Yoona was rather lifeless when she entered the shop. Taeyeon was quiet too. Both had too much in their minds to bother each other. Yoona dropped the basket onto the counter and sighed loudly. Taeyeon turned.

“What’s wrong with you? The basket is empty. What are you fretting about?”

“My heart is broken.”

Taeyeon rolled her eyes. But she was in no better position too. She was heartbroken too.

“Why? Did Tiffany reject you?”

“I haven’t even confessed. She has someone else.”

Yoona pouted her lips. Taeyeon was nodding as well. She sighed too.

“And what on earth are you sighing for? Are you feeling pity for me?”

“Ya, I wouldn’t have time to do that.”

“Wait. Your eyes are red.”

Taeyeon hid her face.

“What happened to you?”

Yoona finally noticed something was not right.

“I got my heart broken too.”

“What?”

“Jessica came by with her girlfriend.”

“WHAT?!”

“Yeah, she was holding her hand and flirting right in front of me. My heart was slowly breaking into pieces.”

“Did you confess too?”

“Are you mad? Didn’t you hear what I’ve said?”

“Oh my god, we’re in the same boat!”

“I guess so.”

Yoona was whining as Taeyeon decided to make more pastries. Business has to go on. Life has to go on too.

“Aren’t you too quick in healing your heart?”

“She’s not even my girlfriend in the first place.”

“Still! The heart is broken! Let it rest for a day!”

“You don’t even know her!”

Yoona was pouting.

“At least she knows my name.”

“She does?”

“Yeah.”

Suddenly Yoona recalled Tiffany’s words. She mentioned she was dragged here because her girlfriend wanted to buy pastries. And it was Taeyeon who confirmed her identity.

“Wait, wait.”

Taeyeon turned to look at the flustered Yoona.

“Did a couple come by today?”

“Jessica and her girlfriend.”

“Beside them?”

“Nobody else. They skipped classes because they wanted to buy pastries.”

“What’s the girlfriend’s name?”

“Fany.”

“Fany? As in Tiffany?”

Just then, a group of students walked in.

“Noona!”

*

Tiffany was reading her notes while Jessica slept on her lap. The two lovers couldn’t get enough of each other. Jessica enjoys being in Tiffany’s company.

“Baby, stop moving! I’m trying to get some sleep.”

“I’m not a pillow!”

“OH yes you are! You’re my personal pillow!”

“You’ve been sleeping for the past hour. Aren’t you tired by just sleeping?”

Jessica shook her head while keeping her balance on Tiffany’s lap. The other girl was poking her nose with her pencil.

“Ya!”

“I’m going to disturb you until you wake up!”

“Hey! Ya!”

Tiffany threw her notes aside and lunged towards Jessica. She was hovering above the poor girl and they were struggling to push each other away. Jessica wanted to sit up but Tiffany was strong enough to pin her to the floor.

Time stood still. Everything was moving at a slower pace. Tiffany could hear Jessica’s heart beating and Jessica could hear Tiffany’s short breaths. They then looked into each other’s eyes; Tiffany was lowering herself on Jessica.  She gave a soft kiss on Jessica’s nose.

The girl blushed like mad.

“Your face is red as a tomato.”

“Get up.”

“No way.”

“Tiffany, people can see us.”

“Let them see then. We aren’t doing anything.”

Tiffany then glanced towards the middle. Jessica’s chest was heaving up and down. She swallowed hard.

“Wipe that ert look you have on your face.”

“You’re too tempting!”

“No, I’m not!”

“They are calling on to me.”

“Tiffany Hwang!”

Jessica could feel warm seeding from within again. She couldn’t let Tiffany take the advantage so she quickly got up and pushed Tiffany down. Now she was above Tiffany. She gave her a sly smirk.

“You just told me to stop being a ert.”

“Well, you’re tempting too.”

“Be my guest then.”

“You’re not afraid?”

“I’m not.”

“But we can get caught.”

“Jessica Jung, as long as I’m with you, I don’t really care anymore.”

Tiffany stole kisses from Jessica yet again.

*

“Why are there so many people?”

Taeyeon was stunned to see students lingering around the shop.

“That Baekhyun is really going to make me bankrupt!”

Yoona was cursing and swearing under her breath.

“What did you say to him this time?”

“$5 worth of pastries and sandwiches for each person he brought to our shop, I’ll pay him $1.”

“There are like 80-90 people now.”

