“Hey, you’re up early. Full day?” Jessica walked inside the kitchen still half-asleep but already dressed in casual clothing while lugging a large tote beside her. They had a late practice the night before so some of the girls decided to sleep over at the dorm.

“Good morning. Yeah, Oppa said that it’s going to be a pretty hectic week for me starting today. Argh, now I wish I’d slept earlier,” Jessica grumbled, slumping next to Yoona who patted her back sympathetically. Hyoyeon’s eyes twinkled, a sly smile on her face as she handed out glasses of juice to everyone in the room.

“And why, pray tell, didn’t you sleep on time last night?” She asked, leaning on the counter, smirking at her friend. Jessica blushed, almost choking on her drink. She quickly glanced towards the girl sitting quietly beside Stephanie who was sitting across from her.

“Oh, umm. N-nothing,” Jessica stammered, head bent, shy all of a sudden, which caught everyone’s attention.

“Couldn’t sleep? You okay, J?” Stephanie asked, but was answered by Sooyoung instead as she entered the kitchen.

“Ugh, we both couldn’t because someone was a bit preoccupied. I could hear her typing away throughout the night, giggling!”

“Soo!” Jessica admonished, eyes wide. She stole another glance at Taeyeon and was surprised to see her staring back, face blank.

“Were you talking to someone, Unnie? I bet it’s a boy!” Jessica hurriedly turned her attention to Yoona, mouth slack, heart beating fast. She hastily stood up, almost knocking the chair over.

“It’s j-just someone. Nobody important! Oh, Oppa’s calling. See you later! Uh, tomorrow! Whenever!” Jessica’s abrupt and sloppy exit earned her amused smiles and laughter from the other girls.

“Yah, if you guys keep on embarrassing her like that, she won’t give us details!” Taeyeon looked at Fany like she just punched her. Sort of felt like it, too, if she was being honest. But the pain seemed to center on her chest area for a reason she didn’t want to admit aloud.

“But it’s been so long since I saw Sica-unnie get flustered like that! She’s so cute!” Yoona gushed, not noticing the silently fuming leader across from her. Hyoyeon and Sooyoung subtly looked at each other, grinning.

“Let’s just wait for her to tell us herself when she’s ready. But I gotta admit, it’s really fun messing with her, isn’t it?” Fany said as she patted Taeyeon on the back before standing up and started clearing the dishes.

“Taetae, go get ready. I think Seobaby’s out of the bathroom now.” Taeyeon absentmindedly nodded then stood up, not bothering to reply anymore. As soon as she left the kitchen, Yoona not far behind her, Stephanie rounded on her two younger members, eyebrow raised.

“Spill. What was that all about?” Soo and Hyo just shrugged but mischievous grins were clearly visible on their faces.

“What was what all about?” Sunny suddenly asked from the door.

“These two brats know something about Jessi that I don’t know.” Sunny rolled her eyes and leaned on the counter.

“Yah, Hwang Miyoung. I’m sure you don’t need to know EVERYTHING that’s going on with everybody. And you, two. If you don’t want to share, then stop teasing Fany. You know that she gets way too nosey for her own good.”

“Yah!” The three just laughed at Stephanie’s expense.

“Okay, girls. Let’s get serious. Aside from the fact that our dear Ice Princess is, indeed, trying to get to know someone at the moment, it seems that someone else is more affected by it than Fany, though.” The atmosphere inside the kitchen suddenly turned solemn.

“Do you think we’re doing the right thing? I don’t want either of them to get hurt more than they already have,” Fany asked, concerned.

“Taeyeon needs to get her head out of her . If it takes for Jessica to start meeting someone else, then so be it,” Hyo said as she turned around and started washing the dishes, using more force than was necessary.

“We all know that they still love each other, but for how long do they expect us to stay quiet about it? It hurts to look at them,” Sunny said. Sooyoung crossed her arms and scoffed.

“If Taeyeon doesn’t do anything despite us telling her to let Sica go out of the blue, then at least we know where she stands, and that we did them both a favor. Sica can finally stop pining after her, and Taeyeon can finally start healing properly without Sica constantly orbiting around. It’s what’s best for the group, don’t you think? Either way, enough is enough.” The other girls couldn’t help but nod in agreement.

“But what if Taetae does do something, and Sica still decides to move on? What then?” Hyoyeon let out a dry laugh.

“We have faith in Sica, but do you honestly, truly believe that she can let go that easily? She may have started the process of wanting to move on, but the stupid girl’s still hoping for some sort of miracle. She’s that stubborn.”

“But still, though. Shouldn’t we, I dunno, let them think things over on their own now? We already talked to them. You guys convinced Jessi to meet whoever, and we finally made Taeyeon rethink about where their relationship is headed.”

