Listen to Roy Kim's Home on repeat while reading.

"Why don't you believe in yourself a little more?" The old friend joined her at the rail, "you're a lot more than you give yourself credit for."

"They say if you keep hearing it, you'll start believing it," the pale girl twiddled with her fingers.

"Then don't listen," the tanned girl shrugged.

"That's easier said than done," a bitter smiled ran across the girl's face.

"Not if you make it a reality yourself."

"Maybe I want it to be like this. Maybe I want it to stay this way." She looked into the distance and watched the sun set behind the skyscrapers.

"Then somewhere in this city, you'll be letting people down." The latter joined her.

"Who is there to let down if everyone thinks of me like this?"

"Us…" she turned to look at her deeply, "there's us."

"You girls think of me just the same," a scoff escaped the sullen girl's lips.

"Who says that we do?"

"You," the pale looked back at her, "you girls started all of this."

"Only because you begged us to," she reasoned.

"I like the way things are now," she turned away and tried to change the subject. "No expectations, no one to impress, no one to shine for."

"But I miss it," she put a hand on the latter's arm to make her old friend look at her. "What exactly happened for you to be like this? What made you beg us to do such a thing?"

"Everything, Yuri," she sighed, "everything."

"Let me in, Jessica. let us in. We weren't always like this."

"I know."

"Tell me why then."

"Fine," Jessica took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "It's you girls."

"Us? Why us?!" Yuri was taken aback.

"You know very well why," Jessica pierced through Yuri's eyes.

"So you made—no, you begged us to start all of that because of that?!" The tan girl couldn't accept it.

"Yes," she simply stated.

"What in your right mind made you think that it was your responsibility to do so?!"

"Where there was me, there was all that. I couldn't let people find out." Jessica slowly shook her head.

"But it wasn't it was your fault Jessica," Yuri pleaded.

"No, it wasn't," Jessica half heartedly agreed.

"So why throw away everything you worked so hard for?"

"Because I wouldn't have the eight of you anymore," she turned her body and leaned outwards on the rail.

"That doesn't make sense. You've had us since the very beginning and until the very end."

"No, I wouldn't have. I would've been his woman," her voice spoke with slight distaste.

"We wouldn't have minded," Yuri mumbled.

"I would've now that I know."

"It's still not too late." It was Yuri's turn to change the subject.

"Maybe but I don’t want that life anymore."

"Why not?" She questioned.

"I have freedom. I have life. I have choices."

"That's true," she nodded a little, "I guess."

"So let me have this life," Jessica spread her arms out wide.

"It's just a pity. No one will hear your voice again."

"You will now,” she smiled, “that's enough”

"I haven't heard for two years," Yuri bitterly smiled back.

"Why'd you girls leave me then?" Jessica tried to lighten the mood by adding a little chuckle.

"We couldn't bear hearing 'backstabber' 'twofaced' 'fake' 'traitor' anymore. Especially me." Yuri solemnly responded.

"I'm sorry," she apologized.

"I'm here now," Yuri shrugged it off.

"I've miss you," Jessica admitted, "I've missed all of you."

"As did we," Yuri smiled back. "Let's go meet them."

Jessica shook her head. "I'm not ready," she kept shaking her head. "I'm not ready to face the lives I've ruined."

"You haven't ruined our lives, Sica. We're still working." She reassured.

"But I did. Don't try to deny it, Yuri."

"Our lives aren't ruined. They've changed courses but they aren't ruined." She took a deep breath. "If you'd just meet them then you’d see that they're still happy."

"I'm not ready, Yuri. Give me some time. I just got back."

"Fine but why did you come back in the first place?"

"I needed to make sure Krystal's doing alright," Jessica lied and left the rooftop without saying goodbye.

---

There were things Jessica wished she never done and then there’s things she wished she always did but never did she expect herself to be in this situation right now. It seems quite uncanny really. Jessica had always passed by without a second thought, without a second glance, so what made this time any different?

The brunette stood there with eyes still lingering at the city in front of her. She had let go a long time ago, so why did she feel so empty? Why did she feel like a part of her was still missing since then? The girl in distress didn’t know and quite frankly, it seemed like she didn’t want to know. Life was good enough for her now. There was no one bothering her, no one to annoy her every day, so she should be happy but strangely enough she wasn’t.

For some reason life didn’t seem so filling anymore. Jessica would find herself walking through the streets in a daze like there was nothing that stimulated any form of emotion. Music passed through one hear and out the other. Other people’s presence was awkward and uncomfortable.

Was this the end of Jessica’s life now? It seemed like the world was telling her so. There was nothing to find interesting to the eye or alluring to the senses so she should just stop all this quickly, right? She thought long and hard about it every day but she never had the courage to do so. They said that suicide was a form of cowardice, so what if Jessica’s a coward? She had nothing else left to lose. The poor soul had lost her company, her fame, her friends, she had nothing left besides her family which rarely contacted her nowadays. She might as well be called a walking corpse.

Jessica wouldn’t suicide though, it wasn't in her character. She had this gnawing feeling at the back of her mind telling her to hold on a little longer, so she is but for what? She didn’t know.

----

Her dainty hands reached for her keys inside her outdated louis vuitton bag but before she could insert the correct key, a pair of forceful hands bagged her head and tied her hands behind her back. She screamed and squirmed in resistance but within the next five seconds a cloth of some sort covered . Her legs were kicking at every direction, hoping to land somewhere that would hurt but two hands had caught them and tied them up too. Within a minute she was already thrown over someone’s shoulder and brought out the building.

Jessica had given up. There was no point in resisting anymore. Whatever this kidnapper wanted, wasn’t going to get it because she had nothing to give. She heard a couple of hushed voices in the car but she lost all effort to even try to get leads for future purposes if she did decide to go to the police. There was no reason anymore. She would probably get shunned and tossed out the police station anyways.

After what seemed like the longest car ride of her life, she was carried somewhere and dropped on a chair. The cloth over was undone but the bag over her head remained while her arms and legs were tied to the chair.

“Why did you bag me?” She asked out of routine. “I have nothing to give you.”

“We did not kidnap you for your assets, Ms. Jung.” A voice spoke through a pitch distorter.

“Since you already know who I am, you should know that I really don’t have anything for you,” she sighed and rolled her eyes, ready to get this over with. They're probably going to her any minute now.

“We want to know why you did what you did,” the same voice echoed throughout the room.

“What are you? Some obsessed sasaeng fan? It’s been years, shouldn't it be left under the dusty rug by now?”

“I am not some obsessed sasaeng fan.” The kidnapper seemed displeased being tossed into the same category.

“Then why don’t you unbag me and let me tell you.” Jessica sighed.

“Because I wouldn’t get the real reason if I do.”

“Try me. I have nothing left to lose.”

Jessica could hear mumbling between several people and some showed disapproval while the others thought it might be for the best. A few minutes passed by with them constantly going back and forth between the best choice when someone had enough.

“Forget it!” A feminine voice yelled in frustration and went over to yank the bag off Jessica’s face.

Jessica squinted her eyes from the sudden brightness while a pair of hands untied her arms from the chair. Her hands went straight to rub her eyes when she heard a small chuckle.

“Still oblivious as always. Even in a situation like this.” The person chuckled a little more.

Jessica’s head sprung straight up at the familiar voice she hadn’t heard in years. “Hyoyeon?!” And met her eyes.

“Yup. Wh