Although destroying Sica’s dearly departed AC did vent out most of her frustrations, Yuri still had plenty of negative energy to expend.


With loud, haughty steps she stomped around the house like an angry gorilla, trying to find something to do whilst making sure to slam any and all doors behind her in hopes of alleviating her mood.


No doubt Jessica heard them.


But what does she care? She doesn’t care about anything, Yuri bitterly thought.


She’s probably still outside bawling about that stupid machine…which is why Yuri couldn’t garden to pass the time, much to the self-confessed gardener’s discontent.


Although it usually didn’t upset Yuri, Jessica had a tendency to make decisions by herself without a care in the world--and often times, that included Yuri. Jessica never thought to ask her about Taecyeon coming down for dinner nor did she tell her about Siwon fixing the AC.


Especially when single bachelors came into the equation, Yuri just couldn’t help but be overprotective of her apathetic wife. Who knows who might take advantage of the fact?


Definitely a slight communication problem, Yuri mentally noted although she’d been aware of it from the very beginning. But both never sought to fix it as they shared the same mentality: what’s the point of talking it out when they’ll kiss and make up the very next day?


And so, Yuri unknowingly continues the usual routine of the aftermath of a married couple’s fight, picking up her cell phone in hopes of bothering someone else as she could never stand the torturous silence that came with a fight.


Although Jessica never acted like she listened, she always did. It was no easy task especially when dealing with someone as talkative and capricious as Yuri, holding down hour-long conversations about topics as mundane as mushrooms or the color pink.


Suddenly, it dawned on Yuri that she had no one to confide in after marrying Jessica and quitting her job. It’s as if her entire life revolved around Jessica and the kids. And it did. It was never a problem really; that is until they fought like this in which case Yuri found herself alone, twiddling with her fingers until Jessica forgave her or vice versa. But what the hell; their fights were usually short-lived anyway. This one won’t be any different.


“Hello?”, a voice came out of the phone’s speaker, effectively snapping Yuri out of her day dreaming.


“Sooyoung!”, Yuri greeted a little more excitedly than she intended to sound.


She hears Sooyoung sigh on the other line, “No, Yuri, you can’t borrow money”


“Yah, I don’t call you just for favors. I’m appalled!”


“Of course you do. But seeing that it’s not about money, I’d take a gamble and guess that—the clanking of several metals could be heard followed by Sooyoung cursing—UGH hold on a second”


Yuri hears more clanking sounds in the background.


“Alright what?”, Sooyoung continues, her voice carrying a small echo, alerting Yuri that she’s now been put on speakerphone.


“What's all that noise? What are you doing?”


“I was cooking, idiot.”


“How should I know? I’m not a fortune-teller, nitwit. And you cook? I was absolutely certain you were only capable of devouring”


“Ha.Ha. If you called to tease me, I’d be more than happy to return the favor…but not today. The fact that you’re calling me now probably means that you and Jessica had a little love spat. I usually find it hilarious, basking in your fail moments and all but seriously; go bug someone else. I’m with my girlfriend right now. We’re about to watch a romantic movie and I’m expecting a little CHT action”


“WTF, how do you know about that?!”


“Because you and Jessica fight like cats and dogs?”


“No, I meant CHT!”


“Oh that?”


“What the hell?! Is my life broadcasted on prime time television?”


“God forbid. R-rated shows aren’t allowed on primetime. You two are shameless. I can barely stand your Pg-rated-PDA—if it can even be classified as PG. You know, you really scarred that child of yours. I think that’s why she grew up to be such a player”


“Yoona? Yoona told you too?!”


Before Sooyoung could further tease Yuri, another voice interrupted.


“Baby? Who’s that?”. Yuri hears a woman’s voice, presumably Sooyoung’s girlfriend.


“Nobody. Go put the movie in, I’m coming~ And with food too!”, she heard Sooyoung reply, her tone slightly higher in affection.


“Gotta go, Kwon”, Yuri hears Sooyoung say, the latter assuming the former would do the favor of ending the call as she heard no attempts from the other side to hang up.


