Chapter 24 – Please, Stay Away From Her


Airplane

“There! Those must be our seats.” Yoona pointed at the three seats which were a few rows in front of them.

Three of them quickly moved over the seats, Jessica naturally took her favorite seat next to the window and Yoona sat down next to her like they always did when they had to go on a trip together when Yoona was still a Cruise Director. And Yuri sat to the right of Yoona. 

Minutes later, the plane took off. While they were on the plane Yuri kept tilting her head to look at Jessica who sat on the far left as she kept in mind her father’s words, taking care of her sister when they were alone in Korea. Yuri didn’t know why she got herself so comfortable in the role as Jessica’s sister, she didn’t feel awkward when she had to keep an eye on Jessica at all. Maybe this was what they called sister bond, Yuri had always felt close to Jessica even before she knew of their relationship.

When she was a little kid, she’d always wanted to have sister who she could play with or took care of. Now that her father claimed Jessica her sister, Yuri felt like she had gotten her wish granted magically.

“Yoong…” Jessica pressed her lips together, put on an upset expression on her face as she placed a hand on her stomach.

“Huh? What’s wrong?” Yoona asked and turned to Jessica .

“I feel… so sick to my stomach.” Jessica said in a small voice.

“Why? What did you eat this morning?” Yoona asked worriedly when she noticed her friend’s pale face.

“I don’t really remember. Some sandwiches, I guess.”

“You-”

Before Yoona could finish what she was going to say, Yuri cut her off with an overly worried tone, “Does it hurt a lot? Do you need anything? How about I ask a flight attendance for some pills?” She asked in one breath. Yuri nearly leaned her entire body forward so that she could have a good look at Jessica.

Both Yoona and Jessica turned to Yuri with a surprised look on their face. Then Jessica exchanged confused look with Yoona like silently asking her the reason for Yuri’s sudden concern for her and found the latter slightly shaking her head in response.

“Uh… yeah… thanks.” Jessica said slowly.

“Excuse me!!” Yuri quickly raised her hand to get the flight attendant’s detention and asked her for some pills. She kept repeating to the woman to get them quickly for Jessica as if the girl was in serious pain.

Once again, upon Yuri’s overreaction, Jessica glanced at Yoona and the latter didn’t really know how to react except shrugging.



…



“Are you feeling better now?” Yuri asked for the fifth times in only fifteen minutes ever since Jessica took the pills the attendant gave her.

Jessica shut her eyes tightly at the voice of the tanned girl as she let out a heavy sigh. Seriously, she didn’t want to sound mean or anything but Yuri’s overly kindness was annoying her greatly. It seemed like these days, everyone’s hobby was bothering her. First it was Sooyoung then Yuri’s father and now Yuri herself made Jessica wondered what the hell had she done to get this kind of attention?

Sooyoung was already out of question. The tall girl had already screamed to the world that Jessica had technically stolen her heart so there was no need to wonder why she acted the way she did to Jessica. The person who confused her the most was Yuri’s father. Ever since their conversation in the back garden when she was looking for her pendant, the old man took care of her even more than his daughter-in-law, Yoona. He worried for her when she came back late, reminded her for hundreds of times to wear more warm clothes since it was getting cold, asked her if she had eaten yet. He treated her almost as well as Yuri, as if… as if she was his own daughter.

Every time that crazy thought crossed her mind, Jessica immediately shook it off. As a faithful man as he was like Yuri always bragged about her father, Hyesung would never betray his wife in any possible way. However, Jessica guessed that maybe, Hyesung might have some relation to either her father or her mother, mostly her father she thought. Jessica knew that he knew something but she didn’t want to question him. She would wait until he was ready to tell her everything about her father. But there was one thing she had to admit, Jessica somehow enjoyed, just a little bit, the feeling of being taken care by Hyesung. It reminded her of the long lost feeling of being in a family since her mother died… the feeling she had always wanted to experience when she was little… the feeling of having a father.

Just when she thought that she could leave everything behind Sooyoung, Hyesung, her two biggest burden when she went on this plane back to Korea, and now there was Yuri. Honestly, this girl was the last person on the earth who Jessica wanted attention from. Her greatest rival. Maybe her father had gotten to her, influenced her in such a bad way and now she acted this way. 

Jessica heaved another sigh, thank god Yoona still treated her normally. At least, there was Yoona here.

Sensing her friend’s frustration, Yoona quickly stepped in to help. She coughed loudly to break the silence between the three of them since Yuri was waiting patiently for Jessica’s answer. “The pills need some time to take effects, Yuri-yah. Don’t keep asking Jessica like that, she needs to rest, you know?”

