Match 1

Hospital

Hidden POV

I sit on on the window sill, watching the last remnents of sunlight disappear. The disugstingly clean hospital smell no longer bother me, but comforted me to a certain level. Though, being stuck in a hospital is something I wouldn't choose. I had lost another summer in here, only the company of my cousin and younger sister keep me sane. Parents are something I rather not think of in this already depressing situation. Other than them, I could only talk to nurses and doctors, or other patients, but they were all busy, or old. Shooed me away without even looking at me. Even if they did talk to me, it was only with pity. It was like they were playing pity the teenager.

I would glare at them and walk away. I was sick of being treated like a little kid. I was sick of the mocking pity in their voices. I hated hospital food, its so bland.

As the day finally turned into night, a nurse came in. "Miss -blank-, please sit on your bed and away from the window. You'll catch a cold."

Sigh, treating me like a little kid again. I did as told though, no need making useless trouble when life's short.

"You'll be getting a new roomate today."

I looked at the nurse in surprise. "Oh really? What for? How old is she/he? Is it a girl or boy? Is he/she pretty or handsome?"

I reeled off a bunch of question, finally getting a chance to talk to another person. One who didn't know of my condition. One who wouldn't pity me. The nurse laughed, and patiently answered the questions. Apparently it was the first time she'd ever heard me talk. Well, other than my screams of pain when the doctor would insert a needle deep into the skin. 

The door was rattled open, it never worked properly, and a girl was rolled into the room. Quickly the nurse and doctor hooked on some IV's and blood transfusion. The sight of all the tubes sticking out of her body was saddening, and I stopped thinking before I thought of myself in the same situation. 

The doctor and nurse bid a farewell, moving onto the next patient. I was left alone with the girl.

Suicide. The nurse had said. I stared at the girl, heart thumping loudly. Getting off from my own sheets, I knelt by her side and brushed a strand of brown stray hair away from her cheek. The simple contact set my messed up heart racing. Why would such a pretty girl want to die? What could've made her come here? What made her give up life, something I didn't have enough of, so quickly? 

The thick bandages wrapped around her wrist was depressing. I didn't want to think anymore tonight, but the unanswered question kept running through my head. Somehow, I fell asleep on the other girl's bed. Well, at least my head did, the rest of my body was on the cold stool.

She didn't wake up the next day. But instead, I was discharged for the first time since summer started. 

Little did I know, that brief meeting was the first match that was lit.

3 years later (Tiffany's POV)

"Sicccaaaa~!" I yelled while thumping on her door. "Get up! You have five minutes to get ready or else we'll be late!"

"I don't care... Let me sleep."

I gave a loud sigh in frustration. The little Ice Princess was seriously hard to wake up, and even if you did succeed, she'd give you a glare so fierce it chills you from a mile away. "Get up Jung Sooyeon! Or I will stuff a cucumber in your mouth!"

"Do it I kill you." Though she said that, I heard the shuffle of sheets and a thump. "Hurry, we're down to 3 minutes." 

"I'm up, I'm up. Just call my cousin saying you'll be late."

I rolled my eyes, "Just hurry." Taking out my cellphone, I quickly texted Seohyun. Just as I put it away, Jessica stepped out, yawning. Well, she was properly dressed and her hair was brushed, so it's one of her better days. "What's the school called again?"

I looked at her, mouth wide open in utter disbelief. "You've been going to that school your whole life and you can't even remember the name?!"

Jessica shrugged, "I don't care. It's just a school." she replied nonchalantly. The blond handed me my bag and manually closed my open mouth. "Close your mouth, flies are going to fly in."

Walking toward Jessica's cousin's house, we walked in a comfortable silence. She wasn't one to talk, and I didn't want to bother her. But suddenly, she broke it, "Hey, does it mean something is you keep dreaming of the same person?"

"PFFFTTTTT," I spilled half of my drink and just stared at her ridiculously, "Are you really asking me this?"

"Yeah! Why is it so surprising?!" She yelled, irritated by my response.

Wiping the coffee dripping down my neck, I just giggled, "You don't seem like the romantic type."

"I'm not."

"Well I can see that."

"Ugh, never mind. Hwang Miyoung, you are no help. Remind me never to ask you about anything ever again."

"Hey! I told you not to use my Korean name!"

"Well, you made fun of me."

"Ugh, never mind."

A quiet voice interupted our quarrel, "Unnie... You're attracting a lot of attention."

"Seohyun! Long time no see~" I said happily, giving the taller girl a hug. She smiled, "Good to see you to Tiffany unnie."

"Ok, just ignore me here why don't you?" Jessica scoffed.

"Sorry Sica unnie." Seohyun gave the blond a hug. 

The walk to school was normal, and we waltzed into the classrooms, thankfully on time. Bidding a goodbye to Seohyun, I followed Jessica into a loud room. 

THUD! I suddenly barreled into another girl. All the books and papers she was carrying fell onto the floor. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't see you there! Here I'll help you."

Getting down on my knees, I helped the shorter girl. She gave a smile and muttered a quick thanks. I nodded back and stood up, making way for her. I only got a quick glance of her face, but it was shrouded by thick glasses and her bangs. 

Huh... She seemed nice...

Taeyeon's POV

I smirked and dumped the stack of papers and books in the teacher's lounge. Walking in the halls, I took off my glasses and tied my hair up, everyone knew who I was now. The glasses was for disguise, its annoying to have people staring at your every second of your day. Anyways the "new", more revealing appearance guaranteed lots of staring and drooling from both guys and girls. Flashing them a smile, I swear even the guys swooned. I took out my cellphone and gave a quick call.

"Taeyeon? What is it?"

"Hey Yuri~. I think I got my next target! She's super cute." I said, remember the charming eye smile.

"... That's great. I care why again?" Yuri replied.

"Because you're my best friend, that's why?" I stated, laughing.

"Ahahaha, I forget that sometimes. How did I become friends with such a player in the first place?"

"That's 'cuz I'm pure awesomeness."

"Whatever. I'll see ya later Taengoo."

"Bye~. Wish me luck~"

I chuckled to myself, "Now, time to make you mine~."

Match 2

First Meeting

-Yuri’s POV-

“I can’t keep that up: if I’m watched to that extent, I start getting snappy, then unhappy, and finally I twist my heart round again, so that the bad is on the outside and the good is on the inside and keep on trying to find a way of becoming what I would so like to be and what I could be, if… there weren’t any other people living in the world.”

(-Anne Frank)

I muttered the quote quietly to myself, closing the diary that was written by a young, hopeful girl. Finally, after all this the time that I spent trying to find a nice copy of the book, I had finished it. All the time and money was totally worth it. 

Taking a quick glance at my watch, I smiled, “Oh… Yoona and Taeng’s going to be coming soon.” Getting off from the large, comfy bean bag, I put the diary back on the shelf and opened the trap door of the attic, summoned down by the sound of the bells. Getting attacked by the bright beams of light, I yelled dramatically while faking a death. “Ack! My eyes, they burn!!!! I’m DYING!!!! Vampire down! Vampire down!”

Clutching my heart, I pretended to burn and climbed down the ladder and lay on the carpeted floor of the book shop. I giggled to myself, expecting to hear Taeyeon laughing and accidentally smacking her head against the counter. 

Instead, I was greeted by a chilly silence. 

I cracked open one eye when I didn’t get the usual ahjumma laugh from Taeyeon and felt my face turning a bright red.

Oh my god… Wrong person…

Instead of the usual shorty, I was greeted with the sight of a beautiful face with cold brown eyes staring at me with a “wtf is wrong with you?” kind of expression. Without missing a beat, I stood up and smiled my most charming smile at her, “Whoops, sorry. I forget that I only sparkle in sunlight~.” I said while making a reference to the horrid vampire book I had burned a while ago.

“Um… that’s nice. I’m looking for a book.” She said, completely ignoring what had just happened. I breathed a sigh of relief and put on a more relaxing expression, “Maybe I can help you? I do work here you know.”

I made my way through a large stack of books to sit behind the counter on the stool and leaned towards her. For the first time, I got a good view of her. She had straight blond hair that went down her shoulders that started curling a bit at the end. It fit well with her face and eyes and made her appearance more angelic than before. I couldn’t help but stare, but a slightly annoyed cough from her made me snap back to reality.

“Like I said I’m looking for a book. It’s also very obvious you work here. Well, anyways, I’m looking for… uh… What was it called again…?” The girl made a very cute expression of utter confusion.

I chuckled, “Well, do you remember what it’s about?”

“It’s a sad story.”

“There are a lot of sad stories in the world of literature.”

“It’s about a boy.”

“There are a lot of stories about boys in the world of literature.”

“… It’s a romance? I think?”

“There are a lot of romance stories in the world of literature. I think?” I said, copying her cute, yet irritating, antics. It’s very hard trying not to tease her.

She gave me a soul-chilling glare. I immediately shut up realizing she was 100% serious. I was put into a daze, scared of what she would do to me if I kept my wise-ass jokes up.

“You know, I think I’ll go find it myself.” Taking a phone that looked similar to mine, she texted it and set it onto the counter. 

I cracked a smile, somehow breaking the trance-like state she put me into, but realized she had already wandered off deeper into the shelves of books. I called out to her, “I’m here if you need me.”

“Hm. I won’t need your help.” She scoffed in her know-it-all tone.

Jeez, for such a nice appearance, she has the attitude of a Princess… or a sergeant. 

Getting comfortable on the stool, I picked up the closest book in the unorganized avalanche of books. Cracking it open, I stared at the title page. “G-Get? Grate? G-Great! Yeah, Great! Great Ex… Express? Expression…? Ex- ARGH! I can’t figure it out! How and why did I pick an English book out of all the other Korean books in the pile?!”

I muttered a long string of curses at my weakness of not being able to put a book down after opening it. Luckily, before I got a headache, the phone in my pocket vibrated. 

From: Player Taeng

To: Bookworm

Hey Yul~ Sorry, but I can’t come to the store today. It turns out that my dog got loose and ran away >.<

Someone forgot to lock the back door. Text me back if you find it! TTYL

-Taeyeon

I sighed. Stupid Taengoo, forgetting to lock the door once again. 

From: It’s Yul, not Bookworm!

To: Stupid Taengoo

‘K I got it. I haven’t seen Nuji at all today.

-Yuri

I set the phone down on the counter and stared deeply into the book. Stuck just on the cover page, it frustrated me that I couldn’t read on. “Great Expect… Great Expect-pect-pecta… Great Expectations...? OH! Great Expectations~! I read this one in Korean before~.” I smiled stupidly to myself, happy beyond belief at this great achievement.

I set the book down, smiling happily, and grabbed a cell phone on the counter, deciding to text Yoona. She probably couldn’t care less, but I was too happy to be put down by a sarcastic comment from my younger sister.

Before I could get my fingers on the keyboard, the customer came back, looking frustrated. Just as she was about to leave, her eyes caught the English book’s cover. “Aha! That’s the book I was looking for! And it’s in English, even better.” Looking at me, she pointed to the book sitting openly on the counter. 

“How much for it?”

I shrugged while giving her an apologetic glance, “Sorry, it’s not for sale.”

“Why not?”

I pointed to the tall, messy stack of books I called “Paper Avalanche”, “None of the books in this pile are for sale.”

“But it’s on the counter.”

“Thanks for the obvious. That’s because I was reading it.”

She gave me an unbelieving stare, “It’s in English you know that right?”

I rolled my eyes, “Yes, yes, even I know that. Unbelievable.” I countered in my own sarcasm.

“Can I borrow it then?”

“But that’s what a library is for, is it not? This is clearly a book shop.”

“You are the most infuriating thing in this world, you know that? Do you talk to all your customers this way?”

I gave her my dazzling smile, “Of course. And I enjoy being infuriating, as you say. And nope, you're the only one who gets this special treatment.”

“Ugh! Never mind, I’ll go look for it somewhere else.”

She grabbed her cell phone and stomped away, pushing on the door. The door stayed still, not budging underneath all that pressure the angered blond put on it.

I burst out laughing. She whirled around quickly and shot me a glare. If looks could kill, I’d be burning in hell right now. I would’ve stopped laughing, just by pure fright as some others, but this was way too funny. “You know what-hahaha! I’ll make you a deal. I’ll let you “borrow” the book as long as you read it in here. So… kinda like a library but not really. I don’t make this kind of deal to anyone you know.”

Actually, I made this deal right on the spot, but she wouldn’t know… would she?

She glared a few moments more but finally gave in to the temptation. “Fine. I’ll do it, but only on one condition.”

I tilted my head in confusion. She smirked, “As long as you don’t act like you’re a dying vampire every time, I’ll come. Also, Twilight sucks.”

I felt my face flush in embarrassment and annoyance. “Whatever, you’re never going to let me forget are you?”

Her smirk only got bigger, “Nope~.” She kicked the door once more and turned at me, her eyes looking cold and icy. “Your stupid door’s broken.”

It was now my turn to smirk, “Well… If you really knew how to read, you would know that says to pull not push.”

She glared once again, except now all flustered and red. “W-What! I knew that! I was just t-testing you! Yeah, that’s it.”

“Sure~. Whatever you say Princess.”

She grew angrier at the word Princess. “Argh! You are the most annoying person in the world I have ever met!”

“Have you looked in a mirror? I think I come second at most, but thanks for the compliment.”

“W-Wha- argh! Stupid whatever your name is! I’m leaving!”

I waved mockingly at the furious blond, smiling, “Bye~. Hope you’ll come back soon!”

“Never again, I hate you!”

I smiled to myself, “Love ya too~ Customers’ are always welcome!”

Even with all the sarcasm and fighting, I really did enjoy the customer's visit. I don't get a lot of customers, and most of them are in their older years of life. Maybe that's why I made that deal. Something about her just attracts me. Most of the people who come visit come back on their own free will. She's no exception. I've seen her before. But before today, I never talked to her. Honestly, she was lifeless until today.

The blank expressions she wore were what stuck with me in my memory. Even when smiling, laughing, serious, or angry, they were all generic. The spark of life in people's eyes were absent in hers. Maybe I talked to her, purposfully got her angry to see if she wasn't just a shell. She seems to be barred behind an unknown darkness, only being able to show her true side through little cracks. She was like one of those pet birds. Birds who don't know anything outside their cages don't know how far they can stretch their wings, or how far they can fly. They don't know the taste of freedom. Now, she even accidentally let me have one goal in life. 

Help her break free.

I chuckled. "Hurry back soon Princess."

Yoona came in, but I was too caught up in my dreams to notice her. "Unnie... the first thing I don't want to see when coming back from school is that creepy little smile and your creepy matching laugh. Stop it. This is why we don't get any customers."

I didn't hear her and instead waved, "Oh Yoong~ You're back!"

She facepalmed. "What a creepy and some-what stupid person I have for a sister."

---Match 3Reencounters

-Taeyeon’s POV-

“Step back… and stop right there! Perfect! ” Picking up the camera, I took several shots, hoping one would be perfect. Photography is trial and error after all. Letting the camera hang loose around my neck, I smiled to myself, then immediately looked around trying to see if someone had caught me talking to myself/a tree. After checking that no one was there, I breathed a sigh of relief and picked up the camera once more. 

“Wow… that’s a pretty sight…” A sudden voice behind me awed.

Squealing in surprise, I quickly turned around. “O-Oh! Y-You’re the girl from yesterday! You didn’t see that did you?” I blurted out.

She looked at me confused, “Sorry… I haven’t seen you before and have no idea what you’re talking about…”

I sighed, letting out the big breath, and dug in my pockets. Finding the thick glasses, I loosened my hair and put them on. “How about now?”

“Ohmygod! Sorry for not recognizing you!” she apologized quickly, saying the beginning in English. I shrugged, “I don’t mind.”

Taking off the glasses I smiled at her. “So, what are you doing out here?” 

Haha, maybe she was attracted by my charm and had to find me~

She gave me a sheepish smile along with the cute eye smiles, “Um… I got lost. I wanted to explore around the city and my “guide” got off track and left me.”

I smiled, here’s my chance to get closer to her~ 

“Would you mind if I was your replacement guide? My name’s Kim Taeyeon.” I said, holding my hand out to her.

She hesitated slightly, but took it, “Thanks a lot! I’m Hwang Tiffany!” Her hand was warm compared to my cold ones, and slightly bigger. I lingered a bit longer than I meant to, but withdrew quickly after realizing, while somehow managing to keep a cool smile. After breaking the handshake, I packed the camera back into a small bag and shrugged it on.

Now, time to charm her.

We walked on, heading towards a long road that was known to be filled with shops and a popular place where couples went on dates. Naming the streets and popular places, I felt like a tour guide that’s for sure. A pretty good one though.

“Tiffany, that’s quite an unusual name you have there.” I said randomly, wanting to make a conversation.

She nodded, “I’m a transfer student from the US.”

My eyes slightly widened, “US? Really? Then you must be friends with Jung Jessica.”

Tiffany smiled, “Yup! She’s the reason why I moved here. She was my tour guide to, but who knows where she went.”

Oh? Are they a couple? Hmm, this turned out to be more interesting than I planned it to.

It wasn’t my first time breaking up a couple. Be it girl or boy, one of them always got bored of the other, and here I was; innocent looking with a pretty smile. They were attracted to me, and I let them come. Led them on to think that I liked them as well, then broke it off halfway, leaving them with an angered boy/girlfriend and desire. But it never went past the stage of lust. Never developed into actual love... except once. 

