Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale…

Jessica looked down to her feet as her hand went to the towel on her head, and brought it down onto her shoulder. Her hair was much dryer than before. She also had changed into more proper clothes. And when she lifted her head again, she could feel those judging eyes staring directly at her.

Damn, those maids.

This wasn’t the first time Jessica visited Hwang family’s house. She did once, back then. And it wasn’t impressive either. The house was too big. Way, way too big for a family consisted of a father and a daughter, because Tiffany’s older siblings lived somewhere else. There were also too much maids. Jessica remembered how she turned speechless the first time she saw the house and said to herself, this is my dream house. But those thoughts vanished as her feet stepped inside.

And at the moment, she was back in that house again.

She didn’t exactly know how the people inside Tiffany’s house felt about her. Do they like her? Do they hate her? Or, do themselves even know how to feel toward the stranger, Jessica? The emotionless-faced girl who the mighty Tiffany Hwang brought home and was introduced as her girlfriend, how do they feel about Jessica? They never said anything. And Jessica also didn’t have the guts to ask.

The same thing goes for Tiffany’s father. That jerk. Jessica puffed a heavy breath at the memory. He showed more signs of I don’t like you than the opposite to Jessica. Like, who the hell is this girl and stuff. She always felt bad for Tiffany having a father like him. He wanted Tiffany for himself and yet he didn’t treat her well. What a joke.

Sighing, Jessica shifted uncomfortably on her seat and took the towel off of her shoulder. Tiffany was with her father. Jessica didn’t know what was happening. Probably Tiffany was being scolded? Probably a drama was going to happen soon? With Jessica being kicked out of the house and Tiffany being locked inside, something like that? Jessica bit her lip at those thoughts. Okay, she was being paranoid.

“Are you cold?”

In the middle of the torturing silence, Jessica heard a male voice. She jerked her head and met a smiling face. She returned the smile, slightly. It was that head butler. Jessica forgot his name. But they knew each other.

“Nope, I’m good… err…”

“Brian. I know you forgot.”

“Ah, right. You’re Mr. Brian.” Jessica’s smile widened, “Long time no see.”

Brian took a seat across Jessica on the couch and put down two cups of tea on the table between them, “Yes, long time no see, Miss Jessica. How are you?”

“Not bad. And you?”

“I’m still the same.”

“I didn’t expect you’d remember me.”

The man chuckled, “How couldn’t I? You’re Miss Hwang’s longest girlfriend. Everybody remembers you.”

Jessica nodded with a light chuckle. That explains those stares, then.

“I’m actually glad I meet you again.” Brian continued, “Miss Hwang didn’t say anything about having contact with you all these years. I thought you two lost contact.”

“Well…” Jessica tilted her head with biting her lip. They actually had lost contact, “actually we-- I mean, I never contacted her again before this. We basically met by accident in Korea when she visited there for her friend’s birthday.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes. It was purely coincidence.”

Which I’m glad it happened.

“Wow. What a fortunate coincidence, indeed.” Brian looked amazed, “No wonder Miss Hwang stayed for quite long there.”

Jessica nodded again.

“It’s just… sad that she had to leave in a sudden.” The butler sighed, “I felt really bad for her that time.”

“It’s okay, I understand-- we all understand. She has a life here too, anyway.”

Brian smiled as he agreed. He gestured Jessica to drink the tea and the latter obeyed. It made her body felt warmer. She held the cup tightly in her hands. Another silence fell and there was still no sign of Tiffany coming out of that room. Jessica eyed the door anxiously. And the butler noticed it.

“You look…” Brian started again, making Jessica jerked her gaze to the former, “different, Miss Jessica.”

“Hmm?”

“I mean, you still look the same but… different.”

“Ah, really?” Jessica dryly chuckled, “How different?”

“Just different. I don’t know, just different.”

“Well,” Jessica ran her hand to the back of her neck, “years passed, things happened. I’m sure it goes the same for Fany too. We’re both different now. But strangely, we still know each other quite well.”

“I can see that. That’s… good to know.”

Jessica only smiled.

“Don’t worry too much, Miss. Master is not going to do any harm for both of you.”

A cringe, “Really? How could you know?”

“We all know that.” Brian assured her, referring him and the maids, “We’re sure of that.”

Jessica nodded her head. She didn’t know what to say, but she believed in him.

-

“Jessi, meet my Dad. Dad, meet Jessica, my girlfriend.”

