[CONTENTID1]NINETEEN[/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2]The hotel room was dim, lit only by moonlight that shone through the glass window that Yoona left half-open. She a hand outward, her finger touching her own reflection on the cold pane of glass, and her mind wandered back to the days she had been spent here, in New York City.

Everything seemed uneventful; she couldn't remember coming here. She couldn't remember a single moment where she found herself enjoying this City That Never Sleeps. The only thing she was grateful of was the fact that tonight would be the last night she slept inside this hotel room and tomorrow morning, she could finally fly back to her hometown. She could finally go home, and back to her own bedroom.

Behind her back, Yoona could hear a sound of the door being opened and the moving of a silhouette, followed by a pair of hands that slipped through her waist, a firm figure pressed against her back.

"It's our last day in New York," Donghae said as he placed his head on Yoona's shoulder, back hugging her.

Yoona let out a soft hum in response as she didn't make a move nor try to pry away from his hug.

"Let's go out and have fun. I want to introduce you to some friends of mine. They've wanted to meet you for so long," he suggested as he snuggled against the crook of her neck, inhaling Yoona's sweet scent.

Yoona's body tensed when his hands slipped under the fabric of her shirt, caressing her belly subtly.

"I can't believe that we have never done more than this," he mumbled. His pitch came out low and his hot breath tickled the side of Yoona's neck. His hand started to move a bit higher, grazing Yoona's skin teasingly, but when he heard Yoona inhaled sharply, he pulled away midway.

"I'll see you in half an hour," he said softly as he kissed her right cheek and walked away from the room.

Yoona let out a mixture of a growl and a relieved sigh as she pulled her gaze away from the window. Night, please be over soon...

 

 

"I experienced something unpleasant today," Mrs. Im settled her body on the bed as her husband who just got back from work stood a few steps away from her.

"Weren't you at home today? Did the housemaid give you trouble?" Mr. Im asked as he pulled the tie from the collar of his shirt.

"No, but I got an unknown guest," Mrs. Im answered. Her mind replayed the information Yuri gave to her, and until now, it still didn't sit well her. She turned her body to look at her husband before hesitantly asking, "My husband, do you feel there is a possibility of our daughter doesn't love Donghae?"

Mr.Im stopped his movements as now he gave his wife his full attention. "What did you ask about? Of course Yoona loves Donghae."

"But a girl named Yuri came to me and said that our Yoona is unhappy with this marriage."

"If they do not love each other, she wouldn't agree with this marriage. Don't let one person's words affect you. That girl is making up a story."

The irritation was clear in her husband's voice but the uncertainty that surrounded her all day refused to disappear. "She said she was a close friend of Yoona and I also think I'd seen her several times before." There was a pause as if she tried to collect herself that started to get panic. "My husband, what if... what if she told us the truth? Should we talk to Yoona about this?"

Her husband didn't say anything and she was starting to wonder whether he'd even heard what she'd said when the man sat down on the bed and met her eyes. With a serious expression on his face, he said, "Listen to me, I have asked my people to find out about that girl named Kwon Yuri. She and Yoona were friends in high school. You know our Yoona, she is always nice and kind to anyone. That girl certainly has misinterpreted all the attention our daughter gave to her."

"But ..."

"Plus, girl and girl friendship could be very deep and they could be so clingy sometimes but that doesn't mean our daughter has interest in girls," Mr. Im added as he placed his hand on his wife's shoulder gently. "Let's stop this topic here. Don't mention anything to our daughter when she comes back. They've been pretty busy with the wedding preparation. We don't have to add more pressure on them with this nonsense."

Mrs. Im watched as her husband got up and went to change his office suit into bathrobe and disappeared into the bathroom. She lay down in her usual spot on the right side of the bed before sighing deeply. She wished she could be as sure as she appeared to Yuri this afternoon, but the motherly side of hers felt guilty for how rare she spent time and talked heart to heart with her only daughter.

 

 

Yoona sighed as she found herself sitting on the bar stool inside one of the famous club in New York. She had been here for couple of hours, entertaining Donghae's friend with mostly insignificant conversation that bored her so much and she couldn't be more grateful when they asked Donghae to dance and left her alone for the first time tonight.

