“You?”, Jessica’s eyes widened. She couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw Donghae was sitting on their table, and she’s also so shocked to know that the CEO of their client’s company was him too. Siwon and Gyuri looked at each other.

“Errmm.. you guys know each other?”, Siwon asked while looking at both of them. Jessica still stood froze beside the table.

“Yeah, I knew her for a long time. Hi, Miss Jung. Glad to meet you again. What a small world, huh?”, Donghae said with a smile. Jessica still stood silently as she was in her own world.

“Sica, are you okay?”, Jessica was startled when Gyuri suddenly held her arm. She then immediately sat on her chair.

“Y-yeah. I’m okay. It’s nice t-to meet you again, Mr. Lee”, Jessica replied while giving him an awkward smile.

“Alright, shall we start the meeting while waiting for the food to be served?”, Siwon asked.

“Yeah, sure Mr. Choi, let’s”, Donghae said while his eyes never off looking towards Jessica. Jessica, on the other hand, felt uncomfortable as she wanted to leave the restaurant right away. But, being a professional worker, and for the sake of Choi Industries image and goodwill, she tried to hold it on.

They continued to discuss about their companies’ collaboration. Donghae has shown his interest to invest into the new branch of Choi Industries after hearing explanations from Siwon, and reading the report of their company. While they’re in the middle of a discussion, the waiter came to serve the food and drinks for them. They decided to take a break and ate their lunch.

“So, Jessica, how’s your life? I heard that you’re already engaged”, Donghae asked while munching his food. Jessica was startled, and almost choked her food. She immediately drank the water and slowly swallowed it while rubbing her chest.

“Now, where did he get that?”, Jessica thought. She tried to compose herself before she could reply to Donghae’s question. “My life is fine, and yes, I’ve already engaged”, she replied politely.

“Oh, really? Congratulations!”, Donghae said. Jessica knew that all Donghae sayings were not sincere. She could feel that Donghae still hold a grudge against her.

“Thanks”, she smiled awkwardly. “God, please have a mercy on me! I couldn’t stand with him anymore”, she silently prayed. Suddenly Donghae’s phone rang. He excused himself and went outside the restaurant to answer the call.
“Thank you god! I feel so relief!”, she mumbled slowly.

“Jessie, are you okay? You looked a bit pale. Is your food okay?”, Gyuri asked while looking at her worriedly.

“I-I’m okay, Gyuri. Maybe because of the air conditioner. I feel a bit cold”, she lied. Gyuri felt weird as she felt the temperature wasn’t that cold. She decided to ignore it and patted on Jessica’s hand.

“If you don’t feel comfortable just let me know, okay?”, she said.

“It’s okay, Gyuri. I’m fine”, Jessica assured her with a smile. A few seconds later, Donghae entered the restaurant and walked back to their table.

“Guys, I’m so sorry. I need to excuse myself because there’s an important client from Germany wanted to see me at the office. Can we proceed the discussion some other time?”, Donghae said.

“Oh, sure Mr. Lee. it’s okay. Thank you again for your time”, Siwon immediately stood up from his chair and shake his hand with Donghae’s.

“I’ll see you guys next time, okay? And, it’s nice to meet you again, Jessica. I’ll see you around soon”, Donghae smiled while glancing at Jessica.

“Y-yeah”, Jessica replied shortly. Donghae and Mr. Son then immediately left the restaurant.

“Phew! What a day!”, Jessica thought. She then continued eating her food.

“Sica, I didn’t know that Mr. Lee knows you. Is he your friend?”, Siwon asked while looking at Jessica.

“Y-yeah. We studied at the same university in U.S. before. He’s.. my college mate”, Jessica replied with a small smile.

“Jinja? Wow, what a small world! You know what, this will make our works easy. I’m sure he will agree to invest into our new branch”, Siwon said excitedly. Jessica just smiled at him. She didn’t know what to say as she’s still shocked with unexpected meeting with Donghae earlier. The three of them then continued with their lunch.

