“Hyunnie… Something did happen when I went to Damyang, and you have no idea how sorry I am about not telling you about it. I-I met with my mom.” Seohyun’s thumbs, which had previously been caressing Yoona’s cheeks, stilled their movement. Seohyun widened her dark eyes and tilted her head to the side slightly, as if asking Yoona if she had heard right. “… I met with her and now she’s calling me nonstop.” Yoona pointed towards her cellphone, which rested on top of the table. Seohyun was at loss for words; she had begun to believe that her suspicions that there was something wrong with Yoona were just delusional and that the doe-eyed girl was just stressed out, but hearing it from her that those suspicions were actually real was making her lightheaded.

“H-How?” The maknae stuttered out, shaking her head lightly. There were a lot of things she wanted to say, but that simple question seemed to summarize them all. Yoona shrugged, eyeing the bottle of soju intently.

“She found out appa was sick so she figured out it was time to reappear… She asked my best friend from home to talk me into meeting her… He did.” Yoona sobbed drily. “Please let me drink, Hyunnie… I need to forget about all this for a while.” She pleaded, meeting Seohyun’s gaze again.

“You don’t need alcohol to help you get through your problems, Yoongie… That’s what I’m here for.” Seohyun whispered tenderly. She had to admit that she felt slightly mad at Yoona for hiding this for so long, but she couldn’t take the sad look in her beautiful eyes a second longer. It was breaking her heart. Yoona looked adoringly at her, even through the pain that clouded her eyes, and held onto Seohyun’s wrists, removing the latter’s hands from her face and taking them in hers. “How did you meet her?”

“Taecyeon—my friend from Damyang—had been taking care of appa ever since I came to Seoul. He was the one who took me to see him at the hospital. We met on Sunday so we could catch up with each other, and he told me my mom wanted to meet me and talk to me. H-He convinced me to talk to her...”

“And did you?” Seohyun hurried, squeezing Yoona’s hands. The doe-eyed girl averted her gaze as she shook her head.

“We got there… she was waiting for me at a restaurant… But I just couldn’t talk to her. The moment I saw her face I just ran out of the place… She’s been calling me since then… And she looks so much like me…” Yoona’s eyes welled up with tears again. Seohyun bit her bottom lip before she stood up from her seat and sat on Yoona’s lap instead, snuggling the older girl’s head into her chest. The latter just let go in that moment; sobs began racking her body and the tears began to fall mercilessly down her cheeks, which were slightly flushed from drinking. Yoona held onto her for dear life; Seohyun was her rock, and she couldn’t be more thankful to her for just being there.

“Why do you think she’s calling you? I think you made it obvious that you don’t want to see her.” Seohyun asked softly after a while, since Yoona seemed a bit calmer. She began running her hands through Yoona’s hair, massaging her scalp, effectively putting her more at ease.

“I think she might be here in Seoul. She knows I live here after all…” Yoona trailed off, letting the sound of Seohyun’s heartbeat slowly calm her down. “And it’s only a matter of time until she finds me.”

“What do you want to do, Yoongie? This is about you, not her. Avoiding her isn’t going to fix things forever…” The younger girl asked before kissing the crown of Yoona’s head. She heard the latter sigh before shrugging her shoulders.

“Taecyeon told me I need closure or it’ll haunt me forever, and he’s right. I swear I was going to talk to her that day, but when I saw her… I just couldn’t. I got so many flashbacks, that I thought my head was going to explode…” The doe-eyed girl whispered.

“… Then let’s give it closure, once and for all.” Yoona pulled her head away from Seohyun’s chest and looked up at her questioningly. The latter took the opportunity to remove a strand of Yoona’s hair that had stuck to her forehead because from her tears and sweat.

“Let’s?” Seohyun nodded her head, cupping Yoona’s cheek tenderly. The stare Seohyun was giving her conveyed so much hope and reassurance that the deer couldn’t help but smile lightly.

“I want to be with you when you go and talk to her… but only if you want me there, of course.” Yoona nodded frantically, taking Seohyun’s free hand in hers. The small smile on her features soon widened, as she brought Seohyun’s hand to her lips and gave it a kiss.

“I’d love that very much, yes…” Yoona answered, giving Seohyun a loving stare through her glassy eyes. “I know you won’t let me run away.” She finished.

“Then I’ll be there for you.” Seohyun leaned down and kissed the corner of Yoona’s mouth tenderly, lingeringly. Yoona closed her eyes and tightened her grip on Seohyun’s hand.

“Thank you, baby… Thank you for everything.” Yoona whispered as Seohyun pulled away and rested her forehead on top of hers. The younger girl smiled widely when she felt Yoona’s eyelashes fluttering softly against her blushing cheek.

