“Sica-yah, can I have my arm back anytime soon?” Sunny asked with a laugh as the two girls exited the van. Jessica only held her tighter causing the both of them to bounce side by side giving a laugh to the fans who arrived at the airport early to greet them.

                Jessica smiled at the fans and looked at her. “Nope!” she said. “After the recent events, I don’t think it’s a smart thing for me to let you go. Ever.” Jessica told her simply. Sunny could only smile. She didn’t hate it. She loved it. At least this way she wasn’t hated. At least this way she knew someone still cared about her.

                Sunny thought back to the last night and laughed to herself. So far Jessica has been true to her word. From the moment they left practice Jessica has attached herself to Sunny only letting go once they were at the dorms. From then, Jessica’s eyes were following Sunny’s every move. Even when she went to the bathroom to wash herself Jessica made it a point to check on her.

                She even made it a point to wake up earlier than normal so she could get a drink in her. But as she was reaching for bottle she heard her. “Drinking so early?” Sunny only shook her head and made a move for something else. But it didn’t fool Jessica.

                The pair walked mindlessly through the airport following the other girls. As the members broke off going into different stores, the two made their way to the VIP lounge. “You don’t want a book?” Sunny asked her as she watched Seohyun and Hyoyeon making their way into the bookstore.

                “It’s a short trip. I’ll just take a nap.” Jessica told her.

                “That’s our Jessica. Always sleeping.”

                “Only because for some reason I woke up early this morning.” Jessica added with a smirk. Sunny laughed and let out a soft apology. The two made their way to a seat and shared the armchair. “I’m worried.” Jessica told her. “You reached for it like it was normal. Normally I wouldn’t mind. But Sunny, first thing in the morning?” Jessica asked.

                “I’m sorry.” Sunny whispered, leaning on Jessica. She said nothing more as she stared out the large window watching the people on the track. “I’m really sorry…” Sunny said even softer. The other girls gathered and sat around them, all waiting to board. They stayed quiet, unsure of what to do or say.

                “So where did you go?” Jessica asked.

                “Can we not. Not right now. Please,” Sunny pleaded. “I just… I just wanna pretend that everything is okay. Even if it’s only for a couple of days,” she told the group. They stayed silent respecting Sunny’s wishes.

                Their time to board came and Sunny found herself in the corner seat alone. As soon as she laid her head back she was knocked out. “I really wonder where she went,” Jessica said aloud.

                “Maybe it’s like she said. At a friend’s house.” Seohyun chirped in. The others nodded hoping that it was true. But Jessica shook her head.

                “She lied…” Jessica told the group. “Did you see the state she was in? Her hair was messy, the same clothes she left in. Dirty too. She was shaking all over and her eyes… They were so puffy and red. It’s like she spent the entire time crying.” They didn’t say anything. They couldn’t. They didn’t know where she went. They tried her friends and family but they thought she was with them. “She was gone during Christmas too.” Jessica revealed. They looked at her shocked. “She said… she was going to spend time with her family. But she told me earlier that she went to see them off at the airport.” She looked straight at Taeyeon, knowing that somehow she was part of this. “What happened?”

                “It’s nothing.” Taeyeon answered as she put on her headset.

                “Thank you for coming So-Won!” The nine girls recited together as they took a bow. The lights turned out and slowly they exited the stage and followed as their manager led them back to the van. It was a short silent ride with all their energies expended on the concert. But the fatigue was kept away by their anxiety. Today they were going to question Sunny and Taeyeon. Get some answers. Their hearts started to beat faster as they started to get closer to the hotel.

                “Keep it short girls. We have an early morning flight tomorrow,” their manager said as they entered their floor. He waved goodnight to all of them knowing that they were going to have a meeting like usual.

                They gathered in Taeyeon, Tiffany and Sooyoung’s room. The tension in the air was intense as they sat down. Some girls were on the floor, others on the bed. Sunny took the armchair for herself and instinctively gathered herself into a ball. The drinks were brought out and Sunny stared at it. She wanted to drink, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. They drank to ease their worries. But still, no one spoke.

                A few minutes passed, then soon a half hour came. Sunny looked at the clock, hoping that the silence would continue. But Tiffany wouldn’t let it pass. She cleared and looked at Taeyeon and Sunny, “well?” she asked them.

                Sunny and Taeyeon shared a quick look. “It’s… between us. That’s all.” Taeyeon stated .

                “No!” Tiffany declared. “It’s not between you anymore. Whatever this is. It stopped being about you two when Sunny starts acting like a lunatic in an alleyway. Not when there are people there to see it. It stopped being about you two when Sunny disappeared for 5 days. For God’s sake Sunny. Where were you?” Tiffany questioned.