After finished with their lunch, the three of them then went back to Choi Industries. Jessica was silent and aloof along the way back to the office. Gyuri who noticed a sudden change on Jessica after they have their lunch together with Donghae continued to keep an eye on her. She felt a little worried about Jessica.
“Sica, don’t forget to send me the marketing report about tomorrow’s meeting. Just send it through email, no need to print it out. You can go back early today, and continue your work at home”, Siwon said as soon as they entered the Choi Industries building.

“Dae, oppa”, Jessica replied. The three of them then entered the elevator. A few minutes later, the elevator stopped when it reached the right level. As soon as the three of them entered their office, Sunye, the receptionist greeted them. She then called Jessica to come near her. Gyuri and Siwon already headed to their respective office rooms. Jessica walked towards the receptionist counter.

“Miss Jung, sorry to disturb you. There’s a delivery for you”, Sunye said with a smile.

“Jinja? What is it, Sunye?”, Jessica asked while looking at her. Sunye then bent down to pick up the delivery that has been placed under the reception desk earlier. She took out a bouquet of roses and put it on the reception counter.

“This is for you, Miss Jung”, Sunye said. Jessica gasped. She never received any flowers for the past few months since she was with Sooyoung. She looked at the flower bouquet.

“Do you know who sent this?”, Jessica asked.

“Hmm.. the delivery man sent this about half an hour ago, Miss Jung”, Sunye replied. “Oh, there’s a card on it, maybe you can trace who’s the sender of this flower bouquet, Miss Jung”, she informed.

“Okay, thanks Sunye”, Jessica thanked her and carried the flower bouquet to her office room. Soon after she entered her room, she put the flower bouquet on her desk and sat on her chair. She immediately searched for the card to know who’s the sender. She then noticed a small pink card attached to a ribbon that was tied around the bouquet. She quickly took the card and read it.

To: Jessica Jung

It’s a pleasure to meet you again, Jessica. Hope you’ll like the flower, like you always do.

Love,

Donghae.

“!”, she screamed and quickly throw the flower bouquet into the trash bin. She facepalmed herself and leaned her back on the chair. Without she realized, Gyuri has just passed her room. She was shocked with Jessica’s scream and immediately entered inside the room.

“Jessica, are you okay? What happened?”, she asked worriedly. Jessica was startled by Gyuri sudden appearance.  

“Uhh.. erm.. i-it’s.. nothing, Gyuri. Sorry for making you surprised”, Jessica said with a small smile. Gyuri then took a seat in front of Jessica’s desk.

“I know it must be something, Jessie. I noticed that you’re not yourself. You looked uncomfortable, and seems like you’re in your own world after the lunch meeting with our client this afternoon. Just spill it out, I’m all ears”, Gyuri said as she smiled warmly to Jessica. Jessica let out a heavy sigh before she started to speak.

“Okay, let me close the door first”, she said as she got up from her chair and walked towards the door to close it. She then sat on the couch, and patted the couch beside her, gestured Gyuri to sit next to her. Gyuri then got up from the chair, and slowly walked to the couch and sat next to the latter. Jessica then took Gyuri’s hand, and put it on her lap.

“Promise me that you’ll keep this secret. This is between me and you only”, Jessica said as she stared into Gyuri’s eyes.

“Don’t worry, Jessie. You can put your trust on me. I promise”, Gyuri just smiled and patted Jessica’s hand. Jessica then let out another sigh before she started to speak.

“I know you must be wondering how and why did Donghae knew me, right?”, Jessica said. Gyuri nodded her head. “The truth is... he is...”, she paused as she tried to gather her strength to continue her words.

“It’s okay, Jessie, you don’t have to worry. Just tell me”, Gyuri assured her.

“He’s... my ex-fiance, Gyuri”, Jessica said. Gyuri’s eyes widened.

“Oh, dear lord!”, Gyuri said as she was in shocked. “No wonder.. you’re acting weird at the restaurant just now”, she continued. Jessica slowly released her hand from Gyuri’s and leaned her back on the couch and put one arm on her forehead. She stared at the ceiling.

“Jessie, if you don’t mind, why did you break up with him?”, Gyuri asked while looking at the miserable girl. Jessica slowly sat up straight. She was silent for a while before she replied.