One of so many memorable times the man had with Tiffany, not so many actually, he remembered when Tiffany introduced her girlfriend the most. Her name was Jessica Jung. She was older than Tiffany by a few months, or years, he didn’t quite remember. According to Tiffany, Jessica was much more mature than her. Soon he believed it because Jessica had stayed with the immature Tiffany for years and turned her into someone better.

Even though he had his pride, he still had high hopes on Jessica. She seemed decent. She could take care of his youngest daughter well. They matched each other quite well. At least Tiffany didn’t end up with another rebellious person who resembles herself. Jessica was good enough as an in-law.

But unfortunately, their relationship ended. The man didn’t know how to feel seeing how miserable her daughter was that time. He just silently wished Tiffany could find someone better. He didn’t want his daughter to back being the rebellious her. And as much as he loved her, he got to admit that losing Jessica as an in-law was indeed disappointing.

So when he, once in a blue moon, made a visit to Tiffany’s house and found out her daughter was with Jessica, the Jessica, he couldn’t help but feel surprised. Since when did they get back together? Why didn’t Tiffany tell him?

“Dad,”

Tiffany then said, breaking the long silence in the room.

“Are you going to talk or not?” She asked, frowning.

They were both sitting down on the couch, across each other. Tiffany was still holding the towel she used to dry her hair with. The man shifted a little, crossing his arms, but Tiffany didn’t budge at his gestures, as usual.

“That’s… that’s Jessica, right?” He asked, trying his best not to sound too surprised.

“Well, yeah?” Tiffany frowned even more, “Who else?”

He nodded his head, “I thought you two broke up?”

“We… did.” Tiffany’s frown faded, she looked down to her feet.

“I thought she did something bad to you?”

“Well she was--”

“I thought you hated her.”

“Dad.” Tiffany lifted her head and met her father’s curious gaze, “We broke up, yes. I hated her, most-likely. But she did something bad to me, it’s not true.”

The man nodded his head again, telling Tiffany to continue.

“We had a complicated misunderstanding. We both hurt each other and ended breaking up. But… yeah, things happened and now we’re together again, I think?”

“You think?” It was his turn to frown.

“I mean, we are together again, Dad.”

“For real?”

“For real.”

“Are you sure?”

“I really am.”

He hummed, leaning his back further onto the backrest. Tiffany bit her lip. What was her father thinking about this? She shouldn’t be paranoid, but she couldn’t help it. Her father was unpredictable, similar to Jessica. What his expressions say might be different from what he really feels. And that worried Tiffany.

“Dad, do you… mind?” She bravely asked.

“Mind?”

“Yeah. About… me and Jessica.”

He kept silent for a while. His hand went to his temple, rubbing it. Did he mind? Tiffany couldn’t tell. She really couldn’t if her father didn’t tell her. He took a deep breath and shifted again, his expression softened a little bit.

“How is she now?” He then asked.

“Huh?”

“How is she now? Any different from the past? How’s her job, her life, and so on?”

“She’s still the same.” Tiffany said, half-lying, “Well, people change but I still know her. Even though I might not in some parts, I’m willing to start it over.”

“Why? Aren’t there exist better women, or men maybe? Why her?”

Tiffany exhaled. The interrogating session was making her nervous.

“Because…” She hesitated. The sentence was hanging.

“Because?”

“I have no reason.” She said, honestly this time, “You know Dad, sometimes we don’t need reason to fall in love. She made me fall over and over again for her even after we separated for six years. I think you understand. I hope you do.”

“So now you’re a love expert.”

“Dad.” Tiffany gritted her teeth, “Do you mind or not?”

Again, her father didn’t answer. He uncrossed his arms and stood up, leaving the confused and annoyed Tiffany. His daughter was about to protest before he raised his hand, telling her to listen first.

“Bring her to me.”

Tiffany gulped.

-

There was one thing the man remembered the most about Jessica. That she never smiled as wide as Tiffany.

Probably that what made him felt somehow, he didn’t need to act so polite to this woman. Not that he accused her for being rude, but he knew people with that smile were usually, could sense which person was sincere, and which wasn’t. They also had a high pride as well. Which was no way the man would satisfy it.

