“SIWON!” Donghae dashed into the office.

“What is it?”

“An explosion!”

“Where!?”

“Airplane…Rome…Steph” was the only thing Donghae was able to say before he fell on the chair in tears.

----

“Hello” Jessica greeted Prince the moment she stopped her car in the villa’s garage. The little dog wiggled its tail furiously, as it ran to her. She started petting him.

“Seohyun says hi, but Tiffany doesn’t” She finished as she lifted him in her arms and made her way towards the patio.

“Sooyeon’s back from the airport” her mother noted as she lifted her eyes from her book.

“Come. Tell us, how are they?” her father asked.

“They’re supposedly in mid-air by now. The plane was a bit late, but it was ok”

“And Seohyun, was she happy travelling?” her mother asked.

“I don’t know” Jessica said as she drank some water.

“Hopefully, they’ll arrive safe and sound” her dad said.

“Didn’t she say she will miss her Granny?” Julia asked again.

“When Seohyun is with her mother, she doesn’t talk about what she likes and what she doesn’t. Nor what she misses, or what she wants”

“And you’re happy with that?” Julia asked desperate, seeing her daughter in pain.

“Julia, our daughter is a woman. Let her solve her problems on her own. Besides, what’s a few teasing every now and then between a married couple? Isn’t it so Ms. President?”

“It’s still early for that title”

“No it’s not. My little girl has to win the elections, right?”

“Chuckle…I guess” she made her way to her room then. She entered and looked around. Her eyes fell upon her little girl’s picture. She kissed it softly and held it close to her. She lied down on her bed and closed her eyes.

Meanwhile, downstairs:

“Hana! Please lower the volume!” Julia said as she came into the kitchen.

“Oh, sorry Ms. Jung” as the cook was about to close the TV, they heard the terrible updates.

“It seems we’re getting emergency news on the spot….what is it?.....oh, god… alright, dear viewers, it seems that the sound we’ve heard throughout Seoul about ten minutes ago came from a plane that was heading to Rome….” Julia ran to Jessica’s room as soon as she heard.

“Sooyeon-ah! Sooyeon!” she barged into the bedroom and saw her daughter sleeping.

“Something wrong mom?” the blonde asked rubbing her eyes.

“S.Seohyun-ie…” Was all Julia was able to say before she burst into tears. As soon as she understood what was going on, she ran to her car ignoring her parents, whom decided to follow her in their own vehicle.

The hospital was hectic. Every single doctor was found in the emergency room. Donghae and Siwon were finally able to meet with the director of the hospital.

“No…….only 23 people were able to survive……for now are alive actually……I don’t know! How should I know?!.... I’m busy right now…there’s no way I’ll get out there right now….I’m busy as it is!” the director shut the phone and looked in front of him.

“I’m sorry gentlemen. Please take a seat” he said as he noticed the two men waiting at the doorway.

“Thank you director”

“Donghae, if it’s for some news, then-”

“No, no. Director, we had a victim on the plane.”

“A victim? Who? Someone from the station?”

“Unfortunately. Steph. Stephany Hwang”

“…”

“Please Director Kang, tell me she’s alive” Siwon begged.

“I can’t say anything”

“What do you mean?”

“I can’t give you an answer. You’ll have to see by yourself. You two are the only ones who might be able to recognise her”

“You mean…”

“What would you like to start with? Survivors or…”

“We’ll start with the survivors please” Donghae said.

----

Jessica felt her phone ringing in her pockets. She looked at it and found out her mom was the caller. She picked up.

“Sweetie, please slow down!! There’s no point of going crazy, we don’t know anything yet”

“Mom….Seohyun….s.she-” was the only thing she was able to say as she kept her speed.

“I know honey, please be careful.”

“I’m scared…I’m afraid of asking, of knowing the answer. What if…what if Seo…”

“No, don’t say that. I have a feeling she’s ok. Calm down Sooyeon-ah.” They finally stopped in front of the hospital. As they rushed in, the head doctor recognised them and led them to his office.

