Chapter Five
Soul Searching (JeTi)
Chapter Five!
Sitting at the edge of the pool, Jessica soaked her legs as she immersed herself in a novel about a con-artist who was out to deceive the crown princess of modern day South Korea. Just as she reached the of the story, a ringing tone disrupted her. Normally, this would irk her; however, the familiarity of the tune playing actually brought her to smile. She grabbed the phone that was beside her, pressing the green button.
“So how’s the trip so far?” Jessica couldn’t help but trace imaginary circles with her feet as this uncontainable smile grew wider.
“It’s fine, I guess,” Taeyeon said.
“Oh? I bet you’re really missing me now.” Jessica laughed, trying to act as though there were no butterflies flying around her stomach.
“Well,” Taeyeon started with a soft tone, which caused Jessica to stop with her movements. “I can’t help it.”
“C--can’t help what?”
Taeyeon exhaled slowly but continued, “Ever since we met, we haven’t really spent time apart. So yeah, I miss you.”
Suppressing a smile, Jessica bit her lower lip. It wasn’t as though she was unaware of Yuri’s existence. Yes, Yuri. Taeyeon’s girlfriend. She knew that Yuri and Taeyeon were together, and to top it off, Yuri was her friend as well. But she still couldn’t help to feel glee. She held special feelings for Taeyeon, and hearing from the latter that she missed, missed her too made the former feel as though she was slightly more important than Yuri.
“I miss you too, you know?” There was a long pause from the other end, so Jessica continued. “Are you enjoying yourself? You’re probably tan now.”
“I’ve been staying in the cottage. You should know me better!”
“Then maybe you should come back and just stay with me here in Seoul?” Jessica asked, trying to sound as persuading as she can.
“I should’ve!” Taeyeon bellowed, which made Jessica more confident.
The blonde laughed, now flicking the water with her legs. “Fly back then! Since I really miss you.”
“You know I would...” Taeyeon, yet again, paused.
“But?”
“But Yuri asked me to stay here.” Was it just Jessica’s ego or did Taeyeon seemed dejected? There was no sound that came from each end. What was Jessica supposed to say now? What was she supposed to do? Yuri was clearly there and Taeyeon was obviously picking her girlfriend over her. She should stop. She knew she was going to simply hurt herself here. “Hey, Sica...”
“Yeah?”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah...”
“You sound...”
“Yeah?”
“You sound disappointed...” TaeYeon said in a hushed tone and then continued. “I’m sorry I can’t be there with you right now.”
“No, I understand.” It wasn’t a lie, though it seemed more painful to admit that she did. Even though Taeyeon played with her heart, she let her with arms open. She deserved the pain though. If she was Yuri’s friend, she shouldn’t even have these feelings she harbored for the shorter girl, but she did. So whatever Taeyeon was doing to her was maybe some type of punishment to being a horrible friend? But she saw Taeyeon first! But even calling dibs first never really gave her the upper hand. “You and Yuri...”
“Yeah...” Did Taeyeon stop Jessica because she knew what the blonde was going to say? Was that the reason why her voice sounded so hollow compared to the liveliness earlier?
Trying to lift the mood up, Jessica smiled as though she could be seen by her love. “Didn’t I promise to buy you lunch? You should take everyone to our favorite restaurant there. My treat. I’ll tell Hyomin I’ll wire her money.”
“You promised to take me though, not Hyomin.”
Though the offer to spend time alone with Taeyeon was extremely tempting, Jessica reminded herself that feeling this way wasn’t right. Yuri and Taeyeon were together. Even if the blonde loved Taeyeon with all her heart, she wouldn’t be able to sleep at night with all the guilt and the feeling of betraying a friend haunting her. Not when she was the one initiating things. “But I’m not there. Come on. I’m sure Yuri will love it.”
Taeyeon, once again, held on to silence as Jessica’s heart heaved with the thoughts clouding her mind. Her excitement fled away from her and now, she sat by the edge of the pool with eyes staring straight ahead. “Yeah...” Taeyeon mumbled, barely audible. “I guess. I need to go, Sica. Bye. I love you.”
Before Jessica could say anything else, there it went, the line was cut. She lowered her phone, looking at it as she bowed her head low. “I love you, too,” she murmured.
