Krystal spent the morning window shopping. She tried her hardest not to pull out her wallet and give in to her urges. It was an unspoken agreement between the sisters that they couldn’t shop unless they were together (or with Tiffany). Her sister did it once with her friendly stylist unnie. She only knew about it after asking her Tiffany unnie since she couldn’t get a hold of her sister through her phone. She immediately felt betrayed and made several calls to her sister until she answered. After ranting off on her, she hung up before her sister could say anything. Jessica apologized by sending boxes of churros to her university much to the delight of her friends.

 

Instead, she took note of the shops she liked so they could visit later.

 

She felt hungry after a few hours and decided she’d go to their meeting place. Looking at the time, her sister was probably on her way right now. She followed her sister’s directions and depended on the map app on her phone.

 

When her phone said she finally reached her destination she looked up at the sign.

 

“Soshi Cafe.”

 

---

 

I entered hesitantly, pushing the doors slowly. My nose was immediately met with the pleasant smell of coffee mixed with the sweet scent of pastries. I surveyed the area, trying to look around for my sister.

 

“Hi. Welcome. Will you be dining alone?”

 

I was met by a friendly smile. She was slim and tall and a bit tan.

 

Offering my own polite smile, I replied. “I’m actually looking for my sister.”

 

“Your sister?”

 

She gave me a careful once over. She examined my face for a minute before abruptly turning her back towards me.

 

“Yoona-ssi~!” she called out.

 

I noticed a waitress a few tables away look in our direction. The girl in front of me gestured for the waitress to come.

 

“Yoona-ssi, your sister’s looking for you,” the girl said, stepping aside so that I was now face to face with the other girl.

 

The girl, Yoona as she’s called, looked at me, surprise and confusion painted on her face. I felt the same way. She was obviously older than me but only by a few years give or take. I couldn’t help but notice how pretty she is. She had such soft features that gave off the kind and sweet vibe. The way she stood and held herself gave off in a graceful way, her kind eyes and soft smile adding to her natural glow.

 

Before either of us could deny, the sound of a bell resounded in the cafe. One of the staff was gesturing to them to take care of the food she just placed on the counter.

 

“I’ll take care of that so you guys can talk,” the still unnamed girl said. She quickly turned her back to us and proceeded to the counter.

 

I awkwardly stood there, not really sure how to react with the sudden development.

 

“So apparently you’re my sister?”

 

I offered her an awkward smile.

 

“This is a first for me,” I said.

 

“Me too. I mean…,” the girl paused as she looked over my face a bit. “I guess we do look a bit like each other.”

 

She chuckled.

 

I shifted nervously under her gaze. She seemed nice but it doesn’t change the fact that I’m not particularly good with strangers.

 

I focused on looking around again.

 

“You’re looking for your sister, right? I can help if you want?”

“Ah...yeah. That would be great, unnie,” I said with a slight bow. "Thank you."

 

“It’s fine. So what does your sister look like?”

 

“Ummm...she-”

 

I was cut off by the sudden presence of another girl. She was quite tall and slender. Her hair was cut short, just a bit above her shoulders. She was particularly pretty, big eyes, a slightly defined jawline, and nice cheekbones.

 

“Hey, Yoona,” she greeted.

 

“Sooyoung unnie, hi!”

 

Sooyoung? Wait…

 

“It’s near your lunch break, right? Why don’t we eat together?”

 

“Sure!”

 

The new arrival finally set her eyes on me and offered a friendly smile.

 

“Hi. Are you a friend of Yoona’s?”

 

Yoona unnie was about to explain but I tugged on her arm and leaned close to whisper in her ear.

 

“Let’s pretend to be sisters for a while, unnie.”

 

She looked at me questioningly. I silently begged her with my eyes which seemed to do the trick. I felt relieved when she decided to play along.

 

“She’s my sister,” Yoona unnie lied.

 

She stared at me with an inquisitive eye then shifted her gaze back to Yoona unnie.

 

I was feeling nervous and panicking, hoping she won’t catch on too soon on our little lie.

 

“Wow. Genes in your family must be amazing,” she commented. “Is everyone in your family this good looking?”

 

She was now making a frame with her index fingers and thumbs, taking a step back as she looked at us through her makeshift frame.

 

This Sooyoung unnie seems to fit the description I got from Tiffany unnie.

 

I couldn’t help but blush a bit from the compliments.

 

“Have you had lunch yet…”

 

“Krystal,” I offered.

 

“Oh.Then Krystal-ssi, have you had lunch yet?”

 

I shook my head.

