“I have to ask,” Hyoyeon mused.  “What if we don’t give you our blessing?”

“Seriously?” Sooyoung asked, shocked.  “You’re the most open minded one of us all, and you’re the one asking that?”

“I don’t mean that,” Hyoyeon apologised.  “God knows I’m happy for these two.  I mean … look!  I’ve only ever seen this in romantic movies.  It’s sickening!  But … I couldn’t think of two more deserving people to find love.”

“Me neither,” Yoona chimed in.

“Neither could I,” Seohyun agreed.

One by one, each member of the group voiced their agreement and gave their blessing.

“Ok, that kind of answers my question,” Hyoyeon smiled.  “But what if we didn’t?”

Sunny looked at Yuri.  “I don’t think we’d have split up,” she admitted.  “Do you?”

Yuri shook her head.  “I couldn’t let you go for anything,” she confessed.  “Walking away from you last night was hard enough.  I guess, if anyone didn’t like it, we’d just keep our relationship away from them.”  Sunny nodded in agreement.

“So, if I had said I was unhappy with it, you’d just stay apart in front of me?” Hyoyeon asked.

Sunny nodded.  “Kind of,” she mused.  “I mean, basically, yeah.”

“Well …” Hyoyeon thought, “even though we’re all happy for you both, there are going to be a lot of people against you.”

The pair nodded, conceding the fact that society still wasn’t completely accepting of a gay couple, especially those in public facing positions.  There had been stories of gay men and women being fired from their jobs, and even stories about gay people taking their lives because of the struggles they faced.

“Guys,” Hyoyeon smiled, her attempt to comfort the pair.  “Whatever happens, we’ve got your back.  Ok?  I’m not letting anything break you apart.  But it won’t be easy.”

“Nothing ever is,” Yuri sighed.

“Not if it’s worth it anyway,” Sunny smiled, nudging her lover.  Yuri smiled in return and leaned her head against Sunny, as she wrapped her arm around Yuri’s shoulder.

“I … I have a suggestion,” Tiffany piped up.  “We’re all friends, right?”  The group nodded.  “And we’re all playful and flirty, right?”  Mumbles of concession went around the room.  “So why don’t we just become more openly playful?  Try to cover up their interactions as just ‘something we do’?”

Slowly at first, bodies around the room nodded and voiced their approval of Tiffany’s suggestion.  It seemed like a good idea, Sunny thought, and would definitely provide decent cover for them both.

“It’ll create a lot of ships, though,” Yoona warned.

“I know,” Jessica mused.  “And Soo wants to be in half of them.”

“That is not true!” Sooyoung gasped.

“I want to be in some too~” Yoona giggled.

The mood in the room lightened somewhat, but something was still amiss in Jessica’s mind.  “Wait,” she interrupted, “what good is this going to be when Sunny leaves?”  She turned to face her friend.  “I mean, what about your career plan?”

The room fell silent and all eyes fell on Sunny.  She felt quite under pressure.

“Well,” she started, before looking at Yuri.  Only Yuri wasn’t looking at her.  Her gaze was fixed on their joined hands, her fingers playing with Sunny’s, entwined and united.  Sunny smiled to herself.  “If you could choose,” she asked Jessica, her gaze remaining on Yuri’s fascination with her digits, “would you make me stay?”

“I can’t make you do anything,” Jessica conceded.

“But if you could,” Sunny pressed.

Jessica sighed.  “If I had my way, you’d never leave.”  Now, all eyes were locked onto her.  “I hate how cute and bubbly and energetic you are.  It’s so annoying.  But if you left … I don’t think I’d cope.  I think I would become very difficult to live with.”

“You mean, up until now we’ve been experiencing the ‘happy, fun-time’ Jessica?” Hyoyeon asked sarcastically.

Jessica narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips momentarily in response.

“I think I’m going to stay,” Sunny answered quietly.  Eight voices gasped in shock and delight at her decision.  “I mean, come on,” she explained.  “I love games, but there is no way I would be able to sit and design characters and back-stories and moves and landscapes and universes and plot lines and all that crap.  I barely keep up with all that when I play as it is!”  She smiled at Yuri and ran her fingers through her hair.  “Nothing stops me from playing games and enjoying them, but there is no way I would have the stamina to come up with all of these ideas and everything.”  Yuri looked up at her girlfriend and smiled.  “At least here,” Sunny continued, “I can enjoy my games in my free time and do something that I do love with people that I love and that love me.”

“I don’t know about that,” Hyoyeon smirked.

“You’re just jealous because this little cutie got me first,” Sunny pouted, making cute lovey-dovey faces with Yuri.

Hyoyeon’s face dropped into mock disgust.  “I think I’m going to vomit,” she joked, causing the pair and the group to laugh.

“Are you sure?” Jessica asked Sunny, smiling at the possibility that the people she held so close were going to remain close with her.

Sunny looked directly at Jessica and nodded.  “I am so grateful to everyone for what they have done, but … I think gaming would lose its magic if I got to peek behind the curtain.”

Jessica smiled wider, before standing up and giving her bandmate a hug.  One by one, the remaining members joined in, celebrating that they weren’t going to lose their treasured energy source.

Sunny woke up the following morning, her usual morning attire adorning her.  She had fallen asleep on her side, curled up almost into a ball.  Behind her, morphed into her body shape, spooning with her, was Yuri, her arms around her waist, holding her closely.

“Good morning, my black pearl,” Sunny whispered, the back of Yuri’s hand.

“Good morning to you, my Sunny Bunny,” Yuri kissed the back of Sunny’s neck.

They remained in silence for a few moments, contemplating their lives together.  Being a member of Girls’ Generation was what she wanted, and being with Yuri was something she could never have comprehended.  Now, the pair lay in Sunny’s bed, in a tight embrace, perfectly content and happy.  Yuri felt free of the shackles she had tied herself down with, the heartache and demands of her old boyfriend.  Sunny too freed herself, stepping out of the darkness her old boyfriend had covered her with.  They were happy together, free together, and able to love each other.  And Sunny did love Yuri.  Her black pearl.  Her beulling seuta.