off limits | petalz

3

"Kazuha, meet Sakura, my girlfriend," Kento introduced, and Kazuha was starstruck, to say the least.

The woman in front of her was drop-dead gorgeous in Kazuha's eyes, and her smile made Kazuha's heart start doing Russian twists. "Uh. Umm. Hajimemashite. Douzo yoroshiku," she mumbled, trying to be as polite as possible, bobbing her head up and down. She suddenly felt very self-conscious, wearing jeans and a crop top that exposed her entire abdomen.

"Konnichiwa, hajimemashite," Sakura greeted in return, her easy grin spreading to her eyes as she bowed politely in return. She grabbed hold of her suitcase and maneuvered it behind her, nodding to Kento as he leaned down to help her. Kazuha stood there frozen, a blush spreading up to her neck, then sprang into action, realizing that this woman would be staying with her for the next week.

"Let me help," she insisted, taking the suitcase from Sakura, who moved back slightly in surprise as Kazuha lifted the suitcase with ease.

Was it her imagination, or as Kazuha lifted the bag, did their fingers touch?

"Uh... thanks," Sakura thanked her, but her voice came out soft, and she swallowed, her eyes not meeting Kazuha's.

Curiously, her eyes were on something else.

Kazuha followed her gaze and her neck turned a burning red when she realized that Sakura's eyes were on her biceps, which were currently bulging as she held the bags easily in one hand.

Oh my God, she's probably really embarrassed since I'm so close to her, Kazuha thought anxiously, and jerked back quickly, bringing the suitcases back with her. "Uh- where do you want these?"

Sakura's eyes snapped to her, as if lifted from a reverie. "Eh? Oh, um, anywhere is okay. Where do you think, Kento?"

Kento had been eyeing the two of them oddly, but upon looking at Sakura his gaze softened. "You'll be staying in my room, so I can help you carry the suitcase there," he suggested, and Sakura nodded.

Kazuha promptly passed the suitcase off to Kento, who took it, rolling up his sleeves and preparing to drag it upstairs. Sakura's eyes were still on Kazuha, though, and an unbidden thought popped into her brain.

Did Ken-chan roll up his sleeves because he thinks his girlfriend is checking out my arms?

Kazuha nearly snorted, but as Kento turned around to bring the bags upstairs, Sakura's eyes flitted over her once more in a brief once-over before she turned around as well.

Kazuha's blush spread from her neck to her cheeks also, and she sat down hard on a stool by the counter as she registered the blood rush pounding through her brain.

Shiiiiiit.

I'm, like, really attracted to my brother's girlfriend.

"What are we eating?" Kazuha pestered as Kento sat at his desk.

"For Saku-chan's first night here, we're eating out," Kento replied, tapping away on his computer. Kazuha was only half-listening, though, an AirPod in her right ear. "We're going to a tteokbokki place in the city."

"Oh? Where?" Kazuha asked, suddenly interested. "Is it the Lee's?"

"Yeah, that's the one," Kento nodded. "We're going to go later, so you might see your friends."

Kazuha punched the air in delight. The Lee family owned a tteokbokki restaurant, and their youngest daughter, Hyein, was friends with Eunchae. Their oldest daughter, Jieun (known as IU as a nickname from her childhood) worked at the restaurant full-time, and was slated to become the next owner of the company. The middle sister, Hyunseo, was also friends with Eunchae and Kyujin, all being nearly the same age. Kazuha had known the whole family since childhood, and was happy at any opportunity she got to see them.

Although the Lee family owned the restaurant, it was so popular that many of Kazuha's friends worked there as well. A college graduate Kento knew worked as a waitress, and she was known for pulling massive business for her good looks. However, she was widely known to be down bad for one of Yunjin's friends and a member of the band Yunjin had made- a girl named Kim Minjeong, who was widely rumored to be dating Jeong Jaehyun.

(Kazuha had seen the way Minjeong looked at the girl- Jimin, she thought her name was?- and there was absolutely no fucking way Minjeong liked Jaehyun if she gave Jimin bedroom eyes whenever they got within a meter of each other.)

Yunjin's band- which was made up of Yunjin on guitar and lead vocals, Minjeong on guitar and main vocals, Ryujin on drums, and Aeri on keyboard- was pretty popular both in the university and in Kazuha's extended friend group. Aeri was Japanese-Korean, so she and Kazuha were pretty good friends, although Aeri's Korean was better than her Japanese. Aeri spoke English too, so Kazuha had seen Aeri speaking English to Yunjin more than once.

Off that topic, Kazuha popped in her left AirPod, navigated to the band's Spotify account, and played their latest song, Flash Forward.

She danced up the stairs, preparing to go out, love music playing in her ears.

Kazuha decided on a reasonably suitable outfit after a while of debating.

She picked out a black tube top with a sweetheart neckline and a pair of light blue jeans that pooled at her ankles. After styling and re-styling her hair for a good thirty minutes, she decided to leave her hair down in gentle waves and apply light makeup. Over the shirt, she threw on a black leather jacket and hopped around trying to tug on white Converse.

Finally, shoes are so annoying sometimes, Kazuha thought as she walked downstairs, almost bumping into Kento, who was emerging from the room he shared with Sakura.

Kazuha laughed aloud at his getup. He was wearing a white T-shirt tucked into belted black slacks underneath a black jean jacket. Kento rarely wore denim, and when he did, he missed businesswear so much that he'd usually incorporate a blazer or slacks into his outfit. The slacks made Kazuha laugh, causing Kento's brow to furrow. "What?"

"No, it looks great," Kazuha reassured. "She'll love it. It's business casual." Kazuha's grin made Kento roll his eyes and chuckle dryly.

"Thanks, sis," he nodded. "You don't look so bad yourself."

Kazuha gave him a self-satisfied smirk just as Kento's door opened and Sakura walked out.

Kento's jaw dropped and Kazuha's neck turned bright red for the third time that day.

Sakura was wearing black corduroy pants and a pink lace top, her hair curled over one shoulder and a loose wool sweater slung around her arms. She had light makeup on, and she was smiling at Kento, who was admiring her, a goofy grin on his face. Suddenly, Kazuha felt like a third wheel, so she coughed awkwardly.

Kento snapped from his trance and extended his arm out to her, which she accepted.

Kazuha felt an odd crushing feeling in her stomach as she followed her brother and his girlfriend to the door.