Author’s POV

“Is Sica back here in Seoul yet?” Sunny asked nervously. She was sitting in the passenger seat and was looking out the window as she tries to find a familiar face among the crowd that they passed by.

“I told Jessica to text me if she is.” Chaerin said. Her eyes were focused on the road as she drives around the city of Seoul. The dark circles around her eyes were evidence of her sleeplessness. Her friend ws missing and she knew better than to sit around all day and wait for Sooyoung to show up.

“You know, it will be a lot easier for us if we split up to find her.” Sunny muttered. She was trying to keep calm amidst the situation she’s in. Chaerin’s cold treatment was already more than enough to make her guilty and worried at the same time.

Chaerin scoffed. “That won’t work out, Sunny. You have to talk to Sooyoung as soon as we find her. You have to clear the issues between yourselves before everything goes out of hand. You’ll stay with me so you don’t have any chance to run away. You need to confront her, Sunny.”

‘Just as I need to confront my fears as well.’ Chaerin added in her thoughts.

Sunny let out a defeated sigh. She knew Chaerin was right. If she ever had the chance, she would just walk away from her problem. She didn’t want to hurt Sooyoung but it’s too late for regrets. Feeling responsible for Sunny’s gloomy aura, Chaerin tried to soothe her own frustration. She wanted her short friend to feel a little better.

“Yoona has been searching around too. Jessica will be on her way with Tiffany. Don’t worry Sunny. Sooyoung is too big to be a hidden forever. We’ll find her.”

Sunny nodded meekly.

“I also called Taeng for help.” Chaerin added.

Sunny gulped. Chaerin’s words made her more nervous when Chaerin had intended to do the opposite. “Does she know?”

Chaerin took a quick glance at her friend before focusing on the road again. “About why Soo is missing? No. I just told her that you guys had a huge fight about food. But if the time comes, you have to tell Taeng. She has the right to know.”

Sunny nodded her head hesitantly. Chaerin made sure that she had no way out of this.

“Um. Chaerin?”

“Yes?”

“Uh. Can we also ask Hyoyeon for help?”

“Oh. So, you met her already?”

“Yes.”

“I see.”

“So…”

“No. We can’t.”

“But why?”

Chaerin took a deep breath before pulling the car to a stop.  “Hyoyeon has something important to do. We can’t disturb her.”

“Oh. SO where are we anyway?” Sunny looked around the unfamiliar place they stopped at. Chaerin unbuckled her seatbelt and grabbed her bag from the backseat.

“Just stay here inside the car. I just have to get something important.”

“You haven’t answered me yet, Chaerin. Where are we? We’re supposed to look for Sooyoung right now!”

Chaerin stared blankly at Sunny before sighing. “We’re at the Park residence.”

~~~~~~~

“Tiff, hurry up!” Jessica said, walking fastly ahead og her girlfriend.

Tiffany hissed. “Will you please calm down, Jess? It won’t hurt if you also help me with our luggage. Ugh.”

Jessica stopped and scratched her cheek when she realized she wasn’t holding anything except her phone. She walked back to Tiffany and helped her. They just got back from Jeju after Chaerin called Jessica, informing her of the current situation.

Jessica hailed a cab and hurriedly put their luggage in the trunk. They got in and instructed the driver to take them where Jessica was staying. The trip usually takes no more than 30 minutes but it seemed like an eternity for Jessica. Time was ticking. She was biting her nails as she looked out the window, hoping to find Sooyoung.

On the other hand, Tiffany took worried glances at Jessica. She had never seen her lover in this state before. She had never seen her worry about someone like this. Deep inside, she was actually feeling a little jealous of how much attention Jessica puts in her friends.

Jessica was surprised when she suddenly felt Tiffany’s hand on hers. She stared at Tiffany with a worried look and the latter gave her an assuring smile.

“We’ll find her, Jessi.”

“I hope so.”

“Jess, don’t be a pessimist. Everyone’s helping out so you don’t have to worry too much.”

Jessica moved closer to Tiffany and rested her head on her lover’s shoulder. Somehow, it made her feel better. “I’m sorry if I’m acting like this Tiff. I’m just… Never mind.”

“What is it? You can tell me.”

“I can’t help it. If we don’t find Sooyoung soon, I feel that something bad might happen to her. You see, only I and Chaerin know about this but Sooyoung has a history of severe depression. Chaerin told me that it started during their childhood. It was always Sunny and Taeyeon who had been very close and Sooyoung felt very jealous of the two’s relationship. Sooyoung had always liked Sunny ever since their childhood but she didn’t want to ruin the friendship between them so she only confided to Chaerin about her love troubles.”

Jessica paused and interlaced their fingers together. “People around her often call her a shikshin because of her excessive eating but that’s not really true… maybe a little bit but that’s not the whole point. From what Chaerin and I observed, Sooyoung has a tendency to eat more whenever she’s depressed about something. It’s her way of coping with her problems, however weird that is. That was the case until Chaerin finally decided to help Sooyoung with Sunny and of course, it was a success. Her depression had decreased since then but her eating style stayed with her. Let’s just say that it became a habit already. Now that this problem had arisen, we don’t know what Sooyoung would do to cope up with her problems this time around. I just hope she doesn’t go back to her old ways.”

“Old ways?”

“Yeah. I hope we find her before she starts hurting herself.”