“I fell out of love with him after I met Sooyoung. I really couldn’t help myself, Gyuri. I’m the one who wanted to call off our engagement. He was very angry at me at first, but then he let me go after I told him why I want to call off our engagement”, she said. Gyuri nodded her head.

“What about your parents? Did they agree on your decision?”, Gyuri asked. Jessica slowly shook her head.

“My dad immediately kicked me out of the house and the company once he knew about it. My mom had to follow on what he said. I’m such a bad girl, huh?”, she said as her voice started to crack. Gyuri then leaned closer and hugged Jessica while caressing her back.

“Don’t blame yourself, Jessie. What had happened was beyond your control. We can't predict the future, or resist the inevitable.  What you can do now is try to accept the fact of what had happened, while trying to find a space to fix the situation, and also to fix your relationship with your parents, and whoever involved with it. I'm sure one day they will understand, and be able to accept your decision”, Gyuri advised her.

“Thank you, Gyuri. I don’t know what to do without you”, she said. Gyuri slowly released the hug.

“You’re most welcome, Jessie”, she smiled and patted on Jessica’s shoulder. She then saw the flower bouquet that had been dumped into the trash bin. “Why did you throw that flowers into the trash bin?”, Gyuri asked while pointing her finger at the trash bin.

“Oh, that flower.. Donghae sent it to me.. right after we had our lunch meeting with him”, Jessica replied hesitantly. Gyuri was surprised. She then let out a soft sigh.

“You know what, this obviously shown that he still hope for you return to him”, Gyuri blurted out. Jessica then nodded her head in agreement.

“I know it, Gyuri. I know that he will never let me go that easily. Like I said earlier, he seems like still holding a grudge against me. I hope he wouldn’t do anything that will harm Sooyoung and Danny”, she said worriedly. Gyuri then slowly leaned her back on the couch and stared at the window as she was in a deep thought. She suddenly sat up straight, facing Jessica.

“Hmm.. do you want me to talk to Siwon to cancel the collaboration with his company?”, Gyuri asked.

“No, no, no.. please.. don’t do that, Gyuri. Siwon oppa had told me earlier that the board of directors wants us to get this collaboration, no matter what”, Jessica replied. Gyuri let out a sigh.

“I’m sorry, Jessie. I can’t help you much”, she said. “So, what are you planning to do next?”, she asked.

“I don’t know, Gyuri. But I need to confront with him later. I don’t want him to disrupt my life anymore”, Jessica replied. Gyuri patted Jessica’s hand and smiled.

“I hope everything will be alright soon”, she said. “Alright, I need to continue with my work. You’re going back home after this, right?”, she asked as she stood up from the couch.

“Yeah, I need to prepare the report for tomorrow’s meeting”, Jessica said. She stood up from the couch and walked to her desk.

“Alright. I’ll see you on tomorrow. Bye, Jessie, take care!”, Gyuri bid her goodbye before she left the room.

“Bye!”, Jessica said while waving her hand at the latter. She then immediately tidied up her desk and took her handbag. She then walked out of the room. After informed Hyuna that she will going back home early, she then took her phone from her handbag and dialled Sooyoung’s number.

“RING! RING! RING!”

“Hi babe!”, Sooyoung answered excitedly. She then heard a noisy sound at the background.

“Hey baby, are you still at the shopping mall?”, Jessica asked.

“Yup, your little warrior still enjoying his time playing with the kids here. He dumped me right after he met his new friends. Oh, I’m alone!”, he playfully said in a sad tone. Jessica laughed.

“Silly! I’ll come there. Which shopping mall you’re at?”, she asked.

“I’m at Coex. I thought you’ll coming home late today?”, he replied.

“Yup, supposed to. But Siwon oppa allowed me to go back home early. I’ll continue my work at home”, she said.

“Yeayyy! Hurry up, babe. I’m alone and cold hereee”, he whined.

“Yah! Stop it!”, Jessica exclaimed. Sooyoung laughed his head off.  “Okay, I’m hung up now. See you soon. Bye baby!”, she said as she ended the call. She quickly entered inside the elevator.

: )

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Hello chingus! Sorry again for the late update. Hope you guys like it. I'll try to reply all your comments soonest possible. Love you guys! Muahhh! :-*

Sincerely,

Your humble author.