It was the last day of summer class. Seohyun had already left for Bangkok yesterday evening while Sooyoung and Sunny had gone to watch a movie. They had wanted me to follow them but I told them that I was tired and would like to rest instead. As I turned the keys to the dorm, I dragged myself in and flopped onto the couch in the living room. It was really quiet as I grabbed the remote control.

It feels like the good old days when I'm always alone at home while Appa went off to work. But at least, when I was still in the States, I still have my maids who will check on me at times. I skimmed through the channels on TV but nothing interest me. I switched off the TV, grabbed my school bag and walked to my room.

2 days ago, Jessica had called to inform that she's currently in Portugal. She said that she saw children playing soccer on the streets and it reminded her of me. She asked me about class and what I planned to do over the weekend. I told her that everything was okay and said that I've not decided what to do yet.

After a long shower, I lied down on my bed and was playing some games on my phone when it suddenly vibrated. There was a message from Ailee. It's been some time since I last contacted her.

To Hyun Jae:

Hi there, how are you doing? I actually met Sooyoung and Sunny at the mall earlier. Coincidentally, the 3 of us were watching the same movie. By the way, what are you doing all alone in the dorm? It's very depressing, you know. 

I smiled while reading her message. Wondering what the SooSun couple had blabbered to her about me, I typed a reply to her.

To Ailee:

Hey there. It's been some time since I last heard from you. I'm doing fine at the moment. How about you? How's school? You said that you're taking a dual degree right? Anyway, I'm just tired and too lazy to go out. I'm just letting Soo and Sunny have their alone time together. I don't want to be a lamp post.

To Hyun Jae:

Since you weren't here, I had to be the lamp post. They insisted for me to sit with them and do you know how awkward that feels with them being so cheesy to each other, throughout the movie. School is okay. Even though at times it's tough but I think I can manage. Thanks to your help, I can concentrate more on my studies but I miss doing part time jobs. I'm not like you. I hate being stuck alone in the dorm.

To Ailee:

Hey... I'm someone who likes to go out too. It's just for today that I feel a bit tired. Since it's the summer break right now, I assume that you're doing some part time jobs. Am I right?

To Hyun Jae:

Wow!! Are you stalking me or something? Hahahaha... Yes, I'm doing a part time job at a cafe but only for the summer break. You and your friends should come down to my workplace to chill. They have great food, great ambience and great music. Sometimes, there are also live performances.

To Ailee:

Really? Well maybe I will drag the girls there one day before summer break ends. Message me the address then. Will we be able to get a discount too?

To Hyun Jae: 

Discount? I'm not sure about that though but maybe I can work something out when you guys are here. I'll send you the address now.

To Ailee:

Okay, I've received it. Will see how things go then. Anyway, I've got to go. I think Sooyoung's back and screaming for me from the outside. That shikshin must have forgotten to bring her keys. Take care then and hope to see you soon.

To Hyun Jae:

You take care too and do drop by with the girls. I miss hanging out with the whole bunch of you. Send my regards to everyone, okay. Bye...

Putting my phone aside, I rushed to the main door to let Sooyoung and Sunny in. 

"Yah!! What took you so long to open the door? I almost lost my voice, shouting out for you. Anyway, we bought fish and chips for you." Sooyoung said as she shoved a plastic bag to me as I meronged at her.

"Anyway, we met Ailee earlier at the cinema. You should have followed us to the movie. Wonder why she looked kind of awkward around us though." Sunny said as she sat at the couch.

"How can she not be when the two of you were being chessy to each other throughout the movie. She said that she felt like a lamp post." I replied as I placed the plastic bag on the dining table and sat down.

"Lamp post? We were not bring chessy. Wait a minute.. She said that to you? Did you guys meet up behind our backs?" Sooyoung asked as she sat down opposite me while holding to a glass of water.

"Of course not, pabo. She messaged me earlier." I said as I started eating. "Anyway, she send her regards to everyone and asked us to drop by the cafe that she's working at as a part time job for the summer break."

"Are the both of you still keeping contact with each other?" Sunny asked as she walked to the dining table and joined us. 

"Anni. The last time we messaged each other was when the cars were ready for collection and the meet up that all of us went together to celebrate her last day of work that time." I said as I saw Sunny looking at me with accusing eyes. "Wae? What's with that look?"

"You do know that Ailee has a crush on you right?" Sunny said as I shook my head as Sooyoung looked shocked. "Based on my observations, I think she has feelings for you. Trust me. Women instinct."

I looked at Sunny with a surprise expression. "Daebak.. Sica said the same thing as you. About Ailee having a crush on me and it's women instinct." I giggled it off while Sunny just glared at me as if saying that there's nothing funny about it. "Don't worry. I've only got my eyes on Sica. Trust me, okay."

********************************

Opening my eyes and after doing some stretching, I walked out of my bedroom to grab a glass of water. As I neared the kitchen area  I heard some noises coming from Sooyoung's room. Feeling curious, I placed my ear on her bedroon door which was closed.

"But Bunny, you don't expect us to really stay here in the dorm until school restart, right?"

"I thought that was what you wanted initially, Soo?"

"Yes, but not with Jae around. You always avoid skinship with me everytime Jae is around."

"Yah!! Choi Sooyoung! Do you know how embarass I feel when you pinch my in front of Jae that day? I think Jae is uncomfortable too which is why she always reject to follow us out for the past 3 days."

I walked away from Sooyoung's door, grabbed a glass of water and went back to my room. With a thinking pose while sitting at my computer table, I frowned and sighed at the same time. 'I shouldn't be bothering Soo's and Sunny's private time alone by being here.' I was lost in my own thoughts when suddenly my phone rang.

