A couple of days later, everything was going well. Yoona knew that HyoSeo had entered the club, Yuri had had no more coughing and all five had managed to conceal quite well. It would clearly be easier if everyone knew, but it was up to Yuri to say when. Though in this case it had been the others who had learned one way or another.

The alarm clock was about to sound in the rooms. The sun was already illuminating part of the house entering through the windows. The waves hit the sand on the beach hard and some seagulls flew over the area.

~¡GIRLS BRING THE BOYS OUT!~

Tiffany quickly opened her eyes to the alarm and yawned as she stretched out her hand to turn it off. It should be noted that in the early days of the alarm, years ago, Yuri would get up and instead of doing her stretching she would follow the choreography without realizing it. By the time she had finished waking up it was too late; Sunny had recorded it. "Good stuff, yes, ma'am," she said.

"Good morning, Yuri" greeted the American woman yawning again.

"F-Fany...?" asked her roommate weakly as she tried to open her eyes.

The black-haired woman rose quickly and approached the chestnut. "Yuri?"

"I'm very cold," said the tallest, totally shrunken.

Tiffany reached out and touched her companion's forehead. "You're hot Yuri."

"Jeez, is that your way of saying you want something with me?" she winked at the end. Even when she was sick, Yuri was irresistible. And that is known in Korea, in the United States and even in Spain.

Tiffany rolled her eyes, but a slight reddish tone could be seen on her cheeks. If anyone was able to make her doubt her uality, it was Yuri.

"I'm going to get a blanket, water and pills, wait here," she asked as she rejoined. Yuri simply nodded.

In the kitchen she saw Hyoyeon making coffee. "Good morning" greeted her.

"Good morning, do we have pills?" she asked, opening several cupboards. "Yuri's got fever."

"I don't think so, but I can go shopping now. I don't mind" offered the dancer.

"You're a sweetheart," said the American kissing the blonde's cheek. "For now I'll cover her up and let her drink a lot of water."

"I'll tell Taeyeon to do something hot to eat," Hyo thought aloud. "That always helps."

But Taeyeon wasn't in her room. Apparently she had gone out, don't know where. This girl...

So, when they finished breakfast, Hyo and Yoona went to the pharmacy while Seohyun wrote a list of healthy foods for the black pearl state.

Sooyoung and Sunny were never separated from the second dancer in the group. And Yuri couldn't be happier about it.

Tiffany had to think about what to do for eating and cooking because they didn't know where the leader was.

"Bad luck already, huh? Get sick just when we're all together," Sooyoung said, changing the cloth on Yuri's forehead.

"Either we get together more often to prevent it from happening on the ocasion or we don't get together in case it happens all the time," Sunny sighed, looking at the recently removed thermometer that marked a clear fever.

"I want to keep seeing you. I miss you" admitted Yuri made a ball in bed with so much blanket.

"Ainss, there's the tender Yuri" smiled Sooyoung. "Whenever you get sick you become a sweetness."

"I always am" the pearl made a pout.

"But you don't show it in the same way," Sunny reminded her, sitting in the same bed for comfort.

"Don't you care about being locked up here and being contagious," Yuri asked after a few moments of silence.

"Is that your way of saying to leave?" Sunny asked, getting closer to her and hugging her. "Because it's not going to work."

"No, I don't want you to leave," admitted the black pearl. "I want to be with you as long as I can."

Yuri's words, her tone, her expression, her watery eyes... The whole thing made SooSun look at each other. Clearly something was worrying Yuri these days and it didn't seem to be easy.

"Yuri..." Sooyoung began sitting next to them. "Is there something you want to talk about?"

Yuri nodded. "I am afraid.

Sunny took her hands and gave her all the courage she could muster. "We are always here. Whatever it is, you can tell us."

Sooyoung nodded. "We love you, Yuri. Don't forget that.

Those words caused Yuri to close her eyes as a couple of tears began to fall down her cheeks. Sooyoung and Sunny looked at each other, if Yuri was crying it was something serious.

"I'm sick."

In any other case, Sooyoung would have joked about her fever but, once again, she looked at her friend and saw that it was something really important.

"A few days ago I was at home and suddenly I started coughing and..."

Sunny squeezed Yuri's hands giving her peace of mind. She had all the time in the world. She had to be ready.

"Do you know the disease of hanahaki?" she asked suddenly, which caused SooSun to look at each other strangely.

"The fictitious disease that makes flowers grow in your lungs?" asked Sooyoung trying to remember.

"You started coughing petals little by little until the flower blossomed completely and prevented you from breathing, didn't it?" Sunny added.

Yuri nodded.

"But... what does that have to do with you?" asked the tallest again.

Yuri simply looked at them trying to convey to them with he eyes what her lips were not yet able to say.

"No. No no no. If this is revenge for all the jokes we've done to you before, stop. Yuri, this is not funny. You're overdoing it" Sooyoung eyes were already watery.

Sunny just stood still. Looking at her hands clasped to the black pearl, they were a little shaky, like herself. She was hoping that Sooyoung was right, that Yuri suddenly jumped to say that it was a joke in very bad taste. But luck was not on her side today.

"I'm sorry," Yuri muttered before breaking into a complete cry.

