The next day appeared more foggy and cold than the past days. The weather forecast assured that Seoul would become white and snowy soon. It was the perfect weather for a Saturday or Sunday morning, but definitely not for a Monday. Students wearing scarfs and coats on top of their school uniform slowly made their way into Gyeonsing; there wasn’t any student who wouldn’t complain. Or actually, there was. Seo Joohyun loved learning and standing out in her classes, even when the school looked as gloomy as an abandoned house. Her joy and anticipation soon faded as she went to her first class; Pre-cal, which she shared with Yoona and Tiffany. How could she act around the American girl without breaking down and crying? She hadn’t told Yoona about Tiffany’s threatening and she didn’t plan to. Yoona had too much on her plate right now, and she was sure she could deal with it on her own. As she got to the classroom, she was relieved to find Tiffany’s seat was crowded with people around her, probably asking her about the contest. She was quite popular, so the news about her winning the contest had already spread around the campus. But what relieved her the most was finding Yoona in her seat already. She made her way to the seat they shared, the smile never leaving her face.

“You’re early, Yoongie…” She whispered happily as she took in Yoona’s appearance. The doe-eyed girl looked adorable, but it was a little obvious that she hadn’t had much sleep the night before. Yoona took her hand under the desk.

“I figured it wouldn’t be good if you got here first, you know, with what happened yesterday.” She whispered back, tilting her head towards Tiffany’s seat. “It’s a good thing that she’s a little distracted. Whatever she says to you as class goes by, don’t listen to her. I’m here for you and you’re here for me.” Yoona finished, her thumb the back of Seohyun’s hand.

“T-thank you, Yoongie.” That was all that came out of the maknae’s mouth. Her thankfulness to Yoona just couldn’t be expressed into words.

“Alright, class, take your seats.” Mr. Lee started. It was obvious that the least he wanted to do in that weather was teaching. Both Yoonhyun hearts started racing as all the students in the class left Tiffany’s seat. When it was clear, Yoona could feel Tiffany’s gaze burning the back of her head.

“Mr. Lee, did you get my excuse?” Came Tiffany’s voice. Yet, neither Seohyun nor Yoona dared to turn their heads towards her.

“Yes, Tiffany. The one about you leaving for next week?” Yoona smiled lightly. Tiffany was indeed going to America. Maybe that would make her forget about all this, at least for a while.

“Yes, thankfully.” She said under her breath. Both Seohyun and Yoona could feel her intense glare.

“What was it, Tiffany?” Mr. Lee asked.

“Oh, nothing… I was just wondering if I could get a schedule change? I’d like to change periods.” She said politely. Of course, Mr. Lee felt offended, thinking that Tiffany didn’t want to be in his class anymore.

“Well… That might be a little hard to do since the semester is almost over. Perhaps you could get it by next semester?” They heard Tiffany humming. “Why would you want to change periods so suddenly?”

“I’d better not tell you. Maybe there are some elements in here that I’m not too fond of. Well, one particularly.” Knowing Tiffany was talking about Seohyun, Yoona turned around and glared at her, shaking her head.

“Don’t do this.” She whispered, so that only Seohyun and Tiffany could hear, even though everyone could notice the tension that had risen. Tiffany only averted her gaze; there was no way she could look at Yoona without breaking down in tears.

The class continued without further provoking from Tiffany. Yoona stayed calm, believing that Tiffany’s goodness could overcome her hurt and thirst for revenge. Seohyun, on the other hand, stayed uneasy. She knew this couldn’t go on.

Tiffany’s, Seohyun’s and Jessica’s lunchtime.

The ice princess bit her lip as she saw Tiffany coming, holding a tray with food. She knew her best friend; Tiffany was hurt. Even though she was holding her strong fort, it was written all over her face. Tiffany pretended not to notice her as she walked by casually.

“Tiffany, come here!” Jessica called in English. The other girl stopped and turned around slowly, fulminating Jessica with her glare.

