The mood in the dorm was sombre as if there was a dark thundercloud hanging over it. There was not a single sound in the living room from any of the eight people, in fact, it was so quiet that even a scrape of the leaves against the window would sound like nails screeching down a chalkboard.

The girls were sitting upon the ground, feeling like something or rather two people were missing. There seemed to be a huge, gaping abyss. The atmosphere, the room, everything just didn’t seem the same.

A collective sigh passed through the room, like the sound of the wind passing through a grove of weeping willows.

The manager cleared his throat as the seven girls looked depressingly into space. They were all thinking the same thing.

SNSD was nine. With just the seven of them, things would never be the same, things would never work out like they used to.

Everybody missed the dorky and byuntae kid-leader Taeyeon. Without her, the seven of them didn’t feel complete. The one who was feeling the most pain and grief was a certain girl whose eye-smiles were now a thing of the past. It had seemed like eons since anybody had seen her give even a hint of smile, an upward quirk of .

“Ahem, girls.” stated the manger with a melancholy tone, “SM Entertainment has sent me a letter saying Yuri is very ill and will not be participating in any activities until further notice. So I guess… we’ll be missing another member now.”

Somebody let out a snort at the words.

Yoona sat with her eyes absorbed with her hands which rested on her knees, her hair hanging around her head like something out of a horror movie. Seohyun patted her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her unnie, completely sympathizing with what she was going through. Only she knew of her feelings for Yuri and the extent to which all of the recent events had hit her. And she also knew, that even though it seemed that Yuri was completely and irreversibly evil, Yoona was still hopelessly in love with her. It was as if she had fallen down a pit and her efforts to escape were futile and weak.

Yoona’s pale and flawless yet healthy complexion was now an unhealthy pallor and the eye-bags beneath her eyes were both big and dark. She was much skinnier than before and had completely lost her huge appetite. Seohyun had to spend hours coaxing her to finish a tiny bowl of vegetables. Her hair had lost its glossiness and the radiant aura about her was nowhere in sight.

The others were not faring much better.

Sooyoung was endlessly thinking about Jessica agreeing to the deal and Tiffany was constantly occupied with her thoughts on Taeyeon and her losing her memory. Jessica was trying to push all thoughts about the deal away from her mind and focused more on grieving the loss of Taeyeon and putting the blame on Yuri. Sunny, Seohyun and Hyoyeon who had been pulled out of their bubbles of happiness were still trying to come to grips with everything that had happened.

*Flashback*

Seohyun and Hyoyeon opened the door to the dorm, feeling deliciously happy and as if they were walking on air. Their first date together, had been more than perfect and special and they were extremely glad that they had cleared things up.

Upon entering the dorm, they found Sooyoung and Yoona sitting like statues on the ground, their eyes boring into the wall. Which was unusual as the two of them would usually either be playing around like the pranksters they were or devouring everything in sight like the shikshins they were.

The two of them were never like this which meant something had happened. Something very, very big and horribly wrong.

And so, the couple approached the two gingerly, footsteps soft. Hyoyeon walked towards Sooyoung and Seohyun did likewise for Yoona. Stopping right in front of their legs, they looked at the two who showed no signs of movement. Hyoyeon clicked in front of Sooyoung’s face. There was not a single movement. Seohyun waved her hand wildly in front of Yoona’s face. Not even a blink.

The two of them exchanged a glance.

Something was definitely up.

Hyoyeon poked Sooyoung. No response. She poked her once more and then again and again. Still no response. Hyoyeon twitched in annoyance.

Seohyun couldn’t help but smile at her girlfriend’s actions despite the grim situation. She decided to try another tactic. Sitting down next to Yoona, Seohyun placed a hand over Yoona’s and squeezed it gently.

“Unnie, what’s wrong? Why do you seem so sad? Please tell us” she asked, staring deep into Yoona’s eyes, seeing her worried face reflected in them.

At first, Yoona did not say anything. But then she let out a deep sigh and Seohyun heard all the sadness in that one sigh.

