Chapter 17

"Hey sorry, I won't be able to send you off to the airport. I have something I remember I needed to do. Have a fun trip!"

Seohyun immediately felt sadden over the text message Yoona had just sent to her. All she hoped for was for Yoona to at least send her away as she'll be leaving South Korea for 4 long days but instead of that happening, she received that text from Yoona.

"I understand, it's okay ^^ I'll have fun for sure!"

She replied back to Yoona, sighing as she folded up the rest of her clothing for the trip and hurriedly place it inside her trolley luggage before she zipped it up; about to head out the door when Yuri walked in.

"Are you ready?" Yuri asked her dongsaeng and Seohyun nodded.

"I'm ready, let's go Unnie." Seohyun said, pulling the handle from her trolley and proceeded to exit the room. Yuri helped her by loading the rest of the baggage out into the car.

She slammed down the trunk of the car and walked over to the driver's side before getting in, noticing how Seohyun wasn't as excited as she thought she would be as the young girl had always raved to her about how she really wanted to go to Italy quite a while ago,

"Yoona isn't sending you off?"

"No...she had something she needed to do."

Now Yuri had a clue to why Seohyun was acting like that.

"I'm sure Yoona really wanted to send you off."

Seohyun gave a faint smile and nodded.

"You two are getting closer and closer each day." Yuri remarked.

"Just like you and Tiffany Unnie too."

Yuri smiled; as expected she and Tiffany had gotten a bit closer after yesterday's incident, although for Tiffany, she's still denying the fact that they are becoming 'good' friends. A denial to what that was obviously true.

"We're getting there." Yuri replied and chuckled, "Don't change the subject, tell me more about Yoona, I know she has a bit of a..reputation in school, is she treating you right? if not I'll—"

"Unnie!," Seohyun exclaimed, she was shocked that Yuri knew about Yoona's 'rep' in school. Seriously, nothing can ever pass her Unnie unnoticed.

"Yes she's treating me right, those 'reputations' about her are just merely a title, she's a whole lot different on the inside, she's—"

"—Do you like her?"

Seohyun's cheek quickly became bright red at question, "Un-unnie! wh-what are you saying!"

Yuri took her eyes off the road for a split second and narrowed them down on the timid girl.

"Your cheeks are red, what does that tell me?"

Seohyun quickly shot up her hands to feel her cheeks, indeed they were burning hot right now. She glanced over to her side view mirrors and after noticing how red her cheeks had became, she fanned herself rigorously, trying to make the redness plastered on her cheeks go away.

"I think you turned the heat on too high that's why." Seohyun told her as an excuse, but Yuri wasn't dumb to buy that as a reason why the younger girl had immediately blushed when she had asked her that question.

Yuri chuckled and pointed at the dashboard, "I didn't even turn on the heat yet."

"Oh, well—"

"Seohyun, sometimes I feel like the stuff I know about you is on par with your mom. I know it when you're feeling happy, I know it when you're feeling sad, I know it when you're feeling angry, and most definitely, I know it when you're falling in love."

---

Yuri set down the bags near the baggage check in counter at the Incheon airport and pulled Seohyun in for a hug. The young girl was always a special dongsaeng to Yuri and she had always treated her like a younger sister that she wished she had. "Take care of yourself." Yuri said, patting the younger girl a few times on the back before pulling away, "—and remember to get me some souvenirs!"

Seohyun chortled, "Yes Unnie, I'll get you some souvenirs, it could be as your birthday present!"

"You're coming back home by my birthday, right?"

Seohyun nodded, "I'll be home on the 5th, you'll be picking me up at the airport?"

"Of course! we can head out to celebrate my birthday after that," Yuri chuckled, patting the girl on her head, "Don't worry about Yoona too much, I'll scold her later for not sending you to the airport."

Seohyun opened her mouth wide at Yuri's assertion.

"Unnie! don't!" she said pleadingly.

Yuri sighed, "I'm just kidding, anyway, be safe, do your job, and go have fun!"

Seohyun nodded assuringly, "Yes Unnie, I'm not a kid anymore, I can take care of myself. You can go home now!"

"Hey! you're always a kid in my heart." Yuri exclaimed, causing the younger girl to look around in embarrassment as some nosy people were looking their way.

Seohyun palmed her face and quickly turned around, ignoring her Unnie as she let the airport staffs weigh her suitcases.

"Remember that! you're always a kid in my heart! ALWAYS!"

Yuri yelling those only furthered Seohyun's embarrassment; pretty much everyone in the waiting lines were staring at the younger girl's way causing Seohyun's cheek to become rosy pink, just like the time in the car when Seohyun had confessed to Yuri that she did have a bit of a unrequited feeling for Yoona. Unrequited, or so she thought it was.

---

"Welcome to Korean Air." The flight attendant greeted Seohyun with a huge smile as soon as she stepped into the plane. The girl was fumbling with difficulty as she tried to make way for her trolley to get through, she only settled down when she finally found her seat in the First Class section. With the help of an ahjusshi man nearby, he helped Seohyun put her trolley up in the baggage storage place above her seat before she gratefully thanked the man and took seated; next to her was a person reading a newspaper, she didn't get a chance to see the person's face clearly as the newspaper was held in front as his or her face as he or she leaned back against the window on the plane.

It took about 10 minutes before the pilot's announcement went on,

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Korean Air flight 210 non-stop to Rome, Italy. The flight takes approximately sixteen hours to arrive at it's destination and while that's a long time, we hope to see you fly comfortably in this trip. As we are about to take off, we need you to start wearing your seat-belts until the seat-belt sign have stopped flashing on it's indicator. That is all for now, thank you for choosing Korean Air."

