Hello my lovely readers,

The long awaited first chapter is finally here! Sorry that the update is late, I've been very busy this week. To make up for it, I made this a very long chapter. Thank you for subscribing and commenting and I hope you continue to do so. It makes me very happy to see new subscribers and comments! This story is quite different to my other one, You are the Key to my Heart. Hopefully, you'll like this story too! 

Just a note, this story is set in the mid to late 20th century. Also, soosica will be the only couple for a few chapters, I might add in some more later.

Enjoy!

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Jessica smiled as she wiggled her toes in the sand, feeling the coolness of the water splashing onto her feet. Maybe it wasn’t such a disaster after all that the ship had crashed near this tiny island. Jessica knew that even though she was enjoying herself a lot, there were more serious issues to think about. She had lost most of her possessions except for one, which was safe inside a pink box. But she knew that apart from that, she had no money, she had to get a job on this island if she was ever going to buy her way out of this place. Evening was already approaching, the sun’s last rays reflecting off the ripples on the water and turning the sky into streaks of pink, orange and yellow. Her slender fingers found a nearby conch and she gently traced the inside, admiring the creamy peach colour. Slowly closing her eyes, she remembered all those years ago, when she got her first birthday present from her father.

*

“Daddy, can I open my eyes now?” Jessica asked impatiently, holding an object with the greatest care in her hands.

Her dad chuckled, “Yes, you may open them now.”

Jessica eagerly opened her eyes and looked at the pale pink box in her palms. Gently opening the lid, she gasped faintly. Nestled inside the white tissue paper was a large shell, it’s pearly inside iridescent in the light.

“What is it?” Jessica questioned curiously, holding the shell close to her face.

“It’s the shell of a nautilus,” her father explained, “a creature that lives in the ocean. I found it on the shore of a small island.”

“Island” echoed Jessica, the new word rolling off her tongue like syrup. As she ran her small fingers along the chambers of the nautilus shell, she suddenly grinned.

“One day, when I grow up, I want to go exploring just like you do daddy! Then I’ll be able to see lots of wonderful things too. And, I want to go to an island and find shells too.” Jessica exclaimed.

Her father smiled sadly and ruffled the hair of his eldest daughter. “That sounds… good. But you might change your mind when you get older.”

Jessica shook her head vigorously, “I won’t.”

*

Opening her eyes, she took out the pink box from her rucksack and uncovered the nautilus shell. Well, here I am she thought, I’m on an island now, just like I wanted in my childhood dream. But I never knew it would hurt so much.

Tears clouded her vision, as she recalled the night when her father was killed. Savagely murdered out of jealousy. She could not even think about it without sobbing. Suddenly an arm went over her shoulder. Jessica turned her head around in surprise and found herself facing a lightly tanned girl with lustrous black hair cascading over her shoulders. Jessica calculated that the girl could not be much younger than her.

“Who are you?” asked Jessica.

The girl gestured towards herself, “I’m Yuri. What’s your name?”

“Jessica.” she replied.

“Jessica? That’s a pretty name.” Yuri smiled.

Jessica gathered her courage and asked, “Yuri, do you have any place I could stay for several nights?”

Yuri bit her lip and thought for some time. “I’m not sure if the boss will let you stay. He will if you have a job there but… Do you have any talents?”

Jessica nodded, “I can sing. Is that a talent?”

Yuri grinned and jumped up, “That’s good. I will take you to the boss and you can sing to him. If he thinks you’re a good singer then you can perform.”

Jessica looked up with a puzzled expression, “Perform?”

Yuri nodded, “My boss is the richest man on this island. And he owns the biggest inn here. A lot of distinguished guests go there and stay for several nights when they come to this island. He needs to entertain them so he finds people on the island that have talents and gets them to perform. It gives the inn a good reputation. He pays you for performing too.”

Jessica was pleased, if she was accepted as a performer, she would have an income and a place to stay. It seemed so simple. Luck was on her side today. “Ok, let’s go” she said.

As they walked along the beach, Jessica noticed a crowd of people gathering around a person. She nudged Yuri, “What’s happening there?” she asked.

Yuri took one glance at the crowd and frowned, “That must be Sooyoung.”

“Sooyoung?” questioned Jessica.

“The youngest daughter of my boss. She’s incredibly pretty and as you can see, very famous on this island. Whenever she goes out, people crowd around her.” explained Yuri.

Jessica nodded and followed Yuri, glancing back at the crowd. As she looked back one last time, the crowd parted slightly and she saw the girl. Sooyoung. Jessica stood there, frozen. She was not able to move her body, or think properly. To say Sooyoung was beautiful was an understatement. Jessica found it impossible to describe Sooyoung’s beauty. She wore a pink, floral dress which exposed her shoulders and accentuated her slim figure. Her skin was the colour of honey in the sunset. Fixed in her waves of hair, the colour of roasted coffee beans, was a white lotus flower. Her chocolate coloured eyes were framed with long, dark lashes. As Jessica was looking at Sooyoung’s eyes, all of a sudden, their eyes met, just for a split second.

