If there was one thing Jessica had realized after the past few days, then it was that there were still people in this world she could fully trust and always count on, no matter what happens. She didn't know what she did right that seven years ago, Taeyeon and Tiffany decided to be her friend. She didn't know why they kept sticking with her until now. She wasn't sure why Sooyoung was treating her that nicely, either. At some point, she even felt she had to thank Yuri for all this. The wound that Yuri created for both her and Sooyoung was exactly what brought them close together. The betrayal that Yuri made her experience was what made her trust Taeyeon and Tiffany even more. Now, when her mother'd been hospitalized and she had to sit there all day, not wanting to leave the sick woman, it was Taeyeon, and no one else, who went out buying meals, buying water, who took care of her and Krystal.

"Sooyoung is coming", Taeyeon said as she stuffed her phone into her jeans pocket. "She just texted me."

Jessica nodded in response. She turned around to Krystal and stroked the girl's hair comfortingly. Her sister had been staying beside her mom, holding the woman's hand since the moment umma Jung exited the emergency room. Their mom was transferred to the resting and recovering area six hours ago, after having Jessica and Krystal anxiously waiting for almost two hours. Taeyeon and Tiffany had come as soon as they heard the bad news from Sunny, but Tiffany had to leave soon after with Sunny due to work. Sooyoung, on the other hand, was tied up with something and couldn't drop by until now.

"That's her", Taeyeon remarked when faint sounds of heels clicking on the floor was heard. A couple of seconds later, the door quietly opened and Sooyoung's tall figure appeared in the doorway.

"Sooyoung unnie..." Krystal looked up with her red eyes.

"Hey..." Sooyoung softly said as she approached the bed. "I'm so sorry I couldn't come sooner. How is she?" She looked worriedly at the sleeping woman.

"Apparently, she's already been very weak before the accident happened. I guess it's because she couldn't sleep and all. She collapsed due to fatigue this morning and fell down the escalator and broke her arm." Jessica's face twisted, she let out a distressed sigh. "The doctor said bone fracture is exceptionally bad for people at her age. But she's overcome the danger. They say she'll fully recover. It just takes time until she wakes up and heals completely. Until now, she's still kind of in a coma."

Jessica trialed off tiredly.

And time is the big problem, Sooyoung finished Jessica's thought in her mind. She knew, just by looking at the girl, umma Jung's health was no longer the number one thing Jessica was worried about. The girl was now having headache thinking of a way to pay the fees until her mom gets discharged from hospital. Because, to put it simple, being poor wasn't easy.

"Sica, can I talk to you for a sec?" The tall girl tilted her head towards the door, indicating that she wanted to talk privately. "I've got something to tell you."

Jessica looked up at Sooyoung, giving her a questioning look.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of Krys", Taeyeon nudged Jessica lightly as she stroked the youngest girl's hair. Krystal didn't react; she kept looking at her mom with those sorrowful eyes. Seeing no reason to not following Sooyoung out, Jessica gave Taeyeon a nod and stood up. She tapped her sister's back a few times before leaving with the short-haired girl.

Once they were outside, Jessica leaned back against the wall and waited for Sooyoung to speak up. The taller girl, however, only smiled at her.

"Let's take a walk", she said and started walking away, leaving Jessica no choice but to follow her. They went downstairs and exited the building, entering the hospital park in silence. Jessica was patiently waiting for whatever Sooyoung was going to tell her. She wasn't nervous or anxious at all. What could be worse news than her mom getting hospitalized, anyway?

"Sica, do you know where I was today?" Sooyoung asked while keeping her gaze straight forward.

"No", Jessica answered, still patiently waiting for Sooyoung to get to the point. "Tell me."

Sooyoung took a breath as she kicked a small rock in front of her feet.

"Well, my parents have this friend, you know? He owns a small hotel at the edge of a forest. There's a chain of vacation houses, probably 30, that belongs to him too. They're all scattered in the forest. I was visiting him at the hotel today."

Sooyoung paused, and they kept their slow strolling pace. Jessica remained silent, waiting for the girl to continue.

"He's old now. He wants to retire and sell his business. The money is enough for the rest of his life. Since he isn't married and doesn't have children, he takes everything lightly. Just has to care for himself, you know?"

Jessica nodded. As Sooyoung didn't speak further, she turned her head to look at the taller girl.

