Seoul, Choi's Residence

Sunday, August 31st, 2025

Yuri keeps feeding slice fruit to Yena, who was lying on her lap. Occasionally she checked Yena’s forehead and neck, also replacing the cold, wet towel on Yena’s forehead. Her fever hasn’t gotten better, but Yena didn’t complain and just played with her game. Even so, Yuri still worried about her, unconsciously her fingers keep twisting her ring with an uneasy feeling. And Yena noticed it. She frowned because Yuri doesn’t usually wear her ring. The ring is always stored in the jewelry box.

“You’re wearing your ring.” Yena grabbed Yuri’s wrist and stared at the yellow sapphire on Yuri’s finger. The ring with her birthstone was sparkling with the help of the light shining on it.

“I will announce our engagement at the closing concert next month.”

“They’ve known our engagement for a long time Yuri-ah.” Yena shook her head in disbelief. “Give me more shocking news. I’ll wait,” she said while opening , asking Yuri to feed her.

“I’m worried about you and−” Yuri stopped her words, looked hesitant to speak.

“−and?” One of Yena’s eyebrows raised.

“Your birthstone was burning and shining last night, so I called to check on you. You didn’t answer my call. You also didn’t reply to my messages. What happened to you, hmm?”

Yena stopped chewing and changed her position to sit beside Yuri. She reached for the glass of water beside her and drink it. One hand grabbed the napkin on the table as she wiped her lips after finished with her drink.

“Does it mean anything if the birthstone was burning and shining?” Yena asked flatly.

Yuri sighed at the question, because she can see how Yena wasn’t interested at all, and it frustrates her. Since the accident five years ago, Yena doesn’t care anymore about their task, not even about the soul bonding and the soul energy stuff.

“Your birthstone will glow if you miss your partner.”

“Well, I did miss you.” Yena answered quickly, grinning widely. “Isn’t ‘I miss you’ the first thing I said when I hugged you, Yuri-ah?”

“But your birthstone was also burning and you know what it means, right?” Yuri took Yena’s hand and held it gently. “That means you are not in good condition. I found you falling asleep with high fever this morning,” she said, trying her best to keep her tone as gentle as possible. Yuri knows that Yena always keeps everything to herself, even from Yuri. Yena always masks her feeling with jokes and changes topic she doesn’t want to talk. It’s been years and since knowing that her bond is Yena, Yuri learned how to be patient with her.

“If this helps, let me tell you that the same thing happened to Chaewon Unnie's birthstone last night,” Yuri continued, and she noticed the change in Yena’s expression. She’s sure now that something happened to Yena last night.

Yena stayed silent, didn’t want to talk about it, because what Yuri worrying about was true.

Cold and fever weren’t something new for her, but she knows her fever last night wasn’t just a usual fever. The fever was so bad that she could only curl up under the blanket, whimpering in pain. Her body shivered, unable to move, added with headache and cold. She didn’t know how long she stayed in that condition. All she knew was she woke up with Yuri calling her name worriedly.

“Did Minjoo say something about Chaewon?” Yena asked.

Yuri shook her head. “When Minjoo came home, Chaewon Unnie had already asleep. But then Chaewon Unnie talked in her sleep and seemed in pain. She had fever and cold too, just like you.” She stopped, staring worriedly at Yena who still didn’t say anything.

“Before Minjoo called me, I had already checked your ring and like I said, your birthstone was shining and burning. And that was a few minutes after the day changed to Wonie’s birthday,” Yuri uttered her last sentence softly, as if she didn’t want to be heard, but Yena heard her clearly.

So, Yena thought, Chaewon had fever and cold too? Just like what happened to me last night? So, maybe, the same thing happened to the both of us, in the same time?

“Can you check what happened to the other birthstones?” Yuri asked cautiously.

Yena shrugged her shoulders. “You know that Yujin’s birthstone was destroyed during that incident. While the other birthstone,” Yena bit her lower lip. “Until now I− we don’t know where Hyewon’s birthstone is, so I can’t do anything about that.”

“Will everything be all right?” Yuri asked in worried tone.

“Hmm...” Yena nodded. She felt dizzy, so she put her arm around Yuri's waist. Lean on the younger girl. Yena needs an explanation. But on the other hand, she did not want to meet the person who could give her an explanation.

“Yuri-ah…”

“Yes?”

“Who will accompany her tonight?”

Although Yena didn’t mention the name, Yuri knew who she was talking about.

“Chaewon Unnie, and I think Minjoo is going to come too.”

Before she could say anything, Yena saw her phone screen lit up. She checked the message that just appeared, and scoffed at it.

< Kang Hyewon > I will arrive in Seoul this evening. We must meet. There’s something I want to know about what happened five years ago and I hope you don’t avoid it anymore, Choi Yena.

The last thing Yena wants right now is a meet up to discuss the incident she desperately wants to forget, but of course the world didn’t let her to. And she knows she can’t forget it even if she tried.

“Are you going back to Tokyo?” Yena asked as her eyes met Yuri.

“My manager will take care of my belongings. I don’t need to go back until next week.” Yuri’s hand moved to reach for her glass and took a sip. She stared at Yena who seemed lost in her thought. Sometimes Yuri wished she could see what her lover was thinking.

“How about we join Chaewon and Minjoo to accompany her?” Yena asked after a while. “Hyewon will arrive this evening and I’m sure she would want to join us.”

Yena doesn’t like it, but she knows this is the only way for her to make sure what has been bothering her for the past weeks didn’t only happen to her.

Yuri surprised, but definitely didn’t object. She had been waiting for their meeting for a long time.

“Okay.” She smiled widely at the question. “I will contact Minjoo and tell her about our plan.” She grabbed her phone and typed a message to her friend.

***

Seoul, An's Residence

Sunday, August 31st, 2025

Yujin let out a groan when the sound of bell from the door of her apartment hasn’t stop ringing. Whoever that person is, they must be persistent to meet her, and she has an idea who they might be are. She lazily pushed aside the blanket and got out of bed. Her face grimaced when her feet touch the cold floor. She wore the slipper in hurry only to groan again because she wore the wrong slipper on the wrong foot. Whatever, she was still so sleepy she can’t think straight.

With lazy steps, Yujin walked to the pantry, ignoring the non-stop bell ringing at the door. She opened the refrigerator and reached for a water bottle. With her eyes still half-opened, she sipped the water and finally dragged her feet to the door. Without seeing the intercom, she opened the door.

“Yah! Why did you change your apartment’s password?!”

Yujin grimaced at the yell. Despite preparing to be scolded at, the yell from the long, wavy hair with beautiful rounded-eyes girl still surprised her.

Of course to prevent you from coming in without my permission and di