Chapter 31

Jejung stood outside with the rest of the family, hugging Tiffany tightly to him from behind. The day had finally come. His mom & dad were directing the servants to bring Tiffany’s few belongings into Jejung’s car. Tiffany pretended to choke, “Hey, Jaejoong Oppa. Easy with the hold.” At her words, he smiled. He knew she wasn’t choking but he loosened his grip a bit, “I can’t help it. You are leaving me again.” Tiffany pulled out of his embrace & linked her arms around his neck.

“Don’t say that. I’m not leaving you. I just have to go back home now. Don’t make it sound as if I’m leaving your life for good. That’s very unfair to me.” Jejung touched her face gently, smoothing out the lines on her forehead as she frowned at him. He then replaced his hand with a kiss, “I’m sorry. It’s just that I’m sad that you are leaving my home & I won’t get to be by your side twenty four seven.”

Tiffany laughed & smacked him lightly on the forehead, “You crazy man. You will get sick of me if you are by my side all the time & plus, who was the little boy that told me a long time ago that I have to stand up for myself & learn to live life independently?” Jejung groaned, “You just had to bring that up again, didn’t you?” Tiffany smiled knowingly, “Just to remind you of what you said & besides, Donggun has really changed for the better as you said from your private investigator.” Jejung opened his mouth to say something but she put her hand over it.

“Don’t even think about saying how he has actually been as terrible a drunk as ever because you can’t take back what you said before. It would really be unfair to him now.” Satisfied with the job that the servants did in organizing Tiffany’s belongings in the car, Mr & Mrs. Kim had made their way over to their son & his girlfriend. They both laughed at what Tiffany just said, “Seems like you are setting his head straight & letting him know what is good & what is bad.” Mrs. Kim engulfed Tiffany in a hug, “I feel safe & content in giving my son to you. I look forward to seeing you two getting marry.” Tiffany blushed profusely while Jejung smiled slyly as he nodded his head, “Yeah, once we are married, you will have to be with me twenty four seven.”

“Aw, come on, you are making her blush.” Mr. Kim told his wife, but Tiffany noticed that he was grinning widely as well. Tiffany stepped over to give Mr. Kim a hug too, “Thank you Uncle Kim, for everything.” She looked over at Mrs. Kim with gratitude & emotion in her eyes. She was just so thankful for these two wonderful parents that seemed to have replaced her own. Jejung started jumping up & down. He was jumping really high up to grab everyone’s attention & his face held a childish kind of glow to it. They all stared at him expectantly, “So, are you going to marry me?” Tiffany laughed at him & walked over to him & firmly put her hands on his shoulder to stop him from jumping anymore.

He took the moment to wrap his arms around her once again, & stared into her eyes with a twinkle, “So, will you marry me?” He asked seriously. They all gasped, although it didn’t come really as much of a surprises. Tears streamed down Tiffany’s face. She looked down shyly, “You know my answer.” Indeed he did but he still wanted to hear it from her. He tilted her head up. She looked into his beautiful eyes & smiled, “Yes, I will marry you Oppa, as I promised those many years ago.” He whooped & started jumping up & down again, with her in his arms. She laughed at just how childish & lovable this man of hers can be. Mrs. Kim cleared loudly, making them stop. She shook her head & frowned at her son.

“You call this a proposal? You don’t even have a wedding ring & you didn’t even get down on one knee.” She sputtered a bit as she thought of that again, & gestured her hands widely, “I mean, I saw Keunsuk’s proposal to Sooyoung & saw how he dressed up & got down on one knee & proposed in front of everyone.” She shook her head & walked over to Tiffany to link her arm with hers, “I will not allow Tiffany to marry you under these circumstances.” Tiffany laughed as Jejung opened his mouth wide in shock. He looked at his father for help but he shook his head & smiled sheepishly. He had no say in the matter. Mr. Kim shrugged, “If it were up to me, I think that that was a decent enough proposal.”

“Of course, you will think so, you are a guy. Do you think that I would have married you if you hadn’t given me a romantic night to remember the day you proposed?” Mr. Kim froze at that. That was true, he himself had proposed to his wife under romantic circumstances. It was just part of the tradition. He nodded his head & smiled as he remembered when he proposed to his lovely wife, “Yes son, I agree with your mother, I wouldn’t let Tiffany marry you either with that kind of proposal.” Jejung pouted but smiled as Tiffany put her arms around his neck again, to plant a kiss on his cheek, “Don’t worry, I will wait. I will always wait.” With that said, Jejung kissed her gently on the lips briefly since his parents were still there. The parents smiled at them & called out a last goodbye to Tiffany, telling her that she was welcome at their house any time.