****
Jessica caught the lifeguard’s figure as she was walking around the pool area, talking to a co-worker. Meticulously, Jessica studied his features. He didn’t look that bad. Not at all. She noticed that Tiffany’s gestures towards this guy was the same as when she first met the lifeguard at the restaurant. She was with all smiles as she looked at the guy, happily chatting with each other.
It had been two days since the blonde last saw Tiffany. However, whenever they met at the hotel, they never forgot to send a dagger or two at each other. Tiffany clearly hated the blonde, and the blonde didn’t feel the least guilt whenever she acted out on the lifeguard.
The lifeguard looked at Jessica’s way, making eye contact. She scowled a little, which caused Jessica to smirk. Regardless of the situation, Tiffany was the server and Jessica was the guest; the vice-president’s daughter at that. So there was no way in hell the lifeguard would win any of these fights.
A smirk was formed as she still held the lifeguard’s gaze. Maybe she should go out and annoy the hell out of her. Push her in the pool or maybe order her around. Whatever it was, luckily for Tiffany, Jessica’s mother messaged her so they could have lunch together.
MOM:
Late lunch? Early dinner? I’ll be done with my meeting in an hour.
I’ll meet you at Samwon Garden.
Reservations are made.
I’ll see you soon. I love you.
Well, since Jessica’s mother said she would be done, she would be done, Jessica tried to convince herself. She knew she shouldn’t put her hopes up, but she still had to go. She grabbed her book, cellphone, wallet, and mp3 player, towing it with her as she headed for the door.
The blonde went up to her suite, changed into something appropriate for a first-class restaurant. She then headed to the lobby, towards the valet and to her car. The traffic wasn’t that bad, she got there in less than twenty minutes.
“Hello, Miss Jung.” The host, wearing a hanbook greeted her as she entered, bowing at the blonde. “Right this way,” she said as she motioned both her hands, gracefully leading the blonde to the presidential room.
The blonde was used to this.She would be waiting in a private room in a restaurant for either her mother or father. There was a knock on the door, it was a server dressed in hanbook, asking if Jessica wanted anything to drink or eat at the moment, but the blonde told the server that she would call for them when her mother got there.
More than two hours had passed and there were no signs of her mother. Not even a call or text that would tell Jessica her whereabouts. Nothing. The blonde grew tired of waiting. Upon standing up, she saw the door slide open, which revealed her mother as she entered the room. She was dressed in a black dress that hugged her body, wearing typical diamonds to accentuate her outfit. Her hand was raised, pointing at her bluetooth. Jessica listened as she talked about someone who worked for Hyatt New York and some problems.
The blonde simply shook her head as she rolled her eyes. She then gathered all her things, shoved them all in her bag, and headed for the door.
“Where are you going, Jessica?” Her mother asked in English. “Aren’t you hungry? I just got here.”
“No, Mom. I need to go. You made me wait long enough.”
“Sweetie, I’m sorry. I was stuck in a conference call right after.”
“Yeah and you still are. So let’s not waste each other’s time here. I’m in a hurry.”
“So you’re not gonna eat?”
“No. I have prior engagements. So you can go ahead and eat by yourself.”
“Jessica,” her mother called but she didn’t bother to stop. “I’m sorry.” She continued on walking, heading for the exit but she didn’t miss her mother’s apology. She heard it loud and clear. And that irked Jessica even more. How could a simple apology erase all the negative feelings she bottled?
****
So much for having prior engagements. She was left driving around town with nothing to do. No friends were there, and this made Jessica upset even more. Sure she knew a lot of people, but her phone’s contacts consisted of her friends and the people she went out to dates with - they weren’t even named. So how else would she call them, asking them to spend time with her?
Giving up after almost an hour of driving aimlessly, she decided to head to the hotel. This really made her realize that she didn’t have a life. What a sad routine she had now. As she saw that there were tons of people lined up for valet, for the first time in her life, Jessica headed for the garage. She was wasting time anyway, so might as well do so.
Garage parking was also a pain. Why didn’t she just wait for the valet? Why did she want to try something new when valet was more convenient. If the valet was packed, wouldn’t it be common sense that the garage would be so too? Jessica found a parking spot at the end of the fifth floor, she made a mental note to have the manager have someone pick up her car so she wouldn’t have to walk all the way back there tomorrow.
