"Who are they?"

"Jessica's friends."

"I thought you said you saw them leaving for her friend's house?"

"I did! I didn't expect them to come here either," Harvey bit his lips and crossed his arms. "I think we should... Stop seeing each other."

"Harvey Lee, you were the one who started this relationship and you're asking to stop now. What am I?"

"Emma, look. I've known you for so long and you're very important to me, but Jessica is my wife."

"Then why did you even come and tempt me? You know what, I'm leaving. Unless you've thought about everything clearly, don't find me."

"Emma, wait! They might still be outside." Harvey pulled her hand.

She laughed coldly. "If you have the courage to have an affair with me, I'm sure you have the courage to face its consequences." She headed towards the door and revealed Sooyoung and Tiffany who were staring at her, mouth slightly agaped and anger furrowed their brows. Honestly, she thought they were gone. What she said to Harvey was just to remind him that he had to face consequences and he could not hide forever. And now, she wished she did not come out from behind the curtains to the balcony.

Tiffany clenched her fists tight and turned her fiery gaze at Harvey. She tried to maintain her composure and spoke softly, putting emphasis on every word she said, "I'm sure she isn't Jessica."

Panic was evident on Harvey's face as he stepped back further into the apartment, shaking his head. "She's just a friend. Friend. Not what you think it is."

Sooyoung stepped into the apartment again and shouted, "What do you think we're thinking right now? If she's just a friend, do you have to hide her in the balcony? Harvey Lee, you're the weakest man ever. You let two women suffer - one's heart withering in silence while the other hides as you tried to cover your sorry . All these just to play your little game. Is it fun, huh?"

Tiffany pulled Sooyoung back and whispered softly, "It's midnight already, don't wake up the neighbours."

"Tiff, why are you still worrying about this? This man deserved to have his little secret broadcasted to the whole world. Shame on you. We trusted you! Jessica is our best friend, our family, she is not someone you can cheat on!" Sooyoung broke free of Tiffany's grasps and kicked Harvey's knee. "You said you will take care of her. Did you? You spent time with that woman more than you spent time with your wife. Does she even know that you have a wife or you kept that from her too?"

Emma cleared and said, "I'm here, you know. And I know he has a wife."

Tiffany turned her head sharply to focus her attention on the woman standing at the door. "You. Shut up. What's worse? You knowing or you not knowing? You knew, yet you still have this relationship with him?"

"What relationship are you referring to?"

Tiffany looked at the woman in bewilderment and Sooyoung stalked towards Emma. She stopped herself a few centimetres away from the other person and landed a slap on her face. "This is for talking back at my friend as if you have done nothing wrong and clearly, you have." She swung her hand another time and landed another slap on Emma's face. "This one, is for Jessica. Leave. Now. Before I sue you."

Tears welled up in Emma's eyes as she glared at Sooyoung. She expected Jessica to do this to her and not her friend. She was prepared to be humiliated when she agreed to go out with Harvey despite knowing he was married to a beautiful wife who was so capable. At that moment, she prided herself on being able to finally attract the attention of the man she had liked for so long, especially away from a woman who she knew was so much more capable and beautiful. But if she knew she would have to bear such a humiliation without Harvey stepping in to stand up for her, she would not have do it and she finally knew what kind of person Harvey was. A coward. He looked at her apologetically as he rubbed his knee. And weak. "Harvey Lee, we're over."

With that, Sooyoung's anger was fuelled even more. "Now, what can you say? That she's not what we think she is? Do you want me to say it? She's your lover, right? You cheated on Jessica, for her!"

Tiffany held onto Sooyoung to prevent her from kicking Harvey even further, even though she had the urge to kick him herself. "I think we should call Jessica."

"No! Don't call her." Harvey shouted.

"You want us to hide this from her?" Sooyoung hissed. "You should be glad we didn't tell her that we saw you with that exact same woman even before your marriage at the airport. If we did, you wouldn't have the privilege to go around telling your friends that your wife is the talented and beautiful CEO of the rising fashion label. We regretted our choice. We should have told her then, so she would not have to go through all this."

