*Narrator POV*

Time had taken its toll on the 16-year-old girl on her knees at Jessica's mercy. The fort had torn down and her heart could not contain the storm of emotions locked deep inside. The pain, the hurt, the melancholy, the agony, the wanting deep desire to recieve the woman's love and acceptance. She tried to hold them back, but the long years had overpowered her strength to keep hiding.

Last night had broken all locks to her once indestructible composure. Today was a pickaxe hacking away at her now already broken heart.

She was once able to pull through without looking back, but those days were over. She had come to the realization that this was her weakness. The desire to please Jessica was her weakness. The desire to finally gain Jessica's love was her weakness.

The mere being of Jessica was her weakness.

"Unnie!" 13-year-old Krystal called. "Do you wanna go--"

"No," Jessica, who was 19 then, replied coldly. "Leave me alone. I'm busy."

"You've been busy all year long!" Krystal refused to be declined. She wanted Jessica to know that she was there for her if she ever needed her. The younger girl really wanted Jessica to see how much she really wanted her company, despite the fact that Jessica didn't seem to like hers. "C'mon! Just for a little!"

Jessica glared down at her younger sister. "No. And that's that. If you want attention, go join a preschool and enroll yourself, you freak."

And the door slammed in Krystal's face.

"Unnie, I was just going to ask you if you wanted to get bubble tea with me!" Krystal persisted. "They have lychee and it's really good!"

"Then go by yourself!" Jessica snapped from behind the door. "Stop bothering me!"

Krystal sighed heavily. "But unnie--"

The door opened quickly revealing a now very aggravated Jessica. "Would you get off my door?!" she snarled. "I don't want you here and I never will! Don't show your face in front of me!"

The door slammed in Krystal's face once again.

Krystal sulked a bit and trudged sullenly out to go to the abandoned park and comfort herself on the lonely swingset.

It was the day before Jessica had struck her by accident.

The young teen had sworn to herself that day that winning Jessica's love was the first thing she was going to get before anything else, if not the last. It seemed like obsession, but Krystal was sure it wasn't. Who wouldn't want to try and bond with their sibling?

Yet Jessica thought the whole world was against her.

Well, Krystal was going to prove that wrong soon enough.

I'm gonna show her I don't care what it takes to show her I still want her. I don't care how many times she hits me, yells at me, kicks me out--Krystal had had her mind made up clear.

But she never did. After Jessica struck her, she was too scared to ever try again.

-------

Jessica gazed at her sister. She wanted nothing more than to hold her in her arms, but she could not let Krystal stay here any longer. She was afraid of what she might do. After last night, she wasn't sure if she could even control herself anymore.

"Soojung, listen to me," Jessica insisted. "Do it for me. Go with Tiffany."

Krystal shook her head, her tears flying into the air.

"Don't be foolish, Soojung. I'm not abandoning you...I'm--We're just getting a break. This is for your own safety." She put a hand on Krystal's shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly. "You don't need me, Soojung."

Krystal gaped at her. How could Jessica say that?! "But, Unnie--" she started to protest.

"Don't be selfish. If you love me do this for me," Jessica insisted gruffly.

The younger of the two felt tears filling her eyes. Krystal didn't know what to do anymore. She had laid down her heart Jessica. She was crying for Jessica, yet the older sibling was back to being cold and heartless.

"Don't be a crybaby," Jessica growled. "I don't want to see your crying--"

"Do you only know how to be mean?" Krystal choked out. She wiped her tears to cover up her embarassment at her own outburst. "I just...I just want to talk to you..."

Jessica was trying to make her leave the room. She couldn't handle seeing or hearing Krystal like this. It was tearing her apart. But she could not let Krystal stay with her since she herself couldn't determine what she might do next. Emotions she had rarely ever felt before were beginning to permeate her own defenses and she was determined not to let it get to her.

"I don't care what you want," Jessica interrupted coldly. "Get out." She pushed her shoulder roughly.

Krystal clenched her teeth trying not to let dejection overpower. How could Jessica be so cold? Krystal just wanted to talk with her! They needed to! All they'd been doing was pushing and pulling each other, which was causing insecurity and doubt to both girls.

"Unnie--"

"I'll call Fany to pick you up tomorrow morning. I'm tired."

"Unnie, please give me a chance--"

"You never gave me a chance."

"But--"

"Leave." She pointed to the door forgetting that Krystal was blind.