“You’re welcome… I want to be there for you like you’re always there for me.” Seohyun stood up from Yoona’s lap, making them both sigh at the loss of contact. “Now tell me, what happened with Baru?” The slight smile that adorned Yoona’s features faded and her eyes watered again.

“Luhan was being mean to another extent. I had never seen him like that… I kept receiving calls so I was on edge ever since the dinner started. When we were serving drinks, I accidentally knocked down a glass of wine… When we came back to the kitchen, Luhan began yelling at me and… I yelled back at him, asking for forgiveness. Kris intervened and apparently talked some sense into him. When the foods were ready, the cooks left and Luhan apologized and told me that if I needed to take a break, I should just stay in the kitchen, so I did. I hadn’t been there all alone for three minutes when Sooyoung came in through the back door that leads to the kitchen. She was there to see Sunny and she begged me to let her in, but I realize that for her own good, I shouldn’t have done that. She interrupted their dinner, asking Sunny to stop pretending and leave with her in that same moment. Poor Sunny-unnie was caught between her and her uncle, and she didn’t know what to do, so she just chose to stay there… Sooyoung left and so did Sungmin, leaving the rest of the boss’s family completely shocked and scandalized. The boss apologized to them and took us all back into the kitchen. He knew I had let Sooyoung in because I was the only one at the kitchen, so he asked Luhan to corroborate his guessing. Luhan lied to him for me; he told the boss he didn’t know if I had stayed there on my own or not… So since he knew Luhan was lying, he fired us both.” Yoona explained, her voice breaking as she averted her gaze. It was more than obvious that the guilt was consuming her, so Seohyun did the only thing she could think of to comfort her. She leaned towards Yoona’s seat and wrapped her arms around the older girl’s shoulders in a tight hug. Even if Yoona just wanted to break down and cry now that she was in Seohyun’s arms, she just opted for keeping it inside. She was just tired of crying.

“I’m sorry about all this, Yoongie, but I know we’ll find a way. I’ll help you find another job, and I’m sure you’ll help Luhan get his back. About Sunny-unnie… She’s a strong person and Sooyoung-unnie loves her very much. Her uncle will ultimately understand.” Yoona nodded against Seohyun’s shoulder, breathing in and out deeply to avoid start crying again. Seohyun pulled away from the hug and took the empty bottles of soju Yoona had drunk, putting them away. “It’s late and you must be tired. Let’s go to sleep, okay?” The doe-eyed girl nodded and stood up from her seat. As she did, though, she stumbled and almost lost her balance. The kitchen seemed to be slowly spinning and her vision was slightly blurry.

“Whoah…” She breathed out, blinking repeatedly. Seohyun looked at her with her eyes furrowed. “Why is the table moving?” Seohyun grimaced in realization.

“You had two and a half bottles of soju. The alcohol is starting its effect on your body.” Seohyun shook her head as she went to Yoona’s side, wrapping her arms around the slightly taller girl’s waist. “You can hold down liquor pretty well if you’re feeling drunk just now…” Seohyun muttered as she began walking. Yoona wrapped her arm around her shoulders and followed her, stumbling over her steps. “Promise me you’ll never drink again, okay? If you feel sad, you just have to talk to me and I’ll help you more than liquor can.”

“I promise…” Yoona hiccupped. Painstakingly, they made their way upstairs. As soon as they reached Seohyun’s room (which they had been sharing ever since they got together), Yoona threw herself on the bed.

“Just stay there. I’ll go change and bring your sleepwear.” Seohyun said with a grimace. Yoona only nodded in acknowledgement.

Seohyun got into her large bathroom and changed as quickly as she could, thinking Yoona could roll off the bed accidentally and hurt herself. When she got out of the restroom, though, her jaw slacked open. There, lying on the bed, was half- Yoona, only clad on her matching black bra and , and who seemed to be struggling to find a comfortable position on the bed.

“Y-Yoona-ah?” She stuttered out, shuffling slowly towards the bed. Yoona looked at her and gave her a lazy/drunken smile. “W-Why did you take off your clothes?” She asked breathily, trying to keep her eyes on Yoona’s.

“It’s so hot in here, Hyunnie… I’m sweating like crazy. Are you sure the a/c is working? It’s supposed to be cool in the fall! Damn global warming!” Yoona whined, wiping beads of sweat off her forehead and panting. Seohyun felt drying as her eyes widened. It is hot in here, Yoona-ah… but because of you.

“T-The a/c is working well, Yoongie. You’re feeling hot because of the alcohol… Here you can wear some of my pajamas…” Yoona looked at the nightwear scandalized as she stood up. This time, Seohyun’s eyes couldn’t stay on Yoona’s… They wandered down to her cleavage, her exposed toned stomach and her long legs.

