Kayla made her way into the familiar classroom, she was glad to be there, she needed the distraction, she’d had a crappy day at work. She greeted the director and headed towards the back and slumped down in one of the seats in front of one of the several large conference tables. More people started filing in, most she recognized from the last class, but there were also some new faces as well. She stood, when the director called her to help with something. A few minutes later she headed back and then Lejna walked in, spotted her in back and quickly made her way to her, sitting.

“Hey!” She called.

Kayla smiled weakly, “Hey girl.”

“You ok?”

“Eh, not really, lousy day at work, you know how that goes.”

“Ahh yeah, well try to relax. You know the first class is always kind of laid back and fun, you’ll feel better by the time we leave, I’m sure,” Lejna smiled, patting her shoulder.

Kayla smiled, “I think so.”

Just then, Lejna tensed and Kayla turned to see Kyu Jong make his way in. He bowed at the director who looked slightly startled before he turned to see them. Carefully he made his way back, smiling warmly at the various women looking at him. He took the chair next to Lejna and Kayla could feel her tense even more and barely contained a giggle.

“Hello Lejna, hello Kayla, nice to see you both,” Kyu Jong smiled.

“Hey K, good to see you.”

Kyu Jong smiled then looked at Lejna, “Are you ok? You look tense.”

“I-I’m ok, just…uh…tired, been a long day. Kayla’s the one upset, she said he had a bad day,” Lejna said suddenly.

Kayla blinked, why was she doing that? Kyu Jong looked over at Kayla who waved him off, he narrowed his eyes and Kayla reached out, poking Lejna in the side, causing her to squeal suddenly.

Kyu Jong looked down at her, “Lejna? Gwenchana? Are you sure you’re ok?” He asked, concern in his eyes.

Kayla smiled when Lejna nodded fiercely before shooting Kayla a look and Kayla gave her a look of innocence.

“So you had a bad day Kayla?”

She looked up to see Kyu Jong watching her closely, that was weird, she figured he’d forget about that.

“Just one of those days, I’m ok. I plan to let class distract me,” she explained.

He raised an eyebrow and when to respond just as the director started speaking. Kayla could feel Kyu Jong’s eyes on her and she couldn’t help but feel slightly amused, he seemed worried and while that wasn’t funny, the fact that he truly cared the way he did and wasn’t involved with her made her laugh. She couldn’t even get her boyfriend to react that way, but this man did without having to be prompted or asked. It’d only been a few days, but she still hadn’t heard from Terrance, it wasn’t anything new, but this time it felt different. She didn’t feel the need to be the one to reach out and make a call, it felt good honestly.

Just then the director stated the would be doing an ice breaker activity to get everyone warmed up and familiar with each other before they went on. They formed two circles and broke off into pairs to talk for three minutes, switching clockwise until everyone was done. Eventually a pair would move to separate areas of the room to continue talking. Fifteen minutes later, they all formed one final circle and then explained what they’d learned about their partner. After the exercise, they each got up and formally introduced themselves. It took awhile to get through everyone, as there was an abnormally large amount of participants in this class for some reason. After the intro’s were done, which ended up taking up the remainder of the time, the director quickly went over the syllabus for the course and explained that the musical/play would be separated into two casts and that there would be two individual performances, one musical and one play. He went on to say that, tryouts would take place in two months and would place them in one or the other. This caused a lot mumbles and mutters to which the director ended quickly, getting the class under control once more.

After the announcement, the class was dismissed and everyone filed out. Lejna said her goodbyes, albeit rather reluctantly to Kyu Jong in particular before leaving. Kayla headed over to her car with Kyu Jong and they took off. He’d finally agreed to allow her to take him home from class provided she didn’t have anything planned after that dropping him off would case her to be late or interfere with, that had been his stipulation. Kayla knew it wouldn’t happen but had gone along with it to keep him happy.

They parked a few minutes later and started through the parking lot.

“Are you feeling better?”

Kayla looked over to find Kyu Jong watching her thoughtfully.

“Yeah thanks,” she smiled.

They stopped by her door and Kyu Jong turned to look at her, watching her gently.

