What should we do to get out of this sticky situation? Seohyun thought to herself while reading a book. Actually she had finished this book ages ago, but the once noisy apartment was filled with silence, as though there wasn’t anyone living in it. But there were people, not one or two but eight of them, all here in the dorm. Unable to stand the silence any longer, she decides to head out of the room.

Once she stepped into the living room, she saw Taeyeon and Tiffany. Taeyeon had her head on Tiffany’s lap, taking an afternoon nap. Tiffany is just scrolling her phone using one hand while the other is combing through Taeyeon’s hair. It’s her usual habit because she knows by doing this, Taeyeon would be able to sleep better and that is what she really needs right now. At the dining table, Sooyoung was with a bowl of cereal, probably a replacement for the lunch that they had all skipped earlier. But she wasn’t really eating, more like poking around it mindlessly. Yuri was at one corner, doing her usual yoga with Hyoyeon but her usual vibe was off. Sunny and Yoona were not around, they are probably in their own room. It’s really depressing for her to see her unnies in such a state, they usually had a lot of laughter, a lot of energy in them. Why did it feel like they were just living zombies now. She made her way to the kitchen to get a drink while in deep thoughts. 

*Clank!* 

Suddenly a loud, glass shattering sound brought everyone back to their senses. They all rush to the source which is the kitchen, Sooyoung being the closest reached first. All she saw was broken glass on the floor and their maknae sitting next to it with her head bowed so low that no one could see her expression. “Hyunnie, are you okay?” she asked.

*sobs*

The rest crowded around in no time. Instead of answers, all they heard were her sobs. Tiffany and Hyoyeon immediately went to her to console and bring her out, while Yuri and Sooyoung went to clear the glass shards on the floor.

“Are you hurt anywhere? Do you need to see a doctor?” Tiffany asked while Hyoyeon examined her hands and feet to ensure there were no cuts. While shaking her head, she also points to her chest, “It hurts a lot here and I don't know how to stop it..” she said while crying.

“Girls, I think it’s time for us to talk. No point delaying further.” Taeyeon said while she thought back about what happened earlier today. 

Flashback

They had no recollection of what happened during the fan meet, no recollection of how they came back yesterday and what they did. They only remember coming back to the dorm to find Jessica’s stuff still here but there was no sight of her. Her phone still remains uncontactable. Their manager has managed to get them a schedule to meet the CEO and board this morning. Everyone was up on time and there was no delay in getting them to the office.

They were brought into the boardroom, there seated in it were all the big shots of the company. They took their seats and waited for the meeting to start.

“So, we heard you girls request to meet me. I assume it is regarding Jessica’s case?” Kim Young Min started it off.

“Yes, as the leader of SNSD, I would like to find out what exactly is this that is happening? We were not involved in such a discussion before, why did it go out of control and ended up in this mess?” Taeyeon spoke up. 

“As you had known, Jessica has been establishing her own brand for some time. And it seems to the board that she is placing more focus on it then the Group. It was a painful decision but we have decided to let her go…”

“What kind of rubbish is this?! Let her go?! The way it is handled, certainly lives up to the name coined by the new media! IT’S CALLED KICKING HER OUT!” Sooyoung refuted, she can’t believe the outright lie told by their own CEO.

“Well, everyone has their own interpretation, I can’t stop you...”

“Why?” Taeyeon said it way too calmly that it suddenly silenced the whole room. “Why give her hope and then take it away in such cruel ways?”

“The board did not expect her involvement to such extent, and to make matters worse, Cordiel’s involvement in it, the conflict of interest in there.”

“Even so, can’t we have a discussion with her to talk about it? From my understanding, there wasn’t any confirmation on her side regarding the extent of Cordiel’s involvement, the company should not make decisions based on reported rumours.” Tiffany states.

“Well, this is the board’s decision. There will be no retraction of it.”