As if she weren't even blind, Krystal exited the room so quickly, trying to conceal the fresh wound in her heart.

-------

*Krystal POV*

I found comfort and solace in that couch as more tears found their way out.  All I wanted was to talk with my sister, but I guess the sun would never shine its way for the two of us.

Perhaps I had been wrong. Jessica was the same cold and meanhearted creature since day one. Maybe Jessica was right. It was time to give up.

Maybe Jessica really did hate me.

Maybe everyone was right, except me, I thought gloomily. 

So was all this time a huge waste? How could one explain the tenderness Jessica showed me sometimes? The kisses? The nights I'd wake up in Jessica's arms? What was that?

It was probably wishful thinking. Fantasism. My pride and dignity had gotten in the way of reality. I had been so sure I could finally help my sister find her way home, but the dream--the fantasy--was no more. It had all faded away with the many dreams I'd once had--all the hopes I once had.

I laughed at myself silently. Unnie's right. I'm silly. I'm being selfish for wanting her love. If she doesn't want me, then I should stop.

I'm only 16. What the heck do I know about love?

More tears fell as I pondered that thought. It was time to stop. Time to give up.

Time to end everything.

I had nobody.

I was alone.

At least Tiffany was willing to take me in, but this would ruin Jessica's image. I could not let people perceive Jessica as a bloodthirsty, malicious, bitter woman. Everyone we'd met so far had taken the thought that we were close as peas in a pod.

Obviously, they thought wrong.

Hah. We must be good actors then.

I smirked to herself bitterly. I was wrong too.

How could I possible get through to her sister? There was no way to break those steel walls. No. It was harder than steel.

"Stupid..." I muttered to herself and clawed at my chest which was bleeding with pain. I felt like some long hidden creature locked inside was trying to rip its way out of my heart. I could feel the cracks and tearing. I was a fool for believing Jessica that we could start over. Everything was fake. If only I had my eyes...I could get out of here. I could run away. I could escape forever.

Forever...

Father had been my only family, but he was gone now--without a word, since Jessica burned the note.

But it seemed that no one really cared about me at all. Maybe it was time to finish things on my own.

You cruel, cruel world, I thought, why did it have to be me? Of all 7 billion people in the world?

Maybe it was fate. Maybe it was punishment for wanting something so badly. For wanting to show my sister that I still loved her...for wanting her attention...for wanting my sister more than I should.

No one would care if I left. Everyone else hardly even knew me. They would forget about me eventually...me--the blind girl that Jessica hated and knew nothing about. Seriously, Jessica knew nothing about me. But maybe it didn't matter. Maybe it was better this way. As long as she only remembered me as the bothersome idiot, she wouldn't care, and everyone could move on as if nothing happened.

----------------------

(Hours later)

*Jessica POV*

My mind was blank as I lay there on my bed. I don't know how long it was, but I was so conflicted--my heart, my mind....just everything was starting to get so confusing!

But I ended up hurting her again. 

Do you only know how to be mean?! her distressed voice echoed.

That's all I was. All I am. 

Meanhearted and cold. Bitter and emotionless.

The bedroom door was wide open, but I didn't hear any sound from the living room. I blinked away the not yet fallen tears and felt anger deep in my chest. How could I treat her like that again? How could I so easily revert to my past self?

I closed my eyes and covered them with an arm while I gripped the sheets in my fist.

You screwed up again! I thought to myself with frustration.

Why was it so hard? What was so hard about trying to start again? 

Dammit...

When Krystal tried to reach out for me in the past, I kept pushing her away. Now, when I'm trying to give her some love and affection, she pushes me away.

And today, she was trying again, but I just had to say something to knock her down again.

I suddenly heard the scraping of the sliding door to the balcony open. My eyes snapped open. My sliding door? Or the other unit?

Soojung!

I sat up quickly and checked the time. It was 9:45PM. That late? Already?

I left my room to check up on her. We hadn't eaten or anything yet. I guess after last night and what I did to her...it was just horrible.

But she wasn't in the living room. I saw the curtains billowing inside. Why was it open? Did she...?

I sprinted to the balcony afraid of what I might find. 

"Soojung!" I cried.

-------

*Narrator POV*

Krystal had most of the place memorized. She had counted the number of steps it took her to go to certain places such as the room, kitchen, restroom, and the balcony. 

She had changed into a pair of jeans which was on top of the box Jessica had given her in the beginning. She was still using it for her things. Krystal pulled on a jacket and slipped on her sneakers before heading to the balcony, purposefully leaving her white cane behind. She didn't need it anyway.

