“…So, then he comes barging in, like the Neanderthal he is, giving K attitude and being a major . So, I let him have it,” Kayla explained to the three women staring at her in curiosity as she went through the dresses on the rack. “He was out of control, I’m really tired of this idea he has that when he decides to grace me with his presence, I’m supposed to drop everything and fall at his feet. Now that he’s experiencing what I’ve been going through, he’s not happy. Then he had the nerve to get nasty with K? That was the worst out of all of it. I’m used to his idiocy, but his treatment of K was unacceptable, really…what?” Kayla said, looking at the women who all stared at her in amusement.

“You’re so heated on behalf of Kyu Jong, it’s sweet, not that we don’t understand your anger,” Lillian smiled, holding up a dress for Kayla’s approval, to which she didn’t give.

“Right, there was no need for it, he makes me look bad for associating with him, Kayla sighed, holding up a dress that got a resounding ‘no’ from all parties present. She shoved the dress back on the rack and sighed, “Maybe I should get one of those potato sacks and wear that, this is crazy.”

“No way, it’s not a good look,” Chanile said, grabbing another dress and holding it up and Kayla again shook her head ‘no’.

Liz nudged Chanile and chuckled.

“It’s not, there’s no shape and that burlap chafes,” Chanile winked.

Kayla rolled her eyes, moving to another rack, “Maybe I’ll go with a nice skirt and blouse, forget this whole dress thing, the pickings are slim.”

“Aww but dresses are fun,” Liz frowned.

“Well, there is that charity ball coming up next month too for work, I’ll have to get a dress for, so I’ll get one then,” Kayla shrugged, heading over to the long flowing skirts.

“So, what are you gonna do about Terrance?” Lillian asked, going through the rack.

She sighed, “I dunno but I’m not gonna keep playing his game. If he wants to act that way, that’s up to him, but I’m not going to feed into it any longer. No more childness, this going weeks without talking is stupid. It solves nothing, it changes nothing, it just feeds his incessant need to be the center of attention and causes more problems If he continues acting like an , that’s on him, I’m not wasting my time giving him a reaction,” Kayla finished.

The ladies all cheered, and she chuckled, feeling like she was finally doing the right thing.

~~~

“You don’t have anyone you can ask? What about someone from the musical?” Shane questioned as they made their way into the building for Kyu Jong’s interview.

Kyu Jong shook his head, “I thought about asking Lejna ssi, but then I heard her telling someone she had plans on that day,” he sighed.

Shane frowned, “That man.”

He shrugged, “It is ok, I’m sure I will still have a good time.”

“Yeah, you can always hang out with me and Kayla of course,” Shane announced.

Kyu Jong looked up, “You and Kayla?”

“Mmm, she’s my date, I always bring her,” he explained.

Kyu Jong stared at him, trying not to smile, this whole thing just got ten times better. It didn’t matter what happened now, he was going to get to see Kayla at this party, now he was really excited.

“Kayla keeps telling me to ask Chanile but…”

He looked over at him, “You like Chanile ssi,” he stated.

“Well I mean she’s my sisters’ best friend, of course I like her.”

“Ani, you like her as a woman, you should tell her.”

Shane looked over at him, “Why? Have you heard something from her about me?” He asked suddenly, looking at him with excitement in his eyes.

Kyu Jong chuckled, “Ani, but I just have a feeling she’d say yes if you asked her out.”

Shane stared at him a moment before shaking his head, “Nah, I can’t now anyway, Kayla is already looking for a dress, she went out with her friends today.”

He grinned, “Sure hyung.”

~~~

Three Days Later, Night of the Party

“Ready?” Shane called.

“Yeah,” Kayla replied, coming down the hall.

“Oooo, you look nice. I thought you were gonna go with a dress though,” Shane questioned, holding open her coat for her.

“Couldn’t find a damn thing, we have that charity thing next month through my job, I’ll get one then.”

“Well you look nice regardless.”

She smiled gratefully, “Thanks Shane.”

