“! ! ! I’m so late! Siwon will have my head!” an investigative reporter by the name of Stephanie Hwang cursed out loud, as she bounced around her bedroom, half , in her underwear. She was desperately trying to find her clothes, dry her hair with a towel and look for her blaring phone. Remembering that she also needed to pack her skincare products for her trip, Stephanie sprinted to her bathroom. Finally noticing the ringing phone on the counter, she dove straight for it, almost slipping over the wet tiles. While scrambling to steady herself against the counter and reach for the beauty products she needed to pack in her small luggage, she answers the phone with a huff, “Hello?”
“Steph, where are you?” Donghae whispered on the other end, sounding worried and a little frustrated.
“I’m coming! I’m coming! Didn’t you receive my text? My stupid alarm didn’t go off this morning! Tell Mr. Siwon I’m on my way!” Stephanie replied out of breath after putting her phone on speaker. She rushed to pack the skincare products in her travelling luggage, while attempting to pull up her pants.
“I can’t cover your for much longer! Besides, isn’t your plane taking off in an hour? Siwon said he wanted to talk to you before your trip! He does not seem happy, Steph! You better get here as soon as possible!”
“God, just give me fifteen minutes! I’m trying to put on my clothes here! I just barely got out of the shower five minutes ago,” Stephanie answered back as she zipped her luggage and slipped a sweater over her head.
“You’re still home!? I thought you already left! I thought you were driving! Girl, we’re SO going to get it!” Donghae whimpered while trying to keep his voice down, not wanting their boss/friend Siwon to overhear his conversation.
“I swear, I’m on my way Dong! Since when are you such a wuss anyways? Since when are you that scared of Siwon?” the girl asked annoyed, while failing miserably  to zip her winter coat.
“Babe, I don’t want to lose my job!! And forgive me for looking out for you!” The girl hears her coworker say as she gave up on zipping her coat. She fixed her shirt’s collar while looking at her mirror in her hallway, before running outside of her apartment. A split second later, she ran back in, remembering she forgot her suitcase and phone.
“Hello? Steph? Where did you go? Hello?!” Stephanie lifted her small travel bag, reached for her phone and rushed out of her loft for the second and last time that day. She muttered through the phone, “I’m here, calm down Dong! I just left my house. I’ll see you in a few minutes. Thanks for covering for me, sweetie.”
Hearing a grunt as a reply, Stephanie grinned and hung up. Rushing over to the elevator, the girl tried to call the lift by pushing the button several times. But just as her luck would have it, the entire thing seemed to be out of order that morning. Stomping her right foot lightly in frustration, the redhead rushed towards the stairs, muttering under her breath, “Dammit! What a day!”

Once in the parking lot, Stephanie was immediately met with the cold, dry winter wind. She scurried to her car, somewhat regretting not having taken a spare minute to properly zip her coat earlier. “God, what a morning,” she repeated under her breath once she was safely seated inside her car. As she was attempting to put her key in the ignition after buckling her seatbelt, she heard her phone ringing again.

“! Now what!?” she cursed out loud before picking up the phone, without looking at the caller ID.
“What is it Dong?! I told you I’m on my way! Stop blowing up my phone! I need to concentrate on driving man!”
“Stephanie? Where are you?” A very different voice than the one belonging to Donghae asked calmly.
Stephanie’s eyes widened, realizing who was on the other line.
“Mr. S.Siwon…”
“Well? Care to tell me where exactly you are? Your plane leaves in less than an hour, and I need to speak to you face to face,” the man on the other line tried to maintain the seriousness in his voice. He was, however, feeling amused with how nervous Stephanie sounded.
“Please excuse me sir; I thought you were someone else. But don’t worry! I’ll be there in a few minutes. I’m on my way to the office right now.”
“Alright. Hurry up then.”
“Y.Yes sir! I’ll see you soon,” she heard the line go dead. ‘Of all people that could’ve called, it had to be my boss this time!' she thought embarrassed as she put the car in drive and rushed out of her apartment’s parking lot.
“Grandpa, wherever you are, please look after me. Please help me out today. Help me go through with this trip. And let me arrive on time,” she mumbled while clutching the necklace around her neck that belonged to her late grandfather.

