"Do you know what day today is?"

"Wednesday."

"Yes, but I told you I meant something else."

"No idea."

"Oh come on, Sica." Yuri poked the blonde. "You're pretending, right?"

Jessica swatted Yuri's hand away. "Stop that," she scolded. "People are staring."

The tanned girl sulked but Jessica just rolled her eyes. Yuri was getting on her nerves with that question since the moment they woke up this morning.

"Do you... really not know?"

Jessica rolled her eyes and turned away from Yuri, looking out the bus window. She took her phone out of her bag and pressed random buttons just to occupy herself and show Yuri that she was fed up with that stupid question. It was peace for a while, and Jessica thought Yuri had finally given up when the bus came to a sudden halt and her body was crushed from behind the next moment. She found herself trapped between the window and long, tanned arms.

"Oh, sorry." Yuri's warm breath grazed Jessica's cheek, the playful voice betraying her words.

Jessica shoved Yuri away with her elbow, giving the girl a glare. She looked around, worried that Yuri was catching unnecessary attention again, but luckily people were too busy getting off the bus to notice them. Jessica escaped from Yuri's arms and wiggled her way through the crowd to get to the bus doors.

"Don't ignore me!" Yuri called after Jessica, but the blonde was already out. "Sica, wait!"

Yuri jumped off the bus and jogged to catch up with Jessica, her briefcase clutched under one arm.

"Stop being so cold, will ya?"

"Stop being so annoying. You're acting like an attention-craving kid."

"What's so wrong with wanting to get my girlfriend's attention?"

"For the nth time, Yuri, don't call me your girlfriend!"

"But—"

Jessica turned around and glared. Yuri's protest turned into an inaudible mumble. The blonde turned on her heels again, just when a man's voice called out to them.

"Young lady! Excuse me, please!"

Jessica ignored both Yuri and the voice as she walked away icily. But Yuri turned around and she saw an older man approaching them, panting to catch his breath.

"Your girlfriend forgot her phone on the bus," he said, showing Yuri the said object.

Hearing that, Jessica stopped in her tracks.

"Oh, geez," Yuri took the phone. "It's really hers. Thank you so much!"

Jessica went back to Yuri's side and thanked the kind person, bowing deep to show her gratitude. She repeated the motion over and over again, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment and guilt. The old man just laughed, saying that she was welcome. He told the two girls to be more careful next time and bid goodbye.

"Here," Yuri stuffed the phone into Jessica's bag. "Now let's go, girlfriend."

Yuri grabbed Jessica's hand with a smile, pulling the blonde along. Jessica didn't object this time. She quietly followed the taller girl, her cheeks still not able to get rid of that bright red color.

Was it really that obvious that they were a couple?

Jessica looked at their hands, the feeling of Yuri's fingers in her palm spreading warmth in her chest for an unexplainable reason. A small smile formed on her lips as Yuri kept dragging her behind, oblivious to the thoughts in her head. Jessica squeezed the taller girl's hand lightly. She just found her answer in this possessive grab.

They were a couple, so of course they looked like one.

But when she was about to intertwine their fingers, Yuri suddenly released her hand, walking away to create a distance between them. Jessica looked up and realized they had arrived in front of the Kwon Enterprise's building.

The blonde suddenly felt like taking the tanned girl's hand back and walking with it through the entire company, having people staring and if necessary even gossiping about their relationship. Rumors should reach Old Kwon's ears or better yet, Seohyun's parent's ears. Yuri would get into huge trouble but she didn't care. Yuri didn't belong to any other girl and she hated having to pretend that she and Yuri had a mere work relationship and nothing more. Even though she protested every time Yuri called her her 'girlfriend,' she in fact loved hearing it.

"What are you thinking?" Yuri asked as they entered the elevator.

"Nothing…" Jessica mumbled and turned away. She didn't want Yuri to guess what's on her mind.

"Hey, Sica," Yuri started again, scooting closer. "You really have no idea what day today is, huh?"

Jessica frowned. That topic again. Just what special day was it?

"You should know that by now. Why don't you just tell me?"

Yuri sighed, shaking her head. The small smile on her lips, however, remained.

"Fine," the tanned girl said, leaning against the wall. "It's… my birthday."

Jessica was as if struck by lightning. Yuri's birthday. Crap. She couldn't believe that she'd forgotten that.

"Oh, Yuri… I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay," Yuri said, disregarding Jessica's forgetfulness with a wave of her hand. "There are other things way more important to remember."

"That's not the point," Jessica said, already consumed with guilt. She remembered imagining so many things to do for Yuri's birthday when they were still together. Now their relationship didn't allow her to make those scenes she painted in her head a reality but that was not reason enough to completely forget about the date. There had been just too many things on her mind the past few days.

"I feel horrible, Yuri," Jessica said again, putting a hand on Yuri's arm. "I'm really, really sorry."

"Prove it," Yuri said, not challenging but rather soft, looking Jessica straight in the eyes.

The blonde stared back as silence lapsed in. "... How?"

Yuri leaned in close, not breaking their eye contact. Jessica felt her heart beat faster—she had a hunch of what was about to come.

