Chapter 2

Looking at his bleeding lips in the mirror in the gentleman’s bathroom, Jaejoong cursed in anger, “Dammit! Damn this girl! I don’t believe dad will fall in love with a wild, gold digger girl!”

He touched his lips again, & groaned in pain. He had to do something before it get worse. He still had to attend a court session this afternoon. What would his clients & friends say if they saw his bleeding lips & red cheeks? They would laugh at him. He let out a big sigh to calm himself down. The pain in his lips & left cheeks couldn’t be compared with the anger in his heart & the hurt of his pride, “How dare she slap my face harshly. How dare she bite my lips brutally & how dare she called me a bastard! Damn! Damn!” He cursed again. He had never met this kind of girl before. All girls were so nice to him, flirting with him & some of them trying to seduce him openly but this Tiffany seem to want to play hard with him but who was she? Had she ever looked at herself in the mirror? She was only a little , a gold-digger!

“Aw.” His lips were bleeding again, because of his laugh. He grimaced in pain while cursing her again, several times under his breath.

Jaejoong closed his eyes, imagining the kiss just now. He admitted her lips were soft, sweet & full of temptation. His mind recalled her beautiful face & mesmerizing eyes sparkling with tears when she stared at him. It was beautiful. Her long black lashes, her lips, her perfect body shape, her… “Damn! Damn! What am I thinking of? Oh, god. One hundred times dammit!” He cursed again, under his breath. He splashed his face with cold water & stared at himself hard in the mirror.

Sighing deeply, he pointed his index finger at his image in the mirror, “Kim Jaejoong, you have to take revenge of this humiliation. Don’t let that wild girl laughed at you. You have to hold your head high, Kim Jaejoong. You have to finished her before she makes a move to blind your father with false love.” He told himself. He was determined to show the wild Tiffany that he could make her regret what she did to him today, to his father & to his mother, especially.

He quickly walked to the parking lot after refreshing himself for a few minutes. He glanced at his bulova stainless steel watch. He still had time to dig her personal information from his computer. Nothing would stop him from getting any information about her. After all, he was a top lawyer & his friend who worked in a district attorney office would help him willingly to get the access to the system, “Wait for my revenge, Tiffany. Sweet sweet revenge. I promise you.” He smiled slyly.

Tiffany just came out from the bathroom when the bell rang. She knitted her eyebrows. Her eyes glanced at the clock on the wall, ‘Who is it? It’s almost nine.’ She asked silently. She had a bad day. After a humiliation from Kim Jaejoong in the office this afternoon, she had another bad incident on the way home. Another car bumped into her white BMW mini cooper. The only car her mother left her. She let out a big sigh. Life was getting complicated since her mother passed away five months ago & becoming more complicated after she met Mr. Kim eight weeks ago.

She was working in Canada as a kindergarten teacher when a telephone call rang in the middle of the night. Her aunt called, telling her that her beloved mother was badly ill. She hurried back to Korea the next morning. However, by the time she reached the hospital, her mother had already been in critical condition. She couldn’t talk clearly, only tears were flowing down her pale cheeks endlessly. Tiffany still remembered the last moment before her mother closed her eyes forever.

*Flashback*

“Tiffany, promise me one thing.” Stephanie Hwang Yunseo whispered, with her last breath.

Crying loudly, Tiffany held her mother’s hand tightly, “Anything, mom. Just say it but don’t leave me.” Mrs. Hwang stared at her only daughter lovingly but Tiffany saw the sadness that reflected in her eyes. Tiffany’s heart broke. Mrs. Hwang ran her hand through Tiffany’s hair gently, “Find Kim. Bring my letter & you’ll find the answer to your questions.”

“No. I don’t know the Kim & I don’t want to know. Please don’t leave me, that’s all I want, mom.”

Mrs. Hwang sighed. She slowly closed her eyes, “I love you, Tiffany. Be a good girl, a tough girl that I’m always proud of & please fight for yourself & for your happiness.”

“Mom.”

“I’ll be your guardian angel always. I’ll be always in your heart.” Mrs. Hwang moved her hand to her daughter’s hand. Her face showed her deep pain as she gripped the fabric of the bed sheets with her other hand, “Mom, please don’t say that! You’ll be okay!” Tiffany cried out. She cried even harder at her words. Her hand held her mother’s hand tightly.

Mrs. Hwang slowly loosened her grip on her daughter’s hand. She tried to smile with her dry & pale lips, “Take care of yourself, my little girl.” With those parting words, she closed her beautiful eyes forever.

“Mom. Mom. Oh, god. No. Doctor.” Tiffany sensed panic as she looked at her mother’s face. She pulled her mother’s hand, trying to find a movement there but she failed. Her cried became louder. Cold sweat covered her whole body. When she turned her head to see the doctor, she knew her mother was gone. The doctor shook his head slowly as she pleaded with her eyes.

“Mom! Mom!” She cried out, “You can’t leave me alone in this world. Mom, please come back. There are so many words I want to talk about. There is so much fun I want to share with you. Mom.”

But Mrs. Hwang still stayed silent. She didn’t move.

Tiffany caressed her mother's cheeks gently after kissing her forehead, “I love you more, mom.” She whispered, her last words, “Don’t worry about me. I’ll take care of myself. I want to be your pride. I promise you, I won’t let you down.” She closed her eyes, feeling her strength suddenly slip away from her body & darkness surrounded her.

Since that day, Tiffany had changed dramatically. Her loving fun gestures had changed to be a cold person. She just stood alone under the rain in front of her mother’s grave after the funeral was finished. Nobody could persuade her to leave, not even her only aunt, her mother’s sister. She forced on a smile but tears kept streaming down her cheeks when she accepted her mother’s friends condolence & now, she couldn’t cry anymore. All the tears had dried from her eyes. She didn’t think she had any tears left to shed. Her eyes were swollen. Black lines underlined her lovely eyes, ‘There’s no future in this life without mom.’ She told herself. She caressed the tomb gently as she knew her mother was laying there forever. Hot flame sprang to her eyes again, but the tears failed to flow down.

“Tiffany.” A soft voice called, her name.

She didn’t turn her head at the sound of her name.

“Yunseo will be sad if she knows you’re acting like this.” Her aunt said to her gently.

“Why did it happen to us, auntie?” She started to sob, “Mom is still young, beautiful & still a lively person. I can’t believe cancer could take her life easily.”

“God has his own plan. As his followers, we have to obey & have our faith to him.”

“I know, auntie, but I still couldn’t believe life is so cruel to me & mom.” Tiffany rubbed her sore eyes.

“You’re still young. Yu