-2.45 pm-

Yuri turned off the TV and tossed the remote onto the couch. She stood up walking aimlessly through the house before stopping in front of the couch again. Grabbing the remote, Yuri turned the TV on. She switched channels continuously, dead bored as she could find nothing worth watching. She never watched TV in her busy working life and this wasn't helping with her dilemma at the moment at all.

Groaning, Yuri stood up leaving for the bedroom. She opened her working luggage piece and started to place all the finished documents into it. There's nothing business-concerned she could do anymore, so she arranged and packed away all her working stuff. She knew she might just take it out again later, but Yuri couldn't help it. She had to do something to kill her time. This waiting game was killing her.  

It was almost three in the afternoon now and Jessica still didn't show up. She began to feel anxious and it upset her that she couldn't do anything about it. Saying 'I don't care' to herself unfortunately didn't work anymore.

----------

-3.30 pm-

Yuri sat on the balcony and just stared blankly into the sky. She couldn't deny it anymore. She was worried about Jessica. She did care for her. A lot.

She began to think of what happened in the morning. Her words were unkind and she could understand how Jessica felt herself being taken as a fool after all what happened. She, Yuri, was making the first move and when Jessica was showing her affection, she shoved the girl away. Yuri sighed as she started to wonder if she was regretting it. She actually never regretted any of her actions. To become a successful businesswoman, she needed to be determined and needed to have the will stay the course, going through with everything she had started.

She told herself she had to be tough here. It's better for both of them.

----------

-4.10 pm-

Yuri thought she was going crazy. Where was Jessica?

It became windy. Each time a stronger breeze sprang up, making the leaves and the bushes from afar stir, Yuri would sit up straight, narrowing her eyes to stare hardly as if she was expecting to see Jessica coming out from behind. As if she was hoping to see the slim figure of the girl appearing, a smile on Jessica's face, or a glare, it didn't matter. She just wanted to see Jessica and make sure she's not hurt anywhere. But every time, she had to lean back into the seat in disappointment.

Where did you go Jessica?

----------

-4.25 pm-

Yuri couldn't take it anymore. She had put on her thin jacket and shoes and walked into the small garage to take out the bike. She decided to cycle along the only road leading to the vacation house - the same road she and Jessica were cycling along yesterday. But Yuri soon stopped as she realized it was unlikely that Jessica took this way. The other bike was still in the garage and it didn't make sense for Jessica to walk all the way by foot when yesterday, they were already cycling hours on this road and found nothing.

By the time Yuri got back to their house, the sky was getting grey. Yuri looked up and her heart began to pound even more anxiously. She could imagine Jessica fearing thunders. And the silly, helpless girl being around somewhere unfamiliar on her own and even in a storm scared Yuri. She was desperately worried and it was driving her crazy.

As Yuri went back into the garden with the bike, the small path leading into the forest caught her attention. Something was telling her she had to check that. And following her gut instinct, Yuri went out of the garden, approaching the dark entrance into the forest. A rumbling thunder startled her, but it didn't hold her back. She gasped at what she saw as she was near enough.

Footprints. Footprints that were leading straight into the forest.

Yuri stood there as raindrops started to hit her face. There was no doubt Jessica went into the forest. Yuri climbed onto her bike and took a deep breath. The dirt road was bumpy and rocky and looked anything but cycle-able. But she couldn't waste any time. Jessica was probably scared to death and she would be calling for Yuri just like the time she fell into the water. And that time it wasn't as dangerous as now.

As the rain began to pour heavily, Yuri was already racing into the forest.

----------

Jessica kicked the rock in front of her foot, pissed to the max. The whole walk was wearing her out and she was still in the forest. Worse, she even lost the stream. The path parted with the stream not too long after the entrance and Jessica had no choice but to give up on the hope to meet someone on the riverbank. She knew going deeper in the woods would be dangerous, but her stubbornness got the better of her. She definitely didn't want to see Yuri again.

Jessica didn't know how long she had walked but eventually, she fell down onto a large rock as she couldn't walk any further. She was hungry and her feet were hurting. Her ankle wasn't sprained anymore but it hadn't recovered completely. It was aching and Jessica couldn't do anything except for massaging it to soothe the pain. But then, her arms were drained out of energy soon. She felt like crying as desperation took over her. She asked herself if Taeyeon and Tiffany did ever think of the possibility of her suffering like this when they 'kidnapped' her. Once again, Jessica felt like no one in this world cared for her. Not even her parents. They made her move out and didn't even bother looking for her once.

