Jessica flipped through her phone, patiently waiting outside of her house gates. The goodnight text from Onew brought a smile to her face and she felt that little flutter. Car headlights came up the driveway and she squinted to see the familiar face. A dark lone figure stepped out of the vehicle and she made her way over.

 “What the hell happened, Doojoon?”

Doojoon rubbed his temples, sighing as he did so. “We had a little tiff, that is all.”

 “A little tiff? My baby sister is inside, crying and all because you had a little tiff?” questioned Jessica doubtfully. “We were pleasantly having dinner a few hours ago and suddenly I come home to find her weeping incessantly over a little tiff?”

 “I might have let out a little more steam than expected…”

 “You‘ve had your disputes but this is-“

 “This is the first, Jessica. The first massive fight we’ve had, big news, woop dee doo.” Doojoon’s tone was grim. “I was being a little sensitive and I snapped OK, I snapped. I just wanted an answer, a simple answer and she couldn’t even reply…”

 “Hold on,” Jessica raised her hand to pause the conversation. “This… is all because she didn’t answer a question? You are having this ‘massive’ fight over a simple question? And you got angry because she didn’t answer?”

 “I asked-“

 “That’s ridiculous!” Jessica exclaimed with disbelief. “Here I thought you two had some sort of severe fight when it turns out that your game of 20 Questions ended badly.” Silence fell for a few minutes before he spoke up.

 “I asked her if the thought of me cheating ever crossed her mind. And she didn’t answer me,” said Doojoon gravely, his face darkening. “All I needed was a yes or a no.”

Jessica remained quiet, realising how serious the situation actually was, seeing the disappointment etched on Doojoon’s face.

 “If you gave her a chance to answer may-“

 “It was, like you said, a simple question and she couldn’t answer it, Jessica. How many chances are you given to answer?” Doojoon chortled bitterly, shoving his hands into his pockets. “She doesn’t trust me.”

 “Doojoon, now that is absurd. You said you overreacted, and she may have oversensitively cried… you guys just need to resolve this.” She tried to mediate the current status. “End of.”

 “It’s not as easy as that. Sica, things have changed… I know this, she knows this, but neither of us wants to openly admit it.” Jessica listened attentively as he spilled his feelings slowly. “Ever since Minho entered back into her life, she’s been acting differently. I chose to blame me being away cos’ I was studying, but it’s not.” He sighed tiredly. “I’ve seen her and Minho… hanging out together after athletics…”

 “Just hangin-“

 “On more than a couple of occasions. Then Lizzy, she said something and that just upped my suspicions even more.” He scowled as he recalled the number of times he chanced upon the two of them meeting. “I can handle quick dinner bites, the occasional get-togethers… I didn’t say anything about it cos’ I just figured maybe it was a one-off thing… but then why hide it from me, and then lie about it?” He turned to Jessica and saw the girl gazing at the ground. “… and you knew about this.” He scoffed. “Hah, I should’ve known...”

 “Doojoon, I’m sorry… Yes, they’ve been talking,” admitted Jessica begrudgingly. “But I-“

 “You knew and yet you didn’t think to tell me? Or… or tell her? That maybe, hiding things would lead to things ending up messy? Or seeing someone behind your boyfriend’s back is not exactly the smartest idea?” Jessica flinched instinctively. “You, of all people, Jessica, should know better than to keep this from me! You!” roared Doojoon. Jessica whipped her head up, with her eyes wide open in shock. Almost instantly Doojoon recoiled, and grasped what he had uttered. “I’m sorry… Jessica, I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to-“

“You’re right… and I apologise for not telling you,” she cut in immediately. Aware of what he was truly referring to, she raised her quivering chin and eyed him. “But do not, do not blame this on me.”

***

 “How was the romantic reunion?”

 “As romantic as one would expect after a long trip,” said Onew with a light laugh.

 “How’d she take the parents news?”

Onew continued setting up the TV for their scheduled game session that evening. “She… took it well, I guess.” He tossed the game controller to G.O. “We’ll see if I get a response in the next two days.”

