Can we still be friends?

That was what she asked when they broke up

And that was the last thing she said before they drifted apart

Two years have passed and now Taeyeon is holding her wedding invitation

Jessica Jung & Tyler Kwon

17.2.2018

Taeyeon stares at the card in her hand, scratch that, she stares at the name printed on the card. She knows that she should’ve expected it to happen. Her ex-lover is a gorgeous woman with her elegance and wit, who wouldn’t want her?

She didn’t see how her relationship was coming to an end. She couldn’t see how Jessica’s heart was left to die when she was too busy for her. As cliché as it is, her relationship number one problem was time; Taeyeon didn’t have time for her.

As much as she wants to blame the other party for not reminding her, she knows she can’t. They did have big arguments from time to time because of it and yet, she didn’t bother to change. She was too busy with her patients and her research; job came first before Jessica.

Being a cardiothoracic surgeon has its perks: money, dignity, fame but at the same time, it has its drawbacks too: difficulties in making commitment for a special someone, the pressure and of course, the emotional drains. People expect her to be making miracles from time to time and sometimes, miracles don’t appear in every patient.

They met each other when Jessica’s grandfather needed to do a heart transplant. Fortunately, there was not any complications that occur afterwards. It wasn’t in her intention to date her patient’s granddaughter but somehow, they crossed path with each other quite often.

Jessica gave her a polite smile when they ran into each other in a hospital and that time, she was visiting her sister who fainted due to her anemia. Taeyeon returned the smile before dashing off to the surgery room, she didn’t have any time to waste.

The second time they met was when the surgeon saw how the girl was shaking in fear and she learned that the latter's car got a rear-end collision. Being an affluent person that she was, of course even any minor injuries would lead to the said girl being taken to the hospital. The surgeon even remembered how some reporters waited outside the hospital to know the news regarding J Group’s heiress. The heiress didn’t see her but she did.

That night, when she was out to the vending machine to buy a can of coffee, she saw the heiress wandering around in her hosptal gown.

She approached the taller girl with a smile on her face and she asked how she was feeling. That time, she didn't know that it made Jessica's heart fluttered because usually, people around her did not care.

They chatted for some time until Taeyeon's pager beeped and she went to attend her patient, leaving Jessica with a smile.

They didn't see each other again until Taeyeon bumped into the heiress in Paris. The heiress was invited to a fashion show while the surgeon was there for a seminar and yet, both of them met when they were walking around near the Eiffel Tower.

Taeyeon threw her a smile when she saw the girl again and Jessica did the same. They had a small talk over some cakes and tea and that was when both of them realises that they clicked well. The surgeon dared herself to ask for her number and she was ecstatic when Jessica wrote it in a piece of paper.

Short messages from the surgeon increased in number and short calls whenever she was free increased as well. She wouldn't tell the heiress but everytime she received her replies, she was smiling ear to ears.

Those moments were the times when she wanted to just stop being a surgeon and lived the rest of her life with the heiress but of course, she couldn't.

She knew that when she chose this career, she had to be prepared to not have any romantic relationships at all.

However, they managed to be in a relationship. Taeyeon asked for a break from the hospital for a few weeks just to fly to Italy with Jessica and make memories together. Their faces filled the front cover of magazines and they received lots of supports, they couldn't be happier than that.

After all the bright days, there came the dark ones. Taeyeon was busy in the hospital and when she was free, she would fall asleep while talking to Jessica; work was taking a toll on her.

Sometimes, Taeyeon would become grumpy when she failed to do miracles on her patients and Jessica's patience was tested. 

Sometimes, Jessica would be too stressed with her work and let her frustations out on the surgeon.

Maybe, their work combinations are not the best.

There was a time when Jessica threw a wine glass to the wall and there was this time when Taeyeon sighed and walked away.

There was a time when Taeyeon raised her voice at the heiress and there was this time when Jessica cried to sleep.

There was a time when they gazed at the stars and muttered promises to be togeher forever.

There was a time when they fought till both of them cried.

And there was a time when they knew they had enough.

"Can we still be friends?" Jessica held her hand and smiled at her.

"Of course," Taeyeon smiled back but both knew it was an empty promise.

Their break up filled tabloids as well and Jessica had a headache not because the break up but due to her little sister's nags. Well, she did have headache and heartache because of the surgeon but seeing her sister cried, made her died a little more.

