Sunny lay on her bed staring at the ceiling, but her mind was focused on somewhere else in the large condominium unit that served as housing for the 9 members of Girls’ Generation. The loud bickering coming from the living room could be heard through her bedroom door and it was keeping her from falling asleep. She grabbed a pillow and covered her face with it in a feeble attempt to smother the noise away, but she knew that it wouldn’t work. This wasn’t the first time an argument in the dorm had kept her awake. In fact, she couldn’t remember the last time she had a good night’s rest.

The arguing seemed to be relocating itself as the voices were gradually moving closer towards her door, forcing Sunny to pick up shreds of the argument against her will. She didn’t need to eavesdrop however. She knew what the argument was about. The very topic of the argument had been a tense subject pressing down on the shoulders of the SNSD members, and occasionally one of them would snap. The snapping has just become more frequent as of late.

“Won’t you just LISTEN to me?!” Sunny heard her leader’s voice call out to another person, who from the sounds of the marching footsteps had absolutely no intention of listening to Taeyeon.

“I have done absolutely NOTHING wrong! My business has NOTHING to do with Girls’ Generation!”

“It has EVERYTHING to do with us Jessica! Missing appearances, being late to events, you know how that looks! You remember what Management told you didn’t you?!” Taeyeon replied Jessica, and Sunny noted the exhaustion and exasperation that filled her leader’s voice. Taeyeon sounded about as beat up as Sunny felt.

The loud footsteps halted, and there was a tension that hung in the air. Sunny knew that every single member in the dorm is awake at the moment and probably listening in on the argument happening in the hallway outside just as she is doing right now. After what felt like an eternity, she heard Jessica speak up in a low voice, barely audible through the thin wooden door, but still loud enough to be deciphered.

“I spent 8 years of my life dedicated to this group. I spent more than half of my life in this company. All I want is a little support. With what we’ve been through together, is that too much to ask for?”

A door slammed shut, followed by a familiar suffocating silence that had been permeating the dorm for a number of months now. Sunny hated it, and she knew all her other members hated it too. The environment in the household used to be warm, where open conversations can be shared, funny jokes can be tossed about, and pranks (that are occasionally hazardous but made with good intentions) can be pulled.

Now it took a lot of self-convincing for Sunny to even set foot into her own home. She knew the situation was getting bad when she started to find solace in the quiet journeys with her manager in the van as she travelled between schedules, wishing she never reached her destination. Frankly, Sunny was completely drained, mentally and physically.

“Unnie?”

A voice broke through the silence, sounding seemingly unsure as if testing to see if the other would respond. Sunny turned her head to the right, towards the source of the voice that called out for her. Sunny couldn’t see her through the darkness of the room, but she knew to whom the voice belonged to. The tiny room only had one other occupant after all.

“What is it Yoona?”

Sunny heard her roommate slightly let out a sigh, and she knew that Yoona was glad that Sunny had answered her.

“Are you still awake?” Yoona asked timidly. She knew she was asking a rhetorical question. There was no way Sunny could have slept through the racket Jessica and Taeyeon were making.

For a moment Sunny didn’t respond, and Yoona was starting to wonder if Sunny actually fell asleep, when finally a response came from the other side of the room.

“Yeah. What’s up?” Sunny said, trying to sound cheerful and not dead tired but it took her a moment to rev up the “Sunny Bunny” persona she tried hard to maintain. She was the SNSD Happy Pill. She tried not to appear sad or angry, because everyone else around her seemed to be expressing themselves with those emotions rather blatantly lately.

“I can’t sleep.”

“Is something bothering you Yoona?”

“I’m scared unnie.”

Sunny sat up slightly at Yoona’s words. She could sort of see her roommate’s silhouette, and it looked like Yoona was sitting on her bed hugging her knees. Worry started to slowly wash over Sunny replacing her fatigue as she wondered what Yoona could possibly be afraid of that’s keeping her awake.

“What is it you’re scared of? Can I help?”

“I heard from Hyoyeon about what our Management told Jessica. Is it true?”

“Is what true exactly?” Sunny feigned ignorance. Of course she knew exactly what the younger girl was talking about.

