As promised, another update ^^

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All girls were having lunch together. It was a month before the college started and they decided to meet up. They just finished their meals and Yuri decided it was the right moment to talk to them about her leaving to the states for the college.

“It’s not cool, Yuri-yah.” Tiffany sulked.

“I’m sorry. I was surprised too when I got the acceptance letter from the university this morning,” Yuri looked down.

“And I thought we can reunite again,” Yoona sighed. “First, we didn’t get to be with you through our high school. We really miss you in our team, you know. It’s really weird not having you going kkab with us these past years. We’ve always done it together for many years. But then, I thought you would go back to Seoul for your college so maybe I can have my best friend back again. Now with you gone, I feel like I’m starting to lose you.”

Yuri couldn’t help but feel a little guilty. “Hey, you’re not losing me, okay?” She side-hugged her best friend. “I’m not leaving for good. It’s just for college. I’ll be back and I promise to keep in touch and visit during summers.”

Yoona didn’t reply.

“Look, I’m sorry for everything. But I have to do this for my future. I’ll be back someday but not until I get all the knowledge and experience I need. Although my brain is not working like normal people, but I also have a dream, Yoona-yah. Like Fany, like Taeyeon, like Sooyoung, like Sica, you…like every one of us. Please?”

Yoona took a deep breath. “Yeah, I know. Sorry for being selfish. It’s just I miss you a lot.”

Yuri smiled. “Of course, I miss you too, choding.” She ruffled the doe-eyed girl’s hair.

“Hey watch out!!” Yoona freed herself from the tanned girl and gave a stern look.

Yuri laughed seeing it. “I really miss you. I miss us too.”

“Yeah, I thought going to college is going to be awesome. But I never expect the separation will be this hard.”

Yuri squeezed her best friend’s hand. “I know. I feel you. But I guess this is life. There is meeting and goodbye. But you do know that no matter where we are, we’ll always have each other, right? Even though, I wasn’t with you these past years, but you guys still mean a lot to me. I will never want to lose any of you, ever.” She looked at Yoona before looking at the other girls too.

Yoona looked at her with teary eyes and grinned. “You are so cheesy! Ugh…” She jokingly shuddered. “But I feel the same way too.” She smiled and wiped her wet eyes.

“Well, good luck then, Yuri-yah. We’ll always support you from here,” said the glasses girl.

“Yeah, although it’s really shocking, but you get all my support,” Sooyoung added.

“Make sure you will contact us a lot. Or I will haunt you down.” Tiffany jokingly warned.

“Yes, Mam! Sure.” Yuri laughed and gave a salute.

On the other hand, there was one person who been quite all the time. She was staring at the talking Yuri. She saw Yuri glancing at her while still talking to others. She looked into those eyes for a few seconds before turning away.

“Hey guys,” she called everyone. “I’ll go first. I don’t feel that good all of a sudden.”

Everyone stopped talking and turned their gaze on her, questioning her sudden action.

She didn’t feel like explaining. “I’ll see you guys next time, okay?” She got up and picked up her bag. “Bye.” She walked out from the café, leaving all her friends in confusion.

***

Buzz.

“I’ll get it!” She got up from the couch. She was surprised when she saw a face she recognized so well appeared on the small screen. She quickly buzzed the girl in.

A minute later, Jessica was standing in the doorway of her house. “Hey, Yuri-yah.”

“Hey, what are you doing here? Are you going alone? Umma’s cooking dinner, your timing is amazing!” She said in her usual cheerfulness, gesturing her best friend to enter.

“Uhm…are you busy? Can we like…take a walk or something?” Jessica hesitated, not moving from her spot.

“Huh?” She was puzzled at Jessica’s behavior. “Well, I was actually busy mastering the art of the TV remote control…you know, holidays and all that…” She tried to joke but Jessica didn’t react. She sighed. “Hmm… Okay. I’ll tell Umma.”

A few minutes later and they were out walking though Yuri didn’t know where they were going. Jessica was quiet and she wasn’t sure what was wrong with her friend.

They unknowingly had reached the riverside. “Wow! I never know the river would look this beautiful at night!” She said to her quiet companion.

When Jessica still didn’t reply, she couldn’t contain her curiosity anymore. “Sica! Snap out of it!” She waved her hand in front of her friend’s face. “You practically kidnapped me and dragged me out to walk this far, away from my Umma’s awesome cooking, and you haven’t said a word!”

Jessica looked at her for a second before taking a deep breath and looked away, towards the river. “I’m sorry, Yuri-yah. I don’t know why I’m doing this either.”

“Huh? You kidnapped me for no reason?” She asked the non-responsive Jessica. “Come on, Sica. I know something is bothering your mind right now. You know you can tell me anything.” She side-hugged her friend. Just then she felt an unusual little flinch from her.

