[CONTENTID1]NINE[/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2]Flashback, Third POV

Yoona 19, Yuri 20

Yoona's eyes fixed on the dress hanging on the wardrobe door inside her bedroom. She had spent the whole afternoon ironing this casual dress she chose for tonight's concert when Yuri called and cancelled their plan.

Yuri couldn't make it because her mother got a lot of orders for a birthday party and she needed Yuri's help. Mrs. Kwon had opened a catering business quite a while ago and Yuri was always there when her mom needed help. So who was Yoona to stop Yuri from helping her mom?

As much as it hurt her, Yoona still found herself happy to know Mrs. Kwon's business was running well. Knowing how hard and slow business was these days, Yoona couldn't be more grateful with what Yuri's family got.

Not wanting to lose herself in disappointment, Yoona decided to visit Yuri and offer help. She was not an expert like Yuri in cooking but Yoona's movement was fast and she believed she could offer simple help. She had helped Mrs. Kwon a couple of times before.

The idea sounded good and the prospect of meeting Yuri was tempting. They might not be able to enjoy the concert, but it didn't mean she couldn't spend time with Yuri. Because at the end, it was not about the place they would go but about the person Yoona wanted to spend time with.

The trip to Yuri's home was longer than usual. It was winter and Yoona could feel the night was getting colder as she eagerly rang the bell of Yuri's house. She rubbed her hand together to create some warm, waiting for the doors to open.

When she heard the sound of footsteps, Yoona expected to be greeted by Yuri's face, but Mrs.Yuri stood in door frame with her friendly face.

There are two odd things Yoona noticed. First, Mrs. Kwon had never been a person who opened the door when Yuri was home, and the second is the appearance of the older woman with a casual shirt without apron draping around her neck.

"Good evening, Yoona."

"Good evening auntie, is Yuri home?" Yoona asked but Mrs. Kwon's eyebrows knit in confusion.

"She just went out few minutes ago. I thought she is hanging out with you."

Yoona could feel her heart stop beating for a split second. She was sure she didn't mishear when Yuri called and cancelled their plan because she had to help her mother.

"Are you busy right now?" Yoona asked hesitantly, not really wanting to know the answer.

"No, I am watching television."

"Does that mean you don't have orders for a birthday party?"

"No, I do not have a lot of orders lately," the woman explained and the uncomfortable grew inside Yoona.

Yuri had never lied to her before and the realization that Yuri made up an excuse to avoid hanging out with her hurt Yoona beyond belief.

It felt like all of the air was pulled out from her lungs and incredible sadness took over her. She stepped backwards as she lost her balance but Mrs. Kwon caught her hand, keeping Yoona from falling down.

"Yoona, are you okay? You should come in first." Concern was evident in her soft motherly tone.

"I... I'm okay," Yoona found her voice to reply as she fought back her tears. "I just remember I have something, I should go now."

"You sure you don't want to come in?"

"Yeah, I have to go." Yoona bowed politely before walked away.

After dragged her feet for a few blocks away from Yuri's house, Yoona finally stopped her movement. Suddenly, the weather didn't feel so cold anymore. She barely felt anything around her as sadness took over her. She wanted to feel upset but deep inside her heart, she still had faith in Yuri.

Yuri might have a reason, just as she always had. The older girl always managed to convince Yoona, giving a reasonable explanation just to make Yoona find faith in her again.

Grabbing the cell phone from her pocket, Yoona dialed Yuri's number, just to connect with voicemail. Frustration grew inside her, but Yoona refused to give in. She had promised herself to put all efforts to fix their strained friendship and she won't back away easily. She would wait. If Yuri needed proof then Yoona will show her that their friendship was worth to fight for.

Yoona did not know how much time had passed, but she did realize that the temperature around her was decreasing sharply. Her body was numb and it was getting hard to breathe. She could barely feel any part of her body when suddenly she heard light footstep approaching her, followed by the faint voice of a guy laughing.

Yuri's step stopped when she noticed someone standing under a streetlamp. The girl folded her arms across her chest without a coat or jacket covered her body as she fought back the cold from the snow that began to fall.

"Yoong?" Yuri's jaw tightened as she walked over to Yoona who looked back at her with a hurt expression on her face. "Why are you standing outside? It's really cold."

Instead of giving Yuri a response, Yoona's eyes fixed on the other figurei. Lee Je-hoon was staring back at her with an innocent smile on his face.

"Hello Yoona."

Recognizing the growing tension, Yuri pushed Je-hoon away from Yoona as she gave the guy firm expression. "You should go now."

"Okay, I'm planning to go actually." Je-hoon replied before planted a soft kiss on Yuri's temple. Yuri froze from his fast movement.

"Thanks for being my date," the gentle voice whispered above Yuri's ear, loud enough to be heard by Yoona. He took some minutes to look back at Yoona before smiling at her. "Nice to finally meet you."

Yoona tore her eyes away, feeling her heart being ripped out of her body from the sight before her.