“It was good to see you; it’s too bad we didn’t get to talk much.”

She blinked and nodded, “Yeah, not much time after class.”

Kyu Jong nodded, sighing, “Well I will talk to you soon hopefully, thank you again for the ride.”

She waved him off, “No problem, anytime.”

He smiled and bowed, staring at her a moment before turning and heading up to his townhouse. Kayla watched him go before turning and heading into, stilling at the person in front of her.

“Dad…”

The man in the center of the room turned to look at her, giving her the once over. Thurman Jacobs was an imposing man, medium height with hair graying at the temples. He had a coldness to his eyes, an aura that screamed for everyone to stay far away. There was no tender affection in his gaze, no openness, just an air of superiority and disdain to those he felt beneath him. Gone was any hint of the loving and caring man he used to be.

“Hello Kayla,” he said coolly before turning his gaze away dismissively.

Kayla sighed and shut the door, “What are you doing here? I didn’t know you were coming to visit,” she said pulling her boots and coat off, heading to the closet to put her coat away.

“I’m here to visit your brother,” he said, not bothering to look at her and making it clear he wasn’t there for her.

She stopped in the middle of hanging her coat up to look at him, to see her brother, not her. Finishing up, she closed the door just as Shane made his way into the room.

“Hey Kayla, look who’s here,” he said, giving her an apologetic smile.

“Yeah, I know.”

“We’re just getting ready to get something to eat, why don’t you…”

“Now Shane, you know your sister won’t be able to make it, she has to…work in the morning, being a medical secretary is hard work you know,” he smirked, turning his gaze back to her finally, a look of mocking in his eyes.

Kayla cleared , “It’s ok, it’s still early, and I’d love to go with you two. It’s been awhile since I saw you Dad, I’d love to catch up,” she smiled hopefully.

Shane gave her a smile and then looked over at their dad and frowned, his gaze had gone cold once again.

“I don’t think so Kayla. I have some things to discuss with your brother, I’d rather you didn’t come, most of it you wouldn’t understand anyway and I really am here to see him,” he said, no emotion in his voice.

Kayla felt as if she’d been slapped, it was the first time he’d ever so blatantly rejected her. Shane looked equally startled and looked over at her in shock.

“O-oh…uh…ok, maybe later then? Before you leave…”

“I don’t think so,” he cut her off, “I’m going to be busy and won’t have time,” he announced.

“But dad…” Shane started.

“I said no, now come on Shane, let’s go,” he said firmly, his tone leaving no more room for argument as he brushed by her without another word.

