CHAPTER 22

The students of each academy in Remnant slowly fell back into school life with the exclusion of mandatory attendance in classes. The headmasters and professors remained unavailable to hold their respective lectures, saying that they had to take their leave to deal with the political aftermath of the Grimm invasions and also to investigate what had become of the void now that the Grimm had left.

Or at least that’s what they wanted the rest of Remnant to believe.

The threat that was sent to them was left unanswered and they couldn’t afford to waste any more time arguing over how to explain to the citizens that their lives depended on a decision that would spark another uprising before it could be made. Such negativity would only attract the Grimm. Then again, that was no longer up to them.

“Choose soon or I will choose for you.”

In exchange for ensured safety from the Grimm, the sender asked for peace between humans and faunus, a long-forgotten time in the history of Remnant that had been buried under the ruins of war, discrimination and bloodshed. Anyone who knew of the strained relations between both sides would understand their hesitation to attempt to restore what they had failed to build up in the first place. The headmasters knew this first-hand – the same people who, unknown to the rest of their world, were the duty-bound guardians of Remnant. And as such, they had to be discreet in carrying out their true mission.

They had to find Sunny and the man who had become one with the Grimm.

+

Jongkook seemed out of place as he walked through the halls of Beacon Academy in his fine, evenly pressed white overcoat. He was still every bit the General that the students remembered him to be while he was in battle, which now felt like a distant dream. They had not fought or seen any creatures of Grimm for what felt like months. Or so they wished.

Jongkook noticed that despite the ceasefire, some of the students still took their training seriously and it impressed him that even though BoA was temporarily absent, everything seemed to be in order. He was used to things being in order. That was how he ran things in Atlas Academy after all. He was supposed to be back there, he realized, or at least out with the other headmasters to further their search for the Possession Type Grimm. Instead, he was asked to stay here to clear his head. It was BoA’s idea. She told him that he could use the change of scenery and that going back to Atlas would only remind him of his brash mindset that went terribly with his military training. He tried to argue but she brought up a favor that he owed her and, being a man of his word, he agreed to her terms to fulfill it. It wasn’t a total loss on his part. They at least reached a compromise regarding having his Atlesian knights put on standby within Beacon. “Fine! But I don’t want them roaming around like zombies. Keep them in their containment units until they’re needed,” she said.

After that talk, he found himself checking on each unit every day, just as he was doing at this moment. The next one happened to be near where the training rooms were. From the corner of his eye, he saw a student approaching.

“Oh, good morning General,” she greeted.

He nodded slightly. “Good morning. I see that you’ve been training. How are things?”

The student felt the back of her neck and smiled. “Okay, I guess. I’m still working on how limit my aura use. My semblance can be, uh, quite a handful.”

“Interesting. It must be quite the semblance if you use up too much aura. If you don’t mind me asking, what exactly is it, Miss…” He trailed off and only then did he realize that he had forgotten his manners. He should’ve asked for her name early on and shook her hand like the proper gentleman that he was.

“Yuri. Kwon Yuri, sir. We’ve actually met before. Kind of.” She held her hand out for him to take and he shook it briefly. “I was in Atlas with my teammates when you called for reinforcements. There were a lot of us so I don’t expect you to remember me or anything. We didn’t even get a chance to actually talk to you after your speech.”

He mustered a small smile. He honestly did not want to recall the events that Yuri was pertaining to but he couldn’t say it outright. That wouldn’t be proper. “I apologize. That was a hectic day, wasn’t it? But I still want to express my gratitude for coming to our aid. I know that BoA didn’t force any of her students to go, meaning you and your teammates decided by yourselves to fight alongside us. Thank you, Yuri-ssi.”

“It was more of a duty than a decision, sir. We’re training to become future huntresses and fighting to ensure the safety of the people is a big part of that. Uh, it’s actually the whole point of becoming a huntress, isn’t it?” She held back a laugh. You’re in front of a General. Get your together.

He noticed the slight twist in her expression but he ignored it. He was used to people being tense around him. “Well said, Yuri-ssi,” he replied, hoping the compliment would ease her mind. He decided that he wanted to prolong the conversation because the mention of her semblance piqued his interest. “But I digress. This semblance of yours… I want you to show me.”

A strained laugh. “Pardon?”

“Your semblance,” he repeated. “You came from one of the training rooms just now, yes? Shall we use that for our sparring match?”

