Yuri

It started off the same, like any other night.

He pushed her roughly against the bed frame, and undressed her swiftly. She was silent, putting on the same submissive act as always.

He raised his hand, ready to strike, but somehow, she held on to his wrist, shocking both of them. When she realized her mistake, she released him with trembling fingers, and he towered over her.

She shrank back, afraid that he would hurt her further. Nothing happened though, and her face formed a mask of confusion.

She looked up back at him, and to her surprise, he looked back with a sincere expression on his face, whispering,"I'm sorry."

Yuri stumbled back in shock, not knowing how to react to this. She closed her eyes for a brief moment, and when she opened them, he was gone.

Instead, the young girl with those crescent eyes greeted her, and her dream vanished before she could call out her name.

 

There was no screaming that night, and Yuri was sure of that fact. For once, she woke up easily, without the feeling of terror and distress.

Her dream that night was unusual, but she had enough of questioning them. At least the worst was truly over, and her nights would be peaceful again.

She looked around her unfamiliar surroundings, and realized that she was in Yoona's apartment. Yesterday's events flooded back, and she wanted to smack herself for being so weak.

She walked out of her temporary bedroom, wandering through Yoona's apartment. She realized that she never really went to Jiyoung's room, and she wanted to see her little girl again.

Yuri randomly opened the first door on her left, and was welcomed to the cute sight of Jiyoung sleeping. Her room walls were painted a pale pink, and the room was rather neat.

She sneaked in slowly, and sat on the edge of Jiyoung's bed. Yuri leaned in and planted a soft kiss on Jiyoung's forehead, accidentally waking the little girl up.

"Yuri umma?" Jiyoung yawned, and snuggled closer to her Minnie Mouse doll, but this time pulling Yuri close too. She wanted to laugh; the younger girl was just too cute to resist.

"I drew something for you yesterday." The little girl mumbled, still quite sleepy. Yuri decided to take the risk, carrying her swiftly in her arms.

"We'll see it later! Are you hungry?" Yuri asked, laughing when Jiyoung nodded her head eagerly.

If she could wake up to such an angel everyday, she would believe that some mistakes are worth it after all.

 

After a few broken eggs,  2 batches of spoilt pancake batter (one was ruined by salt, the other was just too sweet), and spending a good 20 minutes rummaging for ingredients, Yuri was exhausted.

They finally managed to make pancakes that weren't burnt or inedible, and she was glad that Yoona hadn't woken up yet.

Jiyoung was proving to be a handful; she toppled the milk and almost spilled the third batch of pancake batter.

Now, the little girl sat in the living room eating her pancakes happily, while watching Barney. The purple dinosaur was steering her clear out of trouble as Yuri attempted to clear the kitchen.

"You know, staying here means that you're a guest, and guests shouldn't make breakfast." Yuri whipped her head around, only to see Yoona with her hands on her hips, surveying the damage in the kitchen.

"And guests don't usually stay for 3 months either." Yuri shot back, grinning cheekily. Yoona gave her a confused look, and she awkwardly looked down. Did she go to far again?

"Hey, relax, you can do anything you want here, just don't cook with Jiyoung next time." The doe eyed girl joined her in the kitchen, grabbing a rag to clean the counter.

"Wait Yoona, I made this mess, you don't have to help clean it." She hurriedly stopped the girl.

"But you made us breakfast, so it's only fair that I help clean up." Yoona stubbornly replied, rejecting her offer.

Yuri gave up; she could tell that Yoona wasn't going to budge. They worked in silence, save for the sounds of Barney coming in from the living room.

Yuri was washing dishes in the sink, and the droplets of water accidentally splashed Yoona, who was trying to mop the floor.

"Unnie!" The doe eyed girl gave out a shriek of disbelief, thinking that Yuri had purposely splashed her. Before Yuri could apologize, Yoona quickly took her mop and flung water on her.

"Unnie?" Yuri asked uncertainly, unfamiliar with the term used. She never had a dongsaeng. Even in school, she never interacted with the younger classes.

"Well, we're friends right? And you're older than me. So I should call you Yuri unnie!" Yoona reasoned out, splashing more water on Yuri.

Gasping, Yuri retaliated, filling a bowl with cool water from the tap, and sprinkling it over Yoona.