“Doctor, how are they?” Jessica asked in a haste.

“They’re both alive…” Jessica slumped on a chair and sighed.

“I want to see them”

“I know Ms. Jung. But please calm down and let’s talk” the doctor tried.

“I need to see them!”

“Sooyeon, calm down and breathe. They’re alive but we better listen to the doctor for now.” Tony said as he put his hand on his daughter’s shoulder.

“How is my daughter doctor?”

“She’s ok. Thanks to the mother. If the mother was sitting next to the window, both of them would’ve been killed. But she was sitting on the side; Tiffany protected her daughter by clinging onto her and pulling her under her body. Juhyun only broke her hand. Unfortunately, Tiffany was badly injured because of it. Her face…”

“Burnt?” Jessica asked afraid.

“And broken…”

On the other side of the hospital, two young men were weeping their eyes out because of their discovery.

“Steph is gone Donghae! Steph is gone!” Siwon said as he slumped on a chair crying, clinging onto the necklace that belonged to the girl. Donghae could only pat his back as the other one kept on blaming himself for the death of a girl that used to be as close as a little sister.

“I consider myself lucky though. I’m sorry to say this” the head doctor said as he came into his office.

“…”

“At least Siwon-ssi was able to recognise her from her necklace. How are other people going to recognise their beloved though….Sigh…”

“But why was the necklace in her hand? She always had it on her neck!” Siwon asked desperate.

“She must’ve clang unto it when she felt danger. The necklace must’ve broke when the accident happened” Donghae said lowly.

----

“You can go ahead and see your wife for now. But it’s not going to be pretty. Her whole face is bandaged. Her lungs and throat are in no good shape because of the smoke and fire. You wouldn’t be able to talk to her. She’s still asleep” The doctor explained.

“So, she’s still in danger” Jessica noted.

“For now. But Juhyun is ok for sure. If it wasn’t for Ms. Tiffany… Paramedics said that she was the one who saved your daughter. I’d guess Juhyun broke her hand because of her mother’s weight”

“Tiffany saved my girl?” Jessica asked in disbelief.

“Yes, she did. After all, it’s nothing weird if a mother put her life on the line for her daughter. Your wife came back from the dead with your girl. And I sincerely hope that she’ll make it” when the doctor finished his line, he received a call.

“Ms. Jung, Juhyun is well but asleep in her room now. You can go see her when-”Jessica was about to get up when Taeyeon sat her back.

“Listen to the doctor.”

“Ms. Jung. I just need to talk to you some more”

“Mom, keep an eye on Seohyun please”

“Of course! I’m going with her” her dad said as they ran outside the office.

“Ms. Jung. What would you like to do with your wife?”

“What do you mean doctor?”

“Would you rather she stays at our hospital and we take care of her treatment until the end, or would you like to transfer her to another hospital?”

“Hm…Doctor, my family just came back from the dead thanks to your team. I think that’s enough proof that they should stay here until they’re doing better”

“I thank you for your faith in us.”

“I just have one wish”

“Of course”

“My wife is in the ICU right now. I don’t want anybody, and I mean anybody in her room except family and doctors”

“I respect your love and your protectiveness over your wife, Ms. Jung. Your wishes are our commands”

----

“How is she?” Taeyeon asked as he and Jessica rushed to Seohyun’s room.

“She’s still asleep. They gave her IV sedation, since she was crying and yelling when she arrived.” Julia said as she made way to her daughter. Jessica came closer and kissed the little girl.

“She’s lucky Ms. Jung” the nurse said as she finished her ministration of the IV.

“Tell me about it”

“Can she move her hand?” Tony asked.

“She can do anything. Just don’t remind her of the accident. Your daughter loves you a lot, Ms. Jung”

“Miss, when can we see Tiffany?” Taeyeon asked.

“Not before tomorrow. Give her burns time to start heeling.”