Date. Date. Date.

The word echoed inside her head when Yuri walked closer.

"Yoong-"

"I didn't know your mom has a muscular physique and heavy voice." Yoona's sarcastic tone that cut through the cold air didn't stop Yuri from moving closer. She was afraid for Yoona's condition because colour had completely vanished from the younger girl's face. Yoona's lower lips were trembling and her feet were shaking.

"Let's talk inside my home, you're freezing."

Yoona flinched when Yuri's right hand touched her shoulder. Her heart clenched tightly in her chest as she held back on the anger that was trying to break her gate of restraint.

"Yoong-"

"Stop calling my name, liar!" Yoona shot back, louder than Yuri anticipated.

"I'm sorry, I did not mean to lie to you," said Yuri sincerely, feeling her heart beating faster with every passing second. She knew once Yoona got started, it was so hard to stop her outburst.

"Every liar says exactly the same thing."

Yoona looked at Yuri with those doe-eyes that displayed so much sadness it broke Yuri's heart.

"Why?" Yoona asked above whisper, her eyes were visibly filling with tears. "Why didn't you tell me the truth?"

"I didn't want to hurt you."

"Why would I get hurt? We're just friends! There is no reason I would be hurt."

"Then why are you crying?" Yuri asked when the first tears rolled down Yoona's pale cheeks.

"Don't change the subject, Yul!"

Yuri swallowed lightly. She wanted to say something that could take away Yoona's sadness but she was coming up with a blank. She wasn't prepared for this. She didn't expect Yoona to come to her home on this freezing night. She did not expect Yoona to easily find her lies. After all, she was never good at lying.

"Look, there is nothing serious happening between Je-hoon and I. He isn't even worth to be debated."

"Guess you never consider anything in serious way, huh? And the invitation to the concert was just a joke for you."

"It is important to me," Yuri said, more affirmatively.

"Not as important as your date." Yoona's voice cracked and Yuri detected more pain than before.

"Yoong please, give me chance to explain."

"Don't!" Yoona shook her head as she felt another tears falling down. "Nothing you say right now will mean a thing."

Without another word, the younger girl left. None of them know it was going to be the last time Yoona ever came to Yuri's house...

Yoona was floating in and out of consciousness when something wet her face. She opened her eyes slowly just to feel the salty tears rolling down her cheeks. Touching the corner of her eyes, Yoona quickly wiped the last tear drop that leaked out. She could still feel the unbearable pain in her chest as she replayed the dream. It was scary how everything could seem so real, the pain still fresh as she just cried her heart out for whole night that day after her fight with Yuri.

"Good afternoon young lady." A soft gentle voice caused Yoona to turn her head toward the sound source. The housemaid was standing at her bedside with a feather duster in her hand, indicating that she had just cleaned the bedroom.

It took some minutes for Yoona to realize where she was. The vision in front of her was blurring and she barely felt the comfortable mattress beneath her. The throbbing headache was the hardest to be ignored as if there was jackhammer pounding in her head. Her stomach was churning; it felt like she just rode a roller coaster for the nth time.

Yoona groaned as she rubbed her temple, pressing her head to the soft pillow under her. "Can you bring me aspirin?"

The housemaid just nodded before disappear behind the door.

Waiting was torture and Yoona couldn't agree more as every minutes passed like hours until she finally heard the clicking sound and the door opened, revealing Donghae with tray in his hand. Yoona sighed in relief as she spotted the pain killer and glass of water on it.

"How do you feel?" He put the tray on the nightstand before sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"My head hurts." Yoona rubbed her throbbing head when she heard Donghae's soft laugh.

"Well, I'm not surprised." Somehow, his comment annoyed Yoona more than he intended to.

She didn't know why, maybe because she just didn't in good mood now. Everything inside her stomach felt weird and the headache made everything worse.

Without giving him any response, Yoona reached for the aspirin on the tray. She put the pill in and drank whole cup of water along with it while Donghae just shook his head as he watched his fiancée.

"Don't consume this pill too often. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can carry a risk of side effects such indigestion and increased blood pressure."

Yoona put back the empty glass before shooting Donghae an irritated look.

"Did you just give me medical talk when my head hurts like hell?" Now she doubted whether Donghae came as her fiancé or as a doctor. He should take care of her instead of sitting there and just talking theoretically. What she needed right now was someone who can make her feel better, not worse.

"I'm just telling you this for your health."

Yoona was about to answer back when she felt something swirling inside her stomach, urged to be released. She clamped one hand over before jumping out of bed and briskly ran to the bathroom. After closing the bathroom door, Yoona dashed towards the sink and violently threw up whatever was left in her stomach.

It took several times before the nausea died down. Yoona took a couple of very deep breaths when she had stopped regurgitating everything she ate yesterday. Her hand slowly reached the faucet and let the fresh water run, rinsing out as best as she could.

She never got this drunk before. What had gotten into her last night?

After ensuring that her n