She was falling asleep while leaning against the big tree behind her and didn't wake up until a loud thunder gave her a nasty shock, rousing her abruptly from her slumber. Soon, Jessica was blanching with fear. The wood was suddenly a lot thicker and a lot darker. She felt danger threatening from every side. It was as if she wasn't alone in the forest. Sinister creatures were watching her, ready to jump out any time and harm her - maybe a grizzly bear, maybe a murderer, maybe a headless ghost, maybe a living cucumber - she didn't know. But she was scared.

As rain started to pour heavily, Jessica couldn't hold back her tears anymore. She felt so lost. She was frightened of everything. She started to think she was surely going to die, if not killed by a grizzly bear then starving from hunger or just simply dying out of fear. She didn't know if that was possible, but she could feel her heart pounding rapidly against her chest, she found it hard to breathe, she was cold and hugging herself wasn't helping. She was helpless, she was lost, she was scared.

"Yuri" she sobbed, not hearable due to the loud rain. But she knew she just thought of the person she shouldn't be thinking about again. She hated it how even in this kind of situation, Yuri still managed to enter her mind and give her hope, even if it was just a glimmer. But then she remembered how dissing Yuri was towards her this morning and cried even harder. That cold-hearted person was probably sitting in the warm house by herself, not wasting a single thought about her.

"Jessica!"

Inwardly, Jessica laughed bitterly at herself for being so helpless. Now she even imagined to hear Yuri's voice. Why was she so helpless? Was she already falling that hard for Yuri?

"Jessica! Jessica!"

No, this sounded too real to be just a hallucination. The heavily pouring rain made it almost impossible to hear anything, but Jessica swore she didn't just imagine hearing these faint calls of her name.

"Jessica! Where are you?!"

She jumped up. Although her vision was so blurry due to the rain and her own tears that she couldn't see anything, she could hear the voice was getting nearer, clearer and louder. And she knew who it belonged to.

"Yuri? Yuri!"

"Jessica? JESSICA! WHERE ARE YOU? JESSICA!"

"Yuri! I'm scared! "

"STAY WHERE YOU ARE! I'M COMING JESSICA!"

"Yuri I'm scared! Where are you? I'm scared, I--"

"I'm here."

Warm arms embraced her tightly and Jessica burst out into tears. Finally, Yuri had found her. Despite the darkness, the rain, the wind, the storm, the taller girl didn't hesitate chasing after her, saving her once again. Her heart was so relieved that she couldn't help but to cry. Yuri didn't hush her, didn't tell her to stop crying out loudly, but just held her as tight as she could, letting her crying all her fears out.

"I'm sorry."

Yuri continuously whispered into Jessica's ear, holding her tighter by each time. Her heart was so relieved to find Jessica that she couldn't care about her hurting hands, her aching knee, her soaking wet clothes. Seeing Jessica being so pale from fright, trembling from the coldness, it hurt her. It was all her fault.

Guilt was what didn't make Yuri react when Jessica shoved her away all off sudden and slapped her continuously, hardly on both of the cheeks.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!"

Yuri repeated, invisible tears falling down her reddening cheek as Jessica turned to hit her chest hardly with her fists.

"YOU JERK! WHY DID YOU EVEN COME?"

Jessica's words lacerated her heart.

"WHY DO YOU LOOK FOR ME AFTER SHOVING ME AWAY? WHY DID YOU WAIT FOR ME TO BE DESPERATE AND THEN SHOW UP? YOU SAID YOU DON'T NEED ME YURI! YOU SAID I'M NOT IMPORTANT TO YOU! YOU SAID--"

"I LIED! Jessica, I lied!"

Yuri grabbed both of Jessica's fists and held the girl's hand tight to her chest.

"I lied! I'm a terrible liar Jessica! Because you're important to me! I--I LIKE YOU ALREADY!"

Those words made Jessica stop struggling as her widened eyes were fixed onto the other girl's face. Tears continue rolling down Yuri's cheek but she held Jessica's wrists firmly as she shouted to drown the still loudly pouring rain.

