*ring ring*

                *ring ring*

                “Mmm … hewwo …” Sooyoung sleepily muttered into the phone.

                “Good morning, Sooyoung … unni.” An unfamiliar voice answered on the other line.

                Sooyoung finally forced her eyes open to look at the caller ID. “Yes, Yoona? What can I do for you?” She stifled a yawn long enough to hear what the other girl had to say.

                “I am free after lunch this afternoon, would you be free?” Yoona’s voice was so soft and sweet, it might have put Sooyoung back to sleep.

                “I will be free from noon to five. Where would you like to meet?”

                “That’s good. Let’s meet at COEX mall at twelve-fifteen then. You know the entrance near the smaller food court?”

                “Yes, I do. See you then.” Sooyoung croaked softly.

                After they exchange goodbyes, Sooyoung looked at her clock, which said eight o’clock. She got up to get ready for church. While the contract was only for Sooyoung to accompany Yoona at the ball, she liked to get prepared to prevent mistakes. It is something that Yuri taught her when she started.

                “Don’t leave things to chance.” Sooyoung repeated it in her head.

                After she has eaten and cleaned up, Sooyoung headed out the door. There was a lot to do and she only had half a day to do it.

                “I can’t decide, is this too frilly?” Yoona turned to Sooyoung for some suggestions.

                “A little bit. If you want to show her that you are a hot commodity, go with something sleeker … you know, show off your body.” Sooyoung replied as her hand flipped through the rack of clothes.

                They just started to browse the third boutique on their clothes domination tour. The girls met and had lunch at one of the food courts, then started to chatter their way through the shops. Sooyoung managed to talk Yoona into dropping the awkward ‘unni’ that she kept tacking on to Sooyoung’s name. In no time, their easygoing personalities meshed very well together. It was part of Sooyoung’s success as a Companion, she can become anyone’s friend in a short amount of time.

                “So, it comes down to this. Do you prefer me to wear a suit or a dress?” Sooyoung pulls out a very mature black one-shouldered gown out of the rack for Yoona.

                “What are you comfortable in? I don’t want to pressure you … I think you have a pretty good sense of style.” Yoona smiled and took dress from Sooyoung.

                “I do?” Sooyoung grinned while looking rather prideful.

                “Yes, you looked really good in that suit yesterday … and even though you’re in casual clothes today, you look even better.” Yoona blushed as she continued to describe Sooyoung.

                “I do, don’t I?” Sooyoung winked at Yoona and continued to flip through the dresses. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror to the side and she got to admit that she looked pretty good in casual clothes. She is dressed in simple blue jeans, a simple flannel shirt, and a pair of red All-star.

                “Gee, narcissist much? I take it back, you look so-so.” Yoona gave Sooyoung a merong before she headed to the dressing room.

                “But it’s funny how we are matching today.” Sooyoung referred to the flannel and jeans that Yoona was wearing. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were stalking me to see what I would be wearing.”

                “You’d like that too … oh my gosh!” Yoona’s eyes went wide and she quickly ducked down behind a rack of clothes.

                “What is it?” Sooyoung curiously looked around and immediately, her eyes widened and she ducked down as well.

                “What is SHE doing HERE?” They both muttered at the same time and looked at each other.

                “Who are you hiding from?” They said together.

                “Stop that!” Once again, they were in perfect sync.

                Yoona reached over to cover Sooyoung’s mouth, “Seohyun is here.” She nodded toward the door and her eyes started to tear up.

                Sooyoung nodded and raised her head to look toward the entrance, where two tall and adorable girls were browsing through the accessories. “My cousin is here … with Seohyun.”

                “Small world …” Yoona looked genuinely surprised, “but more importantly we have to get out of here!”

                Sooyoung nodded grimly. “I can’t let her see me.” The normally cool and relaxed Sooyoung has been unsettled. She peeked around the gowns and pointed to an escape route behind the girls, whose back were turned at the moment.

                Yoona nodded and remained quiet.

                Nearby, a saleswoman watched them like a hawk since they were looking awfully suspicious while holding on to a very expensive gown. Having had enough of their sneaky behavior, she walked right over to them and cleared . “Ahem … customers, is there anything I can help you with?”

                “Here. You can hang this back up.” Sooyoung handed her the gown from her crouching position then took Yoona’s hand.

                “Ugh! How rude!” The saleswoman exclaimed before swaggering off to restock the dress.

                The two girls used the high racks of dresses as cover and sneaked their escape route. Sooyoung smiled to herself since fortune must have favored them and they are near the exit. The other girls still had their back to the escapees. They stood up and started to walk briskly. Just as she started to feel gleeful, a loud *CRASH* behind her smashed her hope for an easy retreat. An accessory rack was knocked over and earrings decorated the floor.

