Chapter One

She was the kind of girl that everybody dreamed of. Rich, smart, and drop dead gorgeous. Life was good; she had girls and boys from all over, giving up everything just to catch a glimpse of her. Yes, life was definitely good for Jessica Jung, or so one would assume.

She woke up with the sun shining through; the air was cold but tolerable. It was a typical day to her, getting up, going to school and coming home, then, go to sleep. A mundane schedule, but that was what she had to do, be a perfect obedient princess everyone expected her to be.

Gracefully walking out to the awaiting limousine that was parked in her driveway, she took a deep breath, inhaling the crisp morning air. She momentarily got in and sat down, staring out the window, heading off to her destination.

Crowd awaits her as she pulled up to the school gates. She took another deep breath and got out of the car, flashing a fake smile at her fans. It was just another day, just another day for Jessica Jung.

"Sica!" a tall girl called out as she ran up to her.

Jessica's expression brightened at the voice. Kwon Yuri, one of her best friends, of the few people she would be herself to.

"Yuri-ah!" she answered back at the approaching girl.

"Surrounded by fans again?"

"Can't you tell?" she retorted, rolling her eyes.

Yuri laughed and patted Jessica's back, "Let's go to class,"

Jessica nodded as she and Yuri pushed through the massive crowd. Jessica looked down to the ground for a moment, and it was then that she bumped into someone.

"Yah!" the voice shouted, earning loud gasps from the crowd. Someone had dared to yell at their princess.

Jessica looked up in surprise at the outburst and saw a petite girl with a cute baby face staring at her. Normally, she would bow and apologize to the adorable girl, and if it weren't for the cucumber sticks the girl was holding, she would've. Instead of bowing, Jessica's eyes widened and she quickly smacked the cucumber out of the girl's hand.

"YAH!" the girl yelled out in pain as she rubbed her hand, now red from Jessica's slap.

"DISGUSTING!" Jessica screamed as she backed away from the cucumbers.

"Disgusting? You bump into me and you call me disgusting?" the girl asked incredulously.

"I meant the cu-" Jessica started to explain, but the morning bell rang, interrupting her.

"Aish, now I'm late for class! Thanks a lot!" the girl grumbled as she ran off in another direction. Jessica looked after her, bewildered, and turned to Yuri, who was smirking at her.

"What?" she asked.

"You and your cucumber phobia," Yuri teased.

"It's not my fault!" Jessica pouted.

"You should find her later and apologize, she's pretty cute," Yuri said before flashing Jessica a wink.

"Huh? What does that have to do with anything?" Jessica asked confused.

Chapter 2

The duo made their way to class on time, despite the huge amount of people that surrounded them, and quickly found their seats. Jessica scanned the room for her other best friend but saw no glimpse of her.

"Yuri-ah, where's Fany?" she asked.

Yuri shrugged, "She's late again,"

Right on cue, Tiffany barged in and was dragging someone by the collar with her. Jessica gave Tiffany a peculiar look but her eyes widened as she realized the person Tiffany was dragging was the girl from this morning.

"YAH! HWANG MIYOUNG! LET ME GO!" the girl yelled, frustrated. Jessica's mouth slightly opened in shock, not many people knew Tiffany's Korean name, the two must be close.

"I told you not to call me that!" Tiffany pouted as she stopped at Jessica's table, "Jessi! Yuree-ah!" she greeted while still gripping the girl's collar. The girl's eyes widened as she saw Jessica.

"YOU!" she exclaimed and pointed at Jessica accusingly.

"You guys know each other?" Tiffany asked innocently.

"Let's just say they had a cucumber encounter," Yuri laughed, "it must be fate," she added.

"You befriend slapping fiends?!" the girl asked Tiffany incredulously.

Jessica's eyes shot open as she jumped from her seat, "YAH! WHO ARE YOU CALLING A FIEND?!" she yelled at the girl.

Yuri and Tiffany looked at Jessica in shock; the girl never showed this side of her at school, not to mention to a stranger.

"You," the girl said calmly.

"At least I'm not a midget!"

The girl glared at her murderously, "What did you say?" she demanded as she gritted her teeth.

"Midget," Jessica said bluntly.

"Why you-"

"Taeyeon-ah, calm down?heh?you too Jessi," Tiffany interrupted nervously.

"NO!" the two answered at the same time.

Taeyeon turned to Jessica and shot her a glare, "Don't copy me!"

"I'm not copying you midget," Jessica retorted.

"It's bad to lie fiend,"

"I AM NOT A FIEND!"

"Then you're a slapping fiend,"

"I'LL SLAP YOU AGAIN IF THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT!" Jessica threatened.

Yuri and Tiffany stared at Jessica dumbstruck, realizing that the princess has finally cracked.

"Who is she?" Yuri whispered to Tiffany.

"My third cousin twice removed, she just transferred here," Tiffany answered back.

"She really gets to Jessica,"

"Yeah?"

"I like her already!" Yuri grinned.

Taeyeon was about to retort back but the teacher entered the room and everyone hurried to their seats. Tiffany quickly sat by Jessica and pulled Taeyeon next to her.

"Who is that girl?!" Taeyeon whispered harshly to Tiffany.

"Jessica?she's one of my best friends!" Tiffany beamed.

"Jessica Jung? Hmm, she doesn't seem very gentle and angelic like they say," Taeyeon remarked.

"She's really quite at school," Tiffany defended.

"Right," Taeyeon agreed sarcastically.

Tiffany turned to Taeyeon and smacked her arm, "She is!"

"CLASS! LISTEN UP!" the teacher's voice suddenly boomed, making everyone jerk up, "We're starting a new unit on plants," he continued. Loud groans filled the room but quickly subsided when the teacher slammed the ruler on the table, "SILENCE!" he demanded. After everyone met his order, the old man continued, "As an introduction to plants, we will be visiting a plant farm,"

"Plant farm? What kind?" a curious boy asked.

"Is it corn?" a girl questioned.

"I hope it's a cactus farm," Taeyeon whispered excitedly to Tiffany who only laughed and rolled her eyes playfully.

"Nope, all wrong, cucumber farm," the teacher said victoriously.

Jessica nearly fell out of her chair, and she would've if Yuri hadn't caught her in time.

"P-pardon?" Jessica asked nervously.

"We will be studying cucumbers to start off our unit Miss Jung," the teacher repeated.

"O-oh, I see,"

"What's with her?" Taeyeon nudged Tiffany slightly.

"She's terrified of cucumbers," Tiffany replied.

"So that's' why she slapped me this morning," Taeyeon said to herself.

"Hmm?"

"Oh, nothing,"

"You will be assigned partners for this unit, listen carefully,"

"I don't want a partner," Jessica pouted.

"It's ok, it can't be THAT bad," Yuri assured.

"Kwon Yuri?" the teacher called out.

"Yes?"

"Your partner is Tiffany Hwang,"

"ALRIGHT!" Yuri said excitedly and reached over to high five an equally excited Tiffany.

"Jessica Jung?"

"Yes?"

"Your partner is Kim Taeyeon,"

"Kim Taeyeon?"

Ignoring Jessica's question, the man continued on.

"Who's Kim Taeyeon?" Jessica nudged Yuri.

"Sound's familiar?"

After a few minutes, the partners were all listed and the old man continued with his agenda, "We have a new student joining us, Kim Taeyeon, please come up,"

"Well that answers your question," Yuri remarked.

Jessica looked up to find the midget walking to the front of the room.

"I'm Kim Taeyeon, nice to you meet you," Taeyeon bowed politely.

Whispers could be heard throughout the room regarding the new girl, "She's so pretty!" one boy said.

"And she knows Jessica!" another boy added.

"Great, the midget is my partner, AND even worse, everyone thinks we're friends," Jessica grumbled to herself.

THE DAY OF CUCUMBER FARM VISIT

The bus ride to the cucumber farm was mostly quiet. Students usually fell asleep, woke up for a few minutes, then went back to sleep. Jessica sat next to Yuri, comfortably resting her head on the girl's shoulder as she napped the bus ride away.

"Yah, Jessica," Yuri complained softly as she jerked her shoulder up.

"What?" Jessica asked, annoyed that her sleep was interrupted.

"I'm not your pillow," Yuri rolled her eyes dramatically and quickly switched spots with Tiffany before Jessica could say anything.

"Hi Jessi!" Tiffany greeted happily.

Jessica stared at her deadpanned and turned away, crossing her arms grumpily.

"Aww, don't be mad, you can use my shoulder if you want," Tiffany offered as she poked Jessica's cheeks.

Jessica rolled her eyes and slapped Tiffany's hand from her face, "I don't need your shoulder,"

"If you don't need my shoulder, then?do you need a body suit?"

"What?!"

"Okay, okay, how about a cucumber repellent?"

"NO! I DON'T NEED ANYTHING!"

"Fany-ah, don't try to sympathize slapping fiends, it doesn't work," Taeyeon interrupted as she turned around to face the two behind her.

"No one asked you midget," Jessica replied, annoyed.

"I wasn't' talking to you fiend,"

Jessica momentarily reached over and smacked the side of Taeyeon's head, then calmly retreated back to her seat.

"YAH!" Taeyeon yelled as she tried to reach over and slap Jessica for revenge. Unfortunately, her arms were too short and Jessica smirked victoriously, "That's what you

get midget,"

Chapter 3

The rest of the bus ride resulted in Taeyeon glaring gat Jessica murderously and Jessica glaring back at Taeyeon. Tiffany and Yuri looked at each other amusingly but didn't both to say anything.

"Yah, Taeyeon," Yuri said abruptly.

Taeyeon turned her gay from Jessica to face Yuri, "Yes?"

"Do you know who I am?"

"You're the slapping fiend's friend," Taeyeon remarked.

Yuri laughed at the childish answer and flashed a bright smile, "Kwon Yuri, nice to meet you,"

Taeyeon smiled back at the girl and nodded, "Nice to meet you too, you're much better than the slapping fiend,"

"You know I can hear you," Jessica said deadpanned.

"It's rude to interrupt fiend,"

"I do have a name,"

"Do I look like I care?"

"I don't expect you to, midget," Jessica stated bluntly.

"Then why are you telling me?" Taeyeon retorted.

Jessica scoffed and rolled her eyes while she turned to look out the window. Taeyeon smirked and turned around, restarting her conversation with Yuri.

"Jessica, stop being so hostile," Tiffany lightly scolded as Taeyeon turned around.

Jessica glared at her, "ME?! WHY IS IT MY FAULT!" she asked incredulously.

"You slapped her first!"

"She called me a fiend!"

"You called her a midget," Tiffany reasoned as she narrowed her eyes.

"I'm not letting this go, SHE should be apologizing to ME!"

Tiffany sighed in defeat and slouched against her seat, "Why does she get to you so much?"

Jessica's expression softened, "I'm not sure?" she admitted, "it's kind of a nice change though," someone finally not swooning all over me,"

"So you like her?!" Tiffany asked surprised.

"What? NO! But, she's different,"

"So you like her," Tiffany insisted.

"I like the fact that she argues against me," Jessica reasoned.

"So in conclusion, you, Jung Sooyeon, like my third cousin twice removed,"

"I don't like her! I can't stand her!"

"Hate can turn into love Jessi!"

"Key word, CAN" Jessica emphasized.

"So you don't like her right?"

"Hwang Miyoung, I don't even like her, how am I suppose to love her,"

"So you don't love her?" Tiffany repeated.

"Why are you so persistant?!"

"Answer me," Tiffany said seriously.

"I don't love her," Jessica assured Tiffany, as she looked the girl straight in the eye.

"You won't love her right?"

"No, I won't love her,"

"Promise?"

"?promise,"

Tiffany smiled and nodded at Jessica's answer.

"You like her huh?" Jessica remarked.

Tiffany looked down and nodded shyly, "Something like that,"

AT CUCUMBER FARM

Their first assignment was to cut up a cucumber and evaluate how it was formed. Jessica, of course, refused to go near the plant, which resulted in Taeyeon having to analyze on her own.

"There are seeds,"

"Mhm?" Jessica answered as she flipped through a magazine.

"You know, you can help," Taeyeon sighed and put the slice of cucumber down.

Jessica shook her head vigorously from side to side, "I'm not going near that,"

"And yet you're still getting credit for MY work! So unfair?" Taeyeon pouted.

Seeing the pout, someone stirred inside of Jessica and she suddenly felt guilty for making the other girl do all the work, "I'll do the next assignment," she offered.

Taeyeon nodded and went back to observing the cucumber, "You're not so bad," she remarked.

"Mhm?" Jessica agreed absentmindedly and went back to her magazine.

AN HOUR LATER

"Jessica?"

"NO!"

"You said you would!" Taeyeon pouted again.

"I'm not getting dirty for cucumbers!"

"It's just planting seeds in the field!"

"NO!"

"Yah! I did all the work on the other assignment!"

"But I-"

"It's not a cucumber, it's just a seed!"

Jessica thought for a moment, "Fine," she reluctantly agreed after a while.

The two made their way to the field with their shovels in one hand and about one hundred packets of cucumber seeds in the other.

"Okay, you start on this end and I'll start on the other," Taeyeon instructed.

"You're helping?" Jessica asked, slightly surprised.

"Well, yeah?you'll take forever on your own," Taeyeon answered as she headed off to the far end of the field.

Jessica sighed and kicked the ground slightly, causing the dust to fly up. She bent down to pick up her shovel and jammed the metal head into the ground and pulled it back up, "This is going to be a long day," she sighed to herself as she sprinkled some seeds into the ground.

ONE AND A HALF HOURS LATER

Jessica threw her shovel down and kicked the ground violently, frustrated that she still had many packets of seeds left. Unfortunately, the soft ground absorbed her foot and she fell over.

"AHH!" she yelped as her knees came in contact with the ground. She winced in pain as she tried to get up but fell back down.

"Jessica?" Taeyeon called out as she jogged to the girl.

Jessica looked up at Taeyeon teary eyed and pouted.

"Why are you pouting?? And why are you kneeling? Are you praying to the cucumbers to bless your cucumber hating soul?" Taeyeon joked.

Jessica's pout turned into a murderous glare as she reached out to attack Taeyeon, but the pain in her knees came back and she collapsed into the shorter girl's arms.

"WAHH!" she wailed childishly.

Taeyeon looked at the girl peculiarly but helped her stand up. Examining the girl's legs, she noticed a deep gash in Jessica's left knee.

"Your knee is bleeding, does it hurt?" Taeyeon asked softly as she out one of Jessica's arms on her shoulder taking some of the girl's weight. Jessica nodded and moved

closer to Taeyeon and the two headed back to the bus to treat Jessica's cut.

Jessica sat in one of the seats and watched as Taeyeon searched for a first aid kit. Once she saw it, Taeyeon opened the box and pulled out a few antiseptic whips as well as a gauze pad and medical tape. She sat on the floor and examined Jessica's knee even closer.

"It's going to sting,"

Jessica bit her lip and nodded.

Taeyeon opened the wipes and gently dabbed the gash as Jessica hissed in pain. Taeyeon quickly blew on the wound to ease away the stinging sensation. Taeyeon quickly cleaned the rest of the wound by repeating the same process hoping that Jessica wasn't in too much pain.

"Can I ask you something?" Jessica asked as she watched Taeyeon work. Her leg surprisingly didn't hurt as much after the girl blew on it.

"Hmm?"

Why are you being so nice to me?"

"It's not like I hate you," Taeyeon whispered softly.

"?I see?"

"I'm surprised that your fans aren't all over you," Taeyeon remarked.

Jessica's face darkened, "I wish that they would just treat me normally,"

"It can't be helped," Taeyeon shrugged.

"Can I ask you something else?"

"What is it?"

"Why were you holding cucumbers when I first met you?"

Taeyeon laughed and looked up at Jessica, "I was holding it for Tiffany, she gets daily facials but they ran out of cucumbers that day so I had to go to the cafeteria to get some," Taeyeon explained.

Jessica smiled and nodded, "Did you have to go back to get some more?"

"Naw, I was too lazy to, so she was mad?remember she grabbed me by the collar when we went to class," Taeyeon explained,

"Oh yeah?"

"There, all done," Taeyeon announced as she finished taping he gauze around Jessica's knee, "does it still hurt?"

Jessica smiled again, a little wider this time, "No, she said as she shook her head from side to side.

"I'm glad," Taeyeon said as she got up and sat next to Jessica.

"Maybe Kim Taeyeon isn't that bad after all," Jessica thought to herself as she lean her head on Taeyeon's shoulder, "Taeyeon-ah, wake me up when we get back,"

"Of course," Taeyeon replied sarcastically.

Jessica only smiled and closed her eyes.

"You know, next year, the cucumbers are going to grow, then your hard work will pay off," Taeyeon whispered sleepily.

"Mhm?"

3 DAYS LATER

"But-"

"I don't want to hear it,"

"But I-"

"ENOUGH! You're going to the charity dinner and that's final!" a middle aged man commanded as his daughter glared at him.

"UGH!" Jessica huffed as she stormed to her room and slammed the door close once she was inside. She jumped on her bed and violently punched the pillow and threw it

across the large room. She then collapsed on the bed and stared into the ceiling aimlessly. The vibration of her phone then interrupted her thoughts as she looked over at the device, annoyed.

"Hello?" she answered groggily.

"JESSI!" Tiffany squealed happily.

"What?" she asked coldly.

"Hi!"

"?"

"Jessi! How are you?"

"Why did you call?!" Jessica demanded.

"I dunno.."

"WHAT?!"

"Actually, Taeyeon told me to call you,"

"Huh? Why?"

"I dunno?talk to her," Tiffany said before she handed the phone off.

"Hello?" a new voice answered, Jessica easily recognized it as Taeyeon's.

"Hey," Jessica answered softly

"How's your knee?"

"It's better?"

"Oh hey, are you busy tomorrow?"

Jessica sighed loudly, "Actually, yeah," she replied solemnly.

"Oh..I see, well hope you have fun, I wanted to check up on you but I didn't have your number," Taeyeon said sheepishly.

Jessica smiled at the girl's tone, "Anything else?" she asked expectantly.

"Um..no, goodnight Jessica," Taeyeon answered.

"?bye?" Jessica replied dejectedly.

Babo, why didn't you ask for my number?

Chapter 4

"Sooyeon-ah! You grew up so much!" a middle aged woman exclaimed as she caught glimpse of the girl. Jessica let out an awkward smile and rolled her eyes in annoyance when the lady turned around. Her father nudged her harshly before glaring at her.

"Be polite," he ordered.

"I am being polite," she defended.

"I don't want to hear anymore excuses!" the old man said roughly.

Jessica hugged and began to scan the room, avoiding eye contact with her father. Nothing in the chandelier lit mansion caught her interest until someone decided to bump into her.

"Oh sorry, I wasn't looking," the girl apologized. That voice! She knew it anywhere.

"Taeyeon?!" she exclaimed as she turned to face the girl wide eyed.

"Jessica?! What are you doing here?" Taeyeon asked as her eyes widened as well.

"Practically dragged here," Jessica scoffed, "Why are you here?"

"Same," Taeyeon shrugged, "Who knew I would see someone I know,"

"Do you want to-"

"TAEYEON-AH!"

Jessica quickly turned around and was ready to glare at whoever interrupted her. A tall girl with short black hair and a slime body walked towards them.

"Yoona?"

"You left me!" Yoona pouted.

"I was coming back, I just found a friend," Taeyeon explained as she tugged Jessica's arm.

Yoona looked at the two confused, "Are you dating?"

Jessica nearly choked as the question registered through her mind.

"N-no! Taeyeon said quickly as her face slowly got redder and redder by the moment.

Yoona smirked at the two and grabbed Taeyeon's hand, "Come on, let's go,"

Taeyeon looked at Yoona questionably but obliged, "See you around Jessica,"

Jessica looked down and nodded slowly, when she looked up again, Taeyeon was already halfway across the room with Yoona talking with another group of people. "And I thought I would have someone to talk to," she sighed to herself.

Taeyeon's POV

"YAH! Yoona, what was that?!"

"What was what?" Yoona asked innocently.

"Don't play dumb!"

"Weeell, from the looks of it, someone likes someone and that someone likes someone back," Yoona chimed in a singsong tune.

Taeyeon rolled her eyes and looked back in Jessica's direction, noticing the girl wasn't very happy in the conversation she was in.

"You're staring," Yoona commented.

"I'm observing,"

"Observing? You're such a pervert,"

Taeyeon turned to Yoona and glared at her, "Like you're not,"

"She's pretty," Yoona grinned, hoping to change the topic so that Taeyeon wouldn't jump her.

Upon hearing this, Taeyeon grinned too, "She is,"

Heavy footsteps could be heard as a girl stormed toward the door. Taeyeon turned her head and her eyes found their way to meet Jessica's. Seeing the rage in them, she looked on as the girl stormed out the door, quickly following her afterwards.

Jessica's POV

"Sooyeon-ah!" the same woman called out, interrupting her thoughts.

"Hmm?" she let out blankly as she turned to face the woman.

"Sooyeon-ah, we're having a gathering soon, I would love for your father to join us,"

"I'll let him know," Jessica replied flatly.

"I would love for you to-"

"Sorry I'm actually busy-"

"We'll be there" a new voice cut in. Jessica turned to the owner of it, knowing full well who it was. She looked at him angrily before turning back to the woman her father was talking to.

"Excuse my daughter's rudeness, we would be delighted to come,"

"Oh, she was perfectly fine," the lady assured.

"No, no, she was out of line," her father insisted, "You need to learn some manners," he continued as he turned to Jessica. Jessica only glared at him murderously and stormed off without saying a word.

"Where are you going?!" he demanded.

"That doesn't concern you," she replied without looking back.

As she made her way to the door, she caught glimpse of Taeyeon smiling widely with Yoona, which fueled her anger even more. Taeyeon turned her head slightly and their eyes met. Jessica quickly looked away and walked out the door as Taeyeon looked after her confused but quickly followed the girl out.

Jessica sat on a bench, overlooking the garden as a slight breeze blew by. Thee night sky seemed exceptionally bright as the stars twinkled like a crystal mine. She signed and looked ahead of her aimlessly, cursing her father for dragging her to a useless dinner and cursing Kim Taeyeon for ditching her. Suddenly, she felt the weight on the bench shift and turned to face the person next to her.

"What do you want?" she asked coldly when she realized the person was the short midget she was cursing.

"Can I not be here?"

"Go back inside, where you belong," Jessica sighed dejectedly.

"I don't belong anywhere Jessica,"

"Oh really, I swear I saw you fitting in just fine," Jessica replied sarcastically.

Taeyeon smiled at the girl and looked up at the night sky, not bothering to respond since the girl would only retort back. Jessica noticed the silence and turned her head to see Taeyeon gazing intently into the night sky. The relaxed look on Taeyeon's face caused Jessica's expression to soften and the anger that built up inside her seemed to disappear.

"How do you do it?" Jessica asked abruptly, breaking the silence.

"Do what?"

"Fit in and be happy,"

Taeyeon turned to the girl and locked eyes with her, "I do it because I want people to feel happy,"

"What about your happiness?"

"I'm happy if they're happy, it's a give and take world, some take, some give," Taeyeon said simply.

"Then what's the point of living if everyone takes from you?"

"You have to have something to live for,"

"What do you live for?"

"You,"

A long silence followed as the word left Taeyeon's mouth. Jessica stared at the girl wide eyes, her heart beating faster as each second flew by. How can someone say something so casually? "D-did you mean it?" she stuttered.

Taeyeon laughed at Jessica's shocked expression, "Just kidding, I don't know who to live more, I haven't found them yet," she revealed as she patted Jessica's back.

Jessica felt something inside her sink at how easily Taeyeon brushed it off, but she hid it well from the girl, "Well, since you don't have anyone to live for, you can live for me until you find someone," Jessica offered as she flashed Taeyeon a smile.

Taeyeon laughed and nodded, "Then you can live for me until you find someone,"

"I'd like that," Jessica smiled.

Taeyeon returned her gaze to the night sky, "It's a beautiful night," she whispered.

"I..haven't seen the night sky in a while," Jessica admitted.

"What?! Why not?!"" Taeyeon exclaimed.

"I get up, go to school, go home,"

"Don't you do anything else?"

"No.." Jessica answered with her head down.

Taeyeon thought for a moment and her eyes widened in excitement as an idea came to her, "Let's go on a date!" she exclaimed.

Jessica turned to her, shocked yet again, "You're kidding," she said cautiously, not wanting to be too hopeful since Taeyeon disappointed her once already.

Taeyeon shot her an incredulous look, "I'm serious! You're not busy right?"

"Well..no..but aren't dates for people who you know..like each other?"

"Well, we're going on a friend date, there's a difference," Taeyeon insisted, "Unleeess.." she added teasingly.

"WHAT?! NO!" DON'T YOU DARE FINISH YOUR SENTENCE!"

"Why are you getting so worked up?" Taeyeon asked amused.

"I AM NOT GETTING WORKED UP! It's not like I like you or anything," Jessica said quickly.

"..oh..of course..not," Taeyeon said, her eyes a little less brighter than before.

Noticing the change in the girl's tone, Jessica felt a wave of guilt wash over her, regretting the lie she had just told, "So..um..when's this date?' she asked, hoping to lighten the mood.

Taeyeon's expression brightened immediately at the question, "Tomorrow?"

"We have school tomorrow," Jessica remarked.

"We can ditch," Taeyeon said casually,"

".."

"Trust me,"

"Can't we do it after school?"

"NO! We're ditching, I'll pick you up," Taeyeon insisted.

Jessica let out a loud sigh, "..fine, just this once," she agreed.

Taeyeon smiled at how easily the girl gave in and scooted in closer, "Sica?"

"Hmm?"

"I can call you that right?"

"Mhm,"

"Sica?"

"Yes?"

"Not to sound like a stalker but where do you live? I need to know to pick you up,"

Jessica laughed and leaned her head on Taeyeon's shoulder, "Next to this house,"

"Oh, that's simple enough, I live down the street,"

"Coincidence much? So does Fany,"

"Yeah, I'm her neighbor," Taeyeon said sheepishly.

"Oh,"

"Sica?"

"What is it?"

"What's your number?"

Chapter 5

Jessica groggily woke up with the sound of her phone going off. She rolled over closer to her nightstand to answer it as the sound of the ringer was starting to annoy her.

"Hello?"

"Sica?"

Hearing Taeyeon's voice, Jessica quickly jolted up, "Taeyeon?"

"Are you ready?"

Jessica quickly glanced at her clock, 4:30, "Yah! It's not even five yet!" she yelled.

"We need to have a head start. Hurry up and get dressed!" Taeyeon ordered and hung up leaving Jessica to grumble to herself. This is even worse than school," she muttered before collapsing back on the bed.

20 MIN LATER

Feeling something shaking her, Jessica groaned and pushed the person away.

"Jessica wake up!"

"Arg, leave me alone!"

"Jessica~" Taeyeon whined, upon seeing no response, she quickly leaned in and pecked the girl's right cheek. Jessica immediately opened her eyes as her face quickly flushed.

"Y-Yah!"

"Get up," Taeyeon smirked victoriously.

"How did you even get in?" Jessica grumbled as she rolled out of bed.

"Your maids let me in," Taeyeon shrugged, "Now go get ready!" she ordered as she pushed Jessica into the bathroom. After Taeyeon waited another 20 minutes, Jessica was finally ready and dressed, but the girl was far from being fully awake.

"Come on, we're already behind schedule!" Taeyeon said ash she grabbed Jessica's wrist and pulled her out of the room.

"It's still not five yet!" Jessica whined.

The two bolted out the door and got in Taeyeon's car as the maids gave them a peculiar look. Jessica shivered at the coldness of the vehicle and made Taeyeon turn up the heat as the girl quickly drove off and glanced at the clock.

"We still have time," Taeyeon sighed in relief.

"I don't see what is so important that I had to wake up THIS early!" Jessica complained.

Taeyeon narrowed her eyes but kept focus on the road, "Just be grateful that I'm taking you on a date!"

"I didn't ask for it!"

"Fine, I'll take you home,"

"NO!"

Taeyeon turned to the girl and smirked before looking back at the road, "So you did want to go,"

"Whatever.." Jessica sighed and leaned her head against the car window. Her eyelids got heavy and she fell asleep again as she was still exhausted. Her sleep was suddenly interrupted by the abrupt stop of the car and her eyes shot open as she scanned her surroundings. In front of her, there was a beach, the waves calmly pushing back and forth, and the atmosphere absolutely still, free from distractions of the outside world.

"We're here," Taeyeon announced.

"A beach?"

"Just wait a few more minutes,"

"For what?"

"Sunrise.." Taeyeon whispered softly as she gazed ahead of her. As if on cue, the night sky slowly lit up, showing sight of a lighter horizon. Slowly but surely, the darkness melted away, retreating little by little as the sun awoke from its slumber. Jessica stared at the scenery in awe, her eyes widening, showing no sign of tiredness.

"It's beautiful.."

"It is," Taeyeon agreed. She turned to Jessica and flashed her a grin, "Aren't you glad you woke up?"

Jessica nodded silently and returned her gaze to the view in front of her. The two sat in silence for a few minutes before Jessica turned to Taeyeon, noticing the girl was in deep thought.

"What are you thinking about?"

Taeyeon turned to her and smiled, "You,"

"Lies," Jessica said as she blushed and quickly looked away.

"Where do you want to go next?"

"There's more?!"

"WE have the whole day for fun!" Taeyeon exclaimed and started the car.

"I'm hungry," Jessica stated after a few minutes of contemplation.

"Let's go eat then,"

--

The school bell rung and signaled the start of a new day. Tiffany scanned the class and sighed dejectedly when she couldn't spot the people she was looking for.

"Don't worry too much," Yuri assured as she patted Tiffany's back.

"Jessica doesn't miss school?even when she's sick!"

"Maybe she overslept?"

"No! And Taeyeon isn't here either!" Tiffany panicked.

Yuri shrugged slightly before answering, "Maybe they're doing something together,"

Tiffany's eyes widened as she glanced at Yuri unsurely, "You think so?"

