Chapter 18 – Introductions


“Ah, we finally made it!” Taeyeon happily proclaimed as Jessica pulled into the driveway of the beach house.


After the ignition was turned off, the two stepped out of the car. Taeyeon hurried over to Jessica’s side to assist her.


She held her arms securely around her lover’s waist.


Before they could move on, Jessica placed her palm on top of hers, halting her movements. She looked up at her.


“Taeyeon-ah, I can walk by myself.”


“Are you sure?” Taeyeon asked hesitantly. “You’re limping.”


Jessica looked down at herself and then at Taeyeon. “I’m not limping. That’s just the way I walk.” She pointed out matter-of-factly.


Taeyeon’s mouth turned into an ‘O.’


Jessica narrowed her eyes at her reaction. “Are you trying to say I walk weird?”


“No! I mean…oh…uhhh…” Taeyeon began panicking. She honestly thought Jessica was limping from the way she was walking. She did not expect this at all.


When she couldn’t explain herserlf, Jessica’s eyes turned into a glare.


Taeyeon gulped.


“Um, I should go get the suitcases. Be careful going in, okay? Love you sweetie!” Taeyeon hurriedly said before planting a kiss on the top of her head and running off.


As she watched Taeyeon scramble away, she couldn’t help but stifle a giggle at her silly reaction. She really enjoys teasing Taeyeon. She’s just so cute when she’s terrified. However, in all seriousness, she wasn’t limping earlier.


She stared down at her legs.


Could there really be something wrong with the way she walks?


Shaking the nonsensical thought away, she made her way to the front door and rang the doorbell. Not long after, the door opened, revealing a hyperactive Tiffany.


“Jessie! You’re finally here!” Tiffany lunged at her, squeezing the living daylights out of her petite body. “You don’t know how worried we were! We thought something bad happened to you two!” Tiffany cried hysterically onto her shoulder.


“Uh, Tiff, I-c-can’t b-breathe-” Jessica stuttered as she gasped for air.


Tiffany, however, disregarded her pleas and squeezed her even tighter instead.


“Jessie!!”


“Tiffany unnie, you should let go of Jessica unnie before you suffocate her to death.” A voice piped in from behind.


Tiffany quickly pulled herself away and stared at her friend with wide eyes. “Omo!” She grimaced when she saw Jessica’s pale face. “I’m so sorry Jessie! I didn’t mean to! I’m sorry!”


Jessica’s eyes instantly widened when she saw Tiffany about to hug her again. Thankfully, someone pulled Tiffany away before she could do anymore damage. She sighed in relief.


“Unnie,” Another raven-haired girl appeared from behind Tiffany, wearing a smile identical to that of Jessica’s very own.


A smile adorned Jessica’s face instantly as soon as she caught a glimpse of her younger sister.


“Krystal…come here.” Jessica opened her arms for an embrace, in which Krystal eagerly dove in.


Krystal wrapped her arms tightly around her sister. She closed her eyes and inhaled her sister’s scent. “Unnie, I missed you.” She exhaled.


Jessica gave her sister a gentle squeeze. “I missed you too, Krys.” She whispered sincerely as she her sister’s hair affectionately. She really did miss her sister, a lot. It has been a whole year since they last saw each other and were able to share a warm embrace like this. This entire year, her sister has been busy with her classes while she was busy cooping herself up in the hospital. Since then, they haven’t had the chance to have a serious talk with each other.


“Aww, look at my two sisters. They’re so sweet.” A deep voice commented.


Jessica slowly broke the hug with her sister and glanced behind Tiffany. Her lips tugged upwards into a broad smile when her eyes fell upon a young man leaning by the doorframe, with his arms folded over his chest.


He did a salute with his two fingers.


“Hello, noona.” He greeted with a smile.


“Yah, Yong. Aren’t you going to greet me with a hug?” Jessica asked, as she opened one of her arms for her brother while her other one still held to Krystal’s waist.


Yonghwa scrunched up his nose in displeasure. “Eh? Sorry noona, but I don’t like mushy stuff.”


Tiffany rolled her eyes. “Come on, Yong. Stop being such a kill joy and just go hug your sister.” She said as she gave him a playful shove towards her sister.


