Chapter 38

Like before

"Why are you laughing?" Tiffany asked the older girl who was rolling from side to side on the red and white checkered mat.

"Nothing. It's just funny." Taeyeon tapped on the ground, stiffling her laughter.

The hallyu star's manager pouted and crossed her arms as she stretched both her legs on the cloth. She had her pair of pumps sitting pretty at the edge of the quilt and in the middle of the sprawled blanket was an open box of pizza and a platter of half-consumed baked chicken and torn bread pieces. To accompany their meal, both had cranberry juice on a pair of wine glasses that were pushed aside, almost empty on the bottom. "Well I told you we were eating outside didn't I?"

Taeyeon propped herself on both her elbows and her hands supported her head. She was now on her belly as she playfully flapped her legs into the air like she was smimming and paddling.

"Yeah. Outside. Outside my house. We're just at my lawn Tiffany! For a while back at SMent, I thought we were going to some secluded restaurant of some sort."  Taeyeon continued to chuckle.

"Technically, I am still correct. Plus, don't you think this is more romantic than a candle-lit dinner at a hotel rooftop?" Tiffany boasted as she readjusted her position and laid her palms down to the ground and leaned back so she could view the clear sky above with the thousand prickling lightbulbs above.

The shorter gal lifted herself up unto a cow position and crawled on all fours. She the plopped herself on the picnic quilt and laid her head resting on Tiffany's thighs. While viewing the same dark sky bedecked with tiny lights, Taeyeon jeered. "Okaaaaayy....so you prefer chicken and pizza on a picnic under the stars." 

"Correction, under and WITH a star." Tiffany looked down to her lap and shifted so she could tap the nose of the hallyu star.

"Yah. As expected from my smart manager." Taeyeon remarked, and rolled off to one side so she would be facing Tiffany's tummy. She brought both her hands up to her head and made a pillow out of her fingers. "Ah. I hope we could do this everyday... You're lap feels so warm that I could sleep here."

Tiffany caressed Taeyeon's cheeks and softly the short hair that sprawled on her almost bare thighs. "We'll have to camp out next time. Maybe during the day. And hopefully it won't rain and be sunny..."

"Sunny..." Taeyeon repeated the English word, her voice trailing into breaths with her eyes closed.

A moment of silence crept between the two with the choir of cicadas lingering in the background. Tiffany continued staring at her lover in her lap. "Tae?"

"Mmmmm?" the other responded with a mere hum as she was close to drifting into sleep.

"Did you have other friends other than Yuri?" Tiffany poised the question slowly, leaning back again on her arms like they were stilts.

Taeyeon rolled back up on supine position and fixed her neck so it would rest more comfortably over Tiffany's creamy thighs. Taeyeon hesitated on answering the question but didn't find anything wrong with it so she slowly narrated back. "Eh? Well...I had two close ones during training and another...One was BoA-unnie since she was an older trainee and then there was Soonkyu, another kid slightly younger than me...but she left the company, I think it was about 3 years ago. I haven't heard from her since. She didn't even leave me a letter or contact. Then there was another one, too. She left...she...she couldn't take the pressure."

Tiffany felt saddened by the loss of company in her lover's past. She didn't realize that Taeyeon was indeed alone.

Taeyeon continued talking, sometimes, lifting her hand to express herself while speaking. "Basically they all left me. BoA's been busy with work and so did I. I had to perform most of the time. Here and also in other countries. Schedules filled up my everyday activities and I wasn't able to visit my family very often. My brother has joined the military and eventually, I lost attachments towards people. Then Yuri came. She was a junior dancer aiming to enter SMent. We became friends when she tried to audition as a back-up dancer for another artist. Through her, I met Hyoyeon and Nicole. They would sometimes invite me out but with the fans and all, more often it was difficult. Other than them, I had no one else."

Taeyeon finished her little story with a question addressed to the one caressing her head."Why are you asking all of a sudden Tiffany?"

"Nothing in particular. I was just curious...” Tiffany brushed off the topic. She didn’t realize how awful it might have been to endure being alone despite the screaming thousands that a hallyu star would have on stage. Unconsciously, Tiffany murmured the name that the girl she met early that morning mentioned. “Jumtaeng"

Taeyeon heard Tiffany loud and clear and it was a nickname that was used by only one person she knew.  She rolled back her head towards Tiffany’s abdomen and asked. "What did you call me pany-ah?"

