Jessica... Jessica... Jessica...

Yuri's head continued to spin with thoughts only filled with Jessica. It was similar to a state of panic that strikes out of nowhere. Like on the verge of death, all the relevant moments you lived through flashing back before your eyes; as if you had to relive them one last time: All the playful jokes, staying up for nights on end talking about everything and nothing, the way Jessica's eyes would light up whenever Yuri would smile at her, the displays of affection they'd carelessly put out in public, moments on how Yuri was completely certain that what they had was incomparable to any kind of friendship that ever existed, how the pair knew that they loved each other, even if it was never declared... and how it all amounted to nothing.

When Jessica left, she took everything with her and Yuri continued to wonder as the confusion and grief burdened her. It weighed her down ever since. What happened exactly? She didn't know for sure. It's a blur now after so many years. But maybe only because she's tried so hard to forget after all this time. And now Jessica was only a few feet away, after how distant she's been for so long. It was the kind of distance that couldn't be counted in miles. The proximity didn't matter if the person you were trying to reach felt like they were still a world away. As Jessica stood so close to her, that's how Yuri felt. She was just a 'Sica!' or an arm's length away from getting the girl's attention; yet Jessica still seemed unreachable, to which made Yuri stiffen. What was she to do?

Yah, yah... Yah! Yuri-ah, you need to calm down. Just don't be too obvious or else she'll recognize you for sure.

Yuri kept herself busy by scrolling through her phone as she did her usual mental prep. Self-talk seemed to help her the most, as always.

She kept Jessica in her peripheral, noticing that she hasn't moved an inch. But Yuri knew her too well. Judging from Jessica's posture, Yuri could tell she seemed upset. Something bothersome was going on.

“I don't have to go to China with you if I don't want to... No, don't come after me... I want to go home alone... Ani, just—I don't want to see you anymore.”

Yuri had her suspicions.

Tyler? She thought; to which Yuri could only roll her eyes. She had already mindlessly stopped scrolling as she attempted to listen to snippets of their conversation. But why was it even important? Why would she even care? Yuri was reminded that it all meant nothing. People bump into each other at the airport all the time. This was nothing. This was going to happen eventually. She shouldn't even care that Jessica was so close.

Just until...

“Aish,” Jessica let out a frustrated sigh as she had taken the seat next to Yuri, the phone call now over; still oblivious as to who the person next to her was. Yuri was flustered again with the new found proximity, her posture more awkward than ever as she was finding ways to be unrecognizable. Stealthily, she attempts to cover her face with a few strands of her hair, slightly facing away—all executed very poorly. There really was no reason for Yuri to hide, yet she felt the need to.

If only Jessica wasn't so preoccupied with her frustration, she would've recognized the awkwardness at an instant. It was a comical and idiotic sight—one avoiding the other. But Yuri still thought she was performing quite well. And maybe, just maybe, Jessica would get up and leave before she notices that the lady she was seated with was the Kwon Yuri she hadn't seen in five years.

“Yuri-ah!” Her manager called out from afar.

No.

Jessica turned to her right, to where the voice seemed to be directed to; instantly recognizing Yuri.

“Yul?” Jessica exclaimed in disbelief.

“Y-Yah, Sica...” She answered, smiling in embarrassment; the whole game of hiding finally over.

“Yuri-ah!” her manger repeats, now gesturing her to come closer.

“Excuse me,” Yuri bowed slightly before leaving Jessica's presence. Yuri left almost immediately that Jessica never got to respond. It was pretty obvious that the younger female was flustered still. Jessica knew this.

“Ne, oppa?” Yuri asked as she had reached her manager, though her thoughts were still on Jessica.

“I just got off the phone—it seems like we'll be stuck here for tonight.”

“Aish...” Yuri sighed. “Do you know when it'll be safe to fly?”

“Not yet. They still need to check how the weather condition will be tomorrow before rescheduling—” his phone rang; gesturing to excuse himself as he answered the call, to which Yuri nodded and her manager distanced himself.

Yuri instantly looked back in search of Jessica. Their eyes met instantly and Jessica sat still where Yuri had left her, as if Jessica was actually waiting for her return. The younger female couldn't deny that the eye contact made her heart skip.

