CHAPTER 18

Her feet took her out the door, down the hall and around the second bend. Seohyun opened the door for her after the first knock and she let herself in, not even bothering to wonder how Seohyun seemed to know that she was outside their dorm room. Instead, she spent what was left of her energy on getting herself as close as she could to the girl that held the door open for her while she let go of the tears that she had been holding in during the entire walk here. After she felt Seohyun's arms around her, there came a point where she almost forgot why she was crying.

Seohyun didn't say anything. She didn't ask what happened or what she could do to make it better. She just held Yoona as if it was the most important thing she would ever do in her lifetime.

Taeyeon stood up without a word when she saw Yoona sobbing into Seohyun's shoulder, trembling like a child. In between Yoona's sniffles, she heard something about Sunny, the White Fang and the Grimm. It didn't take much to connect the dots even without the details. She threw them a passing glance before heading out the door to give them some much-deserved privacy.

When she returned, they were already asleep on Seohyun's bed. Fully clothed. Good. She didn't know how long they had been asleep but seeing them all snug and comfy under the covers suddenly made her sleepier than she was. It also didn't help that she ate with Sooyoung and Hyoyeon before coming back to the room. She was stuffed. Her bed seemed to call out to her and she gave in. It was a dreamless nap and she was glad it was. The past few days had taken a toll on her and she could do without dreaming of all the fights they had gotten into and the airship trips and everything else going on with her friends.

 When she sat up, something shifted on Seohyun's side of the room. Her brows shot up and she bit down on her teeth. But she said nothing.

Hunched over a sleeping Seohyun was Yoona with one hand on the bed's headboard and the other in her blazer pocket, her lips pressed to Seohyun's forehead. She knew that Seohyun deserved a much more sincere thanks – something that Yoona couldn't give at the moment because Seohyun was in a deep sleep, clutching a pillow to her chest and snoring lightly. She wanted Seohyun to hear the words and to see how much she meant them but for now, this kiss to the forehead would have to do.

"Just this once, I'll pretend I didn't see that."

Yoona turned around and saw Taeyeon already sitting up in bed. She knew that Taeyeon always meant well whenever it comes to Seohyun and she was grateful that this time, things didn't escalate into another fight about Yoona not being worthy of her. She smiled at Taeyeon and started heading for the door. "Good night unnie."

After she opened the door, she almost bumped into Tiffany who had her hand on the door knob outside.

"Oh hey. Are you okay?"

Yoona nodded. "Yeah, I am. I just fell asleep for a bit on Hyunnie's bed."

Tiffany stuck her head inside the room then stepped back again after she saw Taeyeon. "And TaeTae didn't kick you out?!"

Yoona shrugged. "I guess she feels sorry for me. Anyway, I'll be on my way now, unnie. Good night."

After Tiffany greeted her back, Yoona went back to their dorm room and found her roommates on Jessica's bed. She thought of asking them about this sudden habit of theirs but she just wanted to sleep and not be alone as much as possible. They woke up after she tried to squeeze herself in between them.

"Hey Yoong. You okay?" Yuri asked with only one eye open. She slid out of bed to give Yoona some space to lie down properly.

"I'm feeling a bit better now," Yoona answered. She wanted to tell them how or why she felt this way but she craved sleep more.

"That's good," Jessica said as she placed an arm over Yoona's stomach. "The three of us won't fit in this bed, though."

In a matter of seconds, Yuri had her bed next to Jessica's and they had enough space for the three of them. She lied back down, this time with Yoona in the middle and Jessica on the other side. "There. All snug and fit," she said with a wide smile.

Yoona smiled back and pulled the covers up to her nose. "Good night guys."

"Good night, Yoona," Jessica replied. Then she looked at Yuri and shrugged, hoping Yuri would get the hint that they won't be able to do anything together with Yoona right beside them and that she wasn't too bothered by it.

Yuri nodded and smiled at Jessica before she ruffled Yoona's hair just because. "Good night."

+

The moon was out for a few minutes longer than usual. Not that anyone would've noticed since daybreak wasn't as bright as it used to be. The only thing that alerted them to the time of day was the rumbling in their stomachs.

When Yuri and Jessica woke up, Yoona was no longer with them on the bed. Jessica ran a hand through her hair and exhaled. Seconds later, she felt something warm on her nape and she smiled to herself. When she turned around, the same warmth settled on her lips. "Good morning to you too," she said in a mumble, hoping that this wasn’t just a dream.

Yuri drew her head back and touched her nose to Jessica's. "Good morning, Sica."

