Chapter 1
Against Will

Two beautiful ladies stepped out of the luggage pick-up center, and immediately averted much attention to them from both genders and all ages simply by minding their own business. Walking in precise steps similar to that of professional models, they had drawn new attention once again when they stepped on the escalator to ride down to the lower level. Admiring the girls’ beauty, the domino effect occurred when each guy took turn tripping, not realizing that their destination had been reached through the escalator ride. However, neither of the girls realized the intense stares they were receiving. The girl with short hair and well-defined long legs was chewing on a snack bar (rather hungrily) while amusingly observing her surroundings. The other with long, dark-chocolate wavy hair and a pair of shades, was talking on the phone with her free hand while letting her bag hanged on her other arm.

“Yes, we’re still at the airport. We just got off, so we’ll probably be at the apartment in an hour or so. Wait, where was it again? Oh…oh…alright I got it. Thanks, mom. Okay bye, I’ll see you tonight. Oh and say hi to dad for me. Love you.”

“Your mom called?” The other girl managed to muffle out the question while chewing her unfinished food in . It was her third snack bar since the beginning of the phone call…which had only been less than 2 minutes ago.

“Yup. And now we’re heading to the apartment.” The shorter girl answered, tucking her phone back in her jeans’ pocket and took off her shades to look at the time on her watch. She was a bit rushed to get to the entrance once they reached the lower level, as she was seen dashing off in fast-paced walking.

“Wait! What about the food! I’m hungry, Yuri! Yah! Kwon Yuri! Get back here!” The taller one called out to the other girl’s name while trying her best catch up to her. She was continuously distracted by the smell of food stopping one second or two just to breathe in the scent to feed her hunger…which was quite impossible to satisfy.

“We’re going, Sooyoung. You can get your food when we get back to my apartment. I’m sure my mom told the people to store some food and snacks in the cabinet.” Kwon Yuri said impatiently, not stopping a step to even bother looking back to see if the other girl was still following her.
As Yuri neared the entrance, a ‘Welcome to Seoul’ banner that spread from one corner of the entrance’s door to the other slowed her down. Reading the words on the banner formed a small smile on Yuri’s lip, reminding her that she was finally back home. She was enjoying her moment of reminiscence until she felt her shirt being pulled on by whom she could have easily guessed.

“But Yuri, I’m hungry. Oh please, Yuri-unnie?” Using her aegyo, Sooyoung pouted her lips at the older girl while tugging on her shirt in a cute manner. Yuri just shook her head and continued walking, which Sooyoung took that as a sign she had failed.

“I had plenty of that back in Japan. Your aegyo only calls for a punch Choi Sooyoung.”

“Why are you in such a hurry to go back anyway?” Sooyoung asked curiously, finally managing to catch up with Yuri’s speed.

“Just to catch on the stuff I missed. Besides, I can’t wait to see my friends and Yoona, Seohyun, Taeyeon, Sunny, Hyoyeon-”

“And a certain someone named Je-”

“Yah! Choi Sooyoung!” Yuri stopped her walking and faced Sooyoung with eyes that sparked a threat. “You say another word and I won’t let you eat the whole day today! To think I was going to treat you out as soon as we get back.”

Sooyoung gulped and silenced at the stare Yuri was giving her but was also trying to hold her laughter. Whenever Sooyoung mentioned that person, she would always get the same reaction from Yuri: a fluster face and maybe a hint of an inner smile. Although, deep inside, Sooyoung knew those weren’t the only emotions that surfaced.

“It’s always about her. I thought you said you’ll forget her Yuri. What…how long has it been? A year?” Sooyoung asked, trying to make Yuri forget her tease so that she can get back her privilege of eating. Yuri did not reply and just continued heading toward the entrance. For a second, Sooyoung sensed a feeling of guilt lurked in her as she regretted teasing Yuri about her past.

They got out to the entrance and stood at the edge of the pick-up zone. Yuri waved to hail an approaching taxi as it slowly stopped on the curb in front of the two ladies. Both of them placed their belongings in the trunk, with the help of the male taxi driver. After that was settled, they got in the car and situated themselves comfortably in the seats. Both girls gave each other some space as they left the middle seat empty while occupying the ones near the windows.

“So where are you ladies heading to?” The taxi driver asked, looking at the girls through his rear mirror.

“Can you take us to this address?” Yuri responded, handing the man a sheet of paper with an address written on it.

“Sure thing!” The driver smiled and started his engine, beginning to drive away from the airport.

