Even though there are uncertainties that terrifies them through their heart’s depth, people still seek for the truth. They demand the truth. They want to know the truth. Regardless if this important truth may hurt them or not, they still want to have it, they want to acquire it. Nevertheless, once the truth is known and opened, the clearer their future can be seen and some gets stronger with their resolve as they find answer. It may bring confusions and questions during its initial process, however, the truth can set their qualms free at some point in time. It may not be in an instant that they will understand the truth and accept it for emotions get in the way, but sooner or later, when one realizes, it’s the best thing that happened.

Notwithstanding with the fact that the year just freshly started, they find answers from their last year’s troubles and how unfortunate they had to close the previous years with so much doubts. Thus, starting a brand new year, they seek to search for answers they couldn’t grab because of their terrified hearts, finding solutions to end what’s bothering their minds. And starting her year right, as she thought so, is Jennie whose hesitant feet brought her to a place she never thought she would see again after years of not stepping here.

In front of Jong-in’s exclusive condominium unit one late afternoon, there Jennie stood reluctantly as second thoughts enter her mind, whether she’s in the right place and right person to seek answers from or she could be mistaken. But thinking of Chaeyoung, how she has been avoiding her in the past days and soon turning weeks, and how his words greatly affected her suspicions, she fights against her doubts and though her hand shakes, she pressed the doorbell and the door opened almost immediately with the shocked but eventually grinning man delighted with her presence.

“Jennie! I knew you’ll be back with me!” Jong-in assumed so positive in his huge smile.

But Jennie stepped back and pushed the man gently away from her, creating a space between them as she clarifies coldly, “I didn’t come here to be back with you or to tell you that I’m giving us a chance. Everything about us is over and there’s no way I’ll even give you the slightest chance anymore. Stop forcing yourself already because it’s annoying me every single day and even if you said you’ve changed, that won’t fix the things you did to me.”

The man was brought into dismay, frowning as he sighs, “You’re cold as always but that’s what I loved about you anyway. So, what brings you here if it’s not getting back with me?”

“You know why I’m here… you always stalk me like a creep and you’re aware of everything I do. It’s impossible you haven’t noticed anything.” Jennie grumbled, shooting death glares at him to make her intentions known.

Jong-in had known Jennie to be perfectionist when it comes to baking her cakes and working at the café. She always ensures everything is in place and that as much as possible, she dislikes to see the slightest mistake in her works and definitely it would bring her down when she knows she could have done better. That’s how Jong-in had known Jennie but that’s when it comes to her passion and working, not with something else, not for someone else which he is certain she isn’t here for work.

Left with no choice, Jong-in heaved a heavier sigh, giving up as he opened a way for Jennie to enter his place, “Why don’t you come in so we can talk properly instead of standing here and getting furious? Don’t worry, I won’t do anything to you and you should know that because I still love you, just for your information as well.”

Jennie ignored his last words and stepped inside his home with baby hesitant strides. She’s quite taken aback because his humble space remains the same from the last time she stepped inside from years ago. As far as she can remember, everything’s on their same spots, even with that flower vase she gifted him is still decorated on his table, the pillow she gave him is in the couch being used too. However, though she has to admit she was pulled back to the past, she had to shake it off her head and focus on today’s agenda.

“I don’t want to take long here. Please tell me everything that you know about Chaeyoung.” Jennie demanded straightforward as she isn’t wasting any more time being suffocated in his territory, standing in his living room, caring not to take a seat that was offered.

Jong-in comfortably seated on the couch, crossing his legs as he looks up to Jennie glaring at him, “You really love her, huh?”

“Shut up…” Jennie flushed and looked away, showing how weak she gets when it comes to Chaeyoung.

“But before I tell you anything that might shock you, at least tell me what you saw in her that you fell in love with someone like her instead of coming back to me. I think I deserve to know while you are well-aware that I want you back.” Jong-in demanded back as well but looking away as he’s afraid to hear what Jennie’s about to say for she’s about to hear her confession for someone else that’s not him.