They left and arrived a short time later at the venue and started in.

“Why didn’t you have K come with us? Is he even coming?” Kayla asked.

“Yeah, he went on ahead, said he’d meet us here. I told him he could come with us, but he said he didn’t want to impose, wouldn’t hear otherwise,” Shane frowned, shaking his head.

Kayla shook her head, typical K. Once inside, they hung up their coats and found the ballroom. She hooked her arm through Shane’s, and they made their way down the steps. They mingled with his co-workers, Kayla knew most of the people, but there were a few new faces. After a few minutes, they found a table and Shane went off to get them some drinks.

She looked around, waving at a couple of people who noticed her. She felt a bit out of place as she usually did when she would come with him every year, he really should be inviting Chanile. She was tempted to tell her about Shane’s raging crush on her.

“Look who I found while getting drinks!” Shane said suddenly as he came back up to the table.

She turned her head, her eyes lighting up, “K!”

Kyu Jong smiled at her, bowing, “Hello Kayla ssi.”

“Have a seat,” she said, pulling out the chair next to her.

Kyu Jong came over and sat next to her, setting a plastic cup down in front of her as Shane sat next to her on the other side.

“Oh, thanks,” she grinned.

They spent the majority of the party together and as the evening drew to an end, she was reluctant to leave, they were having a good time, she hated to see it end.

“Let’s dance,” Shane said suddenly.

Kayla looked over and chuckled, “Shane, we go through this every year, you know I don’t dance.”

“And every year I tell you I don’t care and force you to, this year is no different,” he smiled, reaching out to take her hand and pull her out her chair.

“Help K!” She cried.

Kyu Jong shrugged, “Sorry Kayla, it’s his right as your brother.”

Kayla frowned and Shane led her out to the middle of the dancefloor and they started to dance.

“You could dance with Kyu Jong you know,” Shane said softly.

She shrugged, “I know, but hasn’t asked me, so you know.”

“You could ask him,” Shane suggested, giving her a look as he spun her out and then pulled her back to him.

Kayla gave him a small smile, “I could…”

Shane shook his head, “You wouldn’t be doing anything wrong, it’s just a dance.”

She sighed, smiling again.

He shook his head again, “You are more loyal to your relationship than he is.”

~~~

Several Days Later, First Night of Performances

Kayla was finishing up her makeup, she looked over to see Lejna make her way in and over to her.

“It’s a packed audience!” She cried, smiling brightly.

Kayla smiled, “Really? Wow, it gets better each time it seems like, I’m excited, are you?”

Lejna grinned, “Yeah, but nervous too! I’m happy I get to do this with Kyu Jong though.”

She nodded, smiling softly, watching her with a hint of sadness she couldn’t place, “Lucky girl.”

Forty-five minutes later, she sat in the audience with Chanile, Liz and Lillian, watching the play with them. The crowd loved it, Lejna and Kyu Jong had amazing chemistry, just as they had those first few classes, it was hard not to enjoy it. Pretty soon they reached the point in the play that her and Kyu Jong had rehearsed in her place before he left to Korea.

Straightening up in her seat, she watched intently.

“Wow, they’re really good!” Lillian whispered, smiling.

Kayla absently nodded, even though they only rehearsed the lines once, she somehow remembered each word as if it were her own lines. Eyes widening, she watched as Kyu Jong pulled Lejna into his arms and she suddenly felt her heart squeeze, her eyes starting to burn, she clutched at the arms of her chair.

“No, I can’t let you go, not now, please Samantha.”

She stared at him, her heart pounding, “J-James…I…”

Suddenly Kyu Jong’s lips were on Lejna’s as he kissed her deeply and something inside her broke, her vision, unbeknownst to her, becoming blurry.

“Kayla? Honey are you ok?”

Slowly she looked over to see Lillian looking at her worriedly.

“You’re crying sweetie,” Lillian whispered, her face filled with concern, as she reached out to rub at her back soothingly.

Kayla reached up to wipe at her eyes, she shook her head, unable to say anything. She didn’t know where it came from, but she couldn’t seem to stop it. Chanile and Liz looked at her as well, worry on their faces as well. For some reason, she couldn’t help feeling lost and sad, as if something had been taken from her that was hers only. She turned her gaze back to the stage where Kyu Jong held Lejna tightly and she continued to wipe at the tears that continued to stream down before looking down, her hand over as she muffled her soft cries, her heart hurt.

