"Urghhh..."

Yuri groaned again as she stretched her limbs. As if the accident hadn't done enough to her body, an entire day of roller coasters, crazy rides and whatnot had brought about a new wave of muscle aches, and also possibly hindered with her recovery process.

Toothbrush in hand, she stood by the bedroom door and observed the girl on the bed intently while brushing her teeth.

“Just what is it about you that…” Yuri muttered under her breath. Unable to figure out an answer to her own question, she sighed as she made her way back to the bathroom.

(flashback)

The two girls quietly strolled home, inhaling the crisp night air, exhausted after a spectacular date.

"Did you have fun today?”

“No.”

An incredulous Yuri stopped in her tracks and looked down at the blonde, stunned by her answer.

Jessica continued walking ahead. “It would have been fun if I was with Kwon Seobang.”

“But…” Yuri caught up with the blonde. “But Kwon Seobang’s right here.”

“Where?”

Yuri reached forward for Jessica’s hand and held it. “Here.”

Jessica looked away to hide a smile. “Who gave you permission to hold my hand?”

“Kwon Seobang doesn’t need permission.” Yuri replied, dragging the girl along, down the quiet street.

The silence of the night brought about an air of uncertainty to Jessica as she looked at their intertwined fingers. For that very brief moment, despite having Yuri around, Jessica was afraid.

How many times can we hold hands like this before something threatens to break us apart again?

“Yuri…”

“Hmmm?”

“What are we now?”

Yuri stopped and looked down at the girl. Smiling, she said, “It is whatever you think it is.”

Jessica frowned at Yuri’s circumvention of the question. “I’d like to think that we’re married.”

“Then we’re married.” Yuri replied, half-smirking.

“I’d like to think that you’re mine and mine only.”

“Then I’m yours and yours only.”

But Jessica wasn’t satisfied with Yuri’s answers. “I’m serious. I want to know what you think we are, Yuri.”

Chuckling a little, Yuri reached forward, grabbed Jessica’s bag from her shoulder and began ransacking it.

“What are you doing?”

“Just give me a sec.” Yuri replied as she continued fumbling with the items in her bag. “Ahh. Found it.” she pulled out the bracelet and dangled it in front of Jessica.

“I’d like to think…” she said as she clasped the bracelet on her wrist. “…that we are YulSic.”

Kwon Yuri you cheeseball…

Jessica pouted in an attempt to disguise the happiness derived from Yuri's cheesy response. Slapping the taller girl on the arm, she scolded, “How did you know that it was in my bag?”

Yuri shrugged. “I guessed. I didn’t think you’d go anywhere without bringing it along.”

“Hmpf.” Jessica walked ahead, embarrassed and too prideful to admit that Yuri was right. Yuri giggled as she stood still and observed the girl for a short while; admiring the particular way she walked.

What exactly is it about you, Sica…

“Kwon Seobang! Hurry up, I’m getting sleepy!”

(end of flashback)

There was still no explanation for the almost-innate feelings Yuri had for Jessica. She didn't know how or why it had happened so fast either, but she was happy with it. Way too happy.

Albeit too happy that it made her feel just a little guilty about Hyomin.

But having come to terms with her insane inclination towards Jessica, Yuri shelved those thoughts away for the moment, preferring to go with this extremely smooth flow.

Stepping back into the bedroom, Yuri made a little jump and pounced on the bed, but slightly regretted it after as it caused her head to hurt a little. Holding onto her throbbing head with one hand, she tapped gently on Jessica’s belly. "Sica, wake up. You’re meeting Sunny later."

But the girl’s response only involved a slight stirring under the covers.

"Si... caaaaaaaaaaaa." Yuri began a series of taps on the girl’s belly.

"..."

"..."

A light bulb lit up ever so brightly in the depths of Yuri’s head all of a sudden. "Oohhh you’re gonna hate this." she muttered as she left the room.

(a minute later)

"KWON YURI!!!!"

Stationed outside the room, Yuri tried to hold back her laughter. "Y-yes?"

"GET OVER HERE!! NOW, RIGHT NOW!" Jessica screamed in English.