Tiffany's phone rang and she took it out from her bag. Sooyoung looked at the caller ID and smiled dangerously at Harvey. "Oh, speaking of which, your lovely wife has called. Answer it, Tiff."

Tiffany stared coldly at Harvey as she answered the call. "Hello Jess? Yes, we're not at home- No, we're not at the convenient store- We're at your apartment. No- nothing happened to him, technically, nothing happened. Honey, you should come over. Yes, now. Before Sooyoung kills someone."

-

Jessica woke up to find her friends not at home and she searched the whole house twice just to make sure. Where were they? She called Tiffany and she picked up after five rings. "Tiffany? You're not at home? Where are you? Are you at the convenient store? No? Then where are you? You're what? My apartment? Why are you there? Did something happen to Harvey? I should go over? Now? Why?" And the line went dead.

"Before Sooyoung kills someone." That line rang in her head multiple times. Sooyoung was one of the sweetest people she had the chance to know and if something could make her even kill someone, that thing must have completely pushed pass her boundaries. And they were at her apartment. Kill someone. Who else could be there? Tiffany? No, she would never kill Tiffany. That left only with... Harvey. She quickly grabbed her coat and car keys and ran out of the apartment. No. It could not be. They were still telling her about how they feel Harvey was cheating on her. And the girl. No. Were they hinting something?

She did not know how long she had driven but soon she was already at her apartment, standing in front of the door that was opened slightly. She opened it wider and stepped it, afraid to see things she would not want to see but all she saw was Tiffany and Sooyoung sitting side by side on one end of the sofa while Harvey was sitting on the other end, the one closer to the balcony. She walked carefully towards them and all three of them looked up at her. Sooyoung and Tiffany looked at her with a sense of anger, disappointment and hurt while Harvey looked at her with a sense of fear. "What happened?"

Sooyoung opened to say something but Tiffany patted her knee. "We should go. Let them talk. Jess, you talk to him. We'll be downstairs."

Jessica looked at her friends as they made their way towards the door. Sooyoung turned back to glare at Harvey before stalking out of the door. She turned to look at Harvey who was staring at his hands as he rubbed his hands together. It was something he would do when he was nervous and she knew something was making him feel that way. And what was the something, she could already guess. "They caught you, huh?" That came out of without any effort and that surprised her. She thought she did not want to accept the fact and she did not know when it was clear to her that Harvey was cheating but she just said it, and it felt like all the emotion that was held back just burst its banks.

Harvey looked at her, a little surprised. She knew? "Jess..."

"How long has it been?" Jessica asked softly. Oddly enough, she felt at peace. The moment she accepted the fact, she felt peaceful.

"Six months," Harvey replied even softly.

"Six months..." Jessica repeated. She expected it to be longer though. She smiled coldly to herself. She did not even notice the difference until three months later. She really was a failure. "Is it Emma?" How did she remember her name? She did not know.

"Yes." Harvey lowered his head even further.

"Was it ual?" Jessica asked calmly, which surprised Harvey who kept quiet for a while. Jessica looked at him and knew what was his answer. "Was it?" 

"Y-yes," he stuttered. "Jess, I was drunk then. I-"

"Don't touch me. Get your dirty hands off me!" Jessica yelled as she recoiled in disgust. This man who she loved wholehearted for 7 years of her life. Her first love. Why was she so blind? How did she even convince herself to trust him when he could not even trust himself? Why did she not listen to her mother? What was wrong with her? She told herself to keep her cool but she lost it. Knowing what betrayal felt like for the first time in her life, she lost it. She was not going to be rational. How could one expect her to be rational now. She was so stupid. She hated the man in front of her but now she hated herself even more, for loving this man blindly, for caring. She grabbed the pillow on the sofa and hurled it at him. Then she grabbed his phone on the coffee table and hurled it at him. She could not keep track of the things she had grabbed but she knew she hurled many times and all the time, Harvey just stood there, letting her vent her anger. "I shouldn't have said yes in the first place. And don't follow me. I don't want to see you."

