Chapter Fifteen: Luck? Are You Sure I'm Lucky?

A sigh escaped from Jessica’s mouth as she opened the door, witnessing that Tiffany was sitting on her couch. She should seriously change her door knob if she wanted privacy. “What are you doing here? Go back home.”

Tiffany looked at her. “This is my home.”

Jessica knew her best friend too well. Noticing that there was no Yuri in sight, she already understood what happened. “You fought?” She asked as she locked the door behind her.

“No.” Tiffany replied, averting her eyes from Jessica. The blonde took the seat beside her. 

“You don’t have a problem?”

“No. None.”

“Are you sure?” Tiffany simply sighed in response, and this was enough proof that something really did happen. “Okay…” she said as she stood up. “Since you don’t have any problems, I’d go to bed now.” A smirk crept on Jessica’s face as she felt a hand on her arm, preventing her from going anywhere else.

“Yuri’s going behind my back.”

That alarmed Jessica. She didn’t expect that it was something serious. Yuri? Cheating on Tiffany? Impossible! She knew both Tiffany and Yuri very well and not one of them was capable of doing that. Especially Yuri who loved only Tiffany. She was positive that it would never happen. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah! I saw a text message!” Tiffany creased her brows in fury. “How could she?! Are we not enough?!”

“We?”

“Yeah! Why would she go behind our backs?!”

Jessica raised her hand, asking for Tiffany to stop. “What? What the hell are you talking about?” She started scratching her head; she was not able to follow what the other girl was talking about. “Can you start from the top please?”

“Yuri’s quitting.”

“What do you mean?” Jessica sat beside Tiffany right away. Quitting? Quitting what?

Tiffany sighed once again. “Exactly what I said. She’s quitting on us.”

She was going to quit on them? Did she mean the restaurant? Well that was the only thing Yuri could quit on anyway. The blonde leaned back to a more comfortable position as she recalled offering Yuri the job before. Less than a year ago, Yuri, Jessica, and Tiffany barely graduated from their respective universities. When Jessica and Tiffany planned this business, the former already knew that Yuri should be a part of their crew. Since they worked well in high school, why wouldn’t they work well now? Her decisions were mostly outstanding. Look at the restaurant and its current stat, wasn’t it doing so great? Wasn’t this crew they created something ideal? So why now? Why would she quit now when everything was perfect? 

The blonde couldn’t help but sigh. It was clear to her now. Yuri and Tiffany’s love affair shouldn’t be the reason for this. Obviously, they were both joking around, smiling, and even kissing at the Jung’s residence so Jessica didn’t entertain the idea of fighting. There would only be two reasons and she stated one. “She might have gotten a better offer then. Just let her be.” She tried to deliver it as best as possible. Knowing her best friend, she wouldn’t take it lightly. She wouldn’t accept the fact that Yuri was leaving the restaurant. Who could blame Yuri though? If there ever comes a day that Jessica would have to work under Taeyeon, she would hate it. Well, it was her thinking about it hypothetically! She wasn’t even officially with the girl. To get her thoughts back in trail, she mentally shook her head, not giving room to even think about her fake, unofficial relationship – whatever it was called. So thinking about it more rationally, if Yuri was to be paid more than what she was getting from the restaurant, Jessica could see no problem.

“No! She’s ditching us!” Tiffany slammed her fist on her lap; her tone was almost whining. 

“Tiffany,” Jessica calmly called in hopes that it would also calm her best friend down. What she was going to say was something the latter might hate hearing, but she had to tell her. No one would bother standing up against this mini-tyrant anyway. Not Yuri or any of her other friends. So it was only Jessica who could actually knock some sense in her. “If she wants to leave, then there must be a reason.”

“You’re okay with this? You do realize she’s your assistant chef, right?” Tiffany crossed her arms as she leaned back; her brows were raised at Jessica.

Jessica exhaled. “I’m fine with it. I’m sure she has her reasons.” Seeing that there was no reaction from Tiffany, Jessica knew she had to push further. She already stated that she was fine with it and most certainly, did not harbor the same feelings as Tiffany. There was no turning back now. “Exactly. She’s my assistant, and I’m telling you that I’m fine. So you should, too.”

“What?”

“Tiffany, if you really think things through, we’re entrepreneurs now. We simply can’t let our emotions dictate us. You can’t consider your feelings when you’re running a business. We lose people in this industry and so we need to hire new ones. Easy.”

“Whatever.” Tiffany simply stated as she stood up from her seat and she started to walk towards the stairs. 

“I feel lonely at night. You should sleep in my room.” Jessica just followed Tiffany with her eyes. She saw her head move, gesturing a nod. “I’ll be there soon.” There were plenty of rooms in her house, so why her room specifically? Well, if Tiffany was alone, she’d probably end up crying herself to sleep. If not, she’d probably not sleep at all. Having known Tiffany for years, the blonde already knew how she reacted on all situations. She put up this loud, meticulous, scary façade so she could refrain from people to using her for her parents’ money. Growing up as a spoiled brat, Tiffany only acted this way to the people around her.