“What do you want, best friend?” She asked as she sat next to Jessica. Seohyun was at her usual table with Chansung, watching them from afar. Being fluent in English, she could understand every word the girls were saying to each other. And she could notice Tiffany sounded angry. “Thanks for telling me my girlfriend was cheating on me, no wait, you didn’t.” She finished, sarcasm filling her voice.

“Hyunnie made me promise. You wouldn’t have listened to me anyways.” The Ice princess reasoned.

“We were friends before her. She ruined me and you did nothing to help me.” Tiffany seethed, her eyes burning with tears of anger. She tried to speak lowly and remain calm so that she wouldn’t attract other’s attention, even if they were talking in English.

“You know what? You’re right. But I’m here now, Tiffany, and I’m not going to let you do anything stupid.” Jessica’s stare diverted to Seohyun’s direction, and so did Tiffany’s. The maknae lowered her gaze. Chansung was oblivious, always in his own world. It felt nice to know that Jessica still had her back, and the fact that Tiffany was going to be gone soon made her feel hopeful. But something told her Tiffany was going to make good use of her time before leaving.

It was finally their last period. The day had been especially torturous for Seohyun. Yoona was having a hard time herself, but was taking things better than the maknae. As the final bell rang, they saw everyone leaving, including Tiffany. What Yoona failed to notice, though, was Tiffany walking by Seohyun and slurring the word ‘’ to her, knowing Seohyun knew what it meant. When Yoona was done putting her cello back into its case, she went to approach Seohyun, happy that everyone had left and it was just the two of them in the auditorium, just like old times. As she back hugged Seohyun, she noticed how tense she was, so she turned her around.

“What’s wrong?” She asked upon seeing Seohyun’s troubled face. The maknae was holding onto her for dear life.

“How long are we going to wait, Yoona?” Said girl tilted her head in confusion.

“Wait for what? Did something happen?” Seohyun seemed so desperate that Yoona started running one of her hands through her hair in attempts to calm her down.

“Tiffany-unnie has been glaring and cursing at me all day long, Yoona! We have to do something soon, otherwise she’ll do whatever she wants with us.” The older girl paled. Anger built up inside of her.

“Just let me have a word with her and she’ll leave you alone.” She assured. Seohyun rolled her eyes and angrily freed herself from Yoona’s embrace.

“That’s not the solution to this and you know it!” Yoona furrowed her brows at the girl’s sudden outburst, but suddenly caught up to what she was trying to say.

“If you’re thinking the same thing I’m thinking, that’s not the answer either, Seobaby.” She said calmly.

“Open your eyes, Yoona! She’s torturing me! We have to get this over with already. I know you don’t feel ready, but I’ll be with you! Just do it for me!” Seohyun begged. Yoona just stared at her blankly.

“It’s not her who we’re going to deal with, Hyunnie. It’s Chansung. He’s your boyfriend after all, so you should know what to expect.” Yoona was starting to lose her cool. Seohyun could see that.

“To hell with him, Yoona! If you don’t want us to tell him together, then I will!” The younger girl spat. Yoona bit her lip in anger.

“You know what? If you want to do this on your own, do it. After all, you’re the one who dated him on the first place, when you were in love with me.” She muttered, not really meaning her words. There was no way that she could ever want to leave Seohyun on her own. She only realized how harsh her words had been when she saw the maknae’s eyes clouding with tears and slightly agape. “Crap, Hyunnie, that didn’t come out like…”

“Save it. Maybe dating Chansung was a good move after all. You don’t really seem to be much different from him.” Seohyun crossed her arms. Now it was her who didn’t mean what she said. Yoona’s body trembled in anger at the maknae’s words.

“Look, I know I was wrong to say that, but you’re crossing the line here.” Yoona warned, stepping closer to Seohyun.

“I’m just stating facts. Sorry if you don’t like it.” The younger girl said coldly. Instead of answering, Yoona lowered her head.

