Chapter 2

"So, how is she doing so far?"

"Not good. Fortunately she's improving a bit as the time passes, but up to now she still cannot seem to forget her."

"Don't worry, she will eventually. It's not that easy to erase someone whom she loved for the past three years."

"I'm not saying that she should erase her. I just..want her to move on and start anew. She can't be grieving over her death forever."

Tiffany watched helplessly as her distressed girlfriend continued to gaze at a distance. She knew she was having a lot of thoughts inside her mind in the moment, and all of those thoughts were about Jessica. Although she did know that Taeyeon's efforts towards Jessica were all out of friendly concern, she couldn't help but to feel a little jealous deep inside. Even when they began dating, Taeyeon has never showed her this kind of worry and affection before.

But Tiffany also reminded herself that feeling jealous won't be able to help anything with their friend's current situation. For now, all she could do was to be supportive for the both of them.

"Don't worry Tae, I'm right here. You're not alone on this." Tiffany whispered thoughtfully as she protectively wrapped an arm around the shorter girl sitting beside her. Taeyeon tilted her head to the side and flashed her a small smile. "Thanks Fany." She then leaned forward to peck the younger girl on the cheek.

Meanwhile, Jessica woke upon hearing voices around her. Her eyes slowly opened before a yawn escaped her lips. She stretched her arms and tossed around the bed before noticing the presence of two other people inside her room.

"Taengoo? Tiff? What are you guys doing here?" Jessica rubbed her eyes with her fists as she tried to get a clearer vision of her surroundings. She saw the couple sitting on the leather couch, smiling at her.

"Oh. You're awake." Taeyeon quickly moved away from Tiffany and rushed towards the girl who just woke up. "Is your head still aching? Do you want me to cook anything for you?" The short girl placed a hand over Jessica's forehead. The girl on the bed chuckled a bit as she removed Taeyeon's hand away from her face. "Stop it Taengoo. It's not like I'm a kid with a fever." She then motioned towards Tiffany who was standing right behind Taeyeon. "I think you should take care of your girlfriend instead."

Tiffany beamed a smile, trying to hide the unusual bitter feeling that she was having inside. "It's okay. How are you doing Jessi?"

"I'm fine. Thanks for asking." Jessica answered with a weak smile. "It's all thanks to your wife here, she's always looking out for me even if I tried to push her away." She lightly punched Taeyeon on the arm while giving her a cute grin.

Taeyeon's cheeks went red. "I'm not her wife." She muttered almost inaudibly, but was loud enough for Tiffany to hear.

"So, are you going to work today?" Tiffany decided to change the subject, still holding onto her smile. Jessica thought for a moment before slowly bobbing her head up and down as an answer. "Maybe I should. I've been resting long enough and the kids are probably missing me too much already." She was about to get off the bed when Taeyeon suddenly stopped her from doing so.

"But we're not sure if you can work already!" She suddenly exclaimed, worry evident in the tone of her voice. "What if you suddenly faint or collapse due to fatigue?"

Jessica rolled her eyes as she stood up on her feet. "Stop being so paranoid. I get it that I'm not that strong, but I can handle myself." Taeyeon grabbed her hand and squeezed it. "Are you sure Sica?" Jessica nodded with a small smile. Taeyeon couldn't help but to reciprocate the smile, it's very relieving for her to witness her best friend showing more positive signs. 

"We'll drive you to work then."

"Taengoo, that's not necessary. I'm sure you and Tiff have somewhere else to go."

"Don't be silly. Fany and I won't mind. Won't we?" Taeyeon turned towards her girlfriend with a hopeful smile. Tiffany couldn't bear to say no to that face. She eventually nodded her head and smiled along. "Of course we don't mind." Tiffany responded.

And that's when Jessica noticed that Tiffany's smile was crooked. 

*****

"Omo! Miss Jung, you're back!"

"Good morning Jessica-shi! Welcome back!"

"Hey Jessica, how are you? We haven't heard from you in ages!"

