YURI'S POV

Jessica's extremely in a great mood when we celebrated our first monthsary. That is why when she rushed to my room the following day with a tear-stained face, I became confused. I began to ask myself whether I did something that might have cost her those tears. When I tried to ask her what happened, she cried even harder to the extent that she could barely utter a word. Hence, I decided to just wait for her to calm down. I sat her on the couch, secured her in my embrace, and waited patiently until she's ready to tell me what transpired in just a night after we had a great time together.

The reason for her tears was Tiffany. Jessica said she argued with her bestfriend after the latter said something upsetting regarding our relationship, regarding her choice of loving someone like me whom she hasn't known for a long time. Even though she didn't elaborate what Tiffany told her, I still felt my blood boiling in anger. I wanted to go to her cabin and confront the eye-smiling girl for judging mine and Jessica's love for each other. But it can wait. I still got plenty of time to face her, be it in this cruise ship or at her homeland. Besides, my girlfriend is more important to me than my ego. And so I stayed in my room, kept Jessica company, and told her stories about my childhood until her tears had run dry. 

"Tiff said you called earlier," Jessica said with a bit of awkwardness in mentioning her friend's nickname. "I was at the bathroom so I wasn't able to answer your call. Was there something you wanted to tell me?"

I stalled in my reply because I don't know how to answer her question without spoiling the surprise I prepared for her today. Coming up with excuses is something I still have to master.

"Well?" Jessica prompted cutely with her brown eyes directly looking at mine. They are so captivating...like always.

I cleared my throat and smiled as naturally as I could while her brown locks. "I just wanted to ask a favor from you. That is if you're not busy."

"I don't have anything on my schedule today so it's okay. What is it that you want me to do for you?"

My heart beat nervously as I was thinking of what to tell her. At the back of my mind I was cheering for myself, saying words like 'You can do it' and 'She won't suspect anything if you'll act naturally'. So that's what I tried to do.

"Can you be my tour guide again Miss Jung? My first tour of this domicile was during the time I'm only a fangirl of your striking beauty. I want to do it again now that there is a label to our relationship. Besides, there are items on sale at deck six according to Chef Mordeux. It will be fun to go shopping with someone like you by my side."

Jessica smiled after staring at me for a long time. It's a relief to see it after she cried a river of tears earlier. "How could I say no to such favor being asked by a special person? I wouldn't mind being your tour guide again and again Miss Kwon."

She stood up and offered her hand for me to hold. There are no signs reflected in her eyes that shows she's suspecting that I'm hiding something from her. Therefore I mentally smiled triumphantly for I did well in coming up with an excuse. I'm just hoping that she'll like the surprise I prepared. Jessica has always been the one who makes the effort to make me feel special whenever we're together. So this time, I want to return the favor. I want her to feel like she's not only a princess but a queen of my heart.

TIFFANY'S POV

The pearls of tears streaming down her cheeks and the painful expression in her eyes while she was defending her love for Yuri - I didn't know these two things will hurt me the way it do now. I never want to hurt Jessica's feelings. Never did I dream of breaking her heart one day. But my insecurity, my disappointment of how her love life turned out to be, and my jealousy towards the attention she's giving to Yuri all forced me to forget about being careful with my words. I made Jessica feel upset. I made her feel that she's an incapacitated woman because of her special condition that still has no cure. It's the least she wants to hear from someone she values dearly. But I - her bestfriend - shoved it to her face because of my insecurity.

I didn't know what to do when she walked away. I wanted to follow her but my body refused to move to the same direction she's taking. Instead, it brought me to her room where her scent lingers at every inch, further feeding my guilt to what I've done.

An hour passed yet I'm still in her room curled up on her bed. Her bodyguard named Reina stood still by the entryway, quietly keeping me company. Though I'm pretty sure that it will take hours or more before Jessica comes back to talk to me again, a part of me was hoping that when the door opens, it will be her who's standing on the other side.

"Reina?"

The bodyguard took a few steps forward and asked: "Yes, Miss Hwang?"

"Do you think Jessica can forgive me?"

There was a look of surprise in Reina's eyes. It's most probably because she didn't expect I'd begin doubting whether my bestfriend will still be capable of forgiving me or not. Jessica is the softie between us. Whenever we have petty arguments, she's always the first to say sorry. Even if I'm the one at fault, it's her who takes responsibility for my mistakes.

"You are her bestfriend, Miss Hwang. Miss Jung values your relationship so much so I'm sure that she will be able to forgive you. Just give her time. Probably at the end of the day or tomorrow, she will come back and talk to you again."

I nodded in acknowledgement of Reina's advise. However, a doubt still lingered in my heart.

After another hour of confining myself in Jessica's bedroom, I decided to go for a walk alone. I went to wherever my feet led me. And when a breath of fresh air still failed in calming the storm in my heart, I decided to look for my bestfriend. I need to see her. I want Jessica to hear me out.

"There's no one there Miss Hwang," a cabin crew told me when he saw me knocking on Yuri's door. "Miss Kwon left a while ago together with Miss Jung."

"Do you know where they're going?"

"I'm not sure. But I think I heard them talking about shopping at the sixth deck. Why, Miss Hwang? Do you have an urgent matter with Miss Kwon or Miss Jung? I can page my co-workers so that they can inform your friend that you're looking for her and Miss Kwon."

I declined the crew's offer and went to the deck six to look for Jessica. She's really there looking like she's having a great time shopping with her girlfriend. The more I observed her from afar, the more I felt robbed of Jessica's attention. I used to be her shopping buddy, her comfort person and her reason to smile amid different situations. But now, I am no longer that person to her. It happened because of the presence of Yuri.

To stop torturing myself with such scene, I decided to return to Jessica's cabin. I locked myself in the bathroom and shed tears while staring at my reflection on the mirror. Memories from our childhood until that day she boarded this residential cruise ship kept playing on my mind, reminding me of another reason why seeing Jessica