Seeing Jessica after years standing in front of him didn’t get it any different. Jessica still had that vibe. That smile, that stare, that tone. Sarcastically speaking, Jessica was lucky she could have Tiffany, the (ex) heiress of his huge company, if only she didn’t refuse it. But somehow, the man couldn’t agree with that. Instead he admitted, even though he wouldn’t say it, that Tiffany was the lucky one to have Jessica. This woman had him realizing the mistakes he made in raising his youngest child.

He then took a deep breath before started,

“How are you?”

Jessica almost, almost raised one of her eyebrows at the question but she answered politely, “I’m good, Sir.”

He pointed downward with his chin, “Your leg doesn’t think so.”

A muffled scoff, “Well, I didn’t say I’m fantastic either, Sir.”

“Right.” He smirked and nodded, “I didn’t notice.”

Jessica only smiled a little, just a little.

“So…” He mumbled, running out of topics to talk to, “do you still live with your parents?” The question blurted instantly.

The smile slowly faded and a slight frown replaced it, “I don’t have parents, Sir. I thought you knew.”

He blinked. Wait, what? That was a new fact. Did he know? He didn’t, did he? He wasn’t the forgetful type either. He unconsciously, couldn’t control his expression as he stared at disbelief at Jessica in front of him. She said she didn’t have parents?

And Jessica could tell he really didn’t know.

“They passed away a long time ago. I’m sorry I thought Tiffany told you. I don’t have parents since I was… uh…” She looked at the ceiling, counting, “eight, I think?”

He kept silent. No, Tiffany never told him about that.

“So no, I don’t live with… them. I live alone.”

“Oh.” That was all he could mutter after a few seconds, “Sorry for that.”

“That’s fine. A lot of people don’t know too, Sir.”

Even after revealing that new fact, her expression remained the same. He sensed no sadness, or even the memory of the dark past. Maybe because it happened years ago that she didn’t feel sad anymore? He tapped his finger on the desk, eyes looking somewhere else. He knew that feeling. Now he could conclude that the three of them, him, Tiffany, and Jessica had all experienced losing. He somehow felt… connected at that part.

That was quite a good thing for them, though.

“Tiffany…” He started again, his eyes on the window, “lost her mother too when she was eleven.” He said.

Or more like, I lost my wife too.

Jessica nodded. She knew that but she didn’t say anything.

“When her mother passed away, things changed quickly that I couldn’t keep up. It was… a huge loss for us. So I can’t imagine how it’d feel losing both parents.”

Ignoring his pride, he returned his gaze to Jessica and asked,

“What happened?”

It was Jessica’s turn to be confused. She clearly didn’t expect that question.

“Well…” She looked at the ceiling again, “it’s kind of blur now, since I don’t really reminisce bad memories. As I remember, I was on my way to go to Incheon from Seoul. At that time our vacation in Korea had finished. We were going back to San Francisco. And we were in a rush, because the time was close and we were afraid we would miss the flight. We told the driver to drive quickly, regardless the traffic. And it didn’t end well.”

Jessica paused, looking down at her feet.

“I was in the backseat, sulking because I didn’t want to leave Korea yet. My parents didn’t seem to care. Well, they were too busy worrying about the flight. Shortly, we got into an accident on a fly-over. We drove too fast that we almost hit a man riding a motorcycle, almost because he survived, and instead we lost control of our car. I was sitting beside the door and it was unlocked, so I was thrown outside by accident just before it crashed.”

He nodded, demanding Jessica to tell more.

“The next day-- uh, no the next few days when I woke up I was told that the only survivor was me. Nobody dared to tell me precisely what happened after the car crashed, because I lost my consciousness right after I hit my head onto the road, so I don’t know what was next. But I can tell that… the car fell down from the fly-over.”

She pursed her lips. It was indeed a blur and she didn’t want to dig more.

“So…” He spoke, bringing Jessica’s gaze back to him, “you lost your parents at once?”

“And my sister too.”

“Sister?”

“Yes. She was still three…” She mumbled, but he could still hear her.

Jessica didn’t know why she’d tell this to Tiffany’s father, well he asked, but it had been quite a while since she reminisced. For her it was useless. It’d make her sad. Yes, it happened way long time ago, but whose heart wouldn’t sad hearing that? Jessica knew she wasn’t heartless. None of them was.

“Sorry to hear that.” He then said, so very awkward.

“It’s fine, Sir. You… asked anyway.”

“Right, I did.” He nodded again, still looked awkward.