As soon as she entered the building of the montessori school she's currently working at, tons of questions were already thrown at her. Jessica paused in her tracks once her co-workers and co-teachers suddenly flocked around her like a paparazzi trying to absorb some answers from a celebrity. 

"Guys, guys!" Jessica covered her ears to shield it from the deafening voices around her. "Calm down. I only took a month leave and now you're all acting as if I've been resurrected from the dead!" 

"Sorry. We're just so glad to have you back." One of the teachers exclaimed with a soft smile. Jessica smiled back and for the first time, she felt warmth inside of her. She never expected that even these people cared that much about her. "So, what happened? We heard your fiance passed away last yea--" Another one of the teachers who attempted to ask that question, was suddenly cut off once he felt a sharp slap on the arm. That violent action came from none other than Kim Hyoyeon, Jessica's closest friend at work. 

"Shut up. Miss Jung had just returned from a vacation and she absolutely is no criminal for you to interrogate with such questions." The long blonde haired woman then clapped her hands and motioned everyone to go back to their work. Once everyone was gone, Hyoyeon faced Jessica who was giving her a thankful smile. "Sorry about that. You now how nosy the people are around here." 

Jessica nodded in understanding. "It's okay. I don't really mind that they know about it."

"But I do. I'm your friend and I can't just let anybody talk about your personal life." Hyoyeon exclaimed in a sassy tone as she crossed her arms over her chest. But when she glanced at Jessica suddenly looked down at her feet with sad eyes, the expression on her face softened. "Sica, I'm really sorry about what happened." She gently rubbed her friend's arm.

Jessica lifted her face and was obviously trying to force out a smile. "It's okay. You've been saying that over and over again. It already happened a year ago. The past is past." 

"Then why aren't you still moving on?" 

A soft sigh escaped Jessica's lips as she made her way to her table. She sat down and buried her face into her hands. "I don't really know. I mean, I've tried to. But it's just so difficult for someone like me to do." She sighs again, but this time she was struggling to keep the tears from falling. "Our memories just keep on going back to me. She's making it hard for me to forget her."

Hyoyeon frowns as she could not do anything but to comfort her friend. She rubbed the older girl's back soothingly as she allowed her to cry. Eventually when Jessica's crying came to a stop, Hyoyeon thought of a way to cheer her up.

"Hey Sica." 

"Hmm?"

"You know, the kids really missed you lot." 

"I know." Jessica smiled as she thought of the angelic faces of her students. Hyoyeon suddenly grabbed her hand and dragged her off to somewhere. Jessica even stumbled a little as she tried to catch up with the blonde's fast pace. "Hyo! Where are we going?" 

"To your classroom!" Hyoyeon answered back with a huge smile plastered on her face. "The kids missed you so much that they wanted to create a surprise for you upon your return."

A surprise? Jessica thought wonderingly.

~O~O~O~O~O~

"This is ridiculous. I'm not doing this."

"Hey, you already agreed to do this."

"I did. But you never told me that I had to wear this..thing!"

"You'll only wear it for an hour. And besides, the pay will be high. You're the one who said you needed the money right?"

"But Sooyoung!"

"No more buts! Look Yoona, I already promised my friend that you'll do this. There is no way you can back out now."

"But--"

"Just wear it or else I'll be the one to stuff you inside the costume myself!" 

"Fine." Yoona pouted angrily as she stormed into the dressing room, not forgetting to slam the door behind her. She can't believe she ended up in this kind of situation. She'd been looking for a new job for the past three days, and her good old friend offered to help her with it. She gave Yoona a temporary job which will only cost one hour of her life. And the best part was that she will be rewarded with a high salary. 

But the problem was, she was going to do something that she never imagined doing in her entire life. 

Yoona turned around and gulped once she faced her doom; an enormous Totoro costume. 

"The students will be helding a surprise party for their teacher's return. I was informed that both the students and the teacher are fond of Totoro. So all you have to do is to wear that costume, and then do whatever it takes to make them happy." She recalled Sooyoung's words earlier.

"You have got to be kidding me." Yoona sighed hopelessly as she facepalmed herself. 

