Here's a another chapter. I'm just on a roll, aren't I? Haha!

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Chapter 15

“Hey Mom, I can’t believe you didn’t tell me Tiffany’s going to be in New York and she’s leaving for California tomorrow,” Jessica held the phone close to her ear as she walked towards her unit, blindly fishing for her keycard in her handbag. “It would’ve been nice to know that she’d be there, you know?” She heard her mother giggle, which caused Jessica to roll her eyes. Sometimes, her mother acted like a grown-up, while sometimes, she was simply like a teenage girl, trying to avoid a subject with a giggle. “It’s not funny, Mom. It would’ve been great to know so I would’ve gone there instead of spending time with dad here.”

“Well, Honey, you were the one who told me that you wanted to visit me the end of July through the beginning of August,” her mother answered.

“Had I known Tiffany needed to be there, I would’ve scheduled a different date with dad,” the blonde said as she swiped her keycard, unlocking her front door. She was so thankful she was home, and she wouldn’t have to tutor Taeyang and Heechul with anything since exams were finally over; those two really drained Jessica’s energy, especially Taeyang since it was hard for him to grasp on things.

“If you want, you can come visit me twice or even thrice. You can just come here with Tiffany and then visit again on August, right?”

The blonde finally got it. Her mother really didn’t like the idea that she would be spending more time with her father, who was in South Korea, so Missis Jung set up this elaborate plan of bribing Jessica with a friend. “Mom,” she started as she set her things on her coffee table. “There’s a reason why you’re an executive, and I will never ever doubt your abilities to manipulate people for your benefits,” she said as she comfortably sat herself on her couch.

“What do you mean?”

“Quit playing innocent,” Jessica said. She knew her parents well, and getting whatever they wanted was something they were really good at – whatever the cost, they would make sure they get it.

“I actually need you to call Missis Im,” her mother said, and Jessica knew she just wanted to change the subject since they both knew it would end up with them talking about Mister Jung, whom, for obvious reasons, Missis Jung loathed.

“Huh? Why?” She didn’t know why her mother would want her to call Uncle Im’s wife, who was a famous interior designer in New York. The last time she met up with the woman was a couple of months ago when her parents bought the condominium for Jessica since she didn’t want to stay in the dorms anymore. Missis Im was the one who decorated Jessica’s home, which looked like a showroom, ready for a magazine shoot with its modern design and elaborate fixtures and décor, which she didn’t really dislike since it fitted to her liking. “Do you want to redo the house? There’s no way I’ll allow you to put more crap---I mean, there’s no way I’ll allow you to put more things in here so if you want, go do it at our house.”

“No,” her mother said and then she paused; Jessica could hear some muffling sounds from her mother’s end and she figured her mother was talking to an assistant since it always happened. “I’m sorry about that. They were briefing me for my next meeting in thirty minutes.”

“It’s fine,” Jessica said.

“Anyway, Missis Im is going to be in Seoul and I set up an appointment so she can look at the spare bedroom you have there,” her mother explained.

Since Jessica’s condominium has four bedrooms, she had enough for her own study, her parent’s room –it was never used. Ever – her bedroom, and an extra guest room, which her friends usually used whenever they were too drunk to go home or too lazy to leave. “What do you plan on doing with that bedroom?” she asked since that room was fully furnished and well decorated; it was only months ago since Missis Im decorated it. So why now? And why again?

“That will be Tiffany’s room,” her mother answered. “I want you to help Missis Im pick some decors that Tiffany will like. I don’t want her to not feel at home when she’s living with you.”

“Wow, Mom. I’m sure that’s unnecessary,” she said. But she also liked the idea of changing the interior design of that room to Tiffany’s preference; it would be nice, she thought. That would just make things easier for her friend to adjust.

“Come on, Jessica. Tiffany doesn’t even have family there, so it would be nice for her to feel as though she’s home. Plus, I don’t want her to leave so I try to provide the best for the both of you.”

“Look who likes Tiffany. That’s kind of weird, Mom.” That was the only reply Jessica could think of. She had issues with her mom since she was always busy, so whenever her parents did something for her, she tried to cover it up by playfully throwing a snarky comment at them.

“I do like her,” her mother started and then talked to her secretary about calling the driver so they could head for their meeting, and that she would be ready in five minutes. So Jessica figured that the call was going to end soon and she would probably get ahold of her mother some time next week – well, emails also worked. “It’s the first time that you’ve asked for anything so I would want to do my best for you and her.”

“Aren’t you sweet?”

Her mother laughed, sensing the sarcasm or maybe the defense mechanism Jessica had built up over the years. “So, will you be able to do just that for me?”

“So I just have to talk to Missis Im like last time when she decorated, right?” Jessica recalled how Missis Im worked – simply asking things about the client so she could sense their personality.

“Yes, that’s basically it. How were your exams by the way?”

“It was all good. I’ll probably get a B plus at the worst,” Jessica said.

“That’s good. Study hard like you always did so you can get employed after college,” her mother joke.