Sooyoung approached and together with Sunny they hugged her tightly. The three of them were now a sea of tears. Yuri apologized again and again as if it was her fault. SooSun held her in her arms as they thought of all this. What they were going to do? How they were going to save Yuri? How to keep tears from coming out of her eyes?

A couple of hours later, Yuri had relaxed, had been given the medication brought by Hyo and Yoona and had fallen asleep. She was so mentally tired, that they all hoped she could get all the rest she needed.

The other six, as Taeyeon still did not return, gathered in the hall of the house to discuss the subject now that almost everyone knew it. It was the right time.

"So... What are we going to do," Yoona asked, breaking the silence after a couple of minutes when no one spoke.

"Yuri doesn't seem to want surgery. The times I've brought up the subject haven't been very clear" replied Tiffany, who seemed to understand more.

"It's because of the person you love, isn't it? If Yuri has surgery, she will lose her feelings for her," recalled Seohyun from what she read in he research.

"Not only that," Hyoyeon added. "You may not even remember her. Maybe she will forget about her.

"I... I want to put myself in Yuri's shoes and understand why she doubts but... we are talking about her life. I know it sounds selfish but I don't want to lose her," Sooyoung said as she had an inner struggle between what her friend seemed to want and her own life.

They all had that struggle. They never thought they would find themselves in the situation of having to choose between saving a life or fulfilling that person's wish.

"That person must be really important to Yuri. That is, if she clearly loves her she is, but we're talking about her thinking about sacrificing her life" Sunny took her hands to her head more seriously than ever.

"It is," Tiffany said. That person is really everything to Yuri. If Yuri forgot her, Yuri wouldn't be as we know her, I'm sure of that."

"Do you know who she is?" asked Sooyoung in surprise.

"Yuri told me so when I found out what was going on," the American nodded. "I suspected something was going on there, but that confirmed it. Come on, I'm sure you all know that, too."

"Taeyeon," Sunny whispered. Tiffany nodded.

"We're ed" Sooyoung got up from her seat and stood by the window looking at the blue sky.

"I guess she doesn't know," said Seohyun.

Tiffany shook her head. "Neither Yuri's feelings nor that she's sick."

"I don't want to imagine what will happen if she finds out," sighed Yoona hugging herself.

"Of what?" asked the maknae.

"Either. She's going to feel guilty about both of them."

"How much time do we have left?" Sunny asked this time.

"The disease progresses according to the person," Tiffany began. "It can be three months, one, two weeks, days..."

"What's clear is that it's not much," Hyoyeon confirmed. "And even more so if the symptoms keep appearing. Fever is one of them and look how it is now."

Silence flooded the room again. They were so focused on their own thoughts that they did not hear the door of the house open. They only reacted when...

"YURI!" a voice was heard from the hallway.

The six were alerted and left the room to see Taeyeon crouched on the floor with Yuri in her arms.

"Yuri! Yuri-ah!" called her the leader without getting an answer.

Hyoyeon quickly reached her side and once again touched the black pearl's forehead. "It's still burning," he reported.

"Surely she has risen for something. And that we told her: don't move" was the maknae very worried of her unnie.

"Yuri has always been very stubborn" spoke Sunny trying to cheer up the moment.

"What's going on?" asked Taeyeon with no idea of the situation. As she caressed Yuri's face tenderly.

"Yuri-unnie has had a fever since this morning," Yoona explained. "We were going to tell you but you weren't there.

Taeyeon opened but closed it right after. She had no excuse right now.

Sooyoung approached the black pearl and, thanks to Hyo, carried her in her arms and into the room. She placed it gently on the bed and covered her. The dancing queen dipped a cloth in water again and placed it on her forehead. Then she noticed something, a large blood stain on the pillow.

"Oh, God" she whispered as she touched it. It was fresh.

Sooyoung beside her also noticed her and put her hand on Hyoyeon's shoulder squeezing. The blonde thanked the gesture.

Taeyeon looked from the door of the room at her companion in bed, clearly suffering, the rest inside the room looking worried and something inside her told her again that something was wrong. Her heart beat quickly and a feeling of guilt flooded her.

-----

Far from there, at the other part of the planet, an American chestnut was stretching. At last the work was done. It's tougher than it looks. It's not just posing and creating clothes, it's paperwork in droves.

She had thought about going back to Korea for a few days and what better than visiting her sister and her best friend?

The chestnut took her cell phone and wrote a text message. Well, two to be exact. Both aimed at Korea.

At the end, the chestnut picked up her things and headed home to rest and prepare for her trip. The young woman could not help but look at the ring shining in her left hand. She smiled.

----

Back in Korea, Tiffany was watching Yuri so there wouldn't be another problem. Not quite sure why her inspiration was sky-high and she kept taking notes in her notebook. There were so many that she could easily write a dozen songs.

A sound made her look up from the paper. It was Yuri's mobile. The screen lit up and a few words appeared on it.

"Yuri-ah, I've finished the work and I'm going back to Korea for a few days! I haven't heard from you in a week, pabo. As soon as I get home, you'll hear me. Take care, Seobang. I love you, J."

Tiffany kept open. The person who sent the message could only be one. An old friend of all. Tiffany swallowed. Jessica Jung was still in contact with Yuri.