Left hand on the steering wheel, right hand interlaced with Jessica’s on her lap; Taeyeon has the biggest smile as she drive them back to Seoul. It was already forty-five minutes past five when they reached the outskirts of the city. Her smile grows a little wider when she catches a glimpse of the sunset; something Jessica loves more than her. She turns her head momentarily to look at Jessica who has a sleeping Seohyun cradled on her chest. Finally, their family is complete.

“Sooyeon, do you see the sunset?” She asks, squeezing Jessica’s hand a little.

Jessica nods her head and smiles, “Yes Taengoo.” She squeezes Taeyeon’s hand back and moves to the edge of her seat before leaning the side of her head on Taeyeon’s upper arm, “And it’s so beautiful. But not as beautiful as you.”

Taeyeon fakes a laugh to hide the tinge of pink on her cheeks, “But you are more beautiful.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Jessica rolls her eyes before biting Taeyeon’s arm playfully.

“Ouch~” Taeyeon whines, not taking her eyes off the road.

“Sorry,” Jessica smiles before kissing the spot she had bit.

Taeyeon nods and smile before silence settles inside the car.

Jessica decides to break the silence, “Taengoo..” She straightens on her seat as Seohyun stirs on her arm, “My family’s coming home today.”

Taeyeon tenses a little, eyes taking in the big buildings on the side of the road as they enter the city.

Jessica tightens her grip on Taeyeon’s hand, “I’ll talk to them. Don’t worry, okay?”

“I..” Taeyeon turns her head briefly, connecting their eyes, “I want to talk to them, Sooyeon.”

“A-are you sure?”

Taeyeon nods as she turns to a corner, “I am. I won’t be a coward this time. I’ll assure them that I’ll never leave you again unless you ask me to.”

Jessica smiles shyly, “You know I’ll never ask you that.”

A chuckle escapes Taeyeon’s lips, “Cute.”

**

Krystal rushes to the door as soon as a knock resounded inside the house. “I’ll get it,” she announces happily with haste steps.

“Jess—“ Her eyes widens as she takes in the other girl standing beside Jessica with a sleeping Seohyun in her arms. “W-why is Hyunnie with her? Why are you with her?” she shifts her eyes from Jessica to Taeyeon who smiles nervously at her. With furrowed brows, she reaches to take Seohyun from Taeyeon’s arms.

“I.. I’ll get her inside,” Taeyeon says and positions herself to walk but Krystal spreads her arms wide, glaring at her.

“I can do that. You don’t have to go inside,” she says in a monotonous tone.

Taeyeon looks over Jessica with questioning eyes. When Jessica nods and smile at her, she let out a sigh and hands Seohyun to Krystal.

Krystal turns around and carries Seohyun to her room, leaving Jessica and Taeyeon by the door.

Jessica turns to her side, “Taengoo,” she interlace their fingers and smiles a little smile, “You can deal with them tomorrow or whenever. I know you’re tired because of the travel.”

Taeyeon shakes her head and kisses Jessica on the forehead, “Let’s do it tonight. And besides, I missed them.” She tugs on Jessica’s hand lightly before entering the house.

“Dad? Mom?” Jessica yells from the foyer, taking their shoes off.

“We’re here, Sooyeon.” Taeyeon tenses up a bit when Mrs. Jung answered.

Jessica squeezes her hand before kissing her cheeks for comfort. Taeyeon nods before walking ahead of Jessica, fingers still intertwined.

“Oh, is that our Taeyeon?” Mr. Jung says, standing up from the couch; a smile gracing his lips.

Taeyeon looks at the elderly man with surprised eyes; this was not the meeting she had in mind, she expects shouting and throwing her out of the house, not smiling as if nothing happened. But she’s not one to complain as she finds herself relaxing at the friendly atmosphere the elderly man gives off. Mr. Jung hadn’t changed at all; he still has that friendly eyes and the fatherly aura in him. He was still the Mr. Jung Taeyeon had known.

