Taeyeon swiftly turns to face Tiffany’s grandmother and gives her a comforting smile. “So, I’d like to give you the results and talk it through with you about how we’ll deal with-”

Tiffany suddenly clears , ceasing Taeyeon from speaking. “Umm...my grandmother is deaf...and mute. So whatever you have to say about this, just tell me.”

“Oh, i’m sorry.” The shorter girl turns around to face Tiffany, her sneakers slightly squeaking against the polished floor. “Okay, according to the X-ray results, your suspicions have been confirmed.” She hands her the x-ray scans. “Your grandmother does indeed have leukemia.”

“leukemia...”

“leukemia...”

“leukemia...”

That word rang multiple times inside of Tiffany’s head.

She bites down hard on the inside of her cheek, fiddling with her fingers. The American-born girl thought she was prepared for this, she’s gone over the many scenarios in her head, this moment being one of them.

But now that she’s finally heard it out loud, she can’t help that unbearable feeling of hopelessness and despair from coming over her.

Seeing that Tiffany wasn’t responding, Taeyeon continues, “I’d like to begin the chemotherapy with her tomorrow. But I want to keep her here over night to do some more check ups and x-rays.”

Tiffany nods, and quickly gives her grandmother a hug before walking toward the door, desperate to get in her car to let out her dismal feelings.

Before she can fully walk out the door, Taeyeon calls out to her, “Tiffany?”

She turns her head around, taking a deep breath before answering “Yeah?”.

“I’m going to try everything I can, I assure you of that.” The doctor says, her voice filled with sincere sympathy for the younger girl.

“Thanks, but…” Tiffany turns back around. “you don’t have to try and ease this down on me. It’s not something new….” And with that she walks out the door.

*****

There was a few soft knocks on the door, but it was enough to wake Krystal from her sleep.

“Come in!” She calls out.

The door opens, revealing a short-petite girl with a small bouquet of flowers and a balloon with the words printed “Get well soon!”.

“Hiya Krystal! These are for you.” She says and sets the gifts on the counter. She turns and notices the other Jung, asleep on the chair beside the bed. “Just as I thought. Jessica’s here.”

“Sunny-Unnie, what are you doing here?”

“Well, I’ve recently heard about your accident, so I came to visit and make sure you were okay. I was also hoping to catch Jessica here, she hasn’t been answering my calls or texts since the wedding was postponed. And since I’m her wedding planner, I need to know what she’s going to be doing with the event.”

“Oh yeah...the wedding.” Krystal frowns.

“I’ll just wake her up…” Sunny says as she walks over to the sleeping Jessica and begins to tap her shoulder. “Anyway Krystal, when do you think you’ll be getting out of here?”

“My doctor said that I would be out of here most likely in a week.”

“That’s good…” Sunny gives Jessica a few light slaps on the cheek before the girl finally begins to stir and her eyes slowly lift open.

Jessica groans. “What?” Her voice dry and cracked.

“Here…” Sunny hands her a bottle of water from the bedside table and Jessica takes a few large gulps before setting it down beside her.

“What are you doing here? Where’s Krystal?” Jessica asks groggily, still trying to shake the fatigue out of her system.

“Your sister’s right behind me on the bed.” Sunny says, pointing a finger at Krystal. “Anyway, I’ve been needing to ask you about your wedding. Are you still gonna do it?”

Jessica’s orbs automatically find Krystal’s dismal eyes before quickly breaking contact. “Yeah…”

“Okay, do you want to keep it exactly how it was going to happen before you postponed it? Or do you want to make some changes?”

“I think the way it was before is fine…”

“Just fine? This is your special day. I want it to be something that you’ll never forget.” Sunny smiles warmly, giving her friend a pat on the back. “There’s no rush. Just tell me what to do and how you want it done. It’ll be perfect.”

Jessica smiles, “Thanks Sunny…” She pauses for a moment. “Yeah….I think I will make a few changes. This day should be unforgettable.”

*****

Taeyeon strides into the nearby cafe, wanting to warm herself from the cold, autumn weather outside.

She goes to the front counter and gives a small, polite smile to the cashier before ordering.

When she’s finished ordering she turns around and looks through the sea of tables, searching for an empty one to sit at, until she sees a familiar face.

She walks up to the table and gives a bright smile to the current occupant stirring her drink. “Hi Tiffany.”

The said girl looks up from her coffee and immediately looks surprised. “Dr. Kim?” She raises an eyebrow. “Did you follow me here?”

Taeyeon’s eyes widen. “What? No, I was with your grandmother remember?”

Tiffany looks away, embarrassed. “Oh yeah…”

“Can I sit here?”

Tiffany gives a small nod at her request to which Taeyeon happily complies to and takes a seat across from the latter.

“By the way, call me Taeyeon.”

“Okay, Taeyeon. So, why aren’t you with my grandmother now?”

“It’s my lunch break and she’s resting, so I figured it’d be a good time to grab some coffee over here.” She says, and for a few seconds there’s silence until Taeyeon jumps in her seat. “But don’t worry! I made sure someone was watching over her before I left.”

Tiffany fights the urge to smile at the girl in front of her. “That’s good.” She says and goes back to stirring her already-well-stirred coffee.

“Umm…”

Tiffany looks up to see Taeyeon biting her lip and fiddling with her fingers as if she’s a schoolgirl about to confess to her crush.

The American-born girl thought she looked very childlike, almost to the point of it being cute. Almost.

“Hmm?”

“Can we exchange phone numbers?” The doctor asks timidly.

She stops stirring her drink. “Why?”

“For medical purposes!” Taeyeon says, a little too quickly. She immediately clears , regaining her composure before saying, “You know, just in case I need to inform you of something quickly and...yeah.”

Tiffany smiles. “Is it required?”

“Huh? Uh, well-”

“Give me your phone. I’ll type my number in.” Tiffany says before the latter can finish speaking.

Taeyeon smiles brightly before handing Tiffany her cell phone, watching as she types in her phone number.

“4 large caramel lattes, 3 banana breads, and a ham sandwich!” They hear the man behind the counter call out.

Taeyeon’s head snaps up at the sound of the familiar order. “Oh, that’s me.”

“Do you usually eat that much?”

The older girl chuckles. “No, some of the hospital staff asked me to bring them back a snack and a drink. The ham sandwich is mine.”

“Ah, okay.” Tiffany says as she hands Taeyeon’s phone back.

“4 large caramel lattes, 3 banana breads, and a ham sandwich!” The man repeats, louder this time.

“Do you want me to save my number into your phone?”

Tiffany shakes her head. “Just text me. You should probably go before he decides to throw away your food.” She lightly chuckles.

“Oh yeah...I guess I’ll see you the next time you visit the hospital?”

“Yeah..”

Taeyeon smiles and heads off to retrieve her order. Once she grabs her order, she walks toward the door, turning and giving Tiffany a smile before heading out.

Tiffany watches Taeyeon’s retreating figure from the cafe window before focusing her attention back to her coffee, continuing to stir, but this time with a small smile lingering on her lips.