"Jum---" Tiffany was about to say the nickname again but Taeyeon’s locks had brushed down in between her thighs as the hallyu star moved her head from side to side. "Ah! Stop tickling me!"

Taeyeon brought her hand up and grabbed on to Tiffany’s waist, just in between her ribcage and her buttocks, which caused the brunette to wriggle some more. "Uwaaaa!! I didn't know you were this ticklish." Tiffany eventually laid down on the ground, her upper body nestled on the grass as she fought her way out of Taeyeon’s grip. However, the shorter gal found it amusing that her lover was too sensitive at certain places.

 "Kuchi kuchi koo!!!" Taeyeon continued to tickle.

"Ah! Haahahaha! Hajima! Tae! Yah! Stop it!" Tiffany kicked her legs and scrambled to her feet. She stood up from where she had lain and glowered at Taeyeon. "Yah!!! Kim Taeyeon, you're so dead!"

Taunting her manager, Taeyeon stood up and  jumped from left to right as Tiffany tried to catch her. The shorter gal frog leaped over the mat and Tiffany chased down her girlfriend in circles in the little backyard. In a split second, Tiffany caught Taeyeon’s shirt and she pulled the kid-like singer to her arms, accidentally ripping the hem of the cotton Tee. With eyes wide open and a piece of ripped cloth in her hands, Tiffany looked back at Taeyeon and they stared at each other as if time stopped. The hallyu star then bellowed an ahjumma laugh cocking her head back and then collapsing back down on the mat. She didn’t even care that a long slit had ran down the side of her shirt. The little accident plus Tiffany’s dumbstruck face was too funny for her to bear standing up.

Tiffany followed Taeyeon on the quilt and they convulsed together in laughter. They held their bellies and rolled on the mat just out of pure joy. Sluggishly, Taeyeon then positioned herself sideways, with her elbow supporting the side of her head. Her manager scooted over and laid her back and head over Taeyeon’s abdomen. They stayed in such position for a few more minutes as their laughter died down and only the chirping insects chorused in the yard.

"Tiffany..."Taeyeon suddenly decided to cut through the cicada’s song.

"Ne." Tiffany replied as her head rode on Taeyeon’s stomach.

"What would you do if the public knows about us? Will you get scared?" Taeyeon softly whispered as she collapsed her arm and rested on the ground.

Tiffany rolled over once again and moved over the mat so that she’d be resting on her lover’s arm and facing Taeyeon when she looks up. At this momnet, they were now lying on the mat side by side. "Wae? Why are you thinking that way?"

"I just want to ask you what you would do." the chesnut-haired gal breathed in deep and averted her gaze back to the night sky.

Tiffany pinched Taeyeon’s chin and guided the hallyu star’s face back down to her gaze. With her crescent shaped eyes, Tiffany dove deep into a stare into Taeyeon’s own eyes and promised. "I won't leave you. Even if the public tries to separate me from you, I won't allow it. We can go to LA if you want to.  We can leave this place and go somewhere else. But one thing I am sure about would be I wouldn't want to be away from you. I’ll stay beside you."

Taeyeon smiled and kissed Tiffany’s forehead before a tear could actually form on the sides of her eyes. She placed her other arm over the brunette’s shoulder and asked another set of questions. "Tiffany…How would you feel if you were in my position and then I leave you because this hallyu thing is too much and the public pressure would be too much to handle? What if I just decided to quit one day as, let's say your manager, without a proper goodbye? Will you be able to forgive that person? Will you forgive me?"

With her heart beating oddly fast, Tiffany popped her head above Taeyeon’s arm and faced the older girl at eye level. Clearly, a worried expression tainted Tiffany’s face as she asked Taeyeon back.  "Tae? What are you trying to say?"

"Just answer the question Tiffany." Taeyeon requested, looking into Tiffany’s eyes and not blinking.

"Well, if you did that to me. I'd get mad. I'd be furious. I might even hunt you down..." Tiffany cupped Taeyeon's cheeks and playfully pretended like she had a gun in her hands, pointing her finger at the hallyu star. However, seeing that Taeyeon had a grave expression on her small face, Tiffany paused for a while and stopped her puerile act.