“Do as you please. I’m done trying to make everything perfect for you.” She whispered before taking her backpack and turning around in her heel. Seohyun just stood there, regretting her words and feeling the urge to stop Yoona. She just stood there, frozen, trying to let everything sink in. Fear started to build up within her; what was she going to do without Yoona? Was this all over?

As she thought on everything this fight could possibly mean, the most hurtful tears started to cloud her eyes. She was expecting them to fight, but this wasn’t the fight she had been hoping for. She had been expecting the kind of fight they would do together, not against each other. She decided to chase Yoona, but as she looked around the campus, the doe-eyed girl was nowhere to be found. Had she lost Yoona for good?

…

Yoona hugged her coat tighter to her as she walked around. Anyone would think her crazy for staying out on a day like that. Every street seemed to become foggier than the last one. She had taken the longest way to her house, wanting to be alone but having nowhere to go. Every word exchanged with Seohyun replayed over and over in her head, as if it was some kind of movie. Her phone had been ringing over and over, but she ignored every call, even if it came from Seohyun.

One moment she’d think Seohyun had been right; she was chickening out instead of facing things the way they were. Who wouldn’t be mad? HellFany was on her maximum expression, and Hyunnie had to deal it all with her. On the other hand, Yoona didn’t feel like she was chickening out; all she wanted was for things to be calm at least for a little while. Of course, she knew, Seohyun had no idea of what would be coming to them after Chansung found out. She groaned when she discovered she was right on the curve to her house. She had expected her walk to be a little bit longer. Standing on the sidewalk before her own house, she looked at Seohyun’s room window, wishing the younger girl would come to it. She wanted Seohyun to see how miserable she was feeling. Somehow, Seohyun’s words hadn’t made such an impact on her; she knew she hadn’t meant them. She also knew this fight wasn’t for good. How could you leave someone you love just because you disagreed on something? By now, she was becoming sure that she had been wrong. After all, it was her who had begun the secret relationship knowing they both had significant others at the time, and it somehow had been her fault that Dongwoon found out and consequently, Tiffany did. They both had been responsible for their choice of words, but in the end, the fault fell on Yoona’s shoulder. Just as she was about to call for Seohyun, she heard what she thought was a car parking on the curve. As she turned around, she saw a motorbike, and Seulong leaning on it. Yoona smiled as she went to greet him, stealing a couple of glances at the brand new Harley-Davidson.

“You’re going to freeze if you stand here all day long.” He commented by seeing Yoona’s jaw quivering.

“What are you doing here?” She asked, ignoring him.

“I came here to pick you up. There is someone I want you to meet.”

“Jinjja? Another sibling perhaps?” Seulong smiled cheekily.

“Haha, very funny. Hop on.” He commanded, nodding towards his bike. Yoona smiled like an excited child, doing as she was told. She enjoyed the ride, but all the fog surrounding them made her quite nervous. There was a moment Seulong sped up so fast that she thought they wouldn’t make it. Fortunately, they parked outside an almost empty café and it didn’t take long for them to reach it.

Yoona hopped off almost immediately and felt the urge to crouch down and kiss the pavement beneath her feet in relief. Seulong just stared at her amusingly and beckoned her to follow him inside. Differently from the weather outside, the small café was surprisingly warm. Seulong headed towards a table set for three, where a petite girl sat in solitude. Upon seeing Seulong, the unknown girl’s face seemed to glow in joy. She stood up to greet him with a really warm embrace while Yoona stood to the side casually, trying to dissimulate how awkward she felt. When the two pulled away, they turned to her.

“Yoona, I want you to meet Sohee. She’s my girlfriend.” He said, beaming. Yoona smiled widely at him before bowing at Sohee, who bowed back. “And this is Yoona, but I think I’ve told you enough about her already.” Seulong finished. Yoona tried to hide her blush.

“Yes, you have. Why don’t you have a seat?” Sohee beckoned cheerfully. Both siblings sat down. As always, Yoona decided to break the silence.

“This place was a nice choice.” She commented casually as she took a look around.