Jessica simply faked a laugh and said, “Yeah, don’t worry. I’ll send Dad my resume and it will only have two words on it. ‘Your Daughter’.”

“You should just work for me,” her mother said while laughing. “You always want to be with your dad and work for your dad, it’s not fair.”

Rolling her eyes as she sighed, she then said, “Sure, Mom. It’s not like I have a choice. You and Dad have trained me to manage the business since I was young, so you can’t complain now.”

Her mother sighed. “I kind of regret letting your father do that to you, you know? I mean, you spent most of your summer break with him in his office.” Which was true. Every time Jessica was on summer break, her father would always bring her in so she could learn different positions and would learn how to mingle with people – this started when she was only twelve years young. “Do you want me to talk to him to just let you off this summer?”

That was pleasing to her ears, actually; however, she really didn’t have much to do if she was free the whole summer. In addition, she had a deal with her father, and she would never be able to break that. “It’s okay. I got used to working for him during the summer.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I mean, he pays me well.”

Her mother laughed. “At least he does. I think he should pay you more actually. He’s making you miss things you can be enjoying during the summer. But maybe that’s also one of his ways to stop you from dating.”

Which made Jessica smile. Even though her father was strict when it came to business, he was a good father nonetheless. He provided Jessica with whatever she wanted and needed, and this was the same with her mother. Even though they were never physically there, they did their best – however ‘best’ it was. “Yeah, it’s really fine.”

“Okay, Honey. I need to go now.”

“Bye,” Jessica said.

“Bye, I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Jessica replied and then ended the call. She looked at the screen of her phone, checking the time. It was only a little past seven in the evening and she had nothing to do since Tiffany was packing for her trip for the next day. The blonde decided to simply turn her TV on and scanning the channels, hoping she would find a show that would please her.

****

Since the blonde couldn’t remain upset with her friend, she offered to take Tiffany to the airport so she was now waiting for her friend just outside of the university dorms. It was actually annoying since most of the students are moving out since the school year just ended, and Jessica hated the crowd of very loud and obnoxious collegians. She sometimes wondered if they really were of the same age group.

“Hey Jessica!” Someone called her, which made her look. “Jessica,” the man, who Jessica recalled as the guy who didn’t have table manners when they went on a date, flailed his arms, begging for the blonde’s attention.

Jessica rolled her eyes, sighing. She had a bad date with this persistent guy, whose name she didn’t even remember. So why was he calling her out in public, when he embarrassed her by eating like a pig at the restaurant.

“How are you, Jessica?”

“Fine.”

“Are you moving out of the dorms?”

“Nope.”

“Then what are you doing here?”

“Nothing.”

“Are you going out with someone?”

“What’s it to you?”

“I just want to know if you’re ready for our second date.”

 “Nope.”

“Whenever you’re free?”

“Never.”

“Aw come on. Don’t be like that. If you’re single, why don’t you just go out with me?”

“Can you not?” She looked at him in disgust.

“Hey Jessi!” Tiffany was walking towards them, who was waving her hand while hauling her luggage behind her; her roommate was tailing her with an identical luggage. When she was close enough, she then said, “Oh? Who’s this? Your friend?” She looked at the blonde and then back at the guy. “Hi,” she greeted.

“I don’t know him,” she answered as she grabbed her friend’s luggage, putting it in her trunk. “Let’s go, you’ll be late for your flight,” she said as she grabbed the other luggage from the roommate.

“Come on, Jessica. Think about it. I’ll be waiting,” the guy said as he walked away.

“Who’s that?” Tiffany’s roommate asked Jessica as she fixed her glasses, sitting on the bridge of her nose. Jessica swore on her life that she would buy this poor girl a full set of combs and hair brushes so she could at least tidy herself a little. This poor girl was just untidy, and there was no excuse for someone to walk out, looking like they were just beaten up and bullied.

“Nobody. So, is somebody picking you up?” Jessica asked the girl, which she nodded in response. She then went on about how much she would miss being roommates with Tiffany, who, according to her, was the best roommate she ever had in her entire life. Jessica simply thought she was stupid and weird since Tiffany was her first roommate, but of course she didn’t want to say that since her friend would scold her if she made a snarky comment. Had this been a conversation she had before, she would’ve just said that the girl was retarded without thinking.

After finally done blabbering, Tiffany then hugged her roommate, saying she would miss her and that they should still keep in touch even though they wouldn’t be in the same dorm room anymore. After bidding each other goodbyes, Jessica and Tiffany then got in the car so they could head for the airport.

During the drive, Tiffany was basically talking about American foods that she missed and would surely visit. It had been a year since she last visited, and she didn’t like that since she had been alone for so long. “I wish you can come with me,” she said. It wasn’t the first time she voiced this out, but it wasn’t like something Jessica could control. Her father needed her, and they had an agreement that she would be able to study wherever and do she wanted for as long as she worked and learned how to handle their business every summer break, which Jessica agreed on. So there was no way in hell would she be able to get out of this.

“I do, too.” Jessica sighed as she drove, and not saying more. She simply just kept her eyes on the road since there wasn’t much to say after all – there was no defying it.