 “And if not?”

 “If not, well, there’ll be other times right? I don’t want her to have to go.”

G.O. clicked his tongue in realisation. “Hold up… she doesn’t know that other people are gonna be there does she? She just thinks it’s you, your parents and her.” Onew kept his eyes on the screen. “More specifically, she doesn’t know Yeeun’s going to be there…” He paused the game causing Onew to yell.

 “Hey! I was just about to beat your !”

 “And you can get the real thing right here, baby boy… now, why aren’t you telling Jessica that Yeeun’s coming?”

 “For the record, she knows that you and Jieun are invited, which I’m hoping might shift her answer… and Yeeun, might not even be there,” finished Onew half-heartedly, followed by a sigh. “I truly and honestly want to introduce Jessica to my parents, hyung, and this yearly family/friend gathering event popped up conveniently.”

G.O. sensed the sincerity in Onew’s voice and punched him on the arm. “Alright. Here’s to hoping Jessica says yes.” He raised his beer bottle and Onew did the same. “Now, move aside, cos’ Sergeant Jung Byunghee is out to kick your scrawny on this warfield!”

***

Hi! You’ve reached Jessica Jung. I can’t come to the phone right now. Leave a message after the beep~!

Doojoon:

Hey, it’s me. Call me when you get this.

Doojoon:

It’s me again, please pick up.

Doojoon:

Seriously, Jessica, please pick up. I need to talk to you.

Kim Jaekyung:

Jessica, I’d like to see you in my office tomorrow morning at 9am sharp. Bye!

Doojoon:

You can’t avoid me for this long.  We need to talk.

Tiffany:

Jessicaaaaa! Oh my GAWDDD I have big news! Like big, big extended news! Get my drift?! By the way why aren’t you picking your phone up at such a crucial time huh? OK, whatever call me back pronto! Love you!

Doojoon:

*click*

***

 “Coffee, coffee, coffee!” Key rushed over to Jessica, right arm extended to snatch up one of the beverages she had on hand and quickly took a sip. “Oh, my little caffeine pick-me-up!”

 “It’s 8.55! What are you two still doing here?” asked Jessica in a hurry. Sooyoung and Key glanced at each other, puzzled. “9am meeting? Boss Jaekyung? Office?”

 “Uh, no. I have a meeting with the suppliers at 9.15,” said Sooyoung.

 “And I… I have work to do at my desk,” chimed in Key. He glanced at his watch. “It’s 8.59 tick-tock.”

 “Oh !” Jessica ran and found herself nervously knocking at her boss’ door. She carefully patted down her outfit, and did a quick hair and make-up check.

 “Come in!” She opened the door and found Jaekyung sitting on her office couch, legs crossed and arms folded.

Uh-oh, this does not look good. Deep breaths, Jessica, deep breaths.

 “Take a seat.” Jaekyung’s facial expression remained calm, while Jessica on the other hand was still self-comforting. “Relax, you’re still employed. But I do have some important news to share with you.”

Jessica exhaled with relief and smiled. “Oh OK… what is it?”

 “This.” Jaekyung handed out a white enveloped out to her employee, with a pleasing grin. “I have a feeling this might be good news.”

Harper's BAZAAR, read Jessica slowly. Addressed to: Ms. Jessica Jung.

 “Go on, open it.”

With a deep breath and shaky hands, she opened the envelope and retrieved the letter inside.

 Dear Ms. Jessica Jung… it is our… to inform you… been accepted… Spring/Summer internship… four months… look forward to hearing…

And for the remainder of the letter she drifted off. Jessica raised her gaze to Jaekyung, stunned. “I got in,” she managed to whisper. “I-I got accepted.”

Jaekyung jumped up to hug her, with a proud smile. “Congratulations Jessica! Guess my recommendation paid off huh.”

 “Oh my gosh unnie, thank you so much! I can’t… I seriously cannot believe this.”