Silence fell over them. Tiffany’s father was speechless and Jessica didn’t know what to say. She had expected the man to interrogate her, well he almost did actually, or even threat her, saying she should stay away from Tiffany and stuff. But maybe Brian was right. The man never intended to do those things since the first place.

“Jessica,” He suddenly stood up and walked to the woman slowly, “I must say that, I’m a bad father.”

Jessica frowned. What did he just say?

“Both you and Tiffany had experienced losing, but why didn’t Tiffany end up like you? She’s different now, in a better way, but you sure remember how spoiled she was. If only Tiffany grew up with people like you, I wouldn’t be this guilty.”

“Sir, I’m not--”

“And-- wait, I’m not finished.” He frowned and continued, “You can do that one thing that I really appreciate.”

“Uh, what is it, Sir?”

“Making Tiffany smile like that.”

Jessica was taken aback.

“So I’d like to thank you, Jessica.” He extended his hand, “Thank you for everything. I know you made mistakes, but I did too, and we’re all human. I may be not the best father in-law in the world but… I don’t mind having you as an in-law, not at all. You have my blessing, Jessica. Please take care of Tiffany. And… tell her I love her.”

With a light heart, Jessica shook the hand confidently, “Thank you, Sir. And yes, I will.”

She then smiled, her usual small smile that didn’t even reach her eyes, but it looked sincere enough until the point he returned the same. Then again, both of them knew which was sincere and which wasn’t. Neither could lie to each other.

Probably this was a new start.

But Jessica was sure enough to remove the word, probably.

-

“Whoa, who is this?”

When Tiffany heard the door opened, she hurriedly stood up and was ready with tons of questions for Jessica, or her father. She also had guessed Jessica’s expression would be hell of annoyed, or depressed, or frustrated, those same things. But apparently, her puppy was faster than her. He barked at Jessica and that distracted the woman.

“It’s Prince.” Her father answered.

“Hi, Prince.” Jessica squatted down and took Hwang family’s puppy, Prince, in her hands, “Wow, he’s so cute.”

Tiffany looked at the sight with a frown. Wait, her father talked that casually with Jessica? He even… smiled? Even just slightly but Tiffany noticed it.

“It’s Tiffany’s, but since she’s so busy, it’s ours now.” He said again and then he turned to Brian, “Prepare the car, I need to go.”

Brian bowed before he headed outside, “Yes, Master.”

“Where are you going, Dad?” Tiffany asked, still confused.

“Work? I have an appointment. I’ll be home by dinner. I hope you’d stay,” He fixed his tie, “with Jessica.”

Again, Tiffany was left dumbfounded, “Oh… alright. Bye, Dad.”

He nodded and left outside after Jessica had stood up and bowed at him, still holding Prince. After he couldn’t be seen, Tiffany turned to Jessica who still had fun playing with Prince. She needed explanation. It was a good sight but… she didn’t expect it.

“You’re so cute~ and small~ and oh, you’re really loud!”

“Uh, Jessi?” Tiffany walked to Jessica, “What happened--”

“I was kind of surprised when I saw him.” Jessica suddenly said, “I thought Romeo didn’t grow. Is he immortal?”

“No.” Tiffany chuckled, “I gave Romeo to my cousin and I bought Prince a few months ago. He’s cute and resembles Romeo a lot, so I picked him immediately.”

“Ah… you cutie little pup, you know that?”

“Jessi.” Tiffany turned serious again, “What happened?”

Jessica gave her a smile and put Prince down first and the dog ran away to somewhere, before she answered,

“Nothing much. We talked and turned out he was nice to me.” She said happily, “Your father is nice, Fany. He even said he loves you!”

A cringe, “That doesn’t sound like him.”

“But it is him. Learn to expect the unexpected somehow, alright?”

“Uh… okay? So… what are we going to do next?”

Seeing the confused Tiffany made Jessica smile and threw her arm around the former’s shoulder with a slight grin,

“We just need to stick with each other from now on. I hope you don’t mind because I don’t, and I won’t. How does it sound?”

“Y-you mean--”

“Yes, Fany, he approves, he agrees, whatever you call it. We have no worries.”

“Really?!”

“Mm-hmm.” Jessica nodded, again, confidently.

“So we’re good?”

Shamelessly, Jessica pulled her arm away to lean in and peck Tiffany’s lips right in front of those maids watching, and whispered,

“We are.”

****

Hi... sorry it took quite long. I was sick, I still am but it's better now. I hope this doesn't disappoint.