Shoutout to imnoGoo who forced me to post this update. 

"Oh, mother of…" Jessica mumbled to herself before forcing a mega-watt smile towards Judy Kim. She was surprised to see Taeyeon's mother early in the morning picking up the newspaper and passionately waving at her as the she fed the cats.

"Mrs. Kim," the breathed out. "Good morning."

"Good morning to you, too," the older woman cheerily replied. "And please, it's Judy."

"Yes, I'm sorry," the brunette chuckled nervously. "Judy, it is."

"Won't you come in and have breakfast with us? Taeyeon will be awake—well, hopefully—in a few minutes."

Jessica stood frozen for a solid minute. Or at least that's how it felt.

She wondered if she was about to voluntarily enter the lion's den and never come out alive. While there was no sign of Russell, life had been too unpredictable for the lately; she wouldn't be surprised if this was a case of entrapment.

There was, however, warmth and sincerity in Judy's eyes; the same kind that was passed on to Taeyeon.

"Jessica?"

"Hmm?"

"Breakfast?"

"Oh!" the snapped back to reality and blushed, "Yes, certainly. Breakfast sounds good. Great, even."

Judy chuckled and shook her head amusedly as Jessica followed her quietly inside the Kim residence. The brunette immediately noted a very tangible difference in Taeyeon's home. It was clean, organized but homey. There were fresh flowers in almost every corner; the carpet didn't look like bugs have already created colonies under it and the whole house did not smell like paint.

Judy Kim had apparently taken charge of this chicken coop.

"Grab a seat and have some muffins." the older blonde offered while she took out some coffee cups. "How do you prefer your eggs?"

"I – uhm… scrambled. Thank you," Jessica said meekly as she slowly sat down, silently praying for either Yuri or Taeyeon to descend from their rooms above.

But it looked like God was still sleeping, too.

Yuri ran down from the stairs and grabbed a couple of muffins before quickly heading out, screaming a very informative. "Cheer practice y'all!" before slamming the door.

"She's very… vivacious. That Yuri." Judy chuckled as she sat down across the kitchen island and faced Jessica directly. "A bit rough around the edges."

"She's very kind and cares about Taeyeon deeply." the replied in a slightly defensive tone.

"Oh, that goes without saying." the older blonde agreed. "I think she checks and curbs my daughter's generally sour disposition."

Jessica tightened her grip around the coffee mug. "Taeyeon is a lot more affectionate and sanguine than how you perceive her to be."

"Oh – I'm not… I'm not criticizing my own daughter. If anything, I blame myself for Taeyeon's abrasive nature."

Jessica let out a shaky breath out of sheer nervousness. She couldn't decipher the point of this conversation, and she didn't want to actually find out. Yet, she was there and no excuse to go. Judy wasn't hostile—on the contrary, very hospitable—but that still didn't expose the reason behind this very disconcerting gesture.

"Judy—"

"I'm filing for a divorce, Jessica." Judy whispered.

Resembling a fish gasping for air, Jessica sputtered a few times before she was able to speak coherently. "I… I'm sorry…I don't know what—"

"Taeyeon has hinted that you two are… going through a rough patch. And my decision came before that. I'm hoping—" the blonde sighed and shook her head, "…this would really break my daughter's heart, won't it?"

"She tries hard to show that she doesn't care about her… family situation," Jessica said knowingly, to which Judy nodded in agreement.

"How much do you love my daughter?"

"I—so much, Judy. I love her so much."

"I don't know how she will react to the news—"

"I'll be there for her, I promise. I'll take care of her."

"That's all I need to know. This is going to be toughest on Taeyeon. And I want her to feel secure enough that she won't be alone. I want her to still know that you, Russell and I aren't going anywhere," the older woman smiled that showed some form of relief while Jessica looked down to shield her own grim expression. "Please don't tell Taeyeon. I just need to know you won't give up on her."

Jessica closed her eyes and pursed her lips in frustration. "Judy, I can't—"

Another secret.

Another source of guilt.

"She really loves you, too, you know?" The brunette found herself smiling shyly, throwing all apprehension away temporarily. "I know."

"No, I don't think you do." Judy laughed. "You have no idea how shocked I was when she told me to bring her a psychologist. She said it was your idea."

"I—uhm, well, there's a context—"

"Oh, I know the context all too well, Jessica," the blonde woman chuckled. "My point is I've been trying to get her to do that for years. She didn't have a choice when she almost died for pill overdose. But after that, she just abandoned it. So for her to just… walk in casually to a doctor because you told her to. That's… I'm very impressed."

"So… she's started counselling?"

"I believe you spent the weekend with her? She told me last Monday, and she started yesterday. So for that alone, thank you."

"I don't think I deserve—I feel that—can I be honest with you?"

"Of course."

"I feel that I'm an enabler."

Judy regarded Jessica for a few seconds, putting the brunette under careful scrutiny. The blonde woman didn't run a successful market research firm for nothing. She has studied behavior and she was always spot on with her conclusions. "I don't know you well enough, obviously. But what I do know is this—she loves you. So you either deal with that or don't. I think you are scared to admit that there is someone who actually treats you as the most important person in their life."

"P-pardon?"

"You're not disposable to Taeyeon. You're used to that treatment, aren't you?"

"I'm not sure I'm comfortable discu—"

"My daughter's business is mine." Judy said softly. "I'm not here to judge you, Jessica. I'm here as Taeyeon's mother—something I should have done a long time ago. Don't hurt her because you believe you don't deserve a chance to be treated like a human being given your… occupation."

"I—I don't want to hurt her. I'm doing the best I—"

"Well, look who's finally up!" Judy exclaimed, directed more as a signal for Jessica than for Taeyeon.

Taeyeon grumpily entered the kitchen and went straight to the percolator, failing to notice the 's presence. Rubbing her eye then scratching her head, the artist let out a loud yawn before finally realizing there was another person in the room. Her eyes widened and visibly swallowed. "What are you doing here?"

"Ever the charmer." Judy lamented.

Taeyeon scowled as her eyes darted back and forth from her mother to Jessica.

"Judy invited me