I'm doing this for my family. Whatever it takes, I must succeed today. She raised her fist in the air while giving herself some encouraging words.

"Yoona! Hurry up and get dressed!" Sooyoung's voice yelled from outside the door.

*****

"Yoona, come out now."

"No."

"Stop being such a stubborn brat. Get your out of that room right now."

"I don't want to! I look ridiculous!"

"So do I! You're making me look ridiculous here by forcing me to yell for you to come out of there. Come out of there now!"

"Argh! Fine."

After waiting for a few seconds, the door slowly creaked open. Sooyoung stood by and waited with her eyes full of anticipation. She had to clasp a hand over in order to prevent any laughter from escaping once Yoona finally revealed herself. Sooyoung staggered a bit backwards, her eyes crinkling and her teeth showing even though she tried her best not to throw a fit. 

"You're laughing at me." Yoona exclaimed in an annoyed tone. Sooyoung can imagine her pouting inside the costume. "You think I look ridiculous."

"Ye-- I mean NO! Of course not! You look fine." Sooyoung managed to say in between her laughs.

"You're so mean." Yoona continued to mutter.

Sooyoung rolled her eyes before wrapping an arm around the huge mascot standing beside her. "Now don't be like that. We don't have time to play games." She began pushing Yoona forward, going to the direction of their destination. "We have to hurry. The kids are waiting."

After a lot of bickering and struggling for Sooyoung to convince the grumpy mascot, they finally made it outside of the classroom. Yoona froze outside the door, her breathing hitching and her stomach being roamed around by butterflies.

"I don't think this is a good idea Soo." Yoona stated nervously. "I don't know what to do. What if they won't like me?" 

"They will like you, don't worry. Just dance around, sing, act, or do whatever you can to entertain them for one hour." Sooyoung gave her one last advice before opening the door and roughly pushing the mascot inside.

"TOTORO! TOTORO IS HERE!" 

Yoona was welcomed by a loud cheer which probably came from the little toddlers who automatically crowded around her like a mob. She stumbled a bit as some of the kids began hugging her, others were touching every part of her costume, others were even trying to climb on her. Yoona struggled with the kids treating her like a walking playground. 

"Kids kids! Settle down! Our special guest had just arrived, you can't kill it!" One of the teachers, the one with the seemingly short height and long blonde hair, exclaimed as she tried to grab some of the students away. Yoona sighed in relief once she was out of their grasps. "Now, let's all welcome, in a more proper way, Totoro!" The kids cheered, clapped, and yelled with their eyes on the Totoro mascot.

Yoona took a deep breath and braced herself. 

"Good morning kids! My name is Toto--" Yoona cut herself off once she noticed that the students' attention wasn't on her anymore. The kids seemed to be looking at somewhere else, specifically behind Yoona which was the door. Yoona turned around to see at whoever stole her spotlight from the students and when she did, she saw a beautiful brunette standing by the doorway.

The brunette was wearing a blindfold. Yoona guessed that this might be the teacher Sooyoung was telling her about. 

There was silence everywhere while the teacher was removing the blindfold around her eyes. Once it was done, all of the students cheered and yelled their teacher's name. 

"WELCOME BACK MISS JUNG! WE MISSED YOU SO MUCH!"

Yoona swore that even with the costume on, she could feel her ears suffering from the loudness of the children's voices. A wide, happy smile appeared on the said teacher's face, the corners of her eyes watering a bit. All of the students rushed towards her and gave her a hug. Yoona couldn't help but to feel a little touched at the sight.

"Thank you guys." The teacher exclaimed with a sniff. "You did all of these for me?"

"Yeah!" One of the students responded. "And we even prepared a huge gift for you!" They all pointed their fingers towards Yoona. "It's your favorite, TOTORO!"

Yoona tried to smile, forgetting that it wouldn't even show. So she just waved in a friendly way. She caught a glimpse of Miss Jung smiling at her way, and it disturbingly caused her heart to flutter a bit. The last time she actually felt this way was when she saw that strange woman on the bus.

