Jessica absentmindedly stared at her phone. She was waiting for someone to call. She was waiting for her. She brought her knees to her chest, eyes still boring holes on her phone. Then, she came to a decision as her hand grasped the device. Going through her logs, she chanced upon the unknown number. Her thumb hesitated as it hovered over the call button.

‘Should I?’

Before she realized what was happening, her thumb had already made the decision for her and her eyes widened when the call pulled through. There was no turning back now and as she shakily placed the phone over her ear, she could only wait in anxiety as the ringing resounded through her ear.

‘Please, don’t pick up. Please, don’t. I-I’m not ready for this yet.’ Jessica silently prayed, but the throbbing of her heart had argued otherwise.

“Hello?” A tired voice registered into Jessica’s mind, breaking her trance. The person on the other line sounded sleepy, but it was still music to Jessica’s ear.

“Jung Soojung…” Jessica blurted, her tone soft and fleeting.

A gasp came from the other line before the shuffle of sheets disturbed the suffocating silence. Jessica could picture her sister sitting up on bed, clearly shaken from sleep by her unexpected call.

“U-Unn-nie?!” Krystal’s tone had raised a pitch, her voice husky and hushed. It brought an unconscious smile to Jessica’s face.

‘I miss you…’ Jessica had thought, but she couldn’t bear to say it. “Uhm, hi Krystal.” She said instead, “How… are you?” Jessica didn’t know she was holding her breath as she strained to hear Krystal’s response.

“I-I’m fine…” Krystal managed to say amidst the rustling of bed sheets, “I-How about you?”

‘I’m not fine… I miss you, Soojung…’ Jessica had wanted to say, but she restrained herself, “I’m good, Soojung.”

An awkward pause came between them. All they could both hear was each other’s breaths, both struggling to depict normalcy as they feigned being well.

“H-How did you know my number?”