I gave her a curious glance, eyebrow raised up high. She blushed and waved her hands wildly, getting what I meant, “N-No! It’s nothing like that, we’re merely friends!” she yelled.

“Uh-huh… Sure.” I said giving her a knowing smile.

Even more flustered than before, she pointed to a cake shop. “Let’s go in there! I’ll pay!” Grabbing my hand, she pulled towards the shop, desperately trying to change the subject. I chuckled and let her pull me along; besides, her hands are nice and warm. Well, it was free cake and a date, I wasn’t complaining. 

-Jessica’s POV-

Jingle! Jingle!

The door bells rang loudly as I walked inside. Glancing at the counter, I saw the same girl sitting behind it, just like yesterday, except with noticeably large dark bags under her eyes. Must’ve been Tiffany… I thought. Making eye-contact with her, she gave me an “I-told-you-so” smirk. My eyes twitched at her arrogant and annoying smirk. What was more aggravating then that is why she of all people made me lose my temper yesterday.

-Flashback-

“Augh! That stupid counter girl! I want to smack that smirk off her lips!” I ranted, stomping my feet all the way back to my house. “Why did she of all people have to work there!?”

Fumbling the keys to the house, I finally unlocked it and slammed the door shut, ignoring the surprised look on my sister, Krystal’s face. “Unnie? Are you ok?”

“No!”

Krystal shrunk down and cowered behind the book at my sudden temper. She was wise enough not to make her usual smart-alec remarks at my unusually irritated temper. 

Usually I was calm and kept my temper, rarely showing my emotions and only showing a certain amount of aloofness. Maybe that’s how I got dubbed the Ice Princess… Anyways, Krystal immediately shut up and let me pass to get to my room without any questions.

“Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Ugh! I hate her!”

Even with all the rage going on within me, some tiny little part was confused. I’ve seen her somewhere before… must be going insane… But, I really did see her. Maybe it was someone else?

With all the internal conflict going on, I hadn’t realized that my cell phone was buzzing until I somehow accidentally landed my face on it. A buzzing cell phone on your head is not good for a headache.

“Uwah! Stupid thing!” I yelled, taking out my anger on it.

Taking it, I read the message anyways. 

From: Player Taeng

To: Bookworm Yul

Yuri! I found him! Turned out he was somehow locked in my room all this time~

-Taeyeon

I stared in confusion at the message. Who the hell is Taeyeon?

Taking the phone I texted back.

From: Confused

To: Player Taeng

Who are you?

A couple of minutes passed before getting a reply.

From: Player Taeng

To: Yuri

Yah, Kwon Yuri! Is this another prank you’re trying to pull?

-Taeyeon

From: Confused

To: Player Taeng

No, seriously, who are you and how do you know my number?

From: Player Taeng

To: What?

… Isn’t this –insert random numbers here-? 

-Taeyeon

I froze and looked at the number. Ah crap… In my rage, I had grabbed the wrong phone and took the counter girl’s- er Kwon Yuri’s phone by mistake. They looked alike, but with different straps and cases. Now I had to go back… 

-Flashback over-

“Hey Jung Jessica~. I see you’re back.” Kwon Yuri said with a large smile on her face. It clashed with the sleepy eyes though.

I put her cell phone on the counter. “Here, this is yours.” I said, trying very hard to keep a neutral expression. She smiled and placed mine next to hers, “And here’s yours. By the way, could you please tell your friend Tiffany that she has major issues texting someone at 2:15 a.m. when normal people would be sleeping. She’s the one who told me your name by the way.”

I raised an eyebrow, “There is an off button you know. Also, your friend Taeyeon told me yours, Kwon Yuri.”

“Yes, I know it’s on the side, but I’d rather not touch the phone more than necessary.”

My hand twitched, “What do you mean by that?”

“Nothing~.” She said, laughing nonchalantly. “Anyways, the book is up in the attic.”

“Huh? Can’t I just read it here?”

She shook her head, “No way, you’d be a bother to the other customer’s. Besides, the attic has a bean bag, sofa, and my bed. You can choose any of those or the floor.”

“What other customer’s?” I said, eyebrows raised with a fake look of innocence.

Yuri thought about that, “Er, whatever. You know what I mean.” Before I could complain or make another sarcastic statement, she leaped over the counter and grabbed my arm, dragging towards the ladder up to the attic. “Just up here and push the door up.”

My face flushed, “Shut up! It was a onetime mistake!”

That reply only evoked more laughter from the darker skinned girl. “Just don’t mess anything up ok? Come down whenever you want.”

I humphed and indignantly climbed up the ladder, pushing the trap door open. Stupidly, I closed the door before locating the light switch. In complete darkness, my hands went wild, trying to find the light switch. My right hand grabbed something soft while the other successfully located the light switch. I blushed, my mind racing at what the soft “object” could’ve been. 

It’s not anything like that right? Nobody would leave anything personal lying around, but this is her room… 

Flicking the light switches, I gave a loud sigh and sank down into the floor. Instead of anything I imagined it to be, it was just a large Mickey Mouse stuffed animal. I slapped myself, probably leaving a red mark on my cheek. “Stupid perverted mind. I was not thinking that.”

Finding the book on a little stand next to a sofa, I picked it up and laid across the soft fuzzy sofa. “Oh my god… This is so comfy…” Picking up the book, it wasn’t long until I got bored and drowsy.

The soft, cushiony couch moved to fit my body perfectly and the lights were dim enough to ignore. The really attic was warm too. I yawned and laid the book open across my stomach, keeping the page I was at. “Just… five minutes won’t hurt…” 

…

Falling into a dark hole…

…

…

No light…

No entrance or end…

An eternal loop in darkness…

Just pure black…

…

…

I’m…

Scared…

Tears…

Alone…

Tired…

I don’t want to disappear…

Please…

…

…

…

Someone save me…

…

“Yah, Jessica? It's closing time... Are you ok? Were you crying...?”

The voice brought my conscious back to reality, yet still in the dark haze of nightmares. Gripping the person and pulling them tighter, I buried my face in their shoulder, tears streaming. Stiff at first, the shoulders relaxed while long, warm arms enveloped my body. “Don’t leave me…” I muttered like a little child in need of comfort. The person stroked my hair and cheeks while replying in a husky voice, “I won’t. I promise you I’ll never leave.”

-Hidden POV-

Sitting underneath a tree, hidden from view, I lean back listening to the melancholy piano. A long sigh escapes from between my lips.

Hidden underneath a storm of mistakes, a beautiful melody strains to be heard.

B sharp when it’s supposed to be an B flat.

F sharp when it’s supposed to be G.

C natural when it’s supposed to be sharp.

A long pause breaks the jumble of sounds… then a quiet sob of sorrow takes its place.

I hang my head, “Hey… Tell me how I’ll ever fix my biggest mistake. How do I pay back your dreams with mine if I’m in debt to another?”

A single tear rolls down.

---

Match 4

Awkward Situations

-Sooyoung’s POV-

You know how people always says, “Oh how are you?” all the time for a greeting? Well, here’s my honest answer.

I felt like crap.

What a horrible way to start the day. Had barely enough sleep, 5 hours, had to skipped breakfast because I “overslept”, but it turned out my cousin was kidding and so I here I sit, in front of the school, looking like a complete loner with a grumbling stomach. I mean seriously, it was loud. I received strange glances from some pedestrians passing by.

“Oh, she is so gonna get it when I see her…” I mumbled to myself, planning revenge. I probably looked stupid, but I couldn’t care less. I kept mumbling until a familiar figure came into view. Maybe she has food!!! I told myself happily.

“Yah! Kim Taeyeon~!” I waved and yelled until she saw me. Breaking into a smile she walked my way. “Hi Sooyoung. How are you?”

“I feel like crap.”

That took her by surprise. “Oh, uh, ok. That’s great I guess…?”

I ignored her reply, “Do you have any food? No breakfast, starving.”

“Um, no…”

I sat down, and curled into a ball, “I’m gonna diiieeee!!!”

Taeyeon sighed, “Hey, how about I make you a deal? I have money with me right now, enough to buy some bread in that shop.”

My head shot up, “Sure! What is it though…?” I said suspiciously.

The shorty gave a big smile, “You know in our science class, how we’re going to have that big project? The partner one? Well-“

I held up a hand, “You’re asking me to help get a girl aren’t you?”

“Hey! I wasn’t even finished yet! Besides, do you want breakfast or not?”

Food… Pride… Food… Pride… FOOD!

“Ok, fine.”

Taeyeon gave a smug grin, “Ok, do you know the know transfer student? Tiffany Hwang?”

I shrugged, “Yeah… She’s pretty popular.”

“I know that. Well, she always pairs up with the same people when it’s a partner project. Jung Jessica or Sunny. Well, in science, it’s Sunny.”

I held up the hand once more, “You want me to pair up with Sunny. A girl I never talked to before?” I asked unbelievingly, “Are you 

stupid, she’ll never agree!”

Taeyeon pointed to the store, “Bread or starvation?”

“Ok, ok, I was just saying! No need to threaten.”

“Don’t worry, if I just go and steal Tiffany, Sunny will have no choice but to pair up with you. Just stall her with your ‘charm’ or something.”

“Fine, this better be some really good bread.”

Taeyeon smiled, “It’s the best.”

-Quick Yuri POV-

I couldn’t concentrate on the black printing of the book in front of my eyes. Instead, my mind kept wandering to yesterday.

“Don’t leave me. Please…”

I had no idea what to do, but the blond was in serious need of comfort. Somewhat hesitatingly, I wrapped my arms around her. 

“Donghae…”

Who’s this Donghae I wonder. A voice suddenly snapped me out of the detective work in my mind. “Ms. Kwon?”

“Whua, oh, Dr. Lee… why the formality?”

“I don’t know, just a habit. Anything new yet?”

“No, I’m still pretty stable.”

He smiled, “I was talking about the books, but that’s great to hear.” He suddenly put on a serious look, “Yuri-ah…”

-Sooyoung’s POV-

That was really worth it…

I mean seriously, the bread was crisp on the outside and sweet and soft on the inside. So fluffy…, so delicious. I sighed and Taeyeon smacked me on the shoulder. “Yah, Sooyoung! You look like an idiot; it’s almost time for Science too!”

I ignored her and just shoved past her. “Whatever Shorty~.”

“Stop calling me short!”

“I’m just being honest.”

“Argh! How are you related to Yuri and Yoona, I’d really like to know. Wait, I do know. All of you guys are abnormally tall, pranksters, obnoxious to some extent, and shikshins! Well, maybe not Yuri, but you and Yoona for sure.”

I rolled my eyes while grinning at her childish behavior. “Whatever, you’re just jealous of my body.”

“My god… Why I asked you to help, I’ll never know.”

I ignored her (for like, the umpteenth time) and walked into class. Actually paying attention today, I felt nervous. Tiffany and Sunny walked in together, giggling about something. I elbowed Taeyeon, “Is this really a good idea? I mean seriously, I don’t feel too good doing this.”

“Don’t worry! Nothing could ruin it! Besides, I have something else to make sure I get paired up with Tiffany.”

I gave a big sigh. This isn’t going to end well at all… 

The teacher came in and all talking ceased. Mr. Kim was scary, tall, and super strict. It wasn’t hard to get him pissed, and getting him pissed means getting yourself put onto the “bad” list. If you’re put onto the bad list, it’s practically automatic failure. I’m border lining that “bad” list right now, along with a couple of other guys, one of them including Yoona. And Kim Taeyeon, the horrible yet unexpectedly smart student, a delinquent and player, had somehow gotten into the “good” list. This world is completely messed up.

Mr. Kim coughed, glaring at a few straggling students that ran in late. I shivered, that glare creeps me out every time. He went on, “You all have probably heard of this fantastically hard partner project I’m about to hand out. It’ll involve weather, going outside, getting dirty, and cooperation with your partner.”

A bunch of people groaned while a few that were already on his “bad” list, like Taecyeon, had enough courage to mumble and complain out loud.

Ignoring them, the teacher went on talking. “It’s very simple actually, but the teams will have to have a significant height difference, yes, offense intended to those sensitive of their height.” My eyebrow shot up in surprise. Unable to tell the difference from joking or truth, the class all decided it was the latter and quietly sat there, not daring to comment.

“Also, by a request of a excellent student, whom I shall not name, “ Taeyeon, I thought while rolling my eyes. “gave me a brilliant idea. The partner you choose must be something new. Yes that means you Seung Yeon and Sunghee. You two may not be together, and you never got work done anyways with who knows what you two were doing.”

The class laughed while the two girls sat there blushing a scarlet red. I caught a glance of Sunny and Tiffany looking at each other, obviously displeased with the Mr. Kim’s decision. The shorter of the two girls, Sunny, caught me looking at her. I quickly turned away. She’s quite cute… ARGH, no, just no. Stay focused… Hwaiting Choi Sooyoung!

Turning in Taeyeon’s direction, she was already looking my way and gave a thumbs up sign. I smiled and rolled my eyes and mouthed, “Your such a dork.”

“Ahem. Choi Sooyoung… do you have anything you’d like to share with the class?”

Breath caught in my throat, I jumped. “Er, no, not at all!”

He gave me his famous death glare, “Ms. Choi… You do realize that you are very close to failing? If you don’t ace this project, then I’m afraid that I’d have to fail you. And failing you means another year of torture.”

Torture for you? Torture for me!

I nodded, face flushing as others shot my pitying glances or snickered. “O-Ok…” I mumbled.

“Good. I’ll give you all 10 minutes to get a partner.”

Standing up quickly, I made my way towards Sunny’s desk. Taeyeon was already talking to Tiffany while the latter was blushing, yet smiling at the shorter girl. Finding Sunny alone, I stood there for a good awkward 5 minutes before finally being able to stutter the question. “H-Hey? Sunny right? Could you be my partner?”

She looked up, looking uninterested. Desperate, I quickly shot out some random excuses. “I mean, see, I’m tall and your short, so it works, right?”

Sunny stood up and huffed indignantly, her tongue pushed up against her cheek, “Excuse me?”

“Er- that’s not what I meant. I mean, uh, I know your smart and I really need to pass this class, so please be partners with me!”

“So I can do all the work, no thanks!”

“Oh come on, I’m not that useless! Pleaseeeee…? And there’s a significant height difference, like he said.”

She gave a mocking laugh, “Oh my god, you didn’t insult me once, but twice. I barely know who you are and you come up and mock my height?”

I mentally slapped myself, “I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to offend you, I just really need a partner!”

“No.”

I sighed and decided to use the “best” line I knew. “Please? You know, I was having a crappy day, but after seeing you, I think it’s one of my best now. You make my world a whole lot brighter.”

“PFFFFTTTTTTTT-“

“What?!”

She looked at me with a "lol" look. “Did you just really say that?”

“Yeah. Feel free to laugh.”

“Oh, I am!”

She looked around the room and sighed dejectedly, “Ok, fine. I’ll be your partner as long as we split the work 50-50, got it? And because no one else in this room is worth risking my grade for.”

I felt my face form into a large smile, “Ok! I, Choi Sooyoung, promise to work hard to get a good score.”

“Good.” Sunny said smiling. She looked around, “I wonder who Tiffany’s partnered up with?”

I looked in her general direction and found Taeyeon and Tiffany still talking, looking like they’ve been friends forever or something. “Taeyeon, I think.” I said, faking innocence.

Sunny’s eyes opened up wide, “THE Kim Taeyeon? What the hell, seriously?”

I gave a short laugh, “Yeah, it seems like it. Don’t worry, Taengoo won’t do anything… yet.” I whispered the last part to myself. Sunny just gave me a disbelieving look, “That’s not what my friend said… And did you just call her Taengoo?”

“Er, yes?”

“Wait, your friends with her?”

“Yeah…”

“I take back what I said before then, sorry.”

“What?! You can’t just-“

“Ok class, time’s almost up. If you don’t have a partner yet, whoever you last talked to is your partner. No, don’t complain Heechul, just shut that mouth of yours. You look more stupid that you than normal.”

I smiled at Sunny awkwardly, “Well, I guess we’re stuck.”

“Oh jeez…”

I looked at her, “What’s so bad about me being Taeyeon’s friend?”

She glared at me, “What? You’ve never heard the rumors before?”

“They’re just rumors.”

“Oh, not really.”

“Huh?”

“Nothing, nothing.”

“Seriously, what the hell? You can’t just say that about my friend. Ok, I admit, she’s far from perfect, but still, you can’t just 

insult her and get away with it.”

“It’s not just me you know.”

That started a little mini yelling war between the two of us. Even if I was towering over her, she didn’t move an inch and stood her ground. Taeyeon, Tiffany, and a couple of others standing close by gave us an odd look, but the two of us were too heated up to be bothered by them. I don’t even remember why we fought about something as stupid as that and why she fought back. One of Taeyeon’s earlier targets maybe?

“Well, whatever’s wrong with Taengoo, I’m not like her. At all. I yell at her more than anyone else actually.” I stated, annoyed and angry with the shorter girl.

She gave a big sigh and gave me a defeated look. “Ok… Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you.” 

I didn’t know if she was being sincere or not, but decided to accept the apology. It’s better for me to get along with her then become enemies and fail. “Whatever-“

“Choi Sooyoung, why do you always interrupt?”

“Oh come on! Why is it always me?!” I mumbled irritably before sitting down.

Mr. Kim went on talking about the assignment, but I zoned out, thinking about what Sunny had said. 

Should I apologize? I mean, she did start it, but I yelled at her too… Hell, we’re going to be partners, so the sooner I get the bad stuff over with, the better grade I’m going to get.

