“Yul – here!”, Sooyoung waved her hand to Yuri once she saw Yuri entered the bar.

Yuri sighed once she sat in front of Sooyoung and quickly asked the bartender to make her a drink.

“Thanks for coming, Soo. God, I really need this.”

“Something happened between you and Jessica? I thought everything was going well between you two?”, Sooyoung asked. She was surprised when Yuri called her suddenly, asking her to go out to have some drink since Yuri said she had a bad headache and got into a fight with Jessica.

“Well – we got bad reviews. And Jessica was just being a pain in the now in the kitchen.”, Yuri quickly started to tell her story.

“I thought she always being pain in the ---“, Sooyoung chuckled, tried to joke. She laughed even more when Yuri glared and pouted at her.

“I mean, I know the reviews came when I am there, as the head-chef. But I don’t think it’s fair if she blamed me –“,  Yuri scoffed and gulped her drink once the waiter served in on the table.

“She said that?”, Sooyoung widened her eyes. It was a bit harsh of Jessica if she really put all the blame to Yuri.

“Well ----“, Yuri looked away, avoiding Sooyoung. “She didn’t exactly said that –“

Sooyoung sighed as she rolled her eyes. “Aiishh --- Yuri-ah.. my idiotic friend –“

“Yah!!!”

“If she didn’t said that, it means all of that is just in your stupid head! Stop making assumption. Besides, cut her some slack, Yul. If my boutique got bad reviews or someone told me the design , I probably become a crazy person too.”, Sooyoung leaned on her chair. The issue was clear, it was Yuri’s insecurity.

“How can I not making assumption?! I didn’t know what’s inside her head!”, Yuri tried to defend herself, although what Sooyoung said about Jessica being crazy make sense if she saw that in the employer’s perspectives.

“Well, you could’ve simply just ask her, in a proper way, not fighting.” 

“It’s – hard to talk to her. I mean – She didn’t really let me know what she really feels– It’s – I -- “, Yuri could not find the perfect words to describe it. But she remembered on how many times she asked if Jessica was okay and Jessica answered always ‘I am fine’ or ‘or ‘don’t worry about it’. It was hard to tell what Jessica was really think or feels.

Flashback

Yuri drove her car to her home after she finished at the restaurant. Jessica sat beside her at the car. Jessica specifically asked that she really wanted to spend the night at Yuri’s place. When Yuri took a glance, she saw Jessica was busy scrolling something on her ipad, she knitted her brows and clicked her tongue many times. Yuri knew something was bothering Jessica.

“Baby, everything okay?”, Yuri asked when she heard Jessica sighed for a thousand times.

“Huh?”, Jessica startled. She turned her head and looked at Yuri. She chuckled weakly and shook her head. “Nothing – Everything’s fine. You know, it’s just work. ”, then she smiled and held Yuri’s hand. Jessica was a bit clingier than usual today, Yuri thought. But hey, she didn’t complain. She loved to spoil Jessica anyway.

Yuri was even more sure that Jessica was thinking about something when she tossed around at night on the bed and could not sleep. Yuri stirred when she felt Jessica moved around.

“Ah sorry, baby. Did I wake you?”, Jessica asked when she realized Yuri was awake.

“It’s okay, princess.”, Yuri yawned. Then she cupped Jessica’s cheek. “Are you really okay? Why you can’t sleep?”

Jessica kept quiet for a while. Then she smiled again. “I guess I am just tired. Nothing to worry about.”

Yuri now sat on the bed and she frowned. “Of course I am worry, baby.”

Jessica shook her head and chuckled. “It’s just work stuff. I just realized that I forgot to do something. Don’t worry I’ll just do it tomorrow. Just --- hold me okay, I want to sleep in your arms.”

Yuri smiled. Maybe Jessica was indeed tired. “Anything for you, my love.”, then Yuri wrapped her hand around Jessica and let Jessica sleep in her chest. She Jessica’s hair with her fingers, showering her with kisses on the forehead and let them went to the dreamland.  

Flashback end

“Oh man! There’s something wrong in your relationship.”, Sooyoung commented in a serious tone. “But don’t be too oblivious, Yul. You really need to talk to her.”

Yuri let out a sigh and sipped her drink. “And this review from this food critique, this Choi Minho just added more craziness. As if bad reviews from the customer is not enough –“

“Wait? Who? Did you say Minho?”, Sooyoung cut her and squinted her eyes.

“Yeah. Why?”

“My cousin, Minho?”, Sooyoung tried to confirm.

“I don’t know. I didn’t see his face. I just knew it from Sica when she told us about the critique.”, Yuri shrugged her shoulder. “Besides, I thought your cousin left for US and lives there.”

“He came back a year ago and I knew he works as a food critique. Oh my God, did you remember how obsessed he was with you before? He went to US because he was brokenhearted after you rejecting him so many times.”, Sooyoung snickered.

Yuri frowned. “Hey, don’t blame me. I mean I feel sorry for him but what can I do? I don’t have feelings for him.”