"It's possible, call them,"

Tiffany quickly pulled her phone out and dialed Taeyeon's number only to angrily slam it on the table minutes later when no one picked up.

"I could be wrong," Yuri insisted, hoping to calm the girl down.

--

"Jessica, you're going to choke!"

Jessica looked up at Taeyeon and rolled her eyes before shoving more food into her mouth. Suddenly, she had the urge to cough and that resulted in her choking on her food and gasping for air. Taeyeon quickly handed her a glass of water as she patted the girl's back roughly, hoping to help her swallow.

"YAH! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Jessica screamed as the food digested.

"HOW IS IT M FAULT?!" Taeyeon asked incredulously.

"You jinxed me!"

"Did not!

"Did too!

"FINE, LET'S GO HOME!"

"NO!"

--

Tiffany paced back and forth as she dialed Taeyeon's number the 30th time. Upon receiving another voicemail, she huffed and kicked her chair. Yuri also sighed as Jessica also refused to pick up.

"Don't worry too much, they're probably okay,"

"Let's go find them Yurre-ah,"

"Huh? N-Now?"

"Yes, now, let's go!" Tiffany urged as she pulled Yuri out the back door.

--

"TAEYEON-AHHHHHH! Jessica screamed as the roller coaster made its last rapid turn, causing Jessica to lean sideways since she was unable to keep herself steady. At last, the machine came to a halt and she immediately jumped off the ride with a smirking Taeyeon following her.

"Yah! Stop smiling!"

"You're such a wimp!"

"I am not a wimp!" Jessica insisted and flexed her arm, showing the muscle, or lack there of, that she had.

"Yes, yes, Miss Hercules, let's go to the next ride,"

Jessica pouted at the girl who grinned and pinched her cheek, "I'll buy you a corndog,"

--

"Fany-ah, do you even know where they went?' Yuri asked exhaustedly after the leaving the 100th store they went to.

"Nope, but we HAVE to find them,"

"Well, my legs HAVE to take a break, I've abused them enough today," Yuri whined and sat on a near by bench.

Tiffany rolled her eyes and sat next to Yuri dejectedly. She glanced up at the amusement park in front of her and her eyes widened as she saw two familiar figures in front of her.

"I see them!"

"What? Is this another false alarm?" Yuri asked tiredly while massaging her legs.

"LET'S GO!" Tiffany stated determinedly as she ran off, dragging an exhausted Yuri behind her.

--

"Say ah," Taeyeon instructed and held a corndog in front of Jessica's face. The girl grinned and happily opened her mouth to let Taeyeon feed her.

"Yah! You're such a messy eater!" Taeyeon scolded as she grabbed a napkin and wiped Jessica's mouth as the two leaned in closer to each other. It was only until the fact that their foreheads were pressed together that Taeyeon noticed the proximity between them. She looked up at Jessica uncertainly and saw the girl look back at her with the same expression. Hesitantly, she leaned in closer and closer until their lips were millimeters apart. Just as it was about to touch, a sudden desperate call caused Taeyeon to jerk up.

"Taeyeon-ah!"

Turning her head towards the voice, Taeyeon saw an anxious looking Tiffany glaring at her; "Fany?" was all she could let out before the other girl tackled her.

"Where were you?!" Tiffany demanded as she nuzzled her head against the crock of Taeyeon's neck.

"I-"

"Do you know how worried I was?!" Tiffany continued, completely ignoring Jessica's death glare on her.

"I'm sorry.." Taeyeon answered guiltily.

Pulling away from the embrace, Tiffany flashed Taeyeon her signature eye smile, "It's okay, can we go somewhere and talk?"

"N-Now?"

"Yes, now," Tiffany replied and dragged Taeyeon off to another destination.

Jessica looked on, dumbfounded by what just happened. She was about to follow the pair but a sudden appearance of Yuri next to her stopped her in her tracks.

"Sica! I found you! Where's Taeny?"

"Taeny?! They even have a couple name now?!" Jessica spat angrily and hastily stormed off to follow the couple.

Yuri looked on confused as ever, "Did I miss something?" she asked herself before spotting a Ma juice stand and happily ran towards it.

"Fany-ah, what's wrong?" Taeyeon asked, confused by her cousin's odd behavior.

"Taeyeon-ah.." Tiffany hesitated as she stopped walking and turned to the girl.

"What is it?"

"D-Do you like me?" the taller girl stuttered while looking nervously down at the ground. She didn't know where she got the courage to pull the girl away but she decided it was now or never to reveal her feelings.

"Huh? Of course I like you, you're my cousin!" Taeyeon beamed.

Tiffany sighed at the girl's obliviousness and looked up at her, "I mean..do you..like me more than a cousin?"

"..huh?"

"I like you Kim Taeyeon, more than a cousin, more than a friend, I really, really like you," Tiffany confessed firmly while looking at Taeyeon dead in the eye.

"F-Fany-ah.."

"Taeyeon-ah," a new voice interrupted, causing both heads to turn to her.

"What are you doing here Jessica," Tiffany asked coldly, although it came out more as a demand, as she shot her best friend a glare.

"You took my date from me, do you think you have the right to ask that question?" Jessica replied in the same tone.

Tiffany scoffed and walked towards Jessica, not once adverting away from their eye contact, "You promised,"

"Promised what?"

"You promised you wouldn't love her," Tiffany stated calmly.

Taeyeon's eyes widened and she quickly turned to Jessica, 'Sica.." she was able to say before her mind went blank and no words could come out.

Jessica turned to her with a serious gaze, "Do you like me Taeyeon?"

Twice in a day, Taeyeon was asked the same question, and both times, she was taken back, "I-"

"If you like me, tell me, then I'm willing to break this promise..for you, for us," Jessica said softly, her eyes tearing up and showing nothing but sincerity.

Tiffany glared at her incredulously and reached up to slap Jessica with all her strength, "YOU BACKSTABBER!"

Both Taeyeon and Jessica's eyes widened at the impact of the sudden abuse of Jessica's right cheek, "HWANG MIYOUNG!" Taeyeon yelled as she rushed to Jessica's side but ended up getting pushed away by Tiffany.

"JUNG SOOYEON, YOU BACKSTABBER! AFTER ALL THAT WE'VE BEEN THROUGH, HOW I WAS THERE FOR YOU, THI SIS HOW YOU TREAT ME?!" Tiffany shouted, extremely frustrated, tears threatening to fall at any second.

Jessica looked up at Tiffany, her eyes bloodshot, "HOW AM I SUPPOSE TO CONTROL HOW I FEEL HUH?! DO YOU THINK I WANT THIS?!"

"Sica..Fany..please..stop this," Taeyeon pleaded desperately as she watched the two friends scream at each other.

"YOU COULDVE MADE AN EFFORT! YOU KNEW I LIKED HER YET YOU STILL LET IT HAPPEN!"

"SHUT UP! YOU THINK I DON'T FEEL GUILTY?! I CAN'T HELP I! I NEVER PLANNED FOR US TO LIKE THE SAME PERSON!"

"Guy..please.." Taeyeon continued to plead while looking unsurely from Jessica to Tiffany.

"I HATE YOU!" Tiffany screamed as she reached up to slap Jessica again. Just before her hand came in contact with the girl's cheek, a small hand grabbed her wrist roughly, stopping it in its place.

"ENOUGH!" Taeyeon yelled angrily, "Hwang Miyoung, no matter how angry you are, you do NOT hit people, do you hear me?!" Taeyeon scolded sternly and threw Tiffany's wrist down, "And you.." she continued in a softer tone as she turned to Jessica, "Put some medicine on before your cheek swells up,"

"Are you on her side now?!" Tiffany asked incredulously.

"What if she is?" Jessica taunted.

"ENOUGH! I'VE HAD IT WITH THIS..BOTH OF YOU..JUST STOP!" Taeyeon spat out, clearly frustrated, and stormed out of the amusement park, leaving two girls watching her walk away.

Chapter 6

"Aish these kids never listen to me," Taeyeon grumbled as she continued to storm off. She was too caught up with her thoughts and ran into someone before she noticed their presence.

"Woops, sorry," she apologized and bowed to the person.

"Taeyeon?"

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Taeyeon jerked up immediately, "Yuri!"

"I've been looking for you all day!"

"Huh? Why?"

"Well Fany wanted me to help her, speaking of which, where's the other two?"

Taeyeon sighed and rolled her eyes now that she was reminded of the incident, "I don't know, somewhere probably killing each other right now," she replied flatly.

"WHAT?! Why?!" Yuri asked, clearly shocked.

The next ten minutes was spent with Taeyeon explaining her situation to Yuri who silently listened and nodded every once in a while. After Taeyeon had finished, the two had decided to sit comfortably on a bench, too tired to stand.

"Wait, I don't get it, why are you mad?" Yuri questioned.

"I specifically told them to stop arguing, they both deliberately disobeyed me, and what's worse, they inflict violent on each other!" Taeyeon stated matter-of-factly before turning her head to look at Yuri who carried an amused expression on her face. (lol yes i kinda stole this line from lion king...)

"What's with the look," Taeyeon demanded deadpanned.

"You're such an umma Taeyeon,"

"WHAT?! I AM NOT!"

"Yes you are! Two girls like you at the same time yet all you care about is how they refuse to follow your orders? Are you kidding me?"

"B-But they should've listened!" Taeyeon pouted.

"YAH! THERE'S MORE IMPORTANT THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT RIGHT NOW!" Yuri lectured as she stood up to emphasize her authority over the shorter girl.

"Like what?" Taeyeon asked, completely clueless.

Yuri let out a sigh and flicked Taeyeon's forehead, "Like who you're going to chose!"

".."

"You have to give them an answer sooner or later you know,"

Taeyeon sighed and nodded solemnly, "I know,"

"So.."

"So?"

"Do you have a candidate in mind?"

".."

"You're helpless Taeyeon," Yuri sighed and sat back down since she saw no use in standing.

"I know,"

"How do you feel when you're with Fany?"

"Safe, I can trust her with anything and everything, she listens well and knows just what to say, I can't imagine life without her," Taeyeon smiled.

Yuri nodded, "What about Sica?"

"I-I can't exactly describe it, she makes me happy but she makes me nervous, I want to make her laugh and smile but I like seeing her annoyed and pouting too,"

"I think we found our answer," Yuri declared.

"REALLY?"

"I'm not telling you who it is babo, figure it out for yourself!"

"What?!"

"It'll come to you,"

"But I'm helpless Yuri-ah! You even agreed!"

Yuri sighed at the girl's pitiful state, "Tell you what, I'll give you an idea,"

"This better be good.."

--

"This is all your fault!" Jessica accused after Taeyeon was out of sight.

"My fault?! You started all of this!" Tiffany retorted and began to walk off.

"Where are you going?" Jessica yelled after her.

"To find my Taeyeon,"

"Your Taeyeon?!"

"Yes, MY Taeyeon,"

"She never was and never will be YOUR Taeyeon," Jessica stated confidently and sped up her pace to pass Tiffany.

"YAH! Do you want another slap?!"

"That'll just make Taeyeon like me more," Jessica smirked.

Tiffany glared at her best friend and huffed in annoyance, "I seriously hate you,"

"Likewise," Jessica scoffed.

--

"You're sure this will work?" Taeyeon asked skeptically.

"Do you have anything better?" Yuri asked, slightly annoyed.

"No..but-"

"Then follow through! If you still don't know after it's over, you're a serious babo,"

"But-"

"No buts!"

"Aish, fine, but this better work,"

"It will, but.."

"But?"

"You'll be suffering a major headache for a while,"

"I know," Taeyeon sighed.

"Good lucky buddy," Yuri said sympathetically while patting Taeyeon's back.

"Ahem," came a sudden voice behind them.

Taeyeon and Yuri jerked up in surprise and quickly turned around to find two girls glaring at them, more specifically, glaring at Yuri.

"Kwon Yuri, if you want to live, get your hands off her right N.O.W.!" Jessica threatened while giving an icy glare.

Yuri nervously removed her hand from Taeyeon's back and stood up, "Well, I better get going," she said and quickly backed away.

"Wait! Yuri-ah!" Taeyeon yelled frantically and tried to follow the tanned girl but was pulled back by the two girls behind her.

"Where do you think you're going?" Tiffany demanded as she tightened her grip on Taeyeon's wrist.

"You'll be fine Taeyeon-ah, just remember what I told you," Yuri assured and instantly ran away from the trio.

"H-Hey," Taeyeon gulped nervously, turning to the two.

"What did she tell you to do," Jessica pried.

"N-Nothing,"

"Kim Taeyeon," Tiffany said sternly.

"Y-Yes?"

"What did Yuri tell you to do?" Jessica demanded.

"S-She s-said to-"

"Why are you stuttering?" Tiffany asked curiously, completely changing her mood.

"It's not like we'll hurt you," Jessica added.

Taeyeon smiled nervously and nodded, showing that she understood, before continuing to explain, "She said to date both of you," she said confidently.

"WHAT?!" the two best friends exclaimed at once.

"S-She said t-that I-I should date you, o-one person for three months t-then the other person," Taeyeon continued as she flinched, waiting to be attacked.

The two contemplated for a few minutes on the suggestion while Taeyeon looked unsurely from Jessica to Tiffany. After a long silence, Jessica decided to speak up.

"It's not a bad idea," she said casually.

"?really?" Taeyeon asked in surprise.

"I guess it would work," Tiffany added.

"You don't mind?"

"Of course I mind, but, it's not a bad idea," Jessica replied.

"Besides, having you to myself for 3 months would be nice," Tiffany agreed.

"..wow," Taeyeon muttered under her breath, trying to grasp what she's gotten herself into.

"Wait, who gets to date you first?" Tiffany asked suddenly.

"Uh.."

"Me, of course," Jessica stated.

"What?! Why?!"

"Because I said so,"

"NO!"

"YES!"

"NO!"

"YES!"

"Rock paper scissors!" Tiffany shouted.

"FINE!"

"ROCK PAPER SCISSORS!" the two yelled as Tiffany formed a rock with her hand while Jessica spread her fingers out to make paper.

"AHA! I WIN!" Jessica squealed gleefully and grabbed Taeyeon's arm possessively and pulled the girl closer to her.

"NOO! REDO!" Tiffany whined.

"NO! Don't be a sore loser," Jessica smirked.

"I hate you," Tiffany sighed.

"I hate you too," Jessica replied.

"Guys?"

"Let's go Taeyeon!" Jessica beamed and pulled Taeyeon towards the exit.

Taeyeon smiled and nodded at the girl and followed her out, "Wanna come Fany? I'll take you home too," she offered.

Tiffany's expression brightened immediately as she nodded enthusiastically and ran to cling onto Taeyeon's other arm, completely ignoring Jessica's glare.

After ten minutes of quarrelling about who gets to sit in the front, Taeyeon had finally convinced Jessica to sit in the back and the trio was off. When they reached Tiffany's house, it took another ten minutes of convincing to get the girl to go in the building. Reluctantly, Tiffany finally gave in and gave Taeyeon a quick peck on the cheek before entering her home.

"What's wrong?" Taeyeon asked as she got in the car.

"She kissed you!" Jessica pouted and moved to the passenger seat up front.

Taeyeon smiled and pinched the girl's cheek but quickly retracted when the girl yelped in pain, "Sorry, I forgot, are you okay?" Taeyeon apologized quickly.

"It's okay, I'm fine," Jessica assured as she rubbed her right cheek. After a few minutes, Taeyeon stopped the car in Jessica's driveway and unbuckled her seatbelt.

"Um..I'll see you t-tomorrow?" she stuttered shyly.

"Do..you want to..come in?" Jessica asked nervously.

"Uh..y-yeah, sure,"

The two sat awkwardly on Jessica's bed as Taeyeon scanned the room, complete with a walk in closet and bathroom. She then momentarily got up and went into the bathroom as Jessica looked at her curiously. A few moments later, Taeyeon came back with a damp towel and pressed the fabric against Jessica's face.

"W-What are you doing?"

"It helps with swelling," Taeyeon explained.

Jessica blushed and nodded at Taeyeon's consideration, "Thank you.."

"Mhm, well I better get going now, see you tomorrow,"

Just as Taeyeon was getting up, Jessica quickly grabbed her shirt, causing her to turn around, "Do you need anything?"

"Stay with me," the girl whispered, almost inaudible.

"..huh?"

"Stay with me," Jessica whispered a little louder, keeping her blushing face down.

Taeyeon smiled and sat back down next to Jessica, taking the towel out of her hands, "Does it still hurt?"

Jessica shook her head from side to side, signally a no. Just as she was about to speak, Taeyeon leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her cheek causing her mind to go blank. Taeyeon giggled slightly at Jessica's expression and kissed the other cheek, grinning as when she pulled back.

"T-Tae.."

"Can I borrow some clothes?"

"H-Huh? Clothes? OH! Sure," Jessica replied quickly and ran to her closet to grab something for herself and the other girl and hiding her blushing face in the process.

They changed quickly and laid on the bed next to each other, silently staring at the ceiling. Jessica slowly felt her eyelids get heaver and heaver by the second and she dozed off after a few minutes, losing the battle against sleep. Noticing the sleeping girl next to her, Taeyeon smiled pulled the blanket over the girl, not wanting her to get cold. She turned to her side and momentarily closed her eyes until a soft sleepy whisper caught her attention,

"Yah.."

"Sica?" Taeyeon asked in surprised and turned around.

"You're suppose to hug me to sleep," Jessica pouted.

"Huh?"

Jessica sighed and took the initiative to wrap her arms around Taeyeon's waist, snuggling against the crook of the girl's neck.

"Goodnight Taeyeon-ah," she said sleepily, smiling widely.

"G-Goodnight Sica.."

Chapter 7

A loud blast of music echoed throughout the silent room waking up one of its two inhabitants. Taeyeon started to get out of bed but just as she almost reached the edge, two arms encircled around her waist and a body was pressed up against hers.

"Yah..where are you doing.." a sleepy voice demanded.

"To get ready, you need to get up too," Taeyeon replied while trying to pry the girl off of her only to have the latter embrace her tighter.

"Sica, I'm serious!"

"Two more hours.."

"NO! GET UP NOW!"

"KIM TAENGOO!"

"Taengoo?"

"Yes, Taengoo, let me sleep,"

"GET UP!" Taeyeon yelled and pulled away abruptly from Jessica.

"YAH!"

"Get up now!"

"Ugh..fine!"

"Sica.."

"WHAT?!"

"

"

"Ahem..I mean..yes Taengoo?"

"I need clothes.."

"You can borrow my sister's,"

--

"I can't believe I fit in a 14 year-old's uniform.."Taeyeon sighed dejectedly as she got in the driver seat.

"It's okay, I like them fun sized anyway," Jessica snickered and got in the passenger seat. Taeyeon shot her a deadly glare before driving off.

--

"Taeyeonie..are you mad?" Jessica pouted while poking Taeyeon's cheeks as the girl pulled into the school parking lot.

"No," Taeyeon replied flatly and her turned her head away to hide a grin.

"Yah~ don't be mad.." Jessica whined and jumped on Taeyeon's lap and nuzzled her cheek against the other girl's. Taeyeon's grin finally showed its true form as she snaked her arms around the girl's waist.

"Let's go to class,"

"Nooo.."

"..why?"

"I want a kiss," Jessica demanded and wrapped her around Taeyeon's neck. Taeyeon sighed and complied by giving Jessica a soft peck on her lips and quickly opened the door to quickly get out before Jessica could do anything.

"Yah~!"

"Let's go!" Taeyeon beamed brightly and pulled Jessica out of the car. The two walked into class hand in hand earning many envious looks and murderous glares. Tiffany rolled her eyes at the couple while Yuri gave everyone an amused look and moved one seat over so Taeyeon could sit next to Jessica.

"Morning Yuri-ah!" Taeyeon beamed, "Morning Fany!"

Tiffany flashed her an eye smile while Yuri waved her hands wildly, expressing her unique way of saying hello.

"I'm guessing Sica's dating you first?"

"Yeah.." Taeyeon replied as she avoided eye contact with a scowling Tiffany.

AT LUNCH

"Where's Taeyeon?" Yuri asked curiously, turning her head from side to side to look for her short friend.

"I thought she was with you?" Jessica answered.

"Why would she be with us when YOU'RE dating her," Tiffany said, annoyed.

"YAH! I wasn't even talking to you!"

"Whatever,"

IN STUDENT COUNCIL ROOM

"Yah! Let me go! What are you doing?!" Taeyeon yelled frantically as two girls shoved her into the room and forcefully pushed her into a chair.

""WHAT'S GOING ON?!" Taeyeon demanded.

Another figure entered the room, a male this time, shaggy hair with black-rimmed glasses.

"Who are you? Answer me!" Taeyeon yelled impatiently.

"What is your relationship with Jessica?" the person asked monotonously.

"Why does it concern you?"

"Don't ask any questions girl, answer them," he replied coldly.

"WHO ARE YOU?! I'M NOT ANSWRING ANYTHING UNTIL I KNOW WHO YOU ARE!"

Suddenly, a business card was thrown at her and she quickly grabbed it to read its contents:

Choi Siwon

ASB PRESIDENT

Coordinator of Jessica Jung's Official Fanclub

"I'm in charge of running this school so I demand what your relationship is with our most important student,"

"What?!"

"I won't repeat myself again, what is your relationship with her," Siwon replied calmly.

"I'm dating her?" Taeyeon said unsurely since she didn't know what her relationship with Jessica was exactly.

"I assume you know that is a big responsibility?

"Uh..yes?"

Siwon then handed her a binder that is neatly organized with dividers, from the looks of it, the binder seemed like a daily schedule.

"Jessica's daily routine," Siwon stated flatly.

".." Taeyeon blinked silently as the words registered in her brain.

"You are to tend to her every need, this will help you with that,"

"Are you kidding me?"

"No,"

".."

"You have 30 minutes to review this then we will test you,"

"..for real?"

"Yes,"

30 MINUTES LATER

"Are you done?"

"?maybe.."

"Close the binder girl,"

Taeyeon sighed and closed the binder. She rolled her eyes as she was frustrated by the absurd demands that were handed to her.

"What time does Jessica wake up?"

"6:30 am,"

"What does she despise?"

"Cucumbers,"

"If Jessica is in trouble, you.."

"Risk my life to save her even if I die,"

"Jessica Jung is?"

"The greatest princess alive,"

"What is the Jessica Jung oath?"

"..Uh..Jessica is jjang!" Taeyeon said nervously since she had decided to skip memorizing the oath.

"..Decent enough," Siwon said, slightly amused, "You may go,"

LUNCH ROOM

"I'm getting worried,"

"Tch, what kind of girlfriend are you?"

"Will you just shut up?!"

"You lost my Taeyeon so don't even be talking,"

"SHE'S NOT YOURS!"

"SHE WILL BE!"

Yuri rolled her eyes at the bickering girls and grabbed a nearby student, "Have you seen Kim Taeyeon?"

"I saw her get dragged to the student council room,"

"By who?"

"The usual,"

Yuri released her grip on the person and went back to inform the two arguing friends, "YAH!"

"What?!" they both exclaimed.

"Taeyeon got kidnapped by the student council!"

Tiffany let out a sigh and glared at Jessica, "See, this IS all your fault,"

Jessica kept her eyes focused on the floor and clenched her jaw, "How the hell do I control what they want,"

"Jessica~!"

Jessica quickly turned her head at the voice, her eyes scanning the cafeteria for its owner.

"Taeyeon-ah!" she answered as she spotted the girl running up to her, "What are you holding?" she asked curiously.

Taeyeon handed her the binder, "Your daily schedule princess," she said playfully.

Jessica flipped through the binder, scanning its contents while Tiffany and Yuri bombarded Taeyeon with questions. She scowled at the pages as she flipped through them and ended up throwing the whole thing off in one direction.

"OW!" came a rough cry.

All four girls turned to see a shorthaired girl on the ground clutching her head in anguish. Taeyeon quickly rushed to the girl and helped her while Yuri went to pick up the binder.

"Are you okay?"

"Ah, y-yes," the girl said politely and bowed, "I'm sorry for causing a commotion,"

"No it's our fault, I'm sorry," Taeyeon apologized and stopped the girl from bowing.

"Oh, I need to get to class now, have a nice day,"

"Wait! My name is Taeyeon by the way, and this is Jessica, Tiffany and Yuri," Taeyeon introduced as Tiffany and Yuri waved to the girl and Jessica merely gave her a nod.

"Well, I'll see you guys around," the girl bowed, "And my name is Sunye," she said and waved goodbye.

"She seems nice," Taeyeon noted.

Yuri nodded in agreement and handed the binder back to Taeyeon, "You're really going to follow this?"

"Tch, no," Taeyeon scoffed.

"It's so much easier to date me," Tiffany commented while Jessica gave her a deadly glare.

Taeyeon coughed nervously and changed the subject, "Sica, we're going to a family dinner this Saturday, you're free right?"

"Family dinner?"

"I want you to meet my parents,"

"Oh, of course," Jessica nodded quickly and grabbed onto Taeyeon, "Let's go Taengoo, I'm hungry,"

"When are you not," Tiffany said sarcastically.

"Do you not know the meaning of 'shut up'?"

"I do thank you very much, it's just that it's too great of a word for the likes of you,"

"You little.."

"Heh, now, now, lets go get some food," Yuri suggested nervously and pulled Tiffany away.

"Sica," Taeyeon sighed.

"Yes Taengoo?"

"You and Fany need to stop,"

"But she starts everything!" Jessica protested.

"I know, I know, but my Sica is the bigger person right?"

"Of course," Jessica grinned.

Taeyeon smiled and intertwined her hand with the other girl's, "Then you guys will make up right?"

"Yeah..I guess so," Jessica sighed.

"That's my girl," Taeyeon grinned and pinched Jessica's cheek and silently praised herself for being such a genius with her words.

Chapter 8

Jessica fidgeted nervously in her seat as the car neared closer to Taeyeon's house. Taeyeon quickly glanced at her and turned back to the road with a sigh.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine,"

"Y-Yeah,"

"It's okay Sica, they'll love you,"

"Uh huh.."

--

Taeyeon opened the door and revealed an exquisite home tastefully decorated. The house was already filled with people when the two had arrived. Jessica took another deep breath and Taeyeon gave her hand a comforting squeeze before heading in.

"Taeyeon-ah!" a middle-aged woman called out and pulled Taeyeon in for a hug.

"Umma! You see me everyday!" Taeyeon said, embarrassed.

"So? I miss you every second that I don't see you," Mrs. Kim said dramatically.

Jessica giggled at the woman's playfulness, which ended up directing the attention towards her.

"Who might this be?" Mrs. Kim smiled.

"Ah, this is Jessica, Umma,"

"Nice to meet you Mrs. Kim," Jessica bowed politely.

"Ah, Jessica! What a pretty girl!" Mrs. Kim complimented.

"Thank you," Jessica bowed again.

"No need to be so polite dear, I don't want you to break your back,"

"TAEYEON!" another voice called out.

"Appa!"

"Nice to meet you Mr. Kim, I'm Jessica,"

"Hello there, what a nice girl you are," the man nodded.

"See? I told you they'll love you," Taeyeon whispered to Jessica discretely.

"Taeyeonie!"

Jessica turned her head quickly at the hyperactive voice, "What are YOU doing here?!" she demanded roughly.

"It's a FAMILY reunion, I'm pretty sure I'm family," Tiffany replied while rolling her eyes.

"Ahem," Taeyeon cleared her throat threatening at the two girls as they both gave her their puppy dog look, "Let's all get along now," she stated lowly so that her parents wouldn't hear.

"HALMONI'S HERE!" someone announced as all heads were turned to the entrance.

A respectable woman arrived through the doors, her hair pure white, her looks extremely intimidating. Two bodyguards escorted her as she made her way to the center of the room.

"Good afternoon Halmoni," everyone in the room bowed at once as Jessica quickly followed suit. The old woman nodded silent and the guests returned back to their previous activities that were put on hold.

"She's you're grandma?" Jessica asked curiously.

"Yeah, but even if she isn't, we still call her Halmoni," Taeyeon explained.

"Why does it seem like everyone is scared of her?"

"Not necessarily scared, we just respect her a lot,"

"Why?"

"She's the head of the corporation, she basically founded it from scratch, and besides, you're suppose to respect your grandmother right?" Taeyeon explained while Tiffany nodded in agreement.

"Taeyeon-ah, do you have a moment?" a cold monotone voice asked suddenly.

Taeyeon immediately turned around and bowed, "Yes Halmoni?

"Who is this? I don't remember her being part of our family," Halmoni questioned while eyeing Jessica.

"Good afternoon Halmoni, my name is Jung Sooyeon," Jessica said nervously and bowed.

"I'm not your halmoni, you have no right to call me that young lady," the old woman said bluntly. Taeyeon furrowed her eyebrows at the comment, just as she was about to speak up, Tiffany nudged her slightly, telling her to shut up.

"I-I'm sorry," Jessica apologized quickly, her eyes adverting from the woman's.

"You're a Jung you say?"

"Y-Yes M'am,"

"From Jung Corporation?" she asked in a hostile tone.

"Yes M'am.."

"I suggest you leave now," Halmoni said flatly.

"..I beg your pardon?" Jessica asked surprised.

"I'm sure you heard me the first time," the woman replied cunningly.

"Halmoni.." Taeyeon said abruptly.

"This doesn't concern you child," Halmoni said quickly, "And you, leave this house now," she continued as she turned to Jessica.

"But-" Taeyeon tried to butt in again.

"Hush Taeyeon, I need to talk to you privately,"

The short girl was about to protest but Tiffany quickly butted in, "Go ahead Taeyeon, leave Jessica to me,"

Taeyeon looked at Jessica hesitantly and Jessica gave her a reassuring nod telling her to comply to her grandmother's wishes. She sighed and followed the old woman out.

Taeyeon's POV

Taeyeon sat quietly in one of the office chairs as her grandmother was in deep thought at the head desk.

"I forbid you to see her anymore," Halmoni said suddenly.

"W-Why?"

"She's from a rival company Taeyeon-ah, that girl is trouble,"

"No, she's not trouble Halmoni, she doesn't even like business," Taeyeon explained.

