Jessica stared at the small monitor of her phone, absently munching on the hard plastic straw in between her lips. Her eyes scanned the most recent text from the multitude, nonsensical, short messages she received from the start of the day, the side of her lips quirked. Her thumb flew over the keys in a near blur, finally stopping down the send button.

 

Then she waited, staring unfocused at the screen, a blank expression taking over. She takes a small sip from her juice box.

 

A soft chime brings life back to her eyes, her mood lifting significantly.

 

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you’re texting your secret lover.” The rapid fire movement of her thumb ceases, her head flying to the smirking Tiffany. Tiffany was lying at the edge of her bed, one leg lazily swinging to and fro from where it hung, seemingly bored out of her wits.

 

“I don’t have a secret lover.” She replies bluntly, her eyes returning to the message she was composing.

 

“Not yet, but looks like it’s getting there.” Jessica ignores the tease, quickly finishing her text and sending it. She shuts her phone, falling back on her mattress with a soft thump, ignoring the heat building up around her cheeks or the way the side of her lips were straining from trying to keep a straight face.

 

Yuri had been sending her random texts through the day, from greeting her a good morning at 6 in the morning to the most random piece of fact she had suddenly thought of in the middle of the day. Currently, they were in the middle of criticizing an over the top advertisement of a shampoo, all in good fun.

 

They were all entertaining and cute. A lot of the contents brought a smile to her face, no matter how stupid it sounded when she thought back on it. Then again, Yuri has always projected that kind of personality, an innocent free thinker. But after the short family visit, Jessica can’t help but think what else is under the surface.

 

“So, who were you texting?” Tiffany asks. When Jessica drapes an arm over her eyes, refusing to answer, Tiffany stretches her leg, playfully pinching at Jessica’s thigh. Jessica jerks at the sharp pain, throwing a glare at Tiffany’s smirking face.

 

“Come on, tell. And don’t you lie. You should see your face, suddenly grinning like a psycho.”

 

“I’m too pretty to be compared to a psycho.” Jessica scoffs, rolling over her bed to face the wall. “And who I text is none of your business.”

 

“Aw.. Jessie is becoming a meanie.” Tiffany whines, reverting to her first language. She turns around on her bed, wrapping her arms around the smaller person staring blankly at the ceiling. “Tae-Tae, isn’t Jessie just so ungrateful? And after all the things we’ve done to her!”

 

The uninterested hum she receives has the smile on Tiffany’s face fall, making way for scrunched brows and a small frown. Taeyeon, eyes unfocused, continued to stare at the ceiling, completely unlike the usual when she would, at the very least, look at Tiffany. Concerned, Tiffany reached up, placing her cool hand over Taeyeon’s forehead. The older girl flinches at the touch, blinking back to the present.

 

“Miyoung-ah?” she finally voices out, the sound of her voice unusually husky. Tiffany’s frown deepens.

 

“That is the first thing I’ve heard from you the whole day. Taeyeon-ah, are you sick?” Tiffany asks, her hand moves from resting atop Taeyeon’s forehead to gently caressing the side of her face. Jessica rolls her eyes at the (unconscious) flirting Tiffany was doing and returns to texting the moment her phone chimes.

 

Taeyeon’s hand comes up to clutch at Tiffany’s, bringing it down in between them. “I’m fine. Just… I’m just… distracted..”

 

“For the whole day.” Tiffany finishes for her. Her brows knit together, worriedly searching Taeyeon’s face for answers. “Taeyeon-ah, talk to me. What’s wrong?”

 

Taeyeon sighs, unable to fight ignore the concerned look directed at her. Her heart and mind were just too weak against her long time best friend. “I’m worried about my cousin.” She finally admits.

 

“Yuri?” Taeyeon nods once, her eyes losing focus. “She didn’t come in our classes today. She doesn’t like our classes, but she never skips it, knowing I was there.”

 

Unbeknown to the duo Jessica pauses in her texting upon overhearing the name. She snuck a glance over her shoulder, warily looking at Tiffany’s stiff back. Her sights return to her phone, deleting all she had typed and changed her message.

 

“Well then,” Tiffany chirped, shooting up to a sitting position. Jessica took a wary glance back at her roommate, internally groaning at the smile directed at her. “let’s go check up on her.”

 

So, it was with a reluctant Jessica and a half-zoned out Taeyeon flanking her sides that Tiffany marched down the bustling dorm halls. Arriving at the targeted door she briefly checked the scribble across the whiteboard (Yuri got her own room!) before bursting through, unannounced, just in time to find Yuri struggling to pull her bad foot through a pair of sweats.

 

“Ppany- Whoa!” Yuri squeaked, falling back to her mattress with a soft thump and a long drawled out groan.

 

Busted. Jessica thought fleetingly as she pushed past the flabbergasted Tiffany. Her hands reached out to gently push Yuri to lie on her bed. She noted the absence of bandages, cringing at the multiple scratches, and the plastic bag she had used the night before to wrap up Yuri’s bandaged ankle discarded by the bathroom door, still slightly wet from the shower. There was also the strong scent of apples and cinnamon coming off Yuri.