"But I also believe time heals wounds. If time had passed and I found somebody else that I would cherish more than that other person, then I'd move on. I'd rather pour my love for someone in the present rather than the past person who had hurt me. Thinking about it though. I believe it'd be better also if you would come back and ask forgiveness. If you left me, you should at least say sorry. It'll be hard for me to accept it but the only way to set both our hearts free would be for me to forgive and you to be forgiven." Tiffany continued, refraining from Taeyeon's gaze and just stared down at Taeyeon's lips.

All of a sudden, Tiffany averted her gaze back into her lover's eyes and a smile broke into her own lips. "But do you know what would be funny though Tae? In that kind of situtaion, if you come back and you still feel the same, we might still get back with each other, even though you left me... We may never know, thing like that could happen."

Taeyeon was a bit surprised with Tiffany's last statement. 

Get back with each other? No. Andwae. I don't think I'd like to get back together with her. I now have you Tiffany.

"You watched too much drama when you were younger, didn't you?" Taeyeon stated as she decided to break off the sulky conversation.

"Noooo. I'm just telling you how I would feel. You started it." The brunette pounded her fist into Taeyeon's other arm before nuzzling back into her lover's neck."But, yeah, I guess I did had influence from such dramas. Anyway, why did you ask such a question?"

"Nothing. Just thinking of hypothetical situations." Taeyeon nonchalantly replied.

Tiffany shrugged her shoulders and friskily mocked "Big words for a small person."

"Yah. You love that certain small person."Taeyeon rolled her eyes and hugged the brunette tight, tossing her leg over the Tiffany's thighs at the same time. "Am I correct?"

Tiffany slapped Taeyeon's leg which made the hallyu star withdrew her limb."Yeah. You are correct there Ms. Hallyu star."

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The next morning, Shim Jaewon, one of SMent's top male choregraphers was waiting patiently on one of the chairs inside a small dance training room. He was looking down at his crisp notebook and jotting down some points with a lead pencil. While intently concentrating on some maneuvers, the door to a small training room opened.

"Yah. You're late by 1 minute. Is this how you start just because you're going to debut? Yah! This is not the right attitude to become a hallyu star!" the long haired blonde guy readjusted his black rimmed glasses and scolded the one who entered without looking up from his notebook.

"Chesonghamnida Jaewon-seonsaengnim." a squeaky familiar voice apologized and a small figure with golden hair bowed down.

Jaewon caught sight of the blonde hair and shot a glare at the female. When the girl stood up and smiled at him, he suddenly gasped and dropped his pencil and notebook on the floor.

"Soonkyu?"

"Good to see you Jaewon-oppa! It seems like nothing changed." Sunny beamed as she wiggled from where she stood.

Jaewon immediately ran towards the shorter gal and raised his hand for a high-five which was immediately mirrored by the other. The male choreographer caught Sunny's fingers in a clasp and pulled his dongsaeng close for a hug. Sunny patted her older brother's back before pulling off.

"Yah! Soonkyu?! Where the heck have you been lil sis? Heard you were in Japan but now you're here! This is such a surprise!" Jaewon playfully pushed the other blonde away. "You got everyone worried here, you darn kid!"

Sunny chuckled at her previous trainer's banter and immediately replied. "Mianheyo oppa. Ah! I'm back though! And guess what? I'm going to be your student again. I'm no longer Soonkyu. The name's Sunny. So don't call me by the old name anymore! I'm back for training so I could debut as soon as possible."

"So, you're Sunny? Uwaa! Oh men. This is like the old days. Does BoA or Taeyeon know you're back?" Jaewon exclaimed while shaking his head in disbelief.

Remembering the request BoA had asked her a couple of days before, Sunny deliberately lied about the encounter. "Annya oppa. I'm going to be a secret trainee. That's why I have special sessions with you." Sunny said and finally settled her duffel bag into the corner of the room. She swung a small face towel over her shoulder and faced back the choreographer. "Only a few people and the higher ups know about it."

