Knock, knock. 

Tiffany straightened out her clothing and checked her appearance in the reflection of her phone; she had to made sure she didn't look too sloppy after coming here directly from Yuri's apartment. She had stayed over for the past two nights to make sure everything was fine, especially since the two younger ones didn't know how to handle Yuri when she was in that state; Hyoyeon had to handle the club so she was the only one available. 

“Who is it?”

“It’s Tiffany!”

The door swung open at the speed of light, revealing a girl who had some resemblance to Jessica. Tiffany was stunned for a moment, shocked at other girl’s bare face – she looked beautiful even without a hint of make-up. This must be the youngest sister Jessica was telling Yuri about it; the middle sister was working in the club so she wouldn't be at home when the club was open already.

“Is there something on my face?”

“N-No, sorry…”

Krystal cocked an eyebrow, smiling in amusement at the beautiful woman in front of her. She crossed her arms over her chest before leaning against the door, “and what are you doing here?” She was rather tickled by how awestruck Tiffany looked after seeing her; no one had ever given her such a direct reaction before but there was always a first time for everything. 

“I came because I needed to talk to Jessie about something; she’s misunderstood a lot of things about my best friend.”

“Ah… Yuri?”

Tiffany nodded and walked into the apartment, aww-ing at the cute interior design. She didn't expect someone like Jessica to have such a beautifully-designed wallpaper of flowers and fairies. She also was aware that Jessica used to be known as the ice princess back in high school so it was an even bigger revelation to see such a difference between her personality and her looks.

Krystal clamped down on her lower lip to stop herself from giggling; she was finding Tiffany's reaction all too cute. To think a shrewd designer like Tiffany was easily surprised by such small things. She had heard stories from her sister of Yuri, Hyoyeon, Tiffany... practically everyone she got to know after working at the club. Even then, she was pretty excited to meet Tiffany. 

“So I guess you can also explain to me why my sister didn’t want to come out of her room for the previous day until she went to work today,” Krystal plopped her on the sofa and gestured to the seat opposite her, “frankly, I don’t have a good impression of that Yuri after seeing the way my sister bawled her eyes out last night.”

Well, which younger sister would have a good or pleasant impression of a person who makes their sister cry? It was completely understandable as to why Krystal was skeptical of Yuri now; Tiffany wouldn’t blame the younger for this. Furthermore if Jessica wasn't a person to cry often or easily, then Krystal's misunderstood impression of Yuri would just get worser by the moment. 

“Well, the thing is… I’m not sure if you two are ready to hear this yet, because I’m explaining things for Yuri and it’s not going to be pretty.”

“I’m all ears.”

Tiffany blew a strand of hair away from her face, clasping her fingers together as she prayed for everything to come out as orderly as possible. She too still had nightmares about Yuri’s past, especially since they didn’t know of it back then and she told them when they were in the States. Yuri managed to turn over a new leaf back then but she had also ruined many years of her life. If she didn't manage to turn over her life, this wouldn't have been possible at all. 

“What do you think of junkies?”

Krystal’s steadfast expression faltered for that moment and she couldn’t hide the shock on her face. “J-Junkies? As in… people who take drugs?” 

Tiffany nodded silently, she had no words to do this now. She couldn't say it aloud or her voice would crack; it was so heartbreaking to think about her poor best friend who had been through so much. Of course, Yuri was no longer one but it has become a part of her past; and not everyone would be able to accept it - Yuri, Hyoyeon and Tiffany were understanding of it.

“Back then Yuri was so desperate to earn money that she took on a few jobs at once, most of it being underground work; street-fighting, smuggling things and of course, trafficking drugs. She earned a lot of money from these three alone so she decided to focus and take on more… but it’s also because of this that she got addicted to drugs.”

Krystal moved to sit beside Tiffany at once; the impression of the cute puppy earlier had vanished and turned into one of a depressed mother. She wrapped an arm around Tiffany’s shoulder and gestured her to continue, hoping it'd be easier for Tiffany to continue her words if she comforted her at the same time. Tiffany sniffled into her palms and tried to stop her own tears. 

“Although she got addicted to drugs, she forced herself to continue working until she could set up a joint bank account for Jongin and Yoona. On one of her trafficking days, she got caught by the police after they set an ambush. That’s when she went into rehab and I first graduated from high school. I got to know Taeyeon then and I... my head was so deep up my that I didn't realise how different she w