 

“Have lunch with us then,” Yoona unnie told me.

 

I am hungry. And they did offer...

 

“Okay.”

 

We moved to a table that was located in a more secluded part of the cafe. It looked like it was a private table I gathered from the reserved sign placed on the table. Yoona unnie left us and told us she’d join once it was her break. I watched as Sooyoung unnie casually called over the tall girl that first welcomed me.

 

“Yuri!”

 

The woman, "Yuri", came to our table and stood before us, one hand on her hip.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Could you fix us both some food?” Sooyoung unnie requested. “Yoona's also going to join us for lunch so could you bring hers a bit later.”

 

“Sure, boss,” she mocked a salute in reply. She then turned to me, offering me a smirk. “We meet again.”

 

“Uh. Yeah.”

 

“I just realized I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m Yuri,” she introduced. “And you are?”

 

I offered a small smile.

 

“You can call me Krystal,” I introduced myself.

 

“Krystal,” she repeated. “That’s a pretty name.”

 

This woman before me exuded such confidence I felt even shier than usual. I felt a sudden warmth rush to my cheeks at her statement. I blamed the way she was smirking at me.

 

Behind her, someone cleared .

 

It was Yoona unnie.

 

Yuri unnie turned her head around, her smirk fading and replaced with a nervous smile. All the confidence I felt from her earlier all but disappeared.

 

“H-Hey.”

 

“Yuri unnie, I’ll take care of their orders instead since I’ll be having lunch with them anyways.”

 

There was something suspiciously...cold about her tone. The smile on her face was weirdly terrifying.

 

What’s happening?

 

“Are you su-”

 

“I’m sure,” Yoona unnie quickly said. “This way, you could focus more on the customers.”

 

Yuri unnie looked unsure and glanced at Sooyoung unnie. Sooyoung unnie shrugged and said she was fine with it.

 

“If you’re sure then,” Yuri unnie said.

 

Once Yuri unnie left, Yoona turned her attention to us.

 

“Will it be your usual, unnie?” she asked Sooyoung unnie.

 

“Yes. Thank you.”

 

Turning to me, she asked, “And what about you?”

 

Her tone was just off somehow but I chose to ignore it seeing as she was nice enough to play along with my farce.

 

“I’ll just get the same as Sooyoung unnie,” I said without thinking.

 

“You sure about that? I eat a lot, you know?” Sooyoung unnie told me.

 

“It’s fine. I’ll just eat her leftovers,” Yoona unnie said.

 

I didn’t realize I was holding my breath until I felt myself sigh in relief once Yoona unnie started walking away.

 

Did I do something wrong?

 

“So, Krystal-ssi-”

 

“Krystal’s fine, unnie,” I quickly said.

 

“I...really? We just met after all?”

 

“It’s really fine, unnie. Besides, I feel like we’ll be getting acquainted fast real soon anyways.”

 

At this time, I had moved my arms so that my elbows were on the table and rested my head on both my palms. I offered her a sly smirk.

 

My smirk only grew watching her face scrunch a bit in confusion.

 

“Okay,” she said accompanied with an unsure nod.

 

Just then, Yuri unnie came to our table, placing two glasses of water and a basket of french fries in front of us.

 

“I figured with the amount of time it takes to finish your order,” she said pointedly at Sooyoung unnie. “You guys can munch on these for a while.”

 

I watched as Sooyoung unnie didn’t hesitate to take a handful from the basket and stuffed . I heard Yuri unnie sigh beside me. She smiled at me apologetically.

 

“Sorry about her,” she pointed with her thumb. “When she’s hungry and sees food in front of her, all traces of table manners disappear in the blink of an eye.”

 

I chuckled at that.

 

I can only imagine what my sister’s reaction was the first time seeing such a display.

 

“Anyways, I’ll leave you guys,” Yuri unnie bid goodbye.

 

“Thanks for the fries.”

 

“Sure. Enjoy.”

 

She winked at me before turning her back to us.

 

Turning my attention back to Sooyoung unnie, I watched as she downed half of her glass of water. After placing her glass down, she smiled sheepishly as she wiped with a napkin.

 

“Sorry about that. I’m just really hungry.”

 

I shook my head.

 

“It’s okay, unnie.”

 

“Well, I guess you’ve seen a lot of that since I’ve seen Yoona do the same thing a few times,” she said laughing lightly.

 

“Uhh...yeah,” I replied pretending to know what she meant.

 

“I’m actually happy that I met your sister. It’s like fate that I’ve come across someone who loves and eats food as much as I do.”