She flipped the lock and slid the door open as quietly as she could. The air was cold, but it smelled fresh.

She had lost track of time after running out of the room.

It was nighttime.

She found her way to the railing and leaned on the cool surface. It was summer, but the night air was so cold...yet it was refreshing.

She leaned her chin on her arms and breathed in the crisp night air. It was really...really calming. It helped to lift her spirits a bit, in contrast to earlier. 

Krystal wished the wind could just take away her troubles. She wished the invisible power could just sweep every single memory, every stabbing thorn of pain in her heart, and wisp her away from these shackles.

What am I thinking? she thought. Suicide?

It doesn't seem like a bad idea, some other voice echoed somewhere in the distance. Come with me...Run with me...Fly with me...

The wind?

"Soojung!" Jessica called her name sharply. 

Krystal was shaken out of her daze. She turned and felt fear tighten around her. "I-I'll leave..." she stammered. "Just put me somewhere and I'll leave you alone forever."

Jessica immediately went to comfort her. She grasped Krystal's wrist in her hand to pull her closer to her, but the younger girl dug her feet into the ground. Krystal pushed her hand off, suddenly seeming to withdraw into herself.

"D-don't touch me," Krystal shivered and pressed against the corner of the balcony. Her whole body was getting weaker and she felt dizzy with terror. "I promise I'll never show up again. Just put me away."

Jessica gasped, feeling fear and desperation clawing at her chest. "S-Soojung...what were you--were you going to k-kill yourself?" she stammered nervously.

The younger sibling turned her sightless eyes towards the city view without an answer. "Would you like me to?"

"N-No! Of course not!" Jessica spluttered. "Where are you getting these crazy ideas from?" She didn't mean to sound angry, but she couldn't believe Krystal might attempt suicide. It's on you, Jessica! the woman scolded herself. If she hadn't been so full of crap earlier--or even at all!--then this would not be happening right now.

"Maybe it's better that way, Unnie," Krystal said so monotonously it scared Jessica. Where was the happy girl from a few years ago? Where was the girl who was always asking her to go out for some fun? Where was the fearless girl who kept trying to help her open up?

"I'm tired of this," Krystal continued. "I don't want to be blind anymore. I don't want to constantly worry what's going to happen to me next. I don't want to be your burden. We can finish it here."

"Soojung, I know you wanted to talk. I'm sorry...I was just really upset," Jessica said almost desperate. "We can talk now...I'm ready...."

"It's ok, Unnie," Krystal replied. "The more you don't know, the better. You don't want any attachments, right?" She put her hands down on the balcony railing and leaned forward as if about to launch herself. Really, she was only relishing the night air for the last time if this was the end. Relishing her last moments in her sister's presence.

Jessica swallowed as she felt tears falling from the corners of her eyes. "Don't talk like that, Soojung. You're going to kill me."

"You don't want to talk, now you want me to talk, and now you don't..." Krystal grumbled and scratched her head. "So confusing..." She suddenly seemed to brighten and she smiled into the distance. "Let's end it here, Unnie. After today, you'll never see me again. I promise!" she said cheerily.

Jessica's eyes widened. "Soojung, wait! I didn't mean any of it!"

"You can tell me that over and over again, but I don't know what to believe anymore." The younger girl swallowed down her pain. "I know you tried, but it's ok. Father left me with the person who absolutely hates my existence. I don't blame you. He just dropped me on you like junk mail." She leaned on the railing and sighed in defeat. "I'm just the stupid little girl you always knew."

"Soojung, I--" Jessica needed her to stop. The explanation from before was not enough to deter Krystal from believing the lie Jessica had created for herself.

"I hoped for too much, Unnie. You're right. I should give up. There's nothing I can do anymore."

"Soojung...I'm sorry." Jessica was frightened at this different side of Krystal she'd never seen before. 

Krystal turned in the direction of Jessica's voice. "People say that so many times...it starts to lose meaning," she said softly. "Maybe they aren't sorry at all. They just say it to make themselves feel better...as if 'sorry' repairs everything."

Jessica stepped closer to her sister afraid that she might try and do something crazy. "Soojung...I really am sorry! I was just upset! I didn't mean any of those harsh words! I want you by my side! Don't you remember? In the hospital?"

Krystal blinked those dark lonely sightless eyes. "I wasn't sure if you remembered anything..." she muttered darkly.

