Taeyeon slowly pulled back and looked at her, and Jessica could see how much those eyes begged for answers. If she could just shrug this one off, and tell her grirlfriend to move on and forget that this even happened, she would. But she also knew that Taeyeon won't ever brush this incident aside, and that the other girl won't ever settle for a shrug as a reply. She knew Taeyeon was waiting for her to speak, while she was gently her hair in the part where she'd always clutch when it gets really painful. That thought alone tore down all the remaining strength she had in holding back.

"I thought you already had your surgery?" Jessica met Taeyeon's worried gaze and brought her hand up to caress her face. She nodded. "Th-then why are you- what..."

"I have complications, Taeyeon-ah. After-surgery risks." Taeyeon rapidly blinked her eyes.

"But it's been two years, almost into your third..."

Jessica weakly smiled. 

"I thought the same. But when I woke up after slipping into a coma, I overheard the conversation between the doctor and my dad. The doctor said that it's a miracle for me to even survive this long. But in spite of that, my brain has already been severely damaged."

"I get tired easily now; I get easily irritated as well. On other days, I lose coordination too. And there's still really annoying ringing sound in my ears. I've been trying my best not to let you notice, but I guess I've had one-too many slip-ups." Jessica weakly smiled. 

Taeyeon suddenly thought about all those times when Jessica would suddenly have an outburst; those times when she would lose grip of her spoon/ fork; those times when she would hear the bottles of shampoo hitting the floor; those times when Jessica can't seem to hear or understand things she's been saying over and over againthose times when Jessica couldn't even get up because she claimed that she was too tired to do anything... 

"Why didn't you tell me about this before?"

"You weren't even supposed to know."

"Why not?"

"I thought I could get over this and control it. I didn't wanna scare you off.. Being with you is one of the best decisions I've made in my life. But also..." Jessica looked down and paused to take a deep breath. "I might... not even live long"

"Don't say that."

"It's true. One hard hit against my head and I'll probably be d-"

"Stop it." Taeyeon pulled the girl into a hug, while trying to hide the new batch of tears escaping her eyes. "Stop.  I won't let it happen."

"I really can't imagine you leaving me now, Taengoo."

"Then don't." She Jessica's hair gently. "Don't imagine things that won't happen."

"It's just that, I'm afraid I'll be too difficult for you to handle and then one day you'll just be fed up with me because I could end up being cranky 24/7."

"I'll accept you whatever happens. Even if you get cranky all day, I won't leave."

A few minutes pass in silence, with Jessica in Taeyeon's arms.

"Don't scare me like that. I wanna know everything. You can tell me everything. I will always be here."

"Despite me being like this?"

"Yes."

"Despite what my father may have done to yours?" 

Taeyeon froze, and the other girl felt it. She pulled back to look the former in the eyes. They never really talked about it, but now that Jessica let it out...

"What your father may have done to my father doesn't affect what I feel for you." Jessica slowly looked up to meet Taeyeon's eyes. "Even if I hate your father, I won't ever let it affect us."

"But what if-" Jessica abruptly stopped, choosing not to bring up what her fathered talked to her about the last time they met.

"I'm here and I won't leave you."

"What if... you get tired?"

Taeyeon brought Jessica face up and smiled.

"Now that you told me that, I'll be even more patient and understanding. I'll take care of you." She leaned closer and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

"I love you." Jessica reciprocated the kiss. She was so grateful that Taeyeon understood her. The latter pulled back and her hair. "Take a rest first, okay? I'll take care of the mess in the kitchen floor. After that, we'll eat the dinner I bought, then you will take a rest and go to sleep right away, okay?" 

"Okay." Jessica agreed. She knew better than to oppose at a time like this.

"By the way... the next time something like this happens, we have to go to the doctor, okay? This really isn't something we should sweep under the rug. And I want to understand it better." Jessica nodded. Taeyeon stood up and smiled. "Okay then, I'll call you when I've cleaned the mess up and we'll eat dinner."

-

"Did you bring it?" Taeyeon has decided to meet Tiffany again, after the failed attempt to get what she needed from her the last time. The latter bit her lip in nervousness.

"Actually, we have a little problem."

"What is it?" 

