A/N: Took some time to finish this and I'm still deciding whether I should write a part 3. I'll think about that later.

She slammed her door shut and headed for the bed. She cried all the way from the café and right now, she wants nothing but to sleep to try to numb the hurt she was feeling. 

How could she be dumb enough to fall for the same trick twice? It was the same routine. A stranger befriending her, makes her fall, then they eventually lie. It was too painful to think about, but she couldn’t help but to do just that. 

She was so sure that Sooyeon was the complete opposite of Jessica, but like a huge boulder falling on top of her, she found out that Sooyeon is Jessica. She realized that she was never good at reading people. I’m not a good judge of character, she thought.

She chuckled bitterly when she remembered how she said that to her best friend. She felt like a huge idiot for blaming her best friend when she herself was a bad judge of character. Anyone would’ve seen the signs except her. She was that stupid.

Just when she thought she couldn’t cry anymore, tears spilled from her eyes. She pitied herself. She believed a complete stranger. Now I know why mom told me not to talk to strangers. You can’t trust them. 

She drifted off to sleep crying.

---

She opened her eyes the next day, feeling a massive headache. It was the same thing that happened before, if she remembered correctly. It was like she drank a hundred cans of beer. Like a hangover. It must’ve been all the crying and weeping last night. No. She was sure that was it. 

She thought about going out of her room for breakfast, but decided against it when she remembered that Sunny might be there. She doesn’t want to talk to anyone right now, not even her best friend. She was feeling very awful. She already pitied herself so she doesn’t need other people’s pity. And besides, she knows that Sunny will tell her to give Jessica a chance, and she just couldn’t do that. Not when the other girl already lied. What other lies did she tell her? Probably a lot. 

She groaned when she felt her head hurt again. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep.

---

She woke up to the sound of knocking on her door. She breathed deeply, knowing that although she doesn’t want to talk to Sunny, there was really no escape. She tried to sit up and found out that her head wasn’t hurting that much anymore. The few extra hours of sleep definitely helped. 

She made her way to the door and opened it. She was greeted by a familiar sight. Sunny was looking at her concernedly. She didn’t want to worry her best friend, but she wasn’t exactly in the mood to smile either. She chose to ignore the look and pushed past Sunny who followed her to the kitchen.

She prepared herself some noodles and offered to cook some for Sunny, which the latter refused by shaking her head. Sunny quietly watched her from behind.

She knew Sunny was observing her but she didn’t want to talk. She knew her best friend respected that and she was grateful for it. 

She silently ate her food while Sunny was still watching her. When she was done, she washed the dishes and went back to her room. Before she could close the door, she heard Sunny sigh.

---

It was Monday morning and she was getting ready for school. And getting ready for anything involving her. She fixed her blouse and made her way out of her room and into the living where she found Sunny patiently waiting for her. 

The two best friends didn’t usually go to school together since they have different schedules, but Taeyeon knows that Sunny is doing this just so she could have someone to be with when something happens. And again, she was grateful for that.

The moment they stepped inside the gates of the school, murmurs were instantly heard. Sunny was quick to grab Taeyeon’s hand and led her inside the building before she could make out any of the whispers. She knew it was about Jessica. It was always about Jessica. She shook her head to rid herself of the thoughts of the girl who broke her heart.

Once inside the building, Sunny told her to go to her room right away to avoid any gossips. She didn’t object as she slowly walked to the second floor where her classroom was. She was about to walk inside her room when she heard someone call her name.

She looked back and saw Jessica running towards her. As Jessica was coming nearer, the whispers became louder.

She clenched her fists and quickly went inside the room where Jessica wasn’t allowed. 

She saw the girl hold onto the door frame, panting heavily. When the girl finally caught her breath, she looked at Taeyeon with the saddest expression Taeyeon ever saw on her. She felt guilty but it instantly vanished when she remembered why she was ignoring the girl in the first place.

She took out her iPod and put on the earphones, putting the volume on max so she doesn’t have to hear the whispers around her, and Jessica calling her name.

--- 

“I did warn you about this before right?”

She didn’t want to respond to her sister. She wanted to cry but no more tears were produced. Her eyes were dried out. Her room was a mess and she doesn’t even care. She wanted Taeyeon back but she doesn’t know what she should do. She tried talking to Sunny, but even the girl was a little upset at her. 

“I told you that she hates liars like ‘Jessica Jung’ and yet you still lied?” That’s what Sunny said to her. She blamed herself for everything. She blamed herself for not listening to her sister and for refusing to think about the consequences of her actions.

Now she was left with nothing. No one.