“Well, here are the handouts. Grab one before leaving class.” Mr. Kim’s loud voice snapped me out of my thoughts and back to the class. He clapped his hands, signaling class was over just a second before the bell rang. “Bye.”

People quickly started streaming out of the class, causing a huge traffic jam to get out of the small doors. Jumping over a few chairs to get to the shorter girl, I grabbed Sunny’s arm. “What?” she asked tartly.

“I was just going to apologize for yelling at you earlier too…”

She gave a tiny smile, “No, that was my fault, I started it. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything. Anyways, I’ll talk to you later.”

I waved her a good-bye. I think I could actually like this girl.

Kim Taeyeon, I don't know what the hell you did, but you are so going to get it later…

-Jessica’s POV-

Come on Jung Jessica, you can talk to her today! I told myself. It’s been a week already since that… incident and I’ve been avoiding Kwon Yuri the whole time, too embarrassed to talk to her.

As school finished, I literally ran outside the class and to the bookstore, hoping to catch Yuri. Heading down the familiar street and down a corner, I stood panting in front of the small store. It wasn’t anything special and easily ignorable, but I liked it. It was quiet and had a nice atmosphere, something completely opposite to home.

Waltzing inside, I looked around.

“Ah, Sica! Hi there, how was school?”

I looked around, but saw nobody. Slightly freaked out by the situation, my mind raced with questions. What the hell? Is it a ghost? And Sica? 

“Up here!” 

And so I looked straight up. Yuri was there, sitting on top of the tallest bookshelf while throwing some books into the “Paper Avalance”. I stared at her. A chilly atmosphere enveloped the small store.

“Uh, hi? Why is it that whenever I come in here, you’re always doing something weird and completely stupid?”

“Because I get bored too.” Yuri replied, unfazed by my chilly stare. Climbing down with the agility of a monkey, she landed gracefully in front of me. 

“So, how was school?”

“Fine,” I said awkwardly. I still remembered the lingering scent and warmth she left as I spilled a part of myself onto her. The blush on my cheeks as I ran away from her.

The tall, tanned girl skipped around, “Ah~, I’m so happy.” She said in a high pitched voice.

I gave a small grin, amused by her antics. “Why?”

“Because you finally came to see me of course~!”

“Er- about that…”

Yuri stopped skipping and just smiled, “You don’t need to tell me if you don’t want to.”

Just another thing I liked about her. Her carefree and kind nature. Someone who didn’t push matters too far and let others have their space. “Thanks… So, can I stay and read, or are you busy?”

“Nah, I’m never busy.”

“That’s true.”

Right when I thought everything was back to normal, Yuri just had to ask the most unexpected thing ever.

“Hey Sica? Instead of reading today, wanna go on a date with me?”

---

Match 5

Secrets

-Jessica’s POV-

“Eh?”

“I said ‘would you like to go on a date with me?’”

“I-I heard that!”

“Then why aren’t you answering? Or maybe you’re saying no? Do you not like me?”

“N-N-NO! It’s nothing like that.”

Yuri smiled triumphantly, “Then you do like me.”

“Yes, no! WHAT?!”

“AHA! You said YES!” The taller girl gave a large smile and did a little stupid happy dance to show her mood. “Ice Princess Jessica likes me~.”

“…?”

She winked, “I know that you act like a total Ice Princess in school, a friend told me.”

“Who?” Because I’m totally going to kill them. 

“So will you?”

I sighed giving in. I knew she wouldn’t leave me alone until I agreed, “Fine.” 

“Great. Let’s go~.”

Pushing me outside, she quickly locked the door and grabbed my hand. The warmth of her hand was overwhelming compared to my cold ones. “Jeez Sica, you’re super cold.”

“Hmm…”

Yuri just gave me a quick smile before pulling me down the streets into a small coffee shop. Pulling up to the cash register, she waved at one of the cashiers. “Hi Min Woo~.”

The cashier guy turned around and threw a charming smile. “Hello Yuri. How are you today?” Catching my eye, I quickly looked away. “Who’s girl next to you?”

“I’m fine and this is Jessica, my date for today~.”

Min Woo’s eyes got big, “Jessica? As in THE Jung Jessica? The Ice Princess? Yuri, how’d you get her to get a date with you?”

Oh… does he go to my school?

Yuri smacked him, “That’s offensive, I’m a paying customer you know.”

He rubbed the red spot on his arm before apologizing. “Here, I’ll give you your orders for free as an apology.”

After ordering and giving us the coffee, I whispered a thank you before getting dragged by Yuri again. Turning a corner, we ended up in a table hidden by the wall. It offered privacy and solitude, but the atmosphere was warm and comfortable. 

“So Sica, tell me a little about yourself.”

“No.”

Yuri pouted, “Why noooottttt?”

“…”

“How about this then, a secret for a secret, or question for a question? I’ll tell you something and you tell me a secret about yourself.”

“Hell no.”

“Too bad~!” Yuri pointed to the bulky watch on my wrist, “Do you wear that everyday?”

Man, this girl was pushy. It’s so hard fighting against her. Instead of struggling against a person like I usually did, something along her made me go along with whatever she wanted. “Yes, I like to know the time.”

She took a sip of the coffee, “Ok… That’s a boring answer!”

“I don’t care, my turn. How old are you?”

“Seventeen.”

“Why aren’t you in school then? You’re younger than I am!” I exclaimed.

She wagged a finger, “No, question over, my turn. Ask me the next turn. I hate fish with a passion, that’s my secret.”

“I hate cucumbers.”

That earned a large laugh from the younger girl, “Cucumbers? Really?”

I blushed madly, “Yes! They’re gross and smell nasty.”

Yuri stopped laughing, but still kept a large smile, “Oh really? My sense of smell is pretty bad, so I never noticed I guess.”

“My turn. So, why don’t you go to school?”

“Because I’m home schooled.” Her tone changed ever so slightly. If I wasn’t listening as intently, I wouldn’t have caught it.

“You’re lying.”

Yuri’s smile was still there, but her eyes lost the spark of excitement it had a second ago. “Everyone has a secret they hide. I’m no different and nor are you.”

I gagged a little on the coffee. As I swallowed, the coffee left a bitter taste in my mouth. I replied without emotion, “The whole world is a hypocrite. If a God truly existed, why do the innocent ones be punished while the sinners get off without a drop of guilt?”

Yuri laughed without humor, “I wholly agree with you. But trust me, everyone’s committed some type of sin. My turn. What happened in your life that made you lose this much hope in life?”

“What do you mean?”

“The lack of life in your eyes. Avoiding emotions like a plague. The feeling of being trapped in a cage is what I feel from you.”

I

hesitated, and then replied back, voice as cold as ice, “How about you? Why does it seem like that happiness of yours is fake. Why do you live by yourself, avoiding people and drama?”

“Remember, one question at a time.”

“Regulations, rules, parents, constraints. All those things constantly tell me of what I have to be. What I can’t be. It’s like a chain around your neck. If I try to fight against it, I get hurt. Your turn.”

“I’m a coward. I prefer quiet over drama. I hate the thought of having to hurt others.”

I slammed a hand on the table, “Ok, what was the point of inviting me here? What are you trying to get?”

Yuri kept smiling that irritating smile of hers, “What I can’t try to do a good deed without you thinking I want something in return?”

“Nothing is for free.”

“I know. Ok then, I’ll ask you one last thing.”

“What?”

“How about I get you and Donghae back together?”

-Seohyun’s POV-

G… no, too slow, it’s off now… in five measure it’s an F sharp! 

I stopped completely. The last chord echoed throughout the room, the misplayed notes ringing in my ear as I gently closed the piano. The melancholy silence was overwhelming as I sat there, hands trembling as a small sigh escaped my lips. Unable to handle the mashed up feelings churning inside of me, I ran out of the room. The piano’s overbearing radiance; the future it had once given me was no more. There was no light at the end, just a dark passageway to uncertainty. 

Opening the sliding door, I quickly tried to escape, but failed as a large ‘oomph’ escaped from the person. Recognizing the girl, I quickly gave a bow, “Tiffany unnie! I’m so sorry!”

She smiled while rubbing a red spot, “It’s ok Seohyun. I’m fine.”

I bowed again anyways. “Stop bowing, it’s embarrassing. Anyways, were you the one playing the piano?”

I stopped bowing and looked back into the room, “Yes… It wasn’t too bad was it?”

“No! It was really good actually.”

“Thank you.” Even if I had accepted the compliment, I knew it wasn’t the truth. I knew all too well that it’s too far from perfection to be even considered to be called music anymore.

“Seohyun, are you ok? You look so good.” Tiffany unnie said, placing a hand on my forehead to see if I had a temperature. I grinned slightly at her concerned look, “I’m fine…”

“Hmm, you sure? You know, we should go on a walk! Fresh air always cheers up the spirit.”

“Um, sure?”

“Let’s go then!” Grabbing my hand, she dragged me through the school hallways behind the school. I’ve never been here before and never had never noticed a forest-like are behind the school. Taking a winding path down filled with rocks and other unexpected holes, I slipped and fell. Tiffany unnie slowed down and look back, offering a hand to help me up. “Are you ok?”

I took the hand gratefully, “I’m fine.”

She pointed at my right hand, looking sick, “It’s cut up pretty badly though! Urgh, blood…” Covering her mouth, she looked away. 

“Really, its fine. It doesn’t hurt at all.” I said unconvincingly. 

Tiffany unnie looked at me uncertainly, “If you say so…”

A few more minutes of hiking, we arrived at a cedar grove, not too far from the school. A loud rustling sound, which was probably an animal, could be heard. Tiffany unnie looked back and smiled, “It’s probably just a squirrel or something.” Unnie sat down underneath a particularly large tree in the center and patted to the spot next to her. Sitting down next to her, I took a deep breath and smiled. “Wow… this is so…”

“Beautiful and smells really good? I know right? I got lost one day and somehow wandered in here.”

I looked at her in amazement, “How did you get lost so far from the school?”

“Actually, it’s not that long; it’s just the trail swerves all over the place. See, if you look straight where the school if, you can see the piano room. I think someone here could probably here it too.”

I nodded, acknowledging that I have been listening to her. Sitting in a comfortable silence for a few seconds, the churning feeling inside got worse. 

Seeing the pained look on my face, Tiffany unnie grabbed my right hand. “Ohmygod.” She said in English, “This looks painful.”

I shrugged, unable to move my hand. “I can’t feel it.”

“But, its super long. Here, wait, I think I have a bandage in my bag.”

I let the older girl do whatever she wanted to “fix” the hand. After roughly cleaning it, she tightly wrapped the bandages around. “Dang, I would’ve screamed in pain if that was me…”

“I told you, I can’t feel the pain. I can’t feel my hand.” I said truthfully. The bottle I’ve kept on my feelings burst then, just by a simple statement. Tears unwilling streamed down and the more I tried to stop them, the more that came.

Unnie sat there shocked before finally wrapping her arms around me. “Seohyun, what’s wrong? Are you in trouble? You can tell me, I won’t tell Jessica, I promise.”

No, Jessica unnie shouldn’t know…

I sniffed, wiping away the tears that wouldn’t stop coming. “Please don’t tell Jessica unnie.”

“Ok, I promise.”

-Flashback-

“Unnie! Wait up!”

“Come on Seohyun~! You’re never going to get me!”

--

“Seohyun, you see those fireflies?”

“Yeah…”

“My sister says that fireflies are little flying lights of hope. They can make the darkest nights seem like the brightest. But honestly, I think you make my whole life brighter than them.”

--

“You can’t go.” The fearful strict figure of her childhood towered over the small child.

“Why not? It’s her birthday! I should be there for her, I’m her best friend.” 

“Are you arguing back? If I said no, it’s a no. I don’t like that girl.”

“…”

“Do you understand?”

“I understand…”

A silent tear dripped down.

--

“That’s too bad; your omma is always so mean.”

“I don’t get why she doesn’t like you, unnie. You’re so nice and pretty.” 

The older girl blushed, “Thanks Seohyun. OH! Instead, why don’t we sneak out at night and meet in the park?”

I nodded excitedly, “Ok!”

“Promise?”

“Promise!”

--

In school, I’ve been told never to cross the road without looking both ways.

Never to try cross the road when there are cars.

Never cross the road without someone with/near you.

Never cross the road at night without some sort of reflecting light or clothes.

Never to drive when drunk.

All the rules were broken that night. 

SCCCRRREEEAAACCHHH!

Without knowing why, without feeling pain, I was flung backwards.

Thump!

A red hue blurred everything in my vision, the pain unbearable. The loud noises of the screeching car and screaming pedestrians were drowned out. I oddly felt out of place with the world. The only thing still tying me down to reality was the promise. I tried moving my left hand; a wave of pain prevented me from moving my arm. I tried to move my right… I couldn’t feel it. It wasn’t there. Instead, empty space seemed to have taken over.

A blinking red light and the sound of sirens whirled into the scene. 

I ignored them all.

“Yoona unnie… I’m sorry, it seems like I can’t keep my promise…”

-Flashback Over-

An awkward silence took over. Tiffany unnie tried to break it, “So, you can’t feel your right hand anymore?”

I shook my head, “The car hit it first. Almost all of the nerves in it were destroyed by the impact and surgery…”

“Yet the piano…”

“I can’t play anymore. The reaction time is so slow… It’s like trying to press the keys with a bag of air… You don’t know which one is going to hit first.”

“There must be something.”

“There isn’t.” I said dryly. “Medical technology isn’t advanced enough to help me. To me, it feels like I’m traveling down a long tunnel. I can only go forward, not back, and the end is only darkness. No little spots of light are going to help me find the way out.”

Tiffany unnie sat in silence, unable to say words of hope or encouragement. I’ve given up on them anyways.

A few minutes later, the phone rang. 

“Sorry unnie, it seems like I have to go home now.”

Tiffany unnie smiled, “Bye Seohyun. I’ll see you tomorrow at Jessica’s house.”

That’s right… It’s Friday today. “Bye unnie.”

--

Oh… no moon tonight. The dark night swallowed me as I walked outside onto the deck. The little light that was able to escape through the blinds of my window offered little light.

“I'm pleading to you, please, I'm pleading to you

To the sky, my prayer goes to the sky

Cheer me up, cheer me up

Please, where are you now

Stars, stars, stars, stars, talk to me

Is it over? Is that it? Answer me, don't just laugh

Stars, stars, stars, stars, I'm pleading to you

Just for once, my love

Let me fly to your side…” 

I sang the lyrics softly, holding back tears.

As the last note of the song rang clear into the night, a little light flickered into existence. 

A… firefly? 

Once the first one broke free, little lights all turned on at once, lighting the black night with nature’s little fireworks. The fireflies danced around, circling each other. Breathtakingly beautiful, the scene was over in the blink of an eye when the first firefly flew away. Others followed, but not one followed another’s path. All flying into different direction, they light up the sky.

A shadow appeared, but quickly disappeared as the fireflies got brighter.

Brighter than the lights in my room.

Brighter than the stars.

Brighter than the moon.

“They can make the darkest nights seem like the brightest.” I whispered. “Fireflies are little flying lights of hope.”

“But not as bright as you make my life…”

-Normal POV-

The doorbell rang as Sooyoung was comfortably lying in the couch. “Ugh… who’s here at 10 at night?”

Opening the door, she looked at the younger girl. Yoona was covered in dirt and also acquired a few scratches on her face. Her clothes were caked with mud and her jeans had a big tear in it.

“What the hell were you doing?”

Yoona smiled while unclasping her hand. A firefly flew away into the night. 

“Catching hope.”

---

Match 6

Disappear

-Hidden POV-

I want to disappear so no one will…

worry for me

cry for me

die for me

I chose not to leave a trace of my existence.

I chose not to belong.

I chose not to love anyone.

I was the one who chose these things.

Nobody else.

I was never forced to.

Now, as my body slowly freezes among the piercing ice, my final wish is to disappear. Silently, without pain or tears, I want to disappear and be forgotten…

-Sunny’s POV-

I glared at the tall girl, trying act menacing and fierce. 

Well… I failed.

She patted my head, giving a wide smile and chuckling in amusement. I puffed out a cheek, my tongue pushing up against my right cheek. “I’m not a dog, don’t touch me.”

“But you’re cute enough to be one.” She replied nonchalantly, quickly dodging my attack on her arm.

“ARGH! You are just like Taeyeon.” I yelled, walking quickly to get ahead of her.

“Oh come on!” She jogged up, catching my arm. “I was just teasing you.”

I rolled my eyes, “Come on, let’s just get this over with. We have to place the thermometer in the park in a tree, under that huge rock by the river, and on the roof of your house.”

“Why my house?”

“Because you’re tall and can easily reach it from your window. While I’m short and obviously my short arms wouldn’t reach it.” I grinned wickedly as she flinched and let go of my arm. Yeah, this is revenge~

“You still haven’t gotten over that yet?” 

“Nope.”

“Will you if I apologize?”

“Never.”

The tall giant sighed and gave up. 

I gave an inwardly victory smile. 

“So where first?” she asked distracted, her eyes longingly gazing at the food stands. 

“Hmm… how about the park-“

UHMMMHHUUFFFNN

I stared at her, “What did you say?”

Sooyoung’s face was flushed, embarrassingly looking away, “I didn’t say anything!” she exclaimed, flustered.

That strange noise came again. It was like an odd crossing of noise, a mix of alien, tire over gravel, puppy grunts, and a pinch of The Grudge. All in all, it was one of the funniest things I have ever heard. “PFFFTTTTTTTT!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA! Wtf? Is that your stomach?” I asked, gasping for breath.

