*NO ONE EDITED THIS. PARDON MY ERRORS. I typed this on my ipad!



Chapter Seventeen: Porridge For The Sick


The day went by quickly for Jessica. Though she was at the orphanage, her mind wasn't truly present throughout the party. She gave the gift to the kids, somewhat interacted with the children and other staff, and somehow she was able to blow her cake and eat it too. These events happened, though in Jessica's mind, only one person truly mattered. 

Questions filled her mind as she recalled the events that partook that day with Taeyeon. From the moment the kid left to now as she drove back home, she couldn't get things straight in her mind. 

Sure, she did a horrible job at taking care of her at the orphanage, but was it enough to cause Taeyeon to call her 'Sooyeon-unnie'? Were there other motives? She truly couldn't think of any. Unless, if she should be cocky enough, she did reach the thought of Taeyeon being jealous of Minyoung. But that was just absurd. How could she be jealous of Minyoung when she was the one who proposed the idea of fake dating to begin with?

Out of frustration, Jessica grunted and hit the steering wheel with her palm. Well, the possibility of Taeyeon truly feeling ill was still there. But Jessica didn't buy that excuse simply because of how the kid acted towards her. If she was just sick, why didn't she just call Jessica 'Jessica'? Why must it be 'Sooyeon-unnie'? 

Did she do something wrong? Maybe so. But they barely interacted to even cause a misunderstanding. 

Jessica looked at the time, it was a little past five in the afternoon and she was close to her family's house. If she drops by there to cook Taeyeon something to eat, then that would give her an excuse to see the latter, right?


******

"Wow. You're here?" Jessica's father gave her a kiss on the forehead when he walked in on her in the kitchen. Missis Han informed him that his daughter was in the house when he arrived. You're cooking dinner for us?" He asked as he took a peek of dish. "That looks delicious. I can't wait."

"No, Dad. It's not for you," Jessica said as she mixed the rice porridge that she had been cooking to perfection for awhile now.

"What?! And you use my ingredients?"

"Missis Han told me they had someone deliver food from the caterer." Jessica sighed as she looked at her dad. "Taeyeon said she's sick."

"Sick of you?" her father chuckled as he joked with her. Noticing the frown on Jessica's face, he then cleared his throat and said, "I thought she was with you at the orphanage?"

Jessica blinked her eyes once in surprise and looked up to meet her father's gaze. "How did you know?" 

"Minyoung called me earlier," he nonchalantly said as he pivoted his body to head towards the bar stood situated by the island. "She asked how we are and then just said that she likes your new girlfriend that she met," he stated as he sat himself on the stool. 

"You talk to my ex like she's your friend." Jessica heard her father chuckle so she continued, "It's not funny. You should stop being so close with them."

"Why?" He asked as if what he was doing wasn't unusual. "Taeyeon and I need to get along. She will inherit my business one day because I raised a thug who doesn't like studying law. At least I know that she has passion for what your mother and I do."

"Whatever." Jessica lifted the pot of rice porridge and moved, placing it on the counter to cool down. "Just... don't."

"So..." he started and paused. "Is she really sick?"

"Well..." That got Jessica thinking again. Was Taeyeon really sick? If she was, then what was the point of being nervous? Or for her to make Jessica feel distant? Was it her fault for not introducing Taeyeon as her girlfriend? It could be that, though it still didn't make sense to her.

"Well is she?"

"That's what she told us when she left."

Jessica's father sighed. "You're really hopeless."

"What? What did I do now?”

“If she really was just sick, she would have just cancelled on you from the very beginning.”

Feeling as though the whole world was ganging up on her, Jessica needed to defend herself. At least even though she felt that her father was right, this was a matter of pride. “How about if her head just started hurting when she got there?”

“Oh? So Taeyeon’s not the type to endure the pain for you?”

Jessica couldn’t say anything in rebuttal. Her father did make a good point. Taeyeon would have endured the pain. So was she really jealous? Or maybe she was upset because Jessica left her?

