Round Eighty-One

Tiffany was in a daze for an inordinate amount of time. Her eyes trailed the second hand of the analog wall clock as it ticked circle after circle with each passing minute. She was vaguely aware that almost an hour had passed and she was still having trouble processing all the information that Mrs. Kim had poured onto her during that phone call.

Selective Mutism. What was it? She knew that it was a psychiatric disorder. That much she knew. So she looked it up. A quick search on the Internet enlightened her but her heart was in no way lightened of its load. If anything, her heart felt heavier after reading up about it.

Her heart ached for Taeng and the difficulties he faced as he grew up. Heck, he was struggling with it every single day, even as an adult. She remembered how he had confessed that she distracted him, causing him to mess up in his work. She remembered the things that Hayeon told her about Taeng—the bullies, his love for his peas—and remembered how Taeng had shared Cherry with her. She realized now, just how precious she was to him for him to share his deepest, darkest secrets with her. He had come so far just to be able to introduce her to Cherry.

This time, he had taken off in a terrible state of mind—she had no doubt about that. His peas being left behind were proof of how hastily he left. How did he survive the night without his peas? Without her? Her heart lurched when her thoughts drifted to him, all alone on that late bus, all the way back to Jeonju.

She regretted saying those things to spite him. She regretted saying those cruel words to hurt him. It was a violent reaction to the scene that she mistook to be his betrayal of her but it had turned out to be nothing like what it looked like. Just like Taeng himself.

Taeng. She thought she knew him. Hohoho, how much further from the truth could she have been? It was as though he was a stranger to her, all of a sudden. Yet, in the strangest of ways, it was as though she knew him even better than before now that all of his quirks made sense to her. Talk about staying strong together through thick and thin… This was just about as thick and thin as it could get.

Could they stay together? Could they stay strong? There was only one way to find out. She picked up her phone and made a couple of calls.

“Hey, Tony. I need you to follow up the case on Dennis for me. I’m taking a few days off to handle some personal matters.” Tiffany then listened to Tony calmly before talking again. “Yes. A few days. I don’t know how long. Taeng as well. Thanks.”

She ended that call and made another one as she stood up to open her wardrobe and drawers. She listened to the dial tone as she began tossing some clothes onto her bed before taking out her overnight bag to carry them in.

“Jessi, listen, I need your help. I’m going to be out of town for a few days and I need you to run the office for me.” She flinched as Jessica screeched into the phone and proceeded to interrogate her about her sudden departure. “It’s to do with Taeng. I’ll let you know more about it when I get back, okay?”

Tiffany sighed with relief when Jessica agreed to help and she put her phone down with a peace of mind. She knew that Jessica would be able to step up and rise to the occasion. She had faith in Jessica. That girl had it in her. She just didn’t want to use it. But if taken to task, there was no doubt that Jessica was capable of holding the fort.

Tiffany sighed. How she wished she could take that slap back. Have those words erased. But time machines had not been invented yet and there was no way to undo what she did. She could only hope to atone for her mistakes even though she hadn’t figured out how to, yet.

~~~~~

Tiffany brought her bag and Taeng’s peas out to her car and was about to get into it when she paused. No. She wasn’t going to drive to Jeonju. She was going to take the bus. She didn’t know why, but it seemed significant to her to do that.

~~~~~

She boarded the bus and looked at the empty seats. Which one would Taeng have sat in? All the way at the back, she supposed. It hurt to picture Taeng shuffling through the bus, seating himself at the back to be as inconspicuous as possible. Had he been crying? Had he been in utter anguish? She bit her lip and took her seat. It must have been traumatic beyond words for him to flee all the way back to Jeonju.

The last time he had walked out on her was when she had rejected his proposal the first time. And it was then that he had met Gyuri. She sighed at the thought. If she hadn’t said no, he wouldn’t have met Gyuri. Could all of these have been avoided?

Yet, Gyuri was a good friend to Taeng and she was glad that he had someone he could open up to although she was still a tad jealous that he confided in Gyuri so much. She wanted to be Taeng’s confidant. She wanted Taeng to feel comfortable enough to tell her anything.