 “Well believe it, cos’ you’re going on unpaid leave for three months,” said Jaekyung. “And yes, I’m sorry but I’m going to not pay till you get back.” Jessica read the letter again, her mind still floating happily. “So, until you leave, you still work for me. Off you go!”

***

 “I’M GOING TO NEW YORK!”

 “You’re in? You’re innnnnn!” Krystal shrieked down the phone.  “Oh my God unnie! Yayyy! Where? When? How long?”

 “Three months, at Harper's BAZAAR! I’ve called mum and dad… I have to call Tiffany in a bit, who else, oh my God… ahhh this is so surreal!”

 “We are so celebrating tonight!”

 “Yes, indeed,” beamed Jessica. “I’ll see you back home alright.” She quickly dialled Tiffany’s number, ready for another screaming fest.

 “Oh my God, after a lifetime Jessi!” greeted Tiffany.

 “I have amazing news!”

 “Me too!”

 “Oh… you first.”

 “No, you first.”

Jessica giggled, who was she kidding. “Same time.”

 “I’m pregnant!”

 “I got New York!”

 “Whaaaat?!” they screamed at the same time resulting in a laughter.

 “Oh Tiff, I’m so happy for you! How many months?” asked Jessica.

 “Just over two months. We wanted to be sure about the pregnancy, so we waited a little before sharing the news.”

 “So much for, ‘oh we’re going to wait a year before we try for children’… nice going you two.”

 “Yeah, well, God blessed us a little early is all,” replied Tiffany. “And you got the internship!? For reals?”

 “Yep! All that waiting… and I finally, finally get the one thing I’ve dreamed of since forever.”

Tiffany smiled, aware of how hard and patient Jessica had worked to get this. “What did Onew say when you told him?” Jessica fell silent. “Oh Jessi, you-“

 “I haven’t told him yet.”

 “Well, I’m sure he’ll be happy for you. Or else he would’ve said something before.” Tiffany got the silence again. “You did tell him you applied right? I mean, he knows about the whole internship deal?”

 “What if he doesn’t want me to go? What if he wants to break up with me? What if instead, he uses this chance to ‘ask for space’? What do I do then?” fired Jessica, question after question. She heard a sigh over the phone.

 “He’s not Donghae, Jessica,” murmured Tiffany reassuringly. “He is not Donghae and he is nothing like him.”

Jessica exhaled, knowing Tiffany was right. “I know… I’ll get round to it next week. Definitely not this week.”

 “Why? Why not?”

 “I’m… meeting his parents this weekend,” spilled Jessica.

Tiffany laughed. “No way! Meet-the-parents huh. What gifts have you prepared?”

 “That’s the thing, I have no idea! I want to make a good first impression y’know. And Onew is the only child, a son at that. I can’t afford to screw up.”

 “Babe, food is the way to go. At least his mum might just like you a bit more… even if you’re a failure at cooking.”

 “Hey! My tuna kimchi fried rice is the bomb!”

 “Of course, with the questionable sizes of spam, and the amount of oil you add,” said Tiffany. “Bake them a cake, silly. Nothing instant though. Stay away from the instant packets.”

 “I’m going to have to grovel at my mum or Krystal to help me out with this one,” grumbled Jessica.

***

From Doojoonie Oppa <3

Soojung, I can’t take this. It’s gone on for too long and we need to talk things through. Call me ASAP.

Krystal read the text message. No x’s, no o’s.

No smiley faces.

And no I love you.

 “Is everything OK?”

She looked up at the guy sitting opposite. Minho peered at her over the book he was reading.

 “Yeah. I just need to go meet my boyfriend now. I’ll see you around.”

Krystal packed her things up and left to go find him.

***

Yay finally got round to updating! OK so things aren't going so well with Doojoon and Krystal. Nor is it going well with Jessica. I don't know if you've noticed but there is a certain relationship between those two and I've lightly touched upon them in the previous chapters. So do pay some attention to that :) I'm debating on what I should write about in the next chapter.. Doojoon & Krystal possible make-up or Jessica & Onew's meet the parents session?  

Do leave comments! Love :) xoxo