"Please, Soojung! I never meant to hurt you!" Jessica was desperate for words. "I don't hate you! I hate him! I hate father!" she burst out. "He didn't think twice before giving me to Uncle!" 

Krystal's face remained stagnant and she turned away so that she was facing the city view. The wind picked up and tussled her hair in its soft yet cold caress. She was standing there, in the dark, blind and helpless, hopeless, and ready to surrender to the spindly web of this wicked, wicked world.

"Why do you blame him? Father gave you a life you couldn't have had with us," Krystal said slowly. "I'm sure he's told you himself...but it's not his fault, Unnie. He was thinking of you and he wanted you to have a better life because it's what you deserve." She listenened to the distant sound of cars far off somewhere in her dark world of nothing. "At least you never had to see Father drunk first hand. You never had to wonder what time he would come home, if he was gonna bring a e in the house, or when was the next time I could get a decent meal, or if he came back home drunk--You never had to experience the crazy nights he would come home banging everything to find 'her' so that he could kill 'her' for making our life a pothole of debt." Goosebumps still formed and the back of her neck still prickled at the memories of his loud yelling and banging at her door. "You never had to worry if you might get a headache in the middle of the street, or if one day, your eyes might give out in the middle of the day...or if the landlady was going to come knocking on my door for the check while dad was out in the club." Krystal could have kept going on and on, but it would take forever. "Father was depressed. So he went to the bar for comfort." She managed to hold back tears. "He was never home. I had nobody. I only had one friend, but of course I can't throw my problems on her. There's only so much I can tell her. And now, she's not even here when I need her because she's on vacation!" 

Krystal swallowed down the new set of tears itching to fall out. "You're the lucky one, Unnie. The most fortunate out of all of us. You had it all."

Jessica's heart was beginning to fall victim to pain and grief. She had managed to desensitize herself to Krystal in the past, but hearing her talk like this was breaking down her resistance. "You're wrong!" she cried.

"Maybe you're right. Maybe they were all right," Krystal replied, every word dripped heartache. "Everyone was right except me."

"Soojung, listen to me--"

"You should be thankful to father instead of hating him. He gave you that life by giving you to whoever that Uncle is. And me? I'm the raw product of what would have happened to you if you'd stayed: stupid and poor, and an eyesore for you and everyone else."

"You don't understand!" Jessica snapped. "You're only 16! How can you think such things?"

There was a long pause.

"You're right, Unnie...of course I don't. I'm just an idiot trying to cling on to a hopeless dream."

Jessica gaped at her. She hadn't expected this. "W-wait, just hear me out, Soojung. We--we have to talk," she insisted again.

"Isn't that what you've been trying to avoid?" Krystal demanded, fire burning in her chest as frustration took over her depression. "Every time...every time I try, you just stop me and throw me out like a dog!"

"N-no...Soojung, you're not--"

Krystal's tears fell onto the dirtied balcony railing. "Yes I am. That's all I am to you. Another burden. Another embarassment. Why don't you just get rid of me now, Jessica?"

"Jung Soojung!" Jessica said sharply. "Don't you speak to me like that!"

"It doesn't compare to the way you've treated me!" Krystal retorted. "You've never been my sister. Maybe I don't want one if it's always going to be like this!"

"Shut up, Soojung. Shut up and listen to me." Frustration and despair was taking over Jessica's mind. Please, Soojung...

Jessica took another step forward, but Krystal seemed to sense it and she turned baring her teeth like a wild animal being cornered. "Go away."

You did this. You did this. Frustration and despair filled Jessica's mind. She wanted nothing more than to comfort the girl in her arms and kiss away all the pain of the past; but she seemed to take the initial note that Jessica hated her. Now she was using everything against the woman who just wanted her back in her life. "I won't, Soojung. Not until I fix this."

"I'm finished. Just get rid of me while you can."

Jessica stared at her desperation filling her chest. She's broken...

"I won't be selfish. Just do something to get me out of here."

Krystal dug her nails into the material of the balcony until they cracked and redness trickled out. "I give up." She suddenly felt like she was going to drop dead as her muscles succumbed to the desolate feeling in her soul.

"I give up," Krystal repeated as fresh tears poured out from her eyes. She clutched her chest as if she were about to pass out. She felt pain biting at her, and she felt like all her insides were wilting. Emptiness filled her soul. "I'm tired of playing this game." She paused. "You should have killed me, Unnie."