"A daughter of a rival is bound to betray you in the future, I have other options for you that are much better than her,"

"I know what I want Halmoni, you don't have to bother with my love life," Taeyeon said firmly, making complete eye contact.

Jessica's POV

Jessica watched Taeyeon walk into a different room and sighed inwardly. Her train of thoughts were then interrupted by Tiffany's voice.

"You okay?"

"Since when do you care?" Jessica asked coldly.

"Yah, don't give me an attitude, I'm trying to be nice,"

"No one asked you to,"

Tiffany sighed and crossed her arms, "I kow we're on bad terms because of Taeyeon,"

"Thanks for stating the obvious,"

"Jessica, I'm serious," Tiffany said sternly.

Jessica looked at Tiffany for a moment and sighed, "I know,"

"Let's go talk somewhere else," Tiffany suggested.

"My house?"

"Definitely,"

JESSICA'S ROOM

"So what did you want to talk about?" Jessica asked as she watched Tiffany lay comfortably on her bed.

Tiffany motioned her to lay next to her, which she complied, before she started talking, " I know it doesn't seem like it, but, I really do miss my best friend," she said sincerely.

Jessica turned and look at the girl, "Me too," she sighed.

"So, best friends again?"

"Yeah, fighting over Taeyeon is useless anyway,"

"Yup, but its strange how such a midget can impact us so much," Tiffany laughed.

"I'm telling Taeyeon you said that," Jessica giggled.

"Yah!" Tiffany shrieked and threw a pillow at Jessica who hit her back with another pillow. The two laughed full heartedly as the pillow fight continued, both enjoying having their best friend back.

"I missed this," Jessica said honestly.

"Me too," Tiffany agreed.

--

Taeyeon thanked the maid as she entered Jessica's house after she left the reunion. She quietly opened the door of the girl's room and stuck her head in. Seeing the two peacefully sleeping girls next to each other, she smiled and began to close the door. Just as the door was almost closed, Jessica's voice echoed through the room.

"Taengoo?"

Taeyeon stuck her head back in the room, "Go to sleep Sica, I'll see you tomorrow okay?"

"Stay," came Tiffany's voice.

Taeyeon sighed and entered the dimly lit room. She went to the bathroom and quickly changed before crawling in between the two girls who immediately wrapped their arms around her waist and snuggled against both sides of her body.

"Goodnight Sica," Taeyeon smiled and kissed Jessica's cheek, "Goodnight Fany," she continued and did the same to Tiffany.

The two leaned in and kissed both of her cheeks at once, "Goodnight Taengoo," they said cheekily.

Chapter 9

Christmas was arriving fast; the cold weather and layers of clothing signaled winter as here and snow was on its way. People huddled against each other for warmth, hoping to shield themselves as a blast of frigid wind blew by.

Jessica sipped a mug of hot chocolate and stared absently outside the window of a local coffee shop, too lost in her own thoughts to take notice that someone had sat down next to her.

"Do you like spacing out that much or are you that desperate to see me?" Taeyeon asked amused.

Jessica immediately turned to her left, towards the sound of the voice, her expression brightening drastically.

"Taeyeon-ah!" she squealed and embraced the girl tightly.

"I..can't..breathe.."

Jessica smirked and squeezed tighter, "That's what you get,"

"What?! What did I do this time?" Taeyeon managed to say even though she was suffocating.

"I didn't see you all week!"

"Did you miss me that much?" the shorter girl laughed.

Jessica blushed and looked down, "Yes.." she admitted shyly.

Taeyeon smiled and brought Jessica's chin up for their eyes to meet. The two leaned closer and closer until their foreheads were touching, their lips millimeters apart. Just as Taeyeon was closing the gap between them?

"Taeyeon-ah!"

Taeyeon immediately jerked back and turned her head to the owner of the voice. Jessica clenched her teeth in annoyance as the girl approached them.

"Hey Sunye," Taeyeon greeted with a smile.When Jessica made no intention to say hello, Taeyeon gave her a quick nudge and glare.

"Hey," Jessica mumbled.

"Hey Jessica," Sunye said wryly and sat down across from the couple.

"So, what brings you here?" Taeyeon asked.

"I had to pick up some pastries, it's nice to see you guys here too," Sunye replied, "Are you on a date?"

"Not really, we're waiting for Fany and Yuri," Taeyeon answered as she sipped Jessica's hot chocolate.

"Are you doing anything for Christmas?"

"We have some plans, you?"

Sunye sighed loudly, making sure the two can hear it, before answering, "Oh, I'll be home..by myself..alone.." she said dramatically and pretended to wipe a tear. Jessica rolled her eyes at the scene in front of her while the oblivious Taeyeon gave Sunye a pitiful look.

"Do you want to join us?"

Jessica clenched her jaw even tighter and kicked Taeyeon slightly. The girl ignored it and continued on, "I'm sure we can add another person to our group,"

Sunye's ears perked up immediately but she remembered to keep acting, "Oh, no, I don't want to intrude, it's really too much, I thinkJessicawouldn't want to have an extra person," Sunye said slyly knowing full well that Taeyeon would keep insisting.

"No, its okay, I'm sure she doesn't mind," Taeyeon reassured.

Sunye flashed Jessica a quick smirk before turning to Taeyeon, "Really?! That's great then!" she squealed happily.

"I'll let you know about the details later okay?"

"Sounds good, well, I better get going now, see ya!" Sunye beamed and left the table and walked out the door.

"I thought she had to pick up some pastries," Jessica said flatly noticing that the girl had left empty handed.

"Oh, she must've forgotten," Taeyeon guessed and called the waiter over.

"Yes Miss?"

"Do you have an order for Min Sunye by any chance?"

"I'm sorry Miss, we don't take pick up orders here,"

Taeyeon thanked him and turned back to Jessica, "Maybe wrong shop?

"Right, it just HAPPENS to be the shop that we're in," Jessica said sarcastically.

"Yah! Why are you so hostile towards her? She's a nice girl,"

"Whatever," Jessica scoffed while rolling her eyes.

10 min later

"Hey, sorry we're late, the beach house needed extra cleaning up," Yuri apologized as she and Tiffany sat down at the table.

"It's okay, we didn't wait long," Taeyeon smiled.

"Jessi, what's wrong?" Tiffany asked when she noticed Jessica's gloomy expression.

"Nothing,"

"Don't mind her," Taeyeon replied which earned her a sharp glare.

"..okay.." Tiffany said uneasily.

"Oh, Sunye is going to be joining us at the beach house for Christmas, I hope that's okay,"

"Sunye?" Yuri and Tiffany asked at the same time.

"Yeah, she seemed lonely this Christmas so I invited her to join us,"

"I guess that's alright.." Tiffany replied, "Is that why Jessi's mad?" she continued to ask as the attention was turned to Jessica, who didn't want anything to do with the conversation going on.

"She's just moody today," Taeyeon stated annoyed.

Jessica rolled her eyes and momentarily got up, "Whatever," she said coldly and left.

"What's her problem?!" Taeyeon groaned and banged her head on the table.

"TAETAE! DON'T DO THAT! YOU'RE GONNA HURT YOUR BEAUTIFUL FOREHEAD!" Tiffany scolded and reached over to rub Taeyeon's head.

"She's jealous," Yuri answered, amused by Taeyeon's clueless-ness when it comes to these kinds of things.

"Why?! Over Sunye?!"

"I would be too if I'm dating you right now," Tiffany added.

"But WHY? It's not like there's anything going on between us,"

"Since YOU invited her, YOU have to spend time with her most, what if Jessica wanted to do something just the two of you? You can't just ditch Sunye right? Since it's rude, of course you cant, so that means, Jessica wouldn't get to spend alone time with you," Tiffany stated matter-of-factly.

"But she didn't have to be so hostile towards Sunye, it's not her fault," Taeyeon said softly, now realizing the situation.

"Well, in a way, it is, I don't know Taeyeon, I don't have a good feeling about that girl," Yuri commented as the flipped through the menu.

"AND you stood up for Sunye over Jessica, I can see why she's jealous, it's understandable," Tiffany added.

Taeyeon sighed and looked out the window just in time to catch a glimpse of Jessica's figure getting into a cab. She sighed again and got up, "I'll see you guys later, can you pay for me?"

"Yeah, just go, good luck,"

"You better not neglect me when it's my turn," Tiffany threatened.

"Hah, of course not," Taeyeon said dryly and left.

--

Taeyeon quickly got in her car and sped off, hoping to catch up with the cab before it disappeared. She slowed down a little once she spotted the vehicle and got behind it but she was forced to speed up again when the car made sudden abrupt sharp turns all over the city.

"Is she messing with me?!" Taeyeon groaned to herself as she made another turn behind the cab.

--

Jessica forcefully closed the door of the cab and the driver instantly drove off.

"Where to Miss?"

"Just drive," Jessica said flatly.

"Yes Miss,"

The driver kept his eyes focused on the road, occasionally glancing behind him at the peculiar customer of his. He heard an engine speeding up behind him and noticed from the rearview mirror that someone was tailgating him.

"Miss, I think someone is following us," he notified calmly.

Jessica turned around and saw Taeyeon's car trailing her. She smirked to herself before sighing in relief since Taeyeon hadn't completely neglected her.

"Take the next right," she said suddenly without taking her eyes off the short little kid following her.

The startled driver quickly followed her demand and turned sharply. Jessica laughed when she saw Taeyeon's eyes widen at the sudden change in direction, "Turn left,"

"Yes Miss,"

"Turn right,"

"Yes Miss,"

"Turn left,"

"Yes Miss,"

"Make a U turn,"

"But that's-"

"Do it,"

"But-"

"Do as I say or you're not getting paid!"

The driver sighed and complied to the girl's wishes. The then stopped the car and shifted to park.

"Why did you stop?!"

"We're at a dead end Miss,"

Jessica snapped her head back and cursed to herself when her eyes met a brick wall. She could see Taeyeon walk towards her after the girl had parked her car across the street. She quickly dug in her bag for a stack of money and threw it at the driver before getting out and walking away hurriedly.

"Keep the change!"

"T-Thank you Miss," the driver said nervously as he started at the giant roll of money.

"Jessica!"

Jessica ignored the call and walked even faster, smiling to herself since she knew Taeyeon's short legs were no match for hers.

"Jessica, wait! Don't be mad!" Taeyeon pouted.

Upon hearing the cute voice, Jessica almost turned around, but she broke out into a grin and ran faster instead and Taeyeon immediately sped up to chase after her.

20 min later

"JESSICAAA!" Taeyeon wailed and collapse on the grass inside a park panting after her exhausting sprint after the girl.

Turning her head to see the girl on the ground, drenched in sweat, Jessica felt a little guilty and jogged back to the girl.

"You need to run more,"

"You need to run less!"

"Tch, why are you following me anyway," Jessica said flatly.

"Whycan'tI follow you?" Taeyeon retorted as she stood up and dusted off her clothes.

"It's an invasion of privacy,"

"But you're my girlfriend,"

"So?"

"So I have the right to follow you no matter where you go, especially because I know you want me to,"

"Says who?"

"Says me,"

"Who says you can claim that?"

"Me,"

"What makes you so special,"

"I'm special because I'm dating Jessica Jung!" Taeyeon beamed and held up her index and middle finger to form a peace sign.

Jessica blushed and pulled Taeyeon in for a hug, "You're so cheesy,"

"It doesn't matter as long as you're not mad anymore," Taeyeon smiled and responded to the hug.

"Meanie,"

"I'm sorry.."

"You owe me,"

"Hmm?"

"Kiss, now,"

Taeyeon pulled away from the hug and pressed her lips against Jessica's, who immediately responded back. The two enjoyed the moment of intimacy together, lost in their own world, sharing their first real kiss as a couple. Chapter 10

"Are we there yet?"

"No,"

"What about now?"

"No,"

"Now?"

"NO!"

"What about now,"

"Hwang Miyoung, if you don't shut up, I will seriously strangle you to death,"

"But Jessi, I'm bored!"

"I SAID SHUT UP!"

"TaeTae~ she's being mean!"

"Fany-ah, you really need to stop asking though,"

"You're mean too!"

"Aww I'm sorry mushroom, come here, I'll give you a hug,"

"AHEM,"

"It's JUST a hug Jessi, have some Christmas spirit,"

"Ugh, fine, make it quick,"

5 min later

"Yah! Let her go now!"

"B-But T__T"

"Or else.."

"Arg, you're so mean,"

Yuri laughed to herself as the commotion in the backseat died down. Her attention shifted to the girl next to her, the shorthaired girl with defined features and a mysterious aura.She was unsure of what to think of this girl. One moment she was as bright as can be, the next, she can seem so cold and intimidating, like how she looks right now.

The girl's eyes were cold, not like Jessica cold, no; this was the cold you feel with someone with no emotion, ruthlessness, almost to the point of inhumane. She definitely didn't like the way Sunye was glaring at Jessica and Tiffany who were resting their heads comfortably on Taeyeon's shoulders. The hatred in the girl's eyes sent a shiver down her spine.

"I better keep an eye on her," Yuri thought to herself and focused back on the road.

It was around five when they had reached the beach house. The air was cold but now that they were by the water, it was even colder. Tiffany and Jessica immediately huddled close to Taeyeon, not interested in keeping themselves warm but rather, to keep the shorter girl warm.

"They're quite clingy,"

Yuri's attention was once again shifted to Sunye. She pulled a suitcase out of the trunk and proceeded to carry it inside.

"They like her a lot," she answered.

Sunye followed her inside, "Taeyeon's a lucky girl," she said with a slight hint of sarcasm.

"She is,"

"It'll be a shame if something were to happen to those two little lovers of hers," Sunye said cunningly.

Yuri's eyes widened and she dropped the suitcase on the ground involuntarily, "P-Pardon?"

Sunye only laughed slightly and walked up the stairs to one of the rooms, "Wake me up for dinner will you?" she smirked and closed the door.

"Yuri-ah!"

Taeyeon's voice startled her and brought her back from the train of thoughts. She turned around to see the girl struggling with two suitcases much too big for her own size as two girls had their arms wrapped around her wait.

"Hang on Taeyeon-ah," Yuri said and quickly grabbed one of the suitcases, "You guys should go unpack," she ordered to Jessica and Tiffany who sighed and nodded.

"Thanks Yuri-ah,"

"No problem buddy,"

"You did a good job cleaning up this place,"

"Of course, I'm Kwon Yuri," Yuri joked and held up a peace sign.

Taeyeon laughed and smacked Yuri's arm playfully, "There's still some luggage left,"

"Let's hurry, we still have to cook dinner,"

While carrying the last few duffle bags inside, Yuri's thoughts were back to Sunye's words, that girl was definitely trouble.

"Taeyeon-ah,"

"Hmm?"

"What do you think of Sunye?"

"She's..nice, why?"

Yuri contemplated on whether she could tell Taeyeon or not, after a little thought, she decided it wasn't' the best idea..for now, "It's nothing,"

"Yuri-ah,"

"Yeah?"

"Why do you help me out so much? It's not that I don't appreciate it, but, I haven't known you for that long yet you bail me out so many times,"

"Hm..I don't know..I just feel like I knew you before,"

"Really? From where?"

"You remind me of the little girl who played with me at this social gathering. You see, I was quite fat back then and no one even wanted to talk to me, but she did, and-"

"And you were on the trampoline together but you jumped too high and fell off but she jumped down to cushion your fall. Unfortunately, she broke a few ribs because of that and was rushed to the hospital," Taeyeon smiled at the memory as she finished Yuri's story for her.

"Yeah! W-Wait..how'd you know?!"

"Because I AM her babo!"

"REALLY?!"

"I had to stay in the hospital for a week PLUS recovery," Taeyeon pouted.

"I-I'm sorry," Yuri said sheepishly.

"It's all good," Taeyeon smiled, "You really lost weight,"

"Yeah. After that incident, I was determined to lose weight,"

"You look pretty good now,"

"It was hard work,"

"I bet, don't gain it back okay?" Taeyeon joked.

Yuri laughed and nodded, "Never again,"

--

"Taeyeon! Let's go for a walk!" Sunye said happily and pulled Taeyeon out the door after dinner was finished.

"Sunye, can I get my jacket at least?"

"It's not

that

cold, let's go!"

A strong blast of wind blew by and Taeyeon rubbed her arms up and down to stay warm, "So, you like taking walks?"

"Not really,"

"Then why-"

"Just because,"

"Ah, okay," Taeyeon said through her chattering teeth and followed Sunye closer to the water, "So how are you liking this trip so far?"

"It's enjoyable,"

"Feel free to make yourself at home,"

"I'll do that, by the way, did you bring any presents?"

"They were already here before we came," Taeyeon explained.

Sunye laughed and looked out into the ocean, "I didn't see any in the car so I didn't bring any,"

"It's okay, presents aren't the only thing for Christmas,"

Sunye momentarily got up and took off the necklace that's hanging on her neck, "Taeyeon-ah,"

"Hmm?"

"Get this for me," she smirked and threw the jewelry into the ocean.

"What?! Why did you do that!"

"Get it for me," Sunye simply said and walked back to the beach house, "I'll be waiting,"

Taeyeon stared after the girl dumbfounded. She then turned back to the wide expansion of water and took a deep breath, "You can do it Kim Taeyeon!"

--

"Oh hey Sunye, where's Taeyeon?" Tiffany called out from the couch.

"She said she wanted to be out for a while," Sunye replied with a smile.

"Huh? But it's freezing out,"

"I tried to convincer her not to,"

"Oh, okay, you should get some rest, you must be tired,"

"Yeah," Sunye answered flatly and walked up to her room. Once the door was closed behind her, she pulled out her cell phone and dialed a number. The recipient of the call immediately picked up after one ring.

"I assume good news?"

"Yes M'am,"

"Good work,"

"Thank you M'am,"

--

"She's been gone for a while," Yuri said worriedly while pacing back and forth.

"SHE'S BEEN GONE FOR 2 HOURS!" Jessica exclaimed and bolted out the door, "I'm going to look for her,"

"I'm going too," Tiffany added but was grabbed back by Yuri.

"Jessica only has two days left with Taeyeon, let her go find her,"

Tiffany looked at the girl for a second then sighed and nodded, "Okay,"

--

"Taeyeon-ah!" Jessica called out as she sprinted across the beach, "KIM TAEYEON!" she continued to yell as she wrapped her jacket tighter around herself. She squinted her eyes to make out the dark figures in the frigid night, her eyes widened when she saw a figure walking towards the beach from the water.

"Taeyeon?!" she screamed as she ran towards the girl. There she was, in front of her, soaked to the bone in saltwater, her body shaking uncontrollably, and her face as pallid as snow on the summit of Mount Everest.

"J-Jessica I-I'm r-really c-cold," Taeyeon said quickly as she stood in front of the girl, her hand clutching a necklace.

"What were you thinking?!" Jessica scolded harshly and wrapped her jacket around the girl.

"Going for a swim?" Taeyeon laughed lightly before collapsing.

"TAEYEON-AH!"

--

Yuri and Tiffany sat on the couch dozing off as they waited for the other two to return. In the midst of their slumber, the loud rapid knocking of the door jolted them both awake.

"YURI-AH! FANY-AH! HELP!" came a frantic cry.

Tiffany immediately ran to the door and opened it to see Jessica piggybacking an unconscious Taeyeon. Yuri instantly took Taeyeon off Jessica's back and carried her upstairs to a vacant bedroom.

"WHAT HAPPENED?!" Tiffany cried anxiously as she and Jessica ran upstairs.

"She swam in the ocean,"

"WHAT?!"

"I don't think she did it on her own will though, here," Jessica said and held out the necklace. The jewelry was silver, with a heart pendant, on the back, the words MIN SUNYE were engraved on it.

"Sunye?"

"Mhm,"

"But.."

"Let's not worry about her right now, Taeyeon is more important,"

--

"Will she be alright?"

The doctor sighed and rubbed his eyes to keep his vision focused. It was hard being to stay away if you were rushed to the beach at 10 at night when you were peacefully sleeping 2 hours prior.

"She'll be fine, she has a fever right now but luckily she avoided hypothermia, make sure she gets rest, I suggest not letting her get out of bed for at least two days,"

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as the doctor excused himself out.

--

The day before Christmas usually brings joy and excitement to people all around. Unfortunately, a certain girl was gloomy as ever as she sat absentmindedly on the couch.

"What's wrong?"

"You know what's wrong,"

"She'll wake up soon,"

"But she's too sick to get out of bed,"

"Can't you give her your present another time?"

"Today's my last day with her," Jessica sighed and got up from the couch and walked upstairs leaving Yuri to sit on the couch alone. She opened the door and stuck her head inside to see a sleeping Taeyeon wrapped up in layers and layers of blankets.

"Hey,"

Jessica turned her head at the voice, "Hey," she replied wryly.

"How is she?"

"Same,"

"You know it's your last day right?"

"Yeah,"

"Then it's my turn,"

"Yeah,"

"Where's Sunye anyway,"

"I think she left, I haven't seen her all morning, plus, her room is empty and her luggage is gone,"

"How did she get home?"

"I don't know, she's a mystery to me,"

--

Taeyeon woke up groggily,feeling stuffy because of the huge stack of blankets on her. She turned to look at the clock, 11:50 pm, and sighed. She slept all the way through Christmas Eve. She rolled out of bed and made way for the door, she would've made it if it weren't for Jessica walking in and pushing her back on the bed.

"You need to rest! Why are you doing up!" the girl scolded

Taeyeon smiled and obeyed, "Just stretching my legs,"

"You don't need to stretch your legs, they won't get any longer," Jessica snickered.

"You're not very tall yourself," Taeyeon scowled.

"Whatever, just go back to sleep," Jessica smiled and made way to leave the room. Suddenly, a hand reached out and pulled her onto the bed causing her to yelp in surprise.

"Stay with me,"

"But-"

"It's our last day together, I know you want to,"

Jessica sighed and nodded as she made herself comfortable on the crook of Taeyeon's neck, "Yeah,"

"Sica?"

"Hmm?"

Taeyeon reached over to the nightstand with one hand and grabbed onto a small box. She opened the object and revealed two rings, "I know we're not an official couple but I really enjoyed the three months that I dated you. I hope these rings will remind you of those times, well the good memories at least," Taeyeon grinned and slipped the ring onto Jessica's finger then the other on her own.

Jessica laughed and pulled two rings from her pocket, "I bought rings too, for the same reason,"

"I guess great minds think alike," Taeyeon laughed as she watched Jessica slip the ring on her finger.

"Merry Christmas Jessica,"

"Merry Christmas Taeyeon-ah,"

"I lo-"

BAM!

"What the-"

"Step away from the girl Jessi, she's mine now," Tiffany beamed as she pushed the door open.

"What?!"

"It's midnight, so therefore, it's the next day, so that means your three months is up!"

"But-"

"No buts, that's part of the deal,"

Jessica groaned as Taeyeon gave her an apologetic look, "Fine, fine," she said reluctantly and shuffled her way dejectedly out of the room.

Tiffany giggled and handed a giant roll to Taeyeon, "Your Christmas present,"

"What is it?" Taeyeon asked curiously.

"A giant picture of me,"

"O_O"

"Isn't it great?!"

"Uh..yeah..whatever you say Fany-ah,"

Chapter 11

"Isn't it great that we're finally together?" Tiffany beamed.

"Y-Yeah,"

"Why don't you seem happy?" Tiffany pouted as she looked at Taeyeon dejectedly.

Taeyeon shook her head from side to side, "Ah, no, I'm just tired," she said quickly.

Tiffany flashed her a smile and got on the bed, "Let's go to sleep then!"

"H-Huh? What are you doing?"

"Sleeping with you of course!"

"Oh..right.."

"Goodnight Taeyeon-ah,"

"..goodnight.."

Taeyeon couldn't help but shift uncomfortably as Tiffany wrapped her arms around her waist. Sure, they had sleepovers when they were little but it's strange now that there are other feelings involved. This feeling, so strange, so different, so..

wrong

.

--

The sun shone through as the bright rays emitted the room. Taeyeon slowly opened her eyes and adjusted them slowly to the bright room. She slowly got out of bed, careful not to wake Tiffany, and left, closing the door quietly behind her.

"Hey,"

The sudden voice startled her and she jumped a little as she turned around to face the speaker,

"Hey," she replied, smiling at the sight of a sleepy Jessica rubbing her eyes.

"Did you sleep well?'

"Not really," she sighed, "You?"

"Me neither," Jessica said softly while staring at the ground.

Silent awkwardness engulfed them as the avoided looking at each other. Taeyeon peaked up at Jessica once or twice, trying to think of what to say, but no words were able to come out. Unconsciously, her arms reached out and she grabbed Jessica's shoulders and gently turned the girl towards her. She leaned in and pressed her lips on the other girl's who responded after the initial shock wore off.

"KIM TAEYEON!" a loud voice boomed which caused Taeyeon and Jessica to immediately pull away from each other. They both turned to see an enraged Tiffany glaring at them, ready to burst into tears any second now. She glanced at them angrily one last time and slammed the door shut, cursing it internally for not having a lock.

Taeyeon gave Jessica an apologetic look before following Tiffany into the room, closing the door behind her.

"Fany-ah," she called out.

"Just leave me alone!" Tiffany yelled from the pillow she was burying her face in.

"Fany-ah, listen to me," Taeyeon sighed and sat on the bed, next to the girl.

"We haven't dated for 24 hours and you've already cheated on me?!" Tiffany asked incredulously.

"I-I wasn't cheating on you,"

"Then what was that?!"

"It..was..me?saying goodbye?" Taeyeon said nervously.

Tiffany rose up from the bed and glared at her with bloodshot eyes, "SINCE WHEN DO PEOPLE MAKE OUT TO SAY GOODBYE?!"

Taeyeon grinned awkwardly and pulled Tiffany in for a hug, "I'm sorry Fany-ah," she said apologetically. She didn't really know how to answer the girl's question; she didn't even know herself why she kissed Jessica.

Tiffany tried to push the girl away but sighed and gave in when Taeyeon held on tighter, "I'll let you off this time,"

The shorter girl pulled away and smiled, "It won't happen again," she assured.

Tiffany nodded and suddenly lunged forward to capture Taeyeon's lips. The girl sat motionless, too shocked to think properly. Tiffany soon pulled back when she didn't get a response from Taeyeon and looked at her intently.

"You know, I've been waiting so long for this,"

Taeyeon continued to stare at her, not uttering a sound.

"And now, I finally get to be with you as a couple, the three months when you were with Jessica, I was miserable Taeyeon-ah,"

"I-I'm sorry,"

Tiffany smiled and shook her head; "Don't be sorry, I have you now right?"

"Yeah.."

Tiffany leaned in again and pressed her lips softly on Taeyeon's. This time, the shorter girl took a deep breath and responded to her. She didn't know why but she felt like she had to, it felt like she was obliged to.

--

Yuri brushed off her hands after the last set of luggage was placed inside the trunk. She glanced over at Jessica sitting absentmindedly in the front passenger seat playing with the two rings on her left pinky.

"You okay?" she said as she got in the driver seat.

"Yeah.."

"Are you sure?"

"It's..just..awkward,"

"Awkward?"

"You know, awkward, seeing someone you dated and didn't really break up with dating someone else,"

"It hurts huh,"

"Just a little,"

Yuri was about to speak up but was interrupted by the sound of Taeyeon hurriedly closing the door as she got into the car with Tiffany clinging to her arm. Jessica's eyes found their way to the floor at the sight of the two, her expression solemn.

"Ready?" Yuri asked as she started the car.

"Yeah," Taeyeon nodded, still shivering because of the howling winds.

--

"Fany-ah, wake up," Taeyeon cooed as she shook the sleeping her.

"Hmm? Are we here?" Tiffany asked sleepily.

"Yeah, go inside first okay? I'll bring in the luggage,"

Tiffany nodded and entered the house after she bid her goodbyes.

Taeyeon made her way to the trunk of the car and pulled out two duffle bags. Her eyes shot open when she turned around to see Jessica standing next to her.

"Sica?!"

"I'm helping you carry things in," the girl explained and pulled out a suitcase and proceeded to carry the item in the large mansion.

"Jessica," Taeyeon said softly after all the luggage was inside.

"Yeah?"

"It's just three months, hang in there," she comforted.

Jessica nodded, "I know," she said sadly,

"I'll..see you..later,"

Jessica nodded again and leaned in to give Taeyeon a peck on the cheek before making her way out the door.

Taeyeon sighed and mentally cursed herself for not responding the gesture. She slowly walked up the stairs to Tiffany's room and poked her head inside to see the sleeping girl cuddled up against her pillow. She smiled slightly as she laid next to her.

"Taeyeon-ah," Tiffany said suddenly.

"Hmm? Did I wake you?"

"No, not really, but.."

"What is it?"

"I know that Jessica has an advantage in this situation,"

Taeyeon's eyes were open wide at the comment but she remained silent.

"It's just, I want to ask for three months, just three months Taeyeon-ah, give me a chance okay?"

Taeyeon bit down on her lip before answering, "Fany-ah,"

"I guess you can call it pity, but nevertheless, please, just three months, only look at me, only notice me, only..love me, erase Jessica from your memory," Tiffany continued as she snaked her arms around Taeyeon's waist.

"I-I can't promise that Fany-ah, I really can't, but, I-I'll do my best," Taeyeon said softly.

Tiffany nodded and nuzzled her cheek against Taeyeon's, "I understand,"

--

"Hey what are you doing for New Year?" Yuri's voice asked through the phone.

"I don't know yet, do you have plans?" Taeyeon answered back as she flipped through the channels of her TV.

"Nope, oh hey, I heard there's suppose to be a meteor shower on New Year's Eve,"

"What are you implying," Taeyeon laughed.

"We should go watch it together," Yuri said cheekily.

"Us?"

"Of course not JUST us, your lovers would murder me," Yuri joked.

Taeyeon sighed, "You tell Sica, I'll tell Fany,"

"How are things between you and Fany anyway?"

"So, so," Taeyeon said halfheartedly.

"What about Jessica?"