With a sigh, she hugged Taeng’s peas and looked out the window as the bus began to move. It would be a few hours before she got to Jeonju but it comforted her knowing that Taeng had gone back the same way too.

~~~~~

Yoong had thought that getting Sunny to move in with him was a good idea. But he was beginning to think otherwise.

Sunny was not making it easy for him to keep his hands off her. Her sleepy eyes. Her tousled hair. Her sweet little good morning smile. Her voice when she said good morning. Her cute little yawn as she stretched lazily. Her soft, warm, y body…clad in the cutest, iest pyjamas…rubbing against the soft cotton sheets…

AHHH!

Yoong screamed internally as he fought to keep himself under control. His eyes had bulged to the point of almost popping out of their sockets on the first morning they spent together. And he had hoped that he would get used to it over time but it was obviously not the case because it wasn’t just his eyes that were bulging this morning. No thanks to a certain dream he had, he thought grimly.

“Good morning Yoongie.”

Hearing her soft, warm, sleepy voice made his bulge twitch and he groaned. Oh dear Lord. This was some kind of sweet torture, right? This must be how they broke spies and got them to confess everything. He definitely felt ready to confess everything—down to his deepest, darkest secret—if only he could get beyond second base with her. It was as though he was a teenage all over again—craving to go beyond second base like that.

“Sunny…”

“What’s wrong Yoongie? Are you sick?” Sunny was concerned.

“I’m sick,” he groaned.

Sunny placed her palm flat on his chest. “You’re so hot!” she gasped.

“Oh, I’m hot alright. I’ve got the hots for you.”

Sunny pulled her palm away and give him a disapproving look. “It’s a no.”

“But Bunny…” Yoong whined.

“If you can’t learn to control yourself, how am I going to have a peace of mind when you’re in Japan?”

Yoong fell silent for a moment. Then he said, “But—”

“What’s going to happen if you want it and I’m not around to give it?”

“I…I’ll…”

“You’ll find yourself a willing girl?”

“No!” Yoong burst out suddenly. He frowned. “Of course not. I don’t want anybody else in my bed but you.”

The sweetest smile crept onto Sunny’s face and she giggled. “What will you do, Yoongie…?” she whispered seductively.

“I’ll…I’ll just think of you and…”

“And…?”

Yoong gulped. Was Sunny trying to kill him by seduction? She most certainly could if she wanted to. He would not be able to withstand the feeling of her body rubbing against his for long. “Sunny…”

“Make love to me now.”

“Huh?” He blinked rapidly in surprise.

“Show me how much you love me before I change my mind.”

It didn’t take much more than that to get Yoong into action.

~~~~~

Half an hour later, they were satiated, freshly showered and very happy. They stood in the kitchen making breakfast and each time they brushed against each other, they’d jump as though electrified. Sunny was very shy and Yoong was very brazen.

“So, get out, get out, get out of my head…and fall into my arms instead…” he sang softly as he popped the bread into the toaster. Then he grabbed Sunny by the shoulders and looked straight at her as he sang, “I don’t, I don’t, don’t know what it is…but I need that one thing…and you’ve got that one thing….”

Sunny squealed and wriggled to get out of his grip but he simply laughed and wrapped his arms around her, trapping her against his chest.

“Yoong!” protested Sunny as she tried to slap his arms away. “You’re making a nice song sound so sleazy!”

Yoong laughed even harder, much to her consternation and said, “That’s ‘cos you’re thinking dirty, bunny.”

Sunny glared at him, slanted to the side in mock indignation. “You’re like ten years old.”

“And you’re dating a ten-year-old.” Yoong snickered.

Sunny could only roll her eyes.

~~~~~

“Excuse me, Miss?”

Tiffany was woken up by a gentle shake. “Mmm? Where am I?” Tiffany rubbed her eyes sleepily. Then she gasped. “Oh! I’m sorry! Did I fall asleep? Did I miss my stop?”

The middle-aged man who woke her up told her that she was at the Jeonju bus terminal and she was so relieved that she almost hugged the man.

“Thank you! Thank you!” She grabbed her bag and got off the bus. She turned to look at the bus again. Something felt missing. The peas! She dashed back up the bus and apologized profusely to the bus driver as she ducked her head to look for Taeng’s peas. It was under the seat in front of her. She must have dropped it when she fell asleep.

“Say, are those Taengoo’s peas?” the bus driver remarked as she was about to step off the bus.

Tiffany whirled around in surprise. How did he kno—

“He’s a nice boy, eh?”

“He is.” Tiffany smiled.

“You his girlfriend?”

“Yes.”

The bus driver proceeded to look at her appraisingly before nodding his approval. “Taengoo has good taste.”

Tiffany blushed.

“I used to drive the bus he took to school. He brought those peas everywhere with him. They laughed at him and his peas you know. I used to scold the kids who called him names too. Them horrible kids.” The bus driver shook his head gravely. “They called him names. All the dirty, insulting names.”

Then he smiled suddenly. “But you know what? One day, one of them crossed the line. One of them hurled an insult about his little sister. Taengoo was livid. He stormed right up and looked them in the eye and told them that he was going to go to college and that he’d get a fantastic job one day and outdo all of them in life.”

“Really? He said that to them?”

“Yeah. Talk about getting angry.”

“Did he get into trouble for saying that?”

“Surprisingly…no! I think they were too shocked to react. I mean, you would too, if a guy who never talked suddenly burst out in anger like that.”

Tiffany blinked and blinked. She didn’t know what to make of the whole story but she was proud of Taeng’s display of bravery. Perhaps that had been the turning point of Taeng’s life and she was glad to have heard about it from the bus driver. “Thanks for telling me about Taeng, ajusshi.”

“You treat him nice, okay? He’s a nice boy, that one.”

“I will.”

