“So that’s it?” Sunny asked, browsing the aisles in the men’s section of the department store.  “Just like that, all of your feelings for Tae are gone?”

“Pretty much,” Tiffany sighed.  “It still feels pretty weird.”

“True dat,” Sunny mused, picking up a t-shirt from one of the racks.

“’True dat’?” Yuri smirked.

“I can be ‘street’,” Sunny retorted.  “Sometimes.”

“No offence,” Tiffany laughed, “but you’ll be ‘street’ the same day Hyoyeon becomes a ballet dancer.”

“Didn’t she used to be a ballet dancer when she was younger?” Yuri asked.

“Ballroom dancer,” Sunny corrected her.

“Do we even know what to get your brother?” Tiffany asked, changing the subject.

“I really don’t know,” Yuri sighed exasperated.  She loved her brother immensely.  The two were very close, but birthdays and Christmases were a nightmare for her; she never knew what to buy him.  He always seemed to know what to get for her, but she never had the same insight into his life.

“What kind of things does he like?” Tiffany asked.

“Well, he seems pretty stylish for a guy,” Sunny answered.

“‘For a guy’?” Tiffany repeated.

“Yeah!” Sunny defended herself.  “You don’t see many guys taking a lot of pride in how they look, and the ones that do go way over the top; they’re either real ‘pretty boys’ or slobs.  Besides, what do you want me to say, he dresses well for an emu?”

The pair laughed and carried on browsing, as Sunny wandered off towards the shirts.  Hyuk-jun needed something stylish.  She had seen some photos of him and Yuri when they were growing up and some from recent holidays they had shared before Yuri came to the band.  ‘Living in Boston must be really good,’ she thought to herself, ‘so completely different from Seoul’.  She picked up a couple of patterned shirts; one black with red and dark purple vertical stripes of uniform thickness and one white with blue vertical stripes that varied in thickness and shades.  They both looked good and they weren’t too expensive.

“You’d look good in both of those,” a voice spoke behind her.

Sunny twirled around to face the person who greeted her.  Standing in front of her was a young man, quite good looking, a few inches taller than her, fairly muscular, and a light tan.  His dark hair was longer than most men’s, coming to his shoulders.  He had had it crimped and styled recently.  He wore a pair of pale blue, torn jeans, royal blue Converse shoes and a long sleeved black top.  If she had to describe his looks to someone, she would say he looked like a Korean surfer.  If she had to describe him to someone as a man, she would say he was a selfish, conceited with a small , who couldn’t find a woman’s zones if he had a GPS.

“Leo,” she smiled nervously.  “What a … surprise.  It’s been a while.”

“Yeah,” he smiled back sheepishly.  “What has it been?  Seven, eight months?”

“Nine months and two weeks today,” she corrected, remembering the day she threw him out.

“That long, huh,” he thought, instantly regretting his comment.

Sunny nodded.  “So what are you doing here?”

“Just shopping,” he answered nonchalantly.  “You?”

“Shopping,” she answered, lifting the shirts in her hands.

He sighed, remembering.  “You always looked good in my shirts.”

“These aren’t for me,” she scowled.

Leo nodded, her comment seemingly hitting a tender spot with him.  “Boyfriend?” he asked tentatively.

As if by reflex, she shook her head.  “Brother,” she answered.

Leo looked at her, confused, as Yuri bounded up to her.  “Hey, these look cute,” she smiled, taking the darker shirt from Sunny and holding it in her hands.

“Yuri,” Sunny stopped her, “this is Leo.  Leo, this is Yuri.  She’s …”

“Your flatmate,” Leo stepped in, extending his hand to Yuri.  “I’ve seen you both coming out of the building together.”

“You’ve been following me?” Sunny asked, concerned.

“Oh no,” Leo shook his head.  “I’ve driven past on my way to interviews and stuff.”

Sunny frowned, not feeling at ease with his answer one bit.  Yuri politely took his hand to shake.  It caught her off guard when Leo went to kiss the back of her hand.  ‘Ever the charmer,’ Sunny thought to herself.  ‘He hasn’t changed a bit.’

Yuri slipped her hand away before it reached his lips.  “Sorry,” she apologised, smugly, “I’m taken.”

Leo nodded.  “He’s a lucky guy,” he answered.  “I hope he doesn’t throw you away the way I threw Sunny away.”

“Yeah, that was stupid of you, wasn’t it,” Yuri answered sharply, her smug attitude growing immensely at the exchange.

“Yeah,” Leo ran his fingers through his hair nervously.  “I’ve had a few girlfriends, but,” he looked straight into his ex-girlfriend’s eyes, “none of them ever compared to her.”

“Well,” Yuri mused, shuffling closer to her girlfriend, “at least now she can be with someone who will appreciate her whilst they have her, instead of if they let her go.”

Sunny blushed.  She had never known Yuri to be this protective over her.  Actually, she had never known anyone to be this protective over her.  It was very endearing.  And a little scary.

“Yeah,” he answered, putting his hands in his pockets and looking to his shoes.

“These are for Yuri’s brother,” Sunny mumbled, trying to break the tension in the air.

He nodded.  “I’m sure they’ll look good on him,” he muttered, trying to be friendly.

Yuri nodded in agreement.

“So, you have someone new?” Sunny asked, trying to move the conversation along.  This felt really uncomfortable, although she was too polite to tell him to leave.

“No,” he admitted.  “I’ve been single for about four months.  After we broke up,” he shuffled from one foot to the other, “I went from one girl to another, but I couldn’t find anyone else I wanted to stay with.  Gave up the whole Playboy lifestyle.”

“What changed?” she asked, unconvinced.

“I realised what I wanted in life,” he answered.  “Someone sweet, kind, who would ask about my day, make me feel really wanted …”

“Another me?” she asked.