~~~~~~~

“I didn’t think I’d see you here.”

She looked up and Seohyun smiling at her. The younger girl took a seat across her which made her feel a bit uncomfortable. Seohyun noticed this as she analyzed her body movements carefully.

“Relax. I won’t tell them that you’re here, Sooyoung unnie.”

Sooyoung started eating again, not minding Seohyun’s intimidating presence. Seohyun watched her in amusement. She had never thought of finding Sooyoung especially when the others had been desperately searching for her. She only went out to eat in this buffet restaurant and she considered herself lucky to see the tall girl eating alone. She actually thought of calling Yoona but she decided against it. She chose to have a little fun.

“Want some?” Sooyoung offered her ice cream but Seohyun declined the offer.

“They’ve been looking for you, unnie.”

Sooyoung only shrugged her shoulders before taking another spoonful of ice cream into .

“Do you mind telling me what happened?”

Sooyoung put her ice cream aside and eyed the young girl in front of her. “What’s there to tell?”

“Your friends had been looking for you and it looks like they’re desperate. Something must have gone wrong. If it’s okay with you, you can share it with me. Problems aren’t dealt alone.”

Sooyoung leaned back in her chair with her hands on her pockets. Oblivious to Seohyun’s true intentions, Sooyoung poured her heart out to her. When Sooyoung was finally done talking, her hands were shaking inside her pockets.

“I see. So you’re girlfriend cheated on you with one of your best friends. That’s… tragic.”

Sooyoung glared at Seohyun but the latter didn’t seem affected by it. “I regret telling you everything. Leave me alone.”

“You don’t have to worry. I will do just that. Anyway, that’s how you’ll be, alone. And it’s just sad that you can’t rely on your so-called friends. It must hurt so bad, right? Your friends who you trusted were actually the ones who betrayed you.”

Sooyoung gritted her teeth. “I think you got it all wrong, Seohyun. It’s only who’s at fault here. Taeng was drunk that time. Besides, Taeyeon would never break my trust. She will never do that!”

“You think so? I’m not sure about that.”

“What are you trying to say here?”

“Hmm… I remember Taeyeon unnie saying something like she had been in love… with Sunny unnie.”

Sooyoung widened her eyes and froze in her seat.

The last trigger was pulled.

Outside the restaurant, a pair of eyes watched as Sooyoung and Seohyun had their conversation. She took out her phone from her pocket and dialed a certain number. She held her phone against her ear and waited for the person to answer her call.

“Chaerin, I found her.”

Upon receiving the news from Yoona, Chaerin had sent a message to the rest of the search party, stating Sooyoung’s location. She specifically told them not to make any drastic move. Taeyeon was the first to arrive. Yoona ran towards her as soon as she saw her.

“Unnie, don’t go inside.”

“Step aside. I need to talk to her.” Taeyeon said sternly.

“No unnie! Chaerin said that—“

Taeyeon ignored what Yoona said and pushed the younger girl aside. Yoona fell to the ground on her . She was stunned for a couple of minutes until she heard a voice.

“Yoong, is Sooyoung really inside?”

Yoona looked up to see Jessica’s worried face. Then she looked around and realized that everyone was there already. She quickle stood up and dusted off her pants.

“Y-yeah. I’m fine. But Taeyeon unnie…”

“Where’s Taeng?” Sunny asked.

“She already went inside. I tried to stop her from going in but –“

Yoona was cut off when they heard a smashing sound coming from inside the restaurant. Chaerin exchanged knowing looks before rushing inside. The others followed them as well. When they got inside, they froze in their postion as they saw the whole situation.