The two of them stared at each other in momentary silence, perhaps to give themselves some time to determine whether or not they were really awake. Another kiss was all it took to clear their doubts.

After they freshened up, they headed for the cafeteria. Yoona had left them a message that she was going on ahead to eat with Seohyun. When they arrived, Sooyoung all but jumped out of her seat. It seemed she had been waiting all this time to ask what everyone else had in mind.

"So you guys never came down to have lunch or dinner yesterday. Did something happen?"

Yuri and Jessica took their seats beside Yoona and Seohyun who were already halfway through their meal. "We went straight to bed," Yuri answered.

"Straight. To. Bed?!"

Jessica was quick to dismiss Sooyoung's attempt to tease: "As in straight to sleep."

Sooyoung rolled her eyes. She wasn't buying it. "O-kay... What about you two, hm?" she asked Yoona and Seohyun.

"Same," Yoona said in between bites. She was more interested in the yogurt she was finishing off.

"Wait, back up. You, Im Yoona, skipped eating so you could sleep?"

"Yeah, I was tired."

"Dude, you eat when you're tired! And do you expect me to believe that all three of you," she referred to Yuri, Jessica and Yoona with a sideways motion of her finger from left to right, "just slept in your room?"

"Well, I was in Hyunnie's room before I went back to ours." Yoona shrugged again. "If that makes any difference to you."

Hyoyeon snorted and she swore she could feel and smell her coffee when she inhaled. She let out a cough. "Wait. So if you were in Seohyun's room—"

"Nothing happened! I was there!" Taeyeon quickly pointed out. She didn't make a big fuss the previous night out of respect for Yoona's feelings but she didn't want their friends to blow things out of proportion with their wild imaginations, either. She turned to Seohyun and saw that there was no change in her expression. She just kept on eating.

"I thought so," Hyoyeon said. She blew into her handkerchief and saw that there was indeed coffee in her nose. "But that aside, Yuri and Sica were alone in their room when Yoona was with Seohyun, right?"

Yuri had just swallowed a mouthful of rice. "Yeah, so?"

"So..." Hyoyeon was itching to ask what happened between their two friends. She could already imagine the possibilities, which she probably shouldn't have been doing because it was a bit  creepy for her to be thinking of her friends getting... intimate. Yuri was still waiting for her to reply but she let it go, having remembered that she and her friends promised to hold back from asking about the development in Yuri and Jessica's relationship. "Never mind."

They all continued eating after that. For some reason, things got a bit awkward. And just when they thought it couldn't get any more awkward, Tiffany arrived with her parents.

"Hi guys! I know this is embarrassing and all but my parents wanted to meet everyone." She gestured toward her parents and her friends stood up to give respectful bows. The introductions were made and Tiffany saved Yuri for last. "This is Yuwree. I think I already told you guys about her last night. She's my hero!"

"Ah." Mr. Hwang looked in Yuri's direction and squinted. "Is this the one who has taken an interest in our daughter's..." He turned to his wife who let out a small laugh. "In our daughter's bum?"

"What? No!" Tiffany interrupted. "Yuwree isn't a like TaeTae here."

Taeyeon almost fell over. She was already crimson red in the cheeks when Tiffany's parents turned to her. "Woah! What?" Her eyes flew from Tiffany to her parents and back. "Sir, ma'am, with all due respect, please don't believe anything your daughter says about me."

Mrs. Hwang smiled at Taeyeon then lightly pinched her red cheek. "Oh, well aren't you just darling!" Then she turned to Tiffany. "Miyoung-ah, are you teammates with this young woman?"

Tiffany groaned. If she had her way, 'Miyoung' would never be mentioned in public. "Yes, mom," she answered nonetheless.

Professor BoA arrived in the middle of their conversation. She greeted the Hwang spouses then turned to her students. "Oh good. I see you've all met the Hwangs. They've decided to join the fight but since we can't launch any counterattacks while General Jongkook's forces are recovering, they opted to stay here and help with further training the students. Sort of like a tutoring service. I know everyone is still tired but is anyone here up for a sparring match later?"

Silence. Except for Sooyoung's chewing.

"BoA, I think we should make this a bit more interesting," Mr. Hwang said. "Let's say that whoever manages to beat us gets a prize."

"Maybe some free food?" Mrs. Hwang suggested.

A hand shot up in the air. "I volunteer!!"

No one was surprised that Sooyoung was the first to take the bait.

"You'll need a partner—"

"Yuri will do it!" Sooyoung cut BoA off as she grabbed Yuri's wrist and raised the hand attached to it. "What time do we start?"