He nodded.  “Well, I’d rather the real thing,” he added, looking up at her.

Sunny shook her head sweetly.  “I don’t think so,” she smiled.

“No, maybe not, not right now anyway,” he blushed.  “Well, I guess I’ll see you around then,” he smiled, shifting his weight back to a more confident pose.

“Yeah, I guess I will,” Sunny smiled, hoping and praying she wouldn’t.

“See you,” he turned away.  “Nice to meet you, Yuri,” he added, pointing his finger at her, his hand resembling a lame gangsta “gun hand”.  Yuri sarcastically reciprocated the gesture.

“Sunny,” Yuri waited until he was truly out of sight.

“Yes, baby?” Sunny asked, quietly.

“When we get home, I am bathing this hand in bleach,” she answered, a look of disgust crossing her face as she turned around to walk away.

“Yeah,” Sunny sighed, before turning to follow her.  Almost a year ago, she threw him out of her house.  Now she was happy, now she was in love, and now he was practically begging for her to come back.  A few months ago, she would have gave in.  Now, she wanted to rub her happiness in his face.  But how could she?

 

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“You have everything?” Sunny fussed, standing at the departure lounge entrance with Yuri.  It was 11am and Yuri had just checked in.

“Relax,” Yuri smiled, kissing Sunny’s head.  “I’m the organised queen here.  I think I’m covered.”

“You have your emergency charger?” Sunny asked.

She held up her carry-on luggage, which she had thrown over her shoulder.

“Extra money?”

She patted her carry-on.

“Passport?  Papers?  Guide book?”
“Sunny, relax,” Yuri laughed.  “I’ll be ok.”

“Two weeks without you,” Sunny looked down at her feet.

Yuri placed her finger under her chin and lifted her head up.  “I’ll call, every night,” she promised.

Sunny shook her head.  “I can’t make you do that,” she protested.

“Before you go to bed, you will get a good night message from me,” she added.  “When you wake up, you’ll get a good morning message.  And as soon as I land, I’ll let you know.”

“I’d appreciate knowing when you land,” Sunny confessed.

Yuri placed her hands on her love’s shoulders.  “I’ll be fine.  I promise.”

Sunny smiled and nodded.  Yoona stepped forward and hugged her departing friend.  “Tell Hyuk-oppa I said ‘Hi’,” she requested.

Yuri nodded, letting Yoona go.  One by one, she gave a goodbye hug to each of the members.  After hugging Yoona, Sooyoung, Seohyun, Hyoyeon and Tiffany, the group saw Jessica running to join them.  “Sorry I’m late, I got a little lost,” she apologised.

“Miss Airport Queen got lost on her way here?” Sooyoung answered, teasingly.

“Leave her alone,” Yuri put a stop to any more teasing before hugging their newly arrived member.  “You enjoy yourself, ok?”  Jessica nodded, patting Yuri’s back.

Taeyeon was next.  Yuri hugged her tightly.  “Look after my bunny for me, please?” Yuri whispered, imploring her leader.  Taeyeon nodded into her shoulder.

Finally, Yuri wrapped her arms around Sunny and held her closely.  The others received hugs for a few seconds each, maximum.  Sunny embraced Yuri for what must have been a good minute.  “I left something for you at home,” Yuri whispered.

Sunny squeezed her tightly in reciprocation.  “Take care of you, ok?”

Yuri nodded, before letting go of her partner.  “You too?”

Sunny nodded.

“Promise?”

She nodded again.  Yuri smiled and let go, kissing Sunny’s cheek as she released her from her embrace, before waving to the group and heading into the departure lounge.  The remaining girls crowded around their forlorn member, who was already missing her pearl as much as she was missing her bunny.

 

“She’ll be ok,” Yoona comforted Sunny.  The girls had decided to break their healthy eating regime by ordering at Burger King.

Sunny smiled and mindlessly nibbled at her fries.  “I know,” she replied.  “I just … we haven’t been apart for more than a few hours.  Now we have two weeks and thousands of miles apart.”

Seohyun reached across the table and took Sunny’s hand.  “We can always do stuff if you want,” she offered, “take your mind of things.”

Sunny shook her head.  “Thanks maknae, but I think I will spend tonight gaming.  I’ll be ok, really.”  She smiled at the group, assuring them.  “It’s just going to take a little getting used to.”

Taeyeon leaned in and put her arm around Sunny.  “Don’t worry shortie,” she comforted her.  “We’ll be here for you.”

“’Shortie’?” Sunny asked.  “Really? You’re like half an inch taller than me!”

“Yeah, and don’t you forget it,” Taeyeon smirked, stealing one of Sunny’s fries.

Sunny scoffed at her cheek, and stole one of her fries in response.

“Besides, what’s wrong with being short?” Taeyeon asked.  “It’s great!”

Sunny nodded, agreeing with her fellow ‘shortie’.

“What’s so great about it?” Sooyoung asked, her bias as the tallest in the group showing clearly.

“You get to see all the butts,” the pair chorused and laughed.

“Oh yeah?” Hyoyeon chimed in, whilst Jessica groaned, Seohyun, Tiffany and Yoona hid their faces and Sooyoung shook her head.  “Well, being tall means we get to show off the goodies.”

“Nuh uh,” Sunny corrected her.  “That’s another short thing.  When you’re tall, people have to stare down at the goodies.”  She shook her torso to accentuate her point, and received a high-five from her leader.

“You two are not going to give that joke up, are you,” Tiffany sighed.  The pair hung their heads low in mock shame and shook them.  They hung their heads for a few seconds in silence, before Seohyun broke it, stating something so obvious and yet so well hidden that the entire group fell about laughing both at her statement and that she was the one to make it.

“You’re both just staring at your own goodies, aren’t you.”

 

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