Krystal Jung wanted Taeyeon to be with her forever.

+++

It's a beautiful day, the sky is bright blue and sound of birds chirping can be heard. Clad in a baby blue shirt and white pants, Taeyeon walked inside a church. She had to maintain her expression not to show her frustations at the reporters who are taking her pictures while yelling questions about her relationship with Jessica.

She groans internally but she can't blame or curse anyone, she knows how much the taller girl loathes the press but the heiress has no choice; press is a part of every conglomerate's family. Rushing to enter the church, she sighs in relief once she is inside. She sits down next to Krystal who is smiling with a thousand watt smile, of course after greetings the heiress' parents on the other side of the room.

"I didn't expect that Jessica would invite me to watch her exchange her vows with her soon to be husband," Taeyeon chuckles and Krystal's smiles slowly disappearing

"She didn't, I did," Krystal mutters, earning a wide-eyed gazed from the latter. "This is your last chance, unnie, I-"

"Soojung-ah," Taeyeon sighs as she holds both of Krystal's hands. "When we broke up, we knew that we would never get back to each other again. Your sister and I are just not meant to be, Soojung," she sighs again and her eyebrows knit together when she notices how the latter's eyes become glossy. "Our jobs didn't allow us to be together and you know that we can't just walk away from it just to be together, we-"

"I've never seen her so happy than those times when she was with you, especially when you were both in Italy,"

"Soo-"

"I just want her to be happy, unnie, she-"

Krystal couldn't finish her words when the organs start to play the wedding march and all ot the guests stand up to see the bride and the groom. Jessica links her hand on Tyler's arm and both are smiling happily until Jessica sees the woman besides her sister. Her smile falters for a few seconds before Tyler looks at her as both of them walk down the aisle and she gives everyone a plastic smile.

Taeyeon hears the preacher says 'speak now or forever holds your peace' and with Krystal's hand gripping on her arm tightly, she almost wants to just stand up and ruin the wedding. Almost. Fortunately for her, she can still hold her emotions inside.

She sees how Jessica wipes tears away from her eyes and she assures herself that they are tears of happiness but her focus shifted to the younger Jung whose hands are shaking. The younger Jung has to clasp both of her hands together just so that other people wouldn't see how her hands tremble and this makes Taeyeon frowns. She pulls the girl to her embrace and Krystal cries in her arms.

To other guests, they would've thought that younger Jung is sad to see her sister finally tying the knot with someone else which would mean lesser time to spend with each other. However, Taeyeon knows that Krystal cries because she wants her to be the one marrying her sister, not anyone else.

"You may now kiss the bride," the preacher says and Tyler lifts Jessica's veil that covers her face before leaning in to seal her lips. The guests clap but Taeyeon clenches her jaw as she sees Jessica smiling.

Love hurts.

She excuses herself to go to the toilet and she splashes her face with water. She stares at her reflection and clenches her jaw again.

Tears trickle down her face.

She thought she was over Jessica already, she thought she wouldn't break apart, she thought she could stand the sight of her ex-lover with someone else.

She was wrong.

She wipes her tears away just before Krystal enters the toilet. Seeing the younger Jung from the mirror, she turns around and gives her a smile.

"I'll see you in the wedding celebration tomorrow?"

"Unnie, if seeing Jess unnie with Tyler oppa hurts you, you don't need to come," Krystal sighs. "I didn't know what I was thinking when I sent the invitation to you,"

"She looks happy, Soojung" Taeyeon smiles and pats the younger Jung's head affectionately. "Maybe if you learn to like him more, you can see her being so happy too. He can give her what I can't: time. I bet she's happy,"

"Then why does she still mumble your name in her sleep?"

"What?' The surgeon frowns. "Soojung-ah, maybe-"

"It was a week ago when we went to New York to visit grandma. We shared a bed and in the middle of her sleep, she cried and kept on calling for your name,"

"She-she did?"

"She did, unnie," Krystal sighs. "But now, I guess you can't do anything else, she's officially his,"

"Yeah," Taeyeon trails off. "Soojung-ah, if we're fated to be together, then we would be together. Maybe we're just not fated,"

A/N angst for y'all.. merry christmas everyone!