“Now… Right now…” Yuri mimicked as she trotted into the bedroom - only to be welcomed by little green projectiles.

"Whoa!!" Yuri dodged the cucumbers in time. "Are you trying to get me back into the hospital??!"

Jessica only responded with a sick expression. "I feel like I'm going to throw up..."

Immediately attending to the girl, Yuri patted her back gently. "S-sorry! I won't do it again!"

Taking the chance, Jessica immediately pinned the girl down onto the bed, pushing the latter right into the fluff. Burying her face into the girl's neck, she said, "Good. You're back. Let's sleep."

"Huh?"

"Let's not leave the house today."

Yuri frowned, feeling a little cheated. "Were you just pretending to be sick?"

"..."

"Hello? Anyone in there?" Yuri whispered in Jessica’s ears.

"..."

"Miss Jung...?"

"..."

To prevent the girl from falling back into deep slumber, Yuri began a mindless ramble on the chain of events that would consequent from Jessica’s decision. "So…”

“If Sica’s gonna sleep the whole day away…”

“Sunny's gonna be mad…”

“Sooyoung’s gonna be mad at Sica for making Sunny mad…”

“Fany's gonna be upset when her best friend misses her birthday party tonight…”

“Taengoo’s gonna come after Sica for disappointing her girlfriend…”

“Yoong’s gonna nag at me thinking that I made Sica upset…”

“…”

“…and I’ll be able to go out and flirt with other girls.”

Jessica’s eyes jolted open all of a sudden and she almost literally brought back the ice age.

Yuri gulped. “J-just kidding!”

The girl shot Yuri another glare before closing her eyes again; a glare that spoke more than just “IF YOU DARE, YOU DIE.”

“…”

"Sicaaaaaaa..." Yuri whined as Jessica lay in total comfort, complete with Yuri the bolster. Seeing that her attempts were futile, she blew at Jessica's ear repeatedly to further irritate the girl.

"Stop it..." Jessica groaned.

But Yuri wouldn't stop blowing. In a final effort, Jessica leaned in and "clogged the air vent", who, being caught by surprise, ended up making a puffer fish face - complete with bloated cheeks, wide eyes and a stunned expression.

But Jessica didn't move. She merely kept "clogging", and it only made Yuri more nervous by the second. To top it off, Jessica seemed to be dozing off; whilst locking lips with Yuri.

Is she seriously falling asleep on me right now?

Yuri moved away slowly, breaking apart from the kiss and deflating the puffer fish, only to be stopped by a deadgrip from the blonde. The latter then pulled her closer.

"Yuri. Don't leave."

The tone of Jessica's voice sounded too upset for Yuri to dismiss. She quickly moved back to the girl's side. "But I'm not going anywhere, Sica."

"You've left me twice. I can't... I can't let you out of my sight."

"We’ll be coming home to each other everyday." Yuri reassured. “I’ll be hardly out of your sight.”

Jessica kept silent, just looking at Yuri’s face. "But just for today, can you stay with me?”

Yuri chuckled at the girl's neediness. "Sure."

-----

"Sunny!"

The energizer bunny hopped over to the couple upon noticing them. "Late as usual! And I think I know who's the culprit." she said as she arched an eyebrow at the taller girl beside Jessica.

"I was the one who tried to get her out--"

"Yuri wouldn't let me off the bed--"

"You liar!"

"You liar!"

The couple simultaneously exclaimed, much to Sunny's amusement. Folding her arms, she narrowed her eyes at them. "Let’s go. We have a new practice to set up!" she said as she walked forward. Sighing, she side-glanced the couple and muttered under her breath, "Swell. Gonna be the third wheel all day."

Yuri ran forward and looked at Sunny inquisitively. “So. What exactly do you see in my chronic food-addict of a friend?”

“Her height!”

Jessica and Yuri fell silent at her over-zealous response.

“She’s like SO tall.” Sunny chirped as she raised a hand all the way up to prove her point.

“But that makes you very much shorter… I mean… relatively…” Yuri said.

