Chapter 19 Never Let You Go Pt. 2

 

There are things that are yet to come, things that might strengthen or maybe weaken a strong bond. However, even if that’s the case, a person who’s truly prepared and has long foreseen these things to come and wave relationships shouldn’t falter. But then again, maybe at some point, mere preparations aren’t just that enough to face waves that’s so sudden to hit every single delicate hearts.

 

All settled and all went on their own ways after that breakfast filled with doubts and suspicions towards the head of the Jung. The young Krystal went on her own way and there’s the older sister letting her be while she stays cozy at home together with the love of her life, well, maybe not too cozy since she still has to interrogate Tiffany regarding these plans she knows nothing of yet. And Jessica isn’t just bothered of Tiffany but also bothered of their father’s bizarre actions lately, and with these thoughts altogether, Jessica’s dream of getting cozy all day on a weekend just won’t happen this time.

 

“Sighing in an early morning?”

 

The lazily lying down Jessica looked to her door and saw Tiffany walking towards the bed then wrapped her entire body under the same blanket. “We still need to talk Tiff.” She then said, glaring in sulk to Tiffany’s morning eye smile.

 

“I know. Why are you suddenly getting so cold to me anyway?” Tiffany whined. And as she straddled Jessica closer to her, she gave a whisper of seduction, “Should I make you warm then?”

 

This seductive whisper successfully stretched up Jessica’s serious lips as she smirked at her lover’s retorts. She looks at her sideways and whispers back in return, “Maybe later, after you’ve told me all of your plans. I want to hear it first before I hear you my name.”

 

The turned off Tiffany pouted and tugged away, “Okay fine. I’ll tell you now.”

 

“So tell me properly this time, what is it that you wanted to tell me?” Jessica tilted her body so that she could face Tiffany up close as they’re both lying down on a same pillow under a same blanket.

 

Tiffany cleared before beginning while gazing at Jessica’s lazy eyes, “Like what I told your father, I’m planning to go back to college and graduate. My grandma and the kids already permitted me and since I want it too then I can’t see any problems with it. I’ll be staying in around the city and will start living here again. I’ll look for a job too so that I can pay my expenses and find a cheap place to stay in.”

 

“Why do still need to look for a space when you can have our mansion to stay in? Don’t you want to stay with me?” Jessica frowned.

 

Tiffany lovingly reached out for Jessica’s puffy morning cheeks as she said, “I would love to stay with you Jessi. But you know me; I don’t want to depend on you all the time and I don’t want your father to think that I’m taking advantage of your wealth and kindness. I want to prove to everyone that even a poor one like me can go on without aids, just like Sulli right now. She’s living her own life without asking anything from me. I want to tell the whole world that my love for you is real, and not just business.”

 

“Will you be fine?” Jessica asked out of her worries and grabbed Tiffany’s hands for her to kiss.

 

The ticklish Tiffany laughed, “Of course. I’ve gone through a lot Jessi. This should be just a piece of cake for me now. Besides, I should be the one asking you that and you should be worrying about yourself first! Will you be fine working out your company’s problems while I’m in college?”

 

“Hopefully.” Jessica breathed. “Just give me a little more time and I can solve all of it then maybe I can find some time to have a date with you.”

 

“Oh yeah. We haven’t had any official dates since we started this relationship!” Tiffany twinkled and got thrilled at the thought of having romantic date with this blushing billionaire close to her.

 

“It’s because we always end up having our dates on bed.” Jessica giggled as a comeback for making her blush so mad and Tiffany indeed showed a tint of shyness reddening her pale cheeks.

 

“Idiot, this is not counted as date.” Tiffany said before she leaned and pressed their lips together.

 

“Will we be fine? Will our relationship be just fine? I’m scared. I’m afraid to think of tomorrows.” That’s the real and exact question and worries that are concerning Jessica. She didn’t say it because she didn’t want Tiffany to have doubts at her. She decided to hide her growing worries as she doesn’t want Tiffany’s feelings for her to weaken. She have fears, she have uncertainties of whatever tomorrow may bring them, especially now that she’s fully aware of this distance that will soon form between them.

 

For the young ones, after rushing her breakfast and driving so fast on a weekend, Krystal successfully fetched Sulli at their apartment as they go straight to the rich man Choi’s residence, provided by the man himself. Sulli can hear her own heart beating so fast and can feel her own blood rushing everywhere because of this uneasiness she’s feeling while they’re getting closer to her father’s residence. 

 

“We’re here.” Krystal announced to Sulli as she parked her car in front of this huge mansion of the Choi but Sulli is already frozen on her seat that she can’t even lift her head for a clear response.

 

“I’m… nervous.” Sulli laughed it out to herself trying to kick this nervousness away from her pumping heart.