Jessica caught him and pulled him in for a sibling embrace.


Yonghwa loosely wrapped an arm around his sister’s waist and awkwardly hugged her as if she was some stranger.


“Yah, is it really that bad to hug your sister?” Jessica spat.


Hearing her sister’s threating tone, Yonghwa immediately softened and genuinely hugged her sister, wrapping both his arms tightly around her. “Happy?”


Jessica grinned. “Very.”


“Aw. As much as I enjoy watching your heartwarming sibling reunion, I think it’s better if we all headed inside now.” She rubbed her hands around her arms when she felt the cool breeze brush upon her bare arms. “It’s getting chilly out here, plus you’re probably starving by now, Jess. Let’s go catch up over dinner, shall we?”


“Right, let’s go in.”


Jessica ushered both her siblings inside with Tiffany leading the way. Jessica shut the door behind her.


Uknown to them, Taeyeon was still by the car, trying to get all of Jessica’s suitcases out of the trunk.


“Aish, how many suitcases did Sooyeon pack?” Taeyeon complained as she struggled to carry the suitcases all at once with her short arms.


When she finally reached the door, she was surprised to see it locked.


“Sooyeon…?” She called out to the darkness. “Anybody…?”


An eerie silence was her only response.


She blinked.


“Did they forget about me?”


She let go of the suitcases in her arms and was about to reach for the doorknob, when suddenly it burst open, revealing an unfamiliar girl.


Taeyeon’s hand hung midair as she stared at the young unfamiliar girl before her.


The two stared at each other, both unblinking and both wondering who the other was.


The younger girl stared Taeyeon down, boring both her eyes through Taeyeon’s soul.


Taeyeon fidgeted on her spot. She was getting goosebumps at the back of her neck. For some reason the girl’s gaze was very intimidating, but at the same time vaguely familiar…sort of like Jessica’s glare.


Omo! Could this be Krystal!?


She opened and was about to greet the latter, when suddenly the girl shut the door.


Taeyeon blinked. She stared hard at the closed door.


“What the…?”


------


Krystal walked into the dining room aimlessly. Her mind was still preoccupied by that odd little girl outside their door.


Who was that?


She sat on the seat beside her sister and stared off into space.


Jessica noticed her sister’s dazed look and nudged her on the side.


“Krys, what’s wrong?”


Krystal awoke from her daze and turned to her sister. “Unnie,”


“Hmm?”


“Just now, outside, I think I saw a little girl.”


“A little girl?”


Krystal nodded. “She looked like she was lost.”


A little girl? Jessica thought.


There are no other beach houses anywhere close to theirs, so why would there be a lost little girl?


A little girl…a little girl…a little girl...


For some reason, she feels like she’s forgetting something. Something very important. She knows what it is, but she just can’t put her finger on it. What was it she was forgetting?


A little girl…


She thought again. There was only one other person that reminded her of a little girl.


A little girl…omo…Taeyeon!


“Omo!” Jessica gasped as she jumped up from her seat.


Just then, both Yonghwa and Tiffany strolled in, carrying trays of food in their arms. They both stared at Jessica.


“What is it, unnie?” Krystal asked worriedly.


Disregarding her sister’s question, she dashed away towards the front door.


“What happened?” Yonghwa asked.


Krystal just shrugged her shoulders.


Jessica made it to the front door. Without much thought, she gripped the door handle and swung it open with too much force than necessary. The door flew open, hitting something in the process.


*Bam!*   


“Omo!” Jessica instantly halted her movement when she heard the loud bang of the door hitting something solid on the other side. She just hit something really hard. What it was, she wasn’t sure. In her mind, she prayed that, that ‘something’ wasn’t a ‘someone.’


She heard a faint grunt on the other side of the door. Very slowly and very gently, with her eyes shut and her teeth biting down on her lower lip, she opened the door all the way. Once fully opened, she opened one of her eyes and gasped when she saw it was indeed Taeyeon who she just hit, and most likely on the head too, based on the huge red mark on her forehead.


The blonde girl was sprawled on top of the fallen suitcases, unconcious. She must have fallen on them when she collapsed from the hit.


