Later that night, Yuri and Amber met for dinner. Amber had been pretty busy for the past couple of days and wanted to spend some time alone with her cousin to catch up on things. She also knew that Yuri was confused about her feelings for Jessica and wanted to make sure she was okay.

“So, gēge…what’s the deal with you and Jessica? You’ve had two dates now and she even spent the night with you. How come you didn’t just go for it and get this game over with?”

“Stop being a , Ambro. That’s not part of my plan. I have more respect for Jessica than that.”

“So what’s the next step then?” asked Amber.

“That’s the thing…the next step is to end this stupid game and stop seeing her.”

Amber was confused. “Why? What happened? Did you guys finally kiss?”

“Nothing happened.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

Yuri let out a heavy sigh. “The problem is that I want something to happen.”

“What? You’re not making any sense, Yuri. Explain, please.”

“The more time I spend with Jessica, the more I realize that this game has to end. She really is a nice girl once you get past the iness and she opens up. You were right…I do like her. I was attracted to her from the very beginning.”

“Yeah, I know that. So what’s wrong?”

“I can’t do this anymore,” replied Yuri. “If she kisses me, I’m afraid I won’t be able to stop it…I don’t think I want to stop it. If I do that, then she wins and will probably dump me after she gets what she wants. At the same time, if she kisses me and I do follow through with my plan and reject her, she’ll end up hating me. Does that make sense? Either way, I lose…I lose Jessica. If we stop dating, at least we can remain friends.”

“I knew you wouldn’t be able to go through with this plan. You were never one to play games,” Amber replied. “You know, it sounds like you’re falling for her, gēge.”

“I know, I know…you don’t have to rub it in, Amber. That’s why I have to stop seeing her…because I can totally see myself falling head over heels in love with this girl. Too bad she doesn’t feel the same way. It’s all just a game to her.”

Back at the Girls’ Generation Dorm Suite

Tiffany and Jessica sat down in the living room to talk. The rest of the girls had gone out to dinner together which provided the two friends with some rare privacy.

“So, Jessi, how are things going with Yuri?”

“Too well…unfortunately,” Jessica replied.

“Too well? You’re not making any sense. You were on top of the world after your dates. What’s wrong?”

“I’m totally enjoying spending time with Yuri. If she’s playing me, she’s really good at it,” Jessica explained. “If she kisses me and I dump her as planned, we’re done and she’ll totally hate me. Then again if she kisses me, there’s a part of me that doesn’t want to stop it…that wants to see where the kisses will lead. If I do that, she’ll get exactly what she wants and probably dump me. I lose Yuri in both cases. I don’t want that to happen.”

“So you do like her then?”

“I think I might be falling for her, Fany. That’s why it needs to end now before it gets too messy. If we stop dating, we can at least salvage a friendship and I can still have her in my life. Why does she have to be a player? Why can’t she just like me for real?”

Tiffany held Jessica’s hand. “You should have been honest with her from the start. It would have made things less complicated.”

“I wasn’t sure how I felt in the beginning. What should I do, Fany? Help me decide.”

“You’ve always liked Yuri, Jessi. You just couldn’t admit to yourself. You know that I can’t tell you what to do. It’s up to you. You have to follow your heart.”

Jessica’s cell phone suddenly beeped. It was a text message from Yuri.

Yuri: Hi sleeping beauty. R u busy?

Jessi: No. Just hangin’ w/Fany.

Yuri: Can u meet me at AbracaJava? We need to talk.

Jessica panicked and looked straight at Tiffany. “It’s Yuri. She wants to meet for coffee. She says we need to talk. What should I do!?”

“Go and meet her,” encouraged Tiffany. “Maybe she wants to confess her feelings to you which will help you decide what you want to do.”

Jessica took a deep breath and replied back.

Jessi: Sure. When do u want to meet?

Yuri: Cool. 20 mins ok?

Jessi: That’s fine. See u then.

