"Table for two please," Jessica said as the waitress approached her.

She was led to a table in the corner and waited for Taeyeon. As usual, Harvey was not around. It made her wonder if he actually took her seriously and she wished the passion between them would still be that but Jessica knew it was impossible. Their relationship was going downhill. She could feel it but she did not know how to salvage it. She tried to communicate but it always ended up going nowhere.

Taeyeon entered the restaurant and saw Jessica sitting in the corner, staring at the glass of water in front of her. A slight frown was visible, like something was troubling her. She approached the table but Jessica was still spacing out and did not notice her. She sat down in front of her and cocked her head to the right, resting it on her hand. "You call me out for dinner to stare into space?" 

Jessica snapped back to reality and looked at Taeyeon in surprise. Since when did she arrive? She had not seen the woman in front of her for weeks and somehow she looked even younger. Her ash blonde hair braided and she wore a grey checkered long sleeve above her a white shirt; very casual and unlike the CEO she had met during work hours. "Sorry, I was just thinking about something."

Taeyeon took the menu and flipped through it. Without lookinng at Jessica, she said, "Your husband?"

It was meant to be said in an indifferent tone but Taeyeon was surprised at how it sounded to her ears. It sounded as though she was jealous. When Sunny told her that Jessica wanted to meet her for dinner, she was a bit confused. She had a family. Theoretically, she should be having dinner with her family, not her. Plus, judging from the little bit of details that infiltrated her mind when Jessica was talking about her husband, they were a very loving couple.

"Mm," Jessica mumbled. Taeyeon looked up and saw Jessica looking at the menu. There was something different about her. An air of sadness enveloped her, replacing the love she had when she first talked about her husband. Either that or she was thinking too much into it. Taeyeon looked at the ring on her hand, for some reason, it looked a bit dull to her. It was not blinding, instead it looked almost like it was just an accessory, just that it was an accessory that reminded her that Jessica was not going to be hers. 

They ordered their dinner and sat around in silence. Neither of them spoke, or at least, they were waiting for the other to say something. Jessica crossed her arms and looked intently at Taeyeon. Such a charismatic woman she is, with a bit of sorrow in her eyes. Attractive, yes. Approachable, no. If she had not known her, she would never have thought of having meals with her. Taeyeon was aware of Jessica's gaze, so she looked away. She looked around the restaurant. It was a Friday night and there were many people but it was peaceful and quiet, just how she liked it.

"Taeyeon?" Jessica called for Taeyeon's attention softly and smiling faintly. Upon hearing her name, Taeyeon turned to look at Jessica in the eyes. It was captivating. Her chest started to tighten and she took a deep breath. No, she was not going to let her heart lapse back to the pain she had felt years ago. Jessica noticed the slight change in Taeyeon; a brief frown appeared and faded away and the woman looked at her as if nothing had happened. "Are you okay?"

Taeyeon nodded and said nothing.

"Are you feeling better?"

Taeyeon knew what Jessica was referring to and she nodded again. "Thank you for bringing my bag."

"It was nothing," Jessica swept her hair over her right shoulder and returned a smile. "Can I ask you something?" 

Taeyeon nodded again, this time a bit unsure.

"Were you avoiding me?" Jessica asked. It caught Taeyeon off guard and all she could do was to let the question sink in while she formulate an answer. Just then, their food arrived on the table and that distracted Jessica for a bit. Taeyeon took the moment to widen her eyes and loosen her poker face. She did not make it seem like she was avoiding her, how could she possibly guessed it? But Sunny figured it out too, so it meant that she was probably a little bit obvious. Taeyeon blinked a few times at her food. What was she going to say?

"Avoiding...?" Taeyeon asked back.

"Well, I didn't see you for weeks and you wouldn't answer my calls," Jessica answered. She recalled the number of times Taeyeon had rejected her calls and jabbed the fork into the meat. "21 times."