Kayla stood there numbly; Shane came up next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder before making his way out. Once the door closed, she reached up to wipe at her eyes, her body shaking gently with tension. Blindly she made her way down the hall to her room and then over to the bed lying down. She buried her face in the pillow, finally releasing the sobs she’d barely managed to keep in.

~~~

Kyu Jong looked over the paperwork, working steadily. Tonight’s class had been fun, he’d enjoyed it. He looked forward to the rest of them; he was excited to see what he’d be learning. He had a few things he needed to accomplish before going to bed, making a few calls was included in that. He’d been so busy he hadn’t been calling as he’d wanted to, now that he was getting some kind of routine, he was stating to get used to…

He stopped when he heard something coming from below. Stilling, he frowned as he struggled to hear, it sounded like…crying. Slipping off the bed, he knelt down and laid flat pressing his ear to the floor, his eyes widening when he heard the cries, it was Kayla, he was sure of it, but why? Whatever had happened had truly upset her, she sounded like she was sobbing, and somehow he didn’t think this time had anything to do with Terrance. She’d had a bad day at work, but it didn’t seem to be enough to bring her to tears before, so what’d happened between the time he’d left her and now?

Kyu Jong had heard someone leave a little while ago, it had to be Shane, did she have another fight with him? That didn’t seem right either though, Kayla continued to cry and his heart went out to her. Just then, he remembered something, Shane hyung had mentioned that their father was thinking of coming to visit and he was hoping he’d have the chance to tell Kayla before he arrived, could that be it? Somehow, Kyu Jong knew it was, what did he do? It was personal, family, he didn’t think he should interfere, but she was in pain, that much was obvious.

Standing, he headed into the kitchen and looked around, how could he do this? He couldn’t just go down and tell her he’d heard her crying, what did he do? He had to have some excuse; he had to get down there. Of course, he could always call Shane hyung again, but he probably just left and since he’d left her there, he probably wasn’t going to be back anytime soon.

Sighing in frustration, Kyu Jong started going through his cupboards, what could…

He stopped when his eye caught something and he smiled, that was it!

He grabbed it and hurried out, he hoped she’d answer. He stopped in front of her door, hesitating a moment before knocking. He waited for a moment before knocking again, Kyu Jong bit his lip, wishing she would open the door. After a few more minutes, he turned to leave when the door opened; he saw her and her face fell. Her eyes were swollen from crying and she looked miserable.

“K-K, hey, is something wrong?” She asked softly.

He shook his head and held out the box he’d brought down.

“What’s this?” She said, taking the box.

“Tea, I thought you could use some,” he said quietly.

She looked up at him startled, he could see her eyes welling up and he gave her a soft smile.

“Thank you, would…would you like to have some with me?”

He smiled wider and nodded, “Ne.”

She stepped aside so he could come in. Kyu Jong took his boots and coat off before coming in to stand next to her.

“Here, why don’t I make it for us ok?” He offered.

“N-no, that’s ok, I can do it.”

He shook his head, taking the box from her limp fingers, “I insist, why don’t you have a seat and I’ll bring it right out,” he said gesturing for her to sit.

Kayla gave him a small smile before heading over to the couch to sit. Kyu Jong headed into the kitchen and was able to find everything with little trouble. Fifteen minutes later he made his way in, two cups in his hands, he had to make sure she got a tray. He set them down then found her sugar bowl and brought it in. Kyu Jong carefully sat next to her; he scooped a spoonful of sugar into her cup and stirred it.

“Please, drink some,” he said softly, reaching out to pick the cup up and hold it out to her. She carefully took it and took a sip, letting out a shaky breath.

Kyu Jong took a sip of his before casing a quick look in her direction; she was staring at the cup sadly.

He watched her steadily, “I know you said you had a bad day at work, I thought the tea may help you to feel a bit better. I hope I’m not bothering you.”

She shook her head ‘no’ and Kyu Jong took another sip of his tea, looking over at her again, stilling when he saw a tear make it’s way down her cheek. Unable to stop himself, he reached out, wiping at it with his thumb and she turned her head to look at him.

“I don’t like to see you so sad Kayla ssi,” he said softly.

She bit her lip, “I-I’m sorry.”

Kyu Jong shook his head, “Ani, do not apologize, you have done nothing wrong I’m sure. This isn’t about Terrance is it?” He asked.

She shook her head.

“And not work related either?”

Again, she shook her head. He studied her intently, wiping at her eyes again that had once again welled up with tears and spilled down her cheeks.

“I’m sorry you’re so upset jagi,” he whispered.

Her face crumpled and she looked down, the tears flowing steadily now. Kyu Jong reached out, taking the cup from her trembling hands and set it down, grasping her hands in his, he moved closer to her, giving them a gentle squeeze. He carefully pressed against her and she leaned over, resting her head on his shoulder.

~~~ 

Thursday

Kayla looked over at Lillian as she spoke to her son who had come to take her out to lunch with her husband. Kayla smiled s the interaction, Lillian’s husband was great and so was her son, they were always doing things for her or surprising her at work, Kayla envied that, envied she had a man that was so caring and thoughtful. She didn’t have many positive male figures in her life, there was Shane and that was about it. Actually, if she was honest with herself, she did have Kyu Jong too, she didn’t know if she should be counting him since their friendship was still pretty new and didn’t know if he’d appreciate her viewing him in that way, but she found she really couldn’t bring herself not to think of him in that way. After what’d happened a few nights ago, she didn’t know how she couldn’t.

