*Jessica POV*

We had managed to make it through the whole journey to Hongcheon without Amber's stupid jokes. Sometimes she would point out a few things like how the city suddenly turned into a country.

"It's not too far from here," she'd said as we got off. "We can probably walk there."

I hated walking or running or anything that required excessive body movement. I groaned and followed her down a street.

"Or we could catch a bus, but it'll be an hour wait. We can get there in about ten-fifteen minutes, ya lazy bum." She smirked. "For a y woman like you, you sure are lazy. I can't believe how different you are from Krystal. She's always up and running in track....er well...when she was in track..." she trailed off. "Anyway, you get the point."

I rolled my eyes. "Then show me how to get there, you idiot." Amber's straightforwardness could get a bit much. It was kind of uncomfortable, but extremely embarassing when other people were around. And sometimes, they were things that people just didn't need to hear or something that could have been put in better, nicer words.

"As you wish, my lady," she said elegantly, and started walking down the street.

At least Amber was nice enough to offer her help, although I really wished she'd come along without her plain-spoken comments.

Hongcheon was definitely a different world from Seoul. The air here felt cleaner, as if all the industrious productions had been filtered out on the way here. There weren't many cars running on the streets, and the buses came by the hour. People rode bikes, and others walked like us. That might be the closest to technology that I could see around here because everything else was country: land, animals, ranches, trees--it was all nature.

Somehow, I felt like Krystal might be the kind of person to enjoy this.

"Hey, are we almost there yet?" I asked Amber.

"Uh...actually it'll be another twenty minutes," she replied.

"What?!" I cried. I had no idea she was tricking me.

Amber smirked. She had picked up my disdain towards exercising. "Well, lazy pants, if you'd take the time to use your eyes and read the sign up there..." She pointed to a big sign that read 'Hongcheon School for the Blind'. It was suspended on an arch over a walkway that led to the entrance of the school.

"Amber..." I said warningly. "Please do not do anything stupid once we get inside."

"I won't!" she promised. "Cross my heart, stab my middle, poke a finger in my eye!"

I made a face. I don't think that's how it goes, but I let it pass. Those were just kid things anyway, and Amber was pretty much a grown up kid.  "Whatever. Just get us in there."

Amber grinned. "Sweet! I can't wait to introduce you to Sulli! Oh! And Victoria!" She eyed me. "But let me do the talking."

This time, she actually walked with me and opened the door for me like the 'gentleman' she was, and we stepped into the lobby, which was pretty nice. It was almost like a hotel entrance, but it was the main building containing offices and staff. The tile floor was so shiny, we could see our reflection, and the lights reflecting off it from above. There was a showcase in the wall containing awards, photos of students and featured staff, and new article clippings from various newspapers and magazines to show off their prestige. There were various plants set up in certain corners of the lobby and some were lined up against the walls where it was appropriate.

"Hey, Amber!" a woman at the desk greet us cheerily. She looked like my age but maybe a few months older. "How can I help you today? It's been a while!"

"Hi, Taeyeon!" Amber said brightly. "We've got a poor unfortunate soul in need of some help, and we caught wind of this wonderful place so we decided to take a look-see!"

Taeyeon looked at her brightly. "Oh! Of course!" She looked at me. "Are you her mom?"

I gaped at her with shock and was really offended to even have someone think I was related to that wild animal. Amber was shocked too but she was more quick about shaking it off. "Hell no, Taeyeon! We are nowhere near related!" She grinned and put an arm aroudn my shoulders. "We're friends. Well...actually her sister is my friend, and I'm friends with her friend, so we're mutual friends. I'm just helping her out today because she's got a sister who needs assistance from this place. ANd I want to introduce her to some friends."

Taeyeon laughed and looked at me brightly. "Well, Amber, I was about to say that you had good taste!"

Amber and I glanced at each other, but she shrugged. "Well...it's pretty bad actually. This girl's a real party pooper."

I was about to fix her with an icy cold glare, but someone else interrupted.  Amber gave me an all-teeth innocent smile before flouncing off to meet the newcomers. "Victoria!!"

Another woman stood before us. She was definitely much older than me...maybe by a few years, but she didn't look so bad. She had a big bright smile, and seemed really happy to see Amber just like the other lady. 

I was actually surprised at the kind of people Amber knew. They were all...on different levels than she was.

