sun and star | petalz

08. hope not

The majority of the scenes being filmed at the moment didn't involve Kazuha.

Much to her chagrin, in fact. They included Soobin and Sakura and their one-on-one moments. Lots of staring, pointed comments, and very good acting, yet Soobin lacked that factor- the thing that turned Sakura from a masquerader into an actress.

Kazuha watched from the sidelines as the two filmed together. In the last few days, Sakura's hair had gone from blue-gray to almost totally blue, which with her dark eye makeup was completely gorgeous. Kazuha's eyes stayed unfailingly on her the entire scene.

Ironically, Chaewon never really showed up to watch the scenes, and Kazuha didn't need to wonder why; whenever she returned to the hotel, it was always with Yunjin, and the two would go into the same room and not emerge until the morning.

(No one except Zuha saw, of course.)

So that was why one morning at the studio, Kazuha was just standing in the corner, about to call Chaewon, when someone approached her.

"Kazuha, right?"

The voice belonged to an energetic young girl with blond hair and bangs. She wore a professional outfit- silk dress shirt, black slacks, black suit. Her lips were painted neutrally, and she wore light makeup across her pretty face. "I'm Eunchae! It's so nice to meet you."

"Hi," Kazuha greeted, putting her phone away. "Yeah, I'm Kazuha."

"Cool!" Eunchae grinned and tugged Kazuha away from the wall, and the older girl consented in surprise. They began walking around the studio as Eunchae started to talk animatedly. "I'm 17, and yeah, that's a little young for a movie like this, but I play Soobin oppa's little sister. I'm a dancer in the movie too, and Sakura unnie and I are supposed to be friends in the movie. I really like working on this set, you know? It's my first movie."

"Wow," Kazuha answered, but then she looked up. The people on set were taking a quick break, and she could see Sakura and Soobin briefly breaking character to smile and talk for a bit.

Eunchae followed her gaze, not seeming at all bothered she hadn't yet eclipsed Kazuha's attention. "Soobin oppa and Sakura unnie? Yeah, everyone thinks they're dating. Everyone says they aren't, but, you know, that kind of chemistry has to be just a little real. Or maybe Sakura unnie's just a really good actress. She is, I think. Soobin oppa's good too, but definitely not as good as Sakura unnie. Sakura unnie can do all sorts of characters really well."

"Yeah, she can," Kazuha agreed absentmindedly. "She's... amazing."

In more than one way.

Wow, I'm whipped.

Soobin was holding Sakura's wrist gently now and smiling, saying something to her softly as she laughed in response. Then she spotted Kazuha and their eyes met across the room.

A split second, and Kazuha looked away quickly. Eunchae noticed but thankfully didn't comment, instead dragging Kazuha off to another part of the set.

Ten more minutes passed, suffused with Eunchae's endless chatter and Kazuha's small glances at Sakura. She was really in love with the girl- every time Sakura talked to Soobin, Kazuha felt herself growing jealous. What did he have that she didn't?

Well, she doesn't even know I like her. And we barely know each other yet.

Eunchae talked on and on. Kazuha learned (after telling Eunchae a bit about being a ballerina and traveling all over the world) that Eunchae had been a popular child actress, but this was her very first big-time movie. Her full name was Hong Eunchae, and she was seventeen years old, attending an elite high school in the city. She liked cats and the group Red Velvet, and was a Scorpio, making her a bit devious, in her opinion.

Overall, she was a pleasant girl, and Kazuha decided she wouldn't mind hanging around her more.

"Kazuha-chan?"

Kazuha whirled around for two reasons: one, the person speaking was Japanese, and she didn't know anyone Japanese on the set who would speak to her so informally.

And two: the person speaking was Miyawaki Sakura.

Sakura's expression was cutely anxious, and Kazuha's eyes couldn't help traveling up and down her figure to examine her outfit. She wore a long-sleeved black lace shirt tucked under slate-gray high-waisted jeans, a black belt with a shiny metal belt holding the material snug against her waist. Over her shirt was an open black blazer.

Kazuha wasn't sure why her throat was suddenly so dry.

"Kazuha-chan?" Sakura inquired again.

Eunchae took that as her cue to make like a fairy and vanish.

"Ah- uh," Kazuha replied, not realizing she had been holding her breath. "M- Miyawaki-san."

Sakura's brow furrowed slightly, and Kazuha mentally cursed herself for causing Sakura discomfort. "Sakura, please."

"Oh, ah- okay." Kazuha nodded again, then turned to look for Eunchae, but the girl was gone.

"Are you feeling all right? You seem a little antsy-"

"Yes, yup! I'm fine," Kazuha said quickly, nodding, and spared the room one last glance before turning her face towards Sakura's anxious gaze.

"Are you sure?"

"Yup."

"Okay..." The older Japanese still looked uncertain, but at that moment Kazuha wanted nothing to be away from her because Sakura was doing things to her brain that were tripping up all of Kazuha's trains of thought.

"Okay!" Kazuha agreed hastily, and although she was mentally kicking herself, she turned and, finally spotting Eunchae's blond hair, hightailed it in her direction, leaving a confused Sakura behind.

Sakura, truthfully, unbeknownst to Kazuha, felt a little disappointed. Finding the only other Japanese girl close to her age on the set had felt like a personal victory, but Kazuha suddenly trying to be away from her stung a bit.

Sure, they barely knew each other.

That didn't mean Sakura didn't need a friend, and Kazuha being that friend was something that Sakura definitely wouldn't mind.

But why wasn't Kazuha speaking to her?

A few meters away, the question on Kazuha's mind was the thing Eunchae had said earlier. Were Soobin and Sakura really dating? If so, Sakura had no right looking at her like that... like she was really concerned.

She didn't know it yet, but Kazuha's heart was already Sakura's.