//Timeskip after the fan meeting (1 year)//

Yena and Yuri have been rebuilding their relationship ever since Yena’s revelation in one of Yuri’s fan meetings. They were making much progress that it caught the attention of their friends who were doubtful at first, they don’t want Yena to get hurt again. But overtime, they grew to accept the return of the mighty YulYen relationship they all loved (and cringed at) a few years back.

Yena was back at her office where her whole team was waiting for her… with a cake? “What the hell is this, guys?” Yena approached the team, trying not to tear up. “Well, we noticed how your mood has changed ever since Ms. Jo met you and she told us that you got back the most important thing you lost… Her.” Jaehyung said as the team approached their boss who was almost tearing up.

“Because of that, we decided to throw you a little celebration. Plus, its been awhile since we all got together as a team. Congrats again, boss.” They all saluted and Yena gave them hugs of appreciation and they celebrated, somewhat. They partied without getting the attention of all the other departments.

-

Yuri was rehearsing one of her new singles when the door to her studio suddenly opened, making her stop her rehearsal. The door revealed a face she never knew she would see again after a long time. “H-Hyewon…” The said girl smiled at her, but that smile was hiding something; something Yuri found immediately.

“She broke up with me, Yuri…” The girl said and Yuri quickly went to her and hugged the crying girl. “It’s ok, Hyewon-unnie…” The other girl just cried in her arms until time was just non-existent to them.

-

Nighttime came and Yena was about to enter this fancy restaurant when her phone rang. She looked at the caller ID and answered it immediately. “Yes, unnie? I’m here at the entrance of the restaurant. I’m still waiting for Yuri. You guys can start without me, I’ll just catch up.” She then continued to wait outside the restaurant, enduring the cold winter breeze and the snow falling.

Yuri, on the other hand, was still in her studio with Hyewon. She tried to comfort the girl but to no avail; Hyewon seemed very hurt when Eunbi left her.

A few minutes have passed before Hyewon calmed down and didn’t let go of Yuri. “What happened, unnie? Why would Eunbi-unnie break up with you? You’re like, the perfect girlfriend for anyone… Why?” Yuri kept questioning her but Hyewon just sighed.

“Its because of you… Because of us…”

//Flashback//

“Hye, I’m home!” Eunbi opened the door to her apartment which she shared with Hyewon months after they started dating. “Yes, babe? I’m in our room uh… I’m playing with Kkura-unnie…” Hyewon shouted from her room which Eunbi hears and continues to the kitchen.

The couple was having dinner when Eunbi popped a question that caught Hyewon off guard. “Hye, tell me. Why did you and Yuri cheat behind Yena’s back? I’m not gonna judge you or say anything bad, I just want to know why you did that. I’m Yena’s therapist and do you know how much she suffered because of the fact that her girlfriend and best friend were dating when she wasn’t around? Tell me, Hyewon. Why Yuri, of all people?” Hyewon kept quiet but decided to reveal everything to her present girlfriend.

“Ever since the three of us were young, like really young, we always stuck by each other. Wherever one goes, the two would follow. It was like an unwritten rule in our friendship; we would do everything together and no one would be left behind.” Hyewon started to reminisce about her childhood that she spent with Yena and Yuri, smiling as she remembered all the good memories she went through with them. She noticed Eunbi’s hand holding hers, a signal for her to continue.

“I was the one who harbored feelings for Yuri first. I started developing feelings for her as we grew older, and those feelings grew stronger as high school approached. We were always put in the same class, always had the same schedules, and even the same dorm. We were almost inseparable. Almost.”

“It was in senior year when Yena shifted from her Dance Major to join Yuri in her Singing Major. At that moment I knew, I wasn’t the only one who liked Yuri. As the masochist I am, I did nothing to prevent a relationship from blossoming between the two. I even helped Yena set up her “Will You Be My Girlfriend” proposal for Yuri. It hurts, seeing the person you love, together with the person you cherished your whole life, profess your love to each other when she would be professing her love to you instead of another person. I blew my chance and now I had to endure the pain of seeing them being all lvey-dovey towards each other, while I was the third wheel of the relationship. That all changed when Yuri and I went drinking after graduation.”