"Hey, Jess! Come on!" Amber called me over. "Victoria, this is Jessica! Jessica, this is Victoria!" She stood back and Victoria greeted me with a smile. She stuck a hand out for me to shake. 

"Nice to meet you, Jessica," Victoria said. We shook hands and I gave her a tight close mouthed smile. She looked at Amber and said in a loud hushed voice as if I weren't supposed to hear. "Amber, you picked up a really pretty girl! How did you manage to pull that off?"

"Oh, you know..." Amber said playfully, and scratched her neck. "I've been around."

Victoria laughed. I think she sensed my discomfort, and she smiled at me again. "We're just messing around. I know there's now way she could have gotten you to go out with her." She looked between the both us. "well, Amber, I know you already came here a few days ago, rambling about that other girl. What are you doing back here?"

Amber sighed. "It's Krystal I was talking about." She glanced at me. "Actually...um, we're here together to check things out before enrolling her sister in this place. So you think you can show her around a bit?"

Victoria nodded. "Definitely!" She indicated for us to follow her. "It seems big from the entrance, but really it's no bigger than an elementary school. Everything's built so that our students can get around without trouble. Obviously, we don't just let them wander aimlessly. This school is not just an academic institution during the regular school year, but it is also for people like your sister who need help learing the ropes. She will be watched at all times, and be paired with an ambassador."

"Bet you're wondering what that is, huh, Jess?" Amber asked. 

I just shot her a glance of disdain. She smirked. "ANyway, if you'll give me the liberty to explain, they're pretty much students that are more experienced and can help your sister around...like Sulli."

Victoria nodded. "If she decides to participate in the program, she will be paired with another experienced student who has already gone through everthing. Now, this is the two week you want right?"

I nodded.

"That should be enough time to teach her using the white stick and basic everyday activities," she said. "But besides that she will also need to learn to read Braille. I think you know what that is. This program doesn't exactly teach that. Just how to get through daily activity. You might actually have to pay someone to go in and teach her Braille. It'll take some time since it is learning a new language."

"But you know, Vic, she's like a sponge!" Amber cut in. "She's super smart! She's a level above everyone else in physics and math!"

"Those are math and science," Victoria said.

Ambe shrugged. "So? She can probably pick it up quick."

"Anyway, those are a few things to consider," Victoria turned back to me. "You must be proud to have such an intelligent sister."

"yeah," I replied. I honestly had no idea my sister was getting into such difficult classes. Even I didn't take physics, and I never got any farther than general calculus. 

"AND she's athletic...although, I don't know why she stopped track," Amber added. "she was really good at those sprint races."

I didn't even know that either! I felt so bad that as an older sister, I literally knew nothing about Krystal. Victoria seemed quite interested to hear how my sister was pretty well rounded. "Well, that's a good sister you got there. Most younger siblings want to go out and rebel."

"Trust me...that never crossed her mind," I mumbled. Of course she wouldn't. She was trying to get by while our father was drinking.

Luckily, they never heard me but they showed me the dorms, and how their students were able to identify the different floor buttons, and their room numbers. There was Braille in hangul under the numbers of the elevator, and in the plaques of the room numbers on the wall. "But,  there will be people to assist them just in case," Victoria reassured me. "PEople who can see that are trained to work with them."

"How many people?" I asked.

"Uh....blind that enroll?" she prompted. "A fair amount. You see, we're one of the more affordable schools. We get all kinds of kids...usually people that are a bit tight on money, or from other backgrounds...so we're not as well known as the ones in the city...I dunno, but obviously, we are acknowledged for doing well with what we have. We rely not only on our staff, but our student ambassadors to help with the newbies." She grinned. "I think this place is great, though. The local ranches and businesses support us, and we support them in turn, so we all benefit in one way or another."

"But...you think my sister will be ok, here?" I asked. "She's shy...and..." not easy to connect to...I finished to myself.

"Of course!" Victoria said. "Everyone here is nice. She'll take a liking to at least one of them."

While we were talking, I hadn't noticed Amber had run off somewhere. She had left us sometime earlier, and I didn't realize it until we had exited the buliding containing the classrooms. 

"There's a multipurpose room on the other side of campus, but they're actually cleaning the floors so we can't go in right now." Victoria pointed to a building whose doors were taped shut with caution tape.

