Chapter 40

Jaejoong bit his bottom lips in unsure hesitation as his hands reached out to open the door. He hated to be doubtful at the moment. Not to mention, he hated his sleep last night. Tossing & turning in bed wasn’t his thing. If he wasn’t wrong, his head was throbbing from the frustration from last night & his hair, he glanced up. Oh, man. Wasn’t he supposed to be prepared like every other man ready to hear his true love’s confession? He groaned, raking his hand through his hair. Maybe he was in too much of a rush this morning. His stomach was still growling from the breakfast he had skipped before coming to the hospital. Cursing at himself, he opened the door, despite the look of his tired face & messy hair. Roses, oh man. He forgot them, too.

Closing the door gently, Jaejoong turned around, almost jumping up in a start as Changmin appeared in front of him. He sighed, calming himself down, “Is she asleep?”

Changmin smiled lightly, “She’s gone. I’m sorry.”

His brows sunk. Pushing Changmin to the side, he walked to the empty bed. His feet came to a stop. He stared, his eyes narrowing as tears threatened to fall. He bit his bottom lips, turning around sharply to meet Changmin, “What happened? Where did they put her?” As the man smiled again, Jaejoong flinched. How dare he smile when time was at crisis?

“She left with her parents & went back home.”

Jaejoong frowned, “You said she was gone.”

“I did. She went back to San Francisco.”

Narrowing his eyes at Changmin with more frustration entering him, Jaejoong buried his face into the palm of his hands & murmured curses. The man scared the hell out of him! Scratching his head, he pressed his lips together & walked pass Changmin again.

“Where are you going?”

“San Francisco.” Jaejoong replied quickly, hands on the knob.

“She doesn’t want you there.” Changmin spoke up quickly.

Jaejoong stopped from opening the door. He stared at the doorknob. His brows furrowed together. He blinked, turning his head to the side, “What else did she say?” He questioned quietly. Changmin walked up, stretching his hand out with a piece of paper. Jaejoong stared silently. Grimacing, he snatched it but instead of opening the letter, he stared at it without blinking. The headache throbbed against his head. She had folded the letter neatly, too careful to even wrinkle it. Breathing out in irritation, he unfolded the creases gently. His eyes read her neatly written letter.

‘It’s obvious that my answer is still no when you read this letter, Jae Oppa. I’m sorry but the relationship we hadn’t shower together yet can’t work out. You & I know that. It’s not worth trying it. I beg you not to follow me. Even if you do, you won’t see me again. I won’t be at my parents house. San Francisco is a big city & I’m just like a little ant looking for my own home now. Thank you again, for all the things you had helped me through. Even though we had never gotten along together, I had never hated you. Don’t worry about me. I’m a big girl & can take care of myself. I’m sorry for leaving without saying goodbye first but if I had, you would have never let me go, aren’t I right? You’re a handsome man & you can easily find the woman of your dreams one day. I had never thought that I would really run away from anything before. You’re one man that can wake up a woman’s soul, Oppa. That’s what I had been afraid of & now that everything is over, it’s over. I beg of you, please don’t follow me. We will never meet again, & I would be glad of it. It’s my secret why. Goodbye.

Fany’

His brows twitched. His fists balled up, clasping the letter. Growling lowly, he sniffed & reached to opened the door.

“Wait. Where are you going?”

“It’s damn obvious she loves me!” Jaejoong shouted, running down the hall, breathing hard. There was no chance he wasn’t going to miss being with her. If she’s running away, it’s plainly clear that she can’t admit her love for him.

As he ran, Jaejoong brushed the end of his navy asos leather bomber jacket back, sticking the ball up letter into his khaki pant pocket.

She lifted her eyes up from the book, concentration ruined again. He was bothering her mind again, & she can’t stand it. Arriving back home just yesterday, it wasn’t the sweet home like usual. It wasn’t the house; it was just her un-welcoming way & him. She came back home to lengthen the distance but her mind was going back to him unwillingly.

Sighing, Tiffany slammed the book shut & set it on the night table. She shifted her position, getting comfortable. As her head hit the pillow, she sighed & smiled lightly. It was only a matter of time before his flight landed in San Francisco. She knows he won’t follow her pleading in the letter she had written to him. He had always do what he had wanted to do but yet, she still lay in bed in her parents house. Yes, maybe she had lied about not being there. It was a fat chance moving out when she was going to die & lying will just maybe delay him. Running away from love while love was running towards her was something she had never imagined. Loving him was enough to make her run & hide a dreadful secret from him.

