~ Same Day, 3:30 PM

Class has already ended and all the rehearsals were cancelled so my friends have agreed to go to the mall together today. I sat at the passenger's seat of the van so I can avoid being teased. I looked at the rearview mirror to find Yoona. She was sitting beside Sooyoung at the backmost seat of the van. They were talking seriously and quietly in a way that only they can hear their conversation. Suddenly, Sooyoung caught my stare.

"Ya! Kwon Yuri! If you're gonna keep staring at Yoona through the rearview mirror, might as well just sit beside her." Sooyoung teased. Then everyone laughed.

"I wasn't staring! You just caught me passing a glance on Yoona since I was looking at everyone." I defended myself.

"Why are you so defensive?" Hyoyeon asked as they all laughed once again.

I just looked back at the road and kept quiet as they teased. They eventually stopped teasing me and teased Taeyeon & Tiffany-unnies instead. It was pretty obvious that something was going on between them. It's not even a secret to anyone anymore. They look good together though, they seem to be so happy together. Then again, I saw Yoona and Sooyoung talking seriously. Yoona was blushing and she was slightly smiling. What in the world are they talking about? What was Sooyoung telling her to make her blush like that?! I asked myself, annoyed. It was a good thing that we arrived at the mall already. My curiosity would've exploded as I saw them talking like that.

We walked inside the mall and agreed to grab something to eat first before playing around. I tried walking behind Yoona who was walking with Sooyoung. I wanted to talk to her but I couldn't get the chance because Sooyoung was always beside her. Bummer, I sighed. Then we got to a fastfood restaurant and entered. This is crazy, I don't even have to put an effort in avoiding Yoona since Sooyoung kept taking her away. They even sat beside each other. We ordered food and started eating as soon as the order came.

"Yuri-yah, why are you being so quiet today? Are you okay?" Jessica asked me, concerned.

"Ne unnie. I'm okay." I answered with a smile.

"Are you sure?" she confirmed.

"Ne. Don't worry about me unnie." I answered again.

Then, we continued eating as they talked. I laughed along with them when they were saying funny things so they wouldn't notice my silence too much. When we finished, we walked around the mall.

"Does anyone want to watch a movie?" Tiffany asked, excited.

"Me, I'd like to go." Taeyeon answered, smiling.

"Anyone else?" Tiffany asked again.

"Just go, you two! We already know you want some time alone." Sunny teased as everyone laughed.

"Alright then, don't tell me I didn't invite you after" Tiffany told us as they left.

"I'm gonna look around for clothes or shoes. Does anyone want to come with me?" Jessica asked us.

"I will, unnie." Seohyun answered.

"Yeah, me too" Sunny joined them.

"I plan to play at the arcade center, does anyone want to play with me?" Hyoyeon asked.

"Oh I like that. Me! Me!" Sooyoung answered excitedly. For a moment, Yoona and I stared at each other when Sooyoung suddenly walked in the middle of us and faced Yoona. "You're coming with us, right?"

"Uh, yeah sure." she answered. "What about you, Yuri-unnie?"

"I think I'm gonna look around with Jessica-unnie for a while." I replied.

"Alright then, let's go girls. [faces Hyoyeon, Sooyoung and Yoona] You guys have fun." Sunny told us.

"We will. You too. We'll see you later then." Hyoyeon said as they slowly started walking.

We nodded as a response and started walking. Seohyun walked with me and started a conversation. I wasn't paying too much attention since my mind was flying somewhere else. Sooyoung was very weird today. She was suddenly all over Yoona, seriously, she was always with her. And why was Yoona smiling and laughing along with Sooyoung like she did earlier? What's even weird is that she was even blushing earlier when they were talking seriously. What's going on with them? Sooyoung couldn't possibly like Yoona, right? I mean, she was one of those people teasing us. OMO! Could it actually be the other way around? Could it be Yoona liking Sooyoung? Then I felt a strong stab in my heart.

"Unnie? Are you okay?" Seohyun asked me.

"Yeah. Yeah. I am okay. I'm sorry, what were you asking?" I replied.

"Nothing. I wasn't asking you anything. You just seemed so preoccupied." she told me.

"Oh really? I'm sorry." I responded.

"It's okay unnie. No big deal." she said and then continued. "Ah unnie, can I ask you something personal?"

"Uh.. Sure. What is it?"

"Don't get mad, okay? I'm just really curious."

"Okay."

"If you can't tell me the answer, you can just stay quiet instead of lying to me, okay?"

"Yeah. I promise. Just tell me already, you're starting to make me feel nervous."

She laughed and then continued. "Do you like Yoona-unnie?"

"What? Yeah, of course. I like her as much as I like you and the others."

"Aaahhh, unnie! I mean more than that."

"Seohyun-ah, don't be silly.."

"Well, she seem to really like you. That's why I'm asking you if you like her too."

Deep inside, I somehow hoped Seohyun was right.

"Unnie? Does that silence mean you do like her?" She asked again with a teasing smile.

"Seohyun-ah..." I said then she interrupted.

"It's okay unnie. I like seeing you two together." she told me.

"I didn't say I do like her like that."

"Unnie, you promised not to lie to me. It's okay to admit it. It's not like I'm telling anyone." 

I just nodded and then she smiled so wide. I just thought I shouldn't lie to her anymore since she seemed like she could keep a secret and she's been one of my closest friends recently. I know I can trust her.

"Unnie, do you plan on telling her how you feel?" she asked.

"As a matter of fact, I don't. I actually plan to get rid of this feeling already." I told her honestly.

"What? Don't! You guys look great together." she protested.

"Silly, it's not like she likes me too." I said.

"Says who? You'll never know until you hear it from her yourself." she told me.

"I don't have to. Besides, I really can't fall for her. She's like my number 1 rival at school and as far as I'm concerned, she's been beating me since she came here." I responded.

"Rival? Does she even know there's a competition between the two of you?"

And then, her question struck me. I didn't know what to say anymore.

"Unnie" she said, smiling at me. "I think you should realize that your real rival is yourself, not Yoona-unnie. She's someone special to you, not someone you should be fighting against. You're gonna end up hurting more if you keep trying to beat her. Which do you think matters more to you? Winning against her? or WINNING HER OVER?"

_____________________________________

sorry for the late update guys. i'll do my best to update as soon as I can.