"GUYS!" Amber called from a million miles away. We spotted her walking with another girl who was scanning the ground with her white stick as they approached us. 

"Jess, I want you to meet Sulli," Amber said. "Sulli, this is Jessica."

"HI!" Sulli said brightly. She was taller than I was and still had a baby face. Like Krystal, she kept staring straight ahead as she spoke. "I heard lots about you, and your sister!"

"And Amber has mentioned you to us many times, Sulli," I replied, and she looked at me with those sightless dark eyes.

"Awe, only mentioned?" she pouted. "Amber, you didn't say anything nice?"

Amber glared at me. "Course I did! I told them you were really nice and really excited to meet them!"

"that's it?" Sulli demanded. "WOW! Great friend you are, Amber!"

"I AM a great friend!" Amber insisted. "Right Jess?" She smiled at me innocently.

"not really," I admitted.

Amber scoffed. "Whatever. Anyway, Sulli's one of the ambassadors here so she knows the ropes and all!" She smiled at her friend proudly and pat her shoulder. 

"I heard your sister's really nice," Sulli said. "Quiet, but whatever she says has a meaning to it." She smiled. "I'd really like to meet her. Everything Amber's told me just sounds like she's a great person!"

"Yeah...thanks." I felt warmth blossom from my chest at those words. Why was I feeling this way? "She's...uh..." I didn't know what to say but they were all waiting for me to finish. "She's cute."

They all stared at me--except Sulli of course, but I'm pretty sure she would be if she could--and blinked. Amber was the first to break the silence. "Um...yeah, she's cute," she said. Then she glanced at me and smirked. "Hell, I would date her if this y woman would let me!"

Everyone was silent, and Jessica felt self conscious when Victoria looked her up and down. Amber glanced at me and looked guilty. "Um...I'm kidding, anyway. You guys know how I am."

Sulli chuckled. "Yeah, Amber. Better watch that mouth of yours. So, Jessica-shi," she continued as if nothing happened. "I really can't wait to meet your sister. I think she'll definitely fit in here."

I honestly didn't know what to say. I was slightly taken aback by Sulli's statement. What did she mean? "Anyway, I'll consider this place. Krystal doesn't really like to be far from home." I didn't know if that was true, but i knew she didn't want her too far from me.

"We understand," Victoria said. "But this place becomes like a second home, you know? She'll be with other people like her."

I blinked at them, and Amber glanced at me nervously. "Well...I understand that," I said slowly. Kind of....

"Krystal will like it here," Sulli said affirmatively.

I tried not to make a face of uncertainty so she just smiled. "I think so too." I was sure she'd like it IN Hongcheon, but probably not in this school. "Well, thanks for showing me around. We should be heading back."

"Y-yeah!" Amber said quickly. "You know how it is out there. People go to  travel. Bus comes to bring 'em! We gotta run!" Amber dragged me away, muttering curse words and scolding herself for being an idiot, and other stuff I  didn't understand.

"BYE!" Victoria and Sulli chorused.

"Amber!" I said. "Slow down!"

Amber continued dragging me back to the main building. Taeyeon looked up and smiled. "hi! How'd you like it?"

"It was fine," Amber said and proceeded to walk us out of there.

"Amber!" I protested again.

"No time! Thanks Taeng! I'll give you a call later!" Amber called back, and Taeyeon agreed. 

------------------------------

Amber and I barely made it back to the bus terminal in time to catch the bus back to Seoul. "Dammit! I should have thought about it!" she grumbled.

"What are you talking about?" I demanded. "And why did you make us run out of there like there was a horde of zombies coming our way?" Amber had been acting oddly near the end of the meet.

Amber gave me a sidelong glance. "Oh, god, Jess, that is the perfect analogy ever." She sat back. "Anyway, we have nothing to worry about. They're nice people. I just wanted us to get home ASAP. Krystal's probably missing you."

I stared at her incredulously. "Is there something...I should know about that I don't know?" I asked tentatively. 

"Nothing we should be worried over!" Amber sat back with her arms behind her head. "Trust me, Jess. The program is great. With people like Taeyeon, you're in good hands!"

