Dragging a finger through her dark raven locks and mussing up her hair slightly, Yuri slumped against the seat of their trusty MPV and released a long sigh.

 

Closing her eyes, she reveled in the sensation of finally being back on Korean ground; breathing in the air of her homeland, listening to the rustle and bustle of fans around them and the familiar enunciation of her language rolling off their tongues.

 

Promotions had just barely ended not long ago and they were already off touring Japan all over again, working their asses off at full blast.

 

Not that she didn’t enjoy her time there or anything. Oh no, the food was great. The fans were more than polite and the love they had received was far beyond overwhelming.

 

But all in all, Yuri was just glad to be back. And the notion of finally being able to shred her idol-persona, letting loose and dropping dead right on her soft, comfy bed, had never been so liberating before.    

 

The last of excited squeals and chatters from the outside zipped to a silence as someone slipped into the seat beside her, sliding the door shut after themself, and Yuri didn’t even need a second guess to know that it was none other than Jessica.

 

Right, being neighbors and all, it was no surprise there that they had to carpool to places every now and then.

 

Jessica turned towards her and their gazes met; then again, Yuri couldn’t be too sure as they were both wearing shades that shielded nearly half of their faces away— eyes included. The fairer brunette passed her an airy smile, which Yuri returned with a quick nod and a smile of her own, ignoring the dull throbbings of her heart.

 

Like always.

 

“Well, it’s good to be back home in Korea at last.”

 

“Yeah, and for once everything makes sense and I don’t feel very much like a clueless fool on the street.”

 

Jessica snorted, smirking. “You don’t? Are you sure?”

 

“Just what are you trying to imply here?”

 

“Nothing. Nothing at all,” shrugged Jessica, biting back on a crooked grin. Yuri could almost picture her eyes, twinkling with much tease behind those dark shades.

 

“Aish, seriously…” She huffed and pouted indignantly, albeit still smiling faintly. “Just wait… I’ll get you back sooner or later.”

 

“Oh, I’m sure you would.”

 

Yuri gave a scowl and Jessica let loose a light, bell-like laugh.

 

And it was times like this; they tended to forget all that had happened between them before— the break up, the fallout, the makeup, the accidental make-out.

 

Well, it had been a long time since they had last spoken to each other in private after all. What with all the promotions and schedules that went on and on without a break.  The last time they actually sat down and really talked was two months ago, a week after her twenty-fourth birthday bash, and that didn’t end pretty.

 

But Yuri figured, with a good two months interval between then and now, it had definitely given things time to cool— and for the giant gash in her heart to heal.

 

Forward was the only way to go.

 

She just had to put up with the slight sting every now and then. Nothing unbearable. And she was sure it would go away soon enough.

 

Only time would tell.

 

“All teasing aside, so how have you been lately?”

 

Yuri gave a casual roll of her shoulders. “Tired and exhausted, but definitely not as worn out as you are. Flying in and out of practice for your musical rehearsals and all... Someone’s been busy, busy, busy.”

 

Jessica chuckled dryly, a wry smile thin on her lips.

 

“The company’s a .” She muttered brusquely. “Signing me up for things I never asked and taking whatever last of my free time away…”

 

Her voice quivered with the slightest hint of annoyance, although her features remained perpetually calm with only that slight wrinkle of her nose to showcase her disdain.

 

There was obviously more from where that came from, Yuri thought. Thanks to years of being an idol, it was now so natural of them to stash away key emotions like anxiety, fear and anger.

 

Oh, especially anger. Even showing the barest hint of it would cost them brownie points with the public. A huge no-no when it came to maintaining a good, sparkly image.

 

Yuri could only wonder, with all that repressed and bottled up emotions, just how long would it take for one of them to explode.

 

“Tell me about it,” drawled Yuri sardonically.

 

“Sure, maybe over some good’ole soju.” Jessica laughed, grinning then paused. A dark look came washing over her features and her grin withered away into a deep frown. “Or maybe when I somehow manage to squeeze some time out between schedules and crap.”