Jennie hesitated for a second upon seeing Jong-in’s downhearted gazes darting straight to a blank space, feeling somewhat sorry for hurting him despite of how she was also stabbed million times in pain because of her love for him. However, she has to say it and end Jong-in’s fantasies they would still be back together and that he still has a chance. She hated him and she resented him to the point that she had to move away for years. However, somehow, she has to put a closure with their bitter past by confessing this love she has for Chaeyoung.

“I don’t know how it started too…” Jennie started vague which made Jong-in to look up at her in a muddle. “…I just fell in love with her without warning at all. I’ve always been scared to love again ever since that day you broke me. I kept pushing people away and I never accepted anyone again since the day you left me in wreck. After all these years of running away from love, Chaeyoung is the only one who was able to break through my terrified heart from loving. Do I need more explanations?” She then professed without pauses.

“Even though I tell you that I’ve changed and I can be better than her now, won’t your mind change?” Jong-in asked and still, keeping his gazes so far.

And Jennie nodded, “Yeah… I will never come back to you so please stop it. I did love you but now I hate you, really. However, no matter how much I dislike you, I also want you to find someone else who would knock the hell out of you and be a real man for once so you can love truly without this kind of obsession you have with me.”

Jong-in never thought it would hurt this much to hear it from Jennie herself, confessing her love for someone else. Her words are piercing right through him he couldn’t speak a word as a return to her bravery. And now he’s wondering at the back of his mind, was it this painful for Jennie too when he had to leave her for money and power’s sake? Was it also this suffocating for Jennie when he pretended he doesn’t love her back in the days just so he could get the power he needed from someone else? It’s only now that Jong-in is realizing all this mistakes he did and hitting him so hard he has a hard time chewing in his emotions from blowing out.

Jong-in stood up from his seat and showed his back to Jennie for the reason that he doesn’t want her to see that one teardrop that managed to escape from his eye. And recomposing himself with a huge breath, he goes back on questioning once again, “You said you won’t give me a chance even if I’ve changed, right? Then why do you love Park Chaeyoung? Do you really think that she’s that kind of person? You don’t even know everything about her yet you’re already saying that you love her and such. Are you really sure about that?”

Jennie clenched her fists as she groans, “I knew it. You do really know something about her that I don’t. Ever since you said something back at the café, Chaeyoung started to avoid me and just some time ago, she talked to my mom saying she’s a bad person and thought she doesn’t deserve me. Did you do something to her? She wouldn’t act like this towards me if there’s nothing bothering her and the last time I checked-in with my thoughts, you’re the last person she encountered who said weird things to her.” 

“I didn’t do anything to her, rather I just said the truth that might have shaken her up. She must be guilty.” Jong-in said and marched towards his drawers where he brought out an envelope containing his researches about Chaeyoung. “Call me dirty, but through these years I tried to chase you, I bet you already know well how I do things if I want it badly. Also, you have the right to know this.” He then said and gave Jennie the authority to open the envelope.

“Are you sure you’re giving this to me?” Jennie suspiciously questioned and refused to take a hold of the papers still.

Jong-in forced a smirk to sugar-coat the pain he’s been feeling, “Why, are you scared to find out the reality of that person you said you love? Are you terrified to find out the facts that she might have never told you? Believe what’s written there or not, it’s up to you. And besides, I don’t need that anymore. You can take that back home with you.”

For some reason, Jennie’s heart thumped so loud it almost got her deaf as she got a hold of the envelope. She hasn’t opened it yet she’s having this feeling of nervousness and reluctances already. She doesn’t feel right having this seized but nevertheless, she accepted it and walked out of Jong-in’s place and not forgetting to say “Thank you…” before she completely disappeared from his sight and vanished out of his place.

Jennie jogged as far as she can from her ex-lover’s place until she found a park wherein she thought would be a perfect spot for her to open the documents given to her. There’s a few people around the park for it’s weekdays and probably busy in their own jobs. There are a lot of vacant benches for her to occupy on her own and she chose to sit on the farthest one where she cannot be seen by passers-by easily and hide herself from the plant boxes placed behind her.

