“Has Tiffany always been like that?”  Yuri asked, browsing the jeans on the rails.

“As far as I can remember,” Sooyoung pondered.  “Sunny has known her for longer than me.  She’d be able to tell you better.”

“Listen, Sooyoung,” Yuri sighed, glad that it was just the two of them.  Sunny had gone to the market a few blocks away to pick up something or other for her laptop.  “What you said before, about you and Sunny …”

Sooyoung lifted her head and furrowed her eyebrows.  “What did I say?”

“About you … wanting her to … you know, fall for you,” Yuri stumbled.

Sooyoung laughed.  “No, I didn’t mean it,” she reassured her bandmate.  “They say opposites attract, right?  So, since I’m the tallest and Sunny’s the shortest, we should be attracted to each other.  We’re not, we’re just good friends.  Although, if I was to go that way, I would probably choose Sunny.”

“You would?”  Yuri asked.

Sooyoung nodded.  “I’ve never known a gay couple, if I am honest,” she carried on, perusing the t-shirts and blouses.  “I mean, I don’t have a problem with it.  Not like Tiffany does, anyway.”

“You mean the whole ‘God said being gay is bad’ thing?”  Yuri sighed.

Sooyoung nodded.  “Don’t get me wrong, I believe that the Bible is the true word of God, but we’ve changed as people.  We’ve grown past some of those behaviours.  Besides, if you were to come out as gay, what’s it going to do to me?  Kill me?  Cause me unspeakable pain?  Yes, I’m straight, and yes, I … kinda have my eye on a guy, but that doesn’t mean you have to be straight too.  Just as long as we were both clear that you wouldn’t end up with me, what’s the problem?”

Yuri nodded in agreement.  “And, as long as we’re in love and we’re respectful to each other and we have everything that a straight couple has,” she added.

Sooyoung nodded.  “Exactly.  Just because I think one way doesn’t mean everyone else has to as well.”

Yuri smiled.  “It just seemed weird that you would say that to her,” she explained.

“When you’ve been a part of the group long enough,” Sooyoung comforted her companion, “you’ll see that most of us are either terrible flirts or just as cheeky and immature as hell.”

Yuri giggled, relieved.  She couldn’t help feeling a twinge of something when Sooyoung had said that.  It wasn’t jealousy.  At least, Yuri didn’t think so.  She and Sunny had grown closer these past few days, and she felt closer to Sunny than almost everyone.  Maybe that was it; she was protective of her new friend.  “She is really something,” Yuri thought aloud.

“She sure is,” Sooyoung held a grey, long sleeved top in front of her and admired herself in the mirror.  “She’s probably the best friend you could wish for.  She’s always full of energy too.  Nobody knows where she gets it from.”  She put the top back on the rails and pulled out a similar one in black, with white patterning.  “But, as hyper and immature as she can be, she can be a real rock.”

Yuri nodded, completely agreeing with her.  Thankfully, Sooyoung was too busy looking for clothes to pay attention to her expressions.

“We always say how Seohyun is so mature,” Sooyoung continued, “but she and Sunny have had so many conversations that I’ve just been completely lost in.”

“Really?”  Yuri asked, intrigued.

“Oh yeah,” Sooyoung continued.  “There was this one a while ago about … something like corporations ruling the world.  I don’t know, I wasn’t really paying that much attention.  Sunny has everything a real man would want: brains, beauty, innocence, seduction, playfulness, and a body that I’m still pretty jealous of.”

“That makes two of us,” Yuri muttered.

“It takes a certain kind of something to pull off what she has,” Sooyoung mused.  “I don’t think I could.”

“Nonsense,” Yuri turned around.  “You have plenty going for you.”

“It’s not that,” Sooyoung clarified.  “I know I’m pretty, and I know I have the figure a lot of guys look for, but … there’s something special about Sunny.  Something only she has.”  She turned to face Yuri.  “It’s how she carries herself.  It’s how she has so many different aspects of her personality and can change so seamlessly between them and nobody notices.  It’s how she can be a complete dork and you forgive her instantly.  It’s how, no matter how much you want to punch her when she does her aegyo thing, you wouldn’t have her any other way.”

Yuri nodded in thought.  She certainly could see that in her.  Sunny was one of a kind.

“You’ll never find anyone else quite like her,” Sooyoung added, seemingly bringing the topic to a close as she walked towards the dresses, putting the black top over her arm.  Yuri followed her, mindlessly looking at the clothes in this section.  She still wasn’t too comfortable wearing dresses and skirts.  At least Sunny was allowing her to wear what she wanted.  “Have you seen her dancing?”  Sooyoung asked, breaking her thoughts.

