Birthday Miracle
Entangled
(Jessica’s POV)
Why is it that every time I think things are going well, a problem arises? It is so annoying!
I had already made dinner plans with Kryssie so there was no avoiding her. I had decided to tell her about my predicament over dinner and hopefully she would understand. But could she? It’s her 20th birthday… If it was me, I’d be absolutely livid. Then again, she had been the more patient and understanding one in the relationship, which was rather shameful on my part. She probably wouldn’t be mad, but worse, she’d be really disappointed. Why am I always the one letting her down?
Tiff had decided to cut the work day short so I was able to actually pick Kryssie up from school. Even on the way to picking her up, I was thinking of what the best way would be to break the news to her. I guess I should just be upfront about it…
“Hey! So how come you got done early today? Did you guys get a call about the project? Did you guys get the job?” she asked excitedly the moment she got in the car.
Oh no! I was hoping to delay this as long as possible…
“How about I tell you when we get to the restaurant…?”
“Yeah, okay…”
“So… how were classes today?”
“Mostly revision for exams… Nothing too crazy… I’m glad this semester is coming to an end… I need a bit of a break. Jessie… should we go on a trip after my exams? Maybe to somewhere warm?” she asked playfully.
“Yeah? You want me to take you away to somewhere where no one knows us?”
“More like, I don’t really care where I am as long as I’m with you…”
Kryssie… You’re killing me right now! Why are you so sweet to me?!
“I would love for us to escape to somewhere together… Maybe I’ll ask Tiff for a few days off…”
“Really? Really?!”
“I’ll see what I can do…”
“Jessie, you are the best! I love you, I love you!”
“Okay, okay… Nothing is set… Don’t get too excited yet.”
“Regardless… I love you anyway… A lot, a lot!”
“How much?” I asked rhetorically.
“Thiiiiiis much!” she answered while stretching her hands out as far as she could in the confined space.
I laughed hard but then I remembered that I had bad news to deliver and felt guilty once again.
“Someone’s in a good mood… I love you too, you rascal!”
“Of course I’m in a good mood! I’m finally turning 20 in 2 days… Finally! And I get you for a whole day?! Well… I have to be at school for a few hours but I’ll be done by 1.”
Dammit! I can’t hold it in any longer… I don’t want her hopes to keep building up!
“Kryssie…” I got out before I had to take a pause.
“Hmmm?”
“I uhm… I have something I need to tell you…”
“What is it?” she turned her complete attention to me.
“So… It turns out that we’ve been shortlisted for the job. Us and another company…”
“That’s great! And when will they make their decision?”
“Well, Tiff and I have to present our proposal to the Japanese committee… so they’re flying us out to Japan for that…”
“Japan? Ohmigosh, that’s so exciting!”
“No… no…” I shook my head. “No… That’s what I need to talk to you about… So… it turns out… they’re flying us out on Thursday…”
Silence.
“Kryssie…? I’m so sorry… I’m so, so sorry… I hate this so much! I don’t want to go… I asked Tiff if she really needed me to go in hopes that she’d say no but she said she needed me there. I hate that I have to break my promise…”
“Stop. Just stop. It’s not your fault… You couldn’t have known,” she said with a forced calm tone as if she was suppressing her true feelings.
“I don’t know what to do… Tell me what to do, Kryssie…” I pleaded desperately.
“Go to Japan. We can celebrate when you get back.” She sounded so indifferent.
No…!
I knew that this would be her reaction. I knew that she would try to understand and stay calm for my benefit because she cared about me that much. But this time… I just wanted her to be unreasonable, to be irrational, to be angry at me, to hate me… because it would have been the reasonable thing to do and she had every right to act that way. Why couldn’t she just yell at me? Instead I’m feeling so guilty I could bang my head against a wall.
“Kryssie… I-“
“It’s fine. You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do…”
“But I’ve been waiting for this day-“
“I’ll be fine… I won’t be alone. My friends did ask me to go out with them to celebrate but I told them I had plans with you… I guess I’ll just let them know we’re back on. I’ll be 20 when you get back.”
“Why don’t you come with me?”
“You know I can’t. You’re going on a business trip, it’s kind of odd to bring your sister along don’t you think? And besides I have school and exams, remember?”
I was out of ideas and apologies. I knew she was forcing herself to put on a brave face for me but I could tell that I had shattered her heart. It was going to take a lot of glue and time to put the pieces back together… unless of course I could come up with a miracle.
