That

Jessica’s POV

            I seriously didn’t even know why I always agreed to this every single week.  I looked at my surroundings—a lot of drunks either puking or dancing the night away.  I rolled my eyes as I pulled out my iPhone and began to check my Facebook and Instagram updates.  Every single woman was dressed in short skirts or short dresses except for Sunny and me.  I had just finished my shift at a record store when one of my best friends, Jiyong, told me that he wanted to party it up all night with me and a few other friends. 

            I knew that it was some kind of ploy that he always had.  He wanted me to go because he needed a designated driver.  Jiyong and his girlfriend were going to be so drunk that they wouldn’t even be able to walk. That’s how it’s been for the past two months.  The only reason why Sunny was there was because I begged her to come to keep me company.  After two weeks, it got really old; I hated being the third wheel.  There were times when I’d ask Sooyoung, Hyoyeon, or Tiffany to come with me; those three refused tonight, and Sunny was more willing.

            “I’m going to get a drink,” Sunny shouted over the blaring music.

            “What?” I asked.

            She rolled her eyes and grabbed the phone in my hands and typed it down.  I read her message and nodded in understanding.  She gave a sarcastic smile and made her way towards the bar.  I crossed my legs as I adjusted my posture on the beanbag chair that I had been sitting on for the past half hour.  I looked straight ahead and refused to focus on my peripherals, but it was impossible.  I was just too curious.  Why did I have to be so curious?  Curiosity killed the cat.

            I knew that Jiyong and Jiyeon were making out in the same room as me.  I always refused to acknowledge it, but I couldn’t ignore it tonight.  To add onto my misery, a server closed the door to the room we were in so that the music being blasted on the bottom floor was now muffled and quieter. 

            I could hear their lips smacking against each other as I heard her soft moans.  I swear I did too much for him.  I could have been sleeping, but here I was…being a damned babysitter for when they were too drunk to drive.  I refused to allow myself to focus on my peripheral vision because if I did, I’d catch a glimpse of them shoving their tongues down each other’s throats.  I did not want that vision engraved in my memory.

            Of course, I knew that I wasn’t going to listen to my own self.  I did look because my heart was hungry with nosiness.  I wish I hadn’t, but I did and there was no turning back.  She was on his lap as her lips ravished his mouth.  Somehow, I looked at her as if she was some kind of animal.  I had nothing against her, but I never really liked her either.  The only reason why I tolerated her was because Jiyong told me that he loved her.  I don’t know why, but something about her didn’t seem right to me. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            I flipped the pancakes on the skillet as I yawned.  I only got four hours of sleep because it was difficult to drag Jiyeon and Jiyong into the car.  Jiyong was asleep the whole time, and when we managed to put him in the car, Jiyeon ran off trying to take off her clothes.  They were both intoxicated, and I didn’t know if I could ever handle them again.  It got harder every week that they dragged me to one of their ‘hangouts.’  I knew that they were using me, and somehow, I thought it was okay.

            “Where’s Jiyeon?” I heard a sudden voice.

            I smiled at him.  Even though his eyes were tired and his voice was weak from the tiring night, he still managed to look handsome. 

            I answered, “Jiyeon went home last night.”

            “And you stayed with me?” he asked me.

            “Well, of course.  I had to hold your hair when you were vomiting all night,” I said sarcastically.

            His eyes narrowed, “Ha ha.  Very funny, Sica.”

            “Jiyong, we’re going to graduate college soon, and I’m just wondering,” I brought up, “When are you finally going to grow up?  You cannot live like this forever.  You’re going to have to settle down, get married, start a family, and…”

            Jiyong laughed loudly, “Jessica, what are you thinking?  We’re still young!  We do not need to think about that.  All I want is to live in the moment, and Jiyeon…wow, she makes life more enjoyable.”

            I prepared his breakfast for him.  I set the sausage, eggs, and pancakes on the plate as I pushed it towards him.  He grabbed the fork on the table and began to bite into his breakfast.

            “You don’t want to settle down…like ever?” I asked in curiosity.

            “Nah, I don’t see it for me,” he admitted, “I don’t want to be tied down to anyone.  It’s like being a slave or something.”

            I took a seat next to him and rested my chin on my palms as my elbows supported my weight on the table.

            “When I decide to settle down, I want to have many children!  I want a beautiful house with a garden…I’m not much of a gardener, so I’d probably have to hire a gardener or a landscaper.  I also want a beautiful wedding!  I want a wedding with a chocolate fountain in the reception area, doves released after I exchange vows with my husband, and many beautiful flowers surrounding me,” I smiled to myself, “That’s my dream.”

