hyewon, a shy and quiet girl. She usually spends time in the library just reading books or sleeping. She always separates herself from the crowd because she hates loud noises. Sometimes also because they all prefer to discuss rumors that are not necessarily true.
Lee Chaeyeon, the popular extrovert girl. She has many friends; even her juniors and seniors are also her friends. Who doesn't like her? No one; in fact, her active and funny attitude makes the atmosphere exciting.
She approached Hyewon with a big smile on her face; even her eyes were smiling too. Chaeyeon was full of energy as usual.
"Hi!" She pulled a chair in front of the girl and sat down.
Hyewon looked up just to look at her. Her brow furrowed, confused by Chaeyeon's sudden arrival. Plus, the girl was so popular. She thought about ignoring her, but it seemed like the other girl had other plans. Especially when the girl had confusing feelings for her.
"I'm Lee Chaeyeon!" She introduced herself while extending her hand, but it was not accepted by the girl.
Hyewon didn't say a word and looked at Chaeyeon flatly. There was nothing on her mind when the girl introduced herself.
Chaeyeon took a deep breath. She had heard that the girl sitting in front of her was quiet and hard to talk to, especially with a flat expression like that. "What's your name?" She smiled, a little forced.
Hyewon opened her mouth and made a sound, "Ah..." Then continued, "Kang Hyewon."
Chaeyeon smiled widely, then grabbed Hyewon's hand to shake. "We're friends now!" She exclaimed before leaving. Apparently leaving Hyewon, who's flabbergasted.
She blinked several times. "What the hell?"
A week later, with Chaeyeon always following her wherever she went and forcibly making conversation. She felt uncomfortable, especially when the girl had been following her for a whole week! There was no peace at all.
Like now, she was in the library just to read to kill time. Worse, Chaeyeon was beside her while talking non-stop.
"You always go to the library," Chaeyeon said, putting her head on the table, feeling bored with Hyewon's routine. "Don't you feel bored here? You can talk to someone else! Don't just stay silent! I'm bored. Please talk to me."
Hyewon sighed. "Why are you following me? If my routine is boring, you better leave rather wasting your time here."
Chaeyeon looked up and pouted her lips, feeling sad. "I just want to be friends with you."
"Friends? What's that? Food?" Hyewon asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I don't need friends."
Her answer made Chaeyeon even sadder, but it also awakened her determination to be able to reach the level of friendship.
Three months passed, and she continued to try to approach Hyewon and strike up a conversation. Because of her persistence, the girl finally considered her a friend. She was very happy when Hyewon admitted her as a friend.
Six months passed; the two of them often spent time together and talked. Something bigger and more starting to grow between them like Cherry Blossom. Chaeyeon was afraid that her feelings would ruin their friendship, but she also couldn't bear to confess to her.
Until when they went home together, she stopped in place and lowered her head. Trying to gather the courage to confess her feelings right then and there. Confidence is the key!
Hyewon also stopped when she saw Chaeyeon stop. Her brow furrowed, feeling confused by her attitude. She approached her, but was stopped by the girl.
"D-don't come any closer!"
"What's wrong, Chae? You're acting weird."
Chaeyeon looked up with her cheeks already turning bright red. Then shyly, she opened her mouth to speak. "Hyewon-ah..." She clenched her fists tightly. "I like you."
Hyewon froze when she heard that. She didn't think that Chaeyeon liked her and always assumed that their feelings were only one-sided. She didn't know what to answer. Seeing this, the girl decided to continue.
"I've liked you for a long time, before we became friends. I've always watched you from afar, until I decided to start approaching you in a rather impolite way." Chaeyeon began hesitantly while watching her face, afraid that Hyewon would feel uncomfortable. "So, do you want to be my girlfriend?"
After a few minutes of silence. The corner of Hyewon's lips curled into a thin smile, then she nodded. A sign that she accepted.
After school, Sakura immediately went to her room to change clothes. After that, she sat in front of her computer, playing games with her friends. She pointed the arrow to Skype. Her fingers moved to write something, then sent a message. A smile was etched on her face when someone she was looking for was online and replied to her message.
Sakura pressed the video call button, and the girl immediately picked it up. "Jyewon!!!" She exclaimed excitedly.