When we got home, she immediately locked herself in her room. I wanted to go after her but all I had were just empty words. There was no point in making her more upset. Even dinner had been a complete nightmare. We ate in awkward silence even though I had brought her to her favorite spot. I just couldn’t find a way to make things better.
I couldn’t even sleep that night without Kryssie by my side.
(T-1 day to Kryssie’s birthday…)
The next day, I woke up with the worst feeling. My entire body was aching and I felt as if I was starting to fall ill. But that could have just been my guilt manifesting itself physically.
A whole day passed without me being able to find the miracle I needed. She wasn’t avoiding me but neither was she affectionate like she usually was. But after dinner where neither of us really talked nor ate, she locked herself in her room again. In just a few hours, it would be her birthday. The cake I bought her was in the fridge and to me, the present that I promised her still held true.
I knew I said I didn’t want to make things worse by pestering her, still I couldn’t just do nothing. Instead of pounding on the door and yelling for her to let me in, I wrote a note:
Nae sarangui,
I know that this day is important to you. It’s just as important to me. I wanted to share it with you so badly because I remembered when I had my 20th and you weren’t around to share the day with me. I think even then I sort of wanted a kiss from you for my coming-of-age present. You have no idea how happy I was that you even called me just to wish me on that day. Come to think of it, that year was an important year, wasn’t it? I went away to uni, you found your feelings, and I came of age… Now it’s your turn, we finally found our way to each other but once again I find myself being parted from you. It wasn’t easy then and it isn’t going to be easy now even if it’s just for 2 days. My present to you still stands. From midnight, you can ask for whatever you want and I’ll try my best to make it come true. If you tell me not to go tomorrow… I won’t go… no matter what the consequences are. I won’t force you to open your door but at midnight, I do hope that you will come out and let me wish you a proper happy 20th birthday. If you choose not to come out, just know that I love you.
The one who will always be behind you,
Jessie
I knocked on the door softly and slipped the note under. I hoped that she would come out but I didn’t actually think she would. I just wanted to see her once before I had to leave later that day.
Every few minutes, I would poke my head out my room door or pace up and down the hall to see if she would come out but I guess she was either still deciding or had already decided not to come out. But just as I was walking back towards my room, I heard her room door open. My heart literally skipped a beat.
“Kryssie!” I leapt forward with my arms open and ready to embrace her.
But I was stopped by the hand that she held out, keeping a distance large enough between us that I wanted gone so badly. I felt like a little puppy that was told to sit and wait while a treat was being waved in front of its face.
“You wrote a beautiful note, Jessie. And under any other circumstances you would have melted my heart but it’s just not enough this time,” she told me with an expression that basically told me that I wasn’t going to be forgiven so easily.
“But Kryssie… You just have to tell me to-“
“No, Jessie!” she cut me off before I could finish what I had to say. “You just don’t get it, do you? I don’t want to have to tell you not to go because if anything were to go wrong it would be my fault, wouldn’t it? Kryssie, who can’t wait two days to celebrate her birthday with her sister… How pathetic. If work is important, you should just go. I’ll still be here when you get home. It’s not like there won’t be other birthdays.”
“Kryssie… I-I didn’t mean it like that… I just-“
I tried to justify what I said but I was so confused because I didn’t even think of truly looking at it from her perspective.
Jessica Jung, you’re so stupid and selfish! You’re just trying to alleviate your conscience and make yourself feel better… not Kryssie!
By the look on her face, she was waiting for me to say something she wanted to hear but I didn’t know what it was...
After what seemed like the longest minute had past, she let out a loud grunt of annoyance. Then she forced a kiss upon me. It was aggressive and hostile, she even bit my lower lip so hard that it started bleeding. When she pulled back, I was in complete shock. The kiss had left a bitter taste; so bad that my eyes started tearing, not because my lip was bleeding or that I had never experienced a kiss so horrifying, but because I knew that all her emotions at that moment had been poured into that one kiss, and it broke my heart too.
“Happy Birthday to me!” she said to herself. She reached her hand out once again and this time she laid it over my heart. “You know what my wish is, Jessie? I just want you to be happy…” she told me and stormed back into her room, locking me out once again.
I looked at the clock nearby and sure enough, it was 12 midnight.
Happy Birthday, Kryssie…
Tears started pouring as my body started giving in. I had been so preoccupied with the thought of Kryssie the entire day that I hadn’t really eaten anything and with my already ailing body, I fell to the ground from exhaustion both physically and emotionally.
(Kryssie’s birthday…)
The following morning, Kryssie left for school her usual time. Despite what happened last night, she did say good bye to me before leaving.