After a few minutes, a moment of silence hit. Sooyoung was texting her Korean friends, informing them that she was back in the country. As for Yuri… she was just staring blankly at the street lamps on the road as they passed by.

“… It’s hard to forget, Sooyoung.” Yuri surprised the later with the sudden talk. Sooyoung took a few seconds to process her thoughts and finally understood that Yuri was answering the question she had asked earlier. She didn’t know what to reply so she did nothing but sat there in silent. It was best that she didn’t deepen the other girl’s wound.

Sooyoung leaned her head against the window and stared at the sky, half-blaming herself for even bringing the whole subject up in the first place. She sighed and whispered to herself, having no intention of letting Yuri catch it.

“Neither do you want to forget, Yuri…”

 

Inside and outside the auditorium, fans whispered to one another, occasionally squealing in excitement about the anticipated singers that they would be seeing in music show. They were waiting impatiently for early show to start as some were seen holding their signs of support for the idols, as well as waving light sticks to form rays of light in the audience seats.

In the waiting room, a girl in her early twenties sat fiddling with her elegant blonde hair, bearing an obvious bored look on her face. She uninterestingly twisted the strands on her fingers to create small curls on her waved long hair. She was waiting for her turn on stage after her make-up was already finished not long ago. Some of the people in the room shivered at her unintended and natural icy glare. She wasn’t really staring… she was only looking without conscious, something that often occurred when she wasn’t really feeling any excitement.

A man wearing a cap peeked inside the room and searched with his eyes for a certain someone. He finally spotted the lifeless entertainer sitting on her seat with her usual expression. “Jessica-sshi, it would be your turn in ten minutes so you might want to start getting ready.”

The girl snapped out of her daydream upon hearing her name and nodded in acknowledgement. “Okay, thank you.”

The girl got up from seat and went to a nearby mirror to view on how she looked, fixing what were necessary before stepping on stage.

‘Clothes? Checked. Make-up? Checked. Hair? Wait…a bit messy… okay now, checked.’

She stood behind the curtains, waiting for her signal to approach the stage as she started to feel nervous since she was only a new singer with few experiences.

“Now introducing the new face, Jung Jessica singing the song ‘Heaven’!”

Hearing her cue, and the claps of curious viewers, Jessica stepped on the stage feeling numerous pairs of eyes stare at her and hearing murmurs among the members of the audience.

‘You can do it Jessica… Empty your mind and… only think of her.’

The stage lights shone on Jessica as the audience’s mouths unconsciously fell open at the singer’s voice and perfect English, and also so not to mention her doll-like looks. However, Jessica did not pay much attention to the people who were staring at her with eyes of amazement. Whenever she sang, she only cared about that one person in her thoughts, as she sent a message through her song, hoping that the person in question would somehow be able to hear her.

Jessica once again caught the audience (whom were now waving their light sticks around in support) by surprise when the girl hit the high notes of the songs, which then echoed through the auditorium in a beautiful wave. Once the song was ended as the music faded, Jessica opened her closed eyes to see the reactions of her audience. Some were speechless, but most were cheering, starting a fan chant at the girl as she left the stage with as smile of success and satisfaction. Her manager gave her a thumb up as she returned it with her own double-thumbs up. She was happy…although not fully feeling it since she knew her message was definitely not delivered to that special someone in her mind. With all her heart, she had wished that she would be able to someday sing this song when that special someone was actually with her…or even belong to her.

Jessica walked in the waiting room and changed back to her casual clothes, heading out to the hallway greeting the people who congratulated her on the way. Before leaving the building, she quickly put on her sunglasses and the hood from her hooded jacket to hide her identity. Even though she was not popular yet, it was for safety matters. She was quite paranoid after hearing a fellow sunbaenim being attacked by fans just recently. Feeling a vibration from her bag, she reached for the object causing the movement and flipped it opened to answer the call.

“What is it, Tiffany?” Jessica asked in a cold tone, knowing that the person on the other line wouldn’t mind too much.

“Hi, Jessie! Are you free now? Want to go and have a drink of coffee with me?” Greeting in English, the other person invited Jessica in a husky voice of enthusiasm.

“Sure. The usual place?” Jessica replied, already heading toward the direction of the coffee shop down the corner.

“Yup, I’m already here. See you later, Jessie!”

“Yeah yeah… Bye Fany.” Jessica hanged up and smiled at her friend’s hyper activeness. ‘So she knew I wasn’t going to reject her invitation. Might as well go grab a nice hot drink.’