"I was a fool, a dumb stupid fool! I've liked you all along Jessica, even if I've been in denial all the time, I've liked you from the first day I woke up to find myself being covered by the blanket you put on me, I like how you're so sincere, so honest towards me, I like the way you speak, the way you walk, the way you cook, the way you pout, the way you look at me with those sparkles in your eyes, the way you--"

But Yuri couldn't carry on with her confession. Jessica had already silenced her with her lips. Yuri let go of Jessica's wrists as the girl slid her hands around her neck, pulling her closer. Yuri's arms instinctively sneaked around Jessica's waist as she also held the girl's body closer to hers. Words weren't needed anymore - all feelings they got for each other were exchanged through that passionate kiss. They didn't care about the rain hitting their heads and shoulders harder by each second and the wind blowing leaves against their bodies, they didn't care about the loud thunders and the lightning flashes, all they needed were each other's warmth.

This second kiss of theirs continued only they knew for how long under the pouring rain. Letting go and running away was no more for both of them.

Finally, they had found each other.

----------

The rain continued falling, dripping through the tree leaves - softer, but still inexorable. The thunderstorm, however, was gone. Left was only the solitary rain, playing a noiseless monotonous composition, having the effect of soothing churned up souls.

Yuri and Jessica returned to their vacation house three hours later. They changed into dry clothes without showering for they were too hungry. Yuri went straight to the kitchen, making both of them a nice dish to stave off their hunger.

When Yuri was full, Jessica was still eating like there's no tomorrow. Yuri had laughed at the girl and earned herself a spoonful rice shoved into her mouth, choking her. Her cough wouldn't stop until Jessica pulled her in by her collar and kissed her healingly.

"Do you want more?" Yuri asked as they released each other to catch their breaths.

"Yes! Another bowl please!" Jessica's eyes sparkled in anticipation as she licked her lips, holding out the bowl she had just emptied with the rice spoon she shoved in Yuri's mouth earlier.

Yuri laughed as she took the bowl. She leaned in and gave Jessica a peck on the lips.

"I was talking about kisses, silly."

But she stood up, refilling Jessica's bowl.

"Later," Jessica smiled shyly as she reached for the bowl. "You should go shower while I eat."

"Anything you wish, my princess."

Jessica couldn't help but smile, her eyes following Yuri's figure walking coolly to the bathroom while her hands never stopped scooping rice. It had been a long time since she last felt this blissful.

As she was finally full, Yuri was still in the bathroom. She cleaned up before walking into the living room, turning on the TV. Jessica switched channels continuously in boredom, waiting for Yuri to come out.

"Eeeeeekkk!" she shrieked.

"What happened?" The bathroom door flung open and Yuri jumped into the living room with a towel loosely wrapping her body. Her hands were busy struggling to not let the towel fall.

"Err--it's nothing." Jessica nervously laughed as she quickly switched the channel. She tried her best to erase the image of the gross leech sucking on a cucumber she had just seen on the screen. People hit on weird ideas to put on TV sometimes.

"Aish... seriously..." Yuri complained. She thought it was something really serious. Like Jessica burning down the kitchen or something. "Anyway, I'm done showering."

Yuri walked into the bedroom and picked a pair of pajama out. She then made the bed and blushed at the thought of them sleeping together again. Of course after all that happened, none of them could possibly sleep on the couch tonight. If she insisted so, Yuri was sure Jessica would kick her out of the house. It was a choice between the bed and the stoned front yard. Then again, it wasn't a hard choice. She was just feeling nervous.

Yuri sat down in front of the dressing table as she combed her long, black hair. She noticed Jessica's hair barrette and picked it up, sniffing at it. No wonder she had smelled the strawberry scent coming from somewhere. So this barrette was the culprit. She smiled at the nice-smelling hair ornament of the other girl when suddenly engraved letters on the inner side of the barrette caught her attention.

Jessica Jung.

Yuri froze. This girl... was a Jung. Jessica wasn't just any Jessica, but she was Jessica Jung. Jung... Jung... How could Yuri forget that?

"What are you doing?"

Jessica's voice brought her back to reality.

"Jessica, I have to tell you something. I--"

But Yuri froze once more when she turned around, her eyes landing on Jessica. The girl was standing in front of the dresser, only in underwear. And she looked simply hot.

"I've been standing here waiting for you to turn around for quite a long time already." Jessica approached her slowly, making her gulp nervously with every two steps. "You keep staring at my barrette like an idiot."

