At That Time, At That Place

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"Sica-ah," Taeyeon nudged Jessica, "You haven't stopped grinning for the past few days. Spill it, what happened that night?"

Jessica looked at Taeyeon blankly before breaking into a smile that left her eyes crinkled.

"To be honest, Taeng, nothing really. But I'm just happy I got to spend some time with him."

Taeyeon shook her head, smiling at her foolish best friend.

"I can't imagine how smiley you'd turn if something did happen then!"

Jessica pushed Taeyeon playfully.

It had been a few days since she last saw him but the memories of that night still lingered within her mind. She knew the memory would be one that she'd always treasure, along with all their other ones. It might have not been much, but to her, it was everything. She was content with simply that; being able to be there for him. She couldn't hope for anything more.

For Jessica, there were only two things in life that truly mattered to her: her loved ones, and their happiness. She didn't mind sacrifices, because to her, it would always be worth it. To have him love her back; she wished for no such thing. She had long concluded that the one to bring him happiness, couldn't possibly be herself and thus eliminated any hope she had harbored.

Unfortunately, to every pro, there was a con. As much as it made her happy to be able to spend time with him, it also scared her. She knew that she couldn't let herself get used to the idea of having him by her side. Not again.

Once upon a time, she had been too used to the idea. Thus, when she had no longer been able to stay by his side, it had completely devastated her. The truth was, she never got used to it, not even until now. Missing him never got easier, and her heart never could forget him.

'Maybe, just maybe,' she thought, 'This momentary bliss will stay for a bit longer.'

-

The brunette stepped out of her car and into the Lee's residence.

Jessica hadn't been able to see Donghae for the past couple of days, due to her lack of time that had been occupied by the setting up of her new condo and job.

Luckily, all the arrangements were nearly done, and remembering that she had promise Donghae's mom to come by more often, here she was.

She politely greeted the maids and butler on her way inside. Once inside though, Jessica was surprised to hear a booming voice erupt throughout the entire house. Right away, she could tell that the owner of the voice belonged to Donghae's dad. It took her by surprise and she quickly made her way towards it.

The scene before her was one that Jessica wished with all her heart, was merely a fragment of her dream.

Donghae's dad was usually a very calm and level-headed man so to see him fuming in anger, Jessica couldn't even imagine the reason.

"Uncle," she called out, "Please calm down, it's not good for your health."

She patted his back while Donghae's mom handed him a cup of water.

His dad pushed the cup away and it shattered into pieces upon the carpeted floor.

He huffed and puffed, almost wheezing.

"Sooyeon-ah, how am I suppose to calm down? This irresponsible son of mine," he pointed to Donghae with shaking hands, "He's lost his mind!" 

Jessica averted her attention to Donghae. The latter male's expression was unreadable. 

Her heart ached. Despite his aloof composure, she knew. He was hurting. Family was regarded as one of the dearest things to him and it had always upset him whenever he got into a fight with his parents. Big or small.

The elder man continued lashing out his anger as his voice vibrated across the room.

"I trusted you to know better, son! How is it possible that you picked that model, Son Eun Seo, out of all girls?! Only all of Korea knows that she's known for chasing after the riches of the heirs of whom she targets to date! She's even already got you spending thousands of the company's money on her and it's yet to be a week since you guys have gone out! Now you're even thinking of buying her a store?! Can't you see that she's just with you for your money son?! Are you going to let LJ slowly go bankrupt over her?! I thought I raised you to be smarter than this!"

'Son Eun Seo, Yoona's rival in the model industry,' Jessica realized as the puzzles all came together and it suddenly dawned on her that this was all part of Donghae's revenge against Yoona.

Jessica was pulled away from her thoughts when Donghae's dad instantly keeled over, the minute he had finished his speech, wincing in pain and clutching at his heart.

Her eyes widened in horror and quickly, she went to support him along with the others. She noticed that Donghae, too, had wanted to run to his dad as he immediately took a step forward, but then his fists clenched together and he stayed unmoving instead.

His jaws hardened.

"I know that my presence here will only anger you further so I'll take my leave now, father. Please take care."

With a bow, he left.