Taeyeon raised her eyebrows in surprise. Jessica called her 21 times? Why would she do that? She shoved a mouthful of rice into her wide-opened mouth. Poor Sunny, she was the type who would not pick up a phone call unless she knew the number but at least she could pick it up and asked who she was. Sunny could be so dumb at times, Taeyeon sneered inwardly at her friend. But what was mind boggling to her was the fact that Jessica called her 21 times. What could be so urgent to have her called her 21 times over the span of three weeks?

"I didn't receive your calls." Taeyeon answered simply. It was true though, since Sunny was the one who received all the calls.

"Really?" Jessica looked at her questioningly.

"Why are you questioning me?" Taeyeon asked defensively.

Jessica bit her fork and rolled her eyes up, thinking, "Yeah, why am I questioning her? It wasn't mandatory for her to answer her calls and why did she even care so much about whether or not she picked up her calls?"

"I'm not questioning you," Jessica replied softly, sending rice into . "It's just basic courtesy to not ignore calls."

"Yes, Ms Jung, I'll answer your calls, only if I received it first."

Unknowingly, Jessica felt a sense of frustration rushing at her. Taeyeon was so nonchalant and it bothered her. She was sure she called her (because texting was just not her thing when she wanted instant reply) and now she said she did not receive it? Clearly avoiding her and that made her feel hurt. Jessica kept quiet for the rest of the dinner and Taeyeon did not initiate any conversation either, so the two of them finished their food quietly and left the restaurant. It was ten minutes to nine when they stepped out into the chilly night. It was still September in Seoul and the weather was slowly getting cold. Jessica wore her blazer over and stuck her hand into the pockets. Taeyeon walked beside her, trailing about a few centimetres behind. She felt small; she was a little shorter than Jessica initially and with her wearing sneakers and Jessica wearing hills, she was a lot shorter now.

They walked in the direction towards where their cars were parked and neither of them spoke. Jessica looked at the time again. It was still early and she did not want to go home. It would be just her and the cold bare walls surrounding her. Even though it would be warmer, it actually felt colder inside than it was outside. She turned her head slightly to see Taeyeon kicking the ground as she walked and she smiled. "Are you rushing home?"

Taeyeon looked up when she realised Jessica was talking to her. She looked at her phone for the time. At this time, Yuri would not be at home either, so she had some time to spare. "No, I'm not. Why?"

"Can you walk around with me?" Jessica asked as she looked down.

"Won't your husband be worried?"

Jessica laughed, a bit coldly. "No, he won't. He's not at home."

Then something struck Taeyeon. She recalled Jessica saying her husband was a pilot so he was usually not at home. That was the reason why Jessica could call her out for dinner. For some reason, she was glad that her husband was away so she could spend time with Jessica, but for another reason, she was upset because with just a dinner, the distance between them seemed to have narrowed by so much and she was worried that she was going to make a mistake again.

"I guess I have some time to spare," Taeyeon said. "Yoris should still be in business now. Desert?"

Jessica's smile grew to a small grin as she heard Taeyeon's reply. "That sounds nice."

Yori was not too far away from the restaurant they were at, so they walked to the shop, passing by their cars. The shop beside Yoris was just closing for the day and the owner who saw Taeyeon quickly greeted, "Miss Kim, nice to see you!"

Taeyeon waved and smiled, "Nice to see you too, Aunt Da Jung. Getting off work?"

"Yeah, going home to cook for the two rascals."

"Ah, alright, go home safely and you've worked hard."

"It's nothing, Miss Kim, you're always so polite." Aunt Da Jung laughed and waved as she walked away.

Jessica forgot that the shop beside Yuri's shop belonged to K.EMP and all the while as they were having the small conversation, Jessica realised how warm Taeyeon could be. The smile she had on her face when she was talking to the older woman and the respectful tone she had, no one would have guessed that she was the CEO. Or maybe it was just her own perception of a CEO that had clouded her judgement of the person she was with now. She pushed open the door to Yuri's shop and the jingle from the windbell cut through the silence in the cake shop.