She got out of her car, locking it as she headed for the elevator. Why was the garage so dim? How could a five star hotel provide such little lighting? Her pace got faster as the place gave her an eerie feeling.
Next time she decided to park in a garage, she wouldn’t listen to herself and just go for the valet. Finally, she saw the elevator. She was about to jog there when she noticed a slouched figure, making some sobbing noises. She didn’t know if she should approach the girl or not; it wasn’t like it was her business to meddle with anyway. However, Jessica didn’t like the fact that this garage seemed like it was designed for a horror movie or at least a murder one.
The little good in Jessica made her walk towards the girl. “Hey, it’s not safe here. Maybe you should head back in the hotel or your car.” When Jessica was closer, she tapped the girl’s shoulder. “Hey, it’s not safe here.” But when she saw the girl, Jessica was surprised to see Tiffany.
“Not now, Jung. I’m not in the mood to fight with you,” the lifeguard said as she wiped her face with her palm. Her makeup ran down her face, causing to stain her porcelain skin with unwanted black liquid. If this was a regular day, Jessica would have made fun of her, but it wasn’t.
Jessica opened to say something, but she didn’t know what. What was she supposed to say? She already had a horrible day, and she didn’t want to snap on this girl. She didn’t even feel like she could at this point. How vulnerable did this girl look, Jessica thought.
“I’m not here to fight, Tiffany,” Jessica said. “It’s really not safe to be crying here, alone at that.”
“Then leave me alone!” She bawled more. “I don’t need you! I don’t need anyone, okay?!”
“Look, I don’t know what happened to you.” Jessica fished for something in her handbag. “But it’s not good for a girl to be here at this hour, alone and crying.” Jessica found the Kleenex she always carried. “You look ugly.”
“Shu---”
“Here. Take this.” Jessica reached her hand out, giving the other girl the pack of Kleenex. “I’m not here to ask you what happened or to be all over your business, but it’s really not safe to be alone here. Especially when you’re crying like that.”
“It doesn’t suit you to be the nice girl, you know?” Tiffany stated as she reached for the pack of napkins. “People like you aren’t supposed to be nice.”
“People like me? I really don’t know what hap---”
“Cheaters.”
Cheater? Since when was Jessica pinned down as a cheater? Never in her life did she cheat on someone. But she didn’t want to argue with Tiffany now.
“If you don’t plan on going home, why don’t you just stay in my suite until you’ve calmed down?”
Tiffany scoffed as she looked at Jessica in disbelief. “I think the dangerous one here is you, Jung.” She shook her head and continued, “Is this how you pick up girls?”
“Look. I’m really not here to be mean to you, okay? I’m being nice here. I have a suite so you can stay in the living room and clean up. You really look ugly right now. I don’t think you’d want whoever cheated on you to see you like this. That will just make him think his decision was right.” Before Tiffany could say anything, Jessica grew impatient. So she grabbed her hand and dragged her to the elevator. “You’re going with me.”
“Stop,” Tiffany said once but she let the blonde drag her anyway.
When Jessica reached the entrance to the VIP elevator, she was greeted by the receptionist, “Good evening, Miss Jung,” she then pressed the button in front of her, opening the glass door with golden railings.
The moment the both of them were inside, they waited for the elevator. “I really just can’t leave you alone like that, okay? When you’re better, you can leave the hotel.” There was no reply from Tiffany so when the lift was there, Jessica walked in as she held Tiffany’s wrist.
“You can take whatever you want in the fridge, okay?” The blonde walked to her room, changing to a more comfortable attire. After getting dressed, she reached for the phone and hit the room service button. She ordered two sets of prime ribs with whatever it came with. Whatever best it came with. What Tiffany wanted, she didn’t know. But it was only natural to get her food as well since the blonde was going to eat anyway.
“Would that be all, Miss Jung?”
What else did she need? She knew she wouldn’t even finish her meal, but how about for Tiffany? She was upset and all, would she even eat? “Would ice cream and cake cheer someone up?”
“Ex---excuse me, ma’am?”
“Nothing.” What did she like for dessert anyway? What might Tiffany like? At least, what would cheer the girl up? They said sweet things released endorphins, so might as well try. To make it up to all those mean things she did to the girl. “Just send in the best chocolate cake you have and strawberry ice cream.”
“We’ll send them to your suite, Miss Jung.”