                “Yoona?”

                “Sooyoung-unni?”

                The two runaways looked to the girls they were trying to avoid. They smiles awkwardly at the two wide-eyed girls and answered.

                “Seohyun.”

                “Jinri.”

                “Au! Sooyoung-unni! I missed you so much!” Jinri giggled and happily jumped onto Sooyoung. Her arms and legs are neatly wrapped around the taller girl.

                “Calm down, Choi Jinri! You’re heavy!” Sooyoung almost got brough to her knees. She tried to shake the sudden weight off without knocking over anything.

                “Sooyoung-unni, I won’t let you go anymore. I love you so much. Do you know how much I missed you? Do you know how much everyone else missed you?” Jinri only clung tighter to her cousin.

                “What are you doing here anyways?” Sooyoung struggles to keep Jinri from kissing her cheek. Only with family was Sooyoung this flustered.

                “My friend Seohyun is helping me pick out a gown for her engagement ball!” Jinri declared happily.

                The mentioning of Seohyun caused Sooyoung to turn toward her client. Yoona and Seohyun were trapped in their endless gaze into each other eyes. It was as if the world was blank and the arguments and stares around them were nonexistent. In two minutes, it felt like an eternity.

                Finally, Yoona broke eye contact with Seohyun, so that the girl won’t see her cry. “Sooyoung-unni, I’m going to go to the bathroom, call me when you’re done.” She walked straight through the door.

                Seohyun stayed silent.

                “Wait for me, I’ll go with you.” Sooyoung hurriedly replied, then turned back to a puppy-eyed Jinri. “I have to go now, Jinri. Here’s my card, call me and we will talk later.” She said in a serious tone, so Jinri knew to back off.

                “Okay, Sooyoung-unni.” Despite her relenting, Jinri still managed to plant a soft kiss on Sooyoung’s cheek, their puffiness was irresistible.

                Sooyoung sighed and kissed Jinri’s cheek as well before she rushed after Yoona. She did manage to steal a glance at Seohyun and noticed the girl’s tearful eyes. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed something odd about the fallen accessory rack. This contract was getting to be a bit more involved than she wanted.

                “Yoona, are you in here?” Sooyoung asked when she entered the empty bathroom.

                Without any answers but soft sobs, Sooyoung knew the girl was in there. She paused then lightly knocked on the stall’s door. “Please don’t cry … everyone gets constipation, it’s nothing to cry about …”

                There was silence, followed up a soft sobbing chuckle. The stall opens and a red-eyed Yoona looked up to Sooyoung, while tears still stained her cheeks. “Constipation? Really?”

                Sooyoung smiled apologetically, “I’m not good with toilet humor.”

                Yoona cannot help but laugh at Sooyoung’s attempt. She rose from the toilet seat and wrapped her arms around Sooyoung’s waist. Her head rested lightly on the taller girl’s chest, “I didn’t think it would hurt so much to see her again … to know that she is moving on …” Yoona cracked into broken sobs.

                Sooyoung gently Yoona’s back while she listened to the girl’s laments for her unfulfilled love. She knew it was best to listen and comfort instead of hollow words. After having cried until Sooyoung’s shirt was damped, Yoona sniffled quietly and looked up at Sooyoung. Her lower lip trembled as she gazed deeply into Sooyoung’s chocolate eyes.

                Sooyoung saw something in those teary eyes, something that caused her to turn her head when Yoona started to lean upward. “I think we should call it a day. I will ask my company’s designer to send some gown options to you tomorrow morning. The ball starts at seven so I will be by to pick you up at six, we can go over the details a bit more.”

                Without waiting for Yoona’s reply, Sooyoung broke the hug and stepped back away from her client. She straightened her clothes and looks back Yoona. “Let me walk you to your car.”

                “No.” Yoona harshly replied and turned to the door. “I will manage.” She left with Sooyoung trailing close behind.

                While Sooyoung tried to stay professional, she still felt sorry for the girl and wanted to make sure she would be alright. Once Yoona had gotten into her car and drove away, Sooyoung dialed her office number.

                “Hello unni, it’s me … yes, I’m well … I have a favor to ask … yes, ball gowns … can I come by? Okay I will see you in fifteen minutes.” Sooyoung slipped the phone back into her purse and walked to her car.

                In the meanwhile, back at the store, the commotions left a lot of people puzzled. It was like a scene out of a drama where one girl ran out of the store while one was left crying. Seohyun stood frozen on the spot while the store clerks gathered to clean the knocked over accessories.

                “Seohyun-unni, are you alright?” Her friend handed her some tissue.

                “I’ll be alright, Sulli. Thank you.” Seohyun tried to smile for her friend while she dabbed the fresh tears from her eyes and cheeks.