Jessica smiled at her ever so softly; it was the 'I haven't seen you in so long time' kind of look, the 'I wish I had seen you sooner' kind of look... or at least that's how Yuri had read her expression. Regardless of what it meant, Yuri's heart melted. She missed Jessica.

Yuri started to walk back; the older female's eyes now visibly more hopeful, and her smile all the more growing.

“Yuri...” Jessica simply said as the other female was now standing in front of her.

“Jessica...” Yuri answered, mirroring Jessica's smile.

“What are you doing here in Hong Kong?”

“I had a fan meeting here the other day,” then Yuri paused. “W-What about you?” she added, sounding awkward.

“I had meetings with potential investors—”

“For Blanc & Eclare?” Yuri interrupted.

“Ne,” Jessica's smile grew, nodding her head as she did so.

Silence occupied the gap that words couldn't fill. Both ladies reverted their eyes, neither of them wanting eye contact in the midst of the awkwardness.

Yuri's heart pounded intensely. Her words stuck in her chest as the silence grew. Jessica smiled softly, finally adding, “How's everything?”

How's everything? How casual. Yuri thought.

Where should she start? She hadn't seen Jessica in five years. All the hurt that she felt standing outside the older girl's apartment five years ago, with headlines everywhere that Jessica was no longer part of their group. Yuri stood there for hours; begging for a conversation, begging for an explanation. To which Jessica did nothing but ghost. Yuri thought their bond was stronger than that, that Jessica would never disregard her in any situation because Yuri knew she would never do the same to her. There were so many questions and Yuri suffered for it.

Out of all the emotions that she felt, she never got mad at Jessica for everything that happened; though the rest of the girls weren't as forgiving as Yuri was. But it was only because Yuri had a different disposition towards Jessica than the others, to which frustrated Yuri to an extent. She wanted to get mad, she wanted to curse Jessica. But she could never bring herself to... even as Jessica ignored her. More than anything, she was just hurt.

If Taeyeon hadn't pushed Yuri into forgetting Jessica, she'd still be chasing after her to this day. And now that she was starting to get a hold on herself, getting used to life as it was now, Jessica comes back out of nowhere; now waiting for her to answer how is everything.

“Everything's... been alright.” Yuri finally answered.

Jessica nodded, “That's good... And the girls? How are they?”

“They're alright too. They've been good.”

Jessica smiled. “I'm glad to hear that.”

“And you? How's everything?”

“Yeah, everything's... good. Just got busy.”

“Yeah... You got busy.” Yuri couldn't help but answer.

Jessica's eyes looked hurt.

Silence returned, as they both knew, even without mentioning, that the whole ordeal was more complicated than just 'getting busy', and it was still such an awkward and sensitive topic that they both knew they weren't ready to talk about. As Yuri was still pained about everything, she felt that somehow as well; for reasons she didn't quite understand, but wanted to ask.

What happened, Jessica? Yuri thought.

“I guess we'll be stuck here for tonight.” Yuri added instead, her tone lightening up to lift the mood.

“Ugh... The storm isn't going to weather down anytime soon, huh?”

“I doubt it. Might as well just sleep here.” Yuri proceeds to sit next to Jessica, where she originally sat,

Yuri's manager approached once more. He froze for a second as he realized that she was seated next to Jessica, whom he had managed as well in the past. The two exchanged smiles, though he still seemed stunned at what was happening.

“I've already contacted someone who can accommodate us for the night. We must be on our way.” He spoke.

Yuri nodded, then immediately looked back at Jessica.

“What about you? Where will you be staying for the night?”

“A-Ah...” Jessica stuttered, embarrassed. “I never actually thought of that yet.”

“Oppa,” Yuri reverts her eyes back to her manager. “Why don't we bring Jessica along with us? I'm sure some arrangements can be made for her.”

Even when he was still shocked with what was going, Yuri's manager nodded. “I agree. They said the storm might worsen so it's best to get a place for the night.”

Jessica smiled softly at him, then at Yuri.

“Thank you,” she mouthed, and Yuri smiled back.