“I’m off, Jessie. Have a safe flight to and back,” she said to me.
“Thanks. Kryssie… Happy Birthday…” I replied.
“Thanks. I’ll see you when you get back…”
It turned out that our flight was scheduled earlier that I had hoped. The project committee had made all the arrangements including the ride to the airport; all I had to do was pack my suitcase and bring my passport. Even all the necessary presentation material were dealt with by the company.
At 11 sharp, my ride to the airport arrived, but to my surprise there was already someone in the car, and it wasn’t Tiff.
“Hi, Jessica-shi. By the looks of it, you weren’t expecting me were you?” Yoona greeted.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you think that. I just didn’t realize you were going to be at the Japanese board’s meeting.”
“They needed a representative from our side so I volunteered.”
“I see…”
“I’m sorry but if you don’t mind me saying, you don’t look very well…” she said.
“Uhm… yeah… I think I’m coming down with something.”
“Why? Have you not been taking care of yourself?”
“It’s not that… It’s just… I have too many things on my mind…” I lied. I only had one thing, and one thing alone on my mind.
She reached out and laid her hand on mine. Just a few weeks ago, that would have made my heart flutter and caused me to panic, but now… nothing. It was clear, no one else existed in my world…
“Jessica-shi, I know the timing is bad. It always seems to be bad with us. But I can’t seem to get over my feelings for you and I just wanted to know, even though you said it’s unethical to date someone you work for, if you would consider just going out on a date with me when we get back. Is there any chance at all that this might work if it wasn’t due to circumstantial reasons?”
I turned to look her directly in the eye.
She was so earnest and sweet. She just reminded me so much of Kryssie, except for one thing… she wasn’t Kryssie. No matter how similar I found them to be, what I had with Kryssie, I just couldn’t explain it nor make sense of it. It wasn’t looks or even personality type. It was something more, something deeper… like an invisible string that held us together; you can’t see it or explain it but we kept being drawn back together and we couldn’t escape each other.
“Yoona-shi… I’m sorry… I have to tell you… I’m completely and utterly in love with someone else. I gave my heart to her a long time ago, the moment I laid eyes on her really… It was like… You know when you see someone for the first time but you feel like you’ve known them for years or even in your past life? Well, that was what I felt, except more complex. I knew I loved her from then but I didn’t know if I was IN love with her… But now I’m 100% sure there’s no one else for me. I would lie and tell you that we may have had a chance if I met you first but that wouldn’t be fair to you, because I think she and I would have eventually found each other no matter what.” I laid it all out. I had been holding it all in for way too long.
Yoona removed her hand from mind and I could see that she was thinking about something.
“I’m sorry, was I too blunt?” I asked when she couldn’t respond.
She turned her gaze back to me, her eyes still soft and kind. “No. I prefer honesty. And you made a beautiful confession. It’s too bad it wasn’t for me.” She was still able to joke. “Have you told the person you love how you feel?”
I thought about it for a moment. I told Kryssie I loved her all the time. And we were obviously extremely affectionate towards each other but does she really know the depths of my feelings for her? Have I kept them hidden even from her?
“Maybe not quite like how I described it to you,” I answered.
“Well you should tell her that exactly. I would want to hear it if it were me.”
“Well… it’s her birthday today and I couldn’t spend it with her because I had to fly to Japan… and we had a fight, but not really a fight. I just really broke her heart after what I had promised her.” I started getting emotional again. My mind was in no state to handle all this emotional toll that I was carrying at the moment.
“Why didn’t you just tell Tiffany-shi that? I’m sure she could handle the presentation herself. Honestly, this presentation is just a formality. We just needed to see if the Japanese committee were as excited about your proposal as we are, as well as just to make sure you guys can handle it. The other company is just a fail safe.”
My eyes widened in shock.
“I… I didn’t know… And I did ask Tiff but she said she needed me…”
“If you love this girl as much as you say, if it were me, I couldn’t be away from her on such an important day… Sometimes you have to choose what’s more important to you, not what’s logical and rational.”
Did I make the wrong decision?! Is that why Kryssie was mad? Because I chose work over her? She didn’t want to have to tell me to choose her, I should have known to do that in the first place.
You’re such an idiot Jessica Jung! You couldn’t have figure this out for yourself?!
“Yoona-shi, thank you!”
“What for?”
“For waking me up…!”
The problem now was I needed to talk to Tiff as soon as possible. I was really tempted to just call her over the phone but I owed it to her to at least tell her in person that I couldn’t go.
