Yoona had one of the most wonderful dreams last night, and it was all because of how well Yuri took care of her without complaining. She didn't expect to fall sick when she left Yuri alone with Krystal last night but thinking about it now, it could very well be considered a blessing in disguise to their advantage. In fact, it also allowed Yoona to see how much Yuri cared for her in her semi-conscious state. There was an incredibly high chance that Yuri wanted to sleep in the middle of the night but she didn't, because she was too busy changing the cold towel on Yoona's forehead.

Now at 9 in morning, Yoona’s awake and very well-rested. She could feel her temperature slowly dropping, though her body still felt incredibly weak and her legs felt jelly all over.

“Yul…” Yoona whispered, her hand reaching out to touch Yuri's face. She smiled when a hint of annoyance appeared on Yuri’s face, the crinkle in her nose giving her away at once. “Hey, you need to have breakfast.”

Yuri groaned and turned around, giving her back to Yoona instead. She isn’t a really heavy sleeper but last night had been absolutely tiring, more so than she expected it to be. Yoona had been burning up the whole night and Yuri didn’t want to risk it going any higher than it should or things would get blown out of proportion. She could remember how everyone got worried when she was having a fever and Yuri didn’t think it was worth it to let everyone else worry from another country. Yoona needed space alone when she was feeling unwell because more people only made her feel sicker and more vulnerable; Yuri had witnessed it before their debut.

And Yuri was proud of herself for keeping it to a slight temperature.

“Yuri-ah…”

“Yu—Yah…”

Yoona could predict things easily but she didn’t expect Yuri to flip around and hold her down on the bed. She had a look of disbelief written all over her face, seeing as Yuri’s limbs were sprawled all over her. There was a certain degree of affirmation that Yoona was blushing like a beetroot – this close skinship was a first, and in a bed at that.

“Good morning, Yoong.”

A gasp left her lips and Yoona slapped Yuri’s arm with an accusatory look on her face, “you were awake this whole time?”

Yuri grinned in response, her eyes finally opening to see Yoona glaring at her cutely. She made sure to feign a huge yawn of fatigue just to carry her act through. “Of course, I was awake. You kept patting me like Umma does.”

Ugh, that little imp.

If only Yoona was in the pink of health, she could give Yuri a few good hits to teach her a lesson about teasing her like that. Yuri was getting very bold with her teasing.

“KWON YURI!!!!”

Yoona furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, “is there someone else in the house? I thought Unnies and maknae left already?”

“Oh !” Yuri cursed herself as she leaped out of bed, throwing on a sweatshirt. She had forgotten all about her mother after bringing the soup to the room yesterday evening. She was probably going to get chided for this but Yuri would receive it willingly. “! How could I forget?!”

Mrs Kwon was sitting on the sofa with her back upright, her arms crossed over her chest sternly. She knew Yuri had forgotten about her when her daughter didn’t come downstairs even after an hour or two has passed. It didn’t matter so much that she didn’t get to find out more about the young couple’s relationship; Mrs Kwon was seeing a very familiar form of selflessness from Yuri once more. Ever since Yuri and Yoona’s relationship soured from years ago, Yuri kept her heart closed and she never opened up about how she felt. Throughout the years, nothing had worked on her daughter.

To think that the same person who made Yuri close off her heart, is going to be the same person who makes it all better. This situation is weird, but pretty remarkable at the same time – Mrs Kwon has never seen something like this before.

“UMMA!”

The older woman didn’t even get a chance to turn around and greet her own daughter because there was already someone hugging her for dear life.

“You brat,” Mrs Kwon pinched Yuri’s cheek when it was within reach, purposefully snorting when her daughter pouted. She loved being so comfortable with Yuri as compared to parents who couldn’t play around with their children at all. “Is Yoona feeling better now?”

“Definitely. She doesn’t have any more fever.”

When Mrs Kwon looked back up, she saw Yoona standing on the stairs with wide eyes, her jaw slightly dropped. She would have burst out laughing but Yoona looked so fearful that Mrs Kwon was worried the younger woman would pass out. She raised her hand and beckoned Yoona to come over, knowing that this meeting was going to come sooner or later anyway. For God’s sake, they were in a virtual marriage anyway so meeting the parents was part of the whole arrangement.