"We..haven't talked..since Christmas,"

"I'll check up on her,"

"That'd be nice,"

"Hang in there Taengoo,"

"Thanks Yuri-ah," Taeyeon said dejectedly and hung up. She sighed as she turned off the TV and got off the couch.

"Taeyeon-ah,"

Taeyeon snapped her head in the direction of the voice, "H-Halmoni,"

"Where were you on Christmas?" the old woman demanded.

"I.."

"You were with that girl weren't you,"

"She has a name Halmoni,"

"I could care less," the old woman scoffed, "Tiffany was with you?"

"She was,"

"I told you to stay away from that Jung, now you're dragging Tiffany into this?"

"Halmoni, she's not a bad person,"

"She's a rival," Halmoni insisted, "Are you busy at the moment?"

Taeyeon shook her head no.

"Come to my office,"

--

What did you want to discuss with me?"

"You're going to be studying abroad,"

Taeyeon bolted up form her chair and slammed her hands on the table, "WHAT?!"

"After new year, you're going abroad to study, there's a private school in New York that is accepting students for the new semester,"

"I'm not agreeing to this!"

"You have no choice," Halmoni said calmly.

"What about Tiffany?"

"She's coming too, I've arranged for her to be your roommate,"

Taeyeon clenched her jaw tightly as she tried to control her breathing, "Why are you doing this?"

"I have my reasons,"

".."

"Oh, remember to treat Sunye well,"

"Sunye? What does she have to do with anything?" Taeyeon said suspiciously.

"I heard you swam in the ocean to get her necklace, it's a shame that you got sick and couldn't spend time with your precious Jessica," Halmoni smirked and got up to leave the room.

Taeyeon stared after her dumbstruck, "What the hell is going on?"

Flashback

"Taeyeon-ah, what's this?" Jessica asked as she held out the silver necklace.

"It's Sunye's," Taeyeon replied and took the necklace from the girl's hands.

"You swam to get this?"

"Yeah," Taeyeon admitted, "Where is Sunye by the way? I need to give this back to her,"

"She left," Jessica said flatly.

"What?!"

"I don't know, she just left without a warning,"

Taeyeon furrowed her eyebrows together as her thoughts processed. How does Halmoni know what happened at the beach house? And Sunye, what kind of relationship did they have with each other?

--

"TaeTae, what's wrong?" Tiffany asked noticing that Taeyeon was silent for the whole car ride.

The comment caught Jessica's attention, causing her to turn around. Her eyes met with Taeyeon's for a second but she turned around quickly.

"Nothing's wrong Fany-ah," Taeyeon replied with a wry smile.

"WE'RE HERE!" Yuri announced as she parked the car on top of a steep hill that over looked the entire city.

Everyone got out and stretched, exhausted from the car ride. Taeyeon checked her watch, 10:40 pm; the meteor shower was to start in an hour. Yuri got out a picnic blanket and spread the fabric on the grass for everyone to lie on.

"There's some food in the car if you guys are hungry," Yuri informed and laid down on the blanket. Jessica nodded and laid down next to Yuri, Taeyeon laid down next to Jessica and Tiffany laid down next to Taeyeon.

"So we're just going to lie here for an hour?" Tiffany asked.

"I guess so," Yuri shrugged.

"Let's sleep," Jessica suggested.

Taeyeon turned her head to face Jessica," You always want to sleep," she laughed.

Jessica turned and looked at Taeyeon, "Of course, it's a wonderful hobby,"

"Of course," Taeyeon grinned.

"AHEM," Tiffany cleared her throat loudly.

--

"ONE MORE MINUTE!" Yuri exclaimed.

"This better be worth it," Jessica grumbled.

"It will, it will," Yuri assured.

"What if it doesn't-"

"METEOR SHOWER!" Taeyeon exclaimed and pointed to the sky as she sat up.

"Everybody make a wish!" Yuri ordered.

"Meteors grant wishes?" Jessica asked curiously.

"Meteor and New Year, one of them is bound to grant wishes," Yuri grinned.

"Wish? What do I wish for?"

Taeyeon thought to herself as she looked at the girls next to her.

"I wish that everyone will be happy, even after it's time to make a choice,"

she sadly thought. She looked over at Yuri who grinned at her,

"I wish that Yuri will find someone to worry about her instead of her having to worry about this little dork,"

"I WISH THAT I DIDN'T HAVE TO STUDY ABROAD!" Tiffany shouted into the night sky.

"Studying abroad?" Yuri asked curiously.

"Taeyeon and I have to leave to New York," Tiffany confessed dejectedly.

"H-How soon?" Jessica asked shakily.

Taeyeon turned to the girl, biting on her lip in order to not break down, "Next week,"

"Next week?!" Yuri exclaimed while Jessica stared at her in shock.

"Yeah, next week,"

"Why so soon?!"

"Halmoni said that we should get adjusted to the environment before school started," Tiffany explained.

"I-I g-gotta go," Jessica said, her voice trembling, and ran away from the group using the back of her hand to cover her face.

Taeyeon turned to look at Tiffany, her eyes pleading the girl.

Tiffany sighed and nodded, "Go,"

Taeyeon quickly got up and was about to run after Jessica if Yuri hadn't grabbed her wrist, "Don't be stupid, don't let her go this time," she whispered so that only Taeyeon can hear. The girl nodded and quickly ran off as Tiffany looked after her sadly.

"She really loves her huh,"

"She does," Yuri agreed softly.

"I don't have a chance do I,"

"I can't answer that Fany-ah,"

"Should I just end it?" the girl asked, her voice shaking, her eyes moistened.

Yuri looked at her and pulled her in for a hug, "Don't cry," she cooed as she rubbed the hand up and down Tiffany's back hoping to soothe the sobbing girl.

--

"Jessica! Stop running!" Taeyeon shouted at the blonde haired girl.

She used up the rest of her strength and bolted up the catch up with the girl and grabbed her wrist, "Jessica, please stop running," she begged.

Jessica glared at her before more tears fell from her eyes, "What do you want,"

"Jess-"

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?!" she shouted.

"I-I just found out as well," Taeyeon confessed and pulled Jessica in for a hug, "Please don't cry,"

Jessica hit Taeyeon repetitively as she stayed in the girl's embrace, "What.. am.. I.. suppose.. to.. do.. without.. you.." she cried after every pound.

"Jessica, look at me,"

"No!"

Taeyeon pulled away from the embrace and grabbed the girl's face, "Look at me,"

Jessica looked up at the girl with bloodshot eyes, "Taeyeon-ah.." she whispered.

Taeyeon looked at her intently and leaned in and kissed the girl hungrily, devouring the taste she's been missing for the past week. Jessica responded with the same ferocity as she wrapped her arms around Taeyeon's neck to pull her closer. Taeyeon responded by snaking her arms around Jessica's slim waist as the two continued the deep kiss.

Hey, meteor shower, falling from millions of miles away, can I be selfish and ask for one more wish? Please? Just one more request and I'm done. I wish that I could spend the rest of my life with this girl; I wish that I could spend the rest of my life with Jessica Jung. Chapter 12

"You're too nice Yuri-ah,"

"Hmm?"

"You never care about yourself,"

"I'm just that nice of a person," Yuri laughed.

"Can you do me a favor Yuri-ah?"

--

"We should head back," Jessica said as she leaned back on Taeyeon who had her arms around her waist, her head on her shoulders.

"No, a little longer,"Taeyeon urged.

"What about-"

"I'll end it with her,"

"But-"

"I want to be with you,"

"You're leaving me,"

"All the more reason for me to be with you," Taeyeon insisted and kissed Jessica's left temple.

"You dork," Jessica smiled and snuggled closer against the girl.

"But I'm

your

dork," Taeyeon emphasized.

Jessica blushed and hit the shorter girl playfully, "Y-Yah, stop being cheesy,"

--

"They're back," Tiffany said monotonously.

Yuri looked at her worriedly before acknowledging the two, "Hey guys,"

Taeyeon nodded at her before turning to Tiffany, "Fany-ah, can we talk?"

Tiffany looked at her then at Jessica; she then momentarily got up and grabbed the girl's collar forcefully, "You never let me have anything do you," she hissed.

Taeyeon quickly pulled on Tifffany's wrist harshly but the girl quickly shook her hand off and continued to glare at a grim faced Jessica, "Don't act mute, talk!"

"I'm really sorry Tiffany. . ."

"I don't need your apologies!" the girl shouted and shook Jessica violently, "Tell me why. . ." she added in a softer tone, almost desperate.

"Fany-ah. . ."

"Why do you take everything from me? You beat me at school, you're the perfect child that every parent adores, you're the perfect ideal girl, why do you have to take Taeyeon too?!"

"I-"

"WHY HUH?!"

"Tiffany, stop," Taeyeon said calmly and pulled the girl away from Jessica, "Let's go talk somewhere else,"

Tiffany glared at Taeyeon and scoffed, "I know what you're going to say,"

"Tiffany. . ."

"It hurts Taeyeon-ah, it really hurts, like I'm being cut open alive, but I'm sure you don't know how that feels," Tiffany said bitterly and ran away from the three as fast as she could.

"Fany-ah! Wait!" Taeyeon yelled out to the blur that was running further and further away from them with every stride.

"We can't catch her now," Jessica sighed, her eyes set on the ground.

Taeyeon looked at Yuri with a peculiar look and poked her side, "Aren't you worried?"

"Uh. . .of course. . ." Yuri said awkwardly.

Taeyeon raised an eyebrow but dismissed the strange behavior of her once fat friend, "We need to go find her,"

"She couldn't have gotten far without a car," Jessica acknowledged.

"We'll split up and look for her,"

"Just let her be Taeyeon-ah, forcing her to come back isn't going to get us anywhere," Yuri reasoned and pulled the two girls towards the car.

"But what if she gets into trouble!" Taeyeon argued as she tried to squirm out of Yuri's grip.

"Trust me, she'll be fine,"

"NO! LET ME GO!"

"GET IN THE CAR!"

"NO!"

"GET IN THE FRICKIN CAR TAEYEON!"

"NOOOOOOO!"

"I'll give you gummy worms," Jessica said out of the blue.

"NEVER! I WILL FIND-oh, really?"

"Yeah, yeah, just get in the car,"

"Okay, fine, now where's my candy?"

Jessica couldnt help but giggle at how childish Taeyeon can be and handed her a bag of gummy worms before joining the girl in the back seat, "Fany's a smart girl, she'll be fine,"

Taeyeon nodded and stuffed a handful of candy into her mouth, not really paying attention to what Jessica was saying.

"Go to sleep guys, we've had a long day, I'll wake you up if there's anything,"

"Thanks Yuri-ah," Taeyeon said with her mouth full.

Two hours passed by as the car traveled back to the city. Jessica fell in and out of slumber, unable to fully fall asleep. Her mind was filled with thoughts of the current situation, something about it all seems off.

Flashback

"Jessi,"

"Hmm?"

"What if we're not friends anymore in the future?"

Jessica laughed and pressed her finger against Tiffany's right temple causing the girl to involunteerily tilt her head, "That's not going to happen,"

"But, what if!"

"Then I'll just have to quickly die then come back alive as a new person and be your new best friend," Jessica joked.

Tiffany giggled and laid on her back, letting the gentle breeze blow through her hair, "That's a good plan,"

"It is,"

"Where would you find me?"

"Well, you can always come back to this beach house, it's our spot right?"

"So you're going to die here and come back alive here?"

"Isn't this a nice place to die?"

"You sound so pessimistic," Tiffany laughed.

"Let's make it easier for us and just stay friends, I don't want to be reborn as someone else,"

"It might be someone good, maybe Homer Simpson?"

Jessica turned and stared at Tiffany deadpanned, "He's pretty hot huh,"

"Of course,"

Jessica giggled at the memory of her conversation with her best friend but her eyes immediately shot open when she realized what Tiffany is going to do, "YURI-AH! GO TO THE BEACH HOUSE! NOW!"

"What? Why?!" Yuri asked a little startled.

"Tiffany's there! Go now!"

"How-"

"GO!"

--

"Where's Sica" Taeyeon asked sleepily while rubbing her eyes.

Yuri pointed to the beach house without a word as the two sat in the car.

"What? Why is she in there?"

"Fany's in there,"

"WHAT?!WHY ARE WE OUT HERE THEN?!" Taeyeon exclaimed and frantically tried to get out of the car.

"NO! Sit! They need to talk things out on their own,"

"Why? What's going on?!"

"N-Nothing, just, you know, let them talk it out, you being there is going to make the situation worse,"

Taeyeon sighed and slouched in the backseat, "What if something happens? How long have they been in there?"

"A while now,"

Just as Taeyeon was about to speak, a glass mug was thrown against one of the windows of the house and startled the two in the car.

"WHAT WAS THAT?! WE NEED TO GO IN!" Taeyeon yelled and bolted out of the car with Yuri not far behind her.

The front door wasn't locked so it was easy access inside. Taeyeon frantically scanned the room for any sign of the two but saw no glimpse of them until she looked on the ground.

"OH MY GOD! JESSICA!" she screamed and hurriedly ran to the girl who was on the ground scarcely breathing and holding an empty bottle of pills.

Taeyeon shook the girl violently as tears brimmed her eyes, "JESSICA! WAKE UP! JESSICA! SOOYEON-AH!"

When the girl gave no response, Taeyeon gave up and embraced her tightly, tears streaming down her face, "Babo! Why did you do that huh?! Why! What am I suppose to do now?! Yah! Didn't you promise to live for me?! I didn't even get to tell you that I love you! Jung Sooyeon! Answer me!" she wept and hugged the girl tighter.

On the other side of the room, Tiffany also lied unconsious in Yuri's arms as the girl cried silently.

"Yah, what the heck Fany-ah, why did you have to kill yourself huh? Why couldn't you find someone better huh? Tell me Fany-ah, why won't you wake up?! Why did I have to agree with you, I should've ran after you. . ." she muttered bitterly.

--

"Y-Yuri-ah, I'm okay," came a muffled voice.

Yuri's eyes shot open and she looked down at the girl in her arms, "FANY?! YOU'RE OKAY?!" she asked bewildered.

--

"Y-Yah, Taeyeon-ah, you're hugging me too tightly, I can't breathe," Jessica said almost inaudibly since Taeyeon was basically smothering her. Taeyeon immediately let go of the girl and looked her over thoroughly.

"YOU'RE ALIVE?!"

"I'm talking to you aren't I?" Jessica grinned and pinched the girl's cheek.

"YAH! WHAT THE HELL! DO YOU KNOW HOW-" Taeyeon started to yell angrily but was cut off by Jessica with a deep kiss.

"I know, you were worried out of your mind, I'm sorry Taeyeon-ah, I love you too,"

"W-What's going on?" Taeyeon asked confused.

"It's my fault," Tiffany said abruptly as she stood up.

"W-What?"

"I wasn't willing to give up that easily, I guess I was just stubborn. I got Jessica to agree on faking our deaths, to see, you know, what you would do," Tiffany confessed quietly, "When you came in, you ran to Jessica right away, you didn't even notice me," she continued with a bitter laugh, "I got Yuri to help me too, to make sure you guys didn't call the cops or something like that, I'm pretty sure you wanted to. It's all my fault, mianhe," she added almost inaudibly before Taeyeon walked over to her and pulled her in for a hug.

"Babo,"

"TaeTae," Tiffany said as she buried her face in Taeyeon's shoulder.

"Yah, don't cry. You're ugly when you cry," Taeyeon joked, trying to lift the mood.

Tiffany laughed lightly and hugged Taeyeon tighter, "You're mean,"

"I love you Fany-ah,"

"I love you too Taeyeon-ah, just more than a cousin love,"

"I'm sorry. . ."

"It's okay babo, you can't control who you love right?"

Taeyeon nodded and pulled away to wipe Tiffany's tears with her thumbs, "You sure you're okay?"

Tiffany smiled and nodded, "You can go back to Jessi, she's probably boiling inside by now,"

Jessica tuned her head away in embarassment and let out an awkward cough, "N-No! It's fine!" she insisted.

Tiffany walked over to the blonde and reached out to grab her hand and pulled her over to where Taeyeon was, "Thanks for being such a good friend Jessi, you helped me out so many times, bailed me from the stupid things I get myself into, now I'm leaving you in good hands," she smiled and placed Jessica's hand in Taeyeon's, "Be happy okay?"

"F-Fany-ah," Jessica started to say.

"I guess my job is done here, I'm going for a walk, don't mind me," Tiffany said brightly and walked out the door.

As soon as the door closed behind her, the smile that was plastered on her face slowly started to disappear and was replaced with trembling lips and teary eyes that blurred her vision. She would've collapsed on the ground if it weren't for a pair of arms pulling her against the owner's body.

"Babo-ah, who told you to be strong,"

Recognizing the voice, she hugged the person tightly, "Yuri-ah, it hurts,"

"It hurts more seeing you cry, stop crying babo,"

"I-I. . . It hurts so much Yuri-ah, make it stop!"

"Shhh, you did the right thing," Yuri coaxed and rubbed Tiffany's back.

"Make it stop. . ." Tiffany repeated desperately, more tears spilling out.

"Tiffany, look at me,"

Tiffany glanced up at the pair of tender eyes staring at her, "Yuri-ah,"

"You still have me right?"

"H-Hmm?"

"Even if you lose everyone in the world, you still have me, you don't have to cry by yourself, you don't have to celebrate alone, you don't ever have to be lonely because I'll always be with you when you need me, I'll still be with you even when you don't need me anymore, so stop crying okay?"

"Yuri-ah. . . thank you. . . for everything," Tiffany whispered as she embraced the tall girl tightly.

- -

"You really think she's okay?" Taeyeon asked.

"Not at all," Jessica stated.

"Should I-"

"No, you'll make it worse than it already is for her,"

"But I should-"

"No,"

"B-But-"

"NO!"

"Jealous much?"

"No,"

"Tired?"

"Yes,"

"Want to sleep?"

"Duh,"

"Let's sleep then,"

"Now?"

"Yes,"

"Okay,"

"I love you,"

"I love you too,"

Chapter 13

Jessica nervously fidgeted in her seat as she briefly looked at the old woman in front of her. The call was unexpected to say the least; the two weren't on the best of terms so of course she had the right to be nervous in the presence of Halmoni.

"Do you know why I asked to see you Miss Jung?"

"N-No M'am,"

"You are aware that I strongly disapprove of you yes?"

"Y-Yes M'am,"

Halmoni smirked at the nervous wreck in front of her, "You haven't been doing what I've asked Miss Jung,"

"Pardon?"

"I've asked you countless times to stay away from my Taeyeon, I thought you would be decent enough to oblige, I guess I've thought too noble of you,"

"With all due respect M'am, I don't ever plan on obliging to that request," Jessica said firmly, slightly gripping the edge of her chair to control her temper.

"It wasn't a request Jung, it was an order," Halmoni scoffed rudely and dropped any sign of forced politeness that she had.

"I'm quite sure that I don't belong to this household, therefore, I'm not obliged to follow any of your orders," Jessica retorted.

"Yes, you don't belong to this household, and you never will, I expect you to leave Taeyeon immediately,"

"I-" Jessica started to say but was cut off by the sounds of rapid footsteps approaching. Halmoni's eyes widened and the old woman quickly pulled her from her seat and shoved her in a nearby closet before she could object or see who the person was.

"Halmoni,"

Jessica gasped at the voice, the soft gentle voice that she could recognize anywhere. She slightly opened the door enough to see through the crack. Taeyeon and Tiffany sat in the chairs that she was in just a few minutes earlier; a look of determined was evident on their faces.

"What special occasion would it be for both my granddaughters came to see me?" Halmoni asked mockingly and smiled deviously at the two.

"Halmoni, I have matters to resolve with you," Taeyeon said sternly.

"If you are here concerning your departure, you can leave now,"

"No, I have a proposal for you,"

"What kind of proposal?" Halmoni questioned with an arched eyebrow.

"I own one fourth of the shares of our company from what I've inherited from Appa correct?"

"Yes,"

"Tiffany owns about one eighth correct?"

"Precisely,"

"Together, that's approximately 40% of the company then?"

"Where are you getting at?" Halmoni asked in a hostile tone.

"If we were to. . . I don't know. . .sell these shares, the company would be in quite a ditch yes?"

The old woman glared at Taeyeon with piercing eyes, "What do you want," she asked.

"We want you to cancel any plans of studying abroad," Tiffany answered firmly.

"Absolutely not,"

"Well then, be prepared to lose this company," Taeyeon threatened angrily.

Halmoni gritted her teeth and reached over to slap Taeyeon straight across the face earning a gasp from both Tiffany and Jessica. It was a rather hard slap since the girl's skin was glowing red and was starting to swell.

"How dare you!"

"How dare me? How dare YOU meddle with my life when you didn't give a damn for 16 years!" Taeyeon shouted angrily and slammed her hands on the table.

"You have quite a mouth don't you, is this how your mother raised you? I've never liked that woman you know, I've never approved my son marrying her,"

"What do you ever approve?!" Tiffany responded as she rubbed Taeyeon's cheek.

Jessica's grip on the door handle tightened, partially because of the intimacy, but this was no time to get jealous, her Taeyeon was slapped by a vicious old woman and she couldn't even do anything about it. She mentally smacked herself for being so helpless and continued to listen in.

"She is a better person than you will ever be," Taeyeon spat back with a deadly glare.

Halmoni scoffed and motioned someone to enter the room. Taeyeon turned her head as her eyes widdened at the sight. Sunye walked in with her mother tightly in her grip, "Taeyeon-ah!"

"Umma!" Taeyeon shouted and ran towards the two.

Jessica's eyes also widened at what she was witnessing, did the old woman plan for her to see this?

"Take on more step and you'll regret what will happen to her," Halmoni threatened and ordered Taeyeon to sit down.

"What do you want?!"

"I want you do to go New York,"

"WHY ME?! I'M NOT YOUR ONLY GRANDCHILD!"

"Because you have the most potential, I always had my eye on you, and the last thing I want is my future heir to get caught up with a Jung and throw her life away,"

"WHAT'S WRONG WITH JESSICA?!"

"She's a JUNG, her family almost ruined us! Those backstabbers pulled out of the deal last minute when everything was perfectly fine, did you know how hard it was to avoid bankruptcy?! They're no good Taeyeon-ah,"

"Whatever happened in the past isn't Jessica's fault. You can't blame her for something she didn't do!"

"ENOUGH! If you don't go to New York, your mother will suffer. I'll make sure she'll go insane and wish she was dead. Now are we clear?"

"You're evil. . . SENILE! What's wrong with you!" Tiffany shouted.

"What's your decision,"

Seeing the fear in her mother's eyes, Taeyeon couldn't help but comply to the old woman's wishes, "Fine, I'll go, just let her go," she sighed dejectedly.

Halmoni smiled and motioned Sunye to take Mrs. Kim out, "Now that's a good girl,"

"Appa isn't going to let anything happen to her,"

"I sent him to our new branch, he won't be back for a while," Halmoni laughed, "And one more thing, Sunye is your official bodyguard, she'll accompany you to New York,"

"Why bother, I have Tiffany,"

"Sunye will keep an eye on you for me,"

"Whatever," Taeyeon sighed and left the room with Tiffany close behind her.

"You can come out Jung,"

The closet door opened and Jessica walked out wearily as her mind was still processing everything that had just happened. All of this. . . because of her.

"I'll tell you one last time, leave Taeyeon,"

". . ."

"You saw what I'm capable of, and frankly, if you didn't come into her life, none of this would happen,"

"I-I'll. . . I'll leave her, I promise, just. . .give me a few more days. . .please. . ." Jessica replied shakily.

"Good, and if you were to ever go back on that promise, I'm sure Taeyeon's mother wouldn't appreciate it, and neither would Taeyeon,"

"Are you threatening me too?" Jessica asked incredulously.

"Take it however you want, now leave,"

--

"TaeTae. . ."

"Fany-ah. . . I don't want to go,"

"I'm sorry Taeyeon-ah. . ."

"No, it's not your fault," Taeyeon sighed.

"Should we tell Jessi about this?"

"NO! No. . . it's better if we don't,"

"But-"

"If we tell her, she'll do something rash and think it's her fault, it's better to keep this from her,"

"But. . . she needs to know why we're leaving. . . Yuri needs to know. . . they deserve to know,"

"I don't know what to do anymore Fany-ah, my brain feels like it's going to implode, I'm going crazy Tiffany,"

Chapter 14

"So how did it go?" Yuri asked curiously.

". . ."

"Guys?"

"Not. . . well . . ."

"Does that mean. . ."

"Unfortunately, yes," Taeyeon replied wearily while resting her head on her palm. Jessica glanced at the girl's right cheek that was exposed to her, she bit on the bottom of her lip as she saw how swollen it was from Halmoni's slap.

"Taeyeon-ah. . ." she asked softly.

"Hmm?"

"How's your cheek?"

Taeyeon looked at her startled, "H-How do you know what happened to it?" she asked in a panicked tone.

"What happened?" Yuri asked curiously.

"N-Nothing happened. . . I . . . uh . . . I got stung by a caterpillar,"

Yuri arched an eyebrow at her, "Caterpillars don't have stingers, and why was it near your face?"

"I. . .uh . . . I was trying out a new facial treatment," Taeyeon replied lamely.

Half of Jessica wanted to laugh at how absurd the dorky girl was, but the other half of her wanted to cry because the dorky girl was being absurd to not burden anyone.

"Taeyeon-ah. . . did you hit your head somewhere?" Yuri asked worriedly.

"No, no, I'm perfectly fine," Taeyeon answered nervously and scratched the back of her head.

"Yuri-ah, just let her be, you know how. . . different. . . Taeyeon is," Tiffany butted in awkwardly.

Yuri looked at the two suspiciously but shrugged it off as there were bigger problems that needs to be dealt with, "So what are we going to do?"

"Just go, I think it's the best option for now," Taeyeon sighed.

"H-Hey isn't that Sunye?" Tiffany said suddenly and pointed out the window. Taeyeon's eyes opened widely and she bolted out of the cafe shop and chased after the girl, "I'll be back!" she shouted behind her.

"What's going on?" Yuri asked confused.

"Just let her be," Jessica spoke for the first time since they entered the cafe.

"Did something happen between you two?" Yuri questioned curiously.

"No? Why?"

"You're awfully clam about us leaving and I don't feel and murder vibe from you. . . I mean Taeyeon is chasing after Sunye," Tiffany added.

"I guess Taeyeon's Halmoni has her reasons, I'm sure Taeyeon has her reasons too," Jessica replied calmly.

Yuri raised an eyebrow and felt Jessica's forehead, "Are you feeling okay? This is Taeyeon going across the world for who knows how long. . ."

". . . I know. . ." Jessica replied softly, "It's just. . . Halmoni is capable of a lot of things. . . and . . ."

"You know don't you," Tiffany interrupted sternly.

"Know what?" Yuri questioned.

"Taeyeon's mom. . . you know don't you?" Tiffany repeated.

"I. . . yeah . . . I know," Jessica admitted.

"So much for keeping it from you," Tiffany laughed bitterly.

"What does Taeyeon's mom have to do with this?"

"Halmoni. . . used her to threatened Taeyeon, if she refuses to go to the states then. . . she'll do something to her," Jessica explained sadly.

"WHAT?! WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT WOMAN?!" Yuri shouted angrily.

"Shh! We're in a public place!" Jessica scolded.

"But still! What's wrong with her!"

"She's old and senile I tell you!" Tiffany added.

"And. . . she told me to break up with Taeyeon. . . or Mrs. Kim would be punished," Jessica barely let out in a whisper.

"WHAT?!" Tiffany and Yuri exclaimed at the same time.

"Is she crazy?!"

"Don't do it Jessi!"

"But, what else can I do? I don't want to put her in anymore danger than she's already in," Jessica reasoned.

"JUNG SOOYEON! You and Taeyeon JUST got together! I told you to be happy when I gave up, now you want to break up with her?!" Tiffany said angrily.

"Fany-ah, calm down, Jessica doesn't want this either," Yuri said calmly and pulled Tiffany into her seat and rubbed the girl's back gently.

"If you can come up with something better by all means do it, but for now, I can't think of anything,"

"Jessi. . . don't do it . . . you CAN'T do it. . . Taeyeon loves you too much," Tiffany pleaded.

"But-"

"We'll think of something Sica, don't worry," Yuri assured.

"You know tomorrow's Valentines' Day right? Do you know how much Taeyeon prepared for it? She was up two nights straights planning and making reservations, she wanted it to perfect for you," Tiffany said softly.

"Tomorrow's Valentines' Day?" Jessica asked surprised.

Tiffany rolled her eyes and smacked Jessica's head, "And I thought I was the dumb one,"

--

"YAH! MIN SUNYE! STOP!" Taeyeon shouted as she ran after the girl.

Sunye stopped at the sound of the voice shouting her name and turned around to wait for Taeyeon to catch up, "Yes?"

"WHAT DID YOU DO WITH MY MOM?!" Taeyeon demanded angrily.

"She's fine, I assure you," the girl replied calmly.

"Where is she?!"

"She's somewhere safe for now,"

"Tell me where she is!"

"Madam Kim has ordered me not to tell you,"

"What are you doing with my Halmoni?! Why are you working with her?!"

"I don't think that is any of your concern Miss Kim,"

"You are my bodyguard, you're suppose to listen to me, I order you to tell me," Taeyeon retorted.

Sunye looked at the girl incredulously and sighed, "It's a long and complicated story Miss Kim,"

"I have time," Taeyeon replied quickly.

"Very well then, your grandmother took me in since I was a child. My parents died when my town got flooded by a sudden storm. Your grandmother was in the neighboring town visiting relatives you see, she took me in, she raised me, I am obliged to return her generosity with my service to her and now you, I might disagree with the things she asks me to do but I cannot refuse,"

Taeyeon stared at the girl in awe, "I-I'm sorry. . ." she said solemnly feeling sympathy for the orphaned girl. No wonder why she was so distant and cold, losing both your parents as such a young age must have impacted her greatly.