“Thank you” Jessica said before the nurse made her way out.

“Do you want to rest home sweetie?” Tony asked.

“No”

“Sica, let’s go get a coffee and get something to eat for Dad and Mom” Taeyeon suggested.

“I don’t want anything honey” Julia said as she sat next to Seohyun.

“Me neither. Just get her out and try to get her to rest” Tony continued.

“It’s unbelievable; Tiffany protected Juhyun” Julia said when the young ones were out.

“She’s her mother after all” Tony finished.

----

“Siwon, calm down. We have to be strong”

“It’s too early to be strong. She died just a few hours ago. It’s my fault! I should’ve never sent her”

“Stop blaming yourself. It was an accident; nobody could’ve ever imagined that…”

“She was afraid of the trip. She was clinging unto the necklace all along when she was in my office. I still made her go. It’s all my fault.  Should’ve never even…how am I going to face her family now? Her brother, her father…it’s a good thing they were already gone before they saw what I’ve seen. Black, crispy skin. Nothing to prove that she was once a beautiful, young lady. I should’ve been more of a brother and less of a boss”

“Sir…” Donghae pointed at someone behind his boss. Siwon turned around and saw Jessica and Taeyeon. Siwon scoffed and turned back.

“She saw her this morning. And now I see her here”

Meanwhile:

“Did you tell Sunny and YoonA?” Jessica asked as she rubbed her face.

“I need to talk to you about something” Taeyeon said.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s Tiffany…”

“What’s wrong with Tiffany? We just came from the Doctor’s office and we know that she’s still in ICU”

“It’s not that. Tiffany…”

“What?” Jessica was losing her patience.

“She’s…she’s pregnant”

“Who told you that?” Jessica asked shocked.

“Herself, before going to the airport”

“Scoff…my wife, told her brother in law in law that she is pregnant? Before she told her wife about it? Didn’t she also tell you why she didn’t tell ME first?”

“No she didn’t”

“Seriously…”

“The important thing now is she gets back up on her feet.”

“No, the important thing is for me to know why my brother knows about something so important, and I don’t. Although, it concerns me”

“Believe me, I don’t know”

“Why?!”

“Sica! What’s wrong? Get over it, I don’t know why she did that. Can we focus on what’s important?”

“Then why are you telling me now!?”

“…because, I know that you’ve not been touching her”

“Wow…seems you know a lot of things about my marriage life, Taeyeon”

“Don’t think anything of it. All of the family noticed that you’ve been getting further away from each other.”

“So what now? You’re afraid for my reputation? You think my wife could be pregnant with someone else’s child? I should tell you then; we did have , and it hasn’t been long. I don’t know if she had gotten pregnant from that time, but…who knows.”

“You’re misunderstanding me. Maybe she wanted to make it a surprise”

“You really think she loves me this much Taeyeon?”

“I don’t know. All I know is that we better ask the doctor about it”

                After a long day spent at the cafeteria and at Juhyun’s room, Jessica decided to go and check on Tiffany as the doctor finally permitted her. With hesitant steps, she followed him. They helped her into a robe and shoe sacks. It was after all, the ICU she was entering. The doctor then led her to her room. He left her alone in front of the glass doors.

                Jessica came in as he felt her heartbeat quickening. She looked at the lone body on the bed and almost gasped. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She wasn’t even able to pry her eyes off of the woman in front of her. She felt her right hand make its way to as she tried to look elsewhere. She kept on looking, her body refusing to move. There, on the bed, she saw a figure wrapped entirely in white.

Flashback:

“How are you feeling babe?” Jessica asked a tired looking Tiffany lying on a hospital bed.

“What is it?” the redhead asked.

“A girl. A beautiful, gorgeous girl. Just like her mom”

“Where’s the doctor?”

“Why do you need the doctor? Are you in pain?” the blonde asked concerned.

“I want to make sure the C-section cut isn’t showing”

“Forget that. The important thing is that I have two gorgeous girls in my life now” Jessica tried to hold Tiffany’s hand, but the latter pried it away.