Sooyoung had Taeyeon pinned against the wall with her hands tightly gripped on the shorter girl’s collar. Seohyun stood a few meters from Sooyoung’s back. She was clearly surprised as well. Broken pieces of glasses scattered on the floor. The other customers as well as the staff didn’t move an inch.

“Is it true, Taeng? Did you ever have feelings for Sunny?” Sooyoung’s wavering voice echoed throughout the whole restaurant. Her eyes didn’t show anger. It showed sadness and disappointment instead. She was on the verge of crying.

“Who told you that?” Taeyeon mumbled.

“Seohyun told me. Is it true?”

Taeyeon’s gaze shifted to Seohyun who stared back at her with a blank face. What Seohyun didn’t know is that Chaerin’s eyes were also on her. Taeyeon watched as as Seohyun gets dragged by Chaerin out of the restaurant. When the two had disappeared from her sight, her eyes landed on Sooyoung’s face again.

“Sooyoung… I…”

“Stop this Sooyoung!” Jessica couldn’t take it anymore so she walked closer to the scene.

“Jessi…”

“I’ll be fine, Tiff.”

Jessica calmly loosened Sooyoung’s grip on Taeyeon. “Sooyoung, just talk to me. We can work this out. You know, I’ll always listen.”

After successfully removing Sooyung’s grip, Taeyeon let out a breath and went to where the others are.

“Taeng, are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?” Sunny asked as she lookled for any signs of wounds on Taeyeon’s body.

“I’m fine.” Taeyeon said before turning her attention back to her two friends.

Sooyoung stared blankly on the floor. “Sica, have you known about it too? Have you always known that taeng had a thing for my Sunny?”

Jessica was taken aback at the question thrown at her. She knew the answer yet she couldn’t get herself to say the words. Out of the four, Jessica had been the closest to Taeyeon. How on earth wouldn’t she know about it?”

“Sica… tell me. Please.” Sooyoung’s tears freely flowed on her cheeks as she looked at Jessica for answers.

Jessica avoided Sooyoung’s gaze and hung her head low. “Sooyoung… I-I’m sorry.”

Sooyoung stormed pass through Jessica but the latter was quick enough to grab the taller girl’s wrist. Sooyoung struggled to get out of Jessica’s grip but she couldn’t.

“Let me go, Sica.”

“No Sooyoung. You need to talk to Sunny! You need to settle this problem, not run away from it!”

Sooyoung had enough. With her last ounce of energy, she pushed Jessica away. Everyone in the room watched in horror as Jessica’s body got slammed on the wall before falling into a large piece of broken glass which pierced through her abdomen.

“JESSI!” “SICA!” Came the various calls.

None of them was heard.

There came the screaming, the wailing, and the sobbing. The countless pain, the unsaid truthand the unconditional love; are they all meaningless? Because on this one fateful day in Seoul, everything has changed.

~~~~~~~

“Jessi, just hold on. We’re near the hospital. It will be okay, Jess!”

“Don’t give up Jess. I’ll wait for you here. The doctors will take care of you.”

“Fany unnie. Calm down. Sica unnie is—“

“Don’t say that! She’s just asleep. You know how much she loves to sleep. She can sleep for a whole day if she wants to but of course, she’ll wake up eventually! Right Jessi? YAH! Answer me! You…you said that you love me. You said you’ll never leave  me. You said that if I just call out your name, you’ll come back to me! JESSICA JUNG SOOYEON, HEAR ME! Please… wake up. Baby, come back to me.

I love you…”

~~~~~~~

Her voice. Her lips. Her hands. Her hair. Must I say goodbye to those? Cruel fate had separated us before and once again, it threatens to do so. It bangs at my door. whether I open it or not, it comes back to haunt me.

Tiffany, my eye smiling angel.

My dream.

My love.

We’ve been through so much pain. Your tears had always hurt me as much as it pained you. You suffered long enough because of me and I’ll never forgive myself for that. Your smile always brought me happiness but I myself don’t know how to make you happy. I don’t even know if I am ever enough for you, if I deserved to beloved by an angel like you. Nonetheless, I always thanked the heavens for bringing us together. If there’s one thing that I’ll never regret, it is the fact that I love you.

Stay strong Tiff. One day, you’ll finally be happy.

I love you, Tiffany Hwang Mi Young. Always and forever.

Till we meet again my love.

A/N: *sniffs* Don't kill me... yet. There's still the epilogue.

Thanks a lot to icesoosica for the vote!