"N-no...I couldn't," Jessica spluttered. She was too scared to get closer to Krystal in case the girl decided to do something unpredictable. "Soojung, come back inside. It's cold."

"Not as cold as you."

Those words bit her hard. Jessica couldn't form words at all. There was nothing she could say. Krystal was drifting farther away from her with every standing moment between them.

"Soojung, please...come home," Jessica begged. "Come home to me." She clutched herself feeling the cold air on her skin. She shivered as the cold summer night wind lashed at them momentarily. Some strange invisible force seemed to be trying to force her away from the girl she wanted the most. 

But Krystal stood at the outer corner of the balcony, staring into the darkness, not knowing what her sightless eyes were surveying. "You were right, Unnie. I'm not strong. I'm weak as a newborn puppy." The cold wind stung her eyes causing her to tear up more. "I thought I could tough it out. I tried so hard...All I wanted--" She in a pained teary breath. "In the end, there's only so much I can take," she said instead as if it were closing the matter. The pain from her broken bleeding nails seared up the nerves in her arms, and she loosened her death grip.

Her hands fell to her sides lifelessly.

"S-Soojung!" Jessica cried at the sight of the dripping blood, but she didn't move. She was paralyzed. Her eyes scanned over her sister's form. Simple shirt under a jacket, and jeans, and worn out high tops...

------

"Get out of my sight, idiot!" Jessica snarled. She didn't want to admit her relief that Krystal really wanted to see her. But she could not let herself get attached to the little 11 year old girl trying to ask her to walk with her to the bookstore.

"But...you've been inside all this time!" Krystal protested, eyes shining with indignance and confidence. "Don't you want some outside air?"

"Not with your contagious germs," Jessica snapped. "Get out of my face. You don't even dress properly."

"Huh?" Krystal gave herself a once over. T-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. "But...I dress like this all the time. No one says anything."

"Yeah?" Jessica smiled malevolently at her. "It's probably because they all feel sorry for your poor taste."

"What?!" Krystal cried. "I can dress how I want! At least I'm not wearing those tu-tu mini skirts for guys to look up my !"

Jessica was actually slightly amused, but she hid it by sneering at her maliciously. "Go away." And that was one of many rejections Krystal had gotten.

-----

Krystal had been in the kitchen getting herself a snack when Jessica stepped into the room. She turned to see Jessica standing at the doorway watching her as if analyzing her every move.

"Oh, hi, Unnie, do you want some?" Krystal showed her the box of cookies.

Jessica had been thinking. What if she let herself get just close enough to her sister? But not enough to get super attached...Was that even possible?

She took the box and looked at its contents. Chocolate chip. Krystal liked chocolate. Jessica looked back up at her sister, but found that the younger girl was getting water. She watched the girl raise the cup to her lips and how moved with every swallow.

The silence was broken when she heard the sound of the cup being washed and put away.

Jessica stood in Krystal's way as the younger girl turned to leave. Krystal jumped when she crashed into Jessica.

"S-sorry!" Krystal eyed her and stepped to the side. "I thought you left..."

Jessica continued staring at her, lips pursed in a thin line. Touch her once...just once...her mind was egging her. 

"I was gonna go return some books. Do you wanna come? It's a nice day out."

"In your dreams," Jessica growled and her heel. She turned her head to throw a last scathing comment. "Why would I wanna get caught with you?"

Krystal had been 12. Jessica was 18.

In that same year, Krystal tried again. But she was rejected harshly.

"You're...You shouldn't even be alive!" Jessica snarled viciously. "You're shaming me with every breath you take!"

Krystal gaped at her with shock. She was too dumbfounded to even feel hurt. "W-what...?" she stammered.

Jessica almost felt regret tugging her chest, but she stormed away before she heard Krystal shed tears.

----------

"Soojung, I'm sorry!" Jessica spluttered after realizing she'd struck her sister unintentionally.

Her eyes widened at the sight of blood slowly trailing down Krystal's cheek. She'd struck her that hard?

Jessica wanted to comfort the girl, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. It's her fault for invading my privacy--she had made an excuse to keep the girl away from her.

"Get out don't come near me again,'" Jessica growled.

"B-but, Unnie..."

"It's Jessica to you..."

She was 13. Jessica was 19.

And Krystal stayed away.

Just like Jessica had wanted...

Until now.

-----

Jessica watched the teenager standing on the brink of light and darkness. She's just a kid. She's only 16. She's still a baby...my baby, Jessica swallowed as her heart twisted with pain at the broken girl standing in front of her.