Jessica's gaze followed Donghae and she checked to make sure that his dad was okay before leaving to chase after him.

She had never run as fast in her life as she did now.

"Lee Donghae!" she called out to him.

She wasn't sure if he heard her, but if he did, he hadn't turned back.

Jessica continued to follow him regardless.

When he got into his car and drove away, she hopped into her own and thanked god for her ability to maneuver fast enough to catch up to him.

She had lost track of how long it had been since she had followed him, but they had definitely traveled quite a distance away from the city.

He suddenly pulled to a stop at the side and she realized that they were at the beach. Whether he was aware of it or not, she realized that he still really did love the water.

Fishy Hae.

Her lips pulled into a gentle smile and she slammed her own car door, following him.

Jessica stared at his retreating figure and her smile turned solemn. It suddenly hit her hard how lonely his back looked. Her heart clenched in pain when she thought about how hard of a life he must had led up until now.

To others, it may seem that Donghae probably had an easy life, growing up in a rich family, but that wasn't even half the story. She slowly became lost in her thoughts as she thought back to the past.

A little girl sat by herself on the swing sadly, waiting for her parents to arrive.

Softly, she sang to herself the new songs that she had just learned from school.

After some time, she got tired of swinging as she stopped and sat crouching on the ground instead, elbows propped on her thighs while her two hands supported her small face.

Looking up, she noticed that she was no longer alone on the playground. There was a boy sitting alone by the fence of the playground now. She happily approached him.

"Hi!" she beamed.

He didn't smile back at her; simply stared.

She shuffled nervously in her spot.

"I'm Sooyeon," she tried again, "What's your name?"

"Donghae," he had uttered it void of emotions.

She let out a toothy grin when she earned a response from him and quickly took him by the hand towards the slides.

"I like you! Let's play together!"

She giggled joyfully and his lips unconsciously twitched into a small smile as well.

It didn't take long before the boy warmed up to the girl.

"Hae!" the little girl whined, "I'm tired! I don't want to play tag anymore!"

She had concluded that 'Donghae' was much too long for her to have to call him every time, and despite his protests, shortened it to simply Hae.

"You're such a sore loser, Yeon!"

After her conclusion, he too had come up with his own conclusion that he would cut her name in half just as she had done with his.

She grinned sheepishly and together, they sat down on a bench and talked instead.

"So, why are you still here at this hour, Yeon? All the kids have already gone home," the little boy questioned the little girl.

She pouted and picked at the hem of her dress.

"My parents are busy people so they usually can't pick me up until late."

"So you always wait for them here by yourself?"

She nodded sadly and he patted her head. The action led her to brighten up optimistically.

"They don't always take this long though! Sometimes they pick me up quite early!" she assured him, "What about you? Why are you still here at this hour, Hae?"

"Well, it's not always that exciting at the orphanage I stay at, so I sometimes come here to play instead."

He kicked at a rock.

She looked to him, surprised and sad at the same time. She gave his hand a squeeze.

Her parents suddenly arrived and she became elated as an idea struck her.

"Stay here okay, Hae? I'll be right back!"

He watched as she conversed with her parents and pointed at him before clasping her hands together in a plead of which her parents nodded to with a warm smile and the next thing he knew, she was tugging him towards her car.

"Ma! Pa! This is Donghae! Donghae, these are my parents! I asked them if you could live with us and they said yes, Hae! Will you? Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleaaaseeee?"

He bowed to her parents but didn't answer Sooyeon immediately, contemplating upon the matter. He really didn't want to be a nuisance to them. His gaze met her parents' and they gently nodded at him to show their approval. He slowly smiled before nodding his head at the pleading girl.

She became ecstatic and cheered before dragging him into the car. They all laughed at her.

The rest perfectly fell into place as her parents' best friends, the Lee's, grew extremely fond of Donghae through their frequent visits and adopted him. Being unable to conceive kids, they especially doted upon Donghae and treated him as their own flesh and blood.

Donghae, in turn, always felt particularly indebted and grateful towards his parents for the love and care that they showered him in. Additionally, providing him with the warmth of a family that he had always yearned for.

