Jessica’s POV

I hate hospitals; they’re so depressing. So many people die in hospitals, so just imagine how many lost souls are in them. I’m an example of one. I don’t know where I should be. One part of me is pulling one way; the other is pulling the opposite way.

“I’m so glad you’re both here.” The person on the hospital bed said, smiling up at me and Krystal.

“We’re just glad you’re okay.” Krystal said, hugging them.

I stayed quiet. I felt torn. You shouldn’t be here, part of me said, you should be over there. It’s where you want to be.

“Jessica.” I heard my name from the voice of the bedridden person looking at me. I looked up and tried to smile, but I knew I wasn’t. “Jessica it is okay to be scared.”

“I’m not scared.” That was somewhat of a lie. I was scared, but not for the reason they thought. I wanted to leave.

“They are both gone now. You two are safe now. You can come back home.”

“Yeah, they’re both gone now. Whose fault is it that that Tyler Kwon guy is dead?” I said a little more aggressively than I wanted. Dad’s smile faded from his face.

“I know who killed him, Jessica. You do not have to tell me. We do not have to do this every time we are together.”

“Kim Taeyeon killed him. And she’s in the hospital too because she saved our lives for the hundredth time.” My voice was growing louder. “But you won’t let me see her? What kind of fairness is that?? And yes, we do have to do this every time; because you don’t get it.”

“I do not ignore the fact that she saved my daughters.” He said coldly. “But I do not ignore what she did to you either.”

“Did to me???” Jessica repeated. “What exactly did she do to me besides make me feel safe and loved and happy???”

“I will not discuss this with you, Jung Sooyeon. What she did to your mind is something I can never overlook. She tainted you with her sins. That lesbian should be glad God didn’t kill her with Tyler Kwon—”

“Honey!” Mom cried out, looking flabbergasted at my angry father. “That is not—”

“You know what that girl did to our daughter.” Dad said to Mom.

“What exactly did she do to Jessica that was so wrong for you to say such a thing—”

“No mom,” I said in a shaky voice. “Don’t bother. He thinks he has a right to judge people for who they are or what they do because he has problems. You can’t fix that about him. He has no place in the world to judge anybody when he is the kind of person who should be judged the most.” I turned to look at my father. “You have no conscience, Dad. You do what you do and get away with it because you’re important and wealthy. That’s the only reason why you say what you said. You’re angry because the person I fell in love with was the daughter of the person you murdered and got away with. You’re sick.”

I got up and stormed to the door. “Where do you think you’re going??” Dad said. “You better not be going to her room!” I stopped in my tracks.

“I’m going to the cafeteria.” I growled. “Is that a problem? Are you going to forbid me from eating too?” and I left the room.

The moment I closed the door, I let out the breath I was holding. I felt so much better out here than in there with my family. For a man that was shot last night, he sure did show no mercy. I started for the cafeteria. Last night was so clear in my head still; I remember singing with Tiffany on stage. It didn’t feel like anything was going on, but apparently Taeyeon was having a brawl on the balcony with this Tyler Kwon guy who was the so-called “boss” of the group trying to kill me and my family. When I was almost done with my solo performance, a loud crash sounded from the back of the auditorium; Taeyeon and Tyler had fallen from the balcony. The chief of Taeyeon’s department came into the hospital room late last night and told us that Tyler Kwon had died in the ambulance to the hospital. Good riddance.

The new officers we were living with got a call soon after Taeyeon and Tyler were taken away by ambulance and took me and Krystal I to the hospital; Dad had been shot. Apparently, the other guy’s—Rain’s—father was a bodyguard for my father. That’s how they were getting all of their information about everything. The man was off duty that night, so Rain took his suit and impersonated his father. He misaimed and shot my dad in the . Good riddance. The other guards were on him in a second and he was pronounced dead when the paramedics got there.

So it was all over. Just like that, there was no one else trying to kill me. Krystal and I were safe to go back home now.

I took a detour from the cafeteria and followed the signs to where I wanted to go. I had to do this quick. Well, actually, I wasn’t really sure where I was supposed to go..

“Excuse me, I’m looking for a patient.” I said to the nurse at the counter.

“Okay, can I get the name of the patient.” She said, not even looking up from her computer screen.

“Kim Taeyeon.” I said. “Officer Kim Taeyeon.”

“Oh yes, she’s right down there.” The nurse said. “Room three-forty-three.”

“Thank you.” I said and left. On a chair outside of the room sat Taeyeon’s chief. He looked up and saw me and seemed to struggle with deciding whether to smile or scowl.

“Ah, Jessica.” He said, standing up. “I had a feeling I’d see you here. I was hoping I wouldn’t.”

“Is she awake?” I asked in a shaky voice.

He shook his head. “No, not yet.”

“Is anyone in there with her?” I asked. He shook his head again. “Could… Could I go in and see her?”

He fiddled nervously with his hands and looked down the hall. There was a family going into a room five doors down and a couple of doctors talking further down the hall, but other than that the hallway was empty. “I don’t know if it’s such a good idea, Jessica-ssi.” He said. “If your father found out, it’d be, not only my head he’d have, but maybe even Taeyeon’s job.”