~~~~~

It suddenly occurred to her that she hadn’t called Mrs. Kim back. It was a little too late to do anything about it though. She was already standing at the doorstep of the Kim household. And the door was opening.

“Fany unnie!” Hayeon was ecstatic as soon as their eyes met and Tiffany was almost knocked over by the ball of happy energy barrelling into her.

“Hayeon, I’m so happy to see you again.” Tiffany meant every word. Hayeon never failed to brighten up her day.

“Tiffany? You’re here.” Mrs Kim appeared behind Hayeon.

“Yes I am, Mrs. Kim.”

The smile on Mrs. Kim’s face was comforting. “I wasn’t expecting to see you so soon.”

“I really do love Taeng, Mrs. Kim. And I’m here to win him back.”

Mrs. Kim sighed. “He hasn’t spoken a word since coming back. I don’t know if he’s going to respond to you but you can try.”

Tiffany nodded. She was certainly going to try.

~~~~~

She was suddenly nervous. It was the weirdest thing. She wasn’t the nervous sort. But as she raised her fist to knock on Taeng’s bedroom door, she felt more nervous than she ever had in her life. Regardless, she knocked. Twice. “Taeng…? Can I come in?”

There was no response. Tiffany in a mouthful of air and puffed her cheeks. Should she enter? Should she not? Enter. It was Taeng. He wouldn’t be too mad with her. Would he? The door opened as she pondered. Taeng smiled at her and she gasped at the sight of the spreading bruise on his cheek but he said nothing.

“Taeng, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have said all those things. I shouldn’t hav—”

Tiffany was shushed by Taeng’s finger on her lips. He smiled again but still said nothing. He then removed his finger from her lips and they stood still, facing each other for some time. And that was when she felt the sudden urge to burst into tears. Oh gawd. What had she done? What had she done to sweet, innocent Taeng?

In the midst of her depressing thoughts, she remembered. “I brought your peas with me, Taeng.” Maybe the peas will help him to talk again.

Tiffany jogged to the couch in the living room where she had left the peas with her bag and brought it to him, feeling hopeful. His eyes lit up considerably at the sight of his beloved peas but still he said nothing as he took the peas from her. He hugged and squeezed his peas, smiling like a boy who had just hit his first homerun. But he still did not speak even though he appeared to be delighted by his peas.

Tiffany was drenched in despair. What was it going to take to get him to talk to her again?

~~~~~

Tiffany decided to give Taeng some time to talk to his peas in private. “I’ll see you at dinner time, Taeng.”

Taeng simply smiled and it was with a heavy heart that Tiffany shut his bedroom door and headed back out to the living room. Mrs. Kim appeared from the kitchen and approached her.

“You came prepared.” Mrs Kim nodded towards her overnight bag and smiled. “Hayeon will be very happy to share her room with you again.”

“So am I.”

“It will take a while for Taeng to feel comfortable enough to speak again.”

“Do you know why he’s not talking?”

Mrs. Kim shook her head sadly. “I don’t fully know. But we’re thinking that it may be his way of protecting us from worrying for him. Just like how he stayed silent about the bullies in school.”

Tiffany winced. It didn’t feel good to know that she was the cause of his silence like the bullies were.

“I’m sorry. I’m didn’t mean to put you in the same league as the bullies in school. You know what I mean, right?” Mrs. Kim placed a gentle hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

“I know where you’re coming from Mrs. Kim. But I do blame myself for this. The last thing I want to do is hurt Taeng but I did. And I feel terrible about it. I shouldn’t have let my anger get to me like that.”