So the conversation ended at that, but Iwas starting to doubt the credibility of this program Amber had been so ecstatic about before. But this was probably the only program affordable within my budget since I didn't want to need my uncle's help. I didn't want to be indebted to him. I wanted to be independent, free, and maybe live a new life with Krystal...if Krystal was willing, of course.

After another hour, we were finally back at the jampacked bus terminal. We squeezed past impatient people and piled into Jessica's car. Amber huffed with relief and groaned aloud. "Oh my gAWD! We are home!"

"We haven't even left," I pointed out as I started the car and pulled out. 

There was a bit of traffic, and I took the opportunity to do some quick window shopping. Most of the stuff was either too flashy, dull, or just not my taste. We contined down the road, and as we were stuck in the traffic I saw something that caught my attention. I suddenly remembered that Krystal was in dire need of clothes (although she wouldn't admit it).

"Hey, Amber," I said. "What do you think of that striped shirt?" I pointed to a longsleeve with blue and white stripes.

Amber leaned over to look. "Uh...it's better than the other stuff we saw. Why?"

"Don't you think Krystal has a very dull fashion sense?" I prompted. I didn't want her to know about Krystal's lack of clothing if she didn't already.

Amber shrugged. "Dunno. I think she's ok." She stopped thoughtfully. "But if you're talking about how she wears the same thing all the time, then yes, we should buy it for her."

So she had noticed...

*Narrator POV*

Krystal couldn't believe what was happening. Tiffany was kissing her! All she could think about was how she had lost her first kiss to someone she had no intention of kissing at all. Krystal didn't know what to do. She was paralyzed with shock and fear. Thoughts entered and left her mind at the speed of light so that she could hardly think about how she could get out of this situation. The piano trick was out of the question already.

And what would Jessica think if she caught them like this?

Tiffany's grip was tight on her, and it hurt. The older girl was pinning her against the arm of the sofa, and applying more pressure to the kiss. Krystal tried moving her head to the side, but Tiffany grabbed her face with both hands to immobilize her. She let out a noise of a discomfort from when she felt Tiffany move her lips against hers to force her to open up. Krystal was hoping her sister might barge in and stop this madness, but she was also hoping her sister wouldn't barge in at the same time. What if Jessica got the wrong impression? What if Jessica thought she was some player from the roads of dom because of the poor condition she lived in before?! What do I do?! she spazzed. Why is she kissing me?

Krystal suddenly felt a foreign invader brush against her abs. Her heart quickened with horror. What the heck is she doing?! she wailed inwardly. She shuddered and flinched when Tiffany's hand started to reach higher under her shirt. Krystal wasn't strong enough to push her off so she did the one thing she was certain would get Tiffany to stop.

She bit her. Hard. 

And she tasted blood. 

Krystal scrambled to the far side of the sofa away from Tiffany and made spitting noises as she tried to get the blood taste out of , while Tiffany nursed the damage Krystal had inflicted upon her bottom lip.

"Oh, sh*t!" Tiffany cursed and held a hand to . When she looked at the palm of her hand, it was covered in blood. 

Then, the both of them heard the key slip into the lock.

"!" Tiffany dashed away, unknowingly letting some of the blood from leave a small splotch of splatter art on Jessica's sofa. She rushed to the bathroom to remove the evidence of suspicious activity.

Krystal was still affected by what had just gone on, and she felt so dirty. She curled up facing into the sofa. She feared that if Jessica (or anyone for that matter) looked at her, everything would be left all out on the field.

"Hello!" Tiffany cried cheerily as Jessica walked in. "How'd it go?" She wiped her hands on the back of her black jeans.

"Fine," Jessica said as she locked the door. She turned to give her friend a smile."How was your..." she trailed off when she spotted Krystal curled up in ball in the sofa. "...day?" She made a face. "Did something happen?"

"uh...nothing to worry about, Jess!" Tiffany said quickly. She leaned on the counter with an elbow and leaned her chin on her hand to cover with her fingers.  "She just got a bit tired." She grimaced at the pain she felt in her lip, but covered it with a grin and eyesmiles. "You know how my energy rubs off on people." Tiffany was nervous. She didn't know why she thought that Krystal might return these feelings for her. She should have waited a bit longer to find out before forcing herself on her. 