“Why am I nervous…?” Jennie asked herself as she stared at the closed envelope on her lap.

With her cold nervous hands, Jennie opened the documents and with one huge gulp she flipped it to check the contents at last. The first pages she found contain basic and personal information about Chaeyoung she already knows, thus, skipping to deeper parts of the files. As she reached the pages where she’s seeing brand new information, that’s when she stopped and wide-eyed on everything she’s seeing. From Chaeoyung’s childhood photos, to her activities as she grows older, these are the data that bombarded Jennie on the spot.

Jennie flipped to the next pages and she wanted to close her eyes not to read anything more for she’s too staggered and gradually draining. She got her hands tightly gripping on these papers she’s holding when she eventually reads more of the contents one by one, making sure she absorbs everything despite the ache that’s slowly taking over her. However, it hasn’t been a minute since she started reading more but her eyes have already teary, gawking in disbelief and her heart’s beating louder than before, shocking her the worst ever in her life so far.

“T-This…” Shocked, Jennie lost her words but there she goes reading more through the pages, only to find out things she never thought happened, facts she never thought would exist in Chaeyoung’s life she once thought wasn’t this extraordinarily complicated, more than she thought it was already.

Jennie is too shaken and upset to be saying a word even to herself, not even a single letter would come out of her trembling lips. Moreover, her mind is in a rumble, her thoughts are overwhelming it makes her so vulnerable she cannot keep her shoulders straight in her seat, cannot stand on her own without feeling her entire body quaking and dropping back down the bench. The truth she never expected to bombard her yet she desperately wanted to know, she’s in a state of blow that’s enough to make her immobile and ultimately staggered.

“Excuse me Miss, are you okay?” Later someone, walking with his dog, found her in a shock and spacing out of the world, defenceless.

Jennie answered none and stormed away from the park as she took the papers she crumpled in her fists. She ran away aimlessly she bumped into people she never bothered to apologize to. Her tears are falling endlessly she didn’t mind wiping it off, letting the people see her in such a situation as she keeps on getting away from anything and anyone else. She’s in a complete ruckus that as soon as she reached a narrow alley where no one is passing by, she screamed her lungs out and released all these emotions killing her slowly.

Having no one to run to, she immediately sent a message to her best friend she once swore she won’t disturb during the holidays, which Jisoo received in no time while they are preparing to leave the countryside as well. Her message was short, containing only a statement of, “Unnie, please come back soon. I need you.” Knowing her best friend well, Jisoo sensed something isn’t right and definitely there are things that only with her she can tell and pour out.

“What’s wrong?” Lisa knocked onto her room’s door and caught her sitting on her bed side and creasing her eyebrows looking close onto her phone’s screen.   

Jisoo forced out a smile, “Jennie is demanding me to go back already. Well, I told her we’ll be travelling back tomorrow morning since it’s dangerous to drive at night. I think something’s going on back in the town that’s why she’s asking me to go back.”

“I see. I’ve already packed everything and I’ve paved goodbye to the kids too so we can move tomorrow immediately. Maybe your best friend needs to tell you something important.” Lisa simply nodded.

Jisoo noticed how Lisa isn’t moving away from her room’s door, standing there being reserved and in deep thoughts as her foot is swaying awkwardly, as if she’s kicking an invisible stone on the floor. She’s too easy to read, at least for Jisoo who has known her so well she can tell if there’s something in her mind she cannot tell straight, or if she wants to stay with her longer but she cannot bring herself to say it. This side of Lisa is what brings smile to Jisoo always, finding it amusing yet cute at the same time.

“So, is there something you want to tell me? You’ve been standing there like a kid who cannot confess a fault to her parents. Can’t you get any more obvious?” Jisoo interrogated and giggled at Lisa’s reaction that was surprised and blushed for being well-read.

