**14 years ago**

 

She really didn’t see the point of this show. Little Jessica was sitting on her giant couch watching a random cartoon about talking babies getting into a lot of mischief. Was this really what kids her age loved to do? Watch cartoons? She was probably too used to all the books her parents forced her to read that animated television was just plain boring. She continued to flip through the channels in hopes of finding something interesting on TV, hopefully something where a little more logic existed.

 

Jessica was having one of those days where nothing excited her since she thought the entire world was stupid. At only four years old, it felt like Jessica’s entire life would only consist of staying in her parent’s mansion in California until she dies. She wasn’t really too keen in making any friends; the kids she met at the playground one time were so immature with their games and their songs that Jessica ordered her chauffeur to drive her back home so she could enjoy a coloring book in complete silence.

 

“Pardon my interruption, Little Miss,” an older gentleman clad in a sophisticated suit said behind Jessica, “but your mother and father request for your attendance in the sitting room. They wish to introduce you to their new friends.”

 

“Whatever,” Jessica muttered. She threw the remote away and hopped off the giant couch. She checked to see if her hair was presentable in the mirror next to the ornate door before leaving the spacious living room. She was growing bored of staring at the 150 inch plasma television. She couldn’t understand why her father would buy a TV so big, but chose not to question his wants. Whatever her mother and father did was for the best. She felt that she should feel fortunate enough to be a part of it.

 

She sluggishly walked past the listening room and second living room before arriving in the sitting room. She saw her parents on the couch laughing with a family right across from them who looked just as happy. Jessica stopped in front of her mother.

 

“You asked for me?”

 

Jessica’s mother was in the midst of recovering from her laughter. “Haha, oh my goodness. Hoo… Ahh Jessica, there you are,” she said after finally calming down, “please introduce yourself to our guests.”

 

Jessica turned around to see a family of three sitting across from her. She noticed a man who looked to be in his late twenties with well pronounced jaw line and a very slender woman who looked to be rather sickly, but maintained a bright smile that caused her eyes to almost disappear into a squint.

 

While the two adults who looked like all of the other guests her parents brought over were nothing out of the ordinary, Jessica’s noticed a little girl in a pink dress and a big pink bow on her head who was sitting in between her parents as she kept a tight grip on her mother’s arm. It was the first time in a while since Jessica saw a girl her age this close to her.

 

“Good afternoon,” Jessica gave a curtsey, “my name is Jessica Jung. It’s nice to meet you.” The couple responded to the cute introduction by grinning with admiration.

 

“Well aren’t you a cutie,” the older man chuckled. “It’s nice to meet you Jessica. We can skip the formalities. You can just call me Uncle Yongsil and this beautiful woman here is my wife.” He motioned to the woman next to him who looked very frail and seemed to be a little weak.

 

“It’s lovely to meet you, Jessica dear. You can just call me Auntie Anna,” the woman said while the hair of the child next to her.

 

Jessica’s face contorted in displeasure for a minute before nodding in agreement with a plastered smile. Her parents always taught her to say mister or misses in order to sound polite, but to call someone auntie or uncle made them sound like ‘family’. The last thing Jessica wanted was more family members.

 

Jessica also noticed that the little girl with the pink bow was trying to bury her face into her mother’s bosom.

 

“Now Stephanie, there’s no need to be shy. Go on and introduce yourself.” Anna nudged the little girl towards Jessica before coughing into her hand. Stephanie looked at her mother to see if she was okay, then took a small peek towards Jessica and quickly hid her face again into her mother’s bosom.

 

“Oh don’t mind Stephanie, she’s just not use to seeing other kids her age,” Anna explained. “It’s okay Stephanie, Jessica is a nice girl. Isn’t that right, Jessica?”

 

Jessica had to force a smile because on the inside, she thought that the little girl in front of her was very odd, but kept up her façade in order to please her parents. “Now why don’t you and Jessica go play while Mommy and Daddy talk to the Jungs?”

 

Stephanie was looking at her mother with pleading eyes; it looked like as if she was begging to stay next to her mother’s side, but her mother gently pushed her little girl off the couch and pointed towards the girl who beginning to get bored.

 

Stephanie kept her eyes pointed towards the mink carpet as she approached Jessica while making sure to keep her distance. Jessica thought this girl was such weirdo, as if she had no experience with human contact. Jessica chose to ignore it for now and lead her outside the sitting room and headed towards the game room. She was hoping to let Stephanie amuse herself with the many game systems she had so she could go back to her channel surfing.

 

They finally arrived at the giant living room, but Stephanie kept her eyes glued to her feet. Since they were out of earshot from the adults, Jessica thought it would be fine to drop the cutesy mannered act.