Shortly after the conversation on the phone, Jessica had arrived at the SoShi café. She observed her surroundings and noticed some of the men in the shop had their eyes on a girl sitting in the seat near the glass window. She had long, curly brown hair and seductive yet gentle eyes that draw people in. That same person then waved at Jessica from her seat once she was in sight of the later. Jessica then approached the other girl and sat on the opposite chair, taking off her sunglasses and removing her hood. She then sent an icy glare at all the men who were staring at the girl’s long bare legs as they shivered, trying to quickly gaze elsewhere.

“You’re here, Jessie! I ordered you caramel coffee. Drink up.” The girl greeted, taking a sip of her own drink while randomly flashing her natural eye smiles to indicate that she was in a happy mood. Jessica, on the other hand, was not feeling the mood herself.

“Thanks, Fany.” Trying to ease her sudden depression, she drank her steaming coffee and gave out an unintended sigh.

“What’s wrong? Did the performance not go well?” Tiffany asked, showing concern for her friend.

“No, it went well.” Jessica answered, placing the cup back down on the table, trying her best to put on a smile. It didn’t work out so well.

“Oh, congratulation then! But…seriously, what happened? You don’t look so well Jessie.” Tiffany pondered for a second, and immediately knew the reason to Jessica’s expression and sighs. She lightly shook her head and stated her guess in the foreign language that they both knew, “You thought about ‘her’ again didn’t you?”

Jessica nodded in reply and Tiffany leaned back in her seat with one hand massaging her temples. “I thought you said you’ll forget her.”

Jessica placed her arms on the table and laid her head on them as she explained her own side of the story, “It’s hard, Tiffany. Whatever I do, the memories pop up. I start to remember the times of back then. Whenever I sing, only the thought of her could bring out the best in my ability.”

“Speaking about difficulties, I don’t even see you try.” Tiffany remarked.

“Yes I do!” Jessica perked her head up and faced Tiffany, who did not react, as if she was waiting for something…waiting for Jessica to give in. “Okay…maybe you’re right. I don’t.” Tiffany shook her head knowing that was totally coming. “I don’t think I want to forget her, Tiffany.”

“But Jessica, you should know better than anyone that it’s already too late. It had already been a year; you need to move on Jessie.” Tiffany said, trying to convince her friend to leave the past behind. Seeing hints of Jessica’s tears, she then quickly friend in attempt to brighten the mood. “Before I make you cry again like back then, let’s talk about something else.”

“Who said I was going to cry?” Jessica pouted, even though Tiffany was merely stating a fact, and she, herself, knew that.

Ignoring Jessica’s state of denial, Tiffany went on to another subject. “Anyways, Jaejoong and I are going on a date soon.” Tiffany’s eye smile was back and now glittering with happiness once again.

“How soon is ‘soon’? You know you told me this numerous times already, right? And he always ended up canceling your date.” Jessica crossed her arm and leaned back on her seat as her expression changed. “That jerk, it’s like he’s messing with you or something.” The blonde hair girl was angered by the memories of the tears her friend had shed whenever he canceled their dates.

“Don’t call him that, Jessie! It’s just he’s busy with his schedule and all. He promised me he’ll be sure to make some time for me by this week…or the next… But I trust him!” Tiffany assured, trying to have some faith in Jaejoong and her own words as she received a glare of doubt from her friend.

Jessica looked out the window, as her expression changed back to what she had looked like when she first stepped in the coffee shop. “Promise… just hope that this time he actually keeps it this time.” Tiffany noticed the difference, and realized that she had let a word she shouldn’t have said slipped from her conversation.

‘Jessica… Yuri must have had a great effect on you for you to become like this…’

 

The final bell had already rung and students began rushing out of the gates, eagerly to be released from their daily torture. A group of female students stood in a group and consulted with one another. Their eyes were glued to a pretty girl, who stood leaning against the wall and would occasionally check her phone with a look of growing impatience.

“Hey look, it’s Yoona-sshi. She’s by herself. Should we go say hi?” One girl said, not averting her gaze from where she was looking.

“Wouldn’t she think we’re weird?” Another one said, also not looking at anywhere else but their target.

“Let’s not lose our chance! Come on girls, let’s go.” The last one said, already starting to approach the later. The other two followed close behind and all were trying to look as natural as possible.

A smile then lit up on Yoona’s face from nowhere as the color of three girls’ faces changed from being natural pale to bright red. The three girls turned their head to the direction where their idol’s attention was drawn to and saw another female student running toward Yoona. She then grabbed the other’s girl’s hand once they were close enough and quickly rushed out the entrance, disappearing from the three dumfounded girls’ sight.