 

Krystal, knowing that this weak woman just won’t bulge on her seat unless she’s given an encouragement she leaned towards her and gave her forehead a peck then believed, “You’ll be just fine. You’ll just ask him some few things, right? You called me out to be here with you so that you won’t get nervous, so I know you can handle this.”

 

It’s just a peck but Sulli gained a bit of courage from it. She nodded, “Yeah. Thank you.”

 

With their hands tightly intertwined with each other, the partners went straight ahead after passing through the mansion’s main gate. Maids and a few servants welcomed them and an utmost service were provided as guide them further inside this huge mansion, but still not as huge as the Jung’s mansion. Everything around this mansion is in full set-up and fully prepared for the only heir of Choi’s arrival but the heir herself isn’t that much of prepared emotionally to handle this huge blow that’s about to come.

 

“Welcome to your home, Sulli.” The rich man greeted as she revealed himself from walking down the spiral stairs together with his wife who’s so unfamiliar to Sulli.

 

There’s still this hate within Krystal’s mind but thinking of Sulli’s sake, she just stood there beside her while looking up to the couple approaching them by the living room. Sulli meanwhile arrested in her stance as she doesn’t know what to feel or even to do right at this moment of meeting her father once again. At first she wanted to run like before and leave this situation be unsolved again but as her father gets closer to their stand, she knows it’s too late to turn back now that they are there to end all these suspicions.

 

“So she’s your lovely daughter. Welcome home, my dear. It’s so nice to finally meet you personally.” The rich man Choi’s wife said as she gladly welcomes Sulli with a casual embrace.

 

“She’s not my mom. Minho-oppa once said that dad only had one daughter with his mistress.” Sulli thought while she’s being hugged tight by this unrelated woman.

 

As Sulli let go of the elegant wife, then next to her waiting father, waiting to be hugged by his very own daughter too. Sulli hesitated for a second but when Krystal hideously gave her a light push at her back she stepped closer to her father and gave him this warm embrace of a long lost daughter he’s been longing for, an embrace where they both can’t be wrong that it’s this warm they felt when they first met in this world. It was that baby whom the father held in his arms and he can’t be wrong with it. It’s his father’s embrace that Sulli felt when she was born.

 

“Damn, I feel like crying. I think I should stop watching them.” Krystal murmured as she’s watching this lovable scene just in front of her watery eyes.

 

The rich wife heard the Jung mumbling so she gently pulls her away from the reunited father and daughter and hisses, “Let’s just leave them for a while. Maybe you’d like some cakes while they talk alone.”

 

“But I promised Sulli that I’ll stay with her.” Krystal debated.

 

“Oh c’mon, by the looks of her now, do you think she still needs your back-up? Look how comfortable she is now that her father is hugging her tight like that. I’m sure she’ll be just fine and we also need to give them privacy, you know.” The wife insisted and forcefully pushed Krystal on a seat far from the reunited family.

 

“This woman obviously sounds like she only married the Choi for business purposes. She doesn’t even get nervous with the only daughter from her husband’s mistress around here…” Krystal thought at this carefree wife.

 

They are talking and soon they went to occupy the couches by the living room as they continue on conversing with tears following each word that comes out of their happy faces. Krystal wants to hear them, she wants to go there and listen to whatever they are talking about while she thinks of backing up Sulli but she’s just way too far that she can’t hear a thing.

 

“I wonder what they’re talking about.” Krystal grumbled while she munches big at this cheesecake served for her.

 

Actually, the father is asking forgiveness to his daughter that’s silently breaking in her cries as he’s explaining the same thing he had once disclosed to the Jung sisters, from the day she was born, the day she was thrown away up until to the time he assumed of her being his long lost daughter. He explained it all and repeated all of his words in a gentle and cautious way just to make sure Sulli’s fragile and weak heart would take all of it. He’s so gentle of every single thing he reveals as he holds tight onto Sulli’s trembling hands on top of her lap.

 

“Please do forgive me Sulli. I know I was wrong. I know I lacked as your father and I am willing to do everything and anything for you, just please forgive me.” The Choi pleaded so much that he wanted to kneel down in front of Sulli but of course, a kind-hearted woman won’t let him do that.

 

It took Sulli a couple of minutes for her sobs to calm down and for her tears to stop from flowing out. It took her another set of minutes for her nervousness to fade out and her shaking hands to stop. But it only took her a few seconds to bravely state out her demands that she’s been thinking of, “Then… dad….” She started so shy to call this rich man as her father.

 

“What is it my dear?” The father asked.

 

 “You said you’d do everything and anything for me to forgive you, right?” Sulli asked for a confirmation and her father nodded firmly. She then held his hands as tight as he’s holding her and uttered, “Can we not make this issue about me to be made in public? It’s not that I’m ashamed of you or anything, dad. I really am glad that I finally met you. But you see dad, I want to continue living normally and I would want to continue living as what I am right now.”