Jessica cautiously got on her knees and examined Taeyeon’s head. She grimaced at the huge bruise forming on her forehead.


“Taeyeon-ah…” She lightly poked the girl’s arm with her finger.


However, Taeyeon didn’t respond.


She poked her again, but this time with more force.


“Taengoo…”


When Taeyeon still didn’t move, she started to panic. She brought her hand up to her lips.


Did she really hit her that hard that she actually lost consciousness?


This isn’t good.


“Yong!” She cried out in panic.


She glossed her trembling hands over Taeyeon’s lifeless body. She wanted to touch her, but she was too afraid to do so. She was scared that she might make things worse if she tries to move her.


An image of Donghae’s lifeless body on a surgical table flashed through her mind. She froze for a while as the image sunk into her mind.


Realizing what was happening to her, she shut her eyes immediately to erase the horrendous image from her mind.


“Yong! Tiffany!” She screamed even louder.


Footsteps hastily made their way to the front door. Before long, both Tiffany and Yonghwa were hovering behind Jessica.


“Omo! What happened to Taeyeon?” Tiffany gasped.


“Noona, who is this?” Yonghwa looked down at her sister and was surprised to see her sister’s agitated expression. “Noona…” He was about to place his hand on top of her sister’s shoulder when she startled him.


“Yong, carry her inside, now.” Jessica commanded.


Yonghwa was taken aback. He knew that tone. Although he hasn’t heard her use it in a while, he can still recognize it. He knew, when her sister uses that tone, she means serious business.


Therfore, without another thought, he crouched down, slid his arms under the unconscious girl’s body, and lifted her up in his. Very carefully, he carried her bridal style into the foyer and into the living room.


Tiffany and Jessica both hastily followed behind him.


Krystal, who has been watching the entire scene from the kitchen, followed silently behind as well.


“Yong, lay her on the couch. Gently.” Jessica emphasized.


Yonghwa did as he was told, and he carefully laid the unconscious blonde on the couch. He grabbed a pillow and placed it under her head.


“Noona—”


When he turned around, his sister has already disappeared somewhere.


“Where did noona go?”


Krystal pointed to the direction of the bathroom.


Not long after, Jessica came out carrying a basin of water and a towel.


She settled herself beside the couch, right in front of Taeyeon. She dipped the towel in the basin and squeezed the excess water away. Leaning forward, she gingerly dabbed the wet towel around the bruise. She slowly dabbed it on Taeyeon’s cheek and down to her chin.


“I’m sorry…” She mumbled under her breath.


Uknown to her, two pairs of hawk-like eyes have been watching her the entire time.


Yonghwa glanced at her younger sister. Krystal, too, glanced at him.


Both were wondering and questioning the identity of the unconscious woman on their couch. The girl didn’t look familiar to either of them. They’re pretty sure they’ve never met her before, but from the way their sister has been behaving, it seems like the two of them are very close friends. But if she was a close friend of Jessica’s, then that means they’ve probably known each other for a long time. They know their sister doesn’t make friends easily and when she does, the only way she could make a close friend is by being acquainted with that person for a very long time. This was odd to them, because if that was the case, then they should have known about her by now. Not only that, they’re both certain they’ve met all of Jessica’s close friends and never have they ever met this one.


So the question ringing in their minds right now is, who is she?


“Taeyeon?”    


The two younger siblings broke from their thoughts and turned their attention to their older sister.


Taeyeon began stirring.


“Uunng…”


Her eyelids slowly fluttered open. When it did, a blurry face appeared before her. The face gradually became vivid and more familiar.


“Sooyeon…?” She croaked out weakly as she pushed herself up into a sitting position. Jessica assisted her and leaned her against the armrest.


“Yes, Taengoo, it’s me. How are you feeling?”


Taeyeon brought her hand up to her head. There was a huge throbbing pain inside her head. She feels like a hammer is being drilled into her brain. She felt woozy. “I’m a little dizzy, but I’m fine. What happened?”


“I-uh, I accidentally hit you on the head with the door…”


“You did?”