“Aish, we’re one step late again.” One girl grunted in disappointment.

“Who was that girl anyway? They’re always together nowadays.”

“Seohyun; she’s Yoona-sshi’s best friend. It’s impossible to separate them.” The other replied based on the information she had asked around, or researched, from the circulating rumors around the school.

“Well let’s just try again next time…”

The three girls walked away, kicking the sand at their feet, still upset that they had missed the chance to say hi to their favorite modeling idol.

“Yoona-unnie, give me back my bag.” The innocent looking black hair girl whined as she tried to find ways to retrieve her school bag from the other girl.

“No can do. It’s your punishment for being late.” The other girl teased with a bright smile still on her face.

“It’s not my fault the teacher wanted to see me. Why are you in such a hurry, Yoona-unnie?” Knowing Yoona could be as stubborn as herself, she decided to give up on even trying and just walked alongside with the other girl.

“’Cause I want to go on a date with my dear Seohyun.” Yoona replied, receiving a wide-eyed look from her friend and also a hint of red on the girl’s cheeks. She started to burst out laughing, not realize was opened like that of an alligator’s.

Seohyun caught on with the situation and slapped Yoona’s arm lightly in embarrassment. “Don’t joke like that.”

“Sorry, it’s just really funny to tease Hyunnie.” Yoona apologized, not learning her lesson as she hooked onto Seohyun’s arm with her own free one, not noticing the other girl’s reaction. “Anyways, I wanted to go to buy something for Yuri-unnie since she’s coming back tomorrow.”

“Oh wait, Yuri-unnie is coming back?” Seohyun asked to confirm, feeling happy that she would be seeing her close unnie again.

“It was a bit sudden, but yes. She texted me yesterday saying she should be here by tomorrow night or so. So now, let’s go do some shopping.” Yoona suggested and Seohyun nodded in agreement as they headed off to the shopping center.


Ten minutes later, the girls arrived at the mall through their taxi ride. The weather’s breeze suddenly brushed by Seohyun and she shivered from the cold, as she tried rubbing her hands against each other to access some heat. Witnessing her friend’s condition, Yoona wrapped one arm around the other girl’s shoulder and pulled her in closer to herself, catching Seohyun by surprise. Not wanting to experience the chilly feeling of the cold wind again, she allowed her friend to hold onto her as they walked in the mall together. Yoona let go of Seohyun when they got into the building. Seohyun, without realizing it herself, naturally formed out a small pout on her lips out of disappointment once the warmth was no longer in contact.

Walking side by side, they looked through various shops in search for a gift to Yoona’s cousin. From being way to close to one another, the back of Yoona’s hand would occasionally sweep the surface of Seohyun’s, but nothing would be said between the two. They were both thinking it would rather be abnormal to apologize or say anything for that matter since they’re best friends and should already be used to physical contact.

‘Im Yoona, what are you even doing...? If you want to hold her hands then just do so! This is getting way too awkward. We’re best friends right? So of course Hyunnie wouldn’t mind.’ Yoona stared at her friend’s hand and looked at her own and then back at Seohyun’s hand. She gulped and began reaching for the other girl’s palm. ‘Slowly…almost there…’ Yoona was a centimeter away when was forced to abruptly stop and withdraw her hand when Seohyun turned back to look at her… with a familiar green frog held up in front her face, along with a bright smile plastered on Seohyun.

“Hey, unnie, it’s Keroro! It’s so cute!” Seohyun exclaimed hugging the green frog tightly despite having many of the same copies at home.

‘It’s that frog again… How many times have I felt jealous for this green thing!? Argh, it’s so...so...intimidating!’ Yoona screamed in her head, having a need to ruffle her head in frustration. She half-cursed the frog for interrupting her and was also being half-jealous on how Seohyun was holding it. She watched Seohyun placed the frog back into its place, petting it and then waved bye to it as if it was alive. Yoona’s frustration slowly fade as she found herself couldn’t help but grin at Seohyun’s cuteness.

They both got back to gift searching as Yoona, once again, waited for a chance to hold Seohyun’s hand. She decided to give it another shot. Yoona reached out far enough and could finally felt the other girl’s skin against her…
…but was only to be interrupted very shortly by Yoona’s ringing phone.

“Aish, what is it this time!?” From frustration, Yoona’s complained out loud, causing Seohyun to stare at her with questioning eyes. Yoona checked the caller ID and was prepared to chant an inner bad-luck spell against the person, but the intention was soon gone when she saw who it was. Yoona quickly picked up and called out to the person on the other line in an extremely joyful tone.