The time and place were set and Yuri only caught on with what just happened after Jessica told her that it would be good practice for her to use her semblance on Tiffany's parents. "Wait, what? But what if something goes wrong?!"

Jessica squeezed Yuri's hand under the table and whispered into her ear: "If you do well, you'll get a reward from me too."

No one else knew what Jessica said but they saw Yuri's cheeks go red well enough.

+

Before going into the training room, Sooyoung and Yuri already had a plan to take the Hwang couple out. "Just keep attacking from far away," Sooyoung said. "No direct attacks unless absolutely necessary."

They went in, greeted the couple and bowed.

"Hello ladies. We'll start once you feel that you're ready," said Mrs. Hwang.

Sooyoung and Yuri nodded at each other then moved to the center to the room. The Hwang couple took it as a yes and positioned themselves as well. Mr. Hwang unbuckled his flail from its harness on his back and let it dangle to the floor with a loose grip. Mrs. Hwang stood behind him and to the side. She had gloves on and in between the knuckles were long, thin needles.

"Ready when you are," Sooyoung told Yuri. Yuri nodded and they were off.

Sooyoung called Mori out and let it stand in her place while she retreated to the back of the room and transformed her axe into a crossbow. She ordered Mori to chase Mr. Hwang in her direction and shot at him as he passed by. She managed to get a shot in but at Mori's expense. The hound fell to the ground after he was rendered motionless mid-jump.

"Tsk." Sooyoung called the hound back and called out to Yuri: "I was right! Keep your distance!"

"Got it!" Yuri had Mrs. Hwang to deal with and she dreaded those thin needles that almost got her when she tried to attack first. She kept her distance this time and waited until Mrs. Hwang was close enough for her to knock back with a wave of force. When she managed to stagger the huntress, she followed through with a quick punch combo then leapt back, being careful not to take any hits.

Sooyoung passed Yuri by and loosed an arrow. "Yuri! Hit it!"

The arrow was flying in Mrs. Hwang's direction and Yuri sent enough force behind it to propel it even faster toward the target. Mrs. Hwang rolled out of the way but the arrow still managed to cut across her sleeve.

"Keep moving, Yuri!!" Sooyoung reminded while she was attacking Mr. Hwang from the other side of the room. She saw Yuri speed toward Mrs. Hwang and a charged punch landed on the latter while she was recovering from her roll. Sooyoung faced forward again and saw Mr. Hwang coming right her. It was too late to let an arrow loose and to transform her weapon back into an axe so she called Bori out to defend against the hit. She got out of the huntsman's range and sent another volley of arrows flying toward him. Each one was met with a swing of the three-chained flail. Sooyoung called Bori back and retreated to the other side of the room, still adamant about not getting close to the opponent.

Yuri wasn't as patient. She had grown tired of the stagger-and-hit strategy and decided to use the force to double her speed instead in order to dodge Mrs. Hwang's counterattacks. Things were going fine until she lost sense of how close she had gotten to her opponent and her punch didn't land squarely on the target. Before she could leap back, she felt four sharp, thin objects slip in and out of her forearm and she was down on her knees in seconds.

"Yuri!!" Sooyoung shot at Mrs. Hwang before she could insert her needles in Yuri's body a second time. "Are you okay?!"

Yuri slowly stood up and shook away the throbbing in her head. It was similar to how she felt when Tiffany drained her the first time but this was worse and far more threatening. It wasn't just her aura that was lost. She lost the feeling in her arm as well, but it was temporary. With enough focus, she was ready to go again. She returned to her stagger-and-hit strategy and sent larger waves of force each time. However, Mrs. Hwang already anticipated such attacks and didn't bother getting close to Yuri anymore. Instead, she threw the needles toward Yuri and closed in to throw a punch while the latter was busy dodging. Yuri dodged each attack but had to double her speed to do so. She didn't have much aura left.

Sooyoung wasn't fairing well either. She had been successful at staying out of Mr. Hwang's range but all of her efforts to attack from a distance cost her more aura than she expected. Her arrows barely reached the target and the only way she could do some damage was with Suri and Bori. She put Bori between her and her opponent at all times while Suri whipped past and carried the loosed arrows in her trajectory of attack. Suri was fast but not fast enough to distance itself from Mr. Hwang's paralysis dome. Sooyoung already noticed the huntsman's semblance when it got Mori. It was similar to Tiffany's but the effect was different. Once the target is within the dome, it becomes immobile. The duration of the effect is unknown but judging from how Sooyoung still couldn't summon Mori, it wasn't short-term. Suri got caught next. Sooyoung didn't know how much Mr. Hwang had increased the size of the dome but she was determined not to fall prey to the attack. She called Suri back and kept Bori by her side as she moved. The hound struggled to follow due to its weight and Sooyoung ended up expending more aura to keep it going. They were at the far side of the room when they lost the feeling in their limbs and fell to the floor.