"There is no need to apologize Miss Kim,"

"Call me Taeyeon, like before,"

"Yes Taeyeon,"

Taeyeon reached out and patted the girl's shoulder affectionately, "I believe you're a good person inside Sunye-ah, I don't think you should be working for my Halmoni, you deserve better,"

"I don't exactly have a choice Taeyeon-ah," Sunye laughed bitterly, "Well I must get going now, please pack early for your flight,"

--

Taeyeon entered the cafe shop wearily and sat down next to Jessica, "Hey,"

"How did it go?" Tiffany asked.

"Fine. . . I guess . . ."

"Do you want us to teach her a lesson?" Yuri offered.

Taeyeon raised an eyebrow and looked at Tiffany disapprovingly, "You told them?!"

"Jessica already knew," Tiffany defended.

"WHAT?! HOW?!"

"Stop yelling Taeyeon-ah, I'm right next to you!" Jessica pouted and rubbed her ears.

"Oh sorry, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Jessica smiled.

"So. . . how did you know?" Taeyeon asked curiously.

"I. . . was in the closet when you two came,"

"CLOSET?! WHO WERE YOU IN THERE WITH?!" Taeyeon shouted frantically.

". . . no one . . . your grandmother shoved me in there so you wouldn't see me," Jessica explained in an amused tone.

"So you weren't in there making out with someone other than me?" Taeyeon asked suspiciously.

"YAH! What's wrong with you?!" Jessica shouted and hid her face behind her hands in embarrassment.

Yuri and Tiffany laughed at the two, it was a relief that everyone could still laugh and joke around.

"So, ready for Valentine's Day?" Yuri asked.

"Yup!" Taeyeon said excitedly, "Do you have any plans?"

"Not really, what about you Fany?"

"Uh. . . no, I don't think so,"

"Want to spend Valentines' together then? I mean we both don't have dates,"

"Sure, that'd be fun," Tiffany smiled.

"What are we doing?" Jessica asked curiously.

"We're going for a massage! And facial and other things. . . that I can't tell you," Taeyeon grinned.

"Facial? With caterpillars?" Jessica teased.

"Y-Yah!"

"Just kidding Taengoo," Jessica said cheekily and kissed Taeyeon's cheek.

"See? How can you break up with her!" Tiffany scolded.

"BREAK UP?!" Taeyeon panicked.

"Y-Your Halmoni threatened to hurt your mom if I don't," Jessica admitted.

"What?!"

"I-I think that-"

Taeyeon clasped Jessica's hands firmly into hers and looked at the girl intently, "We are NOT breaking up, not now, not ever, no matter what happens,"

"Taeyeon-ah,"

"Don't go off and do things on your own okay? You have me remember? We'll make it through together,"

"What about your mom?"

"Sunye is a good person, she'll keep my mom safe," Taeyeon assured.

"Good person?!" Tiffany exclaimed.

"She has her reasons Fany-ah, I'll tell you later,"

"What reasons?" Jessica asked in a hostile tone.

"Good reasons," Taeyeon replied.

". . ."

"Princess, are you jealous?"

"No," Jessica replied flatly.

"Don't be jealous~" Taeyeon cooed and pinched the girl's cheeks.

"Not funny," Jessica said deadpanned and got up to leave the cafe.

Taeyeon laughed and followed her, "I'll see you guys later,"

"Bye Taeng,"

"Bye TaeTae,"

"You think we'll ever find someone?" Yuri asked as she watched Taeyeon chased after Jessica.

"I'm not sure," Tiffany answered.

"Want to try test dating?"

"Test dating?"

"Well I've never dated before, I don't think you have either, so. . . want to try to date to each other? Just . . . you know . . . to see what its like?" Yuri asked nervously.

"So fake dating?"

"In a way?"

"I'd love to," Tiffany grinned.

--

"Sica~~" Taeyeon called out sweetly.

"Go back to your Sunye filled with good reasons!" Jessica shouted.

Taeyeon sped up to catch up with Jessica and grabbed her wrist and spun her around, "Why are you jealous? There's nothing between me and her,"

"Who says I was jealous!"

"Your face says it all,"

"Whatever, let me go,"

"No! I'm never letting you go!" Taeyeon said seriously.

Jessica looked at the girl, slightly surprised at the sudden seriousness, "Taeyeon-ah,"

"Don't break up with me okay?" Taeyeon pleaded before pulling Jessica for a tight embrace.

"I-I. . . never Taeyeon-ah. . . I'll never break up with you," Jessica whispered and pulled away to look at Taeyeon before pressing her lips against the other girl's.

Chapter 15

"Sica~! Psst! Sica, wake up!" Taeyeon whispered while nudging the sleeping girl.

". . . whaaat . . ." Jessica asked groggily and pulled the covers over her head.

"Get up Princess! We have a big day today!" Taeyeon said brightly.

"No, go away," Jessica replied beneath the covers.

"Jessica~" Taeyeon pouted and climbed on top of Jessica, pulling the blanket off the girl, "Get up!"

Seizing her opportunity, Jessica sneakily snaked her arms around Taeyeon's neck and pulled the girl down for a quick make out session. As much as Taeyeon tried to struggle out of her grip, her kisses were just as fierce and eventually the shorter girl gave up.

"Okay, you got your way, now get up!" Taeyeon said as she pulled away from Jessica.

Jessica sighed and nodded, "Fine, fine,"

--

Yuri knocked on the door to Tiffany's room as she paced around nervously waiting for the girl to open the door. After hearing no response, she knocked again, "Fany-ah! Are you in there?"

Rapid footsteps could be heard from the inside as the door was quickly opened to reveal a panting Tiffany Hwang still in her pajamas, "Sorry Yuri-ah! I overslept because my alarm didn't go off and-" Tiffany apologized quickly but was cut off by the smiling girl in front of her.

"It's okay, just get ready now, I'll wait downstairs," Yuri grinned and headed down as Tiffany quickly rushed to get dressed.

After about thirty minutes, a more presentable Tiffany Hwang walked down the stairs as Yuri stared at her in awe, "You look amazing," she said breathlessly.

Tiffany blushed and nodded thanks, "So where are we going?"

"You'll see," Yuri smiled and motioned Tiffany to head out the door.

--

"Taeyeon-ah, I'd really like it if I didn't have a caterpillar massage," Jessica cringed slightly as they pulled up at the spa.

"You'll be fine Jessica, they only have cucumber facials," Taeyeon assured.

"CUCUMBERS?! THATS EVEN WORSE!" Jessica shouted and tried to get out of the car.

"NO! DON'T YOU DARE LEAVE!" Taeyeon shouted and pulled the girl back in her seat, "There are alternatives to cucumbers too!"

"I don't trust you," Jessica said as she eyed Taeyeon suspiciously.

"Yah! If you don't trust me then who can you trust!" Taeyeon pouted.

"Aww, is someone mad?" Jessica teased with an amused smile.

"No! Now let's go!" Taeyeon said quickly and pulled Jessica out of the car.

They entered the large building swinging their hands together as Taeyeon went to the receptionist desk to confirm their appointment. The clerk nodded and showed the two to their respective rooms.

"We're not doing it together?" Taeyeon asked curiously.

"I'm sorry M'am, it's one at a time,"

"Oh. . .okay. . .," Taeyeon replied slightly disappointed and turned to Jessica, "Do you want a facial or massage first?"

"Facial, my skin's aging because you're always waking me up early," Jessica replied.

"Pft, well it's better than having you sleep all day!" the girl retorted as she entered the massage room.

Jessica shrugged and followed the clerk to the facial area.

Taeyeon closed the door behind her and jumped when she heard a voice greet her. She turned around and her eyes widened as she saw who was in front of her.

"SIWON?!"

"Taeyeon?"

"Er. . . what are you doing here?"

"I work here part time," he answered calmly.

"Uh. . . I see. . ."

"So what kind of massage would you like?"

"Erm. . . a foot massage is fine," Taeyeon said awkwardly since there was no way she would let the fanboy touch her anywhere else.

Siwon raised his eyebrow slightly, "You came here for a foot massage?"

"Uh. . . yes. . ."

The boy nodded and motioned her to lay on the massage table as he took off her shoes and socks, "So how's it going with Jessica?"

"You're not here to quiz me on her again are you?" Taeyeon asked nervously.

"Well. . . now that you mention it, maybe I should,"

Taeyeon sighed and closed her eyes, "Fine, fine, carry on with your quiz,"

"Favorite food?"

"Anything but cucumbers and melons,"

"Real name?

"Jung Sooyeon,"

"Favorite hobbies?"

"Sleeping, reading, eating,"

"Personality?"

"Gets jealous easily, often scared, likes to glare and threaten,"

Siwon let out a satisfied sigh as he massaged Taeyeon's foot, "You've improved," he complimented.

"I did," Taeyeon agreed.

"So, how are you liking this massage?"

"It's quite enjoyable, where are the other massage therapists?"

"I'm the only one in today,"

"WHAT?!"

"Is something wrong?" Siwon asked confused.

"S-So y-you're going to massaging Jessica?!"

"Jessica's here?!"

Taeyeon smacked herself mentally, ". . .yeah,"

--

"What is that. . ." Tiffany asked nervously as she looked at the meal in front of her.

"It's a skate," Yuri replied as she poked the creature.

"Is it alive?"

"I'm sure it's dead Fany-ah,"

"Can I . . . not eat it?"

"Why?"

"It's staring at me,"

Yuri laughed and took a sip of her drink, "What would you like to eat then?"

"Steak is fine,"

"What do we do with this?" Yuri asked as she poked the creature again.

". . .just put it in a box for take out," Tiffany suggested.

Yuri nodded and called the waiter over for a take out box and a new order. The man politely nodded and came back a few moments later with the box and two plates with two steaks. Tiffany sighed in relief at the normal food placed in front of her and began to dig in with Yuri following suit.

"So where are we going after this?" the short haired girl asked curiously.

"Well, we can go to the Sanrio store. . ."

"SANRIO?!" Tiffany asked excitedly.

"You like?"

"I do!"

"We'll go after we finish eating," Yuri laughed.

--

"Jessica. . .can you not get a massage?" Taeyeon pouted as Jessica was about to enter the room.

"What? Why?" the girl asked curiously.

"Can you just not?"

"What's wrong Taengoo?"

"N-Nothing!"

"Then I'm going in, see you in a bit," Jessica smiled and pecked the girl's cheek.

Taeyeon sighed and nodded, "I hope he doesn't do anything to her. . ." she said to herself.

Since she was in no mood for a facial, she decided to wait outside the door for Jessica to finish. After half an hour of pacing back and forth, she finally lost her patience and opened the door quietly and peaked in. Her eyes widened as she saw Siwon run his hands up and down Jessica's bare back and the girl wasn't doing anything to stop him.

"YAH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" she shouted as she barged into the room.

Siwon looked at her startled and jumped back while Jessica sat up and wrapped the towel around her body, "What are YOU doing Taeyeon?!" she shouted.

"WHY ARE YOU RUNNING YOUR HANDS ALL OVER HER BACK?!"

"That's what you're SUPPOSE to do during a massage!" Jessica answered.

"And why are YOU letting him run his hands all over your back!"

"BECAUSE I WAS GETTING A MASSAGE!"

"YOU. . . URGH! WHATEVER I DON'T CARE ANYMORE!" Taeyeon shouted and left the room angrily.

The shorter girl stomped to her waiting car and slammed the door forcefully and started the car. She was too worked up to notice that Jessica had gotten in the car a few moments later and was smiling amusingly at her.

"Are you jealous?"

Taeyeon ignored the girl and sped off without a word.

"Yah, Kim Taeyeon, the spa thing was YOUR idea, why are you getting jealous?!" Jessica sighed, frustrated after an hour of Taeyeon ignoring her. The girl remained silent and Jessica rolled her eyes and slouched into her seat. The car ride remained quiet until the ringing of Taeyeon's phone disrupted the tensed atmosphere. Taeyeon quickly answered the device while still keeping her eyes on the road.

"Hello?"

Jessica turned to the girl, trying to figure out who she was talking to. She scowled as Taeyeon's tensed face soften at whoever the caller was.

"Ah, Yoona! What's up?"

Yoona?

Flashback

"TAEYEON-AH!"

Jessica quickly turned around and was ready to glare at whoever interrupted her. A tall girl with short black hair and a slime body walked towards them.

"Yoona?"

"You left me!" Yoona pouted.

"I was coming back, I just found a friend," Taeyeon explained as she tugged Jessica's arm.

Yoona looked at the two confused, "Are you dating?"

Jessica nearly choked as the question registered through her mind.

"N-no! Taeyeon said quickly as her face slowly got redder and redder by the moment.

Yoona smirked at the two and grabbed Taeyeon's hand, "Come on, let's go,"

Taeyeon looked at Yoona questionably but obliged, "See you around Jessica,"

Jessica looked down and nodded slowly, when she looked up again, Taeyeon was already halfway across the room with Yoona talking with another group of people. "And I thought I would have someone to talk to," she sighed to herself.

Flashback ends

Yoona! That girl that interupted Taeyeon and me at the social gathering! Why is she calling?! And why is Taeyeon so happy?!

Jessica continued to scowl as she listened to how happily Taeyeon was talking to Yoona, completely ignoring her presense. Taeyeon's face began to darken because of something Yoona had said and the girl began to talk in a code so that Jesscia couldn't understand.

"Ememberray hetay irlgay ouyay awsay atay hetay artypay? E'reway atingday nday hesay etslay erhay anboyfay unsray ishay andshay llaay veroay erhay ackbay uringday aay assagemay! Veneay Iday on'tay etgay otay oday hattay nday he'ssay inemay!" Taeyeon said angrily the phone. Jessica took out her own phone and recorded what the girl was saying, hoping to decipher it later.

Yoona's laughter could be heard through the phone as she replied to the Taeyeon in the same language and seemed to calm the girl down. After a few more exchanges, the two hung up and Taeyeon continued to drive and ignore Jessica.

The blonde sighed as they stopped at a gas station since Taeyeon needed to use the bathroom and pulled out her phone to call Tiffany.

"Hello?"

"Fany-ah?"

"Jessi! How's your date?"

"Taeyeon's been ignoring me the whole day!"

"What? Why? Hold on, let me put you on speaker,"

"Hi Sica!" Yuri said happily.

"Hey Yuri-ah,"

"So why is Taeyeon ignoring you?" Tiffany asked.

"Well Siwon was the massage therapist and-"

"SIWON?!"

"Yeah?"

"Why would you let him touch you!" Yuri scolded.

"I was getting a massage!"

"No wonder TaeTae is mad!"

"So it's my fault?!"

"Kinda?"

"Well, then her friend Yoona has to call and she talked to her in some secret code! I bet she's talking about me behind my back!"

"Yoona? She's back from Japan?"

"You know Yoona?"

"She's Taeyeon's best friend, I think TaeTae even likes her more than me!" Tiffany replied.

"She does?"

"Yoona's really nice Sica, don't worry,"

"But she was talking about me behind my back!"

"What did Taeyeon say?" Yuri asked curiously.

"Hold on, I'll send it to Yuri's phone," Jessica said and scrolled through the menu to send the recording.

"I got it!" Yuri announced as the messaged arrived and began to play it.

"So what does it say?" Jessica asked as the two listened.

Suddenly, loud laughter could be heard on the other line which confused Jessica even more, "WHAT DOES IT SAY?!" she demanded.

"It's pig latin dummy!" Tiffany laughed on the other line.

"Pig latin?"

"You've never heard of pig latin?" Yuri asked.

"No, what does it say?!"

"She says 'Remember the girl you say that the party? We're dating and she lets her fanboy run his hands all over her back during a massage! Even I don't get to do that and she's mine!'" Yuri translated through a series of laughs.

"You're not lying right?" Jessica asked to confirm.

"Not at all, ask anyone," Yuri assured.

Jessica let out a laugh and thanked the two before hanging up just as Taeyeon got in the car. She looked at the girl with an amused look and which caused the girl to stare at her with a raised eyebrow.

"What?"

"So you were jealous?"

"What are you talking about," Taeyeon said coolly and started the car.

"About me and Siwon, you were jealous that he got to touch me,"

Taeyeon's eyes widened but she kept her ground, "Sure, think however you want,"

"Taeyeon-ah, I know people who understand pig latin you know," Jessica teased.

"What? Fany and Yuri? How did you remember what I was saying?!"

"I recorded you!" Jessica grinned.

"You what?!"

"Don't be mad~ I'll let you touch me however you want tonight," Jessica whispered in Taeyeon's ear.

"Y-YAH!"Taeyeon shouted with a blush seeping across her face.

Jessica smiled and climbed over to the driver seat, on top of Taeyeon, "I won't let anyone else touch me okay?"

"B-But. . ."

"Shh, I only belong to you okay?" Jessica whispered as she nuzzled her cheek against Taeyeon's.

--

"Where to now Miss Hwang?"

"Amusement park!" Tiffany said excitedly.

"It's getting late, I think amusement park would be our last activity today,"

"It's fine, I had fun today Yuri-ah," Tiffany smiled.

"Me too," Yuri replied with a grin.

--

"Isn't that Taeyeon and Jessica?" Tiffany asked as they entered the gate.

Yuri looked over to where Tiffany was pointing and saw two familiar figures eating hotdogs and cotton candy.

"I guess they made up," Yuri observed.

Tiffany giggled and nodded, "Let's go!"

"YAH! TAEYEON-AH! SICA!" Yuri called out and ran towards the two with Tiffany.

The two turned their heads to see their friends running towards them and momentarily got up to meet the two, "Hey guys," Taeyeon greeted while Jessica nodded and stuffed the rest of the hot dog into her mouth.

"So, want to spend the rest of Valentine's Day together?" Tiffany offered.

"Double date?" Taeyeon asked.

"You bet!" Yuri answered.

"Okay, let's go!" Tiffany shouted and hooked arms with Yuri, pulling her towards the nearest ride.

"Let's go too Taengoo!" Jessica said and intertwined her hand with Taeyeon's and followed the two in front of her.

Chapter 16

"Taeyeon-ah," Jessica called out to the sleeping girl next to her, not really expecting an answer from the figure in deep slumber.

"Sica?" Why aren't you asleep?" Taeyeon asked worriedly while shifting on her side to face the blonde, startling the girl slightly.

"I. . .can't sleep," Jessica confessed while snuggling closer to Taeyeon, resting her head on the girl's neck.

"Are you thinking about New York?" Taeyeon whispered knowingly into Jessica's ear.

"I'm going to miss you Taeyeon-ah," Jessica said almost inaudibly as tears welled up in her eyes.

Taeyeon pulled away from Jessica's embrace to look the girl in the eyes, "Hey, it's okay, Halmoni stated that I'm only going to spend my junior year in New York, I'll be back senior year with you," Taeyeon smiled, hoping to cheer the girl up.

"But a year is a long time Taengoo, what am I suppose to do without you," Jessica pouted and rubbed her cheek against Taeyeon's.

"We can talk on the phone, and webcam," Taeyeon answered optimistically.

"What if we never met? What if I didn't know you exist and you didn't know I exist?" Jessica asked suddenly and looked up at Taeyeon.

"Then I'll live the rest of my life wondering why I feel that something is missing, because Jessica Jung completes Kim Taeyeon," Taeyeon replied softly and kissed Jessica's cheek.

"I love you Taeyeon," Jessica smiled.

"I love you too Sooyeon-ah,"

--

The blast of music went off at exactly 6:35 AM signaling the start of a new day. Usually, it was Taeyeon being jolted awake and Jessica still sleeping, but it was just today that Jessica got up and Taeyeon was still fast asleep in bed.

Jessica glanced at her lover with solemn eyes as tears started to brim, threatening to spill over. She reached over and caressed the sleeping girl's cheek, "You're leaving today huh. . ." she said softly, "I'm sorry Taeyeon-ah, I wanted to spend today with you, I really do, but I don't think that I can handle it, I hope you understand. Remember that I love you okay? I really love you Kim Taeyeon,"

Leaning in, she gave Taeyeon a final kiss before grabbing her clothes and leaving the room.

The now fully changed Jessica started her car and backed out of the driveway, unsure of where to go. She contemplated of going to school but she definitely wasn't in the mood. After about an hour of aimless driving, Jessica let out a defeated sigh and headed to Tiffany's house.

--

"Jessica?" Yuri asked suprised as she opened the door, "Taeyeon's house is next door. . ."

"I know. . .it's just. . .can I come in?" Jessica asked absentmindedly, staring at the door mat.

Yuri nodded and followed Jessica into the kitchen where Tiffany was. The girl was shocked to see Jessica not with Taeyeon but welcomed her none the less.

"Jessi! You came to see me!" she squealed and jumped on the girl.

"Hey Fany-ah," Jessica replied and awkwardly patted the girl's back.

"Where's TaeTae?" Tiffany asked curiously.

Jessica's face fell and she sat on the couch before letting out a deep sigh, "I was hoping to avoid her today,"

"Jessica, avoiding her isn't going to make the situation any better," Yuri reprimanded.

Jessica remained silent and turned on the TV only to aimlessly surf through the channels. Tiffany sighed and patted her friend's back sympathetically, "It's okay," she said softly.

Just then, Jessica's phone vibrated, catching the attention of everyone. Glancing at the caller ID, Jessica sighed and ignored the call. After 3 missed calls and no answer to any of them, the called had decided to give up. Thinking that Taeyeon had stopped trying to look for her, Jessica turned her attention back to Yuri and Tiffany who looked at their friend worriedly.

Silence engulfed the trio as Yuri and Tiffany weren't sure what to say and Jessica wasn't feeling like talking. The ringing of the doorbell broke the still atmosphere as one of the maids answered the door.

"Miss Hwang! Miss Kim is here to see you!" the woman called out while letting Taeyeon inside.

Jessica's eyes widened and she quickly scanned the room for somewhere to hide. Yuri hurriedly pointed to the closet for guests to hang their jackets and Jessica immediately went in just before Taeyeon entered the living room. She silently cursed her luck for having to hide in a closet every time.

"Hey Fany, Hey Yuri," Taeyeon greeted and sat down on the couch.

"Hey Taeng, are you all set?" Yuri asked.

Taeyeon nodded and looked around the room, "Have you guys seen Sica? I saw her car parked outside your house so I thought she was here,"

"Oh so you didn't come here to see me?" Tiffany pouted and mocked a hurt expression.

Taeyeon rolled her eyes and flicked Tiffany's forehead, "We're going to New York together, why would I need to come see you,"

"What about Yuree!" Tiffany protested loudly.

"Well that's why I came, I figured Yuri would be here, but really, have you seen Sica?"

"She. . . might have came here a while ago?" Tiffany started to say slowly.

"Do you know where she went? She must be close since her car is here,"

"Hesay ouldway atherray otnay eesay ouyay ightray ownay," Yuri replied in pig latin knowing that Jessica would kill her if she found out Yuri had told Taeyeon the truth. (She would rather not see you right now)

Jessica mentally swore to herself. She hated pig latin right now.

Taeyeon blinked a couple of times before answering, "Hyway? Idday Iay oday omethingsay rongway?" (Why? Did I do something wrong?)

Yuri shook her head from side to side, "He'ssay caredsay foay ouyay eavinglay," (She's scared of you leaving)

Taeyeon looked at the two hopelessly, "I guess I never thought about how much this would affect her," she said softly, "I've always convinced myself that I would be okay but I completely forgot about how she would feel without me. . . where is she?"

Jessica bit her lip praying that her cover wasn't going to be blown and sighed in relief when the two shrugged at Taeyeon's question. The girl sighed and nodded signaling she understood. After a few more minutes of chatting, Taeyeon bid her good byes and was on her way. Peeping out, Jessica made sure Taeyeon had left before fully exposing herself.

She walked over to Tiffany after a few moments of thinking and held the girl's hands in her own," Fany-ah, I'm sorry,"

Tiffany cocked her head to the side and looked at Jessica questioningly, "For what?"

"I've been so caught up with Taeyeon that I forgot you were leaving too," Jessica replied, "I'm going to miss you," she added as she pulled the girl in for a hug.

Tiffany laughed and patted Jessica's back affectionately, "Babo-ah, she's your first love, I understand,"

"I'm sorry about the Taeyeon thing too Fany-ah, I've been a bad friend to you,"

Tiffany shook her head at Jessica's remark, "You can't force love Jessi, and honestly. . . it hasn't been that hard to get over her. I was so sure that Taeyeon was the one for me but now. . . now there's someone else that's meant for me," she smiled as she quickly glanced at Yuri before looking back at Jessica, "So don't be sorry okay?"

Jessica smiled slightly and nodded, "When are you leaving?"

"In an hour or so,"

"Then I'll give you two some alone time," Jessica grinned and began to head out the door.

"Wait! Jessi! Are you going to see us off at the airport?"

". . ."

"I want to see you there, Taeyeon does too, I really want to see you there Jessica," Tiffany sighed.

Jessica nodded and left the house.

--

Yuri stared at the door blankly after Jessica had closed it. Too caught up in her thoughts, she completely missed the fact that Tiffany was calling her name. Only turning to the girl when she felt a nudge on her shoulder, she smiled sheepishly.

"What are you thinking about?" Tiffany asked curiously.

"Nothing. . . it's just that. . . I guess it's finally sinking in," Yuri replied with a sad smile.

"Hmm?"

"You leaving, it's hitting me hard right now, I guess I got too caught up with Jessica and Taeyeon's problem that I ignored the fact that you were leaving too. . . you didn't mention it at all either,"

Tiffany laughed and hugged Yuri tightly, "I know, I forgot it myself,"

"Did you mean it?"

"Mean what?"

"That. . . you found someone better for you. . . than Taeyeon," Yuri asked timidly.

Tiffany pulled away from the embrace and looked at the girl before her intently, "I meant it, every word," she smiled and kissed the taller girl.

--

Jessica sighed and stared blankly at the cucumbers in front of her. Never in her life had she thought that she would voluntarily visit a cucumber farm. She smiled as she remembered how Taeyeon had taken care of her when she fell and realized that it was that moment when she fell for the girl. Walking aimlessly to the field where she and Taeyeon had planted, she smiled slightly seeing that the cucumbers were sprouting well.

A loud roar filled the quiet atmosphere and startled the blonde causing her to look up. A jet had just flown by and she checked her watch and sighed, Taeyeon would be leaving quite soon. The sudden vibration of her phone turned her attention to the device as she pulled it out.

From Yuri:

Where are you? Are you really not coming?

She chose to ignore the text but another one came just before she pushed the end button.

From Yuri:

They're getting their luggage checked right now Sica.

To Yuri:

I told you. . . I'm not going to come.

From Yuri:

Sica you have fifteen minutes, please come.

To Yuri:

Sorry. Say bye to them for me.

She punched in her message quickly and shoved the phone back into her pocket, not bothering to check to see if Yuri replied. She walked slowly to her car, contemplating on whether or not she should go or not. She scowled when the loud vibration broke her train of thoughts and pulled the phone of the pocket in annoyance.

From Taengoo:

Sica, where are you? I really want to see you. I guess if you're not coming then I won't force you. I'll miss you, I love you, forever and always okay? Remember that.

It's funny how only one little message, an electronic message to be exact, can change a person's mindset instantly. Jessica hurriedly ran to her car and started the engine and rushed out of the farm. She tapped the steering wheel impatiently as she waited at the stop light, hoping that the red would disappear and the green would replace it. Her face lit up when the colors had gone in her favor and quickly stepped on the accelerator.

Thinking that she was going to make it to the airport in time, Jessica sighed in relief and relaxed her grip on the steering wheel. Just as she was about to make a right turn, a sudden force came from behind and she felt her car jolt forward and a loud crash could be heard afterwards. She cursed under her breath and quickly got out of the vehicle.

"I'm so sorry Miss, are you alright?" the panicked driver asked frantically as he ran out of his car.

Jessica ignored the man and looked at the damage done. She gritted her teeth and tried to walk away from the scene to hail a cab.

"Miss! You can't leave! What about your car! We need to call the insurance company!" the man yelled after her.

By this time, the police had already arrived and quickly stopped her from walking away. She ignored the officer but he grabbed her wrist and spun her around as she glared at him muderously.

"M'am, please remain at the scene. I need to make a report," he ordered roughly.

"I need to leave, this is an emergency." Jessica replied coldly.

"We need to make sure you're alright M'am, and the vehicle needs to be taken care of,"

"I DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT THE F*CKING CAR!" she screamed and pulled out of the officer's grasped, "Here, call him, he'll take car of everything," she said and hastily threw her father's business card at the man and ran towards the nearest taxi.

"Airport, now!" she ordered the driver who nodded and sped off.

--

Hurriedly scanning the busy airport, she shoved past various people to find the flight to New York. Seeing a tall tan figure, she immediately ran towards her, "YURI-AH!"

Yuri turned around suprised and walked up to meet with Jessica, "Sica? You came?"

"Where's Taeyeon?!"

Yuri looked at her then down at the ground, "She. . . she just boarded the plane Jessica,"

Jessica felther heart sink as deep as it could go as a mix of emotions overwhelmed her body. Her knees weakened and they eventually gave way and she fell to the ground, "Y-You're lying right? You're just playing a prank on me. . . like you usually do right? TELL ME YOU'RE LYING!" she shouted as tears rolled continously down her cheeks.

Yuri bent down and hugged Jessica tightly as she stroked the girl's hair, "I'm sorry Jessica, Taeyeon already left,"

Chapter 17

"Sica, hey, Sica, wake up!"

Jessica's eyes immediately shot open at the familiar voice that she used to hear every morning. She looked around the dimly lit room in anticipation, hoping to find the owner of whom the voice belonged to. Reluctantly, she slunk back into the bed in disappointment after realizing she was only dreaming.

Releasing a deep sigh, she closed her eyes and bit down on her lip slightly. The rush of emotions was coming back again, rapider than a series of race cars on a fast moving course nearing the finish line. She groaned in frustration and threw one of her pillows across the room. She wasn't going to have a peaceful sleep anytime soon, 365 days to be exact.

--

"Taeyeon-ah, eat something," Tiffany said gently and offered her donut to the shorter girl who refused the pastry with the vigorous shaking of her head.