 

Yuri chuckled, albeit mirthlessly, and patted her sympathetically on the shoulder.

 

“Whenever you’re free, Sica-yah, whenever you’re free.”

 

The petite brunette growled and shot her a death glare through her shades.

 

“Hey, you were the one who started with the teasing.” Yuri only grinned and shrugged, offering her hands up in peace.

 

Jessica made a face and puffed her cheeks out in a pout that Yuri couldn’t help but find adorable. But she quickly shook the thought away before it had time to even sit and simmer.

 

“So should I be expecting you to show up at my doorstep for dinner tonight?” She asked. Though, keeping her tone as casual as she could, she was inwardly she crossing her fingers that she wouldn’t turn up.

 

“Maybe,” Jessica murmured distantly, taking a cursive glance at her watch as she pursed her lips into a tight line. “Don’t keep your hopes too high though. God knows how long rehearsals could drag on sometimes.”

 

Yuri smiled, releasing an imperceptible breath, and said nothing more, allowing the silence to gradually consume the space between them.

 

The engine of the MPV rumbled on, as did with Sooyoung’s somewhat light snores from the back and the flipping of pages of the book Seohyun was reading at the moment.

 

The vehicle rolled to a still at another red light.

 

“Yuri-yah,” Jessica had started, her voice small and soft. It broke the spell of silence between them.

 

Yuri’s eyes shifted towards her, watching her through the tinted vision of her shades, and noticed the contemplative nibbling of her bottom lip.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Do you have a schedule this Thursday?”

 

“Not really, why?”

 

A pause.

 

Then, an inhale.

 

Jessica’s lips parted, but whatever words she had for Yuri seemed to have gotten caught somewhere along its route out. Jaw hanging slightly ajar, she remained frozen in place for the next couple of seconds, when at last she took in a breath.

 

(And Yuri tried her best to not appear too expectant for her answer.)

 

However, it was exhaled as a soft sigh and she clamped shut, shaking her head with a small frown crossing her lips.

 

“Nothing much, just curious.” Jessica said, waving her off with an air of nonchalance.

 

This time, Yuri did turn to angle her a look.

 

She regarded her for a moment.

 

“Okay,”

 

And she left it at that, not wanting to push anything further.

 

But, knowing Jessica, she was convinced that something was up.

 

--

 

 

It was currently nine-twenty-five p.m and Yuri had just about decided to pick her lazy up from the couch to start on whatever washing up that was required of the dirty dishes that were accumulated from dinner.

 

Oh and of course.

 

Jessica was a no-show.

 

Heaving as she shook whatever remaining water droplets off her white, porcelain plates and dried her hands off with a kitchen rag, Yuri dug into her pocket for her phone.

 

Sliding a finger across the screen and bringing up her notification bar, she quickly skimmed through for any unread texts or missed calls and was fairly surprised to find that she had none waiting for her.

 

Jessica must have been real busy to not even leave her a simple text— knowing how she’s rarely seen without her phone.

 

Yuri gave a careless shrug of her shoulders.

 

Well, at least it saved her the effort of cooking for more.

 

And at least she didn’t have to be in a room, alone with her.

 

Hm.

 

She sighed and dropped herself onto the couch, albeit gingerly so as to not rouse a sleeping Hani who was all snuggly curled up on the far end of the couch.

 

It was starting to hurt a lot less now— the whole throbbing in the chest at the sight of her and at the thought of her.

 

Which was a good sign. Because that could only mean that she was gradually moving on and letting go.  

 

Progress.

 

And she could only give thanks to their more than hectic schedules— Jessica’s especially— as it was the cause of their lack of interactions lately.

 

She had rarely ever got to see her now. And when she did, it was only during on stage, during their Japan tour, which really limited their interactions to brief eye-contacts, light brushes of shoulders and arms, a coy smile every now and then, and a whisper here and a whisper there.

 

Though, all that was honestly more than enough to set Yuri’s stomach aflutter with butterflies and her heart to pound, skipping away in that an all-too familiar gleeful rhythm.

