off limits | petalz

1

It was an early morning in Seoul, Korea, as the sun rose, six a.m. showing on the fluorescent clock in the Nakamura family's youngest child's room.

Well, more specifically, it was Nakamura Kento's old guest room, converted into a bedroom for his younger sister Nakamura Kazuha when she moved in, occasionally staying during her breaks from college.

The house was quiet, and Kento was in his upstairs bedroom getting ready, adjusting for work.

Until a loud voice blasted through the silence.

"KEN-CHAN! Where's the onigiri?" Kazuha yelled from the kitchen, bouncing around in her tracksuit.

"In the fridge, like it always is," her brother answered, strolling downstairs, already in his suit and tie. "And don't yell, Zuha, it's too early."

"It's never too early for enthusiasm! Or onigiri." Kazuha grinned at her own logic.

It was a school break, and she was home with her brother Kento at his house in Korea. She attended Seoul National University, and although she loved spending time with her friends at the school, she'd gone home over the break instead of staying out with them to spend time with family. Kento worked as a hotel critic, and he was currently preparing to review Conrad Seoul, which meant that he was always leaving early to study for the job. He would begin his stay in three days, which meant Kazuha would be home alone, fending for herself and doing her homework.

"Oh, and I've got news!"

Kento hopped down the rest of the stairs and strode into the expansive kitchen, leaning against the counter and grinning. He wore a crisp black suit and dully patterned tie, just as his job required, and his hair was neatly combed. He crossed his arms, his dark wave flopping to the sides of his face, and smiled, anxiously fingering the curls at the base of his neck. "Someone's coming to stay with us."

Kazuha frowned. She had just showered and changed into her tracksuit to go for a run, and her long dark hair cascaded in waves down her back. At 5'8 the two siblings were nearly the same height, but Kento was about two inches taller; however, the small difference allowed Kazuha to look Kento curiously in the eyes. "Who? And why are you so nervous?"

"Well... the person who's coming is-"

Just then, Kazuha found the onigiri with a self-satisfied "aha!", which effectively interrupted her brother's anxious ramblings.

"Zuha!"

"I'm already here," Kazuha commented, unwrapping the rice ball, the loud crinkling throwing her brother off a bit.

"No, I mean shh," Kento said, shaking his head and straightening his tie. "The person who's coming to stay with us is, um, Sakura."

"Who?" Kazuha was halfway through a mouthful of onigiri when Kento dropped his news, so, being otherwise occupied, didn't fully register his announcement.

"Sakura? You know? My girlfriend?"

"What?!" Kazuha swallowed and stared in shock, her dark brown eyes wide as she looked at Kento. "You mean... the travel agent?! The rich one!? She's coming to stay here?"

"Yeah, isn't it great?" Kento beamed, and the love-struck look on his face made Kazuha want to gag out her onigiri.

"Yeah, I guess," Kauha agreed. "But... isn't she like... stuck-up?"

The question momentarily derailed Kento, and when he came back to his senses he shook his head violently.

"She's the farthest thing from a snob you can ever get," Kento said firmly, his eyes shining, and Kazuha plucked a piece of rice from the onigiri and ate it like she was watching a movie. "She's kind-hearted, and good, and sweet. She's really smart too, and she's clever, and-"

"Okay, okay, lover boy," Kazuha snorted. "We have Prime Video for melodrama. We don't need you. When's she staying again?"

"The day before I go," he smiled, disregarding Kazuha's comments in favor of daydreaming about Sakura. "We're going to see each other for a day then she's going to stay here, since she'll be free for a few days. Our times will overlap, and I'll leave a day later. She'll be with you for the rest of the time."

Kazuha's head bobbed up and down, not really processing the information. She didn't know much about Sakura, only having seen photos of the girl- dark hair, big eyes, a sweet face, usually wearing suits or other professional outfits. Sakura was a travel agent, so she traveled a lot to attend hotels or see landmarks and things like that to judge their value for her clients. She worked for richer clients, booking and managing trips for businesspeople and other high payers. She'd met Kento when they both visited Busan, and hit it off due to the similarity of their jobs. They had started dating two weeks later, and although they barely got to see each other, they kept in touch often.

Kento was absolutely head-over-heels for his girlfriend. He hadn't told Kazuha this, but the two of them, he felt, shared a special connection. Their conversations had been in-depth, intelligent, and Sakura's laugh when Kento made a joke stuck in his brain like glue.

Kazuha and Sakura had never met. Their paths had never crossed, with Kazuha always at university or playing soccer, and Sakura away at work.

Kento smiled and ducked upstairs to grab his bag as his younger sister took a seat at the island counter, her half-eaten onigiri in one hand, her other hand absentmindedly dissecting the rice as she thought.

Kento's girlfriend- a travel agent- was coming to stay with them. And Kazuha would be stuck with her for as long as Kento was away, which was a week. 

She would probably be on the phone the whole time, managing calls, while Kazuha either played soccer or did her homework.

And she'd probably be just as head-over-heels for Kento as he was for her.

Great.

Kazuha wasn't overjoyed.

However, that would soon change.