Sunye stood at the carousel patiently waiting for the luggage to arrive. She observed Taeyeon with her piercing brown eyes, analyzing the girl's behavior to everything. During the plane ride, Taeyeon was exceptionally quiet, no protests, no tears, no emotion. The once loud and lively girl disappeared as soon as she boarded the plane. After placing the black suitcases onto the cart neatly, the bodyguard signaled the two to continue to luggage check, and afterwards, the busy streets of New York.

Taeyeon mindlessly followed behind Sunye with Tiffany next to her, not bothering to pay any attention to her surroundings. She would occasionally bump into various strangers, apologize, then continue walking. Her two companions often turned around to make sure she was still with them, unsure of what to do about the situation.

After a rather quick luggage check thanks to Sunye's bribery of the airport employees, the bodyguard hailed a taxi and the three were soon headed to New York University. Due to Halmoni's many connections and the countless amount of money the Kim family has, it's not a surprise that Taeyeon and Tiffany had managed to get into college without the necessary credits.

The cab ride was quiet; the awkward and depressing atmosphere engulfed everyone that was involved in the situation. Taeyeon absentmindedly fiddled with her phone, scanning through the various options of the cellular device. She hesitantly clicked on the messaging menu and quickly ended the option because she was reminded that Jessica didn?t reply back.

As they pulled up to the parking of the university, Tiffany fidgeted in her seat due to the slight feeling of excitement and anticipation despite her feelings of depression and gloominess. Her eyes widened at the large campus, the many structures, and the mixed diversity of people who attended there. She sighed and got out of the car, taking in a deep breath, she missed America.

They found their dorms after a short chat with the administers and Sunye bid her goodbyes, leaving to the dorm next to Taeyeon and Tiffany?s. Taeyeon laid on her bed, staring at the ceiling blankly while Tiffany unpacked her suitcase.

?Taeyeon-ah, do you want me to unpack for you??

Taeyeon shook her head from side to side without acknowledging her cousin and continued to stare hard at the white ceiling, the paleness of it reminded her to Jessica?s skin, of course Jessica?s skin was more lustrous and better complexioned but everything reminded her to Jessica.

Tiffany sighed and proceeded to place her belongings in her side of the drawer. She hated seeing Taeyeon like this, the one flaw about the girl was that she refuses to show others how she feels. She would just bottle everything up. It worried Tiffany, it worried her because one day that bottled bottle would eventually explode and shatter into millions of tiny pieces, like dust particles, unable to be collected even if she had the biggest duster in the world.

The afternoon soon moved over and the night replaced it. Tiffany was unsure what to do, she wanted to call Jessica, or email her, or anything that would relieve this situation. She pulled out her phone and scrolled to Jessica?s name, hesitating to push the button for a slight moment but eventually made the call. She bit her lip nervously as the call was being placed; the ringing was driving her mad because of the suspense.

?Hello?

Tiffany gasped in excitement and searched her mind for the right things to say, ?Jessi?! Is that you??

?No Fany-ah, it?s Yuri,?

?Yuri-ah? Where?s Jessica??

?She refused to pick up because you were calling. Did you just land??

?No, not really. We unpacked before I called you,?

?Oh I see. Are you okay? Did you eat??Yuri asked worriedly.

?I didn?t eat yet, they don?t have Yuri cooking here,? Tiffany pouted.

?Aww, do you want me to send you frozen food from Korea??Yuri joked.

Tiffany giggled but quickly stopped when Taeyeon walked into the room and gave her a wry smile before returning to her spot on the bed and Tiffany mentally smacked herself for getting carried away with her conversation with Yuri.

?Yuri-ah, can you put Jessi on the line??Tiffany whispered so that Taeyeon couldn?t hear.

?Is Taeyeon okay??

?No, she completely shut down,?

?Okay, I?ll try to get Sica, hold on okay??

?Wait Yuri-ah!?

?What is it Fany??

?I love you,?

?I love you too Mushroom, now I?ll go get Sica,?

?Okay,?

Tiffany pressed the phone even closer to her ear, hoping to listen to what was happening in the background. She could make out Jessica?s voice, obviously refusing to be put on the phone, and she could hear Yuri bribing her at all costs to agree. Eventually, Jessica gave in and answered the device hastily.

"Fany?"

?Jessi!?

"What do you want Fany-ah?"

?Why are you so mean! TaeTae is sad and depressed because of you!? Tiffany pouted.

?. . . I-Is she okay??

Jessica asked hesitantly.

?No, she?s not okay, now I demand you talk to her,?

?No! I. . . I can?t talk to her Fany-ah, I don?t know how to face her,?

?No! I don?t care, I?m putting her on the line!? Tiffany scolded and ran over to Taeyeon?s bed and shoved the phone in the girl?s hand. Taeyeon gave her a questionable look but she motioned the girl to answer it, which Taeyeon obliged.

?Hello??

Jessica drew a sharp breath and gulped,

?T-Taeyeon-ah??

Taeyeon?s eyes widened and she sat straight up, hoping she wasn?t hearing wrong, ?Sica? Sica, is that you??

?Taengoo. . .?

?Sica! Are you alright? You?re okay right? Halmoni didn?t do anything to you right? Yuri-ah is okay too right? Sica I miss you, I really miss you Sica, it hasn?t even been a day and I feel like I?m going insane,? Taeyeon said frantically as she roughly ran her hand through her hair.

?Taeyeon-ah, calm down, I?m fine, Yuri?s fine, everyone?s okay Taeyeon-ah, don?t worry. I?m sorry Taeyeon, I was too late, I couldn?t see you off, I was being stupid, please forgive me,?

Jessica said softly, her tears starting to water.

?Jessica, I don?t care, as long as you?re safe, as long as I know you still think of me, I don?t care about the rest, don?t feel bad okay? I?m not mad,?

?Taeyeon-ah, I miss you so much,?

?I know, I miss you too, I want to go home Sica-ah,?

?I want you to come home. . .?

As their conversation prolonged, they diverted to other topics, after both feeling the rush of relief wash over them. Quickly, two hours flew by and Tiffany came back into the room.

?Taeyeon-ah, I?m really happy that you?re feeling better now, but, I think my minutes are going over the roof thanks to you,? Tiffany smiled softly.

?But you?re rich!? Taeyeon pouted.

?Was that Fany??

Jessica asked on the other side of the line.

?Yeah, she wants me to stop talking,?

?It?s getting later over there right? You should go to sleep Taengoo,?

?But I want to talk to you!?

?We?ll talk later okay? You need your sleep. Have a goodnight Taengoo, I love you,?

Taeyeon sighed and unconsciously nodded, ?Okay, bye Sica, I love you too,?

?So, do you feel better now?? Tiffany asked as Taeyeon handed her back her phone.

Taeyeon grinned and nodded and pulled Tiffany in for an embrace, ?Thank you, I owe you,?

?We?re cousins! It?s not like you wouldn?t do the same for me!? Tiffany replied.

?Still, thanks Fany-ah,?

?Now, can we get some sleep? We have classes tomorrow,?

?Yeah, I?ll be busy this whole year,?

?Hmm? Why? I heard the classes aren?t bad if you pay attention,?

?No, no, Fany-ah, I?m taking four more courses than you,? Taeyeon explained.

?What?! Why would you take eight courses!?

?Because. . . the faster I finish them, the faster I can go back to my Sica,?

Chapter 18

Time moved by rather quickly and first semester was nearing its end. The end of first semester meant midterms were on its way. Like any normal student, Tiffany Hwang spent some time here and there cramming various material of all types of subjects into her brain, consider it as studying, then go live her social life.

Unfortunately, this is in the case of Tiffany Hwang. Kim Taeyeon, however, was not a normal student. She was determined to finish all of her classes by first semester, which meant attending hours and hours of extra classes, staying up practically the whole night to complete all the assignments, then repeating the same vigorous routine day in and day out.

Despite Tiffany's and even Sunye's many attempts of persuading, Taeyeon refuses to drop any of her classes and threatened to take even more courses if either of them were to tell Jessica about her decisions in her education. Now, Kim Taeyeon was a brilliant student, averaging a cumulative GPA of 4.0 even though she had learned to speak English from the dictionary, various textbooks, and Disney movies. Still, Tiffany was worried, how long was Taeyeon able to keep this up?

"Taeyeon-ah," Tiffany called out from their dorm couch as she watched her cousin read a large textbook on world civilizations.

"Yes?" the small girl called out, her eyes not leaving the pages of the literature.

"Have something to eat," Sunye said while placing a freshly cooked meal on the table.

Taeyeon shook her head from side to side, "Eat without me,"

Tiffany sighed and sat down at the kitchen table. She grabbed a bowl of rice and started eating the various dishes with her chopsticks, "Sunye-ah! Why are you such a good cook!" Tiffany pouted.

Sunye smiled and shrugged, "Something I picked up,"

The duo had gotten much closer to the body guard as the months went by. Tiffany had disapproved at first but gradually realized the girl meant no harm. She was only doing her job ordered by Halmoni. Seeing how Sunye was willing to take care of both of them, attending to their every need, the two have grown to consider her as a close friend.

"So when are your midterms?" Sunye asked curiously.

"This week actually," Tiffany replied with her mouth half full.

"Are you ready?"

"Not at all, what about you Taeyeon-ah?"

"I'm having all my finals this week too, the professors said if I pass all of them, I'll be considered done with this entire school year," Taeyeon beamed.

"REALLY?!" Tiffany asked awestruck.

"Yeah! Then I'll be back to Korea in no time!"

"But I'm still stuck here," Tiffany pouted.

"I told you to take more classes," Taeyeon scolded.

"Just don't push yourself too hard," Sunye said concernedly.

Taeyeon nodded and smiled, "I won't, I won't. Well anyway, I'm going to take a nap okay? Just put the leftovers in the fridge, I'll eat it later,"

Sunye sat on the kitchen table as she watched Taeyeon retreat to her room, "She's more tired than she lets on,"

Tiffany nodded, "I know, I hope she'll be okay,"

--

Tiffany yawned and arched her back to relax her stiff spine form hours of sitting and answering questions. She rubbed her eyes tiredly and looked around for Taeyeon. Since the girl wasn?t in sight, Tiffany assumed that she was still testing and sneakily opened the door to one of the large auditoriums and stuck her head inside. Sure enough, Taeyeon was seated on the far left of the room and was writing rapidly on the exam paper.

Sensing that she was being watched, Taeyeon looked up and smiled at Tiffany and motioned the girl to return to their dorm first. The short haired girl nodded and closed the door behind her before letting out a sigh. She wandered around aimlessly around the campus before finally deciding to retreat to her dorm.

Sunye greeted her from the couch and offered to make lunch, but she refused, insisting that she could do it on her own. Glancing at the clock, Tiffany realized it was a good time to call Yuri; they haven't talked for a while since Tiffany had to cram for her midterms. She pulled out her phone and scrolled to Yuri's name before pressing talk.

She could hear loud music in the background as Yuri answered her call,

"Hello?"

"Yuri-ah!"

"Fany-ah!"

"Where are you? Why is it so loud?"

"I'm at a party Fany-ah,"

Tiffany narrowed her eyes, "You're partying while I'm away?" she asked in a hostile tone.

"N-No! It's the end of first semester so we all decided to celebrate. . ."

"Who is 'we' exactly?" Tiffany said suspiciously.

"Well more of Yoona decided to celebrate and brought a bunch of her friends over,"

"How do you know Yoona?" Tiffany continued to pry.

"We're on the same track team; I don?t think Sica likes her that much though,"

"Oh? Why is that?"

"She insists that Yoona and Taeng are too close for her liking,"

Tiffany giggled slightly but continued to interrogate, "So. . . how close

are

you and Yoona?"

"Are you jealous?"

Yuri teased.

"N-No! Why would I be?!"

"I don't know, you tell me,"

"Kwon Yuri. . ."

"Fany-ah, stop being paranoid, there's only you okay?"

Tiffany laughed and let out a satisfied sigh, "There better be,"

"So how's Taeyeon?"

"She might be coming back to Korea soon," Tiffany informed.

"Really?! Why? What about you?"

"I still have one semester to go but TaeTae crammed it all into six months,"

"Is she okay?"

"I don?t know-"

Tiffany was interrupted by the sound of the door opening and a weary Taeyeon walking in. Her face was paler than usual and her eyes constantly scrunched together, as if she was having trouble seeing.

"Hey Yuri-ah, I got to go, call you later okay?"

"Okay, take care,"

"Are you feeling alright Taeyeon?" Sunye asked as she felt Taeyeon's forehead, "You?re burning up!"

"I'm fine," Taeyeon insisted, "I just need some sleep,"

Tiffany walked towards Taeyeon and grabbed her hand, "Are you sure?"

Taeyeon shut her eyes tightly and rubbed her left temple with the palm of her hand, "I'm fine, just a little dizzy,"

"Here, sit down," Sunye motioned to the couch.

Taeyeon slowly walked over to the piece of furniture but the surging pain in her head caused her to lose her balance and trip over the decorative rug. Her hands reached out to break her fall but her head had already hit the corner of the granite table.

Tiffany and Sunye immediately rushed over to the girl with blood trickling down her face and pulled her into their arms, shaking her violently to try to gain back her consciousness. Sunye ripped a piece of fabric from the sleeve of her long sleeved shirt and pressed it tightly on the wound, hoping it would stop bleeding.

"TIFFANY, CALL 911!"

Tiffany furiously dialed the 3 numbers in her phone as she waited impatiently for the receptionists to pick up on the other line. Once she heard the voice, she shakily told the woman the information required, tears brimming her eyes.

"TAEYEON-AH!" Sunye yelled as she shook Taeyeon even harder, "TAEYEON! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!"

Taeyeon's eyes fluttered open slightly, her voice was hoarse and her requests were merely let out in mumbles as Sunye leaned closer to Taeyeon to understand.

"J-Jessica. . . I want Jessica. . .c-can you do that?" the girl let out weakly before losing her consciousness.

Sunye drew a sharp breath, "Tiffany, call Jessica, she needs to come now, tell her to take the earliest flight to New York,"

Chapter 19

Jessica gritted her teeth as she stepped on the accelerator, weaving back and forth on the highway, the odometer almost reaching 90 MPH. She was scolded relentlessly by her father for the last car accident she was in but Mr. Jung eventually forgave his daughter and bought her a replacement vehicle the next day. It was times like these that Jessica was glad her father was only strict and unreasonable when other nonfamily people were around.

She stepped even harder on the pedal when the airport was in sight. Usually, Yuri would yell at her to slow down but for once, Yuri sat in the passenger seat quietly, anxiousness obviously evident on her face. She recalled how much of a wreck Jessica was when she received the phone call. She remembered how she spent hours typing to calm the girl down, trying to book a flight, trying to sort everything out in her head.

Jessica hastily parked in the parking lot and called her chauffer to pick up the car as she and Yuri ran to the front desk to retrieve their tickers. The earliest flight was in two hours that day so there was no time to pack, not that they were in the mood to pack anyway. Quickly boarding the plane, the two found their seats and waited for the plane to take off.

Ten hours passed and the blonde haired girl stared at the screen in front of her, one of the many small screens that were on the airplane. Two more hours until they reach New York, two more hours until she can see Taeyeon. . . in a hospital. Kim Taeyeon, the girl that she fell hopelessly in love with, the girl who caused her heart to shatter because she had left to New York, and now, because she?s admitted in a hospital.

?Taeyeon-ah. . . you are so. . . stupid. Why didn?t you tell me. . .? she painfully thought to herself.

--

Sunye impatiently waited outside the emergency room while the doctor stitched up Taeyeon?s head. Tiffany had gone to the cafeteria to get some coffee for them. She ruffled her hair with her hand until the vibration of her phone caused her to stop. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw that Halmoni was calling, the old woman sure knows when to call.

?Yes M?am?? she answered in a cold tone.

?Ah, Sunye, how are things going??

?They?re fine M?am,?

?Oh? That?s good, that?s good, and you?re fulfilling your duties I assume??

A sudden loud ambulance wailing could be heard and Sunye mentally cursed to herself, how was she going to cover this up now?

?Are you at a hospital??

?. . .?

?I guess you are, why would you be at a hospital??

?Taeyeon. . . fainted from. . . a fever M?am,? the bodyguard lied.

?Fainted?!?

?I?m sorry M?am. . .?

?For how long??

?Just last night M?am,?

?I shall come see her at once!?

?There?s no need M?am, I?ve-? Sunye started to say but the old woman had already hung up.

?SUNYE! WHERE?S TAEYEON?!? a sudden voice called her.

Whipping her head around, she saw an exhausted Jessica and Yuri run towards her, ?She?s getting stitches right now,? she answered solemnly.

?Is she okay? What did the doctor say? Is she conscious yet?? Jessica asked worriedly, all in one breath.

?JESSI~! YURI!? Tiffany squealed as she dropped the coffee in her hand and bear hugged the two people in front of her.

Sunye sighed at the wasted coffee and proceeded to throw the cups into the garbage, ?She hasn?t woken up yet,?

?Y-You think she?ll l-lose her memory? And. . . she?ll forget everything?? Jessica asked shakily.

?I don?t think so, at least let?s hope not,? Sunye replied calmly.

The doctor walked out of the room and closed the door behind him and turned around to be surrounded by four girls. His eyes widened in shock as they asked him various questions all at once so his minded refused to comprehend anything they said.

?Calm down girls, she?ll be fine, it was only a slight head injury but nothing significant, she should wake up soon, although, she?ll have a few headaches for the coming week,? he said quickly to quiet them down. A loud sigh of relief could be heard from everyone as they thanked him and rushed inside the room to see Taeyeon.

The doctor sighed as well and smiled slightly, usually he had to deliver bad news to families and friends, it was nice to deliver good news for a change. He walked tiredly to his office and sat down in the chair, exhausted from the tiring day. He closed his eyes, trying to get some rest but his office phone suddenly rang and he quickly answered it.

?Dr. Lee speaking,?

?Dr. Lee, I would like a favor from you,?

?Madam Kim??

?Ah yes, you remember??

?Of course, you got me my job!?

?So, you remember that favor you promised me??

?Yes, what do you need Madam??

?Are there by chance any drugs that might be meant for amnesia??

?Yes Madam, there are some used in surgeries to cause the patient to forget the pain,?

?So, would it be possible to forget certain things they learned recently, college courses perhaps,?

?It?s possible Madam, why do you ask though??

?Do you have a patient by the name of Kim Taeyeon??

?Yes Madam,?

?How is she? She happens to be my granddaughter,?

?Oh! I see! She?s doing fine M?am, just a few stitches, and she overworked herself,?

?Stitches? Not a fever??

?No Madam, she came in with a head injury,?

?I see. . . how interesting, well could you perhaps give a dose of that amnesia drug to my Taeyeon??

?May I ask why??

?No, just do as I say,?

?I understand,?

--

The doctor sighed and slightly opened the door to Taeyeon?s room. By this time, the girl had already been moved up to one of the best rooms the hospital has to offer. Seeing that there was no one inside, he silently stepped inside with three tubes of amnesia drugs in his hand. He took Taeyeon?s arm, and began injecting the first tube. During surgery, it depended on the patient?s weight to determine the amount of medicine needed, but he assumed to make a patient forget a certain time period, it would take about two, unfortunately, the doctor was oblivious to the fact that three would be overdosing.

After the second tube was injected, he decided that two and a half would be on the safe side, so he quickly grabbed the third tube. Unknown to him, the door opened and a certain bodyguard had walked in.

?What are you doing?!? she demanded.

Startled by the sudden voice, the man pushed onto the needle and injected the entire third tube into Taeyeon?s sleeping body. The heart monitor began to beep furiously and Sunye ran up and grabbed the doctor?s collar.

?WHAT DID YOU DO?!? she asked angrily as she slammed him against the wall.

Nurses began to rush in the room with the rest of the girls following behind. They quickly examined Taeyeon, not exactly sure what was wrong with her, and the doctor was useless at this moment.

?WHAT THE F*CK DID YOU DO YOU B*STARD!? Jessica screamed and lunged at the man but Yuri and Tiffany pulled her back.

?I-I was just following orders!?

?WHO?S ORDERS!? Sunye demanded.

?My orders,? a voice answered her.

They all turned around to face the cold hearted woman glaring at them. She pushed Jessica aside and struck her right across the face, ?This is all your fault,? she said coldly.

Jessica clenched her fist tightly, refraining from attacking the old woman. She glared at the person in front of her, ?You are the cause of this, and everything is because of you! If you didn?t send Taeyeon to New York none of this would?ve have happened!? she yelled.

?If you had never met Taeyeon, she would?ve never had to go to New York, now all of you get out of this room!?

?No, you get out, get out now, you?re making everything worse, I quit, I thank you for saving me but I cannot follow your orders anymore, leave please,? Sunye answered as she looked Halmoni right in the eye.

The old woman scoffed, ?She?s my granddaughter, I have more right to see her than you,?

?GET OUT! JUST GET OUT!? Jessica screamed and shoved the woman out, locking the door behind her.

?YOU! WHATEVER YOU DID, FIX IT NOW!? Yuri hollered at the cowering doctor.

?I c-cant! It looks like she overdosed! I don?t know how to cure amnesia overdose!?

?AMNESIA? YOU GAVE HER AMNESIA DRUGS!? Tiffany yelled.

Suddenly, the heart monitor stopped rapidly beating and was slowly returning to normal. Everyone looked at Taeyeon worriedly, but the girl was showing no response.

?I think. . . she?ll be fine, now that her heart has calmed down,?

?SHUT UP! JUST GET OUT!? Jessica shouted and pointed to the door.

--

Three days had passed and Taeyeon was still showing no sign of consciousness. Jessica sat by her bed, intently looking at the girl. She had never left Taeyeon?s side since the day of overdose; she didn?t want to ever leave Taeyeon alone again. The girls offered to take turns watching Taeyeon but Jessica had refused; she wanted to be the first one Taeyeon saw when she awoke.

?Taeyeon-ah, it?s me, Jessica, can you hear me?? Jessica whispered.

Seeing no response, she sighed but continued to talk, ?Hey, you?ve been asleep for three days, isn?t it time for you to wake up? Usually it?s you waking me up right? I don?t like the sudden switch in roles Taeyeon-ah. Hey, we didn?t see each other for half a year right? Don?t you want to wake up and see me? Kim Taeyeon! Wake up. . . please. . . I love you,? Jessica said shakily, tears trickling down her cheeks as she held Taeyeon?s hand in her own.

Suddenly, she felt a slight squeeze of her hand, it was small but she looked at the girl hopefully, ?Can you hear me Taeyeon-ah? You need to wake up okay? All of us are worried about you, Taeyeon-ah, you can hear me right??

The squeeze was harder this time and suddenly, Taeyeon?s head started to shift. Soon, the girl?s eyes started to flutter open and she squinted them to adjust to the bright light.

?Oww. . . my head. . .? Taeyeon said in a childish voice.

?TAEYEON-AH! YOU?RE AWAKE!? Jessica said gleefully and hugged Taeyeon tightly.

?AHH! WHO ARE YOU?! WHY ARE YOU HUGGING ME?! KIDNAPPER! TAEYEON DOESN?T LIKE BEING KIDNAPPED!?

?Taeyeon? Taeyeon, you don?t recognize me?? Jessica asked worriedly.

?Taeyeon doesn?t like kidnappers! Get away fiend!?

?. . .?

?Ahaha just kidding~! You like me right? Are you a princess? I?ll let you hug me if you give me candy, do you have jelly? I like jelly the most!? Taeyeon said cheerfully.

Jessica stared at Taeyeon in shock and felt the girl?s forehead, ?Taeyeon-ah. . . stop playing around,?

Taeyeon ignored her and pulled the IV line out of her arm and began to jump on the bed, ?THIS IS FUUUN! HEY YOU! WANNA JUMP WITH ME??

?Taeyeon-ah! Get down! It?s dangerous!?

?You?re no fun!? Taeyeon pouted as she sat on the bed, ?Are you my unnie??

?. . .no. . .?

?Oh. . . but you sure are bossy like one, anyway, you can be my princess unnie now!? Taeyeon said happily.

Chapter 20

First Month

"Wait, I don't understand, so she thinks she's a little kid now?" Tiffany questioned, still unable to grasp the current situation.

The female medical professional sat calmly behind the large cherry desk and gathered Taeyeon's medical papers neatly in one pile, "It seems the overdose of medicine caused her brain to malfunction, much like an overheated engine, but instead of her system shutting down, it's defected."

"Is this permanent?" Yuri asked after a quick glance at Taeyeon fidgeting in her seat, obviously bored.

"There's no definite answer, it's impossible to determine the duration of conditions, especially ones like these,"

Taeyeon huffed and got out of her seat, waddling slightly to walk to where Jessica was sitting. She tugged on the girl's sleeve and pouted while asking when they were going to leave. Jessica smiled and patted the girl's head, assuring her that they were going to leave soon.

After a short while, they all stood up from their seats and thanked the doctor before proceeding to leave the room. Taeyeon's hand was entangled with Jessica's as they made their way to the front door of the hospital. Taeyeon observed her surroundings, registering the many signs, doors, and stretchers in her brain before spotting what she really wanted.

"PRINCESS UNNIE! CANDY!" she shouted gleefully and dragged the blonde to the vending machine.

Jessica immediately inserted several coins into the large device and retrieved the bag of gummy worms for the grinning girl who hugged her tightly.

Sunye smiled slightly at the scene before her but turned her head quickly when she felt someone's eyes on her. Her eyes met with Dr. Lee's while he was being escorted by two policemen to the waiting car outside. His piercing eyes were filled with hatred as he mouthed a threat to her, "I'll kill you, just you wait,"

Noticing the frown on Sunye's face, Yuri glanced in the direction where the bodyguard was focusing her attention at. Seeing the hostile eye contact between the two, she patted Sunye's back, trying to ease the tension, "Don't bother with him, he'll be serving his time anyway."

Second Month

"Okay Taeyeon, do you think you got everyone's names down now?" Yuri asked as they all sat in a circle on the floor of the large dorm.

Taeyeon nodded her head vigorously and grinned, "Of course I do!"

"Okay! Let's start!" Tiffany shouted enthusiastically, "What's my name?"

"Mushroom!"

Tiffany's eye twitched slightly as the rest erupted into laughter while high fiving the small girl. In a way, the girl did remember things before the drug overdose, but then, she doesn't.

"Okay, what about me then?"

"Kkab!"

Yuri narrowed her eyes and shook her head from side to side, "No Taeyeon, bad, it's Yuri, YU-RI!"

Taeyeon shook her head no, "KKAB! KKAB!"

The tanned girl let out a sigh and threw a pillow at Taeyeon as the rest giggled to themselves, "What about her?"

"BODYGUARD!" Taeyeon shouted, imitating various moves she learned from Ninja Assassin.

". . .close enough, what about her?"

"SICA! SICA, SICA!" Taeyeon replied happily and snuggled against the blonde.

"NO FAIR! HOW COME SHE ONLY REMEMBERS JESSI'S NAME?!" Tiffany protested and crossed her arms.

Jessica smirked and draped an arm over Taeyeon's shoulder, "Because, I'm cool like that,"

Third Month

"It says it's hungry," Taeyeon said and pointed to her stomach.

"What do you want to eat?" Yuri asked.

"LOBSTER! The claws go snap!"

"The kid still has her expensive taste buds," Tiffany joked.

"Where do we find a lobster?"

"Red Lobster?"

"Oh! Good idea! Let's go!"

"Go! Go! Go!" Taeyeon repeated excitedly.

--

"Taeyeon, are you sure you can eat that by yourself?" Sunye asked as she pointed to the large creature on Taeyeon's plate.

"Yushuh!"

The rest of the group started to dig into their meals while Taeyeon messily ate the lobster in front of her.

Seeing that girl was struggling, Jessica took the initiative to stop the girl and feed her herself.

"Say 'ah' Taeyeon," Jessica ordered and held the forkful of food at Taeyeon's mouth.

The girl shook her head furiously, "I can do it!"

"No you can't, now eat!"

"NO! I CAN DO IT!"

"Taeyeon, just eat okay?" Jessica tried to negotiate.

"I CAN DO IT! LET ME DO IT!" Taeyeon shouted and threw her spoon at Jessica's head.

"TAEYEON! DON'T THROW THINGS!" Tiffany scolded.

Jessica glared at the little girl and set down her utensils, "Let's go, since she doesn't want to eat, let her starve," she said calmly, trying to hold in her temper.

--

Jessica rolled her eyes when she saw Taeyeon glare at her. The girl was sitting in the seat next to the window, crossing her arms and refusing to talk to anyone.

"Glare all you want, I don't care," Jessica stated, annoyed.

"You're mean," Taeyeon muttered.

"Well you're unreasonable and spoiled," Jessica retorted.

"Now I know why no one likes you, you're evil,"

"I'm not evil, you're just stupid,"

"I HATE YOU!" Taeyeon shouted.

Jessica furrowed her eyebrows at the comment and bit down on her lip, her face grim, "Whatever,"

The girls looked at the two worriedly, knowing that Taeyeon's words did more damage than what the petite girl meant to do. Yuri patted Jessica's back while Tiffany scolded Taeyeon slightly for being too harsh with her words.

As soon as they pulled up to the parking lot of the large campus, Jessica immediately got out of the car and slammed the door behind her. She quickly made her way to the dorm and locked herself inside one of the guest rooms.

"Taeyeon-ah, you should go apologize," Sunye said gently.

"She called me stupid!" Taeyeon protested.

"But you said you hated her,"

"She deserves it," Taeyeon pouted.

"How would you feel if Jessica said she hated you?" Sunye questioned.

The shorter girl bit down on her lip, imagining the situation, ". . .bad," she concluded.

"See? That's how Jessica feels right now,"

--

Over the next few days, Jessica had completely ignored Taeyeon, not bothering to acknowledge the girl's presence. The shorter of the two frowned as Jessica sat on the couch, reading one of her books, not bothering to talk to anyone.

"Sica?" Taeyeon called out timidly.

". . ."

Seeing that she wasn't going to get a response, Taeyeon pouted and turned on the TV.

"Turn it off, it's bothering me," Jessica said coldly.

Taeyeon hesitantly looked at Jessica, "O-Okay," she said softly and turned off the electronic screen.

