Yuri panted heavily, inhaling the cold fresh morning air with every intake. She stared up at the blue sky. A light but cold breeze blew across her face. Yuri clenched her fists, fighting the shivers. Soon it would be too cold to run outside. 

Yuri jogged off the track over to the bench and grabbed the towel sitting on top of her bag along with a pink SM water bottle. Gulping down the water, Yuri stared at the remaining students on the track. The sun had just risen, so most of the students were still sleeping or just waking up.

Her eyes swept across the field one last time before she grabbed her bag and left.

It’d been a week since she’d seen Jessica.

She glanced down at the phone in her hands. No texts or missed calls.

Yuri sighed. ‘I’ll stop by the ballet studio later today. But for now, I should get breakfast and then get ready for morning practice.’

Yuri was on her way to the school cafeteria when she saw a familiar blonde exiting the main administration building with a couple of papers in her hand.

‘Eh? Isn’t that Jessica?’

Yuri made a move to call out to the blonde but stopped halfway as she noticed the forlorn look on Jessica’s face. She hesitated. Her first instinct was to call to the girl, chase after her and demand why she hadn't been answering her texts and calls and why she was clearly avoiding them, but Jessica clearly was too absorbed in her thoughts. She didn't look too good if Yuri was going to be honest with herself. Worry suddenly flooded her stomach. 

Deciding it was best to stay quiet, Yuri watched as Jessica scurried away without even noticing Yuri’s presence.

Yuri frowned once the blonde was out of sight. She glanced back up at the administration building.

‘What was Jessica doing there?’

By the time Yuri had finished her breakfast and made her way to the ice rink, it was already seven in the morning. Pushing the doors to the ice rink open, she was surprised to see the skating team gathered up on land as opposed to warming up like they did normally.

From the middle of the group, Yuna turned to face her. “Ah Yuri. You’re here. Come, meet our newest recruit and your newest teammate.” Yuna smiled knowingly at the tanned girl.

Yuri felt her hopes soaring. Had Jessica finally stopped lying to herself and joined the club? Was this why she saw Jessica exiting the administration building?

She rushed forward only to be met with a familiar face, but it was not the Jung she was expecting.

“Krystal???” 'What was I thinking? Of course, Jessica wouldn't join.' Yuri recalled the look on Jessica's face as she exited the administration building. 'That was not the face of someone who had finally decided to chase her dream.'

A slender pale gorgeous girl with silky black hair and soothing eyes met her gaze. Krystal beamed up at her. “Hello, Kwon,” Krystal smirked at her ‘new’ teammate. A few girls next to her gasped at her lack of formality when addressing an elder.

Yuri laughed, clearing not minding the way she was addressed. This was how things were in the US after all. Krystal's appearance was certainly a surprise though. She had not been informed at all about her arrival.

“It’s nice to see you. But what are you doing here, Jung?” she asked, replying in a similar manner. “You just debuted in the senior league. Shouldn’t you be busy with training somewhere in Russia or Canada right now?”

Krystal shrugged nonchalantly, shifting her weight to her left foot - Krystal’s signature stance of confidence which Yuri was familiar with. “Coach Kwan said it would do me some good to receive some training from this side of the world. Something about emphasizing my musicality.”

“Huh,” Yuri grinned, though her curiosity was nowhere near satisfied. “That’s what she said to me.”

“So she sent us both away, huh,” Krystal hummed to herself, deep in thought.

Despite everything, Yuri was glad to see a familiar face. The two of them had been teammates for the past seven years and even trained under the same coach - Yuri’s aunt. However, she was was worried for a certain blonde.

Suddenly, Yuri’s face switched to a more serious countenance. “Does...does she know…?”

The smile on Krystal’s face was also gone. She looked down. “No.”

Yuri nodded quietly. “I see.”

Yuna clapped her hands, bringing everyone’s attention back to her. “Everyone, this is Krystal Jung, your new teammate. She’ll be with us for the next couple months. Please treat her well.”

“Hello, my name is Krystal Jung Soojung,” Krystal bowed shyly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ears.

The team bowed and greeted their newest member.

“Krystal, what’s your goal?” Yuna asked the newcomer.

“Goal?” Krystal mumbled quietly in confusion.

“For this season. For your career. Whatever,” Yuna expanded, curious to hear what Krystal had to say. Though it sounded like a simple question, sometimes the answer to this particular question was enough to set certain skaters apart from others.

Krystal hummed in thought. “I want to make someone proud,” Krystal eventually stated, smiling softly at the ground as she did. “I want them to be proud of me as a skater.” 'Unnie...I know you are watching.'

Yuna regarded Krystal carefully, dissecting as much information as she could from the girl’s rather cryptic but not too surprising answer. “Well, I wish