"You want to buy his business?"

"I would if I could", Sooyoung gave a small sigh. "His business is pretty good. The forest is a huge tourist attraction, especially during this season. I'm only able to buy 30% of his vacation houses."

"And? You want me to invest, too?"

Sooyoung nodded, and Jessica's eyes widened.

"I was just kidding, Soo. You know I don't have money to invest. My mom's in here", she shook her head and yanked a thumb towards the hospital building. "I have to care for here. All the money I earn will have to go to the hospital first."

"I know, I know. But you haven't even got a job yet, have you?"

Jessica's head went side to side once, she sighed.

"See, that's exactly the point. This is an absolute profitable investment, Sica. If we buy it, we'll be able to cover all the cost for your mom's cure." Sooyoung gave Jessica an encouraging smile. "My parents believe in their friend. They actually lend me money to buy 5% of his business. This really is a great chance, Sica."

"It surely sounds tempting," Jessica said. "And to be honest, it sounds like it could be my one and only ultimate resort. But... I don't know where to get the money from. How am I supposed to buy something like that, when I'm not even able to pay the hospital fees for my mother?"

"I know, I've thought of that", Sooyoung nodded eagerly. "You have to try to get enough money together. Just two weeks, Sica, two weeks only. He's so close to our family, I consider him a real uncle. All the bureaucratic stuff will be settled smoothly, as soon as possible. It's most likely that after two weeks, we'll be holding money in our hands again."

"Sooyoung, the point is, where to get enough money in the first place?" Jessica said, frustration could already be heard in her voice. "There is no way in this situation that I could ever gather enough money to buy a business that's been running well. Unless I rob the bank, of course... Which actually isn't that much of a bad idea."

As soon as Jessica's sentence ended, an old couple in wheelchairs nearby threw the two girls an alarmed and suspicious look. Sooyoung gulped nervously at the piercing glare the woman shot Jessica and her. The blonde never knew how to make a joke sound like a joke. Their own serious faces at the moment were not helping, either. They indeed looked like they were doing anything but joking.

Sooyoung reacted fast by flashing the old couple a sheepish smile. She then walked away quickly, pulling Jessica along.

"Don't be stupid", she hissed into the blonde's ear. "I've thought about something else. Something that is legal, of course. It's a good solution in my opinion, but..."

Sooyoung trailed off, and Jessica narrowed her eyes at the girl. The blonde could imagine Sooyoung coming up with a brilliant idea, but Jessica knew everything had its own price. And somehow, she felt that Sooyoung already knew she was not willing to take the loss.

"What do I have to do?" She asked nonetheless.

"Sell your apartment."

Jessica's feet stuck to the ground, she stopped dead in her tracks when Sooyoung kept walking. The tall girl realized she had left the other behind soon, and she turned around, looking at Jessica.

"It's the only way, Sica", Sooyoung said. "That apartment is one of the luxurious kinds. Heck, every apartment in that area is expensive. If you sell it, you can pay for anything you want, with ease."

"I can't possibly buy the remaining 70% of your uncle's business, Sooyoung. That's too much."

"No, you don't have to. Together, we only need more than a half to be able to have the business under our control."

"Even so, where am I supposed to live? And don't tell me to move in with your family, Sooyoung. I cannot take so much from you."

Sooyoung sighed.

"You and your ego, Sica."

The tall girl then grabbed Jessica's shoulders as she stared into the blonde's eyes deeply.

"I want Krystal to live with my parents. They'll take care of her, send her to school, and all that stuff. Your mom will have to stay in the hospital for a while. And you", Sooyoung released her grip on Jessica's shoulders. "You gotta come with me, of course. We'll be running the vacation house system on-site. We'll stay at that three-star hotel. Running the hotel too, of course."

Jessica was rendered speechless. She stared at Sooyoung, not sure what to say. The short-haired girl continued.

"Sica, business is all about taking risks. You don't have to worry about your mom and Krystal. Krys could come with us too, actually, but I don't think anywhere else than the city is the best place for her education. And trust me, my parents have plenty experience in raising kids. My mom has plenty of time too, she can drop by the hospital time to time to look after your mother. You'll be only a two-hour car ride away from them anyway. This is our chance, Sica."