 

Retrieving the first aid kit from the study table, exactly where she had left it, Jessica began administering the antibiotics. She ignored the stares boring at her back and the intermittent hisses as she brushes over a particularly sensitive spot, opting to throw all her concentration to the task at hand.

 

If Tiffany had been confused between the clashing feelings of anger and worry the other night only a squeak had left at the sight of her. Motherly instincts have her gut twisting with worry, hovering agitatedly over Jessica as she gently tended to the cuts and bruises cluttered around Yuri’s arms and legs. Her eyes stay longer at the scratches along Yuri’s left arm, the gashes wider and a little deeper than the rest. An irrational part of her wanted nothing more than to yell her lungs out, chastise the two girls’ actions, but she keeps quiet, gritting her teeth to prevent unnecessary drama, for now. She settles for fluttering from one side to the other, silently assessing the rest of Yuri’s injuries.

 

Taeyeon, on the other hand, stood back throughout the whole process, staring concernedly at her cousin but keeps pursed in a thin line. Her fingers fumble with the hem of her shirt, feeling completely useless. It was only as Jessica unravels the bandage around Yuri’s ankle that Taeyeon move into action. A gentle touch at the back of Jessica’s shoulder was all it took to grab the girl’s attention.

 

Jessica regards her with undisclosed curiosity, catching on when she sees Taeyeon’s eyeing the small tub of menthol in her hand. She hastily slips out of the chair, offering the tub. Taeyeon smiles at her, taking over the last bit.

 

“And… how did this happen?” Taeyeon’s quiet voice carries over the silence as she gently rubs a thin layer of mint gel over the slightly swollen skin.

 

Yuri lowers her eyes, doing her best not to flinch at the rubbing on her sensitive skin, looking like the guilty party she was. “I went to visit the site. And I may have gone over the railings a little bit.”

 

“You know that’s dangerous.” Taeyeon says, not taking her eyes off her task.

 

“I do.” Yuri agrees. “But.. I just- I just wanted to know.. see if.. you know.. there was still anything.. left down there.” Yuri answers vaguely. Tiffany’s ears perks at the answer and sends Jessica a questioning look, respectfully keeping her lips sealed. Jessica notices and averts her eyes, pretending to be oblivious to the stare boring through her skull.

 

“I was curious.” Taeyeon looks up and share a quiet stare off with her cousin. Finally, she nods her head in understanding and begins wrapping a new elastic bandage around the area.

 

“What you did was still stupid.”

 

“Don’t I always do stupid stuff?” Yuri says light-heartedly, trying to ease the tension in the air.

 

“Yes. That’s why everyone worries about you.” There wasn’t a smile on Taeyeon’s face, only disappointment and worry. Yuri lowers her eyes once again, feeling the shame clawing at her chest and her eyes burning. “Please don’t do that again?”

 

“Heh- One fall is enough for me.” Yuri forces a crooked smile, one seemingly unseen by her cousin.

 

Placing the metal clip to secure the bandage Taeyeon leans back, checking her handy work. “I hope so, you look like .” She cracks a small, teasing smile.

 

Yuri barks a short laugh, easing back into her propped up pillows. “These are like my battle scars. Battle scars are cool.” She raises both her bandaged arms, showing them off to her less than enthusiastic crowd of three.

 

“Getting all these from a fall that could’ve been avoided is not cool. They’re just a reminder of your stupidity.” Jessica scoffs, which gets Tiffany to chuckle and Taeyeon to nod her head in agreement.

 

“Well if you put it that way it does.” Yuri grumbles, crossing her arms over her chest and pouting petulantly.

 

“Speaking of stupidity,” Tiffany cuts in. Her eyes narrows as she examines the guilty look falling across Jessica’s pale face and Yuri’s sudden interest at a piece of lint she had plucked from her sweats. “what were you both thinking? Sneaking away like that without informing anyone.”

 

“We left a note.” Yuri answered feebly. Tiffany’s glare hardens, pointedly ignoring the scoff coming from Jessica. The sides of Yuri’s mouth quiver. “We went to visit the family. I swear we were safe the whole time… for most of the time.” She corrects, gulping at the intense stare directed at her by their resident bubbly girl.

 

“I just.. I needed to go. I.. I..” Yuri trails off, staring down at her hands over her lap.

 

“Pany-ah.” Taeyeon’s soft voice breaks the silence. Her hand slips into Tiffany’s, pulling her back, eyes pleading her to drop the subject. Tiffany shoots Yuri a brief look, sighing as she lets Taeyeon pull her to her side.

 

“Fine. But no more secret escapades. I’m not lying to another person to cover for your ungrateful asses.” Tiffany huffs, moving to sit over Taeyeon’s lap, much to the older girl’s surprise. “TaeTae and I had to lie to the dorm mother. The Dorm Mother! If we get into trouble, I swear, I’m throwing you both under the fire.” She rants, blind to the madly blushing Taeyeon.

 

Yuri and Jessica share a look, grinning at the two.

