Eyes followed a sequence of words juxtaposed together before ending with a period. Her hand turned a page. She had been in the Jung library for a few hours now. The sound of the door opening made her eyes shift from the text.

Jessica has arrived.

“I’m home.” The blonde cousin said as she strode towards the younger one seated on the couch. Yoona simply resumed her reading without giving a nod to her cousin’s presence.

“Yoong, I’m sorry,” Jessica began as she settled beside the taller girl, “I’m sorry for yelling at you back there.”

Yoona unleashed a sigh, something that hinted the Jung to leave her alone. But when Jessica – being quite the dense person that she was – did not budge from her position, Yoona resolved to simply talk to her older cousin. 

“Unnie, you could have just calmed down back there. Anyway, why are you home so late? Where have you gone to?”

Jessica pouted, scooting closer to her younger cousin, who had placed the book on her lap to give her undivided attention. “I was with Tiffany. We talked about stuff and then we had dinner before we came home. I’m sorry I worried you.”

Yoona smiled and patted her cousin’s leg. “It’s fine, unnie, as long as you’re not doing anything troublesome.”

“Aigoo, Yoona. I’m not a troublemaker.”

“Who says you’re one?” Yoona chuckled at Jessica’s cute expression.

“No use arguing with you.” Jessica sighed, leaning her head on her dongsaeng’s shoulder. 

Silence engulfed them for a moment before a yawn came from Yoona’s lips.

“You should sleep, Yoong.”

“You too, unnie. I know you’re tired.”

“I am. Is the Kim home?”

Yoona arched a brow at her unnie’s question. “Taeyeon-oppa?”

She felt her unnie nod. “He’s up in your room, sleeping perhaps. He arrived before me.”

“Oh, can I sleep in your room, Yoong?”

Yoona smiled. Jessica hadn’t visited her often in her room, ever since their rift when Tiffany had been away. “Of course, you can. My room is yours, too.”

A smile graced Jessica’s lips. “Let’s go to sleep then.”

But then Yoona thought of something. “But aren’t you going to sleep in your room with Taeng-oppa?”

Jessica contemplated for a moment before shaking her head. “No…”

“Why not? You seemed fine these few nights, when you were with him…”

“I just felt like sleeping with my dongsaeng cousin.” Jessica reasoned.

Yoona nodded in understanding. She didn’t want to pry into the odd relationship of the Hallyu star and the business world’s prodigy. The actress stood up and lent out a hand for her older cousin to take.

Intertwining their fingers, Jessica allowed her dongsaeng to lead her out of the huge library before starting down the corridor that led them to the main hall.

“So, where’s Tiffany-unnie now?” Yoona asked as they ascended the stairs, still tugging at Jessica.

“She’s already asleep in her room.”

“And you aren’t, yet?”

“No. I want to play with my youngest cousin.”

Yoona chuckled. They were on the second floor already and Jessica remembered something. “Oh, wait. I haven’t taken a bath yet. You go on ahead, Yoong. I’ll just slip in when I’m done.”

“Go ahead, dirty unnie.” Yoona grinned as Jessica playfully punched her on the arm before she turned to the wing where her room resided. A smile graced the blonde’s face as the taller girl stared at her back.

Then, Yoona turned to head down the hall where her room and Tiffany’s room were situated.
 

***

Tiffany shifted in her bed. She had been bothered by two people – Taeyeon and Jessica. She placed an arm over her head as she stared blankly at the ceiling.

‘Argh! What’s wrong with me?’ She asked herself. She remembered her embarrassing wet dream of the Hallyu star, who happened to be her cousin’s fiancé and her close friend’s boyfriend. She realized that it was perhaps infatuation, a mere attraction to a masculine figure.

Taeyeon exuded a masculine charm that most men nowadays lacked. There’s that aura within him that made females swoon after seeing him. What troubled Tiffany though, was Jessica’s indifference to the masterpiece of a man named Kim Taeyeon. Tiffany both feared and loved her cousin’s ‘immunity’ to Taeyeon’s allure.

She had that inkling that Jessica secretly harbored feelings for the man. But part of her wished that the blonde Jung loathed the guy, hence, Jessica’s indifference.

Tiffany sighed. Jessica had a lot of men at her disposal and who knows if the Jung even swayed the other way – Tiffany’s way? As much as Tiffany knew a lot of things about Jessica, the blonde Jung was still a book of secrets. Knowing a lot of things about her cousin made Tiffany even more fearful of her own advances. Jessica always kept a lot to herself and forcing the blonde to open up had always been a chore.

‘How will I get through this?’ Tiffany asked herself. She wished Jessica had answered her question on their relationship right away. She had wished Seohyun hadn’t called. She even thought of getting up and confronting both Taeyeon and Jessica right now, but the hour doesn’t seem right for such venture.

She remembered their pleasant dinner awhile ago. They certainly looked like a sweet couple on a date as they both sat there facing each other at the table, engrossed in a lively conversation about random things; Tiffany’s question and the topic on the two maknaes completely forgotten. 

The Hwang resolved to just step back and watch everything unfold for awhile.

‘Only time will tell…’ Tiffany thought before she resolved to sleep. 
 

***

Opening the darkened room, Jessica could make out of the lump on her bed. She the dim lights as she quietly entered, careful not to awaken her fiancé. Her eyes remained on Taeyeon’s sleeping form as she slowly closed the door with a soft click.

Taeyeon, who was lying on his side with his back turned to the blonde, had been sleeping with his upper torso bared and partly covered by the comforter. God, she was tempted to crawl into bed and hug him in his sleep, but that would be weird and out of her nature to do that. She shrugged the malicious thought off and blamed her raging hormones for such a tactless idea. 