Tiffany waved goodbye at them from the car & Jejung speed them out of the Kim mansion driveway towards roses park. He wanted to bring her there before they left to go back to her house. It was a long but not forgotten tradition. In the past, Jaejoong used to bring Miyoung to the park right before he had to take her home. They stayed inside their hidden treehouse for about three hours before Tiffany finally insisted that he had to take her home because if he didn’t do that soon, she might never get the courage to leave which was just fine with him but he did know & respect her decision.

As Jejung parked his car in front of Tiffany’s run down small shack of a house, he pulled her in his embrace in the car & kissed her deeply & passionately. Tears ran down her face a second time as she leaned into his hold, kissing him back with all she had. A knocking on the glass signaled that they weren’t alone. They pulled apart reluctantly to see Donggun waving at them or mostly Jejung enthusiastically with a wide smile on his face. Jejung gave him a small smile as he & Tiffany got out of the car. Donggun did appear to be healthier, sober & better dressed to Tiffany & she was really happy to see that. She had prayed for him constantly over the years to let him become a better man. It seemed as if her prayer was finally answered.

Donggun bowed down several times to Jejung, treating him as if he was royalty or something like that. He grasped his hand & shook it hard, “It is so great to see you, Mr. Kim. So wonderful indeed & you have brought Tiffany with you, too.” He smiled sweetly at his stepdaughter, “What made you come & visit your old stepdad?” Tiffany smiled back at him. It was then that Donggun noticed the luggage shown through the windows from Jejung’s car. He looked at Jejung with shock on his face, “I don’t understand. Has Tiffany done something to really offend you? Is that why you are sending her to live with me again?”

Jejung frowned at that & shook his head, “No, it’s just that Tiffany wanted to come back to her own home & take care of you before she gets married to me. She wanted to have her own space &.” He sighed, “Not depend on me so much.” He added. At the word married, Donggun’s face glowed with joy again, “That’s just wonderful.” He shook Jejung’s hand hard again. After his head bobbed up & down like his bobblehead doll for five seconds from the force, Jejung finally managed to free his hand from his grip. Donggun just grinned as if nothing was wrong. He clapped his hands at the sight of Jejung who had just embraced Tiffany again, staring down at her lovingly.

Donggun took the hint & decided to go back in the house to wait for Tiffany, letting her have her time with Jejung. Jejung pressed his forehead close to Tiffany’s. At his stare, a tear slipped from her eye & she sniffled. It was harder to part with him than she had first thought. She took in a deep breath & lightly tried to push him away but to her surprises, he didn’t even budge a bit. He just held her but with his face buried in her hair, inhaling its sweet softness. A tear fell from his eye as well, “I love you.” He whispered, against the top of her head. Tiffany nodded tearfully, “I love you, too.” They finally pulled apart. He held her at a short distance, staring into her watery eyes. He managed a shaky smile, “Hey, you were the one who said that you had to do this in the first place. I never agreed to it. You can just call the whole thing off now & return with me.” He said, this with a hint of hope in his voice but to his disappointment but not to his surprises, she shook her head, “I have to learn to be on my own or else I will never grow up. I can’t always rely on you. I need to be my own strong person, too.” He chucked her chin lightly & affectionately & then leaned in to give her one last kiss on her forehead.

“I’m so proud of you.” He walked her up to the front door. They kissed one last time on the doorstep. They both put their hands on either side of it, feeling the skin of their fingertips touch through the coarse screen, “Remember to call whenever you need me & I will take you to work bright & early tomorrow morning.” Jejung reluctantly started walking towards his car & got in. He rolled down his window & sighed deeply, “I will call you once I get back home.” Tiffany smiled & waved back at him. He finally left the premises. Tiffany closed the door & her legs finally gave as she slid down to the floor, feeling the emptiness at not having her Jaejoong Oppa with her again. This was only a brief preview of what was to come soon. Tears fell freely as she ran towards her room where all her belongings were placed haphazardly on the floor by Donggun.

A/N: i'm so sorry for not updating yesterday when i came home, i so drunk that i couldn't write or see clearly that i didn't update :(

i'm truly am sorry for making you guys wait yesterday

- butt3rflyl0v3r