She had already fallen for the girl since day one, initially thinking that she was just helping Krystal out since Jessica obviously had no interest in her. But as time went on, and as she came to know Krystal, she really started to like her character. She was quiet, and not very open, but she had a good heart. She still loved (to some extent) Jessica despite all the things that had gone on, and still respected her which is why she was so hesitant towards Jessica. Krystal was considerate, kind, a real sweetheart...not to mention intelligent as well (physics, math, and all that jazz~).

Tiffany liked that in a person, and Krystal was also cute, and actually pretty good looking. But because she tended to cover herself up, no one could really see what a good body she had. Tiffany was sure, though, that she had an amazing body hiding under all that fabric. And she was right. Today, she'd found out how muscular Krystal was after feeling up her abs....which was probably not a very good idea in the end. She'd gotten a bit lip, and now Jess was back, and she needed to get out before she suspected anything else.

Jessica had some sort of genius intuition to make up for the other things she wasn't good at. If something was wrong she was already pouncing on it.

"No kidding," Jessica said sarcastically. "Even I get tired of you."

"Well, it was nice hanging out with your sister today!" Tiffany said brightly, "I gotta get going! You know, work and all!" She was about to get her stuff and leave when Jessica saw a tinge of dark red on her arm. It looked familiarly and suspiciously like blood.

"Fany...is that...blood on your arm?" Jessica asked cautiously.

"Huh?" Tiffany looked scared for a second but as soon as she spotted the mark, she laughed it off.

But Jessica also noted that Tiffany's lips were kind of swollen and red. "Fany, what the heck did you do? Your lip is bleeding!" she exclaimed.

Tiffany just laughed, but Jessica detected a nervousness enter her the other girl's eyes. "Yeah, I bit myself. Kinda hard too. It hurt really bad." She checked her watch. "Well, I'd really like to stay and talk first aid with you, but I gotta go, Jess. It was nice seeing your sister again." She looked over at Krystal, who hadn't moved an inch. "Anyway, hopefully she won't be so tired next time."

"Fany, wait-!" Jessica wanted to ask her what they'd done. How could Krystal be tired now? SHe was ok this mornign when she'd left. It was 5PM.

"Sorry, Jess! Duty calls!" Tiffany grabbed her stuff and started to put on her shoes.

"What? You said you weren't busy today!" Jessica protested. 

"Yeah, well...I actually got a call, and I've gotta go!" she smiled. "Good thing Amby didn't come back, huh? Or else we'd been in hella lot of trouble with that flabbermouth!"

"Amby?" Jessica echoed. "Fany, would you wait just a second?"

"Nope. Gotta go. Thanks for letting me see your sister! Been a pleasure, and I hope you had a good time!" Tiffany exclaimed. "See ya! ANd tell your sister that I'm s--" she stopped herself. "That I'm glad we got to hang around today!" SHe hoped Jessica hadn't detected that she had caught her mistake just now. She left before Jessica could say anything else.

Jessica was left utterly confused and slightly suspicious. She went over to Krystal and cautiously touched her shoulder. "Soojung?"

Krystal didn't respond. She was silently spazzing. She was confused and still suffering the shock of Tiffany's actions. She felt exposed, stripped of her ability to protect herself. Perhaps things would have been different if she still had her eyes. She could have done something like run away...but there was no use in thinking about what she could have done. She felt that she couldn't even face her sister after what happened. She had been forced to kiss her sister's best friend, and her sister's best friend was definitely borderline about to do something to her that would probably be classified as highly inappropriate.

Jessica stood over her sister unsure what to do. Krystal wasn't reacting to her, although she was sure the girl knew she was here. 

So Jessica squeezed her sister's shoulder to see if it would grab her attention. That didn't work. She sighed through her nose with slight frustration that she couldn't get through to Krystal right now.

Soojung, she thought. What's wrong with you?

-------------

Yuri was worried. Jessica had never replied to the voicemail from a week ago. Was Sica mad? Yuri still wanted to be her friend. Maybe Jessica hadn't found someone else yet, and was upset that Yuri had gotten over her faster.

"Yul, what's wrong?" Yoona asked and handed her a cup of tea.

Yuri had gone over to Yoona's apartment for dinner, and maybe a little something more. They were sitting out on the balcony enjoying the night air of Seoul. Yoona sat beside her on the bench and kissed her cheek. "I don't like to see you troubled like this."

"Ah, it's nothing," Yuri said. "I'm just thinking about a friend."