"It's... missing."

"What?!" 

"I mean, I know where I placed it, but when I checked the place where I kept it to get it, it wasn't there. Now I'm not so sure where it is."

"Are you freaking kidding me?" Taeyeon's blood started to boil. "What did we even meet up for?" She was about to turn around and walk away, frustrated with how things turned out, when an arm stopped her from doing so.

"Wait. I think I may have an idea on where it is."

"Then go get it. We can meet up once you already have it." She was tired of secretely meeting Tiffany behind Jessica's back, and to think that she still had to do it made her feel even more guilty and upset. She looked away.

"But I'm going to need help." Taeyeon turned her head back towards Tiffany. "I'm gonna need your help."

-

"I'm so glad you came to see me."

"Just hurry up and say what you have to say, dad." 

"Now, now... that's not the way you should talk to me, Jessica." The man sitting on the chair smirked.

The girl in front of her suppressed the urge to roll her eyes, and sighed instead. "What is it that you want, dad?"

"Same thing I wanted before."

"I told you a hundred times before. I won't do it." 

The man pulled out an envelope and placed it on the table. Jessica eyed the envelope. her eyes then went back to her dad, before taking the envelope, and opening it. Her eyes widened as she looked through the photos. They were photos of her and Taeyeon on different dates. She recognized some of them to be taken when they went out on a date in a restaurant, in the mall, walking hand-in-hand in the park, and many more photos.

"W-why do you have photos of us??"

"I have eyes everywhere, Jessica."

"Why have you been following us?" Jessica furrowed her brows, while her fingers unconsciously tightened their grip on the photos.

"I didn't want to resort to this, but since you weren't obeying me... you gave me no other choice." Jessica looked up from the photos. 

"What do you mean?"

"If you don't want anyone to get hurt, better follow me."

"Don't you dare hurt Taeyeon!" Jessica threw the photos back on the table. The man had an amused smile on his face.

"You have one week to get rid of those feelings. And resume the plan or else... you know what will happen." 

"You can't do this."

"Watch me."

Jessica's lips quivered as she tried to fight the tears forming in her eyes. Then she turned around and stomped her way out of the room.

-

After placing the last trash bag inside the bin, Yuri bent down to pick the lid up, and placed it back on top. She looked up to see a few stars shining in the sky.

What a chilly night.

She was about to turn around and go back to the house, when she though she saw the bush nearby move. Her brows furrowed as she carefully walked towards it, curiosity getting the best of her. When she was just a meter away from it, her arms reached out towards the bush to part it. Just as she was about to peek, a cat suddenly jumped out of the bush, towards her, making her scream in surprise. She moved back in reflex, accidentally bumping into someone.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" Yuri's eyes widened, and found herself unable to say anything after she saw who she bumped into. "Y-yoona.."

"What do you think you're doing?"  The said girl raised an eyebrow at her, clearly annoyed.

"I was just checkin-... I thought.... I just...."

"You know what, nevermind. Forget I asked." 

Yoona proceeded inside without sparing the other girl a glance. The latter huffed at her stupidness. It was just a cat.

Just when she was about to head inside, Yuri thought she something move at the corner of her eyes. She turned her head in reflex, craning her neck and squinting because of the darkness. She thought of checking it out, but remembering the incident about the cat earlier, she decided against it and just shrugged it off.

Heading inside, she spotted Yoona helping herself with a glass of cold water from the fridge. Their eyes meet for a brief second, before the petite woman looked away, heading upstairs.

Once the door to her room closed, she slumped on the bed, replaying the earlier unexpected encounter with the girl she missed so dear.

"Who are you? Come out! I'm not afraid of you!" Yoona shouted to no one in particular, as she made a turn in the street going home. She felt like someone was following her. She decided to hide behind one of the parked cars, to see who was following her, and it was such a surprise to see that it was in fact, Seohyun, who was following her. She was surely caught off-guard, and Yoona wasted no time and hugged her, even if she was frozen in her place.

"Seohyun-ah. Please come back to me." Yoona couldn't stop the tears from falling.

"You shouldn't have seen me. It's my mistake." Seohyun tried to pull away, but Yoona only hugged her tighter.

"What is wrong, really? Why do y