Eunbi sensed this would be the part where she would reveal her affair with Yuri, and she was right.

“We both got drunk, but I was still sober thanks to my high alcohol tolerance. I accidentally told Yuri that I had feelings for her for a long time and I was shocked to hear the same thing come out of . I tried to deny it, but I remembered something about how whatever a drunk person says while drunk was actually their true feelings towards a person or a thing. I took my chance and kissed her, feeling guilty since I knew she had Yena, but that guilt was washed away when I felt her lips on mine the second time. That moment we knew, there was something between the two of us that Yena did not need to know.”

Hyewon finished her trip down memory lane and saw that Eunbi was still quiet after her story. “That’s it. Aren’t you going to say anythi-” “You know, I have been hiding something from you as well…” Eunbi said, shocking the girl in front of her.

“I knew about your affair with Yuri long before Chaeyeon and the others. I was at the same bar as the two of you since I wanted to ask you for a drink. You never noticed since you had Yuri beside you all this time, not knowing that someone was actually there; there to be a shoulder to cry on since I knew you  had been hurting yourself by being with Yena and Yuri. There to be the one who will help you return to the bubbly person I knew since high school. There to be the one…-” Eunbi started tearing up as she was talking but Hyewon hesitated to approach and comfort her girlfriend.

“-to love you more than how you loved Yuri…” Hyewon was about to approach Eunbi when the latter stood up from her seat, stopping the other girl from moving. “Don’t. I always knew this moment would happen, I just didn’t know when. From the moment you stepped into my office asking me for a cup of coffee, I knew this would be something temporary. I knew she hasn’t left your heart, or at least, you never let go even though the guilt was eating you up. I always knew Hyewon-” Eunbi just smiled at Hyewon, but the latter knew what smile she was being given; a smile that was just a façade for the pain Eunbi was suffering from even before their relationship. The same pain Hyewon experienced seeing her two best friends dating. She was rendered speechless and Eunbi just packed her things and prepared to leave, but not before ending her story.

“-I always knew I wasn’t the person in your heart. Even if I wanted it to be me, it woud always be Yuri, right?” Hyewon tried to run for Eunbi but she stopped her. “Don’t. You never realized but you had that certain sparkle in your eyes when you talked about Yuri; sparkles I never saw when you talk to me. It’s ok, I understand. I was never the girl in your heart. I’m doing what’s best for the both of us…” Hyewon hugged Eunbi but the latter just stood there, unmoving.

“I’m letting you go, Hye. Go find your true happiness, because I know that deep inside, I’m not the one who will give you your true happiness.”

“Goodbye, Hye.”

//Flashback End//

“I… I never knew…” Yuri said, tearing up at the story she just heard. Her friend has been through a lot ever since their break-up. “It’s alright. Because now, I’m here to get my happiness… Please come back, Yuri-ah…” Hyewon said as she put her lips onto Yuri’s.

-

“Where the hell is she?” Yena was still outside the restaurant, waiting for Yuri to arrive to their anniversary dinner. “Is she still in her studio? it, I’m going there.” Yena said to herself before bidding goodbye to her team who set up the supposed dinner.

Yena arrived at her company’s building, in hopes of finding Yuri in her studio. She thought that maybe too much rehearsing led to Yuri forgetting the time, which she would forgive. But that was not what happened.

“I thought you changed.”

If y'all  are confused as to why the ships kept changing, my apologies. Its now Hyeyul till the last chapter but the main focus is still Yena. Thank you the support you all gave this fic and leave a comment for any suggestions or anything under the sun. It really helps brighten up author-nim's angst filled quarantine. Peace!