“G-good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Jung,” she says with a bow.

Mr. Jung smiles at her before patting her on the shoulder, “Polite as always.”

Mrs. Jung stood beside her husband, eyes never leaving Jessica and Taeyeon’s intertwined fingers in front of her. The older girl noticed this and immediately let go of Jessica’s hand.

Mr. Jung rolls her eyes before swinging an arm around his wife’s shoulders, “How have you been, Taeyeon?”

Taeyeon smiles a little, “I’ve been good. How about you, Mr. Jung?”

The elderly man let out a chuckle before saying, “Mr. Jung? What happened to ‘Dad’?”

Taeyeon’s cheeks immediately heat up as she bites the corner of her lips to suppress a smile.

“Ouch, what was that for?” Mr. Jung asks, rubbing his left ribs where Mrs. Jung had elbowed him.

“Why don’t you prepare something to drink? I think Sooyeon and Taeyeon travelled far,” he says and winks at the couple in front of him.

Mrs. Jung scoffs but complies, walking past the couple to the kitchen.

“Don’t mind her, she’s just mad she didn’t know beforehand,” Mr. Jung sits back on the couch, “Come on Taeyeon and sit first.”

Taeyeon nods before walking towards the couch.

“I’ll talk to Mom,” Jessica says before kissing Taeyeon on the forehead.

Mr. Jung clicks his tongue, “Hey! No PDA, remember?”

Jessica rolls her eyes, “Dad, we’re too old for your rules. And besides, we already have a daughter. Our daughter.”

Mr. Jung chuckles and waves her off, “Fine, fine.”

**

With careful steps, Jessica calls out, “Mom?”

“Oh, Sooyeon.” Mrs. Jung answers in a flat tone, making Jessica nervous.

She scratches the nail on her thumb with her index finger as she contemplates on what to say.

“I don’t like what I’m seeing,” Mrs. Jung says, breaking the awkward silence that fell upon them.

“M-mom I’m sorr—“

“Let me finish,” Mrs. Jung says in a stern voice and turns to face Jessica, “Sooyeon, I can’t tell you what you are to do and what you are not to do. You are old enough to decide on your own. But Sooyeon, have you thought about this thoroughly? Do you not remember how she left you before? I may not be able to stop you, but please Sooyeon, please think about this thoroughly.”

Jessica shakes her head, “I’m sorry, Mom, I know you’re worried. I would also be if I’m on your shoes and Seohyun just randomly makes up with someone who left her broken before..” she moves closer to her Mom and hugs the elderly woman, “But no matter how I try, I always end up coming back to Taeyeon. I love her too much that I can just look past the tears, past the pain. I’m really sorry if this was the last thing you have expected from me when you came back.”

Mrs. Jung lets out a defeated sigh. She knows Jessica, and if the girl decides on something, no one could really change that. Well, except Taeyeon since she made up with the shorter girl despite promising Krystal that she’ll never fall for Taeyeon’s advances again, shall they meet.

“Fine, fine.” She says and pats her eldest daughter’s back, “But you need to talk to Soojung. She might not handle this like your Dad did.”

Jessica nods, chin rubbing against her mother’s shoulder, “I’m scared, Mom. Soojung.. you know how she is.”

Mrs. Jung pulls away a little and smiles at her daughter, “We’re here for you and Taeyeon.”

Jessica mirrors her mother’s smile, “Does this mean you’re okay with Taeyeon and me?”

“You know I have always liked that kid. Maybe a second chance won’t hurt. If she’ll leave you again, then we’ll just have to transfer to another place.”

Jessica giggled, “She won’t, Mom. I’m sure this time. And besides, we don’t have a lot of money to move around the world, so she needs to stick to her promise this time or I’ll get all her money in order for us to settle to another place.”

Mrs. Jung chuckles, shaking her head, “You’re just like your Dad.”

“That explains why I’m so dense at times,” says Jessica before engulfing her mother in a hug once again, but this time tighter.

