Krystal carefully scanned the concourse; eyes narrowing in scrutiny from behind her dark sunglasses. She erratically stole glances at the cell phone in her left hand, willing it to make a sound. When met with silence, the woman procured a bright green tube of chapstick from the pocket of her jeans. Uncapping it, she nervously lowered the brim of her cap and skimmed it across her bottom lip as she continued to survey the arrival terminal.

 

“Looking for somebody?”

 

       The idol stiffened with fear that she had been discovered when a hand tapped her shoulder. Jamming her chapstick back into the confines of her pocket, Krystal whipped around with a sigh of relief escaping her as she came face to face with a slightly shorter woman.

 

“Unnie!”

 

       Jessica grinned, outstretching one arm for an embrace as the other left its place pulling a black suitcase behind her. Krystal leaned down to wrap her in a hug. Snaking her left arm under the strap of a duffel bag precariously slung over the older girl’s slight shoulder, she clutched the valley between her stark shoulder blades gingerly.

 

“I’m glad you’re here,” she muttered.

 

       Jessica’s chin dug into the hard collar of her dress shirt in a mute nod. As they parted, Krystal deftly slid the bag off her frame in a fluid motion, letting it dangle beside her legs.

 

“You don’t have to carry that,”

 

       The brunette reached out to reclaim the luggage only to have the strap jerked out of reach as the taller girl her heel with a triumphant smirk.

 

After a few paces, the taller girl turned slightly and cocked her head with a gummy smile. “Well? Let’s go!”

 

       Suitcase in tow, Jessica returned the smile and counted the clicks of her heels through the airport cacophony as she caught up to her sister. Krystal led them up an escalator and across a platform leading to an overpass connecting the airport and a parking structure. Walking leisurely through the overpass, the two sisters remained the lone occupants of the narrow stretch.

 

       Jessica curiously cast her gaze to the pristine glass walls enclosing them, a brief flash of her own reflection shining back at her from a silver crossbeam. She observed flurries of folk beyond the glass scurrying in the hulking shadow of the airport. Each face appeared blank to her from the great height. They merely floated en masse, devoid of definition and expression. Powder blue surgical masks dotted each one like cloudy bruises blooming across the skin.  Averting her gaze, a coolness washed over her as they reached the parking lot. Her sister clicked open a modest sedan, hefting her duffel into the trunk before helping with her other bag.

 

“Finally learned how to drive, huh? I fear for my life,” Jessica joked as she slid into the passenger seat.

 

Krystal slammed her door shut and turned the key in the ignition, saying over the roar, “Excuse me? I can’t hear you over the sheer magnitude of my skills!”

 

“Ah, I’m getting carsick already. I need to lie down,” Jessica snickered as she reclined her seat.

 

       As Krystal maneuvered out of the parking garage, Jessica languidly stared at the car roof, occasionally glancing at the younger girl with a warm smile. She outstretched a thin arm and hooked a nail into the handle of the sunroof, tugging it open slowly. The sky loomed over her; a static gray tapestry. Clouds nor shine were visible. The heavens merely hung overhead lamely like the worn skin of a dead animal. She furrowed her brows at the unsettling sight, swirling a finger against the glass as if to touch the sky and understand.

 

       Krystal’s eyes flickered between her sister and the freeway ahead before she took a hand off the wheel to snap the sunroof shut. Their hands brushed as the elder’s moved to avoid getting clipped by the sliding mechanism.

 

Jessica tilted her head with a look of confusion and the quiet mumble of a “Why?” slipping from her lips.

 

Her sister drummed her fingers lightly against the leather casing of the steering wheel. Biting her lip, she softly said, “I don’t want it to stress you out, unnie. You’ve already had your share of...bad weather.”

 

Jessica hummed lowly, “Is it like this often?”

 

“No, no. It’s just like this when they have the tests. This will clear up by tomorrow. Here,” she tapped a nail against the center console, “I have a schedule in there that you can look at.”

 

“It’s okay, Soojung. Reading in the car makes me sick anyways,” she said, fixated on an evergreen highway exit sign in the corner of the windshield.

 

“Okay, unnie. Maybe I should just let you sleep.”

 

She nodded and smiled widely. “Now you’re talking.”

 

--

 

Jessica entered the apartment behind Krystal. Sliding off her shoes she remarked, “Nice dorm. Roomier than the last one.”