The moment we got to the airport, we rendezvoused with Tiff who was with Sooyoung. I guess it made sense for her to be going along since Sooyoung was from the Japanese team.
I pulled Tiff aside so that we could talk privately.
“Jess, you look like crap. What on earth…?” she asked when she saw that I was basically a walking corpse at this point.
I was sick, I was drained, and I was out of breath from trying to get to her as soon as I could.
“I’m not well but that’s not even the point now. Tiff, I’m sorry but I can’t go with you.”
“WHAT?! No! You have to!”
“Tiff, please. I promised Kryssie that I would spend the day with her…”
“Come on, Jess… I know it’s her 20th birthday and all but this is way important too.”
“Nothing is more important to me than Kryssie! I love her!”
“Of course… I understand but you can always celebrate it when you get back… It’s not the end of the world…”
“No, Tiff! You don’t understand… I’m IN love with Kryssie… Kryssie and I, we’re in love… We’re a couple, like you and Taengoo…”
She took a minute to process what I had just told her and then her eyes widened. “What are you saying, Jess? That you and Krystal are...?”
“Yes. As in she's the love of my life and I just broke her heart because I couldn’t spend this day with her…”
“But how? When? You’re… Well I guess you’re not biologically related…”
“It’s a long story and difficult to explain right now. Please, Tiff… Please understand… I can’t go… Yoona told me that they’ve basically decided on us and this presentation is just a formality. The other company is there just in case we absolutely bombed.”
She was silent for quite a while. It wasn’t surprising, she must have been in shock.
“Tiff… is it too weird? Can’t you accept this news? I really love her, Tiff… This is not some weird fling or infatuation… I am completely, absolutely, head over heels, stark crazy in love with her.”
“Jess…” she finally spoke. “I’ve known both you and Krystal for about the same length of time. I know how you two are… Of course I understand. I just needed a minute for it all to sink in…”
“You don’t think it weird? Or wrong?”
“It’s… unconventional… but how is it wrong? No… love like the one you two have for each other can never be wrong. Go home, Jess… Go spend the day with the one you love… I can handle this.”
“Ohmigod, Tiff! You’re so amazing!” I threw my arms around her in joy to give her a hug.
“You owe me sooooo bad!” she smiled.
If I had known that she would be so accepting, I would have told her right from the get go. It was yet another thing on my list of things that I did wrongly.
“Yes, I know… Thanks, Tiff! Seriously… I can’t ever repay you.”
I ran back to where Yoona and Sooyoung were waiting to say a quick goodbye. Yoona wished me luck while Sooyoung was left confused.
I got into a taxi and told the driver to take me home as quickly as possible. She should be home by the time I got home too, unless of course she was out with her friends. That was to be dealt with when I got home.
I’m on my way back to you Kryssie… Just wait for me…
(Yoona’s POV)
Whoever that girl was, she was so lucky to have Jessica-shi’s undivided love and attention.
Goodbye, Jessica-shi… I wish you luck and happiness…
“Hey, why the long face, Yoona-shi?” Sooyoung-shi asked out of nowhere.
“I’m finally giving up on Jessica-shi…” I told her. It was no surprise, everyone knew I liked Jessica-shi.
“Why? Is she already taken?”
“Yes… unfortunately…”
“Awww… you poor thing…” she slung her arm around me as she said that. “Tell you what… I’ll take you out for some fun and treats when we get to Japan…”
I turned to look at her. “Are you hitting on me right now?”
“What if I am?”
“Nothing… I just wanted to make sure…”
“So…?”
“Yeah… sounds good… Why not.”
(Krystal’s POV)
My friends had still offered to take me out to celebrate but I wasn’t in the mood. There was only one person I wanted to celebrate with and she wasn’t around. Instead, when I got home, I just cried in my bed for a while.
Then out of the blue, I got a text.
“Happy Birthday, Krystal. I hope you enjoy your present…” It was from Tiffany unni.
That’s odd... What present?
I just figured that maybe she meant presents in general and the fact that I was now really legal.
Just then I heard the front door open and I heard Jessie’s familiar voice calling for me…
(Jessica’s POV)
The moment I got to the front of my building, I bolted. I couldn’t even wait for the elevator, so I ran up the stairs instead with my carry-on, taking two steps at a time. But then I was clumsy and rolled my ankle.
Dammit!
I shook it off and I wasn’t sure if it was because I was running on adrenaline or because I was actually fine, I just kept running. I finally got to my level, got to my door, jammed the key in and opened the door like my life depended on it.