Yuri grabbed her arm, shaking Jessica out of her trance, “I know Sooyoung is very pretty but we must hurry. It’s getting dark soon.”

Jessica let herself be dragged along by Yuri, still thinking about Sooyoung and how their eyes had met.

At last, the two girls arrived at the inn, just as the stars were beginning to become visible in the night sky. Jessica could hear talking, the clinking of glasses and the clatter of knives and forks against plates inside.

Yuri led Jessica to the back and they entered a dusty room with wooden floorboards. Yuri rushed off through a door leaving Jessica to look around the room. As she was looking at the multitude of fabrics folded on a cupboard she heard voices. She could recognise Yuri’s voice but the other one was a male voice, she guessed that it was the boss.

Jessica moved closer to the door, feigning interest in the bouquet of flowers on the shelf and tried hard to listen to the voices.

“You brought someone new?” the male voice asked.

“Yes, Sir.” Yuri replied.

“Well, let me see her. You said she was good at singing?” questioned the male.

“Yes, Sir.” Yuri said.

“You have a performance soon. Go to your room and get prepared. We don’t want to keep the guests waiting, do we?”

“No, Sir. I’ll do that right away, Sir.” answered Yuri.

Jessica heard the light patter of Yuri’s footsteps fading away. Suddenly, she felt nervous.

A tall man entered the room and looked down at Jessica. “Are you the one Yuri mentioned?” he asked.

Jessica nodded timidly, intimidated by the tallness of the man She could now see where Sooyoung had gotten her height from.

Examining her more closely, he attacked her with questions. Then, he straightened himself and smiled briefly. “You can go and perform now.”

Jessica forgot her nervousness, “Now?” she exclaimed.

The man did not seem happy with the outburst, “Yes, if you perform well, I will let you stay. Go quickly. And see Yuri before you go on stage, she’ll give you something better to wear.” With that said, he quickly strode out of the room leaving Jessica bewildered yet excited.

Suddenly Yuri stepped into the room wearing a simple white, cotton dress and a pink flower in her hair. She smiled with enthusiasm at Jessica, “Isn’t it good? If you sing well, the boss will let you stay. Come on”

Yuri ushered Jessica into a nearby room and picked out a cream coloured dress with a necklace of pearls for Jessica to wear. After Jessica had put on the clothes, Yuri carefully brushed her hair and led her to the backstage, whispering a good luck to her.

Jessica felt sweat on the palms of her hands. She had never sung for a large audience before and here she was, about to perform in front of many distinguished guests and she didn’t even know what to sing.

Suddenly the curtains opened and Jessica walked forward mechanically, each limb feeling leaden with weight. She looked around at the people sitting at the tables, watching her with curious expressions. Jessica felt sick, she couldn’t do this. Then she saw Sooyoung sitting with her father at the table closest to the stage. Sooyoung gave her a small and encouraging smile which filled Jessica with confidence. She knew what song she was going to sing now.

Jessica opened and began to sing, her angelic voice filling the room.

(This song is 'When I Saw You' by Mariah Carey- click on the link to listen to the song. I think it's a really beautiful song about love and fits in with how Jessica feels about Sooyoung after seeing her for the first time)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1g48aL_Dkm8

Soft heavenly eyes gazed into me
Transcending space and time
And I was rendered still
There were no words for me to find at all
As I stood there beside myself
I could see you and no one else

When I saw you
When I saw you
I could not breathe
I fell so deep
When I saw you
When I saw you
I'd never be
I'd never be the same

Only once in a lifetime love rushes in
Changing you with the tide
And dawn's ribbon of light
Bursts through the dark
Wakening you inside
And I thought it was all untrue
Until there all at once I knew

When I saw you
When I saw you
I could not breathe
I fell so deep
When I saw you
When I saw you
I'd never be
I'd never be the same

With no beginning and
Without an end
You are the one for me
And it's evident
And your eyes told me so
And your eyes let me know

When I saw you
When I saw you
I could not breathe
I fell so deep
When I saw you
When I saw you
I'd never be
I'd never be the same

As she sang the last word, the audience stood up and burst into thunderous applause. Jessica was quite surprised and bowed a few times, her cheeks turning pink. As she turned to get off the stage, her eyes met with Sooyoung’s again. Jessica’s heart skipped a beat and she smiled as she thought, I sang that song for you Sooyoung. That is how you made me feel the first time I saw you.