AbracaJava Coffee Shop

Jessica walked into the coffee shop and saw Yuri sitting in one of the booths. She walked over and stood in front of the tomboy who was so preoccupied with her cell phone that she didn’t notice the beautiful girl standing there.

Jessica waved her hand in front of Yuri’s face. “Yuri? Earth to Yuri. Hello?”

Yuri was startled. “Oh ! Sorry, Jessi. I didn’t see you there. Please…sit down. I ordered a couple of milk teas for us. I hope that’s okay.”

“That’s fine. Thanks.” Jessica sat down and got straight to the point. “So…what did you want to talk about?”

Yuri hesitated and fidgeted with her drink. Just spit it out, Liu…you have to do this. She rested her elbow on the table and looked down as she ran her fingers through her dark hair, stopping to rub the nape of her neck. She lifted her head and looked up at Jessica. “Well Jessi, the thing is…I like you…”

Jessica’s heart began to race. Oh my God! She likes me! Now I can tell her how that I like her too. No more stupid games…

“…but, I think we should just be friends.”

Yuri’s words stung Jessica’s heart. “W-what did you say, Yuri?”

“I said…we should just be friends.”

Jessica fought back her tears. “But I thought we had something really nice going on.”

“I know…it’s been absolutely wonderful spending time with you, but I just don’t think I’m ready to put myself back out there again,” explained Yuri. “It wouldn’t be fair to you if I wasn’t ready to invest myself in whatever it is we have going on here. Plus, I’ll be leaving back to L.A. in a few months and long-distance relationships are really hard.”

Yuri's words were sincere. She had come to realize that she really cared for Jessica, but the idea of her heart being toyed with scared her and she didn’t want to take any chances. Unrequited love was something she didn’t want any part of. Deep down inside she felt that if Jessica feelings were sincere and she wasn’t playing this stupid game, she wouldn’t hesitate to make the long-haired beauty her girlfriend. The part about long-distance relationships was actually not an issue for Yuri. She just used it as an excuse to further convince Jessica that they should only be friends.

Sensing the now awkward mood, Yuri reached over and held Jessica’s hand. “I’m sorry, Jessi. Please don’t be mad. I needed to tell you before things got too serious.”

Jessica took a deep breath and struggled to keep her composure. “I’m not mad, Yuri,” replied Jessica. “I appreciate your honesty, I really do, and I respect your decision. We’re still friends, right?”

Yuri smiled. “Of course, Jessi, just because we aren’t dating doesn’t mean I don’t want you in my life. I meant it when I said I like you…it’s just not the right time for us.”

Jessica was quiet as she and Yuri walked back to the dorm. When they arrived at Jessica’s front door, Yuri finally broke the silence. “Jessi, let’s try and not be awkward around each other, okay? I meant it when I said I want us to be friends.”

“Okay, Yuri. I promise that I’ll try. Thanks for walking me home.”

Jessica went inside and ran straight to Tiffany’s room. Tiffany was surprised that she had returned home so soon and knew that something was wrong. Luckily, none of the other girls were home yet. She saw the hurt on Jessica’s face and immediately hugged her. “What’s wrong, Jessi? What happened?”

Jessica started to cry and struggled to spit the words out between sobs. “Yuri…likes me…”

“That’s great news! Isn’t that what you wanted? Why are you crying?”

Jessica sobbed heavily into Tiffany’s shoulder, “…but she just wants to be friends. She said she’s not ready for a relationship and that the long-distance thing would be too hard.”

Tiffany patted Jessica’s back trying to console her. “I’m really sorry, Jessi. I thought things would work out for you guys,”

“Fany, how could I have been so stupid? She wasn’t playing me…I totally misjudged her. I’m such a in’ idiot! I meet someone who I really like and who likes me too, but we can’t be together. It serves me right for being so stupid. Even if I had been honest with my feelings from the start, it wouldn’t have mattered. Yuri and I can’t be together and I have to accept that. It’s just so unfair. Why is love so unfair?”