**

Mr. Jung smiles at the giggles that had emitted from the kitchen, “Guess that’s settled now.”

Taeyeon smiles awkwardly at him, “I-I’m sorry, Mr. J—Dad.”

“Nonsense!” Mr. Jung waves his hand at Taeyeon, “No need to apologize. Sooyeon had already forgiven you, why shouldn’t we? I mean, yeah I was a little hurt when you stood her up on your wedding day. That’s natural, right? Coz I’m still her father. But when we came to California, I realized it had done my family good. Not that having you out of our lives is good, but what I mean to say is; I got a high paying job there without sacrificing my time with my family, Soojung was able to attend a good university, Sooyeon was discovered and earned as a model, and I’ve been closer to my wife more than I’ve ever been. Plus.. we got Hyunnie. Our precious Hyunnie. I say it was a blessing in disguise.”

Taeyeon nods, understanding what the elderly man is getting at, “Still, I have to apologize for my actions.”

“No worries, Taeyeon. I am human too, and more often than not, we make mistakes. What’s important is we don’t do the same mistake twice.”

Taeyeon lets out a genuine smile this time.

“Blonde looks good on you,” Mr. Jung abruptly says, “You look just like Sooyeon when she still had blonde hair.”

“Or.. was this, maybe, your way of keeping Sooyeon in your life?” he raises a questioning brow, “Because she had blonde hair when you last saw her?”

Taeyeon bites her lower lip.

“Dad, you make it sound like I died.” Taeyeon and Mr. Jung turn their heads towards the direction of the voice. Taeyeon smiles a little, seeing Jessica walking towards their direction.

“Well, technically you did. Remember? You didn’t talk for a month? And almost got a miscarriage because you weren’t getting enough sleep and wasn’t eating properly?” Mr. Jung smiles at his wife as she sits beside him, laying a tray of tea on the coffee table.

Jessica noticed Taeyeon hanging her head low. She immediately pats the older girl’s thigh.

“Dad.” She says, eyes widening at her father.

“Oh.. I..” He scratches his head.

“Drink this, Taeyeon.” Mrs. Jung smiles as she hands Taeyeon a cup of tea, “It will calm your nerves. Sooyeon said you have been driving for hours.”

Taeyeon accepts the cup with a kind smile, “T-thank you, Mrs. Jung.”

Mrs. Jung nods, the smile never leaving her face.

“Well, look at the happy family. Real sweet.”

Heads turn to see Krystal standing on the foot of the stairs, arms crossed with a raised brow.

“Krys..” Jessica stands up and reaches out to her sister only for her hand to be swatted away.

“Soojung!” Mr. Jung says in an authoritative voice.

“I don’t get you people..” Krystal says, taking a step towards the center of the living room with Jessica following behind her, “You all act like everything is fine. That our lives haven’t changed because someone decided to leave my sister without a word. No closure, no breakup. She just left her. And she suffered for months and months of sleepless nights.”

Mrs. Jung stands, looking at her youngest daughter with kind and apologetic eyes, ”Soojung.. It’s nothing like that—“

“No, Mom. It is like that. How come Taeyeon-unnie can just come and go in Jessie’s life as she please?”

“K-krys..”

“I-I.. have to.. g-go.” Heads turn to Taeyeon who refused to look at everyone, choosing to walk to the front door with head hung low.

Jessica looks at Krystal with apologetic eyes before walking to catch up with Taeyeon.

“She’s unbelievable.” Krystal mumbles as she walks towards the stairs.

**

“Taengoo, wait!”

Taeyeon turns towards Jessica, stopping in front of her car.

“Sooyeon.. I’m so sorry.” She says in a low voice, eyes wavering but never leaving Jessica’s.

Jessica smiles comfortingly, “What are you talking about. I thought we’re past this? We’re already okay, right? Everything’s going to be okay?”