Once again, he’d appeared when she needed someone, she didn’t know how he did it, but there he’d been with that tea and his presence. He never forced her to tell him what’d happened, which was good; she didn’t know if she could bring herself to tell him without being embarrassed. Granted, she’d told him about her dad, but he’d probably think she was crazy getting so upset over something like her dad not wanting to be around her. It’d hurt, it hurt unlike anything else. Terrance was bad, but this was her father and he couldn’t even bring himself to spend anytime with her, he could barely look at her. She didn’t want to seem pathetic, but she missed her dad, she wanted to do things with him, she saw him so little as it was. Kayla had hoped at some point hey could forget the past and just get along, go bad to the way things were however, it didn’t seem like her father wanted that.

Sighing, she slid the door open and took the paperwork from the new patient, giving them a smile before shutting the door and setting the file in the pile that still needed to be seen. Kayla slumped over on her desk, her head on her hand. Suddenly she felt an arm around her shoulders and she lifted her head to see Lillian.

“Hey, you ok?” She asked, concern in her eyes.

Kayla gave her a shaky smile and nodded.

“Need a hug?” Lillian asked softly.

Oh, man did she ever.

To her horror, Kayla felt her eyes well up and then spill over and she nodded pathetically. Lillian tugged, pulling her out of her chair and then away from the view of the patients sitting in the waiting room and pulled her into her arms, giving her a tight squeeze. Kayla buried her face in her shoulder, hugging her hard.

A Few Hours Later

Kayla made her way inside to see Shane in the kitchen making dinner; she shut the door and pulled her boots off before hanging her coat up.

“Hey you, I thought I’d make us dinner and then we can catch up, it’s been awhile since we chatted,” he smiled, coming out the kitchen to greet her.

She gave him a small smile, “Sorry, but I think I’m just going to turn in early, I’m not really hungry,” she explained.

To be honest, she really didn’t feel up to seeing Shane, she couldn’t help it, but knowing their dad was there and only wanted to see him, made her burn with resentment towards Shane, she didn’t like it, but it couldn’t be helped.

Shane frowned, reaching out he tugged her to him, hugging her gently, “I’m sorry about a few days ago, dad was way out of line.”

She pulled away, “It’s fine, I’m over it,” she lied, “Don’t worry about it. I’ll talk to you later, sorry about dinner; I’ll make it up to you ok?” She said, turning and heading into her room, shutting the door.

She walked over and sat on the bed, feeling awful. It wasn’t Shane’s fault, but he was there and it was easy to take it out on him. She definitely wasn’t over it, she didn’t know if she could handle potentially running into him again, didn’t know if she could take being rejected again.

A short time later, there was a knock at the door.

“Kayla? I’m heading out to work; I have a late night so I won’t be home till early morning probably. I left dinner in the oven warming for you, I know you’re hungry so come out and eat. I’m leaving so you don’t have to worry about seeing me ok? I know you’re hurting; I’m here if you wanna talk alright? Love you and I’ll see you later.”