She nodded. What else could she have said or done? A General had just asked to be her sparring partner and she only wished that she would last at least a full minute against the guy. The General led the way and she stayed two steps behind while typing a quick message to Jessica on her scroll. Then she put the device away once the message was sent.

Once inside the training room, the General didn’t waste any time and he waved her over to the center of the room. She approached and raised her fists. She no longer kept the hand wraps on as part of her discipline training. That way her semblance would always be available to use at a moment’s notice, no longer limited by the cloth that she wound around her palms. That made it a necessity for her to keep her temper in check and to limit her recklessness. Otherwise, she would be responsible for another casualty.

“Go ahead, Yuri-ssi,” Jongkook said. He stood before her with both hands behind his back, a pose that he had gotten used to in the military.

Yuri nodded and then sped toward the General with a tight right hook. She lowered her body at the last minute and aimed for his side then she opened her hand and released a wave of force. She whipped around in anticipation for a counterattack and saw that the General had dodged the attack with barely a wrinkle on his overcoat.

“I see. So that’s what your semblance is,” he said, touching a finger to his chin. “It’s strong but unfocused.”

“What do you mean, General?” Yuri replied, lowering her hands and breaking her fighting stance. “Was I not focusing the right amount of aura on my attack?”

“No, Yuri-ssi. That’s not the problem. What I mean is that your attack would be much more effective if your aim wasn’t so… scattered. Yes, I think that’s the word. When you attacked me just now, you were aiming for my side, yes?”

She nodded.

“That was very easy to see. What you could’ve done was limit your target to a more sensitive part of my side. Let’s say, somewhere closer to my arm or even my chest. A direct hit to those areas would probably incapacitate me long enough for you to mount another attack. And seeing as you can also double your speed, that combination would work well for you.”

“But General… I’m not much of an aiming person. It’s not like I shoot arrows or fire a gun when I fight or anything. I guess it’s just not in my nature.”

Jongkook let out a laugh, breaking his perfect posture. “That was very easy to see, too. Well then, if you have time, shall we start making you an aiming person? Which, by the way, is properly termed ‘marksman’ even though you don’t wield a gun in this case.”

“Oh. I don’t want to take up much of your time—”

The bullet came at her without warning. How the General could’ve pulled out a bulky revolver and taken a shot in one swift motion was beyond her and all she could do was expend a large amount of aura to release a wave of force big enough to counter it. The bullet flew in the opposite direction and so did the General. She rushed toward him and offered to help him get back up.

“I’m alright, Yuri-ssi,” he said as he dusted himself off. He rolled his right shoulder backward twice then stretched his arm. Yuri swore she heard a clinking sound but decided not to ask about it. The revolver remained in the General’s left hand, his finger still on the trigger. “You repelled the bullet but used up too much of your aura. I now see what you mean about having to limit yourself. Don’t worry. We can probably still remedy this. That is, if you still want to train with me. Fair warning, I like starting early in the morning. Around five. Bad habit from the military, you see.”

“Uh… thank you for the offer, General but—”

“What if I push it back to six? You’re not a soldier after all.”

“Well…”

“Six-thirty then.”

Yuri smiled. She figured that was the best she was going to get. “I’ll see you tomorrow, General. Thank you so much for lesson.”

“And thank you for giving me something to do around here.”

“Why are you hanging around here in the first place, General? Doesn’t Atlas Academy need its headmaster?”

Jongkook returned the revolver to the holster on his belt then pinched the bridge of his nose. “That it does. But BoA has some urgent business to attend to and she entrusted Beacon in my care for the time being. I still get updates from Atlas so it’s not much a problem. I’ll see you tomorrow morning, Yuri-ssi. Be sure to be well-rested.”

Yuri watched the General leave for the door then he turned around to leave one more reminder: “Don’t be late!”

She nodded, hiding her grimace as best as she could. She wasn’t much of a six-thirty kind of person and neither were her roommates so she couldn’t count on them to wake her up. She then made it a point to set an alarm on her scroll.

A message from Jessica blinked on the notification page: “Should I come pick you up? How did it go?” She replied that she was heading straight to their room for a shower and when she got there, she found Jessica fresh from one herself.

“Oh hey.”

“Hey,” she managed to say. She dropped to the bed with her arms and legs spread to her side, exhausted.