            I frowned once I felt him gently smack me at the back of my head.  I pouted at my best friend as he gave me an amused smile as he swallowed the eggs that he had been chewing. 

            “Stop with the fantasizing!” he made fun of me, “You have to have a fiancé to plan all of those things…you don’t even have a boyfriend to begin with!”

            I sneered, “Let a girl dream, okay?”

______________________________

Jiyong’s POV

            I could not believe it.  I had been accepted to a law firm in Los Angeles upon graduation.  I stared at the letter as I read those words over and over again.  I already knew that Jessica had been accepted.  She was the brightest one in the class, and she had a passion for proving people wrong.  I knew that she would be a good prosecution lawyer.  I personally enjoyed trials, but I didn’t think I would have made it.

            “Baby, what are you reading?” I heard a voice ask.

            I looked to my side to see Jiyeon.  She was sipping on a fruit shake that she had bought earlier.  She was wearing sunglasses; I guessed it was because she was still hung over.  I showed her the letter as she studied it carefully.

            “I got accepted to a law firm in Los Angeles!  I…I could make it big!” I cheered, “I might handle big, important cases in the future.  I can’t believe that it all paid off.  Jessica forced me to study, but I thought that it wasn’t worth it.  Wow…this is just great.”

            She frowned as she put her drink down.  She handed me back the paper as she pouted at me.  I thought she was going to be happy for me, but she wasn’t.  She seemed to be very disappointed that I had…succeeded.  I don’t know why, but my stomach began to churn.

            “I thought you were going to accept the offer at the law firm downtown,” she complained.

            I tried to laugh, “Jiyeon, that law firm downtown was my backup plan if I didn’t make it to the one in LA.  I told you this already.”

            “But you’re going to be gone,” she whined, “I don’t want you to be gone.  You love me, right?  If you loved me, you wouldn’t go.  You would stay here with me.”

__________________________

Jessica’s POV

            My American habits had seemed to rub off of Jiyong.  He didn’t complain when I’d force him to eat American food anymore.  Because I grew up in San Francisco, I was used to burgers, sandwiches, and fries. 

            We were eating in an American restaurant on our usual day together.  Every Thursday, we would put away all of our plans so that we could have dinner together.  That was the only day he was away from Jiyeon, and I was surprised that he still stuck to our little tradition.  She had him wrapped around her finger, and I seriously thought that it would get to the point where she would tell him to stop being my friend. 

            Jiyong continued to eat his burger, but something seemed to be wrong.  He wasn’t smiling or joking about how I was going to gain weight for always eating burgers.  He was just silent as he ate slowly.

            “Yah,” I snapped my finger, “Ji, what’s wrong?”

            He sighed, “Sica, how did you feel when you got accepted to that law firm in LA?”

            I recalled that moment when I opened the envelope that sealed my fate.  I was feeling a mixture of emotions.  I was relieved, shocked, ecstatic, teary, and thankful at the same time.  It had been a dream to the both of us to work at the law firm in LA that we had applied for together. 

            “My mind was blown,” I admitted, “I thought of all the things I could accomplish there.  I was just very thankful.  Why?  Did you get accepted?  I bet you did.”

            I hope he did.  He was smart, and he deserved to get accepted.  I had never seen a man with so much dedication.  I had to admit that there were times when I would have to kick his so he could open a book and study, but he did mostly everything on his own. 

            “I did,” he cleared his throat.

            My mind was blown again!  I was going to be with my best friend on the other side of the world!  My jaw dropped as I covered my mouth with my hands.  He sighed to himself as he looked down at his food.  My excitement slowly faded as I examined his face.  He didn’t look too happy, and I knew why.

            “You’re not going, are you?” I scowled.

            He explained, “Jessica, I can’t!  Jiyeon needs me here.  She wants to make a career as a…”

            “As what?” I fired, “As a model?  Jiyong, open your eyes.  She is holding you back!  You wanted to work in LA since we started law school.  Are you really going to give it all up for her?   You’ve only known her for a few months!”

            “I need to take care of her,” he shook his head, “I can work at the law firm downtown.”

            I scoffed.  Was he really that stupid?

            “Jiyong, you know that declining that law firm in LA and accepting that small firm downtown is like downgrading from a mansion to living in a car.  I will not let you let this opportunity slip through your fingers.  This is your dream, Jiyong!” I yelled.

            “Jessica, stop trying to dictate my life!” he defended, “I’m tired of it!”

            I fought back, “I am only trying to help!”

            “Well, stop!” he shouted, “I don’t need you, okay?”

            I had to confess that it hurt.  My best friend had just said that he didn’t need me.  We had known each other for more than a decade, and he said that he didn’t need me.  I grew silent as he frustratingly brushed his fingers through his hair. 