Jessica bit her bottom lip sheepishly. “Yeah. I’m sorry, Taengoo…”


Taeyeon brought her hand up and rubbed Jessica’s arm soothingly. “It’s alright. It was an accident. But I’ve got to say, you have one hell of an arm. My head is still still pounding from the impact. Are you sure you’re not secretly a body builder?” She joked, in attempt to lighten the mood.


Jessica pouted and playfully hit her on the arm. “Yah, that’s not funny.”


Taeyeon chuckled. “I’m just kidding. But all jokes aside, my head still hurts.”


“You’ve got a huge bruise on your forhead, right there.”


“Here?” Taeyeon placed her fingers on the spot Jessica pointed to. When she did, she accidentally pressed on the bruised part. “Owww!” She cringed as soon as she felt the pulsating pain on the top of her head.


Jessica grabbed Taeyeon’s hand and pulled it away from her face. “Tsk, tsk. You know better than to touch it. Here, this’ll ease it a bit.” She began dabbing the cold wet cloth around the bruise.


“Ah, feels a lot better. Thanks, princess.” Taeyeon said flashing Jessica a charming smile.


A tint of pink to crept on Jessica’s cheeks.


Throughout all of this, three other people have silently watched their very intimate contact. The two siblings are still confused by what was going on. They’ve never seen their sister act like this to anyone other than Donghae. They have something in mind that may explain what was happening, but none of them was brave enough to voice it out. They want their sister to confirm it first.


Tiffany, however, has been gushing the entire time. This is the first time she has witnessed the two lovebird’s intimacy. And she’s got to admit, just by these little things, she could tell their love was pure and genuine. Now all that’s left, is to get to know Taeyeon. She’s certain she’ll definitely like Taeyeon since Jessica likes her as well. She has always befriended all of Jessica’s friends.


Her eyes glossed over to the two younger siblings beside her. The two are still not aware of Jessica and Taeyeon’s relationship. She didn’t want to break the news to them for she knew Jessica would want to do that herself. She just told them that their sister would be bringing a friend along.


By the baffled expressions on their faces, she knew they were lost. She has to do something before the whole thing becomes even more obscured, or worse, the two lovebirds might do something more than touching.


“Ahem!” She cleared obnoxiously to gather the attention of the two lovebirds. “So, Jessica, aren’t you going to introduce Taeyeon to your siblings?”


Jessica and Taeyeon both stopped what they were doing and turned to the three.


“Oh, right.” She has almost forgotten about them.


She helped Taeyeon up on her feet. They both walked over to where the three were standing.


“Taeyeon, that’s Krystal,” She pointed to the raven-haired girl beside Tiffany. “And that’s Yonghwa.” She pointed to the young man with the fluffy brown hair. “They’re my siblings.”


“Nice to meet you.” Taeyeon greeted politely. She brought her hand up for a handshake. Yonghwa hesitantly shook it. When it was Krystal’s turn, she just stared at her hand. Taeyeon awkwardly brought her hand back to her side.


“Krys, Yong. This is Kim Taeyeon,” She slid her hand down Taeyeon’s arm, all the way to Taeyeon’s hand. She intertwined their hands together. “She’s my girlfriend.” Sha said shyly.


Both Krystal and Yonghwa’s mouth fell at the sudden announcement. They couldn’t believe what their sister just said. They had a hunch, but they didn’t think it was true.


Krystal quickly closed and put on a blank face.


“N-noona, you’re g-gay?” Yonghwa stared at her in disbelief.


“Yah, I never said I wasn’t.” Jessica defended. “Plus, I only have this special feeling for Taeyeon, so I don’t really consider myself gay.”


“But still…I…wow. I never would have thought...” Yonghwa shook his head deliberately. He still couldn’t wrap his finger around the new fact he just learned.


Jessica glanced at her two siblings worriedly. Yonghwa looks like he’s still taking the time to let the new information sink in to his head. Krystal, on the other hand, has a blank face on. She looked like she wasn’t affected by it at all. But then again, she did have the tendency to put on her poker face at times like these.


She really doesn’t know what to make of their reactions. She thought they’d either be against it or for it. Confusion and apathy weren’t what she was expecting. But she really wanted to know what they thought about her new relationship. She couldn’t help it.


