Jiyeon stood outside the dorm nervously. She was currently debating if she should knock the door or not. Would Sooyoung still want to see her after what had happened earlier?

The maknae sighed as she recalled the events earlier. Why would Hyomin-unnie break up with Sunny-unnie? thought the young girl sadly. Maybe that was why she had been acting so distant to her and Eunjung earlier on. Soyeon said that she was going to meet up with Taeyeon to find out more but she couldn’t wait. She had to ask Sooyoung and besides, the Beanstalk owed her some food.

As she was about to knock on the door, she jumped in surprise when it swung open and pissed off looking Sooyoung stood before her. The anger quickly dissolved when she saw Jiyeon, “Omo, Jiyeon. What are you doing here? Did you follow me back just now?” Sooyoung noticed Jiyeon blushed when she was caught and the sharp eyed maknae quickly responded, “Y-yah. Of course I did. You still owe me a snack, don’t you?” Sooyoung grinned and rubbed her neck sheepishly, “I guess I do. I was just about to step out for something to drink anyway, so let’s get you that snack at the same time.”

The two of them ended up at the noodle store that they had suggested earlier to meet at earlier but Sooyoung noticed Jiyeon was hardly touching her food and seemed to have a troubled expression. “Hey, do you wanna talk about what’s bothering you?” Jiyeon looked up to see a concerned Sooyoung observing her reaction.

“Mmm.. I don’t know where to begin, Beanstalk. It’s all so confusing.”

“Then shall we go for a walk after this to clear some of that confusion?”

Jiyeon nodded and they both quickly finished their meal before heading out. The cold autumn air was blowing and they were both glad that they had worn warm clothes. Sooyoung spoke after they walked quite a bit, “Is this about Sunny and Hyomin?” Jiyeon sighed and nodded her head sadly.

“I don’t get it, Beanstalk. My unnie and Sunny were so in love before this but unnie has been acting weird ever since Sunny’s uncle was admitted to the hospital. This is the first time I’ve seen them argue this badly. Jungie told me earlier that all couples argue now and then but Hyomin-unnie has never acted like this before and Sunny looked so hurt. What’s going to happen to them, Beanstalk?”

Sooyoung turned to look at Jiyeon’s sad eyes. Sighing, she scratched the back of her head, “Honestly, I don’t know, Jiyeon. It’s the first time I’ve seen Sunny this upset too. And to top it off, Hyomin is acting exactly like how Jessica acted towards Yuri. I don’t know if I can ever accept Hyomin as my friend if-“

“Aniyo! Hyomin-unnie would never hurt Sunny on purpose. Something just have happened to her or maybe it was that evil girl. My unnie is very kind. She was the first person that said hello to me in class. She always buys me good food. She helps me with my homework even when I mess hers up! She.. she-“

Jiyeon could hardly finish her sentence before bursting into tears. A surprised Sooyoung widened her eyes as she saw the usually fiery maknae cry like a child. She hesitated for a moment but slowly moved to hug the younger girl and Jiyeon buried her face into Sooyoung’s chest as she continued to sob.

When the sobs slowed, Jiyeon slowly pulled away from Sooyoung and in a shaky voice said, “Sooyoung, I’m scared. I don’t want Hyomin-unnie and Sunny-unnie to fight. I want them together and for all of us to be happy. Please don’t hate my unnie.” Sooyoung wiped a freshly fallen tear from Jiyeon’s face. “Aigoo, Jiyeon. I was about to say that I can’t accept Hyomin as my friend if she truly hurt Sunny with no reason. But like you, I don’t believe Hyomin has done that for no reason. If it makes you feel better, I think if anyone who’s friends with you, must be a good person for you to like them.”

Jiyeon turned her large eyes to Sooyoung and the taller’s girl’s breath caught in . Even with red puffy eyes, Jiyeon was still very pretty. Sooyoung quickly snapped out of it when she heard Jiyeon thank her. She grinned wolfishly as Jiyeon cocked her head confusedly.

“What? Why are you smiling like that?”

“You know, that was the first time you called me by my name.”

“Yah! Shut it, Beanstalk!”

“Aww, come on. Please say it again for me.”