I did this...I turned her into this abandoned little girl...

"Soojung, we...we've both been hurt," Jessica said as calmly as she could. "Let's move on. Soojung, don't give up. You were never afraid to back down before. Don't be afraid now." As she spoke she moved closer and closer to her sister. "You told Sulli not to let her blindness stop her from living..." She was only inches away from behind Krystal. "We cannot live in the past anymore." She slowly wrapped her arms around her sister from behind. "Let's not give it a chance to stop us from being free."

Don't let the past control us, Krystal remembered her epiphany the day Jessica brought her home from that school for the blind. But the feeling of Jessica's arms around her caused her to freeze. She wanted to fight back, to escape--

She mewled in protest as Jessica dragged her away from the edge of the balcony. Fear and depression clouded her mind, muddling her rational thoughts with the irrational and her memories, ultimately confusing her. She began to put up a struggle as her mind flitted back to the previous night.

She began to tremble violently and felt cold chills in her blood as she remembered Jessica's angry voice and drunken attempt to kill her.

Cold hands on , slowly squeezing the life out of her, the sting from Jessica's hand, the confusion and fear that she would meet her end...

"Soojung, stop it!" Jessica hissed and tried to keep the younger girl from escaping her grasp.

"Let me go!" Krystal wailed as she tried to push herself away from her sister.

In the heat of their battle, Krystal's feet tangled up with Jessica's and they ended up collapsing on the cold hard ground. Jessica grunted since she was the one who cushioned their fall. Krystal continued to struggle, and Jessica felt sharp needles pierce her wrist. Jessica shrieked in pain, accidentally digging her nails in Krystal's shoulder. Krystal had bitten her.

"Hey! Shut up down there!" someone from the above floors howled at them.

Krystal suddenly stopped shivering and fighting. Jessica was afraid something bad had happened.

Jessica pulled herself up into a sitting position with her back against the wall and held the sobbing girl close. Her heart was beating from the shock of the fall as well as relief. She had never been so scared in her entire life.

"Go away..." Krystal whimpered weakly. "Go away..." She clutched Jessica's shirt in her fists and buried her face in her shoulder. "Don't abandon me too..."

Jessica brushed the hair from Krystal's face and tucked it behind her ear. She leaned her cheek on top of Krystal's head and closed her eyes as she rubbed her back in gentle soothing .

"Don't give up, Soojung," Jessica said softly, her voice tickling Krystal's skin. "I don't want you to give up...Don't give up on me. I always want you to chase after me..." Tears filled her eyes. "But I don't want you to run away from me. I might not be able to keep up...so let's just stop. We won't play this game anymore."

Jessica lifted her chin up to gaze into her sightless eyes. Her eyes flitted down to Krystal's lips and back. "All those things I said...those were just excuses to stay away from you--to avoid the truth. I couldn't...I didn't want to have to deal with pain ever again so I thought that if I cut you out of my life, everything would be ok." She sighed. "There is no legitimate reason to explain myself. It was pure selfishness--you're right, Soojung. I'm selfish and cruel. All I cared about was myself. Father and I--we only cared about ourselves, but we never thought about you. Everything we did--it hurt you. It hurt you so badly, you don't even know you've been hurt. You just took all the crap we gave you...and pretended like it was nothing." Jessica sniffled. "You were always trying to get my attention. You were so confident. You were alway so happy. But now I know, it was your way of hiding your true feelings." 

"Forgive me, Soojung," she continued. "For doing this to you..."

Krystal seemed to have calmed down somewhat, her head resting on Jessica's chest. Her grip loosened as she let go of Jessica's shirt. "I just want to forget everything."

Jessica kissed her forehead, letting her lips linger there for a couple more seconds. "I love you," she whispered, lips barely brushing Krystal's skin, as she watched her younger sister through half-lidded eyes. She cuddled her and pressed her cheek against Krystal's. "Don't leave me here on my own. Stay with me. Live with me." She Krystal's head. "You're my only family. My baby...my baby girl, Soojung." Jessica's voice trailed off at the end as a lump formed in .

Krystal let herself get lost in her sister's embrace. Her heart suddenly came alive again, beating more blood down her veins as the strong emotions for her sister resurfaced. She breathed in Jessica's familiar scent. 

"I'm sorry," Jessica sobbed. "I'm sorry, Soojung, for not being there when you needed someone. For hurting you for so long."