"With... a kiss," Yuri finally whispered against her lips.

The tanned girl leaned in more as the blonde didn't resist. But when the elevator stopped and the doors opened, Jessica woke up from her trance and backed away immediately.  

"Sica—"

Jessica was already out, heading to Yuri's office with fast footsteps and a still crazily-thumping heart. She didn't expect the deprivation of Yuri's kisses to make her react this way to a mere closeness of a few centimeters. The invasion of butterflies in the pit of her stomach was unstoppable. It felt like she'd time-travelled to their vacation-house days when she first began to fall in love with Yuri.

"Sica..." Yuri caught Jessica's arm before the blonde managed to disappear into her office. "Don't run away from me like that."

Jessica turned and looked into the taller girl's eyes, seeing the same passion and longing feeling that was churning up her insides. Instinct told her to just crush her lips against Yuri's because it's what they both wanted so badly. But she wasn't the girl who only listened to her heart anymore.

"Stop taking advantage of me," Jessica said instead, as cold and annoyed as she could, knowing it was the only way she can prevent her feelings for Yuri from overtaking her clear mind. She pried Yuri's fingers off of her before turning back to the door and opening it.

"Finally!" Jiyong's voice from the inside surprised them both. "About time you two arrive."

Jiyong had brought an unexpected guest and made Yuri and Jessica freeze in the doorway, utterly confused once again. It was a uniformed police officer this time, standing in the middle of the room with Jiyong on the side.

"This is officer Cho," Jiyong introduced as he gestured the two girls to come in. He ignored the questioning glare Yuri was giving him.

"How can I help you, officer?" Yuri asked, carefully shaking the man's hand.

"Actually, I'm here for Ms Jung," the officer said, his voice neither threatening nor accusing. "I have a—"

"Excuse me, officer," Yuri interrupted, glancing at her cousin. "If it's about Ms Jung"—she tilted her head towards Jessica—"then I suggest you talk to her under four eyes."

"It's not necessary, Ms Kwon," officer Cho explained. "I'm only here to ask Ms Jung to follow me to the police station. The detectives will talk to her."

"Detectives?" Yuri's raised an eyebrow.

Jessica felt a cold shiver running down her spine. Something bad was about to come, she could feel it.

"Why? What did she do?"

The officer took out a paper and showed it to the two girls. "Ms Jung is suspected to have broken in Mr Kwon Jiyong's office two days ago. We found these unknown fingerprints on Mr Kwon's computer."

"What?" Yuri's eyes went wide.

Jessica's jaw dropped as she stared at the fingerprint scans she knew definitely were hers, neither paying attention to Yuri's incredulous look nor seeing Jiyong's contented face.

"We need to take your fingerprints, Ms Jung. You are placed under provisional arrest for the time being until we find the real perpetrator and Mr Kwon decides whether or not to take this issue to court."

The officer took out the handcuffs but Jessica was unresponsive, still not being able to believe what's happening. She caught Jiyong's eyes and returned his gaze with so much hatred, it could have burnt him up if looks were flames.

"Actually… I don't think we need handcuffs." The officer clicked the said object back to his belt and stretched an arm to the door. "Ms Jung. This way, please."

"Sica—" Yuri was quick to grab Jessica's arm. "I'll get you out. Trust in me."

Jessica was still too shocked to say anything, and Yuri had to eventually let go of her arm. The blonde turned around and followed the waiting officer out, swearing to herself that she would take Kwon Jiyong down and make him pay for everything one day. One day.

----------

"You bast*rd!"

Yuri rammed Jiyong against the wall of her office, her hands clutching his collar.

Jiyong shoved her away forcefully, fixing his outfit. "That stupid girl broke into my office and I'm the bast*rd?"

"Do you really expect me to believe you?"

"What? Are you saying I faked the fingerprints? Or do you think I lured her into my office just to trap her into this?"

"I'm not surprised if you really did that!"

"Shut up, Yuri! You've taken home a spy and you're too blind to see what she's trying to do to our family! Instead, you want to beat me up and call me a bast*rd. She's the one who is going to destroy us all if you let her!"

"You're so effing good at making this sound like you have good intentions. I know you too well, Jiyong. What selfish aim does this plan serve this time, huh?"

"Stop being so stubborn, Yuri. Save your energy for when grandfather confronts you."

Yuri snorted in anger but Jiyong didn't care. He adjusted his collar and made his way out.

"And you don't have to beg me, dear cousin." He stopped at the door and turned around to direct his last words at Yuri. "I'm not going to take your Jung to court. I just want to get her out of here. Once and for all."

----------

Jessica hated the police station.

She hated the men who looked at her as if she was the worst kind of human beings. Technically, they were not wrong to treat her like a criminal. But it's hard for Jessica to adapt to those menacing glares when all she was used to was friendliness in stranger's eyes. People were always friendly to pretty girls.

She counted the minutes until Yuri would come and get her out but hours passed by and there was no sight of the tanned girl at all. It wasn't until quite late in the night that officer Cho appeared in front of her cell and unlocked the door.

"Congratulations, Ms Jung," he said, finally with a faint smile. "You're free to go."