Lisa clasped her hands together to warm up her cold hands from nervousness as she first asks, “I w-was just thinking of something… T-The day after tomorrow… it’s your birthday too, right?”

“Oh, you remember that?” Jisoo questioned and Lisa nodded, beaming shy. “But yeah, it is. I myself almost forgot about it too. I used to celebrate it at the café only, having a small party after work at the second floor with Jennie and the other staffs. It’s just like an ordinary day for me. Why do you ask though?” She then went on asking while looking straight onto Lisa’s unsteady gazes.

“Do you have plans for this year for a change? I mean since the café is closed, maybe you have different plans this year.” Lisa returned a question but this time she stared at Jisoo whom she saw shaking her head from her bedside, wordlessly saying there’s none. “T-Then, if you don’t, c-can we go on a date to celebrate your birthday? If dinner is okay with you since I know you also have to rest from the long travel too, can we? I’ve always wanted to ask you but since I found out it’s your birthday soon, I thought I have to wait until that day to make it a little special, maybe?”

Jisoo’s mouth opened in surprise from Lisa’s courageous invitation she couldn’t answer immediately. They looked at each other without saying a word, Lisa being anxious in her stand while waiting for an answer whereas Jisoo blinked her eyes trying to regain herself from the surprise, from how her invitation gave an explosion in her chest and fireworks above her head. If Jisoo may have slightly expected Lisa to invite her someday on a date, it’s not on her special day but here’s Lisa doing it nonetheless.

“S-So, is it a yes or no?” Lisa grew impatient so she had to snap Jisoo back to reality.

Jisoo was alarmed from all her thoughts and belatedly re-joined, “Before I answer that, there’s still something that I have to do. I don’t want to give you hopes so I won’t say yes just yet but I’ll definitely give you an answer tomorrow before my birthday. Sorry…”

“It’s okay. I understand. I’ll wait for it. I’m not forcing you or anything but I just thought that maybe you’d want to so yeah, I’ll wait. Don’t worry about it too much.” Lisa smiled but it’s too forced she cannot keep it longer and ended up marching away from Jisoo’s room, obviously disappointed.

Jisoo didn’t chase after her anymore for she believes she’s doing the right thing and that’s to cut off her connection first with Seulgi before accepting another chance of love from Lisa. It’s never her intention to cheat on her lover, wherein their relationship became suffocating as time goes by, hence she believes she has to end it before falling harder and deeper for someone else who’s making her feel things she never got this current toxic relationship she has.

It was a sleepless night for everyone with all these deepest thoughts disturbing their cold nights. Jisoo has her mind at midnight busy thinking of how she’ll tell Seulgi everything, how she feels and how she has found a love that’s meant for her while considering Seulgi’s feelings. Lisa couldn’t find a peaceful sleep likewise for she’s anticipating for Jisoo’s answer, anxious whether she’ll accept the date or not. She has never asked anyone for a date, more when it’s romantic one, which is giving her too much anxiety as she was kept in wait.

Then there’s Jennie who spent a night drowning not only in thoughts but also in drinks in hopes she will temporarily forget the entire day’s revelations and put her to sleep but she wasn’t visited by drowse at all, instead her eyes were opened wide the entire night, until the dawn happened and her eye bags formed. She also read the documents over and over again, as if she’s torturing herself from all the thundering emotions she cannot form into one, the confusion, the hurt from not knowing a thing before, from the fear of her past experiences.

And because there are only few ways to confirm these information she gathered that her mind is somehow still rejecting to accept fully, Jennie isn’t wasting any time as she makes her way to Alice’s law firm office as soon as the sun rose up. She isn’t in her best shape as shown on how she dressed herself up in simple pullover and baggy jeans she just randomly grabbed somewhere from her cabinets. She isn’t in her best intellectual capacity but because she’s too keen to confirm everything about Chaeyoung, she’s forcing herself in everything.

“Is Alice in her office?” Jennie asked the receptionist.