“What’s wrong, Sica-yah?” She let go.

“Why are you leaving?”

“Huh?! Oh… Oh! That…” She was caught off guard.

Jessica waited.

Yuri averted her eyes from Jessica. “It’s for my future, Sica. It will give me a better career. And I can’t possibly reject such a good offer, right?” She turned to look at Jessica, waiting for her response. She continued when the brunette didn’t said anything back. “I know it’s so sudden to you, and believe me, it’s not easy for me too. But I’ll try to keep in touch with you all. Please don’t worry.” She smiled.

Strangely, Jessica’s expression remained the same. Actually, she felt that it had somehow become sadder. She was really puzzled now. She sighed. “What’s really on your mind, Sica? Tell me.”

Jessica looked at her and she couldn’t read her expression. “What am I to you?”

For the umpteenth time that night, she was totally taken aback by her friend’s words and had to restrain herself from saying her hundredth ‘Huh?’

“What kind of question is that, Sica?! Of course you are my best friend! You know that. Although you’re sleepyhead and have such a scary glare, but you are still my best friend. The best that I can think of.” She smiled and hugged her friend, but surprised to hear a little sniff. She broke the hug and looked at the tearing girl. “Hey, don’t cry. Even though we will be separated thousand miles away, but you are still my best friend, Sica. You’ll always be my best friend. No matter what.”

Jessica looked away and pushed her back a bit.

“What’s really going on, Sica? Why are you crying? Why are you asking me all this? And why did you just push me away? What did I do? What did I say?” She grabbed her friend’s arms.

“Nothing. Just forget it. I-I…” Jessica couldn’t finish her sentence. “I’m okay. Sorry, I guess I just feel sad thinking about you leaving me…” She tried to explain. “I’ll miss you.”

She knew Jessica was still not telling her everything but she didn’t want to force it out of her. “I’ll miss you terribly, Sica.” She gave the girl a tight warm hug.

***

Jessica hadn’t cried as hard as she did that night since the day she broke up with Yuri more than two years ago. She felt weak and hurt so much. She let everything out that night, she cried her heart out loud. Not caring if her eyes would be swollen the next day or if her parents wondered why. She was too hurt to feel anything else.

She thought she would be better by distancing herself from Yuri, limiting their contact. But she was proven wrong. It only made her more miserable. It was like a torture for her. She would miss her even more. How much she missed hearing Yuri’s jokes, Yuri’s silly pranks and all her strange antics. She missed their random chit-chats. She missed them. And she couldn’t feel much happiness like she used to either.

The decision to accept Sukjin was another mistake too. At that time, she thought that maybe if she went out with someone else, it would made her forget about her feeling for Yuri. Yet what happened was the opposite. She couldn’t stop comparing him with Yuri. She would remember their happy time back then. And she never felt happy next to him. Their relationship didn’t last long, it only went for two months.

Then she had to hear the shocking news from Yuri. She would leave them, leave her, flying thousands miles from Seoul. For a long time. It broke down the wall inside her. Every fears crept into her heart. How if she couldn’t met Yuri again?

She was clearly out of her mind when she stood in front of Yuri’s house and buzzed the bell. She was missing Yuri so badly and wanted to see her face again, hear her voice again, talk to her again. But when finally she could see her again, she didn’t do anything. She restrained herself to utter the words she wanted to say the most, to carry out the things she wanted to do. Because she knew, if she let herself, she would be selfish. She would lose her determination and start doing crazy things. She would never let Yuri go, although she knew she shouldn’t do it.

Then Yuri’s words was like a finality to her. To stop dreaming. To stop hoping.

Yuri only considered her as her best friend, like what she promised years ago. A best friend. It was like the final answer, the end, to all those waiting and hoping she’d been struggling with for years. She and Yuri would remain best friend and only best friend, a karma she hated so much.

Maybe after all the time with the absence of both physical and non-physical contact with her, Yuri started to lose her feeling for Jessica. Also with all those new people she met at her current school and city, no wonder if Yuri didn’t like her anymore.

***

4 years later…

“Come on, Sica.” Tiffany pulled her best friend’s hand.

“No.” Jessica was not budging. “I am tired. In case you’ve forgotten, it’s been one hectic month.” She was referring mostly to her busy preparation for the upcoming drama.

After a couple of times playing in school and university dramas, Jessica would now be making her official musical debut in upcoming Korean musical adaptation of Legally Blonde. She had been cast for the musical’s female lead and would play the role of Elle Woods. The musical itself would run in less than two weeks again and made her really busy practicing, especially the past month. She wanted to show the best on this drama, hence she dedicated more times and efforts to practice everything more.

Tiffany stopped pulling and let go of Jessica’s hand. “I know that. Which is why