“I also still believe that this indirect intervention will help them, Fany-ah. We’ll see where this leads them. Either way, we’ll always be here for them whenever they need us,” Sunny said, patting Stephanie’s hand in reassurance. Fany sighed.

“I just hope that we don’t mess things up even more. They both suffered enough.”

“Jessi!!”

Said girl dropped her jacket as Stephanie’s loud voice boomed unexpectedly across the silent hallway, startling her. She clicked her tongue in annoyance and bent down to retrieve it when someone else reached out and picked it up for her. Jessica looked up and her eyes widened as Taeyeon gently shook her jacket clean before giving it back to her.

“T-thanks,” Jessica mumbled, and Taeyeon just nodded her head before walking past her. She felt Fany stand beside her and couldn’t help the look of irritation that crossed her face.

“Can’t you call me without the volume turned up to maximum? There’s no one else here.” Stephanie just chuckled and waved her hand dismissively.

“Sorry, but something good came out of it, right?” Jessica just blushed and hit her friend’s arm, not saying anything more. The two turned towards Juhyun who finally caught up to them, a smile on her face as she saw Jessica.

“Hi, Unnie. I didn’t know that you have a schedule here today.”

“Oh, yeah! I thought we won’t be seeing you until the day after tomorrow, Jessi.” Jessica just shrugged and sat back down on the couch behind her.

“Ugh, this radio guesting was last minute. Someone couldn’t make it so they had me, Sunny, and Yuri fill in. Sunny and Yuri needed to leave right after, so now I’m just waiting for Manager-oppa to come back and pick me up after his errands. Good thing they gave us time to prepare, though.”

“Well, it’s also a good thing you guys were available. Our guesting will start in an hour, but I need to check on something first. Maknae, keep your Jess-unnie company for a bit, okay?” Juhyun just nodded and sat down beside Jessica as Fany bounded away towards one of the booths where Taeyeon probably went to.

Several minutes passed by with Jessica and Juhyun sitting in silence, the former resting her eyes while the latter reviewed her script.

“Juhyun-ah.” Maknae looked up from her script to stare at her unnie and hummed in acknowledgment. Jessica opened her eyes and blankly gazed at the wall opposite her for a few seconds before redirecting her gaze to her sister, a sad smile on her face.

“Can you please give unnie a hug?” Juhyun gave her a confused look but didn’t hesitate to lean in when her unnie opened her arms for her.

Jessica embraced her dongsaeng tightly, and Juhyun reciprocated by burrowing her nose in the crook of Sica’s neck. Her Sica-unnie always gave her big warm hugs, and she didn’t mind even if they were in public. After all, being coddled was her guilty pleasure.

They stayed that way for a long time, Juhyun adjusting herself so that her head was laying on Jessica’s chest as her unnie affectionately her arm. She wondered what Jessica’s problem was and couldn’t help but ask, thinking that it had something to do with what she heard from Yoona at their dorm the other day.

“Unnie? I’m sorry if you think I’m overstepping, but, are you really seeing someone else now? Don’t you love Taeyeon-unnie anymore?” Juhyun sounded disappointed, which was the last thing Jessica wanted to hear from her innocent maknae.

If Jessica was surprised that Juhyun knew about her entertaining someone, she didn’t show it. Instead, she tightened her arms around the younger girl and lifted her chin up so that Juhyun could stare at her. Jessica’s eyes were sad and conflicted.

“Oh, Baby. Of course, I do. You know, I do. It’s just that – your other unnies – they’re trying to help me realize that I may be waiting in vain for someone who isn’t going to come back anymore.” Jessica caressed Juhyun’s face tenderly, trying to convey how sorry she was for the craziness of the whole situation she placed her members in. She knew all of them were deeply affected by what happened.

“I’m sorry because you’re caught in the middle of all this, Juhyunie. You know that I never meant for this to happen to us. Your Tae-unnie probably won't ever trust me again. It hurts, and it will continue to hurt, possibly for a very long time. But I guess that it really is time to let go. Because I know that I have a whole lot of love left in me, but the only person that I want to share this kind of love with won’t accept it, and I'm starting to realize that maybe it’s time to finally give it to someone else instead.”

Juhyun just stared at her unnie, her eyes blurring with unshed tears. Jessica smiled and brushed her dongsaeng’s tears away, despite her own tears running down her face.

“Please don’t cry for me, Seobaby. I promise everything will be alright. Just give Unnie a little more time, okay?” Juhyun shook her head defiantly and buried her face in Jessica’s chest again as they held each other tightly.

“U-unnie, is it selfish of me to still want you two to be together?” Jessica just chuckled lightly and patted Juhyun’s back gently.

“Of course, not, Baby. How I wish that was still so, but unfortunately, not all wishes are meant to be granted.”