Jessica held the phone up to her ear as she was packing her bag, “Yes, I have....I will pack tomorrow...what? ert! Of course I have that too!” Jessica was laughing at her girlfriend asking about underwear. She sighed as she saw her bag fully packed, “Taeyeon...I am sorry I have one less month with you.”

Taeyeon on the other line gave a faint smile, “It is fine. I know you have family abroad too so take time to visit them and then enjoy your time in school. It will only be a few months and then I will visit.”

Jessica knew the girl was understanding about this whole study-abroad thing but she didn’t like that she had to leave a month earlier since her parents wanted to spend the rest of summer vacation visiting family in America. “Hey Taeyeon...you will see me off tomorrow right?”

Taeyeon smiled, “Of course. I will be there for you.”

“Okay. I will see you then.”

Jessica was about to hang up the phone but she heard Taeyeon say, “I love you...” before the line went dead.

She looked at her phone smiling, “I love you too. It is only for a little while that I will be gone.”

------------------------

Taeyeon set down her phone before sitting back in her desk chair. She and Jessica spent most of summer vacation together whenever she was not at work. It was a great month of long summer walks, holding hands and kissing secretly. Just thinking about it made her blush since it was a month of just Jessica. However, the day did come when Jessica had to leave. Of course Taeyeon was happy for the girl getting to experience new things and she would be closer to some family but Taeyeon was going to be lonely. Sooyoung just took over her father’s company and was very busy settling in and her girlfriend was too far away. Taeyeon didn’t have anything left but work to keep her time occupied. Maybe she needed to expand in the friendship department.

*knock knock*

Taeyeon looked up from her desk, “Come in.”

Tiffany stood at the door for a few seconds before coming into the office and setting two files on Taeyeon’s desk, “A bit last minute but we have two new patients admitted. They are taking the slots which we had open on Thursday at 3pm and Monday at 2pm. You can take a look when you have time since they will come next week.”

Taeyeon looked down at the files before looking back up at Tiffany, “Thanks. I will take a look tomorrow then.” She got up from her desk and started to put her coat on but noticed Tiffany didn’t move, “Is there something you need?”

Tiffany looked up and faced Taeyeon, “Umm Nichkhun wanted to have dinner with you and Sunny. Do you mind coming over? I know you don’t like me much but...”

“Fine.”

Tiffany looked surprised, “What?”

Taeyeon took her bag in hand, “I said it is fine. Just give me an address and time. I will come.”

Tiffany was still dumbfounded by Taeyeon’s agreement, “Oh okay. Thanks...”

Taeyeon was now standing by the door, “Are you going to leave? I want to go home.”

Tiffany looked at Taeyeon who was at the door, “I am.” She quickened her pace to leave the office as Taeyeon locked the door behind her. Tiffany looked back once at Taeyeon before returning to her desk in confusion. She still was wondering why Taeyeon agreed so quickly on having dinner with them. Whatever the reason, she was just happy that things were going according to plan.

Taeyeon finished locking her door so she headed out of the building and down the elevators to her car. She thought about the dinner invitation she agreed to. Taeyeon knew she didn’t trust or like Tiffany but she thought if she got to meet Nichkhun, maybe she could understand Tiffany better. She wanted to go into the lion’s den and figure all of this out. For all she knew, Tiffany was being sincere and really wanted forgiveness, but she couldn’t figure it out yet. This looked the perfect opportunity to understand Tiffany better.

-----------------------------

Taeyeon sent a message on her phone before taking a seat in the waiting area. She already felt very uncomfortable by the dirty facility and was only partly sitting on the seat as she waited but she knew it was worth it. Coming to a place as unclean as this was worth it...

“Taeyeon!”

Taeyeon was thankful when she heard the familiar voice, “Sooyeon!” The two lovers shared a tight embrace, “How much time do we have?”

Jessica held onto her lover while nuzzling her head into Taeyeon’s neck, “I got away from my parents for maybe 30 minutes.”

Taeyeon smiled before backing away to take a good look at Jessica, “Thanks.”

Jessica reached her hand up to caress Taeyeon’s face, “I am doing this for myself too. I don’t want to leave without seeing you.”

Taeyeon couldn’t resist as she looked into Jessica’s beautiful eyes, “I am going to miss you,” and with that, Taeyeon leaned in to kiss Jessica. She didn’t care if Jessica used mouthwash or not because at this moment, she only thought of how to pour in all her love into the girl that would be leaving...the girl she loved. Jessica smiled into the kiss as she placed her hand onto the back of Taeyeon’s head to deepen the kiss.