 

“Okay so this is the game room. There’s some video games over there and if you want to play with some toys just go to the room next door. Also if you need anything, my butlers will be happy to serve you. Now if you don’t mind, I’m going back to watch TV.”

 

Jessica turned around and was about to leave the girl alone, but felt a small tug on the edge of her dress. She turned back to see the small girl pulling at her clothes. The tug was very soft, just like how much force one might use to pick up a newborn baby hamster. She continued to look at the ground, afraid to meet Jessica’s sight. Jessica noted the trembling lower lip and the increase moisture in the eyes of the weird girl. Jessica had to sigh in annoyance.

 

“Come on now. Don’t tell me you don’t want to be alone.”

 

Stephanie didn’t say anything but instead just gave a quick nod.

 

“There’s nobody here who’s gonna hurt you. You’ll be fine,” Jessica reassured her but Stephanie continued to tug softly on Jessica’s clothes.

 

“Look just keep yourself busy here and if you get bored, you can visit me in the living room,” Jessica swatted the surprised girl’s hand away and quickly walked towards the TV room.

 

Once she got there, she hopped into the center of the couch and proceeded to randomly flip through channels, hoping to see a new music video or maybe the new fall lineup on the fashion channel.

 

Only a few minutes passed and Jessica noticed at the corner of her eye a pink bow was peeking at the edge of the entrance. Jessica turned her head but the pink bow quickly disappeared.

 

“I know you’re there,” Jessica stared at the entrance. No response came.

 

“If you want to watch TV, you’re welcome to come in.”

 

As if on cue, Stephanie peeked into the living room again and slowly made her way to the long couch while keeping her eyes glued to her feet.

 

She finally made it to the couch and slowly sat at the end. Jessica could only turn her head without objection.

 

If she wants to sit there, that’s her choice. No skin off my back.

 

She picked up the remote next to her and continued her channel surfing. There were literally 800 channels, but nothing seemed interesting to watch. Suddenly a high pitch yip sound came from Stephanie and Jessica glared at her in question, causing the girl in pink to quickly shift her gaze.

 

“What?” Jessica asked in annoyance. Stephanie looked at the gigantic television set for a few seconds and then she looked at the remote control.

 

“You know there’s a reason why people have the ability to speak. It’s so everybody knows what people want,” Jessica said to her in a slightly irritated voice. That caused Stephanie’s cheeks to turn a light shade of pink.

 

“You’re lucky I can read you like a book.” Jessica pointed the remote and switched back to the cartoon channel Stephanie made a loud noise over. Stephanie looked up in awe that her favorite cartoon was showing and she didn’t blink for a second as her favorite talking babies were on one of their many adventures on the TV screen.

 

Jessica knew Stephanie wanted to watch that channel, but she couldn’t understand why that weird girl didn’t just say what she wanted out loud. Well, it was none of her business. As long as she pleases her parent’s guests, that’s all that mattered. Besides, she was sure she was never going to see her again.

 

***

 

“Wait a minute. You mean to tell me you dragged us all the way here to your house just so you could tell us about some weird little girl named Stephanie? How the hell would that help me?” Taeyeon was trying to push for answers but Jessica brushed her away.

 

“You’re getting ahead of yourself Kim, I’m not done yet.” Jessica looked to Yuri. “Do you have any questions Ms. Kwon Yuri?”

 

Yuri was a little busy eating a few of the fancy hors d'oeuvres when Jessica asked.

 

“Yeah I do,” she said as she stuffed a few crackers into before swallowing.

“That show with the talking babies.”

 

“Yes?” Jessica didn’t see where this was going.

 

“That show was called Rugrats, right? Back in the 90’s it was a very popular cartoon in America and around the world. Why didn’t you like it?” Yuri asked a little confused since she was a fan of the popular kids show.

 

“Well I…” Jessica didn’t really know what to say since she didn’t want to look bad in front of Yuri. “Look, that’s not important right now. Let me continue my story.”

 

Yuri leaned back in disappointment and continued to help herself with the refreshments since all that storytelling was giving her an appetite. Taeyeon already placed her glass on the table and was waiting for Jessica to spill out something useful.

 

“So anyways, Stephanie was pretty weird. I thought that was the last I would see of her, but then the next week came.”

 

***

 

Little Jessica was sitting at her desk with a coloring book and a box of crayons in front of her. The book was opened to a pony, but Jessica just sloppily scribbled the horse orange and gave up because she later realized there was no benefit in coloring the stupid horse. She heard a knock at her door and turned to see one of her butlers at her doorway.

