Chaerin and Jiyeon went to Tequilla Joe’s right after having dinner at the nearby Italian Restaurant. They sat at the corner of the bar. The night was young so it wasn’t that much crowded. Chaerin was drinking Bloody Mary while Jiyeon was drinking her usual mojitos and tequila.

Chaerin has been gushing nonstop about her beautiful engagement ring and how Seung Hyun proposed to her romantically. Jiyeon just tried mentally blocking her ears to mute out Chaerin’s gushing.

“Here you go Jiyeon, looks like you need it.” Jaebum handed her the bottle of tequila and gave her a playful look, knowing she’s getting tired of all the girly gushes.

Jiyeon couldn’t help but think about Jaejoong. She shouldn’t feel anything. She should be happy that he’s going to leave. It’s always been easy for her to get rid of people who try to cling to her. And yet… it doesn’t seem right.

“Unnie...” Chaerin looked at Jiyeon seriously while swirling her bloody mary cocktail. Jiyeon drank her tequila and slammed the glass down, looking as if her mind was somewhere else. She got her mojito and drank a few gulps.

“How do you feel about Jaejoong?” Chaerin carefully studied Jiyeon’s reaction.

“What about him?” Jiyeon raised her eyebrow at Chaerin.

“Ever since he moved in with you… he tamed down… it’s as if…” Chaerin was unsure on how to exactly word it.

“He’s whipped in love with you.” Jaebum interjected while giving Jiyeon another round of mojitos.

“You don’t have to be so straightforward about it.” Chaerin glared at Jaebum. He just shrugged. They went quiet because Jiyeon wasn’t reacting.

“He’s serious about you.” Jaebum started, his hands on the edge of the bar, letting out a big sigh.

“I think so too, unnie… He’s just different from how he acted with his past hook ups.” Chaerin continued.

“Why are we talking about him?” Jiyeon asked sarcastically. She’s never the type of person to open up about her feelings. She has learned to keep everything in.

“He’s moving out tonight.” Jiyeon said in a resolved tone.

“Did you guys have a fight?” Chaerin asked curiously.

“No. We didn’t. His penthouse is all done. It’s time to move out. That’s it. Period. Let’s move on.” Jiyeon brushed them off and took another shot of tequila.

“Why are you being so difficult, unnie? You keep on pushing people away. I know Jaejoong has a pretty awful reputation with girls but… he’s been taking care of you so much… he’s obviously in love with you. I didn’t trust him at first but as time went by… I really think… I really think you two are good for each other…” Chaerin’s voice trailed off as Jiyeon sent her a cold withering stare.

“Chaerin, it’s not like you’ve only just known Jiyeon. She doesn’t like getting attached to anyone. You’re pretty much the only one she ever got close to. She doesn’t even consider me as a friend. I’m pretty much just her favorite bartender.” Jaebum chuckled.

“Hmp. Some close friend I am. She doesn’t even open up to me. She shuts me out whenever I get too personal.” Chaerin muttered.

“Stop talking about me like I’m not here.” Jiyeon barked at the two.

“Look, you two. Stop fussing about Jaejoong and I. It’s never gonna happen.” Jiyeon downed another shot of tequila.

“Let’s go home. I’m not in the mood to drink anymore.” Jiyeon stood up and walked ahead of Chaerin.

She got out of Tequila Joe’s. She stood outside and looked up to the sky, inhaling the cold breeze.

It’s better to get rid of Jaejoong now. He’ll just get hurt more if he stayed with her. Jiyeon thought seriously.

*****

Jiyeon got home, there was no sign of Jaejoong. Under normal circumstances, Jiyeon would revel at the joy of being alone in her apartment. But there’s this awful feeling of utter desolation in that apartment now. She breathed in heavily and threw her bag on the sofa then started stripping off her clothes.

She looked over her shoulder and thought she saw Jaejoong sighing heavily and shaking his head at the mess she’s made within less than a minute she got in.

It took her a moment to realize that it was just her imagination.

Jiyeon shrugged and got herself a cold glass of water. She finished the glass and when she was about to put the glass back on the cabinet, she hesitated. She looked over her shoulder and gave out a slight smile, imagining Jaejoong nagging her to put the glass in the dishwasher.

Jiyeon placed the used glass in the cabinet. She looked around her apartment and sighed.

The apartment felt so different. This is what she wanted. She’s supposed to be happy Jaejoong is gone… and yet… she isn’t happy at all.

She couldn’t sleep so she sat on the couch and started playing one of her medical videos on. She suddenly remembered Jaejoong bugging her, asking her to explain every step of the operation until she’d surrender and just agree on watching a random movie on one of his DVD collections.

*****

“If you’re going to think like five year olds all day, get the hell out of my way. Get back to me when you finally have your brains back!” Jiyeon scolded the two interns she got on her service. The two interns scurried away. The three nurses at the Nurse Station were looking at her.

“What are you people looking at? Get back to work!” Jiyeon barked and checked on her chart.

“Stupid interns.” Jiyeon muttered under her breath and studied the chart of the patient she was attending.

A hot cup of coffee suddenly appeared in front of her. She looked to her side and saw Minho smiling at her.

“It looks like you got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.” Minho said smoothly. He placed his elbow on the bar of the Nurse Station and drank his cup of coffee.