“Uhm… you’re right.” Yuri nodded, finally decided to stay quite so that her sister could rest like Yoona suggested.

Yoona turned to her left when she felt a nudge on her arm. Then she chuckled as she saw Jessica was mouthing to her ‘Thank you.’



…



“Do you have some gum, Yoong?” Jessica whispered, trying to keep her voice as low as possible since everyone on the plane was sleeping and for a certain someone not be able to hear their conversation.

“What for?” Yoona also asked in a small voice.

“Probably it’s been so long since I went on a plane, I felt kind of dizzy. Maybe chewing some gum might help.”

Yoona nodded understanding and then dug in her backpack, trying to find one for Jessica, “Sica-yah, I don’t know if I-”

“Here, have mine. I’ve got plenty of them.” Yuri stretched her arm all the way to Jessica’s seat to offer the stick of gum in her hand. 

“Oh… thanks.” Jessica said once again, suddenly feeling like a déjà vu. She had lost count of how many thank she said to Yuri since they sat on this plane. 

Yoona stared at the stick of gum in Yuri’s hand without blinking once. How could Yuri know what they were searching for when they talked in such a low voice like this?

Jessica leaned back in her seat. She pulled out her phone, started to text something then secretly showed the screen to Yoona.

The doe-eyed girl looked at the message on the phone screen and chuckled softly, ‘Stalker alert!!’



…



Another six hours into their flight, everyone on the plane was taking a nap since it was a long and tiring trip. Everyone except Yoona. She slightly cracked her neck from left to right, careful not to wake the blonde who was leaning on her shoulder sleeping. Yoona really needed to stop drinking too much coffee at night. Who would have thought that that drink would keep her awake for twelve hours straight?

As Yoona leaned back in her seat, the wobbly head next to her caught her attention. The tanned girl’s head just kept wobbling from side to side like it was barely connected to her neck. A small chuckle escaped . Yoona had found a brand new hobby for her, watching Yuri sleep. She wasn’t joking at all, watching Yuri sleep was really entertaining. Yoona tilted her head forward a little, trying to have a look at Yuri’s face because she wanted to know whether the girl was sticking her tongue out or not.

“Probably she doesn’t always do that.” Yoona mumbled to herself in a disappointed tone when she didn’t see what she wanted to see.

Just when Yoona was about to give up the thought of seeing Yuri’s unique sleeping habit again, a soft chuckle escaped when she saw Yuri was sticking her tongue out while her eyes closing tightly. She swore, if there were just two of them on this plane, the thought of stealing another kiss from Yuri would soon return to her mind. That tongue was so tempting in some ways.

Yuri’s wobbling head finally came to stop when Yuri completely dropped her head low. Maybe it wasn’t one of the most comfortable positions but at least her head was stable enough for her to enjoy her sleep. 

“You’ll hurt your neck if you sleep like that.” Yoona talked to herself again in a small voice.

Yoona slowly leaned forward until her arms could reach Yuri’s head, moving as careful as she could so that she wouldn’t wake the sleepyhead on her left shoulder. Then she gently pulled Yuri’s head in slowly to rest on her shoulder. Feeling some kind of force pulling her in, Yuri started to stir unconsciously in her sleep. Just only that one tiny movement from Yuri was enough to cause Yoona startled and froze in her position like a statue. 

Waiting patiently to make sure that there would be no movements from Yuri anymore, Yoona started to shift in her seat, trying to make herself comfortable. Once again, Yoona looked to her right, a satisfied smile spread across her face when she saw Yuri was still sleeping peacefully and the latter’s head was resting on her shoulder. 

“Isn’t it much more comfortable this way? My shoulder is more than willing to become your pillow, you know?” Yoona said to the tanned girl even though she knew fairly well that the girl didn’t hear one bit of what she said.

Little did Yoona know, when she turned away to look out at the windows, the girl who she thought was in deep sleep briefly opened her eyes to look up at her before quickly shut it closed again. Yuri was awake but she didn’t pull back when Yoona pulled her head in. The tanned girl even tried to inch closer to Yoona, breathing her scent, enjoying her company.

Now Yuri knew that she just couldn’t resist getting close to Yoona if the girl was near. Her desire, her need, her longing all wrapped up into one package named Im Yoona, the girl who had betrayed her and didn’t even bother to explain or ask for forgiveness. How she wished she could remember that simple fact when her heart screamed at her to be with the one she wanted, to accept her kiss, to give her love without asking for anything in return.