“What happened? Got your kicked?”

Yuri closed her eyes and laughed as she recalled how much of a rookie she was compared to the General when they fought earlier. “Is it that obvious?”

“A bit,” Jessica said with a laugh while she changed into her underwear. She almost fell over when she thought that Yuri was sitting up to peek at her but it turned out that Yuri was only interested in putting a pillow under her head. Jessica quickly put a shirt on and dried her hair with the towel that was wrapped around her body a moment ago. “Are you okay, though?” she asked to fill the silence

Yuri responded with a groan, too lazy to formulate a sentence.

“Oh, poor Yuri-yah…” Jessica jumped into bed next to her partner and poked her cheek. “So what’re you gonna do now?”

Yuri opened one eye and grinned. Without warning, she rolled over, got on top of Jessica and tickled her sides. “This!” she said, although Jessica’s high-pitched laughs already drowned it out.

“St-stop! Yuri-yah, stop!” Jessica said in between breaths, squirming from the sensitivity in her joints.

Laughing, Yuri stopped to let Jessica gasp for some much-needed air. “That was for laughing at me getting my kicked. And this…” she pressed a quick kiss to Jessica’s lips and smiled in satisfaction, “is for letting me see those cute . Hee~”

“Ugh. So you did peek. Go and shower you dork! You stink!”

Jessica practically had to chase Yuri to the bathroom and bar the door with a frozen latch. She loved Yuri to bits but it was admittedly a challenge every time she acted like such a child.

Wait. I love her?

“What?” Jessica said to herself. Her eyes moved to the bathroom door, the only thing standing between her and the girl she suddenly associated with what little she knew about love. What does that even mean?

She didn’t have an answer for herself back then and nothing came to her in the following days. While Yuri had her daily training with Jongkook, she went off to do some training of her own, sometimes with Krystal or with Taeyeon or whoever had time to spare.

She could’ve told them about what she was going through but all she really wanted to do was have a serious talk with her partner like they used to do whenever they had something on their mind. It occurred to her that she and Yuri hadn’t really talked much since they were in Atlas, and all she could manage to remember was Yuri’s touch and all that kissing. She decided that they would have to talk for real sooner or later. Maybe after her training.

+

There wasn’t anything interesting for Tiffany to do and after flicking through the pictures in her scroll, her attention shifted to Seohyun who was reading a book, having already finished her lunch.

Just a few days ago she found out that the youngest member of their team was in a committed relationship and she counted herself lucky to have been at the right place, at the right time to hear all about it. She had just gotten out of the bathroom when Seohyun walked in and told Taeyeon that “the feelings were mutual.”

“Oh my gosh! Whose feelings?” she immediately cut in. Her teammates turned to her and while Taeyeon didn’t look like she wanted to discuss the matter, Seohyun was more open to sharing, granted she was adorably shy about it.

“You see unnie, I … I had a talk with Yoona a while ago—”

“You and Yoona?! Together?! Oh my god!!”

She didn’t know where the energy came from but she found herself jumping up and down, clapping her hands as if she had witnessed a performance. She got so carried away that she tripped on her pink cloak. Lucky for her, Taeyeon saw it coming and managed to catch her by the hand. That little moment of theirs aside, she felt giddy all throughout that evening after hearing Seohyun narrate how the confession went.

“You two kissed didn’t you? Right? Right?”

“Well…”

Tiffany wasn’t surprised that Seohyun needed to check on Taeyeon’s expression first before she could answer. She found it sweet but she was dying to know whether there really was a kiss if only to satisfy the romantic in her. When Seohyun nodded, she squealed so loudly that she had to press a pillow to her face to contain herself.

And then she was sworn to secrecy – a temporary one. Just until the new couple got used to things. It went without saying that Tiffany had a hard time keeping this new development to herself. So far, Seohyun and Yoona had been limiting their interactions in front of her and even in front of the rest of their friends. She wondered if something had gone wrong. If so, she decided she would fix it.

“Seohyun-ah?”

Seohyun lifted her eyes from the text and turned toward Tiffany. “Yes unnie?”

“I was just thinking…” Tiffany saw that Yoona had also started paying attention. She gestured toward both of them. “How are you and Yoona progressing?”

The two slowly exchanged glances and didn’t reply.

An audible smack came from Taeyeon’s direction. “Tippany, what the hell?” she said, her palm still flat on her forehead.