"Secret trainee huh? That's cool. Anyway, what's important is that you're now here. You're freaking back Soonk...I mean Sunny!" the previous artist himself scruffled Sunny's short golden hair like he used to do. "I like your new hair by the way. Now we're both blondes!"

Sunny laughed at her older mentor while waggishly swiping his hand off her head. "Aish! Jaewon-oppa. Stop messing with my hair! Let's get started with training."

"Haha! Arasso! I'm glad you've got the same spirit and passion. This training won't be too hard for you, I hope. Some kind of refresher course, I believe. You've been waiting so long to debut." Jaewon said while bringing both his hand on his waist. "I'm glad you're back kid."

"I know oppa. I am too." Sunny smiled back. "So what are we going to do today?"

"Okay. Now don't expect I'll go easy on you. I know you can dance but I'll be extra tough now knowing you had been under me. Let's see what Japan did to you." the choreographer went back to his seat and pulled out the remote for the cd player at the corner. "You know the drills. Have you warmed-up?"

"Ne oppa." Sunny replied as she stretched some more before engaging in the rough routine.

"Good student. That'll make some good marks. You and Taeyeon were my top students. The two of you should have been a duo." Jaewon said as he the music.

The beat had started to loop slowly and Sunny threw a question at her trainer before they started. "Is Taeyeon still working wth you oppa?"

"Huh? Oh? Her? Anni. That girl had turned cold and bitter after you left. You know she only listened to you for advice. All of us had hard times arguing with her; she was such a hard shell to crack without you and BoA by herside. I actually gave up on her last time but that close buddy of yours is just a genius in what she does. Nobody in the company could beat her skills despite the attitude change so I guess everyone else just let her be. She's a full package artist anyway, same as BoA and you. Ahhh! I remember from when you were all trainees, you trio were always stuck with each other, the infamous triangle of the female trainees." Jaewon reminisced as he started to loosen up also for practice.

"Gureyo?" Sunny replied, feeling a bit sorry for Taeyeon and started to remember the past."Training days...those were the good old days. We didn't care about anything else but prepare ourselves to become entertainment idols but at the same time we had loads of fun through the hardships."

"Yep. It sure was. After their debut, BoA and Taeyeon had gotten so busy as expected."Jaewon continued to chat while winding up his shoulders. "Not long after this, you'd be doing the same. All three of you will become Korea's top female hallyu stars." 

The male choreographer paused right after and focused on the soon-to-be-hallyu star. "You'd have no time for anything else again. Are you sure you want to go through with this Sunny?"

"Of course oppa. I've waited long enough. I am going to be hallyu star like Taeyeon and BoA-unnie!" Sunny protested and declared which earned a smile from the trainer."Anyway, have you heard anything about Taeyeon lately?"

Jaewon raised his brow since he noticed how curious Sunny was for the other hallyu idol. Nevertheless, he answered the blonde's question like it was nothing important. "Well, I heard she worked with some other female choreographers. I personally know one of them, Hyoyeon-ssi, one of the best poplockers in this field. There were two others but couldn't remember the names. Anyway, the news of Taeyeon partnering up with other people came off strange. Taeyeon haven't worked with anyone that close before. Some say she'd been warming up pretty well to everyone. I wonder what happened but it's nice to know that she is. I bet she'd go back to her old self once the two of you meet again. Remember the danshin duo?"

Sunny eventually smiled knowing that Taeyeon was in good condition and the sudden rush of memories invaded her brain when she recalled themselves as the shorties duo. "Yah! I've grown taller from three years ago."

"Hahaha. Seems the same to me. Taeyeon is just about the same height too." Jaewon snickered as he patted Sunny's head once more.

"Ah. Let's get on with practice Jaewon-seonsangnim!" Sunny sneered.

Jaewon readjusted his lensless spectacles again and transformed into his serious mode. "Arasso. Still sensitive about height stuff huh? Anyway, I'm going to teach you a new routine. Kinda techno lyrical and hiphop. You sure that you're ready?"

Sunny nodded, now focused on her training. "Ready since 3 years ago oppa."

"Alright. Let's start."

--------------------------------

"Yuri-ah?" Jessica called out as she cleaned her brushes on a piece of cloth. She clearly heard footsteps come in her studio. Having heard no answer from the other room, Jessica settled the horse hair tips on the sink and came out the wahsroom to greet her lover.