Yuri remembered that Minho used to be crazy in love with her. Even when Yuri was still with Juran, Minho never stop asking her out, texting her a love poem everynight and at some point begging outside Yuri’s house with guitar and flowers just for Yuri to accept him. Sometimes he showed up at the place whenever Yuri went, until Yuri asked Sooyoung to tell Minho to stop following her around as Yuri got annoyed.    

“That little , why he left such a bad review about my dishes? Or doesn’t he know that I work there?”, Yuri grumbled, remembering on how Minho said that the signature dish taste awful.   

“He must have known, Yul. You’re a famous chef, everybody knows where you work at. Or – maybe he did it out of revenge? But he could not be that shallow ---“, Sooyoung lowered her voice, started thinking whether Minho really did in purposely. Sooyoung knew how talented Yuri in the kitchen and she was sure that whatever Yuri made, it always taste great. 

“Maybe I should talk to him –“, Sooyoung added.

“I will come with you and punch him in the face.”

“No – Yul calm down. Let’s see what his answer is first okay. It would be better if you not coming at the first place.”

**

Yuri left the restaurant in hurry when she got the news from Krystal that Jessica fainted in the office and got hospitalized. She drove her car as fast as she could and running around in the hospital soon after she arrived. When she entered the room, she found Jessica was already in a conscious state, but her face looked pale and tired, her eye-bags was clearly visible. The IV tube stuck in her hand and she surrounded by Krystal, Taeyeon and Tiffany.

“Sica!”, Yuri quickly held Jessica’s hand. “Are you okay? Oh my God, I am so sorry, Sica. I --- I am sorry.”

Jessica just smiled weakly. But actually she already felt warm and relieve, her Yuri was here with her.

For these past 4 days, Yuri and Jessica didn’t really communicate well since their last fight. They just met at the restaurant, where Jessica kept watching the work of her employee closely to make everything perfect. Then after that they just went home separately. Both of them had their pride and none of them wanted to make the first move to even talk about their fight.

“We will leave you two, okay. We’ll be outside.”, Taeyeon said and then the three of them left the room so Jessica and Yuri could have their private time.

“Sica, I am sorry – I am such an idiot and a bad girlfriend. I was so angry with you until I didn’t pay attention to you – “, Yuri shook her head, feeling disappointed to herself. She hugged Jessica and kissed her forehead.

“Are you okay? How do you feel, baby?”, Yuri asked.

“I am okay, Yul. Just – tired and still a little bit dizzy.”, Jessica replied. 

Yuri sighed. “I --- I am so sorry for being so selfish. I was wrong when I was lashing out to you the last time we fight. I should not do that. I should’ve known how important the restaurant is to you and I was supposed to help you, but instead I was acting like a child. Then the anger was like took over me, I didn’t realized it when you were too tired for these past days. I knew from Krystal that you were working non-stop to prepare all the offer for the investors, I was --- What kind of girlfriend I am when didn’t know how stress you are --- ”

Jessica’s expression soften, seeing how Yuri regretted everything. Jessica overworked herself, she running around in the office to have a meeting with her staffs to save the restaurant’s reputation, meetings with the management boards on the investment proposals, then she went to the restaurant to control, after went home she was still working and had a discussion with potential investors, reviewing of the letter of offering they have submitted. She was lacked of sleep, but she pushed herself to work and she didn’t really eat well.

“I am sorry, too. Maybe part of it was my fault that I keep everything to myself.”, Jessica caressed Yuri’s cheek.

Jessica stared at her girlfriend, as if searching something that she could hold onto. She has to admit, other than the restaurant, Jessica almost never involved Yuri in her works and never tell Yuri anything if there was a problem in her business. Jessica never talk about how she felt about her work and share her burden. She was not a person who can openly express her feelings easily. Yuri never knew what kind of busy that Jessica faced everyday. 

“Baby – it’s okay to be vulnerable sometimes. You don’t need to be strong all the time. You have me, you should’ve told me what’s bothering you, share your problem with me. Make me understand you more. “, Yuri squeezed Jessica’s hand, then she brought it to her hands and kissed it.

Hearing Yuri offering herself to Jessica like that, willingly be there for her and ready to listen to her, suddenly Jessica cried. She cried so hard, letting out every burden on her shoulder, every headache that she had. Yuri quickly hugged her and kissed her crown repeatedly. She just let Jessica cried. She never saw Jessica in this weak state before and she knew Jessica needed this release.

“I am tired, Yul. I am just so tired. This bad reviews making us suffered loss of our profit. I was desperate to find any funding, otherwise how can I afford to pay all of the staffs, how I am going to run the restaurant operational. I haven’t been able to pay back everything to my current investors and now I have to deal with another loss. My entertainment unit business also still suffered a lot of loss and I am tired running around to find more money.”, Jessica pouring out her problems to Yuri while in Yuri’s embrace. Yuri just kept quiet, she listened Jessica’s carefully.