Jessica sat down onto her laps sidewards as one arm of the girl slid behind her neck.

"Fortunately I'm fond of idiots... like you."

The girl gently pulled her closer until their lips met. They both closed their eyes as the kiss kept its tenderness first, then became hotter and hotter each second. Yuri's hand was carefully holding Jessica's bare waist. A moment ago, she was still shocked at how bold this girl could be, but now, nothing of it mattered. Anything Jessica did to her was fine with her. Perfectly fine.

Jessica yelped in surprise as Yuri lifted her up, carrying her in her arms again. They resumed the kiss as Jessica held onto Yuri's neck with both of her hands while the taller girl carefully walked towards the bed. Yuri laid Jessica down, never breaking their kiss. It wasn't until then that Yuri came back to her senses. She lied beside the girl as she was wavering inside, not being able to decide whether to climb on top of Jessica or not. Eventually, their kiss ended to let them fill their lungs with oxygen.

Yuri caressed Jessica's cheek gently as their eyes were locked with each other. She pondered her words carefully, thinking hard. A tiny little mistake and she'd be dead.

"Jessica... Let's take things slowly..." Yuri gulped nervously. Jessica might think she changed her mind again. "I mean, I like you, I really do, but this--"

To Yuri's surprise, Jessica didn't get mad but even responded to her with a smile. The girl cupped Yuri's cheek with her small hands and looked into her eyes deeply.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't about to do that." Jessica chuckled to herself. "I actually couldn't find pajamas for me in the dresser earlier and asked you. But you didn't hear me. You just looked so cute staring at my barrette that I couldn't help it."

Yuri sighed inwardly in relief, then grinned and leaned down placing a kiss on Jessica's forehead. Little did she know Jessica had just fallen even more for her. She wasn't that type of a person who liked to rush things, wasn't someone who only counted on sex, not a person who would take advantages of the situation. However, if Jessica had insisted and given her real permission, the situation would most likely have turned into something else.

"It's not so cold anyway." Jessica said as she slid into the blanket. "Come here."

Yuri's cheeks automatically flushed but she tried to hide it by quickly slipping into the blanket with Jessica. They lied face-to-face, their gazes locked, both had a smile on their lips.

"So... what did you want to tell me earlier?" Jessica suddenly asked.

"Umm... it's nothing." Yuri said as she leaned in closer, capturing Jessica's lips with her own.

"Yuri," the shorter girl said just above a whisper after they let go again. "Don't leave me again tomorrow."

"What are you talking about?" Yuri searched for Jessica's hand under the blanket and intertwined their fingers.

"The morning after our first kiss, you left me. Promise me tomorrow I'll wake up and find you still holding me, Yuri."

"Jessica..." Yuri couldn't help but to embrace the girl tightly. "I'm not going anywhere. I promise."

And they fell asleep in each other's arms that night, cuddling against each other's body as close as possible.

----------

Next morning, Yuri woke up first to find Jessica breathing regularly against her neck. She lifted her head to look at the clock and read eight in the morning. Looking down at Jessica again, Yuri chuckled at the girl's cute sleeping face. Jessica was, again, soundly sleeping - just this time, there was a blissful smile on her lips. Yuri couldn't help but to lean in, kissing that beautiful smile.

She then decided to make breakfast. She wanted to surprise the yet sleeping girl with a breakfast in bed. Kissing Jessica's forehead one last time, Yuri carefully slid her arm away from under Jessica's head. But as soon as her other arm stirred, the hand holding onto Jessica's loosened, she got held back. Jessica had already intertwined their fingers again, refusing to let Yuri's hand go.

"You promised." Jessica whispered with her eyes still closed.

Yuri lied down again, her elbow propped on the bed as her head rested on her palm.

"But I wanted to make you breakfast."

But Jessica didn't respond anymore. Yuri chuckled as the girl looked like she was sleeping tightly again. However, as Yuri leaned down kissing Jessica, she felt Jessica almost immediately kissing her back. They soon were lost again in their own little world and didn't notice the noises coming from outside the bedroom.

The sound of the bedroom door flying open startled them as they immediately let go of each other. Familiar voices boomed into their ears as figures of familiar persons appearing in the doorway made their eyes widen in surprise.

"Kwon Yuri!"

"Sica I'm here!"

One short and one tall shouted at the same time before freezing on the spot, seeing Yuri and Jessica's positions on the bed.