off limits ✧ zb1 applyfic

✧ seventy

Jiyeon had never been the type of big sister that gave wise advice, that served as the voice of reason for her younger sibling. Her parents were much more likely to be the ones to solve problems, both hers and her brother's. Whereas she was mostly there to cheer people up, distract them, all of those easier things. Comforting people was her thing, more so than finding ways to solve their problems.

If only she knew which method Vicky preferred, maybe she wouldn’t have been as nervous as she was now, standing in front of her door. She'd accepted to talk to her per Jiwoong's request, but she was starting to regret that decision. Though the two girls got along fairly well, they weren't quite close enough to talk to each other about their feelings and problems. If Vicky hadn’t been willing to talk to her own brother, the one who always fixed all of her issues... Well, she was afraid her help wouldn’t be very welcome either. Maybe it would even offend her, that Jiyeon could even think to stick her nose into her business.

"I hope she won’t take it too badly," she murmured, turning her back to the door.

Jiwoong shook his head slowly. "Of course not. You're like a big sister to her, you don’t have to worry about that."

Well, that was easier said than done. Jiyeon was prone to worrying, and this situation was no exception. It wasn't only Vicky's reaction that worried her. If it went badly with her, she was afraid that Jiwoong would be dissatisfied with her, too. Of course, she knew that to be quite the useless worry — Jiwoong wouldn’t hold it against her, especially not since he was the one that had insisted she talk to his sister. But sometimes, when she thought about it for more than one second, the link between the two of them seemed too easy to cut. She'd lost him once before, she could lose him again.

That was a ridiculous train of thought, Jiyeon told herself as she took a deep breath. After sending one last glance towards Jiwoong, she knocked on Vicky's door, ready to get this over with.  She heard the girl's voice from inside, and while she could not tell for sure what she had said, Jiyeon assumed she had been invited in.

It was with small, hesitant steps that Jiyeon walked into the dark room. As soon as Vicky's eyes mets hers, the girl straightened up. She seemed very surprised to see her there; Jiwoong probably hadn’t told her Jiyeon would be visiting her. Jiyeon assumed it was because Vicky would have refused to seen her if she'd known, but that made things a little awkward.

"Ah, um, Jiyeon unnie!" Vicky exclaimed, panic dripping from her voice.

She hurriedly jumped from her bed and tidied up her messy hair, eager to not make too bad of an impression on Jiyeon. Then, she sauntered to the window and opened the blinds, squinting her eyes as a wave of bright light flooded the room. Finally, Jiyeon got to see the pile of plushies that laid on her bed, probably her only company for the past few days. There were also a few snacks piled up on her nightstand, and she knew right away that those had been the work of Jiwoong.

"Hi, Vicky," she said, her voice as soft as a whisper. "How are you doing?"

"Well, um..." It seemed this question was a bit difficult to answer. Avoiding her eyes, Vicky went to sit on the foot of her bed. "I'm tired, I guess... Did Jiwoong send you?"

Jiyeon sighed softly, as she moved to sit beside her. Vicky flinched at the proximity, but she did not move back. That was a good sign. Now came time to do the big sister thing, which was definitely not Jiyeon's forte. Still, it was obvious Vicky wasn’t in her usual state. Her skin seemed pale, almost translucent, and her eyes were weighed down with dark circles. She looked frailer than when she'd last seen her. If there was anything Jiyeon could do to help, she would try her hardest — and not just for Jiwoong.

"Everyone is worried about you. Do you want to talk about what's going on? If it's girl problems, you can talk to me."

Vicky pursed her lips as she looked down at her hands in her lap. "It's, um... It's embarrassing. And a long story."