Music Hyperlink: Someday, by IZ*ONE (joyuriz).

Oh god. Oh god, oh god, oh god. Yena paced back and forth nervously in the women’s bathroom of her company building. Was she going to get a scolding? Did Juri decide that she didn’t want to help Yena any more, that she wanted to throw her to the dogs? Yena wouldn’t blame her. She did leave Juri crying in that bathroom, after all, without any sort of consolation. She didn’t tell anyone else about leaving, didn’t even explain the situation to her manager after calling him that late at night to drive her home.

No, this wouldn’t do. The time for half-baked explanations and foolish decisions was over. She splashed water on her face and hurried to neaten her appearance before the meeting. She glanced at her lips in the reflection. Her hand fluttered up to cover them as she smiled bashfully. 

It was impossible to think about last night without thinking about the kiss. It was quick, yes, barely a peck on the lips and yet it lingered in the back of her brain. A gentle reminder of patience and understanding and love. Yuri was there when she had read the message, had placed a hand on her arm in support - before huffing and muttering something about celebrities and their complicated lifestyles. “Before you agree to something or jump to conclusions,” Yuri had warned, “maybe listen to everyone first and consider all your options. And if you’re unsure about something… well, I’m always here. So don’t do anything dumb.”

Ah, what a difficult thing to ask of Yena. After all, wasn’t every single choice she made up to this point pretty dumb in hindsight? Silly decisions that led to unwanted outcomes that led to worse decisions. Well, Yena was done with that. It was time to end this, once and for all.

“You’re surprisingly on time,” her CEO remarked when Yena walked into the office. “I don’t remember you being someone who wakes up this early.”

Chuckling, Yena sheepishly scratched her head. That would be true if it wasn’t for the fact that her heart was beating too fast last night for her to get any shut-eye. How a single kiss managed to get her all hot and bothered was a mystery to her. Yuri really was the singular most magical presence in her life. Yena would do anything for her.

“What did you want to talk about?”

“Last night. I heard you got into a bit of an argument with Juri.”

“We weren’t arguing, just…” Yena frowned as she searched for the right words to say. “I was just telling her how I really felt about us. Why we won’t work out. Why we can’t.”

“Because of Yuri.”

“Because of Yuri,” Yena confirmed, a soft smile on her face. Her expression quickly changed to one of worry as she leaned forward anxiously. “Did Juri release any press statements or cancel our agreement because of last night? Is that why we’re meeting today?”

“Actually, no.”

Yena blinked in confusion. “No?”

The CEO leaned back in her chair, gently swinging left and right. “I would be more inclined to say not yet, at least. I was actually informed of last night’s incident by your manager since he went over to pick you up earlier than expected, and he told me while he was waiting for you to come out there were talks floating around that you and Juri were arguing in the washrooms.”

Yena huffed in frustration. Some people really didn’t hesitate to gossip about anything and everything. “We should clear this up.”

“We definitely should.” Her CEO glanced at the laptop before her, observing it for a while before turning back to Yena. “No emails from Juri’s side yet, nor from any reporters or the rabble. We could use this to our favour, try to pull any strings we have so she’ll lay off you and Yuri.”

“You want to give her a taste of her own medicine.”

“Yes.” It was a firm, definitive answer from the woman in power who had to witness her charge be manipulated into doing something she didn’t want to. “Yes, I do.”

Oh, it was tempting. To have Juri understand what it felt like to be forced into doing something out of spite, to give into selfishness without pausing to think about what the other person might feel - it was so tempting, and something that Yena was very inclined to do. An eye for an eye, some might say. And that thought scared her, that she would so easily give into her meaner, greedier side. She quickly shook her head, erasing them from her mind. While that might have been something the old Yena would do, the Yena who jumped to conclusions and didn’t ask for other people’s opinions nor care for their feelings, the new Yena understood that she had to change.

“No, I…” Yena sighed. “I don’t think we should do that.”

“Really? Do you have a better idea, then?”