"Wait..." Jessica stopped Sooyoung. Something was ringing annoyingly in her mind, subconscious only, but enough to distract her from what Sooyoung was actually talking about. "A two-hour car ride... Does that mean..."

Sooyoung looked away. She knew what Jessica was fearing right now. But she had to tell the blonde the truth, because Jessica would find out anyway. She just hoped this wouldn't be a reason for Jessica to not take this chance.

"The vacation houses are... in the North Forest."

Jessica's eyes widened at the revelation.

"Th-the... North Forest? Is that... last time... you... Yu--"

Sooyoung nodded. Jessica dropped her shoulders, she had to grab Sooyoung's arm to keep balance. The North Forest. Where she first met Yuri. All the flashbacks hit her mind instantly, from the first days they shared in the vacation house to the moments they had on the Chalk Peak, looking down onto the North Forest and made promises together. Jessica's hand once again moved to her necklace, she felt defeated.

Everywhere Jessica went, Yuri had to haunt her. It felt like Kwon Yuri just couldn't let her be and vanish from her life for good. Or it was fate that didn't allow her to get over Yuri, ever. Jessica had no idea.

----------

"Yuri!"

Yuri reluctantly looked up as the door to her office flung open. She rolled her eyes in annoyance when she saw the person entering was none other than Jiyong.

"How many times do I have to remind you there's this common courtesy thing called knocking?"

Jiyong, however, ignored Yuri's remark and stepped aside, making place for somebody else to enter. A young, beautiful girl with light brown locks appeared in the doorway. Yuri was stunned right at the first sight. Stunned by the girl's extreme resemblance to Jessica more than anything else.

"This is Hyomin", Jiyong introduced. "Your new secretary, cousin."

"What?!"

"It's my honor to work for you, Ms Kwon", the girl said with her oh-so-feminine voice as she bowed to Yuri.

"Jiyong!" Yuri angrily glared at her cousin, completely ignoring the new girl.

"Grandpa approved", Jiyong held up his hands in a gesture of defense. He then turned around to Hyomin and smiled at her. "Yuri can be a very nice boss if you're a nice secretary. I'm sure you two will get along well."

The young man bobbed his left eyebrow in a suggesting manner. Hyomin missed it, though. Yuri didn't.

"I'll try my best Mr Kwon. Thank you", the brunette was bowing to Jiyong.

Yuri didn't say anything when Jiyong led the girl to the secretary desk to the left of her. She was too caught off guard at the situation. She absolutely didn't know what to do, how to handle this Jessica look-a-like.

"Why don't you start with making coffee for your boss, Hyomin?" Jiyong said, then approached the door. "I gotta go now. You can thank me later, Yuri. Have fun."

And with a wink, he left. Yuri felt like facepalming herself.

Stupid cousin, she angrily thought in her head. Did he really think he was doing her a favor by hiring someone who looked like Jessica as her secretary? Of course, Jiyong could have had a motive, a hidden intention. But Yuri couldn't figure out anything yet. She was totally unfocused, and she blamed this girl's presence and appearance for it.

Frustrated, she grabbed the phone on her desk. She punched in a number and waited for the other end to pick up.

"Ms Kwon?"

"Yes, it's me. I need to talk to the president. Now."

She must have sounded angry, because her grandfather's secretary was stuttering a short "o-of course" before leaving her there to wait. A few seconds later, she was reconnected on the line again.

"Ms Kwon... I'm sorry", the secretary feebly said. "The president's busy right now. He doesn't want to be disturbed."

Yuri let out a frustrated huff. "Alright. Thanks", she said before slamming the speaker down, thus hanging up.

Grandpa knew, Yuri thought. She had to bitterly realize that whatever Jiyong had told her grandfather, he really seemed to have approved the idea.

"Damn it", Yuri cursed under her breath. She didn't realize Hyomin was standing next to her until she smelled the coffee scent.

"What?!" she snapped at the girl. But seeing Hyomin flinch back, Yuri immediately pulled herself together. "Sorry", she mumbled.

"I'm... sorry if I'm disturbing."

"No, you're not." Yuri reached out for the coffee up and forced a smile onto her face. She failed miserably as the end up contorting her face awkwardly. Mentally cursing herself, Yuri looked away. "Thanks."

"No problem", Hyomin said, rubbing her forehead, obviously a little bemused. "Erm... is there anything I can help you with?"