"Welcome!" Yuri greeted as she turned to the door to see Taeyeon and Jessica. Her eyes narrowed at Taeyeon dangerously and sent a mute message asking, "Why are you with her?"

Taeyeon knew what was the meaning behind Yuri's gaze and she looked away. She was not going to answer her question when Jessica was around.

"Hey, Jessica, you're here," Yuri greeted as she walked about the counter and approached the duo. She pinched Taeyeon's arm when she passed her and gave her a warning stare. Jessica, oblivious to the action, smiled and said, "I didn't want to go home so I asked Taeyeon to walk around with me and she suggested your place so we came over."

"I'll prepare some cakes for you guys, take a seat." Yuri pointed to the empty tables and then to the seat in the corner of the shop. "Oh, Jessica, and your friend is here again."

"Hm?" Jessica looked towards the direction Yuri had pointed and saw Tiffany sitting there, with an empty plate and a cup of coffee in front of her. She was with her sketchbook and had her earpiece plucked in. She gritted her teeth and hissed, "This woman." She had the time to sit here at the shop and she did not have the time to have a dinner with her. Tiffany looked up in the direction of Jessica immediately as if she could hear her friend erupting.

"Hey Jess, you're here!" Tiffany took off her earpiece and put the cup on top of the plate, carried her bag and moved towards Taeyeon and Jessica. She returned the cup and plate to the counter and gave a really sweet smile to Yuri. "Thank you, Yuri."

Jessica shuddered at Tiffany's tone. What was that all about? Why was her voice going an octave higher? Tiffany laid her sketchbook down and sat in front of Jessica. She glanced at Taeyeon and then at Jessica and back at Taeyeon again. She raised an eyebrow knowingly at the both of them and winked at Taeyeon, and stuck out a hand. "CEO Kim? First time seeing you, nice to meet you. I've heard a lot of things about you."

Taeyeon darted her eyes back and forth from Jessica and Tiffany as she held Tiffany's hand awkwardly. "Nice to meet you too, uh..."

"Tiffany. Tiffany Hwang, an artist."

"Right, Tiffany." Taeyeon looked at the sketchbook. "I can tell. Uh, nice drawing, by the way."

The three of them at the table looked down at the sketchbook and gave a short stare before turning to look at the person behind the counter who had her back facing them. Jessica and Taeyeon turned their heads sharply back at Tiffany who did the same back at the both of them. She quickly closed her sketchbook and shoved it into her bag and muttered a "thank you" to Taeyeon. Jessica smirked as she looked at her friend who was standing up.

"Uh, I think I should leave now, oh my, it's getting late, Sooyoung is going to kill me," Tiffany muttered at rapid speed and headed for the door. Yuri heard the jingle and snapped her head towards the door. She saw Tiffany exiting her shop and shouted after her, "Thank you for coming!" Tiffany waved goodbye without turning her back and turned out into the main road.

Jessica laughed heartily and stood up. "I think I'll go after her. She has a lot of explaining to do."

Taeyeon nodded understandingly and gave her a smile. Yuri came over with two plates of cake and placed it on the desk. "Not having some cakes?"

"It's alright. Tiffany has some explaining to do." Jessica smiled wickedly at Yuri who was staring at her weirdly. She turned to Taeyeon and patted her arm. "Thank you for having dinner with me today. I really appreciate it. See you soon."

"Uh, you're welcome?" Taeyeon muttered as the jingle sounded, signalling that Jessica had just left the shop. She grabbed the plate with the cake and cut a corner of it.

"And you, missy, have some explanation to do as well," Yuri ordered with her hand on her hips. Taeyeon looked up at her and realised what Yuri meant. She smiled sheepishly and bowed her head down as she nibbled on the cake.

-

A/N: Update! I'll be updating quite often this coming week because I have some time on my hands. And I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my lovely subscribers. Thank you for subscribing, I really appreciate it. You give me the drive to continue when I feel like I don't have to motivation to write the story. Also, even though I don't reply to the comments, I do read all of them and take them into account. They mean a lot to me. So thank you again, and I hope you will continue to support this story. :)