“Yuri-unnie!?”

“Hey, Yoong. How are you?” The other person on the receiving line spoke up with a small chuckle upon hearing her cousin’s cheerful voice.

“I’m doing great. I miss you!” Yoona jumped up and down out of happiness, calling some attention toward her and a small giggle from Seohyun.

“I miss you, too. Where are you right now?”

“I’m at the mall with Seohyun. So what are you up to?” Yoona replied, stealing a glance at Seohyun who was beside her hearing one side of the conversation.

“Well, can you come to this one place right now? I’ll text you the address.”

“Umm…okay, sure. But wh-”

“Alright, I’ll see you later then. Bye Yoong.”

Before Yoona could even say bye, Yuri, on the other line, hanged up on her, leaving her with sudden unanswered questions.

“What did Yuri-unnie say?”

“She just said come to this one place, see you later, and then hanged up.” Yoona checked her inbox and found out she had already received Yuri’s text of the address. She then searched up the directions to the place from the mall through internet access on her phone.

“Later…? Doesn’t she mean tomorrow?” Seohyun asked, tilting her head slightly to one side as she wondered about what Yuri had said. Yoona didn’t give her much time to think as she was suddenly dragged out of the mall.

“For now, let’s just head to where Yuri-unnie told us to.”

 

“Wow, you’re right about the food. There are a bunch of them here!” Sooyoung had already charged at her prey in the kitchen the moment they had reached the apartment and before they even began properly settling in. She hungrily heated up the frozen dumplings that she had found in the refrigerator and dug up some other random snacks she found in the cabinet.

Yuri, on the other hand, had just finished her phone call to her dear cousin, coming up with a plan to surprise Yoona of her one-day early return from overseas.

“Yuri, you should eat, too! These are good.” Sooyoung invited while gulping on as much food as she could as if they would disappear in any second.

“No, I’m fine. I want to get this done first.” Yuri had decided to at least organize some of her luggage since she could not stand the sight of messiness.

She carried in her own stuffs into her room, so that the floor would not be covered with various items stacked on the ground. Yuri flicked the light switch on and observed the surroundings of her new room. She was quite satisfied that the designer her mom hired had done a great job in decorating and organizing the furniture. Not just the room, but the whole place itself seemed like a luxury, with well guarded security and a nice environment, even though it’s only an apartment. Practically everything had already been prepared for her, from the food in the kitchen to the LCD screen TV in the living room. It was one of those pros in being the daughter of the one who owned the Kwon Enterprise.

“Don’t you think you’re a bit spoiled, Miss Kwon Yuri?” Sooyoung asked, while slurping on the strands of noodles from the instant noodles cup she had just cooked.

“It’s a trade-off, Sooyoung. I agreed to work for my father’s company and in return I get this.” Yuri replied, heading out of the room after she had finished placing all her clothes and belongings on where she wanted them to be. She then continued her reasoning in a teasing tone, directing it at her friend, “It’s just like how you’re my secretary and in return you get food.”

“Well…I guess that logic makes sense…” Sooyoung nodded with a sudden understanding, until she had realized the hidden meaning behind Yuri’s words. “Wait… You make it seemed as though I’m feeding off you!”

“Technically you are.” Yuri laughed jokingly.

“Why you-”

Just then, both girls’ attention was drawn to the door which had just emitted a ringing sound from its bell. Yuri approached the security screen and smiled when she saw who the visitors were. Yuri immediately tied her hair under her chin, brushing her bangs to one side in the most awkward way possible, and then taped a fake mustache onto her face grinning like a creepy person.

“Yuri…what in the world are you doing?” Sooyoung said as she face-palmed herself at her friend’s stupid actions.

“Oh, just teasing them.” Yuri cleared and spoke into the speaker of the security screen in a hoarse voice, imitating your-ever-day-average ahjumma. “Who’s there?”

The girls on the other side of the door had confused faces as they exchange looks to see if the other had a clue of what was going on.

“Um…I’m called here by Kwon Yuri.” Yoona said nervously, not sure of what was going on.

The door sprang opened to reveal an idiot grooming her own hair like a beard staring right straight at Yoona and Seohyun with her eyes slightly motioned in a humorous way. Yoona was the first to burst in laughter at her cousin’s kkab-ness, falling onto the ground holding her painful stomach. Seohyun soon followed, as she covered trying her best not to laugh too much. Inside the room, tiny giggles could also be heard from Sooyoung who was trying not to choke on the food that was stuck between .