~~~

She finished putting her costume on and started for the door as Lejna came in, smiling at her.

“All set?”

Kayla nodded, “Yeah, ready. Good job tonight,” she smiled a bit.

Lejna beamed, “Thanks! You’ll do well too!”

Kayla smiled again, nodding, “Thank you.”

She gave her one last smile before heading out, the memory of the kiss still fresh in her mind.

~~~

Two Hours Later

Kayla made her way backstage, smiling and waving at people before heading into the dressing room. Everything had gone well, not too many issues for opening night and what did happen, was minor. Kayla felt good about everything for the most part. Lejna came busting in the room, clapping in excitement.

“Great job! The audience loved it!”

Kayla chucked, “Thanks girl, we both did well it seems, this was a pretty good opening night huh?”

They chatted a bit before Lejna went to leave, letting her know that Kyu Jong was looking for her. Kayla turned to the mirror, sighing heavily, she wanted to see him of course, but there was part of her that felt something strangely like…

Shaking her head, she quickly changed and after saying goodbye to her fellow teammates, she headed out to find Kyu Jong waiting in the hall for her, surrounded by well-wishers, he bowed and smiled gracefully, looking completely in his element. Kyu Jong turned his head and smiled brightly when he saw her and her heart dropped and she gave him a weak smile.

Kyu Jong made his way over to her, “Well done tonight Kayla ssi” he smiled.

She nodded, “You too, you and Lejna have great chemistry, right from the beginning,” she said softly.

Kyu Jong blinked growing shy, “Thank you,” he bowed.

Just then her phone went off, she took it out her purse to see a few messages from Shane telling her that her Dad was there for the performance and the he’d arrived during her dress rehearsal, so he didn’t get a chance to see her. She frowned at one of the messages telling her that he was taking him to Urgent Car because he was complaining of a bad headache and they’ll stop by tomorrow after Shane got out of work.

Frowning, she put her phone back in her purse, she wished she had a chance to see him, she didn’t even know he was going to be there.

“Everything ok Kayla ssi?”

Kayla sighed, “Not sure, but in any case, you did well for your first performance here in the US,” she chuckled.

Kyu Jong waved her off, “Ani, I could do better, I hope to tomorrow.”

She nodded, “Always room for improvement. I hope to do better tomorrow night too,” she smiled, staring at him wistfully.

He frowned, “Kayla ssi, why so sad?” He asked suddenly, studying her intently.

“Hmmm? I’m not, just…my Dad came to see me, but I didn’t get to see him and Shane just brought him to Urgent Car because he’s complaining of a bad headache and I just really wanted to see him, I’m worried about him,” she said softly.

He reached out and put his hand on her shoulder, “I’m sure it’s nothing, he may just need some strong medication for it.”

She nodded, “Yeah, that’s what I was thinking.”

A short time later, she made her way into the Townhouse, she’d been hoping to see Shane was there, but he wasn’t. Sighing, she headed into her room to get a change of clothes. She noticed how quiet it was, Kyu Jong was going out with some friends and castmates, they invited her, but she’d refused, she didn’t feel much like celebrating tonight.

After showering, she made her way into the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea. She grabbed her phone from off the table as she turned the eye on and put the kettle on it. She’d received a message from Terrance asking her how the show had gone. She sent him a message telling him that it went well, and she’d talk to him later. She just didn’t want to talk to him now, now not when her mind was preoccupied with thoughts of Kyu Jong and Lejna.

There was another message too, this one from Shane. She clicked on it to learn that Shane was now taking their Dad into emergency per the Dr at Urgent Care, just as a precaution. Kayla blinked, a cold chill going down her back, emergency? Quickly she tried to call her brother, but he didn’t answer. She then tried to call her Father, but of course, no answer. Something wasn’t right, what was going on?

Kayla drank her tea and tried to watch some tv but could barely focus. She sent a text to her brother to let her know what was going on. After getting no reply, she sighed, deciding to go to bed early, she had to go into work tomorrow mid-morning for a mandatory employee meeting. It only happened once a year, always on a Saturday.

A short time later, she settled into bed, but had a hard time sleeping. Aside from worrying about her Dad, she was thinking about Kyu Jong and Lejna, couldn’t get that damn kiss out of her head. She kept replaying it over and over in her mind. Kayla rubbed at her face and stilled suddenly when she heard movement upstairs, Kyu Jong had gotten home. She let out a sigh of relief and a few minutes later she was asleep.