The night was slowly replacing the day and the girls were getting ready for bed. Taeyeon sighed as she brushed her teeth, her bangs tied up to keep them out of her eyes. She frowned when she spotted Jessica retreating one of the guest rooms. After a few minutes of contemplation, she decided that if Jessica wasn't going to talk to her, she'll make her.

"Sica?" Taeyeon called out as she stuck her head into the dark room.

"What?" came an annoyed voice.

The shorter girl widened her eyes in surprise at the response, she hadn't expected this, "A-Are you still mad?"

"Yes, now get out,"

"C-Can w-we talk?"

Jessica sighed and sat up from her bed, motioning the girl to come sit next to her. Taeyeon grinned and closed the door behind her before making her way to the large bed.

"What do you want Taeyeon?" Jessica asked tiredly.

"I-I'm sorry," Taeyeon said quietly.

"About?"

"Can you close your eyes?" Taeyeon asked abruptly.

"What? Why?" Jessica questioned, surprised by the sudden interruption.

"Just do it," Taeyeon ordered, with her cheeks puffing out.

Jessica raised an eyebrow but obliged.

Taeyeon nervously looked at the girl before her. She took several deep breaths before quickly grabbing Jessica by the shoulders and planting a firm kiss on the girl's lips. Jessica opened her eyes, shocked by the sudden action and stared at the blushing girl as she pulled away.

"T-Taeyeon-ah?"

"M-Mushroom said that if you kiss someone, you really like them. . ." Taeyeon stuttered, "I-I don't hate you, I r-really, really like you,"

Jessica smiled at the sudden confession and pecked the girl's cheek, "I really, really like you too,"

Taeyeon's face broke out into a grin as she hugged Jessica tightly, "So you're not mad at me anymore?"

"I can never stay mad at you babo,"

"Sica, I'm sleepy,"

"Me too, let's sleep,"

"Can I sleep with you?"

"Yeah, but Taeyeon-ah, you can only kiss me okay?"

"But don't you kiss people you like?"

"No, only one person you really like, so you can only kiss me,"

Fourth Month

"Sica! Wanna go somewhere with me?" Taeyeon asked happily as she poked the girl's stomach.

"You only want me to go because you need a ride huh," Jessica asked playfully.

"Yes. . . AND because I want you to go!"

"Where are we going?"

"The beach! It's sunny out!"

Flashback

?We?re here,? Taeyeon announced.

?A beach??

?Just wait a few more minutes,?

?For what??

?Sunrise..? Taeyeon whispered softly as she gazed ahead of her. As if on cue, the night sky slowly lit up, showing sight of a lighter horizon. Slowly but surely, the darkness melted away, retreating little by little as the sun awoke from its slumber. Jessica stared at the scenery in awe, her eyes widening, showing no sign of tiredness.

?It?s beautiful..?

?It is,? Taeyeon agreed. She turned to Jessica and flashed her a grin, ?Aren?t you glad you woke up??

Jessica nodded silently and returned her gaze to the view in front of her. The two sat in silence for a few minutes before Jessica turned to Taeyeon, noticing the girl was in deep thought.

?What are you thinking about??

Taeyeon turned to her and smiled, ?You,?

?Lies,? Jessica said as she blushed and quickly looked away.

Flashback ends

"Why the beach?" Jessica asked carefully.

"Because. . . I told you, it's sunny out! Let's go!"

--

"TAEYEON-AH! STOP RUNNING! YOU'RE GOING TO TRIP!" Jessica shouted to the overly excited girl running around on the sand. The beach was empty because most people were still in school or at work, good thing Taeyeon had already finished her schooling for that year.

"No! Play with me!"

"Play by yourself," Jessica said deadpanned and sat on the hood of the car.

"You're no fun," Taeyeon pouted.

Jessica stuck her tongue out at the girl and motioned the girl to go play.

Closing her eyes and inhaling the salty air of the ocean, Jessica smiled in content as the wind blew against her hair. Even though Taeyeon was slightly different, she was still Taeyeon, no matter what. Even if this Taeyeon was going to be permanent, she'll take care of this Taeyeon for the rest of her life.

Suddenly, she heard loud splashing within the water and immediately opened her eyes to see Taeyeon helplessly flailing, trying to stay afloat.

"TAEYEON-AH!" she shouted and quickly jumped off the car and ran towards the water.

"S-SICA!" Taeyeon yelled as the waves splashed over her head, "SICA! HELP ME!"

Jessica jumped into the waters, ignoring the cold temperature and quickly swam towards the girl.

"SICA! SICA!"

Kicking even faster, Jessica gritted her teeth and pushed the water away from her body. When she didn't hear Taeyeon's voice anymore,she worriedly looked around her and spotted the girl slowing being engulfed by the strong tide.

"TAEYEON!" she shouted and pulled the girl towards her body. She quickly shifted directions and headed towards the shore while trying to keep Taeyeon's head afloat. Once they reached shore, Jessica hurriedly dragged Taeyeon onto the beach and shook the girl, "TAEYEON-AH? TAEYEON! WAKE UP!"

Seeing no response, she quickly pinched the girl's nose and blew into her mouth. When the girl was still not breathing, she bit her lip and pushed down on the girl's chest, hoping to give her more air. After a few seconds, Taeyeon shifted her head and coughed violently, water spilling out. Jessica pulled the girl in a sitting position and patted her back violently.

"I'm so sorry Taeyeon-ah, it's all my fault, I shouldn't have let you play alone," Jessica said quickly, her eyes watering.

"Y-You. . ."

"It's all my fault, you can hit my, scold me, do anything, I'm really sorry Taeyeon-ah,"

"Sica. . ." Taeyeon called out, her tone different than it was for the past four months.

"Taeyeon?"

Taeyeon looked at the girl and smiled softly, she reached up and caressed the girl?s cheek, ?Hey baby, I?m back,? she whispered and pressed her lips against Jessica?s.

Chapter 21

?How many fingers am I holding up?? Tiffany asked as she held up two fingers in front of Taeyeon?s face.

The shorter girl rolled her eyes and slapped the hand away, ?I?m not blind Fany-ah,?

?SHE CALLED ME FANY!? Tiffany shouted happily and jumped onto Taeyeon, embracing the girl tightly.

Yuri narrowed her eyes and proceeded to pry the overly excited girl off her cousin, ?Now, now, let her get some air Tiffany,? Yuri said half heartedly, ?You?re not suppose to jump on people aside from me like that,? she added under her breath.

?So she?s really normal now?? Jessica asked the doctor.

?Yah! I was normal! Just a little defected!? Taeyeon protested and playfully slapped the blonde?s shoulder. Upon receiving a glare, Taeyeon immediately shut her mouth and focused all her attention on the doctor.

?It seems the near drowning incident seemed to have triggered her memories, from what I can tell, she?s completely fine now,?

A loud sigh of relief could be heard as the girls registered the news. They quickly thanked the doctor and proceeded to leave the room after a few instructions and prescribed medicine.

?So, what do you guys want to do now?? Sunye asked as they aimlessly strolled around the streets of New York.

?Anything is fine,? Yuri shrugged.

?Hey Fany-ah, doesn?t Jill live in New York now?? Taeyeon asked while walking hand in hand with Jessica.

?Jill? I think so, she just moved here right?? Tiffany replied.

?Who?s Jill?? Jessica asked, slightly annoyed.

?Jillian Kim, our cousin, Taeyeon?s other half,? Tiffany reported.

?What did you say?? Jessica demanded in a hostile tone.

Taeyeon laughed nervously and wrapped her arm around Jessica?s shoulder, ?Tiffany?s just playing around,? she said quickly and gave Tiffany a death glare.

?Oh, right, Jill?s your shadow, Jessica?s your other half,? Tiffany said playfully and quickly ran off before Taeyeon could attack her.

--

Jessica rolled her eyes in annoyance as she watched a certain Jillian Kim sat comfortably on Taeyeon?s lap and the girl was making no motive to get her off. Tiffany and Yuri were watching her reactions in amusement as Sunye plain out laughed at the situation.

?It?s not funny,? Jessica stated deadpanned.

?Yes it is,? Sunye retorted.

?TAEYEON-UNNIE! I WANT ICE CREAM!? the girl demanded loudly and bounced up and down on Taeyeon?s lap.

?Okay, okay,? Taeyeon replied and carried the girl to the kitchen to let her pick out her favorite ice cream.

?You?re the best!? Jill said happily and kissed Taeyeon?s right cheek causing Jessica to narrow her eyes threateningly.

?Jessica, are you seriously jealous?? Tiffany laughed.

?No, I am not,?

?No, I think you are,? Yuri teased.

?I?m not jealous!? Jessica insisted loudly.

?Denial is bad Jessica, the faster you accept it, the better it is for yourself,? Sunye joined in.

?I?M NOT JEALOUS!?

?TAEYEON-UNNIE! THAT UNNIE IS BEING LOUD!? Jill tattled childishly and pointed to Jessica.

Taeyeon sighed and patted the girl?s head, ?It?s okay, you?re loud too,?

?Do you like her?? Jill demanded roughly.

?Er. . . yes. . .very much,?

?But you like me more right??

Jessica glared at Taeyeon who nervously fidgeted in her seat, avoiding the piercing glare of her girlfriend and the expecting stares of the girl sitting quite comfortably on her lap, ?I. . . uh. . .? Taeyeon started to say, ?I mean, of course I like you better!? she finished quickly as she saw the girl was about to cry.

?YAY!? Jill shouted gleefully and ran over to where Jessica was sitting, ?She likes me more than you!? she said in a sing song tone and stuck her tongue out at the blonde.

Seeing that Jessica?s face darkened quite a bit, Taeyeon gave the girl an apologetic look and made a heart with her hands in which Jessica responded with a heart of her own but then moved one hand down so it resembled a breaking heart.

--

?We are NEVER visiting that girl AGAIN,? Jessica shouted loudly as she stormed out of the house while trying to remove the cucumber pieces from her hair.

?Sica~ she didn?t mean it,? Taeyeon tried to negotiate.

?SHE DUMPED A WHOLE CUCUMBER SALAD ON MY HEAD! WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE DIDN?T MEAN IT?!?

?She was just playing around!?

?UGH! I DON?T SEE HOW YOU CAN PUT UP WITH THAT GIRL!?

?Are you jealous?? Taeyeon asked teasingly.

?NO! FOR THE LAST TIME, I?M NOT JEALOUS OF A THREE YEAR OLD!? Jessica protested.

?Why are you so loud then? You?re jealous aren?t you,? Taeyeon smiled.

?I AM NO-? Jessica started to deny but was cut off by a pair of lips on her own. She tried to push the shorter girl away but soon melted into the kiss and responded eagerly. Snaking her arms around Taeyeon?s neck, Jessica pulled the girl closer to her body as the make out session continued.

?AHEM!?

Jerking away from each other, they both turned to the sound of the voice as Jessica let out a groan, ?WHAT DO YOU WANT NOW?!? she shouted at Jill.

?Don?t kiss my Unnie! Only I can kiss her!? the little girl shouted.

?I can kiss whoever I want little girl,? Jessica said in a low tone.

?No! Only I can kiss my Unnie!?

?NO!?

?Jessica. . . you?re arguing with a three year old,? Taeyeon said quietly.

?I don?t care! This three year old is even more annoying than you were!?

?HEY! I WASN?T ANNOYING! I WAS CUTE!?

?CUTE AND ANNOYING!?

?STOP ARGUING THE WHOLE NEIGHBORHOOD IS LOOKING AT YOU!? Sunye shouted at the three while Tiffany and Yuri reeled them inside.

--

?I don?t like you,? Jill muttered angrily as she eyed Jessica.

?I don?t like you either,? Jessica replied.

?I don?t see why Taeyeon-unnie puts up with you!?

?BECAUSE I?M NOT A LITTLE BRAT LIKE YOU!?

?I?M NOT A BRAT!?

?YES YOU ARE!?

?NO I?M NOT!?

?Guys~! Stop arguing!? Taeyeon said tiredly as she sat between the two.

?Taeyeon-ah, why are we still here?? Jessica questioned as she glared at Jill.

?Because Jill?s parents asked us to babysit,? Taeyeon replied as she wrapped an arm around Jessica?s waist.

?Come on Jill, do you want to play a game?? Tiffany asked nicely to the three year old.

?I only play with Taeyeon-unnie!?

Tiffany rolled her eyes and sat on the couch in a huff, ?Fine! I tried!?

Yuri smiled and sat next to her, rubbing Tiffany?s arms up and down, ?It?s okay, not everyone is good with kids,?

?Taeyeon-unnie I want a piggyback ride!?

?What? Now??

?Yes!?

?No,? Jessica replied bluntly for Taeyeon.

?I wasn?t asking you!?

?I don?t care; you?re not getting a piggyback ride from Taeyeon,?

?NO!? Jill screamed at the blonde and threw a plastic figurine at Jessica?s head.

?UGH! WHY ARE YOU SO MUCH LIKE TAEYEON?!? Jessica hollered as she rubbed her head in pain.

Taeyeon immediately pulled Jessica towards her and examined the bruise that was now forming and rubbed it gently, ?Does it hurt??

?Yes,? Jessica pouted.

Taeyeon pulled Jessica closer to herself and planted a soft kiss on the girl?s forehead, ?Better?? she asked as she pulled away.

?Yes,? Jessica smiled.

Turning her attention to the little girl next to her, Taeyeon took a deep breath before scolding the three year old, ?Don?t EVER throw things at people, especially Jessica, do you understand?? she said darkly, her tone eerily quiet.

Jill looked at the girl before her and coward back slightly, not use to the tone Taeyeon was using, ?U-Unnie??

?Apologize,? Taeyeon demanded.

?S-Sorry,?

?Not to me,?

Jill timidly got up from her seat and walked over to where Jessica was sitting, ?Sorry,? she said quietly and bowed to the girl.

?It?s all good,? Jessica replied coolly.

?Now, you try to get along with Jessica okay? You?ll be seeing her a lot, especially after we get married,? Taeyeon stated as a blush formed on Jessica?s cheeks and the rest giggled to themselves.

Jill pouted and slowly nodded her head, ?Okay. . .?

--

?ARG! WHAT A LONG DAY!? Tiffany yawned loudly, stretching her stiff back.

?You didn?t even do anything,? Yuri laughed.

?Yeah. . . all you did was sit there,? Sunye added.

?Hey! Sitting is a hard chore!?

?You want to stand then?? Sunye teased.

?No!? Tiffany pouted.

?I?m tired~? Jessica said out of the blue.

The rest stopped their conversations and looked at her, the wind blowing by gently.

?When are you not?? Yuri asked.

?Never, so we should go home now,?

?Okay Princess, get in the car,?

By the time they reached the dorm, Jessica had already fallen asleep in the backseat and no one dared to wake the girl up. Yuri and Sunye looked at Taeyeon expectantly while Tiffany giggled and patted her cousin?s back, ?Looks like you have to carry her.?

Taeyeon nodded as she let out a sigh and pulled the sleeping girl on her back, ?Can you open the door for me??

?Yup! See you upstairs!? Tiffany said happily and ran off to catch up with the others.

Taeyeon started to slowly make her way towards the building, taking small steps so she wouldn?t wake up her sleeping princess. She gazed up at the night sky, admiring the many stars, and inhaled the crisp night air. Turning her head slightly, she could see Jessica?s sleeping face next to hers. Smiling to herself, she continued to carry the girl up the flights of stairs.

Setting the blonde gently down on the bed, Taeyeon pulled the blankets over the girl and pecked her forehead lightly, waking Jessica up during the process.

?Hmm? Taeyeon??

?We?re home Jessica, get some sleep okay?? Taeyeon whispered softly.

?Yah, who said I was going to marry you,? Jessica asked sleepily.

?Who else are you going to marry if you don?t marry Kim Taeyeon?? Taeyeon laughed as she caressed Jessica?s face.

?I could marry Kim Taengoo,? Jessica replied childishly.

?And I could marry Jung Sooyeon,?

?Yah! It?s Jessica!?

?Well my name isn?t Taengoo either,?

?Whatever, you never asked me to marry you so I?m not going to marry you,?

?So will you marry me if I ask you??

?Yes,?

?Jessica Jung, will you marry me after our graduation??

?Of course babo, who else would I marry,? Jessica replied cheekily and pulled Taeyeon on the bed with her, ?I really missed you, you know,? she whispered softly.

Taeyeon smiled and pulled Jessica closer to herself, ?Yeah, I know,?

?Taeyeon-ah, I want to go home,?

?Me too, me too, but there?s some unfinished business I have to attend to before we can leave,?

?Dr. Lee??

?Yeah, I plan on seeing him tomorrow, to find out why,?

?You. . . you think it might be your Halmoni??

Taeyeon sighed and kissed Jessica?s right temple, ?Maybe,?

?What are you going to do if it is??

?Well it?s illegal for one thing, she could go to jail if he decides to spill, but knowing Halmoni she?ll find a way around it,?

Chapter 22

?What do you mean he?s gone?!? Taeyeon demanded at the Chief officer.

?He was bailed out,? the Chief answered dryly.

?By who?!?

?Some lawyer, came in with a brief case, filled out some papers and he was good to go, a free man!?

Taeyeon stared at the Chief in disbelief and angrily left the police station to the car where the others were waiting. Slamming the door as she got in signaled something was up, which worried the others, though no one wanted to speak up.

?So. . . how did it go?? Jessica bravely asked in the most casual way she could.

?He was bailed out! Can you believe that?!?

?By who?? Yuri asked.

?Who else?!?

?Halmoni?? Tiffany asked unsurely although she expected the answer.

?No one else would randomly bail him out right??

?So he?s on the loose??

?Yeah. . .I guess so. For all we know he might not even be in New York anymore!?

Sunye sat in the back quietly listening to the conversation while she furrowed her eyebrows. If he was on the loose that means he?s lurking out there, meaning he?s going to seek revenge, on her, or what?s worse, the others. She can?t let that happen. She won?t let that happen, not as long as she?s alive.

?Sunye? You feeling okay?? Yuri asked as she patted Sunye?s shoulder, waking her from her trance.

Sunye looked at Yuri blankly before giving her a small smile, ?I?m fine.?

?So what now??

?We go to Korea, to find Halmoni, I need to get to the bottom of this.?

--

"Hey, do you know why I have a letter that says ?You?re First? on it?? Tiffany asked while holding a piece of paper in her hand.

?Is there a sender?? Sunye asked carefully.

?Nope, just addressed to me.?

?. . . he can?t. . . can he?? Sunye whispered to herself.

?He? Who?s he?? Tiffany asked curiously.

Ignoring Tiffany?s question, Sunye looked around the room for the others, ?Where?s everyone??

?In their rooms, why??

?Make sure they don?t leave the dorm okay??

"What? Why? What's going on?"

"Dr. Lee. . . I think he's up to something, just don?t leave the house unless it's an emergency, I'll take care of the grocery shopping," Sunye ordered.

"W-Wait, he sent the letter? A-And I'm first?!"

"Yes, that's why you shouldn't leave the dorm especially. Be extra cautious of everything."

Tiffany furrowed her eyebrows but nodded, "I'll tell the others."

Sunye let out a deep breath and massaged her temples trying to figure out a decent plan but nothing was coming. They, no, she was at a great disadvantage. He knows where they reside, he knows how to play with their minds and all that is needed is for him to make the first move and it's all over.Even though the doctor was a failure at life, he has nothing left to lose now that he had lost his career. To make matters worse, he probably has Halmoni behind him, but. . . why would Halmoni order him to kill Tiffany?

"I won't let anything happen to any of them, where ever you are, I'll find you."

The next few days was shrouded by a tense atmosphere, everyone watching their backs even within the dorm. They hadn't received any letters from the doctor and nothing seemed out of the ordinary or suspicious. The daily mail was passed through the slit in the door and a certain blank white envelope caught Sunye's eye. Quickly, she reached down and grabbed the envelope and tore the seal open.

Hiding in that dorm won't do any good. I'll be watching your every move no matter where you are. Send the little body guard to the underground parking lot at midnight or I'll blow the whole school up.

"Who does he think he is?!" Yuri shouted angrily.

"He's bluffing, where does he get a bomb?!" Tiffany tried to reason.

"Don't go. . . whatever happens we're in this together. I'm not letting you go," Taeyeon said firmly.

Jessica and Sunye remained silent as they both stared at the letter. A silent tension washed over the group as the subject of the letter refuses to speak. After a few moments, Sunye took a deep breath and forced a smile on her face.

"I won't go, don't worry," she assured.

The other three nodded approvingly and patted Sunye's back, "Don't think too much."

The blazing sun was setting fast and it seemed night arrived in a blink of an eye. The girls wearily prepared for bed and bid each other goodnight and headed off to their perspective rooms to end the dreadful and slightly frustrating day. Making sure everyone was asleep, Sunye quickly grabbed her clothes and changed before silently leaving her room and the dorm shortly after. She swiftly maneuvered through the various halls of the university towards the lower level and finally to the parking lot. Turning the last corner before her desired destination, she inhaled deeply and proceeded to walk faster until she felt a firm tug on her arm.

"I thought we told you not to go."

Quickly turning her head around, Sunye widened her eyes when hers met with a certain blonde's.

"Jessica? What are you doing here?! Go back!" Sunye ordered roughly.

"No. Unless you're coming back too. You think I didn't know what you were thinking?"

"No. Go back. Go back now. It's dangerous here."

"Sunye-ah, we don't need to rely on you to protect us, we're all in this together. Quite frankly, we dragged you into this mess."

"It's my duty to protect you, whether you approve of my service or not doesn't waver my purposes or intentions."

"It's not your job to protect anyone! You're only responsible for yourself!"

"I'm your bodyguard Jessica, and all the others, please let me do my job," Sunye sighed defeatedly.

Jessica frowned in frustration and grabbed Sunye's collar, "Listen. YOU are NOT our bodyguard. You're our FRIEND. I'm not ordering you to not go, I'm asking you, as a friend that cares. Let's go back Sunye."

Sunye shook her head, refusing furiously, "No, if you see me as a friend then let me protect my friends! Go back Jessica, Taeyeon can't live with herself if something happens to you."

"THEN YOU THINK WE CAN LIVE WITH OURSELVES IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO YOU?!" a new voice demanded as the figure approached the pair.

"Taengoo?"

"Sica. . ."

"Taeyeon go back, take Jessica with you. Just go!"

"I'm not leaving without you, and if you're that stubborn then I'm coming with you," Taeyeon stated firmly and stared hard at Sunye.

Turning to Jessica, Taeyeon let out a sigh and held the girl's hand in her own, "And you, why did you leave and not tell me? You think I wouldn't notice that your side was empty?"

". . .I'm sorry Taeyeon-ah, I just didn't want to worry you, and you just recovered from the drug overdose," Jessica explained. "But I agree with Taeyeon, if you're not coming back with us, then we're coming with you."

Seeing that she was cornered and was losing, Sunye sighed and reluctantly nodded at the couple, "Just stay behind me and look around you, keep your eyes open to anything and everything."

The three made their way to the parking lot, squinting to see their surroundings due to the lack of light. It didn't take long for their eyes to adjust to the darkness, the parking lot was darker than the rest of the campus and there was really no difference between day and night in the area. Taeyeon's eyes widened when she made out a figure standing not too far from them, and from the looks of it, he was wielding a weapon, a gun to be exact.

"It's him!" she whispered harshly as she felt Jessica intertwined her hand with hers. The girl wouldn't admit it to anyone, but Taeyeon knew she was scared.

"Stay back, I'll go talk to him," Sunye ordered before there could be protests.

Walking briskly to the man, Sunye straightened her back and glared at him, "I'm here,"

"You're alone?" the doctor demanded.

"Yes, now what do you want?"

"Nothing, I just want you to get your punishment."

"For?"

"Disobeying your owner."

"So she sent you," Sunye sighed knowingly.

Taeyeon clenched her jaw at the news. This was a different side of her Halmoni that she have been exposed to. Sure, the woman was rude and completely unreasonable but she'd never thought . . . she could be a murderer.

"Then why did you send a letter to Tiffany?"

"To lure you out, what a genius plan right?" the man laughed. "And after you die, I get 1 billion won, so let's end this quick," he stated and cocked his gun.

"Jessica, go get help! Now!" Taeyeon whispered quickly as she pushed the girl towards the exit.

"What about you! And Sunye!"

"We can't both go, I'll stay and help Sunye, you go call the authorities, it?s okay, we'll be fine, just go!" Taeyeon said and immediately kissed the blonde lightly, "I love you, now go!"

Jessica reluctantly nodded and ran as fast as she could. She mentally cursed the parking lot for not having service available and she couldn't call the authorities by phone.

Sunye stared at the doctor blankly, not bothering to move or even retort back. Meanwhile, Taeyeon frantically searched around the parking lot for some kind of weapon, wondering why the man hadn?t noticed her presence yet.

?You think you can kill me?? Sunye finally said threateningly.

?I know I can girl,? the doctor answered cockily and pointed the gun at Sunye?s head.

Taeyeon let out a gasp and quickly spotted a metal pipe lying not too far from her. Stealthily sneaking behind the man, she raised the weapon high in the air and wacked his neck as hard as she could. A loud curse would be heard and the sound of a gun dropping to the ground quickly followed. Whacking the man again, she made sure he was immobile before reaching for the gun and running towards Sunye.

?Taeyeon-ah!? the bodyguard called out, ?WHAT DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING?! YOU COULD?VE BEEN KILLED!?

?Same to you!?

?Let?s get out of here, he might wake up at any moment!?

Taeyeon nodded vigorously and started to head towards the exit until she felt a sharp pain on her side and resulted in her colliding with the ground, the gun sliding across the concrete floor. She tried to stand up and retaliate against the doctor but was soon shoved down again as he had a strength advantage over her. The man made his way towards the gun but was kicked to the side from Sunye and was followed by a punch to the face afterwards.

?TAEYEON-AH! GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!? Sunye ordered as continued to hold the man back.

Taeyeon let out a cough as she struggled to breathe for air, ?N-No, you?re coming with me,? she said desperately and crawled to where the gun was. Her hand was mere inches from the weapon but it was swiftly picked up from the ground and was soon pointed at her head.

Looking up, her eyes met with the doctors and he let out a smirk, ?Killing two birds with one stone,? he said ruthlessly and began to pull the trigger.

Taeyeon closed her eyes and anticipated her end as she heard the gun go off. She felt a sudden weight on her and she quickly opened her eyes to see Sunye?s body draped over hers. Glancing down, she saw that both hers and Sunye?s clothes were drenched with blood and the wound was positioned where the girl?s heart was.

?SUNYE-AH!? Taeyeon called out desperately.

Loud sirens could be heard as multiple police cars entered the dark parking lot, illuminating the area with the headlights. Jessica quickly ran out of the car towards the two as the authorities scanned the area for the doctor who had somehow managed to escape in the chaos of everything.

?Taeyeon-ah!? Jessica called to the girl and quickly knelt down next to her.

Taeyeon looked at Jessica helplessly, tears streaming down her face as she held the unconscious girl in her arms, ?J-J-Jessica. . . s-she?s. . . she?s n-not breathing. . .?

Chapter 23

"I hate you," Taeyeon said coldly to the old woman sitting in front of her.

It had been a week after Sunye's death and Taeyeon had completely isolated herself from the rest of the world. The funeral was small, with only the four of them attending, and no words were exchanged between anyone. Taeyeon had decided to return to Korea after a few days of taking refuge in her room, not talking or establishing any form of communication. Her sudden departure was unknown to the others as she only left them a note the morning of her flight.

Her sudden arrival at the family mansion was a definite surprise but the servants welcomed the girl nonetheless although she had no intention of speaking or acknowledging them. Storming into her grandmother's office, she glared at the slightly startled woman murderously. Her eyes were filled with fury and hate but tiredness and solemn as well.

Halmoni leaned back on her chair, smirking at her granddaughter, "Hello to you too."

"Cut the crap, why did you send him!" Taeyeon demanded.

"Whatever do you mean?" Halmoni asked sarcastically.

"WHY DID YOU ORDER HIM TO KILL SUNYE?!" Taeyeon yelled furiously.

"She simply disobeyed me, it was her punishment," the woman answered casually.

"So you KILLED her?!"

"I didn't kill her."

"Where the hell is he?!"

"That is none of your concern."

"It's damn right my concern, who the f*ck do think you are huh?! You think you can just take away people's lives like that and get away with it?!"

"That?s exactly what I plan on doing," the woman said victoriously.

"No. You're going to jail! I'll make sure of it, I don't give a f*ck who you are to me," Taeyeon stated coldly.

"Think about it, do you really think they're going to throw me in jail? The country's economy depends on this company! And if I go down, everything else does too."

"I don't give a damn." Taeyeon said flatly and stormed out of the house.

Aimlessly strolling down the streets of Seoul, and occasionally bumping into strangers, Taeyeon clenched her fists tightly and started sprinting as fast as she could into nowhere. Covering her face with the back of her hand, she let the tears continuously flow as she kept wiping them away.

I'm sorry

I'm so sorry

It's all my fault

Everything is my fault

She slowed down after a short while, as the sky was slowly fading away, and walked to the railing of a nearby bridge. There was no one in sight and she was finally alone, isolated. Gripping the railing tightly, she screamed as loud as she could towards the ocean below, only stopping when she felt a pair of arms embrace her from behind.

"I would've came with you," the voice said quietly, hurt evident in her tone.

". . .Jess. . ." Taeyeon whispered and turned around, her eyes meeting the blonde's.

"Do you know how worried I was?" Jessica asked softly, her eyes red.

Taeyeon stared at her feet, unable to answer. She didn't know how to answer. This whole situation, all because of her. If she hadn't gotten herself involved with such a mess, no one would be crying, no one would be in pain, no one would be. . . dead. It was easier to be alone and have everyone around her live in peace than for all of them to suffer painful events, one after another.

Taking a deep breath, she pulled out of Jessica's embrace and looked at the eyes of the girl that she fell head over heels for, "Jessica. . ." she started out hesitantly, "Let's break up."

Jessica furrowed her eyebrows, registering the words, before staring at Taeyeon blankly, "What?"

