"You better think about this seriously, Sica unnie. Just because you messed up big time, everything's over so fix this, I'll help you as much as I can."

Wheein's phone beeped, flashing the known unsaved number on her lockscreen. Glancing at her terrified yet oblivious sister, she immediately typed a reply for their settled meeting in a café tomorrow morning.

To: +xxxxxxxxxxx
Excellente, 7:00 am? Might want to miss class and hear you out with no worries

Jessica was still on shock but her face showed nothing but neutrality. She wanted to show how scared she was yet the struggle of her double-edged beauty hindered her freedom to do so. 

"What time is it?" Jessica stiffly asked.

"6:43 pm." Wheein promptly replied.

The older one sighed heavily, almost hitching. "Please talk Dad about this." She took strides forward to sit down beside Wheein, taking her hands into a firm grasp.

"I will do my best. I have my own ways and it's better if I do it on my own." Wheein said. Yuri's concern was on her mind. Obviously, if Jessica knew that Yuri was helping Wheein all throughout the mess, she would lash out and spit the blame to her.

The blame, the blame that she's the reason why their fathers proposed a joint corporation, her immaturity yet crucial reason why she blatantly hurt Jessica without doubts.

"Fine, I will play this out." Jessica sounded distressed, making Wheein to pat her sister's bare shoulder soundly. "Don't lose hope. The three of us promised each other that we will all escape this hellish labyrinth, right?"

Jessica remembered the sworn promise two years ago when Krystal paved a bridge between the two conflicted sisters for the first time. The three of them were crying altogether, weeping about Krystal's forced marriage. Wheein was furious, all in all but she managed to vent everything out with fruitful actions, swerving the marriage into an inheritance.

She literally submitted herself to become a puppet under her greedy father's name just to derail the arranged marriage of Krystal. This was the greatest sacrifice she had, given that she was just six years old and she was still recovering from her deep scars.

"Yeah, I remember..." Jessica muttered, the nostalgia hit her anxious heart, slowly calming down with the precious memory.

"Don't worry, I'll do it again this time. Trust me, unnie." Wheein smiled, giving her one of the rarest genuine smiles she had kept inside, only reserved for the ones who are worth enough to see it.

Jessica and Krystal were more than enough.

"Enough. Don't act like a hero, you're sacrificing too much," Jessica hissed under her breath.

"Hero? I am no hero. This is all for you, guys. The love and acceptance that the both of you gave to me unconditionally are more than my wretched life can offer."

"Stop it!"

"Unnie, I'm still hoping. Solid three, it is. No one gets left out including myself so calm down and trust me, okay?"

Jessica clenched her fists, suppressing the urge to slap Wheein from her martyrdom. For the several years they had been together, she did nothing but to insult and step Wheein's pride into bits. She thought the latter's mind and heart would be filled with vengeance but she was wrong.

"I did nothing but to hurt you. Why are you like this?"

"It's simply because you're my sister. That's all, nothing less, nothing more." Wheein gave a wide smile. "I want our relationship to be good and fine. I'm sure you didn't expect that you had an illegitimate sister so no worries."

It didn't sound like a spat which made Jessica's guilt invade her burdened heart, regretting her abusive actions towards Wheein whom she didn't deserve. "Stop sacrificing yourself, not again, okay? Help me without losing yourself, please." She hung her head down, eyes teary.

Wheein stood up and went to the closet, opening it with a loud creak due to its aging structure. "That's why I told you to trust me. You do know that I already stopped doing that. If I ever continued to act like a hero then I'm sure I'm married to someone who took me for granted far, far away." With her hands gently looking for decent clothes, she chuckled disappointingly.

"I trust you. Just..." Jessica hitched, her pounding heart screamed anxiousness but a hearty laugh was heard, coming from Wheein.

"Just come back with us?" Wheein faced her sister with a set of clothes in hand, eyes bore onto Jessica's, "Of course. Besides, after all of this mess, I'd like to have a pep talk with you. Unusual of me, huh?" She went beside her sister and sluggishly sat down, the set of clothes placed on Jessica's lap.

Jessica stayed quiet, raising her head to look at Wheein's expression which she always found unreadable but this time, she had read one true emotion.

Confliction.

"I do think that I met that girl back then..." Wheein mumbled and Jessica heard it clear in her ears, frowning with her mumbled words.

"Girl?" Jessica inquired.

Wheein sighed, "The wonders of destiny, how powerful does this ingredient would be?" She smirked and hastily stood up, striding to the door. "I'll entertain the visitor, dress up."

Before Jessica could ask why she ignored her question, the door clicked close.

A pep talk? There's something that Wheein couldn't handle by herself...?

-

Hyejin lied down on the bed, her shiny hair sprawled all over, reflecting the moonlight shining from the window. Her thoughts were more than a World War could offer, opposite from who she usually was– a composed and organized thinker.

She and Byulyi had talked about that girl a lot of times way b