            “I was going to tell you today that I caught your girl making out with a random guy,” I swallowed.

            “You’re lying,” he shook his head, “You’re only saying that to hurt me.  You just want me to lose her.”

            He thought that I wanted to hurt him on purpose?  I didn’t even know who he was anymore.  He was a stranger because of the love he thought he had for Jiyeon.  It felt like our friendship had just been washed down the drain. 

            “Well, congratulations,” I sarcastically remarked, “You kept her, but you lost me.  Good luck with your life, Kwon Jiyong.  You’re going to need it if you’re going to be with her.  She’s nothing but trouble.”

            I stood up as I grabbed my purse on my side.  He stood up as he tried to grab my arm.  I brushed his grip away from me as I rolled my eyes.

            “Sica, don’t leave,” he begged.

            I turned around, “No, I cannot be there for you if you’re going to let yourself be a fool to…that !  You act as if you’re blind!

            “Why are you being so complicated?” he snapped at me.

            “Because I’m in love with you!” I screamed.

            . . !  Did I just say that?  I needed to take back those words, but it was too late.  The damage had been done.  It was damage that I could not repair.  I truly had just ruined our friendship.  I covered my mouth with my hand.  How I wish I could take back those words.  I knew he would leave me if he knew how I truly felt.

            My eyes averted away from his as I made my way out. 

            “Wait, we need to talk this through!” he called out.

            I didn’t say a single word.  I just continued to sprint towards my car.  I needed to get away from him.  I had been confused with my feelings for so long that even I couldn’t explain it.  I didn’t know how I truly felt. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

            I was sipping on my coffee quietly.  It had been two weeks since my embarrassing confession to Jiyong.  I had dodged all of his texts and calls.  I even sat on the desk closest to the door during class so that I could leave before he even had a chance to talk to me. 

            “Oppa, you can really get me into a CF?” I heard a feminine voice ask.

            I knew that voice.  It was the voice that I hated.  I looked to the side to see Jiyeon.  I lowered my head so that she couldn’t see me.  I raised the magazine I was reading and covered my whole face.  It seemed as if Jiyeon was talking to a man about appearing in a commercial.

            “I can get you in,” the man smirked at her.

            She flirted, “Really?  We should have dinner some time this week.  Then we should get a room so we can be alone together.”

            My hands began to crush the magazine I was holding after I heard that.  Was she really going to exchange for 10 seconds in a commercial?  I felt my anger about to explode from my body.  Even though I wasn’t speaking to Jiyong, I didn’t want to see him being fooled over and over again.

            I put the magazine down as I walked over to Jiyeon’s table.  Her jaw dropped to see me there.  The man across from her looked at me with a curious look.

            “Young lady, do you want to be in a CF, too?” he sneered, “I can fit you in if you’d like.  Of course, you’d have to give me something in return.”

            I raised an eyebrow.  I would never do what Jiyeon was so willing to do with this imprudent man.

            “Under the court of law, the exchange of any ual acts for an advantage in a potential employee’s hiring or promotion is illegal,” I stated, “Mister, you should leave before I call the cops on you.”

            He muttered under his breath some curse words as he grabbed his suitcase and left hurriedly.

            Jiyeon glared at me as she leaned back on her seat.  She crossed her arms against her chest as she shot me a dirty look.

            “There goes my opportunity to be a star,” she growled, “Jessica, you’re a ing pain in the .  Why the hell do you care?”

            “You’re going out with my best friend!” I defended, “I…I’m going to tell him what happened.”

            She smirked, “Let’s see who he believes:  the girl that used to be his best friend or the woman of his dreams.  You’ll drive him even further away from you.”

            She was feeding my rage with every single word that came out of her lips.  I didn’t know why I did it, but I did.  I had grabbed the large pair of scissors that a man was using from the table next to me.  He was cutting out construction paper for a project or something.  I grabbed Jiyeon’s hair and cut one side. 

            The look on her face was priceless.  The left side of her hair was cut above her ear.  Her jaw was dropped as I returned the scissors back to the man.  The man began to laugh and was soon joined by everyone in the coffee shop.

            “Why the hell did you do that?” she asked in shock.

            “You took away the most important thing to me,” I stated, “So I took away what was important to you, too.  Good luck with your auditions, Jiyeon.  Let’s see you try to get a commercial with that hair.”

            I threw the hair that I had cut to her face before I left.  She froze and then screamed at the top of her lungs.  I had to admit that it was music to my ears.  For the first time in her life, justice had been served.