The taller girl glared, “Shut up! I’m hungry ok?!”

I hunched over, grabbing my stomach as the laughter exploded again, “But-ahahahaha- that isn’t-pffttt-even a human noise!” 

“Shut up!”

Standing upright again, I wiped the tears running down my cheek and gave her a large grin. “Oh my god… That just made my day.”

“Oh, that’s great. Your welcome.” Sooyoung snapped, walking away. She was clearly frustrated and mad. Still smiling like an idiot, I went up to one of the stands. Oddly enough, I remembered that she was nicknamed one of the “Two Greatest Shikshins” in our school. I pointed to various items in the stand which sold anything you would find on the streets of Seoul. “One large basket/plate of dukbokgi and a couple of odeng, uh… some kimbab, also a waffle for myself and two slushies: strawberry and lime. Oh, and a side of fried sweet potatoes and squid/octopus. Wait! I also want three slices of pizza! And for desert some chocolate and cookies~.”

It turns out that the counter girl was Hyoyeon, one of my best friends. So Hyoyeon, selling me the items just stared at me as I offered her the money. “Uhh… are you really going to eat that much?”

“Of course not Hyo. You know I could never eat this much.” I answered back, not bothering to explain.

She still stared while handing back change. “Um, have a good rest of the day…?”

“Thanks, you too~.”

Thank god I work as a waitress… I thought as I somehow managing to balance all of the food on my arms I half-ran half-limped towards Sooyoung, who was much further away apparently not bothering to see where I went. “Yah! Choi Sooyoung, get back here and help me or I’m going to drop it!”

The tall giant looked back and I almost fell laughing again as her expression turned from a look of irritation to pure happiness and shock. She ran back as I started wobbling from the effort of not laughing and balancing food. Catching the odeng and kimbab just as they started falling, she grabbed half of the other dishes in a quick move that even Jackie Chan couldn’t predict.

Hell, she was like a food ninja.

“Thanks.” I said, giving her a sincere smile. 

Sooyoung smiled back and gave a small giggle, “You didn’t need to buy this much.”

I raised my eyebrow, “Oh, then I could always take it back or give it to some poor animal on the street.”

She quickly waved her hands, rejecting the idea, “No, no. No need to do that. I, Choi Sooyoung, will gladly eat the wonderful food that this lovely maiden has graciously bought for me.”

“Pffttt! That’s almost as bad as the last cheesy line you gave me last time.”

“Oh, but you like it, do you not?” She shot a toothy smile and a wink. I pretended to gag in disgust, but in reality, I felt my cheeks heat up. 

“Come on, let’s go to the park and eat.” I said, avoiding her questioning look.

Arriving at the park, I immediately settled into a small shaded area under a large tree. Setting down the food, I rubbed my sore arms. “Ow… They’re heavier than they look.”

Sooyoung just laughed and sat next to me. “Who cares, as long as they taste good~.”

“You really are a shikshin.”

“And you really are like a bunny.” 

I raised an eyebrow and looked at her weirdly. “Ok, that sounds creepy.”

“Happy and energetic with a carefree nature. Hops around a lot and easily gets along with anyone. Doesn’t care about what the hell people think about you. Not to mention, you’re tiny and have fun hair to pet.” She said, starting to stuff her mouth with dukbokgi. “Hot! Hot!”

I handed her the green slushy, “Sounds more like a dog to me.”

She took a large drink before answering me, “But dogs don’t hop do they?”

“I guess.”

We took the next hour eating and joking around like old friends. It turns out; I really did like the company of this tall giant… even if she was friends with Taeyeon. But, let’s not go there shall we? We spent another hour just lying there, sleepy with stomachs full of food underneath the shade of the tall tree. A comfortable silence took over as I stared at the rustling leaves swaying in the wind. The laugher and talk of kids seemed to be in a different time, a time where things were easy and fun. 

“Sooyoung?” I said, drowsy from the peaceful aura and full stomach.

“Hmm? What is it Sunny?” Sooyoung sounded equally sleepy.

“Sorry.”

“Me too.” That caught me completely off guard.

“What for?”

“For being mean and yelling at you.”

“You already apologized for that in school.” 

“Hmm… Did I really? Well, whatever.”

I giggled and then blindly petted her stomach. 

“Haha… are you asleep?” I lifted my head up slightly. Sooyoung was sleeping with her mouth slightly open. I contemplated whether to stuff grass in there and run or let her be. I opted for the latter and settled down again.

The wind was mildly blowing and the sun was shining…

Next thing I knew, I blacked out too.

-Taeyeon’s POV-

I grabbed her shoulder and pinned her against the wall. Capturing her lips with mine, I savored the spark in her eyes and the taste of her tongue. 

“Mmm…”

“Shh… let me be the only one you hear…” I whispered seductively in her ear.

“Taeyeon…”

Wrapping and arm around her waist, my free hand traveled, roaming her body.

“What to do now~.” I teased the younger girl, completely unwrapping myself from her. 

“Whua-, oh come on!” she inched closer; about to end what had already begun.

I smiled devilishly before…

Ring Ring Ring

Oh hey look, phones ruin everything. 

She looked at me disappointedly. “Can’t you just ignore it?”

I wagged a finger and looked back at the text, “Nope, no can do. Sorry, it seems I have to meet someone else right now.”

She sighed, knowing she was going to lose even if she argued. “Ok, see you later maybe.”

I smiled, “Probably not.”

“I figured.”

“Bye bye~”

I headed out the bathroom and quickly made my way out of the building into the open street. Breathing a deep breath of fresh (well, city) air, I made my way to the coffee café. Heading inside, I waved to the counter boy. “Hi~”

He gave a big smile and waved back. “Hey Taeyeon, she’s in the corner table right now. You know, behind the wall.”

“Thanks Min Woo!”

I rounded the corner to the usual table. The tall, tanned girl sitting there flashed a big smile and handed me a cup of coffee. “Hey Taeng, you’re finally here~.”

I smiled back, “Hey Yul! So, have you considered my offer yet?”

She snorted sarcastically and just rolled her eyes. “Hell no, I’m not becoming another victim of player Taeng. Sorry, first kiss isn’t going to you~.”

I chuckled, “I figured as much. So, why’d you call me?”

She shrugged, “I dunno, bored. Why, I can’t see my best friend now without a reason too?”

I cuffed her head lightly and teased her. “Nope, sorry. You can’t.”

“Ahaha, funny Taengoo. Anyways, do you know who Jung Jessica is?”

My eyes opened in shock. “How do you know the infamous Ice Princess of Soshi High?”

Yuri shrugged, “Oh, coincidence. She’s a customer of my book store.”

“Oh, so another patient for Therpist Yul eh?” I joked.

“Something like that.” She said, taking a loud slurp of her coffee. “So, anything interesting about her?”

“I don’t know anything. I tried talking to her, but she shot me the scariest glares ever. All I know is that she’s friends with 

Hyoyeon, Sunny, a girl named Seohyun who’s younger than us, and Tiffany.”

Yuri’s eyes widened at the name of Seohyun, but she kept quiet. I tucked that little information in my head for later use. “Tiffany…? Is she American too?” Yuri inquired, taking another large sip.

“Yeah. Anyways Yuri,” I pointed to the cup of coffee she was holding, “Didn’t you say you hate bitter thing?”

Yuri looked at her cup, and then shrugged her shoulders, taking another deep sip. “Who cares, I could never taste the difference haha. So Tiffany… is she your next target?”

I nodded, expecting another scolding. 

“Do you like her?”

“Not really, if you mean “like” as in border lining love, but she is different from the others.”

“Taeyeon…”

I was right. Another scolding from my personal therapist. How exciting.

“You’re gonna get hurt and then get broken beyond repair if this goes on.” Yuri’s voice was full of concern. I smiled.

“I know. I’m already broken, so who cares.”

“…”

I got up, patting her hand. “Have you ever thought that maybe I want to get hurt. This is my cruel, masochist way of making sure I’m completely numb.”

“Taeng…”

I held up a hand, stopping her from saying anymore. “Yuri, I know you’re trying to help, but I really don’t need it.”

“Will you forget that I was your best friend if you were to ever move?”

I thought about it for a second. “Yeah… probably.”

-Sunny’s POV-

Hee Hee… that tickles. 

A strange tickling sensation upon my nose woke me up. Blinking a couple of times, I calmly recollected myself and sat up, brushing the ant off my nose. I looked to my left. Sooyoung was still dead to the world, but happily smiling in her dream land.

I blinked, looking straight up at the setting sun. 

Wow… how pretty… The setting sun turned everything gold. The grass, leaves, my hair…

Wait… Setting Sun? AHHHH!!!

I grabbed Sooyoung’s shoulders and shook her awake. “Yah! Shikshin, we overslept! It’s 7:30 and we still need to go set the thermometers!”

“Five more minutes…” She waved her lanky arm, accidentally slapping my face. Hard.

“Oh, you are so dead!” I grabbed her head and shook harder, giving her a cuff on the head for good measures. “Get up!”

Sooyoung got up with surprising speed and tackle me. “What?! I was having a never ending buffet of food!”

She completely failed to realize the position we were in. Trapped between her arms, she was on top of me, face only a few inches away. I blushed a deep shade red before pushing her off of the awkward position. “Get off! We still need to do the Science project. That’s why I agreed to come with you today, remember?”

Sooyoung scratched her head and gave a sheepish smile, “Oh yeah… Instead, we had this lovely date willed with food and a nap in the park.”

I smacked her shoulder, “Stay focused will you? You need to climb up this tree and put the damn thing in a nook.”

“Ok, ok. No need to get so worked up Sunny.”

“Go!”

The lanky girl climbed up the tree in a flash. I mean the trees branches were close together and easy to grab, even I could probably climb it! She pointed to a little closed off, safe looking section in the tree and placed the thermometer there. I signaled her to come down. She nimbly climbed down and jumped off the last branch.

“Show off.” I muttered.

“Jealous~.”

“In your dreams. Anyways, one of us has to come check the temperature every two days now…”

“Ok, where to next?”

I pointed towards the river that was only on the other side of the street. A 10 minute walk at most from our current place in the park. “The rock by the river.”

Running to save time, we somehow dodged traffic and the cars, and made it across. By now the sky was dark and the first stars started shining. “My mom’s going to have a fit when I get home…” I muttered.

Sooyoung just grinned, “Don’t worry, it won’t take too long.”

We ran on, me somehow keeping up with the long strides of the taller girl. By the time we got to the river side, I was panting and sweating furiously. “Huff, huff, you run fast…”

She smiled back, “I know. I’m surprised you stayed with me the whole time though.”

I glared at her, too tired to say anything at the moment. Instead she chuckled, not affected by the glare. Why isn’t anyone affected by my glare? I have to ask Jessica to teach me. Anyways, Sooyoung get in front of me and kneeled, her backside towards me. 

“Huh?”

“Well, get on. I’m giving you a free ride.”

“Why?”

“Because you seem tired and it’s faster than resting here for 10 minutes.”

I grudgingly agreed with her logic. Tentatively climbing onto her back, I awkwardly leaned against her, my head in the crook of her neck and arms wrapped around her neck/shoulders.

“Err… thanks…”

“No problem.” She answered back, unaffected by the whole situation.

Lumbering slowly towards the rock, she didn’t struggle at all walking on shifting sand while carrying me. The only thing I heard was the loud thud of my heart and blood in my ears. This is so awkward… 

“’K, I’m setting you down.” I jumped off, somehow managing to land on my feet. Silently, I grabbed the thermometer and set it underneath the large rock in a little whole I dug. 

Scratching the back of my head, I faced away from her, looking at the river, dark and beautiful. “Thanks again.”

She shrugged while smiling, “No problem. Again.”

I jokingly smacked her on the shoulder, “You dork. Come on, let’s go.”

A large storm cloud appeared and the first drops of rain fell as we walked. Soon, it would start pouring.

After leaving the riverside, we went separate ways, Sooyoung taking the last thermometer to place on her house. I waved her a goodbye and ran back home, trying to avoid the worst of the rain. 

Maybe I could get along her…

-Yuri’s POV-

I waltzed back home slowly, watching the people around me running to avoid the rain. I honestly couldn’t care less if I got wet, but if the books did, that’s hell for me. 

I sighed and stood still for a second, letting the rain soak my head and body. The loose clothes I was wearing plastered to my skin uncomfortable, but I didn’t care. It was nice to have a warm shower outside once in awhile. The next step caused a major headache and cough. I wobbled home, realizing I had a cold. Cough, headache, fever, and all of those other great things. Somehow managing to regain my senses and come back down to Earth, I realized I was already in front of the bookstore. 

About to unlock the door and walk in, my eyes caught a little curled up figure in a dry spot near the edge of the building. A figure curled into a ball with a plastic bag. A figure with blond hair. 

I smiled and walked over, poking her cheek. “Sica~?”

The older girl didn’t respond; only her hand slightly twitched. 

“How cute…” I poked her again, this time earning an incoherent mumble. “Sica~ You’re going to catch a cold if you sleep out here.”

“Go away…” she mumbled, shifting her head away from me.

I laughed and poked her again. “Wake up, wake up, wake up.”

“Five more minutes,”

“Sica, it’s me Yuri~.”

“I don’t care.”

“Ouch, that’s harsh.”

I grabbed one of my dripping wet sleeves and brought it against her face. She spluttered awake, drops of water still crawling down her cheeks.

“Yah, Kwon Yuri!”

I stood up and smiled. “Good evening Sica.”

She wiped her face, throwing an icy glare in. “…”

Unlocking the door, I held it open, inviting her in. Instead of waltzing in like regular princesses, she got up close to me and brought a hand to cup my cheek. “Kwon Yuri!”

I smiled sheepishly, “Yes Princess?”

“Why the hell are you soaking wet with a fever? Were you stupid enough to take a shower in the rain?”

I pointed to my clothes, “Yes…? That’s why I’m wet.”

Jessica rolled her eyes, “Hurry up and get in before it gets worse.”

It already was worse. The headache made my head seem like someone was pounding on it like a drum. I wobbled slightly, unable to walk in a straight line. Huh, good thing I don’t have a car. I would fail the drunk driving test. 

The blond gave a worried look and grabbed my hand, allowing me to lean against her for support. “Babo…”

I smiled, “I know.”

I managed to use the last ounce of my strength the climb up the ladder to my room and collapse on the floor, giving a loud throaty cough. Jessica scrambled up, feeling my forehead. “Do you live with anyone?”

I shook my head, unable to give an answer verbally. She sighed and placed the plastic bag on the cough. “I figured. Your cousin, Sooyoung, brought some food over before running off carrying a thermometer.”

I didn’t say anything. She sighed and turned on the lights before it got too dark in here. 

“What am I going to do…?”

I gave her a small smile, “Stay here and take care of me of course~.”

She sighed again, “I guess I have too…”

I smiled in victory. "Do you parents care?"

"Not at all." she answered quickly.

... Looks like we have more things in commmon than I thought we did.

“And about that offer of yours…”

I raised an eyebrow and sat up, looking at her seriously. “Yes?”

“I decline.”

That shocked me. “Why?!”

She shrugged, “He left for a good reason. What I’m wondering is how you know him.”

“Secret~.” I said. 

Jessica didn’t argue. “Hmph. Donghae’s nice… too nice actually… I do love him, but I loved him enough to let him go.”

“…” I tried to speak, but nothing would come out.

“Besides, he’s only one of the few that’s left. It doesn’t even matter anymore.” She said stoically. “Anyways, come on. We should get you out of those clothes.”

I pointed towards a small wooden wardrobe that was pushed back in the corner. “Over there. Bathrooms downstairs though.”

I smiled as she awkwardly pulled out clothes and threw them at me. She was just too cute…

“Sica~, why don’t you get a towel to dry yourself with instead? And one for me of course. I’ll handle the clothing part.”

She nodded gratefully and escaped downstairs. 

Just too cute… I said, chuckling.

--

Match 7

Rain

-Jessica’s POV-

I knocked on the trap door, carrying two very fluffy and soft towels in my arm. “Is it ok for me to come in?”

“Sure…-” Yuri answered, voice muffled by the wooden door.

I opened the door.

“-If you want to see me half-naked.” She finished. I caught a quick glimpse of her sly smile and uh… more… before slamming the trap door shut and sinking down into the ladder. “Kwon Yuri!” I screamed at her, face a bright shade of red and buried in the towels. 

Laughter came from the other side. After about a minute later Yuri opened the trap door. “Sorry Sica.” Face still buried in towels, I avoided coming in contact with her while on a ladder. Didn’t work too well. Let’s say I was lucky to have a large purple bruise on my face then to have cracked my head open if Yuri wasn’t there to catch me. 

“Babo! What the hell are you trying to do, kill yourself?” Yuri yelled, still frightened by my almost-fall (a.k.a. almost-certain death. Jeesh, it’s scary climbing up and down that thing in the dark). 

I flinched.

She kept scolding me until she started coughing. Leaning heavily against the coach, she looked really fragile.

“Yuri…”

She shot a small smile then went back to coughing. Feeling bad, I grabbed one of the towels and mopped off her still wet face. “Sorry…”

The tanned girl just kept smiling and ruffled my hair. “It’s fine. It was partly my fault anyway. I think I tease you way to much~.”

“You think?”

“Ok, ok, a lot.”

“Thank you.”