Amidst the silence, nearing the airport ever second, Tiffany then said, “I’ll really miss you. I mean, we haven’t been apart for more than a day ever since we met,” she looked at Jessica and then continued, “Will you miss me?”

Jessica scoffed a laugh, not knowing how to handle this. “Aren’t you being awfully clingy?”

“Well, I wouldn’t know! This is the first time I’ll be so far from you. Who knows, you might end up going find another person and then spending so much time with them, you’d end up forgetting about me.”

“What the is running in that big head of yours?” The blonde looked at her friend when they reached a stop light. “You’re worse than a girlfriend.”

“All I’m saying is that you might enjoy time alone while I suffer there,” she said as she stuck her tongue out.

Jessica just rolled her eyes. “I wouldn’t even have time to have fun since I’ll start working for my dad again.”

“That actually ,” Tiffany said. “But working is good. At least you’ll learn things so when it’s your turn to manage your business, you’re ready and you have a lot of experience.”

“Yeah, yeah. I already know that.” After saying this, they both just sat there, enjoying their ride to the airport, sitting quietly. The blonde saw the sign that they were five kilometers away from the airport and it just hit her again that her everyday routine would be so much different now since Tiffany would be gone. For more than two months, she and Tiffany stuck close together, just hanging out and talking, and sometimes they weren’t even talking at all; they were just there, breathing, and that was all that mattered. “Hey,” the blonde started.

“What?” Tiffany looked at her, waiting for her to continue.

The blonde looked to her right if it was safe for her to merge to the other lane since she would be exiting soon. “Didn’t you tell me before that you love stars and stargazing?”

“Yeah? And?” Tiffany looked at her, puzzled.

The look on her friend’s face made Jessica think twice on why she even thought of this idea to begin with. But since she knew Tiffany would like it, she might as well say it. “Why don’t we go on a trip to stargaze when you get back? I’ll tell everyone,” the blonde smiled.

“Why the sudden thought? I thought you didn’t like going on trips that involved nature?”

“Because just a month after you get back, I’ll be leaving for New York to visit my mom and I’m pretty sure you’ll end up b!tching about it and give me sh!t for it. So I thought that I should make it up to you by going on a trip that I hate, and you like.”

“Well, stargazing is always nice, you know?” She then beamed a smile. “So yes, I’ll take you up on that offer. Even though you’re not with me for almost a month, I already look forward to that stargazing trip.”

“I’m sorry for not able to go,” Jessica said. It was out of character of her to apologize, but for some reason, it felt right to apologize. Even to her, it was weird, but it sat well in her heart.

“You better be,” Tiffany joked, laughing. “You need make it up to me when I get back, okay?”

The blonde had a soft smile on her face. “I will. Don’t worry,” Jessica said, now already thinking a way to do it aside from the stargazing trip she had thought of.

“I wish the car ride is longer,” Tiffany said when she saw that they were already pulling up at the airport arrival drop-off.

Laughing, the blonde looked at her friend as she parked the car. “We’ll have more time to talk when you’re back.”

“And you’re not going to find someone to replace me, right?”

It took Jessica a couple of seconds to respond since she didn’t understand where this came from. She then shook her head. “Never.” What was it with people thinking it was so easy to replace somebody? To the blonde, there was never a time she had replaced someone with another. Was there anything wrong with Jessica for Taeyeon and Tiffany to be asking if she would replace them? Was she that unstable of a person? “Never,” she muttered again as she got out of the car, hoping saying it the second time would make a better impact.

Tiffany got off soon after she pulled her passport and ticket out. “Thanks for dropping me off, Jessi.”

“No problem,” the blonde said as she unloaded her trunk. “You have fun, okay?”

“I’m sure I will. I have my family and friends there.”

“And you’re the one worried that I’ll replace you?” Jessica had her brow arched at Tiffany. “You’re really something.”

“Jessi,” Tiffany called as she walked towards the blonde, hugging her tightly. “I’ll miss you.”

Even for someone like Tiffany, this was really odd. She had been extremely clingy today and very affectionate. “What’s with you?”

“Nothing,” Tiffany said as she rested her chin on Jessica’s shoulder. The blonde then wrapped her arms around her friend to return the embrace and soon let go, expecting to be released, but Tiffany did no such thing. Instead she said, “Can we stay like this for a little longer?”

“You’re bring too weird, Fany-ah,” Jessica said.

“Jessi,” Tiffany said in a hushed tone as she snuggled, making herself comfortable as she rested her chin on the blonde’s shoulder. “Please?”

She didn’t know what came to Tiffany to acting like this, but it was Tiffany. The girl was peculiar as it was, and she figured she couldn’t argue much. Not letting the gazes of some passersby or her own train of thoughts, she didn’t say a word and just wrapped her arms around her friend once again and just trying to take in the moment as it was.

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I'm pretty sure I wrote some actual jeti moments on there so I hope no one's complaining. HAHA!

I really wanna hear your thoughts since i didnt have my friend read it before posting it. Hahaha!