"That's it? You're no fun." Yoona pouted, rushing to pour the dirty water, used to mop the floor, on Yuri.

"Yah! That water's dirty!" Yuri squealed, pouring the remaining water in the bowl on Yoona's head, and soaking the doe eyed girl.

They engaged in a huge water battle in the kitchen, throwing wet rags everywhere and spraying water all over. Instead of cleaning the kitchen, they turned it into a soaking mess, with soap studs everywhere. No part of the kitchen was dry, and neither was Yuri or Yoona.

Yoona was somewhat winning; she had managed to avoid all of Yuri's futile attempts. She grinned like a choding, using the mop to fling water.

Hungry for revenge, Yuri soaked a cloth with water, and threw it at Yoona. The doe eyed girl ducked, and the wet cloth hit someone else.

"Umma!" Jiyoung squealed, water dripping down her face. Yuri widened her eyes in shock, rushing over to her baby girl.

"I'm sorry Jiyoung!" She cried, frantically trying to dry her little girl. She was half done, when she was met with a cold shower.

Jiyoung and Yuri screamed, turning around to see Yoona laughing, opened widely. The cheeky choding was carrying an empty bucket, waving it excitedly.

Yuri rushed to get her, with Jiyoug trailing at the back. Just as they finally tackled Yoona to the ground, Yuri realized something.

She had never smiled or laughed so much in a long time, and this feeling of pure joy left her body high on adrenaline.

She only stayed with Jiyoung and Yoona for a few days, and she was already having so much fun.


 

After Yuri had properly showered and changed into nice, clean clothes, she stepped into the living room, where Yoona and Jiyoung were both watching SpongeBob.

Jiyoung was totally fascinated by the yellow sponge, laughing adorably at the television screen.

Yuri sat down beside Yoona on the sofa. "I took a break from the orphanage today." The doe eyed girl said.

"Why?"

"I don't know, I don't feel like it... And you aren't up for it."

Tiffany told her. Yuri narrowed her eyes. "Who says I'm not up for it?"

"Your eyes." Yoona tilted her head, giving her a knowing look.

"What's with them?"

"Have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately? Your eye bags are large enough to resemble a panda." Yoona laughed, jokingly poking Yuri's cheeks.

Yuri blushed; she wasn't used to Yoona's skinship, nor was she used to her fun behaviour.

"Tiffany unnie's worried you know." Yoona continued, changing the mood. "And I don't understand why you went back to see him."

The sounds of the cartoon filled the living room, in stark contrast with the direction their conversation was taking. Jiyoung's oblivious laughter didn't help either.

"I feel better though. He was... surprisingly kinder." She replied.

"Then why would you cry?" Yoona asked, her tone gentle and soft.

"I don't know... It's like I failed to change him. Youngbae was much nicer there, his words were just too kind." Yuri started picking on her newly bandaged left arm again. "And I failed to forgive him. Even after his kindness, I couldn't."

Now they were both quiet, the mood sombre. I will not cry. I will not cry.  I will not cry.

As much as Yuri tried to stop tears from forming, they stubbornly fled her eyes, falling on her cheeks. She turned her head away from Yoona, hoping that the younger girl had not seen them.

Unfortunately, Yoona did, and she wiped them away with her hands. Yuri blushed for the second time that morning, mentally kicking herself for being a weakling.

"You know what? Forget about all this craziness. Let's go somewhere." Yoona beamed.

"Where?" She asked, smiling too.

"Jiyoung yah, would you like to follow your ummas somewhere?"

Tease. Yuri loved the sound of Yoona calling them 'ummas', but she still wanted to know where they were going.

"Where?" Just like Yuri, Jiyoung asked, jumping up cutely.

"Hmm... Lotte World?"

"Yeah!" Jiyoung giggled, rushing to give Yoona a hug. Yuri grinned, her smile lines appearing.

Yoona had made her smile twice this morning now, and she was starting to get the hang of it.

 

Yoona

"Closed? You can't close Lotte World!"

She wasn't just disappointed, she was annoyed too. All her effort in persuading Taeyeon to let her take a day off had gone down the drain.

"We can come back next time..." Yuri tried, hiding a smile.

"Waeyo? I really wanted to go today!" Yoona pouted. She was beginning to feel more comfortable with