“Mission success!” Yuri exclaimed, proud of herself even though she knew she was being an idiot. She removed the mustache and fixed her hair, retrieving her usual beautiful self.

“Welcome home, Yuri-unnie!” Yoona’s eyes started to form tears, partially from her uncontrollable laughter just a few seconds ago, but were mostly from seeing Yuri. She hugged her cousin tightly and was returned with the same, warm hug.

“I miss you, my dear Yoong.” Yuri said as she petted Yoona’s head lightly, releasing her hold of Yoona. She looked over at Seohyun and walked over to her to give the girl the same hug. “Long time no see, Seohyun.”

Yoona ignored her sudden twitch and the small frown forming on her forehead, since she knew it was quite absurd to be jealous at your own cousin.

“Glad to see you back, Yuri-unnie.” Seohyun greeted warmly and gave Yuri a gentle smile. That…Yoona also tried her best to ignore.

“Let’s go inside since it’s getting quite chilly out here.”

Yuri led the two of them inside the apartment and closed the door behind her. The two young girls spotted another person, beside Yuri, sitting at the kitchen counter. They greeted politely with a bow and received the same gesture in return.

“This is Choi Sooyoung, my friend from Japan and secretary from the company. She’ll be living with me for now. And Sooyoung, this is Yoona and her friend Seohyun.” Yuri introduced the two parties as they both exchanged another bow along with some handshakes.

“It’s nice to meet you.” Sooyoung greeted.

“Same here,” Yoona returned the greeting with a sincere smile.

Yoona and Seohyun settled down on the floor, leaning their backs on the sofa, with some food already prepared on the table by Sooyoung (who actually had the intention to eating them all by herself…but just for the sakes of courtesy matters). They sat across from Sooyoung who had just move from the counter to a more comfortable seat. Yuri was back in the kitchen making her own food while having a conversation with the two she had not seen in a long while.

“This apartment is really nice. Warm and cozy, too!” Yoona noted after taking a careful observation around the apartment with eyes of amazement. “So how’s uncle’s business unnie?” Yoona asked as she took a bite of the dumpling off Seohyun’s plate. Seohyun looked at her questionably and saw Yoona’s teasing grin.

“It’s all good now. We were saved by my dad’s friend’s company.” Yuri replied, drinking her Ma juice that she had just grind while cracking an egg into the heated frying pan.

“So that mean you’ll be staying here permanently from now on?” Seohyun questioned, eating half of the unfinished dumpling on Yoona’s plate. It was Yoona’s turn to stare back at Seohyun, who had the calmest look on her face.

Sooyoung took notice of the two girls’ strange actions. ‘What are those two doing…? If I weren’t introduced to them as being friends, I would have thought they’re a couple… I wonder if they even notice that they’re touching each other’s shoulders because of how close they’re sitting.’

“Yup, so don’t you have to worry about me disappearing again.” Yuri assured of her stay.

“That’s great to hear! But why did you come back early? I thought your flight is not until tomorrow?” Yoona asked her cousin.

Seohyun had already stopped her side of the teasing and began eating her own dumplings. Not really happy with where they left off, Yoona suddenly grabbed Seohyun’s arm and eat the dumpling off the other girl’s hand without warning. Seohyun blushed at the sudden contact (not realizing that they had already been touching each other’s shoulders for quite a while now) and faced another direction, as Yoona laughed quietly with self-satisfaction.

‘Yup…they look like a couple alright…’ Sooyoung remarked, shaking her head at the little innocent play in front of her.

“Well I decided to come back early because I wanted to see all of you…” Trailing her sentence off in an awkward tone, Yuri quickly turned around to send a warning glare to Sooyoung, knowing that if she wouldn’t, her friend would start rambling on about a certain someone. Sooyoung gulped when she saw Yuri holding a butcher’s knife with a mischievous grin on her face that just totally yelled out “I’m going to kill you if you say anything about you-know-who,” and immediately silenced herself before she even began talking.

Yuri’s ringtone suddenly started playing from the distance. She cleaned her hands and wiped them dry before reaching toward the object that was creating the sound. Looking at the caller ID, she immediately excused herself from the group and headed toward her room to talk in quiet. “I’ll be right back, so you girls just go ahead and make yourselves at home.”

Sooyoung, bored at watching the two ‘friends’ teasing one another, switched on the television and began surfing through random channels. She stopped upon seeing a music show being broadcast and sat back and relax.