“I heard that Management threatened to drop Jessica from Girls’ Generation if she doesn’t stop prioritizing her business.” Yoona slowly said, before finishing it off with a request for confirmation. “Is it true?”

“Yeah. It is.” Sunny stated simply. She knew there was no point trying to hide it from Yoona, since practically everybody else knew. It started out as a meeting between the Management team of SM Entertainment, Jessica, and their leader Taeyeon. Information regarding what was discussed was never meant to leave the meeting room, but Taeyeon had told Tiffany, who took it upon herself to spread the information to the other members. A few members were left in the dark however, albeit not on purpose. Circumstances just prevented the information from reaching their ears.

There was a brief pause, before Sunny heard a distinct sniffling sound coming from Yoona’s side of the room. The girl was crying, and Sunny immediately found herself making her way towards the younger girl, fatigue completely forgotten. She sat down on Yoona’s bed and held the younger girl in her arms, one hand Yoona’s hair trying to calm her down. It was as if her body had already memorized the proper procedures and steps that needed to be taken in order to comfort someone, given how many people she’s had to comfort in the past few weeks.

“I don’t like it.” Yoona finally spoke up in between sobs after a minute. It sounded childish in regards to the situation, but Sunny had to hand it to Yoona for being completely honest.

“I don’t like it either. But hey, we’ve gotten threats from the higher ups before. They haven’t really gone through with them right?”  

“I still don’t like the idea of it. I don’t want to ever imagine SNSD without any of us in it.”

“Jessica is not going to leave the group Yoona.” Sunny said, trying to put as much reassurance into that sentence as she could, but all she could manage was to couple that statement with a weak smile. It was enough for Yoona however, who slowly looked up into Sunny’s eyes and nodded in understanding.

Sunny wiped the remaining tears off of the doe-eyed girl’s cheeks with her thumbs, before tapping the younger girl on her forehead.

“Unnie! What was that for?!” Yoona questioned while rubbing her stinging forehead.

“That’s for keeping me up so late at night!” Sunny said with a mischievous grin before pinching Yoona’s cheeks, convinced that she has managed to cheer her sister up.

And with that, Sunny got up from Yoona’s bed and felt her way through the dark to get to her own. After successfully finding it, she proceeded to burrow herself under the covers and closed her eyes, once again attempting to get some sleep. She had to wake up early the next day because she had made breakfast plans with her best friend, Hyomin. Well, by “next day” she really meant in a few hours, because the whole bit of drama going on in the dorms had managed to keep her up till 5am.

“Good night Yoong.” Sunny said in Yoona’s general direction, but she did not hear a reply from the younger girl. Thinking that she must have fallen asleep, Sunny brushed it off and pulled the covers over her head in an attempt to get more comfortable. She suddenly felt a shift in weight on her bed, and she poked her head out to see a figure lying down on the unoccupied space of her queen-sized bed.

“Unnie…If you don’t mind, can I sleep on your bed with you tonight? I just…don’t want to feel alone.” Yoona hesitantly asked in a breathy whisper, tickling Sunny’s neck.

“Of course Yoong.” Sunny said and scooted over to make more space for the younger girl. Sunny soon felt a pair of arms snake around her waist from behind, pulling her closer as she felt the taller girl nuzzle her face into her older sister’s neck as if trying to ensure that Sunny doesn’t slip away in the night.

“You’re always so optimistic Sunny…how do you do it?” Yoona asked in a sleepy voice, words sounding muffled as was pressed against the back of Sunny’s shoulders.

There was no need for Sunny to answer the question however, as she soon heard Yoona’s breathing go soft and more relaxed, indicating that the younger girl had fallen asleep while hugging Sunny.

Sunny just had a soft smile on her face, realizing that she had no answer for the question that Yoona had innocently asked in her half-awake stupor. Sunny resigned herself to lightly patting the hands that were interlocked around her waist until finally sleep claimed her as well.