 

I nodded along as I grabbed a few fries and ate.

 

“So, what brings you here?” she asked me.

 

“My sister...we haven’t really seen much of each other recently so I decided to visit,” I replied.

 

It’s true.

 

“Oh? Why’s that if you don’t mind me asking?”

 

I chose my words carefully so as to not give away any telltale signs of my little lie.

 

“We’ve just been busy I guess, me with university and her with her job.”

 

“Oh? Don’t you guys see each other at home?”

 

“My sister lives separately from us.”

 

“So that’s why,” she said, nodding with understanding. “That’s sweet of you to visit.”

 

“Thanks.”

 

I smiled.

 

We talked a bit. It was mainly her asking questions and me answering. It was easy enough to see that she was really nice and funny. We stopped our conversation when we saw Yoona unnie approach carrying two trays of food. Sooyoung unnie and I both stepped in to help her lay the food on the table.

 

My eyes widened at the amount of food.

 

Isn’t this too much? This is like enough for 5 people.

 

“Told you I eat a lot,” Sooyoung unnie told me, grinning with amusement in her eyes.

 

“I should have asked what you meant by a lot,” I said, my eyes still looking amazed at the amount of food.

 

We quickly sat down and eagerly served ourselves.

 

“Ah. Yoona, I was just about to ask Krystal about what she’s studying.”

 

“Is that so?”

 

Both of them turned their curious gaze at me.

 

“I’m a drama student. I’m in my second year at SM University,” I answered politely.

 

“Really? That’s a really good school,” Yoona unnie said in awe.

 

Hearing that, my eyes widened as I snapped my head towards Yoona unnie. Realizing what she just said, she covered , her eyes moving between me and Sooyoung unnie.

 

I spared a glance towards Sooyoung unnie who was looking at both of us in confusion.

 

“You didn’t know?”

 

“I-I…”

 

Yoona unnie was the current definition of a deer caught in headlights. I saw her look at me as if asking what she should do or say.

 

Rolling my eyes, I sighed.

 

“We’re not really sisters,” I confessed. “I just coerced Yoona unnie into playing along. And for that, I’d like to apologize to both of you.”

 

I slightly bowed my head to both of them.

 

“What? Then-then who are you?”

 

“Like I said, my name’s Krystal, unnie.”

 

“That still doesn’t really explain who you are?” Then she looked at Yoona unnie,” And I don’t understand why you went along with her lie.”

 

Yoona unnie bowed her head in apology towards Sooyoung unnie.

 

“I...Sorry, about that unnie. She asked me and she seemed harmless enough. I was also curious about what she would do so…,” she drawled. “And I find it kinda funny Yuri unnie assumed we were sisters.”

 

“It’s really my fault,” I stepped in. I didn’t want to get Yoona unnie in trouble. “I kinda wanted to have fun in the middle of the confusion earlier,” I explained further.

 

She just looked at me for a moment before giving me an easy smile. I felt myself relax at that.

 

“Okay. You got me then,” she said. She seemed amused at the situation now. “I mean the resemblance is a bit uncanny.”

 

“Tell me about it,” I mumbled. “It was a surprise for me too.”

 

“But that still doesn’t really explain who you are.”

 

I was ready to tell her the truth when I saw a familiar figure in my peripheral.

 

“Well looks like you’ve met already,” unnie, my real sister this time, said as she looked at all of us.

 

“Hi! I didn’t know you were coming, Sica.”

 

I raised an eyebrow at Sooyoung unnie’s enthusiastic greeting. Tiffany unnie had only told me enough details for me to speculate on some things. I decided I’d observe with my own eyes for a while.

 

“Sica unnie, hi,” greeted Yoona unnie.

 

“Hey, Yoona,” unnie greeted back with a smile. “I thought I’d have lunch here today. My sister and I planned to go shopping today but I had to drop by the office this morning so we agreed to meet here.”

 

“Your sister? Really? Does that mean I’ll finally meet Soojung?” Sooyoung unnie asked excitedly.

 

I did my best to restrain myself from laughing.

 

I saw my sister’s face twist with confusion. I avoided her gaze at the last second as I began shoving food in my mouth.

 

“Krystal Jung Soojung,” said my sister with an underlying tone of authority.

 

I looked up innocently at her as I continued to chew my food.

 

“Hmmm?”

 

“Wait. Krystal?” said Yoona unnie followed by Sooyoung unnie saying, “Soojung?”

 

They were both pointing and staring at me.

 

Realization finally dawned on both their faces. Standing from my chair, I swallowed my food and grinned at both of them.

