27

Like a useless rag doll, I was bent over, crouched down with my hands over my ears and I couldn’t think, didn’t want to think, didn’t really bother to.

Sooyoung, a traitor, Taeyeon, an actor. Yuri?

I glanced up and saw her with a blade and she was covered in cuts, I couldn’t see blood, but I saw colour, fading away from her face when she noticed me.

She was beside me in a second, her voice was saying something but I couldn’t hear, “Tiffany…. Wake up.”

“Tiffany, for everyone’s sake, you have to wake up now. You’re in shock.”

“Taeyeon has everything in control. I was wrong, you were wrong. She’s stronger than us both. Tiffany? Tiffany? I’m here to bring you out to her. She’s cutting through Sooyoung’s guys. It’s….”

Abruptly, someone had a knife to my throat and Yuri had a blade to the person’s throat in an instant. I saw her frowned.

Even without turning my head, I knew that Yoona was the one grabbing me in death grip, and I uttered her name, “Yoona….”

Yoona looked at me once then at Yuri, her eyes were red. Yuri’s face was unreadable, but the strange thing was – my heart was actually bleeding for her sake, almost as though I was the one in her shoes and I felt her pain entirely.

Yoona’s eyes drifted to me again. She was already bleeding in her gut. One glance and one could easily tell that it was a fatal wound.

She probably didn’t have much time left.

Yoona smiled mirthlessly. Her eyes were directionless.

“Tiffany….everybody’s baby. I bet you never knew how well protected you were. She even had her entire whole damn corporation here with Sunny as the command operation leader at the back. Sooyoung and I never stood a chance against her…..She’s a monster, no one is her match. No one…..,” Yoona paused as her eyes focused on me once again, “Except, you, Tiffany. You’re her kryptonite.”

Time is running out. Who could do all the saving?

We all need that hero, don’t we? From time to time.

I let out a slight sigh, “We’ve come to this, haven’t we.”

Yoona looked annoyed at me and tightened her grip on my neck, I could feel a trickle of blood oozing, like dark red unto the blade.

“What are you talking about?”

“I meant that we’ve come to this. Putting me down, making me feel unworthy of her, etc, etc.”

“Too smart for your own good, you know that?”

I bit my lip, hard. As sanity came back, “Mostly I know, but more often than not, I don’t. Like now. I don’t understand, how you can love Yuri and still hurt me.”

“Tiffany, don’t…” Yuri whispered and Yoona snapped.

I had used the most sensitive topic to provoke Yoona.

Why, Tiffany, why?

“You’re right, Tiffany. I don’t understand why she bothered anyway, what does she see in you or your step-sister, Jessica? What does Jessica have that I don’t? Then I realised, it’s you. It’s always been all about you. Taeyeon goes nuts for you. Yuri is crazy about you…”

“It’s all about you, you, you. The world needs to be free of you, or chaos reign. Don’t you think so, Yuri? I’m actually doing everyone good… I’m actually…” She drove her knife tighter at my throat when I heard her draw an inward gasp and she doubled over in disbelief as blood trickled out of .

And Yuri held her as her entire body sank lower and lower onto the ground, Yuri was practically supporting her entire weight as she leaned against Yuri. Yuri’s blade was in her chest and she quickly took out a needle to insert into Yoonas vein, and Yoona who had been coughing blood instantly calmed down. Her eyes were finally closed.

At rest, at peace. Final.

The end, was it?

Yuri looked all tensed and she didn’t seem to care less about anything. I couldn’t reach out to her, not anymore.

Not at this point. And then someone had a gun – Sooyoung’s man. He laughed, and pointed the gun at me, marvelling at how simple everything was in the end.

Kill me. Game over.

He shot.

Time slowed, and if it travelled backwards like someone winding the clock mechanically, we could hear someone shouting, followed by a push.

And then blood.

Of course, even before realising it, I was already screaming her name, “Yuri, No!”

Like 2 years ago…

Was it going to be the same now?

Again?