Chapter 4

Flashback

16th February 2008 

“Yoona!!!”

Yoona turned around to the voice belonged to the person who meant the world to her then. She looked absolutely breath-taking in her wedding dress with her hair was coiffed perfectly. Lately, she seemed to use the word ‘perfect’ a lot since she had the most perfect woman in the whole world by her side now. Just now, the sound of her name came from Yuri’s mouth was absolutely perfect. Yuri made everything around her perfect.

Yuri ran to Yoona, carried a happy smile on her face as she wrapped around Yoona’s neck a red scarf.

“I knitted it myself, what do you think? I know that this color will look the best on you”. Yuri said, her eyes were on the scarf on Yoona’s neck.

Yoona smiled at Yuri, not looking at the scarf on her neck “Perfect!”

Yuri looked up from her scarf “How can you know? You don’t even look at it” Yuri said as she raised her eyebrow.

“I know it’s perfect… just like you are” Yoona said while reaching her hand out to touch Yuri’s cheek.

“Look at her, she don’t even cook us a meal and now she knit a scarf for Yoona herself” Misun, Yuri’s mom, said

“Omma…” Yuri blushed at her mom’s complain

“Come on, honey. Look how happy she is, you should be happy for her too.” Hye-sung, Yuri’s dad said while wrapping his arm around his wife in order to pull her closer to him.

They were at a garden behind Yuri’s parents’ house in L.A to celebrate their private wedding with a few relatives and guests. The ceremony was finished about 30 minutes ago. There were only the newly-wed couple and the bride’s parents left in the garden.

“Yuri-yah, there is someone waiting for you outside.” An aged woman called out for Yuri

“Huh? Who is that? I thought all the guests have left. Do you know that person, haetmom?” Yuri asked the old woman

“No, I think she’s not one of the guests. Do you want to see her or not? If you don’t then I can tell her to leave”

“No, that’s okay. I’ll see her” Yuri said then she turned to Yoona “Wait for me here, okay?” 

As Yuri was about to walk away, Yoona held on to her hand and stopped her “No goodbye kiss for me?” she pouted

Yuri once again blushed at her sudden request; she looked at her parents who were watching the whole scene. She contemplated whether she should show their affection in front of her parents or not. Then she looked at Yoona who was pouting,'Aish, why does she have to be so cute?'. She finally gave in and gave Yoona a kiss on her cheek.

“That’s it?” Yoona said, obviously not satisfied with only a kiss on the cheek.

“Come on Yoona-yah, my parents are here.” Yuri whispered to Yoona sweetly.

“Fine.” Yoona said as she reluctantly let go of Yuri’s hands.

Yoona’s eyes followed Yuri’s figure as she followed haetmom. Yuri’s parent had a smile on their face while watching the two interacting. There was a time that Misun doubted her decision which was letting her daughter to get married to a girl was right or not. But now, by the look upon Yuri’s face, how she smiled when she looked at Yoona, how she blushed at Yoona’s playful acts she knew for sure that she made the right decision.

“So, are you gonna stay here with us or go back to your hotel?” Misun asked

“I’m really sorry, Omoni but I think we’ll have to go back to the hotel soon because I have something prepared for her there” Yoona smiled at the thought of surprising Yuri when they got back to the hotel.

“I only have one daughter, that’s why I love her so much. I don’t know what I’ll do to you if you hurt her or make her cry so take good care of her for me, okay?” Hye-sung said or maybe threatened. 

“You don’t have to worry about that, Aboji. I love her too much to do that.” Yoona said confidently.

“Good. I think it’s getting dark now, you should go find Yuri and head back to the hotel now” Hye-sung said

“Yeah, I think I’ll get going soon. You guys should rest now. I hope I’ll see you guys again soon Omoni, Aboji.” Yoona said and then she bowed the elders and they bid their goodbyes.

Yoona went to ask haetmom where Yuri was and she soon found Yuri at the front door. She was standing with her back against the wall and waiting patiently for Yuri to finish her conversation. As she stood there, she could hear Yuri’s voice clearly through the glass door.

“What did you expect me to do, Nicole? You left me alone on that cruise ship with one phone call while my family knew that I’m going to get married to you on that cruise ship. Do you know how hard it is for me to persuade my parents to allow this marriage? What about my mom? She would have had a heart-attack if I told her I’m not going to get married anymore.” Yuri said, annoyed.