                “I was home.”

                “Can we please agree that we won’t lie when we’re doing this.” Yuri stated. The girls nodded and stared at Sunny waiting for her reply.

                “I’m not lying. I was at home.” Sunny replied once more.

                “No you weren’t!” Jessica said exasperatedly. “I visited your home and guess what? You weren’t there! You worried us all sick. Me more so because wherever you went is probably where you went during Christmas.” Sunny looked at her and stayed quiet and looked back down into her knees. “You weren’t with your friends. I called everyone who you’ve hung out with.”

                “We’re only asking because we’re worried unnie,” Seohyun told her. “It’s not as if you came back from vacation during those 5 days. It looked like you just rolled out of a garbage truck! Please… tell us. If you won’t tell us where you were… at least tell us why you didn’t call. Or didn’t come home earlier. I couldn’t bear it. Not knowing if you were safe. Or in danger. Whether or not you were coming back…”

                “I… I’m sorry.” Sunny said. “I… I tried to come back but I was too ashamed. For what I did to Yoona… to Sooyoung. I thought you girls would be fine that first day. But then… after that. I just… lost track of time. I… I really am sorry Yoona… Sooyoung. I never meant to hurt you. I hope you guys know that no matter what I wouldn’t ever purposely try to hurt you.”

                “I know. But… it was still hard. We weren’t ready to be made public… then all of a sudden…” Yoona said quietly. Sunny nodded her head. “But still unnie. I forgive you. I know what you did wasn’t on purpose. You never meant any harm. It was going to be revealed sooner or later. And I’d rather it reveal sooner if it meant I can protect you. But unnie. Please. You never answered our question. What we all really want to know. Where did you go?”

                “I already tol-“

                “Stop lying already! Please!” Sooyoung pleaded.

                “I’m not!” Sunny said finally getting annoyed. “I don’t only have one home!” She stated angrily. Taeyeon stared at her but Sunny looked away. “I don’t have just one set of friends. I don’t have just… I just…”

                “Where is it?” Hyoyeon asked her.

                “It’s not… it’s not somewhere I’ll tell you. Sometimes… I like to be alone.”

                “Alone to do what Sunny? To drink?” Jessica accused her. The others were surprised at this.

                “Alone to do what I want!”

                “And what is that?” Tiffany asked. “Is she right? Are you just drinking alone in that apartment?”

                “No! Just…I don’t… I…” Sunny stuttered “Just stop. Please,” she begged as she cried into her knees.

                “Stop what Sunny?” Taeyeon asked, “she’s asking you a question. It’s an important one.”

                “I’ve already answered everything you need to know.”  

                “Oh my God. Sunny. Just stop.” Taeyeon told her, “stop acting like a victim. You always do this. You’re not! She’s asking you a straight question.”

                “Fine! I drink! Is that what you wanna hear? I have an apartment where I like to go alone so I can drink however much I want. I go there to escape my problems!” Jessica stood up and went to Sunny holding her.

                “Sunny-yah. How long has this been happening?”

                “I’ve been like this ever since then.” Sunny told them softly as she stared into Taeyeon’s eyes. “But you don’t really care do you?” she continued. “You never wanted me to come back?” Sunny asked her. Taeyeon looked away instead of answering the hidden question. Sunny stood up and walked to Taeyeon. “I got it for us… in case. But…” Sunny told her softly. “I’m sorry for being such a pain,” she announced.

                She slammed the door on her way out and walked to her room. There she laid down and eyed her purse hanging off the chair. She moved to it and reached inside her hand clasping a bottle.  Just take two and your troubles will go away.

                Will it really go away? Just…two pills.  

                She opened the bottle and reached for 2.

*So I'm back. It's been two long years. Don't worry. I won't make you guys wait another two years for the next chapter, I'm still figuring out how all this works again so until that time you might have to bear with irregular updating.

*I have been out of touch with what happened to SNSD this past two years. I've no idea what has happened or things they've done or different projects that came up so with that said this story won't be following their real to life schedule very accurately.

*One other thing to note is that this last two years the only writing I've done are purely academic. I'm reading what I wrote before and what I've just written and it's weird. I'm not sure if you're able to tell but it's a bit odd to me. So I apologize for the discrepencies in writing styles between this chapter and the previous. I will continue to work on writing more so that the content will be longer and better for you all and something you can enjoy reading. As I improve I'll probably be re-editing this chapter. But when I do I'll let you all know. I'll try to keep the stories in line with what will happen in future chapters though.

- TChest out.