“Remove the crust,” Krystal whined and Tiffany was finally convinced that sick Krystal was the worst.

“Are you sure you don’t want porridge instead? A sandwich isn’t going to make you feel better.”

“You think porridge would?”

Tiffany sighed and wiped the sweat forming on her girlfriend’s forehead. She wasn’t sure how Krystal got sick. They finished having dinner, went to bed and the next day, Krystal was throwing up and burning up.

She went back to the kitchen to cut off the crust of the sandwich and returned to her room only to see Krystal talking on the phone.

“I’ll be fine, unnie. Tiff’s here. It’s her job to take care of me now.”

She chucked the phone away and yawned.

“You should just sleep. Eat this later.”

“No. Give it.”

Krystal took a bite of the sandwich and if it weren’t for her not feeling well, she would’ve spat out the bland food.

“Are you sure you’re not faking being sick so you could boss me around.”

“I could still boss you around even if I’m not sick. Look at me, Tiff, I look like crap. How do I know that without looking at the mirror? Because I feel like crap. It’s hard to fake that because I always look awesome even without putting much effort.”

Tiffany couldn’t feel sorry for her girlfriend. Not totally, at least, since she was still acting as cocky as ever. She heard the doorbell ringing and before she gets ordered around by Krystal once again, she took the initiative to get the door.

“Jessica-unnie?”

“Hi, Tiff. Where’s my sick sister?”

“She’s in my room.”

The two girls went back to Tiffany’s room to check on Krystal who’ve finally given up on the sandwich that Tiffany prepared for her.

“Unnie? Why are you here? I told you I’d be fine.”

“I know you said that but I was already here when I called you. I was going to hang out with Yoong today but she says she had some place else to go to.”

“She didn’t say exactly where she’s heading? She’s cheating on you.”

The other girls stared incredulously at her.

“What’s wrong with you? Yoong’s not like that. Why are you making your sister worry?”

“I’m saying something that’s plausible, am I not?”

“Krys, can you shut it? I thought you’re sick.”

“Me being sick does not make me shut my mouth and say the things that I want to—“

Tiffany covered her girlfriend’s mouth. “Shush! What exactly did Yoong say?”

“She said someone wanted to meet up with her. That’s it. I’m not really the type to ask further questions.”

“Are you not the jealous type, too, Jessica-unnie?”

Krystal removed Tiffany’s hand that was covering and laughed. “Even if she’s the jealous type, she probably wouldn’t know how to show it. She would just come off as a possessive or an indifferent girlfriend.”

Tiffany stared at Krystal then at Jessica. “So you’re like Krystal then, unnie?”

“You could say that.”

“Yoong likes it when someone shows they’re jealous but only a little. She doesn’t like if someone displays it too much.”

“Is that why you two broke up?” Krystal smirked when she saw her girlfriend’s mood turn sour.

“Wait, she’d like it if I show her that I’m jealous?”

“Yeah but not too much.”

Jessica nodded and Krystal knew that the screws on her sister’s head are now in over drive.

---

Yoona sat at a bench as she waited for the person who sent the message saying they wanted to meet up. She doesn’t even know how this person got her number.

She checked the time and it’s only been five minutes but she just couldn’t sit still so she stood up and looked for any food stalls. She saw one that’s selling bungeoppang and decided to buy three of them. One she could eat while waiting and the other two she could take home and eat with Jessica.

She went back to the bench and ate the snack there as she waits. Another ten minutes have passed and the person still hasn’t arrived. She now knows why Jessica’s late most of the time.

Yoona started to look for another food stall and when she saw one that sells hotteok, she walked towards it and bought five of it.

“You sure eat a lot.”

She turned to the person beside her and immediately did a 90 degree bow. “Good afternoon, Sir.”

“No need to be so formal.”

Yoona was stumped but she grinned after a few seconds. “Does that mean I could call you dad?”

“This insolent…” Jessica’s father stopped muttering and remembered that he was talking to his daughter’s girlfriend and he knew Jessica would be angry if he treats her badly. “Never mind, ‘Sir’ would be fine.”

Yoona’s smile fell. “Okay…Sir. Uh, hotteok?”