The blonde fished for her phone in her pocket, she remembered she told Taeyeon that she’d text her once she arrived home. To her surprise, there was a text message from the kid.


Home yet?

The blonde looked at the time, it was fifteen minutes ago. She quickly typed in her message.

 

Sorry for the late reply. Tiffany’s in my house and seems like she’s spending the night here with me.

Oh? Really? Then you should tend to your friend. 
 

Nah. She should be alone. Can I call you?

I’m with my parents. Is it something important? I can go to my room if you want. =]
 

Don’t worry about it. I just wanted to hear your voice.

Lol! Quit kidding around, ahjumma!


Okay, Jessica knew that was a corny line, but she wasn’t kidding. She really just wanted to hear Taeyeon say good night. Sighing, she then replied.

 

Kidding! Well, you should sleep now. I’ll go to bed soon, too. See you tomorrow?

I’ll see you in the restaurant.  Good night, ahjumma.
 

Haha! Good night, kid!

Jessica plopped her phone next to her. Why must her love life –if one could even consider it a love life - be so complicated? Why couldn’t she call her own girlfriend? Why did she have to ask permission to hear Taeyeon’s voice? Damn! The girl wasn’t even her girlfriend. Grunting, she decided to go upstairs to make sure her best friend wasn’t suicidal. At least listening to Tiffany’s rants would occupy her mind, not allowing herself to think of her own worries.

Upstairs, she noticed that Tiffany was already on her bed. Jessica tiptoed towards her bathroom to get ready for slumber. After everything was done, the blonde marched to her bed and laid herself there. Staring at the white ceiling, a smile crept on her face as she recalled today’s dinner with her family and friends. It was fun being with her family and friends. It might be embarrassing that they were revealing some things about past to Taeyeon, but now that she thought about it, they were just doing that so Taeyeon wouldn’t feel so left out.

Even her dad was joking around Taeyeon, saying he would hire Taeyeon after college and then he would just give the company to the girl since he raised a thug. Everyone laughed at this statement, including Jessica.

“Jessi?” Tiffany’s muffled voice burst the blonde’s bubble, dragging her back to reality.

“Hmm?”

Tiffany moved her body to face Jessica’s way, causing the latter to pivot her head to the former’s way. “I’ve been thinking.” She paused and looked Jessica in the eyes despite the darkness. “You’re luckier than I. At least if Taeyeon did this to you, it would be fine. I mean… you’re lucky that you’re not in a relationship that makes you expect so much from your lover.”

From her lover? Jessica didn’t even know if she could consider Taeyeon her lover or anything like that. She blinked for a couple of times, and then said, “I guess.” That was the only thing she could say. What else was there to say anyway? That Tiffany was right? But if her best friend was so right about it, why couldn’t she feel the same way? If she was so lucky, she wouldn’t even ask Taeyeon if she could call the kid. If she was so lucky, she wouldn’t even be staring at her ceiling just to reminisce how Taeyeon’s voice sounded!

“You’re so lucky that you’re in a relationship that doesn’t expect crap from each other. You just enjoy each other’s company.”

Was she really lucky? Since Tiffany brought it up, Jessica just couldn’t think that this was a strike of luck. She was everything but lucky.

The blonde simply looked at Tiffany and said, “The grass isn’t always greener on the other side, Tiff.”

 

******

“Onew, didn’t I tell you we need green bell peppers?” Jessica asked as she shoved the chilies to the side. “It’s a main ingredient for the special today.”

“Seriously?” Onew came from the seasoning section and gave her a confused look. “I could’ve sworn that I got those things before I started the sorting the spices.”

“Right.” She said as she checked the pots and other ingredients. “Make sure there are a lot of those.”

“Yes’m!” He dashed off somewhere else, dragging one of the prep chefs along with him.

As she finished prepping, Jessica went to her office to check on some orders before the busy day started. She sat down on her comfortable leather chair, twisting and turning as she perused the papers. Just as she was to call a customer to confirm the hefty amounts of orders, she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She fished for the item and read Taeyeon’s message, causing her to smile.

Good morning, ahjumma! It’s sad that the weekend’s over. I had tons of fun! xD
 

I had a nice weekend too! =] Thank you.

No need to thank me. I should be the one thanking you. You invited me to your party, had dinner with your family and friends, and… yeah! You’re really amazing. =]
 

And… yeah??? What does that mean? And yeah???

/)__(\



“Jessica…?”

Yuri’s voice?

The blonde looked up, faced the door and witnessed her friend standing. The huge grin that crept on her face vanished; she couldn’t help but feel concerned about the expression on Yuri’s face. “What’s up?” 

“Uhmmm…” Yuri started as she walked towards Jessica, shutting the door behind her. She looked at her boss sheepishly. 

Placing the cell phone on her desk, Jessica said, “Speak up,” as she reached for her pen. She studied yesterday’s inventory so that she could start ordering from their food supplier that afternoon. 

Yuri gulped. “Yo- you’re mad at me, too, huh?”