“Sigh…Jessica, I want to see the doctor! I don’t want the cut to be visible”

End of flashback

                Jessica kept on looking at her wife until she heard a voice from behind her.

“You making sure she’s alive?” the doctor said with a hint of a smile.

“She’s lucky, you know. I think she’ll be alright. But I don’t know if she’ll be able to talk”

“Mute?” Jessica asked.

“Of course not. It’s just her vocal chords are in a very bad condition right now.”

“Her face. Is it that bad?”

“Just look at the eye we were able to show and you’ll know”

“The danger…?”

“48 hours. We’ll have to wait 48 hours before we can be sure of anything”

“Her face”

“Just let those two days pass, and then we’ll be able to talk about the face”

“I have a question doctor”

“Of course”

“The baby, did it make it??”

“The baby? Which baby?”

“Tiffany’s pregnant doctor” the blonde said as she finally looked at the medical expert.

“I don’t think so”

“What do you mean you don’t think so?”

“Ms. Tiffany wasn’t pregnant”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course…Nothing appeared. There wasn’t any bleeding from supposed pregnancy nor another heartbeat. Let her rest for now.” The doctor made his way out. Jessica stayed in the room and took a seat. A while later, Julia came in.

“Mom? Anything wrong with Seohyun?”

“No honey. I just wanted to see Tiffany”

“She’s right in front of you”

“…her eye is badly injured”

“Her eye is what is least injured. Imagine the rest”

“Go home and get some rest” Julia said rubbing her daughter’s arm.

“I’m fine here”

“You have a long day tomorrow. Go back home and rest. I’ll stay with Juhyun. Just go take a shower and sleep a little”

“You think so?”

“Of course”

“Alright” Jessica leaned and gave her mom a kiss on the cheek. She then headed out, passed by her daughter’s room and kissed her goodnight.

Sometime, during the night, somebody was able to make their way into Tiffany’s room.

“Tiffany, listen to me well….Don’t think of admitting anything. You hear me?...Your wife, Jessica, has to die. Her parent’s heart. Break it, with all your might. It’s time Tiffany. When you come out of this state, start the mission. It has taken long enough. Kill her, the first chance you get” Tiffany was barely able to hear the voice. She had no idea who was talking. She wasn’t even able to see a face. She was asleep when she heard this voice talking to her. She then fainted once more, as the person kept giving murderous orders.

Meanwhile at the villa:

                YoonA crept into the backdoor in the middle of the night and made her way to the fridge. She got a plate and opened the lights only to find her grandfather sitting waiting for at on the kitchen table.

“Grandpa?”

“Yes, Grandpa. Who else? I just don’t understand how those parties you go to don’t have any food”

“OMG! Grandpa! Is that a cigarette!?”

“Where were you until now?”

“Don’t smoke gramps! It’s bad!!”

“Don’t change the subject. Where were you until now?”

“I was over at a party with some friends”

“hm…do your parents know? Or do they think you’ve been asleep all along in your room?”

“…”

“A Nineteen year old… When she comes back home in the middle of the night through the back door means she’s been hanging outside without her parents’ knowledge. Right?”

“…”

“Come here” the teen did as she was told.

“You’ve been drinking. Great. Just like your mom”

“Mom…mom started drinking in this house. Before judging your first daughter in law, how about thinking about the second” At that moment Jessica came in.

“She’s right Dad. Give her a break”

“See how your niece talks back?” Tony asked.

“Let her live her life Dad. She’s young. Let her have some fun”

“Sorry Unnie. I didn’t mean to talk badly of Tiffany-unnie. How is she?”

“It’s fine. She’s…badly injured. But alive”

“I see. I hope she’ll make it” YoonA then retreated to her room.

“She’s unbelievable…” the old man noted.

“She just wants attention, since both of her parents are so ‘busy’. I can understand her.” The blonde admitted tired.

