“She broke down in the pub?”

“Yeah, I don’t know what happened…”

Tiffany covered her eyes with a cushion this time; what was happening to the most precious people in her life? She hated seeing the two pillars of strength in her life break down, because it would also mean they were crumbling down very quickly. They never broke down. They had kept her alive and strong for such a long time; Tiffany never saw this circumstances or for the lack of better expression - consequences coming in her life.

“Right, I’m Tiffany, by the way,” Tiffany introduced herself tiredly, unable to maintain her smile as she did so, “I’m so sorry. I never really had the chance to meet you although I met your sister, Jessica.”

Nicole smiled sheepishly and made sure not to show any emotion on her face whatsoever; she didn’t know whether Hyoyeon told Tiffany anything about the two of them flirting and going on casual dates. She didn't know if they would ever be public but it didn't matter. Tiffany couldn't help but smile whenever she noticed Nicole fidget in her position; it was no secret to both her and Yuri that Hyoyeon most likely fell for Nicole after seeing her during the interview. 

“May I ask… what happened to Hyoyeon?” Nicole asked, her voice a mild difference from a whisper. She couldn’t bear to witness a repeat of that scary behaviour if it ever happened. “I… I’ve never seen her behave that way before… a-and I don’t k-know how to h-help.”

It was a heart-breaking experience for Nicole.

It was a difficult decision to make then; both her sister and Hyoyeon were in trouble, Nicole didn’t know what to do – whether she should help her sister on the floor or keep Hyoyeon under control before she killed the customer. Honeslty, if it wasn't for the terrified gaze in Jessica's eyes, Nicole wouldn't have gotten the green light to help Hyoyeon instead of her own sister.

“The thing is… although Yuri and Hyoyeon did accompany me to California because I had to recover; they both experienced traumatic events there too.”

Flashback.

Hyoyeon was used to being in the spotlight whenever she was at a club; she had amazing dancing skills and she had the charisma of an entertainment artist. It was no wonder why she ruled the club scene pretty easily, when Yuri was not around of course. Perhaps it was a part of Tiffany’s misfortune, that she wasn’t as strong of a dancer as her two best friends were.

She always looked so embarrassing when the three of them danced on the same stage.

“Yul-ah! Come and help me carry some drinks!” Tiffany called out as she held two trays of shooters in both arms. She had to break their momentum sooner or later or something unexpected might happen.

Tiffany groaned when she saw someone grinding on Yuri’s body, “Yah! Kwon Yul!”

Yuri’s eyes snapped open at once, making a face as she tried to avoid the girl in front of her without looking too rude. She usually lost herself in club music so her actions would just go with the flow whenever. There was once she almost ended up in a one night stand after being too immersed in the tension and atmosphere. She hurriedly moved from the dance floor and headed to where Tiffany was, grinning sheepishly at her adorable pouting best friend.

“Sorry, babe.” Yuri took the trays into her arms instead and followed Tiffany to the booth they booked.

However, before either Yuri or Tiffany could make themselves comfortable, there was a loud noise followed by a couple of screams echoing from the middle of the fance floor. There was no hesitation whatsoever. Yuri scrambled from the booth and Tiffany followed right after, pushing past the other people on the dance floor - Hyoyeon was on the dance floor when they were buying drinks.

Yuri stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Hyoyeon as stiff as a rock, her arms seemingly glued to her sides as she witnessed a man abusing another woman. She didn’t wait any longer, knowing Hyoyeon was about to combust anytime soon. She ran forward and grabbed Hyoyeon by the shoulders, dragging the blonde with her to the washroom without waiting for anyone else.

There were already people pulling the man and woman apart.

“Hyo?”

“HYO! Look at me!”

But Hyoyeon couldn't even gather herself together before she passed out.

Flashback end.

“And since then, she needed to have anger management treatment because of that incident. She was so shocked by the scene that she got angry with herself when she realised that if they weren’t in a club, the woman could have been a long time ago. She was angry with herself and till now, she blames herself for being helpless… I guess that customer forcing himself on Jessica triggered her really badly.”

Nicole felt her entire system collapse after hearing about Hyoyeon’s tragic, yet unexpected cause of her uncontrolled behaviour. She had always thought of Hyoyeon as the most wonderful boss and person ever but who’d know about this? She suddenly wondered deeply why Hyoyeon would scare Jessica with such words like ‘’ if she herself was afraid of it happening.

She knew her sister was at fault for not giving a well-explained reason to Yuri but she also needed to have some assurance that Hyoyeon wouldn’t hurt Jessica at work.

Tiffany must have noticed though, because she gave Nicole’s hand a reassuring squeeze, “don’t worry… Hyoyeon will be fine and I’ll make sure she doesn’t bully Jessica at work.”

Jessica was another obstacle to be overcome; Yuri was still a mess although she smiled time and again… but the smile when Jessica was around never appeared ever aga