“She is but do you have an appointment?” The receptionist asked and Jennie unfortunately shakes off her head. “I’m sorry but you need an appointment before we can assist you up to her office.” She then said.

“It’s really urgent. Please tell her it’s Jennie and I’m sure she’ll accept it.” Jennie insisted heavily that the others weirdly looked at her.

The receptionist had no other choice but to connect a call to Alice’s office which is taking too long and all she can do is to impatiently stand there, staring at the receptionist whispering on the call. The wait is killing her and as time goes by, the apprehension is growing rapidly for her willingness to seek answers are getting stronger. Her mind isn’t as ready as she wanted it to be, to hear whatever she’ll find out from Alice directly but her heart dictated her to move.

“I’m sorry for the wait Miss Jennie Kim. You can proceed to her office now. She’ll be waiting for you.” The receptionist confirmed and gave Jennie the visitor’s ID she needed.

Jennie jogged all the way up to where Alice’s office is, despite her legs feeling so tight and heavy.  She couldn’t wait for the packed elevator to come, thus used the stairs with all her might and tire herself up until she reached her destination. Now, her heart is beating aggressively because of her stresses from both her anxiousness and exhaustion, yet this didn’t stop her from knocking the office’s door and opened it to finally meet a person who can give her answers.

“Unnie…” Jennie panted as she met Alice seated in her office chair from across her table packed with papers she’s about to work on.

Alice simply smiled, “It’s been a while, Jennie. What brings you here? Is there something concerning you about the café’s case? You could have just called me you know.”

“Where’s Chaeng?” Jennie first asked while looking around the office, detecting for any presence that Chaeyoung may be hiding somewhere to avoid her.

“I left her at home. She isn’t feeling so well that’s why I had to leave her but I’ll be back home immediately as soon as my last meeting for today ends.” Alice explained and pointed at the hanging calendar on the wall for Jennie to see that she vacated her entire afternoon to be back with Chaeyoung.

Knowing this, Jennie marched towards her table and placed the documents she acquired from Jong-in not to waste any more minutes with her tight schedules for the morning. She stood tall in front of her and immediately interrogates, “Is this why Chaeyoung is avoiding me all this time? Tell me unnie. I want to know everything. Please…”

Alice opened the envelope only to meet the truth about her sister, from the biggest to the tiniest information about her. Everything’s noted and jotted down, not leaving one information behind and Alice can confirm it herself without asking her sister about it. Her expression shows how shocked she is, with those eyes that are so wide and her breaths that hitched, and Jennie clearly saw how she changed so fast from being calm to restless in her seat.

“Tell me where you got all of this.” Alice demanded and glared at Jennie.

“F-From Jong-in…” Jennie uttered, taken aback of Alice’s death glares. And so she clears herself up, “My mom told me that you and Chaeng went to see her before the New Year’s Eve. She told me everything and of course, I’m confused. I was left hanging, and obviously I’d be so damn curious why Chaeng would suddenly say those things and why she suddenly started avoiding me just after she had our first date. She’s avoiding me so how can I possibly ask her what’s wrong? I had no other choice but to ask my ex-boyfriend since I know you’re busy too. As I expected, he did dirty things and this is what he gave me. I want to know the truth. So I’m begging you, tell me.”

Alice groaned as she knows there’s no way out anymore, there’s no more excuses to be given after all these things that Jennie acquired. Jennie is here in front of her in those pleading stares in desperation and without Chaeyoung around, Alice in a tighter situation. Her meeting is still in few minutes and being a responsible sister first before being a lawyer, it is her job and priority to protect her sister from whatever’s going on inside Jennie’s head as of the moment.

Hence, releasing another huge breath, Alice gives in, “It’s true. Everything that is written on those documents is true. I won’t deny it. And I think there’s no point hiding it anymore or run away from it. As much I would want Chaeyoung to admit it herself, I think my sister is in a state that she cannot speak of it herself. I’m sure she would end up asking me to tell you either way if in case she’s here with me today.”

“No way…”

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