We stared for a moment, and then burst into small giggles. Yuri grabbed the unused towel and draped it over my head. “Worry about yourself more than me. I’m not that sick.”

“Yet.” I retorted and continued wiping off the rain from her hair. 

Yuri sighed and went limp, “Fine, fine, do whatever you want Nurse Sica.”

I pouted slightly, “I should be a doctor shouldn’t I?”

“Nah~. Nurses look better than doctors.”

I guffawed, “I don’t get your logic Kwon Yuri.”

“I don’t either~. Guess we’re on the same page then.”

We burst into another giggling fit and somehow finally managed to dry ourselves off. Yuri tossed a random shirt and pair of pajama pants towards my direction and turned around covering her eyes. I hurriedly changed and threw my wet clothes in a corner away from everything else. Yuri finished changing while I turned my back to her and faced a wall, eyes closed tightly. I am not a pervert. I am not a pervert. I will not look. I will not look. Ok, maybe I might-

“Sica, I’m done.”

“I DIDN’T LOOK, I SWEAR! AND I WAS NOT THINKING TO EITHER!” 

Realizing what I had just yelled, my face flushed in embarrassment. Yuri stood there, petrified by the random statement. I refused to stare at her in the eyes and glared at the floor, mentally scolding myself. After a moment of awkward silence, Yuri reacted. 

“PFFFTTT…”

I stared at her with wide open eyes. “Wha-“

Suddenly, she was a whole lot closer than ever. Her face was an inch away from mine, smile and all. I tried scooting back, but was cornered up against the coach. Her long hair tickled my cheek and a soft breath of air brushed against my ear. I felt my face heating up more than I thought it could and turning a “very attractive” red color. “Well, you’ve already had a look… and the payment for that is…”

I closed my eyes, expecting a…

“Another round of questions/secrets like in the café~.”

“HUH?”

Yuri raised an eyebrow and gave me a mischievous smirk. “What? Did you expect me to do something else?”

I smacked her repeatedly. “Yah! Kwon Yuri!”

Yuri held up her hands in defense and laughed. “You’re so cute! I couldn’t help but tease you.”

I pouted, giving her the silent treatment for a good five minutes before giving into her relentless pleading and apology. “Ok, ok, I got it!”

She flashed her famous smile and gave me a big suffocating bear hug. “Ohmygod, Mickey Mouse shirt on Sica! I can die happy now~.” She gushed for a full minute before finally letting me go. I gulped down air and shot a glare at her, massaging my 

neck. “Ow…”

She scratched her head and stuck out her tongue and gave an apologetic look. I sighed and forgave her. Again. 

Anyways, we moved onto the couch, me on the left and the taller girl on the right. I hugged a large, overstuffed pillow and rested my chin on it, taking in its warmth. Smells like Yuri... I shook my head and cleared out the bad (leaning towards perverted) thoughts of the younger girl. 

“Uh, Sica… are you ok?”

“I’m fine, fine.” 

“Ok… Do you want to start, or shall I?”

“You can go.”

Yuri paused for a second. I smiled inwardly; her thinking expression was really funny. 

“I have a sister named Yoona~. She’s a year younger than me.”

“Wow, I have a younger sister named Krystal.” I said subconsciously. I wasn’t focused on the questions anymore; instead, my thoughts were racing in my head. Yuri has a younger sister? I don’t know a girl with the last name Kwon in the same grade as Seohyun…

Yuri interrupted my thoughts, “She doesn’t have the same last name though, so don’t be alarmed if you don’t know who she is.”

“Why?” I blurted out without thinking.

She gave a bitter smile. “Hmm… it’s painful to think about it actually…” she said. Her eyes were looking in the distance, 

probably reminiscing her past. Good or bad.

I tried to end the awkward discussion. “Err, forget it, you don’t need to answer.”

“I don’t mind either way, but ok. My turn~. Favorite color?”

I thought for a second, “Definitely not pink.” Tiffany made sure of that. “Probably… red?”

“Really? I was thinking white fit you the best. A pure, innocent, and beautiful white~.” Yuri said sincerely.

I snorted, “Definitely not me. How about you?”

“Hmm… clear I guess?”

I stared at her, “You’re weird.”

“Thank you.”

“Not a compliment.”

“I’ll take it as one anyways. It’s my turn again? Favorite band/group?”

“Soshi-achoo!” I sneezed, suddenly feeling cold and tired. I guess the rains taken a toll on me too. “Sorry, I said Soshi-“ this time, a yawn interrupted my sentence. Dammit! Just let me finish a sentence! 

Yuri laughed, “Time for bed Princess~. I’ll sleep on the couch.”

I shook my head, “No way, you still have a fever and cough!” I felt her forehead, “It’s still burning. Do you have any medicine?”

“Oh really, I feel fine. And medicine? Hell no, I eat roots.” She said the last part jokingly.

“Liar. Ewwww, roots, go brush your teeth if you really.” I grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards the bed before she could start complaining. After pushing her down (with lots of glaring and threats), the younger girl finally complied and lied down. 

I did that. 

All in the dark. 

“Stay! Bad monkey, stay!” 

“Monkey…?”

“Yes monkey.”

Yuri sighed, “Ok, fine Princess. But…”

She struck up and grabbed my waist, pulling me onto the bed as well. “You’re staying here with me. I can’t allow a guest to sleep on the couch.”

Yuri’s long arms wrapped around my chest and waist, pulling me up close to her. I struggled against her iron grip and yelped when her warm hands brushed the bare skin of my back. Legs flailing, I think I may have accidentally kicked her once or twice.

“Ow. That hurts… You’re quite strong Sica.” Yuri said, gritting her teeth in pain. I stopped flailing and sighed, defeated and tired from struggling. 

“Shut up.” I shifted slightly to get more comfortable and shot the younger girl a glare. She chuckled and snuggled closer, not daring to loosen her grip on me, just in case I tried to run away again. 

“So, want to continue the game? That is, until one of us fall asleep.” Yuri suggested.

“No.” Came my quick reply.

Yuri pouted, “Why nootttt?” she whined, using aegyo. “It’s not even 9 yet!”

“I’m sleepy.”

“Sicccaaaa, pllleeeaassseee!”

I covered my ears, trying to block out the annoying aegyo sound, “Fine, ok, I’ll play. But promise me, never, never, use aegyo again.”

We continued on, answering unimportant questions like favorite animals, band, etc. Sharing “secrets” that probably had little meaning to the other. An outsider listening may have deemed the whole conversation stupid, pointless and unimportant, but to us… 

It was a way to deal with life. 

It was a way to let us laugh, laughing and giggling away the solemn years of hatred and pain.

And, I loved it. 

-Tiffany’s POV-

“Aish! Why did the rain have to come now?” Running down the streets, I took shelter in an almost empty coffee café. Staring at the dreary outside and pouring rain, I sighed and decided to stay there until the rain lessened. Standing awkwardly, she realized this was the first time she was in a café/restaurant in Korea. Looking for a familiar face in the café, she gave a big sigh in relief when she found her Science partner. Taeyeon. 

(Author’s Note: Taeyeon stayed in the café the whole entire time, while Yuri left in the last chapter. Remember, Soosun’s date? Yup, same time as this. Also, the Yulsic moment up there happened a little after the Taeny moment. Sorry for being confusing. Also, this chapter is a Saturday, then the next POV is on a Sunday).

I tapped her shoulder and gave a smile, “Um, can I sit here?”

“Ah! Fany-ah~ What are you doing here?” Taeyeon asked, giving a smile of her own. She used the nickname she made up when we were setting up the thermometers on Friday (yesterday). She motioned for me to sit down. I complied and gave her an explanation. “Oh, I was looking for a bookstore, but it started raining so I ran in here instead.”

“Hmm… if you wanted a bookstore, my friend owns one. I could show you it sometime.”

“Really? That would be helpful, thanks.”

“Haha, then that would be our third ‘date’ would it not?”

I blushed, recalling the cake store incident. “Then this is our second?” I asked jokingly.

She laughed, “Yup~.”

We chatted for a little, nothing interesting, just small talk and what to do for the science project. Taeyeon ordered some coffee for both of us, but rejected the money I offered. “Its fine, I can pay for both of us. Besides, you look cold and this is the best I can do to help warm you up.”

I gratefully took the warm coffee and took a large sip, “Thanks.”

“No problem~.”

Looking out the window, I sighed. “I wonder when this rain will end.”

Taeyeon chuckled, “It’ll go on for a long time, trust me. Why, do you not like rain?”

“Not really. It makes everything seem dreary and sad.”

The shorter girl raised an eyebrow and gave an amused expression, “Rain gives life to plants and an animal though, doesn’t it?”

“I guess…” I turned to face her. “So, why do you like it?”

She shrugged, “I’ve always liked it. I was born on a rainy day, you know~. Whenever I was sad, I would run out and play in the rain and get dirty in mud puddles.” She gave a sad smile, “Or whenever I would feel like crying, I would just take a walk under the pouring rain.”

“Huh, why? Isn’t it better just to cry and not get wet?”

“I guess, but then people bother you about it later on. I love walking through the rain, because then, no one can see that I’ve been crying. And nobody would just stop and get wet, just to talk to a girl crying. It's perfect if I want to be alone.”

I looked at Taeyeon carefully. Her eyes seemed cold, like someone I knew, and her smile seemed fake. “I would.”

She looked at me with a slightly shocked and amused expression, “Oh really? Even if you didn’t know the girl?”

I shrugged, “I don’t care. When I feel like crying, I want somebody next to me. I'm assuming others do to, besides, nobody deserves to cry by themselves.”

Taeyeon burst out laughing, “Fany, you’re too nice~.”

I gave a smile, surprised, “I get that a lot. You’re a lot nicer than what some people told me. I guess Sunny overreacted.”

Taeyeon’s smile disappeared for and was replaced by a strange, pained expression. “Yeah, Sunny and I are a lot alike… People aren’t very trustworthy… Humans like to lie, especially to themselves.” She said the first part so quietly, I barely heard her.

“I don’t believe that.”

This time, it was the older girl’s turn to be surprised. I grinned, happy that I somehow cheered her up. “Jeez Fany, you’re a strange person.” She said, giggling.

“Haha... I get that a lot.”

A couple of minutes passed by peacefully. I felt strangely comfortable around the shorter girl, even if I barely knew her. I quietly starting dozing off as Taeyeon told a joke. Time flew by as I fell asleep and the rain almost completely stopped. 

I was abruptly woken up by a hand shaking me and ruffling my hair. Swatting the hand away, I opened my eyes and mumbled, “I’m awake…”

I was greeted by the sight of Taeyeon’s face close to mine, smiling. I blushed and tried to ignore the fact that she was only a inch away from my face. It didn’t work so well. “Hello, welcome back to reality, Fany.”

I gave a weak giggle and nodded, “Yeah… What time is it?”

Taeyeon quickly glanced at the clock hanging by the cash register, “Uh…. Almost 9.”

Getting up quickly I freaked out. “Ahh! My mom’s gonna kill me when she finds that I’ve been out for so long!”

Taeyeon grabbed my wrist, “Wait, Fany, do you have an umbrella?”

I facepalmed, “Uh, no. Dang… I have to walk through the rain.”

“Want to share mine? My house isn’t too far from yours.” Taeyeon offered her umbrella that was leaning against the table and wall. I nodded gratefully, “Thank you, thank you, thank you~!” I gushed and gave her a brief hug. “Hey, Tiffany, lean down a little.”

I did as I was asked to. Taeyeon’s lips grazed mine, the contact lasting for only a split second, but for me, it seemed like a year. She smiled as I stood there, shocked. Blushing, I smiled shyly at her.

Taeyeon’s smile only got wider and her cheeks seemed redder. “That was payment for the coffee and umbrella~. So, shall we go then?” She offered a hand.

I grasped it.

“Let’s.”

-Yuri’s POV-

I blinked, eyes temporarily blinded by the sunlight that streamed in from a tiny window in the attic. I soon found out that it was almost impossible for me to lift any part of my body, except my arms. Jessica’s legs were tangled together with mine and she wrapped her arms around my waist, using me as a stuffed animal or something along that line. Her face was buried in the crook of my neck, her even breathing telling me that the Ice Princess was still fast asleep.

Chuckling at the sight of the blond, I brushed away a strand of hair that obscured my vision of her. For the first time since I’ve known her, I finally had a picture of what she looked like without any furrowed eyebrows or the tired looking eyes. Awake, as frozen and cold as she seemed, she was beautiful. Sleeping, she had the look of innocence and seemed fragile, this only added to her presence and beauty. This suddenly made me afraid.

Afraid of hurting her beyond repair.

Afraid of Jessica losing her ability to smile or laugh.

Maybe I had gone too far with her?

I can’t be falling for the Ice Princess, and she couldn’t like a bookstore owner like me. Hell, I don’t even own this place, it’s more like rent.

Shaking my head to clear out the bad thoughts, Jessica nestled closer, mumbling incoherently about cucumbers.

She looks cute when she smiles, but her sleeping look is definitely something that could either match or surpass that! I smiled to myself and settled back into her embrace and into the welcoming warmth of the blankets. 

I guess it’d be ok if I slept in a little more… Thank god the store is closed on Sundays…

-Normal POV-

Outside of the small bookstore a tall girl sat down, moaning about her loss at Rock-Paper-Scissors to her cousin, holding a plastic bag full of food. Yoona knocked on the door for the millionth time, but received no reply. “Argh! Yuri-unnie must be sleeping late again! It’s already 10!” Digging in her jean pockets for the key, she swore loudly when the only thing she found was pocket lint. 

“… FML.”

Due to her loud cursing and wallowing in her miserable state, Yoona failed to notice a figure come up behind her.

“Umm…? Excuse me...” a timid voice came.

Yoona whirled around, “The store’s closed on Sundays, sorry… Oh…” she trailed off. 

The girl gasped in surprise, both were frozen and unable to do anything. 

“S-S-Seohyun…” Yoona stuttered, finally breaking the silence. The memories and pain of the past all rushing back to her. She winced, feeling the jab of accusing looks and words made years ago. 

“Yoona unnie…” came the reply. Seohyun stood awkwardly, waiting for the other girl to stop gaping. 

Yoona gave an awkward smile while rubbing the back of her neck. “Err, ah, so… How have you been?”

---

Match 8

First One To Fall In Love Loses

-Seohyun’s POV-

I stared at the older girl. After all these years of evading me, here she was. Right in front of me; fully equipped with something called an “awkward silence” that took half of my life points away. 

I think being friends with Sunny unnie brought some gamer talk into my consciousness… 

Leaving her question unanswered, I quickly twirled around, trying to run away. After years of avoiding each other, I had nothing to say to her. I didn’t want the hurtful words to come back. I didn’t want her to say them again. Half hoping that Yoona would stop me, to grab my hand and tell me she was lying. I just wanted to her to say something.

The other half was too scared to face her. This was the stronger of the two that told me to run. To hide from her. This way, I wouldn’t be hurt again. 

Trying hard to control my steps, I walked away slowly when I wanted to run. Yoona stayed still eyes adverted, her expression unreadable. I suppressed the tears forming and walked quicker, shy steps turning into desperate strides to get away. 

“Seohyun!” Yoona sprinted to catch up, grabbing my arm gently. “Wait…”

I froze, body stiffening form her touch. She let go quickly and gave a pained sheepish look. “Seohyun…”

“Yes unnie?” I managed to croak out, voice not listening to what my body was saying to do. 

“Err…” the uncomfortable atmosphere grew every second, neither one of us couldn’t summon up any words. 

BAM! 

The bookstore door opened with a loud bang and a tall, tan girl that looked a lot like Yoona walked out. Her hair was messy and her pajamas seemed to be sliding off her slim figure. A shorter, blond figure walked out, hair and clothes equally messy as the other. She looked uncomfortable, her face flushed with embarrassment. 

“Hey Yoona~! I saw you through the window and decided to unlock the door.” Yuri said cheerfully, waving. She caught a glance at me before her eyes got wide. 

I hesitantly looked at her, mumbling a greeting. Yuri smiled, “Hi Seohyun, long time no see!”

The blond girl perked up, staring in my direction. 

Eyes opened wide in shock, I stood and gaped at her for awhile. “J-Jessica unnie?!”

“AHHH Seohyun, what are you doing here?!”

Yoona’s glanced at all of us, confused. “What? Slow down, I’m so confused right now.”

“I am too…” I said.

Yuri smiled knowingly. “Let’s go inside shall we… People are staring.”

I looked around quickly. She was right. A group of boys in the street corner were gawking at the sight of Yuri and Sica unnie in pajamas that weren’t on properly. Yoona chuckled and pushed the embarrassed blond into the store. Yuri motioned for me to come into the store as well. I hesitantly pushed opened the door, the bells jingling. She motioned for me to climb up the ladder. Jessica unnie and Yoona had already climbed up it. 

I followed them up. After everyone was settled on the floor of Yuri unnie’s room, the questions exploded. 

“How do you know Seohyun?”

“What are you doing here Jessica Unnie?”

“Yoona~, where’s my food?!”

Yoona sighed and clapped her hands, “Let’s take this slowly, one person at a time. Also, your foods in the plastic bag I put on the counter downstairs.”

Yuri nodded, “Good idea.” The tanned girl turned to Sica unnie, “I know Seohyun from Yoona.”

Now it was my turn, “Jessica unnie… what are you doing here?”