“No!” Jiyeon was blushing hard at this point and Sooyoung decided not to tease the poor girl further. When they reached the front of Jiyeon’s house, she bid the girl goodnight and was about to walk away when she felt a hand pull her back and felt soft warm lips meet her own briefly.

“Thank you, Sooyoung.”

The taller girl stood there with a dumb smile as she watched Jiyeon take off into a sprint to her front door from the gate. Sooyoung was sure she had fallen for the sharp eye maknae at that point and she would do whatever it took to make her feel better, including believing Hyomin was not out to hurt Sunny without a reason.

—————

Jessica was feeling a little dizzy as Hyomin dropped her off at her house. “Sica, you sure you don’t want to see the doctor again?” The blonde waved her off, “Nah, I’m fine. Besides, you look like you could use some rest yourself.” Hyomin frowned in worry as she watch Jessica weakly push the car door open, “But Sica, the baby-“ Hyomin faltered under Jessica’s stern look. “Look Hyomin, I’ll be fine. Go home, get some rest and maybe even start packing. Your flight is this weekend, right?” Hyomin sighed and nodded. Jessica patted the Hyomin’s shoulder, “It’s gonna be alright. Drive home safe and don’t worry about me, I’ll be okay.” She slowly got out of the car and watched Hyomin drive off before heaving a long sigh and moving to walk up to her building entrance.

The ice queen noticed some extra footsteps behind her and quickly whirled around to find herself facing Yuri. “Y-yul, what are you doing here?” Jessica asked in surprise. She noticed Yuri looked slightly fidgety and had a small frown on her face but Jessica did not pick up any anger from the tanned girl.

“Just needed to ask you a couple of questions, if you have the time.”

“Of course. Would you like to come in?”

Jessica saw Yuri look up to the residential building for a moment and as if reading her mind, Yuri heard the blonde continue, “Don’t worry, your cousin’s not home till later.” The tanned girl sighed and nodded. They both made their way up in silence and Yuri sat on the couch as Jessica prepared some tea for the both of them. A cup of hot tea was placed in front of her not long after and she watched Jessica take a seat on the couch opposite her.

“So, what was it you wanted to speak to me about?”

“You probably already know-“

“Hyomin and Sunny?” Yuri nodded and Jessica sighed softly.

“Look Yul, even if I wanted to tell you, I couldn’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because that’s her privacy. Sometimes, people act differently not because they’ve changed, but because their environment changed.”

“Are you saying that something is affecting Hyomin now?”

“I’m not saying anything, Yul. I’m speaking from experience.”

“Is that what happened to us?”

Jessica fell silent at Yuri’s words as she looked into those brown eyes that have haunted her dreams for so long. There was so much sadness in them with a lining of love that remained for her. The usually unemotional ice queen felt a pang in her heart for not being able to answer Yuri’s question and she looked away as her guilt took over.

“Sica..”

The blonde girl was stunned when she felt a warm hand cup her cheek and turned to see Yuri kneeling in front of her while she remained rooted to her chair. They both stared into each other’s eyes as they felt themselves falling into the pool of emotions that was swirling in them. Their hearts started racing as their eyes seemed to be closing the distance between them and Jessica felt Yuri’s warm breath caress her lips before a sudden loud ringing interrupted them.

Both girls quickly jumped apart, blushing furiously as Jessica fumbled in her pockets for her phone. “H-hello,” Jessica said breathlessly. “Unnie? Are you alright? You sound like you’ve run a marathon, and you’re not the kind to run. Even if it was to save your life,” teased Krystal from the other end. 

Yuri sighed in relief as Jessica excused herself and moved to the next room to talk to her sister. She had almost kissed her cousin’s girlfriend and she felt like about it. Deciding it was not safe to be alone around her ex-girlfriend, Yuri quickly gathered her things and quietly slipped out. 

Pabo, you were supposed to find out what happened to Hyomin and Sunny and you end up trying to make out with your ex. Kwon Yuri, you’re really an idiot sometimes, she thought miserably to herself.

When Jessica ended the call with Krystal, she walked back into the living room to see it empty. A quick glance around told her that Yuri had probably left already. She sighed and sat back down on the seat earlier as she looked sadly at Yuri’s unfinished tea. 