“I won’t be long. Just a couple of minutes, I promise.”

He nodded after a moment’s thoughts and led me into the room. Taeyeon was lying on the bed in a hospital gown, the same way she had before; only this time, she didn’t have bandages covering her neck or a cast around her fingers. She had bruises on her face and a white strip across her nose.

“She has a broken nose and a few cuts and bruises,” He said beside me. “A stab wound on her shoulder just needed six stitches. She damaged her kidneys from the fall and they had to remove them. Her brother is in the room beside this one; he gave her one of his.”

Knife wound… Kidneys…

“I’ll uh.. Leave you alone. I’m guessing you want to be gone before Sooyoung or Hyoyeon come back, so you have about thirty minutes.” The chief said before walking out and closing the door.

My eyes were watering from the sight of Taeyeon on the bed in her state. It had been so long since I’d seen her and I had to see her like this?

“This is the third time you’ve been to the hospital because of me.” I said in a hushed tone to her unconscious body. The beeping of the machines beside her echoed in the room. “The second time you’ve been in a hospital bed from it.. You’ve been taking care of me even when I’ve been ignoring you..”

It was true that once I got my phone back, I read all of her messages. I didn’t reply back from my own choice. Taeyeon doesn’t deserve someone like me. I could be the reason she loses her job; my father threatening me with her job was enough. I know how much Taeyeon loves doing what she does; I couldn’t take that away from her. Knowing what I know about my father now, I wouldn’t put it past him to do much worse than get her fired if I kept seeing her. As much as it hurt me and hurt Taeyeon, I had to do it. I had to keep my distance from her and move on. She’ll move on too. Hell, she’ll probably be much quicker with it than I will. I’ll never get over her. She was the best thing that ever happened to me.

“What’s wrong with you, Taengoo…” I said through tears. “Why would you do such a stupid thing? Look at you now..” I was right next to her now. One of her eyes was blackened and her lip was cut open; it reminded me of our first kiss, when I was cleaning her cut lip. Those lips that I’ve longed for for weeks was now only a foot away from me.

“I can’t be with you, Taengoo…” I whispered. I caressed her cheek, feeling her warm skin against my fingers. “I can’t let my father hurt you anymore… I’m so sorry…”

As much as it hurt me, I had to do this. I had to sacrifice my happiness for the only girl I’ll ever love’s happiness.

“I love you, my kangaroo…” I leaned down and lightly pressed my lips to hers. A tear fell onto her cheek and I pulled away only a little to look at her face one last time.

“This is goodbye…” I whispered. I straightened up and left the room.

The chief stood from his seat again and looked at me. “Thank you.” I said politely and turned away.

“Miss Jung.” He said behind me. I turned to look at him. He hesitated. “Sometimes… It’s okay to disobey orders… Sometimes you need to follow your heart, not other people’s demands. Only you know what’s best for you.”

I smiled sadly at him and felt a tear rolled down my cheek. “Take care of her please.” I choked out quietly. His Adam’s apple bobbed up as he gulped; he nodded.

I turned the corner back to where the nurse was and almost fell to the floor when I ran into a taller blonde girl.

“Krystal, what the hell are you doing here???” I cried out in a whisper.

“I knew it!” She exclaimed. “I knew you were faking all this time! You do love Taeyeon! You’ve been lying to me and everyone else!”

“Shut up, idiot!” I scolded. “Let’s go.” I grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the cafeteria.

“Why are you doing this?” Krystal asked when we were sitting at a table in the cafeteria sharing a turkey sandwich. “No, don’t tell me, I already know the answer.” She looked into my eyes and I could feel her eyes digging into my mind. “It’s dad.”

I looked away and that was enough of an answer for her. “I knew it! Jessie… You can’t let dad control your life anymore! You’re not a kid anymore. You haven’t even lived with him for years. He doesn’t control you!”

“It’s not that easy, Soojung. He threatened Taeyeon’s job multiple times, you know that. He’s threatened far worse than that too. I can’t let my selfishness get her fired. She loves her job.”

Krystal argued longer with me, but I wouldn’t budge. I knew what I needed to do and she knew she couldn’t do anything to stop it.

She sighed. “Unnie, this is a stupid decision…”

“Just be happy dad didn’t catch you and Amber. Then you’d understand.” I said, stabbing a cherry tomato with my fork and eating it.

Taeyeon’s POV

I woke up to a crowded room. Sooyoung, Hyoyeon, Hayeon, the chief, Eunmi and DaeJung, Jiwoong sitting in a wheelchair, and Krystal.

“Krystal?” Was the first thing I said.

“Hey unnie! I’m so glad you’re okay!”

“I grabbed the bed remote and pressed the button to incline the top half into a sitting position. “Why am I always in the hospital?” I mumbled.

“You’re always getting your kicked, that’s why.” Hyoyeon said. “Welcome back to reality though.”

“How long have I been out?” I asked, feeling soreness in my back.

“Two days.” Sooyoung said from a chair in the back. She was eating a bag a Doritos.

“You got your kidneys removed.” Hayeon said beside Krystal.