However, before the warmth, Donghae had been leading a very hard life. One that Jessica had bawled over when he finally caved in to her request and told her.

It just so happened that when they fled, his parents had left him to their loan sharks; monsters that he had barely escaped from if not for his persistence. Even then, amidst his freedom, it didn't get any easier as he struggled to survive from day to day, starving away along the streets, before he was finally brought to the police and then the orphanage.

It stabbed at her heart then, when she had first heard of it from him, and it stabbed at her heart again now, as she recalled it.

She knew very well, that it was exactly the hard past that his parents had saved him from, that made him feel so obliged to repay them for it, in any way and every way. Even if it meant taking away his dreams.

Donghae had never wanted to become a business man. His dream was to be a doctor. One who would save lives. He gave up that dream though, to fulfill his parents' wishes instead: for him to take over LJ. Business was never his strong subject as he had taken no interest towards it, but she had been there, as he worked hard and shoved past all the pressure that had threatened to weigh him down.

The Donghae now, might appear to be merely chasing after the wealth, status, and fame of his position, making him out to be conceited and shallow, but she understood. Just as she understood his reasons for revenge, despite her great disagreement against his actions.

After she left him, his ill fate had continued. It turned him hard with the scars that it left in his heart.

It wasn't that she stalked him or anything. She knew better than to invade his life's privacy when she was no longer a part of it. Fate just always had her there. At the right place, at the right time.

Jessica rubbed at her eyes, uncertain if the person before her was really Donghae. It had been so long since she had seen him and as overjoyed as her heart was, it also dropped a little when she realized that he was here with his girlfriend.

She plastered a polite smile on her face before handing them their movie tickets in exchange for its fee, to which they had given her.

"Thank you, enjoy your movie."

'And I hope she makes you happy, Hae," she added at the back of her mind.

It wasn't long after they entered into the movies that Jessica saw his girlfriend come out by herself.

She watched in confusion as she witnessed the scenario at present. His girlfriend had just jumped into the arms of another man and was now smothering him with kisses.

Her expression turned into pure horror when she noticed Donghae coming out at that exact moment. She hurriedly made her way over to them but before she could even reach them, fists had already gone flying.

"You bastard! I thought of you as my best friend! How could you betray me by stealing my girl?!"

His eyes held an unrestrained anger and Jessica had to rush to hold him back to prevent any further damage.

"I'm sorry sir, we do not permit violence here," she said, when all she really wanted to do was to hold him tight and comfort him instead.

His girlfriend and best friend rushed to exit the theatre and she noticed his pained eyes as he watched them go.

Her grasp on him slowly slipped as he walked away, hurting.

Understanding him better than anyone else, Jessica could only guess how great of a scar the betrayal had embedded itself into his heart. She knew that he must have thought that by being successful, he could show them what they had missed out on. If they wanted his wealth, he would show them just how much he really has. The worst part of it all, was the fact that the betrayals didn't cease there. With his heart wrapped in scars, Yoona's breakup must have felt like another betrayal to him, Jessica finally realized. Thus, provoking him to pursue all the revenges that he never sought after.

Snapping out of her trance, Jessica sat down beside him.

"Don't do it to her."

Her voice was as gentle as the wind that swept along their hair.

"To who?" He spoke coldly, but more than that, she noticed that his voice was weary, tired.

"Yoona."

He didn't reply.

"How long have you dated her?"

He shrugged.

"Two years?"

"She really does love you then." He turned to her, indifferent and unbelieving.

"I," she started out, "Yoona's actually a friend of mine. I met her when I was still attending university here. We were quite close. It should be around the time when you two had started dating. I remember her talking about you every time. I didn't know who she was talking about then, but now I do. She was always happiest talking about you, you know? Her praises for you were endless, all of her topics revolved around you, her love for you was admirable. I'm sure if we had been able to keep in touch, she would continue talking to me about you 'til this day."

He smirked.

"No. It would be about her new beau instead."

She sighed, slightly frustrated. Why did he never listen to a word she say?

"Yoona's a nice girl. Don't hurt her, Donghae. I'm sure if only you had proven your sincerity to her, she would've take you back in a heartbeat. Her love for you was that strong."