 

“Pardon me miss, but you have a visitor.”

 

Jessica hopped off of her chair and was waiting for her butler to continue his sentence.

 

“Okay? Where do I meet them?” she asked with an attitude. The butler didn’t seem fazed by it and kept his composure.

 

“Ahem, little miss.” It looked like he was talking to someone Jessica couldn’t see. “You don’t have to hide. Ms. Jessica won’t hurt you.”

 

Humph, speak for yourself Jeeves.

 

After a few seconds passed, Jessica saw a familiar pink bow poke out from the side of the door and saw the weird girl from last week who spent most of the time watching TV without saying a word.

 

“Ms. Hwang’s parents insisted that young Stephanie spend some quality time with children her age so they arranged a play date today with you. Your parents ask to treat her as if she was family.” Before Jessica could retort, the butler quickly bowed to them before making his leave. Stephanie was still being weird as she continued to peak from the doorway.

 

“Look, I don’t know if you want to be here or not, but I’m supposed to entertain you so let’s get this over with, okay?” Jessica said. Stephanie showed no signs to coming out from her hiding space, so Jessica just gave up and walked towards the skittish girl who was wearing another pink outfit. As she approached her, Stephanie tried her best to look Jessica in the eye, but would occasionally look away and stare at her white socks.

 

“Well I guess we’re stuck with each other then?”

 

Stephanie looked like she was about to say something, but gave up on that idea and just responded with a small nod.

 

“Fine. Follow me.” Jessica walked towards the toy room with Stephanie on her tail as if she was a lost baby duckling. She felt that the pink girl was a little too close and stopped on a dime, causing Stephanie to emit a small yip of surprise as she bumped into Jessica’s back.

 

Jessica turned her head to see the little girl’s cheeks blush in embarrassment.

 

“Try not to stay to close to me. I need my space.”

 

Jessica continued to walk but still felt her personal space was being violated; however, she chose to not say anything. From what her parents told her, she always had to entertain her guests no matter how much she didn’t want to. It was best for the Jung name.

 

“Okay, here we are.”

 

The two girls arrived in a room that was full of display cases and chests filled to the brim with toys and dolls. There was also a small playground in the middle of the room which consisted of a slide and a fun house.

 

“So this time how about you just stay here while I go somewhere.”

 

Stephanie was stealing glances as she looked at Jessica, then to the floor.

 

“You know, somewhere by myself? Without you?”

 

The girl in pink kept her head down, looking guilty.

 

“Oh don’t give me that look. It’s not that I hate you or anything, it’s just… I don’t like kids.”

 

Jessica noticed that Stephanie’s hunched shoulders were beginning to shudder and she knew she needed to calm her down.

 

“Come on now, don’t be a cry baby. Yes, I know I’m a kid too but I’m not used to talking to someone at my height. Most of the time I talk to my parent’s adult guests about politics or business,” Jessica tried to explain but Stephanie was on the verge of weeping.

 

“Oh for crying out loud!” Jessica reached for Stephanie’s chin and tilted her head up so she could meet her gaze. “I don’t know what you want and crying about it isn’t going to give me the hint. I’m not saying I hate you, but I’m just not used to you yet, okay?”

 

The girl with the pink bow wiped her eyes before nodding in agreement.

 

“Now would you mind telling me what you want already so you can stop wasting my time?!” Jessica yelled in a harsh tone without realizing it.

 

Stephanie was shaking again with tears beginning to fall on her face. “I… I want my MOMMY!” she suddenly shrieked before falling to her knees and balling her little eyes out. She grabbed onto Jessica’s legs and was weeping while Jessica was looking at her as if she was infected.

 

“Are you kidding?! Grow up why don’t ya!” Jessica yelled in annoyance trying to push Stephanie off of her.

 

***

 

“You made a little girl cry?! That’s horrible! Yuri shrieked while looking at a picture of little Jessica and Stephanie in the photo album. “How could you make such a cute little girl cry like that?”

 

“Don’t get the wrong idea Ms. Kwon Yuri,” Jessica explained frantically as she took the photo album away from Yuri. “It wasn’t my fault. She just broke down in front of me when I calmly tried to talk to her.” Yuri looked sorry for Stephanie since she can’t stand anybody crying. Taeyeon on the other hand was rolling her eyes behind Yuri.

 

 

From what Jessica said, it sounds to me like it was all her fault. Good to know she was just as blunt at four years old.

 

 

“You see, it wasn’t until her mother came and picked her up that I found out that Stephanie was a momma’s little girl. It all seemed clear to me since Stephanie never wanted to be alone. I assumed she spent so much time with her parents that she just wasn’t used to being alone with a stranger.”