“Yong…a-are you ok with this?” She asked hesitantly.


Yonghwa looked at her, then at Taeyeon and then back at her. He let out a small smile. “Of course I’m okay with it. I just need a little more time to get used to it though. It feels somewhat weird, cool, but weird. Anyway, congrats!” He said sincerely, giving the couple a two thumbs up.


Jessica sighed in relief.


That’s one down. Now all that’s left is Soojung.

   
“Krys?” Her eyes turned to her sister.


Krystal stared at her for a while.


“I…yeah…I guess.” She uttered softly.


A wide smile immediately found its way on Jessica’s face. She was glad both of her siblings were all right with her relationship with Taeyeon. She doesn’t know how she’ll react if they were against it.


“Thank you.” She uttered sincerely to both her younger siblings.


“Yah, you don’t have to thank us. Did you really think we wouldn’t be okay with this? Of course we’ll always support you in whatever you decide to do, noona.” He said patting her sister on the arm.


She know’s it’s lame, but she can’t help but get a little teary by her brother’s heartfelt statement. She didn’t expect them to be so understanding. ‘Happy,’ couldn’t even describe how fortunate she feels right now to have such amazing siblings. 


She felt a gentle squeeze on her hand. She turned to Taeyeon and found her smiling down at her.


“Aw! This is so sweet! You know what? Why don’t we all get to know each other over dinner?” Tiffany suggested. “My stomach has been rumbling for a while now.” She admitted. They heard a low growl emit from Tiffany’s stomach. All of them, except for Krystal, chuckled.


The five of them quickly headed to the dining table where the food has already been set up. Taeyeon sat beside Jessica, while Krystal and Yonghwa took the seats opposite of them. Tiffany sat at the head of the table. All five of them began eating.


“So, Taeyeon, how did you and my sister met?” Yonghwa suddenly asked.


“Oooh! I want to know too!” Tiffany excitedly added.


Jessica stopped eating for a moment and gave her full attention to her girlfriend. She was curious at what really happened that night. All she remember was being wasted and a erted midget, which she assumed to be Taeyeon, bugging her the entire night.


“Erm, ok. Uh, let’s see…Jessica and I first met at bar.” She started. That was true. They really did meet at a bar. “She had caught my attention ever since I walked in. Well, it was kind of hard not to notice a beautiful girl swallowing huge amounts of alcohol by the counter. I tried making conversation with her, but she just brushed me off. But when I wouldn’t budge, she started accusing me of being a to everyone at the bar. She even called me a erted midget!”


Tiffany and Yonghwa both burst out into a fit of laughter.


“Wow, Jessie, I can’t believe you did that!”


“Is it weird that I can actually imagine you doing that, noona?”


A grunt escaped his lips when Jessica suddenly kicked him on the shin under the table.


“I was just kidding!”


Jessica glared at him.


“Continue with the story!” Tiffany pressed on.


“Alright, alright. After she did that, all I wanted to do was leave. I felt so embarrassed because everyone was giving me weird looks. Although I wanted to leave, I knew I couldn’t leave her there by herself. I started thinking; what if something bad happens to her? In her drunken state, anything could have happened to her that night if I left her. That is why I decided to stay. I just didn’t have the heart to leave her there by herself.”


Hearing that, Jessica s her hand in hers. Taeyeon turned to her and smiled.


“When she finally passed out, I took her back to her condo. And that’s how we basically met.”


“Aww! That was so sweet! I wish I had a lover like Taeyeon who’d take me home when I pass out.”


“Don’t worry noona, I’ll do that for you! Just give me a call and I’ll take you home.”


Tiffany frowned. “Yah, Yong, you really have to stop hitting on me!”


Jessica burst out into laughter. “Omo, I didn’t know you still have a crush on Tiffany!” She teased.


Yonghwa’s cheek turned crimson red. “Who said I have a crush on her?”


“Yong, you weren’t very subtle back in the days. Everyone practically knew you had a thing for Tiffany. Even mom and dad knew about it.”


Yonghwa’s eyes widened. “Woah, wait! Does that mean, Tiffany knew about it all laong!?”