“Jessica?” Jessica broke from the kiss as she heard her mother’s voice, “I thought you went to the bathroom?”

Taeyeon looked up in shock as she faced Jessica’s mother. She then looked over to Jessica who was also paralyzed by fear, “Mom...”

Taeyeon didn’t know what to do. She was an unwanted third party now and she couldn’t comprehend what to do in a situation like this. The next thing she heard was the older lady sighing disappointingly before looking back at Jessica, “Jessica finish up here and come to the gate. We will talk later.” The fear froze Taeyeon’s veins as she watched the lady walk away.

Jessica looked down in apprehension before placing her hand on her forehead. She knew that keeping Taeyeon a secret from her parents wasn’t the best idea but she wasn’t ready to tell them about her. Yet the fear and anxiety she felt disappeared in an instant as two arms wrapped around her waist, “You should go.”

Jessica looked up into Taeyeon’s eyes, “I’m sorry...”

Taeyeon didn’t want to worry the girl further so she gave a weak smile while caressing the girl’s face, “This isn’t how I planned on telling your parents either but remember that I will be here for you always.” Taeyeon moved Jessica’s hand to her heart, “You will always be in here always.”

Jessica smiled as she was drawn into Taeyeon’s sincerity, “I know. I will call you later.”

Taeyeon thought it was best to just let Jessica go. She hated the uncertainty that followed this parting but she had to trust Jessica. She had to hope that Jessica could handle herself. Lastly, she hoped Jessica would come back to her.

Jessica felt Taeyeon remove her hands from her, leaving a cold feeling in the areas that were once touched by those warm hands. It was now that she knew what she had to do before she left so she cupped Taeyeon’s cheeks and leaned in to give a forceful kiss, “I will come back for you...I promise.”

Taeyeon smiled with Jessica’s sudden actions, “I love you Sooyeon.”

Jessica looked into Taeyeon’s eyes one last time, “I love you too.” Knowing she had to go back to her parents, Jessica turned her back on Taeyeon and left.

Taeyeon let her legs go weak as she slumped down into that dirty chair...she didn’t care that it was filthy. In fact she didn’t care about anything anymore because she only wanted Jessica and that girl just left.

------------------------

Taeyeon went into work the next day almost lifeless. She knew that Jessica was on the plane still so she wouldn’t hear from the girl till maybe tomorrow but there were many doubts if she would hear from the girl at all. What if her parents disapproved of their relationship? Would that mean that Jessica would be banned from seeing Taeyeon? With all these worries, Taeyeon didn’t get much sleep that night.

“Ms. Kim?” Taeyeon looked up at Tiffany who was at her desk, “Are you okay?”

Taeyeon looked back down at her hands, “Yea...”

Tiffany took a seat across from Taeyeon, “I am not sure if the hatred you have for me made you forget that we were close friends in high school...but you never look into my eyes if you are lying. You also have some dark circles under your eyes.”

Taeyeon sighed, “I didn’t forget. Why do you think I still hate you? It is because I can’t forget.”

Tiffany winced at the harsh words, “I see. Well do you want to share what is troubling you?”

Taeyeon glared at Tiffany, “I can take care of myself. I am a psychiatrist remember?”

“Am I going to hear you talking to yourself in here while you ask yourself what is wrong and how you should fix that?”

Taeyeon giggled at the thought, “No...”

Tiffany smiled when she got Taeyeon to laugh, “Something happen yesterday?”

“Someone I care for deeply left.”

“I take it you miss that person?” Tiffany smiled slightly as she knew who this person was.

Taeyeon leaned back in her chair, “Of course, but that isn’t why I am sad.”

Tiffany leaned forward and placed her elbows on the desk, “Why are you sad then.”

“Because they might not want to come back or someone else will prevent the person from coming back to me.”

Tiffany looked into Taeyeon’s eyes and saw someone who was slowly breaking down from fear, “I see, but you don’t know yet. Just give it time and things will sort out naturally. No reason to get worried about something out of your control.”

Taeyeon looked back at Tiffany, “I guess.”

Tiffany smiled before standing up, “Well calm yourself down. Your first appointment will be here soon. Don’t let your emotions show at work.”

Taeyeon nodded as she watched Tiffany head for the door, “Tiffany?” Tiffany turned around to face Taeyeon, “Thanks.”

