off limits | petalz

10

"Oh, Seoul National? Isn't there a college for this?" Sakura mused as Kazuha shifted the car into reverse, backing out of the driveway.

They had just finished getting ready to go, and Kazuha had insisted on driving. Sakura had eventually relented (Kazuha could be very persuasive) and the younger girl had just finished inputting the directions into her phone. Kazuha normally took public transit to the hospital, but since Kento wasn't home, the car was Kazuha's to use.

Therefore, she was taking advantage of it.

"Yeah, I go there. They're not close, though," Kazuha laughed, tapping the wheel and continuing to drive. "Fourteen kilometers, I think. You have to drive over the Han River too. It's like an hour."

"You go to Seoul National?" Sakura asked, her tone curious. "Really? What do you major in?"

"Biology."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I promise I'm smarter than I look. Behind the muscle, I really do have some brains," Kazuha snickered, tapping the wheel and taking a left.

"No, no, I didn't mean it like that," Sakura backtracked, waving her hands, and the sound of her soft voice in protest made Kazuha's stomach turn. "I just meant that I was, um, pleasantly surprised, I guess. I was a geography major. I guess that kind of set up my career, you know, going into the travel industry."

"Yeah, that makes sense," Kazuha agreed, glancing at the road and taking another turn. "I get that."

Comfortable silence passed between them, and then Sakura's phone pinged. A brief smile crossed her face.

I wish I could make her smile like that.

"Who is it?" Kazuha asked without taking her eyes off the road, and stopping at a light. "If you don't mind me asking?"

"Kento," Sakura answered, opening her phone and tapping out a reply.

"Oh."

Kazuha hadn't meant to make the discomfort in her voice so clear, but it was there, and Sakura, knowing people's voices well- she dealt with phone calls all day- picked up on it easily. She glanced up at Kazuha, who looked away, biting her lip and keeping her eyes on the road. She shrugged her sweater tighter around her with one hand, and swallowed, her throat suddenly dry.

"Is something wrong?"

Sakura's voice was careful, but not probing.

"Nope. Nothing." Kazuha shrugged again, tightening her grip on the wheel until her knuckles whitened.

"Are you sure? If you're uncomfortable with me talking to him while he's not here-"

"No, no, it's not that, he's your boyfriend. You should talk to him all you want. Have fun. We're here."

Sakura gave Kazuha a sideways glance, and Kazuha didn't meet her eyes, instead sliding out of the driver's seat and walking around to open Sakura's door.

"UNNIE!"

Eunchae's eager squeal flew across the hospital floor. She was in the pediatric rehabilitation area, and Chaewon was next to her, propping her up and using some devices Kazuha didn't recognize to help her stand. At her yell, she promptly sat in the wheelchair and wheeled herself over as fast as possible. "Unnie, unnie, unnie! You finally visited! It's been so long!"

"It's been a week, Manchae," Kazuha giggled, bending down to hug the younger girl. "How've you been? Where's Yunjin?"

"Bathroom. She got here, said hi really fast, then ran away. I haven't seen her in a-"