Chapter Three:

Goodbye and Hello

“Tiffany! Oh my god!”

Tiffany was pushed back inside her apartment the moment she opened up the door for Yelena because the older girl already tackled her forward for a bone crushing hug.

 “Oh my god! Miyoung! I missed you so much! Look at you so grown up now!”

“Unnie!~~~”

Tiffany cutely whined as they hug each other.

“Yah! I’m just two years older than you!”

“But you started it! Calling me Miyoung! And besides, I should practice. I don’t want to be called rude once I’m back to Korea.”

“Nah! I’m already used to us calling each other like that.”

“Hmmm. But I’ll call you unnie when there are elders around…”

“Fine, stubborn Miyoung.”

Tiffany continues to hug Yelena tightly as if she never wants to let go of the older woman. Yelena seemingly caught on her unusual behavior and just decided to continue hugging her too for a few more minutes.

“I missed you too… a lot…”

Tiffany finally let out a sniffed on top of Yelena’s shoulder and the tear she’s been trying holding back was finally released like a broken dam once again.

“Oh, Miyoung! Tell me who that bastard is and swear I’ll cut him for you!”

Yelena’s empty threat made her laugh in between her hiccups and cries. Tiffany just rested her head on the crook of Yelena’s neck when the older girl starts to tenderly her back, naturally soothing her wrecked emotion.

“I’m glad I have my big sister back…”

“Silly… You never lost me… Stop crying now okay?! Or I swear I’ll go now and start hunting that bastard and cut him into bits before I feed him to the sharks!”

Tiffany finally let out a much stronger laugh, her mood had drastically change for the better now that Yelena’s here to cheer her up.

“So are you ready?”

“Yes.”

Tiffany and Yelena made their way out of her apartment and went in to their waiting car that would take them to the airport.

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Before boarding, Tiffany made one last call to her parents and this time, she decided to call her father’s phone.

“Hello. Daddy…”

“Miyoung…”

“We’re about to board the plane… I just want to say goodbye before leaving…”

Tiffany waited for her father’s reply that seemed to be left hanging after a soft sigh came out from the older man.

“Miyoung… I don’t want you think that I care less about you, sweetheart. You’re my one and only princess and you mean the whole world to me and your mother…”

She heard her father took a deep breath again before continuing with what he’s saying.

“I just want you to know that there’s nothing wrong with you… I don’t blame you for what happened. I never even thought of it for once. I’m sorry if I sounded like that… and if you’re blaming yourself for what happened to you and Jasper then please sweetheart don’t! He’s not worth it! That bastard doesn’t deserve my princess!”

“Daddy… please stop calling him like that,”

Tiffany carefully said making sure that her voice sounds neutral to make her father’s anger dissipate for a little.

“I know how fond you are to him, I know this hurts you and Mommy just as much… but please let’s just let it go.”

“FYI! I’m not fond of anyone who hurt my precious daughter! If your mother hasn’t stopped me multiple times, I would have gone to cut him up to tiny pieces before throwing his dirty carcass to the ocean for sharks to feed on!”

And her father statement had finally made Tiffany burst into loud fits of laughter.

“Hahaha! Oh my god Daddy! How can you and Yelena say the exact same thing?! Please don’t connive in plotting a bloody crime of cutting the poor guy and feeding him to the sharks! Please, I don’t want my two most beloved persons behind bars!”

“He’s not so poor to me…”

“Please Daddy, let’s all learn to let it go… slowly but surely… right?”

She a deep sigh from her father and Tiffany finally smiled, because she knows that her father is finally calming down from his anger.

“For what it’s worth, Jasper was (is) a good man. He never once mistreated me badly. Telling ourselves that he’s not wouldn’t work because we all would only be fooling ourselves. If we’re really destined for each other, I’m a hundred percent sure that destiny would make ways for us to get back to each other some other day, Daddy.”

“No! Why should you still hope that you two might still get back together again? I believe that this happened because there is someone out there that deserves you more than that wretched bastard! Because you’re meant to have someone much better than him! Someone that will love you more than life itself!”

“Daddy… thank you… Can I talk to Mom too?”

“Hello, darling?”

“Hi Mommy… I just want to tell you not to worry too much about me and please take of yourself and Daddy too. I’ll miss you both so much.”

“We’ll miss you too darling. Take care of yourself okay? Call us at least once a day, not twenty-four times a day just once, Miyoung! OKay?!.”

“Okay, I will Mommy… Mom I gotta go, Yelena is already calling me.”

“Bye Darling! Don’t take too long and come back home soon, okay?! And tell Yelena to take care too, okay? I love you darling!”

“I will… Love you too Mom, Love you too Dad!!! See you!”

Tiffany let out a relieve sigh once her conversation with her parents ended. All her life she was always grateful for her parents but today was a very special case, today she just realized how much her parents meant to her entire existence and she was so fortunate that she have them in her life.

“This is it!”

Tiffany took one last glance over the direction where the entrance passage of the huge airport was located and then slowly, a painful yet hopeful smile played across her lips.

‘Good bye LA… Good bye Jasper…’

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Tiffany roamed her eyes around and scanned the new environment surrounding her and then she took a deep breath and let the cold late winter air travels down her airways and soon she slowly let out a soft smile as nostalgia hits her.

‘Hello Seoul… you had changed so much… But the winter air is still the same, chilly yet comforting. We left around this season too and now I’m back in the same season. Why does it feel like I’m supposed to be really here for now? Nah, Let’s go Tiffany Hwang! Let’s see what’s destiny has for you back here in Seoul!’

“Felling nostalgic? Or are you thinking of someone you used to know from here?”