She stared back, “Uh… sleeping over heh heh…”

I sighed, “Uncle was screaming at me and Krystal to find you all night. So Krystal went to Luna’s house for the night and I went to Sunny unnie’s…”

Jessica unnie looked away, closing her eyes in frustration. “Stupid man… Causing trouble again.” She leaned against Yuri unnie’s shoulder, rubbing her temples. The latter wrapped a protective arm around the blond’s waist.

Yoona shot them a quick look of interest. I was shocked, but kept my cool. It was a long time since I’ve ever seen Jessica unnie open up to anyone. 

Yuri saw Yoona gawking and chuckled, “What? Do I have something on my face?”

Yoona shook her head, blushing slightly quickly turning her head, “No, it’s nothing.” 

“So, how do you know uhh…?” Jessica chimed in.

“Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Yoona. Im Yoona, I’m Yuri’s sister. Well, half. I’ve seen you in school a lot.” Yoona said, throwing a toothy grin. 

Again, I was shocked, but decided to keep my mouth shut.

When did they get along so well?

We chatted for a few minutes, the awkwardness slowly dissolving as Yuri and Yoona joked around. “So, did you and Sica unnie kiss yet?”

I gave an amused chuckle at the older girls’ flustered expressions.

“We’re not dating!” Jessica yelled, her voice rising up three pitches higher.

Yoona covered her ears. “Ok, ok, ow, I’m sorry for even mentioning that now.”

I checked the clock hanging on the wall. “I have to go now… sorry. It was nice seeing you again, Yuri unnie.” I said making up an excuse to leave. I got up, completely missing the soul-chilling look Yuri sent to Yoona. 

“W-Wait, I’ll take you home!” Yoona exclaimed, scrambling to get up.

“Uh, i-it’s fine… I can go by myself.”

“Oh just let her go with you Seohyun.” Jessica unnie said, rolling her eyes, unable to take the awkward atmosphere that was slowly easing its way back in.

“O-Ok… Thank you.” I mumbled, not knowing what else to say. We climbed down silently, and stood looking at each other in front of the store, just like an hour before.

“Umm, Seohyun… can I talk to you? Let’s go somewhere else though~!” Yoona suggested; her voice forced to sound happy. I gave an awkward little smile, “Ok…”

-Normal POV-

First one to fall in love loses…

“Wuaaa, those two are so awkward, it makes me head hurt.” Jessica complained, now using the other girl as a cushion to lean against. Yuri chuckled, turning the page in her book while munching the bread that Sooyoung had sent Yoona with. Jessica too was reading a book, Great Expectations, but was preoccupied with her thoughts on the Yoonhyun duo.

“Yuri-ah~.” 

“Yes Sica?”

“What happened between Seohyun and Yoona?”

Yuri flipped another page, her attention diverted. “Err… I don’t think I’m allowed to tell you.”

“Why not?”

“Because Yoona would get mad. And Seohyun would too. That girl is scary when she’s mad.”

Jessica cracked a smile, “I should know, I live with her. Well, if you can’t tell me what happened, tell me how they met.”

Yuri thought about it, before agreeing. No harm done… I hope… 

“Well, when we were younger, we used to live outside of the city, me, Yoona, and our parents. We weren’t exactly happy but yeah… Anyways, Yoona was fooling around in a forest and accidentally fell into a big hole that somebody dug randomly. I don’t know for sure what happened, but I found them at 11 pm, sleeping under a tree. Yoona told me later that Seohyun came and tried to rescue her, but fell into the hole too. Later on, they somehow climbed up and got out. They were practically inseparable after that.”

Jessica chuckled, “Sounds like something Seohyun would do. Helping a stranger out even, and if it was a nearly impossible task, stubbornly fighting to the end. What a funny way to meet.”

“Well, I pretended to be a dying vampire, remember?”

“True true.”

A moment of peaceful silence engulfed the two as they kept reading. They kept going even as day turn into dusk, the setting sun filling the quiet atmosphere with bright colors.

“Yuri-ah~?” Jessica called teasingly.

“Hmm?”

“I like you.”

Yuri froze, her thoughts reeling through her head at lightning speed, her heart beating equally fast. This wasn’t supposed to happen…

When Yuri didn’t react, Jessica sat up and laughed. “HA! I finally got you! Revenge for teasing me all the time~.”

Yuri unfroze and gave her a glare, “Ok, you got me.”

The blond kept her goofy smile, her eyes shining victoriously. Yuri raised an eyebrow and attacked her, poking the other’s side. “Tickle war!” she yelled immaturely before launching herself onto the blond. They fell over in the coach, Yuri on top of Jessica. Jessica yelped and gave her high-pitched dolphin scream before bursting into fits of giggles. 

“Get-ahahaha! Off of-kyaaa- me!” the older girl managed to say. 

“No~. This is way too much fun.” She took a long look at the girl beneath her. The angelic face matched with blond hair, the body that anyone would be jealous of. A personality as cold as ice at first, but after melting through the barrier of ice, revealed to be fragile and scared, hiding a secret that not even she wanted to hear again. 

Jessica took this chance to take a good look at Yuri. Yuri was the one who melted the ice to get to her, to help her. The one who she looked forward to seeing every day. Her dorky yet mysterious personality, the persistent smile that always stayed etched on her face. The forced happiness and smile told Jessica that the younger girl wasn’t as strong as she seemed to be. She was hiding something, running away from it like the older girl.

Though it’s been a short time together, both girls fell in love with the other over and over again in each situation. 

Screw it… I love her… I guess I lost…

Yuri stopped for a moment, giving the blond time to breathe before attacking again. Yuri grabbed Jessica’s hands, pinning them above the older girl’s head to stop any counterattacks. She leaned in, resting her head on Jessica’s shoulder for a moment. Thin strands of blond hair tickling her cheek as she whispered in the trapped girl’s ear. “I like you too Sica~.”

Jessica blushed madly, trying to jerk her hands free. “I told you to stop teasing me, didn’t I?” 

Yuri smiled into the blond hair, “I’m not teasing you.”

“Prove it.”

“I will.”

Yuri brought her lips onto Jessica’s lightly. “I like you.” She let go of the older girl’s hands, using her arms to support her body.

Jessica blushed, shyly meeting Yuri’s eyes. “Hmm… Prove it again.”

Yuri’s smile grew as she kissed the blond again. Jessica wrapped her arms around the younger girl’s neck, bringing herself closer, responding to the kiss this time. 

“See, I’m not lying~.”

“Shut up babo.”

“Love you too.”

“Hmm… Wait, don’t you still have your cough and fever?!”

Yuri thought about it for a second and shrugged, “You know what they say~, the best way to get rid of a cold is to pass it on!”

“What?! You’re giving it to me?” Jessica said, struggling against the weight of the younger girl on top of her.

Yuri shifted slightly, “Yup~.”

“… Then I expect you to take care of me if I get sick…” The blond said shyly. Blushing she wrapped her arms tighter, bringing the taller girl closer.

Yuri grinned and leaned in for another kiss, “Agreed.”

-Yoona’s POV-

“Go away… I can’t see you anymore… It was all my fault. The accident. Your hand. I’m sorry…”

I turn away, hiding my agonized voice with a hoarse whisper. I shut my eyes, forcing the tears back as your own slid down along with the rain. I dug my nails in my hands to stop myself from brushing the tears away. To apologize. But… everything was my fault.

“Please…”

“Yoona unnie… wait!”

I ran away, unable to stand being close to you. You were my everything; but I was a nothing. It wouldn’t have worked out. We were bound to get hurt again. I wanted to save you from feeling that pain, even if I had to break my own heart to do it. Did you ever forget me, even for a second?

The dreaming part of me says never.

The reality part of me says certainly.

Running back to the hateful place that was supposed to be home, I let out a loud sob.

I’m so sorry…

“Yoona unnie?” Seohyun waved a hand in front of my face. I snapped out of my daydream and gave her a sheepish smile. “Sorry, zoning out there for a second.”

Seohyun giggled and went to eating. I took a large bite of my odeng, finishing the last of it. I felt the stick in my mouth though, letting my tongue savor the last bits of the fish cake. Seohyun took another look at me and burst out laughing, hand automatically going up to cover her mouth while her face turned red. I flushed in embarrassment, “What?”

She wiped the tears away, still laughing, “No, you always used to do that when we were younger. I thought it was funny that out of all the quirky habits you have, that one stuck with you. Yuri unnie was right to call you a shikshin.”

I huffed at her and pouted, “Why is it so bad to like eating? I mean, Seoul practically is a buffet of different food~.” I said happily, pointing to the many stands around the playground. Illuminated by the bright lights, they lit up the night sky and hid some of the stars. “Want to get ice cream later?”

“Haha, I’m amazed at how you can eat so much, but never fill your stomach.”

“What, you’re already full? Really?!”

“Yes really.”

I smiled and sat next to her on the swings, glad that the awkwardness between us was slowly dissolving. 

“Oh, Yoona unnie, I forgot until now but, thank you.” The younger said unexpectedly. I raised an eyebrow questioningly. “Why?”

“For the fireflies.” She said, her cheeks slightly red.

Flustered, the pointy odeng stick jabbed my cheek. Tasting blood I hurriedly spat out the stick and managed to sputtered a reply. “Uh, um… How’d you know?”

“I still remember the time we were stuck in that hole. That’s when you pointed them out...” Seohyun trailed off, refusing to meet my eyes. I smiled at the memory. “I miss those times… When things were… simpler.” 

Seohyun chuckled dryly. “Even then it was still complicated.”

“I never got to apologize for what I said.”

“I… don’t mind. I heard from others what my parents said to you. They were cruel, especially my mother. Nothing was your fault, it was all mine. I got too excited and became careless. Don’t blame yourself for my mistake… and hand. All I ever hated was that you would ignore me,” She said the last part quietly, hiding her true sad and bitter feelings. “I hated myself for causing you to feel that way, lonely and in pain.”

You know I’ll never believe that… I’ll always blame myself.

The corners of my mouth twitched into a small smile, “So, Seohyun, are we friends again?” I turned to her, a small grin on my face. Seohyun hesitated, but turned gave a bashful look. “Friends.”

“Thank you.”

--

Match 9

Flowers and Airplanes

-Hidden POV-

Hate.

Love.

Past.

Future.

Repeat.

Repeat.

Repeat.

Repeat.

Everything’s the same. 

Everyone’s the same. 

The whole world’s stopped spinning.

Time stopped moving long ago.

Repeat.

Repeat.

Repeat.

Repeat.

The crash.

The blood.

The girl.

The man.

Repeat. 

Repeat.

Repeat.

Repeat.

Hopeless.

Failure.

Could’ve saved his life.

Could’ve saved her future.

Repeat.

Repeat.

Repeat.

Repeat.

Not my fault.

I couldn’t do anything.

That’s a lie.

I ran.

Repeat.

Repeat.

Repeat.

Repeat.

Doubt.

Heartache.

Tears.

Guilt.

Repeat.

Repeat.

Repeat.

Repeat.

Everything’s going in circles. Everyone seems to be mocking me with their kindness. “It’s not your fault.” I think to myself. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

But I know that’s a lie.

I could’ve saved him.

I could’ve saved her future.

I could’ve saved their happiness.

I could’ve saved their lives.

But I ran.

I ran away. I ran as fast as I could without looking back. No guilt, no doubt, just ran.

Coward.

Coward.

Coward.

Coward.

Repeat these words. 

Repeat them.

Over and over.

Until they’re scarred into my heart.

Coward.

Coward.

Coward.

Coward.

She chanted with her eyes. Not with mockery, happiness, or hate. 

Just emotionless pity.

Coward.

Coward.

Coward.

Coward.

It’s not my fault. It’s not my fault. I didn’t want to be there.

But nobody did. 

What I say to myself is a lie.

What I repeat is a lie.

Everything I say is a lie.

My reasons are a lie.

But I repeat them.

Again and again and again and again.

My head’s spinning; my minds unclear, my eyes are foggy, my heart locked up, my feelings thrown away.

Repeat.

Repeat.

Repeat.

Repeat.

I want to hit myself, punch a wall, scream, cry, fight, anything.

To throw away these lies, to forget the past.

But nobody understands.

So, I keep repeating.

Repeat.

Repeat.

Repeat.

Repeat.

Then I met you.

You and your smile.

The kindness that started closing the wound.

The soft lingering touch.

Repeat.

Repeat.

Repeat.

Repeat.

But she comes.

She tells me the truth.

The barricades of lies broken down.

The wound will never close.

Repeat.

Repeat.

Repeat.

Repeat.

She’s right.

I’m wrong.

We lose.

Nobody wins.

Repeat. 

Repeat.

Repeat.

Repeat.

Coward.

Coward.

Coward.

Coward.

Repeat.

Repeat.

Repeat.

Repeat.

-Sooyoung’s POV-

I whistled tunelessly to myself as I headed towards my destination. Clutching the bouquet irises behind my back, my steps slowed down as I tried to avoid getting the flowers wet with the rain puddles that were made yesterday. The quiet road offered a peace, much like the silence of yesterday in the park with Sunny. It was nice, a break from the hectic ruckus at home.

Letting my body move by itself, my mind instinctively wandered. At first towards food, but slowly ventured into yesterday’s “adventure”. Simple glances, traded smiles, the picnic and nap in the park. Her lovely laughter. The food. Yes, yesterday was certainly a moment to treasure. Something I hadn’t experienced a long time after my brother’s death. Letting the cool wind lessen the sun’s burn on my skin, I smiled to myself as I let the memories replay.

“Sooyoung!”

Too far away from reality, I failed to notice the call of my name. 

“Yah! Choi Sooyoung, don’t you dare ignore me!” The voice called again, more irritated.

Harshly spinning back into reality, I spun around to yell at the person. “WHAT!?” I yelled annoyed at the sudden intrusion.

The girl jumped about a foot into the air and gave me a not-to-light punch on the shoulder. “Don’t scare me like that! Sheesh, I only wanted to say hi!” 

“Hi. Now bye.” I said, quickening my pace before losing my bus.

The girl, even with shorter legs, somehow managed to keep pace with me and took a long look at the flowers behind my back. “… Where are you going? Visiting your boyfriend?” she teased.

I stopped and lightly cuffed her, “No way! I’m going on a picnic, what are you doing here Sunny?”

Sunny stuck out her tongue in a “merong” and chuckled sheepishly. “Well I saw you, so I decided to follow along. Besides, I was wondering if you did your share of the science project.”

I nodded, letting go of a large sigh. “What, do you still not trust me? I did it, even ask my parents.”

“No! I didn’t mean to sound like I didn’t believe you. I saw just saying…” she trailed off uncertainly. “Er, do you mind if I tag along, there’s no one at home and all of my friend’s are busy…?”

I glanced at my watch and mentally counted the money in my pocket. “… Do you have money to pay for extra food and your own bus ride?”

She huffed, “What, you’re making me pay? What about yesterday?”

I raised an eyebrow at her, looking down and trying to act intimidating, “You’re the one who wanted to tag along.”

“Ok, fine. I’ll pay for the bus if you pay for the food.” Sunny bargained for instead. Again, mentally counting money in my head, I nodded. “Ok, fine.”

“Hooray~!” she exclaimed happily.

We quietly walked to the empty bus stop, the sun’s rays getting stronger as the wind slowed down. Sunny smiled and looked around the empty landscape a few minutes’ walk away from the main part of town. “It’s so quiet here…”

I smiled, “It’ll be even quieter where we’re going.”

“And where are we going…?”

I chuckled, “You’re asking that now? If you really must know, we’re going to climb up a large mountain on foot and take a picnic up there, surrounded by nature on a field of flowers.”

She snorted, “This is your idea of fun?” she pointed to the flowers in my hand, “Then what are those for?”

I gave her a wink, “You’ll see when we get there.”

“Uh huh… sure…”

We chatted for a few moments, nothing too heavy, just school, friends, some light-hearted drama and the show that was on yesterday where all the celebrities ran around and worked in a farm while one caught a chicken. 

“So… about Taeyeon and you…?” I asked slowly, still deciding whether or not to ask her before the words slipped out of my mouth.

She sent me a look and opened her mouth to speak before-

Honk Honk

The arrival of the bus stopped a conversation and an awkward silence blanketed the friendly atmosphere. We both clambered on, avoiding unnecessary contact.

The bus was empty except for a man snoring quietly in the back row. It had rows of seats on both sides, around 6 double chairs with no bars in between-with an aisle separating them- and a long row of seats in the back. I muttered the destination to the driver. The old bus driver looked at me, then Sunny, and back at me quickly before sending me a knowing smile. “Good luck. She’s a pretty one.” He whispered to me as Sunny paid for the bus fare and sat a few seats away from the front. I blushed and shook my head, unable to argue as Sunny shot a strange look and quickly turned away, looking out into the window.

I quietly slid into the seat next to her, putting the iris bouquet and backpack in the empty seat across the aisle in case something happened. I contemplated whether or not to apologize before a large bump in the round sent Sunny squealing upwards and landing half on my lap. Her face flushed in embarrassment as she quickly apologized and returned to her original seat, even more focused on the window and outdoor scenery now. I didn’t hear her apology as the sound of my pounding heart echoed in my ears.

Thump Thump Thump

The bus driver flashed a smile and gave a thumbs up sign.

I mentally facepalmed and scooted away from Sunny, trying to find space in the cramped double seat at the same time covering my red face.

The man’s snoring had gotten even louder since the bump and I was glad for the extra noise to cover up the silence between the two of us. I started dozing off slightly, the warmth of the sun and the continuous rumble of the bus traveling further away from town lulling me towards sleep. A few moments later, I was harshly anchored into reality when the bus took a sharp turn left and a sudden weight hit my shoulder. Sunny had managed to fall asleep before me and as the bus turned, her head landed on my shoulder. 