 

 

 

 

 

Jessica stared blankly at the menu in front of her, zoning out of the world around her. Her eyes trailed from the blurred words to the analogue wristwatch strapped to a thin, tanned wrist. She squinted at the small numbers, and in her sleepy state, unable to process the time. After a while she sighed, dropping the plastic menu and leaning back and rested her head against a comfortable shoulder, shutting her heavy eyes as she did. A light weight pressed up against the top of her head, an arm curling around her to rub soothingly at her shoulder.

 

“Have you decided?” Yuri asked. Jessica shook her head lightly.

 

“You decide for me.” She muttered, letting out a small yawn at the end.

 

“Hm… how about we skip noodles and go for rice bowl?”

 

“Skipping noodles at a place that’s famous for their noodles?” Jessica chuckled. She felt the shoulder she was leaning on rising just the slightest in a shrug.

 

“You’re sleepy. It’s not good to eat noodles an hour before sleeping.” Her breath hits the shell of Jessica’s ears, resulting in the quick spread of goose bumps all over her skin. Jessica shrinks, tilting her ears, pressing them against the soft fabric of the flannel shirt Yuri had thrown on last minute. She breathes in, the lingering scent of cinnamon and apples invading her nose.

 

She smiles to herself. “Hm.. okay, then.”

 

“How about pork cutlet? Or would you rather have teriyaki chicken?”

 

“Either one’s fine.” Jessica mutters uninterestedly. Yuri chuckles, her shoulders slightly quaking with the act.

 

“Hey, don’t fall asleep on us now.” She says, reaching up to pinch the tip of Jessica’s nose. “Wake up sleepyhead.”

 

With a low groan, Jessica blindly slaps Yuri’s hand, missing completely as the tanned girl withdrew her hand the second Jessica raised hers. Jessica raised her head from its comfortable position, blearily glaring at the crooked smile directed her way. Even with the haze in her mind, she didn’t miss the teasing glint behind crescent eyes and the smirk she used to abhor- it was now something she thought complemented Yuri’s personality.

 

Resting an elbow on the table, she settled her head on her palm and turned her stare forward. Her eyes settled on the two long time best friends, sharing a menu and leaning against each other. They would point something out, whisper in the other’s ear and giggle, both lost in their own world. Cute.

 

“Are you two gonna decide anytime soon? Or am I going to starve the rest of the night?”

 

Tiffany stopped whispering into Taeyeon’s ears, eyes darting to the teasing smirk her roommate was giving her. “Chill Jessie, it hasn’t even been 10 minutes since we sat down.” She said, sitting back to give a proper amount of space between her and Taeyeon, the latter too busy looking through the menu to pay any mind to the two roommates.

 

“I’m sleepy, hungry and miles away from my bed. Hurry it up.”

 

“Tsk. Impatient much?”

 

“Whatever, Miyoungie.”

 

“Miyoungie?” Yuri perked up, inquisitive eyes looking in between the smirking Jessica to the blank-faced Tiffany. Even Taeyeon was smiling behind the menu.

 

“It’s Tiff’s Korean name. She absolutely hates it, but Taeyeon’s been using it recently.”

 

“Really?” Yuri grinned, leaning over the table. “Well, it sounds very nice, Miyoungie.”

 

“Stop calling me that.” Tiffany harrumphed, crossing her arms over her chest, glaring at the two girls sitting opposite her.

 

Jessica merely stuck her tongue out at her while Yuri chuckled. “What’s so bad about it? It’s your Korean name, you live in Korea.”

 

“That’s what I’ve been telling her.” Taeyeon re-joined the conversation, finally putting down the menu.

 

Tiffany’s face scrunched as she reached to slap Taeyeon’s arm. “It’s an oldie name. And you know exactly why I dislike that name. No. Just, no.”

 

“It’s cute, Mi Young.”

 

“Shut up, Jessica. I don’t hear anyone calling you with your Korean name…” she pauses, a completive look on her face. “What is your Korean name?” she mused loudly, arching a brow.

 

Before Jessica could respond Yuri beat her to it, grinning delightedly. “It’s Soo Yeon. Doesn’t it just sound right for her?”

 

“Yah! Who told you to spread my Korean name around?” Jessica glowered, reaching to pinch Yuri by the waist.

 

Yuri flinched but is quick to latch onto Jessica’s waist, pinning her arms to her side. “Aw, why not Sooyeon-ah? You didn’t mind it when my parents called you that.” The second part was delivered in an airy whisper, one where Yuri had to lean in close, her lips grazing the outer shell of Jessica’s sensitive ears as she spoke.

 

“It’s not like I can argue with your parents.” Jessica muttered, her cheeks burning at the intimate contact between them. She could have easily broken out of the hold if she wanted to; in Yuri’s current condition simply raising her arms could have freed her. If she wanted to.

 

Her eyes flicker over to Tiffany, who was wearing a teasing smirk, leaning back against her chair. She mustered up her darkest glare, hoping it would be enough to hide the fact that, yes she enjoys the closeness immensely. She had always thought Yuri to be warm, but to be held so close, it felt like a comforting blanket wrapped snugly around her.

 

“Okay. I’ve decided.” Taeyeon suddenly announced.

 

“Great!” Yuri chirped, withdrawing from the hug to call out to the waitress. Jessica sighed, and just as she was getting comfortable.