Yoona was preparing breakfast in the kitchen while Yuri was still having her shower since she woke up slightly later. To Yuri's surprise, Yoona requested to stay with her on the pretext of having some company. She wanted to show her emotions and feelings unlike how she usuallly blocked them from showing.

“Yuri, breakfast is ready!” Yoona called out, carrying two plates into the living room. She didn't know what Yuri liked to eat so she made use of whatever Yuri had in her refrigerator. One plate had pancakes and the other had some scrambled eggs.

Yuri came downstairs in her orange blazer since there was yet another meeting today and she took Yoona's breath away effortlessly. However, it wasn't just Yoona whose breath was taken away. Yuri's jaw dropped as low as humanely possible after seeing Yoona's outfit. 

“Wow…” Yuri sighed and she gulped, surprised at how good Yoona looked. Yoona watched Yuri's eyes travel and she blushed, clearing weakly. “Breakfast?” Yoona offered with a sheepish smile, holding up the plate of pancakes. 

Yuri slowly explained to Yoona the report she was supposed to submit a while ago as the two were in a taxi, heading towards the company. She read out from her report,  “SH Industries are done with their proposal and they're waiting for you to sign, Miss Im. Merging with them has benefits and the returns are high…”

“What's the percentage they're asking for?” Yoona said, touching up her make-up. 

“55% but it's debatable.”

Yoona kept her silence; it was a tough choice indeed. Merging with SH Industries might give Seohyun the wrong idea and cause even more complications but it was beneficial to the company and staff. Deciding that being professional is still the best option, Yoona nodded reluctantly. 

“Are you sure, Yoona?” Yuri whispered, holding Yoona's hand gently. She was doubtful of Yoona's decision after seeing the flash of pain in her doe eyes. Yoona chuckled and looked at Yuri with a genuine smile, “I have to be professional, right? I can't be the CEO if I let my personal matters affect my work.” Yuri nodded in agreement but remembered to give Yoona’s hand a squeeze, “Well, you know I'm always here.”

It was a simple sentence but Yoona could feel herself mentally jumping for joy. She finally realized how good it felt to have a good friend like Yuri again. The tanned girl proved herself trustworthy in a matter of three days. 

“I thought you were going to give me a nickname, Yul?” Yoona stared at Yuri and found herself enjoying the sight of Yuri blushing like a tomato. “D-Did you just call m-me, Yul?” Yuri asked with pink cheeks, not believing that it was Yoona who took the first step and not her. 

Yoona nodded cutely and waited for Yuri to respond, wondering what exactly her nickname was going to be. No one had given her a nickname before, not even Seohyun. It was always Yoona or other couple names. 

“Yoong.” Yuri mumbled, her eyes brightening up like a little child. 

“Did you say something?”

“Your nickname is Yoong.” Yuri looked up with her wide puppy eyes. Yoona froze and her grip on Yuri's hand unconsciously tightened. “Ow…” Yuri whined and poked Yoona's cheek, pointing at her squeezed hand with her eyes. “Oh my, I'm so sorry, Yuri-ah…” Yoona let go of Yuri's hand and sandwiched it between her two palms, massaging it softly. The sensation caused Yuri's heart to pump faster and faster, her stomach releasing butterflies with every second that her hand was with Yoona's. 

After realizing how intimate her actions were, Yoona quickly retracted her hands and placed them on her lap. Yuri turned towards Yoona and saw how pink her cheeks were, letting out a smile of her own. 

Soon, the taxi arrived to a stop and the two alighted with cheerful smiles. Yoona immediately hid her smile and masked it up like she always did before stepping into the office. 

“Is that the Ice Deer walking with Yuri?”

“Wow...”

“Since when did she like talking to us?”

Yoona couldn't deny that those words coming from the people around pierced her heart; she never wanted to be someone like that. She was just trying to protect herself from the past. “Yoona...” Yuri whispered and offered her hand, her pinky stretched out for Yoona to hold. Yoona looked at Yuri's hand and she interlocked her pinky with Yuri's. 

The two continued walking around the office with their pinkies interlocked and this time, Yoona wasn't as affected and hurt like she always felt.

It was Yuri who changed that.  

The meeting was horribly awkward to say the least. Yoona, Yuri, Taeyeon and Jessica just stared at each other with blank faces, not knowing what to say. Seohyun was trying to concentrate on the presentation but got distracted when she saw Yuri slip something into Yoona's file. 

It was the small grin that Yoona had on after reading whatever it was, she even looked at Yuri and flashed her a beautiful smile. Feeling jealousy boiling in her, Seohyun bit her lip and glared at Yuri.

“Miss Kwon, do you have something to say?”

Yuri turned to her like a deer caught in headlights; her wide eyes and shocked expression gave her away. She had no clue why she was called all of a sudden, it wasn't like she wasn't paying attention or dozing off during the meeting. 

“No, Miss Seo.”

“Then please refrain from passing notes during the meeting. It's not authorized.” Seohyun said rudely and her glares were starting to tick Yoona off. “She was passing me a part of our proposal but it was folded. Is there something wrong?” Yoona held up the piece of paper with folded marks and snickered, seeing Seohyun flush with embarrassment. 

Jessica, Taeyeon and Yuri were shocked to see Yoona defending her. Zelo was sitting near Seohyun and he too, was snickering at the rival. Soon enough, it was Yuri and