"You're home? I thought you were still at school." Hyewon replied with the same happy feeling.
"I just got home. Let's play a game!"
"Let's go!"
Hyewon, a girl she met while playing a game called Ragnarok Online. More precisely, because at that time she was the only one who could speak Japanese. Sakura was happy because she could talk to her using her mother tongue. From there, their friendship began.
"Eh? You can speak Japanese?" Sakura asked in disbelief, then got a giggle from the user named Jyewon.
"Yes, I can speak Japanese!"
"Where did you learn Japanese? This is the first time I've met someone from South Korea who can speak Japanese!"
"I lived in Japan for six years, besides because my father moved there for work. Oh, and some Koreans can also speak Japanese! If they really want to take a course or learn."
"Ahh, is that so? I just moved to South Korea. So I don't know much about it."
"It's okay, you'll get used to it, and I'm ready to help you get to know our country better."
"Thank you!"
That was their conversation when they first met. Their friendship grew over time, and they often played together. They also exchanged numbers at that time.
They often played together; even though they had just met, they both felt a strong bond.
After finishing playing the game, they decided to chat about their day. Until Hyewon brought up that she already had a girlfriend.
"Sakuchan, I have a girlfriend!"
Sakura's eyes widened in surprise, and she replied in a loud voice. "Eh?!??!? You have a girlfriend?!"
"Yeah, I was so happy when she confessed her feelings to me! I thought my feelings were one-sided!"
Sakura smiled, feeling happy that her friend could have a romantic relationship.
"I also have a girlfriend, Jyewon-ah!"
"Wow, we should go on a double date!"
"We really should!" Then Sakura remembered something, and it made her sad. "But we're in different cities, Jye. You're in Seoul, while I'm in Seongnam. Although I can buy a train ticket if I save up!"
"You're right, Sakura. But it seems like your mother won't allow you either, right? The ticket price might be expensive, and your pocket money isn't that much."
"Right!"
They laughed together. "But I promise to meet you, Jye. Maybe if we get accepted into one of the high schools in Seoul with high grades!"
"Hahahaha, but it seems like your parents will have to move to Seoul too, or you'll have to rent an apartment!"
"Don't worry, I'll ask my father for money later!"
"Good luck!"
They both come from ordinary families, neither rich nor poor. But both of them have great ambitions to achieve their dreams and become successful people.
They both studied hard so they could get into the same university. With Sakura, who was getting more proficient in Korean because of Eunbi's help and from books too.
And when that day came, it turned out that only Hyewon who got accepted to the university they really want to get in together. While Sakura had to find another university. The university they wanted had a high passing grade; of course only smart people could pass. The difference between Sakura's final grade and the university's passing grade was only 10. But that difference still couldn't get her in there. So she looked for another university.
On the first day, Hyewon walked down the hall and passed Eunbi. She glanced at her, fascinated by the girl's beauty. "Wow, she's so beautiful..." She stopped in place to look at Eunbi's back, who was getting away.
From there, Hyewon often stole glances. She didn't know what she felt for her—maybe admiration, maybe also liking. But she always reminded herself that she have Chaeyeon. And failed miserably.
On the other hand, Sakura and Chaeyeon were in the same university. The two of them made friends without having any feelings more than friends. Both of them are still very loyal to their own partners.
Meanwhile, Hyewon slowly began to look at other girls. She liked Eunbi, and that was bad news.
Because she often glanced at the girl. Eunbi began to realize it and decided to approach her to confront her. She felt uncomfortable when Hyewon's eyes seemed to fall on her and stared at her so deeply.
"Hey, why are you always staring at me?"
Hyewon was surprised when Eunbi suddenly approached her, looking angry. She put on a flat face, hoping the girl wouldn't see that she was in a wave of panic.
"Nothing. I was just looking around. Maybe that's just your feeling. There are a lot of people there. Look, there's a girl chatting with a guy there. I just like observing people."
Eunbi stared at Hyewon closely, still not believing it. But it seemed like the girl was honest, with a calm and flat expression like that. She chose to leave there, as long as she didn't find evidence that Hyewon was always watching her like a stalker.
And again, Hyewon found herself looking at Eunbi's back as she began to move away. Her mind was fixated on her beauty.
"Oh, wow, she's so beautiful up close..."