Mr. Jung looked at the item that Yoona was offering him and took it hesitantly. “Thanks but are you sure four hotteoks would be enough for your huge appetite?”

Yoona chuckled, thinking Mr. Jung was cracking a joke. “I’ll be fine with four of these. I’ve already eaten one bungeoppang, Sir.”

“I know.” He started walking towards the bench and sat on it, crossing his legs and taking a bite off the snack.

“You know?”

“I was behind that tree, watching and observing you.”

“That’s kind of creepy, Sir. I thought you were just late.”

“I wanted to watch how my daughter’s girlfriend is like when my daughter’s not around. I can’t say I didn’t like what I see.”

Yoona grinned once again but for the second time, Mr. Jung wiped it off of her face faster than she could say bungeoppang. “I can’t say I liked either. Do you like food that much?”

“Yes, Sir. I get hungry all the time and I just eat and eat…and eat.”

“Can you cook?”

“Yes, Sir,” she answered proudly, “I’m not an expert but I do like watching cooking shows and learning from there. I experiment on food when I have the time.”

“You probably know now that my eldest daughter can’t cook even if her life depended on it, right?”

She giggled as she remembered the times she tried cooking with her girlfriend. “I am aware, Sir. She tries though and I think that’s what’s important.”

“Oh, yeah? Well don’t let her try too much if you don’t want to get food poisoned and for your house to burn down.”

“I make sure I’m supervising her when she tries to make any concoction even if it only involves a blender.”

Mr. Jung wiped the crumbs off his face and his fingers. “My daughters are princesses.”

“They sure are, Sir.”

He side-eyed Yoona and shook his head. “By that I mean, they’re complete brats. Krystal could do some household chores but she’s very bossy. Jessica, on the other hand, is also very bossy and she can’t do any chore correctly without someone telling her how to do it. She’s far from being domesticated so if you’re planning to…” he cleared his throat, dreading what he was going to say next, “If you’re planning to marry her and live with her, you should know better than to make her clean the house, cook the food, wash the dishes, do the laundry…any thoughts about wanting her to be that ideal house wife who stays at home to take care of everything, throw it out of the window.”

She couldn’t help but smile and think that her girlfriend’s father was finally warming up to her. She appreciated the things he’s telling her now.

“She’s someone who would choose her work over anything else…but maybe she has changed her mind set now. Obviously, you’re the only one who would have the slightest idea since you’re with her most of the time.”

“I’m not going to make her choose between her career and anything else, Sir. I…love her too much to let her make such a tough decision. I could guarantee you that whatever she does, I’d be here to support her and she if needs to be cheered on, I will do one hell of a job in doing that. I could even put on a cheerleading outfit if that’s what she needs.”

Mr. Jung watch as her face lit up while she talked about his daughter.

“Are you only saying that to impress me?”

Yoona was surprised at his booming voice and she couldn’t help but be a bit scared. “No, Sir. I’m only telling the truth.”

“If you hurt her I swear—“

“Sorry for interrupting you, Sir but no amount of threats would make me back off and have second thoughts about being with her. I’ve received a couple of threats coming from Krystal, too and we weren’t even dating then but that still didn’t stop me from pursuing her.”

She looked up and stared at Mr. Jung’s eyes. It was a good thing she’s slightly used to a pair of cold-looking eyes. “I know my love for your daughter probably won’t amount to how much you love her but I do treasure her and I do care for her. I will never even dream of treating her badly. I know I have nothing to show you right now and you probably think I’m just dependent on my sister but if anything, just know that Jessica…she’s my motivation to work harder and to make something of myself.”

Mr. Jung sighed. “This is emotional hijacking.”

Yoona chuckled and rubbed the back of her neck. “Jessica’s very lucky to have a father like you, Sir.”

“Now you’re just kissing .”

“Probably but I guess I’m not really in any position to tell who’s a good father or not. I didn’t really grow up with one. Closest I have for a father figure is my Taeyeon-unnie and maybe my best friend’s dad. You’re kind of like them and they’re really good people so yeah…I think Jessica’s really lucky to have you.”

