"You guys, come back punctually after the break."

    Yoona reminded the other members who had went out for a break before she slumped on the ground. Her bronze curls were swept up in a ponytail and her milky white porcelain skin was now drenched in sweats She reached out wearily for the mineral water in front of her and noticed Sooyoung who was leaning against the mirror, with a rather troubled expression on her face. It had been like this, for a few weeks at least. She would always be in her own world whenever there was no practice. And, for the first time, it was the two of them in the dance studio. She inched sideways towards her, attempting to get her attention. However, Sooyoung was still deep in her thoughts and did not realize her actions. Timidly, Yoona pulled her hands slightly, gesturing her to sit down beside her. 

    "We need to talk, Sooyoung." She threw her gaze at Sooyoung. 

    "Unnie, what is it regarding?" Sooyoung smiled politely as she looked at Yoona who had a worried expression plastered on her face.

    "I know you're feeling troubled lately.. You can always tell us. We're your group mates and we'll always help you, you know?" Yoona started. 

    Sooyoung was startled; she was really touched at her sincere concern. They had never had any private conversation before. 

    "I'm ... really all right. Maybe it's the stress." Sooyoung attempted to give a weak smile and Yoona was quick to notice it was not a genuine one. 

    "Sooyoung..." She inhaled slowly and then edged forward, putting her hands on her shoulder. "Sooyoung.."

    Sooyoung flinched distinctively for it was the first time, someone other than Luahn, had given her a warm and sincere comfort. 

    "I know... it has been hard for you. You're keeping everything to yourself. Why not ... just let it out? You can count on us, anytime and anywhere." This time, she gripped her arm tightly, afraid that she would avoid her gaze. 

    She tried to hold back her emotions, still putting up her weak smile. "No, I'm really fine. Everyone is tired, I don't wish to bother ..."

    "No, Sooyoung! We'll help each other out, no matter how tired we're. Did you forget we're the almighty Ulzzang team?" Yoona gave a pat on her shoulder, before pulling her into a hug. "Let it out, you'll feel better. Don't suffer alone."

    Almost immediately, tears sprang to her eyes. It was hard to control her tears when she was in such a warm gentle embrace. Slowly, she began to weep which turned into sobs. "Unnie, I ..." It was the first time she had cried in front of someone, other than him. Yoona had successfully broken down the wall she had built. 

    She her back and a grin dawned on her face. It was not a conceited one, but rather a really warm-hearted and comforting smile. "You can always tell me." She reassured her.

    "I don't know why but my best friend is avoiding me.. Luhan has never ... ignored me. It has been weeks, Unnie." Her voice trailed off as her tears became uncontrollable. 

    "Aigoo, have you tried contacting him?" Yoona looked at the heart-broken girl, who had glistening tears streaming down her face. 

    "He doesn't care anymore. Luhan... he... must have been tired with all my rantings."

    As far as Yoona had known Luhan, he was not the heart-breaker type to make girls cry. He had always been such a kind-hearted boy. There must be a reason, she knew deep inside her. And before long, she made up her mind, she was going to confront him. 

    Back then, when Yoona was in the same situation, she did not have the courage to clear up the misunderstanding. Nor was she brave enough to confront him directly. She hid all her emotions and acted like she didn't care. Afterall, she could not share her burden with anyone. It would have just caused much more scandals and troubles with others. She was the face of the group; she had to be the strongest. 

The past that pained her had remained a regret since then. 

~~~

    "Gosh, the practice almost killed me!" Krystal yelled out in frustration before pressing the button hardly on the vending machine, as an attempt to vent her frustration. 

    "You complain about anything and everything! From the moves to the practices and the choreographer, I'm sick of hearing it every night!" Minho sighed in defeat, as her persistent rantings never fail to amuse him.

   "You're my roommate, you should endure it! And you're my Oppa, shouldn't you be nicer to me?" Krystal rolled her eyes, as she took a sip from the refreshing lemonade. 

     Kai was envious of how comfortable they were with each other. He shared a room with Sooyoung as well, but she has never shared her misery with her. They had become closer with each other, but maybe just sharing of dancing tips and that's all. He wanted to be closer to her, he was ready to listen to her no matter how sleepy he was. But, the day he had always anticipated, never came. 

    "You're so not lady-like, Krystal. I'm sure Sooyoung doesn't rant like you. Am I right, Kai?" Minho groaned as he received a smack from the playful girl, who stuck out her tongue.

    "Yea, she doesn't talk much at night. It would have been better if she did." He noticed their weird stares on him, making him rather uncomfortable.

    "You think so too? It's like she keeps everything to herself and never shares her troubles." Krystal nodded, agreeing with him with much earnest. 

    "Maybe we should have a group heart-to-heart talk soon." Kai suggested. 

    "That's such a girl thing, Kai. We shouldn't be involved." Minho's comment earned a ruthless kick from Krystal, who shot him her infamous death glare. 

    "We'll discuss with Yoona then." 