What would Yuri do? She’d try to reason it out, probably, and listen. That was what Yuri was really good at, listening to other people, trying to help and support them in her own quiet way. Now, Yena might not be a quiet person, but listening was certainly something she could at least do. 

“I need her manager’s number.”

#

Juri’s company building was massive. Spanning over what seemed like a hundred floors, it towered over the corner it was stationed at, casting its impressive shadow over the smaller shops nearby. Yena could hear her knees knocking together as she cowered in front of the building, and she debated whether she could follow through with what she planned to do. It wasn’t too late to turn back now, she thought briefly.

No, Yena. Grow up and take responsibility for what you’ve done, for what you’ve decided to do. 

Steeling herself, she gathered her courage (and the drinks she bought just now) and stepped in. Following the directions texted to her, she wound up in front of a dance studio where she could hear a really catchy pop tune blaring over the speakers. Peering through the glass door, she could make out a group of people practising inside, moving their bodies to the rhythm. In the middle of them all was Juri, her brows furrowed in concentration as she repeated over and over again dance steps under the scrutiny of her dance instructor.

When they stopped for a break, Yena watched Juri collapse into an exhausted heap in front of the mirror, guzzling water like her life depended on it. So she was working hard too, Yena realised, her heart aching at the sight of Juri curling up into a tired ball and resting her head against her knees. Yena nudged the door open and peeked in, looking around at the rest of the dancers. One of them caught her eye and gasped loudly. Yena hurriedly made a shushing gesture. Creeping into the studio, Yena passed around the drinks and sneakily made her way to the dance instructor. “Hi, sorry, I don’t know whether you’re done, but could I borrow Juri for today?”

The instructor glanced over at Juri and nodded. “Go for it. Hey, Juri! Your girlfriend-!”

“I don’t have a girlfriend,” Juri muttered, not looking up. “We broke up ages ago.”

“Sorry,” the instructor whispered, “she’s in a bit of a mood today.”

“That’s okay, thank you,” Yena whispered back. It looked like last night’s argument still lingered around Juri like a dark cloud. She waited until the rest of the dancers filed out before approaching Juri with the last two cups of bubble tea. Crouching down, she gulped nervously before nudging Juri. “Hey.”

Yena felt Juri tense up at the sound of her voice. “What are you doing here,” Juri asked through gritted teeth.

“I wanted to ask you out. On a date.”

Juri chuckled bitterly. “After last night? Are you trying to spite me?”

“No, I’m not.” Yena settled down next to her and took a deep breath. “I just want to talk.”

“Well, I don’t.”

“Well, you are.” Yena’s very matter-of-fact rebuke made Juri pause. She slowly raised her head and glared at Yena.

“Still with your smart- comments, I see.”

Yena eased the cup of bubble tea into Juri’s hands. “Still pushing yourself past your limits, I see.”

"We both did, didn't we, to get to where we are now?" Juri sipped at the drink. A warm glow spread across her face. "You remember."

"How could I forget?" Yena toasted Juri's cup with her own. "Brown sugar milk tea, extra pearls, 75% sugar." 

"And yours…?" 

"Lemon yogurt." Yena pursed her lips in thought. "It's surprisingly quite nice, or maybe the 50% sugar has something to do with it. It's her favourite."

"She's very lucky," Juri commented quietly. 

Yena shook her head. "No, I'm the lucky one. When I was tired and depressed and lacking direction in life, I’d like to think she was the one who saved me. Brought light into my life again after you left.”

Nodding, Juri fidgeted with her cup of bubble tea and turned to Yena. “I’m sorry, Yena. About last night, and… well, everything else before that. I’m sorry for leaving.”

“Don’t be,” Yena replied, patting Juri’s head affectionately. Juri swatted at her hand, pouting and mumbling about how Yena was younger than her and shouldn’t be patting her head. Yena chuckled and withdrew her hand. “I’ve been thinking about it since last night, and I think I’m starting to understand your worries at that time. We were both younger, more immature. I think you did what you think was best at the time for both of us. I can’t blame you for that.”

Juri stared at Yena for a good few seconds, flabbergasted. “Wow, you’ve actually matured a lot.”

