The Lack Of Her Smile

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When Jessica said something, she meant it.

Donghae started towards the elevator as the employees of LJ all turned to bow until he passed by.

Tucking his hands into his pockets, he casually waited for the elevator door to open. His aura was one of an authoritative figure. No matter how Donghae was like in real life, he had always kept it strictly professional when it came to his work and he was well respected for that.

Several gasps suddenly sounded and he whirled around, startled, by the name that was greeted by the employees.

Director Jung.

His eyes followed her movements. From the slight nod of her head to acknowledge the staffs, to the small and plainly polite smile that she wore. Her smile, he noted, was restricted. A deep contrast to her usual carefree ones.

The same nod of acknowledgment was directed towards him when she came to stand beside him, waiting for the elevator. There was just one difference, any traces of her previous smile was no longer present.

It made his heart tighten and stranded far from any ease that it had once felt. Not comprehending the reason for his feeling, he chose to naturally shrug it off.

There was obvious tension as the two stood in the elevator.

Donghae was the first to speak.

"I'll be waiting to see your ability."

Jessica didn't quite know how to interpret the meaning of his words. He had said it with such gentleness that she almost thought she must have been mistaken. Was he stating it in the sense of encouragement and anticipation, or of mock and discouragement?

Regardless of which it was, she missed it. That same gentle tone he had always used with her.

"Go to sleep, love. I'll be right here," he whispered into her hair, his voice full of gentleness as he pulled her close to him.

She clutched at his shirt in response as she let the tears that she had been holding back, cascade down her cheeks.

He rubbed at her back until her sobbing subsided. Then, pulling away, he lifted her chin gently before wiping away her tears and planting a kiss upon each of her weary eyelids.

For the past week, her parents had constantly been fighting, ing hurtful words at one another, and it scared her that they might actually be on the verge of divorce. They were always such a loving couple so when it had first started, Jessica had been utterly worried that it wasn't simply something small to be overlooked. She was right.

"It's okay, Yeon. Auntie and Uncle will work it out. Their love for each other is stronger than that. I'm sure of it."

He was always her security, comfort, and reassurance.

She nodded against his chest. Then, looking up, she leaned in to place a chaste kiss on the corner of his lips.

"Thanks, Hae."

She really meant it.

He let out a playful smirk, and his hand reached out to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"You know, love, you might as well just kiss my lips instead," he teased, "Or is my girlfriend's aim just that bad?"

She laughed for the first time that night as she playfully shoved him. He laughed along with her, happy that the girl he loves was finally smiling again.

"Sing to me, Hae," she requested.

Her wish was his command. And so he sang, as she pressed her ear to his chest, listening to the echo of his voice and heartbeat, his soothing voice lulling her to sleep while his heartbeat imitated a metronome. 

Getting back to business, she chided herself to be professional and maneuvered her way to her new office.

A sudden knock sounded on her office door not long after her arrival.

"Miss Jung, you have a meeting in five," her secretary informed her with a bright smile. Jessica couldn't help but take an instant liking to the girl. They say that you can tell a person's personality by their smile. From her smile, Jessica could derive that her secretary had a bright and cheerful personality.

"Thanks for the reminder, Hara."

As a reflex, Jessica immediately flashed Hara a sincere smile. One that she had been unable to present since stepping foot into LJ.

-

She could feel all eyes upon her as she entered the room. It didn't quite make her comfortable but she had expected this.

Standing at the front of the room, she introduced herself with confidence and sincerity.

"Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Jessica Jung, daughter of the Jung's. I'll be working at LJ starting from today. It's a pleasure for me to finally meet the hard working staffs and directors of LJ who has contributed much to its success today. I'll rely on your guidance to improve myself throughout my stay here. Thank you."

Ending her speech with a bow, she raised to the domino-like eruption of applauses.

She mentally heaved a sigh of relief. It seems that she had left a good impression. That didn't mean she could relax though because she knew that although the majority had held her favorable, there were still some that would need convincing. In other words, she had to prove herself worthy.

Her gaze unintentionally wandered over to meet his. She was caught off guard to find his eyes boring into hers, with an expression that was unfathomable.

The meeting carried on as the board discussed upon the matter of a much sought-after business partner, who had been quite difficult to please and recruit. Throughout the discussion, Jessica was able to acquire some information upon the said client. Mr. Kim was an elderly man who had been in the business world for many years. He was greatly respected for his achievements and was once very easy-going but as the years grew on him, he gradually became a grumpy and hard to please man.

"I'll persuade him," Jessica firmly interjected, "Please leave the client to me."

Almost immediately, murmurs of whispers arose from within the room along with a few inevitable snickers that was surely meant to belittle her.