She hugged her knees and closed her eyes tightly. As if the rumors weren’t bad enough, she finally finds someone she really likes but it ends up like this. She didn’t even know where the rumors came from. All she knows was that it started after she took Krystal for a tour in her school. Being close to each other, they can’t help but cling onto the other whenever they were walking. Then she remembered that her mother told her about her cousin studying in the same school but in a different course and asked her if she could accompany her just until her cousin is familiar with the school. After a week, she didn’t have to accompany her cousin anymore as the girl said that she knew where to go. After that, it’s when the rumors started.

She sighed because no matter how much she wanted to clear her name, no one would listen to her. 

She slowly drifted off to sleep with her sister still talking.

---

“Taeng.”

“Yes?” she answered without looking away from her laptop.

“Are you okay now?”

Taeyeon looked at her and chuckled dryly, “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Sunny sighed. “You know what I mean.”

“We don’t have to talk about that.”

“Then I don’t think you’ll ever be fine.”

It was Taeyeon’s turn to sigh. “I’ll be able to forget about it eventually, Sunny.”

“How will you ever if you keep looking at her pictures?”

Taeyeon quickly looked back at her laptop and closed the folder containing Jessica’s pictures. “I wasn’t.”

Sunny rolled her eyes. “You love her, don’t you?”

“I just met her weeks ago, Sunny. Of course I don’t.” It wasn’t a complete lie. Actually, it wasn’t a lie at all. She had just met Jessica weeks ago, so she figured it was too soon to tell if she does love the girl. She wanted to find out while they were dating, but she’ll never know now. The least she knows is that she likes the girl, maybe even more than before.

Sunny sighed again. “Why don’t you just give her a chance to explain? Just let her explain. I’m not telling you to accept her again or anything, just let her tell you why she did it. If you seriously don’t want her back, then at least you’ll get some kind of closure. At least you know that it wasn’t your fault.” Sunny knows how much Taeyeon suffered before when her own cousin cheated on her best friend. The girl never explained, never told Taeyeon that it wasn’t her fault, so her best friend kept blaming herself and kept thinking that there was something wrong with her that’s why everything happened. She knows the pain her best friend went through when she had no idea why that happened, so she doesn’t want that to happen again.

“What’s there to explain? She lied to me, that’s the end of it.”

“Seriously Taeng. Maybe she has a reason why she did it.”

“And what could that reason possibly be?”

“I’ve thought about it, and maybe she does genuinely like you,” she paused when Taeyeon scoffed, “Taeng, would you have given her a chance if she told you she was Jessica?”

“Yes!” Taeyeon answered almost instantly.

Sunny raised an eyebrow. “Really? Because the last time we talked about Jessica, you weren’t exactly happy to know that she likes you. Even when I told you that she was nice and that no one has ever proven if any of those rumors were true.”

Taeyeon sighed, “Okay, maybe not.”

“See? You wouldn’t have let her prove herself if she told you the truth. You would instantly brush her off. Now tell me, what did you really think of Sooyeon?”

“Sooyeon? She was nice, honest, and sincere. The complete opposite of what the rumors say about Jessica.”

“You know Taeng, Jessica was like a lifeless walking zombie all week. I don’t even see her eat lunch anymore. She’s really depressed. If what the rumors say are all true, then wouldn’t she have a new girl by now? I mean, no offense, but you’re not exactly that pretty,” she smiled a little when Taeyeon glared at her, “so seeing her mope around like this must mean something. No one has ever seen her like that. Besides, you can’t just fake sincerity, Taeng, and you know that. Just look into her eyes and you can tell.”

---

She walked up to the school gates alone as her best friend had an earlier class. She breathed in deeply, knowing that it was going to be another hard day for her. She walked inside the school and prepared herself for the incoming noise from constant gossiping students. She rolled her eyes in annoyance when she heard one of them mention Jessica’s name. 

Seriously, when are they going to stop? She was still a bit mad and hurt, although it did lessen after her talk with Sunny, but she didn’t want to keep hearing about the girl. A part of her was honestly afraid that maybe Jessica did play with her, and if ever that did happen, she didn’t want to hear it from students who didn’t have evidence.

“Oh, look who’s here,” she heard someone say, which made her look at where the others were looking. She saw Jessica walking towards her, obviously trying her best to ignore the stares, snickers, and whispers from the other students. Most students in Taeyeon’s part of the school already knew who Jessica was because of her constant visits due to a certain girl. Her visits were made frequent when she and Taeyeon started dating, and it increased even more when they ‘broke up.’

Taeyeon gulped when she saw Jessica nearing her. She wanted to let her explain, but she was afraid of the answer she was going to get. Although Sunny did give a good point when they talked, she wasn’t sure how she will react if Jessica tells her a different reason.

“Please Taeyeon, can we talk?” The desperation in Jessica’s voice was what made Taeyeon agree. She nodded and led the girl inside an empty classroom. They’d surely get in trouble since Jessica wasn’t even supposed to be in that part of school but she couldn’t care less, she needed to know the reason. 

