Blueridge Café

“Thanks for bringing me here, Fany. I actually do feel a little better after having something to eat. I’m sorry for causing such a scene last night...I’m sorry for everything," Jessica said and turned away, ashamed to face her best friend.

“You don’t have to apologize, Jessi. As hard as it was to do, you had to face Yuri. It had to happen. I’m sorry for not telling you that she was going to be at the club. We figured that you wouldn’t have come out if you knew.”

“You’re right, I wouldn’t have, but I’m glad you guys tricked me so we could see each other. It made me realize how much I love and miss her and that I want to be with her.” Jessica began to cry. “I hope she’ll talk to me so I can explain everything. I know I’ve hurt her so deeply.”

Tiffany handed Jessica a tissue. “It’s okay, Jessi. Yuri will talk to you again, you’ll see. I know how much she loves you. You guys will work it out. I just know it.”

Tiffany looked up and saw Amber and Krystal walk into the café. She was surprised to see that Yuri wasn’t with them and gave the couple a confused looked. When she saw their long faces, she realized that something was wrong. She got up and sat next to Jessica while she gestured for the couple to sit down across from them.

Meanwhile, Jessica looked away, unable to face Amber and Krystal. She felt ashamed for everything she had done and for hurting Yuri. She had barely spoken to the two of them since the confrontation with Amber.

Krystal spoke first. “Hi unnie, how are you feeling?” Amber followed. “Yeah Jessica, how are you doing?”

Jessica was surprised that her sister and Amber were speaking to her. She knew things with Krystal would gradually get better, she was her sister after all, but was shocked that Amber was being nice to her.

“I’m feeling better. Thanks. Have you guys seen Yuri? Is she okay? I really need to talk to her. I need to apologize and make things right between us. She needs to know that I never stopped loving her.”

Krystal tried her best to reassure Jessica. “I know you love her, unnie. I’m sure everything will be okay after you and Yuri have a chance to talk.”

“How can you be so sure of that, Soo Jung? I was so cruel to her. When she looked me in the eyes while we were dancing, I could see her pain,” replied Jessica. “When she held me close and we kissed, it was then that I realized how much I love and need her. I was so stupid for pushing away the one person that matters the most to me in this world.”

“The whole club saw that kiss. I thought you two had made up at that point. It surprised me that Yuri just walked out like she did. What did you say to each other?” asked Amber.

“I didn’t say anything to her. She told me she loved me and just as I was about to say that I loved her too, she stopped me and said…”

“This really was all a game to you, wasn’t it? You never really believed in us. I guess I lose for being the one to fall in love and for believing it was real. Congratulations…you won. I will never bother you again. Have a nice life, Soo Yeon. Goodbye.”

Tiffany hugged Jessica. “I’m sorry, Jessi. That must have really hurt. I’m sure Yuri didn’t mean it. She’s just upset, that’s all.”

“But she did mean it…,’’ Amber muttered under her breath.

Krystal reached under the table and gently squeezed Amber’s leg, stopping her from speaking. “Not yet, Amber,” she whispered. She then turned her attention back to Jessica. “Unnie, before we talk about Yuri we need to find out what happened between the two of you so we can try to piece all of this together. Maybe then we can find a way to help get you guys back together.”

Jessica took a deep breath and proceeded to tell the girls everything from the very beginning. She explained what she did and why she did it. “I felt really pressured by the company to be more discrete with my relationship with Yuri…even more so than with other relationships I’ve had. I tried…we tried. They didn’t stop me from seeing her, but some of the managers told me that my relationship with her would ruin my career, hurt the group and my family. “

“Who cares about what a few homophobic s have to say? The company didn’t forbid it,” said Krystal.

“But the company could have been a lot more supportive about it by making those s mind their own damn business and keep their mouths shut,” countered Amber

Jessica continued, “I know that Yuri was unhappy hiding our relationship. She would have left me anyway. The long distance thing would never have worked.”

“Did you ever tell Yuri about how you were feeling or ask her if she was unhappy?” Tiffany asked.