"Sooyoung! Look out!" Yuri stomped on the floor in panic and sent a large wave of force toward Mr. Hwang. The huntsman was knocked off of his feet and Sooyoung was spared from the falling weight of the flail.

But Yuri was at her limit. It only took another one of Mrs. Hwang's needles to stop her in her tracks.

"Dammit..." she muttered under her breath as she struggled to stand back up. She knew she was out of aura but it wasn't impossible to deal more damage to the opponents. It just meant she would be risking sustaining injuries.

"Well done, ladies," said Mrs. Hwang. She had already put away her gloves and the needles. She helped Yuri get up while Mr. Hwang assisted Sooyoung.

It took Sooyoung a few more minutes to recover from the paralysis and once she did, she slumped against Yuri on the bleachers and sighed.

"Lesson number one, ladies," Mrs. Hwang continued. "Even though you know your opponent's semblance, that doesn't mean you're at an advantage. Avoiding the effect of the semblance is all well and good but when the goal is to beat your opponent you must look for a way to incapacitate them. Or else you'll just run out of aura trying to dodge all of their attacks."

"Additionally," Mr. Hwang chimed in, "you must learn how to conserve your aura. Semblances are indeed useful but using your weapons is just as effective. A combination of the two is better. I saw good combinations during the fight but some were also wasteful. These can be corrected through training so don't worry. I know we don't have much time since we're already in the middle of a war but I believe that training shouldn't be ignored even at times like these. If anything, it's good to train during a real fight. The will to survive is stronger and the training is done seriously."

Yuri and Sooyoung nodded. They thanked the Hwang spouses and bowed.

"So I guess that means we don't get free food?" Sooyoung said with a pout. "Even after I chose you over Hyo because you have that amazing semblance of yours, we still lost."

Yuri felt bad about not doing well enough but she laughed at how Sooyoung looked so lost because she couldn't claim her prize. "You were just using me?! What kind of friend are you?!" Yuri faked a sob.

They all had a laugh afterwards.

"Better luck next time, kids." said Mr. Hwang before escorting them outside with a soft smile.

+

Outside the training room, Yuri saw Jessica waiting with a towel on her shoulder and a jug of water in hand. She walked over and had to keep herself from giving Jessica another kiss. It had become too routine in such a short span of time that it worried her that she might forget to restrain herself next time.

"You look pretty beat up. Here." Jessica handed the jug over, unaware that Yuri was also feeling the need to refrain from kissing in public. Or at least in front of Sooyoung, who was looking expectantly at Jessica.

"Don't I get one too?" she said.

"Psh. You need slabs of meat. Not water."

"That's very true. But water wouldn't be too bad either."

"Here." Yuri got her fill and handed the jug over to Sooyoung who took it and started walking while drinking. Yuri and Jessica fell behind on purpose. "Thanks," Yuri said in a whisper. She checked to make sure that Sooyoung was facing fully forward before pulling Jessica into a side hug and then pressed a kiss to her temple. She let go seconds after just in case Sooyoung decided to look over her shoulder.

Jessica widened her eyes at Yuri and lightly slapped her arm. Yuri shrugged then grinned and was about to lean in for another kiss when Sooyoung really did look over her shoulder.

"Are you guys listening to me?"

"Sure buddy," Yuri answered, but really most of what came out of Sooyoung's mouth sounded like gibberish to her and she only caught the bit about being bummed that they ran out of aura during the fight. "Don't worry. We'll get them next time. I think I'll just try to relax for the rest of the day. We'll catch you later, okay?"

Sooyoung nodded as she handed the jug back to Yuri. "Alright. I think I'll do that too. I'll see you guys later."

After Sooyoung was well out of earshot and out of sight, Jessica raised an eyebrow at Yuri. "So what was that, huh?"

"What? I just wanted to thank you for the water," Yuri answered. She knew Jessica didn't dislike what happened. This was just Jessica being embarrassed.

Without a word, Jessica unfolded the towel on her shoulder and wiped the sweat off of Yuri's cheek with it. She moved down to the neck then let the towel dangle on Yuri's shoulders, trapping it between the said shoulders and her palms. She felt the tight muscles behind Yuri's shoulders with her fingers and dug into them as she pulled Yuri a bit closer. She saw Yuri smirk at the action and she smirked back. Her fingers ran down from Yuri's shoulders to the ends of the towel and with one slight tug, she got Yuri to lean down into a kiss.