This was getting out of hand and Yuri knew that she needed to stop her from drowning in this forbidden love before it was too late. She already knew it was hard to do so but she had to try, try harder, much harder than she was right now.

However just for this one moment, the last moment of their trip, Yuri wanted to stop thinking logically and enjoy everything to her heart’s desire. When they were back to Korea, she would make things clear and right between them once again. Yuri promised.

&&&&&&

Incheon Airport

Yuri tapped her foot impatiently on the floor while pressing the phone to her ear, waiting for the other line to pick up.

“Aishh… what’s she doing? Why doesn’t she pick up the phone?” Yuri said in an annoyed tone to her phone.

“Is everything okay?” Yoona walked to Yuri and asked her. Jessica, who was a few steps away from them, was putting her and Yoona’s suitcase into the taxi boot, ready to go home.

“Ah, I just called Tiffany since she said that she wanted to pick me up at the airport when I’m back. But she won’t answer my call.” Yuri said.

“Maybe she is sleeping. It’s kind of late now, you know?”

“Hmm… I don’t think so. Fany won’t turn in to sleep until it was past twelve.”

“Err… do you want to join us for a taxi ride? I thi-” 

Yoona didn’t have a chance to finish her offer as Yuri quickly cut her off. “No, it’s okay. I…I think I’ll be able to contact her soon.” 

“Well, if you say so.” Yoona shrugged, “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow at the office then.” 

Korea… they were back in Korea now. This was the right time Yuri had to put a stop to all of the completely wrong feelings inside of her just like what she promised herself. Tiffany was here with her and she would help her doing this. The first thing on the list was staying away from Yoona as far as possible. Less contact, less interactions with Yoona meant she would have control of herself better, easier to forget her feelings too. If needed, she would quit her job at STS. Yuri was sure that Tiffany and Sooyoung would understand about her decision.

Watching Yoona and Jessica finally got in the taxi and drove away soon later, Yuri let out a heavy sigh. More than two weeks of seeing Yoona’s face every single day, being in the same room and now she was gone, Yuri couldn’t help but feel like missing something. Aishh, what was wrong with her? Didn’t she just say that she would force herself to forget about that girl?

Yuri dialed Tiffany’s number again but to no avail, there was no answer. “Aishh, just wait until I get home, Tiffany Hwang.” Yuri crumbled as she tried to pull the two heavy suitcases which were full of gifts that Tiffany ‘specifically’ asked her to give.

&&&&&&

Yulti’s house

Yuri slid the key into the door lock and then turning it to unlock the door. In her mind, she had already come up with hundreds of complaints about Tiffany ditching her at the airport by not picking up her call. Yuri finally managed to push the door opened.

“Tiffany Hwang, what kin...” Yuri stopped herself from raising her voice as she couldn’t believe in her eyes anymore because of the view in front her. All the words that she prepared to say to Tiffany was completely gone by now.

Her best friend was in the middle of a make out session with a short girl with brown hair right on Yuri’s favorite sofa. The short girl on the top had her shirt being completely opened, only waiting for Tiffany to slide if off. Her best friend was even more revealing. Her jean was already on the floor along with her shirt at this moment. They must have been at it for a very long time now, Yuri presumed. And the fact that they were so into it that they didn’t realize that there was another person watching their steamy session amazed Yuri even more.

“Fa-fany-ah…” Yuri called out to her best friend once again, louder this time.

Tiffany immediately snapped her eyes opened at the familiar voice. When the image of Yuri filled her mind, Tiffany forcefully pushed the person who was pressing against her off her body causing the poor girl to land on the floor with a loud thud. 

“Yu-yuri-yah… y-yo-you’re back…” Tiffany stuttered, still unaware of her undressing state.

“Uh… I guess I should give you guys a minute.” Yuri said as her eyes moving up and down Tiffany almost body, helping the girl to realize what she was wearing… or not wearing right now. Reflexively, Tiffany crossed both of her arms across her chest, cover as little as she could. Her girlfriend quickly stood up on her feet, grabbed a blanket under the coffee table nearby and covered Tiffany with it.

Before closing the door to her house to give her best friend some privacy, Yuri said out loud without looking back, “I didn’t realize this before but I think I’m gonna believe you from now on when you tell me that you have a nice , Fany-ah.” She teased the flustered girl.

“Yah!!” 



…



Yuri raised an eyebrow at the couple in front of her. Their appearance was somewhat acceptable now except the messy, tangled hair and the lopsided shirt since she was missing several buttons.

“So…??” Yuri began while putting a witty smirk on her face.