Thump Thump Thump

I looked at her awkwardly before looking away, but not at the bus driver. It might’ve been his fault again.

“Sunny-ah…” I said quietly, seeing if she would wake up or move by herself. “Sunny-ah~!”

She whimpered a wordless complaint and snuggled her face deeper into my shoulder, her long brown hair brushing against the bare skin of my arm. I prodded her gently, feeling how soft her cheek was with one finger. “Sunny-ah...”

“Mmmm…. Stop it…” she weakly protested, still not even half-conscious of her actions.

I sighed and let a subconscious smile form on my face. “I- we still have time…”

---

“Girls… Girls!” a rough shaking sent me further away from the giant ice cream cone and deeper into the ocean of reality. “Girls! You need to get off now!”

I blinked a couple of time, letting my eyes adjust to the bright sun and the sudden loss of feeling in my shoulder. “What time is it…?” I groggily asked, struggling to get up.

“It’s around 1. Luckily there’s no one out right now, so I can spare a few minutes more.” The driver said, leaning across to prod Sunny awake. I thanked him for waking me up and started the task of waking the shorter girl up. 

Grabbing her shoulders, I roughly shook her, “Sunny! We’re here! Yah, Sunny! Get up; you’re worse than a person in a coma!”

She waved, “Mmm… just a few more minutes dad.”

I smacked her lightly, “Who are you calling dad? Get up Sunny!” Mind still spinning from the nap, I took her hand and forced her up. She snapped her eyes open and instinctively smacked my arm, which still had no feeling due to Sunny’s head. I grabbed her hand and dragged her off while grabbing the flowers and shouldered my backpack on. The bus driver gave a small wink and drove off after we had gotten off.

“What?! What’s going on?” she asked after hurriedly being rushed off the long-gone bus. Her tongue was sticking out of her cheek, a vexed look on her face.

“We overslept and almost missed our stop.” I said matter-of-factly and walked on, trying to make up for the lost time. 

“Sooyoung! Wait up, I’m not that fast!” Sunny called, jogging slightly to catch up.

“You didn’t have an issue before the bus.” 

“That’s when I was fully awake. Not to mention my legs aren’t as long as yours.”

I rolled my eyes and walked quicker which managed to irk the older girl even more. “Yah! Wait up!”

“Catch up!”

“Yah Choi Sooyoung! You jerk!” she yelled, grabbing onto my backpack and forcefully pulled me to a stop. I yelped in surprise, almost falling backwards. I twirled around to yell at her, but immediately closed my mouth after looking at her face. “Yah, do you have a cold?”

She quickly shook her head, face still red. “No! Didn’t get enough sleep last night…”

“Liar,” I said, placing my hand on her forehead. “You ran through the rain remember? And then had an afternoon nap in a bus after getting no sleep at night. I wouldn’t be surprised if you had pneumonia or something.”

Sunny blushed and quickly swatted my hand away, “I don’t have a cold, ok? Let’s go!” she sped off into the distance, then stopped and sheepishly looked back. “Which way do we go…?”

I muffled quiet laugh, running to where she was. 

---

We entered the small town. There wasn’t really anything, just far spread houses with fields in between and a line of shops near the entrance. Sunny looked around excitedly like a little kid and ran around, pointing at different items. I chuckled, she was completely opposite of what Taeyeon had told me. 

“Sunny-ah! Get over here; you need to pick what you want for lunch!”

Sunny came and peered into the supermarket glass. “Wait, you didn’t pack a lunch? What’s the backpack for then?”

“To carry the stuff of course. I also have 10 bottles of water and some other stuff.”

Her eyes bulged out, “Ten?! That’s a lot! Jeez, I’ll carry some of that for you if you want.” She jokingly flexed her arms, “I’m pretty strong even if I’m small.”

I rolled my eyes and kept a smile, “Of course you are.”

“Tch, you don’t believe me!”

“Just pick your lunch.”

The shorter girl pouted, pointing at a few items. Two packs of kimbab and some sandwiches plus drinks were all we bought before moving on. Walking through the town, we veered off the main round and through a narrow dirt path cutting across a field of rice. “Don’t fall in!” I warned. Sunny nodded and stared down, avoiding any of the potholes and slippery spots.

After finally getting off, the dirt slowly turned into green grass as the path suddenly sloped upwards. The sun was beating down harder, evaporating any of the rain puddles made from yesterday’s downpour. I peered back over my shoulder to see how Sunny was doing. She showed little signs of struggle except for her ragged breathing and slightly sunburned face. Trudging through a particular tough bunch of bramble, I granted myself and Sunny a much needed break under a particularly large tree. 

The shorter girl huffed, gulping down large amounts of air while massaging her legs. I wiped the sweat off my forehead and took out two water bottles and some sunscreen. 

“Here,” I said, tossing her the sunscreen and water. “You should put some on, don’t want to get an even worse sunburn.”

She poked her cheeks and grimaced, “Ow… Thanks for the warning. Do you have anything to tie my hair with?”

I pointed to my short hair, “Uh, no. I don’t have a reason to carry one around.”

“Haha, that’s true.” 

After a few more minutes of resting, I got up, ignoring my protesting legs and held a hand for Sunny. She grabbed it and hauled herself up, shooting a grateful smile. 

Thump Thump Thump

“Are we there yet?” 

“No.”

“How about now?”

“No.”

“… Now?”

“NO!”

“… Now-“ 

“Don’t. Don’t even try to finish that sentence.”

“Hmph, fine… Why do we need to climb up this big hill for anyways?”

“Reasons.”

“What ‘reasons’?”

“My reasons.”

Sunny rolled her eyes, annoyed. “Well, that was certainly a legit reason.”

I smiled, suppressing a chuckle, “Very legit.”

“How often do you come here?”

“Hmm, once or twice a year, depending on the situation.”

“Just to have a picnic?”

“Sure.”

“Sure?! What do you mean by sure?”

“Sure means… sure… How else am I supposed to explain it.” I asked, slightly confused by her question.

She let out an annoyed snort, “Ok, are you just messing with me or are you incredibly dense?”

“Incredibly dense according to everyone.” I said, thinking back to what Yoona, Yuri, and Taeyeon would say when exasperated by my actions.

“You better be.”

All conversation ceased as we trudged on, trying to avoid getting scratched up or falling on the grassy, uneven slope of a trail. Seeing that Sunny was almost about to give up, I spurred her on, pointing to the familiar bunch of ivy a couple feet away. “See, if you get close to the ivy, there’s like this small hole between the trees that lead to a field on bluff with an amazing view.”

She nodded, wiping the sweat from her forehead. Running up ahead, I pushed my backpack through the hole to make room and slid in, waiting for Sunny on the other side. Grabbing her hand, I eased her through. 

After getting through, Sunny shook her head, clearing her hair of any stray leaves. “This is… whoa…” 

The small field of green stretched across the entire bluff, small flowers giving off vibrant colors that dotted the field. The view though, was the thing that caught Sunny’s attention. Slopping hills of green in the distance were given a mystical feeling as yesterday’s rain still gave off a slight mist at the altitude. The town they crossed was visible; put seemed like ants compared to them.

“Wow… This is…” Sunny gasped out.

“Beautiful? I know. My oppa showed it to me.”

“Oppa? I didn’t know you have a brother…”

I looked off into the distance, “I did. He died in a car crash years ago.” I said nonchalantly. Sunny winced, looking away.

“O-Oh… really. I’m sorry…” she said flatly, her usual happiness gone.

“Don’t be. I mean, you didn’t do anything.” 

After a moment of silence, Sunny quietly asked a question.

“How did he die?”

I thought back, letting the memories and his presence here overwhelm me. “We were out of town, visiting my grandparents. He was out late, drinking with his friends.”

“Was he drunk…?”

“Yeah, he was. Oppa isn’t usually careless or stupid, he’s the opposite actually. Brilliant, funny, and handsome. He just wasn’t thinking straight and got overwhelmed with stress, and made a stupid mistake that cost him his life.”

“Did he hit anyone…?” Sunny asked, whispering the question.

I nodded sadly, “He got himself killed and hit a little girl who was crossing the road.”

Sunny’s expression was unreadable. I waved a hand in front of her, “Sunny? Sunny-ah?”

She quickly raised her hand and rubbed her eyes, “W-What?” she asked in a quivering voice.

I withdrew, shocked at the sudden sign of tears and emotions. She didn’t seem like the sensitive girl who was crying in front of me right now. Her normal self was too happy to cry, too strong to break down at a stupid story of how a single mistake got one person killed. 

Unable to do anything, I let her wipe her tears while I awkwardly sat there, trying not to wrap myself around the surprisingly frail girl. She looked like she would break if I touched her.

“Well? What are you staring at, let’s eat.” Sunny said, grabbing my backpack. 

The sudden change of emotions again jarred me into action. I nodded and unfolded the blanket, laying it on the grass while trying hard not to squish the plentiful flowers that were everywhere. Putting the food and drinks on the blanket, we joked around, trying to make the depressing mood disappear. 

“Jeez, you really are a shikshin.” Sunny chuckled after watching me gulp down a large amount of kimbab. I looked at her and patted my stomach, “Can’t help it, I’m starving!”

“Hey! Leave some for me!” she yelled, grabbing onto the last two pieces of the sandwich. “You snooze, you lose!” I yelled, taking one from her.

“Yeah, whatever shikshin.”

“Stop calling me that!”

“Merong~ But it’s true.” She said, sticking out her tongue at me. As revenge, I took a big bite of the sandwich she was holding onto. “Merong~ to you to.”

“Ugh! You suck!”

I winked, “I’m fine with that. It is only half a person’s opinion after all.”

She huffed angrily, tongue poking into her cheek, “You did not just say that.”

I shifted my eyes innocently, “What? You’re small enough to be only half a person after all.”

“Psh, then you could be 5 people.”

“Hey!” I yelled indignantly, “I’m not that tall!”

“Giant shikshin.”

“Tiny bunny.”

“Thank you. I know I’m adorable.”

“Tch.” I couldn’t help but agree with that.

After finishing all of the food, she leaned against my shoulder, her head resting in the crook of my neck. We stayed like that for a long time as the sun went down.

“So, what’s the real reason you came here?”

“To say hi to my brother.”

Sunny looked around, “There’s no grave…”

I shrugged, “I know. My parents went to his real grave out of town, but since I have school tomorrow I couldn’t go. This is the closest place to him as I could get without traveling too far.”

Sunny nodded, thankfully keeping silent. 

“Do you miss him?”

“Yeah… but I know he’s up there watching over me. That’s what he promised anyways.”

“…”

“Reminds me. Sunny, could you grab my backpack?”

She tossed the much lighter backpack to me before sitting back down. Taking out pieces of plain white paper and a couple of pencils, I grabbed the bouquet of irises that were resting on a tree stump. Sunny shot confused look.

For an answer, I handed her a pencil and paper. “Write a message to anyone, dead or alive. Anything you want.”

She looked at me suspiciously, “Are you going to read it?”

“No. I’ll show you after you’re finished. Feel free to use as much paper as you want. One message per paper though.” I said vaguely, scratching my own thoughts onto the paper.

I wrote down everything that happened this year. Sad things, happy things, new people I met, old people that died. Anything and everything. I even wrote about Sunny, asking him how her touch makes my heart race every single time.

I glanced back at the older girl who was furiously scribbling into her paper, a complex look on her face. 

Taking the message, I started folding it. Sunny looked up from her paper and stared for a while before getting the shape of the paper. “Oh! A paper plane…”

I smiled, “Yup. Are you finished?”

She shook her head, “Almost. There’s… a lot I want to write.”

I raised my eyebrows at the butchered pieces of paper scattered around her, “I can see that.”

Finishing the paper plane, I grabbed a single iris from the bouquet and stuck it in the middle and launched it towards the sloping green hills.

Sunny stared at the plane for awhile as it drifted further and further away. “Why an iris? Why not a rose of something?”

“Do you know anything about floriography?” I asked. She shook her head. “Floriography is the flower language. Every flower symbolizes something. It could be an emotion, statement, question, etc. Like how roses symbolize love. The irises symbolize a message, or its saying thank you/compliments. In this case, it’s used as a messenger for the paper airplane.” 

Sunny gave a small smile, “That’s brilliant.”

I just nodded away the compliment.

She handed her a couple of pieces of paper to me, “Help me fold these, will you? Just don’t read them.”

I nodded, “Sure. Why, did you write to your crush?” I teased.

She blushed, “No way! Just fold them!”

I guffawed, “YOU DID! You just blushed. Who is it?” 

Her face got even redder, “No one! Babo shikshin, just fold the paper!” she snapped, turning away.

I kept my smug smile when handing her the finished paper airplanes. “Sunny’s in love~ Sunny’s in love~.”

“Shut up!” 

Still chuckling, I handed her a couple of irises and watched her chuck the paper airplanes, all of them going separate directions. “Babo…” she muttered at me, settling back down beside me. 

“Hahaha, I’m sorry. So, who did you write to?”

“You tell me first.”

“Oppa, some friends I left behind, my parents. Mostly my oppa in hopes that at least one would reach high enough to where he is. And 

you?” I asked.

“People…” she said doggedly avoiding the question. 

“No fair! I told you!” 

Sunny smiled, “Maybe you’ll get a paper airplane, and it has a messenger flower after all.”

I rolled my eyes, “Sure… sure. I guess it’s time to get going now, almost 7 pm.”

Coming down wasn’t as nearly as hard as going up. The sun wasn’t as strong and the downhill slope helped.

“Hmm, maybe I should come along every year.” Sunny stated when we were on the rice paddy path again. 

I smiled at the thought, “Be my guest.”

Walking through the town, I anxiously peered at the food stands now brightly lit. Sunny saw my look and offered to buy some, but I 

refused. “A shikshin refusing food?! What is this blasphemy?!” she exclaimed sarcastically. I rolled my eyes and ignored her, walking 

to the flower shop. “I’ll take that one please.” I said, pointing to a bouquet of Sweet Williams.

The florist nodded and handed me it. I patted my now empty pocket; the flowers had cost me the rest of my money. Sunny immediately questioned the flowers. “What are the flowers for now?”

“I’ll tell you after we get off the bus.”

Thankfully we had a different bus driver who didn’t purposefully do awkward things as we drove back into town. I poked Sunny a couple of times to make sure she was still awake. She puffed out her cheeks and swatted my hand away, “I’m awake, stop it.”

“Noooo! Every time we’re together we always fall asleep, so I’m making sure you’re awake.”

“This bus rumbles enough to keep me awake without you poking my face!” she muttered.

I kept at it though until we were at our bus stop, somehow ignoring her hardcore aegyo-filled complaints. Getting off, I uncovered my 

ears. “Jeez, I’ve had enough of aegyo!”

“Oh really? I’m sorry…” she said cutely, still using aegyo as we walked in the direction of our houses.

“ARGH! STOP THE AEGYO! I give, I give!”

“Haha, karma!” the shorter girl yelled victoriously.

Staring at each other, we burst into a giggling fit that didn’t stop until we got to a fork in the road. She pointed left, “My house is this way.”

I pointed right, “This way is mine.”

“Well, good night~! Thanks for taking me along, I had a lot of fun.” Sunny waved, walking away slowly. “Wait! Sunny, here!” I took the bouquet of Sweet Williams and gave them to her. She took them, but looked at me, both eyebrows raised. “I’m guessing it’s another floriography thing, what’s it mean?”

I winked, “Their Sweet Williams, try looking them up. Good night Sunny, I’ll see you tomorrow at school.”

“Yah! Choi Sooyoung, at least properly answer my question- Oh I give up. Good night!” she said while rolling her eyes, making another pout.

I smiled to myself all the way back home. Ringing the doorbell, Yoona answered then looked away with a disgusted expression.

“My god, both my unnie’s like to creepily smile to themselves…”

I smacked her head, “Yah! Be respectful!”

She rolled her eyes, ducking to avoid my swipe. “Reminds me, a paper airplane with a flower stuck in it hit me in the head on my way back home. It had your name on it, so I brought it back.” she rubbed her head. "It surprisingly hurt... Someone must've chucked it really hard."

I snapped my head towards her, “Seriously? Where is it?”

“In the kitchen…”

“And what were you doing in the kitchen…?”

“Making myself from dinner…”

“Good, good. If you raided the fridge again, I would’ve killed you.” 

Walking towards it, I quickly spotted the paper airplane and iris. Gently taking the iris out of the folds, I contemplated for a split 

second to whether or not open the airplane. Of course I did.

Sooyoung,

Thank you.

~Sunny

-Sunny’s POV-

I snuck my way through the back door, trying to avoid everyone. 

But of course she saw. 

“Wow Sunny, who were you with?” Taeyeon questioned, keeping her fingers in the page of book while her eyes flickered to the flowers in my hand.

“No one…” I answered curtly, trying to escape the questions that were sure to come. Instead, I asked a different one. “Who were you with? Breaking another boy/girl’s heart?”

She chuckled, “I’m not breaking them on purpose. They’re asking to be broken.”

“Taeyeon… What the hell happened to you?” 

“I don’t know. I don’t care. I don’t remember.” She answered, still no trace of the old Taeyeon in her voice or eyes. 

“Where’s appa?” I asked to end another upcoming fight.

“Uncle’s at work.” She said nonchalantly, getting back into the book to avoid any other questions. 