“Who?”  Yuri asked.

“Sunny.  Have you seen her dancing in the morning?”

Yuri nodded, laughing at the memories she had of each morning lately.

“Have you seen her ‘Black Velvet’ routine?”  Sooyoung asked, expectantly.

“No,” Yuri answered.  “What’s that?”

Sooyoung shook her head.  “I’ll leave that as a surprise.  It’s definitely one that’s worth seeing.  But don’t tell her I told you.  She only does it when she’s really comfortable around you.”

Another week had passed, and another Sunday morning arrived.  Sunny woke up and stretched, shaking the sleep from her body.  She sat up, scratched the back of her head and looked around the room, surveying the state of the floor.  It was quite clean, apart from last night’s clothes in a pile at the foot of the bed.  She turned to see the alarm clock: 09:27, it flashed.  ‘At least I can lie in today,’ Sunny muttered to herself as she pulled the covers aside and climbed sleepily out of bed.  She padded along the floor, wearing nothing but her favourite white shirt and blood pink .  She neared the kitchen and paused.  Was that music?  Who was it?

You and me,

We have an opportunity,

And we can make it something really good,

But you, you think I’m not that kind of girl,

I’m here to tell you, baby, I know how to rock your world

Sunny nodded in silent approval as she carried on walking into the kitchen to see Yuri making toast for breakfast.  Like Sunny, she was getting into the groove of the music, but unlike Sunny, there was no real dancing, just swaying and tilting her head from side to side.  “Morning Yul,” Sunny greeted.

“Morning Bunny,” Yuri smiled, not turning around.  “I was just going to bring you breakfast in bed.”

“You were?”  Sunny asked, surprised.  “Why?”

“Why not?”  Yuri answered.  “Thought you could do with a long morning in bed, since we have the day to ourselves.”

Sunny nodded, pulling out a chair at the table.  “Well, I’m up now.  But we can always sprawl out on the sofa and watch TV.”

“Just as good,” Yuri agreed, taking the freshly popped toast from the toaster and putting it onto the side plate in front of her.  “Is marmalade ok?”

“Do we have any peanut butter?”  Sunny asked.

Yuri opened the cupboard in front of her, and the door next to it.  “Ah, here it is,” she exclaimed, reaching up for the opened jar.  “Do you want banana slices too?”

“Oh yes,” Sunny answered.  “I haven’t had that in too long.”

“Thursday morning,” Yuri corrected.

“My point exactly!”  Sunny explained.  “Three whole days without peanut butter and banana.  I don’t know how I’ve survived!”

Yuri rolled her eyes and obliged her flatmate.  Two slices of bread, toasted, and spread thickly with smooth peanut butter, topped with thick slices of banana.  Yuri cut them diagonally and placed them on the plate before bringing it to Sunny.

“Where’s yours?”  Sunny asked.  Without a word, Yuri turned around and picked up the plate of half eaten buttered toast and joined her at the table.  “Oh,” Sunny blushed.  “I was worried that you hadn’t made anything for yourself.”

Yuri shook her head.  “I made mine first and started eating whilst I was making yours,” she clarified.

The pair ate in silence, except for Sunny’s exaggerated moans of delight at her culinary weakness and Yuri’s slight chuckles in response.

“So, what do you have planned for today?”  Sunny enquired.

“To be honest,” Yuri pondered, “staying on the sofa sounds good.  I don’t really feel like doing anything.”

“You feeling ok?”  Sunny asked, both in mocking and with some of concern.  Yuri liked to be as active as possible, so a day of doing nothing was the last thing she expected.

Yuri nodded.  “I’m fine, I just feel like being lazy.”

“That’s all?”  Sunny asked.  A nod and a smile from Yuri quelled the concern that was brewing.  “Ok,” Sunny smiled back.  “Do you want to watch something?”

Yuri pouted her lips in thought.  “I don’t know,” she answered.  “What do you usually watch on a Sunday?”

Sunny shook her head.  “Mostly I just put some DVDs on or play video games.  There rarely is anything of interest on TV on a Sunday.”

Yuri nodded her head sagely.  “So, a DVD day then?”

“Sounds perfect!”  Sunny smiled as the pair finished their breakfast with only the sounds of the music and the devouring of food filling the room.  Only a couple of minutes passed before they were joined with the sound of the apartment’s landline ringing.  Yuri stood from the table and walked into the living room to answer it.