“That’s why I’m going to kill that guy!”

“Well, Yoona, this is because of you and your big mouth!”

But thanks to Baekhyun, the girls managed to sell all of their items within that 2 hours span. Baekhyun was already counting his own money. Yoona promised to pay him and she did.

“You still need help tomorrow, Noona?”

Baekhyun was grinning away.

“I will just use that ruse once a month.”

“Deal. Recruit me next month!”

The boy waved his money in the air as he smiled widely. Yoona was glaring at him.

“You’re deadmeat when you’re home!”

“I’ll tell Dad you’re using me!”

“Why you!”

“Bye Noona! Bye Taeyeon Noona!”

Yoona was about to run to the front door when Taeyeon pulled her back.

“Let it go. He helped us with the sales all the time.”

Yoona rolled her eyes. Taeyeon was grinning at her. Suddenly the front door was opened and the bell rang. The two best friends turned and their smiles turned into grimaces. Jessica and Tiffany were at the door.

“Hi?”

Jessica was surprised to see there was nothing on the shelves anymore.

“Wow, your shop is empty.”

Tiffany was impressed.

“Hi Jessica, Hi Fany.”

Taeyeon smiled weakly. Yoona was pouting her lips slightly. She was right. Fany is indeed Tiffany.

“Hey, it’s you!”

Tiffany was delighted to see Yoona. Jessica was already smiling at them.

“Yoona, this is my girlfriend, Jessica.”

“Ah, we met.”

“Yeah, we met.”

Jessica looked around and then frowned.

“Looks like there’s nothing for us to buy. Maybe we should find something else to eat.”

“Oh alright.”

Suddenly Yoona and Taeyeon shouted at the same time.

“WAIT!”

The couple was stunned. The best friends were equally stunned. They looked at each other; wondering what each other wanted to say.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking, Taeyeon?”

“I think I know what you’re thinking, Yoona.”

“What are the two of you doing?”

“You two sound like the Banana in Pyjamas.”

Jessica was giggling away while Tiffany was chuckling softly. Taeyeon and Yoona almost melted with the two girls’ charms but refrained themselves from looking like an idiot. Taeyeon nodded at Yoona and quickly ran to the kitchen. Yoona was ushering the girls to a corner. She pulled out a portable table and four chairs from the corner.

“Sit.”

“Huh?”

“What are you doing, Yoona?”

The taller girl grinned widely at Tiffany, causing the girl to blush slightly. Jessica was slightly jealous but her expression turned brighter when she saw Taeyeon coming out from the kitchen with a tray.

“Tadah~”

Taeyeon placed the freshly baked pastries on the table. Jessica’s eyes almost popped out.

“Wow!”

“I knew you would be coming around so I baked a few more for you and Tiffany.”

“Oh, Taeyeon! You’re so sweet!”

“Hey, it was my idea!”

Yoona was protesting. Taeyeon stuck her tongue out.

“What? This is your idea?”

Tiffany wasn’t surprised.

“Yeah, I told her Jessica will come by. We have to bake a few more for her and Tiffany.”

“So here they are. Enjoy! I’ve made some tea and coffee to go along with the pastries. Eat them when they are still hot.”

The couple ate heartily while the two best friends resigned to fate. The two beautiful ladies were never meant for them in the first place.

*

Meanwhile Hyori was hurrying to the hospital. Old Madam Lee was trembling with fear. Her youngest son was still in the emergency ward.

“Omoni!”

“Hyori ah...”

“What happened? How did Chun Hee get into an accident?”

“I don’t know. He has been going out very often lately. He said he needed to do something important. And the next thing I knew, the police called me.”

“Don’t worry; I think he’ll be fine. Where’s the officer?”

“He’s over there.”

“Wait here. I will ask him some questions.”

Hyori went up to the officer. She had to know what Chun Hee was doing. She had this strong feeling that Chun Hee was helping her to track her daughters. If that was what he was doing, Hyori felt that she was partly responsible for this.

“Someone knocked him down and ran away. And when the paramedics arrived, they said he was holding on tightly to these two cases. He kept mumbling it was important.”

The officer showed her the cases. They looked like necklace cases.

“Can I keep them?”

“We might take them back for evidence if needed.”

“Sure, I’ll surrender the cases to you if you need them.”

“Very well then, we will return to the accident spot to gather more clues. We will come to visit Mr Lee if he’s awake.”