Tiffany nodded before going back to her desk. She was feeling pretty excited by the news Taeyeon gave her that she decided to share this information with another person, “Sunny? Yes...I may not need your help at dinner....No we will still go as plan just in case. Alright see you tomorrow night.” After her brief call with Sunny, Tiffany hung up her phone so she could continue to do her work today.

-----------------------

It had been two days since Jessica left and there was no message from her. Taeyeon thought by now Jessica would at least say something like ‘hey we need to break up’ or ‘my parents are cool with us, no worries love.’ However, her message box was empty. Doesn’t Jessica know that leaving her with no information like this makes her anxious and trapped in a void of fear?

Taeyeon sighed before lifting her finger and ringing the bell on the door. Hurried steps were heard inside the house before the door opened, “Taeyeon! Welcome!”

Taeyeon smiled when she saw Nichkhun greeting her, “It has been a while.”

Nichkhun held a happy grin on his face, “Please come in! The other girls are helping in the kitchen.”

Taeyeon walked into the house but stopped briefly to take her shoes off. She carefully lined her shoes and the other shoes so that they were all perfect. It was then that she made her way to the kitchen, “You made it!” Tiffany said when she saw Taeyeon enter the kitchen.

Sunny looked over, “We are almost done cooking. Why don’t you just help Nichkhun with the silverware?”

Taeyeon took notice that Sunny seemed to know where everything was in the house very well but she didn’t think much of it as she went to help Nichkhun, “So Taeyeon I hear you are taking care of my Fany now?”

Taeyeon placed the silverware down at each seat, “Yea.”

“You know we are both very thankful that you gave her that job. We rely on her salary a lot so when she was let go at the previous company, we thought we might have to move in with my parents again.”

Taeyeon was shocked by this news. Maybe that is why Sooyoung wanted to give Tiffany the job so bad, “I see. She was just lucky that my previous secretary had to leave and we had that opening.”

Tiffany and Sunny entered with food in their hands, “I hope you like western food since that is all I am good at cooking.”

Taeyeon took a seat as Nichkhun pulled out the chair behind her, “It is fine.”

Tiffany smiled as she took a seat across from her, “Good!” Sunny and Tiffany helped serve the food on the plates before some light conversation started. Most of it revolved around their jobs and things like that. Taeyeon was happy that they didn’t bring up topics relating to their high school life but dinner was normal almost like she was with her old friends from high school again.

“So Taeyeon are you seeing anyone these days?” Taeyeon was taken aback from Nichkhun’s direct questioning.

Sunny placed some salad in , “She is. Why asking something so personal Khun?”

“What? I just want to know she is happy. I only saw her with Soo and Fany in school mostly. Also Fany never said she had a guy before.”

Tiffany got up from the table, “How about we have dessert? Taeyeon I know you like banana so Sunny brought a banana crème pie for you.”

Taeyeon was thankful that Tiffany got her out of an uncomfortable conversation, “Thanks. I do like banana.”

Sunny laughed, “Ah such a kid Taeyeon. You haven’t changed a bit since high school.”

“Even still look like a high school student,” Nichkhun added in which made the others in the house laugh.

Taeyeon was mumbling to herself until her phone started buzzing. She looked surprised as it was an international call, “I have to take this.” The others watched as Taeyeon excused herself to take the call, “Hello?”

“Taeyeon. It is Jessica.”

Taeyeon smiled brightly, “You are in America safely right?”

“I am here fine. I talked to my parents....”

Taeyeon held the phone closely her ear as she listened to what Jessica was telling her. She smiled a bit and then furred her eyebrows, “Okay, I understand. I love you too. I will wait for your call again. No it is okay. Yes...talk to you soon.”

Sunny came up from behind Taeyeon, “Was that Jessica?”

Taeyeon turned around when she heard Sunny, “Yes?”

“Did she make it to America fine?”

Taeyeon eyed out Sunny carefully, “How did you know she was in America?”

Author's Note

Well good news is that I gave you an update, but some bad news...I will be busy soon with trips and exams. I will be taking a step back from writing so I can get some studying in and I have a month long trip all of February. If I update, it will probably to update this story or My Drug. If you are waiting for updates from Love Within Heaven's Gates or I Need You to Survive, you might be waiting 2 more months due to my hectic schedule.

I hate giving you this kind of news but the really good news is, after February, I have no classes so I will have more time to update regularly again.

Some other news, I have made a one-shot: My Wild Imagination and expect 2 more one-shots to come on January 6 (they were submitted for a contest and I can share the stories with you after that date).