I took this chance to quickly run to my room. Jumping onto the computer, I searched through Naver for floriography. 

“Aha!” I yelled triumphantly, “There it is… Sweet William, Sweet William…” I read through the other meaningless/cheesy one word symbolisms like perfection, gallantry, etc, until one caught my eyes and stuck to my heart.

“Grant me one smile.”

---

Match 10

Forgive and Forget

-Taeyeon’s POV-

Click Click

The sound of my camera rang in my ears as I secretly took pictures of the girl underneath me. Tiffany tapped the tree lightly. “Taeyeon, did you get it?”

I carefully measured the temperature before yelling them down to Tiffany. It was after school, on a Monday and I was up on a tree. What happened to great Player Taeng?

“Thanks Taetae! Let’s go to the next one!”

I nodded and jumped down next to Tiffany, camera now hidden in my pocket. “Fany-ah~! Come here.” 

She leaned down slightly, “Yes Tae-“I captured her lips, leaning in for a sweet kiss before pulling away.

I chuckled at her blushing face and grabbed her hand, “Next one?”

“I-I-It’s b-b-by the r-river…” she stammered out. I made an action to let go of her hand. My smile grew larger as she gripped my hand even harder. The little flare of warmth in my chest grew; something that never happened with anyone else. Maybe it was her innocence that was affecting me?

“Taetae… laugh for me.”

I stared at her, “Huh?”

“Well, you always smile and never laugh… so, I wanted to hear it once.” Tiffany said embarrassed. 

I looked at her, “If I were to laugh, you’d run away. Trust me on this one.” I sound like an ahjumma.

“Pwease…” she begged, giving her eye-smile and most aegyo-filled voice. 

“No.” I said flatly, destroying all her arguments.

“Why nooottt?” she pouted.

“Because~” I said nonchalantly. That’s what she liked the most… Tiffany sighed, defeated for now, but still fiercely determined to achieve her goal.

I smiled to myself, remembering the time we met at the café, the confessions, the kiss. After that, we met up every day after school, walking home, doing the science project, whatever. They were all excuses to see each other. There was no actual confession of love, just brief glances exchanged or the slight brush of skin against skin. Once in awhile a kiss when no one was looking. We weren’t technically a couple yet, but we were getting there, even if we tried to keep it a secret from the others. 

Finishing up the last check, we sat on the grassy hill overlooking the side of the river. Behind us was a barely used road, once in awhile a couple of trucks passed by. Silently indulging in the other’s presence, we unconsciously leaned towards each other, hands wrapped around each other. “Taeyeon,” Tiffany started, breaking the comfortable silence, “what’s wrong between you and Sunny?”

I tensed, forcing my face to keep its blank expression. “Nothing really, it’s something that both of us should’ve forgotten already.”

Tiffany raised an eyebrow, “What do you mean?” she asked, prodding further. “Relationship problems? Liking the same person?”

I chuckled and shook my head, “Nothing like that. I honestly don’t even know who started it. Personally, I’d like to think it was her, but it was probably me.”

“Ah… ok…” 

“… Fany-ah, do you get along with your family? I mean, since you’re away from your family in America.”

She nodded, “Yeah, really well actually.”

“Even your parents?”

“Mhmm… my mom died a couple of years ago though…”

That was a shock to me, “Oh, I’m sorry.”

“It’s ok.” She said, smiling sadly and shaking her head. “I was really close with her and admired her. Me and my dad were really depressed for awhile, but we got over it. How about you Taeyeon? Do you get along with your parents?”

I snorted, “Parents huh? No, I don’t. I don’t even remember my dad’s face.”

Tiffany’s eyes widen, obviously sorry she brought up a sensitive subject. “Oh…” she said, trailing off uncertainly. “How about your mom…?”

I smiled once again and looked at the river. Opening my mouth to speak, I said what I truly felt about her. “I… I-“

Beeeeeeeepppppppp

A large semi passed by, blowing bits of dust and dirt everywhere. Getting up, I dusted off my pants and offered her a hand. “Come on, let’s get something to eat, I’ll pay.”

Tiffany nodded, showing her cute eyesmiles, “Ok~.”

--

Walking down the busy street filled with stands and people, I looked at Tiffany’s wide smile and had to follow along, gripping each other’s hands tightly. For once I felt slightly free, the chain around my neck that I’ve been carrying for years feeling a little looser for the first time. The melancholy shadow that is always by my side was slowly slipping away as I leaned closer to her. 

But then it all came crashing down. 

The little cloud of heaven I was on quickly disappeared, as if someone sucked it from right under me. 

I crashed.

Way to fast.

Way to far from the ground.

And it hurt.

“Ah Yuri~,” I said in a sing-song voice, waving to my tall, tanned friend. “What are you doing here?”

She gave a toothy smile, “On a date, you?”

My eyes opened wide in mock shock, “So this is why you haven’t been texting me, eh? So? Who is it?” I asked, prodding her gently in the side with my elbow. She chuckled and pointed behind her to a blond girl, curiously looking into a window display of a clothing store. “Jessica Jung? THE Jessica Jung rumored to be the Ice Princess of the school? How the hell did you get her to be your girlfriend?!”

“Jessi?!” 

I turned to Tiffany, completely forgetting she was there for a moment. “Jessi?”

“Jessi?”

“Tiff?!” Jessica responded, looking wide-eyed at Tiffany.

“Tiff?!”

Holding up both of her hands, Yuri got in between everyone, “Ok hold up before I get a headache here. Tiff? Jessi?”

“Err… Yuri, meet my girlfriend Tiffany…” I said; creeping behind the mushroom-haired girl as the Ice Princess stared me down.

“Tiffany and I are friends, we met in America and for some odd reason both of us came back later. She’s one of my best friends. And Yuri here is my uh… girlfriend.” The blond said the last part timidly, wrapping her arms around Yuri protectively. The latter reacted by smiling brightly and looping one of her long arms around Jessica’s waist. I rolled my eyes at the gag-worthy scene. 

Tiffany clapped her hands loudly and smiled, giving her famous crescent-moon eye smiles. “Wow, what a coincidence. I’ve heard a lot about you Yuri-shi.”

“Just call me Yuri.”

“Or Book Yul.” I added; ignoring the glare that Yuri gave me.

Jessica raised her eyebrows in amusement, looking at Yuri. 

“Then call me Tiffany.” 

“Will do.” The tanned girl replied before slyly sneaking an elbow to my gut.

I grunted in pain and sent her a small kick in the shins. “So, we all know each other now?”

Yuri winced and gave a small smile, pain clear in her eyes as she tried to hide it. “I say we should go karaoking!”

I stared at her with a “wtf? why?” face. “Umm, what why?”

“Cause I want to.” She says seriously, giving a puppy dog face to the Ice Princess. Her girlfriend sighed and gave in while Tiffany quickly agreed to the idea and pulled me along for the ride. I smiled and rolled my eyes, finally giving in after excessive amounts of pleading and cute, aegyo looks. 

If only…

But…

It’s not bright enough.

---

Pulling them into a frequent karaoke place that me, Yuri, Yoona, and Sooyoung always went to, I spied Yuri who was about to coolly pull out the cash in my pocket before…

“Uhhh… Taeng, do you have money? I only have 50 won…”

I facepalmed and look at the tanned girl with a sour expression on my face. “You drag me here and make me pay for it? Seriously Yul? Uncool dude, uncool. Right Miss Ice Princess?”

Jessica rolled her eyes before sending a cold glare at me, which I ignored, using all of my willpower to stop from cowering behind Tiffany. “Yah, Kwon Yuri, you’re short friend is right. Uncool.”

“Who are you calling short!” I yelled, eyes round in shock at the random insult.

Jessica smirked, “Uhh, you? Who else?”

“Jessi! Leave Taeyeon alone. Besides, you’re not much taller.” Tiffany interrupted, giving Jessica another killer glare. I sweatdropped a bit. Jeez, these American girls are scary…

“Hey, I’m mu- MMMMPPH!”

Yuri smiled and clamped her hand over Jessica’s mouth, ignoring the deathly glares the wriggling girls gave her. “Glad we’re getting along so well, let’s get into the room before we disrupt the business here anymore than we did just now. Ok?”

I sighed and shrugged, “Whatever. Let’s go~!” Leading the way, I pulled Tiffany towards the usual room and smiled brightly.

-Seohyun’s POV-

Swinging my legs back and forth in perfect rhythm with the swing next to me, the creak of the swing was a welcoming sound as I pumped harder and flew higher. I smiled brightly, carefree and feeling lighter than I’ve felt before. The wind blowing through my hair as the warm sun beat down on my face. A small moment of happiness.

The silver lining in a storm. 

The small hole in the thick ice.

“Seohyun~, Yoona~, come on! Luna’s back with the food!” Jiyeon’s voice called from on top of the playground tower. Yoona jumped off and landed gracefully with a small thud on the small rocks of the playground floor before quickly climbing up the tower in search of food. I slowed myself down more carefully and ran after them, already able to smell the scent of dokbokki in the air. “Hey, save some for me!” I called.

“No way! You snooze you lose!” Ji-eun yelled, already taking another stab of dokbokki with her toothpick. Jiyeon and Luna smiled and followed example, chuckling in merriment as I shoved my way through to sit next to Luna and Yoona. “Here~! Say ‘ahhhh’.” Jiyeon teased, holding an especially large piece in front of my face.

I smiled and rolled my eyes, but before I could take it, Yoona quickly opened her mouth and swallowed the large piece in one bite. I stared, wide-eyed in shock as Jiyeon took back her toothpick and smacked the doe-eyed girl on the shoulder. “Hey! You shikshin Yoong!” she started yelling, before taking a look at my shocked expression. Mock anger slowly turning to laughter, she and Yoona doubled-over, shaking in laughter. Luna kept a large smile and just kept eating the dokbokki while Ji-eun’s attention was stolen by the delicious spicy food in front of her. Looking up, she was clearly confused and tilted her head slightly. “What’s going on…?”

That made Yoona and Jiyeon laugh after, while Ji-eun pouted and prodded Luna’s arm. “What’s going on~?”

Luna shrugged, “They’re being themselves.”

“Hey!” The two insulted girls yelled.

“See. My point exactly~.” Luna laughed. 

I laughed along while Ji-eun still looked confused for five minutes before sighing and going back to eating. 

After finishing the plate of dokbokki, the five of us laid on our backs and looked up at the darkening sky in the high roofless tower of the playground, full of laughter and food. 

“Ahhh~ my stomach’s so full. It feels like it’s exploding. I wish we could do this every day~.” Luna said, head rolling to the left to get more comfort. I nodded in agreement, drowsy from the tiring day. “Yeah… having a break like this is nice…”

“Really? I’m still kinda hungry.” Yoona said, chuckling slightly.

“Shikshin…” Jiyeon said, her voice lacking her usual energy. “You should stop eating so… much… Get fat…” she drawled out, voice heavy with sleep. She yawned and closed her eyes, curling up closer to Ji-eun. The latter poked the sleeping girl before announcing she was dead.

“Sacrifice! Sacrifice! Sacrifice!” Yoona chanted childishly, prodding Jiyeon’s side. 

“Yesssss… sacrifice~!” Luna agreed, getting a stick next to her to reach the sleeping girl. I joined in as well, stifling a laugh to keep from waking the girl up. 

Taking a brief glance at her watch, Luna jumped up. “Wuah! I have to go! I have to go meet someone in a minute!” Hurriedly grabbing her school bag, she waved a good-bye and assigned Yoona and me with the trash. “Bye guys! I’ll see you at school. Make sure Jiyeon doesn’t get kidnapped on the way home!” 

We all waved back, smiling cheerily. “Bye Luna!”

Turning to us for help, Ji-eun somehow got the limp, sleeping onto her back with waking her up and stumbled down the steps of the playground tower. “Bye guys. I’ll get Jiyeon back home~.” She said; her steps even and stable even though she was holding two backpacks and a dead sleeping body on her back. 

I waved a small good-bye at their retreating figures and laid back down next to Yoona, looking at the distant specks of stars in the fading night. “Jiyeon’s really funny. Not to mention, thanks to her we got to met Ji-eun.”

“Haha, I know right? She was the first person who talked to me. Really competitive too, it’s scary actually.” Yoona said laughing.

I laughed, “Luna was the first person who I was friends with when I transferred.”

Yoona raised an eyebrow, “Oh really? I thought she was mature, then that cool image went away today.”

We chatted endlessly about what happened when we first came here. New friends, teachers, school gossip, new memories. Just new everything.

“I’m glad we’re friends again…” 

“Yeah…” the other girl responded absentmindedly, still looking off into the distance. 

We stayed like that for a couple of minutes, basking in each other’s presence. Making up for the time when we were apart, the lonely hours filled with silence. 

“Seohyun?”

“Yes?”

“I missed you.”

I hesitated before replying, “I did too. I missed you a lot.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You’ve already apologized.”

“I’m still sorry.”

“Unnie…”

She turned and smiled a bitter smile, her beautiful features twisted into remorseful expression. “I still didn’t tell you what happened between Yuri unnie and I right?”

I nodded. 

She sighed and rolled over so she was facing me. “I realized it wasn’t her fault. I was being a stupid brat, a spoiled one too, to finally realize that the night before we moved. I still haven’t apologized yet.”

I gently laid my hand on top of her, feeling the hidden shakiness inside of her. “I’m sure Yuri unnie forgave you already.”

“It isn’t just about her forgiving me. Still, some small part of me blames her. The ugly part that watched you get hit without doing anything. The same part that made me blame everyone else for everything I did, to run away and leave my worries on somebody else.”

I stopped her, holding up a hand. “Unnie, you helped though. If you hadn’t called the 119, I would probably be dead. You didn’t run away.”

“I wanted to though. I really, really wanted to.” She said, her hand shaking more as she confessed. I looked at her, then smiled. “But you didn’t. What happened is in the past, get over it already Yoona and go apologize to Yuri unnie. Time’s running out.” I said, motioning at the watch on my wrist.

She looked at me, a devastated look in her eyes. “You heard?”

I nodded. “She told me the day you moved.”

Yoona chuckled drily, “Haha, she tells you before she tells me. What the hell. Oh, since we’re on the matter of death here, did I tell you it was my cousin who hit you? Sooyoung unnie’s older brother?”

I nodded, “Yuri unnie told me that too. Sooyoung unnie already apologized and I forgave her. I’m not holding a grudge, even if it is a little painful.” I said, subconsciously rubbing my hand. 

“You’re too nice.” Yoona muttered. “Making me seem more pitiful then I already am.”

Getting up, I offered her a hand. “Let’s go, it’s getting late.”

She took her and jumped up, back to her lively self. “Ah! Sooyoung unnie probably ate all the dinner already!”

I laughed and pushed her down the tower, “Hurry up and go then. I’ll see you tomorrow Yoona unnie!”

“Bye Seohyun! I’ll see you at school!” she says, running into the brightly lit street across the road.

“Good night unnie.”

-Taeyeon’s POV-

I walked out of the karaoke room, and went down the halls in search of a bathroom. Splashing my red face with water, I smiled in the mirror quickly checking makeup and hair. Going into a stall, I sat down, waiting for the adrenaline rush and dizziness to go away. Becoming silent as the bathroom stalls opened, I was forced to listen to the conversation that someone was having.

“Wow… Jessica and you are really good singers.” A familiar husky voice came.

“So are you and Taeyeon.” Tiffany replied.

Seeing it was only Tiffany and Yuri, she got up and was about to open the door.

“What did you do to Taeyeon?” Yuri asked.

“What?”

“What did you do to Taeyeon?” Yuri repeated, the running water a making a steady stream of noise as they talked. “I’ve never seen her close to somebody before, so I was wondering what you did.”

“I didn’t do anything.” Tiffany said, her voice holding a lingering confusion.

“Hey Tifffany. Since I like you, not in that way, don’t get me wrong I love Sica, but I mean like you as a friend, don’t get too close to Taeyeon.”

I sat back down, mind blank as I wordlessly listened to the conversation outside of the stall, praying that nobody would open the door.

“Why?” Tiffany asked innocently. 

“Just a warning, nothing really.” Yuri answered vaguely.

“Ok…”

A brief moment of silence was overwhelming as the two left the bathroom. I closed my eyes and sighed. 

No… It’s not bright enough at all…

I’m still cold…

-Normal POV-

Luna waited in front of the dull, unlit open sign by the bookstore; eyebrows furrowed in search of someone. A shadowy figure approached in the distance, growing larger as she ran towards Luna. 

“Unnie… sorry for dragging you out here tonight.” Krystal said, bowing to the older girl.

Luna smiled and shook her head, “Its fine. I don’t mind, but what are we doing here?”

Krystal looked over the small bookstore, peering in through the cracks of the blinds to see the rows of books inside. “Just wondering what this place was… I’ve wanted to visit it for some time.” 

Luna rolled her eyes, “Does it have something to do with Jessica?”

The younger girl stayed silent. 

“I’m taking that as a yes.”

“She hasn’t been coming home and dad’s getting angry now and mom’s freaking out…” Krystal stated, looking at the older girl. “Besides, I’m just wondering what keeps attracting her here.”

Luna sighed and placed a hand slightly on Krystal’s shoulder in comfort. “Krystal… come on. The past is the past, just forgive her already.”

“I can’t.” Krystal’s eyes trailed coldly to the open sign of the bookstore and around it, taking in all the small details. The single street light near them illuminated the streets, but made the dark bags from sleepless nights under Krystal's eyes seem bigger. 

“I’ve forgiven her enough.”

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