Sunny stopped in her tracks, rested her hands on her hips, raised her head up high and gave Yuri the hardest stare she could afford.

“The word “short”, or the likes of it shall not come close to my ears you hear me??”

Yuri gulped. “I… I understand.” She couldn’t figure out why she felt threatened by the smaller girl.

It amused Jessica immensely. Looking over at the tanned girl, she asked, “Do you REALLY think that Sunny is that superficial?”

“Well… Other than her endless legs, how is Sooyoung attractive?”

“She’s funny.” Sunny said.

“Yes, she is.” Jessica agreed. “Her antics are the best.” she added.

“The best…?” Yuri muttered under her breath. She glanced at Jessica for a little while, before looking down. “I-I’m funny too…” she muttered with her lips pouted.

“I detect jealousy in the air.” Sunny stated as she shot Yuri a sly glance.

Sensing Jessica’s eyes on her, Yuri quickly diverted the topic. “S-so why are you fooling around with her? It takes a lot for The Great Choi Sooyoung to confess, you know.”

“She only confessed when I urged her to. I want her to come straight up to me without me taking the first step.”

“Okay, so why did you mess with her head too? Why did you have to tell her that you were interested in me?” Yuri questioned; defensive of her best friend.

“What?” Jessica asked, throwing a glance at Sunny.

Sunny coolly avoided the Ice Princess’s glare. “How did you know?”

“Yoong’s like the CNN of the pack.” Yuri stated. “I needed the updates on my people after sleeping for so long.”

“Oh. Well...” Sunny stepped closer to the taller girl. “But I am… interested in you, Kwon Yuri.”

Yuri gulped when she felt Sunny’s hand on her arm. Before she could step back however…

“What do you think you’re doing, Lee Soonkyu?” Jessica had wedged herself between the duo.

“S-Soonkyu??” Yuri frowned.

Frustrated with Jessica’s usage of her not-so-glamorous name, Sunny stared up at Jessica. “Trying to get what I want.”

Jessica went silent and reached for Yuri’s hand behind her.

Jessica’s possessiveness somehow felt all-too-familiar to Yuri. Her head started aching a little, but she brushed it off, more anxious about the tension between the two.

“HAHAHAHHA!!” Sunny exploded in hysterical laughter after several seconds of awkward silence. “Ahh. Another great piece of mind-work by The Great Sunny Bunny.  Look at you two, getting jealous over each other.”

“I wasn’t jealous…”

“I’m not jealous…”

The two couple replied in synchrony, amusing Sunny even further.

“Point: Proven.” Sunny stated. “Now let’s go already, lovebirds.” she declared proudly as she walked ahead, leaving the two embarrassed girls behind.

-----

When the work part of the day was over, the trio had settled comfortably at a restaurant for dinner. However, for reasons unknown to Jessica, Yuri had been strangely awkward with her and it had been bugging her the whole afternoon.

"So you're totally fine now, aside from the memory loss?" Sunny asked.

Yuri hid her guilty eyes by looking down at her food. "Yea, perfectly healthy and ready to start work."

"You’re lying, aren’t you?"

Jessica's response caught the attention of the other two girls at the table. Yuri took a glance at her, only to be met with upset eyes.

"You were lying, I could tell." Jessica stated. "Is it the headaches? I can’t believe I never noticed…" she asked as she leaned forward and rubbed the back of Yuri's head.

Yuri faked a laugh and focused on her plate. "I'm totally fine. And I'm regaining my memories back, bit by bit. It's a sign of recovery."

"You are?" Sunny asked. "That's great!"

"Kwon Yuri. Look at me."

Jessica's icy tone resonated in Yuri’s eardrums. Sighing, she dropped her utensils and turned over to the blonde. "I'm--"

But something caught her attention right before she could even begin explaining.

"Minnie..."

"Huh?" Jessica asked, bewildered to the point of discomfort.

"I-I think I just saw Minnie..." Yuri stuttered, seemingly in a daze. Her expression only served to strike another blow to Jessica’s chest.

“REALLY??” Sunny exclaimed excitedly and looked out the window.