“Then why drag us down? We did not participate in any of the decision processes, but we were dragged in. How are we supposed to face Jessica?” Yuri asked

“It was regrettable that the news was released in such a manner, however to not add more fuel to it, we wouldn’t be giving further comments other than confirming it.”

“So we conveniently made the scapegoats?! What if Jessica believed? Yuri couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“I have no further comments. This case is closed and if you would excuse me, I have to attend another meeting.” 

With that they were ushered out of the room and back to their dormitory. 

End of flashback

“What are your thoughts?” Taeyeon asked, meeting their gazes. Everyone was quiet and that silence was deafening, at least to Taeyeon.

“I could start first… you know being with you girls has been the best thing that happened to me. We had our share of fights and happiness and I must say, every moment together is memorable for me. As your leader, I am honoured and proud of each one of you, if sacrificing me can bring back Sica, I am prepared to do so..” Taeyeon said and she saw some of the girls crying. Tiffany immediately went over to give her a bone-crushing hug and that caused Taeyeon’s tears to spill uncontrollably. “Don’t be silly TaeTae…” Tiffany said while soothing her back. Honestly Taeyeon has been under a lot of pressure from the start and it seems to take a toll on her, physically and mentally. Not forgetting the last parting words from their CEO, “Don’t go against the company or you could lose more, especially you Taeyeon”

“Unnie…” The maknaes were crying at the thought of losing one more sister.

“Taeyeon ah, don’t... don’t do this” Sunny said. “Appa called me earlier, they saw the news… and he said not to do anything rash...Samchon will get to the bottom of this...so Taeyeon ah don’t”

“Sunny is right Taeng, we can’t afford to lose one more sister” Hyoyeon said. 

“So what do we do now? or do we do nothing?” Yuri asked, she is feeling indignant that they were made to be scapegoats and losing Sica.

“You are right, we should do nothing now” Tiffany said after making sure Taeyeon is calm, gasps can be heard.

“Hear me out first...right now the situation is disadvantageous to us. Pitting against the company is as good as self-destruction, I know we are all ready to throw that away for Jessi but does that guarantee Jessi’s return? And with the media hot on our tails, we are like prized meat that they can’t wait to rip apart. Any comments from us is just fuel to this news and it will be never-ending. We all know the best way for news to die down is by not commenting, as long as there is no fuel, people will lose interest and move on.” Tiffany reasoned.

“But then we will carry the name of ousting Sica unnie out” Yoona said.

“It’s a bitter pill to swallow but at least there are 8 of us to share. Jessi is all alone and I believe people who know us personally won’t believe it. Same for our fans, if they truly loved us, they will know we are not such people.” Taeyeon explained.

“Then what if Sica believed it?” Yuri questioned.

“Not if we explained to her? On the surface we make it seem like we are doing nothing, but we will try to reach out to Jessi privately.Try to explain this whole bizarre situation, my gut feels there is more than it seems.” Tiffany concluded. Silence filled the air with everyone pondering on this method. Was this really the best they could do? Is there really no way out for them?

“I know it is unfair to be made a scapegoat for decisions that we did not agree to, I hated it as well. But I hated more that Jessi is now alone without us. If this is what I can do to protect her, I will.” Tiffany said.

“I agree with Fany, I am in this for Sica” Taeyeon voiced as well.

“Me too” “Okay” The rest of the girls agreed to it as well. Suddenly, Yuri stood up and walked into the kitchen, surprising the rest as she did not say anything.

“I will go to her.” Sooyoung said and followed her into the kitchen. Not long after, both of them came back but with cans and bottles, more accurately alcoholic drinks. Everyone got a can and Yuri took the lead to open her’s. 

“For Sica.” Yuri said softly, raising her can. Sica-ah, this may not be the solution to our situation but I hope you understand our rationale. The last thing we want is to hurt you further.

“Unnie, let’s promise that we won’t give up trying to reach out to Sica unnie.” maknae added before everyone downed in one shot.

Because we love you, we want to protect you.