“So, you just see that Yoona girl as a lifesaver, don’t you?” 

“Yeah…”

Yoona couldn’t believe in her ears anymore. Yuri just said that she saw her as a lifesaver for this urgent situation. She walked away slowly from the front door, the scarf on her neck slipping slowly until it reached the ground. She always asked herself how could Yuri loved her, a person who just lost everything, a person who she just met for only 7 days. Now she had her answer, it’s really simple: she was just a lifesaver.

Yoona exited the house through the yard’s back door. She couldn’t bring herself to face Yuri’s parents, she couldn’t bring herself to face Yuri. As she walked alone on the road, she came across a bar.‘At times like this, alcohol seemed to be the best drug help you forget’, she thought to herself as she entered the bar. 

She sat herself on the stool and ordered 10 mugs of beers. How could she be so naive, so gullible to believe that Yuri was actually in love with her. The moment she heard the word ‘Yeah’, it seemed like the sky was falling down on her. She wanted to get herself wasted. She wanted to forget the pain she was feeling, those memories about the last 7 days and most of all she wanted to forget Yuri. 

As she was drinking, there was a blonde approached her.

“Why do you look so sad? Mind telling what’s wrong, beautiful girl?” She asked in English, smirking.

“What the he** did you know? Just go away already.” Yoona said rudely but fluently in English.

“Okay, okay…no need shouting, I just want to have some fun, you know?” the blonde said as she walked away

Just as the blonde was about to walk away, there was some crazy revenge idea popped into Yoona’s head. Or maybe it’s just alcohol got to her. Yoona held the blonde’s hand to stop her from going.

“Did you just say that you wanted to have some fun?” Yoona said, smirked at the blonde

&&&&&&

Grand Hotel 

Here she was lying on top of some blonde she didn’t even know on their bed in their hotel room. Her mind was not working properly anymore. All that she could feel was hurt, betrayed and fooled. She was not even sure if she was doing the right thing but she did anyway.

As Yoona heard some heavy footsteps run towards her room, she knew it was Yuri. Soon, the door burst opened. 

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” Yuri yelled at her.

Yoona turned around, put on the fake smirk ever then rolled to her side so that she could face Yuri. The moment she saw Yuri, even though she didn’t want to admit it to herself, her heart ached when she saw Yuri was on the verge of tears. All she wanted to do at that very moment was running to Yuri and hugging her tight, telling Yuri how foolish she was for doing this. But she didn’t do any of that, something inside her was telling her how horrible Yuri was and she deserved to be treated like that.

“Isn’t it obvious what we are doing right now, if you are really that clueless then just wait there I will show in action myself.” Yoona said, that fake smirk was still on her face.

Yoona closed her eyes as she expected to receive a slap in her face but Yuri never did. She opened her eyes when she heard the loud sound of the door slammed. Yoona knew this would be the last time she saw Yuri.

“So, the intruder is gone now. Where were we?” the blonde who was totally clueless about the situation said.

“You still didn’t get it, did you? This game is over, I want you to be out of my sight when I come back” Yoona said seriously as she got off the bed and went to the bathroom, ignored the completely confused blonde on the bed.

Yoona stepped into the bathroom, stared at her reflection in the mirror. They said that ‘Revenge is sweet’ right? Well, that’s a lie because she didn’t feel better at all. She just felt worse.

End of flashback 

7th February 2011

6:10pm

Till this day, Yoona still asked herself if she did the right thing and as an answer to that question she told herself that Yuri deserved it. That was what she got when she saw Yoona as a lifesaver while Yoona truly loved her with all her heart. Yet when she saw that blank expression on Yuri’s face and the way Yuri ran away from her, she couldn’t help but ask herself , Am I doing the right thing?

Jessica watched as Yoona stared into nothing. She wanted to ask Yoona how she was feeling, what she was thinking, if she still loved Yuri but Sica didn’t ask anything. She knew that even if she asked Yoona she would always response with a simple ‘Yes’, ‘No’ or ‘Nothing’. She hated when Yoona treated her as a stranger like this. Yoona was always the type of person who kept everything to herself; she always go around and act like she’s the happiest person in the whole world but in fact she cried herself to sleep every night.