+

She didn't think this through so somehow they ended up outside the school gate and down the pathway that led to the city.

"I'm sorry I caused so much trouble last night. I want to make it up to you," she said. She had been wanting to say it ever since she fetched Seohyun from her room that morning.

"You really don't have to. I didn't do much to help." Seohyun smiled at Yoona wider than she intended. She was just glad that Yoona was in higher spirits compared to last night. "All I did was let you sleep on my bed when you got too tired of crying."

"Hyunnie, you of all people should know that just talking to you helps me out a great deal. I wouldn't have run to you last night if that wasn't the case."

Seohyun reached for Yoona's cheek and ran her thumb against it in small circles. "You're not going to let this slide, are you?"

Yoona held Seohyun's hand that was on her cheek and held it in place. She shook her head in response to the question. "No. Whatever it takes, I'm taking you out on this date!"

Seohyun couldn't help but laugh. She knew that Yoona would insist no matter how much she said that it was unnecessary so she removed her hand from Yoona's cheek and met Yoona's hand on its way down. "Okay, let's go then."

She would've preferred some sweet potatoes but she knew Yoona would want to get sweets of another kind so she obliged and they ended up buying half a strawberry cake. "There. Now you kinda get to eat a fruit with your cake, Hyunnie," Yoona said with a laugh after they ordered. "So where do you want to sit?"

Seohyun scanned the cafe's interior and saw vacant seats by the windows. Yoona saw the same spot and started to head for it but Seohyun headed for the door instead. "Maybe somewhere outside."

"Oh, okay then." Yoona followed Seohyun outside until they got to a vacant table but Seohyun just kept on walking. "Wait. Where are we going?"

Seohyun didn't answer the question. She took Yoona's free hand and continued walking. The path they took was familiar but it wasn't one that they expected to go down given this occasion. The trees were the same as they left them but the air that ran above their ankles and up through their hair was lighter than they were used to. It felt like a caress.

They went deeper into Emerald Forest and past the clearing was a small lake. Seohyun let go of Yoona's hand and sat on a flat rock by the water, her eyes settled on the small stretch of blue before them. "There aren't any Grimm here anymore. It feels like a dream," she said. The way she said it made her feel like she was talking to herself. Everything around them was so still.

Yoona sat down beside Seohyun and settled the cake box on her lap. "It's like a whole other world."

Seohyun nodded. She took the box from Yoona and took a slice of cake out for herself. She took a bite while still admiring how the surface of the water seemed to sparkle underneath the afternoon sun. The skies had gotten darker ever since the void but there was always a ray of light that managed to slip past it before being swallowed back up again. This one seemed to stay for a bit longer.

"Yoona, aren't you going to eat your cake?" Seohyun offered the slices that were still in the box after she noticed Yoona staring at her while she ate.

Yoona smiled. A whistle came from the wind running through the leaves in the trees before she spoke: "You're amazing, you know that?"

Seohyun laughed. "What did I do?"

"Pffft. Like you don't already know." Yoona took a slice out and took a big bite out of it.

Seohyun laughed once more. "Yeah, I do know."

"Tsk tsk. You're getting full of yourself." Yoona considered putting icing on Seohyun's face to but she decided against it. Pink icing would look far too cute on Seohyun and Yoona didn't know what she would do if she saw Seohyun pouting in addition. Probably more than just a kiss on the forehead.

Seohyun stuck her tongue out then smiled."Just eat your cake. You almost dropped it while you were staring at me."

Of course she would know that I was doing that too. Yoona felt herself blush and continued to eat her cake as suggested. "Just so you know, buying cake was just an excuse to spend time with you without Taeyeon unnie hanging around."

"Yeah, I know that too," said Seohyun as she bent forward and dipped her hand into the water.

Yoona watched as Seohyun made tiny waves by moving half of her hand side to side underwater. "Of course you do. Like I said, you're amazing."

She didn't know if Seohyun heard her. She barely heard herself. The water that moved against Seohyun's fingers seemed to echo around them as if everything else had disappeared and it was just her, Seohyun and what was left of half a strawberry cake.

Happy birthday to Sunny in advance! We know that she hasn't been in most of these chapters but she's still an important character in this story. Please look forward to her next appearance. For now, just settle for the YulSic kisses and the YoonHyun fluff. :))