I looked around to see Jiwoong again. “Did you give me a kidney?” I asked in realization.

“You make it sound like I just pulled it out and stuffed it into you.” He chuckled.

“That’s what he said.” Hyoyeon said with a devilish smile.

“Oh my god, I’m so disgusted with you, Hyogre, don’t ever speak to me again.” I groaned.

“You’re in a good mood, Taeng.” Eunmi said with a smile.

“Well, I’m alive. Thought I was dead again.” I said as Eunmi set DaeJung on my lap. I couldn’t quiet move my right arm and I remembered getting stabbed.

“And you scared the out me again.” Sooyoung scolded. “I was once again the first one to see your almost dead body and I swear if you do it again, I will actually kill you.”

“How are you here, Krystal?” I asked her. “What did your dad say about you coming?”

“HA!” She laughed sarcastically. “He doesn’t know! It’s the last week of school so I told him I had last minute stuff to do!”

Just then, a nurse came in. “I see you’re awake now, Miss Kim!” She smiled lively at me. “I’m just going to check your vitals and give you an evaluation, don’t mind me.” She checked the machines and I looked back up at the crowd.

“So where is Jessica?” I asked Krystal.

She looked down at me wide eyed. “J-Jessica..?”

“Yeah, is she here?” The group grew silent and looked at each other awkwardly. “What?” I asked.

“Taeyeon, you remember that Jessica hasn’t tried to contact you in—”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know that.” I waved Sooyoung’s words off. “But the fight is over now isn’t it? Or did Tyler Kwon get away???”

“No, Tyler is dead.” Hyoyeon said. “So is Rain.”

“So what’s the problem?” I asked.

“Taeyeon…” Krystal said quietly. “Jessica… Doesn’t want to see you…”

“W-what?” That one sentence seemed to have dropped my mood completely. Doesn’t want to see me? But it’s all over? She doesn’t have to hide anymore.

“Jessica… has no intention.. of coming to see you, unnie…” Krystal was looking anywhere but at me.

“Sh—she hasn’t come to see me at all..?” It couldn’t be..

“I’m sorry, unnie…”

“But I saved her life.. again…” This is unbelievable…

“She did tell me to tell you she said thank you…”

Thank you. That was it?

I sat there quietly for a little while with DaeJung tugging lightly at my hair.

“Alright, everything looks normal, Miss Kim.” The nurse smiled at me again. “We’re going to keep you here for a couple more days so your kidney surgery heals more, but in two days you will be free to go.”

“Thank you, nurse.” I said and watched her leave the room.

No one said anything as I stayed quiet. I couldn’t believe she just didn’t care about me. Not even enough to come thank me personally. But I wasn’t going cry in front of all of these people… I wasn’t going to let it eat me up anymore.. I couldn’t…

“So tell me everything that happened since I fell from the thing.” I pushed the thought to the back of my head where I could think about it when I was alone and focused on the now; all of the people I loved and loved me grouped around and laughing and eating and talking and joking. This was what I needed in my life. Always.

Jessica’s POV

From Soojung <3 :

she just woke up. shes doing pretty good. not too happy wen i told her you werent coming to see her.

I sighed. Thank god she’s okay.

I put my phone down and looked at the bowl of kimchi fried rice in front of me.

“....said to the guy, ‘please leave my office now sir or I will have to call security.’ The man refused to leave to I called security and they had to drag him out of the entire building. It was a very interesting day, really.”

I nodded absentmindedly, only half listening to Taecyeon’s work story.

“Hey,” He said, waving his hand in front of my bowl. “Earth to Jessica.”

“Hmm?” I looked up at him.

“You okay there, Sica? You’ve been kind of out of it all day.”

“Oh, umm.. Yeah.. Yeah, I’m fine Taec.” I forced a smile. He wasn’t convinced.

“Look Sica,” He sighed and bowed his head slightly. “I know things got really bad around the end. I have no good excuse for what I did, I know. But I’m getting help for it, you know that. I go to anger management classes every other day, go to therapy every day after work, I’m going the whole nine yards to make this right. I can never ask you for forgiveness from the past, but I promise it won’t ever happen again.”

I nodded again. I was only here because my father forced me to come back to Taecyeon. His anger at the relationship Taeyeon and I had had washed Taecyeon’s abusive history toward me away. From what I heard from Nickhun, Taecyeon was taking lots of classes and therapy now, but I had only just came back to him yesterday. He hadn’t even argued with me once since then, but it’s only been two days. Who knows what can happen.

He took me out on a dinner date last night and tonight he cooked, which I think is the first time since we first started dating three years ago.

“I hope I can make it up to you, Jessica…” He said and went back to eating his food. I went back to playing with my food and thinking about Taeyeon.

This is the first time I've done Jessica's POV for a while wow... Well now you guys know what she's been thinking and going through! But most of you seemed to have known that already XD. What do you think of the goodbye? Poor girls. No guys, not the Taengsic you want just yet, but I promise it's coming up. Along with the end of this story. VERY soon. Like, very soon. So if you're not yet subscribed to my other ongoing story Up In Smoke, go ahead and do it now!!! That one is full of action ;D