A few minutes later, the redhead found herself stopping at the fourth red-light that morning. “God, this traffic is terrible!” she observed as she drummed her fingers over the steering wheel, feeling impatient. As she waited for the lights to turn green, she noticed herself feeling a bit warm. She reached to turn the car heater off. But when that didn’t help her fast enough, she lowered her driver’s window. Once she did though, a couple of voices caught her attention.

Turning her head to the left in the direction of the arguing individuals, she was met by the one and only Jessica Jung: young superstar of the judicial world. The blonde was an incredibly talented lawyer, who has already accomplished much in her 32 years of life. Stephanie knew at least that much. In fact, the redhead’s been hearing more rumours about the blonde lately. Apparently, the lawyer had the intention to run for the KBA presidency: a feat so bold for someone so young in their career. (KBA: Korean Bar Association).

Stephanie knew of course that she shouldn’t be eavesdropping. But Jessica had someone else riding with her in the car. And their voices were getting louder. So it wasn’t entirely Stephanie’s fault for having heard them; the two individuals in the Porsche were both getting equally heated about their disagreement.
“I said no, Tiffany!” the redheaded journalist heard the blonde woman say from the other car. She also noticed the lawyer clutching the steering wheel tightly, while keeping her hard eyes on the road. Stephanie’s eyebrows rose when she heard the name Jessica called. ‘She’s arguing with her partner?’
“And I said yes, Jessica! You should respect my wishes! I’m your wife!” The lady sitting in the same car as Jessica retorted just as passionately.
‘Ok, so that’s definitely her partner. I wonder what they are fighting about… Both seem really upset. Jessica looks so different from her persona as the classy lawyer that’s taking the nation by a storm.’
“Start by respecting me before asking for your wishes to be respected and granted. Respect should be mutual,” the blonde shot back, as she finally faced her wife with the angriest, coldest eyes Stephanie had ever seen.
‘What is going on here? They don’t seem like the loving couple they’re being portrayed as in the media. I would even go as far as to say… they despise each other.’ Stephanie thought as her brows furrowed.

******* (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ *******

The moment Stephanie stepped foot in the TV station she worked for, she was met by the curious glances of her co-workers. Donghae immediately started to sign and point furiously towards Siwon’s office. The young journalist noticed that his office door was opened. So, she rushed into the said room right after knocking on the door frame.
“I’m so sorry I’m late, Boss.”
“It’s alright,” Siwon replied as he motioned for his employee to take a seat. The tall man then informed her that her plane was running late. Apparently, he took the liberty to phone the airport and was told that Stephanie’s take-off was delayed. The airport staff needed some more time to get the plane ready for flight. For that reason, he took the opportunity to ask her to pass by the office. He wanted to provide her with some more information about the case she was supposed to investigate in Japan.

A few moments later, Donghae knocked on the office door. He was granted access by Siwon. The younger man handed the needed documents to his boss, while pouting and barely uttering a word.
“Aren’t you going to say ‘Hi’, Mr. Dong?” Stephanie asked with a raised eyebrow.
The named man huffed and looked in the opposite direction like a petulant child. Siwon sighs softly while shaking his head. He then explained, “Donghae’s been pouting since morning. I asked him to stay in Seoul to help me out. Way too many staff members had to call out because of the flue that’s been going around. I’m lacking people in the office. He’s disappointed since he won’t be able to go to Japan with you today.”

Hearing what her boss had just said, Tiffany felt her mood drop further. She thought she’ll have company while in Japan. She didn’t know anyone in the land of the rising sun, so she was relying on Donghae to help and her.
Seeing her reaction and her lack of a verbal response, Siwon felt bad. He sighed again softly before uttering, “it’s only for the upcoming three days, kids. I’ll send him to you during the weekend, Steph. There’s no need for you to feel so upset; you’ll get the company of your best-friend in Japan regardless.”
“But why do you need me to be here now? It’s February and work is really slow at the Station this time of year. I’m sure you can manage on your own, Siwon,” Donghae tried again, hoping and praying that his boss/friend would let him go with Stephanie earlier.
The boss shook his head, before replying, ”I need to have someone on hand in case something happened and we needed to cover it. I cannot be present in two places at once. I’ve been hearing more and more rumours about the upcoming KBA presidency. We don’t know when any of the candidates will start making their move. I need at least one director to be present with me in the office at all times.”