"Here is your drink lady," A man's voice startled Yoona as she looked up to see bartender set a glass of drink in front of her. The bartender with brown spiky hair smirked at her. He had a thick eyebrows and a pair of emerald green eyes that looked quite intimidating and Yoona didn't like it.

"What is it?"

"Long Island Iced Tea."

She hesitantly eyed the light liquid that had a colour like lemon tea. Her mind replayed the day at Oedo Island, when Yuri ordered a glass of mineral water at the club comfortably, not caring the strange look people gave to her. She smiled at the recollection. Even distance seemed to have no power to remove Yuri from Yoona's mind.

"Could you give me mineral water instead?" Yoona asked as the bartender frowned at her.

"You sure?"

"Yes. Is there something wrong with asking for a glass of mineral water?"

He shook his head to answer Yoona's question as he pointed at the dance floor. "But that guy asked me to recommend a strong beverage to you." Yoona followed the direction where his finger was pointing to and saw Donghae still dancing with his friends. "Who's that guy anyway? Your boyfriend?"

"He is my fiancé," Yoona answered and she regretted it when she saw a smug smile formed on the bartender's face.

"No wonder. Lady, seems like your fiancé wants to get laid tonight."

Yoona rubbed her forehead, deciding to ignore the bartender when he asked again, "So, would you like to taste my creation?"

To this one, a vein of irritation really formed on Yoona's temple. She shot the bartender a glare."Just ing give me a glass of water now!"

Some people around them turned to her direction but Yoona didn't seem to care about it, just like she didn't care about the fact that she had just cussed for the first time in years. Maybe the occasional curse was not completely a bad thing, in fact it help her felt better in a bit, just a bit though.

 

 

"I'm bored!" Krystal claimed, throwing her hands up in the air.

"We just started like fifteen minutes," Yuri who sat on the other side of the table said.

"But this is so boring. I hate Algebra!" Krystal propped her elbows up on the table before resting her chin in her hands, pouting. They were sitting in the living room inside Yuri's apartment after Yuri spent two hours to pursue Krystal to start her tutoring today.

"You won't get through the exam by hating the course," Yuri said gently, her eyes still focused on the stack of papers in her hands. Her brows furrowed slightly as she analyzed the numbers in front of her. It had been a few years ago since the last time she studied algebra. "Now, let's stop thinking of math so formally and start with learning basic algebra rules. You will find a college algebra class to be very difficult without the knowledge and understanding the basic Algebra." Yuri decided as she moved the book in front of Krystal and put down the papers on her hand but the lack of a reaction from the other girl made Yuri looked up. "Krystal, are you paying attention?"

"Nope," Krystal answered simply as she pouted her lips even more.

She smirked in victory when she heard Yuri sigh in defeat. She wouldn't make it easy for Yuri, because if Yuri wanted to tear down the high and mighty wall that she spent her entire life building up, she had to try harder. But she wouldn't be surprised if Yuri finally backed away and told her that she was wrong to ever think about tutoring her. She wouldn't blame Yuri because that was what people did to her all this time. They walked away because they were afraid of trying a little bit harder.

But maybe Yuri's different.

"Let's make a deal," Yuri said gently. "We go for another half an hour and then we will take a break and I will bring you to one of best ice cream shop in the city."

Krystal beamed in the mention of ice cream. It's been a while since someone took her out for an ice cream. Yoona was the only one that ever offered ice cream to her.

"Alright, it's your treat! Game on..."

Yuri smiled at Krystal's excitement. Even someone as hard as Krystal could melt at the mention of ice cream. It was the proof that we just needed to push ourselves and try harder, because even the hardest stones could crumbled down.

 

 

Yoona gasped as she felt Donghae's fingertips caress her chest, his lips pressed against the crook of her neck, it teasingly.

"Donghae, stop..." Yoona pleaded as she tried to pry away from his grasp.

"Why?" Donghae asked, stopping his movement and Yoona used the opportunity to slide away from the bed. Her