Yuri sighed inwardly. This was exactly why she didn't want an assistant. She did everything on her own. Having to think of what to give others to do provided her more stress than doing it all by herself.

"Here", Yuri randomly grabbed a document on her desk. "Type this into the computer, please."

Hyomin took the documents, but she had that are-you-freaking-serious look on her face. Of course, Yuri didn't need anything typed into the computer. She just needed Hyomin to stop standing here next to her and fluster her. The best would be getting Hyomin out of here, as soon as possible. She could treat the girl real bad, so that the brunette had to quit by herself, but Yuri wasn't like that. She couldn't mistreat a lady, especially not when she looked like Jessica.

"Okay", Hyomin nodded at Yuri before making her way to her own desk.

Yuri sneaked a peek at the girl. But when her eyes lied on the brunette, she couldn't turn them away. Yuri stared and stared and stared. She gulped nervously, realizing that the girl's back view resembled Jessica even more than her front view. Hyomin emitted the same femininity to her surroundings, drawing Yuri's attention like none other. Even when the girl had settled down behind the desk, Yuri had a hard time forcing her eyes to look away.

"Damn", Yuri mumbled, trying to keep her eyes glued to her computer. "Sh*t you, Jiyong."

But no matter how hard Yuri tried, she couldn't concentrate. It felt exactly the same as four months ago. A girl was totally distracting her from work, and despite all her attempts to deny it, the fact remained that she was helpless and smitten with the girl's charms. Yuri kept struggling with herself, trying her best to not make it obvious. The longer she saw the girl, however, the more she was convinced that if Jessica didn't have a doppelganger, this girl must be her long lost twin sister. And eventually, she confused herself enough to imagine, for a while, the girl sitting at her secretary's desk was Jessica.

Yuri didn't realize she had been staring for the past few minutes. It wasn't until Hyomin threw her an awkward look that she came back to her senses.

"I-umm", Yuri stammered, shifting her gaze elsewhere immediately. She randomly grabbed another document stack. "I need these typed in the computer, too."

She walked to the girl's desk and put the papers next to the computer.

"Erm... Ms Kwon?" Hyomin carefully asked.

"Yes?"

"Did I do something wrong?"

Even the look the girl showed her reminded Yuri of Jessica. Jessica was just a little shyer, a little cuter, taking her breath a little longer.

"You-- no", Yuri sighed. She walked back to her place and settled down behind her desk. "Say... do you know a Jessica?"

Hyomin looked at Yuri for a few seconds before shaking her head. Yuri gave a nod, indicating that Hyomin could go back to whatever she was supposed to do.

She is not Sica, Yuri reminded herself.

She decided to distract herself from Jessica's look-a-like by focusing onto the job hunting she had been doing all day. She wanted to find a job for Jessica. It would be easier to keep track with what the girl was doing that way, Yuri told herself. With her influence, she could get almost every decent company to hire both Jessica and her foreign friend. Her plan would run more than smoothly if she was in control of everything.

Yuri succeeded at concentrating for more than one hour. Hyomin, having enough to do, wasn't talking either. They fell into a finally comfortable silence for a while. It was Yuri's phone giving short rings, indicating an incoming message, that broke the silence. It was a message from her 'spy'.

- Jessica's mother got into an accident but overcame danger already. Syoung found sth to do for both her and Jessica. Will tell you more later. -

Yuri stared at the first part of the message in disbelief for a good minute. Mrs Jung... what happened to her? Was it the result of the shock of losing everything in one go? Yuri didn't know, but she couldn't stop a terrible feeling from hitting her. She felt responsible for Mrs Jung's accident. She should have known something like this could and would happen. She should have reckoned with accidents like this. If Mrs Jung was any more seriously injured and couldn't recover, she could never forgive herself, Yuri knew for sure.

Sica...

The girl must be suffering a lot, too. She had lost her father next to her, and now her mother almost left her too. Yuri couldn't stop thinking what would have happened if Mrs Jung hadn't survived. She had never felt this bad and horrible inside, it made her want to puke. She felt like hating herself.

With her thoughts still revolving around the Jungs, Yuri stood up and approached the cupboard in the corner of her room, where all the beverages were stored. The coffee scent still lingered in the air, but Yuri didn't feel like having a cup of that drink. She grabbed the vodka bottle and poured herself half a glass. She gulped the content down in one go, oblivious to the worried look Hyomin threw her from the other end of the room. In fact, Yuri didn't see anything except for the vodka bottle anymore.