“Oh hey! It’s Jessica-unnie!” Sooyoung’s attention was full on full-alert upon hearing a familiar name from Seohyun who pointed at the TV.

“Wow she’s so pretty and her vocal skills improved a lot. I can’t believe she had finally become a singer after so many years of training.” Yoona complimented as she watched Jessica’s performance on TV.

Sooyoung looked back at the television and she had to admit that Jessica did possess a beauty like that of a doll’s and a soothing voice that she often heard her friend compliment on. ‘I can kind of see why Yuri-’

“Hey you guys my dad sai-” Yuri had walked out of the room after her conversation with her father on the phone. She immediately forgot what she was about to say the moment her eyes laid on the screen.

“Hey Yuri-unnie, it’s Jessica-unnie on TV!” What Yoona had said had confirmed Yuri that her sight was not playing tricks on her and that it was truly that person that she was trying her best not to remind herself of.

‘Oh…crap…’ Sooyoung cursed at herself for even turning on the piece of technology in the first place.

“So she achieved her dream…” Sooyoung heard Yuri whispered. She tilted her head behind slightly to see Yuri’s expression… and as expected, it was not a happy one even though Yuri was wearing a smile.

Sooyoung’s series of continuously calling herself an idiot halted when Yoona and Seohyun could be heard clapping when Jessica on the show left the stage. She stole another quick glance at Yuri, who was now in the kitchen, to check to see if she was okay. Her heart sunk when she saw her friend tried to quickly wipe a tear away. ‘How are you going to face her if you’re like this, Yuri?’

Sooyoung reached for the remote and turned off the TV, then tried to change the subject. “So were you saying something earlier Yuri?”

Yuri turned around with an obvious fake smile and finished where she left off earlier. “My dad called and said we are having a welcome-home party.

Apparently it’s going to be a formal event but he told me to invite my friends to come. ‘The more the merrier,’ or so he told me.”

“When is it?” Sooyoung asked, as it seemed to be a question for all three of the listeners, although she was more curious. To Sooyoung, party equal food and party plus food equal the shikshin Sooyoung, so her presence would be a must. She almost forgot about what had happened a few seconds ago as her mind continued to be filled with the thoughts of food.

“Tomorrow’s night at around seven.”

“Then we’ll go home now and tell our parents about it.” Yoona said, getting up from her seat. Seohyun carried the dishes to the sink, and returned back to Yoona’s side.

“Oh, you’re leaving already?” Yuri asked, as she approached the two girls to say her good-byes.

“Actually, we have some studying to do over at Seohyun’s.”

Yuri’s lips slightly perked up as she revealed a grin that Yoona knew well. “Yoona… are you getting Seohyun to teach you again?”

“Well that’s…” Yoona avoided Yuri’s sly look and laughed nervously. “Well, we got to go. I’ll see you tomorrow then Yuri-unnie. Bye bye Sooyoung-unnie.” Scared that her cousin would revealed something unnecessary if they stayed any longer, she quickly bid Sooyoung and Yuri farewell and took off with Seohyun.

“You know something don’t you…?” As soon as the other two were out of sight, Sooyoung asked Yuri, with a tone of a statement rather than a question.

“Maybe. But let’s just pretend I don’t, since those two kids need to grow up on their own.” Yuri said as though she was showing concern to her cousin, but was actually enjoying herself with the whole matter itself. Sooyoung shook her head as she knew Yuri did not really meant what she said. “Let me give my friend a call.” Yuri sat down on the sofa, pulling out her phone then started to scroll through her phonebook. After seeing the nick name of one of her very close friends, she pressed the green dial button and placed the phone next to her ear.
After a series of beeps, she heard a familiar voice picked up.

“Hello?”

“Taeyeon?”

“Is that Yuri? Yuri that’s you right!? Haven’t heard your voice in ages! How have you been?” The other person named Taeyeon replied, obviously overjoyed to receive a call from her friend, whom she haven’t heard of in a long while.

“I’ve been well.” Yuri answered, receiving a look from Sooyoung who knew she was half-lying. In terms of health, yes she was well, but that did not apply to her unstable mentality of depressing emotions. “I’m back in the country, by the way.”

“What!? Why didn’t you tell me!?” Taeyeon yelled over the phone as Yuri tried to pull the device away from her ear to reduce the deafness that it could cause her. “We all miss you very much. Sunny and Hyoyeon kept bothering me to contact you but I thought you would be busy with the company so I never called.”

