“Good morning…” Haejin yawned. She stretched both of her arms as she seated, groaning in the process. The guys of JYJ hadn’t showed up yet, no wonder there was not much sound heard in the dining room.

Always being anything but a morning person, Haejin hardly noticed anything or anybody around her. That was also why she only realized Jaeyeon’s swollen eyes after sitting across her and ordering meal.

“Jaeyeon-ah, did you cry? What happened? Was it because of Junsu? Did he hurt you?” Haejin bombarded her sister with worries. The sight of two dark circles around Jaeyeon’s eyes shocked her enough to chase the sleep away from her own eyes. Haejin was ready to get up and go to Jaeyeon’s side but the latter waved her hand motioning Haejin to just sit—which she followed, though the frown still hadn’t left her face.

“I did cry because of him, but he didn’t do anything wrong,” Jaeyeon said after swallowing her sandwich. “I thought he was leaving and I wasn’t ready to separate from him. Well, they really were supposed to leave today, weren’t they? Before your Jaejoongie came to their manager and CEO and asked for few more days stay.”

Haejin was dumbfounded. “He did what?” she pressed, not believing her ears.

Right at that moment, the subject of their conversation came in, walking in all his glory with his brothers following closely. They stole all attention in the room, including Chief and Siyoung who had been quiet. “I guess you can ask him yourself,” Jaeyeon said while waving to her dear dolphin. Junsu made quick steps straight to Jaeyeon, giving a quick kiss on the top of her head as he got to his seat.

Jaejoong could feel the stare Haejin was shooting at him when he greeted the room. He almost grinned as he already expected it, and more to it, it gave him a very pleasing vibe knowing that he began to understand his woman. Ah, his woman. That thought alone could make him smile a thousand smiles all at once.

Her eyes followed him from bowing to the Chief, walking to the table, and taking seat. And he took the chair right next to her—Jessica’s seat. “Morning, love.” Ugh, that innocent face of his.

“Don’t 'morning love' me. You have something to explain,” Haejin demanded, clearly not budged by his angelic expression. Jaejoong chuckled.

“Okay, okay. I’m staying here for another week. Well, all three of us are, of course. I asked Yoochun to take care of it yesterday and Chief has approved. Everything is settled,” he elaborated. Seeing her nodding as the anxiety fading away from her eyes, Jaejoong ruffled her hair as his laughter broke.

“Finally the air in this room is breathable,” Chief heaved aloud, gaining everyone's attention. “I almost mistake this table as a graveyard because of you kiddos,” the elder man guffawed fatherly. Haejin grinned while others laughed. She jumped to hug the old man, making him laugh even harder. Chief patted her back briefly and motioned her to eat, which she complied after flashing a foolish grin to him. The noise then slowly faded out, but not the warmth.

“Ah, Jessica doesn’t cancel her departure. Is she not extending her stay too?” Haejin just realized it when the breakfast was almost over. Yoochun who was in the middle of stealing a glance to a certain spot, turned to her and shook his head. Junsu confirmed it by comically moving his eyebrows up and down.

“I’m going to help her pack her things after this. You can come if you want to,” Jaejoong muttered as he finished his bowl of corn porridge.

“No, that’s okay. She won’t feel comfortable if I’m around. I’ll just visit her for the last check on the baby,” Haejin said without a hint of jealousy, or even suspicion—which he appreciated it. He mouthed ‘okay’ as he briefly squeezed her hand.

♦♦♦

“Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?” Jaejoong asked the golden haired girl in front of him. She stopped checking on her suitcase and faced him. The hesitation in her eyes was hard to miss.

“Yeah. Thanks, oppa,” she managed to gather the remaining bits of courage and refused the kind offer. She turned away to take her suitcase, also to get out of the awkward, if not uncomfortable, atmosphere.

His hand beat hers to the suitcase. “I got it,” Jaejoong smiled warmly. “Come, I’ll walk you to the main house,” he motioned her to come along. The way to the main house was silent. It was least enjoyable, but no one tried to come up with a topic either.