“Why are you still wearing your clothes?”

“I didn’t change. I didn’t sleep. I wasn’t able”

“What did the doctor say?”

“Sigh…what did Taeyeon tell you about Tiffany?”

“What can she tell me?”

“Nothing”

“I don’t understand a thing.”

“Me neither. Anyways, where were you Dad? I came back home and didn’t find you”

“You won’t get angry?”

“At you? Why would I?”

“Cause you have a terrible temper. As you know your mom is at the hospital with Juhyun. So I…sneaked out, drank a glass and strolled around” Tony whispered as Jessica chuckled.

“As if mom is imprisoning you…” the blonde teased.

“You know how much I respect your mom!”

Next morning:

                Jessica made her way to the ICU. As she went inside, she was shocked to see that her bed was empty. A slight fear crept into her chest as she ran to the doctor’s office.

“Hahaha…It’s seems that you love your wife more than your daughter”

“Why are you saying that doctor?”

“Cause if you passed by your daughter’s room, your mother would’ve told you that we took Ms. Tiffany to get her examined since this morning. So don’t worry. Nothing happened to her.” Jessica sighed in relief and went to check on Juhyun.

“Umma, what did you get me?” the little girl asked as soon as she saw her favorite parent.

“Aigoo! My little brat. Let’s just make sure that my little hero is doing well and is healthy first. Then, when you go back home, I’ll make sure to have a mountain of Keroro stuff. How does that sound?”

“…” Seohyun didn’t react. She kept on looking at Jessica intently.

“What’s wrong honey?”

“She’s been like that ever since she was brought to the hospital. She’d wake up, cry, yell, eat, go to the bathroom and sleep. I asked the doctor and he said it was normal, since the child is still having nightmares from the accident. She’s traumatized. She just calmed down when she saw you” Julia said sadly. Jessica caressed her girl’s hair and kissed her. She hugged her close.

Back at the villa, thins were a little heated.

“Is she still alive?”

“…”

“I’m asking a question here. Isn’t it that my sister in law was in the plane that exploded yesterday?” Sunny asked again.

“This is not how you ask about the wellbeing of family, Sunny.” Taeyeon said as he noticed the mug in her hands. He took it forcefully and smelt it.

“Hana-ssi! Hana-ssi!” He called annoyed. The housekeeper/cook appeared from the doorway of the dining room.

“Yes Taeyeon-sii?”

“Here’s the mug. I want you to get another one with real tea in it. Only you Hana-ssi. I don’t want any maid doing it anymore” he gave her the mug.

“As you wish” she was about to retreat when Sunny held her wrist.

“I want that mu-”

“NO! Whiskey in the tea mug at eight in the morning?! Unbelievable. Please Hana-ssi”

“Of course” the housekeeper looked at Sunny.

“And why are you looking at me like that?” the petite asked irritated.

“Mr. Taeyeon is thinking about your well-being Ms. Sunny” the housekeeper tried to ease the tension.

“Hm…Nobody thinks about my wellbeing in this house. Give me this!” she tried to pry the mug from Hana’s hands as Taeyeon stood up to help the housekeeper.

“I drink whatever I want, whenever I want! Leave me alone!” She slumped back on her seat as the mug was finally making its way to the kitchen.

“You didn’t tell me; did she die?”

“Go to your room! RIGHT NOW!” Taeyeon lost it.

“I see. So she’s still alive” she finished as she got up.

“YAH!! WHY YOU-!”

“Taeyeon, sit down. Let’s eat” Tony said as his son sighed and sat back down.

“Wow, how manly. You still listen to Daddy’s orders!” She shot from the hall.

“Crazy”

“You made me crazy! Don’t blame me, when you did this to me!”

“Dad, this is unbelievable. I can’t live like this” Taeyeon said.

“This is your wife. You’re responsible”

“Tell her. Apparently, he forgot” Sunny finished as she slumped back upstairs.