“Huh? It was just a question—”

“Progressing?” Sooyoung chimed in, curious enough to put a spoonful of rice on hold. “What is that supposed to mean?” Judging from how Seohyun and Yoona just looked at each other then shifted their attention to anywhere but toward their friends, she figured it had to be a secret.

“Wait, wait.” Hyoyeon held a hand up. The realization came to her faster than she wanted to admit. “Are you two…” She could only wave a finger side to side, her eyes darting from Seohyun to Yoona and back just as fast.

The two looked at each other once more then raised their joined hands from underneath the cafeteria table.

“OH MY FREAKING—YOU GUYS ARE TOGETHER NOW?!” Sooyoung practically jumped on the table and announced it to the entire student body. Hyoyeon pulled her back to her seat and smacked her arm. “What? I’m allowed to be shocked, Hyo! Aren’t you shocked??”

“I guess?” Aware that their friends were staring at them, Hyoyeon turned to the newly outed couple and flashed a smile. “Congratulations you two.”

Before either of Seohyun or Yoona could reply, Sooyoung spoke up again: “Hey, hey! Is this why you haven’t been going to our regular snack-a-thons recently, Yoong?”

“Ugh. You idiot!” Hyoyeon placed a hand over her partner’s mouth and almost knocked her over. “Seohyun, Yoona, ignore this doofus who always finds ways to mention food. So… since when have you two been… you know?”

“Pffft. You make it sound so weird, unnie,” Yoona said in between laughs. She felt Seohyun lean on her side until their heads touched and she turned her head slightly to press a kiss to Seohyun’s hair.

“It’s been a few days. Almost a week, I think,” Seohyun said in Yoona’s stead. The latter seemed to have forgotten ever hearing the question.

Hyoyeon broke out into a long “Awwwww…” while taking out her pent up feelings on Sooyoung’s toned arm.

“Hyo, let go! You’re gonna break it!!”

“But they’re just so cute! I can’t even!”

“I know right?” Tiffany let out a squeal, her smile reaching up to her ears in delight. She noticed that Taeyeon was smiling too despite her reservations regarding the relationship.

Hyoyeon and Sooyoung’s interrogation followed. When did it happen exactly? Where? Did someone cry? Didn’t Taeyeon try to kill Yoona? The usual questions. Seohyun and Yoona were in the middle of addressing all of them when Yuri and Jessica arrived.

“What’s going on?” Yuri asked. She already saw Sooyoung making a fuss before they got closer but she was surprised that for once it looked like it wasn’t over food.

“Dude! Yoong and Seohyun are totally a thing!”

Sooyoung’s voice reached the other table and suddenly they had an audience. Hyoyeon quickly apologized and assured them that whatever was going on wasn’t remotely interesting even though it really was.

“Wait a minute!” Jessica said as she sat down. “Are we the last to know?”

Everyone kept still except for Yoona who matched Jessica’s expression with a scowl. “I tried to tell you guys but you’re always off somewhere doing who knows what!”

“Yoong, we share the same room! Heck, the three of us sleep on the same bed—Uh, beds? Whatever it’s called. You could’ve told us then!”

There was a brief silence. Their friends felt the surrounding air get heavy and it wasn’t because of anyone’s semblance. The tension among the three teammates built up quickly and it wasn’t surprising for Yoona to be the first to crack.

“I want to at least have a proper adult conversation with you two about this important development in my life!” she said, her hand resting on top of Seohyun’s on the table for everyone to see. “You guys act like my parents so I figured you should know first. Of course I could’ve told you before we went to bed but this isn’t something to be discussed in passing. What’s my relationship? Some bedtime story?”

“Yoong, that’s not what we meant—”

“I know, Sica unnie. Still, it would’ve been nice if we could spend some time together like we used to. I would really appreciate it. But if that’s too much to ask—”

“’Course it isn’t,” Yuri said, shaking her head. She ruffled Yoona’s hair and smiled. “You’re right. We haven’t been around. So let’s go out tonight to celebrate. Just the three of us,” she quickly added before Sooyoung could ask whose treat it was and where they would be eating. Then she turned to Seohyun who stared back at her with slightly furrowed brows. “I hope you don’t mind, Seohyun. Don’t worry. I’m sure we’ll be talking about you the whole time.”

