A/N:

Nobu: lmao so that hiatus for christmas from last year lasted till this year who knew? =P In all seriousness, I apologize for the extreme delay. To make up for it me and silly have decided to give y'all an extra long chapter. I would also like to thank everyone for the upvotes and subcription! It really means a lot to me and Silly. We hope you enjoy the new chapter - the next one will be a spicier one for sure haha.

Silly: Thank you for the patience!!! I need to wait for my birthday to ask this one to write. And as Nobu has said, thank you for all the love!

CHAPTER 6 - STRESS

The night air was crisp, lightly nipping at the exposed skin of Hyoyeon’s hand. She rubbed at to soothe the light aching that was induced by the cold, and mentally cursed at herself for not doing a few vocal cool downs after her recording. Most of the stress Hyoyeon had been experiencing made small yet important tasks like that easy to forget.

If only caring about Jessica was a task Hyoyeon could also easily forget. Maybe she wouldn’t be in front of Krystal’s door at the moment.

Hyoyeon took a deep breath, and made three quick taps on the cherry oak doors of Krystal’s condo unit carefully, as if the door would fall over with the touch of a feather. In the midst of her knocking, the door swung open wide, a gust of wind rustling the strands of Hyoyeon's hair. Krystal stepped aside, motioning for Hyoyeon to enter. Once the dancer had her two feet planted onto the wooden floors of the girl’s foyer, Krystal moved to close the door, ignoring the dancer’s two outstretched arms waiting to wrap her in greeting.

Hyoyeon grinned awkwardly as she refrained from becoming upset and walked towards the kitchen. She placed the small plastic bag filled with snacks in her other hand on top of the kitchen counter and took a seat by the breakfast bar.

“So, is Sica around?”

Krystal quickly glanced at the white plastic bag on top of the counter with indifference, “No. She was here last night but she’s gone back home. I’m guessing she told you she stayed over here last night?” Crossing her arms, Krystal leaned against the counter and stared at Hyoyeon, eyes empty.

The cold welcome Hyoyeon was receiving did not compliment her short temper. Soon after reading Krystal’s no-nonsense face, Hyoyeon instantly felt even more tired than she already was.

“She did.” Hyoyeon said, and clicked her tongue against the roof of . She gave a brief shake of her head, “Krystal we’ve known each other long enough. What is this about Taeyeon and Jessica? What did Tyler tell you?”

Krystal blinked once and nibbled on the bottom of her lip. “You knew I talked to Tyler.”

Hyoyeon chuckled. No one else would know about one of Girls’ Generation’s biggest secrets apart from him. “Yes and of course Mr. Smiley would wiggle his way out of that conversation. Why else would you be asking about Taeyeon and Jessica?”

“He didn’t tell me anything. That’s why you’re here.”

“He didn’t tell you anything because it would cost him.” Hyoyeon rolled her eyes, “That’s the only reason he had you call me over here.”

Krystal simmered on Hyoyeon’s words for a bit as she recalled Tyler’s strange way of switching emotions rapidly. Perhaps she was trusting Tyler a bit too much. Krystal shook the thought away. That topic was for another time.

“He wouldn’t tell me anything what else could I do?” Krystal said.

Hyoyeon’s lips formed a thin line, irked at how Tyler chose to dump this whole tricky conversation with Krystal on her. Hyoyeon closed her eyes momentarily and quickly pictured drop kicking the CEO off of a balcony - well, a short balcony. The thought effectively subdued Hyoyeon’s anger from making itself known.

When Hyoyeon opened her eyes, she stared at Krystal and saw Jessica staring back at her, pleading and desperate. The dancer could empathize with the shock Krystal must be going through. However, the pain Hyoyeon knew she would give Jessica by telling Krystal more than the girl needed to know beckoned for her empathy to a much greater degree.

Yet, what was there for Hyoyeon to do? The damage was beyond control now.

“He didn’t tell you anything but you don’t need him to. You know enough.” Hyoyeon lifted her eyes once more to meet Krystal’s dead on, “Look, she’s still your sister. Even if the person she’s loved in the past—”

Krystal scoffed, “In the past? Are you sure?”

Hyoyeon’s shoulders relaxed. Krystal’s behaviour was more self-explanatory than ever, her apprehensiveness about Jessica and Taeyeon as clear as day. Was there any real benefit in keeping everything in the dark?

“Yes, the past. I would know. I’m the one Jessica was supposed to go to the concert with.”

Hyoyeon didn't see any harm in letting part of the truth known.

Krystal slammed her palm flat against the marble countertop, her eyebrows furrowed “You... You helped her?”

Hyoyeon smiled gently, the aggressive gesture not fazing her.

