7:00 AM

Quack

“What was that….” Jessica mumbled and stirred in bed.

Quack quack

Something was nipping her hand.

“Ugh…..wake up” Jessica shook Yuri, who was sleeping next to her but Yuri was sleeping like a log.

Quack

“Oh my gosh are you serious….” Jessica grumbled under her breath.

“Kwon Yuri you have five seconds to get up” Jessica warned and continued to shake Yuri.

Yuri slowly sat down and rubbed her eyes.

“Good morning” Yuri yawned and stretched her arms out. She’d been hugging Jessica to sleep so one of her arms was numb.

“Your pet is calling” Jessica coldly said.

“Eh?” Yuri sleepily cocked her head.

Quack

“Oh! Good morning to you too!” Yuri happily chirped at the duck on the floor beside the bed.

“I can’t believe you adopted a duck of all animals” Jessica sighed and lay back down.

“Nugget and I go way back, right buddy?” Yuri grinned and tried to pet the duck but it swiftly avoided her hand.

“And you named it Nugget……” Jessica sighed.

“Remember what I told you about Nugget?” Yuri asked, getting out of bed to open the blinds.

“Yes. You almost ate him, I know. You felt bad so you went back to the pond and took him home” Jessica said with her face in the pillow.

“Exactly” Yuri said.

“Go play somewhere else Nugget” Yuri gently pushed the duck away.

“Let’s not forget the part where I had to help you get in the water to catch it” Jessica said.

“Heh” Yuri chuckled and opened one of her closet doors.

“Why are you getting dressed so early? It’s 7 in the morning” Jessica asked.

“I have work today” Yuri said.

Upon hearing that, Jessica quickly sat up like a mummy in a coffin.

“Oh no you’re not. Doctor told you to stay home and rest up until your stitches heal. Completely” Jessica scolded.

“Come on, it’s so boring!” Yuri whined.

“No, come back here” Jessica ordered.

“But I can’t just-“ Yuri protested

“Kwon Yuri”

“Okay….” Yuri surrendered and crawled back into bed.

Deep inside, she knew Jessica was caring for her. Her injury hadn’t fully healed yet as it’s only been two weeks after the incident and Jessica’s been at her side ever since. The army officially reinstated Taeyeon and Yuri back into the military but the news hasn’t been released to the public yet. Both Taeyeon and Yuri agreed that they would have to wait until Yuri made a full recovery for them to appear to the public eye.

While Yuri’s been at home resting and doing light paperwork, Taeyeon went back to work and training. She had a lot of follow up work to do with the Isaac Hong incident and since Yuri couldn’t make it to the questioning sessions, Taeyeon went instead. Tiffany and Jessica continued to work in their respective companies because their fathers were currently being held without bond by Interpol and there would be a few months before anyone could bail them out of international jail.

“Sica” Yuri said.

“Hmmm” Jessica mumbled.

“Do you have to go to work today?” Yuri cutely asked.

“You already know the answer to that. Yes” Jessica responded.

“No, I mean do you have to go to work because……” Yuri trailed off and pulled Jessica closer until she was spooning her.

“YAH ByunYul!” Jessica shrieked.

“Please?” Yuri pouted and crept her hand toward’s Jessica’s chest.

Even though her back was to Yuri, Jessica knew what Yuri was up to.

“Promise not to run around too much?” Jessica asked.

“Deal mmrpphhh” Yuri was cut off by a pair of soft but aggressive lips on hers.

Neither of them got out of bed for the next three hours.

***

Army Career Advising Office

“Are you sure about this?”

“I told you already, I decline” Taeyeon said.

“Captain Kim, this is a huge opportunity for you to advance your career. I advise you to think about it”

“I already did” Taeyeon confidently answered.

“And I stand firm on my position” Taeyeon added.

“I don’t get it. You decline an opportunity to work with the Canadian Joint Task Force 2 which might be able to get you to Commanding Officer of the special forces here for reasons of personal issues?”

“That’s right” Taeyeon said.

“But why?”

“I told you. I have personal issues to tend to here in Korea and I have no intention of leaving until they are resolved” Taeyeon explained.

“I can hold on the offer for you if you want. Think about the promotion opportunities afterward. You could be commanding the army!”

“No need. I don’t know how long this is going to take but for now, I would like to resume my duties as a Special Forces Captain of the South Korean Army.” Taeyeon said.

“It must be very important to you if even promotion won’t tempt you”

“Yes it is” Taeyeon answered.

“Family?”

“I’d rather not disclose any more information. It’s very dear to me and I believe it outweighs every other priority in my life right now” Taeyeon said.

“If you insist….you really missed a chance to do something great. Please give it more consideration. You’re a truly remarkable candidate for this position”

“First off, I thank you for your commendation but I never wanted to be considered to train with Canada’s JTF2 in the first place. I’ve spent almost ten years of my life serving in the army and for once, I’d like to focus on myself before my career” Taeyeon said. She was starting to lose her patience.

“I u