Sniffing, she brought her hands up & rubbed her tired face, “I’m so sorry.”

“About what, honey?”

Tiffany peeked through her fingers, looking at her father, “Oh, nothing.” As she slid up carefully to make room for him, he shook his head & grabbed a chair from near the wall. She placed a smile on, pushing Jaejoong away from her mind.

Mr. Hwang folded his hands together, sighing “I know I told you that Jaejoong had told me everything about what had happened but honey, I want to know why you had never told me about any of them. You suspected how Stephanie had died & came to the real answer. Don’t you think that your mother & I also want to know about it?” He grimaced, “We care a lot about you & you had lied to us all this time. It wasn’t very smart of you too, but it was very brave of you.”

Tiffany looked down at her fingers, “I’m sorry, dad, but I didn’t want you & mom to worry. We all have been through so much these past years. I thought solving this out by myself would have been better but I didn’t work alone.” She sighed, followed by a swallow, “Jae also helped me.”

“& I’m glad he did. He seemed to be very concern about you while you were still in your deep sleep.”

She looked up, catching the look on her father’s face. Her heart raced. Blinking quickly, she looked back down at her fingers, “He really did love Stephanie, dad. It was her who messed everything up. I knew I’d have to say that someday. However, it wasn’t totally her fault. They just misunderstood everything.”

“& what about you?”

Tiffany flinched slightly, “What about me, dad?”

“That’s the question I’m asking you. I know you two were talking about something that day when your mother & I walked in. If there…”

“We were discussing about what happened after I was knocked out, dad.” She cut him off quickly.

“Everything happened so fast so he filled in my questions for me.”

Mr. Hwang narrowed his eyes at her teasingly, “You’re still stubborn as ever, Tiffany.”

“That’s why I’m your daughter.” She muttered, underneath her breath. A smile came to her face as he lightly pinched her nose, “So, how’s your work coming along?”

“Better than ever. You wouldn’t imagine that I’m going to start my own business again, in a couple of months. I met up with one of my old friend & he’s willing to help me work everything out again.”

“I’m happy for you, dad.”

“& I’m also happy for me that I’m going to be a partner.” Tiffany turned her head, seeing Yuri standing at the doorway, holding a mug in her hands, “Hey, Ti. I’m back & I brought you a cup of green tea from your mother’s kitchen. Here.” She walked up while stirring the tea, “I’ll help you.”

Tiffany smiled, opening as the spoonful of tea came heading her way. She swallowed, making a face, “This isn’t my mom’s green tea.”

“Oh, I forgot. She added some medicine in to boost up your energy. That’s why I didn’t drink any of it.” Yuri laughed, setting the mug down on the table, “Anyway, back to the part of me being a partner. Mr. Hwang, if you don’t mind, I would like to be the interior designer of your office. I would also like to make the planning of the rooftop & many more on my list.”

Mr. Hwang laughed, “Of course it would be an honor.” Tiffany smiled, raising her eyes as the doorbell rang. Her father stood up, “That would be our guest for tonight. Dinner is almost ready. He’s going to help me throughout the night with some paperwork so I hope our noise won’t be bothering you so much, honey.”

“Of course not, dad. I would probably be asleep by then.”

Mr. Hwang walked out, waving from behind. Excitedly, Yuri took the place Tiffany’s father had just left & scooted up, “Guess what?” Tiffany raised a brow, making a face as she sipped the tea, “I’m going back to Seoul. Yunho Oppa & I are going cruising.”

“I’m happy for you.”

The smile on Yuri’s face disappeared slowly, “You don’t sound happy.” She grabbed Tiffany’s hands & folded them together with hers, “I want you to be happy, too. How about this? Why don’t you go cruising with us, too? It’ll be a blast.”

“No.” Tiffany quickly said. She smiled then, squeezing Yuri’s hand, “I want you to have fun with him alone & without me being a bother to you two.”

“But what about the month you owe me, Ti? We’re best friends &...”

“I still have more than a month, Yul.” She sighed, looking down, “Look, I promise we’ll have fun together after you come back. Right now while I’m sick, I’m no fun. You don’t want a sick person tattling along, do you?” Yuri pouted, “Oh, Ti. You’re...You’re the best friend a person can have.”

Tiffany laughed, looking up as a knock came at the bedroom door. The laugher in her voice & her eyes died away slowly. She stared at him. Her lips became dry as her heartbeat paced faster & faster. His eyes glimmered against the light from the lamp. Her brows twitched together as she tried to hold her posture, “Hello, Fany.”