“It’s a long story.” she whispered.

The door opened with a loud thud and Sunny danced happily into the room, stopping immediately when she saw all the serious faces.

“What’s wrong guys?” she questioned with a puzzled face before this melted into one of understanding and then panic. She had completely forgotten about her worries when she was with Hyomin.

“Do you know what happened to Sooyoung and Taeyeon? I was trying to find them to warn them of danger but I missed them by just a few minutes. Are they alright? And where is everyone else? Are they safe? Did something happen to them?” she asked, pitch and level of anxiousness increasing with every question.

Yoona and Sooyoung continued looking like they were made of stone, expressionless and motionless.

Seohyun scratched her head and replied, “Yoona unnie said it’s a long story. But I’m not too sure what happened. Neither of them will say. I’m very worried.”

This time Sooyoung spoke after seeing the maknae’s eyes b with anxiety. “As Yoona said, it’s a long story. A sad one too.”

She looked towards Yoona and they shared an empty gaze.

“It started when…”

*End Flashback*

The manager let out a silent sigh when he saw that none of the girls were giving much of a response.

“I know these are hard times. I feel a lot of pain too. But as you are entertainers, you must continue on. For the sake of the company, your fans of course and for yourselves. Your schedules are a bit lighter this week, but I’ve received a message saying that they will go back to normal next week. Until then, just try to get some more rest and eat more. You need to keep your health and spirits up. We all do” he stated, letting out a sympathetic smile, “If you need help from counsellors or anything at all, don’t hesitate to contact me alright? I’m available 24/7.”

Saying that, he left the girls’ dorm and looked back with regret. Unfortunately, they were not able to change the situation. He had never seen the girls so pale and unwell and was incredibly concerned about their wellbeing. He knew the loss of Taeyeon had hit them hard as well as Yuri’s absence, but he had a gut feeling that something else had happened. Something the girls hadn’t told him about and he was scared that they were in great danger.

Picking up his phone, he dialled a number.

*

Yuri’s brother opened his eyes, feeling a pounding on the back of his head.

Is this a hangover? But I hardly ever get hangovers. Unless…

There was a knock on the door.

“Come in!” he ordered coldly.

His sister entered and gestured to the door, “There’s someone who wants to see you.”

He nodded nonchalantly, “Tell them to come in.”

Yuri gave a slight nod and beckoned to the person fidgeting in front of the door.

Yuri’s brother looked at the visitor disdainfully, taking in his greasy clothes and fishy smell.

“And who are you?” he interrogated, voice dripping with scorn.

The man’s lips quivered, “Head chef sir.”

Yuri’s brother looked piercingly at him, “And…?”

“I have something to tell you.” he stated with a more than obvious tremble in his voice.

“Well spit it out,” demanded Yuri’s brother while Yuri looked on, keeping her true thoughts and feelings to herself.

The man looked around nervously and sweat ran down his brow, “Are you sure it’s safe Sir?”

Yuri’s brother stood up in rage, “What sort of nonsense question is that? Tell me immediately. Unless you want me to kill you on the spot.”

The head chef gulped and his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down like a rubber duck in a bathtub.

Yuri’s brother let out a cackle, “Did you think I was being serious? If I killed you, you wouldn’t be able to tell me anything.”

Seeing relief begin washing over the chef’s face, he added, “But then again, I could always torture you. And I tell you, soon you’ll be begging for…”

Yuri interrupted quickly before her brother’s descriptions became too quickly, “Just say it. Ignore my brother.”

She could feel the heated glare coming from the couch but she ignored it.

The head chef bowed, “Thank you Madame. You see, three members of SNSD came to my restaurant the other day.”

Yuri’s brother turned his head in interest and his eyes lit up, “And what did you see?” he purred.

The head chef swallowed another lump of saliva and adjusted his hat. “Well, two of them were feeding each other and…”

Yuri’s brother cut him short, “Which two?” 