 

After all.

 

Feelings just simply couldn’t fade away overnight.

 

At the buzzing of her phone in her pocket, Yuri immediately straightened up, starting slightly as she fumbled for the flashing device.

 

 

(21:39) [Hayoung: Unnie, how about this Tuesday? Will you be free then?]

 

 

Yuri couldn’t resist a chuckle, fingers flying across the screen to type out her reply.

 

 

(21:40) [Yuri: Hayoung-ah, it’s been nearly two months. I guess you really won't stop till your glasses is safely returned to you, huh? >:)]

(21:41) [Hayoung: Manager-oppa and my Mom would kill me if I were to replace myself another pair again. And Unnie, don’t forget, your jacket’s with me too! Hehe. :)]

(21:42) [Yuri: Aww alright. I’m actually fine without my jacket tho, but I guess you really do need your glasses back. Hmm, sorry but my schedule’s jam-packed on Tuesday. How about tomorrow instead?]

(21:43) [Hayoung: Can’t, I’m packed for tomorrow too… Sorry. :(]

(21:43) [Yuri: Thursday?]

(21:44) [Hayoung: Thursday…?]
(21:44) [Hayoung: Unnie, are you sure you don’t have any plans on that day?]

(21:45) [Yuri: Nope, I’m don’t. Unless you want me to. ;).]
(21:45) [Yuri: So Thursday?]

 

 

And she waited for the reply to come, holding her phone up in front of her as she stared, watching for the screen to light up with an incoming text. She gave her fingers a quick flex, sighed then slid her finger to unlock her phone.

 

It was strange. There was this…  weird sense of anticipation and nervousness embedded in her chest, making her all fidgety and restless.

 

The only time she ever felt this way was—

 

 

(21:49) [Hayoung: Kkay, if that’s fine with you. :)]

 

(21:50) [Yuri: Then it’s set! See you soon!]

 

 

—when she was with Jessica.

 

Yuri slumped back against the couch with a soft but contented sigh. She knew, a gigantic silly-looking grin was probably hanging off the edges of her lips right at the moment, but she could hardly care less of that. Closing her eyes, she held her phone, hugging her it close against her chest.

 

Warmth, she thought with a smile and chuckled.

 

She was moving on at last and she could feel it.

 

Slowly but steadily.

 

The faint beeping of her door code from the outside had cut right through her thoughts.

 

Yuri tensed, holding her breath in suspense as the door clicked open.

 

When finally, an all-too familiar voice called out.

 

“Yuri-yah,”

 

She flinched.

 

Sometimes she regretted her decision for ever giving out her door code to her.

 

“Yuri.”

 

Looking up and meeting the eyes of none other than Jessica Jung, Yuri forced on what she hoped to be a genial smile.

 

“Sica,” she greeted her smoothly, “I thought you weren’t gonna’ turn up tonight.”

 

The brunette only smiled, rolling her shoulders as she— noticing Hani snoozing away in the corner— quietly hopped onto the spot on the couch beside her.

 

“I just thought I dropped by for a while.”

 

“Well, lucky you. I was just about to wash up and turn in for the night.” Yuri chuckled.

 

She couldn’t stop herself from stiffening when she felt the fairer brunette inch closer towards her, hugging the side of her arm and laying her head gently down onto her shoulder in a manner that had seemed so very natural of her.

 

Silently, Yuri prayed she would just stop at that.

 

But Jessica being Jessica, who could never get enough of physical intimacy, she just had to lace their fingers together— intertwining them.

 

And Yuri let her.

 

Because she just couldn’t find it in herself to push her away.

 

No.

 

At least not yet.

 

“Lucky me, indeed.” Jessica murmured softly, nuzzling gently against her. “You smell like soap.”

 

Yuri held her fragile heart delicately in her trembling hands.

 

Forward.

 

She had to go forward. No more looking back. No more harping on the past.

 

Forward.