After the second glass, the shot fell out of Yuri's hand accidentally, only the carpeted floor saving it from shattering. Yuri didn't bother to pick up the fragile object, she just continued drinking directly from the bottle. As she started to feel dizzy, she stumbled her way to the couch nearby and sank down onto the arm of the couch first. Feeling uncomfortable with the position, she slid down onto the seating surface, a small amount of the liquid splashed on her suit along the way. Yuri hiccupped against her will as she reluctantly closed her eyes. A workaholic was never too much of a drinker. Yet, with eyes still half open, half closed, she continued gulping down the alcohol non-stop.

Her throat was burning, her tummy felt sick. But it wasn't until her arms were so weak that she could barely hold the bottle that the drinking stopped. Yuri let go of the bottle, neither knowing nor caring where it rolled to. She leaned back into the couch, sighing. It took her a while to feel a little less like vomiting, but the dizziness was still there. Additionally to that, Yuri realized the alcohol did funny things to her sense of hearing. It was like her ears were blocked from the outside world, and all she could hear was a soft humming, mixed with weird voices inside her head.

"Yuri, I miss you..."

"I love you, Yuri..."

"Yuri, you promised, why didn't you keep your words?"

"Yuri, you liar."

"You jerk!"

Yuri realized, with horror, that many, many of those weird voices were Jessica's. She attempted to say something, but all that came out were alien sounds no one could understand. She struggled with all her might, because she wanted to tell Jessica so, so, so much.

"I...I'm so... s-sorry", she finally managed to mumble weakly.

"Are you okay?"

Jessica's voice became a little clearer, a little more real.

"I... you--sorry--"

Yuri flinched back as she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was a real touch. She tried her best to open her eyes, to see what that touch was. Somehow it felt like Jessica.

"S-Sic--" Yuri stuttered.

Yuri finally saw her. The girl she was longing to see the most. The blurry figure of Jessica was standing next to her, looking down at her with worry, or so she thought. Yuri could have screamed if she didn't feel so sick, she could have cried if her eyes weren't so blurred. All she could do was failing at the attempt to get up to embrace the girl.

"I'm sorry", she said instead, reaching for the girl's hand. A miracle happened as she found it, and so she pulled herself up into a straight sitting position. "I'm... I'm so sorry", Yuri whispered. With the warm hand in hers, she suddenly felt stronger. "I'm sorry for... treating you li-like that...I-I--"

"Shhh, don't worry about that", she heard Jessica say. The girl sat down next to her. "It's alr--"

"No, it's all my fault", Yuri cried without tears, holding even more tightly onto the girl's hand. "Please, forgive me. Please, I... Please, tell me your mom is going... to be f-fine, and--"

A hiccup interrupted her slurring speech, she even felt a stitch in her chest. Her body was harshly protesting against her unusual alcohol consumption.

"Ms Kwon", Jessica worriedly said as Yuri felt the girl's hand slipping away. "I think you're mistaking me with someone else! You're drunk. I'll get someone to help."

The next second, Yuri saw Jessica's body shot up again as the girl walked out. But Yuri quickly grabbed her arm, pulling her back. The girl landed sidewards on her lap with a small surprised shriek.

"Don't", Yuri whispered into Jessica's ear, sending shivers down the girl's spine. "Stay with me... Don't leave..."

She gathered Jessica in her arms, her chin resting on the girl's shoulder. Yuri felt Jessica's body stiffen as her breaths hit the girl's skin, and she decided to sniff up Jessica's neck to help her relax. Unexplainable thoughts of a drunkard.

"The strawberry scent", she mumbled, the tip of her nose grazing the girl's sensitive neck. "Where... is it..."

"Ms Kwon", she heard Jessica weakly protesting, the girl's fingers clenching Yuri's arm.

"Don't... call me... that", Yuri slurred, followed by another hiccup. She drew her head back, trying to look at the girl's face. "It... hurts... Don't act like... we're strangers..."

"But, we are--"

"Shhhhh..."