The head chef wrinkled his brows and beads of sweat dripped off his nose, “Um… I’m not sure. I have their signatures here though.” He dug around his apron before flourishing a piece of paper covered in an assortment of food stains.

He reached out to give it to Yuri’s brother but he gestured to his sister.

Yuri took the paper and upon scanning it, had to control herself from going completely white.

“So who is it?” her brother drawled.

Yuri knew she couldn’t lie, “Hyoyeon and Seohyun” she stated with as much confidence as she could muster. However, inside her head, all she could hear was her brain screaming “No!”

Yuri’s brother nodded, “And the other one?”

The head chef clasped his chubby fingers together, “Sunny.”

Yuri’s brother grinned like a Chesire Cat, “Ahhh, Lee Sunkyu. I met with her uncle on more than a few occasions.”

Upon saying that, he turned to the chef, “You’re dismissed.”

Yuri escorted the man out of the room, trying to stop herself from shaking in anger and fear. This was getting far worse than she had thought.

*

Sooyoung remained in the living room, looking out the window, her thoughts rambling on. Many of the other members had gone off to their own individual places where they could be able to think quietly and have a space to themselves. She knew it had been a hard time for all of them and she kept praying that things would turn out well although she felt in her heart it would not be so.

As much as she tried not to, she couldn’t stop thinking about one girl. Jessica. Even though she had promised herself and Yuri to try and stop having feelings for her, it seemed impossible. Her mind was now haunted by Jessica and the fact that she had agreed to the deal. She didn’t understand why she did it so easily, without any sign of hesitation unlike Tiffany. Did that mean that Jessica didn’t love her back? It must be, right? Why else would she accept without a second thought. She might actually get quite a lot out of it. Maybe she should really give up. This love was hopeless, it was fruitless, nothing could come of it.

Yet as much as she told herself this, she still felt that ache in her heart. She missed the blond’s laugher, that dolphin scream, her love for sleeping and even her hate of cucumbers and melons. She missed everything about her, the good and the bad. It was like there was a giant void in her heart, a gap which could not be filled, except by one special person and that person only.

And the more she thought about the recent events, the more had mind turned back to Jessica. It was Jessica this, Jessica that, Jessica so and so. It was like had brain had been wired to connect all her thoughts back to Jessica. Jessica Jung. That one person she loved so much but could never have.

She in a deep breath and at the same moment there was a knock on the door.

That’s strange. I don’t think we would have any visitors now. I wonder who it could be…

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Hello my readers, 

How are you all? And are you enjoying this story? I was kind of overly eager to upload this chapter so I haven't really proofread and edited it so I might make some changes later. I hope you don't mind:) 

Firstly, quite a lot of people were asking where Sooyoung was in the last chapter. Right now, I'm concentrating only on a few characters each chapter so not all characters will appear in the one chapter. But because of the lack of Sooyoung, I added the little bit at the end with her thoughts and feelings. Any guesses as to who might be at the door? 

Secondly, a lot of people were asking for more soosica, yoonyul and taeny moments. I understand that there hasn't been a lot of their couple moments especially soosica and yoonyul for quite a long time (they haven't confessed to each other either) and I will definitely put more of those in the near future but for now, it's a rocky road for them all and there are more tears to come. Don't worry though, there is a happy ending for everybody in this story^^

Lasly, I was blown away by the number of comments I got on the last chapter:D You have no idea how happy I was to get all of those comments so I hope you are keep up the commenting! I will reply to all comments and I don't bite (unless you have food:D) so don't be afraid to post a comment, even if it's really short. Also welcome to any new readers and subscribers. Very nice to meet you all and I'm glad you've come across this story. 

This chapter was a little on the short side as I have quite a lot of things to deal with but I promise to have a much longer chapter next time♥ This author's note is quite long though so I don't mind if you stopped reading halway through;)

I hope you enjoyed (can I say enjoy when it's so depressing?) this chapter and have a lovely week. I will see you soon!