“Hello?” she asked politely.  “Oh, hi Hyo!  Yeah, sure, she’s here.  One sec.”  As she walked back to the kitchen area, she called to her housemate.  “Sunny Bunny, it’s Hyoyeon for you,” she reported, handing the handset over.  Sunny took it and smiled in thanks.

“Hyolo-licious, what can I do for you?” she answered, causing Yuri to laugh whilst making a start on the dirty dishes.

“Good morning to you, too,” Hyoyeon greeted, bemused.  “And where the hell did ‘Sunny Bunny’ come from?”

“Well,” Sunny explained, “everyone always says how I have tonnes of energy, and we were talking about it a couple of nights ago, and Yuri said how I’m like the Duracell Bunny; I just keep going on and on and on, and it just started from there.”

“Yeah … it’s a little too cutesy,” Hyoyeon mused.

“Yeah, sounds really aegyo, doesn’t it,” Sunny smirked.  “Gee, who do we know who is not only full of energy, but also full of aegyo … oh wait, that would be me!”

By now, Yuri was bent over the sink, trying not to laugh out loud.

“Sunny, I swear to God, one of these days I really will end you,” Hyoyeon answered.

“You say that every time,” Sunny laughed.  “So what’s up?”

“I got you a job!” Hyoyeon announced.

“A job?”

“Yeah, the DJ at our place can’t make his usual set next Friday and Saturday night, so I said you might like to fill in for him.  It’s nothing fancy, just a couple of nights with anything you want.”

“No theme?” Sunny asked.

“Nah, just a regular club night,” Hyoyeon clarified.  “So you in?”

“I suppose so,” Sunny answered.

“Great!” Hyoyeon cheered.  “I’ll let my boss know.  It’s the usual rate, because he knows you.  He said you could have first refusal.”

“Do you have any tracks you want me to throw in?” Sunny asked.

“I’ll text them to you,” Hyoyeon replied.  “Just let me know your set list and I’m sure we can get something together quickly.”

“Or you could freestyle it,” Sunny added, picking up her now empty plate and slipping it into the sink.

“I could,” Hyoyeon emphasised.  “I’m not trusting the girls to freestyle it.”

“Why not?” Sunny half-asked, half-chastised.  “They’re good dancers, what stops them from freestyling?”

“We’ll see,” Hyoyeon answered, changing the topic.  “So I’ll see you Tuesday?”

“Yep,” Sunny confirmed, “catch you then!”

“Ok.  And Sunny?”

“Yeah?”

There was an uncomfortable pause from Hyoyeon.  “Tone down the cute, ok?  I don’t think Yoona would be ok with you stealing her friend from her.”

“Hey, I like it!” Sunny defended.  “You’re just jealous that you don’t have a cute name like me.”

“I’m just saying,” Hyoyeon cautioned her.  “Yoona is really possessive over her entourage.  Just be careful.”

“Hey, Sunny!” Yoona shouted to the group waiting for her.  Currently, Sunny, Yuri, Sooyoung and Hyoyeon were waiting at the table.  “I got something for you!” she held out the black plastic bag to her friend with a huge smile on her face.

Sunny accepted the gift as Yoona sat down, and squealed a little as she pulled the furry accessory out and placed the rabbit ears headband on her head, wearing it with complete pride.

“You told her, didn’t you,” Hyoyeon stated.

“Of course she did,” Yoona sat next to her sullen bandmate.  “And I think it’s cute.”  She turned to Sunny.  “Right, Sunny Bunny?”

Sunny nodded as Sooyoung looked at the group, confused.  “’Sunny Bunny’?”

“Like the Duracell Bunny, but cuter and with more aegyo,” Yuri explained.

Sooyoung nodded, impressed at the creative obviousness in it.  Hyoyeon simply rolled her eyes in mock defeat.

“Is everything ok?” Yuri asked, lifting her bottle of water to take a sip.

“She’s fine,” Sooyoung assured her.  “She just misses her .”

Yuri choked as Sunny and Sooyoung patted her back, laughing at the apparently old joke.

“Here,” Sunny offered Yuri her bottle of water, “drink something.”

“Sunny,” Sooyoung chastised playfully, “water was what got her like this.”

It took only a few seconds for Yuri’s choking fit to subside.  “Hyoyeon misses her what?” she asked.

“My aunt and uncle used to own a farm, and they had chickens and sheep and all sorts of animals there, and there was one cockerel that I used to love and he died,” Hyoyeon clarified.  “But that was like four years ago, man!  Are you still going to bring that up every time I roll my eyes over something?”

“Yes!” Sunny, Sooyoung and Yoona all chorused, laughing.