But Yuri only grinned from ear to ear.


A chance to the er?


When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, they say.


And so with a Cheshire grin, Yuri began formulating the recipe of the sour brew, ready to serve it extremely cold.


“Babeee~~”, Yuri whined into the phone with as much aegyo as she could muster.


Silence.


At which point Yuri could just picture the normally quick-witted woman’s dumbfounded expression as she tried to formulate a reasonable explanation as to why this cute-sounding girl was whining into her phone to her girlfriend who undoubtedly was standing within earshot.


“I miss you soooo much~”, Yuri continued, faux aegyo reaching unbearable heights, “Especially after we had that amazing night together. When are you coming to see me again~”, she added with her sultry voice.


“Yah…who is that girl?”, Sooyoung’s girlfriend asked.


And boy, did she sound pissed.


“Y-Yuri, shut up!”, Yuri heard Sooyoung yell, and God knows how much she tried not to collapse on the floor, dying of laughter as she imagined how red-faced the tall woman could be.


“N-nobody! She’s just an annoying idiot!”


Yuri swallowed the chortles threatening to burst out whilst repeatedly banging the counter with a palm in mirth. In the end, she had to press mute as she couldn’t hold back her laughter anymore. She clutched her stomach, trying hard to survive the fit of giggles that had suddenly broken out with vigor.


Just outside, Jessica wonders whether there was a lost hyena wandering in the house as she heard its laugh echo even outside the confines of their home.


“You didn’t answer my question”, Yuri heard Sooyoung’s girlfriend hissed amidst her loud giggling.


“Jessica’s wife”, Yuri heard Sooyoung immediately answer.


Oho. Smart lawyer, Yuri applauds. Sooyoung WOULD mention the fact that she had a wife in hopes of quelling any further misunderstanding.


Shame it backfired.


“You’re talking to someone else’s wife?!?”


“It’s not like that! Jessica’s my best friend. I’ll introduce you soon~, I promise~”


“Sooyoung…are you…sharing?”


Silence as Sooyoung tried to process what she meant followed by a loud bellow when she finally understood the question.


“NO! First off, EW! Not with them! Second, I told you I’m only seeing you now~. You don’t have to worry about her; let’s just watch the movie~”


“I don’t feel like it anymore…”, an irritated woman says, footsteps echoing through the line as she walked away, leaving poor shoulder-slumped Sooyoung alone in the kitchen with her cold stew in hand.


“Yuri, you a**hole!”, Sooyoung yelled so loud Yuri had to hold the phone an arm’s length away from her ear.


“HA! Payback is a b*tch! Later, babe~!”


--


“For someone who just destroyed about 4 thousand dollars’ worth of machinery, you seem to be in a great mood”


Yuri straightened herself out just in time to catch a glimpse of Jessica coming in from the back door. She weakly wiped the unstoppable tears in her eyes as she recovered from laughing at Sooyoung’s misery a full 5 minutes after the phone call.


Although her irritability with Jessica dramatically decreased after pranking the Shikshin, it seems the Ice Queen’s subtle low blow reminded her of the fight.


“Well, you’re not doing too bad yourself. Especially after inviting 2 men into your house without your wife’s knowledge and consent”, Yuri nonchalantly bantered.


“Hmm can’t say I didn’t expect you to stay quiet”, Jessica smirked passively; well aware of Yuri’s need to have the last word.


With that in mind, she decided to leave, “I’m going to take a nap”, Jessica declared, heading for the next room before Yuri cut her off.


“Did you also invite the next door neighbor to join you?”


“Silly Yul~ You already have dibs on Siwon”, Jessica deadpanned before walking to the living room to plop down on the couch.


--


Having already distracted herself by tending to the garden, Yuri dials Yoona’s phone number as she was still in need of updates as well as company.


Sitting outside on the patio overlooking her precious garden, Yuri propped her feet up on the nearby coffee table as she waited for the choding to answer.


