Someone once said that calm comes after the storm, but for Jessica it wasn’t calmness what she was feeling. She arrived at the classroom just a week after the incident with Baek, walking with the same expressionless face she has most of the time. Of course, she couldn’t tell the girls anything and the only one who knew what happened was Taec, so for that reason she had zero communication with the rest of them. It still wasn’t real for her that everything had come to an end after all of these years, that Yoo couldn’t hurt anyone anymore.

She was so deep in her thoughts that she didn’t notice the girls staring at her with surprise. She was barely taking off her bag when Baek came out of nowhere and embraced her tightly in his arms from behind, hiding his face in her hair. Jessica got startled a little but she recognized his cologne and that made her smile warmly. She wanted to touch his hands that were resting softly on top of her stomach but she was doubting. Her fingers lingered an inch away from those soft but manly ones of his.

“Don't worry, I’m not scared.” He whispered as he noticed the girl’s predicament. “It’s okay Sooyeon.” His voice was soothing, not an ounce of fear or doubt in it.

Jessica bit her lower lip a little before slowly placing her hands on top of his arms. “How are you Baek, how’s your arm?” She asked while caressing softly the bandage. “I’m sorry, I should’ve been more careful.” Her voice had now a tint of sadness.

“I’m okay, it was my fault.” He took a hold of her hands and played with her fingers. “I’m glad you’re okay, I was scared that anything bad happened to you.” Jessica went rigid and Baek could feel her tense. “Taec told me.” His voice was barely audible thanks to his face still hidden in her hair. “I don’t care what happened, you’re still you, our friend. You had your reasons and we understand it, so don’t think about staying away from us just because you believe that you deserve it.”

Jessica bit her tongue softly, feeling it hard for her to swallow. His words were like a bucket of cold water on a hot summer day. She held his hands, stopping him from playing with her fingers any longer. “Thank you for everything Baek. I’m thankful for meeting you and getting to know such a wonderful person. You’re someone that I’ll always care for.” She then turned around and held both of his cheeks between her soft hands, caressing them with her thumbs. His hands instinctively moved towards her small waist.

They both were staring deep into their eyes and that’s when Jessica pulled his face towards her, placing a kiss on his forehead. They were so into their own world that they didn’t hear the gasps. “You’re like family to me.” She whispered, her lips still lingered in his skin. He couldn’t help but smile with his eyes closed. “Thank you for everything you’ve done and what you keep doing for me.”

Baek pulled his head back a little and smiled brightly, his hands made its way towards Jessica’s face and caressed her eyebrows with the tip of his fingers, making the girl giggle. “Thank you for changing my life.”

He was about to kiss the girl’s forehead when a pair of hands pushed him harshly, he almost lost his steps if it wasn’t because of Jessica’s hold in his elbow. Both of them turned around to see the culprit but they almost ran away when they saw Tiffany with a dark aura around her. The said girl was staring intensely at Jessica’s hand.

“What the hell is going on?” Her venomous voice echoed the entire room. All of the students there were holding their breath, it was the first time they saw Tiffany like that.

“Ti-Tiffany?” Cough. Without knowing Jessica stuttered, she was feeling somewhat anxious. The girl’s eyes darted towards her when she heard Jessi calling her name. “You are here.” She was trying to calm herself.

“Well, I’ve been here since you arrived though you were so lost in Baekhyun’s eyes that I doubt you even realized it.” She spoke through clenched teeth. “He isn’t going to fall anymore. Let. Him. Go.”

Jess cleared and moved her hand away from the guy in a flash. Everyone was watching incredulously how the ice princess was being tamed by Tiffany Hwang.

She was thinking how to respond but a loud noise made her turn around quickly, and that’s when she saw Baek on the floor massaging his lower back. How?!

She helped him stand up fast and asked him if he was okay with her eyes, until he made a face signaling her to look behind him. Jessica tilted her head a little and she almost jumped back when she saw Taeyeon, she was fuming. “Oh, Hi Tae.” She said in a not so happy tone, for a moment she felt like hiding behind Baek but her pride didn’t let her.

“So, you decided to start as soon as she came back.” Jessica was totally confused. She furrowed her eyebrows trying to figure out what she meant but it was Baek who answered first.

“Why should I wait?” Tae was turning red from anger.

She was about to retort but the teacher came and ordered everyone to sit down. Baek had to leave but not without whispering something to Jessica’s ear.

During the whole class, she felt like someone was throwing daggers to her back. She felt the need to turn around but she didn’t find it necessary as she knew who were the ones doing it. Instead, she approached Taec’s ear by leaning on her desk and whispered. “Taec, what’s going on between Tae and Baek? I thought he was going to court her.”

Taec took is time, he didn’t know how to tell the girl about what Baek was planning to do. He sighed a couple of times before leaning back in his chair. “When you left, we went to my house to talk about everything that happened. And that’s when Taeyeon snapped and asked him if he liked you because she saw some things that were weird between the two of you.” Jessica was listening but she looked like she was just staring