“Not that Yoong doesn’t talk about you a lot already,” Jessica added, also offering a smile.

Seohyun smiled back at her unnies and nodded. Then she felt Yoona squeeze her hand.

The interrogation started all over again so Yuri and Jessica could catch up on what had already been mentioned. All the while, the two of them felt just as Yoona described them: parents.

They knew what that meant with respect to Yoona and they wondered how different that would be when it came to each other. But that didn’t matter now. They were happy for Yoona and they figured it would take more than one full course meal to make up for their absence as of late. While their friends were still firing questions away, they each checked their available funds on their scroll and concluded that they had enough for a meal at a decent restaurant.

Come that evening, they traded in their school uniforms for their casual clothes and walked into town with Yuri leading the way. Yoona expected their destination to be the usual café that they went to or even the local bar and when they passed both of those by, she had to ask where they were taking her.

“Well… It just so happens that most parts of the commercial district are open for business again and we know you like those weird raw fish dishes so we’re taking you somewhere a bit fancy,” Yuri answered.

Yoona responded with a deep scowl. “First of all, they’re not weird. They’re delicious! Especially with that special sauce. Sica unnie likes them too, you know?”

Yuri slowed her walking pace and turned to Jessica. “You do?” she asked, genuinely clueless.

“Yeah. I’m surprised you didn’t know. I’m your partner for goodness’ sake!” Jessica knew she had the right to be a tiny bit insulted but what bothered her was the pain in her chest when she realized that her fondness for sushi probably wasn’t the only thing that Yuri didn’t know about her despite their now-growing relationship. Not that she knew for sure whether it was a relationship or not. All they had done was kiss after all. It’s… something. Isn’t it?

While she was pondering the question, Yuri and Yoona were already in the middle of an argument about whether eating raw fish was healthy.

“That’s why you’re so thin! You need protein!” said Yuri.

“This is just my body type, okay?” Yoona countered. “Look at Sooyoung unnie! All she eats is protein but she’s thin too!”

“Soo doesn’t count! She’s one of nature’s many mysteries. We’re talking about you and how I want you to get proper nutrients. Ninety percent of what you eat is sweets. You’re gonna get sick one of these days if you don’t listen to me.”

“Just because you used to drink that gunk you call tea doesn’t mean you’re an expert on eating healthy, unnie.”

“Do I not look healthy to you, Yoong?”

“That’s not even how you determine someone’s health, Yuri unnie!”

Jessica didn’t bother to get in between them, knowing that this was part of their bonding time, strange as it was. It went on until they reached the restaurant. It was fancy enough that they could barely pronounce its name.

Yoona rushed in while Yuri and Jessica spoke with the waitress in charge of the buffet. She felt like a child in a toy store except she could get everything and anything she wanted without her parents telling her they couldn’t afford it. She considered chipping in since she knew that the buffet would cost more than their usual dinners. She recalled Sooyoung wanting to come here with her but she could never agree to split the bill. Maybe I’ll bring Hyunnie here on a date instead. She was already considering the expenses when Yuri and Jessica showed up by her side.

“Good enough for you?” Yuri asked, patting Yoona’s back.

“If only I knew that you guys would bring me to a place like this, I should’ve started guilt tripping you guys a long time ago!”

“Now you’re just pushing it.”

“But unnie, I’m your favorite dongsaeng~!” Yoona forced out a squeaky voice that made Yuri and Jessica want to gouge their eyes out.

“Tsk.” Yuri stuck a finger in her ear as if feeling for what was left of her eardrum and when she pulled the finger out, out came a pop sound. Her hearing was more or less still okay, at least. She poked Yoona’s forehead to get back at her. “You might be in a relationship now but you’re still the same old kid.”

“Am not!”

“Are too!”

“You’re the kid!”

“Shut up!”

“You shut up!”

The exchange went on for another minute coupled with a lot more poking. It got worse when Yoona purposely hit Yuri’s tickle spot, the location of which will remain between them. Not even Jessica knew where it was.

She saw Yuri squirm and heard her voice go up a few octaves but she didn’t see which spot on Yuri’s body had to be poked to produce such a reaction. Smirking to herself, she decided she would find out next time they were alone. For now, she had to watch her teammates play even though it was more like they were beating each other up. The only things missing were their semblances. She decided not to get in between them again, knowing just from the looks on their faces that they hadn’t had this much fun with each other for a while now.