Krystal took Jessica's face in her hands and began to press soft kisses to her face. Jessica shed more tears and closed her eyes as the younger girl continued to kiss her dampened cheeks.

"Unnie," Krystal said quietly. "You were never alone. You always had someone waiting for you."

The older sibling held her wrists gently in her hands. She pulled her hands off of her cheeks and clasped them together in hers tightly. "Soojung...how can you do this to me?" She sniffled and swallowed. "After all I've done!"

"You're right, Unnie. Let's move on. What's done is done."

Jessica opened to say something but nothing came out. She looked into the pair of dark visionless eyes.

"There's so much waiting for you in the future," Krystal continued.

"O-only if you're there," Jessica stammered.

Krystal didn't answer but Jessica saw a small smile grace her lips. "If...if you want me..." Krystal's voice was barely above a murmur.

Jessica cupped her cheeks and caressed the soft skin with her thumbs. She pressed a long kiss to the corner of Krystal's mouth. 

"Let's be free, Soojung." Jessica gently rubbed her lips with her thumb. "Set me free..." She took the younger girl's chin in her thumb and forefinger, and tilted her chin up so their lips were barely millimeters away.

Krystal could feel how close they were. Her heart rate picked up with excitement and nervousness. Her mind was screaming at her to pull away--that this was wrong. After tonight, it'll just be another day. 

Her heart was bursting with those strong feelings, and her farfetched dreams of Jessica replayed. No way. There's no way she would feel the same way.

Jessica's soft lips on her bruised neck brought her back to reality. She shivered at the tingling prickles on her skin.

"Soojung?" Jessica called her name softly. She brushed the back of her fingers against Krystal's lips again.

Krystal's heart beat quicker and she succumbed to her desire. Jessica's eyes closed as Krystal pressed her lips against hers.

Her lips are so soft, Jessica thought to herself in ecstasy. She pulled away shortly to angle her head and deepen the kiss, but Krystal shot away fast as a bullet. 

The younger girl winced as she landed hard on her backside not anticipating the force she had exerted to lauch herself away. Oh my god! she thought, tremors of shock running through her blood as she realized what she'd just done. I kissed Jessica Jung! I kissed Yuri's ex-girlfriend! I kissed my sister!!

Jessica, too,was starting to feel uncertainty rise in her chest. She had been lost in the bliss of having her lips locked with the girl she now wanted so much. Maybe Krystal was straight...and she'd confused her into kissing her!

"S-Soojung," Jessica started nervously. "I...I'm..." She couldn't form words. She was embarrassed and afraid Krystal would be even more hesitant around her now. She looked at the girl sitting across from her on the balcony floor. "Oh, Soojung, I can't help feeling like this. I'm sorry for feeling this way towards you. I want you by my side all the time, I want to hold you in my arms..." I want you to be mine. Jessica slowly moved towards her sister until she was only a few inches away. She knelt down on both knees and watched the blind girl, whose expression was unreadable. 

The air was still and it was so quiet, both girls swore that the other could hear their hearts racing.

Jessica felt so nervous in front of Krystal--afraid even, that the younger girl would reject her forever for being disgusting and a jerk. "I understand if...if you think that I'm twisted and gross," she started anxiously. "I've always given you the impression that I hate you...and now--now I want you." She swallowed as her heart skipped a beat. "I want you so much." She noticed a look of surprise cross Krystal's face for a split second. "You make me feel different. You're different from all the rest...You make me feel like everything will be ok. When you're beside me, I feel more at ease knowing you're there." She stopped and nervously rubbed her arm. "When I see you, I feel at home...Just you being here makes everything less empty."

"I...I want to protect you, Soojung," Jessica continued nervously. "I want you to depend on me. I want to be the older sister you didn't have, but--I also want you to--"

Krystal felt a bit giddy with anxiety. She was already anticipating what Jessica was going to say, except something was still holding her back. The past is the past, she reminded herself. But was this really ok?

"Soojung, I can't get you out of my mind," Jessica said instead. "When I was in California, I never stopped thinking about you. I'm always thinking about you--worrying about you...wondering if you're still afraid of me or if you're too afraid to tell me the truth...I-I know I made a lot of unforgivable mistakes, but I'm asking you to give me a chance. Give us a chance." Jessica felt emotion fill her heart. "I want to be the one you can count on. I want to be the one you look to for strength and love. I want us to be together forever..." she trailed off as her voice weakened. "I love you so much...so much that I don't know how to stop myself." She was trying to hold back her tears. They'd cried enough already! "Because I'm selfish," Jessica said resignedly. "It's because I'm selfish that this is what's happening to us." She sighed in defeat. "It's ok if I gross you out, Soojung. It's what I get for being a jerk to you for a long long time."