“I did what I thought would make my friend happy. I did what I could to fix my mistakes.” Hyoyeon's gaze was far, her voice quieting, “Pushing Sica into dating him was a mistake.”

Krystal’s eyebrows knitted together even tighter. “She’s perfectly happy with Tyler. That was no mistake.”

The naivete Krystal displayed was refreshing for Hyoyeon. In a strange way, the dancer had always compared herself to Krystal, making an unconscious competition out of who knew Jessica better. For the first time in Hyoyeon’s life she was winning, but not in the way she wanted.

“Does she seem happy to you? You saw her last night. You saw how miserable she seemed. She looked like she wanted to just run away from it all,” Hyoyeon chewed on the inside of her cheek, “You don’t even know the whole story yet here you are making judgements about your sister, just to validate whatever stupid sense of disappointment you’re feeling.”

Hyoyeon’s words hit Krystal like a brick, plowing straight through her mind and heart in one brisk motion. However, the stubborn voice inside of her that was carefully sowed and watered throughout her life rooted itself firmly in place.

“None of that matters. She lied... It's not right.”

Hyoyeon shook her head in disbelief, “She did lie and I agree what she and I did was wrong, but I’m a little confused by what lie you’re referring to.”

Krystal eyes searched the ground before her, not a word coming out of .

“Which ‘lie’ are you upset about Krystal-ah? The lie she told Tyler or the one she’s been living?” Hyoyeon got up abruptly and gathered her things, “You only care about yourself, about what you want for Jessica and about staying in your comfort zone. You could care less for Jessica in this moment so don’t pretend.”

“You don’t understand.” Krystal said, her voice but a soft whisper.

“Oh I think I understand pretty well. You don’t actually care that she lied to Tyler. Sure it's reasonable to get upset, but you’re acting like you’re on a damn witch hunt. You knew from the very beginning Jessica lied to Tyler, but the moment it became about her previous relationship with Taeyeon that’s where it became personal for you. It wasn’t a man you thought she was seeing but a woman.”

Krystal stared at her hands as she recalled her behaviour the previous night when Jessica scrambled into her apartment. She remembered how she was completely ready to shelter Jessica from Tyler no matter the circumstances and how she treated her sister with such patience despite knowing more or less that the ice princess had another person in her heart.

The voice inside Krystal began to waver as the guilt washed over her like acid.

“I’m fine with whoever she chooses to love.” Krystal replied, but she wasn’t sure if she was trying to convince Hyoyeon or herself.  

“It doesn’t seem that way to me and I’m sure if Jessica was here right now it definitely wouldn’t seem that way to her either.” Hyoyeon shook her head, disappointed.  

Krystal glared at Hyoyeon, “Don’t talk carelessly.”

Hyoyeon smirked to herself, finding amusement in Krystal’s reactions. Swinging her bag onto her shoulder Hyoyeon walked to the front door while swiping the bag of snacks on the kitchen counter. This conversation had no destination but the one Krystal had set.

“Well, don’t waste my time like this then. Go talk to your sister. Since you’re so accepting, I’m sure she’ll be delighted to tell you everything.” Hyoyeon stood by the front door and slipped her sunglasses onto her face, “Hopefully by then you won’t be so close-minded like you’re being now.”

Hyoyeon opened the door and disappeared behind it as soon as she closed it, leaving Krystal with her last words.

Burying her face in her hands, Krystal dragged her hands down her cheeks and exhaled loudly. It was a mistake to talk to Hyoyeon and it was a mistake to follow Tyler’s advice in talking to the girl. Not only did she not find out anything about Taeyeon and Jessica to supplement her current knowledge, but she was more upset now than before.

“He didn’t tell you anything because it would cost him.”

“It would cost him?” Krystal raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest, as she remembered her meeting with Tyler and how the man seemed to hide behind his smile. If Hyoyeon held such dislike for the man, then could he really be that suited to be anywhere near her sister?

Krystal rolled her head back and sighed, frustrated. Taeyeon and now Tyler... Just what was Krystal tangling herself up in? The events unfolding before her forced her to look herself in the mirror and Krystal wasn’t sure if she wanted to keep staring at herself any longer.

“I’m sure if Jessica was here right now it definitely wouldn’t seem that way to her either.”

Krystal grit her teeth together, the last recollection up the last bits of energy she had that evening.

Eyeing her bedroom, the notion of sleep was incredibly enticing for Krystal. Dragging her feet towards her bedroom, Krystal opened up the door and plopped face first onto the soft bedding and let her weariness carry her body to sleep.

Krystal hoped that come morning everything and everyone would return to normal.

————————

As she quickly punched in the four digit passcode for the door, Jessica held her breath unconsciously.  After four quick, successive beeps the door clicked open. Jessica carefully slid the door open, ducking her head through the small opening she made for herself first. Her eyes quickly darted around the condo unit and seeing as there were no signs of her boyfriend, she sighed in relief and closed the door behind her.

