Yuri walked outside of the club, tears streaming down her face. She felt as if her heart was being crushed inside of her chest. She had experienced heartbreak in the past, but this was more intense and more painful than anything she had ever felt before. She felt like she couldn’t breathe, everything was silent around her, she felt numb.

It was if the heavens felt the depth of Yuri’s pain, as small droplets of cold rain began to fall from the sky. She looked up and closed her eyes, feeling each raindrop as they came in contact with her face. She took a deep cleansing breath. Okay. It’s done. Get yourself together. It’s time to move on and never look back. She walked down the block to an intersection where she waved down a taxi to take her back to the hotel.

“Yuri!! Wait!! Yuri!!” Amber called out as she saw her cousin climb into the taxi. She ran down the street waving for the taxi to stop, but the driver didn’t see her and drove off. Amber stopped to catch her breath and sighed. “Oh . I hope it’s not too late to fix this mess. I hope Yuri is okay.”

Amber headed back inside the lobby of the club and quickly dialed Yuri’s cell number which went directly to voicemail. “ing voicemail! Answer your goddamn phone, Yuri!” she cursed as she ran inside the club where she found Krystal sitting alone at the table.

“Babe, I couldn’t catch Yuri. She’s gone. She got into a taxi. She’s not answering her phone either.”

Krystal slammed her hand down on the table. “! What the hell is happening!?” She looked at Amber and saw that she was soaking wet. “Hey, you’re drenched. Go ask the bathroom attendant for some towels and dry off before you get sick, and then we’ll head home. We’ll go to Yuri’s hotel later to talk to her. Thank you for trying to find her, Am.”

“I just wish I got to her before the taxi took off,” Amber said as she scanned the club for Jessica. “Wait, how’s Jessica? Hey, where is she?”

“Unnie is fine. The girls took her back to the dorm. She felt better after some water. It was all just too emotional for her. She realized how much she loves Yuri and she wants her back.”

“Well, I’m going to have a talk with that sister of yours before she tries to get back with my cousin. She really hurt her. Yuri didn’t deserve any of this . Jessica has some explaining to do.”

“Whatever stupid, just go and dry off before you get sick. We’ll all talk to Jessica together. I want to know just as much as you do why all of this happened. Tiffany wants to know too. I really hope Yuri can forgive my sister.”

Amber sighed. “Me too, babe…me too.”

Later that morning (same day)

It was 9AM when Amber and Krystal arrived at the Girls’ Generation dorm suite to check on Jessica who was still sound asleep. Tiffany told them that Jessica tossed and turned all night mumbling Yuri’s name.

The couple asked Tiffany to wake Jessica up in two hours and tell her that she was taking her to lunch at the Blueridge Café, one of Jessica’s favorite restaurants. The plan was for Amber and Krystal to go get Yuri at her hotel and bring her back to meet with Jessica so that they could talk things out. Tiffany nodded, gave a thumbs up and the cutest eye smile to the couple. She then whispered, “I’ll wake up her now. It will take that long for her to get out of bed and get ready. Jessica and Yuri! Hwaiting!”

It was about 9:30 AM when Amber and Krystal got to Yuri’s hotel. They were armed with chai tea and scones to help sway Yuri to meet with Jessica. They stepped up to the front desk and spoke with the clerk.

“Excuse me, sir. Can you please tell me what room Dr. Yuri Liu is staying in? I’m her cousin.”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t give out the room numbers of our hotel guests. Is Dr. Liu expecting you? I can ring her room and announce your arrival,” the clerk responded.

Krystal politely replied, “Yes, please do that. Tell her Krystal and Amber would like to see her. Thank you.”

The clerk rang Yuri’s room but there was no answer. “That’s strange. There’s no answer,” the clerk muttered. “You know, I didn’t see Dr. Liu leave the hotel this morning and I’ve been here since 7AM. Hold on…let me check the hotel register. Oh, here it is.”

“Here what is? Is everything okay?” asked Krystal.

“Everything is fine. Dr. Liu is not answering her phone because she’s not in her room,” he replied.

Amber leaned forward on the counter. “What do mean not in her room? Where is she then?”

“She’s gone. She checked out at 6AM and took the hotel shuttle to the airport to catch an 8AM flight.”

After hearing the news, Krystal dropped the tray of drinks on the ground splattering tea all over the lobby floor. “Oh ! No! No! No! Oh my God, Amber! I thought Yuri had two more weeks here. What are we going to do now? What about Jessica? What are we going to tell her?”

“! Wait, let me think. Let me call Yuri’s cell.” Amber dialed her cousin’s number, but the call went straight to voicemail. “! Voicemail! Her flight was at 8 AM…she’s already left Korea. ! ! This is bad, Krystal…really bad.”

It was a bad situation and Amber knew it. She knew how stubborn and obstinate Yuri could be, especially when it came to relationships and betrayal. She knew that once Yuri walked away from a relationship, she never looked back. It was easier for her to move on that way, to prevent being hurt by that person again. She also knew that Yuri’s heart was very fragile when it came to Jessica because she knew how deeply she loved her. She really wasn’t surprised that her cousin left Korea to distance herself from the source of her heartbreak.  For Yuri it was now all about self-preservation.

The couple thanked the clerk for his help and apologized for the mess they made in the lobby. They left the hotel and headed back to the car. “What are we going to do, Am? What are we going to tell my sister? When she finds out Yuri is gone, it will devastate her. You saw how she was at the club when Yuri walked out.”

“I’m not sure if there is anything we can do. It will be close to impossible to get Yuri to ever come back to Korea. Let’s go and talk to Jessica first. If she can tell us what Yuri said to her on the dance floor, maybe we can figure out where she went. In the meantime, I’ll make some calls to see if I can track Yuri down. Krys, you call Tiffany and tell her we're on our way. Don’t tell her that Yuri is gone.”