"Your ex?" Yoona questioned.

Yuri glanced at her. "Yeah...I mean...I don't miss her like--well I think she was right in cutting us off because I was able to meet you." That earned her a smile from Yoona. "But...I still want to be her friend. She's a great person, Yoongie. You'd like her too."

Yoona met her gaze. "Tell me about her, Yul." She held Yuri's hand in hers as she sipped her tea. 

"Well...she was a lonely girl, Yoona," Yuri said. "The first time I met her, she looked so sad and lost. She had only one friend at the time." She closed her eyes recalling the memory. "Tiffany was her only friend for a long time. I met her in high school." She paused wondering if she ought to tell the whole story or not, but she decided against it. Jessica could share it herself if she wanted to. "Anyway, she seems cold hearted the first time you meet her, but once you get to know her she's like a fluffy teddy bear. She's really nice, caring...she has this crazy power too. She can literally see through people, and uncover suspicious intentions. It's kind of scary actually."

Yoona chuckled. "She sounds like a great person."

"You're great too!" Yuri exclaimed. "Honestly, I never really found much romance with her. She was always so distant."

"Well, how about now? You said she broke up with you?" Yoona asked.

Yuri nodded. "Yeah...because she met up with her sister again...and things happened. And I kinda screwed up." She scratched the back of her neck. "I don't think I was a really good girlfriend. I shouldn't have been trying to encourage her bitterness..." 

"Well, what's done is done," Yoona said. 

They were silent for a moment. Yuri noted how round the bright white moon was, shedding its feeble light upon the dark earth.

"What's her sister like? The same?" Yoona asked.

Yuri swallowed her tea. "Uh...hard to say," she replied awkwardly. "I don't really know her. Heck, no one does. She's really quiet." 

"Ah, a mystery person. I like that," Yoona said with a good natured tone. 

"But...I did hear about how she had to live,"Yuri said slowly. "She's had a hard life the poor kid. Her father was always out and drinking. She had to take care of herself pretty early on in life." She held the cup of tea in both hands. "And she was sick."

"Oh...Yul," she started sympathetically.

"She was sick and no one knew. So now...she's blind." Yuri didn't know why, but her heart went out to the younger girl. She felt tears b in her eyes. She hid her face in her hands. Oh, god...how could I have suggested Sica to send her away? she cried inwardly. Now that she thought about it, Krystal had nobody.

Nobody except Jessica, and maybe Tiffany since she had been spending time with her.

"Yoona, I think I'm a bad person," Yuri said. "I don't know how I could act so cruel. I didn't even take the time to try to get to know her." She wiped her eyes. 

Yoona rubbed her shoulder. "Yuri, the past is the past," she said reassuringly. "You can apologize to her if that makes you feel better." She pecked her on the cheek. "At least you realized your mistakes. I'm sure you won't do that again."

Yuri shook her head and looked down at her tea. "I hope she can forgive me."

Yoona took Yuri's chin in her thumb and index finger, and kissed her on the lips. "Hope for the best, Yuri. I'm sure she will." 

"thanks, Yoong." Yuri leaned her head on her shoulder. 

Yoona breathed in her scent. It smelled of perfume, lotion, and a light hint of sweat. "I'd like to meet them, Yuri. They sound like such good people."

"Maybe after everything's cooled off a bit," Yuri suggested, and Yoona agreed.

Yuri felt so rested with Yoona by her side. This was much different than with Jessica. Yuri knew Yoona was interested in her too, and she made it obvious. Was this how a romantic relationship was suposed to be? With Jessica, she had to initiate most of it, and often times, Jessica never paid much attention on their dates. They were pretty awkward. Sometimes, they'd be eating dinner at a cafe, and Yuri would try to make small talk, but Jessica would smile and shrug. Other times, she'd just give short answers, and get lost in thought again.

But with Yoona, things felt more complete. She was like Yuri's other half. They somehow connected better, and people who saw them also thought they were definitely an ideal pair. Besides that, Yoona was always waiting eagerly to see Yuri, and vice versa.

"I think I'm in love with you, Yoona," Yuri said quietly.

"Well, I'm in love with you, Kwon Yuri." Yoona held Yuri's hand and pressed her lips against it before looking up to meet Yuri's eyes.

She smiled at her and they shared a sweet kiss.