 

“I’m flattered that you find our dorm 'roomy', Ms. One-Billion-Won-Villa.”

 

The suite was awash with dusk, shadows of the dawning evening stretching in triangles and blocks creeping across the living room.

 

       Two figures lay sprawled across the couch, shadows scrawled intermittently across their skin bathed in the dim glow of a droning television. An opened bottle of rice wine flanked by shot glasses and rings of moisture stood open on a coffee table like a monument melded into the glass. A miniscule bead of alcohol at the rim glinted in the low light, threatening to dribble over the edge. Light snoring wafted through the dorm.

 

Krystal stalked over to the back wall of the room and mashed a switch to illuminate the space, exclaiming, “Hey! Why are you two hanging out in the dark like a couple of zombies?”

 

Her shrill voice immediately woke her groupmates.

 

Amber rubbed at the nape of her neck and groaned, “It’s not like we could have done anything outside.”

 

Less bothered, Luna fingers through the tomboy’s hair and nudged her to look away from the youngest girl. “Be nice, dummy. We have a guest.”

 

“Jessica!”

 

Jessica smirked, “No ‘unnie’?”

 

The two girls exchanged a glance.

 

“Unnie!” they squealed as they rushed from the couch to hug the older girl.

       They rocked in tight embrace as Krystal simply watched her bandmates and sister in amusement from her spot against the wall. The hug lasted a few moments before they released each other, smiling happily.  

 

“The sponsorship is amazing. Thank you for everything, unnie!” gushed Luna.

 

Amber shot a thumbs up and added, “Blanc’s great.”

 

Jessica coolly tossed a hand through the air in a throwaway motion, “It’s no problem.”

 

“We, uh, heard about the Los Angeles factory. I’m so sorry.”

 

Amber gestured to the television. “We’ve been keeping up with the news. We were so scared for you-”

 

“No need,” Jessica smiled thinly, “I’m here now, aren’t I?”

 

Krystal pushed herself off of the wall to join the trio.

 

“Why don’t we leave the serious talk for another time? Any dinner preferences?”

 

--

 

       Yuri knocked on one side of the double doors with a clutch in hand, her other hand carefully balancing styrofoam containers of takeout with chopsticks and toothpicks littered across the top. A brief shuffle sounded from the other side of the entrance before one white door swung open. She wiggled the containers in her hand and smiled at the petite girl before her.

 

“Brought you something!”

 

Taeyeon sighed groggily, “You have a key, you know.”

 

Yuri moved past the blonde into the apartment and threw her clutch to the couch. “The exercise will do you some good! Besides, it doesn’t feel right to let myself in when I don’t actually live here anymore.”

“I think I see you too much for someone I don’t live with,” Taeyeon remarked with an arched brow.

 

Yuri merely laughed heartily as she laid the food and utensils out on mats over the cherrywood dining table.

 

“Come eat,” she beckoned to the smaller girl.

 

       Taeyeon plopped into a seat wordlessly. Used to this, Yuri sat down opposite her and popped open a container with a crackle before continuing the conversation on her own.

 

“Stop sulking, Taeng. I can tell you haven’t eaten today. You’ll feel better after this, it’s still hot.”

 

       Taeyeon hummed, poking a dainty finger through the steam rising from the noodles. Yuri tore open the paper packaging of a pair of chopsticks before nudging an already opened set across the table.

 

“Go on,” she encouraged as she drove her own into the jjajangmyeon.

 

“Not hungry.”

 

“You know, if you actually ate, maybe you’d be strong enough to do Invincible Youth with Hyoyeon and Sunny and you wouldn’t be so lonely right now.”

 

After a failed attempt to restrain herself, a laugh bubbled from Taeyeon’s throat as she opened her chopsticks.

 

“Do they really need a third season? Six years after the original?  And of all times to reboot it, isn’t right now kind of inconvenient?”

 

Yuri snorted, “Got that right. I did some digging and all the government sites say Gwangdo is a restricted test zone because of the crops, but Hyo told me they haven’t even been able to film for the last two days.”

 

Taeyeon clicked her tongue against her teeth. “I’m not surprised.”

 

A silence settled over them as they focused on eating. Yuri snapped the lid off the other container of food.

 

“Tteokbeokki?”

 

“Ah, sure, thanks.”

 

“Much obliged, partner.”