He lightly punched her shoulder but even with the effort of being gentle, it was still too rough for a girl like Yoona.

“Ouch!”

“Oh come on, that wasn’t even a real punch. Man up.”

“I’m still a girl, Sir.” She rubbed her sore shoulder.

“That’s just because you’re too thin. You eat a lot. You should gain weight like crazy.”

“I don’t gain weight easily, Sir.”

The two continued with their trivial talk about Yoona’s weight and they somehow covered other topics that are even more trivial than the other like Mr. Jung’s boxing days when he was still in college. Yoona even dared him to play Chubby Bunny where the person has to put marshmallows inside their mouth and shout Chubby Bunny and repeat it until they can’t put any more marshmallows in. Mr. Jung accepted the challenge but they couldn’t find a store that sells big marshmallows.

The two had a deal that they’d do it the next time they see each other.

---

After meeting up with Yoona, Mr. Jung headed to a bar and there he saw the other Kim who was singing on stage. He sat on vacant seat at the bar and ordered a drink. When Taeyeon finished singing, he waved his hand to catch her attention.

“Mr. Jung?”

“I didn’t think I’d be seeing you performing here.”

“Oh, when we don’t do promotions, we sometimes go back to places we’ve performed when we still didn’t have a label and sing a couple of songs.”

She sat beside Mr. Jung and ordered a non-alcoholic drink.

“That’s nice.”

“I thought you’ve gone back to the states.”

“My wife had to go back earlier than expected but I decided to stay for a while. I had to interrogate some people but after talking to the first one, I’m having second thoughts about talking to the other one.”

“Are you talking about my sister and Krystal’s girlfriend, Tiffany?”

He gulped down his drinks and nodded before asking the bartender to give him another one. “Yeah, that sister of yours is something else.”

“She really is.”

“She’s like a kid. She acts like one and then the next thing you know, she turns serious and becomes mature. It’s so confusing.”

“She surprises me every time I talk to her about...about Jessica. She gets serious and all of a sudden you could see her sincerity overflowing.”

“Do you know about this Tiffany? Should I trust my other girl to her?”

“Tiffany’s really nice. She’s my sister’s ex-girlfriend.”

“What?”

“Uh, she’s Yoong’s ex-girlfriend.”

“They’re all okay with that? Isn’t that supposed to complicate things?”

Taeyeon wanted to chuckle because Mr. Jung doesn’t even know the rest of the story. She started wondering what he would think if he finds out she was Jessica’s former girlfriend.

“They seem to be fine with it.”

“Kids nowadays. Your sister talks nothing but great things about you.””

Taeyeon smiled making her chin dimple visible even with the dim-lighting. “When our mom died, it was just us and I tried everything I could just to provide for her. She means a lot to me. Her happiness comes first.”

“Earlier she said Jess is lucky to have me as a father but personally I think she’s lucky to have a sister like you and I’m not just saying that because I’ve been through the same things you’ve been through but also because I honestly think you’re a good person. Even I didn’t put my siblings’ happiness before mine. I provided for them but thinking about their happiness, I don’t think I did that all the time. Are you happy with her being with my daughter?”

It wasn’t visible for Mr. Jung but the color on Taeyeon’s face seemed to have disappeared along with her smile. Was she happy her younger sister that she treasured dearly was with someone like Jessica?

“I am happy she’s found someone who makes her want to be an even better person.”

But was she happy that it is Jessica?

“I’m happy for Yoona. I’m just happy that she’s happy.”

Mr. Jung stared at the drink she was gripping tightly and only now he’s noticed that it wasn’t an alcoholic drink.

“Bartender, give this tiny girl a glass of scotch.” He shook his head and stared at Taeyeon. “Why are you two such girls? Come on, man up!”

______

i'm not going to be able to update as much as i did before because now i'll really be busy because i'm going back to school like finally and i can't manage to screw up this time but i swear i'm not gonna abandon this. i'll write an update when i'm free and i think it's next chapter or the chapter after that would be the lsat chapter for this fic and then we'll proceed to the prequel to thiswhich is taengsic YAY. 

but yeah...busy busy busy