“Sohee’s parents own this place.” Seulong said as Sohee smiled proudly. Yoona’s heart warmed as she saw their hands interlaced over the table. If only it were as easy as these two made it seem.

“How old are you, Yoona-ssi?”

“I’m eighteen, how about you?” She asked, staring intently at Sohee. She was so petite that she could easily be confused with a school girl.

“Twenty-three.” She answered, causing Yoona to widen her eyes.

“Jinjja? Don’t think me rude, but you’re a little… small.” Yoona said, her cheeks reddening. Instead of getting mad, the older girl just laughed heartedly.

“I get that a lot. You seem to be quite tall for your age, Yoona-ssi, just like your brother.” Sohee said, visibly giving Seulong’s hand a small squeeze. Yoona ran a hand through her hair at their lovey-dovey-ness.

“How long have you been together?” She asked casually, genuinely interested.

“Well, we met around three years ago in college…” Sohee’s voice slowly seemed to fade away. The tall figure of a teenage boy had stepped in the nearly emptied café. Even though the guy was wearing a thick leather jacket, Yoona recognized him immediately. She was trying hard to seem like she was paying attention to Sohee, but staring at the boy from the corner of her eye. If he was there, there was no way that she was going to let him leave just like that. “Yoona, are you listening?” She was pulled out of her thoughts as Seulong wove a hand in front of her face, waking her up from her trance.

“Y-yeah, sorry about that. Will you excuse me for a few seconds? There’s something I need to take care of.” Yoona said curtly as she stood up, watching the boy exiting the café. A hand caught her wrist.

“Wait, Yoona, is something wrong?” Seulong asked her, furrowing his brows in confusion. She rapidly shook her head.

“Aniya, I’ll be back in a blink of an eye.” She said as she walked out the café, ignoring the confused expressions on both Sohee’s and Seulong’s eyes. She looked around desperately, but soon found the black leather jacket she was looking for, even with the obnoxious fog limiting her view. She dashed after him and roughly put a hand on his shoulder.

“What’s your problem...?” The boy stopped as he turned to face Yoona. He seemed to freeze right in front of her.

“Glad you have to guts to ask me that, Dongwoon.” Yoona seethed, not letting go of his shoulder.

“N-noona?” He stuttered, looking like a deer caught in headlights. Like Yoona expected, there were a few bruises on the side of his face. It looked like Doojoon had really beaten him up.

“Don’t you dare calling me that! You stopped being anything to me the moment you broke your promise!” Dongwoon visibly gulped. It was obvious that the older girl’s words were affecting him.

“I know, but… I’m sorry, I really am.” Yoona laughed bitterly, stepping away from him.

“If you’re really sorry, then why did you do it?” She asked, clenching her fists. The younger boy lowered his head and kept quiet. “That’s what I thought; you just wanted to make my life miserable. Congratulations on that, you made it!” Yoona exclaimed sarcastically.

“You can still fix things… You’re the almighty Im Yoona after all… The almighty Im Yoona I fell for…” He muttered. It wasn’t clear to Yoona which statement surprised her more; the fact that he seemed to know exactly what she was going through or the fact that he had finally admitted being in love with her. Her anger seemed to dissipate for a moment. “I know it was the worst thing I could have done, but I didn’t know how else to show you how I felt. I’m really sorry and it’s completely okay if you never forgive me.” Yoona was at loss for words. Expecting the truth and hearing it were really different things.

“You know what? I can fix this…” Dongwoon’s head snapped towards Yoona’s. He was expecting her to curse him out, not telling him he was right. “This wasn’t a good way, but I think you’ve shown me something valuable.” The younger boy looked at Yoona as if she had grown two heads. The older girl looked weirdly pensive.

“Um… You’re welcome? Anything else you want to do or say to me?” He asked. The least he wanted to do was being in front of Yoona after confessing. Yoona stopped being pensive and a slight grin drew itself on her features.