Flashback

18th February 2008 

11:50pm

“Aish, you’re supposed to help me take care of Yoona not getting yourself wasted just like her” Jessica said while kicking the couch which the sleeping Taeyeon lying on.

“Cheers… let’s forget about her Yoona, you have us now” Taeyeon said clearly in her sleep.

Jessica shook her head at Taeyeon, ‘Well, at least she still care about Yoona in her sleep’, she thought. Sica went to Yoona’s room to check on her. ‘Why does she have to get herself wasted like this? She wasn’t even this drunk when she heard that her father’s business went bankrupt’, Sica thought as she looked at the unconscious Yoona lying on the bed. Sica sat herself on the bed, leaned her forehead toward Yoona’s. 'Great, now she have a fever too'. As she was about to get up, she felt Yoona’s hand hold her back.

“Yuri-yah…Yuri-yah…why are you doing this to me? Why…?” Yoona murmured in her sleep as a tear leaked down her cheek.

Jessica looked down at Yoona then she wiped the tear away from Yoona’s cheek. She didn’t know the reason why but her heart ached so much when she saw how much Yoona cared for Yuri, how much Yuri meant to Yoona even though they just know each other for 7 days. She gently loosen Yoona’s grip on her hand and got off the bed.

She returned to Yoona’s room with two wet towels on her hand. Sica sat down and placed the wet towel on Yoona’s forehead then she took another one to wipe the sweat came from Yoona’s body. She stayed up all night to take care of Yoona just like that and silently hoped that the next morning Yoona would feel better.

&&&&&&

19th February 2008

8:30am 

Yoona waked up as she clutched her head in pain caused the towel dropped down the bed. She didn’t remember anything from the previous night except drinking with Taeyeon and Sica. She didn’t want to think anymore because the pain in her head was killing her. Aish, I needed to stop drinking too much.While she was sitting on her bed gathered her thoughts, Sica stepped into the room.

“Ah, you’re awake now. I brought you chicken soup since you had a fever last night” Sica said as she set the tray down on the bed. “Eat it while it’s still hot”

Yoona looked at the chicken soup on the bed and then she looked at Sica “Uhm… you made this? Is it… safe?” Yoona stirred the soup with a spoon, not willing to eat it.

“Jeez, don’t worry, Taeyeon is the one who made it” Sica said, offended

“I didn’t mean anything but you’ve got to admit that your cooking is not… safe” Yoona said as she began to eat the soup.

“How are you feeling right now?” Sica asked

“Good except for the headache, it’s killing me”

“What about… her?” 

Yoona stopped eating her soup for a moment then she looked up at Sica “Didn’t I told you guys last night while we were drinking that I don’t care about her anymore? She means nothing to me now.”

“Really?” Sica asked, somehow Yoona hurt her even more when she pretended she was okay.

“Why would I lie to you? You’re my best friend, right?”

Sica stayed silent. ‘Right, just best friend.’

End of flashback 

After that day, Yoona didn’t believe in love or feelings anymore. She started to go to bars or pubs every night with Sica and Taeyeon, hooked up with some random girls, with her appearance and smooth talking it wasn’t that hard for her to get what she wanted. Also, since that incident Jessica had never seen Yoona’s smile, she only smirked or maybe laughed at Taeyeon’s silly joke but never a smile.

“Come on, Yoona-yah let’s get to work now” Jessica said as she hit Yoona lightly on her arm to get her attention.

“Okay, let’s go” 

&&&&&&

Room A206

“Yuri-yah, are you okay?” Fany finally asked, she was really worried about Yuri. Since she saw Yoona, Yuri hadn’t spoken one single word. She had been standing on the balcony for quite some time now.

“I’m a fool, aren’t I?” Yuri asked not looking back at Fany.

Taken back by the sudden question, Fany didn’t really know what to say “Why… why did you say so?”

“Because after all these years I can’t bring myself to forget her, I even ran away from her earlier. I hate myself for letting this affect me so much, for making me a fool of myself in front her. I don’t know what to do anymore Fany-ah. Maybe you’re right, my decision to go on this trip was a complete mistake. I shouldn’t have gone in the first place.” Yuri said a tear leaked down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away.

“You know what?” Fany who was now standing beside Yuri on the balcony said as she put a hand on Yuri’s shoulder “I think it’s a good thing that you meet her on this cruise ship”

“What do you mean?” Yuri asked, confused.