“I never told Yuri about how much pressure I was under…I didn’t want to burden her. We did talk about having to hide our relationship and about her leaving. She said didn’t care about having to be secretive as long as we were together. She told me that even if we had to be apart when she left for L.A., we would figure things out…” Jessica suddenly broke down and sobbed heavily into Tiffany’s shoulder. “You don’t understand, Fany. You have Taeyeon here with you every day…you live together. Amber and Krystal, you have each other. Yuri is going back to Los Angeles...it would be too hard for us to maintain our relationship separated by thousands of miles…”

Amber suddenly cut Jessica off. “Yuri loves you more than you give her credit for. She told me she was looking for a way to work here in Korea so you could be together.”

“She what!? She didn’t tell me that! Oh my God...what have I done!? I’ve ruined everything!”

Before Jessica could continue Amber chimed in. “So, this with Taecyeon. Was any of it real?”

“No, it wasn't,” answered Jessica. “Taec was just pretending to be my boyfriend to make it easier for me to end things with Yuri. There was no way I could break up with her face to face. I just couldn’t do it. I wish I could take it all back, but I can’t. It tears me up inside knowing that Yuri is hurting because of me…”

“What you did really you know…you really hurt her,” said Amber. “That’s why I told you off the way that I did. I’m sorry that I was so harsh. I didn’t know what was really going on. I see now how much you love Yuri and I just want her to be happy. You guys belong together.”

“It’s fine Amber, you were just protecting Yuri. I would have done the same thing if it were Soo Jung,” Jessica reached across the table and held her sister’s hand. “It doesn’t matter now...it’s over. Yuri will never forgive me…she never wants to see me again. It’ll be just be a matter of time before she finds someone else to love her. I don’t deserve her.”

“You really should have talked to me when you first started having doubts,” Tiffany gently scolded Jessica. “You know about all of the bull I’ve been through. I have to pretend that I’m dating Nichkhun because the company keeps pressuring me and Tae to cut back on the skinship. They said we were being too obvious. This whole idol thing is so image driven…it’s ridiculous.”

“I thought you did it to take the attention away from Hyo Yeon’s little incident with her ex-boyfriend,” replied Amber.

“Well, it was for that reason too. I came up with the idea and luckily everyone agreed to it,” Tiffany explained. “Thankfully, the netizens backed off from attacking Hyo Yeon and SM agreed to leave Tae and I alone. JYP was all for it. It brought 2PM back into the spotlight since they were getting ready for their comeback. Luckily, Khun and I are close friends, so he was more than willing to help out. It , but I love Tae and would do anything for us to be together. We could’ve figured something out for you and Yuri, Jessi.”

Jessica wiped her tears. “It’s too late.”

“It’s never too late,” said Krystal.

“It might be…” Amber muttered.

“Shut up, stupid!” Krystal scolded as she kicked Amber under the table.

A look of despair came over Jessica’s face. “What did you say, Amber?”

“I’m sorry, Jessica. You need to know the truth. Hiding things is what got us here in the first place.”

 Jessica squeezed Krystal’s hand. “What is it, Amber? Just tell me.”

“When it comes to relationships, betrayal is something that Yuri doesn’t tolerate. If someone hurts her, she’s done…no matter what. If Yuri knew the truth she would likely forgive you, but the problem is getting to her to tell her the truth. You’re going to have a very hard time getting her to listen to you. She won’t be hopping on a plane back to Korea anytime soon, that’s for sure.”

“What do mean hopping on a plane back to Korea?” Tiffany asked, realizing the worst scenario.

Krystal looked directly into Jessica’s eyes. “Yuri is gone, unnie. We went to her hotel this morning to bring her here so you could talk and she’s wasn’t there. She left Korea this morning. Amber called everyone…no one knows where she is…I’m sorry.”

Narita International Airport

Yuri stepped off of the plane, grabbed her bags and caught a bus to the hotel. Instead of returning to L.A., she had flown to Japan and decided to spend the last two weeks of her vacation in Narita. It was a small town and didn’t have the fast pace of Tokyo life, and was exactly what she needed.

She called her parents and told them that she was working on a research project at a local hospital in the area so they wouldn’t worry. She also asked that they not tell anyone where she was because her work was confidential, which she did to ensure that her whereabouts wouldn’t be revealed to Amber or anyone else if they called looking for her. Yuri did not want to be found, at least for the next two weeks.

After having a hot shower and a nice meal, Yuri laid in her hotel bed staring at the ceiling. It’s going to be alright. You’ll see. You’ll get over her someday…it’s just going to take some time. Yeah…it’s just going to take forever...