“Uh… yeah. Let me introduce, this is Taeyeon, Kim Taeyeon who you might already know…” Tiffany said as she gestured to the girl who was standing next to her in a very awkward pose.

“And….?” Yuri urged since she felt the introduction wasn’t enough.

“And… she’s my girlfriend.” Tiffany mumbled in a small voice as she dipped her head lower and lower, trying not to meet Yuri’s eyes. Actually, Tiffany had planned to tell Yuri about their secret relationship soon but the fact that she got caught in the act like this made her feel like she had just committed some serious crime.

“Well, I think I can easily figure that out on my own.” Yuri just couldn’t wipe off that smirk on her face, especially now looking at their poses just like those kids who were caught eating cookies without their parents’ permission. “But what I want to know is… do you remember your promise to pick me up at the airport or not?”

“Oh!” Only now, the thought of picking up her best friend crossed her mind, “I… err…”

“You forgot, didn’t you?”

Tiffany dropped her head even lower than before and Yuri chuckled at the sight.

“I guess I really have to say ‘thank you’ to you, Taeyeon-sshi.” Yuri said to the short girl who had her eyes fixed on the floor ever since this conversation started.

Taeyeon looked up at Yuri and gave her a confused look, “What for?”

“For taking ‘good’ care of my best friend while I was away.”

Taeyeon chuckled awkwardly, what else could she do at this moment anyway?

“I… I’ll be back in a minute.” Tiffany said out loud while dragging Taeyeon away.

“I guess I’ll see you again so-”

And that was all Yuri could hear from Taeyeon before the girl disappeared with Tiffany behind the front door.

“In a minute? I doubt it.” Yuri smirked once again as she sat down on the couch and the TV. She knew that it was gonna take long for Tiffany to bid goodbye to her girlfriend considering they just had their hot moment in here.

As a result, Tiffany’s ‘in a minute’ turned into more than half an hour. Yuri turned back at the sound of the door closing. 

“She’s gone?” Yuri asked.

Tiffany nodded, her cheeks still flushed red from who knew what she had been doing with Taeyeon out there in more than thirty minutes, “Yeah…” She said as she took a seat next to Yuri on the couch.

“Uh… why don’t you unpack your stuff?” Tiffany started as she noticed the two suitcases which Yuri pulled in earlier was still placed next to the front door.

“Why? Most of them are your stuff?”

“My stuff? How is that?” Tiffany asked in a surprised tone.

“You asked me to buy them for you, remember?” Yuri said casually as her eyes glued to the TV screen. She didn’t realize how much she missed her favorite Korean variety show until now.

Tiffany noticed that Yuri wasn’t making eye contact with her. maybe the girl was upset about her dating Taeyeon without telling her anything. Tiffany pouted unconsciously. If this incident didn’t happen, probably she was getting all excited, jumping up and down about those new shoes and clothes which Yuri just brought back from LA for her by now. 

“How long have you dated Taeyeon anyway?” Yuri asked, still not taking her eyes off of the TV screen.

Finally, she asked about Taeyeon. “About one month… I think. I really didn’t want to hide you anything, Yuri-yah. I was truly planning to tell you everything as soon as you’re back from your business trip thing. You’ve got to believe me, Yul.” Tiffany said in one breath.

“Uhm…” Yuri said blankly since she was too focused on a scene in the show she was watching.

The lack of reaction from Yuri lead Tiffany to assumed that her friend was angry at her about hiding her relationship with Taeyeon.

“Yuri-yah…” Tiffany called.

“Huh?”

“Are you mad?” Tiffany asked seriously.

Now Tiffany had Yuri’s attention. “About what? If it’s about you not picking me up then you don’t have to worry. I really don’t mind. It’s also my fault that I didn’t inform you beforehand anyway.”

“No… it’s not that.”

“Then what?”

“About… I’m dating Taeyeon.”

Yuri shot her friend a puzzled look, “Why would I be mad about that?”

“Since… Taeyeon is… Yoona’s best friend. You know that right?”

“Yeah… so?” Yuri just didn’t get what Tiffany was trying to say here.

“You just don’t get it, Yuri-yah. I’m dating Yoona’s best friend. Im Yoona, the person who broke your heart and I’m dating her best friend. I just… Why are you laughing?” Tiffany switched her endless explanation into a question when she saw Yuri let out a soft chuckle.