“I think the reason why you couldn’t get over her for the past 3 years because you didn’t meet her in person like this. Just take this as a challenge, first you need to go on this date with Siwon and try your best to enjoy yourself while you’re with him. Remember this: you were alone then but not now because I will always be by your side this time when you need me.” Fany said as she smiled at Yuri.

“Thanks Fany-ah, I really don’t know what I’d do without you” Yuri was really touched by Fany’s sincere words. She pulled Fany in for a long hug and Fany stayed like that for as long as Yuri needed her.

&&&&&&&

Dining Room

7:10pm

Yoona didn’t know why she was standing here watching the happy couple who were enjoying their meal at the table. As a Cruise Director, she had tons of works waiting for her to do but here she was hiding behind the restaurant’s front door observing the couple from afar.

As Yoona watched the boy pulled the chair back for the girl to sit down and raised his hand to fix her hair, she couldn’t help but thought to herself, ‘Jeez, what a jerk!’. She suddenly felt this urge to approach them, for what purpose she didn’t know all she knew was that she wanted to be as close to them as possible. 

“Yoona! Yoona! You ne-mmhmh” Jason said loudly while running toward Yoona but he didn’t get to finish his sentence because Yoona had raised her hands to cover his mouth.

When he stopped talking, she removed her hands from his mouth and placed her forefinger on her lips telling him to be quiet. Yoona looked back and forth afraid that someone noticed she was here. “Lower your voice, please” Yoona whispered to him.

“Oh, I’m sorry but… why do we have to talk like this?” Jason asked, confused.

“Ah…I…uhm… we have to keep quiet in order not to distract our guests. So what’s the matter?” Yoona quickly asked so that he couldn’t ask further questions.

“Ah, you know Mark who’s supposed to be the dolphin mascot for tonight special event just tripped down the stairs and now his feet’s injured” Jason explained the situation to her.

“That’s not good; the mascot’s event is the main course of tonight show for dinner.” 

“So, are we gonna cancel this event?” Jason asked

Yoona looked back at the restaurant and an idea popped into her head, “Don’t worry Jason, let me handle this”, Yoona grinned mischievously 

7:30pm

It had been a long time since Yuri went on a date and she didn’t expect it to be so boring like this. Siwon was a really good guy, he was polite, handsome and rich enough to go on a cruise trip but she couldn’t help but think that there was something missing about him, something really important.

“So, do you usually work late??" Siwon asked

Yet, another question about her work, he spent the last 30 minutes asking about nothing but her work. She got a feeling that he was more interested in her work than her. “Uhm… Not all the time only when I didn’t finish my work. I hate going home knowing that I have unfinished work” Yuri answered, bored out of her mind.

“Ah, I see.” Siwon said as he nodded his head. “What about the…” His question was cut short by Yuri’s excited voice

“Look, it’s a dolphin mascot.”

“Ladies and Gentlemen, may I have your attention please? For tonight special event we’ll choose a lucky guest to dance with our mascot.” The MC announced loudly as he tapped on the mascot’s shoulder.

The spotlight started to move around the room then it stopped where Yuri sat.

“The winner’s been decided. Let’s have a round of applause for the lady over there” The MC said as he motioned his hand in Yuri’s direction.

“Huh? What? I don’t know if…” Yuri didn’t get to finish her sentence as the mascot had pulled her out of the table and leaded her to the dance floor.

The mascot held on both of Yuri’s hand tightly and twirled her around in circle for a couple of times then dragged her around the dance floor for the crowd to see them clearly. The mascot seemed to enjoy the dance while Yuri was completely annoyed. She wore a long black strapless dress so it was really difficult for her to move let alone to dance. She tried her best to avoid stepping on her own dress. 

“Can you… please slow… down?” Yuri asked out of breath

The mascot didn’t reply instead he or she quicken the paces, caused Yuri had no other choices but stepped on her dress. Yuri began to lose her balance and so does the mascot since they were holding on each other. Soon they both fell to the floor with Yuri on top the mascot. As they fell down the head of the mascot costume fell off revealed none other than…

“Yoona” Yuri exclaimed, surprised.

“Hi…” Yoona said awkwardly as she looked away to avoid eye contact with her.

TBC