~~~

      "I miss our dancing machine." Chanyeol pointed at the picture taken at Disney during their LA SM Town Concert. 

     "Me too, he had his earpiece throughout the whole outing, which was pretty funny.." Baekhyun remarked casually as he flipped through the album with him.

      "Me three!! Though he's such a lazy in the morning." D.O raised his hands up excitedly as he thought of his quirky roommate.

     "Hyung, look! A picture of our top visuals together! Luhan Hyung is always with Sehun, neglecting our Kai." Chanyeol teased as he pulled Luhan to the seat beside him. Luhan chuckled bitterly, as he remembered that incident and how Kai had not been on speaking terms with him these past weeks. 

     "I bet he misses us, since he's such an awkward kiddo. Or he has forgotten us, enjoying his time with the sunbae-nims and Sooyong?." Baekhyun's lips curled into a childish pout as he imagined Kai with his idol. 

      "We should make a surprise visit, Suho!" Chanyeol beamed at his leader, who always gave in to their requests. 

      "Yay!" Before Suho could respond, the other members were already cheering together loudly as though Suho had agreed to their requests.

     And amidst their cheering and laughter, Luhan was the only one who had a slight frown on his face. He had no idea how to face Kai and most importantly the girl he had been avoiding for sometime, Sooyoung.

~~~

      Krystal stepped into the single bedroom gingerly in the middle of the night, after a day of training in hell. With Minho and Kai around, it would have been awkward since men are usually dumb with such problems. She decided to discuss Sooyoung's troubles with her privately. 

      "Unnie, are you asleep?" She whispered.

      "Omo, you gave me a scare. What are you doing here?" She startled Yoona who was surprised to find her in her room.

     "It's regarding Sooyoung. We find her acting a little weirdly lately. And we're worried, Unnie. I think I know why, it's probably because of him." As straightforward as usual, she did not intend to beat around the bush. 

     "I had a little talk with her during our break when you guys weren't around. She cried and if you're referring to Luhan, you're right." Yoona was pleased with her member's concern. 

     "You mean, she cried in front of you?" Krystal was surprised as she had always known Sooyoung as a very strong girl who never fail to shut her emotions from the world. 

      "Yea, she had been keeping it within her for quite sometime and the worst thing is, the person she could turn to is avoiding her. She's deeply hurt. And she doesn't know the reason too." Yoona elaborated and recalled the scene a few hours back then. 

      "Actually something happened between them. I don't know if I should say this, but ... I think Kai knows the reason." 

      "Kai? And you're saying he's keeping mum about it?" Yoona raised her eyebrow as she did not know why Kai was in the picture too. 

      "Yea, Luhan and Kai ... they fought, but I don't know why. I don't wish to speculate in fact, since it may cause misunderstanding." Krystal hesitated and continued. "And ... Sooyoung is probably the victim of their argument." 

      She knew this situation was definitely similar to hers a few years back. They were best friends, and a misunderstanding can easily take away their friendship. It wasn't that friendship was fragile, for it was not. Friendship was just too precious that they did not want to hurt each other. Would it have been better if she clarified, would it have been better if she confessed? No, it wouldn't, because they were the face of their groups. There was too much at stakes, not just herself but for him as well. She knew that he would willingly take the risk for her, but she couldn't bear to see all their efforts going down the drain. She had to face the harsh reality; she decided to stop the relationship before anything could happen. It was a choice she made.  And like a deja vu, she was caught in a dilemma, once again. Just that, the female lead wasn't her, but Sooyoung. 

       "Noona, are you listening?" Krystal jolted Yoona out from her thoughts as she was reminded of the past, yet again. 

       "Yes, I was just thinking. Maybe, it's best if they're apart." Yoona made a conclusion. She didn't know if it was a right or wrong decision. 

~~~

Hi readers! Another update for you guys~ I hope you're not bored!

Not sure why, but there hasn't been much comments. I'm hoping to see your feedbacks or if you've any questions/doubts, I'd be glad to clarify ^_^

About this chapter, the main highlight is probably Sooyoung's unspeakable troubles and Yoona's past.

Being the face of the group, they've more pressure than the others. The mistakes others can make, they can't. The damage would be much worst and that's why Yoona didn't know if she would want Sooyoung to follow her footsteps. And some of you might think Yoona is a coward. But, I thought she's more of a mature figure, she thinks of the overall picture instead of just herself. In a way, she's similar to Luhan.

If you think Krystal going to be forever alone, you're wrong! Keke, she's going to be involved in some romance too. See how she's comfortable with Minho and how she's curious about Kai too? A little suspense for you guys ... Krystal is very considerate and caring, but in contrast with Yoona, she's slightly immature and childish. She's slightly self-centered, unfortunately. 

And the Exo picture I mentioned is http://i.imgur.com/19wnf.jpg & http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4eehgDuUo1r8unzmo8_250.jpg

I <3 them!

That's all, do comment and subscribe~ Hope to hear from you guys soon ^_^