 

“Okay, so Stephanie was always with her mom. So what? Again, how is this relevant to Tiffany? Is she supposed to be Tiffany’s cousin or long lost friend or something?” Taeyeon questioned.

 

“Oh hush, I’m not done yet Kim. Please refrain from questions until I’m finished.”

 

“And another thing,” Taeyeon lifted her hand in disbelief, “you told that poor girl to grow up? You were both four years old for god’s sake! How could you?”

 

“Well I could ask you why you didn’t grow up yet Kim, but that’s for another conversation,” Jessica motioned coolly. Taeyeon was about to respond with something smart, but Jessica spoke up again.

 

“So Stephanie was a crybaby for her mother. I thought nothing of it at first. I assumed she was just like the other children I see on television, but after her mother picked her up my parents had a little chat with me. It seems that Stephanie was in the same position as me when it came to making friends. The only difference was I never cared for company while Stephanie had a tendency for crying until her mother came,” Jessica explained. She took a sip from her glass, placing it on the coffee table and helping herself to a cracker.

 

“So then what happened?” Yuri leaned forward, intrigued.

 

Taeyeon was just shaking her head at her friend. She was starting to think that Jessica just invited them so she could waste their time again.

 

“Well, my parents told me that I needed to shape up and be nice to Stephanie, even though she was a complete...” Jessica paused in order to choose her words carefully, “dimwit. My parents arranged another play date with her and I wasn’t too excited by the idea. This time I chose to play the character of a ‘good friend’.”

 

***

 

“Miss Jessica?”

 

Jessica a rather large book on her recliner when the butler came.

 

“Miss Stephanie has arrived. Please remember your parents want you to be on your best behavior while entertaining-”

 

“Yes yes, I remember. You can go now.” Jessica slammed her book shut and threw it on the small table next to her. She took a deep breath in order to calm her nerves. She was staring at the doorway, waiting for her guest.

 

“I’m not going to scare you, okay? I was just really frustrated that day since we ran out of apple juice in the kitchen,” she lied to the open doorway. “I swear, I’m not going to yell at you. You can come out.”

 

As she expected, a large pink bow crept from the edge of the doorway. Stephanie finally emerged from her hiding spot and didn’t dare to approach Jessica.

 

“I see you’re still as skittish as ever.” Jessica approached Stephanie rather abruptly and held out her hand. “Come on now, we haven’t got all day.”

 

Stephanie looked at Jessica cautiously. She wasn’t sure if she can trust the mean girl, but chose to slowly squeeze her outstretched hand. Jessica pulled her along the long corridors until they arrived in the study/computer room. Stephanie was amazed by the large computer and the many bookshelves around it.

 

“I was hoping maybe we could play some computer games, that is unless you want to do something else,” Jessica cocked her eyebrow up. She was waiting for Stephanie to reply, but again she only responded with a nod.

 

“Does that mean yes you want to play on the computer or yes you want to do something else?” Jessica thought that if she was going to have to get along with this girl, the first thing she would need to do is hear her speak.

 

Stephanie was looking at her with big eyes, not sure of what to do next.

 

“I’m not asking for a miracle, I’m just asking you to talk to me.” Though at this point, that may well be a miracle.

 

The girl with the pink bow was looking to the ground again, not sure of what to do.

 

“Look, I know you’re not used to talking to people except your family but you have to learn to trust people, especially me. If you want to be my friend, you have to treat me like your family.”

 

Stephanie looked up in surprise. Her lower lip was quivering again.

 

“Am… am I your friend?” her high pitched voice stuttered nervously. Her eyes were really big in anticipation of what Jessica might say. Since she got Stephanie talking, she might as well continue playing her part.

 

“Sure. You can be my first friend,” Jessica smiled, showing that there was no need to be scared. Stephanie nodded her head in agreement and showed a bright smile that caused her eyes to turn into little crescents.

 

“So now that we’re friends, how about we play some computer games? My father bought quite a few games last week and I’ve yet to play them.” Jessica sat on one side of the computer, patting the other side of the chair for Stephanie. “So let’s play?”

 

Stephanie’s smile grew even brighter and nodded in affirmation. “Let’s!”

 

***

 

“Okay that’s it!” Taeyeon yelled in frustration.

 

“I wasn’t finished yet Kim,” Jessica said coldly. “How dare you keep interrupting me.”

 

“I’m done Jessica! I was actually hoping you would tell me something useful about my problem, but instead you’re reminiscing about old childhood friends like it’s some happy go lucky Disney movie!” Taeyeon was really frustrated with Jessica. She had a feeling Jessica would choose to waste her time again and now she felt like a fool for ever agreeing to come to her mansion.