Jessica briefly thought about taking off her shoes but then shook her head. All she needed to do was grab a some more clothes and scurry out of her shared home with Tyler. With how hectic Tyler’s schedule was it was a guessing game when it came to what time he would be home.

Jessica knew she would appreciate the seconds she saved by not taking her shoes off later.

The ice princess paced through the kitchen and then the living room, until finally she was in their bedroom. Jessica went into the walk-in closet and grabbed the duffle bag in one of the drawers. Grabbing whatever looked good, Jessica gulped, her heartbeat rising considerably. She zipped up the bag and then...

“Hey.”

Jessica’s eyes widened, her grip on the ball of clothing in her hand loosening. Standing up, she slowly turned around to face Tyler and gave a crooked smile.

“You’re home.”

“And so are you surprisingly.” Tyler said, smiling as he leaned against the doorpost to the closet, his arms crossed.

Jessica tucked away a strand of hair behind her ear and averted Tyler’s gaze, “Yeah, my trip to Italy ended a little early.”

Tyler picked at his teeth with his tongue behind closed lips, his lips spread across his face in a tight smile. He nodded along, his eyes never leaving Jessica and chuckled under his breath. Bending over, her picked up a piece of clothing on the floor Jessica had accidentally knocked over earlier in her rush to find clothing.

Jessica watched wityh unease as Tyler folded the shirt in his hand, her shoulders tense.

“Yeah, Hyoyeon was pretty upset you missed the persona concert. Maybe you shouldn’t have went to italy.” Tyler said smiling brighter than usual as he handed Jessica the neatly folded shirt.

Jessica stared at the white shirt in Tyler’s hand, afraid to meet the man’s eyes. Her hand slowly moved to take the shirt in his possession but before she could, he let go of the piece of cotton clothing, his expression instantly cold as the shirt plopped onto the ground before Jessica could grab hold of it.

“It's been two years. Is it really hard for you to forget about her?” Tyler said dimly.

Jessica took in a sharp breath and with a sudden flurry of courage, fearlessly looked Tyler straight in the eyes. However, the hints of melancholy that emanated from his gaze despite his cold expression made her words come out with difficulty,  “What-” Jessica gulped, “What are you talking about?”

Scoffing, Tyler rolled his eyes and shook his head. He went into their bedroom briefly, before returning with a black hat with the word ‘persona’ printed onto the front. Tossing it casually on the floor before Jessica, he gritted his molars together behind closed lips

Jessica was at a loss for words.

“Hyoyeon asked me to give this to you.” Tyler said flatly.

Hyoyeon?

It was at that moment that the ice princess could hear the record scratching to a halt in her brain, her emotions switching from guilt to confusion and finally, to anger.

It was a little hard to believe that Hyoyeon would say anything about their plans earlier this week and to Tyler of all people. Tyler was a person Hyoyeon could best describe her relationship with as ‘tolerated.’ If there was one thing Jessica was sure about in the midst of all the confusion she was feeling, it was that Hyoyeon’s loyalty to her was unparalleled.

“Don’t bring Hyoyeon into this.” Jessica said, frowning.

Tyler smirked, “With how angry Hyoyeon was when she came here looking for you, I think she was pretty serious about making sure you got the hat and the concert shirt.” he chuckled, “Sorry, I think I dropped the shirt.”

in her bottom lip, Jessica’s eyebrows furrowed as she took Tyler’s words in. Hyoyeon’s fury that night, no matter how quickly it diffused, lent truth to Tyler’s words. Jessica understood better than anyone that the dancer’s actions were unpredictable when anger overtook her.

After a few moments, Jessica replied, “Hyoyeon told you...”

“Yes she did. Whatever you did yesterday not just disappointed her, but also hurt her.” Tyler said.

Looking down, Jessica leaned back on the wardrobe doors with a faraway look in her eyes. Letting her body slide down onto the carpeted floor, she ran her fingers through her hair and chewed on her bottom lip, clearly worried.

She hurt Hyoyeon? With how quickly it took for Hyoyeon to forgive her, the realization never hit Jessica fully.

Jessica gulped. What if things between Hyoyeon and Tiffany turned sour after she left Hyoyeon’s home that night? If the two broke up because of her...

Jessica couldn’t bear the thought.

Tyler exhaled and loosened his tie roughly, “So you’re fine with lying to me but not Hyoyeon?”

Jessica glanced up at Tyler, his hair a little dishevelled now after he had ruffled through his pomade in frustration. The pain that was held behind his fiery gaze added to the overwhelming guilt Jessica felt. How many times di