After a round of tickles (and some nasty looks from the other diners), Yuri finally called for a ceasefire and ruffled Yoona’s hair like she usually did and then they both looked at Jessica with wide grins.

Jessica smiled back without intending to. Yoona and Yuri looked so much alike at this moment, like siblings or even maybe like mother and daughter. If so, where did that leave her? Yoong really is like our child. Our… child. Mine and Yuri’s. Her eyes widened at the sudden thought and she looked away before they could get a chance to read the expression on her face. What on Remnant was I just thinking? She cleared and grabbed a plate for herself. “If you kids are done playing, can we eat now? We don’t have all night.”

Yuri and Yoona snuck one more poke at each other then laughed before they followed Jessica to the buffet tables and grabbed plates of their own. They sat at the first vacant table they saw with Yuri and Jessica sitting beside each other while Yoona sat across from them because she needed more space for the plates she had for each type of sushi. Not another second passed before she started on the first one.

“Okay, spill!” Yuri said, eager to know exactly what happened between Yoona and Seohyun. Whatever they heard earlier during Sooyoung and Hyoyeon’s interrogation didn’t sound like the whole truth to her. “Oh, but answer after you chew—”

“Whash choo yuu wansh shu nyow?”

“After you chew your food. Goddamit, Yoong.”

Yoona took one more roll into , chewed some more then swallowed before replying as per Yuri’s request. “Ahem. ‘Kay. So what do you want to know?”

“Everything,” Jessica cut in. She liked her fair share of sushi but she could hold off until she got her answers. “Like, how did it happen? And I mean give us the details. Not just the ‘she told me she likes me so here we are’ version. Also, what did you say? What did she say? Don’t you dare leave anything out ‘cause earlier today I noticed you giggling while telling the story and you always giggle when you lie.”

“I do not!”

As if on cue, a giggle followed.

“See?”

“Oh darn.” Yoona let out a sigh. She wasn’t going to get out of this one. Not when it was Jessica who was asking all the questions. “But just so you know, you sounded like such a mom just now. Or kinda like Taeyeon unnie whenever it’s about Hyunnie.”

“What?!” Jessica almost hurled her chopsticks like she did with her frozen needles. But then she caught the waitress’ eye and remembered that they were at a fancy restaurant with a weird name so she had to be a bit decent. “I so do not sound like Taengoo. She goes totally psycho when it comes to Seohyun and I’m nothing of the sort. Heck, I’m surprised that you’re still in one piece after actually starting this relationship.”

“Harhar. I get it. Taeyeon unnie doesn’t like me. Very funny.”

Before Jessica could reply, she felt Yuri squeeze her hand underneath the table and instead of words, a small gasp escaped her. Little did they know that Yoona saw the whole thing. It’s not like the table cloth is long enough to cover it up. Geez, these two…

“I’m sure Yoong was just kidding about you sounding like ahjumma Taeng,” Yuri told Jessica. “Let’s just listen to what she has to say first. Besides, you’re not the only one dying to know how what she sold to the devil to actually get Seohyun to like her enough to start a relationship.”

“Hey! I didn’t have to do anything like that. I’m naturally likeable—”

“Okay, you two. Enough fighting for tonight.” Unable to resist refereeing this time around, Jessica held a hand up between her teammates. “Get on with the story, Yoong.”

And so Yoona did. She left out the part about them gathering to talk about the picture Krystal sent and went straight to when the pillow war with Hyoyeon started.

“Skip that part! We already know that you won. What happened next?” Jessica demanded.

Yoona faked a pout and went on.

She told them how she panicked when Seohyun didn’t come back for her and how it got worse when she didn’t receive any replies whenever she tried to call or sent messages. “Honestly, it was like I lost a part of me. And then when I saw her standing by the window at the end of the hallway, I was the happiest I’d ever been. I know that sounds so exaggerated but that’s just how I felt. I admit that it still worried me when she didn’t say anything after I approached her but that didn’t last too long. All because of those six words that wouldn’t have meant anything to me if someone else had said them.” She paused and tried to remember how it sounded when Seohyun said them and it brought a smile to her face.

“’I want to be with you.’ That’s what she said.”

Other than Yuri and Jessica softly smiling back at her, there was no reply, much like how she was rendered speechless all those days ago.