"I... I gotta go..." Yuri stood up a little, almost ready to bolt out of the restaurant, only to be pulled back by a tug from Jessica's hand.

"Yuri... Where are you going??"

"I just saw Minnie! I need to talk to her..." Yuri said, albeit too anxiously for Jessica’s comfort.

"You promised you wouldn't be out of my sight... Don't go, please." Jessica begged.

Yuri leaned closer towards the blonde and looked into her eyes. "It’s just for a while, okay? I’ll call you." she reassured as she gently patted Jessica’s hand.

"But..." Jessica held onto the girl's hand even more tightly now.

Yuri don't...

"Sica, let me go." Yuri said, wriggling out of her grip a little, effectively gaining some freedom of her hand.

Don't go...

"Trust me, Sica." Yuri said before finally letting go of the blonde's hand.

Like a slow-motion movie, Jessica watched helplessly as Yuri released her hand, taking one step away from her.

And another step.

And another.

The girl leaves the restaurant as Jessica continues watching on, running down the sidewalk where dozens of cars whirl past.

Step by step.

Passing by one car.

Two, three.

Four.

Five.

The fifth car suddenly swerves into the concrete pavement.

No...

Yuri stops in front of it.

The car collides with Yuri, head-on this time.

No...

Yuri rolls onto the bonnet.

Smashes against the windscreen.

Rolls back down.

Hits the ground, back first, head second.

Yuri lies unconscious.

This can't be...

The sky turns red.

The buildings turn red.

The road is stained in crimson.

"Jessica!!"

Jessica snapped out of her disturbing trance as Sunny shook her shoulders.

"Are you alright??" Sunny asked in concern.

"Huh?"

"You're in tears." Sunny said as she reached into her bag. "Don't worry. She probably needs an explanation on why Hyomin disappeared." she smiled as she handed Jessica a piece of tissue.

Jessica shook her head. "It not just that... I..."

"What's wrong?"

Jessica teared up again before she could say anything.

"Talk to me, Jessica."

"I get nightmares every night. I worry about every single step she takes... I don't even want her to step out of the house.” Jessica explained in tears.

“I'm so scared... that if I let her out of my sight for even a second, I'll never get to see her again--"

"Jessica. Yuri's fine. She survived the accident, she looks great, and you guys are still together. You need to recognize that." Sunny reassured.

"She’s not fine. She was lying about the headaches." Jessica replied, disheartened. “And I didn’t even notice…”

Sunny sighed and looked at the blonde in sympathy. "She probably didn't want you to worry."

Jessica hung her head down in despair. The untouched food on her plate looked more unappealing than ever as another wave of worry came over her. "I... I need to go.”

"Going to stalk Yuri?"

"Yes. And don't try to stop me." Jessica said as she picked up her bag.

"Am not. I'm tagging along."

-----

“Minnie!” Yuri exclaimed as she ran through throngs of people, the back view of the girl almost disappearing from her sight.

No no no no don’t disappear…

With more effort this time, Yuri weaved her way through the crowd. “Minnie!!” she called out helplessly. “It’s Yuri!!”

The girl stopped in her tracks, much to Yuri’s relief. Taking large steps forward, Yuri tried to close the distance between them; never failing to take her eyes off the girl’s back.

Very slowly, Hyomin turned her head back, and for that few seconds, the two girls made eye contact.

“Minnie!” Yuri shouted out again, smiling and making her way to the girl.

Hyomin took just a second more to savor the girl’s face, before swiftly resuming her journey forward.

“W-wait!!” Yuri exclaimed, bewildered by Hyomin’s behavior. “Why are you leaving?! Stop!!”

But Hyomin only responded by hastening her pace.

“No…” Yuri panted, feeling a little helpless as a wave of headaches set in right at that moment. Using one hand, she clutched her head tightly and started running forward, stumbling and pushing people out of the way. She didn’t care. She wanted an explanation, she wanted answers.

She wanted to see the girl she had been missing.

With a final sprint, she had managed to get close enough; within arm’s length. Leaping forward, she grabbed the girl by the arm forcefully.