 

Yuri placed her hand on her shoulder and looked to Jessica. “I have to admit Jessica. While it is an interesting story, it doesn’t really help us on how we can prevent Tiffany from harassing Taeyeon.” Yuri looked to her friend as if telling her to calm down. Jessica sighed in disbelief.

 

“You two just don’t understand, do you?”

 

“Understand what? Your life in America with some shy girl? How your childhood was boring and unmagical? How is that story even relevant?” Taeyeon asked, trying to control her temper.

 

“Maybe this will enlighten you. Throughout my entire life, I’ve only had one friend. Ever since I was young, Stephanie was always by my side after I earned her trust. Even when I moved here to Korea she would always be with me,” Jessica explained as she kept her eyes on her photo album.

 

“Wait a minute, so you mean Stephanie is here in Korea? Does she go to our school?” Yuri asked in curiosity.

 

“Just forget it Yuri, I’m done with this.” Taeyeon got up from the sofa and was making her way out of the room before Jessica yelled at her.

 

“Kim Taeyeon!”

 

Taeyeon ceased her retreat when she heard Jessica’s siren yell and turned around to face the blonde who was pinching the bridge of her nose.

 

“Just think carefully. What’s my friend’s name?”

 

Taeyeon took a deep breath in order to relax a bit. Last thing she wanted to do was to lose her temper. “Stephanie. Her name is Stephanie.”

 

“Okay,” Jessica said very slowly, “and how many friends did I ever say I had in my life?”

 

Taeyeon had to think about that for a minute. “You said you only had one friend.”

 

“Good.” Jessica sounded like she was speaking to a three year old. “Now here’s the tricky question. What does that make Tiffany?”

 

Taeyeon had think about that as she made her way towards Yuri. “Your second friend?”

 

“Didn’t you just hear me Kim?! I’ve only had one friend in my life!” Jessica was getting impatient with the shorter girl. It felt like she was leading a horse to water, but the horse wouldn’t drink.

 

“Then I have no idea then.” Taeyeon threw her hand in the air, giving up on Jessica’s logic.

 

“Oh my god, how can you be so stupid?” Jessica shook her head in frustration.

 

“Me stupid?” Taeyeon was walking towards Jessica. She was getting really sick of her games. “If you want to talk about stupid-”

 

“Taeyeon!” Yuri grabbed her friends wrist and pulled her back. She looked at Jessica who was also beginning to get angry. “I understand now.” Taeyeon gave her friend a confused look while Jessica looked surprised.

 

“Did you finally figure it out Ms. Kwon Yuri?”

 

“Yeah.” Yuri sat back down on the couch, pulling Taeyeon to sit next to her. “Taeyeon, you shouldn’t be mad with Jessica. She was trying to help us.”

 

“How is talking about some random Stephanie girl helpful?”

 

“Taeyeon,” Yuri gave her friend a serious look, “Tiffany is Stephanie.” Yuri turned to look at her host. “Isn’t that right Jessica?”

 

Jessica couldn’t fight the smile forming on her face as she slowly clapped. “Bravo Ms. Kwon Yuri. I always knew you were a smart cookie.” Jessica sat back down next to Yuri and was looking at Taeyeon’s confused face.

 

“Do you understand now Kim? That shy little girl that cried for her mommy fourteen years ago was Tiffany,” Jessica clarified.

 

Taeyeon was still trying to make sense of it. “But I don’t understand what you’re trying to tell me.” Jessica had to release another sigh since her guest seemed to be really slow.

 

“Alright Kim, I’ll tell you. That little girl I met back in California, her name is Stephanie. She was a shy little girl who just wanted to make friends. Over the years, things happened in her life and she chose to take up the name Tiffany.”

 

 

“If that’s true, then why is she so mean and nasty now? ‘Cause the girl you just described is the complete opposite to the girl she is today. What could’ve happened that made her want to ruin everybody’s life?” Taeyeon asked.

 

Jessica showed a small smile. “It’s true that she wasn’t always so impulsive, but somewhere along her life she had a few unpleasant experiences that made her question life.”

 

 

“So by knowing this,” Yuri interjected, “how are we supposed to protect Taeyeon?”

 

 

“That Ms. Kwon Yuri,” Jessica points to herself, “is where I come in.”

---

I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! Plan to post more as soon as I can!

Also, does anybody know how to create a banner for stories? Maybe somebody can teach me or make one for me? Any information or help would be appreciated :) 

As always, comments and constructive criticisms are always welcomed. If you really enjoy the story so far, an up-vote would be most appreciated. Take care everyone!