As soon as the announcement had ended, Seohyun quickly obeyed the pilot's orders and snapped her seat-belt together. Seeing how the person sitting next to her wasn't moving one bit, Seohyun spoke up.

"Erm, Sir or Miss. I think you should put on your seat-belt." Seohyun tried to say politely, but the person didn't even make an effort to reply anything back, he or she just simply pointed to the seat-belt already clipped in around his or her waist. Seohyun felt she was annoying that person, so she just left the stranger alone as she picked up a book from her tote-bag and began reading with the calm mp3 music playing through her earbuds. After a while, she dozed off until the flight attendant began to go around offering the passenger anything to eat, with Seohyun the health freak she was, she chose the healthiest food they had which contains different types of salads and vegetables mixed in a ranch sauce.

"Can you please hand me the ramyun noodles?" The person next to her said in a awkward low voice.

"Sure!" Seohyun said, turning around to the flight attendant to pick up the cup of noodles, but when she turned back around to the person sitting next to her, she gasped upon seeing the person's grinning face.

"YOONA!?" Seohyun whispered hoarsely, her mouth never closing from the surprising revelation.

"Are you surprised?" Yoona asked gleefully, taking the cup of noodles away from the baffled younger girl.

"Am I suppose to not be surprised?" Seohyun huffed.

Yoona immediately felt guilty, "Are you not happy with me being here?" she asked in a soft voice, maybe it was too impulsive for her to just go with Seohyun on the trip like this? whatever it was, Yoona felt a bit regretful for not telling Seohyun about her plan—but telling her about the plan would have ruined the surprise Yoona had planned like just now.

"No! I'm happy, but you tricked me this morning!" Seohyun pouted, crossing her arms as she turned around away from Yoona and looked straight ahead at the back of the seat in front of her.

"I'm sorry...I just wanted it to be a surprise and all, and you were surprised right? so forgive me?"

Looking straight into Yoona's doe-like eyes, Seohyun had no other choice but to just nod her head, forgiving the girl.

"You're forgiven."

Before Yoona could even celebrate, Seohyun continued on.

"If you ever do this 'surprise' thing to me again, I won't talk to you anymore!"

Yoona clasped her hands together and smiled,

"Trust me, I won't ever do it again. I rather give up the suspense of surprising you—" She paused for a moment,

"—then to you not wanting to ever speak with me again."

Seohyun was taken aback by Yoona's statement but was too naive to think much of it, instead, she just retorted with an innocent reply.

"You better not!"

---

Tiffany woke up to what seemed like she was experiencing a hangover, though with the lack of her consuming any alcohol last night. She dizzily rubbed her eyes, removing it's rheum before she unconsciously smiled remembering that long hug Yuri had given her. It was like Yuri was the prince, and she was the princess with the outfits they were wearing yesterday; Tiffany closed her eyes to recreate that scene, but only to snap it open as the thought of what-in-the-heck was she doing came to a realization for her.

"Ahhh! Hwang Miyoung, what is happening to you!?" Tiffany yelled out, shaking her head side to side. Yuri is making her go crazy, and she's not sure if it's a good or a bad thing.

"I don't know Tiffany, what is happening to YOU?"

Tiffany could hear her inner conscience talking to her, but most likely it was just her becoming crazy and is just hallucinating as now she had no one to talk to but herself.

"You're miss know-it-all, tell me, what is happening to me?"

Tiffany asked herself, her inner conscience.

"Gee, I don't know, I think you're in love with Yuri? or at least have some feelings towards her, an infatuation."

"What the hell? I am straight, I had never thought of any girls romantically."

"But you are thinking of Yuri romantically now."

"I am not! I like guys, not girls! I'm not like Yoona!"

"Bullshiit, you live with her, and now your choice of romantic preference would be like her's too. In short, you got the gayness from her."

Tiffany sighed, this was not working out so well for her, even her conscience was blabbering nonsense, how is she expected to figure this one out?

"You're no help." Tiffany huffed.

"I never said I was. Yoona is a big help though, she got experience. Go ask her."

"Good idea, but she went to Italy with Seohyun today."

"Oh well, tough luck for you then."

Tiffany was definitely crazy, with no one else to talk to, she had to resort to talking to herself? yes, definitely crazy, and that tanned jerk was the mastermind behind this. Tiffany just groaned as she stepped off her bed, fixing her bed hair with her hands as she walked out of her room and started to head downstairs. She was going to tell the chef to make some breakfast in the kitchen, but was only shocked to find her mother in the chef's place.

"Mom? what are you doing here?" Tiffany asked, surprised.

"Honey," Mrs. Hwang quickly went to her daughter and hugged her, "I'm so sorry me and your father could not attend your engagement party yesterday, me and your dad just came back this morning from Hawaii."

Here Tiffany was, got engaged to someone she disliked to oblivion, only for her parents to go out and have rampant vacations for fun.

"How is dad's company?"

"Thanks to Siwon's dad, he made the stocks rise up again. See how helpful Siwon is? I'm so glad you will be his wife soon."

Tiffany put on a fake smile, "Me too mom, me too." she said sarcastically, but Mrs. Hwang was not aware of her tone.

"Good! where's Yoona?"

"She's going to Italy with a friend today. Didn't you see her when you came?"

"I just came an hour ago."

"Oh, well yeah, she went early this morning."

"Who is this 'friend' she went with?" Mrs. Hwang questioned further.

"Someone you don't know, but she's a good girl. I'm scared of Yoona corrupting her."

"Yoona is still gay? I told you to send her to the—"

"MOM, you just can't convert people to be 'un-gay', I thought you accepted her!"

"I DO accept her, but—"

"Mom, I have stuff to do today, can you please go home?"