Jessica noticed that the room’s temperature was a little stuffy and realized that the heater was set a little too high.

‘Aish, you didn’t even bother to adjust the temperature?’ Jessica thought as she made her way to the bedside table to fetch the remote for the ventilation system and adjust the room’s temperature. When she had done the settings, she gave one last look at the sleeping figure on her bed before she headed to the bathroom. Taeyeon hadn’t budged from his position.

The blonde lingered in the hot tub as she allowed her thoughts to drift.

First, there was Tiffany. Her brunette cousin had just come home, and Jessica had wanted to spend some time with her, despite the unforgiving schedules she had. HQ has been requesting her on missions aside from the business meetings and projects that she had to oversee. It has been taking the toll on her, but she managed to pull herself through, kudos to her flexible legal representative and Code – Seohyun. 

Jessica realized that she had just been dragging Tiffany into her problems after they both had that serious talk in the late afternoon. Then, she remembered Tiffany’s sudden question.

‘What are we?’ Jessica thought, her eyes staring at the ceiling. ‘What is my relationship with Tiffany?’

Surely, they’re more than cousins. They’re too close for the title of best friends. Sisters? You wouldn’t passionately kiss your sister on the lips, would you? Jessica realized they were more than that.

There’s something uncomfortable brewing at the pit of her stomach when her thoughts drifted to the idea that they were lovers. Lovers? When did she last think of that? Love? Love has run cold for her, but it was never cold whenever it came to Tiffany, although she had resolved never to touch that topic again.

She became a player; a player who has closed her heart from others, and had put up a mask that will hurt those who planned on getting serious with her. Jessica had been considering Donghae and one other person though. She might accept them as lovers, but she cannot be too rash. Besides, there were more things to worry about.

Here comes Yoona. Her beloved cousin, who always tried to keep her head leveled. Yoona had been righteous and most of the time, stern on keeping Jessica away from trouble, although her killer schedules kept her from watching her unnie 24/7. Yoona had always disapproved of her unnie’s ‘philandering’ ways, although the younger yet taller woman had always kept her temper in check whenever she and Jessica were attending parties.

And then, Seohyun. Jessica was glad she saved the younger girl that fateful night. If she hadn’t, there won’t be a Code White, whom she could trust with her schedules and her missions – two different sides of her life.

Seo Juhyun was the thread that connected the two worlds she’s currently living in. Seohyun was already a newly ordained Code when she was rescued by Jessica and Tiffany, and had already been close friends with the two older girls back in the past. Right now, Jessica hopes that Seohyun will manage to solve her own problems with Yoona.

Kwon Yuri had always been an oppa that cared for her. She had treated him like a real brother, just like Yunho. But Yuri was special. He was Tiffany’s ex-boyfriend, currently Tiffany’s friend, and Yoona’s current boyfriend. She knew Yuri had a thing for her, but she had set the line between them during that night when they bunked in his car on their last road trip. Jessica wished that Yuri will not have any lingering feelings for her or for Tiffany. She wished him to be happy with Yoona. 

Last but never the least, Jessica’s thoughts came upon the person sleeping soundly in her bed – Kim Taeyeon. He was like a mirror to her, whenever they came eye to eye. She had come to fear him because of their uncanny similarities, hence, her cold attitude towards him although she had somehow warmed up to him lately. 

“Taeyeon…” she muttered as she absentmindedly played with the bubbles in the tub, “You’re strange. You’re… different.”

There was this strange thing that drew her closer to her fiancé. She couldn’t pinpoint what, though.

She laid back and rested her head against the wall before resolving to end her bath. She can’t keep her dongsaeng waiting. She washed up and dried herself with the towel before her eyes caught a pink bathrobe that had been hung on the rack. A smile dawned on her face upon realizing what Taeyeon had done as she wore the robe.

Exiting the bathroom, she saw Taeyeon, who had now awakened and was in the middle of contemplation as he stared at the ceiling.

The light coming from the bathroom had caught his attention and Taeyeon now found himself gawking at his fiancée, who had donned the robe he had left for her.

“You’re awake.” Jessica’s eyes found their way into Taeyeon’s.

Taeyeon sat up, rubbing his eyes of sleep. He was unintentionally revealing his upper body to the blonde, who found herself flustered.

“You’re home.”

“I’m sleeping in Yoona’s room.”

“You are? So, you two have made up already after that argument in the restaurant?”

Taeyeon eyed her intently. Jessica looked anywhere but his form. She found her cheeks burning as she tried to suppress that uncomfortable feeling that had surfaced whenever she and her fiancé were left alone in the room, and what happened earlier during the day made the atmosphere thicker between them.

“Ah… Yes…”

And without allowing for Taeyeon to continue further, she strode into the walk-in closet and closed the door leaving her fiancé to ponder on her weird behavior.

“What’s wrong with her?” Taeyeon asked no one in particular as soon as Jessica left his presence.

He couldn’t help the fact that Jessica was trying to avoid him after what had transpired during the day. His thoughts ran back to Sunny and he found himself lying back down all the while scratching his head in frustration.

Everything was a mess.

Hearing the door to the closet open once again, Taeyeon sat up to see Jessica in a pair of shorts and an oversized shirt – his shirt.

“Whoa, you’re wearing my shirt?” Taeyeon was bewildered. He had only lent the blonde a pair of tees, but he didn’t expect her to get used to using his clothes.

“What? You lent me some so why can’t I borrow this, huh?”

Taeyeon gave himself a mental slap. “Aigoo, fine.”

Jessica smiled triumphantly before making her way towards the door. To her surprise, a hand caught her wrist.

“Wait.”

The blonde turned and Taeyeon, who had gotten off the bed in a flash to prevent her from going and had tightened his grip on her wrist.
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