Chapter 35

Tiffany stumbled out of bed & walked towards the bathroom, placing a hand to her temple as the pain in her head grew worst. She fought back tears & gingerly massaged the side of her head, trying to get the pain to lessen as much as possible. She breathed a sigh of relief when it finally subsided. As she stared at herself in the mirror, she frowned as her vision got slightly blurry. She blinked several times until it finally cleared up. Turning the faucet on, she splashed water onto her face, biting her lips to stop herself from crying. Looking into the mirror again, Tiffany knew that she had to tell Jejung about her condition sooner or later.

She had to face the fact that her vision was getting worse & worse & the headaches came more frequently. After freshening up & dressing, she sat back down at her bed to just think. From the corner of her eye, she saw her rose pouch tied to her belt loop. She untied it & hugged it close to her chest, giving it a small kiss. She had made up her mind that she would tell Jejung about her problem today. Overcome with nerves, she didn’t know how to approach him without causing him too much worry. She didn’t want to uses his money for the surgery, ‘Besides, it might be too late already.’ She told herself. It had been over a month since she had been diagnosed with this condition. She was afraid that she would be too much of a burden to Jejung. Her heart was beating so fast at the prospect of telling him that she just didn’t know what to do.

Jejung speed up onto the driveway & bounded out of the car as he rung the doorbell. As always, he couldn’t wait to see Tiffany. When she opened the door, he leaned in to give her a good morning kiss, “Good morning, sweetheart.” Tiffany smiled shakily & invited him in for breakfast where her stepfather greeted him overenthusiastically. After finishing the meal, Tiffany & Jejung left to school.

“You are awfully quiet today.” Jejung inquired, looking over at her still form. Tiffany smiled nervously, “Am I? I haven’t noticed.” Jejung nodded & before Tiffany knew it, the car was pulled into the school parking lot. He got out of his car quickly to open the door for Tiffany, “Thanks, Jaejoong Oppa.” Tiffany threw her arms around Jejung, hugging him close & tightly. Shocked for a moment, he hugged her back with equal fervor, “I just want to hold you close so that I could memorize your hold & smell.” Jejung laughed, “Silly girl, there’s no need for that.” Tiffany shook her head, “Yeah, there is.”

The school’s onlooking students stared at the couple with jealousy, mostly on the female population’s part but there were still a select few that just loved the romantic relationship they had even if they didn’t know the gist of it. Tiffany & Jaejoong walked hand in hand to her classroom where he led her in before heading off to his own class in the next building. Jejung gave Tiffany one last kiss before heading out.

It appeared strange to Tiffany that she & Jejung behaved like this before class almost everyday but this time, she felt as if the moment they shared could very well be their last. She shook the feeling away, not wanting to think in that tract. She settled down within class & paid close attention to what was being said. Jejung hummed happily to class but before he could reach the hall to where his class was located, a figure stopped before him.

She was in tears, Jejung noticed, “Hey Seohyun, what’s up?” Seohyun continued to pretend to cry. She pulled something out of her black great american leatherwork shoulder bag & passed it to Jejung. Jejung looked at the object in his hands & held a quizzical expression on his face. It was an old recorder, “What’s this for?”

“Open it & you will know.” Unable to resists, Jejung did as he was told & a familiar voice close to his heart interrupted the peace & quiet. The words spoken weren’t what he had expected, “He’s so gullible, so easily tricked. Getting close to him was a cinch & once he gives me more money, I’m out of here.” Jejung’s heart stopped at what he just heard. They cut deep into his heart, reopening wounds as well as opening new ones. It just hurt so much.

Jejung was in a daze the whole day, shaking his head in disbelief. He replayed the tape over & over again, sitting on the bench in the courtyard. He sat alone, not bothering to go to class, ‘This can’t be right.’ He thought again & again. Tiffany wouldn’t do something like that to him. She was his sweet, innocent Miyoung, his one true love but as he played the tape once again, her voice rang out true. It was a voice that he had memorized & wouldn’t forget. It had to be her but why would she say something like that? He just didn’t understand.

Tiffany waited for Jejung after class but she didn’t see him so she assumed he was probably held up by a professor or something like that but when she didn’t see him after all her classes that day, including lunch, she was beginning to get worried. After school, she went around the campus, searching for him. After half an hour of running around campus, her asthma started kicking in. Tiffany dug into her black grab bag jodi satchel purse & floral canvas cargo backpack but didn’t find her inhaler. Her chest started constricting & she opened the nearest door by her side which happened to be to the courtyard. She collapsed outside the door once she opened it, one hand to her chest, fighting to breathe.

A sudden noise jolted Jejung out of his gaze as he felt that something was wrong, “Who’s there?” He asked, whipping his head around. Tiffany smiled weakly at the voice, “Oppa.” She cried weakly. Jejung looked over to where he heard the faint whisper & quickly got up from his perch, rushing over to Tiffany. Running over, he took out the inhaler he kept in his black lambskin jacket pocket at all times, “Miyoung.” He said worriedly, crouching down as he held her head in his lap. Her pale pink lips were turning blue as she fought to breathe. Jejung didn’t waste another minute as he administered the medicine, puffing three times for reassurance. Slowly, her breathing returned to normal. Jejung rubbed her back, calming her down. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, “Shhh, it’s okay. It’s going to be okay.” Tiffany smiled, color returning to her face. She slowly got up & gave Jejung a big hug, “I was so worried about you. I haven’t seen you since this morning & when I didn’t get any message from you about you not being able to meet me after class or lunch today, I panicked & started running around campus looking for you.” Jejung smiled against her hair, “I’m sorry that I caused you to worry.”

“I’m just glad that you are okay.” Tiffany said, rubbing her face against his shoulder. They got up & walked over to the bench, “Where did you go anyway?” Tiffany asked. Jejung sighed, looking down at the recorder still in his hands. He didn’t know if he should ask or not. He wanted answers but if it wasn’t true, he didn’t want her to know that he doubted her. Tiffany looked down to see what had captured his attention, “What’s that?” At her voice, he quickly made up his mind. Their love was more important, ‘This recording is nothing.’ He thought, but Tiffany had already wrested the recorder out of his hands.

Smiling, she held it away from Jejung, “What are you doing with a recorder?” Jejung tried unsuccessfully to get it out of her hands, “It’s nothing. Just give it back.” She shook her head & Jejung winced as he saw her press the play button. He closed his eyes, waiting but no sound came out. Tiffany flipped open the recorder & Jejung opened his eyes again, breathing a sigh of relief. Tiffany peeked inside the recorder, “Oh, it’s not rewinded.” She rewind the tape & pressed play again. He knew it was inevitable so he just waited.

Her voice sounded out in the courtyard once again, “He’s so gullible, so easily tricked. Getting close to him was a cinch & once he gives me more money, I’m out of here.” Tiffany gasped & looked at Jejung with tear-stricken eyes. Jejung stared back at her, unable to read what was going on in her mind so he said the one thing that he had been wanting to ask the whole day, “So, is it true?”