“Don’t go.” Yuri begged. “Please…”

Hyomin was silent. She stopped in her tracks with Yuri holding tightly onto her arm; while the rest of the world walked on by.

Taking just a moment to catch her breath, Yuri walked in front of Hyomin, still holding onto her arm. “Why are you avoiding me?”

But Hyomin remained solemn, hiding behind the familiar wayfarers as Yuri tried to stare through them.

“Say something, please.” Yuri pleaded, reaching out for the barrier between her eyes and Hyomin’s.

She was stopped abruptly by Hyomin’s hand. “We can’t see each other anymore, Yuri.”

“Why??” Yuri questioned, a head full of questions that she wanted answered. “What are you talking about??”

Yuri’s face only made it much harder for Hyomin to put on her act. “I…” Hyomin began, having trouble beginning what she was about to say. “I think… I think we should just pretend we don’t know each other from now on.”

“W-why??” Yuri asked, feeling a sense of despair. “Why are you doing this?!”

“Let me go.” Hyomin said, struggling to free herself of the girl’s grip. "Please..."

Desperate and not knowing how to react to the situation, Yuri stepped forward and pulled the girl into her arms.

“Please don’t…” she pleaded. “I miss you, Minnie.”

A tear escaped Hyomin’s eye and rolled down her cheek when she heard those words. They were words she thought she would never hear again. She stood still in Yuri's arms, guiltily indulging in the situation.

Breaking apart from the hug, Yuri used a hand to lift the shades on Hyomin’s face, while using her other to wipe her tears. Finally looking into Hyomin’s reddened eyes, she felt a sense of reassurance. “It’s not every day that you run into the person you’ve been longing to see on the streets. It must be fate.”

And with that, Hyomin succumbed. Seeing Yuri acting this way towards her was the one and only thing she missed since forever. It was like a long lost dream come true.

The tanned girl reached forward and grabbed onto Hyomin’s hand.

“Come with me.”

-----

Kwon Yuri…

I should trust you…

“Jessica, don’t misunderstand the situation.” Sunny advised. “Just… talk to Yuri later, okay?”

But Jessica could only afford one response; walking away. Before the stupid thoughts came.

I should trust you…

“Jessica!” Sunny tagged along closely behind. “I know what you're thinking, but don’t jump to conclusions. You know Yuri; she’s always been quite the touchy type…”

I should…

Jessica didn’t say anything. She just kept walking on, holding it in.

“Trust me, that didn’t mean anything. I can tell!” Sunny exclaimed.

Her words stopped Jessica in her tracks. “But why can’t I?!!” the girl yelled as tears streamed down her face. Sobbing so hard that she was gasping for air, Jessica clutched her chest as it began to hurt. “I’m… losing Yuri…” she cried helplessly.

“I lost her since the accident…”

Sunny watched the girl in empathy. She walked forward and hugged Jessica tightly, stroking her back in an effort to make her feel just a little better.

“I don’t even know if I can get her back anymore…”

“I know the world seems to be crashing down on you right now, but the one she loves is you.” Sunny asserted. “Trust Lee Soonkyu on this.”

Sunny’s confidence grew just a little on Jessica. She didn’t know why the girl had so much faith in her arduous, ill-fated relationship with Yuri, but hearing Sunny’s words made her feel just a little less hopeless, a little less upset, and a little more comforted.

“Why are you… so sure?”

“Cos I read people pretty darn well, and I did that for a whole afternoon today.” Sunny replied confidently. “So just shove your insecure self away and have some faith in YulSic will you?”

Jessica nodded and calmed down after a while as Sunny remained by her side.

“Everything’s gonna be fine. I’ll take you home, and we’ll have all the fun in the world at Tiffany’s party tonight. You don’t want to be a sourpuss on your best friend’s birthday do you?”

Jessica smiled a little. “Thank you, Soonkyu.”

Sunny chuckled. “Hey hey. I’m only letting you call me that cos you’re upset. Don’t take advantage of it, okay?”

-----

(flashback)

Hyomin stood outside Yuri’s ward, observing the couple huddled on the bed.