Of course, it made sense. Siwon was just being vigilant. He needed people with him in case something happens with the KBA presidency. The Korean Bar Association’s presidency elections had been the talk of the country lately. After the recent money-laundering scandal of the last president, KBA and the judicial system had been a mess. The Association had no president currently, and a lot of individuals were attempting to use this opportunity to rise in power. Some others were trying to use this confusing time to play the system and fly under the radar; a lot of illegal and unethical activities were taking place between the members of the Association and in the judicial world.
“I understand your reasoning Siwon. But the elections are supposed to go down in October,” Donghae tried for the last time, before noticing Stephanie shaking her head. The younger man understood then; there was no use arguing any more with his boss. He certainly did not want him in a bad mood, lest he’d change his mind about letting him go to Japan entirely.
Trying to diffuse the slightly tense mood, Donghae surrendered, “Just bring me back some Wagyu beef, Steph. I just know Siwon will just end up overworking me and forcing me to stay in Seoul.”
“How the hell am I supposed to travel back to Korea with Wagyu beef!?” The female answered in disbelief, before her boss snickered and reassured the younger male that he’ll, for sure, send him to Japan. Satisfied with the promise, Donghae ran out of the office, getting back to his work.

Once the young female saw her co-worker and best-friend rush out of the office, she mumbled out, “I saw Jessica Jung today.”
Her boss looked at her, eyebrows rising in curiosity. The redhead rolled her eyes, before telling him about her brief encounter at the stoplight while driving. Siwon stared at her in slight disappointment when she concluded her account to him.
“Why didn’t you get the story Steph?”
“What do you mean Siwon?” the young woman asked confused.
The man looked at her and sighed, “you saw a controversial, yet greatly loved, public figure arguing with her wife. Why didn’t you follow them and get the entire story?”
“Because I thought I was running late? Because I’m an investigative reporter and not paparazzi? Because I respect people’s privacy?”
“All that is fine. But what I’m trying to say is, that you’re lacking the drive you used to have. Your passion for journalism is dissipating. The thirst to get the story, Steph. It’s fading and I want it back. You’re one of my best, one of my smartest. That’s why I’m sending you to Japan. Cause I know you can handle it. And also cause I’m hoping that this trip could help you find that passion again.”

******* (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ *******

Several people found themselves coming to a full stop when passing by the airport’s food court. A gorgeous woman was trying to feed her child an ice cream cone, and she was attracting quite the croud. She was sitting in the open space with a small preschooler, oblivious of all the attention she was getting. There was no doubt that the woman was beautiful. If those passersby took a closer look though, they would’ve noticed that the incredibly visual woman was irritated and scolding the small child.

“Oh my god! Just let me feed you! You’re getting everything dirty and sticky with that ice cream!” Tiffany Shin, wife of incredibly talented and successful young lawyer Jessica Jung, grumbled out. Her face contorted in disgust as she noticed the snack melting all over her child’s small fingers and face. Once more, she tried to reach for the ice cream cone that her daughter was holding, when the small kid jerked away from her.
“NO! I can eat it alone!” The four year old insisted as she kept on stuffing her face with the cold snack, unaware of the glare she was getting from the woman.
“How stubborn, just like your idiot of a Mama,” the mother sighed lowly, as she settled for cleaning the small face of her child with some napkins.