He smiled bitterly.

"Was. If she doesn't love me anymore then why should I love her?"

As the said words left his lips, Jessica knew that she was on the edge of losing her patience for him. His stubborn pride frustrated her to no end.

"You know what? You're right. You never did love her. I'm sorry for ever thinking that. Love is selfless, unconditional. All you care about is whether she loves you or not! That shouldn't matter! If you truly loved someone, you would wish for their happiness! Whether it's with or without you!"

She threw her hands up in frustration and stood up.

He scoffed and stood up to face her.

"You must be a fan of fairy tales."

He tucked his hands into the pockets of his pants and looked towards the ocean.

Her fists slowly curled into a ball and tightened until her knuckles whitened. Nothing could explain the way she was feeling at the moment. She was definitely upset with him. Extremely upset at that. Not for herself, but for him. He was hurling himself into a well of self destruction, yet too blinded by his hatred to even realize.

"For revenge, you're willing to risk your happiness, gamble LJ and jeopardize all of our parents' blood and sweat?"

He turned to look into her eyes. They portrayed hurt and disappointment, something he had never seen from her before. It made him feel as if he was the worst person in the world. The businessman diverted his eyes, masking his true emotions.

Plastering a smirk that felt all too forced, Donghae replied her.

"I'm not gambling LJ. I won't let it slip out of my grasp, and it definitely won't."

She felt tired. Tired of arguing with him when he doesn't even hear a word she says.

"You can't be sure of that. You should never underestimate anyone or anything."

Jessica angled her head away from him, shifting her eyes into the distance before continuing firmly.

"If you won't take care of LJ, I will."

He stared at her, he was taken aback. "I thought you said you had no desire, whatsoever, to take over LJ?"

She didn't turn to look at him. Her gaze following the movement of the waves in the ocean.

"I don't wish to see you risk our parents' hard work."

'And yours.'

He gritted his teeth together, clearly unhappy with her newly announced decision.

"You don't have the ability to handle LJ."

Though appearing unaffected, Jessica felt her heart drop.

Did he think so little of her? He had always been the one encouraging her to chase after her dreams, assuring her that she had every potential to do so. Yet, here he was as of present, putting her down right on the spot.

"I do, and I will." She said it with confidence but there was no trace of arrogance.

Silence washed over them allowing her once clenched fists to relax. She could feel the marks that her nails had imprinted upon her palms. They stood staring at the ocean, refraining from any urge to cast a glance in the other's direction.

He slowly turned to leave.

She held out a hand to stop him.

"Why? Why do you still not realize your wrongs?" she uttered, hurt tinging her voice.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he brushed her off and walked right past her.

In the end, the momentary bliss was unable to last.

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Hi again, dearies! (:

I think this is probably my longest chapter by far! Though, I don't think many of you will quite enjoy reading it as this is where the angst begins!

No more light-heartedness like in the previous chapters! Although I do love writing those! In fact, I've been itching to do a few fluff Haesica one-shots but I'm afraid that if I do, it'd delay my updates for this story and I'd hate to make you guys wait!

This chapter gives you another glimpse into Haesica's past, but it's a lot more on Hae's part! I just felt that it's crucial in order for the story to progress.

I know Hae's past isn't an excuse for his actions as of current, but it definitely gives us a view of where he's coming from. He isn't just aiming for revenge on a whim. It's all his hurt released at once and pushing him in the wrong direction ):

I hope you guys won't dislike him too much though! Why oh why must I make his character so dislikable?! Haha to be honest, I really don't know, his character just wrote itself but I'm sure he'll make it up to Jessica at one point! You can tell that Donghae is a more impulsive character haha!

I've been doing a lot of reading lately and I hope that it's helping to improve on making my story more clear! You might notice that there's more details and descriptions of our hero & heroine's feelings than normal!

I'll try to update the next chapter as soon as I can, so I hope you enjoy this chapter in the meanwhile and please feel free to leave comments, feedbacks, and anything else you're concerned about (:

Once again, thank you for subscribing, voting, and commenting! You guys are just too sweet!

Much love, dearies! XO