Yuri suddenly leaned forward to hug her best friend. “You’re thinking for me way too much, Fany-ah. And I’m really thankful for that.” Yuri stopped as she pulled back from the hug. “I know that you’ve had a crush for Taeyeon such a long time ago. What kind of a friend am I to stop you from dating the one you desire? Besides, Taeyeon is Taeyeon, she isn’t Yoona. They’re two completely different individuals. And since you like her, I know that she’s a good person so I totally, absolutely approved of this relationship and I’m happy for you, Fany-ah. I really am.”

“Really?” Tiffany’s eyes brightened up at Yuri’s sincere words.

“Really really.”

Tiffany threw her arms around Yuri, pulled the girl in for another hug, “Thanks Yul, you’re the best.”

Yuri smiled, “I know I am.” 

The feeling of being back home was great. Yuri missed this feeling. There was no need to hide her emotions, feelings, just pour it all out because in her house she had the most faithful friend who was always there for her when she needed. 

Just when Tiffany was about to pulled back from the hug, she found that Yuri was still holding on to her… tightly. “Yah… you can let me go now.”

“Fany-ah…”

“What?”

“Do you remember when you said that I must not let Yoona’s presence affects my feelings anymore? That I must erase her out of my mind… my heart?” 

“Yeah… I do.”

“I just realize something after this trip, Fany-ah. I’m such a failure. I don’t even know how to do that … I just can’t do that. I can’t do it.” 

The thought of pulling away from the hug was now disappeared in Tiffany’s mind. Instead, she pulled her friend closer, tightened her grip around her. More than anyone, she knew that Yuri needed this hug.

“I still love her so much, Fany-ah. I just can’t stop loving her regardless of what she did. How can I still love Im Yoona so much?” Tiffany could feel her back started to warm up because of Yuri’s hot tears. 

“It’s okay, Yuri-yah. You have me now, I’m here for you.” Tiffany gently patted her friend’s back. Ever since she heard from Taeyeon that they met Yuri’s parents on the cruise, she knew that this would happen. She was even surer when she didn’t receive any phone call from Yuri, whining about being in that pretended relationship with Yoona. Her best friend must have enjoyed it. And now when Yoona wasn’t around anymore, her rational side had come back. Yuri couldn’t do anything else except crying.

“Tell me everything. I’m ready to hear.”

And that was all Yuri needed at this moment.

&&&&&&

YoonSicTae’s house

“That’s so embarrassing, Taeyeon-ah.” That was Jessica’s only comment about the earlier incident at Tiffany’s house. Taeyeon finally gave in and told Jessica everything, even when she had omitted some specific part, the story still sounded embarrassing to Jessica’s ear.

“Yah! Who knows that she’ll be back at that exact time? It’s not like you guys told us when you’re gonna land in Korea.” Taeyeon defended herself.

“So… that’s our fault.”

“Yes!” Taeyeon shamelessly confirmed.

“You’re hopeless.” Jessica shook her head at Taeyeon.

“Where is Yoona anyway? Shouldn’t she be home with you?” Taeyeon asked as she looked around for Yoona.

“She’s in her room, sleeping. I guess she didn’t sleep much when we were on the plane.”

“Uhm…” Taeyeon slowly nodded, “So… how is it?”

“What?”

“Your confession. I want to hear all of it.” 

“There is no confession.” Jessica said sadly as she looked away from Taeyeon.

Taeyeon let out a frustrated heavy breath, “Jessica Jung, don’t you dare telling me that for almost two weeks alone with her in LA, you didn’t do anything showing that you like her?”

“Apparently so.” 

“I can’t believe you!” Taeyeon raised her voice in disbelief.

“She still loves Yuri, Taeyeon-ah.” 

“So?”

“I can’t confess to her. Not when I know that she loves someone else.” Jessica admitted. She couldn’t be as brave as Sooyoung. She was afraid of rejection. Afraid of Yoona’s rejection.

“Listen… you will never be able to show Yoona how much you love her if you keep acting like a coward like this.” Taeyeon was getting frustrated at Jessica. She couldn’t believe how this girl could hide all of these feelings inside of her. Didn’t these feelings bother her at all?

“I think she already knows something, Taeyeon-ah.”

“Knows? She knows your feelings? Did she tell you that?”

“No… she didn’t say anything. But I know that she knows.”

“Even better. Now that she knows, probably she has prepared some kind of an answer for you. Don’t you want to know what her answer is?”

“I…”

“Say what you are feeling to her, Sica-yah. If she rejects, wait a little bit more, find another chance and confess again, confess to her until she accepts. Let her know how much you love her, how long you’ve been waiting for her. You’ll never know what the outcome is if you don’t try. Sica-yah, will you ever understand that?”

“I don’t know, Taeyeon-ah. I just don’t have enough courage.”