******************

Hyomin tapped her index finger against the wooden table of the restaurant she was currently sitting in, anxiously looking around. She had her sunglasses on, but already 3 people have recognized her and had asked for her autograph. She tried her best to seem composed in order to maintain her pristine idol image, but she was getting really hungry and Sunny has yet to show up for their breakfast meet-up. Her phone was clutched in her left hand, one tap away from calling her best friend to inquire as to where she is.

‘Could she have forgotten? Maybe I should have reminded her. But she has never forgotten before…’ Hyomin wondered, the temptation to call her friend growing ever more stronger, but a part of Hyomin kept believing that if she waited just a little longer, she would see a short girl with dark brown hair come skipping through the restaurant door.

To her surprise, the front door swung open to reveal a girl matching that exact description but instead of skipping it looked more like the tiny girl had just finished running a cross-country marathon, with her hair tied up in a messy bun and one hand leaning against the door frame to support her as she tried to catch her breath.

Hyomin waved to the girl at the door, and a wide smile stretched across the tinier girl’s face, and she proceeded to drag her weary body over to Hyomin’s table.

“S-Sorry I’m late….I overslept.” Sunny explained as she collapsed onto the puffy armchair across from Hyomin, still struggling to catch her breath.

“It’s okay. Happens to the best of us.” Hyomin smiled back, passing a menu over to Sunny, who took it with shaky hands. “Are you okay?” Hyomin asked the obvious question, concern for her friend etched all over her face.

“I’ll let you know the answer to that if I keel over dead in the next few minutes. Thought it would be faster to run here instead of drive. Hooo-boy! No wonder SM won’t let me guest on Running Man.” Sunny said, while downing the complimentary glass of water the restaurant provided in one shot. “Anyways, how long have you been waiting?”

“Oh well…uhh…about an hour.” Hyomin looked down and scratched her cheek out of embarrassment as she answered the question, trying to avoid the shocked look on Sunny’s face, immediately telling Sunny that it was alright and she didn’t mind waiting.

“Yah! What do you mean it’s alright?! I’m so sorry! Why didn’t you call me and ask me where I was? For all you know I could have forgotten about our plans!” Sunny’s face was a mixture of guilt and shock, and Hyomin couldn’t help but giggle at how adorable she looked, which earned her a soft kick from under the table.

“I guess I just…sorta believed that you wouldn’t forget about me.” Hyomin shyly said while still avoiding eye contact, a tinge of red creeping up on the T-ara singer’s cheeks. Hyomin had hoped that Sunny wouldn’t forget about her, and she sincerely hoped that their spending time together meant as much to Sunny as it does to Hyomin.

Sunny just stared at the girl across from her with absolute disbelief on her face, having trouble accepting that someone in their right mind would put that much faith in her. Well, Hyomin’s mind sort of functioned differently from the average person anyways, so she guessed that it sort of made sense.

“Yah…. Hyomin-ah… You’re thinking a bit too highly of me aren’t you?” Sunny sheepishly said while rubbing the base of her neck and avoiding eye contact as well.

“You proved me right though.” Hyomin said with a bright, toothy smile on her face, finally making eye contact with the shorter girl. Sunny felt her heart flutter for a moment as she took in the way Hyomin was looking at her, and she swore that if they had lived in a different time period, men would have gone to war just to see Hyomin’s lips curve the way they are doing just for her right now.

“A-anyways….” Hyomin continued, trying to change the subject because she was unsure if the exhaustion had finally gotten to her friend, or if the girl sitting opposite her was blushing because Sunny was as red as a tomato.

“I’m thinking we could order to go and just take my car to my place, because uh…we kind of attracted a crowd.” Hyomin said, and true enough Sunny looked around to see nearly a dozen cameras aimed at them from all around the restaurant.

Sunny nodded, and they signaled to a waiter to take their order. They left the restaurant about 20mins later and got into Hyomin’s surprisingly ostentatious sports car and headed to Hyomin’s apartment a few minute’s drive away.

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That's it for the first chapter! Thank you so much for reading it, and please leave a comment if you enjoyed it! It took me forever to get this first chapter down because my fingers were covered in rust from not having typed anything in awhile. Hopefully the next chapters will be easier to write!