A/N: Henlo! how are y'all? I hope you're all safe and sound. Stay negative while being optimist :)

Hope to have more time to write so that I can update as frequent as before ._. Anyways, Hope you'd like this as always /^o^/

 

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Jessica haven't been to the dorm since that trip to New York. 

Plans were laid out and it was expected to push through smoothly.

That was, of course, before it got messy.

Plans was cancelled.

Media got involved.

And they were confused as .

She felt embarrassed and hurt, now she has to face this alone. It has been a while, she, struggling on her own. Ever since she joined the group, everybody played a different part in her life - just as she did, as she always hoped it to.

But now, here she is, standing at the front door of their dorm fidgeting whether she should knock, or just barge in. 

Stella, the lady who cleans after the dorm during Sunday's said that Jessica's stuff remained untouched. But she cannot just grab it in her place because she may be accused of being a thief. Without a choice, Jessica had to do it herself.

Her train of thoughts stopped when the door opened instead. It was Hyoyeon going out with Yoona.

"I ... I need to pick up some stuffs" Glad cooperated. 

Yoona is mum and she really can't figure out what goes on her mind, like, is she unwelcome or does she want to give her a hug? Yoona has the kind of face that could give you a chilling glare with a smirk when she is actually amused or she could smile at you but gives you chills down to your bones

"Do you need anything?" Hyoyeon asked "We are on the grocery duty"

"No, thank you. Take care."

"Alright, my number stays the same, so if you change your mind" She raises her hand up to her ears with only the thumb and pinky raised - sign for a call.

"Do you want me to bake something for you?" Yoona inquired. She had been baking all the time that she got nothing to do. "The one you liked on my instagram"

Jessica let out a soft chuckle "So you were on?"

"I just got home that time. You're lucky it's midnight"

"I dunno, it was morning in Cali then. And even if I want to, I have to refuse. Soojung proposed to stay in the apartment in gangnam so I will just pack and go"

Yoona is sullen. It has been a while, and even though she knew that Jessica didn't come to stay, at least she hoped for her to stay longer. Why of all time, she had to be the one in duty to go out?

"Come inside, idiot. We have to go now, else Sunny would spank my out" Hyo commanded

"What a weird duo, you two"

"We do not point out the obvious here" She retort back before tugging Yoona to go.

"Unnie!" It was Seohyun who first noticed her presence right after she entered. Sunny had asked her to check on the grocery duo as to why they aren't leaving

"Do not bully her!" Sunny shouted from the couch

"No, it's not that ..." Seohyun entered in a rushed tone  with Jessica following her from behind "It's Sica-unni"

Sica-unnie, it has been a while.

It has been cringy before, but now it comes fresh to her ears. Krystal usually goes by Jessi, and her friends goes by Jessica. It's in the U.S afterall.

"I need to pick up some stuffs" She answered looking down on her toes

She expected this kind of awkwardness. 

What she did not expect was, the hug, from Taeyeon.

"Welcome back" She softly mumble

Her tears slowly fall from her eyes. All along she thought that everything changed, that things were not to go as they used to. That they turned to someone who just knew each other from memory. But here is their eldest proving her wrong. At least, on Taeyeon's, she isn't unwelcome.

"Why are you crying, it's so not you" Sunny joined in chuckling with tears b

And soon, it was the 7 of them embracing each other 

"We truly are getting old" Jessica said after they have settled in the kitchen. "We cry easily on simple things now"

"As if you never meet" Sooyoung rolled her eyes

"You did??!" The four of them inquired in shock

"And why aren't you reacting? You too?" Yuri asked, pointing fingers towards Tiffany

"Duh, we live in the States. What did you expect?"

"We live in Korea, and we didn't!" Seohyun answered. Heol, they were exchanging messages, but they never had the chance to.

"I had a schedule there, oh my gosh, why are y'all over reacting?" Sooyoung quipped in when she can feel Sunny's eyes on her

"Wazzup, Wazzup everybody! Hyo in the house!" As usual, she makes her presence be known.

Yoona dropped the groceries on the counter and went straight to her room.

"Did you two fight again?" Taeyeon inquired, she stood up and checked if the duo bought everything she had asked them to.

"No, I believe the culprit is here"

The girls, except Jessica and Hyoyeon, turned to Tiffany.

"I swear I did not ask for a lot of unlisted item" Tiffany grunts and Jessica voluntarily raised up her hand.

"I believe it's me," She fidgets with her nails "She wanted to bake something for me, but I turned down the offer. I said that I wouldn't be staying for too long, and would just get the stuff I had planned to take"

"The baking is one thing, but it's definitely not because you are not going to stay for too long." Hyo willingly clarified "You are staying for some time"

"No, I can't, else Soojung would be pissed. You know her. Talk is talk"

"There is something called lockdown, and you're too late to go out, so ..." She showed the news on her phone, the one Yoona showed her at the grocery store

"No," Jessica pulled out her phone as she scratches her hair "That can't be right"

The President just announced a total lockdown. Effective today, as of 4pm. It's already 6.

"We were almost stuck in the grocery because the people were hoarding stuffs. Good thing Yoona has sharp eyes, while I have fear of your loud voices, so on top of the stuffs you wanted, we actually bought enough that could save us from starvation"

", my flight is cancelled!" Jessica cursed as she checks the airlines site 

Seohyun opted to check the news for further clarifications.

Total lockdown includes;

Travel ban.

No dine in.

Curfew of 10pm to 5am.

Mandatory use of face mask.

Only authorized person allowed to go out with restriction of 1 per family.

Market closed during Monday's for sanitation and disinfection.

No travel of one area to another.