Taeyeon let out a heavy sigh again, “Fine… If you don’t want to then I will tell her.”

“No! Don’t do that, I…”

“If you don’t want me to do it for you, then do it yourself. I’ll give you one more week.” 

“Taeyeon-ah…”

“Remember this… If you don’t, I will.” Taeyeon turned around to walk to her room without waiting for Jessica’s response. Advices alone wouldn’t be enough to help Jessica now. This girl needed to be threatened to get her to do the work.

&&&&&&

STS – Siwon’s Office – The next day

“Brilliant!” Siwon clapped his hands together, completely satisfied with Yoona and Yuri’s work as Yuri finished her speech. “From those clips you filmed to the Tale of Blossomed Roses. Everything is so perfect. You guys have done much better than I expected.”

“Thank you.” Yuri said and Yoona only bowed to Siwon’s compliment.

“I’ll soon report this idea to the board of directors. I’m sure that they’ll love this.” Siwon said confidently. “If needed, I think that I’ll need you to present this idea to them once again. Is that okay?”

“Yeah… it’s fine.”

“Alright, you guys can go back to work now. Thanks again for your brilliant hard-working this time, Yoona-sshi, Yuri-sshi.”

Yoona and Yuri slightly bowed their head as their reply for Siwon’s compliment. Soon later, they excused themselves out of the room and closed the door behind.

“I’m so glad that he likes our work. Isn’t it great?” Yoona excitedly told Yuri, hoping to share her happiness with her.

“Uhm…” Yuri simply replied and then speed up her walk, leaving Yoona behind.

Yoona didn’t have a chance to catch up and question about Yuri’s lack of reaction when she heard someone calling her name.

“Yoona-sshi!!” Tiffany called out to the person who she thought she would want to face.

Yoona looked around to see if there was anyone here with her. She acted as if there was another ‘Yoona’ in this company. “Y-you called me?”

“Yeah… Can I have a talk with you?”

“S-sure…”

Yoona then followed Tiffany into an empty storage. Tiffany didn’t want anyone to eavesdrop on their conversation, not even Yuri.

“So… what is it?”

“You probably know by now that I don’t like you, Yoona-sshi.” Tiffany frankly stated.

Yoona slowly nodded. How could she not know when she only sent death glares to her whenever their eyes met?

“You broke my best friend’s heart. You hurt her. Even years have passed, she just couldn’t forget what you did to her.”

“Tiffany-sshi, I…”

“Save your explanation. I really don’t want to hear. The reason I want to have this conversation with you is that I want to ask a favor from you.”

“What do you want?” Yoona tried to swallow the lump in . She had a feeling that what Tiffany was about to ask was very hard to please.

“Please stay away from my best friend.” Tiffany said bluntly.

“Wh-what?”

“Can you please stay away from Yuri? I’m begging you.” Tiffany repeated once again, clearly stated her stance this time. Tiffany really didn’t know whether what she was doing was right or not. She only knew that, ever since Yoona appeared, the girl had done nothing but to bring pain, headache and heartbreak to her friend. Even if she had to act as a bad guy in this matter, she had to ask this favor from Yoona, for her best friend’s sake.

“Di-did Yuri ask you to do this?” Yoona asked.

“No… she didn’t tell me to do anything. I decided to do this on my own.”

Yoona hung her head low. She was in deep thought for a while before finally spoke up, “Fine, I’ll stay away from her. As soon as we finish the project Siwon gives us, I’ll quit my job at STS.” Yoona could see there must be some certain reasons behind Tiffany’s decision asking for her favor. Perhaps, she was asking too much from Yuri when she wanted to be friends with her again. How could she easily forget what she did to the girl? They would never be able to become friends again. Not after her cruel act.

“Thanks for understanding, Yoona-sshi. At least there is still somewhat good about you.” Tiffany said and then walked out of the storage.

&&&&&&

Yuri was on her way back to her office until she stopped in her track as she spotted Jessica was munching on her sandwiches.

“Sandwiches aren’t really healthy, you know?” Yuri said.

Jessica dropped her head at the voice, here it went. The out of nowhere, overly concern.

“But it’s convenient and that’s all I need.” Jessica replied without looking up at Yuri.

“If you want… I can make you a lunch box or something. I’m sure that it’ll be much more delicious than these bland sandwiches.” Yuri kindly offered.

And Jessica reached her limit, “Yuri-sshi…” She looked up at the tanned girl, “… I really don’t know what has gotten into you these days but can you stop watching my every activity?”

“I’m jus-” Yuri tried.