Mrs. Kim embraced her whole. “Tiffany, don’t blame yourself. I don’t want you to have to tread around Taengoo with caution. Just be yourself. Can you do that?”

Tiffany sniffed and blinked away the tears that had welled up in her eyes. “Yes I can. I will.”

~~~~~

Jessica was feeling nauseous and it didn’t make her feel any better that her bosom felt a little sore. Fortunately, Yul’s arms made her feel better when they encircled her waist and pulled her against his wall of deliciously lean muscles.

“Are you okay, baby?”

“I’m feeling nauseous and I don’t like it.”

“Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?”

“I don’t know. But what you’re doing now feels pretty good.”

“This?” Yul rubbed her tummy in circles with his palm.

Jessica sighed and leaned against him, enjoying his caresses. It did make her feel better.

“I guess it’s working huh.” Yul’s voice was soft in her ear.

“Mmmhmm…”

“But I can’t rub you for long, baby. I have to go to work.”

“Just one more minute…?”

Yul chuckled and relented. “Okay. One more minute.”

A minute later, Yul planted a kiss on her shoulder and got off the bed. “I’m going to be late if I don’t get changed now.”

Jessica pouted but acquiesced. Yul and his work were inseparable. It was important to him and she knew better than to be an obstruction to him doing his work well.

~~~~~

Later on in the morning, Jessica breezed into the office that she had been put momentarily in-charge of and smiled at everyone who greeted her. Smiling was something that she was good at. She could do it effortlessly. Her classic toothless smile. That gentle upwards curve of her lips. It was pleasantly neutral and betrayed nothing. Exactly like how she wanted it.

“Jessica, Tiffany’s not in,” Tony informed her.

Jessica turned and smiled at him. “Yes. That’s why I’m here.”

“Huh?”

“Tiffany asked me to stand in for her. She’s probably not going to be around for the week.”

As soon as she announced it, heads popped up and eyes blinked in confusion. Jessica knew what they must be thinking. Even she had questioned Tiffany’s decision at first. Still, she couldn’t help but feel a little miffed. Did they think that she was an airhead; incapable of handling a business? Hmph. She’d show them. She had majored in business after all. And once upon a time, her father had tried to groom her to take over his company too. Only, she had flatly refused to accept his plans for her. No. She wanted her own life.

“Well, I’ll be in Tiffany’s office if you need me.”

Jessica knew that no amount of words could change what they thought of her but she wasn’t too concerned. She was here to sail the ship for Tiffany and that was exactly what she was going to do.

~~~~~

Dennis appeared at the office for his schedule meeting with Tiffany and was not pleased to find out that Tony would be the one he was seeing for the second time in a row.

“Where is Tiffany?” he demanded to know. “She’s supposed to be the one I’m meeting today.”

“And you would be Dennis?” Jessica interjected, wearing her toothless smile. She had heard the ruckus from Tiffany’s office and decided that she would cut Dennis down to size on Tiffany’s behalf.

“Who are you?” he looked at her through narrowed eyes. “You seem familiar.”

Jessica tittered. “You may have seen me in a magazine or two. Especially if it’s a mega socialite event.”

“Ah…You’re a Jung.”

Jessica smirked. “Yes, I am. I’m Jessica Jung, partner of this firm. Tiffany is not in Seoul at the moment.”

“I see. Well, I seriously question the level of commitment that this firm puts in their clients. I don’t understand how Tiffany can just leave town like that without informing me about it. And I see that Taeng isn’t here either.”

“What are you trying to imply, Dennis? Tiffany is always fully committed to all of her projects and if it isn’t serious enough, she wouldn’t leave town on such short notice. As it is, my wedding’s just around the corner and she’s my wedding planner. If I’m not upset about her leaving town, I don’t see why you should be.”

Dennis looked rather subdued but Jessica wasn’t going to rest on her laurels. She pushed on for complete victory. Strike while the iron is hot. Her father had taught her that.

“As partner of the firm, I should be qualified to attest to Tony’s capabilities. He has been working with Tiffany for some time now. The job will be done at a standard no less than Tiffany’s. I assure you of that.”

“Are they having problems? Is that why they’re both missing?”

Jessica pulled on her mental hand brakes to stop herself from rolling her eyes at him. “That concerns Tiffany’s private life. But I thank you for your concern for her. There’s no need to worry though. They are very much in love with each other. Any fool can see that. Now, Tony will take you to our meeting room.”

~~~~~