In short, they need to stay at home until further notice.

"This covid ed you up"

"Enough with the cursing unnies" Seohyun hissed

Krystal called and said that it would be alright, and she just wishes for everything to be good to Jess; that she won't see the same scenario before - bloodshot eyes Jessica who have been unable to eat or sleep properly.

 Knowing she had all the time in the world back to the dorm, Jessica decided not to rush with the packing. The lockdown was indefinitely and she doesn't see the situation as an easy one. People were dying.

The first place she went to, is the movie room. She smiles as her eyes travels from the couch to the portable projector and on to the whole design of the room.

The memory of them pushing each other trying to be on the most comfortable part on top of each other while making sure that the food is still accessible is always a chaos, which is now, a treasured memory.

It was so wild back then, to the point that they sometimes leave with unknown scrapes and scratches here and there. 

Jessica sat by the corner. She never sat there before. During the times they have upgraded the dorm, there were lesser chaos. They now have sofa to fit 9 of them, but somehow they still snuggle close to each other.

"Fancy seeing you at the corner" It was Yuri.

"Yeah, now that you're here, I can't help but to wonder, how could you possibly be asleep here while sitting down?"

"Is that a mock or a question?"

"You reminded me so much when I left" Jessica looked away, instead she looked outside.

"I don't think I gave you enough memories to cherish for you to be reminded of me" Yuri sat at the opposite corner. Awkwardly but composed.

"You were always strong ... Always managing to keep it in. You know ... When you don't speak your mind when you're angry" Jessica turned to her. "When I had to face the press, I always expect them to ask way out of the line even though they were briefed not to"

"Those press and their false information" Yuri rolled her eyes. She know this quite well. All of them does.

"Then it reminds me of you" Jessica continued, laying down on Yuri's lap "I dunno, I just ... sometimes ..."

She can't find the right words to express what she wanted to pass through

"I missed you too," She says before she closes her eyes. "I'm sorry"

Sorry for what?

"Sorry?"

"Just ... For everything. It was immature of me. I know I hurted you - the way we didn't want to, so I feel sorry"

Yuri is mum. Jessica gave her a soft tap on her lap.

"Going to take a nap, so think as if i am not here and cry it out"

And that's what it took for Yuri to burst.

 

After a quick nap, Jessica head to their gather room. Their room where they have all the polaroid of each other posted on the wall; also where they gather around to discuss stuffs with their manager or some plans to surprise or something.

According to Stella, the room had major update, that her pictures were removed.

And she can confirm it when her polaroids were missing, but nothing replaced it either.

But one part caught her attention. The yoonsic pic. Moved but not removed. She almost missed it because it was on top of her head.

That little rascal pic beside the airplane buddy pic.

During lunch, it was Sunny who opened up about the polaroids.

"It was my idea" Sunny spoke up in the middle of their lunch and the girls looked at her confusedly "I saw you going out of the gather room this morning"

"We have been living too comfortably that we miss some place at times. I'm just going room by room, i hope you all don't mind"

"Your pictures ..."

"I'm still there" Jessica gave Sunny the assuring smile

"There is?" They were confused. The culprit glared. Yoona is still mad at her.

"Yeah, you didn't replace the slots I used to occupy" She reasoned. Maybe Yoona didn't want the others to know. Maybe it's Yoona's little secret.

The others nod as they finish their lunch.

 

"Need more?" Jessica brought beer on the roofdeck. 

Since the pandemic they were feeling like Jessica. Always laying down on the bed, using cellphone or watching tv and barely going out of their rooms

"I could use a company"

"Nah, I do not drink anymore"

"What kind of is that?" Sunny taps the wooden platform and Jessica sets the beer and food she brought over "How's your packing going?"

"It's good. Slow, but good" She answered as she opens a can

"They were always sullen and sulky" Sunny laid down the platform "The pictures"

"Because you love me," Jessica joined and give her a hug "I'm sorry"

"It was ... It was so sad looking at those ... How one day we were happy, and then one thing we weren't"

"I know" She tries to calm Sunny who burst in tears "I did the same, so I know"

"Childish" Sunny giggles "How come we don't grow up"

"We do" Jessica reasoned before chugging her beer

"Grown up is different from being alcoholic" huffed Sunny "You're still like the first time i saw you"

"That's where you're wrong" Jessica smirked "I used to energetic"

"Oh yeah, you were almost in the dance line" Sunny giggled and Jessica cracked up "Had you been strong as our maknae's, you'd definitely be in the dance line instead"

"Yeah, I used to dance like crazy, until it was peak exhausting and my doctor would nag me about being anemic"

"Our peak days sure is wild" Sunny agreed ", Let's cheers to that, may we reclaim those"

"Cheers"

_

"Ugh, why did we ever keep beers in the fridge" Tiffany complained as she and Hyoyeon went up to fetch the two. Sunny just uploaded a vid of the roofdeck and the cans of beer. Good thing Tiffany is on and fast enough to delete the said vid on Sunny's phone

"This one is the culprit" She give Jessica's forehead a flick. The two passed out drunk on the wooden platform with smiles on their faces

"Ouch! I'm not drunk!" Jessica glared, rubbing her forehead

"Yeah right"

"I will take care of Sica-unnie, just help me get her on my back" Yoona joined the duo

"Just tipsy"

 

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"Hey tipsy girl, drink that" Tiffany gave Jessica a soda while preparing Sunny a coffee "Are you and Yoona fighting or something?"

"She's still mad, i guess"

"For what reason?"

Jessica was about to answer when Hyoyeon's voice take over "Oh yeah, yeah, we goin' past tipsy t