Hearing jogging steps approaching them, Tiffany looked up immediately and asked irritated, “What took you so long?!”
“Why? Miss me?” Jessica replied sarcastically before sitting back down with her small family. She heard Tiffany scoff, before she explained, “The are severely understaffed today. The plane is running a little late. It should be ready for boarding in about another two hours though.”  
The blonde heard her wife letting out another annoyed grumble. She ignored her by looking at her cute daughter, who was trying to eat the cold treat as fast as she could. Jessica chuckled and caressed her daughter’s soft baby hair.
“How is the ice cream, Jeong-ie?” she asked the preschooler as she lifted her and sat her down in her lap.
“It’s good!!!” the blonde softly giggled as her daughter kept on eating. Noticing that the ice cream was about to melt even more and dirty her own pants, Jessica attempted, “Want Mama to help you with that ice cream, Baby?”
The child surrendered the snack without much of a fight. Jessica then used some wet-wipes to clean the child’s hands. The preschooler finally brought her attention back down to her colouring book once her fingers were no longer sticky.
“Oh, so you only throw a tantrum when I’m the one trying to help you with your messy eating? You’re grounded!” Tiffany snapped while glaring at Winter, who didn’t even register what her mother was saying. Jessica, however, heard her wife’s comment loud and clear. The blonde’s eyes turned cold and she immediately retorted, “Winter didn’t do anything wrong. I don’t ever want to hear you mutter anything remotely similar again. There’s no need to ground her and scold her for something as meaningless as her not wanting to give up a snack to you. Messy eating is normal, especially when she’s only four.”
Tiffany scoffed before jabbing back, “Don’t get too upset. I was kidding.”
“I don’t appreciate your sense of humour. Don’t do it again,” Jessica bit back as she noticed Winter shaking her head, a sign that she was no longer hungry. The blonde lifted what was left of the small treat and plopped it in her own mouth, secretly rejoicing at the look of disgust her wife was throwing her. She knew that Tiffany hated the idea of someone else’s leftovers in , even if those leftovers came from her own child.

“*Sigh* Let’s go wait at the gates already; I hate sitting here!” the raven-head whined again.
Jessica rolled her eyes and reached for a crayon, intending to help Winter with the picture she was colouring.
“There’s still some time. Let me spend a few more minutes with Winter before you two leave,” the blonde said as she bent down her head and rubbed the preschooler’s cheek with her own.
“We’re only going be in Japan for three days to visit my family,” Tiffany reminded with an eye-roll.
“Even if it’s just for a day, even if it’s just for an hour, I’ll still miss her when she’s not in front of me,” Jessica admitted lowly, kissing her daughter’s crown while colouring with the blue crayon she picked for herself.

Tiffany ignored her wife’s comment and reached for her phone. The older female looked up from the colouring picture, when she noticed her wife not throwing back any snarky remark. The blonde felt her face contorting into a frown, seeing the raven-head furiously typing on her phone. A few seconds later, when Jessica looked back down at the colouring page, she heard a ringtone.
“Mom, youw phone is winging!” Winter observed as she looked up from the picture she was colouring. Tiffany snapped back, “I know.”
Jessica caressed her daughter’s soft baby hair to soothe the small child and remarked with an accusing tone and a look of revulsion, “She won’t answer, sweetie. As long as I’m with her… she won’t answer.”

When Jessica and Winter came close to finishing the picture they were colouring, Tiffany started fidgeting, hinting that she was getting really cranky. With an annoyed huff, she let out, “Let’s at leat get past airport security already. You can go back to your work and focus on the Presidency project. The people you defend and love are all waiting for you.”
“Must I remind you, those are the same people who treat you with the highest level of respect and regards. Even though you don’t deserve it, they still treat you like royalty,” the blonde spat out. At that moment, the older mother prompted the preschooler to start packing the colours.
“Anyway, to me, winning the presidency is a small, insignificant project, compared to the real plan I have in mind for the future. I have a bigger and a much more important case on my hands after the elections;  divorcing you and winning custody of Winter is my number one priority,” Jessica ended the conversation by reminding Tiffany of the state of their doomed marriage.

After helping the child pack away the colouring items in the tiny backpack, the small, yet dysfunctional family, finally made their way to airport security. The mother-daughter duo stopped and waited in line. Jessica stood on the side, since she wouldn’t be travelling with them. Once they were about to go through the security check, Jessica reminded, “Take care of Winter. Don’t get too preoccupied with your ‘family’, or shopping or…”
“Getting jealous of Japanese men?” Tiffany asked with a smirk.
“If I wanted to get jealous, I would’ve gotten jealous of Korean men, a long time ago. The only reason we’re still together, is because Winter is way too young.”
“And because you must maintain an impeccable reputation, if you wished to have a shot at the Bar Presidency. I already understood that a long time ago,” Tiffany jabbed, but Jessica ignored her. The blonde got down on one knee and kissed her daughter goodbye.
“I’ll miss you, Baby.”
“Bye Mama!” the kid said as she waved her small right hand, while being dragged away by her younger mom.