________________________

            I looked at my friends and then at my luggage.  I couldn’t believe that I was going to leave already.  Sunny, Sooyoung, Tiffany, and Yoona were the only ones that were free to send me off to the plane.  It felt too surreal that I was going to work at a big law firm in California. 

            “Yoona, why are you texting?” I frowned, “I’m about to leave, and you’re texting your egotistical boyfriend.”

            “He is not egotistical,” Yoona defended, “He just wants to know where I am.”

            Sunny rolled her eyes, “Taecyeon is annoying.”

            “Yeah, he’s so controlling,” Tiffany frowned.

            “Enough about him!” Yoona sighed, “Jessica unnie, I’m just really sad that you’re leaving.  Make sure to visit here often, okay?”

            I smiled, “If I have time, I will.”

            Sooyoung patted my shoulder and gave a hopeful smile.

            “Jiyong called us earlier, and he wanted to say that he’s going to miss you,” Sooyoung stated, “He really is going to miss you.”

            I took a deep breath.  I hated talking about Jiyong.  Part of me wanted him to find a way to talk to me, but he never did.  I bet he was happy with Jiyeon even though she was fooling him. 

            “Flight from Seoul, South Korea to Los Angeles, California, USA is now boarding.”

            And that was my cue to leave.  I gave a hug to each of the girls.  I took my luggage and pulled it as I waved at them. 

            “Remember to call us when you get there!” Tiffany yelled.

            I gave a thumb up as I walked pass the gates.

~~~~~~

            “Miss, your seat is on row R,” the stewardess told me.

            I nodded with understanding as I made my way through the aisle.  After finding row R, I took my seat and tried to get comfy.  I buckled in my seat belt as I looked out the window.  The plane was finishing up on loading the passengers.

            “Hi, Jessica,” I heard someone say.

            I looked to my left to see Jiyong.  It felt like my whole body had just been shocked.  He adjusted his hat as he took a seat next to me. 

            “Wha-What are you doing?” I stuttered.

            “I’m going to LA to fulfill my dreams,” he smiled confidently.

            He buckled his seat belt next to me.

            “I need to get out of here,” I mumbled.

            I unbuckled my seatbelt and was about to stand up until the flight attendant made eye contact with me.

            “For the safety of the passengers, you should sit down and keep your seatbelt on.  We are just taking off,” the stewardess advised sternly with a fake smile.

            I puffed out a breath of air as I sat back down and buckled my seat belt again.  This was just stupid.  Was this Jiyong’s way of being spontaneous?  Well, I didn’t like it.

            “What are you doing?” I held in the tears, “You have a girlfriend.”

            He knew my voice was shaky, so he knew that he had to be sensitive around me.

            “I left her,” he said subtly, “My dreams are in LA, and I couldn’t let her stop me from achieving them.”

            I uttered, “Being a hotshot lawyer must be very important to you then.”

            “Jessica, you’re part of that dream,” he whispered, “I want to be with you.  The career is only 10% of the reason why I want to leave. 90% of the reason why I want to go to LA is for you.  You are the main reason.”

            “What?” I asked in disbelief.

            “I love you, Jessica.  I am in love with you.  I was just very ignorant and afraid that you only viewed me as a brother,” he his lips nervously, “I told you I didn’t have dreams of having children and a wife because I only wanted to share that dream with you, but I was discouraged and I forced myself to suppress my feelings for you.  Now, I just want to be true to you.  I want to be the father to your nonexistent, future babies.  I want to have that beautiful wedding with flowers around you and doves that are released when we exchange vows.  I want that for us in the future, Jessica.  I only want that with you.”

            I felt overwhelmed with my feelings for him.  I wrapped my arm around his neck as I leaned in for a kiss.  He kissed me back with so much passion that I felt like my body was going weak.  I then felt a rough surface on the back of his neck with my hand.  I felt him smiling through the kiss.

            “Jiyeon threw a vase at the back of my neck when I broke up with her,” he said as he pecked my cheek and the corner of my lips, “I had to get stitches.”

            His lips trailed back to my lips.  His lips felt warm against mine, and I didn’t expect him to be such a good kisser.

            “By the way,” he said as he tore his lips away from mine.

            I could feel his breath just a few inches away from my lips.  He had cupped my cheek with his hand as he looked into my eyes.

            “I love the haircut you gave her,” he smirked.

            I giggled as I leaned in to give him another kiss. 

Author's Note:  I know this is REALLY REALLY late, so I am truly sorry.  I kind of call this the lost story because I saved the story in my flash drive back in November of 2012, and I lost that flash drive.  I found it a few days ago under the seat to my car.  I'm guessing that it slipped out of my bag and stayed there lol.  Luckily, I'll be posting two of the updates and be calling this story complete.  ^__^