The hushed whispers carried on until Donghae spoke, instantly shushing them into silence.

"I agree to Director Jung's request. She will be in charge of Mr. Kim's partnership with LJ from now on. This meeting will conclude here for today. Thank you for your time."

Their eyes locked for a brief moment as Jessica gave him a slight nod of her head to indicate her thank you. He returned her nod and moved to stand up.

Donghae's lean figure was the first to exit the conference room and was soon followed by the rest.

With Donghae's status at LJ, when he said one, no one dared to say two.

-

Jessica was not one to waste time. As soon as the meeting concluded, she had asked Hara to bring her all the documents regarding Mr. Kim and was now currently busying herself at work.

Too absorbed into her work, Jessica failed to notice the stare that Donghae held her captive in. Their offices were situated directly across from each other thus, providing the two the oportunity to easily peer into the other's office at any given time. 

Donghae brought his arms behind his head as he leaned back in his chair and studied Jessica from afar.

The way her eyebrows furrowed together when she was deep in concentration. How her cheeks would draw into a puff every now and then without her awareness. It all seemed like a strange deja-vu to him. 

He was pulled back to reality by the entrance of whom he recognized to be Kris, Team Leader of the design department, into her office.

The businessman's eyes narrowed at the young lad as he witnessed the said man reach out to hold her frail hand in a greeting. It didn't go unnoticed by Donghae that Kris had held onto her hand for much longer than necessary.

His watchful eyes remained on the duo, refusing to let any moment go unobserved. A frown slowly spread across his visage at the sight of Jessica's carefree laughter, which he had assumed, was most probably from a joke that Kris had cracked. A lame joke at that.

Relief was the only word Donghae could find when Kris finally left Jessica's office. Though, he would hate to admit it.

Of course, his relief was short-lived as another guest came uninvited into her office. Once again.

Only, it was much worst. The uninvited man wasted no time in bringing her slender hand to his mouth for a kiss. Nor did he bother to conceal his flirting, openly displaying his affections towards her.

A scowl was evidently present on Donghae's face upon his march over to Jessica's office. He had only one intent in mind: to interrupt.

"Heechul hyung!" Donghae exclaimed as he pulled him into a head lock, appearing playful with a half grin, half teeth-grit.

Heechul exaggeratingly rolled his eyes and shot Jessica an all-too-knowing smile.

Past or present, the kiddo was definitely still the same. Always jealous when it came to her. The only difference was that in the present, Donghae was not aware of the bond between the three of them. Nor was the hot-headed guy made known of the fact that the brunette was merely like a sister to him. He simply adored teasing the two of them.

Jessica replied Heechul's smile with a stern look that was accompanied by the hint of a smile.

As if to say, 'Don't you dare pull any of your tricks or tell him!'

Heechul flashed her a taunting smile and she lightly huffed in exasperation.

"I'd better be on my way to meet Mr. Kim now. It was nice seeing you, oppa. I'll see you tomorrow, Director Lee."

Donghae didn't bother to hide his displeasure when he heard her call Heechul, oppa, whereas he simply got a formal Director Lee.

Releasing his grasp on the older man, he stole a glance at his watch and frowned.

"It's quite late. Why don't you meet him tomorrow instead, Director Jung?"

He added an extra emphasize on the Director Jung just to return her the favour. He was childish that way.

She held back a smile.

She really wasn't upset with him anymore. Jessica was hardly one you could trust to hold a grudge. Especially not when it came to Donghae. He was her weakness after all. She was simply keeping up with the cold and formal facade in hopes that he would keep in mind that she still disagreed with his methods, and would try her best to prevent them.

"They say that one does their best thinking at night," she smiled before leaving the room.

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Hi lovelies! (:

I'm truly sorry that it took me so long to update!

I was actually having some trouble cause I had my ending planned, but the events that would lead up to it were still hazy to me so I had to take some time to sort all that out (: 

But that's all good now & hopefully my next update won't take as long but I'll be having a lot of tests next week so I honestly can't guarantee, I'm sorry guys!

I know this chapter doesn't have a lot of Haesica but there definitely will be more in the next one! I also took so long to write this chapter cause I was deprived of the Haesicaness within this chapter, along with the fact that I wanted to cram as many things I can into it so that I could give you guys a more Haesica-fulfilling chapter on my next update haha (:

As you might have noticed, I did some editing to the forewords and just the layout of the chapters in general, please let me know if the font is too small or the colour is too hard to read though okay guys? 

There's not much else I remember wanting to say so enjoy the chapter guys!

I really appreciate all the comments & a big thank you to my new subscribers (:

Hope I'm not disappointing you guys! XO