“Thanks,” she said before hanging up. She then walked out to the living room, grabbed a ginormous remote, clicked blackout then open, which caused the curtain to move up, revealing the city view.
Turning the television on, she just sat there beside Tiffany. They didn’t utter a word. They didn’t even exchange glances. They just sat there.
It wasn’t as awkward as Jessica thought it would be. Tiffany finally stopped sobbing she was more calm compared to when they were in the parking garage. And that left the blonde at ease. She was never good at comforting people. She was probably the worst person when it came to making someone feel better. So being with this girl right now, who was just crying, it wasn’t a bad experience.
“Do you like The Avengers?” Jessica looked at Tiffany as she was about to pick a movie from whatever was available from the hotel’s movie archives. The blonde saw the latter nod and so she hit play.
Soon after the beginning of the movie, there was a knock from the door so Jessica then stood up and opened it. “Good evening, Miss Jung.” The blonde nodded and instructed the man to set them on the dining table as she went back inside her room to grab cash. She grabbed a couple of bills and handed them to the man before he left.
“Tiffany, come eat with me.”
“What? I didn---”
“Shut up and eat with me.”
“But I didn’t order. There’s no w---”
“Didn’t you hear me? Shut up and eat with me. I already ordered food so why don’t you just eat it?” Jessica then sat on the chair, ready to eat her meal, but when she looked up, Tiffany was still sitting on the sofa. “I’m hungry so you better eat with me because I won’t unless you’re chowing with me.”
Tiffany sighed as she took the seat in front of Jessica. “Why are you being nice to me now?”
“I’m always nice,” when the blonde said this, she couldn’t help but laugh at how funny her statement sounded. She was always nice, eh? Catching the disapproving look on Tiffany’s face, she then said, “Okay, not always. But sometimes, I am. I have a heart too, you know? Despite how tiny and dark it is, I still do.” That caused Tiffany to smile. “Why are you smiling?! You think I’m joking?! You think I’m a clown?!”
“You should be a comedian, Jung.”
The blonde sighed. “Stop calling me Jung. I have a name, you know,” she said as she was cutting the meat.
“Oh? So we’ll be friends now? Is that how you get girls? You pick them up when they’re at their weakest?” Tiffany laughed at Jessica’s unpleased look. “I’m kidding. I think I misjudged you.”
They began talking about Tiffany’s situation, where Jessica found out that the night she met the lifeguard at the bar, she was stood up by her boyfriend. The very same guy that she was talking to earlier that day. Turned out that he was cheating on Tiffany all this time.
“I don’t think it’s my place to say but I’ll say it anyway.” Jessica began. “It might even sound cliche, and I’ll agree. It is.”
“What is it?”
“You deserve someone better.”
Someone knocked at the door, which Jessica figured was the server, bringing them their desserts. She stood up and opened the door. “Just set them on the counter.” He did what we was told and then left the room after greeting Tiffany as well.
“So yeah, as I was saying.” She sat herself in front of Tiffany and continued. “You shouldn’t let him see that you’re miserable without him. Make him realize that it’s his ing fault that he’s missing out on you.”
“You make it sound like it’s easy.”
“It is. Just don’t make yourself look like...” Jessica eyed Tiffany’s face. “Yeah, just don’t go out looking like you do now.”
“Do I look that bad?”
“Yup. You look horrible.”
“You’re horrible.”
The blonde then stood up and headed to her kitchenette grabbing the tray which had the ice cream and a miniature chocolate cake on it. “Dessert?”
“In a couple of hours I’ve been with you, I think I already gained five pounds.”
Jessica pressed her lips together as she raised her brows. “So you’re telling me you don’t want dessert? So I’ll have this all to myself?” Not like Jessica would eat any of them. She was actually too full.
“I like sweets.”
“Good,” the blonde said as she laid the plates in front of Tiffany. “Do you like strawberry ice cream and chocolate cake?”
“My favorites!” Tiffany flashed a smile as she grabbed the utensil from the tray. “Let’s dig in?”
****
Bored yet again, Jessica was staying in Paradise just like she always did. Pathetic may it sound, but she had nothing better to do. What greeted her when she woke up was photos of her friends, enjoying themselves in Jeju. That just reminded her that she really was alone. So where else did she go when the world was against her? Paradise.