Jessica didn't wait to be told that twice. She jumped on her feet and followed the police man through the corridor. Outside, in front of the detectives' offices, Yuri was waiting for her with a tall man who Jessica supposed was her lawyer.

"Sica!" Yuri called, relief painting her entire face.

Jessica couldn't help but to break into a wide smile, running into Yuri's arms.

"I'm sorry it took me so long," Yuri patted Jessica's back apologetically. "Did you have to suffer a lot?"

Jessica nodded against Yuri's neck, sighing. "They smelled," she whispered, only for Yuri to hear.

"What…?"

"The detectives. They smelled so bad. So… manlike."

Yuri almost burst out laughing but managed to compress it to a chuckle. She cleared her throat and released the smaller girl's body, turning around to her lawyer.

"Thanks for your hard work."

"It's my duty, Ms Kwon. Please just leave as you wish. I will handle the paper work that's left."

"Thank you so much." Jessica bowed to thank him too before the two of them made their way out.

"So, Sica," Yuri said as she took the blonde's hand. "I'm hungry. Do you want us to find a good restaurant to eat or just go home and you'll cook something for me?"

Jessica took out her phone, checking the time. It was already 10 pm.

"Let's go home," she decided. "But you have to cook."

"But… it's my birthday."

"I already let you hold my hand so stop complaining," Jessica said as she sped up and pulled Yuri along. "Hurry up, I'm hungry!"

----------

When was the last time she had so much fun together with Yuri? Jessica didn't remember. It was as if they forgot about the oddities of their world for a while and just enjoyed each other's company like the old days. Yuri didn't ask about the incident with Jiyong until they stood in front of the bathroom mirror, brushing their teeth.

"It was me," Jessica admitted. She saw no point in hiding that truth.

"Don't do it next time," Yuri said between the foam in her mouth. "Not without me."

Jessica looked at Yuri in surprise but the taller girl was busy gargling. Once finished, Yuri looked back at her with a smile.

"Gotta hatch a plan before taking action, Sica. I have to make sure you don't get caught again."

Yuri flashed a toothy grin and Jessica just found it adorable. A fuzzy feeling spread in her stomach and she flinched lightly as Yuri affectionately wiped away the foam on the corner of her mouth.

"Can't let you suffer from the detectives' unbearably masculine smell again, now can I?"

Despite being teased, a sudden urge to hug Yuri overwhelmed Jessica at that very moment. Somehow she still managed to control herself and stayed rooted to the ground instead, only being able to nod slightly.

Yuri chuckled at the cuteness and patted Jessica's bum. "Hurry up, it's almost midnight. You must be tired."

A few minutes later, they exited the bathroom together. Yuri walked her to the bedroom but stopped in front of the door. It was only then that Jessica remembered she was still supposed to have her walls up against Yuri.

"Good… night."

Jessica was about to enter the room when Yuri grabbed her wrist and gently pulled her back. There was a hint of disappointment in Yuri's face but Jessica didn't know what to do. She knew if she gave in now and let whatever Yuri was trying to do happen, she would wake up in Yuri's arms tomorrow, drowned in a mix of bliss and guilt. She couldn't allow herself to do that.

"What do you want, Yuri?"

"I haven't received my birthday present yet," Yuri answered, cocking her head. She loosened her grip on Jessica's wrist and they both looked at the clock. Five minutes till midnight.

Jessica hesitated. The moment felt like an eternity for the both of them.

"I…" Jessica pulled back her arm. "Thank you for bailing me out today."

And with just those words, Jessica disappeared behind the bedroom door. She pressed her back against it and tried to calm her racing heart down. The urge to hug and kiss Yuri was still strong, and it only grew stronger as she thought of those longing eyes that bore straight into her heart. She suppressed a sob, feeling twitches in her chest as her body fought hard against her will.

From the outside, a faint whisper reached her ears.

"You could have wished me a happy birthday at least, you know…"

----------

When there was barely a minute left until midnight, the door to the bedroom suddenly opened and Jessica slowly came out from behind.

Yuri was still standing there, her disappointment made place for a hopeful smile at the sight of Jessica. The blonde replied with a gentle smile of her own, both aware of how much the other was making her heart flutter.

"Sica..."

Jessica cups Yuri's cheeks and moved closer, angling her head up to meet Yuri's lips in a soft but magic touch. She wanted to back away but Yuri held her firmly, moving her lips against Jessica's. They ended up prolonging the kiss, melting in each other's arms until sudden gongs from a church nearby interrupted, indicating it was now past midnight.

Jessica pushed Yuri away lightly, ending the sweet kiss much to Yuri's disappointment. She couldn't help but smile as Yuri's lips chased after hers for a moment, only to meet with empty air. It wasn't until then that Yuri's eyelids moved up and their eyes met in a love-filled gaze.

The gongs stopped and Jessica stroke Yuri's cheek lightly, backing away.

"Happy belated birthday, Yuri."

Yuri smiled as Jessica walked backwards into the bedroom, their eyes lingering on each other until the blonde completely closed the door.

Yuri was left alone, a finger unconsciously pressed against her bottom lip. Her smile grew a little wider. She was still wishing for more, but at least her birthday was now complete.