“Yes, there is.” She muttered before walking close to him. Before he could ask, she kicked him in his intimates with a quick motion. Actually, she kicked him so hard that she nearly lost her balance. The younger boy bit his lip to muffle a scream as he held his crotch, doubling over in pain.

“Now we’re even.” Dongwoon just glared at her slightly, before realizing that she had been in all her right to do that to him. They were thankful that the streets of Seoul were emptied due to the terrible weather, otherwise they would have caused a really weird scene. Yoona nodded at him before turning around in her heel and leaving.

Seo’s household.

The bell rang frantically. The least Seohyun wanted to do was answer it. She had been crying so hard the whole afternoon that she was now dry and exhausted. There was nobody home, so she had no other choice but to get herself off the bed and walk to the front door. As she looked through the window, her heart did a somersault by recognizing Yoona on the front porch. She was covered in a heavy coat, but Seohyun would recognize her anywhere. Seohyun slowly opened the door, wiping the remaining tears on her cheeks. Yoona’s entire body was shaking,  both from nervousness and for the cold weather. Even though she felt anxious by facing Hyunnie, she was confident that she could fix things.

“Care to let me in?” Yoona asked sweetly. Seohyun couldn’t help but smile at the familiar voice as she complied her wish. Once inside, Yoona took off her coat and let the warmth of the Seo’s household fill her completely. All the while, Seohyun couldn’t think of what to say. She was tongue tied. “Before you kick me out, I just wanted to say…”

“I’m sorry.” She interrupted Yoona. The doe-eyed girl narrowed her eyes. “I didn’t mean what I said. You’re not like Chansung; he’s nothing compared to you. And being with him is something I’ll always regret…” The lump in didn’t let her finish. She broke into sobs as Yoona came to her and held her tight, rubbing her back tenderly.

“Hear me out, arasso? I know you didn’t mean it, baby. I just wanted to tell you that you’re right. You don’t have to endure whatever Tiffany does to you. I’m your girlfriend and I’m supposed to protect you from everything. I asked you to be with me knowing we’d have to face the consequences sooner than later, and delaying this is only going to make things worse. I can’t tell you I’m not afraid, because to be honest, I’m utterly scared. Being scared is nothing compared to the love I feel for you. This is it, Hyunnie. You’re it for me.” Yoona finished, pulling away to look at Seohyun right in the eye. The maknae’s arms left Yoona’s waist to rest on her shoulders, her hands cupping her face, while Yoona’s left the maknae’s shoulders to caress her lower back. Brown eyes locked together, neither daring to look away. Seohyun ran one of her thumbs over Yoona’s lips, the lips she adored so much.

"You promise never to leave me again?" Seohyun asked vulnerably, just to get clarification.

"I never left in the first place," Yoona said softly before giving the pad of the maknae's thumb a gentle kiss. "But no, never."

The corners of Seohyun's mouth twitched slightly as she smiled through the tears. "I love you."

"I love you, Seohyun," Yoona whispered. "Always."

Seohyun moved her thumb from Yoona's mouth to replace it with her lips, giving the other girl a sweet, loving kiss. Yoona returned it, relief flooding her entire body. She'd been afraid she'd never kiss these lips again. Now she was confident she'd never have to stop (figuratively). Somewhere in the back of her mind, she wondered if Sohee and Seulong might have gotten mad at her for ditching them. As the two girls pulled away, the embraced each other strongly.

“Look, Yoongie, it’s snowing! Maybe that’s a good sign and everything’s going to be okay soon!” Seohyun said innocently and excitedly as she pulled away from Yoona and ran to the window to see the first snowflakes falling. Yoona chuckled and approached her, back hugging her.

“It is going to be okay soon” She assured lowly as she rested her chin on Seohyun’s shoulder and her gaze got lost outside the window.

…

Okay, so another long chapter for you guys. I hope you liked this one, because the next will be very decisive. I hope your perspective of Dongwoon changes a bit after you’ve read this :P Thanks for reading and comments are appreciated!