Hyori nodded her head and then took the cases from the officer. She started frowning. She swore she saw these cases before but she couldn’t remember where.

“These look familiar. I have seen them before.”

Unfortunately, Hyori just couldn’t remember. Just then, the doctor stepped out from the emergency room. She rushed to him while holding on to Old Madam Lee.

“He’s in a critical and unstable condition. He’s in a coma right now. We will put him in the intensive care unit. You can visit him later.”

The two ladies broke down.

*

Months later, Hyori didn’t fail to visit Chun Hee every single day. The two cases were still in her hands and the police was still finding the hit-and-run culprit. Hyori knew someone was out to kill Chun Hee. She was suspecting his father but she just didn’t have the evidence to prove he was involved.

Her father was watching the television when Hyori returned from the hospital. She glared at him; believing so hard that her father was involved. He may appear nonchalant but the man could be vicious if he wanted to.

The clueless old man was taken aback when he turned to find his only daughter staring at him. Her glare pierced into his.

“What are you doing? How come you didn’t knock?”

“This is still my house. I think I could come in any time I like, right?”

“Yeah but you don’t have to stand at the door like a ghost.”

“Why? Are you afraid of ghost?”

Her father sensed something was amiss. It had been more than 10 years since the last time his daughter was interrogating him over something.

“What’s wrong with you? Did I offend you? I don’t remember seeing you for the last 6 months.”

Hyori walked over to her father and threw her bag to the sofa. She plopped down on the sofa next to her father. She hates the old man. She hated him for all her life. It made her feel better if she blamed her mother’s death on her father. He was the cause of everything.

“You know I still hate you.”

Her father nodded his head.

“You’re the reason why Mother died.”

The old man flinched but he focused on his daughter.

“You’re the reason why I lost my daughters. You’re the reason why guys don’t dare to date me. You’re the reason why I’m living in misery like this!”

“You can blame if you want. I’m not going to say anything.”

“You’re always like this! Acting nonchalant; acting like nothing happened but the truth is; your hands are filled with blood of innocent people that you’ve killed!”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Chun Hee is at the hospital right now. He’s in a coma!”

Her father was genuinely surprised. He was shocked.

“What happened?!”

“You mean you didn’t know?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“How long do you want to pretend, Father?!”

Her father finally understood the reason why his daughter flared up. She thought it was his idea to kill him.  He just stood there while Hyori was flaring up at him.

“Why? Why did you do that?”

“I didn’t do anything.”

“He has been knocked down! It was done on purpose.”

“I told you I don’t know anything! I haven’t been talking to him for a week now.”

“What? You saw him before?”

“Yes, he did. He wanted to ask me about something. I have already given him the answers he wanted.”

“What did you say to him?”

Old Man Lee stared at his daughter for a second. She’s turning 37 soon but her face is still as youthful as a child. He then walked away but Hyori stopped him.

“What did he ask, Father?”

“You ask him yourself.”

“I wish I could but he’s in the hospital right now. He’s unconscious!”

Old Man Lee sighed before walking back to his study. Hyori followed him. She was still not satisfied with his father’s reaction. The old man didn’t say anything; he just sat on his arm chair and Hyori stood in front of his table.

“Sit down.”

“I don’t want to.”

“It’s going to be a long story, Hyori.”

“Make it short then.”

Her father let out a long sigh before he took out a photo from his diary. He gave them to Hyori. Hyori was sceptical but nevertheless took the photo but she collapsed onto the sofa instead.

“How did you get this photo?”

“I took it.”

“No, this is not true! You cannot have this photo!”

“Why cannot I?”

“These are my daughters! They are supposed to be hidden far away from you!”

“I took the photo of them when they were just fresh. Chun Hee and Jae Suk didn’t leave the babies at the orphanage. I took them.”

Hyori was horrified.

“Daddy, what did you do to them? What did you do to my daughters?!”

Old Man Lee just shook his head.

“Daddy! Tell me, what you have done to my children?!”

“I cannot tell you. That’s my punishment for you.”

Old Man Lee stood up and left Hyori in the study room.

“Daddy!”

She screamed at the top of her lungs but her father was long gone. He was not going to tell her the truth. He knew something was not right.

Someone has returned to take his revenge and Old Man Lee knows.

He knew that person.

“I’m sorry, Hyori. I have to protect you and your daughters for awhile more. I have to, Hyori. Please forgive Daddy.”

He whispered softly but he had never intended to let Hyori know.

-