She quietly walked over to a chair and sat on it. She then looked at the other girl who was nervously fidgeting while leaning against the teacher’s table in front. It’s funny how I still find her cute even after what happened.

She continued to wait patiently for the girl to speak up. She wanted her to explain now, but she knew she shouldn’t pressure her. 

“I’m sorry,” Jessica was finally able to mutter. Although it was only slightly louder than a whisper, Taeyeon still heard it. 

She waited for more, but when none came, she sighed and said, “I just want to know why.”

She saw Jessica gulp. “B-because I heard from S-sunny that you didn’t... d-don’t like ‘Jessica.’,” she took a deep breath, “I had a feeling you wouldn’t give me a chance if you knew I was her. I figured... maybe it’s best to let you know who and how I really am without having those rumors taint how you see me.”

Taeyeon unknowingly breathed out in relief when she heard the other girl’s explanation. 

On the other hand, Jessica was still fidgeting, not knowing what to do since Taeyeon wasn’t talking. She talked to Sunny before going to Taeyeon and the girl told her that she talked to Taeyeon but the girl refused to believe her. If she won’t believe Sunny, how else would she believe me? She took a deep breath and just said what her heart told her to. 

“Taeyeon, I know we’ve only met recently and that my reputation here isn’t really good, although I don’t exactly know why,” she mumbled the last part but Taeyeon heard it and smiled a little, which Jessica would’ve seen if she wasn’t looking at the floor, “but anyway, I know it will be hard for you to believe this but I really do like you, Taeyeon, and I will never intentionally hurt you,” she paused to look at Taeyeon but quickly looked back down the floor. 

“Those rumors, they have no basis whatsoever. I’m not a player, cheater, nor am I a liar. I only told you I was Sooyeon because I was afraid about getting judged by you. I don’t mind other people hating on me because I couldn’t care less about them. With you, I know I have to be careful with everything I do and say because I really care about you. I care about what you say and what you think about me. If being Jessica to you will only cause you to stay away from me, then I’d rather be Sooyeon, because that’s who I really am, Taeyeon. The weeks we were dating were the happiest weeks of my life. I’d hate for them to go to waste just because of stupid rumors that aren’t even true. I’m really sorry, Taeyeon, but out of all the things I’ve said, I’ve only ever lied about my name and nothing else.”

Taeyeon gulped. She didn’t expect that kind of explanation, although it did feel good to hear that Jessica only did it to get to know her better. She racked her brains to think of something to say.

Jessica was close to tears. She thought she would be fine even if Taeyeon doesn’t take her back, just as long as the girl listens to her explanation, but now... 

She clenched her teeth to prevent her tears from falling. She summed up the courage to look at Taeyeon. Seeing Taeyeon not even looking at her broke all her defenses. She cried and couldn’t hold back a sob. 

Taeyeon looked up in panic when she heard the other girl crying. Without hesitation, she stood up and rushed towards Jessica, engulfing her in a hug. She rubbed the girl’s back, hoping to stop her from crying. “Shh... why are you crying?”

Jessica didn’t answer as she s her arms around Taeyeon and tightened the hug. “I’m really sorry.”

Taeyeon sighed and pulled away, struggling a bit when Jessica didn’t let her go immediately. She looked at the girl who was refusing to meet her eyes. She smiled a bit. She cupped the girl’s cheeks and wiped her tears using her thumbs as the sobs were reduced to cute sniffs. She was about to say something when the bell rang, signaling the start of class. Taeyeon didn’t want Jessica to be late so she kissed the girl’s cheek softly and said, “We’ll talk after class, okay? I’ll wait for you outside your classroom.”

She didn’t wait for Jessica as grabbed her things from the chair she used and held Jessica’s hand to walk out the classroom hand in hand.

---

“Taeng?”

She turned her head to see her best friend looking at her questioningly. 

“What are you doing here? The teachers might see you.”

“I’m waiting for her,” she smiled and pointed to someone behind Sunny.

The shorter of the two looked behind and saw Jessica standing there while looking around, as if waiting for someone to arrive. She understood right away. “Ah. Well, good luck.” She patted Taeyeon’s shoulder and left.

Taeyeon nervously walked towards the obviously anxious girl. She was happy to see the girl, but she was nervous because she doesn’t know what to tell her. She spent all her time thinking about what she should say to Jessica when she should be concentrating on her lectures. She finally stopped behind the girl and thought of how she should make her ‘entrance.’ She finally ended up just tapping the girl’s shoulder. 

Jessica jumped when she felt someone tap her shoulder. She was about to elbow the culprit when she saw the familiar blonde hair. She turned around and smiled shyly. “Hi,” she looked down to hide her flushed cheeks. Admittedly, she didn’t think Taeyeon would come. Seeing her now, made Jessica really happy. 

