“Unnie, oppa, I’ll go back with Seohyun first. Don’t have to wait up for us, I’ll send her home.” Yoona stood up from her seat, Seohyun following suit a second later.

“Give some love to oppa too, lovebirds!” Jiyong joked, flashing them a smile.

“The two youngest have a better love life than the rest of us. How sad is that?” Tiffany added, causing the couple to blush.

The rest joined in on the teasing before the couple said their goodbyes and left the café, leaving the 5 of them behind.

“Anyway, I have to attend to my own matters too. Take care of Yuri for me will you? Call me if something else happens. It was a great catch up!” Jiyong picked up his belongings.

“Thanks a lot Taeyeon, for being there for Yuri and taking care of her.” He patted Taeyeon on the back before leaving.

--

Yoona and Seohyun walked back to school in comfortable silence, Yoona glancing to her side from time to time, admiring Seohyun’s beauty which was highlighted against the sun.

“Stop looking, Yoong.” Seohyun lightly pushed Yoona’s shoulder as they settled down at their secret spot in school, enjoying the sunset.

“You’re just too beautiful, Hyunnie. Besides, I miss looking at you.”

Yoona chuckled as she lied down on Seohyun’s lap, playing with the latter’s fingers.

“Don’t you think Yuri unnie and Jessica unnie are a well matched couple?” Yoona asked out of the blue.

“Are you being biased?” Seohyun giggled. “Why are we talking about this anyway? I thought we were going to have our alone time.”

“Are you jealous now, Hyun ah?”

Hearing how Yoona called her, she blushed a little. She found the nickname endearing, and she secretly loved it when Yoona called her that. It makes her knees go weak.

“Don’t answer a question with a question. Let’s just talk about how you played so well just now. You did great Yoong, I’m sure your dad would be proud, seeing how much you’ve improved.”

“I hope so. How ‘bout you Hyun? Are you proud of me then?” Yoona sat up and looked at her expectantly.

“Of course.” Seohyun smiled.

“Thank you, Hyunnie. To hear you say that makes me extremely happy.” Yoona grinned, planting a kiss on Seohyun’s temple.

--

“The third reason…” Yuri took a deep breath before continuing. “Well, I like you, Jessica Jung.”

There was silence between the two, the atmosphere suffocating them.

“Yuri… I—“

“Its fine, I know.” Yuri chuckled bitterly to herself. “You don’t like me back, you don’t swing that way, and you have a boyfriend. Just let me say this alright? Being gay, I’ve actually suspected that I was a long time ago. Trust me, I’ve tried to move on from you, thinking it’s just an infatuation, just pure admiration. But how can I move on when your fingerprints are on my heart, your voice resonates down to my toes, your smile lives in my eyes, and every time my mind wanders, it goes directly to you? You dear boyfriend knows about this, and he’s probably using you to get at me, I think you know the rivalry between us. Besides, there are many rumours about him, if you don’t know. The most popular one being him dating the girls that likes him, so that he would be able to get into their pants easily.”

“R-Rumours are just rumours…” Jessica murmured, voice soft.

Sighing, Yuri rubbed the back of her neck. “Yeah, rumours are just rumours. But this didn’t come from me. It came from oppa, I’m sure you know he cares about you. He told me to tell you, so that you’ll know what he might be up to when he get suspicious. Besides, he has enough money to bribe people to injure me, he probably does it too to cover up most of his deeds.”

“…”

“You can pretend I never said this, I guess I just need to get it off my chest too. Just know that we all care for you, and I’ll still be here for you no matter what, protecting you till the end. Also know that I’ll murder your boyfriend if he does anything to you. Can we still remain as friends? I don’t think I’ll survive not being able to see you.” Yuri joked, sticking out her hand for a handshake.

“F-Friends…” Jessica accepted the handshake awkwardly, not sure of what to believe.

“Ready to go?” Taeyeon popped her head in at the right time, holding up a pair of crutches.

Nodding her head, Taeyeon walked over to where Yuri was seated to help her up. Sensing that she could manage, Taeyeon walked up in front first to help hold the locker room door open. As Taeyeon turned her back, Yuri lifted up Jessica’s hand to give her a kiss at the back of her palm.

“Remember, I’ll still be here for you if you need help. Or protection at least.”

--

“Penny for your thoughts?”