Yuri shushed Jessica by placing her finger on the girl's lips. She then attempted to look straight into Jessica's eyes, but it was impossible as she pretty much saw everything double. Her eyes travelled down to the girl's lips nonetheless; and slowly, she leaned in while removing her index finger. She wasn't sure if her heart was beating faster or not, but she knew she was experiencing the same excitement she felt everytime she kissed Jessica.

Inch by inch, their lips came closer. Yuri's eyelids fell down slowly. And by the time she had her eyes closed, her lips clumsily crushed against Jessica's. But kissing this girl was in her instinct already. The clumsy crash immediately turned into a passionate kiss. Jessica resisted as she tried to shove Yuri away, but to no avail.

Yuri pressed her lips against Jessica's, nibbling a little more on the bottom lip. She felt the girl tightening the grip on her arm. She tightened her hug around Jessica too, one arm encircling the girl's waist, the other moved to the girl's back, both pulling Jessica in deeper. When the girl's resistance slowly faded, Yuri pushed her tongue pass the lips and melted Jessica completely in her arms. The girl began to kiss her back.

A small moan escaped Jessica's lips, but Yuri couldn't quite hear or see or taste anything. In fact, the throbs in her head were getting worse second by second, and the only way she saw to ease the pain was to kiss Jessica as hard as possible, as a distraction.

Yuri kept their tongues entangled as she turned sidewards, lying the girl's back down onto the couch. She lowered herself along, afraid that if this was just a dream, her letting go of the kiss would mean the end of the dream and the awakening with nothing more than the head- and heartache.

Jessica's hands went to her head, disheveling her hair just how Yuri liked it and how it always happened during their make out sessions. Yuri retreated her tongue for them to catch breaths; she continued laying gentle but passionate kisses on the girl's lips instaed. Yuri felt Jessica taking her bottom lip in between the girl's teeth, lightly biting into it.

"Yuri..." the girl sighed into her mouth.

Yuri felt the girl pulling open her collar, a hand pulling out her tie swiftly. She felt it much easier to breathe and thanked Jessica with another deep kiss. The sensation she was feeling almost beat the pain in her head.

"Sica..." Yuri moaned.

Right that moment, the sensation disappeared. Yuri was shoved away in an instant. She couldn't see how the girl she had just kissed was staring disbelievingly at her, like Jessica just came back to her senses, like she couldn't believe they actually did what they just did. Yuri could only shut her eyes tight, not seeing anything. She couldn't.

As soon as the kissing stopped, her head wanted to explode. Yuri wrenched her face in pain, her body arched as she screamed a soundless scream. The other girl had sat up, moving away from Yuri, still staring at her, but now with more worry than disbelief in her eyes.

"Sica..." Yuri's body fell back down onto the couch, her head landed on the other girl's lap. She turned her face and looked up at Jessica, her hand wanting to reach for the girl's face but failed. Gathering all her left energy together, Yuri tried to keep her eyes open to look at the girl.

"Sica, I... I-love-y--"

In the middle of her sentence, she passed out.

----------

Yuri woke up next morning, feeling hung over, but at least the pain in her head had subsided. Her memory of yesterday night was vague. The last thing she remembered clearly was taking the vodka bottle out of the cupboard. After that... something had happened. Something... someone... some...

Jessica...

"You're awake."

The door to Yuri's office opened, and entering was the girl Jiyong introduced as her secretary yesterday. Yuri tried to recall the girl's name, but her mind was totally blank.

"What happened?", she asked the Jessica look-a-like instead.

"You were drunk", the girl answered, approaching her. "How do you feel?"

"Tired", Yuri replied, rubbing her temples. She saw the girl walking over to the cupboard, pouring her a glass water. Yuri waited for the girl to get to the couch and sit down next to her before taking the offered refreshing liquid.

"Your head must still be hurting", the brunette said, rummaging in her purse. She then took out some pills and gave them Yuri. "I just went out to buy some meds. Take these, you'll feel better soon."

Yuri looked at the girl for a second before taking the pills. She quietly gulped them down with the water, waiting for her head to feel less heavy. She leaned back into the couch and let out a sigh. Yuri had a bad feeling about all this. The first person she saw after a drunken night in the office was her secretary - this could mean no good. She just hoped the girl hadn't stayed here with her, and even if the girl had, she hadn't done anything stupid.

Yuri was startled when she felt something wet against her face. As she turned her head, she saw the other girl wiping her face with a wet tissue. Yuri gulped nervously, her fear of what could have happened increased.

