“Thank you, sir.” Taeyeon said after receiving a piece of paper from the man. She stared at it for a long moment before sipping her coffee. The man had excused himself, leaving Taeyeon after the transaction.

Her hands trembled as she picked up the phone, eyes locked on the numbers scribbled on the paper. She dialed. There was a ring. Then, two. After the third one, a voice registered into Taeyeon’s ears. A familiar voice, one similar to her wife’s.

“Hello?” The voice made Taeyeon strain to hear more. Her breath hitched at the gentleness it bore.

“Hello?” The other line called once more, prompting Taeyeon to reply before the receiver decided to end the anonymous call.

“Soojung…” Taeyeon’s voice was small, almost inaudible, but it struck a chord of familiarity to the person on the other line. “Soojung, it’s me. It’s Taeyeon-unnie.”

Krystal gasped on the other line, a hand landed on to repel the shock that ran through her body. ‘No, this couldn’t be. Is this one of my nightmares! I have to wake up.’

“Soojung, I-I miss you…” For years, those were the words that Krystal had always wanted to hear, but she had wished to hear them from someone else.

“How-” Krystal had wanted to ask, but Taeyeon had beaten her to it.

“Soojung, I have ways and I will find you and bring you home.”

Krystal froze at those words. ‘No, it can’t be. I don’t want to go home. I don’t want to return to the past.’

“Soojung, please stop running. I miss you. We both miss you. Your parents miss you. Your sister is not doing well. She’s been crying herself to sleep after you’ve left without a word. She wants you back, Soojung. We want you back.” Taeyeon’s voice was pleading her.

Krystal couldn’t say a word. Her breathing grew shallow, her heart raced as her mind registered Taeyeon’s words. No, she couldn’t. She doesn’t want to. She never wanted to reconnect with that past. She didn’t want to remember what happened that fateful night. Her sister had forcefully taken her youth away. She can’t, mustn’t give in.

“Unnie, I- I can’t- I can’t go back.” Krystal finally said after a long pause.  “I don’t want to come back. I don’t want to ruin things between you and my unnie.”

“Sooyeon loves you, Soojung. She loves you very much to the point that your absence is breaking her.” Taeyeon argued, “And, I – I have something to tell you…”

Krystal grew curious of Taeyeon’s revelation. “W-What is it?”

“I can’t tell you on the phone. I’ll tell you when I get there.”

Krystal swallowed the lump that had formed on . Taeyeon must have found out her location. She could still escape, right? Krysta