The woman in the bus! It is her! Yoona remembers.

"TEACHER, GIVE TOTORO A HUG! A BIG BEAR ONE!" Her thoughts were interrupted once she heard the children's demands. Yoona stepped backwards a little once the teacher started approaching her. In a few seconds, Yoona felt a pair of arms wrapping around her. Even with the huge thick costume on, she could sense the warmth that the brunette was giving her.

Yoona was thankful towards the costume for it prevented her reddening cheeks from showing. Not being able to help it, she wrapped her own arms around Miss Jung.

"YAY!" The students cheered like there was no tomorrow. Yoona figured that these kids might really love their teacher to the point that they would do these kind of things just to put a smile on her face.

Once the beautiful teacher pulled away from their short but warm embrace, Yoona realized that accepting this one-hour job might not be as bad as she thinks after all.

*****

Yoona removed the head of her costume, allowing her to breathe the air once more. Her face was sweating all over, and her hair was a bit messed up. She was exhausted after sharing an hour with the kids. But nevertheless, she felt happy that she was one of the reasons as to why the students went home with happy, satisfied smiles on their faces.

She fanned herself because it was quite hot inside the classroom. All of the students went home and she was left alone while waiting for Sooyoung to come back for her. 

"Excuse me." A small, timid voice suddenly came out from nowhere. Yoona glanced at doorway with a startled look on her face. There she saw the teacher slowly making her way towards her. 

"Oh. You're a girl." The teacher had this unbelievably cute surprised expression on her face once she faced Yoona. "I didn't expect that, really. I never thought a girl like you could manage to pull off with this thing." She stated, referring towards the huge Totoro costume.

"Well, I did." Yoona smiled a little, her eyes unconsciously staring at the woman in front of her.

"Uhm, so, I just came back to thank you for participating in our activity today. Thank you for working hard in making my students happy with your presence." The brunette began. "And also..for making me happy too. I barely could remember that last time I smiled that much." She said the last sentence with a soft voice, so soft that Yoona had barely heard what she said.

"You're welcome." Yoona responded. "All in a day's work."

The teacher smiled again before handing the younger girl a handkerchief. Yoona stared at the object that was being presented in front of her, but eventually took it in her hands. She glanced at the older woman questioningly. "What's this for?" Yoona asked.

"You're sweating." It was all that the teacher had left to say before bowing and exiting the room.

Yoona stared at the small piece of fabric on the palm of her hand. She pressed it against her nose and inhaled its sweet scent. A smile spread across her lips.

"Yah Yoona, I heard from Hyoyeon that you did well." Sooyoung flashed the shorter girl a big smile and thumbs up as they walked out of the school building. "Looks like you're going to earn a lot of money with your success."

Yoona grinned while waving a white envelope in the air. "Already did."

"Wow!" Sooyoung grinned back, punching the other woman on the shoulder. "Looks like you'll be treating me to an eat-all-you-can restaurant tonight!" She exclaimed, flashing her puppy eyes towards Yoona who just laughed it off.

"Aigoo. There is no way I'll---" 

"Yoona. Yoona?" Sooyoung raised an eyebrow upon seeing a shocked look on Yoona's face. The two of them stopped by the side of the street since Yoona seemed to be paralyzed on the spot. The older girl began waving her hand in front of the stunned girl's face. "Yoong, are you okay?" 

Her question was left unanswered once Yoona suddenly dashed out into the open road. "Yoona!" Sooyoung's eyes widened once Yoona continued running towards a woman who was crossing the street. A car was speeding and it was heading directly towards the woman her friend was rushing to. 

Horror flashed across Sooyoung's eyes as she watched Yoona push the woman and herself towards the other side of the street before the vehicle could even hit them.

"YOONA!"

~O~O~O~O~O~

A/N: Cliffhanger! HAHA~ 

So how's this second chapter? Can you tell me what you think about it? :))

Yoong in a Totoro costume. Kyeeeeopta! >.<

BTW, who do you think is the woman Yoona saved on the street?