Then Jessica kept talking, sharing her fear about her business. “I built this restaurant business from zero and that’s why this restaurant is like my ‘baby’. I am scared, Yul. I really didn’t want the restaurant to get bankrupt one day.”

“I promise I will be there for you to make everything better. I won’t leave you suffer alone. I am here.”, Yuri said, assuring Jessica. And Yuri really promised that to herself too. She never knew much burden Jessica kept to herself for all this time and Yuri would do everything to reduce the burden.

It was like a water flowing non-stop, Jessica’s told Yuri all of her problem. She finally broke her fortress in front of Yuri and letting Yuri saw how fragile she was inside. The cold woman and a strong boss that Yuri saw everyday was vanished, now Jessica looked a lost little girl. Crying for help.

“Promise me please, Yuri-ah.. To understand my situation, to always be by my side. Be my anchor so I won’t get lost.”, Jessica pleaded, her voice sounded like a whisper.

Yuri nodded. She leaned forward and gave Jessica a sweet kiss. “I love you – I love you so much. I promise I am not going anywhere. I will help you as much as I can and we will face this together.”

Jessica smiled. Yuri words gave her a strength and a security. She has someone, she has Yuri to rely on. Yuri will catch her when she fell.

Their eyes locked and Jessica knew it, she could trust Yuri.

“Err—anyway –“, Yuri suddenly grinned. “We are not breaking up, right?”

“Huh?”, Jessica showed her confused face.

“Our fight, you said maybe we should stop dating. I – I don’t want to lose you. You’re still mine right?”, Yuri pouted.

Jessica giggled. Yuri looked so cute. She knocked Yuri’s head with her knuckle. “Pabo.”

**

After Jessica discharged from the hospital, she stayed at home and doing her work from home. Yuri stayed with Jessica and Krystal in Jessica’s penthouse to take care of her. Yuri kept her promise to make everything perfect at the restaurant. She even practice to prepare the signature dish at Jessica’s home, asked Jessica or Krystal to taste it. She make sure that everything were in place when she had to make the signature dish at the restaurant.  Yuri kept monitoring the reviews of the restaurant and let Jessica concentrate on dealing with investors, but she never told Jessica if there were still bad reviews, she didn’t want to make Jessica more stressed than she already are.

“Baby – I am home!!”, Yuri shouted when she was entered Jessica’s house. But she quickly frowned when she saw Jessica was still busy in front of her laptop. It was already 11pm and Jessica still working.

“Welcome home, Seobang.”, Jessica glanced at Yuri for a moment, but then she put her attention back to her laptop.

“Seobang? Eeww.. What’s wrong with you two?”, Krystal suddenly popped out of nowhere, she went to the kitchen and took out some chips.

Yuri just laughed and Jessica rolled her eyes, didn’t care about Krystal’s response. Yuri moved towards Jessica and gave her a kiss on her forehead, then pecked her lips.

“Oh my God, hello.. I am here!! please no PDA in front of mee --“, Krystal looked at them with a disgusted face, the image of their body when Krystal found them after they had was unforgettable for Krystal.

Seeing that Jessica will not closed her laptop anytime soon, Yuri grabbed her laptop and took it away from Jessica. “It’s already late. No more working.”

“Heeyyyy!! I have not finished!”, Jessica protested.

“Why is she still working? Krystal, tell her! She needs to rest.”, Yuri turned her head to Krystal, asking for her help.

Krystal frowned and raised her hand up, made a surrender gesture. “I told her already. She was just too stubborn. You need to control your wife, Yuri unnie.”

“Come on, Sica. Don’t overwork yourself again. You need to obey your Seobang, arasso??”, Yuri said to Jessica in stern voice, she put her point finger in front of Jessica’s face.

Jessica pouted. But she let out a defeated sighed. “Alright, alright.”

“That’s my baby.”, Yuri beamed a satisfaction smile. “Now, I really need to shower and I want my princess to join me!”, Yuri winked and then she lifted up Jessica from her seat in bridal style.

Jessica shrieked. “Ohmygod!! Yuri-aah, put me down! Krystal --- help me!!!”

Krystal rolled her eyes and cringed. “Eew, no! I don’t need to witness all of that! Llalalalalalal!!! I am going to my room.”, she then closed her ears and just run to her room.

Yuri was too excited when she took Jessica to the bedroom, unfortunately, she didn’t really pay attention to her step and she accidentally banged Jessica's head against the door.

OH - Yuri

“Aawwww”, Jessica let out her dolphin scream. “KWON YURI, THAT HURTS!! You’re going to pay for this!!! I am going to bang your head to the toilet seat!!!”

**

That night, just before they both went to sleep, Jessica’s got in incoming email. The deal went through with one of Jessica’s potential investor. She got funding for her restaurant and the investor has signed the agreement. Jessica squealed and informing Yuri in happiness.  At least tonight, one problem solved and Jessica could sleep in peace.