“You can’t make me wear pajamas when it’s so hot, Hyunnie! Please don’t!” Yoona groaned out before her glassy eyes flashed. Seohyun felt paralyzed as Yoona slowly began to make her way towards her. When they were close enough, one of her hands reached for Seohyun’s cheek in a gentle caress before moving down to her neck, applying the same treatment there. Seohyun felt herself blushing as Yoona’s soft touch took over her. “Besides… If I sleep like this, you can feel me better…” Before Seohyun could ask what Yoona was talking about, the latter surprised her by stepping forward, eliminating the distance between them and hugging Seohyun’s hips, pulling the latter’s body against hers, making her feel the heat that was currently emanating from every fiber of her being. Seohyun couldn’t help the gasp that escaped her lips. She couldn’t believe what was going on, but even if she knew Yoona was drunk and probably didn’t know what she was doing, she couldn’t help but marvel at how heavenly it felt to have Yoona’s half- body hugging her.

“Y-Yoona? What are you doing?” Seohyun asked, scandalized when she noticed her question had sounded more like a moan. She jumped slightly and shivered when she felt Yoona’s hands rest on her lower back, dangerously close to her buttocks.

“Can you feel my heart, beating against your chest?” Seohyun’s body seemed to have a mind of its own as she wrapped her own arms around Yoona’s neck and nodded her head, closing her eyes and breathing Yoona in. “Good. Because it’s all for you.” Before Seohyun had the chance to react, Yoona took her bottom lip in-between hers and gave her a short, yet passionate kiss. Seohyun’s mind was giving her the red flag, but for some unknown reason she couldn’t respond to it; instead, she just responded to Yoona. The doe-eyed girl’s mouth moved down her jawline to her neck, nibbling on her pulse point as Seohyun held onto her hair. Seohyun moaned and involuntarily ground her hips against Yoona’s, making the latter moan. It was only when she smelled the alcohol on Yoona’s breath that she realized they were probably going too far, and that if they were going to go that far anytime soon, she’d like Yoona to be completely sober and conscious of her actions. She breathed in and out softly before pushing on Yoona’s shoulders, making her back off immediately.

“Let’s go to sleep, Drunk Yoona.” Seohyun said teasingly, pretending to not be aroused anymore. Yoona seemed to snap out of her hormone-induced trance as she shook her head and widened her eyes.

“You have school tomorrow…” Seohyun nodded her head and handed Yoona the sleepwear she had gotten for her and that had fallen from her hands when Yoona suddenly hugged her. The latter looked at the pajamas curiously before she figured out what they were, so she put them on. Seohyun sighed in relief, even if she immediately started to miss the glorious sight of Yoona’s gorgeous body. She tugged on the deer’s hand and led her to the bed, lying her down. She lied next to her afterwards, slightly afraid/reluctant to touch Yoona and cause another episode like the one she had just walked away from.

“Goodnight, Hyunnie…” Yoona whispered sweetly, startling Seohyun as she draped her arm across her body, over her collarbone, and rested her forehead on the younger girl’s shoulder. Seohyun smiled softly as she brought a hand to caress Yoona’s arm in a comforting motion. She couldn’t help but feel slightly thankful to the alcohol’s effect since it apparently had made Yoona forget about her problems for a little while; she just hoped the hangover wouldn’t be too bad. She felt Yoona’s breathing on her shoulder even up and then her soft snoring, and her smile widened. She turned her head so she could press a gentle kiss on the top of Yoona’s head, concluding that said girl was definitely a nice, cuddly drunk.

The next day.

“Someone had a few drinks last night, didn’t she?” Taeyeon asked teasingly, nodding her head towards Yoona. The doe-eyed girl sat across from her and Jessica, next to Seohyun. She looked extremely tired and her eyes were slightly bloodshot. Yoona raised her eyebrows and looked around.

“Really? Who?” She asked jokingly, eliciting soft laughter from the three other girls. She was using Taeyeon’s teasing to lighten her own mood; she had thrown up at least twice that morning, her head was throbbing and her body felt like it had been used as a ping pong ball. What hurt the most, though, was the guilt and the slight despair she was feeling over the events of the night before.

“Did you two go clubbing or something?” Jessica asked, taking a bite off Seohyun’s homemade snacks. The maknae couple shook their heads simultaneously.

“Not exactly… Yoona just had a few drinks on her own before I got home…” Seohyun explain, not wanting to give out any details about what had really happened. Yoona nodded her head, finding herself feeling stupid for looking for an answer to her problems in alcohol.

“Call us next time, maybe we can join the party.” Taeyeon said, beaming one of her ahjumma smiles. Jessica softly knocked her head.

“Yah, Taengoo! You know drinking is bad for your vocal chords!” Jessica scolded. Taeyeon leaned in and gave her a sweet kiss on the cheek.

“I know, I was just kidding, sweetie.” Seohyun and Yoona looked at each other and smiled, at how peculiar TaengSic’s relationship was.