 

I bowed at both of them as I finally introduced myself.

 

“Annyeonghaseyo. I’m Krystal. It’s nice to meet you, unnies.”

 

I couldn’t help but bite my bottom lip to stop my growing smirk at the shocked expression on both of their faces.

 

“Who did you think she was?” unnie asked them.

 

“Uhhh,” was the only thing coming from the two as they looked at each other.

 

Sighing, my sister said, “Why don’t we talk about this over lunch.”

 

All of us had no objections to that since we were all basically hungry.

 

Since I was already sitting next to Yoona unnie, unnie sat beside Sooyoung unnie. I took note of the way Sooyoung unnie’s face lit up as unnie directed a small smile her way when she was sitting down.

 

I sipped on my water thoughtfully.

 

---

 

After finishing their lunch, Yoona had to go back to waiting on tables and Sooyoung decided to leave the two sisters alone to catch up. She was leaning on the counter which Yuri was currently wiping. From where she was standing, she had a perfect view of the two sisters who were both giggling and talking animatedly as they ate their desserts.

 

Sooyoung was looking in awe at the two sisters. She’s never seen Jessica this giggly and smiley even when she was with Tiffany. It was a new side she’s seen of her and one she wished she’d see more in the future.

 

She caught Jessica spare her a glance, a small wave and a smile her way. Sooyoung smiled back. She caught the little sister looking at her, a somewhat meaningful smile playing on her lips. She was probably overthinking and brushed it off

 

“Damn. I know I said this earlier when I mistook her for Yoona’s sister, but it still applies when I look at them both. The genes in the Jung family are daebak.”

 

“Oh yeah. I was a bit awestruck as well when I saw the little sister earlier.”

 

“Really? It wasn’t the fact that she looked a bit like Yoona?” Sooyoung teased.

 

This earned her a hard slap on her shoulder.

 

“Yah! Not so loud you idiot!”

 

Sooyoung sniggered while soothing her shoulder.

 

“By the way, Yuri. You should really stop flirting with the customers,” Sooyoung said.

 

“Why? It’s just harmless flirting. And it’s not like I plan on going any further than that,” Yuri reasoned.

 

“Yeah but she doesn’t know that.”

 

“And who would that be?”

 

Sooyoung threw her arms in the air in exasperation.

 

“You know, for all your confident display and philandering, you are so dense.”

 

Without being able to clarify on what she said, Yuri watched Sooyoung walk away.

 

---

 

“So,” Jessica inquired. “How was the date?”

 

The magazine I was reading covered the way I rolled my eyes at her.

 

Like she has no idea.

 

“Fine,” I replied nonchalantly.

 

“Just fine?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“...”

 

“...”

 

I heard her sigh.

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

I pulled the magazine away from my face, placing it on my lap. I raised an eyebrow at her.

 

“For?”

 

She raised her own eyebrow in reply.

 

“I know you know. I mean, we weren’t exactly that subtle,” she said with a groan. “I’m sorry. I’m sure you’re probably mad at me.”

 

Sighing, I replied, “I’m not mad, Jess. Annoyed, sure. But mad? You know I can’t be mad at you. Well not for long anyways.”

 

She smiled at me.

 

“I’m still sorry. I was just curious how it would go. You did just get out of a relationship after all.”

 

“Thanks for worrying. And, yes. I know that I just got out of a relationship and it might be too soon. I was unsure about going on our date, you know? But then I just couldn’t help getting excited at the thought of spending the whole day with Taeyeon. I haven’t felt that way in a long time about a date much less with someone. I probably would have regretted it if I didn’t go.”

 

She gave me a meaningful glance.

 

“I’m happy for you, Tiff,” she said, her tone warm and gentle.

 

“I am too.”

 

“Just tell Taeyeon I’ll have no second thoughts about murdering her in her sleep if she ever hurts you.” This time, her tone was cold and icy in contrast from earlier.

 

“I’ll tell her,” I said. “But if it did ever happen, I wouldn’t want you to go to jail because of me.”

 

“Oh don’t worry about that. I know someone who knows how to hide a body. And I already have a perfect alibi prepared.”

 

My eyes widened at that.

 

“You what!?”

 

I then watched as she doubled over with laughter, her head thrown back and one of her hands clutching her stomach as she wheezed. She rolled over from the couch, landing on the floor on her knees.

 

“Y-you sh-should have s-seen your face!”

 

“It’s not funny! I almost believed you!”

 

I groaned as I continued to hear her laughter fill my office.