“Kryssie! Kryssie! Are you home?!” I yelled out impatiently.
To my surprise but also good fortune, I heard a door open and shuffling.
“J-Jessie?!”
The moment she turned the corner and I could see her, I leapt onto her.
“Kryssie! I’m back! I’m not going!”
“Wait, what? Why?”
“Because I love you, and nothing is more important than you are to me.”
“But… what about Tiffany unni?”
“I told her… about us…”
“WHAT?!”
“It was time, Kryssie…”
“Is that why she sent that text?” she mumbled to herself.
“Hmmm, what text?”
"It’s not important."
“Right… what’s important is that I’m back… Now… Tell me your wish…”
She didn’t say a word. Instead she grabbed the keys that were still in my hand and threw then on the ground. Then she pulled me close to her by my waist with one hand while the other cupped my cheek.
“Let’s do this right, shall we?” she said and then went in for the kiss even before I could prepare myself.
Immediately, this kiss was nothing like the one from last night. It was warm and tender yet full of passion. I was just about to reciprocate when she pulled back.
“Jessie… You’re really hot,” she said.
I didn’t know how to respond. “Uhm… okay… You’re hot too, Kryssie…”
“No, I mean you feel really hot. You’re burning up. I think you’re having a fever!”
“What? No, no way… I feel fine…” I told her.
She took a step back and her hold on me loosened. Unexpectedly, my legs gave in and I fell to the ground.
“Ohmigod! Jessie, are you okay?!” she asked as she pulled me back up and held me firmly in her arms again.
“I’m fine… I’m fine… I just kind of twisted my ankle running up the stairs…”
“Why did you take the stairs?! Are you crazy?!”
“Yes! I’m absolutely crazy. Crazy, madly in love with you…!”
I watched as her cheeks turned rosy.
I tried leaning in to continue what she had put on pause but she stopped me.
“Hell no! You’re sick! Are you trying to get me sick too?! I have exams remember, and I sure as hell am not going to be sick during exam week!”
“Kryssie! Watch your language!”
“What? I’m an adult now…”
“That doesn’t mean you have to swear…”
“Okay… ara, ara! But seriously, you’re sick… We need to get you some medicine and rest.”
“WHAT?! I came all the way home for this?”
“Hey, I had other plans too, okay? But I’ll just have to settle for having you around…”
“Kryssie… I’m really sorry I couldn’t figure out sooner that I should have just chosen you from the beginning… Please forgive the idiot that is me… I do love you more than anything else in the world…” I told her.
“You’re here now. That’s what matters. My stupid heart will forever belong to you…”
“But we still have to postpone celebrations… This . Why do bad things always happen to us?”
“That’s not true… The best thing happened to me…” she said with a sheepish smile.
“Really? What is that?”
“You happened to me, Jessie… You’re the best thing that happened to me.”
“Argh! Don’t say things like that right now! How can you expect me not to want to kiss you?!”
She pointed to her cheek.
“Stop being such a tease!”
“Payback is a b-“
“Language!”
“Well… you get the picture… Anyway, you go change and lie down now! I’ll go get you some medicine.”
“Wait, can you help me to my room?”
“You’re so weak, Jessie… Aish!” she shook her head.
Then she placed one hand behind my back and the other behind my knee and swept me up in her arms.
I wasn’t expecting that at all.
“Ohmigod! Kryssie! You’ve changed overnight!”
“I haven’t changed… I’ve just been holding back…”
Oh my! What else has she been holding back on?!
She carried me into my room and laid me down gently on my bed.
“Now… do you need me to help you change too or are you good on that?”
“Uhm… I got it…” I said shyly.
How is she suddenly so assertive? Is it just that I haven’t noticed it before?
“I’ll make a quick trip to get you some medicine, okay? Stay in bed. I will be right back.”
In the blink of an eye she was gone.
It was her birthday and she had to do this for me? I just couldn’t get anything right, could I?
I really wasn’t sure what I did in my past life that made me so lucky in this one that I had Kryssie. But I definitely did not deserve her.
(Krystal’s POV)
“Jessie, I tried to get back here as soon as I could. I got the-“ I yelled as I was walking towards her room but she was out cold on her bed by the time I got home.
I reached out my hand to feel for her temperature.
Still pretty hot…
I decided to grab a towel and a bowl of cold water to help lower the temperature.
I sat by her side while her hair and watching her sleep. I changed out the towel every 15 minutes or so.
Even though our plans were completely ruined, I was still extremely happy.
This turned out to be a pretty good birthday after all…
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