Harvey looked at Jessica as she left through the door and sank down on the sofa. He came home two hours ago, thinking nothing would happen. And two hours later, it looked as though disaster had struck. It did. When Jessica asked him calmly, it scared him but when she broke down, it hurt him and he knew it was his fault. Jessica had never cried in front of him before. She was so strong, always saying that nothing can make her cry. But she was wrong, and he was wrong too. Something could make her cry and that was him. A deep sense of regret cut through his heart but he knew that was no use. As much as Jessica loved him, she would not want him anymore, especially after he had... He smacked his forehead with his palm and grunted. He had a wife so full of good qualities yet he chose to focus on picking out her flaws and now she was slipping and he had no one to blame except for himself.

Jessica went downstairs, holding the walls as she bent over to let the tears fall. She wiped her tears as Sooyoung and Tiffany ran over to her. They did not say a word for they knew the more they said, the more it would hurt her. They hugged her and patted her back. They knew letting her know would end up like this but if they were to hold back the truth from her, they would just be prolonging her pain.

"Soo, Tiff, can I be alone for a while? I need to critically judge myself and re-evaluate my  decisions." Jessica wiped the moisture off her face and smiled. 

"Why are you still smiling, you idiot?" Sooyoung wiped the tears away from her eyes. "We'll still be here."

Jessica nodded and left the building. Sooyoung and Tiffany looked at her with a worried expression. They could not just let her wonder out at midnight just like that but she knew going to her would just make her act strong again. That idiot, though they were friends for so long, she still tried to act like she was strong so they did not have to worry. They took offense in that and tried to tell her but that was how she was like. 

The two of them stared at Tiffany's phone for a long time and Sooyoung thought of something. "Call Yuri."

"What? No. At this hour? She'll think I'm crazy."

"No, no. Call her to call Taeyeon."

"Now they will think I'm crazy." 

"That's the only person I could think of now. Calling her mom will be like calling on an angry mother-in-law with a knife."

"Do you think she will-"

"Just call!" Sooyoung urged. 

Tiffany grunted and dialled Yuri's number. The phone rang three times before Yuri picked up. "Hello?"

"Tiffany?" That voice. 

"Uh, yeah, it's me. Sorry to call at this ungodly hour, but uh, something happened, and we kinda need Taeyeon right now."

Yuri kept silent for a moment before saying, "Did something happen to Jessica?"

Sooyoung, who had her face close to Tiffany's just to listen to the conversation, detached herself and whispered, "Is she a psychic or what?"

"Shh!" Tiffany held a finger to her lips. "Uh, yeah. And I think Taeyeon could help us... keep an eye on her." 

Another moment of silence and Tiffany waited patiently. Maybe Yuri had gone to talk to Taeyeon. But what were they doing up at this hour? 

"Alright, she'll be there soon. Tell me the place." 

Tiffany gave Yuri the address and said, "See you tomorrow."

"Uh, right, see you tomorrow," Yuri giggled and said, "Bye."

Tiffany smiled to herself as she hung up. Sooyoung looked at her disapprovingly, shaking her head. "Your friend is out there crying to the stars while you're here, beaming like an idiot. Do you have a heart?"

Tiffany immediately pulled on a straight face and sat down on the sofa in the lobby. Sooyoung was right, it was not the right time to feel happy. The two of them waited for Taeyeon to come and soon enough, she came. 

"What happened?" Taeyeon rushed in with messy hair and a white sweater pulled on top of a button-down measly. 

"Jessica. She just found out that her husband cheated on her. She wanted some time alone but we're worried. So, we thought of you. Sorry for calling you here at this hour."

"No, it's alright. I was still doing work." Taeyeon smoothed her hair. "Where is she?" 

"She went out and turned left. I don't think she walked far." 

"Alright, I'll bring her back safely." Taeyeon ran off and in the mean time, her neat hair was messy again. Tiffany and Sooyoung looked at each other and they smiled. Willing to come at ungodly hours, worried and dedicated. Calling Taeyeon here was definitely the right choice.