******* (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ *******

The mother-daughter duo finally settled themselves inside the plane. Tiffany sat next to the window, ignoring Winter’s plea to wanting to sit next to it herself. She was feeling irritated; Jessica wasn’t able to get them any last minute first class tickets. They had to sit in business seats, even though the blonde knew how much Tiffany despised being so close to other people. The raven-haired mother rubbed her temples, as Winter’s whining was starting to give her a headache.
“We have a cute baby-girl on the plane today! And a very beautiful mother as well,” a flight attendant noted as she ruffled Winter’s hair. Noticing that the preschooler still hadn’t buckled her seatbelt, the flight attendant knelt, intending on showing the small child how to do so. Tiffany observed the interaction without saying a word.
“Look sweetie, we have to put the safety belt on first. And when Mr. Pilot says it’s ok to remove it, we will. After that, you’ll be able to play however you want,” the flight attendant explained to the small girl as she stood back up with a kind smile.
“My daughter doesn’t play. She sits still until we arrive,” Tiffany informed rudely. The flight attendant nodded and attempted to smile politely.

A split second later, the small flight attendant heard a voice asking for help from behind her.
“Excuse me…Eum, I’m kind of lost. Where am I supposed to sit?” Stephanie asked as she gave the attendant her boarding pass. The other woman smiled kindly at the redhead and looked down at the plane ticket. She then realized that they were right next to the seat where the journalist was supposed to sit. However, someone was already occupying that space.
“Ah, excuse me ma’am, but could I please see your boarding pass?” the plane worker asked the young mother.
“Are you talking to me?” Tiffany asked, turning her head away from the window. Seeing the young worker nodding her head, the raven-head felt herself growing increasingly irritated. Nevertheless, Tiffany gave her ticket to the young attendant.
The plane staff immediately noticed the mix-up and explained calmly, “Oh, ma’am your place is supposed to be over here, in the center row. Miss Hwang’s place is supposed to be next to the window.”
“But I want to sit next to the window. It’s bad enough my wife didn’t have time to get us first class seats and now you want to separate me from my child?” Tiffany asked growing more and more frustrated. Both the flight attendant and the young journalist noticed that the small baby-girl looked up from the book she was reading when she heard her mother’s angry tone. They also noted how the small girl was looking nervously between her mom and them.
“It’s alright. Honestly, the seating arrangement is not that important to me. I, myself, wouldn’t accept to separate you from your child,” Stephanie finally said, trying to de-escalate the situation as she smiled kindly at the young mother. Seeing the young journalist not minding this small change in the seating plan, the flight attendant shrugged and wished them a good flight. Stephanie offered another kind eye-smile to the plane worker, before sitting on her now new seat in the center row.

“Hi cutie,” the redhead greeted the small child. The tiny girl looked up from her colourful book and waved her small hand in a greeting. Seeing the cute gesture from the small child, Stephanie smiled warmly.
The preschooler felt at ease seeing Stephanie’s eye-smile. So, she let out in a quiet voice, “I’m Wintew”
“And I’m Stephanie. Nice to meet you, little Princess,” Stephanie offered her hand for Winter to shake. The small child reached for the other’s hand and shook it. “You have a very pretty name, Winter. And you’re an adorable, beautiful little girl, just like your mother,” the journalist added as she saw the young mother looking at her disdainfully, as if wanting her to shut up.