Taeyeon had went to get a glass of water when she saw the balcony door open. Walking over, she found Yuri sitting at the corner with her crutches leaning on the wall, staring into space.

“I confessed to Jessica, Taeng.” Yuri said monotonously.

“You what? I’m sorry, repeat.” Taeyeon widened her eyes and leaned closer, thinking she had heard wrong.

“I said I confessed. Is that hard to believe considered that extremely long talk we had?”

Taeyeon could feel the bitterness in her voice.

“Hold up, I need details on this. Give me a second.”

Taeyeon suddenly disappeared from sight, appearing a few second later with two bottles of beer.

“It’s a Friday, no harm done. Plus, only one bottle.” She shrugged while handing a bottle over to Yuri, which she gladly accepted.

The two best friends started their talk, Yuri explaining what happened while Taeyeon interrupting her from time to time. One bottle of beer become two bottles, which slowly kept increasing as their “heart to heart” talk continued on. They even brought out liquor which had higher alcohol content in it. Taeyeon, with the lower alcohol tolerance, started to get a little tipsy.

“You know, Yul, I think I’m going to have a crush on Tiffany soon.” Taeyeon laughed as she brought her glass to her lips.

“You’re drunk. Stop it.” Yuri grabbed the glass in time.

“I’m sure I’m sober. How did we not realise that Tiffany was actually a 9/10 all these time, or even a 10/10!” She exclaimed. “I thought I’ll be single my whole life due to the lack of girls around me.”

“I’m sure it’s mostly girls around you, just not your type. C’mon get up, it’s late.”

“I would say Tiffany’s my type now. She’s… She’s perfect!” Taeyeon said dreamily. “Damn, I was so close to her just now, such an angel...”

Yuri just shook her head and chuckled at Taeyeon’s state right not. Never in her life had she seen Taeyeon so struck by a girl, and the funny thing was, it was Tiffany. Out of so many girls, Tiffany. Still laughing, she struggled to stand up on her own and hobble over to Yoona’s room. Luckily for her, Yoona was still awake talking to Seohyun. With Yoona’s help, the both of them managed to get Taeyeon into her room and shut her up from spouting anymore nonsense.

--

“Tiff, I’m extremely conflicted right now.”

Jessica had barged into Tiffany’s room and threw herself on Tiffany’s bed, plucking out the earpieces from Tiffany’s ear and confiscated Tiffany’s phone.

“Seriously?”

“Help me, Tiff… I don’t know who to trust.” Jessica sighed and buried her face into a pillow.

“What are you even talking about?”

“Long story short, Yuri confessed to me. And she told me that Taecyeon is only dating me because he wants to… You know.”

“Yeah, I know. What I also know is that I’ve heard those rumours too.”

“And you’ve never told me? And you let me date him like that?” Jessica stared at her in disbelief.

“Firstly, rumours are just rumours and they might not be true after all. Secondly, you were so smitten about him that I think my opinion would not have made a difference. Lastly, I think everyone deserve a chance don’t they? For all we know, he might have been the best boyfriend in the whole world. I repeat, might have been.”

“So you don’t trust him now?”

“He’s starting to get on the suspicious list, you know? I didn’t tell you before, but I’ve seen him with other girls before. I thought they were his relatives, but after hearing it form you, maybe he’s cheating.”

“I can’t believe you’re my best friend…”

“Honestly, I’ve never pictured you with Taecyeon. All the while it seemed like a small crush. I’ve always imagined that you’ll end up with Yuri one way or another. Besides, don’t you think that you guys got together too quickly? What do you know about him exactly?”

Tiffany’s words sent Jessica into deep thought. What she said was true after all. Both of them got together after their first date without any consideration. She didn’t know much about him, heck, she doesn’t even know what his family does or where he stays. All of a sudden, dating Taecyeon seemed like a bad idea and Yuri’s words seemed trustable enough. She’d known Yuri for so long and Yuri hardly lies. What are the odds of Yuri lying to break them up? What would she gain from it? If she breaks up with Taecyeon, it does not necessarily mean that she’ll get together with Yuri.

“I hope you don’t regret your choice, Jess. Now, please get out because I need my alone time.” Tiffany pushed Jessica out and smiled sweetly at her before slamming the door in her face.

“Seriously?”

“Oh, don’t worry, I’ll still be here for you whenever you need me! Just not today!” Tiffany opened the door once more before slamming it close again.

Rolling her eyes, Jessica walked back into her room.