“I can do this…” she muttered under her breath as she stared at the face of the unconscious girl.

How can I face you anymore

Hiding something like this

“I can do this…” she reassured herself as she took another good look at Yuri’s face. Possibly the last time she would be able to.

I'm sorry, Yuri

“Be happy with Jessica, okay?” she said before she walked away.

(end of flashback)

The familiar park, the familiar park bench, the familiar trees and the familiar patch of grass which stretched endlessly.

Just how Yuri and Hyomin had fondly remembered it.

The two girls sat on the bench and looked into the horizon while the sun retired for the day. No one really said anything, preferring to indulge in each other's company and the peaceful serenity.

“Why didn’t you visit me while I was in the hospital?”

“I did.” Hyomin replied. “I had to visit you in secret.”

“So why are you avoiding me now that I'm awake?”

“Don’t ask… Yuri. Please…” Hyomin shook her head and looked away.

“I have to!!” Yuri exclaimed helplessly. “I've been longing to see you ever since I woke up!"

It caught Hyomin's attention. She turned to Yuri, completely taken aback by what the latter had said.

"I lost my memories from the accident. All I can remember, is that you’re my girlfriend...” Yuri buried her face in her hands as she felt more defeated by the second. “I lost all my memories of Sica. I don’t remember her leaving, I don’t remember her coming back, I don’t remember San Francisco, I don’t remember proposing to her,”

“I don’t remember anything…” she cried helplessly.

“Yuri…” Hyomin muttered, unsure of what to say.

“But I remember how I met you, I remember how your cooking tastes like, I remember your apartment, I remember looking forward to watching you on TV… It just somehow feels like you're still my girlfriend.”

Hyomin was rendered speechless with the revelation. It seemed as if this was the rare opportunity she never thought she would have again, but as much as she desired it, an inner voice within her reminded her against it.

"Yuri..." Hyomin shook her head. "We aren't together anymore. You're with Jessica now."

"Why did we break up?"

Hyomin shook her head and smiled. "For many reasons."

"And the main reason?"

"Yuri..." Hyomin held the girl's hands and forced a smile despite how much it hurt. "You have always been in love with Jessica. And I can vouch for that."

"Seriously..." Yuri rubbed her forehead in agony. "I've been killing myself these past few days... Because I’m having all these weird, extremely intense feelings for Sica and it feels like I’m betraying you.”

The words fell heavily onto Hyomin. She felt a little part of her die inside when she realized that Yuri wasn't here to get her back. It was for reaffirmation, an assurance that no one else could provide but her.

She scoffed at her naïve thoughts as she reverted to that person at square one; the one whom Yuri would never choose.

“My silly Yuri… I don't deserve you.” Hyomin smiled a little as she ruffled the girl’s hair, forcing herself to swallow the impending tears.

“Why do you say that?” Yuri questioned.

“Because I can never love like the both of you do.” Hyomin continued wearing a smile to mask her pain. “I love you, but Jessica loves you even more. She ran straight towards you when she saw the car…”

“…while I froze. I didn't save you.”

Hyomin’s words inevitably carried a tinge of envy amongst its sadness. Yuri sensed this, and looked down in guilt. “I put you through a lot of hurt, didn’t I?”

Hyomin shook her head and forced another smile. “At least you were a good girlfriend. Just… not meant for me.” she said, unconsciously letting a tear escape her eye.

Yuri leaned forward and hugged the girl by her waist. “I can never apologize enough for what I put you through.”

Hyomin rested comfortably in Yuri’s arms as more tears slid down her cheeks. “We've already went through this before, Yuri. I love you and I want what’s best for you.”

“I love you too, Minnie.” Yuri said, face buried in Hyomin’s hair.

Hyomin closed her eyes and listened to those words again and again in her head; those 3 words which carried so much weight to her, even though they were just fleeting words on Yuri’s part.

Indulging in that bit of comfort and familiarity which she missed, Yuri said, “Just for tonight, for now, while I remember you and only you…”

“…let me be your girlfriend.”