“Hey, will this plane take-off already?” Tiffany asked the attendant, once she saw her passing by their seats again.
The young plane worker smiled politely and answered that they’ll be ready for flight in about ten minutes. They just needed to make sure that all passengers had boarded and were seated. The young mother let out a disgruntled huff, after hearing they’d have wait even more before being able to get going on their trip. Seeing the irritated look on the young mother’s face, the attendant attempted to make peace, “would you like anything to drink, Ms. Jung?”
The woman ignored the question and looked out the window. Witnessing this scene, the journalist felt bad for the plane staff and said, “I’ll take a coffee please. Would Winter like some hot chocolate?”
Hearing this question, the small child nodded enthusiastically, making the attendant and the journalist smile softly at her innocence.
“My daughter does not drink hot chocolate,” Tiffany spat out at the journalist rudely. The redhead gulped and tried to let out a smile, before apologizing for meddling in her daughter’s affairs.
“Mom, I want hot choco!” Winter cried out when she understood that her mother didn’t approve of the drink.
“No, Winter! If you drink that now, you won’t be able to nap and you’ll be hyper the entire trip!”
Stephanie looked at the small child feeling bad for having proposed the idea in the first place. She then tried to cheer the preschooler up by asking her about her book.

When the pilot announced that they’ll be departing soon, Stephanie noticed Tiffany letting out a small breath of relief. The young journalist remembered, then, that she needed to call Siwon. She needed to reassure him that she got to the plane safe before takeoff. However, as she looked down in her small satchel bag, she couldn’t find her iPhone.
“Where’s my phone? Did I leave it at the station?” she let out under her breath, as she attempted to search her small bag once more, only to come up empty handed.
“Mom has a phone,” Winter pipped up as she put her book down and looked at Stephanie with her innocent eyes. The young journalist smiled softly, before caressing the preschooler’s head.
“I don’t think your Mom would let me use her phone, sweetie.”Hearing a grunt coming from the young mother, Stephanie looked up and noticed that Tiffany was searching her own little bag for something. The young mother then offered her phone and said, “If you promise me to keep it down and not talk so much during the flight, here. Use it.”

Stephanie took the mobile from the socialite and thanked her lowly. As Stephanie informed Siwon that she forgot her cellphone in the Station, she was playing with the necklace around her neck. This habit caught Winter’s attention. The child waited until Stephanie finished her phone call. When the journalist handed the phone back to the young mother, the preschooler couldn’t help but let out curiously, “What is that?”
Stephanie looked down to check what the small girl was pointing at. Noticing that the question aimed at her necklace, the journalist smiled and answered, “This? This is my Grandpa’s necklace. It’s the only thing I have left of him after he went up in the sky.”
The tiny girl looked intently at the necklace, her head tilting to the right. Seeing the curiosity in the child’s eyes, Stephanie waited. She knew another question was coming her way.
“Can I see it?” the child asked while reaching down to unbuckle her seatbelt.
“Stop, Winter! What are you doing? Get back here and sit down!” Tiffany ordered, when she noticed her child leaving her seat and plopping down on her small feet to strut closer to Stephanie.
Stephanie bent down from her seating position to face Winter better. She reached behind her neck and unhooked her necklace. She gave it to the small girl, who held it in both hands inspecting it curiously.
“Ladies and gentlemen. We’re terribly sorry for the delay. Our plane will now be taking off in the direction of Tokyo, Japan. We are expected to land in Japan at around 10 pm, local time.”

Finally feeling the plane starting to move after the pilot’s announcement and the ‘buckle your seatbelt’ light turn on, the young mother reached for her child’s arm and attempted to get her back in her seat. “Alright, that’s enough. Give the necklace back!”
“It’s ok, Ma’am. She can have it during the flight. She’s a child after all!” Stephanie tried to dissipate the situation. She noticed Winter getting teary eyed when Tiffany grabbed the necklace away from her.
“No-!”, just as the socialite was about to retort in her angry voice and hand the necklace back, the deafening sound of an explosion resounded throughout the city of Seoul.
Soon, hundreds of firefighters, paramedics, police officers and emergency personnels were deployed and present at the scene of the accident.

******* (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ *******

“SIWON!” Donghae dashed into his boss’s office, startling the older male and their co-workers working on the same level.
“What is it?! What’s wrong?” the older male stood up seeing the state that Donghae was in. The boss got even more confused when he saw the young director let out a small, choked sob.
“The sound we heard five minutes ago - *Sniff* An explosion-”
“Where!?”
“Airport - Steph- T.Tokyo - Airplane,” were the only words that Donghae was able to say before he fell on a chair in tears. Siwon’s eyes widened as he stood frozen, shell-shocked, looking at his employee breaking down.