And Jessica quickly cut her off, “I really, really, really, really… don’t like the feeling of being taken care so good like this. So, if you do care for me then please respect my personal space, okay?”

“Oh… okay. But if you want to ask for some hel-”

“I’ll tell you right away.” Jessica was trying to be as nice as she could.

“Alright… I’ll prepare for you a lunch box tomorrow.” Yuri quickly said and ran away before Jessica could refuse her offer.

&&&&&&

In front of STS building

“I told you already, I have to have lunch with Yuri… I know I promised but Yuri just came back from LA… I’ll make it up for you…” Tiffany had been talking on the phone for the past fifteen minutes and still, there was no sign of hanging up anytime soon. Apparently, the whole conversation just revolved around the one and only topic: Tiffany apologized to Taeyeon about not going out for lunch with her.

Yuri let out a heavy sigh. She had already told Tiffany she was fine if she wanted to go with Taeyeon. But the latter refused to listen, she insisted on going with her and now Yuri wondered when she would be able to enjoy her lunch if Tiffany kept on talking on the phone like this. 

Just when she waited for Tiffany to hang up, Yuri saw a familiar figure was coming in their way.

“Hi, Yuri-sshi…” Gyuri greeted Yuri when she reached the girls since Tiffany, who was a few steps away from them, had her back facing them, focusing on her phone.

“H-hi…” Yuri greeted back and she couldn’t hide the surprise in her tone. Why did Gyuri came to her office all of a sudden? “Why are you here, Gyuri-sshi?”

“You’re going out for lunch, right?” Gyuri asked, silently happy that she could make it to meet Yuri at her lunch.

“Yeah… I think?” Yuri said, unsure.

“Mind if I join you? I have something to say to you.”

Yuri was about to refuse then suddenly she thought of her best friend was still on the phone with her girlfriend. This could work both ways. She owned Gyuri a meal anyway since their last date was completely crashed because of her parents’ appearance and a certain someone.

“Yeah, I think that’s a great idea. Wait for me here, Gyuri-sshi.” Yuri said to Gyuri before ran to Tiffany and told her that she could have lunch with Taeyeon because she had someone else to have lunch with now. Without waiting for Tiffany’s response, Yuri returned to Gyuri.

“We can go now, Gyuri-sshi.”

Gyuri nodded and they left together.

&&&&&&

Star Light Restaurant

“I’m really sorry about last time, Gyuri-sshi.” Yuri apologized as they were waiting for their meals to come out.

“It’s okay… I understand. Your parents are there.”

“It’s really fortunate that you know of my situation beforehand. Why don’t you tell me that you are Yoona’s friend anyway?” Yuri asked as how she kept their conversation going and the awkwardness away.

So, Yuri must have known about her relationship with Yoona by now. But she didn’t seem to know about Gyuri’s initial purpose of approaching her judging from how she was acting toward Gyuri right now. Maybe Yoona hadn’t told her yet. And that was such a wise decision of her friend.

“Uh… I didn’t know that the ex-wife she mentioned was you so… yeah. Yuri is a very common name, you know?” Gyuri awkwardly lied. 

“Uhm… so that’s how it is. Do yo-”

Yuri’s question got cut off by a voice behind her.

“Yu-yuri???”

Yuri turned around to the voice’s direction and she couldn’t believe in her eyes. In just two hours and she had met the two most unexpected people.

“Nicole!!” Yuri broke a smile as she exclaimed.

Nicole smiled brightly at Yuri. It felt good to see her old friend again. “Can I have a hug now?” Nicole offered as she held her arms out, waiting for a hug.

Yuri immediately stood up from her seat and went to Nicole’s awaiting arms, “Of course you can, Nic.”

As Yuri pulled back from the greeting hug, she turned to Gyuri and started to introduce them, “Gyuri-sshi, this is Nicole, my old friend.” Then she turned to Nicole, “Nic, this is Gyuri.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Gyuri-sshi.” Nicole said as she stretched out her hand, offering a handshake.

Gyuri gladly took it as she also stood up, “Me too.”

“How can you be here in Korea? I thought you said that you had moved to London.” Yuri asked, curious about Nicole’s whereabouts.

“I just came back this morning for some business. Actually, I was just planning to pass by your house. It’s such an interesting coincidence to meet you here.” Nicole explained.

“Where are you staying, Nic?”

“At a hotel in this neighborhood. Do you still live in your old house?”

“Yeah… with Tiffany, too.” Yuri said as a matter of fact.

“So… the three of you live together then.”

“What do you mean three? There’re only two of us.”