"Let's break up."

Grabbing Taeyeon's shoulders and shaking her violently, Jessica glared at the girl with tears streaming down her face, "Why?!"

"It's. . . It's better. . . It's better for you that way," Taeyeon stammered as she swallowed the urge to cry again.

SLAP

Jolting her head up to meet the girl fiercely glaring at her with tear stained eyes, she looked at the blonde with questioning eyes as her cheek burned.

"You mean it's better for you," Jessica whispered coldly. "You're scared and now you're running away! You say you're doing it for me but you're doing it for yourself! You're selfish Kim Taeyeon, you selfish heartless jerk!" Jessica screamed at the shorter girl.

"Jess-"

"No! Don't say anything! All these things you do, why do you leave me in the dark?! Is it that hard for you to let me know what's going on?! Why do you have to keep everything to yourself huh? Tell me Taeyeon-ah, I care, I love you, you know I do."

"Sica. . ."

"Never, I never once gave up on you! When you lost your memories, when you weren't the TaeyeonI knew, I still stayed by you, when you were in New York, I was there, you ask me to not break up when your Halmoni threatened me, but now you're breaking up with me without a reason?! How selfish can you get!"

Taeyeon stood rooted to the ground as she watched Jessica break down in front of her. The tears she fought back were now spilling out uncontrollably. Reaching out, she pulled Jessica in for a tight embrace and ran her hand through the girl's hair as they both sobbed silently, "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"I love you too much to break up with you," Jessica said softly, her voice muffled by Taeyeon's shirt.

"I love you too, more than you know, I'm sorry Sica, for everything."

--

"I'm sorry Miss, there's no hard evidence, I can't help you."

Sighing as she left the tenth attorney office, Taeyeon aimlessly kicked a pebble lying on the road. She had expected it, who would agree to support her in a lawsuit against one of the most powerful women in Korea anyway. Grimly, she entered her car and drove off to her home, tired from the long day.

Jessica's ears perked up as the heard the front door open. Instinctively, she turned her head towards the door and smiled slightly as she rose to embrace the girl.

"How did it go?"

Taeyeon sighed as she rested her chin on Jessica's shoulder, drawing circles on the girl's back, "Failure."

"You can't expect anything else Taeyeon-ah."

"I know, but it's really frustrating, she can just freely roam the world after what she did, I'm not letting Sunye's death left unjustified!"

"I know, I know," Jessica sighed.

--

It had been a month after Sunye's death and everyone had arrived back to Seoul, slowly accustoming themselves back to their homeland. Slowly moving on, the group began to let go of the death as the days passed by. Although, there was never a time where giving up on justifying Sunye, smiles began to reappear on the faces that had stopped giving them.

Tiffany had decided that it was best for everyone to get outside and breath some fresh air after weeks of cooping themselves in Taeyeon's house. Reluctantly, everyone agreed and they leisurely strolled down the streets of Seoul, window shopping for various items.

Jessica let out a yawn as she dragged Taeyeon to a nearby bench and forced the girl to sit down with her as she rested her head on her shoulder. Taeyeon smiled slightly and wrapped her arm around Jessica's waist.

"Tired already?"

Jessica nodded while closing her eyes.

"Okay, I'll take you back, Tiffany and Yuri can leave later, let me go to the bathroom first," Taeyeon said softly and proceeded to get up towards the bathroom after receiving another nod from Jessica.

Feeling a light tap on her shoulder, Jessica arched her eyebrow and opened her eyes slightly, giving a peculiar look, "That was fast."

She gasped at the sight of the murderous eyes glaring at her and she struggled to get up as he held onto her wrists tightly, "Don't make a sound or I'll shoot you," he whispered harshly causing her to stop squirming.

Her eyes bulged as she saw him pull out a needle and quickly injecting it into her arm before she should react. She flinched at the pain and yanked her wrists from his grasp as he smirked at her.

"W-WHAT DID YOU JUST GIVE ME?!"

"Heroin, my dear, I didn't get to kill you at the parking lot, but playing this game is a lot funner than instantly killing you, don't you think?"

Parking lot? I went to get for help, did he think Taeyeon was me?

Before she could utter another word, the man quickly disappeared as quickly as he came as Taeyeon returned back and smiled gently at Jessica.

"Are you ready?"

Feeling a sudden rush in her veins, Jessica began laughing hysterically as she started to skip off into a different direction, "It's a great world isn't it Taeyeon-ah? Haha, let's go have some fun! Hey, isn't this street pole great? Ah, I love this world."

Taeyeon stared at the girl, her eyes widening, "Jessica? Are you feeling alright?"

Jessica flashed Taeyeon a grin and ran back to grab the girl's hands in hers, "Of course! Why wouldn't I be?"

Chapter 24

"Y-You don't think anything's wrong with Jessica do you?" Taeyeon asked worriedly as she observed Jessica's strange behavior the past few days. The girl had been experiencing various mood swings, restlessness, scratching herself vehemently and insisting that she needs to shower every other hour.

"I don't know, but. . . something's definitely off," Yuri replied with a sigh.

Tiffany nodded in agreement, "What do think caused this?"

"Maybe just a phase?" Yuri suggested unsurely.

"No, I think something's wrong, really wrong, I think we need to take her to the doctor," Taeyeon stated firmly.

"Honestly Taeyeon-ah, I don't really trust doctors anymore," Tiffany mumbled.

"Neither do I, but we just can't ignore her like this," Taeyeon replied.

Yuri scanned the room worriedly as she saw the bathroom door open but no one was in sight, "Where's Jessica?"

Taeyeon shot up from her seat and frantically looked around, "WHERE IS JESSICA?!"

The commotion was interrupted by the sound of the door opening and a familiar figure stepping in, "Taeyeon-ah!"

"Umma!"

--

Jessica fidgeted in her seat, her nails digging into her hands, almost to the point of penetrating the skin surface. Her addiction was worsening now, she lived three days, three days of hell without it, but now, she'll go crazy if she doesn't fulfill her needs. Unsure of where she was going, she exited the bus at the next stop and wandered around aimlessly, searching for a potential drug dealer, or at least someone that looks like they could be one.

Feeling a firm grasp on her wrist, she quickly turned around and met eyes with none other than the doctor. Seeing the confusion and desperation in her eyes, he smirked and pulled her closer to him, "I'll give you what you want if you do what I ask you," he whispered deviously in her ear.

Nodding vehemently, she quickly followed him to his car and buckled herself in before he sped off.

The doctor smirked to himself; things were finally going his way.

--

Earlier

"I've done my job,"

"Good, now scram,"

"Where's my pay?"

Halmoni looked at Dr. Lee incredulously and scoffed, "You really thought I was going to pay you?"

The doctor stared at her in shock, "What the hell!"

"Get out of my sight, you useless thing,"

"You b*tch! You realize, I say one word and you go to jail?!"

"Oh, who says you were going to say anything?" the woman said cockily and motioned her hand, ordering someone to come in.

In a blink of an eye, he felt himself being dragged out of the office by two extremely large men despite his violent protests. Thrown out of the room, he angrily rose up and dusted off his pants and began to storm out of the building if he hadn't bumped into one of the maids.

"I'm sorry Sir," the elder lady apologized.

Despite his anger, he always had a soft spot of motherly women, much like this one, "It's alright,"

"Can I help you with anything?"

"Can you kill that woman for me?" he spat angrily.

"I'm afraid I can't Sir,"

Drawing in a deep breath, he motioned the older woman to follow him, "Come, I don't want you working for this good for nothing b*tch,"

Sensing her hesitation he smiled softly, "I'll help you find another job, maybe your family can help you?"

The woman smiled and nodded, "Thank you Sir,"

--

The car ride was silent as the man comprehended what he had just been told. He had taken an middle aged from the Kim mansion, unaware of her identity, and now it turns out, she's the mother of Kim Taeyeon.

Sighing as he made a turn, he pursed his lips in thought, "At least. . . I did one right thing in my life," he said to himself.

"Ahjumma, where do you want to go?"

"Could you. . . let me borrow your phone?"

"Of course," he agreed and handed her the device.

She began to dial a number and he couldn't help but eavesdrop on the conversation, it was rude, but he was curious.

"Taeyeon-ah?"

"It's me, Umma,"

"I'm fine, don't worry, where are you right now?"

"Home? Yes, okay, I'll be arriving soon,"

"Was that your daughter?" he asked nonchalantly.

"Yes, can you drive me to her house?"

"Of course,"

Why he hadn't gotten out of the car and taken his chance, he didn't know himself. He watched silently as the older woman exited his car and bowed him as a sign of gratitude.

"You're a good man, maybe steered the wrong way, but you're a good man," she said quietly and closed the door.

He stared after her in shock, speechless, what did she mean by that?

Coming back to his senses after he spotted a certain blonde leaving the house, he quickly drove behind her, although it looked like she didn't even know where she was going either.

Stopping the engine as the bus made its stop; he left the car and quickly ran up to her, grasping her wrist.

--

"What do I have to do for you?" Jessica asked quickly, her attention switching from one thing to another.

"You'll see soon enough."

Chatper 25

"Umma, how did you get here?" Taeyeon asked as she led her mother to the couch and handed her a cup of water.

"A man offered to drive me back," she answered simply as she took a small sip.

"What man?" Tiffany asked curiously.

"I'm not sure, he was at the mansion, although, things didn't seem to go too well."

"Mansion? You don't think. . ."

"Dr. Lee?"

"Yes. . ."

"Oh, Taeyeon-ah, I saw Jessica leave the house, she didn't look too well, is she okay?"

"Umma, you saw Jessica?! Where did she go?!"

"I'm not sure but she was in a rush."

Taeyeon bit on her lip as she contemplated over the information. She tried to piece all the evidence together, to make sense of it all and realization struck her hard.

"Umma! Where was the car when you saw Jessica leave?!"

"I'm sure he was still outside," Mrs. Kim answered. "Why?"

"He took Jessica!"

"What?!"

"He took Jessica! How can he let this opportunity pass? He took her! And I'll bet you anything that he's taking her to Halmoni!"

Yuri shook her head, "We can't just assume that."

"It's all we can do!"

"I don't think it's logical," Yuri insisted.

"Fine! I don't need your input anyway, I'm leaving!"

"Wait! Where are you going?!"

"Where the hell do you think I'm going?!" Taeyeon shouted and slammed the door behind her.

--

"Are we almost there?" Jessica asked as she rubbed her arms up and down, unable to keep still.

"Almost."

"When. . . do I get to have it?"

The doctor chuckled slightly, "It's amazing what a little heroin can do to you."

"Just give me what I need," Jessica demanded.

"Give me what I want first," he replied simply.

"What do you want?"

"A favor."

"What kind of favor?"

"Kill that old woman."

Jessica blinked in surprise, "What?"

"Kill that wretch for me."

"Why can't you?"

"Because I don't want to be a murderer now do I?"

"You're as good as one," Jessica muttered under her breath.

Pulling up to the driveway, the doctor pressed on the brake quite suddenly causing Jessica to jerk forward, "Listen girl, you need me more than I need you, so just go do your job and we'll be done soon."

"I'm not going to kill someone!"

"Then you're going to end up killing yourself, how are you going to get your hands on heroin without me?"

". . ."

"And your little Taeyeon, what would she think hmm? That you're a good for nothing drug addict! You think she'll still want you?!"

"SHUT UP!"

"Our lives are already ruined, why not end the life of who started this?"

"I. . . I can't! I can't kill someone, I hate her guts but. . . she's still Taeyeon's Halmoni, I can't just kill her!"

The doctor let out an exasperated groan and pulled out a needle. He flicked it a few times before turning to Jessica, "I'll do this the hard way then," he said and quickly injected the fluid into Jessica's arm.

--

"I thought I told you to scram," Halmoni said in a hostile tone as she eyed the man in front of her. "Why is that thing here?" she asked in disgust as she pointed to Jessica.

"I thought I'd let you two settle things one on one," the doctor smirked.

"What is there to settle? Get her out of my sight!"

"Ah, who are you to order me around you b*tch?"

"How dare you!"

Ignoring the woman's demand, the doctor turned to Jessica and motioned her to come over, "Jessica, it's time for you to do your part."

Jessica slowly walked forwards, her steps uneven, her hands jittery, her mind spinning. The drugs were taking effect and she had no control of what she was doing, "W-What do you w-want?" she stuttered.

The doctor simply pulled out a gun and held it loosely in front of Jessica's face, "Shoot her."

"You wouldn?t dare!"

"You have no say in this, shoot her Jessica, think of all the things she did. She made you become like this!" he provoked.

Jessica furrowed her eyebrows and weakly grasped the gun in her hand, "You. . ."

"I didn't give you the drugs, that ******* did! Why are you trying to kill ME!" the woman reasoned desperately as her eyes widened in fear.

". . ."

Dr. Lee reached out and grabbed Jessica's hand only to have her jerk herself away from him, "DON'T TOUCH ME!"

"Jessica, we agreed on this, do your part!" he yelled frustratedly as he stepped closer to her.

"NO! STOP! DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!" she screamed as she pointed the gun at his approaching figure.

"Jessica, shoot her," he ordered, ignoring the girl's threat.

BANG

The doctor's eyes widened in shock as he slowly began looking down towards his abdomen. Blood began to spill out of him as he used both hands to press on the wound. In a matter of a few seconds, he fell to the hard marble floor and was unconscious.

Jessica stared at the man in shock as she dropped the gun in her hands, unsure of what she just did. Her whole body shook and she fell backwards to the ground as her knees gave out.

Seizing her chance, Halmoni quickly reached down and grabbed the gun and pointed it at Jessica's head, "You b*tch! How dare you try to kill me!"

Jessica looked up at the woman quietly, ". . ."

"If you had only left Taeyeon like I told you to, none of this would have happened! But let's end this now. . ." the woman trailed off and slowly began to pull the trigger.

"STOP!" a distant voice shouted startling the old woman who accidently jerked her hand back, pulling the trigger in the process.

Jessica stared at the owner of the voice in shock, "TAE-" she managed to let out before the bullet penetrated her head.

"JESSICA!" Taeyeon screamed as she rushed towards the girl as a group of officers trailed behind her. Quickly seizing the gun from the old woman, they handcuffed her, "You're under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."

"Jessica! Jessica, can you hear me, baby, wake up! Jessica!" Taeyeon said frantically as she shook the girl in her arms.

Jessica furrowed her eyebrows as she struggled to open her eyes, ". . .Taeyeon-ah. . ." she smiled weakly.

"Jessica! Hang on okay? They're getting help now, just hang in there!" Taeyeon coaxed as tears brimmed her eyes.

"THE AMBULANCE IS HERE!" one of the officers reported as two medics quickly entered with a stretcher.

--

"Doctor! How is she!" Taeyeon begged as she rushed up to the man after he exited the emergency room.

"She's somewhat stable, but I can't guarantee that she'll live," the man answered solemnly.

"C-Can I go see her?"

"Yes, but please don't provoke her,"

Taeyeon nodded, signaling she understood and rushed to Jessica's room. She gasped to see the girl hooked to various machines and wires as she struggled to survive.

"Jessica. . ." she whispered softly as she took the blonde's hand in her own.

Swallowing slightly, Jessica slowly opened her eyes and smiled at Taeyeon, "Hey. . ." she said in a muffled tone.

Taeyeon bit on her lip as her eyes started to water, "I'm so sorry," she said gently as she caressed the girl's face.

"It's not your fault, nothing is your fault Taeyeon-ah."

"How. . .How are you feeling?"

"Can you lay next to me?"

"Yeah, of course I can," Taeyeon agreed weakly and climbed next to Jessica, pulling the girl in her embrace despite the convenience of the wires.

"I love you Taeyeon," Jessica whispered against her chest.

"I love you too Jessica," Taeyeon answered in a trembling voice.

"You. . . You were so annoying the first time we met, you remember right?"

Taeyeon blinked and looked up at the ceiling as silent tears streamed down her cheek, "Y-Yeah," she managed to say in a hoarse tone.

"I'm really glad I met you Taeyeon, it's just too bad that-"

"Don't say it Jessica," Taeyeon interrupted as she held the girl closer, "You'll make it, you promised to live for me, so you'll make it."

"We both know that isn't going to happen Taeyeon-ah. . ." Jessica said softly as she struggled to raise her arms up. With difficulty, she pulled the ring that Taeyeon gave her off of her hand and handed it to the girl, "You should take this back."

"Jessica, no!"

"I-I can't be with you that much longer, you should give this to someone that deserves it more than I do, I'm grateful for the things you've done for me Taeyeon-ah, keep the ring I gave you as a memory of me okay?

"Let's get married,"

"But-"

"I promised that I'll marry you, so let's get married, right now," Taeyeon said determinedly as she took the ring and placed it on Jessica's finger, "You're my wife now, and forever, I'm not giving this ring to anyone else Jessica, no one else deserves it."

"Taeyeon-ah. . ."

"Jessica, please, don't do this, I only want you," Taeyeon begged desperately.

Seeing the look in her lover's eyes, Jessica bit on her lip and nodded, "We're married now."

The two laid in silence, only the sound of the heart monitor filled the room. Taeyeon rubbed Jessica's arm up and down as the girl breathed softly onto her chest, "I'm tired Taeyeon-ah."

Taeyeon furrowed her eyebrows as more tears spilled out, "You're tired?"

"I want to sleep. . ."

"Then. . . you should sleep Jessica,"

"I'll sleep for a while okay? Can. . . you wake me up in a few minutes?"

". . . yeah. . . remember to wake up okay?"

Jessica nodded slightly, "I love you."

"I love you too," she managed to say as tears flowed continuously now.

--

Taeyeon sat silently on a hill that overlooked a vast field. A soft breeze blew past her as she hugged her knees to her chest. Her eyes were swollen and bloodshot and her heart was torn into a million of pieces, shattered to the point where nothing can mend it.

"Jessica. . .it's time to wake up," she whispered as she looked up at the sky above her.

Yoona exited her car as she spotted her best friend seated in the grass. Taking a deep breath, she made her way next to the girl and sat down, "Hey."

". . .hey."

"I. . . I heard what happened,"

". . ."

"How are you feeling?"

". . . I feel like dying," Taeyeon replied as she buried her head in her hands.

"I'm here for you buddy," Yoona said as she put an arm around Taeyeon's shoulder.

Taeyeon nodded, "I know."

"Hey. . . wanna know something?"

". . ."

"You know why clouds cover the sky?"

"Why?"

"Because they're to block the view of people above us. When the whole sky is cloudy, those people in heaven are too sad to look over the ones they left behind, but when it's clear, you know they're looking at you now," Yoona said softly.

"Where did you get that?"

"Some philosophy book."

"That was so cheesy," Taeyeon smiled.

"But it's a cloudless sky today," Yoona protested.

Looking up, Taeyeon observed the horizon above her, "It is."

"Jessica's watching over you today Taeyeon-ah."

". . .is she?"

"She's still here, she's still with you."

Taeyeon smiled sadly as she stood up and placed her hands around her mouth, "JESSICA JUNG! CAN YOU HEAR ME?! YAH! YOU BETTER BE WAITING FOR ME UP THERE! YAH! YOU'RE MY WIFE! YOU BETTER NOT BE LOOKING AT OTHER PEOPLE UP THERE!"

Yoona smiled at laid back on the grass, her arms crossed behind her head, it looks like Taeyeon will be okay after all.

Alternate Ending

"You're a good man, maybe steered the wrong way, but you're a good man."

The words etched into his mind as he tightened his grip on the steering wheel. Was he even worthy of those words? The amount of decency that those words labeled. Maybe. . . maybe she was just playing mind games with him. What does she know?

Probably more than he does.

He groaned and ran a hand through his hair, this isn't right. How can a few simple words alter his decisions just like that, how someone he barely met changed him more than anyone ever has before. How wrong it was. . . to ruin someone's life like this.

Clenching his jaw, his eyes shifted to the girl in the passenger seat who had fallen asleep almost instantly having spent the past days restless and in misery.

"You're a good man, maybe steered the wrong way, but you're a good man."

Did he have any good in him?

Did he have anything at all?

Did he have anything to gain from this?

--

Taeyeon violently kicked a large oak before collapsing to the ground, exhausted from her useless search for Jessica. The arrival of her mother and the information she brought both relieved and worried her. Relieved that her mother is safe, worried because Jessica's probability of surviving in the doctor's captivity was extremely low.

"Taeyeon-ah!"

She turned her head to the direction of the sound to see Yuri and Tiffany jogging towards her.

"What?" she answered in a slightly annoyed tone.

"Let us help."

"You didn't believe me before, I don't need your help!" Taeyeon spat angrily.

Yuri groaned frustratedly and reached down to grab Taeyeon's collar and shoved her against the tree, "Look, I'm sorry that I didn't believe you okay? It's just so overwhelming! And you can sit here and be pissed at me but that's not going to get us anywhere! You NEED ANY help you can get and we're all you have!" she said harshly before loosening her grip and watched Taeyeon slowly falling back onto the ground.

The shorter girl buried her face into her palms as silent tears began to drop onto the grass, "Why. . . why does everything happen to me. . ."

Biting on her lip, Tiffany kneeled down and patted Taeyeon's back affectionately, "I'm sorry Taeyeon-ah."

The two watched as their friend cried to herself, neither having the heart to stop her and both knowing that she needed some way to let her emotions go.

--

The car reached a sudden stop causing Jessica to jerk forward and she squinted as her eyes adjusted to her surroundings. She furrowed her eyebrows as she looked at the dilapidated building in front of her, seemingly uninhabited for at least a decade.

"Where are we?"

"My home."

". . . why am I here? What do you want from me?!" Jessica demanded frustratedly.

"Shut up and listen to me if you want to live," the doctor said harshly and motioned Jessica to leave the car.

The front door opened with a loud squeak and revealed a surprisingly well kept home, although slightly rustic. The man made his way to the couch and sat down, massaging his temples.

"There's an extra room on the left of the hallway."

"What?"

"You can stay there for now."

". . ."

"STAY THERE UNTIL I FIGURE OUT WHAT TO DO WITH YOU!" he shouted angrily.

Jessica frowned and let out a loud sigh, "Whatever."

Slamming the door to the room, Jessica let out a groan as she tugged on her hair. She was going crazy and it was getting impossible to restrain herself. Pulling out her phone, she cursed at the fact that there was no signal available.

Falling carelessly on the bed she scrolled through the mobile device and skimmed through pictures stored in the memory card. She paused to stare intently at a certain picture that she had taken with Taeyeon and smiled at the memory.

"Taeyeon-ah. . ."

ONE WEEK LATER

"TAEYEON! WE GOT A LETTER!"

Perking her ears up, Taeyeon turned her attention away from the phone in her hands and faced Yuri.

"What letter?"

"I haven't opened it but it's from the doctor!"

Taeyeon's eyes budged out as she quickly grabbed the envelope from Yuri's hands and tore it open. Pulling out the paper inside, she read it quickly.

I have Jessica. Come see me at the park at 7 p.m. tonight.

"THAT *******!" Tiffany screamed as she finished reading the rather short note.

"What time is it?" Taeyeon asked as her face darkened.

"Six," Yuri replied as she glanced at the clock.

"Then. . . let's go."

--

"Where is he?!" Taeyeon shouted angrily as she held her wrist to her face. "It's already 7:30!"

Scanning the horizon, Yuri squinted as she spotted a figure walking towards them, "THAT'S HIM!"

Taeyeon whipped her head around and sprinted towards the direction of the man, "YAH!"

The doctor widened his eyes as he saw Taeyeon run towards him and began to quickly run in the other direction if the girl hadn't tackled him to the ground.

"You f*cking b*stard! What the hell did you do with Jessica!" she shouted as she repeatedly assaulted his face.

"Taeyeon-ah! Get off him! You're going to kill him if you keep doing that!" Tiffany shouted as Yuri struggled to pry the short girl off.

"YAH! KIM TAEYEON!" Yuri hollered as Taeyeon punched the man one more time.

Panting heavily, Taeyeon glared at the doctor's swollen face, "WHERE IS JESSICA?!"

Spitting out blood, the man weakly sat up and faced the trio, "She's safe, come with me."

--

Jessica gnawed on her bottom lip for the millionth time that day, she was on the verge of losing it, only a mere strand of sanity held her back. Taking a nearby empty glass, she threw it against the wall and watched the cup shatter into thousands of tiny pieces. Reaching down, she picked up one of the sharp pieces and held it to her wrist.

"JESSICA!"

The girl looked up startled as she heard the familiar voice, "Taeyeon-ah?"

"Jessica. . . what are you doing?" Taeyeon asked as she slowly made her way towards the blonde.

"NO! STAY AWAY!"

"Jessica put the glass down. . ." Taeyeon said gently.

"Leave Taeyeon-ah, I don't want you to see me like this!"

Shaking her head furiously, Taeyeon reached out and grabbed Jessica's wrist, "Jessica, put it down."

Jerking away from the grasp, Jessica shoved Taeyeon away causing the girl to fall backwards. Taeyeon stretched her hands out to break her fall but landed on the pile of sharp glass from the cup. Holding her hands in front of her face, she could see the blood drip down as the cuts began to sting.

"Taeyeon! Are you okay? I'm so sorry Taeyeon-ah. . ." Jessica asked worriedly as she rushed to the girl's side.

Seizing her chance, Taeyeon quickly pulled the girl in for a tight embrace. The blonde struggled to escape the grip but that only caused Taeyeon to hold on tighter.

"Don't do this Jessica, we can get through this together. . ." Taeyeon whispered gently into Jessica's ear.

"Taeyeon-ah. . ."

"You didn't give up on me before, it's my turn not to give up on you, give me a chance okay?"

Jessica buried her face into the crook of Taeyeon's neck and closed her eyes, "Okay."

One Year Later

Christmas was around the corner as the air drastically got colder as days went by. Taeyeon sat in a local cafe as she sipped a mug of hot chocolate waiting for her friends to arrive. Just on cue, Tiffany and Yuri entered the shop and waved to the girl.

"Hey guys," Taeyeon greeted.

"Hey Taeyeon," they greeted at the same time.

"How are things going?"

"Good, we haven't seen you for a while," Tiffany replied.

"Jessica needed all the support she could get, I didn't really leave the rehab center when she was in recovery," Taeyeon replied.

"How is Jessica by the way?" Yuri asked.

"She beat it," Taeyeon grinned widely, "She finally broke the addiction."

The duo smiled brightly at the grin, it had been a while since they've seen Taeyeon smile, "That’s great! Then. . . you want to plan something for Christmas? As a celebration?"

Taeyeon nodded vehemently, "Now that Dr. Lee turned himself in and Halmoni's also in jail, life has been a lot less chaotic, we need to celebrate!"

--

"Where's Taeyeon?" Jessica asked curiously as she moped around the house on Christmas Eve.

Yuri shrugged, "She went out a while ago."

"On Christmas Eve?"

"Yeah?"

Jessica pouted slightly and slunk into the couch, "This doesn't feel like Christmas at all."

Yuri laughed to herself, "Just wait."

Feeling dejected, Jessica decided to take a short nap to waste the day away. There was no point for her to be awake anyway.

4 Hours Later

Feeling her body being shaken, Jessica unwillingly opened her eyes, "Taeyeon-ah?"

"I'm Tiffany," Tiffany said flatly as she narrowed her eyes.

"Let me sleep Fany-ah," Jessica said groggily.

"NO! You're coming with me!"

"Where?"

"You'll see."

5 Minutes Until Christmas

"Why am I at the Kim Corporation?"

"You'll see!"

"Hwang Miyoung!"

"We can't tell you or Taeyeon would kill us!" Yuri added.

"What-"

Jessica started to say but her words were interrupted by the sounds of fireworks going off. The building in front of her lit up as each floor shimmered in the night sky. Staring at the scene in front of her in awe, Jessica remained in a trance.

The fireworks lit the dark horizon, painting a mural of hundreds of different types of colors and designs as the building glowed brightly due to the Christmas lights spelling out MERRY CHRISTMAS JESSICA which attracted much attention of local residents who gathered around to watch the show.

Feeling a slight shove Jessica broke free from her train of thought and glared at Yuri for ruining her moment, "What?!"

"Look up!" Yuri commanded and pointed to the roof of the building.

Tilting her head, Jessica glanced up and spotted a familiar figure standing on the railing with a megaphone in her hand.

"Hi everyone. . . strangers and friends. . ." Taeyeon started to speak although nervousness was evident in her tone.

"I would like to take this time to ask a very important question to someone very close to me," Taeyeon stated, "Jessica Jung, will you marry me?"

Jessica's mouth dropped open by the sudden question as her eyes began to tear up. The spectators of the firework show began to shout loudly, encouraging the lucky girl to answer.

Feeling another light shove, Jessica turned to face Yuri and Tiffany as they smiled brightly at her, "What are you waiting for? Go up to her!"

"H-How?"

"With that!" Tiffany pointed excitedly to a helicopter nearby that was nearly invisible in the night sky.

Feeling herself being pushed towards the helicopter, Jessica struggled to stand up straight due to the large amount of force. Once inside, she widened her eyes as she saw Yoona in the pilot seat.

"Yoona?!"

"Hi Unnie!"

"W-What are you doing?!"

"Flying you of course! Taeyeon made me!"

"Do you know how?!"

"Of course Unnie! And now you don't have to worry about me and Taeyeon anymore since you're getting married!" Yoona said happily as Jessica coughed due to embarrassment.

Once they were a safe distance from the ground, Yoona hovered the helicopter over the roof of the 20 story building and ordered Jessica to get out. The blonde refused vehemently but eventually complied when Yoona threatened to fly them both to the ground.

Closing her eyes as she jumped, Jessica braced for the hard impact of the ground but her eyes shot open after she heard a soft grunt. Looking down, she realized that she was on top of Taeyeon who had broken her fall.

"Taeyeon-ah! Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Taeyeon beamed as she held her hand out for Jessica to pull her up.

After successfully standing up, Taeyeon kneeled to the ground as she held Jessica's hands in her own, "So, Jung Sooyeon, will you marry me?"

Biting on her lip, Jessica struggled to stifle her smile.

"Yes."