“I know.” Yena puffed out her chest, a smug expression on her face. Then, relaxing, she grinned at Juri. “But I didn’t come here just to talk to you, remember?”

“Well…”

“I’ve already asked the rest of your dancers for the day off, you know.” Yena got to her feet and extended a hand to Juri. “One last date, for memory’s sake?”

#

All in all, Yena thought it was a good last date - or, well, as good as last dates would go. It was bound to be difficult, being with someone who you knew you were eventually going to break up with by the end of it, even if you weren’t dating in the first place, but to Yena’s standards it went pretty well. They paid a visit to the nearby bakery where the small and sweet Japanese cashier suggested some really delicious buns, detoured to the old mural-dotted street where the painted whales leaped out of the blue-paint ocean. Juri waved her over, phone in hand, and managed to convince Yena to take some selfies together. As they walked together, Yena often took glances at Juri. It lightened her heart to see Juri laughing, talking about what she had done during the time they were apart, excitement exuding from her as she enthused.

There was no lingering sadness any more, she realised, no regrets or heartache that she used to associate with Juri. She only felt pride watching Juri blossom and succeed.

They stopped by some shops on the way back to Juri’s apartment, with Yena drifting around and plucking objects off shelves. “You asked me out on a date to buy things for your date,” Juri deadpanned as she gave the stink eye to Yena. She shifted uncomfortably, partly under Juri’s steely gaze, and partly because she now held in her hands bags of knick-knacks that she bought ‘on a whim’. “Your idea of ‘date’ is very debatable.”

“I’m not planning a date, okay, sometimes things just catch my eye.”

As if. Nothing escaped Juri’s senses. They tingled and pointed neon arrows at the bouquet of flowers Yena was currently eyeing. Juri sipped her second bubble tea of the day. “Sure thing. I suggest you get her a bouquet of red roses to show your passionate love.”

“No, that’s too tacky, I was thinking of daisies and tulips. Innocent love.”

“Yeah, like that’s not tacky,” Juri teased, earning her an embarrassed slap on the shoulder. That simple action brought a smile to both of their faces. Any animosity left was now certainly gone, and the air between them cleared like the sunny skies overhead.

“So.” Juri smirked. “What’s the plan?”

#

Yuri was huddled in bed as she waited for Yena’s reply. Earlier this afternoon Yena had texted her about her plan with Juri, talking it over and bringing her out on a final date before properly separating. Yuri had agreed that it was a good idea, but now, staring at her unresponsive phone, she wondered whether everything went as well as she had hoped. “Why isn’t she saying anything?” Yuri muttered. Huffing, she grabbed her phone and headed towards her balcony. The rain poured down in a gentle drizzle, bouncing off the wind-chime hanging above her balcony and soaking the small card stuck onto it. Yuri plucked the card from the bell, quickly patting it dry and opening it.

Come to the rooftop. I have something to show you.

The rooftop? Was Yena waiting for her there to show her something? But it was raining, for goodness’ sake! Still in her pyjamas, Yuri dashed off, grabbing an umbrella on her way out. Honestly, what important thing could it be that Yena couldn’t just text or call? 

“She should know better than this,” Yuri fumed as she climbed the short flight of stairs up to the rooftop. “Waiting in the rain? No updates? Not using her phone? What in the world is wrong with her?” Flinging open the roof door, Yuri stormed out, gripping her umbrella tightly. “Yena, what-”

She froze where she stood. In the darkness of night shone arrays of fairy lights, winking and blinking at her as they lined the rooftop. Singers crooned quiet ballads from Yena’s phone, safely tucked away from the rain in a plastic bag. Glow-in-the-dark stars hung from strings and littered the floor, a galaxy just a few steps away from her. In the middle of it all, laying down the final star, was Yena. Clad in a form-fitting suit and holding a bouquet of flowers in various shades of grey, she turned to Yuri with a cheek-splitting grin on her face. Her eyes shone brighter than anything else, glittering in the light, moonglow pooling in soft black.

Yena only said one word as she held out her hand.

“Yuri.”