 

“I was doing the dishes a little earlier before you came.” She said, doing her best to keep her tone neutral and casual. She swallowed, bracing on a brave smile. “So, to what pleasure do I owe you a visit at such an hour?”

 

A short beat of silence.

 

“You know, I’ve got a show on Thursday…”

 

“Uh huh,”

 

“And, ah, well, you haven’t really been to any of my shows before. So…” Jessica trailed off, fiddling with their tangled fingers almost nervously.

 

“So?” Yuri urged, albeit gently.

 

Jessica sighed and gave her fingers a soft final squeeze.

 

“So I thought maybe you could come down and watch me on Thursday.” She said, in a tiny voice, and without even needing to look down at her, Yuri could sense the blush behind her words. “And we could have dinner together and talk and catch up, y’know?”

 

Yuri blinked.

 

Did she just…

 

Was she…

 

Was she asking her out?

 

The grip on her fingers tightened just by a wee bit and it was all that was required to break Yuri out of her short daze.

 

“Oh, um…” Yuri bit at her bottom lip. “I’ve already made plans on that day…”

 

“Ah, i-is that so?”

 

There was that distinct hint of disappointment in her voice and it was something Yuri had never quite liked hearing. Not now, not before. It made her heart throb as much as she didn’t want it to.

 

Jessica almost seemed to shrink away, deflating.

 

She sighed. “Maybe next time then,” she murmured wistfully.

 

Before Yuri could even stop herself, her lips had parted and words that she had no intention of saying, began flowing out of .

 

“But I guess I could always push my plans back to another day…”

 

What the heck.

 

What the hell was she doing?

 

Jessica instantly brightened, giving her arm and fingers a delighted squeeze as she peeked up at her, eyes glowing and lips curling wildly into a heart-melting grin.

 

“Really?”

 

Pursing her lips, Yuri knew that turning back was no longer an option. Not when Jessica was looking at her like this; like some adorable little kitten, eyes wide and b with such happiness and excitement— so filled with hope.

 

The Black Pearl nodded tersely.

 

And before she could even blink, the shorter brunette had let out a happy squeal and flung her arms around her, pulling her close into a spine-crushing hug and knocking the breath out of her entirely.

 

For someone as petite as Jessica, she was surprisingly strong.

 

When the initial surprise had passed, Yuri soon found every cell in her body tensing up at being such close proximity with Jessica.

 

She could feel the length of her slightly smaller frame pressing up against her— body melding into her— with that delicious warmth radiating off her. Smell the scent of her sweet perfume hanging off her. 

 

It took every inch of willpower for her to not just close her eyes and simply indulge in that very moment.

 

It had been a long time— ever since what happened months ago at her birthday party— since they had last been in such close contact.

 

And it lit a tiny spark within Yuri.

 

Desire.

 

“Ah, I’m so stoked for Thursday now! It’s been such a long time since you’ve last attended any of my musicals.” Jessica said, pulling away with a gigantic smile lighting up her face.

 

And god, she was beautiful.

 

Yuri felt her heart clench painfully.

 

No.

 

No, no, no.

 

She was over that.

 

Over this.

 

Right now, she was only making up for all those broken promises— for all the times she said she would be there, but never followed through.

 

That’s all.

 

Nothing more.

 

“I’ll be there,” said Yuri with a tight smile.

 

“Promise?” Jessica asked, eyes glittering.

 

“Yeah, promise.”

 

And Yuri was sold. She simply couldn’t resist her.

 

She only had to figure out how she was supposed to break the news to Hayoung that their meeting was off and hoped that it wouldn’t be too much of a disappointment for the younger girl.

 

--

A/N: I sure hope the wait for this chapter isn't too long. >< Thank you so much for the comments, subscribes and upvotes. Really, really appreciate it much. I'm just happy that you guys are enjoying reading this as much as I enjoy writing it. So yeah, here's the YulSic-focused chappie, with a tiny-weensy bit of Hayoung in it. The next chapter would be a follow up to this one, so stay tuned. And I'll see you guys soon! :)