"Lovely artworks Sooyeon. Sorry, I hope you don't mind but I had let myself in since the door was open." a tall woman figure stood in front of Jessica. The older lady took off her wayfarers and flashed a bleak smile at the blonde.

"B-B-BoA-ssi? What are you doing here?" Jessica gasped as she stared at the lone woman in some sort of designer clothes.

"Just paying a visit. It's been some time we've seen each other Sooyeon. You haven't left a word for me. I was wondering why you haven't made any progress in your acting career so I looked you up."BoA clipped her shades into her sidepocket and browsed the entire room."This is an interesting studio you've got here. Small but pretty enough for work."

"I've been away from acting now BoA-ssi." Jessica said while clearing some of the papers on a nearby desk.

"Yes, I see that. Looks like you've engaged yourself in the arts. And you've been painting flowers. As usual."BoA remarked as she walked over to the east wall where most of Jessica's painting are now neatly displayed. The brown haired woman was lugging an ornamental pot at her back which she remembered, so she turned back to the blonde "By the way, I got you this as a gift."

Jessica immediately received the potted flowers and raised a brow towards the older gal."Black tulips?"

"Symbol for power and elegance. Pretty aren't they?" BoA smiled.

"Uhmm...thank you BoA-ssi. It was nice of you to bring me something." Jessica replied back courteously as she set the pot on the desk she had cleared earlier.

"Please Sooyeon. Call me your unnie. Like you used to do." BoA innocently commented and spread her arms to welcome the younger woman."You're acting like we're now strangers. Come here and give me a hug."

"Oh, I'm sorry unnie. It's just been a while." Jessica shyly approached BoA and embraced the idol briefly before pulling away. "Would you like us to go somewhere for coffee?"

"No, No. I'm fine here. You know how we hallyu stars are. Our job as celebrities and idols. It's too cumbersome with fans around asking for this and that. Would you mind if I sit down on your couch?" BoA waved her hand and walked over to the single loveseat in the corner of the studio.

"Oh. no. please. make yourself comfortable." Jessica urged and quickly dashed to her small fridge to retrieve two bottle of green tea cold drinks."Here unnie, have some tea. I'm sorry. It's the only one I've got. I wasn't expecting visitors like you."

"Thank you." BoA received the drink but placed it on the side table. She patted on the couch to signal Jessica to sit beside her and the blonde easily complied. Jessica took a gulp from her own drink while BoA inspected her from head to toe. A tiny glint in her eye showed something else was behind the idol's intentions. "So how are you Sooyeon? I haven't heard much about your life aside from these paintings I see surrounding us. Have you been in any relationships lately?"

Jessica swallowed hard on the cold drink before she got to respond to her old colleague."I got the privacy of my own life now unnie. I don't think it's appropriate to talk about such after several years that we haven't seen each other."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I guess I was too rude. As a hallyu star, my life has been an open book to the public. I'm just used to having my private life pried open by fans. I haven't been able to hide anything much to the eyes of the media." BoA faked a laugh in between just like those female aristrocrats in the Victorian period. The older woman did not fail to emphasize on certain matters like being a hallyu star. "Anyway, what I wanted was just to check up on you, especially on the few friends I had back then. Well, friends of my hoobaes that is. Why won't you come back to SMent and go back to acting? I'm sure there'll be a list of scripts waiting for you. Such a waste of a good career, Sooyeon."

Jessica remained respectful to BoA since they still belonged to the same company and they were indeed friends when she was starting out her career in acting. "I told you I broke off from acting unnie. The limelight may be not the place for me. I have found my passion in something else."

"Passion...well, I guess you're right. Working on the same thing over and over again can be boring. But is that the only reason? Haven't you been evading someone I might know Sooyeon?" BoA averted her gaze from Jessica and into the set of pastels on a low bench.

"W-w-what makes you think that way BoA-unnie? I-I-I moved on. I mean I am not evading anyone back at the company." Jessica unconciously replied, tongue slipping and eventually taking what she said back.

"Oh nothing. I just thought that you might have some disagreements with the management of some sort. I've heard of some rumors here and there but as I said, they were rumors."BoA nonchalantly answered back although her heart was screaming victory for being able to agitate the blonde's emotions. Jessica remained quiet after that.