The silence couldn’t last forever, though, and more questions started to pop up. How did you know that you liked her in the same way? Was it after you became friends? Was it before that? Did she tell you when she started to like you?  Were you even thinking of confessing to her too? Is this even your first relationship? Did you ever get jealous of Taeng? And did Seohyun tell you whether she ever got jealous of us? How does she feel about us sharing a bed? Did you tell her about the bed? How did it feel when you kissed her? You did kiss her, right? Did you guys kiss? How many times have you guys kissed?

Yoona didn’t know who was asking what anymore. Before she could answer one question, either Yuri or Jessica would bring up a new one and all she remembered toward the end were ‘like,’ ‘feel,’ and ‘kiss.’

“Unnies, chill. One question at a time. And why are you two suddenly so interested to know about us kissing? Is there something I should know, hm?”

That shut them right up.

“Uh, it’s just like you said. You’re my favorite dongsaeng~!” Yuri tried to imitate the squeaky voice but ended up choking on her own saliva. Jessica passed her a glass of water and she nodded in thanks.

“I need to go to the bathroom,” Jessica said as she stood up. “Excuse me.”

“The bathroom. Always a convenient excuse,” Yoona muttered to herself, recalling the time that she came back to their room and found the door locked then saw Yuri sweating through her uniform while Jessica was in the bathroom.

“Did you say something, Yoong?” Yuri asked.

“Oh nothing,” Yoona replied, hiding a grin. Once Jessica was out of sight she ate a few more rolls and so did Yuri. Then she took the opportunity to ask what she had been dying to ask for weeks now: “Unnie, what’s really going on with you two?”

“Huh? Where did that come from? Last I checked we were talking about you and Seohyun.”

“No. Last time I checked, you two were saying a lot of things about kissing. What's up with that?”

Yuri popped another roll into and chewed it at an excruciatingly slow pace, her eyes shifting away from Yoona’s.

“I know something’s up with you two,” Yoona said, pointing a chopstick at Yuri. “You can tell me anything. You know that, Yul.”

Yuri raised an eyebrow as she swallowed. Yoona had dropped the honorific and she knew that whenever Yoona did that she was being serious. I don’t have to tell her anything, do I? I mean—Oh no. She’s giving me that look. Oh geez. It’s that super scary look that she reserves for Sooyoung. Ugh. “Okay, you got me. Something did happen.”

Still with a bit of hesitation, she told Yoona about the kiss. Or kisses, rather. And that she was starting to question what had become of their friendship not just because of the kisses but how she only wanted them to between her and Jessica, unable to think of anyone else she would rather have that kind of intimacy with. To her surprise, she didn’t have to say much because Yoona already seemed to know what she was talking about judging from that smirk of hers that seemed to stretch on for miles.

“Wait a minute. You already knew, didn’t you? But how—”

“Did I miss anything?”

Jessica took her seat then finally started eating.

“Not really,” Yuri quickly answered. “This is good huh?” She ate another roll and almost choked on it but showed a smile nonetheless, hoping Jessica wouldn’t notice how jumpy she was. “These raw fish things aren’t so bad after all. I can see why you like them so much.”

Across from the two, Yoona groaned and did a facepalm. You like each other! Just tell the world already!! Jeebus effin’—

“Yoona, you broke your chopsticks.” Jessica pointed at the splintered pieces of wood in Yoona’s fist.

Yoona could only sigh.

“I’ll get you a new pair!” Yuri shot up from her seat faster than anyone could blink.

Jessica craned her neck and saw Yuri talking to the waitress with an absurd amount of hand gestures. None of them looked like they pertained to chopsticks. She shrugged it off as Yuri just being Yuri and got back to Yoona. “So I’ve been thinking about our conversation a while ago…”

“Of course that’s what you were doing in the bathroom, unnie,” Yoona said with a laugh.

“I’m serious.”

Yoona pursed her lips in response. Jessica was serious.

“Something happened between me and Yuri.”

As much as Yoona wanted to tell Jessica that Yuri said the same thing to her just a while ago, she kept shut, scared of what Jessica would do if she tried to interrupt again.

“She and I sort of…”

Kissed? Yoona thought.

“Kissed,” Jessica said, unaware that she had confirmed it for the second time this night alone. “A couple of times, actually.” She wrung her hands under the table and she was well aware that she had already started blushing. “And I have these feelings whenever I’m with her. I think she kinda does too. So… all in all, I think this is sort of a relationship but not like a relationship-relationship. Or maybe it isn’t? Is it? Ugh! Stress!!”

