Jessica couldn’t believe her friend sometimes. Tiffany was the one who said she hated Kim Taeyeon, yet there she was, passionately mashing her lips against Kim’s. Enough was enough. And while she couldn’t catch up with her friend’s speed, she knew where the mushroom had disappeared to.

 

Like a little girl who has done something bad, they would always run to the place they felt comfortable. So after hopping into her limo, Jessica found herself in front of Tiffany’s luxurious condominium. She repeatedly pressed her doorbell in frustration.

 

“Tiffany I know you’re in there!” Jessica yelled as she rapidly pounded on the door.

 

There was no response from the intercom, but Jessica knew Tiffany could hear her from the inside.

 

“This is your last chance Tiffany! Open the door or I’ll-”

 

The front door made a loud click and slowly opened to reveal a dark entrance hall. Jessica assumed Tiffany opened the door from her room and made her way inside. First thing she noticed was that all of Tiffany’s curtains were drawn so her entire living room was almost pitch-black except for a crack of sunlight from the side of the windows. Jessica could still navigate through the darkness and managed to kick away empty bottles and half eaten bags of chips.

 

The smell of alcohol was wafting through the air and she immediately figured that her best friend was already drunk. She passed by Tiffany’s living room, filled with many expensive furniture pieces and a state of the art high definition TV complete with surround sound speakers and video game consoles.

 

She remembered Tiffany yelling at the top of her lungs as she told her father she didn’t want anything from him. Jessica sighed remembering the moment and after taking a few more steps, she found herself in front of a familiar door with a pink sign that said ‘Tiffany’.

 

“Tiffany,” Jessica knocked harshly. Without waiting for a response, Jessica flung the door open to find Tiffany sitting in the corner of her room in the dark.

 

“I swear you’re becoming more dramatic by the day,” Jessica scolded as she flipped the light switch to see Tiffany’s pink room just as dirty as the living room. “I know you have cleaning ladies, but that doesn’t give you an excuse to live like a pig.”

 

Tiffany remained motionless for a moment. Jessica made a path to Tiffany’s bed by kicking away trash and fallen stuffed animals before sitting on the edge of the bed and facing her friend.

 

“I fired the cleaning ladies a month ago. They were getting annoying,” Tiffany said to the floor.

 

“You know it’s because of your pathetic and immature actions that make me wonder if your dad was right,” Jessica clicked her tongue. Tiffany looked to her friend with malice in her eyes.

 

“You can go yourself Jessica. You and I both know he’s a sackless piece of ,” Tiffany snapped back. Jessica knew the mere mention of Tiffany’s father would always rile her up and she never hesitated to bring him up when Tiffany really pissed her off.

 

“We can talk about your dad later. You mind telling me why you ran away from me and managed to chug down five bottles of beer,” Jessica pointed at the recently opened bottles near Tiffany.

 

“It’s none of your business, Jessi,” Tiffany turned her head away.

 

“No, what is my business is having to hear you whine and moan about how much you hate Kim Taeyeon and then find you her face,” Jessica shook her head in disappointment. “You see, I knew you actually liked her.”

 

“I do NOT like that little gremlin!” Tiffany yelled at Jessica as she glared angrily at the other girl. “I just-”

 

“Just save it Tiff. I don’t want to hear it right now,” Jessica raised her hand. “Talk to me when you’ve sobered up, okay? I’ll be in the living room when you’re ready.”

 

Jessica hopped off of Tiffany’s pink silk bed and slammed the door shut as she marched towards the living room. Tiffany bit her lower lip in frustration. Sometimes she really wished Jessica would just shut sometimes. The room wasn’t spinning as much as before so she found it a perfect opportunity to get on her feet and wobbled face first into her king sized bed.

 

She saw her favorite Totoro doll next to her pillow and hugged it tightly. What was going to be her excuse to Jessica? Thinking about it now, she really didn’t have a reason. It all happened so fast that it didn’t even feel real.

 

Just thinking about what she did in the library a mere hour ago filled her insides with such rage that she carefully placed her Totoro doll on her bedside table before violently clutching the pillow; she screamed incoherently into it, yelled at it like it was her father. Even though she wailed with all her might, it felt unsatisfactory - thus, she drove her fist heavily into the wall in order to hopefully dissipate some of the unwelcome anger.

 

She could barely feel the pain in her right hand. She opened her eyes to see a small dent on the wall but didn’t care about it. The punch on the wall helped to calm her down a bit. Tiffany could feel tears forming in her eyes again, but mentally slapped herself in order to fight them back. She had to be strong.