Nicole furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. “How come? I thought you’re already married with that Yoona girl, aren’t you?”

Ah, Yuri forgot that Nicole didn’t know about their divorce. She never once mentioned about this to her. “Well we… we already broke up, Nic.”

Nicole widened her eyes in surprise, “Wh-what happened, Yul? You seem so sure about your relationship when you reject me.”

Yuri heaved a sigh, “That’s only what I thought. We’ll talk about some other times, Nic.” She said to avoid further questions from Nicole.

“Then I guess I’ll come by your house soon.” Nicole said. She understood that this wasn’t the right time to talk about this sensitive topic.

“See you then.” Yuri smiled, glad that Nicole could understand her.

After Nicole and Yuri bid goodbye to each other, Yuri sat back down on her seat at the table, proceeded her lunch with Gyuri.

Gyuri was already lost in her thoughts when she heard what Nicole about her last encounter with Yuri. Why did it sound so different from what Yoona told her? Yuri seemed so sure about their relationship and rejected her? What exactly did this sentence mean? Did she mean that Yuri did have feelings for Yoona unlike what the latter said which she only used her as a substitute? 

“Gyuri-sshi… Gyuri-sshi!” Yuri called out to the spaced out girl.

“Ah, yeah?”

“The waiter just asked you if you wanted to order something else. The salad you ordered is out of service for today.”

Gyuri whipped her head to the waiter who was patiently waiting for her the whole time, “Ah, no… thanks.”

The waiter politely bowed his head and left the scene. Yuri went back to the spaghetti she was eating without noticing Gyuri’s eyes on her.

“Yuri-sshi…”

“Yes?”

“Forgive me for being rude but I just heard Nicole said that you rejected her, can I know why or when you do that to her?” Gyuri asked.

Yuri looked up at Gyuri with a curious look, wondering why the girl seemed so interested in Nicole and her relationship. But she still answered Gyuri’s question anyway, “Uh… On my weeding day. She came to ask for a chance for us to be together again but I refused since I was already married to Yoona at that time, you know?”

“So you just rejected her because you’re legally married to Yoona.” Gyuri repeated but there was something else she wanted to make sure, “What if… I just said what if… you weren’t married to Yoona yet and Nicole asked you to be with her again. Would you come back to her?” Gyuri held her breath in, anticipating Yuri’s answer. This would clearly tell that whether she had feelings for Yoona or not.

Yuri was thinking for a while before speak up, “No… I wouldn’t. To be honest, at that time, Yoona really is the only person I want to be with regardless of Nicole asking for forgiveness or not.” Yuri admitted. Not only at that time, but right now and probably in the future, Yoona was still the only one she wanted to be with. There was no one else.

“So… you do have special feelings for Yoona back then?”

Yuri chuckled, “Of course, why would I agree to marry her if I didn’t feel anything for her? That’s such a funny question you got there.” She answered amusingly. Yuri didn’t think much about Gyuri’s sudden questions. She assumed that it was only Gyuri’s curiosity. 

The answer was loud and clear to Gyuri’s ear. At this moment, it was as clear as daylight that the reason why Yuri decided to walk down the aisle with Yoona was because she had fallen in love with the latter, just in seven days. As hard as it was to believe but that was the truth. The painful truth.

“Uh… excuse me for a minute, Gyuri-sshi. I think I need to use the bathroom.” Yuri said as stood up from her seat and left the table.

Gyuri hastily pulled her phone out and flipped it up, dialing Yoona’s number. There must be some misunderstanding happened between them. Her friend would be jumping for joy if she heard this.

As she waited for the other line to pick up, some unnecessary thoughts crossed her mind that made her abruptly hang up the phone call. What would happen if the misunderstanding between Yoona and Yuri was solved? Would they become friends again? Or worse, would they come back together? Then did it mean that her chance to be with Yuri was completely gone? And she was the one helping them to be together again, she was the one ruined her chance by her own hands. What kind of nonsense was this?

Her phone was vibrating in her palm. Yoona was calling her back. She picked up the call.

“Hello?”

“I just saw your missed call so I call you back. What did you want to tell me, Gyul?”

Gyuri shut her eyes closed before opened them again, “No, nothing. Sorry, I just pressed the wrong numbers.”

“Nah… it’s okay. Yah… I’m just back to Korea, let’s hang out soon.”

“That’s great, I’ll wait for your call.”

“Alright, bye…”

“Bye.” And the other line went dead. Gyuri noticed Yuri was making her way back to their table. She then stared at the phone in her hand, “Sorry, Yoong. But this is my chance and I have to take it.”

TBC