It didn’t matter much if Yuri knew that her wife was practically creeping down the stairs because of her presence; Mrs Kwon could deal with her whiny daughter later.

“A-Auntie.”

“Hello, Yoona,” Mrs Kwon smiled, completely unaware of how much Yoona feared that smile – it could be bad or good, no one knew for sure. “I heard you were sick so I came over to help this brat out with some of the cooking.”

Being in a delusional state last night, Yoona had to take some time to recall what she ate because the bulk of her memory was just throwing up a lot and her getting sponged down by Yuri in the bathroom. She gasped aloud all of sudden she remembered the soup Yuri had brought in for her to take when she was snugly in bed. No wonder it was so good… with absolutely no offence, Yuri always over-seasoned her food so the soup should have been a bit salty. Last night's soup, however, was more than just satisfactory and Yoona might have not been well enough to enjoy but she wouldn't forget the great taste of that meal.

A nervous smile plastered itself all over Yoona’s face, and she bowed deeply – gratitude must be shown in times like this, especially when the other person could very well become one of the most important people in her life too.

“A-Auntie, thank you s-so much for the soup,” Yoona whispered shyly, her cheeks turning pink. She’s been blushing so much lately and with the upcoming plans the show had for them, Yoona could tell this wouldn’t be the end. “I couldn’t welcome you properly last night, sorry.”

Mrs Kwon nodded calmly, impressed by the way Yoona was behaving. She had gotten all sorts of other impression the first time she met the eight members, and Yoona happened to have another schedule when she visited the dorm. Knowing that Yuri had been unable to explain why her best friend was the only one not around to greet her, Mrs Kwon definitely couldn’t bring herself to understand Yoona’s missing appearance. Mrs Kwon had gone to the dorm a couple more times after that and Yoona had been there, extremely polite and respectful but there was something missing – there was a barrier somewhere.

And with this meeting, that barrier had been removed in a blink of an eye. Mrs Kwon was seeing another side to Yoona, a vulnerable young woman standing in front of her with nothing but bliss being displayed. 

“Sit down, Yoona. You’re still recovering so don’t stand for too long,” Mrs Kwon said and pointed to the sofa. She rolled her eyes when her daughter wasn’t doing anything to help Yoona. She smacked Yuri’s and frowned, “excuse me? You have hands and legs to help your wife.”

The black pearl didn't feel as embarrassed as she had ever been in front of Yoona, and she scurried over to help Yoona sit down. She could feel the stares being thrown at her and one of them was coming very strongly from Yoona. If Yoona was trying to make Yuri blush even more then it was working, especially with the way she was poking Yuri's cheeks. Yoona's smile was enough to make Yuri blush to the ends of the earth but with the way she was poking fun at Yuri now, it's definitely sufficient to make Yuri feel more and more embarrassed. Not that Yuri was complaining about it, just... wow, Yoona's impact on her was only growing by the day. 

“Anyway, Umma,” Yuri started, rolling her eyes when her mother batted her eyelids at her. She nearly burst out laughing when Mrs Kwon turned to Yoona instead, pouting at the younger woman. “Oh, for goodness’ sakes. Umma, when are you going home?”

Mrs Kwon almost combusted at how fast Yoona had smacked Yuri on the arm so naturally, as if Mrs Kwon was already her mother-in-law. Hey, it really was pretty funny to see her daughter getting taught a lesson right in front of her.

“Why are you chasing Auntie away? She just came!”

“Yoong!”

These two are definitely having fun playing games with each other. No wonder they were picked, Mrs Kwon thought. There she was concerned about how different their views on same- relationships were, but Yoona is here proving that there’s nothing to worry about. To think that a couple of years ago Yoona had chosen to believe someone else over her own best friend… it was unimaginable. The Yoona here would definitely not repeat the same mistake as before, and it didn’t need to be shown directly. The way Yoona looked at Yuri was enough and it gave Mrs Kwon all the answers she was looking for.

Yuri had a grin that could melt people, well, in a good way – it brought out the playful, mischievious side that was overlooked because of Yuri’s cold demeanour among peo