"I miss seeing you back at the company. I did not realize that it had been more than 2 years. I really thought you've left the country so I wasn't able to contact you. I had no one to talk to. Taeyeon had been so cold and antisocial. She won't even come and play with me while Soonkyu vanished into thin air after you did. She's probably still in Japan and forgot about our friendship when we were still trainees. Ah, Sooyeon, I've been so lonely..." BoA whined on and on.

Jessica was staring blankly into space and mumbled what her unnie mentioned. "Taeyeon has been cold and Soonkyu's in Japan?"

"Yeah. It's so sad. I think Taeyeon has had too much fame in her head that she forgot about me and Soonkyu." BoA crossed her arms and leaned back into the couch, while observing the reactions from the younger girl. Jessica somehow disliked the way BoA said that Taeyeon had gotten fame over her head.

"But unnie. I think I saw Soonkyu..." Jessica muttered under her breath, still not looking at the other person in the conversation.

"Huh, Soonkyu? Odisseo? In Japan?" BoA blurted out, shocked that the two blondes had such an encounter. She added a question on Japan so that Jessica would assume that BoA had no idea of Soonkyu's whereabouts. BoA started to fidget in her seat while her brain ran miles, thinking. Her plan might burn to ashes if the two had communicated before she intends them to.  

"Anniyo. Here in Seoul. I was at a park when I saw her. She had her hair cut short and dyed blonde. I tried to catch up with her but she disappeared quickly into the crowd." Jessica recollected the time she saw Soonkyu when she went out on a night stroll with Yuri.

"Really? Are you sure it was her?" BoA continued to pretend that she did not know and even emphasized on her last sentence, checking if Jessica would slump back. "So that means she's back in Korea. Wow. Well, that would be great news if she's back. Taeyeon would be happy to know that she's back."

"Yes. I think she would." Jessica uttered. Her eyes started to look glassy.

"Speaking of Taeyeon. I should organize a dinner or something. You know, the three of us...like old times. Just to catch up on life. It's been such a long time since we've gone out. If I find Soonkyu, I could also bring her in. That would be a lovely reunion. Don't you think?" BoA happily provoked her plan.

Jessica's eyes widened at the sudden proposition of meeting up. Nothing was like before and certainly this innocent plan of BoA might just end up in disaster. "Ah, unnie, anniyo. I know how busy your schedules are as hallyu stars plus I myself will be shrouded with work. I'm doing my exhibit next month. Here's an invitation if you have time to go." Jessica temporarily moved from the couch and retrieved a stack of brochures, handing one over to BoA.

"Awww...Can't you even take a break from your artsy thingies?"BoA complained like a child and browsed over the pamphlet catching a name she didn't know right next to the Jung surname. "Oh, wait...who is Jessica?"

"I-I-I really can't unnie" Jessica apologized and then answered BoA's question. "I'm Jessica unnie. I now use my English name."

"Ah. Arasso. Sounds pretty, just like you. Oh well, I'll tell Taeyeon to come with me then." BoA flipped the pamphlet in her palm.

Jessica suddenly grabbed BoA's wrist, much to the surprise of the older woman."Unnie. Jaebal. Please don't. I want you to come alone."

"Wae? Do you have something against that shortie?" BoA asked, although deep inside she was heartily smirking.

"Anniyo. There was nothing between us. I...I'll invite her myself." Jessica found an excuse.

"Alright. Suit yourself Sooyeon. I'll do my best to free my schedule to come to the opening of your exhibit. Okay?" BoA reluctantly replied as she laid her hand over Jessica's lap.

"Thanks BoA-unnie." Jessica said back yet her head hung low.

"My..my...look at the time. Sorry to leave you my dear but I have a photoshoot session. Hallyu stars..busy..busy..busy." BoA exclaimed all of a sudden and stood up from her seat while pretentiously looking at her wristwatch for time. 

"Oh...well, thank you for visiting me then. Here's my contact card if you wish to have coffee next time. You know, when you have no one else to spend time with." Jessica said, pulling out a card from the nearby desk and giving it to her unnie. BoA took the card and nodded slightly.