The team and Chief were already waiting in the lobby by the time they got there. He put down the suitcase, which Siyoung then told a bodyguard to take it to the car. Jessica formally thanked the chief as she bid farewell. She turned to the girls and bowed.

“Thank you very much for taking care of me. And I apologize for every trouble I’ve caused all of you,” she uttered sincerely. She got equally sincere replies from them. The guilt she felt inside grew stronger as her eyes landed on Haejin’s.

“Could you walk me to the car, Haejin-ssi?” Jessica said, smiling apologetically. Her voice was soft, but it still alarmed everyone—especially Jaejoong.

Haejin, on the contrary, remained calm though she was slightly startled. “Sure,” she smiled, disregarding the warning Jaejoong gave through his glare.

As both of them left the scene, Jaejoong couldn’t stop moving as he went back and forth, biting his lower lip. He knew each of them very well, and that made him uneasy. He knew for sure how fierce Haejin could get, and Jessica wouldn’t do anything physical either. What concerned him the most was the thing Jessica was going to say. Because the Jessica he knew, she could say anything—including the ones he didn’t predict.

Haejin slid her ID car to gain access to the basement, which was granted immediately, of course. The gate closed back again once they were inside the basement. Jessica was the first to break the silence between them. “Haejin-ssi,” she voiced.

It was just the precise timing Haejin had expected she’d speak. Smiling, Haejin turned to her and hinted her to spill it out. Jessica looked hesitated for a few noticeable seconds that were enough for Haejin to sense something behind it all.

“I… love Jaejoong oppa very much, Haejin-ssi. I really need him. Can’t you… give him up?” Jessica finally said it, though hardly.

The asked party was soundless. The moment she agreed to walk her, Haejin had prepared for world-class y treatment, let alone one frank question. But things would always feel different when they’re actually happening, wouldn’t they? Jessica’s question pointed out the only thing Haejin was concerned about: the baby.

Beneath her motionless form, every worry she’d had about the baby’s future reappeared and attacked her conscience. And as much as she tried not to bother, the past Jaejoong and Jessica shared together was hard to ignore.

Among all those agonizing thoughts, her answer stood out. “I can’t. I’m sorry, Sica-ssi.”

Jessica bit her lip. “Why? Your love for him… is bigger than mine?”

“I won’t say whose love is greater, there’s no such thing. I just know I love him even more than I ever did, and it gets stronger everyday. If it’s mine to decide, I’ll never want to part from him,” Haejin bared her feelings, something she rarely did.

“If it’s yours to decide?” Jessica frowned.

“Yes. What I mean is, I don’t want to leave his side for anything… only if he wants it too. If however he chose to leave me and be with you or any other person, he wouldn’t have to ask me. I’d be gone for good,” sincerity folded in her words, visibly graced her smile.

Engulfed in amazement, Jessica stood there soundlessly. Only after some seconds that she could manage to talk, though the awe hadn’t left her. Taking a moment to rephrase her thoughts, she bent down closing her eyes.

When Jessica lifted up her face, a smile was there. “Thank you, Haejin-ssi, for clearing up the hazy road ahead of me. I know what I must do. Thank you,” she said most sincerely.

Jessica held out her hand. Taking that hand in a tight grip, Haejin accepted the friendship Jessica offered with much lighter heart. That way Haejin sent her off, wishing all the better for her.

I'm back! (^_^)/

I'm very very veeery sorry for the sudden missing-in-action! I was on a trip to Korea for 9 days, and things were pretty hectic before and after that. I really forgot to tell you guys before I left :(( I enjoyed the trip so much, by the way. I love it there (*^~^*)

Thank you for waiting for this chapter and for reading this story :D And welcome to mlj508, PandaPanda101, and Syazwina184, thank you for subscribing!

I hope you like it and let me know what you think. Love you! \(^0^)/