“Here’s your apple juice, just enough ice, Jessica.” With her name called, she looked up only to see Tiffany, smiling at her. “Why are you looking at me like that?” Tiffany asked.
Well, why else? Tiffany’s hair was cut. Cut wasn’t even the right term to describe it. Her hair was chopped, butchered! Whatever word could describe this really, really short bob cut.
“You don’t think it’s good?” Tiffany bit her lower lip. “I’ve always wanted to cut my hair this short... is it weird?”
Jessica shook her head. It was hard to admit, but Tiffany did look good with short hair. “Did you do that for yourself or because of that belief that you cut your hair when you’re heartbroken? If it’s the latter, I’ll beat you up.”
Tiffany smiled softly at Jessica. She somehow got used to how the blonde conversed with people. “I really wanted to cut my hair even before, so no. I did this for myself.”
“Good.” Jessica then took the apple juice from the side table beside them. Before sipping, she then mumbled, “It looks good on you.”
“Thanks!” Tiffany was about to go when she caught a glance of her ex-boyfriend. Which also perked Jessica’s curiosity.
“So that’s him, huh?”
“Yeah...I actually need to go.”
“I’ll behave here.”
Jessica then smirked, stood up and headed over the guy who was talking to one of the guests, flirting and all. It wasn’t the blonde’s fight to deal with, but hey, she didn’t have anything better to do so might as well. She walked up behind him, pushed him into the pool and walked off.
“Hey!” The blonde heard the man call a couple of times. She didn’t look back. “Hey! You fake blondie!”
Jessica finally looked back after a few calls. “What?”
“Why did you push me?!” He was already getting out of the pool when he asked her that.
“I pushed you?”
“Yes! Stop pretending like you didn’t!”
Jessica shook her head, “tsk. tsk. tsk.” She then crossed her arms on top of her chest. “Is that the way you serve VIP guests here? You accuse them of pushing you into the pool? Like I’d do that.” She then scoffed and said, “I have better things to do with my life, you know?” Even the lie in Jessica’s words made her snort a laugh, which the guy took the wrong way.
“You should leave, ma’am. We can’t have guests like you here.” He then pointed at the exit.
Jessica cocked her head to the side. “Right to refuse service isn’t Hyatt Seoul’s practice, you know?”
“You can complain to my manager if you want but you need to leave now.”
As if on cue, Jessica noticed from behind this guy, manager Chung heading towards them. The blonde couldn’t help but smirk. “Make me.”
The guy then grabbed Jessica’s arm and when she noticed the manager was close enough, she began whimpering. “Ouch... you’re hurting me.”
“Miss, I barely touched y---”
“Ouch... that really hurts!”
“What’s going on here?!” Chung saw what his nephew was doing to Jessica. “What are you doing, Taecyeon!?”
“Uncle, this girl push---”
“Silence!” He then grabbed him by the shoulder, and loudly, he asked him to release Jessica at once.
“But she sta---”
“Miss Jung, I really apologize for his actions!” He bowed as low as he can. “I really do apologize!”
Jessica smirked at the guy named Taecyeon. “It’s okay. But next time, you shouldn’t hire people like him here. Especially this is the VIP area. What else would he do to other guests?”
“I understand!” Chung then stood straight up and Jessica made sure he saw her wipe her crocodile tears.
“I’m sure you don’t want my mom to find out that I was assaulted by one of your employees, to top it off, he’s your nephew, right?”
“Assu---” Before Taecyeon could finish his words, Chung shot him a glare, which caused him to shut up.
“Of course, Miss Jung. Please believe me when I say I’ll do all that’s necessary!”
Jessica nodded and then walked back to her usual spot. Standing there was the blonde’s new friend. “I’m normally not into revenge, but I won’t lie and say I didn’t enjoy that.”
“Enjoy what?”
Tiffany smiled at Jessica. “That. When you did that to him.”
Jessica then grabbed her iPad from her seat and sat there. “I didn’t do anything.”
“Oh, Jessi, you wa---”
“Jessi? Since when has that become my name?”
“Since I gave it to you. Anyway, since you treated and kept me company yesterday, it’s my turn to treat you, okay?”
“Huh?”
“Tonight, after my shift. Meet me at the lobby at seven. Let’s go out, okay?” Before Tiffany left, Jessica nodded lightly, enough to made the lifeguard smile. “It’s a date!”
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