sun and star | petalz

23. forever young

TIMESKIP, FOUR MONTHS.

Both Kazuha's and Sakura's companies were now immensely popular.

Kazuha had rejoined her ballet troupe, and Sakura had gone back to her acting life, getting a job to shoot an adaptation of a popular web series.

After Blue Star shooting ended, the pictures from the couple- dubbed "Petalz" by the media because their names meant cherry blossom and leaf in Japanese- broke the internet. Photos of the two kissing were everywhere, and the media had a field day until Sakura appeared at Kazuha's performance in Korea.

Of course, it helped that the two were all over each other at a club after the dance.

Sakura and Kazuha had both publicly updated their relationship status after, posting on every platform they had access to. Each post blew up. The chemistry between Yumi and Mei had been undeniable during the movie, and Petalz just made it more prominent. 

The ending Aoi had devised was incredibly clever. After Joonwoo and Yumi's falling-out, Mei and Yumi had found solace in each other since they had both split with their lovers. They had grown closer towards the end of the film, and by the time the final showcase rolled around, they performed a perfect partner dance together full of tension.

In short? It was very, very, very Petalz coded.

Chaewon had quit the dance troupe and ended up pursuing Yunjin into the world of acting. They were now together, officially, Chaewon as a professional dancer who had already made appearances on several popular celebrity dance shows. Yunjin was still managing Sakura and was doing so quite well. Eunchae had gotten a job on a new teen drama show as the female lead, and many suspected it would be her big break. Soobin was in a relationship with some other actress now, and starring in another romance film. Blue Star's director Yujin was dating Wonyoung, who'd also worked on the movie, and they were in a high-profile relationship.

Kazuha, meanwhile, was still performing with the old troupe, doing long-distance with Sakura, but it was getting painful as they stayed apart, and she was looking for something new.

Kazuha's troupe was currently on break, and she knew Sakura was busy at the moment in Tokyo with her new show shoot.

Suddenly, her phone rang.

"Hello?" Kazuha inquired, picking up the phone.

"ZUHA! ZUHA, IS THIS YOU?"

"Chae, you're on your phone all the time, how do you still not know appropriate caller volume-"

"I'M BEING LOUD FOR A REASON!"

"Okay, what is it then?"

Chaewon took a deep breath and spoke words that were about to change Kazuha's life.

"How would you like to be the classical dance judge of my newest show?"

- - -

It all felt so fast.

Kazuha had said yes.

Kazuha had left her troupe.

Kazuha had taken a flight from New York, where her performance had been, all the way to Tokyo.

She'd made the preparations and called Chaewon countless times.

And now she was in a car to Sakura's hotel, waiting for the other girl to return, waiting to see her in person for the first time in four months.

Her fingers felt itchy, so she called Sakura, wanting to get her information right. "Hi, baby."

"Hi, Zuha," Sakura's tired voice replied, coming from the other end in slurred Japanese. "How did your performance go?"

Right. Sakura thought Kazuha had just finished her final showcase. "Really well, actually. You don't sound too great, are you alright?"

"Better now that I heard you."

Kazuha's heart backflipped, and she felt in her bones that what she was doing was right. She loved Sakura, and only her, forever. "Aww. I miss you."

"I'll see you soon, when your tour comes to Japan."

"Yeah," Kazuha agreed, but then the car pulled over and she stepped out, and there Sakura was.

She sat on a bench near the hotel, her legs crossed and her phone up to her ear, thoughtful-looking in a dark coat with her hair down. She'd changed in those four months; she seemed a little taller from afar, her posture more confident, and her hair-

-was bleached blond?!

Kazuha squeaked aloud. The sight made her stomach fill with butterflies and her legs feel weak. Sakura looked amazing in blond hair.

"You okay, love?"

"Yeah, I- I just- I-"

"Something wrong? Don't worry, if you're sad about the visit, I can always come earlier-"

"How about now?" An uncontrollable grin was starting to split Kazuha's face as she strode down the long pathway to the hotel, her arms aching from the distance, her feet screaming at her to run to Sakura. "I can see you now."

"What do you-"

Then Sakura looked up, clapped her hands over her mouth, and screamed.

"KAZUHA!"

Heads turned everywhere, but the newly blond-haired girl didn't care; she slipped her phone into her coat and ran, full tilt, crashing into Kazuha in a whirl of arms and fabric. She hugged Kazuha close, the younger girl laughing and squeezing her back, twirling her around.

When they broke apart, Sakura looked dazed, and Kazuha felt happy that she made her girlfriend look that way.

"I didn't know you were coming you're here oh my God you're really here you're here you're in Japan Zuha don't ever leave you're here wow I didn't even-"

"I missed you too," Kazuha grinned, and her chipper smile was all it took for Sakura to pounce on her again, and they shared a soft kiss that was full of longing and everything missing in the four months that had passed between them.

"So how are you here!?"

"It's a long story."

"We have time," Sakura whispered, staring at Kazuha reverently, and Kazuha pulled her close and kissed her again.

"Before I begin, I want to say how stunning you look in blond," Kazuha teased, pulling gently at a lock of her girlfriend's hair.

"Aw, shh," Sakura laughed, cuddling into her as they walked. Kazuha smiled at her, eyes full of love, and continued.

"It all started when Yunjin came to me in a bar in New York..."

And so it went. Kazuha recounted everything from New York to Seoul to Tokyo and back, and they walked back to Sakura's hotel, and three months later they officially moved in together. Kazuha's position as celebrity judge didn't last long, but it was a perfect stepping stone for her to become a professional ballerina, performing in sold-out shows all around Japan and dabbling in the occasional dance movie. But nothing ever beat Blue Star, beat Chaewon and Mario Kart in the hotel, beat Eunchae and the movie set, beat loving Sakura like no one else, beat seeing her in a white dress on the aisle while Chaewon cried her mascara out and Kazuha tried to tamper down her huge smile.

Sun and star. Kazuha and Sakura. Yellow sun and blue star.

Loving each other for years to come.

a/n: and that's the end!! thank you all for reading voting and commenting, i hope you enjoyed and love you guyss <33