 

She wasn’t supposed to show weakness. She slowly exhaled as she sat on the edge of her bed. Thoughts of her mother would always come back as she went to her happy place. A place in her memories where she would always feel safe.

 

***

 

“Mommy, why is the sky blue?”

 

“Because light passes through water molecules in the air and it becomes blue light.”

 

“Mommy, why do puppies have cold noses?”

 

“So they can smell really well and keep themselves cool, sweetie.”

 

“Mommy, why is the sun so bright?”

 

“Because everytime you smile, you give the sun a lot of energy,” Mrs. Hwang said teasingly.

 

Little Stephanie was walking through the park hand in hand with her mommy right next to her. Stephanie always enjoyed spending time with her mommy whether it was walking in their gigantic garden, to the nearby park, or even at a local shopping mall. Being homeschooled with her mommy as her teacher, Stephanie saw everyday as a fun day.

 

“Mommy, can you push me on the swing?” Stephanie pointed towards the empty swing set nearby.

 

“Haha, okay sweetie but only for five minutes. Daddy’s going to be coming home tonight and we have to be there when he arrives.”

 

Stephanie pouted as she walked towards the swing set. “I don’t like daddy very much. I never get to see him.”

 

“I know sweetie, but we have to understand that daddy is a very busy man. He’s not like other daddies who can come back home every day. He has to fly all around the world because of work.”

 

Stephanie shook her head as she sat on the little swing. “I don’t care about daddy. I just want to be with you,” Stephanie puffed out her little cheeks.

 

“Aww sweetie. Your daddy cares about you very much. It’s just that his work is very hard for him and sometimes he can be a little grumpy,” Stephanie’s mom said as she patted her daughter’s back. “Okay, on the count three?”

 

Stephanie held a tight grip on the chains of the swing and closed her eyes. “Ready!”

 

“1…2…3!”

 

Stephanie could feel the wind rushing through her hair as her entire body flew into air before gravity met her at the peak and forced her back down for another push. For a kid as young as her, the feeling was exhilarating.

 

“Yay! I’m flying!” Stephanie squealed in excitement.

 

Mrs. Hwang continued to push Stephanie on the swings as Stephanie kept encouraging her mother to push higher. She was happy to be with her mommy and not at a big school with all the scary kids. Stephanie had always been a shy girl and at times when her mother tried to encourage her to play with the other kids at the park, she would always run back into her mother’s arms.

 

She was terrified of the thought because for as long as she could remember, it was always her and her mother in their big house. Stephanie was laughing while her mom pushed the swing, but she suddenly noticed that her mom had stopped pushing suddenly and was breathing very heavily as she clutched her chest - there was a pained look on her face.

 

“Mommy? Are you okay?” Stephanie asked in a concerned voice.

 

This wasn’t the first time her mommy was out of breath so suddenly and it always scared her to hear her mommy wheezing for air. She was about to run to get help, but halted her steps when she felt her mom’s hand on her shoulder. Mrs. Hwang’s erratic breathing had started to subside as she patted her chest a few more times.

 

“I’m sorry sweetie. Mommy just had another episode. Don’t worry. I’m okay now,” she said as she patted the scared little girl.

 

“I think you should see a doctor,” Stephanie said with worried eyes.

 

“Now don’t you worry. I don’t need to see a doctor. I just need to take my medicine when we get home.” Mrs. Hwang looked around and saw a bench nearby and pointed towards it. “Why don’t we go sit on the bench for a little bit?”

 

Stephanie instinctively reached for her mother’s hand and sat down on the bench next to her. It looked to Stephanie that her mommy was thinking about something really hard.

 

“I’m sorry you had to see that Tiffany. I know it’s not the first time you’ve seen me like that, but don’t worry. Mommy is stronger than she looks,” her mom smiled lovingly when she noticed Stephanie’s inquisitive look, whose ears perked up as she heard that name again.

 

“Mommy, you said it again. I’m Stephanie,” Stephanie pouted again, causing her mother to laugh.

 

“Aww, I’m sorry sweetie. I know your name is Stephanie, but I always told your father that you looked more like a Tiffany,” she said as Stephanie leaned on her arm. She gently her daughter’s hair as she look to the distance. “I know it’s silly Stephanie, but the day you were born your father insisted that you should be named Stephanie. Do you remember what the name Stephanie means?”

 

“Crown! Because I’m a princess,” Stephanie grinned. Mrs. Hwang giggled adoringly at her daughter’s silliness.

 

“That’s right sweetie. You are a princess. I on the other hand thought Tiffany was a better name. Do you remember what Tiffany means?”

 

Stephanie had to think about it for a minute. She remembered her mommy teaching her about it a few weeks ago, but it was all coming up blank. Stephanie shook her head in response.