“It’s okay, since I know you’re busy with your job, too. Either way you’ll see me tomorrow. I plan to invite you guys to my family’s welcome-home formal party. It starts at seven, so do you think you could go?”

“Oh really!? I don’t really like formal parties but for you I’ll definitely go! I’ll beg my manager if I have to. So I guess you want me to also contact Sunny and Hyoyeon right?”

“Yes if you can, please do. Tell them they can invite any close friends to go along as well.”

“Oh okay, cools. I’ll call them now. So I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Yes, you will, if you come. I’ll take you girls to the place if you come to my apartment. I’ll text you the address later.”

“Great! I can free-load the ride.” Taeyeon slipped out an ahjumma laugh. Yuri then heard another person’s voice, sounding somewhat frustrated, interrupting their conversation. “Oh, sorry Yuri, my manager is calling me. I actually have a radio show I have to attend to right now. So I talk to you tomorrow, okay?”

“It’s okay. Sorry to bother you and have fun. See you tomorrow.”

“Okay bye.”

After Taeyeon’s farewell, Yuri heard a series of beeps indicating that Taeyeon had excused herself and was off the line. She then went back to scrolling her phonebook on her device to check if she had missed anyone that she should be inviting. The smile that Yuri carried after the talk with Taeyeon slowly faded when a familiar caller ID presented itself to Yuri’s sight.

‘Should I call her…? We’re still friends right? I mean… it’s been a year since I last talk to Je-’

Yuri’s self-debate was shortly interfered by the ringing of her phone, alerting her that someone was calling. After checking the name on flashing screen, she pressed the green button and held the phone next to her ear.

“You forgot something, Yoona?”

“Hey, unnie, you said I can invite anyone right?” Yoona asked on the other line of the connection, stressing strongly on the word ‘anyone’.

“Yeah I did. Anyone you’re close with is fine.”

“Okay, thank you! Alright bye!”

Before Yuri could even say her own ‘bye’, Yoona ended the call quickly and Yuri assumed that the girl was in a hurry. ‘I wonder who is she planning to invite.’

Yuri pressed the red button on the phone to end her own side of the call. She ended going back to staring at the screen she was looking at earlier, for it had not close when she picked up Yoona’s call. She stared at the name of the contact, which read ‘Sicababy’, as various thoughts stormed through her mind but none were actually processed. After a couple of seconds of getting nowhere, the light of the technology in her hand faded to black before she could even decide on what to do. It was as if it was telling her to start forgetting about the person in question altogether. Heaving a sigh, she tucked back her phone in her pocket, stood up from her sofa, and walked in her room, locking herself behind the door.

Sooyoung, whose presence was totally forgotten, witnessed the whole scene with Yuri contemplating about whether or not to call Jessica. Although she knew Yuri wouldn’t be able to hear behind the divider that was separating them, Sooyoung still spoke out her thoughts in attempt to release some stress caused by the whole matter with Yuri’s problem.

“Yuri, you can’t run away from her for the rest of your life. How are you going to move on if you’re like this?”

On the other side, Yuri slumped on the floor with her back leaning against the door, listening to Sooyoung’s words without giving a reply. Yuri knew well that she wouldn’t be able to avoid Jessica any longer and that she was going to have to accept whatever was to come. But she also understood that she, alone, would not be able to forget Jessica… nor the love she felt for her.

Yuri helped herself up and approached the glass window, where she stared outside at the sky that was beginning to turn dark. Although she could not yet see the stars, she still spoke to them, letting loose of her restrained feelings. Breathing out a heavy sigh, she tried her best to hold back her tears, but her effort was in vain.

“Stars… I promised myself I wouldn’t ever cry again, but here I am…repeating the scene of a year ago. This is me, a pathetic fool… I don’t know why I’m going crazy like this. All because of her… I can’t do anything.” Yuri confessed to the stars, with the thoughts that she had tried her best to stray away from… but she couldn’t hold them in any longer. Her emotions got the best of her, and all at once… the tears were once without restraint, and the love she had failed to lock away began to go free.

“Jessica…I’m sorry…but I still love you.”

 

This first chapter is for introduction purposes, so not everything is clear. Yuri's talk with the stars was based off the lyrics of 'Star Star Star', if you readers caught that. I hope you guys forgive me for my terrible writing skills. (>__<) I’m still new and improving~
Please do give me your opinions on this chapters as well as your comments (and questions?) since they seriously do give me the motivation to write. They do increase my update speed as well haha
Please continue to give me support as I will try my best to give you a great story!
Thanks for reading~
-June