“What’s happened?” Taeyeon asked, joining the group.

“They’re teasing me about KuKu,” Hyoyeon sulked.

“Are you missing your again?” Taeyeon asked.

“No, I am not missing my !” Hyoyeon shouted, causing one too many people to look at her.

The laughter passed as Taeyeon sat down, noticing Sunny’s headband.

“How is Sunny Bunny this morning?” she asked.

“You told her too?” Hyoyeon sighed.

“Told me what?”

“Yuri’s been calling me ‘Sunny Bunny’ for a few days, and Hyo’s jealous,” Sunny explained.

“Why ‘Sunny Bunny’?” Taeyeon asked.

“Like the Duracell Bunny,” Sooyoung added.

“Awwww, that’s clever!” Taeyeon’s face brightened up.

“Does anyone else think this is too cute?” Hyoyeon begged.

“Jessica would, definitely,” Sooyoung answered.  “But she hates anything that’s cute.”

“Yeah,” Yoona chimed in.  “I took my cousin to a petting zoo and invited Jessica along.  There was this real cute baby billy goat that we saw.  Whenever it bleated, she wanted to punch it in the throat!”

“Yeah, that does sound just like Jessica,” Taeyeon agreed.  “Speaking of which, where is everyone else?”

“Maknae is volunteering,” Yoona reported.

“And you’re not?” Sunny asked, looking at Sooyoung.  As much as she would spend hours looking at herself in the mirror, Sooyoung was arguably the most altruistic of the group, always encouraging the others to get involved with volunteering activities.

Sooyoung shook her head.  “They had too many people, I would just be standing around doing nothing,” she admitted, “but I’m glad she’s getting the chance to do something.”

“I think Tiff is working on something, and Jess is,” Yoona looked around.  “Where is Jess?”

“In bed?” Hyoyeon, Sunny, Taeyeon and Sooyoung chorused.

Yoona nodded, semi-agreeing.

“I’m not really in the mood for another meeting,” Hyoyeon stretched.  “I mean, we’re not all here, and we’re not really doing much yet.  Tiff is probably breathing down the neck of the sound editor, making sure her vocals sound like Mariah Carey’s whilst we sound like Forest Gump, and we don’t have space to work on the dance routines for two more weeks.  We don’t discuss anything new, and I for one would like to blow off a meeting, go watch a movie with you girls and get a pizza afterwards.”

“I can’t have pizza,” Sooyoung looked down, patting her very flat stomach.  “I’m watching my waistline.”

“Soo, you’re like the biggest shikshin of the group,” Taeyeon reminded her, “and you don’t have a waistline to watch!”

“Good point, I’m in!” Sooyoung declared, smiling at the girls around the table.

“And Hyo,” Taeyeon scolded, “Tiffany wants us all to sound perfect.  Even if she is harassing the sound editors, she wants us all to succeed.  It isn’t all about her.”

“Yeah,” Hyoyeon conceded, “but she is so demanding!”

“That doesn’t matter,” Taeyeon reminded her.  “Sure, she is a little much sometimes, and you’ve seen me tell her to reel it in, but she doesn’t do this to make us suffer.  Girls’ Generation is her dream, and something we all want to aspire to.  I mean, that is why we signed up, right?”

Hyoyeon nodded and lowered her head.

“Hyoyeon,” Yuri meekly chimed in, “I know we tease Tiffany a lot because she acts like she’s our manager, but none of us joined the band because she made us.  We all have a choice.  We can stay, or we can leave.  I mean …” she looked at Sunny, sitting next to her, “take Sunny.  None of us want her to go, not even me, but she’s looking at a life outside of the band.  It’s her right, and … we have to let her make that choice.”

“I know,” Hyoyeon agreed, “but Tiff is just so annoying!”

“She will be,” Sunny comforted her, getting up from her seat and walking around the table, giving her bandmate a hug from behind.  “This is such a big dream for her; to be famous, to be a singer.  It’s been her dream for as long as I’ve known her.  She will do anything she can to make it, and we’ve all been along for the ride because we’ve all wanted to make it.  We’ve wanted to be a part of it.”

“Even you?” Hyoyeon asked.

Sunny sighed heavily.

“She hasn’t said no,” Sooyoung butted in, bringing the conversation to an end and saving any more awkwardness.  “I’m grateful for Tiffany, pushing us.  But I agree with Hyoyeon’s plan; spend the day goofing off.  Let’s go to the Ciniplex.  The new Brad Pitt film is out.”

For the first time in her life, nobody argued with her taste in leading man.