 

“But…” Her father sighed as he wants to refuse that wish.

 

“I don’t want to live here dad, at least until I finish my college. I’ve seen how stressful and how problematic it is to be a daughter of well-known businessman since all eyes would keep on following everywhere they go and I don’t want that to happen with me too.” Sulli bravely said as he cut off his arguments. “I’m so used of living a poor life, living and learning the hard way. It may be really hard for me but that’s where I find happiness dad. So please, I hope you’ll grant this wish of mine.”

 

“Are you sure about that?” The worried father exhaled, slowly accepting defeat of his daughter’s wants.

 

Sulli smiled, “Yes dad. I’m so sure of this. Besides, I don’t want to leave Luna-unnie in our shared apartment room and I want to continue on working as a part-timer at the facility. I find it fun rather than just staying here in this spacious mansion doing nothing. But don’t you worry dad, I’ll make sure to come and visit here from time to time. I’ll come here and introduce you some of my friends too and even Fany-unnie who took care of me since I was a baby.”

 

The father saw how happy his daughter got by just mentioning her life with the poor, a life that’s hard yet joyous like what she said. Her smile is just so genuine that her father couldn’t doubt her sincerity of her words. Certainly, any father would love to see his daughter with this smile, so the rich man smiles back to his daughter as he said, “Okay, if that’s what you want then I’ll do it for you. As long as you’re happy then I’d be happy too.”

 

Sulli squealed and dives to her father for another embrace, “Thank you dad.”

 

“Anything for you, my precious daughter.”

 

While they hug, Sulli saw Krystal just keeping her eyes on them as she’s eating almost the entire cheesecake served for her. And as she stares at Krystal, Sulli was reminded of something that Tiffany once told her before they left the village, something that regards Jessica’s trouble and how it’s affecting Krystal too. Looking at Krystal had also reminded her of this news floating around the town since she came back, news about the Jung Group of Companies. And as Sulli wants to do something good for this supportive Krystal too, as a return for all the kindness she’s been showing to her, Sulli has thought of something that can surely make them fair and equal.

 

“Dad?” Sulli called and let go of their hold as she then pleads for another request, “There’s one bigger thing that I want to ask you. I promise this would be the last one.”

 

“One more?” The father snorted but still he accepted saying in his husky voice, “Okay, bring it on.”

 

Sulli leaned and whispered carefully to her father, making sure that the observant Krystal won’t hear a single word of her request. Krystal on the other hand clearly saw she’s whispering something that’s so impossible to comprehend from her position. The way Sulli smiled in between her whispers and the way her father suddenly twisted his head just to give her a glare, Krystal totally got a shiver down to her spine from it.

 

“Are they talking about me? Why are they looking at me?” Krystal wondered.

 

After the father gave his glares to Krystal, he went back to his own daughter’s eye smile and asks, “Do you really like that Jung so much that you needed to ask me something this big?”

 

“Dad, please…” Sulli pulled out am aegyo just to make her father agree.

 

“What you’re asking is quite hard for me.” He said and Sulli frowned but this frown didn’t last long as the father went on declaring, “But then as I said, I’d do everything and anything for you so, even if it’s hard I’ll do it. You should know I kind of dislike the Jung when it comes to business but since you’re begging that much then I’ll do it right away.”

 

“Yes!” Sulli jumped off in happiness. “Krystal! Krystal! He said yes!” She then suddenly hopped towards the overly confused Krystal in her position.

 

“Huh? What yes? What are you guys talking about?” Krystal in dazed creased her eyebrows.

 

The overjoyed Sulli dashed to her and gave Krystal the tightest hug until Krystal felt choking from all the cheesecakes she ate. “Nothing, I just want to hug you.” Sulli giggled and tightened her arms around Krystal’s nape.

 

“Well, okay but hey, your dad is glaring at me like he wants to kill me.” Krystal nervously said as the father is giving her a deathly glare for clinging around his daughter that much in front of him.

 

Sulli let go smiling so wide at Krystal’s doubtful face. She let that confused expression stay for a while as she went back on facing her father then said, “Dad, thank you for today. I’d definitely treasure everything that happened today. I’d never forget this.”

 

The rich man Choi smiled at her in return to those unending happy eye smiles from her. And to wrap up all this revelation, he grabbed a paper and pen from his coat’s inner pockets and jotted down an address that Sulli isn’t familiar of. As he was given a questionable face from Sulli for handing over that piece of paper, he openly revealed, “Your mom works in that address. She serves a cashier in a twenty-four hour convenience store and she’s on night shift this whole week. If you want to meet and know her, then you can go there anytime at night.”