                “Did that girl make you cry?” Sulli pressed.

                Seohyun shook her head. “No. I’m the one who made her cry.”

                “Then why are you crying?” Curious Sulli continued.

                “Who was that girl you were tackling?” Seohyun tried to evade the topic.

                “Oh! That was my cousin, Sooyoung-unni. She is four years older than me. She’s the only one who still calls me Jinri, my real name. She said it is because I am special to her. Isn’t she the coolest? She’s the tallest out of our family … and so pretty too! I wanted to be like her when I grow up …”

                Seohyun was relieved that Sulli managed to distract herself with her idolization of her cousin, but she is now anxious about the relationship that Yoona and Sooyoung might have. Seohyun knew all of Yoona’s friends, since they gre up together, why did she never mention Sooyoung?

                “Oh, aren’t we supposed to meet your future sister-in-law by the aquarium?” Sulli, the artist formerly known as Jinri, snapped Seohyun out of her reverie.

                “That’s right!” Seohyun gasps as they are about five minutes late, they were only going to glance through this shop for a five minutes.

                 The two girls hurried out the door and speed-walked all the way to the aquarium entrance, where they were scheduled meet her fiancé’s sister. Supposedly, the girl wanted to get to know her before the formal marriage announcement.

                “There she is! Krystal!” Sulli waved and ran Krystal with her arms wide opened. Instead of giving her a hug, Krystal gave Sulli a smack on the shoulder.

                “I told you to be more ladylike, don’t run down the mall screaming my name!” Krystal shook her head and straightened up Sulli’s shirt.

                “Why are you being a stickler today?” Sulli pouted while Seohyun joined them.

                “Hello, Seohyun-unni.” Krystal warmly hugged her future sister-in-law.

                “Hi, Krystal.” Seohyun smiled and squeezed her back.

                “Hey … I want a hug, too …” Sulli pouted even more.

                “You can hug me, Sulli.” A sweet voice came from behind her and caused Sulli to turn back. A girl with golden hair pulled into a bun was standing there smiling at her. She had on a pair of Ray-ban sunglasses, but Sulli would recognize her anywhere.

                “Jessica-unni, you’re back!” Sulli pounced on the smaller girl, who offered her a hug.

                “Oy, you’ve gotten so tall, just like Krystal.” Jessica laughs.

                “When did you come back? Why didn’t you tell me? You’re a blonde now? Ooo … your hair is so long and pretty … OUCH!” Sulli winced when a sharp pain radiated from the back of her head.

                “Move a side and let Seohyun meet my sister.” Krystal pulled Sulli to the side and finally gave her a hug, so she would shut up.

                “You must be Seohyun, I’ve heard so much about you. I’m Jessica, Yonghwa and Krystal’s sister.” Jessica removed her sunglasses and smiled at Seohyun.

                “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Jessica-unni.” Seohyun bowed slightly.

                “No need for formality, we’re going to be family soon.” Jessica gently hugged Seohyun, “You’re going to raise our family’s height average.” She joked to help with Seohyun’s nerves.

                After getting acquainted with each other, they turned to Sulli and Krystal who were playing among themselves. Despite Krystal’s strict corrections, her smile was happiest and sweetest when she smiled at Sulli. And while Sulli was affectionate toward everyone, she showed more aegyo to Krystal.

                “Alright girls, let’s visit the aquarium.” Jessica clapped her hands to get the kids’ attention. It was one thing she loved about COEX mall, it had almost everything under the sun.

                “Yay!” Sulli cheered then paused for a second as if she just remembered something. “Krystal, guess who I saw today!”

                Krystal looked a little puzzled, Sulli seemed really excited about this person. “Um … Santa Claus?”

                “No silly! It’s not Christmas, yet!” Sulli’s energy was grating on Krystal’s nerves a little bit.

                “I don’t know, who was it?” Krystal snapped.

                Sulli then turned to Jessica, “You know her, too!”

                Jessica smiled and looked at Krystal. The sisters shared a confused look while Seohyun was surprised that the Jung sisters knew this person as well. It seemed everyone knew her except for Seohyun.

                “It was Sooyoung-unni! My awesome cousin.” Sulli smiled happily.

                Krystal immediately turned to Jessica, who looked away to avoid her sister’s gaze. “Oh … really … I hope she is well.” Jessica suddenly turned into her Ice Princess mode, “Let’s go.”

                Sulli looked a bit miffed when Jessica did not even look interested.

                Krystal looked worriedly after her sister.

                Seohyun felt anxious about this Sooyoung character.

               Hello again! Jessica is introduced in this chapter, thus adding to the web of relationships! I hope I can keep it all straight in my head!

Anyways, the ball is the next chapter ... but since my exams are coming up, I am not sure when the next update will be.

Thanks for reading ^_^