Taeyeon nods, moving close to Jessica before engulfing the younger girl in a tight and reassuring hug, “We’re okay. Everything’s going to be okay. I just.. Soojung needs some time. I understand where she’s coming from.”

Jessica’s arms tighten around her waist, “I love you, Taengoo.”

“I love you more, Sooyeon.”

They pull away, eyes just staring at each other like how they stare into a star lit night sky.

“What are we going to do with Krystal?” Jessica asks, voice lacing with worry.

Taeyeon gives her an assuring warm smile, “We’ll think of something.”

Jessica nods, “We’ll think of something.”

“Maybe a bag of Burritos?”

Jessica laughs and playfully smacks Taeyeon’s arms, “Maybe a new boyfriend?”

Taeyeon intertwined their fingers and pulls Jessica with her towards her car, “She can’t have a boyfriend yet. She should finish university first.”

Jessica raises a brow, “What are you, her adopted mother?”

Taeyeon’s lips breaks into a wide grin, free hand fiddling her pocket for her car keys.

“You wanna go for a short ride?” Taeyeon asks, dangling her keys in front of Jessica.

Jessica nods and moves to open the front passenger door.

Taeyeon holds her hand, stopping her, “Nuh-uh. I’m riding shotgun. You’re driving.”

“Gladly,” Jessica snatches the keys from Taeyeon before opening the front passenger door for her girlfriend, “Ladies first.”

Taeyeon giggles, “Thank you, kind sir.”

“My pleasure,” Jessica lets out before jogging towards the driver’s side.

**

Sooyoung looks at the blonde girl that stood outside her apartment door with furrowed brows and questioning eyes.

“Hi, Soo.” Hyoyeon smiles shyly at the tall girl, fingers fiddling with the strap of her duffle bag.

“Did Sica kick you out?” Sooyoung asks, crossing her arms above her chest as she lean on the doorframe.

Hyoyeon chuckles, “It’s nothing like that. The Jungs are home. They said I could stay but there was really no room,” she rocks her body back and forth, “C-can I sleepover? Just for tonight till I find a place.”

Sooyoung heaves a relieved sigh, “Are you sure nobody kicked you out?”

“Yeah, I’m sure. Krys even begged me to stay. But I thought it would be better for them to be alone for now.”

Sooyoung nods her head and takes Hyoyeon’s bag from her, “Come on in.”

“Thanks, Soo. I promise I’ll find some place first thing tomorrow.”

Sooyoung rolls her eyes before closing the door, “What nonsense are you talking about, Hyo? I live in a two bedroom apartment. Alone. There’s an ample of space for you to bunk in here. Don’t worry about a thing, okay?”

Hyoyeon smiles again, eyes disappearing into inverted crescents, “You’re really nice, I wonder why you’re living alone.”

“No one can handle my huge appetite,” Sooyoung drops Hyoyeon’s duffle bag on the couch.

“Speaking of food.. have you eaten yet?” Hyoyeon abruptly asks.

Sooyoung shakes her head.

“Want to eat fish cakes?”

Sooyoung nods her head vigorously before pulling Hyoyeon out of the door; their laughter echoing in the empty hallway.

**

Krystal shuts her eyes as soon as the door creaked open, hoping that her sister will be too tired to call out for her.

“Krys..”

She feels her bed dip beside her at her sister’s added weight. Her eyes remains shut, not wanting to talk to her sister for the moment.

“I’m sorry, Soojung.”

Jessie’s voice sounds pleading and she finds herself fighting the urge to turn around and hug Jessie. She’s still upset. Jessie is being an idiot. She’s being reckless again, like how she was when she accepted Taeyeon’s proposal four years ago, only to be stood up.

“Sleep tight, Krys.”

A pair of cold, dry lips lands on her forehead before the sheets on the other bed where Seohyun sleeps ruffled.

Nobody can hurt her Jessie again. Especially Taeyeon. No, not ever.

She let herself drift into dreamland, promising to protect Jessie with everything she has.