"That's thoughtful of you Sooyeon. I'll surely call you."the hallyu star tucked the little piece of paper in her clutch bag, along with the pamphlet of the exhibition that Jessica gave earlier."Well, bye for now my dear."

BoA leaned in for an embrace and Jessica hugged back easily. With her long legs, BoA strode out the studio and clicked her high heels on the wooden floorboard. She turned back at Jessica and waved, a fake smile again on her face. Jessica waved back and bowed slightly.

"Bye unnie."

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Yuri was back at the gym again and doing her laps on the treadmill. She decided on doing a work-out before her dance class in the afternoon. Right after working wih Taeyeon on her concert, companies and artists have been calling her nonstop to work with them and choreograph a number for them. Although she wasn't complaining from the sudden influx of work opportunities, it was somehow much more difficlt now for her to juggle time for herself, her job and of course, her love which is Jessica.

Unexpectedly, Hyoyeon also came in to the work-out room.

"Yah! Yuri-ah! You're here!" Hyoyeon exclaimed as she waved her towel in the air when she spotted the tanned girl running. A few other females who were exercising also turned their heads towards the childish blonde prancing across the floor.

Yuri plucked her earphones and hit the stop button on the machine. The speed gradually descended and Yuri leaned forward on the side rails as Hyoyeon approached on the next machine. 

"Hyo...why is it that everytime I come here, you always pop up?" Yuri joked around as the rolling mat halted.

"Oooh. Maybe we're destined to be together then?" Hyoyeon kidded back, throwing Yuri a towel since the taller girl was sweating profusely.

"You wish." Yuri caught the cloth and wiped her neck. "Thanks. Where's Nicole?"

"Back at the dance school. She's been flooded with classes. Same with me. I only snuck out so I could do some other stuff other than dancing. So, here I am to do some treads." Hyoyeon said as she started her own treadmill in a slow pace.

"That's funny. It's the same thing for me. I guess our little number with Taengoo got around. I'm swamped with offers too." Yuri casually said as she watched Hyoyeon break slowly into a brisk walk.

"Good for us then! Anyway, how about you? Where's Jesshica? Or is it Sooyeon?" Hyoyeon pumped her fist in the air and then power walked.

"You can call her Sica. I know it's kinda hard to pronounce her English name. Well, her real name's actually Sooyeon." the taller replied and swiped the towel over her forehead."Anyway, she's back at her studio. Painting maybe."

"Well, isn't it that Sica used to go into acting? She's an actress right? Also from SM Entertainment?" Hyoyeon raided her question as she quickened her pace and looked at Yuri.

"Yeah. She used to do movies and minor on dramas. However, she says she doesn't wanna do it again. She's fine being the artist she is now. Why?"

"Well, I just heard rumors though. Her previous relationship was also one of of SMent's artists. They said she was going out with this girl while she was still starting to audition for acting and the other was still a trainee. Then they broke off and Sica left the company or as they said went on a hiatus of some sort. The rumors came from her previous manager, as they say." Hyo relayed what she heard and slowly went back to a slow paced walk."I don't want to intrude in your relationship Yuri-ah but I was just wondering if you knew about it."

An SMent artist? Previous trainee? That person might have been the one who gave Sica the lotus necklace.

Yuri got lost in her thoughts for a second before responding to the blonde choreographer. "No. Actually no Hyo. I didn't know. Well, whoever it was, I don't care Hyo. Sica's with me now. There's no point dealing with that and you say it's a rumor so half of it might not be true."

"You're right. Glad you think that way Yuri." Hyoyeon smiled back and resumed her work-out. At the same moment, Yuri's phone rang again with Ciara's beat.

Yuri excused herself a few meters away before answering an unregistered number's call.

"Yoboseyo? Who is this please?" Yuri greeted politely.

"Yuri-ah. It's your big bear." a male growling voice boomed out of the phone's speaker.

"Taewoo-oppa! You called!" Yuri then recognized the caller. "What's up?"

"I called about the necklace you asked..."

"Oh yeah. Did you find who bought it?" Yuri asked. She thought it was unnecessary to find out who Jessica's ex-lover was but something at the back of her mind kept creeping up. She wanted to know who she was. She needed to know.

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