Nothing.


Just as she was about to hang up, someone picked up.


“Yoona?”, Yuri questioned when Yoona didn’t speak.


“Yeah?”, her daughter finally answered albeit wearily.


“You sound horrible. Are you sick?”


“Yeah”


“…well I’m just calling to see how you are”


“I’ve been better”


“Having a rough day?”


“Rough week more like it”


Yuri chuckled, “You’ve only been there for 2 days”


“Feels like forever”


“Don’t worry, it’ll get better. Spending time with the in-laws is always an unpleasant affair; just ask your omma”


“Oddly this isn’t making me better…”, Yoona replied bitterly.


“So have you proposed yet?”


“No”


“Stop being a chicke—“


“I’m gonna break up with her”


Yuri paused for a second to recover from shock, “…uhmmm—wow…what a 180. You got bored already?“, she questioned, aware of her daughter’s inept ability to stay interested in a committed relationship.


“She slapped me”, Yoona replied, bitterly somber.


“…Why?”


“What do you mean why? She slapped me; that’s the point!”


“Was it warranted?”


“Definitely not! All I did was try to make love to her!”


“Yoona…you didn’t…”


“…”


“My God…you did…”


Yuri sighs, finally piecing it together, “Listen kid, it takes two to tango; it’s not ‘making love’ if she doesn’t want it. What you did was something entirely different and the usual result is a 5 year sentence in jail!”


“She wants it too! She’s just so uptight! I don’t know if it’s because of her parents or her ex being here—“


“Wait, her ex is there?”


“We’re at his house. They’re good friends apparently. That’s weird right?!”


“Well, think about it this way; you and Taecyeon are still friends right?”


“Well, yeah but that was before I met Seohyun. I haven’t talked to him since then and I have no intention of talking to him again. EVER…Unlike her who seems so adamant about keeping her ex as her BFF”, Yoona spat bitterly.


“Ha, good luck with that. Your mother just invited him over for dinner”


“Who? Taecyeon? Are you serious? OMG. If mom likes him so much why doesn’t she just marry him?”


“Because it’s taboo to marry your daughter’s ex and that’ll make her a cougar”, Yuri joked to lighten the mood although miserably failing.


“Appa…I don’t want him anywhere near Seohyun…”, Yoona sulked, going back to her misery.


“Well, Yoong...you gotta deal with the fact that people can still remain close friends with each other even after a breakup”, Yuri states whilst shaking her head disapprovingly at her daughter’s territorial nature…which was undoubtedly inherited from her.


“Just look at Sooyoung and your omma”, Yuri added.


“You don’t understand. This is Seohyun we’re talking about. She doesn’t let just anyone in. You know how long it took for me to get her to open up?! I mean, they’re so close; I’m practically sleeping on his bed!”


“Whoa there…is this Seohyun girl some kind of a…freak?”


“What?”


“I mean I knew you were adventurous but really? Ménage à trois?”


“APPA! Could you stop thinking like a for one second and help me?!”


“Well, I’m just saying”


“Appa…what do I do? I think we should just break up--”


“You’re running away from your problems again. You know how much I despise people who do that. You know what you need to do and you want to do it too. You’ve just got a thick head”


“I’m not apologizing. She slapped me!”


“It’s not about who’s right or who’s wrong; it’s about how much you care about her that you’d do anything to fix the problem--whether it be owning up to your own faults or accepting hers”


Yuri continued as Yoona took in wisdom from her mother in silence, seriously pondering Yuri’s words.





“Do you love her, Yoong?”


“Well, she can be very frustrating and--”


“Can you imagine being with anybody else?”


“I haven’t thought about it but at the moment---”


“Are you even serious about this?”


“YES! She just has to stop acting like such a—“


“Why did you fly all the way over there?”


“To ask her parents for her hand in marriage! but I don’t think they---”


“And why do you want to propose to her?”


“Because I love her! ...Now stop interrupting me, you old fruitcake!”, Yoona yelled in frustration.