 

       Taeyeon rolled her eyes as Yuri jabbed a toothpick into a rice cake dramatically, swirling it through the sauce until it was practically sopping. The taller girl lifted herself slightly from her seat and raised the food across the table to Taeyeon’s lips.

 

“Quick, before it drips!”

 

Taeyeon gratefully took the offering.

 

“Yul,” she paused to chew, “-why don’t you sleep here tonight? Uh, you can take Tiffany’s old- well, Tiffany’s room.”

 

“I wish, but I have Hani at my place since I'm on a break. I can’t leave her alone.”

 

“Right, right. Sorry for asking.”

 

Yuri reached across the table to pat the top of Taeyeon’s hand.

 

“It’s okay, Taeng. Just go to sleep early, and you’ll have instant company. I know I’m the mainstay of your wildest dreams.”

 

“...Okay, get out.”

 

--

 

       With her phone sandwiched between the side of her face and a key chain tangled between her fingers, Jessica made sure that she had all of her things in order.

 

“Yeah, I just got in today. No, no, you’re fine! I have a few things to take care of before I go to sleep anyways, I’m just stepping in now.”

 

She crouched down and dug through her duffel bag for a few seconds before grasping a silver key.

 

“We can grab dinner! Hm? Great, just text me the address. See you then,” she finished on the phone as she carefully placed her keychain on the floor beside her feet.

 

       Jessica let the phone slip from her ears onto the soft mass of clothes in her open bag before fumbling to attach her new key to the chain. When she was finally successful, she shot up only to knock over her other suitcase with her elbow. She cradled her arm, pouting at the sore spot.

 

“Guess I’m not the only klutz on this floor anymore,”

 

       Jessica jumped at the new voice. The woman chuckled, tucking a strand of inky hair behind her ear as she crouched down to set the fallen luggage upright by its handle.

 

Dusting off her pants, she asked, “Are you my new neighbor?”

 

“Thank you!” Jessica bowed slightly, “-I guess I am. Your name?”

 

“You don’t know it, Sooyeon?”

 

“Er, no? Wait, how do you know that name?”

 

The taller woman laughed, “Nothing weird. I run into your mom just about every week. She raves about you and your sister. Auntie takes really good care of this place.”

 

“Oh,” Jessica laughed with a tinge of embarrassment, “I always tell her that I can just get a maid to dust every once in a while, but she insists I save my money.”

 

“That’s cute. She cares so much about you. You know, I was starting to think you didn’t exist! When I was bidding to live here, I wanted your unit at first. When they told me I was outbid, I settled for next door. I always wondered what you were like. When I met Auntie, I thought maybe you’d be just like Soojung-”

 

“Oh, do you know her?”

 

“Well, everyone knows f(x), in a way. But yes, I’m a singer too,” the woman cheerfully explained.

 

“Wait, you do look familiar...Now I’m embarrassed that I don’t know your name.”

 

“I’m Yuri.”

 

“It’s always nice to meet a friend of my sister’s.”

 

“Well, I hope we can be friends, too.”

 

“That would be nice. I haven’t lived in Korea in a long time, so friends are welcome,” she politely replied.

 

“What brings you here now?”

 

“Uh, I guess this has been my...emergency lodging for the last few years.”

 

“This is just for emergencies? I’d love to see your bomb shelter budget.”

 

“Now that we’re friends, maybe I can arrange that.”

 

“Fantastic. Well,” the taller woman jingled her own set of keys, “my dog awaits, so I’ll be heading in first,” she bowed courteously before moving to her own door.  

 

“Good night, Yuri.”

 

Yuri smiled as she went about unlocking her unit. “Good night, Sooyeon.”

 

“Jessica.”

 

“Hm?”

 

“You can call me Jessica. Only my parents call me Sooyeon.”

 

“Okay. Welcome to Seoul, Jessica.”

 

       The tan woman entered her home with a smile and a wave. Left alone in the silent hallway, Jessica smiled, thinking that perhaps her time in Seoul would have more up-sides than she had previously thought. 

 

 

--

A/N: What do y'all think is going on with the sky? :OOO What're these tests?! Why is Jessica even here?! Angsty Taeyeon is angsty. Where's Tiffany? YulSic friendship!!! This introductory chapter is also a quick reminder that Jessica and Yuri actually do own neighboring villas irl lmao... Cheers!

 

-Coiste