 

“The name Tiffany means the appearance of God. Just like when the maji approached baby Jesus with gifts, they all witnessed the presence of God. And that’s why between you and me, you’re my little Tiffany,” Stephanie’s mom cooed into her hair.

 

“Eww, I don’t like the name Tiffany. It’s stinky,” Stephanie frowned playfully.

 

“Aww, but you can just be Tiffany to me. 보석보다 빛너는 티파니 (Brighter than gems Tiffany). You can be my little보석 (bosuk),” Stephanie’s mom tickled her daughter’s sides and Stephanie exploded with laughter.

 

“Hahaha! Mommy I’m gonna pee my pants!” Stephanie squealed as she squirmed in her mother’s arms.

 

The tickling went on for a few more seconds until finally Mrs. Hwang was worried her daughter wasn’t getting enough oxygen so she eventually stopped and let her daughter gasp for air.

 

“I don’t understand Korean Mommy. What’s a beosuk? Am I a beosuk?” Stephanie looked at her mom curiously.

 

Mrs. Hwang couldn’t hold back a giggle at her daughter’s pronunciation. “Sweetie you just called yourself a mushroom. I don't think you look like a mushroom,” Mrs. Hwang giggled. “What I said was you are ‘brighter than gems, Tiffany.’ Don’t worry though, you’re still my little gem Stephanie.”

 

"Yay! I don't wanna be stinky mushroom Tiffany." TIffany nuzzled into her mommy's embrace as she felt her head being soothingly patted.

 

Stephanie thought her mommy could be really silly sometimes, unlike her daddy. This was one of the reasons why she preferred her mommy over her daddy; sometimes her daddy just couldn't have fun.

 

“Uh oh, what time is it?” Mrs. Hwang just realized that they were at the park longer than planned as she saw that the sun was beginning to set. She dug into her pocket and pulled out an old yet pristine silver pocket watch. Stephanie always thought that her mommy’s pocket watch was really pretty with its picture of four roses engraved into the metal.

 

“Come along Stephanie. Daddy’s going to be home soon so we have to go,” she said while stuffing the pocket watch back into her pocket.

 

As they walked back home hand in hand, Stephanie got curious about the shiny watch.

 

“Mommy, why do you always have that pocket watch with you? Why not buy a wristwatch like everybody else?”

 

“Did you forget what I told you already Stephanie? This is Mommy’s magic watch,” Mrs. Hwang answered cryptically.

 

“Why is it magic? Can it make you fly?” Stephanie asked, not knowing how silly her questions sounded.

 

“Not exactly flight. You could say this watch is a part of me. I’ve had this watch throughout all the good things in my life. It was actually because of this watch I married Daddy.”

 

“Eww,” Stephanie made a face as they continued to walk back home.

 

“I think you might be a little too young to understand, but this pocket watch is very special. It tends to have special ways of communicating feelings to others.”

 

Stephanie continued to stare at her mommy as if she was speaking Korean again. She couldn’t understand how a watch could feel.

 

“Now enough about my silly watch. What should we ask the chefs to cook tonight? Maybe… Chinese food?”

 

Stephanie shook her head. “No,” she said cheerfully.

 

“Maybe… Mexican?”

 

Again Stephanie shook her head. “Nooooo.”

 

“Okay missy, what do you want to eat tonight?” Mrs. Hwang asked.

 

“Pizza and spaghetti!” Stephanie chimed.

 

“Ahh, Italian? I’m sure Alistair and the chefs can whip up some yummy Italian food.”

 

“Yay!”

 

As the sun set, Stephanie smiled happily as she walked hand in hand with her mommy. She wished that every day was as fun as today. What she didn’t know was that eventually, everything she had would eventually change.

---

안녕! (annyeong) I feel like every time I update I feel like I need to apologize :(. I'm planning to gradate soon so I've been busy with school and preparations. Orignally this was supposed to be one chapter until I realized it was WAAAAY too long and I'm sure you guys don't wanna read a 22 paged chapter. You'd get sick of it :)

 

Also, some might not have realized I've had an editor who's helped me edit my story since the first chapter. I wanna give a big thank you to OSMRICE for putting up with me and helping me improve my crappy writing :) If it wasn't for her, the story would probably have so many typos and confusing paragraphs. She's been a big help to me in the past and I hope she continues to help me in the future.

 

So just an FYI, part 2 is planned to be uploaded next week or the week after, depending on my editor's schedule. I wanna thank everybody who's been leaving a lot of positive comments and I encourage comments this story. Constructive criticism is always welcome!

 

Look forward to part 2 :D