“Hi. How about we talk at the park? Less... er... distractions,” Taeyeon said when she looked around and saw some students staring and whispering.

Jessica only nodded when she saw what Taeyeon was talking about. She silently sighed.

---

They were quietly sitting at a bench facing the playground. It had been 15 minutes since they arrived, but none of them talked. While Taeyeon was still battling herself about what to say, Jessica simply figured that it was Taeyeon’s turn to talk. She said what she has to say, and all she has to do now is wait for the older girl’s decision.

With a deep breath, Taeyeon turned her head to look at the slightly taller girl. “Jessica.”

Jessica looked at her and waited.

“I had a girlfriend in high school. Sunny introduced me to her. She was her cousin. We were in love... or... I was in love. Everyday, we’d spend time together and she’d tell me sweet things. Things that you’d believe when you’re deeply in love with the person. Everything went well in our first year, but then things got messy. I don’t know what happened, but she suddenly became very busy which was odd for me because we were classmates and I wasn’t even that busy. But being the crazy in love person that I am, I believed her. I believed everything she said.”

She took a deep breath before continuing.

“Then one day, I was having lunch with Sunny when I saw her at the same restaurant with another girl. I didn’t think anything of it, because it could just be one of her friends from outside the school. I started to approach them but what I heard broke me. They were there to spend their anniversary. She had been cheating on me for a year. She had been lying to me for a year. I was being played for a year. I was broken. Even Sunny can’t do anything to fix me. She tried cheering me up by inviting our friends over, but nothing.”

Jessica instantly felt sorry for the girl and cursed herself for lying. She reached out to rub the girl’s back when it seemed that Taeyeon was going to cry. 

Taeyeon gave Jessica a small smiled and continued. “That’s why I hated Jessica. She reminded me of the girl who played me. That’s also why I was devastated when I found out that you lied to me. I was so sure that Sooyeon was everything Jessica and my ex weren’t, but...”

She didn’t continue and Jessica felt her heart break. Her hand that was rubbing Taeyeon’s back went limp and fell on her side. She wanted to cry but she knew it was her fault. She must accept whatever decision Taeyeon makes, even if it hurts her.

“I didn’t think I could be with you, Jessica.”

Jessica looked away, not wanting Taeyeon to see that it was hurting her badly. She stood up, bowed and was about to walk away when Taeyeon stopped her. The older girl was holding onto her wrist gently.

“Where are you going?”

Jessica closed her eyes and tried her best to stop herself from trembling. “I-I j-just...”

Taeyeon stood up and turned Jessica’s body to face her. “Stay.”

“I-I... I’m sorry...” she tried to break away from Taeyeon’s hold but the girl only moved to hold her hand instead.

“I hated you, Jessica.”

Jessica lowered her head, still refusing to look at Taeyeon in the eye. “I know. I’m sorry.”

“Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Jessica nodded.

“Really? What did I say?” Taeyeon said as she sneakily interlocked their fingers.

“You hate me.”

“That’s not what I said.”

Jessica finally looked up and saw Taeyeon smiling at her. “Huh?”

“I hated the Jessica people were talking about in school. I hated the Jessica that played with people’s feelings and broke their hearts. I hated the Jessica who lied.”

“But-”

“But you’re not that Jessica. You’re the Jessica I came to know as Sooyeon. As much as I hate lying, I completely understand why you did it. Sunny made me realize, actually. She was right. I wouldn’t have given you a chance had I known you were Jessica.”

Jessica didn’t know what to say and stayed quiet. 

“I’m sorry for not listening to your explanation right away. I was hurt and thought I was being played with again. I didn’t want history to repeat myself so I didn’t want to see you. I’m sorry.”

Jessica shook her head. “You don’t have to say sorry. It was my fault. I shouldn’t have-”

“If you didn’t, I wouldn’t have known the real you. I’m really sorry, Jessica. Forgive me?” Taeyeon asked with a pout while swinging their interlocked hands. Only then did Jessica realized that they were holding onto each other’s hands. It made her blush.

“Aish, how can I not when you’re looking at me like that?” she asked, feigning annoyance, which Taeyeon found cute. 

“I knew you couldn’t resist me. Thank you.” She moved forward and swiftly pecked Jessica’s lips.

“Yah!” She lightly pushed the shorter girl.

“What?” Taeyeon said with a grin.

“What was that for? And who told you you could do that?”

“What? I can’t kiss my girlfriend?” she was still grinning.

“G-girl... I’m not your girlfriend!” She wanted to look mad but her flushed cheeks gave her away.

“Yet.” Taeyeon then pulled the hand she was holding and started to walk, “Come on. Let’s go home. I still need to think of a way to make you mine.”