Jessica held her hand out for Krystal. "We should get back in. It's cold."

Krystal couldn't believe what she'd just heard. A confession? From Jessica? From Unnie? Holy...Krystal didn't know what to think. This must be a dream--except the pain from he broken nails bit at her nerves and she knew she was still awake.

What to do? What should she do? Krystal was too shocked to think. So many thoughts were flashing through her mind, and she couldn't think properly. Is she really being honest? Or am I just imagining?

It was so silent, and she thought maybe Jessica had left without her.

"U-unnie?" she called tentatively.

"I'm right here," she heard Jessica's voice in front of her. "Reach your hand out, Soojung."

Krystal shivered from excited anticipation and the cold, but she hesitated a little bit. What was she going to find if she reached out?

"It's ok." Jessica sensed her wariness. She wanted Krystal to come to her willingly. In a way, it was sort of a test. Usually, Jessica was the one to go to Krystal, except that one time when Krystal was crying. The younger one had crawled into her arms willingly, but that was because she was in pain.

Jessica needed to find out if Krystal would seek her now, especially since everything had been spilled out in the open. Her hand was getting cold from the crispy air as she waited for the other girl to take it.

Krystal swallowed and seeing only darkness, she slowly tentatively raised her hand out in front of her. Her hand was slightly shaking as a result of everything that had just happened. She kept reaching out until she felt soft fingers against hers. She flinched a little, and froze. She was about to snatch her hand back, but she decided to hold on.

The older sibling felt relief wash over her as the younger girl clasped her cold hand in her warm one. Time stopped, and they sat still just like that for a prolonged minute.

Finally, the world heaved a suspended sigh as the smaller girl slowly moved closer to Jessica. Krystal buried her face in Jessica's shoulder as she clutched onto her big sister. She shut her eyes as Jessica embraced her tightly.

Jessica's heart beat was slightly faster than she remembered.

Krystal felt the strong emotions flare in her chest again, and she felt like it was going to explode. She had never thought much about it before. She had already been feeling those strange things after seeing her sister again. She remembered wondering about her own uality at the abandoned park while Luna was blabbing about a boy, and the dream where Jessica kissed her...

And the kiss just now...Krystal liked it, but she was so shocked that it happened all so suddenly.

But she knew, that all those feelings--wanting her sister's presence, Jessica's arms around her, Jessica's kisses, missing her during that program...it really meant what she had been reluctant to acknowledge.

"Unnie," Krystal started so quietly Jessica almost didn't hear her. "I think...I think I'm selfish too."

Jessica froze, but she felt a smile tug at the corner of her lips. She put her hands on Krystal's shoulders and pushed her back a bit so she could look down at her sister. Krystal's eyes were dark and visionless, but they shone with innocence, sincerity, and a tiny hint of solemness.

She cupped Krystal's chin in one hand and her head with the other. She chuckled softly as she leaned closer to Krystal. "Really?"

Krystal replied by holding Jessica's cheeks in her hands, and pressing her lips against hers. Jessica's heart leapt with happiness at the gesture from her usually wary sister. The woman angled her head and began to deepen the kiss as she moved her lips against Krystal's. She savored every second, every moment, every caress of the lips, every touch.

They remained unaffected by the cold night air as their long hidden passion blazed from within.

----

Eyyy! The moment you've been waiting for has finally arrived. It was supposed to be 2 part chapter but I just decided to give it all to because 30-something chapters is really long...

Well, I'm gonna have to revise this when I come back because it's late here and I'm so tired. I don't know if I'll have computer access this weekend...maybe phone, but AFF doesn't really work well on phone, especially when I'm editing, becuase the format gets all wacky. But anway, I will be working on the next chapter too.

I hope you enjoyed. Please leave comments! :) What do you think about everything that just happened?

I just had my final exam today...I'm done with summer schoool! YAY!!

But I got real school in two weeks. I'm so sad.

Also thanks to those who subscribed and upvoted! It's really appreciated! Thank you to those who commented on this story, and I hope that it will meet your needs!! Lol  :D 

You all take care!! <3

I'll be back in a few days with another chapter!