“I just hope that you didn’t do anything stupid like left her alone and talked with Minyoung the whole time.” Jessica bit her lower lip as her father said these words. “I can’t believe you! You left your new girlfriend alone while you caught up with your former girlfriend? You’re horrible!”

“Wow. Thanks for being such a good dad, Dad.” There was bitterness in Jessica’s tone. It wasn’t like she was mad that her father was stating facts, it was more that she was upset that other people seemed to be more sensitive when it came to her relationship. It upsets her that it seemed like everyone would end up thinking it was her mistake. But how could they just lay it all on Jessica when Taeyeon was also to blame?

If it wasn’t for this ambiguous relationship, Jessica would have known how to handle things from the very beginning. But life wasn’t very easy when calling her own ‘girlfriend’ needed permission.

“You need to talk to her and apologize.” Her father advised as he stood up from the seat, rubbed Jessica’s crown, and left.

Apologize? Her father really didn’t know that their relationship was everything but real.


******


Jessica walked back and forth in front of the Kim's residence. Contemplating on whether or not to give Taeyeon a call to inform her that she was just outside, she bit her lip as she decided to lift her hand to ring the doorbell instead. Butterflies started to grow in her stomach each second passed. She didn't really think things through before deciding to cook for Taeyeon and then personally bringing the porridge and pasta to her. She could've just asked any of their help from home to deliver it, but she also wanted to talk to Taeyeon to apologize for leaving her alone the whole time. That and also, to somehow confirm if Taeyeon was not jealous of Minyoung. 

But now that Jessica was actually there, just waiting for someone to meet her, she couldn't help but feel anxious. The possibility of finally meeting Taeyeon’s parents was high. It was their house after all. She looked down, studying her ensembles. Would they be fine with what she was wearing? Skinny denim and a loose white v-cut shirt? Sure her pants were from Guess and her plain shirt was from Calvin Klein, but it didn't seem appropriate. Now that she thought about it, if she had a daughter, and her daughter would have a pretend relationship with someone like herself, she wouldn't know how to react. Of course, one look at her would make one think she didn't have any direction in life. 

Maybe she should go home and change to a more appropriate attire? She should've listened to her father. She should dress more appropriate and right for her age; especially now that she was supposed to meet her fake-girlfriend's parents, if they so happen to be there. 

Yes. She should go home. But before her body could fully comprehend her desires, the gate slowly opened, meeting an older gentleman in a suit. 

"Are you here to see the young miss?"

Jessica swallowed her saliva, and then took in a deep breath before saying, "I'm here to see Taeyeon. I'm Jessica, her...." what was she supposed to say? That she was her girlfriend? What if Taeyeon was hiding this from her household?

"Ah, yes. You're acquainted with the young miss." He then looked back, seemed like he was meeting someone's gaze from behind the gate. Something told Jessica that Taeyeon could be that person. She just had this gut feeling. "Unfortunately, we are instructed to not take any guests in. Our young miss is currently unwell." 

Jessica sighed as her eyes travelled, trying to take a peek of whoever was on the other side. She noticed the surveillance camera on the fence. So there was really a possibility that Taeyeon knew that she was there. And she didn't want to face Jessica.

"Could you..." she felt hopeless. But if she gave up now, their relationship might not be the same later on, and she feared that. She just understood how much she valued Taeyeon's presence after realizing that this, whatever this may be, could be a reason for their broken relationship. And never in her life would she let go of this friendship. Not with Taeyeon at least. "Tell her that I'll be in my car waiting till she gets better." Her tone was louder than usual, hoping that if Taeyeon could hear her, she would at least try and talk to her.

She remained there, standing, waiting for the gentleman to answer, and so he did. “I will pass on the message.”

Jessica faint a smile, bowed, and turned around to headed to her car. Would Taeyeon come out? Was she being too persistent? But if she wouldn’t, what would happen to this relationship? Would it still be the same? Would it really change?

Jessica balled her hands into fists in frustration. She just couldn’t think anymore. She just wanted to see Taeyeon so the latter could tell her that everything was alright. That things wouldn’t change. If they did, it would be for the better. But…

“Jessica.”