He looked at Tiffany and found her looking away.


“Aish! Why didn’t anyone tell me!? I must have looked like fool to everyone!”


“Haha, you really did.” Jessica jibed.


Yonghwa shyly sunk in his seat. “Shut up.” He mumbled.


Jessica continued to laugh.


Tiffany’s face was getting red as well. She knew she had to diver the topic. “Ahem, anyway, enough about that. Let’s ask more questions about Taeyeon and Jessica! Ok, what I want to know is when did you two start having feelings for each other?”


Taeyeon and Jessica both turned to each other.


“You want to do it first?” Taeyeon asked Jessica.


“Ok. Well, for me I think it was when we were in the forest.”


“Really?”


Jessica nodded. “I was really surprised when you found me in the forest. I wasn’t expecting you, or anyone for that matter, to come find me. I didn’t think anyone would have cared enough to look for me. But you did though. I know I didn’t seem like it at that time, but deep inside I was really relieved when you showed up. I really needed someone so badly at that time and you showed up in time. So, thanks.”


Taeyeon smiled. “You’re welome.” She gave her hand another squeeze.


Jessica smiled as well. “But you know what shocked me most?”


“What?”


“When you hugged me. I haven’t felt that warmth and comfort of being in someone’s arms in such a long time. It sparked something within me. After that, all of my views about you changed. I didn’t know it at the time, but the feeling has always been there ever since.”


“Wow. That fast?” Taeyeon didn’t know Jessica felt something for her at that time. From her cold demeanor towards her, she really thought the girl despised her.


Jessica nodded.


“What about you? When did you start having feelings for me?”


“Me? Hmm, I realized I had feelings for you ever since that incident in your kitchen.”


“The incident in my kitchen?”


“Yeah. Remember, while you were stocking the groceries, you fell and I broke your fall?”


“Ah! Yeah! I remember that!”


“It reminded me of our first kiss.” Taeyeon admitted shyly.


Jessica blushed.


“It did?”


Taeyeon nodded. “Yup. Ever since then, there has always been this weird feeling inside of me whenever I was with you.”


“Wow, you hid your feelings really well. I really had no clue you liked me back then. To be honest, I was really upset when you started avoiding me.” Jessica frowned.


“I know. It really hurt me to see you like that. But, I kind of had to suppress my feelings for you back then. You know why…” Taeyeon trailed off sadly.


Jessica frowned as well. “Oh. Right. Now, I remember.”


Both of them sighed.


Tiffany blinked. “Woah, hold up! I’m really lost! What the hell are you two talking about? Forest? First kiss? Yah! I need details!”


Both Taeyeon and Jessica laughed at Tiffany’s outburst.


“Me too! I want to know what happened!” Yonghwa added.


“Alright, calm down. We’ll start from the beginning. Ok, so this is what happened…”


For the rest of the dinner, Jessica and Taeyeon told everyone their love story; from their first meeting, to how they fell in love, to their confession, and to how they got together. Throughout the storytelling, Taeyeon and Jessica both decided it to leave out the part about her being a spirit and her mission. They didn't think it was necessary.


Tiffany and Yonghwa both listened on attentively as the couple told their story.


What everyone failed to notice was Krystal’s silence. Ever since her unnie announced her relationship with Taeyeon, she has been keeping to herself. She was as shocked as her older brother when her unnie suddenly announced her newfound relationship. She really didn’t know what to make of it. Is she supposed to be happy for her sister? Well, people would say she should be, but for some reason she wasn’t. There was something odd about her unnie’s ‘girlfriend.’ She doesn’t know what it is yet, but she knows there’s something there, something she was hiding. Everyone might have trusted the new girl already, but she hasn’t trusted her just yet. And to be honest, she doesn’t think she wants to either.

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A/N: Hey everyone, sorry for the delay ^^ I hope the chapter wasn't too boring. Hope you liked it! So, Krystal doesn't seem to be very fond of Taeyeon...hmm...what do you guys think about Krystal's reaction? Let me know! ^^

As usual, comments are very much appreciated! Thank you for commenting and reading! To the new readers, welcome! =]