"It's six in the morning, what are you doing here so early?"

The girl stopped wiping Yuri's face and put the tissue onto the table.

"You didn't want to let me go last night", she said.

Yuri's heart sank with the girl's word. Oh no, no, no...

"Look... I really don't remember anything", she uttered weakly. "I'm sorry if I... if we had--"

"No", the girl chuckled. "Though, I have to admit you're quite a good kisser. We might have got there if you had taken the initiative without being drunk. I am glad we haven't. You were thinking of someone else all the time."

That statement took a load off Yuri's mind. She let out a relieved sigh, contented with the fact that she didn't cheat on the real Jessica. It's not until then that she realized she did kiss her secretary after all.

"I'm sorry", she said to the girl. "I... I was just--"

"A bad drinker", the girl finished her sentence with a grin. Yuri froze for a second, but then gave a small chuckle as well.

"Yeah... I'm really not good at drinking."

The girl put a hand on Yuri's lap, a soft smile on her face.

"Take care of yourself, will you?"

She then stood up and walked over to her desk. Yuri's eyes followed the girl as she watched her putting on her jacket and grabbing her purse.

"Where are you going?", Yuri asked.

"I don't think staying here is a good idea", the girl answered and proceeded to the door. "You obviously don't need a secretary. It was still nice meeting you, Yuri."

Yuri noticed the change in formality. The girl had dropped the 'Ms Kwon'. She wondered if it had anything to do with last night. Either way, Yuri didn't plan to stop the girl from leaving and quitting the secretary position.

"Oh and", the girl stopped in front of the door. She turned around and looked straight into Yuri's eyes. "That Jessica... she must be a lucky girl." And when Yuri appeared to be speechless, she added, "You must love her a lot."

"I..." Yuri looked down onto the ground. A sigh escaped her lips. "We... can't be together."

Silence engulfed the room for a moment. Yuri felt twitches in her chest, her eyes suddenly stinging.

"I don't know what happened..." the other girl finally said. "But do fight for your love, Yuri. So many people didn't, and they end up regretting it for the rest of their life."

Yuri looked up, her eyes met the girl's soft eyes. The look was so sincere, Yuri was touched.

"Thank you", she quietly said, and she really meant it.

The girl smiled. "Good luck", she said and opened the door to leave.

"Wait", Yuri stood up. "What's your name again?"

"It's not 'Sica'", the girl chuckled. "Are you sure you'll remember it this time?"

"Yes", Yuri said, reassuring. She owed this girl a lot. She would surely not forget her, even if they would never meet again.

"It's Hyomin", the girl said. She then gave Yuri one last smile and left for real.

"Hyomin", Yuri mumbled to herself as she was left alone in the room. "Thanks..."

Yuri knew what she had to do now.

----------

Sooyoung just put on the 'OPEN' sign for her father's restaurant and was about to walk inside when the door bell rang. She railed at the retard who couldn't open the door by himself before realizing the bell was ringing from another door. She proceeded to the private door at the back of their house, the place where all her friends waited when they wanted to meet her and not having to be treated with food by her generous parents. The moment Sooyoung saw the person standing in front of the door, her annoyance completely disappeared.

"Sica!" Sooyoung didn't even bother to hide her surprise as she opened the door.

"I'm sorry I'm here this early in the morning", Jessica apologized with a smile.

"No problem", Sooyoung waved her hand. "Come in first."

"Nah, I have to go back soon. I promised to buy Krystal breakfast", Jessica shook her head. "I just came to tell you...", she took a breath. "I'll sell the apartment. I'll buy your uncle's business and run it with you."

"REALLY?" Sooyoung shouted in joy. "Yes, Sica! We'll be saved!"

Jessica gave a small laugh at her friend. "I talked to Krystal yesterday. She was totally supporting your proposal. And... if your parents don't mind, she'd love to stay here with them."

"Gosh, of course they don't", Sooyoung laughed. "In fact, they have been constantly asking when Krystal will finally move in."

"Soo..." Jessica said, sincere. "Thank you."

"Save that", Sooyoung grinned. She grabbed her jacket and keys from the coat rack and went out, pulling Jessica along. "Krystal can make breakfast herself. Let's go!"

"What? Where?"

"Visiting uncle Noh at his three-star hotel, of course."