In the kitchen:

“Sigh…poor Mrs. Julia. What a house. One of them is a drunkard and the other is broken all over” Hana thought as she found Yuri in front of her.

“Oh God! Ms. Yuri, why the back door!? You scared me!”

“I’m sorry. It’s just a habit!”

“They’re all inside if you want to get breakfast with them” Yuri then took the mug and headed to the dining room.

“Good Morning!”

“Oh, hey Yul.”

“This mug is for Sunny. Where is she?”

“…”

“I won’t ask. Seems that the bickering started early today. I’ll just drink it myself” Yuri said as she sat down.

“So? How are Juhyun and Tiffany? I just heard the news”

“Juhyun is doing well. But Tiffany’s situation is a little complicated”

“Sigh…I hope she’ll recover soon. This will only get in the way of our work and the presidency.”

“Yul is here?” the teen came into the dining room.

“Hey Yoong”

“I thought I heard your voice. I came to get breakfast”

“So it means if she didn’t hear your voice, she would’ve been still asleep. She came back at three in the morning. Besides, respect your elders.” Tony said.

“YoonA. I don’t want you to go out partying again this late” her father tried.

“Yul-oups. I mean, Yul-unnie. When are you going to let me work with you?”

“What do you want to work with her? You didn’t graduate yet” Taeyeon asked.

“At least she’ll be working and doing something. Let her help with Jessica’s presidency project. It’s better than those worthless parties” Tony said.

“And school?” Yuri asked.

“Oh come on! Unnie, you know how boring school can get! Please!”

----

“And here’s your wife, back to her original bed Jessica-ssi. How luckier can you get Tiffany-ssi? You have a lovely wife”

“How are the tests doctor?” Jessica asked looking at Tiffany.

“Until now, it looks like everything will be fine. She just needs time to recuperate her fallen lungs and vocal cords. Her broken heel will be fine in a few weeks and her burns are mostly second degree burns. There are, at some parts of her body, third degrees, but they’re not over big surfaces, so no need to worry too much about those. Finally, after all recuperation, we’ll have to talk the face. It’s a whole other project. We need to make sure she’s well and ready to undergo surgery”

“Alright, thanks doctor” the medicine expert finally made his way outside, leaving the couple alone for a while.

“Tiffany, if you can hear me, open your eye, just like you had it opened before” as if on cue, the chocolate brown eye looked at her knowingly.

“What happened was huge. But you survived, thank god” Tiffany then moved her head a little and started .

“I know, I know. You almost died.” The redhead continued whining.

“Don’t you want to know what happened to Juhyun? Don’t you want to know how your girl is doing?” again, only whining and were heard from the figure on the bed.

“Seo is fine. She only broke her arm. The doctor said…that you saved her. Thanks Tiffany.” More whines.

“You wouldn’t be able to talk. You heard what the doctor said. Juhyun is doing just fine. When the time is right and when you could see her without her getting scared, you will. You in pain? Your face? You can’t move?” Jessica sat next to her.

“We have ahead of us a loooong therapy and recovery. A very long one. You always treasured your face, your beauty…your body. You got punished in all three things you thought were most important. Can I just understand why you told my brother you were pregnant while you weren’t? Maybe it’s not the time for this talk. Between life and death, you can’t ask about a lie. I don’t know who made it up. Why would he be the one to tell it to me? You knew that I’ve always dreamed of having another kid. And if I had ever had with you not too long ago, it would’ve been for the baby and for the baby only! Not for you! If it was a lie, shame. If there was nothing, like the doctor said, then I can be sure that your only mission is to bring pain upon me, although I haven’t done anything to you. I have treated you with utmost respect and love all along, and all I got in return was heartbreak after heartbreak. I only went on with this marriage for my daughter.” Jessica wiped her tears away and looked out of the window. When she looked back at Tiffany, she was surprised.

“You’re crying? Tiffany Jang is crying?” the blond chuckled and let her laugh fill the air at the irony.