 

Sulli grimaced at this piece of paper as she had initially forgotten of meeting her own mother. She got too overwhelmed knowing only her father that she almost forgot this mother whom she’s been also dying to meet. “I wonder if she’ll even recognize me if I go there…” She then frowned lower and forced out a smile.

 

“I stopped meeting her years ago and I just recently asked my men to search for her since I’ve already found you. I haven’t talked to her either and I haven’t told her about you. It’s up to you whether you’ll meet and tell her or not. Either way, I want you to know that I’m here to support you. You have the choice but make sure you won’t regret it.” The father patted his downhearted daughter.

 

“Thank you again dad. I’ll try to visit this address tonight. I want to end everything today and I want to know everything before this day ends. I don’t want to suffer any longer so I’ll try to go there tonight.” Sulli smiled but the speechless Krystal on the side is getting so dead worried of this unusual series of smiles she’s flashing.

 

Indeed, it’s a weekend that’s supposed to be filled with nothing but rests and vacations but never for the hard working Jessica Jung who went on her way at the office again for work, leaving Tiffany at the mansion all by herself. Papers here, papers there and calls here, calls from there, this series of works never ended and it’s even piling up more and more each day. That may be the case and that’s what Jessica is supposed to be thinking but her mind is just so messed up that she can’t focus her mind on this work she’s endlessly reading on her office table.

 

“I haven’t seen you in a long time yet I came back here only to see you spacing out. That’s so unusual of you, Sica.”

 

Jessica was slightly alarmed by Yuri’s comment, she who is initially being ignored from helping her out with the problems regarding investors because of thinking too much of her personal life, her love life rather than worrying of this bigger crisis that they are all facing.

 

“I was just thinking of something. I’m just kind of tired too so I’m spacing out at times.” Jessica answered low as she pretended on putting her utmost attention back to those papers on her hands.

 

“If it’s Tiffany you’re thinking then maybe you would want to tell me. I know everything and there’s no use even if you try to hide it.” Yuri said while she works on her laptop by the couches.

 

The cautious secretary who is known to be loud and jolly shut her big mouth for this time, especially with these serious and dark looks from the two business partners that are clashing. Yoona have never seen these two sharing glares this intense, even her loud mouth didn’t have the courage to open like her usual thing to do whenever she wants to tease.

 

Jessica sighed then she dropped down those papers on her hands to take a full back rest on her chair. She looked up her ceiling full of lights as she reminisced, “Do you remember what you told me when I came back here from the village to face our financial crisis?”

 

“Ah, when I told you that I’m not in favor of your relationship with Tiffany?” Yuri asked and Jessica bobbed.

 

“Actually, I’ve been thinking of that for quite a while now.” Jessica admitted then discloses more, “You said that we might not last long and that love isn’t just purely about feelings and wants.”

 

“I did say that because it’s the truth.” Yuri said as she stood up from the couch to take a closer look of Jessica’s worn out face, an expression that’s totally saying that she’s been so exhausted from just thinking this deep that her make-up can’t cover it up. “Love is about understanding the true needs and goals in life.”

 

“Then why did you let go of me if you understand me?” Jessica asked, smiling at her partner.

 

Yuri chuckled at her blunt retort but still advances, “Do I really still have to say it? Obviously because I loved you and that’s why I let you go wherever you wanted to go and whoever you want to be with.”

 

“Oh, so you did love me that much and you just stated it in a past tense, huh? Why Yul, have you found someone else other than me?” Jessica deviously nodded as she teased Yuri’s unguarded stance.

 

“Maybe…” Yuri countered with a wink as she rides along with Jessica’s teases.

 

Yuri knew Jessica desperately averted the original topic and put it towards her and she knows her so well that her avoidance to dig in more into the topic regarding her relationship with Tiffany became so obvious in her observations. Jessica wouldn’t deny it at the back of her mind though as she really did it on purpose, suddenly throwing teases to Yuri and so that none of them inside this office would ask more of her real status with Tiffany.

 

“Something’s definitely wrong with her…” Yuri thought for a conclusion but still physically smiling at Jessica to avoid getting suspicious and awkward at the same time.

 

The dumbfounded and so slow to pick up Yoona however blurted out a careless inquiry, “Why unnie, is there something wrong between you and Tifanny-unnie?”

 

Even for just a split second that it happened, Yuri noted how Jessica’s eyes looked down before giving Yoona her sugarcoated blissful answer, “Nothing. We’re totally fine. In fact we were just talking about her plans on going back to college next semester and it’s getting near so we’re talking about how she should prepare for it, from getting jobs and finding an apartment.”

 

“Really? That’s so sweet unnie. The two of you are now even talking about those kinds of things now. You guys totally look like a married couple now!” Yoona squealed in thrill.

 

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