She heard him walk away and then a few minutes later the door closed and she wiped at her eyes. She was truly disgusted with herself, how could she do that to Shane? Tears stated anew and she slowly sat up, slid off the bed, and headed out her room to the kitchen. Opening the oven, she pulled out food Shane had left before turning the oven off. She put the food on a plate and sat to the table to eat.

~~~

At Sony

Kyu Jong sat in one of the recording studios looking over possible songs he’d be recording and hopefully putting into his album, he was hopeful he’d find some he was interested in. He’d spent the last few sessions checking songs out and listening to demos as well as looking into the type of image he wanted to present. He was feeling slightly overwhelmed, granted he’d been doing a bit of research, but he still wasn’t very comfortable with American public’s music. He simply didn’t know for sure what direction he should go. It’d been suggested to have random people listen to him and see what the results were, he felt that was a good idea, at least he’d have a starting point, something to go off of.

He’d just started on the next song, when the door opened and in walked Shane.

“Hey man,” Shane smiled, making his way in, taking his coat off and tossing it on the couch. He came over, sitting next to Kyu Jong at the soundboard, “How’s it coming along?” He asked.

“Slowly,” Kyu Jong sighed, “I’m not sure of what I’m doing, if I’m picking the right things, I feel so lost,” he frowned, looking up at Shane.

Shane smiled, “Don’t stress over it, just go with what you like and add your own flavor. I wouldn’t worry, your voice is really good, your audience is out there man.”

Kyu Jong gave him a small bow, “Thank you hyung, I hope you are right.”

“I am, but Kyu Jong I wanted to ask you something.”

Kyu Jong looked back down at the papers, “Ok.”

“It’s about Kayla actually. Have you spoken to her lately?”

“Mmm, just a few nights ago why?”

“Did she seem…upset to you?”

Kyu Jong looked up at Shane, “Upset?”

He nodded, “Yes, was she angry, sad, crying maybe?” Shane probed.

Kyu Jong nodded, “A bit, I went down to bring her some tea, she sounded as if she’ been crying, she said earlier during acting class she’d had a bad day at work, but that it wasn’t the problem, not Terrance either. She never did say, but I remember you saying something about your abeoji coming to visit and thought it may have something to do with him,” he explained.

Shane sighed and nodded, “It does. My dad’s gotten worse than before. He barely acknowledged her, refused to have her come out with us a few nights ago for dinner and then basically blew her off when she tried to set up for them to get together for lunch. I’ve never seen him be so cruel to her, he basically dismissed her. I don’t understand him, I’m not sure what happened,” he frowned.

Kyu Jong felt awful for her, he wished she’d said something to him about it, for her to carry that around had to be painful.

“Now I think she kinda resents me cause dad is being decent with me. I don’t blame her, but it still hurts,” Shane sighed.

Kyu Jong nodded, he was sure it did and he could see Shane was pretty upset by it, more than he was letting on, he could feel his pain.

“Knowing her, she won’t really tell anyone about it, that’s how she is, keeps it all inside. I’m afraid it’ll make her sick one of these days. You sad she talked to you? Did she come to you?” Shane asked, fiddling with some levers and buttons on the soundboard.

“Ani, actually I could hear her crying from my bedroom, that’s when I decided to bring her some tea,” Kyu Jong finished.

Shane looked over at him and sighed, “,” he whispered. “She told me she was over it which of course I didn’t believe, damnit. I knew I shouldn’t have gone with my dad, I’m such an ,” Shane frowned.

Kyu Jong shook his head, “Ani, you are not hyung.”

“I am, I knew she was hurting, I should’ve been there.”

Kyu Jong chose his words carefully, “The issues between your sister and dad are theirs alone. I don’t know that it is wise to pick sides hyung.”

Shane looked like he was going to argue but Kyu Jong shook his head.

“I know you want to support your sister and do so, but…just be careful. Your sister is strong, I haven’t known her long, but I know she can do whatever she needs to, just needs to have faith in herself. Don’t create a wall between you and your father. Maybe you can help him to understand and see things differently at some point,” Kyu Jong suggested.

“It doesn’t seem right to just let him do that to her, I should do something,” Shane said firmly.

Kyu Jong stared at him for a moment before responding, “If I can ask, you getting upset with your father, is it going to make things better for Kayla?”

Shane blinked, “Well…I dunno, probably not.”

“Would it help your relationship with your father?”

“No, probably would make it really bad actually.”

“Ne, then I have a feeling Kayla would feel bad, as if it was her fault things would be bad between you and your father. I do not believe you’d want to cause your sister anymore pain,” Kyu Jong finished softly.

Shane slumped back in his chair, looking down, “Yeah…that’s true.”

“You can continue to support her, be that person beside her giving her that quiet strength and let her know you know she’ll do what’s best for her no matter what.”

“But what about my dad? What he’s doing is wrong Kyu Jong, it’s wrong!” Shane said angrily.

Kyu Jong nodded, “Ne, it is. Maybe you can try to talk to him, it will be up to your dad to change, all you can do is hope he realizes what he’s doing,” Kyu Jong said quietly, hoping he was saying the right thing.

Shane rubbed at his forehead and nodded, “Yeah, yeah you’re right. I need to trust they’ll work everything out while supporting them the best I can. Thanks man, that helps a lot,” Shane smiled.

“I didn’t do much hyung,” Kyu Jong shrugged.

“You did, you listened and I appreciate it. Do you think you could stop by and check on Kayla if you happen to get home before me? I just want to make sure she’s ok,” Shane asked.

Kyu Jong nodded, “I will.”