“Who else is coming?” Yoona asked, checking her wristwatch. “Well, besides Yuri-unnie and Tiffany-unnie since they’re the ones who suggested meeting up today.”

“I wonder what’s up their sleeves…” Jessica trailed off, pursing her lips. “But answering your question, Hyoyeon is in Japan and I called Sunny this morning… She seemed off, but told me she’d try to come.” Yoona paled, not knowing if she’d have the heart to face Sunny if she showed up. “And I tried calling Sooyoung to ask her if she could come but she never answered. That’s weird; that shikshin always has food and her cellphone with her.” Seohyun looked at Yoona, as if asking for permission to tell what’s going on with the SooSun couple. Yoona nodded her head, wrapping her arm around Seohyun’s shoulders.

“I don’t think Sunny-unnie is up to meet up today…” The maknae grimaced, shaking her head. Both Taeyeon and Jessica furrowed their brows.

“Really? Why?” Taeyeon asked.

“She got into a fight with Sooyoung last night… That shikshin decided to break into the Lee family’s annual dinner and Sunny-unnie just couldn’t choose between her and Lee Soo-man.” Yoona explained. Both Jessica and Taeyeon widened their eyes at the news. Since they were so close to Sunny, they knew how much her uncle had done for her, but they also knew how much he hated Sooyoung, so they knew something like this would happen sometime in the future. They just didn’t expect it to happen so soon.

“Why does Sooyoung have to be so reckless? She probably got Sunny into a lot of trouble if she broke in just like that…” Jessica muttered, shaking her head.

“Try to understand her, Sica. Imagine if my family ever made me pretend to be dating a guy just to keep my image now that I’m with you. Wouldn’t you want to intervene somehow and make them stop?” Taeyeon reasoned, making Jessica sigh in defeat.

“Taeyeon-unnie is right. She just wanted to stop Lee Soo-man from hurting Sunny any longer…” Yoona muttered, almost inaudibly. Their conversation was about to continue when the doorbell rang.

“It must be Yuri-unnie and Tiffany-unnie.” Seohyun said as she stood up from the couch and went to get the door. As expected, she was back in a matter of seconds, with YulTi in tow. They all greeted them, and also failed to notice the new ring that adorned Tiffany’s finger.

“So why did you want to meet us today?” Taeyeon asked as Yuri and Tiffany sat on another couch, side by side. The two looked at each other with a knowing smile before turning to their friends.

“We’re here to officially announce our engagement.” Tiffany said, with a gorgeous eye-smile, as she held out her hand so everyone could see the ring Yuri had given her. A dolphin squeal (coming from Jessica) that was followed by clapping and cat-calling was their positive response as they proudly showed off their happiness by giving each other a quick kiss. Seohyun ran to her unnies, leaning down and enveloping them into a hug that almost knocked them off of the couch. Yoona stood up by the side, smiling tenderly at the sight.

“Congratulations, unnies! I’m sure you two will be very happy together!” The maknae exclaimed as she pulled away from the hug, jumping excitedly. Yoona stepped forward to hug them briefly, yet tenderly.

“Congratulations.” She said simply as she pulled away. Tiffany tilted her head to the side in confusion as she noticed the tired look on Yoona’s visage.

Taeyeon and Jessica hurried towards them, hugging them before checking out the ring that Tiffany proudly showed off. Yuri mentally patted herself on the back for her good taste. Yoona was also looking at the ring when her phone vibrated in her pocket. Her heart skipped a beat, believing it was her mother who was calling her, but as she checked on the caller ID, she was proven wrong.

“Excuse me.” She said, before stepping a few feet away from the other girls. Seohyun gave her a questioning look, to which Yoona shook her head and offered a smile. Seohyun nodded her head reluctantly and went back to gushing over Tiffany’s ring.

“Yoboseyo? Taecyeon, I already know what you’re going to say, so please save it. I know she’s in Seoul and—”

“Yoona-ah, this has nothing to do with your mother.” Taecyeon interrupted her. Yoona furrowed her brows.

“Then what is it? ‘Cause I’m busy right now.” She hurried, feeling slightly relieved to hear that whatever Taecyeon was going to tell her didn’t have anything to do with her mother.

“It’s your father. He’s been hospitalized again.”

A/N: Hello, readers! First of all, I’m very sorry about the delay, but life’s very hectic and complicated right now ^^” I hope this update makes up for it. Since I’ve gotten some byuntae comments, I tried to add some byuntae moments because I really don’t know if this story will have any rated scenes at all :P I’m very thankful for all the comments, subscriptions and votes I’ve received from all of you, they encourage me to become a better writer everyday ^^ So thank you so much, and I hope you’ve enjoyed this update! Oh, and I also want to dedicate this chapter to yoong19  since she's a new subscriber and was hurrying me to update xD Thanks for your support ^^