~~~

The next morning, she was up, getting ready for the meeting. She texted Liz and Lillian to confirm they were still coming to try to distract herself since Shane still wasn’t home and he hadn’t messaged her. She checked the time, she had to get ready to leave. Kayla grabbed her light windbreaker and started out the door, when her phone rang, she looked to see Shane’s name on the caller id.

Kayla swiped on the screen and put the phone to her ear, “Shane? What the hell is…”

“Kayla,” Shane interrupted her, his voice low and soft.

“Shane? What?”

“Dad’s…he’s gone, he passed.”

She stilled, “What? Shane c’mon, this isn’t funny. What’s wrong with Dad?”

“Kayla…”

She sighed, “No, tell me what’s wrong.”

“Kayla, stop and listen, listen to me…he’s gone, Dad is gone. He…he had a brain tumor and…last night it ruptured, he-he didn’t make it…”

Kayla shook her head, her purse falling from her shoulder and she ended the call blankly, her body starting to tremble violently. She pulled up her text messaging app and then a thread and started typing.

Terrance, please come by, my dad has died, please come ovr

She could barely hold the phone, the tears were streaming down her cheeks heavily. She got notification of a new message and she looked down.

baby, I’m sorry. I can’t come now, in a meeting, I’ll come by as soon as I can, I’m sorry baby

~~~

Kyu Jong sat in the conference room, waiting for the meeting to start. He wondered where Shane hyung was, he was usually there by now. His mind was still racing from last night, the performance had been great, Kyu Jong had forgotten how much he missed acting. He wished Kayla had come with everyone to celebrate though, he was sad to hear she’d turned out the offers to join them.

He shifted in his seat, he’d gotten a weird feeling every time he thought of her, her or hyung, like something was wrong, he couldn’t shake the feeling. He’d had it since he woke up and he couldn’t put his finger on it, there was this tension, this…fear that took him. Just then the door opened and in walked one of the producers, but still no Shane.

“Sorry I’m late everyone, I just had an emergency call with Shane Jacobs.”

Kyu Jong looked up suddenly.

“He will be out for a few days, his Father passed away this morning, so…”

Kyu Jong’s eyes widened and suddenly his phone went off. He looked at it, pulling up the message.

Kyu Jong please can u go see Kayla when you have the chance? Our dad passed away today and I can’t be with her right now, I’m worried, she’s alone…please as soon as you can

He stood up out of his seat.

“Kyu Jong? Where are you…”

“To see Kayla, she needs me…”

“The meeting is…”

Kyu Jong bowed, “I cannot right now, I am sorry, but she needs me, she comes first, I’m sorry,” he said, bowing again before hurrying out the room.

______________

A/N: *Sigh* Here we are, back with an interesting and sad chapter. Brings back memories of when I found out my Dad had passed away, similar to how Kayla found out. But on a lighter note, her reaction to that kiss is something right? What do you think it means? What is to follow? And another point of ness for Terrance, man,he is looking like an insensitive jerk right now and he's proving he is. Excited to see what happens in the next chapter!

See you soon!

MO~