~~~

Kayla flipped through the stations idly, sighing. There was nothing good on and she was bored. It seemed impossible to distract herself; she had so much going on in her head. Work was hitting the busy season since it was time people started coming in with colds and such, so it was non-stop. It’d been days and she still hadn’t heard from Terrance, not all this with her dad, it was too much. To top it off, she’d alienated her brother because she was feeling hurt from her dad.

She looked at the phone, she could call Chanile, but she couldn’t bring herself to. She had her own things going on; she didn’t need to be bothered with this. She supposed she could paint, but she didn’t want to, not really. Maybe she could find something to read, but the thought of trying to focus on something seemed so daunting right now.

Kayla looked at the phone, she could try calling her dad, if she were honest with herself, it’s what she really wanted to do. No, she couldn’t it’d just make things worse than they already were, that was provided he’d even answer the phone in the first place.

Groaning, she flopped down on the couch face first, screaming into the cushions before going limp. She was going crazy, she was sure of it, she couldn’t turn her head off and all she wanted to do was cry, she was pathetic.

Just then there was a knock at the door, she lifted her head, she wasn’t expecting anyone. Kayla slipped off the couch and hurried over to the door, unlocking it and swinging it open.

“K!” She said, shocked.

He smiled and bowed, “Hello Kayla.”

“Hi, what’s going on? What are you doing here? I thought you’d be at the company.”

“I finished early, so I thought I’d stop by to see how you were doing,” he explained.

She blinked, she hadn’t expected that, “Come in, its cold,” she stated, motioning for him to come inside.

He bowed again and made his way in, taking his boots off.

“Have a seat, I’m gonna go and make you some…”

She was cut off when Kyu Jong took her hand and led her over to the couch, sitting, pulling her down with him.

“Kyu Jong?” She asked, confusion in her eyes.

He stared at her for a moment, “How are you?” He asked.

She blinked, “I’m fine.”

He continued to watch her, saying nothing.

“Umm…” she said, shifting uncomfortably.

“Shane hyung was worried about you today. He said you seemed down, that something happened. I know when I came over before; you said you were upset over something. Are you ok Kayla?” He questioned again softly.

She stared at him and slowly nodded.

Kyu Jong stared hard at her, “You are lying.”

Kayla’s eyes widened, “What?”

“Shane told me what happened with your father,” he said carefully.

She went still for a moment before starting to ease away from him, trying to slip her hand from his, but he tightened the grip just enough so she couldn’t escape.

“K…”

“Why do you do this? Why do you constantly cut yourself off? You do not have to do this alone. Your brother is worried about you, feels you are mad at him for what happened. He asked me to come here to check on you since you won’t talk to him,” Kyu Jong revealed.

Kayla felt a rush of anger flare up, “If you’re just here because he asked you to you can just…”

“Ani,” Kyu Jong interrupted. “Ani, I am here because I want to be. Because I think you’re feeling very confused and hurt and alone I’m here because I’m afraid you’ll retreat so far into yourself, no one will be able to find or help you,” Kyu Jong sighed. “You do not have to keep doing this alone. I told you before, when you can’t talk to anyone else, please, talk to me,” he finished, giving her hand a squeeze.

Kayla stared at him and he moved in closer.

“So tell me Kayla, what are you thinking about? What’s going on inside your head? Sadness, fear, anger? Maybe resentment towards Shane because of how your father is treating him?” Kyu Jong inquired quietly.

She looked away only to feel fingers below her chin, turn her head so she was looking at him again. There was warmth and understanding in those eyes.

“Kayla, tell me,” he said softly.

______________________________________________________________________

a/n: Hello all, back with another update! Poor Kayla, she can't seem to catch a break. We finally meet her dad and you probably wish you hadn't. Not a very nice guy by any means, there's a few bad male influences in her life, it's very telling I think. The hug with Lillian was sweet I think, the mother in Lillian comes out and Kayla gets to benefit from it.The conversation with Kyu Jong continues in the next chapter, see you all then! Feedback and comments are always welcome!

MO~