“Should I have a reason to be mad at you?” 

The taller girl simply placed her hand on her head, scratching her crown. “I mean… I’m sure you heard from Tiffany.”

“So?”

“You’re mad.” The younger girl stated.

“I’m not.” Jessica said nonchalantly. “I don’t see the point of getting mad at you.”

“You… you don’t?”

Putting her chart down, the blonde looked up, meeting Yuri’s eyes. “I’m sure you have your reasons. I can’t have you under my payroll forever, you know.”

“Exactly! I’m offered to be a head chef at this four star restaurant.” Yuri sat on the chair in front of Jessica’s desk. “You understand me, right?”

Jessica simply rolled her eyes, and then grabbed her pen – once again working on her order form. She already knew Yuri had her reasons so what was the point of explaining things to her? Nothing really. “I’m not Tiffany, just so you know.”

Yuri sighed, which caused for the blonde to look her way. “Help me convince her.”

“Do it yourself.” 

“Please?”

It was now Jessica’s time to sigh at her friend. “I tried, okay? I tried telling her that you must have your reasons, but you know how Tiffany is. She probably feels that you’re abandoning her or something. Just show her that nothing will change.”

“It’s hard! It’s Tiffany! She expects the world from me, Jessica. That’s why I took this job! To give her the world. To meet all her expectations. For once, to be somebody else because of my own abilities.”

“Then tell her that. I’m not the one you’re sleeping with.”

“Yeah, I’m her girlfriend but she listens to you. You know that since day one, Jessica. Tiffany is just… she’s used to getting everything she wants. What can I give her when I’m under her payroll?”

“Tiffany? Listens to me? You must be on crack. That girl never listens to anyone.”

“Sure she does! She listens to you but expects everything from everyone, including me! You’re the reasoning voice, Jessica! Please, please, please, please,” She leaned forward and grabbed Jessica’s hands. “please, help me out.”

Jessica wriggled her hands out of Yuri’s grasp then said, “It’s your problem. Sure, she expects things from you. But that’s because you’re Yuri. In her head, you mean something that’s why she expects something.”

Yuri glanced at her, eyes resembling that of a puppy’s. “But…”

“No, Yuri.”

“Jessica…?”

“I. Said. No.”Jessica gave her a cold stare. 

“You’re so mean!” Grunting, Yuri pulled her hairs out. “You know, I wish I was you sometimes! You get this adorable girl and not have any loads on your shoulders. You’re lucky Taeyeon doesn’t expect anything from you.”

Why was everyone saying that Jessica was lucky? Did they even know how hard it was to be in a so-called relationship, and not to be so attached? Did they even know how frustrating it was to ask permission that normally couples wouldn’t require any permission? Just like last night when Jessica had to ask Taeyeon if she could call. What kind of world was Jessica living in when there was a day when she had to cover the fact that she wanted to hear Taeyeon’s voice?

“I wish she does…” The blonde mumbled.

“What? What did you say?”

“Nothing.”

“Sure it’s nothing.” Yuri rested her arms on top of the desk, crossing it, and placed her forehead on it. “Tiffany’s a tough shell to crack. You’re lucky Taeyeon’s so adorable.”

“I’ll tell Tiffany you said she’s not adorable.” Jessica shot Yuri a glare and then continued, “And quit checking Taeyeon out. You have a girlfriend!”

“Someone’s jealous.” Yuri sat up, smirking at the blonde.

“Am not.”

“Are too!”

“Am not!”

“Are too!”

Jessica slammed her hand on her desk, “You’re fired!”

“Stupid. I’m quitting. You’re just trying to avert the subject to my termination from your jealousy.” Yuri giggled.

“Finally you’ll be off my bad in two weeks.” Jessica busied herself with the paperwork in front of her. Hearing some giggles from Yuri, she then bellowed, “Go and work! I’m still paying you!” The blonde ignored the girl in front of her, until Yuri gave up and left to actually do some of her work. 

She grabbed for her phone to contact her supplier, but stopped when her cell phone vibrated on her hardwood desk.

And yeah…


Huh? What was that supposed to mean? She was about to text a reply, but felt her phone vibrate again. 


It means I’m happy to be spending time with you. ><


What the hell was the kid’s problem? It was like she was tramping on Jessica! How could she say something so direct when she turned Jessica’s phone call yesterday? But the smile that crept on Jessica’s face was unstoppable. She was grinning like crazy.

Shouldn’t you be studying now? Aren’t you the president? You shouldn’t be texting in class!

It’s free time right now. =] And exactly, I’m the president so that gives me the opportunity to have a conversation with former president Jung Sooyeon. 

Now aren’t you too lucky?

I’ll see you at 3! Like usual. :]

Of course! I’ll be there<3

As Jessica put her cell phone down, she felt that Tiffany and Yuri must be right. She was indeed lucky. By coincidence, she had a girlfriend. Well, if she could even call Taeyeon that. But if she was to have Taeyeon around her that way, and that was the only way to be around the kid, then by all means, she was a lucky person.




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