Unable to do much else, Yoona finished the rest of her food. Stress is right. I just… Ugh. I cannot. Why are my parents so stupid? This is worse than fighting Grimm all day. “Unnie, as much as I want to help you figure this out, I can’t because these are your feelings. And Yuri unnie’s too. Maybe you two should talk about it.”

Jessica nodded. She poked a roll with her chopstick and bit into it, now too unmotivated to eat it the proper way. “I know that, Yoong. But I’m not sure what this is yet. What if she just likes kissing me? What if that’s all there is to it?”

“Do you feel that it’s just all about the kissing?”

“Well…” Jessica thought back to the past few weeks. There was definitely more than just kissing. Little touches here and there that made her mind go blank. But she couldn’t tell Yoona that. She would sound too much like Taeyeon. “Uh, there’s a bit more to it, I guess.”

“Like what?”

Like just wanting to be with her. “Like wanting to—”

“Okay, here are the chopsticks.” Yuri settled the fresh pair next to Yoona’s plate and sat down just when Yoona stood up.

“Gee, all that talking sure made me hungrier. I’ll go get another three plates and some iced tea. Be right back!”

Yoona sped toward the buffet table before Yuri and Jessica could say another word.

“So…” Yuri said.

“So…” Jessica repeated.

Nothing became of the exchange. They just sat in silence while they finished their food, stealing occasional glances at each other. When Yoona came back with three plates and some iced tea, neither of them mentioned what they disclosed earlier on and they trusted that their child—their dongsaeng, rather, would be kind enough to keep it to herself. They each gave her a wide-eyed look while the other wasn’t looking and she nodded on both accounts.

After the bill was paid, they walked out of the restaurant with the same silence that hung above them inside until Yoona took Yuri’s hand then Jessica’s hand with the other while she walked in between them. They for being a kid again and as much as she wanted to argue that they were the ones being immature, she decided to cut them some slack. They did treat her to an expensive dinner after all. Anyone who was willing to do that for her deserved her utmost respect.

They turned in after each of them finished washing up with Yoona still in the middle on their joined beds, now hugging her favorite pillow that belonged to Jessica. Yuri ruffled her hair and Jessica pinched her cheek before both of them lied down next to her.

“Good night mom and dad~!”

Yuri sat bolt upright with her hands on her waist. “What the—Who’s the mom and who’s the dad?”

“I think I’m the mom,” Jessica said in a mumble, still lying down with an arm over her eyes.

“But I don’t wanna be the dad! Hey Yoong! Tell her I’m not the dad!” Yuri tried to grab the pillow that Yoona was hugging to cover her face but Yoona held on to it with an iron grip.

“I’ll tell you guys who’s who when I feel like it,” went Yoona’s muffled reply from underneath the pillow.

Sighing to herself, Yuri lied back down and rolled on her side, facing away from her teammates. She closed her eyes for a good ten minutes but didn’t come close to feeling even the tiniest bit drowsy.

When she opened her eyes again, and all she could hear was Yoona lightly snoring behind her, she thought of what she admitted to her dongsaeng at the restaurant, which she realized she also admitted to herself. She did have feelings for Jessica and whether it started with that kiss on her cheek or not probably didn’t matter if Jessica didn’t feel the same way about her. If I ask her, she’ll probably say yes, right? “But what do I ask her exactly…”

“Yuri-yah, did you say something?” went a lazy mumble from Jessica.

Without turning around, Yuri replied: “Nope. Uh, you’re still awake?”

“Obviously. I’m talking to you, aren’t I?”

“Right. Well, good night Sica. Get some rest.”

There was no reply.

Jessica removed her arm from over her eyes and she saw the ceiling in a blur, her eyes adjusting to the darkness of the room. She wasn’t used to not being able to sleep whenever she wanted. Truth be told, she hadn’t been getting that much sleep in the past few days and she had dark circles under her eyes to prove it. She rolled on her side and saw that Yoona was already fast asleep while Yuri had her back turned to them. She stretched her arm out toward her partner but pulled away at the last second. What am I supposed to say to her anyway?

She didn’t know so she let her arm settle over the pillow on top of Yoona’s stomach instead.