I’m sorry Yul. For not being able to tell you about Hyomin and for hurting you in the past.

—————

When Sunny woke up, her head was spinning and she felt pain course through her entire body. Was it all a dream? she asked herself but a quick glance at her dark circles and her phone told her it wasn’t. She had been in a limbo for the past two days and started to lose sight of reality from her dreams. Tears crept into Sunny’s swollen eyes for the umpteenth time and she let herself curl up into a ball on her bed. She sobbed softly for awhile as the painful memories came back to her.

You are embarrassing you, me and our friends. 

Enough, get out of my sight. 

I never want to see you again.

Why Hyomin? she thought miserably as her heart tore into tinier pieces. Sunny did not notice the door opening softly and looked up to see her best friend sit down next to her and softly patted her head. Taeyeon hated seeing Sunny in this state. The girl had been their source of energy and smiles for the last few months and the shell that had been left behind in the aftermath of Sunny’s breakup was seeping into the atmosphere of the dorm. No one had smiled or laughed since that day but no one blamed the small girl.

“Sunny-ah, you’ve been asleep for awhile. Come have something to eat,” said Taeyeon as she gently coaxed her friend out of bed. Sunny shook her head, “I’m not hungry.” Her friend sighed, “Sunny, I know you’re going through a hard time, but your body still needs something to eat in order to stay alive.”

“I don’t want to be alive without her. I just want to die.”

“Yah, don’t say such things, Sunny. It hurts now, you just need to find a distraction from the pain in the meantime.”

“Taeng, it’s not gonna stop hurting. Not now, not ever. My heart knows it lost its only soulmate, it’ll never heal fully.”

Taeyeon sighed. As much as she wanted to tell Sunny no, she knew her best friend was right. She had seen how much love they had shared between each other and she knew Sunny would never walk out of this the same way. But she had to try.

“Didn’t you say your uncle offered you a job? Maybe that will help you take your mind off things?”

“I don’t want a job. i want my Hyomin. And how can I work with him after all he’s done to all of you?”

Taeyeon pulled her friend to look her in the eyes, “Look Sunny, you can sit and mope here all you want. But do you think that’s gonna bring Hyomin back? You need to snap out of this. Remember when I was too scared to confess to Pany? Who told me that I should man up and do something about it? You. So it’s time to take your own advice. Get back up on your feet and make a change for yourself. And about us? How many times have we told you that we never blamed you for it? It was our decision too and none of us regret it. We don’t want you holding yourself back either, it would hurt us more as your sisters.”

Sunny fell silent at Taeyeon’s words. The two kept their silence for a long time and Taeyeon knew that Sunny had shut her out temporarily. “Rest for a bit more. After this, come down and have something to eat. Pany cooked today and she’s being annoyingly proud of it. If you’re my best friend, at least come down and help me praise her a little so that she will stop going on about it, alright?” Taeyeon smiled when she saw the corner of Sunny’s mouth twitch a little as they both imagined the pink princess bragging about her cooking. Taeyeon hugged Sunny briefly before she left the room. 

As the room fell silent once more, Sunny contemplated Taeyeon’s words. A distraction, that was what she needed? Sunny thought dully as her phone beeped. She turned her half open eyes to it and saw an email from her parents asking her about her uncle’s health. Sunny sighed and made a decision there and then. She searched through her older emails and found one from her uncle. Dialling the number on it, she let out a giant sigh as she heard the ringtone.

“Yeboseyo?”

“Uncle Lee, it’s Soonkyu.”

“Ah, Soonkyu. What can I do for you?”

Taking a deep breath, Sunny moved the phone away from her ear and looked down at her phone and saw the picture of her stealing a kiss from a surprised Hyomin. Life had been so perfect then, she had all she needed. She faintly heard her uncle calling out to her as he only heard silence after his last question. She thought to herself, What do I have more to lose anyway?

“I thought about your previous offer. If it still stands, I would like to work with you.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Author’s Note:

*The author is unavailable due to fear of fellow Sunbyung shippers.*

A bit more of JiSoo and YulSic in this one to make up for the pain.