“DING DING DING!”, Yuri cheered like a pro game show host, finally hearing the words she wanted to hear.


“If you love her, nothing else should matter since---wait, did you just call me a fruitcake?”


Silence on the other side with the mother assuming she had finally broken through her daughter’s stubborn wall.


“I know it’s hard to apologize but don’t wait until she walks out on you. Your mother and I had problems like that plenty of times. She’s walked out on me and I’ve walked out on her more times than I’d like to admit. Hell, she just did it today. But I’m lucky she always comes back but that’s not to say that I didn’t do my fair share of chasing as well. Yoona; you have to realize that not everyone will come back. Do you want to take that chance with this girl? For the sake of what? Pride? Jealousy?”


“You’re right…”


Just then, Yuri wished she had a long noodle-like mustache to as she successfully passed on her old wisdom to the next generation of master lovers.


“And in my opinion, you shouldn’t have done that in the first place. I’ll own up to the fact that you might’ve inherited some sort of y genes from your omma -Yoona scoffs in a whisper: ‘I got it from you, you old hag’-. But I did not raise a molester, you hear me? ”


“…Unless it’s welcomed for playful role-playing purposes but judging by her reaction, I don’t think she’ll be into it like your omma is—“


“STOP! STOP RIGHT THERE! EW! Stop talking about that! I don’t even want to hear about it!”


“I think your girlfriend’s uptight-ness is rubbing off on you. You sure? Maybe you can learn a thing or two whe—“


“BYE!”, Yoona attempts to hang up to save what’s left of her innocence—if she even had any left having been raised by two shamefully open parents.


“Wait Yoong…”, Yuri halts her, sounding unusually serious.


Yoona pauses, caught off-guard by her suddenly serious tone.





“I love you”





Often times, it made Yoona cringe when anybody but her Jessica omma said it, but somehow, Yuri’s affection brought about a slight smile. Suddenly, it didn’t seem so cold anymore.


Yoona mentally returned the expression as her Appa somehow knew that she needed to be shown some affection (call it mother’s intuition). Although hundreds of miles away, she was reminded that she was still unconditionally loved—if not here, then definitely somewhere else.


“And I’m not letting you set foot in my house unless you’re coming home with a fiancé”, Yuri continued, tone almost smug: a challenge.


And Yoona doesn’t like losing to anybody, especially to Yuri.


“Good luck!”


Spirits lifted, Yoona felt some confidence welling up again, “Thanks appa. I’ll make this stubborn Kim-Hwang fall for me all over again!”


Yuri smiled through the phone, half from pride and half from amusement of her choding’s silly antics until---


“Wait…did you say Hwang?!”


Then the line went dead.


--


Yuri goes inside to wash her hands, making sure to clean the dirt underneath her fingernails from a tedious session of weed-pulling.


Finally finishing, she heads upstairs for a much needed shower, passing by the sleeping figure of Jessica passed out in the living room.


She briefly stops to stare; a little taken at how peaceful she looked in comparison to when she’s awake. If anything, she seems so much more fragile when she’s not spitting out venom like the whole world is after her.


Yuri squats in front of the couch, tilting her head to the side as she brushed a piece of blonde hair away from Jessica’s face; the same face she was greeted by every morning since the very beginning.


Patience. God knows how much Jessica had just to deal with her on a daily basis.


Reminded of the uncanny similarities she shares with her eldest daughter, she questions: was she that jealous and overbearing when they were younger? Definitely.


But has she changed at all? Probably not.


Yuri sighsat the thought of being a hypocrite, knowing she had to take her own advice.


She’s already lost someone dear due to her controlling and overbearing attitude.


“I don’t think being possessive and controlling will win you anybody, Yuri”, a voice from the past calls out.


Tiffany was right; well half right. Although a pain to deal with, Jessica had been patient enough to put up with it; something Tiffany apparently couldn’t do.


Hwang...


Could it be that this Seohyun is…?


After all these years?


But in the end, Yuri refuses to believe that the world is that small.