"Annyeonghaseyo, Jae."

"Appa!!! Annyeonghaseyo. How are you?"  I asked excitedly when I realised that Appa was the one calling me.

"I'm fine here. Just checking on you. How's everything? How's summer break?"

"Frankly, I'm bored. Sica went off for a vaction with her family and won't be back until 2 more weeks. So basically, I'll just be lazing around in the dorm this summer break. But Soo and Sunny are here with me, so no worries."

"How about you fly back home and spend some time with me?" 

"You're home? As in LA? I thought you were in Japan for the new hotel project?" I frowned as I tried to remember the last conversation that I had with Appa. 

"I've arrived home since 2 days ago. Most of the things are already settled and Boa is there to help me oversee the whole project. Since you've got no plans, why don't you come back and accompany your lonely Appa here?" I could imagine Appa trying to use his aegyo on me and I laughed out loud.

"Okay. I'll fly back but you need to settle my tickets." I giggled but was shocked when Appa said that he had settled everything for me.

"Check your email. Your plane itinery should already be there. You'll be flying off tomorrow afternoon."

I asked Appa how come he was so confident that I'll agree to fly back and he just laughed it off before saying his goodbyes. I then heard someone knocked my door and subsequently Sooyoung's head popped out by the side. I gestured for Sooyoung to come in as I ended the phone conversation.

"Me and Sunny wants to go out for dinner at the cafetaria. Joining us?" Sooyoung asked sincerely as I paused to think.

Remembering what Sunny said earlier, I nodded my head and told her that I'll be ready in 10mins.

"I'll be flying home tomorrow afternoon." Sooyoung and Sunny stopped eating as they gave me a confused look. "Appa already bought the flight tickets for me to go home."

"But why so sudden? I thought u said Uncle Park is in Japan for the new hotel project?" Sooyoung asked.

"He flew back 2 days ago and said that Boa is taking care of the project there since it's almost complete." I said as I smiled at Sooyoung.

"Does Sica know about it?" Sunny asked as I shook my head. "Are you planning to inform her?"

"I'm not sure. I'll think about it. It's not as if I'm going on a vacation anyway. I'm just going home. I should be back before she even returns from her vacation." I replied as I continued eating, putting an end to the conversation

It was almost 11pm when I finished packing my luggage. I was lying down on my bed when Sunny words came to mind. 'Should I inform Sica now or only when I've reached home?'  I grabbed my phone and dialled Jessica's number but she didn't answered it even though I've tried calling for 4 times. I decided to just call her once I'm already in LA.

********************************

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Los Angeles International Airport. We......."

As the flight attendant continued her announcement, I stretched myself out after almost 13hrs onboard the plane. Once the plane came to a stop, everyone was rushing to get up and take their things even when the safety belt lights were still on. I took my time and allowed most of them to get off first since I was not in a rush. I was the last person to leave the plane as I thanked the flight attendants for their services before walking out from the plane door.

Pulling my luggage along as I exited from the glass door, I saw Appa's driver, Uncle Jerry, waving his hands at me. I waved back and smiled at him. Once I reached his side, he automatically took my luggage and greeted me. I asked him how was everyone back home and he said that they were fine. He even added that they missed having me around as I just laughed and followed him to the car.

I spent the next 45mins, talking to Uncle Jerry about school life as he droved us back. Our butler then greeted me and took my luggage to my room as I walked to the 2nd living room where Appa was waiting for me.

"Appa!!!!" I must have shocked the old man as I saw him placing his hands on his chests with eyes wide opened. I giggled as I walked towards him and gave him a tight hug. "Miss me?" I grinned dorkily at him.

"Of course I missed you a lot." Appa replied as he pinched both my cheeks. "But I know you don't miss me since you rather spend time alone in the dorm than thinking of visiting me."

Hearing Appa's words, I felt bad as I bit my lips and looked down. "I'm sorry, Appa. The thing is, I wasn't expecting Sica to extend her vacation. She was suppose to be back by the time I finished my summer classes and I was waiting for her to come back to plan things out. I also didn't expect you to be home. I thought you'll be in Japan  for at least another month. I was actually thinking of visiting you in Japan with Sica." I sighed as I leaned back into the couch.

"Did you tell Sooyeon about your plan to visit me in Japan?" I shook my head. "Maybe if you had told her, she would have tried to accomodate you and won't extend her vacation."

"I didn't want to put her in a spot. To choose between spending time with her family and spending it with me. Anyway, Uncle Ken have not seen her for 5yrs and I knew how much she had missed her Appa." I said as I sighed again and just stared at the table in front of me.

"Stop sighing. Did you notice that you've been sighing a lot? I understand that you're trying to do what you think is the best for Sooyeon but sometimes, in a relationship, you need constant sharing of thoughts. What you think is good for her might not be so in her opinion." Appa said as I frowned, trying to understand his words. "For example, you said you didn't want to put Sooyeon in a spot. Which might sound good in general but what if she wanted to spend time with you too? What if because of you 'pushing' her to be with her family, it made her feel like you don't really care if both of you could spend time together?"

I looked at Appa and finally realised what he meant. I didn't tell Jessica about my plan to bring her to Japan to visit Appa or even plan anything for us for the summer break. I just thought that I'll wait for her to come back. Even when she told me that her vacation was extended, I didn't really tell Jessica my true feelings about the whole situation. Instead, I told her to just enjoy herself and not to worry about it. Come to think of it, I really sounded as if I didn't bother about the summer break.

"I understand what you're saying, Appa. I guess I only looked at the situation from my point of view. I should have told Sica how upset I was that I can't spend time with her and try to find a way to work things out. Can I sigh for one last time?" I said as Appa laughed out loud before I joined in.

"Jae, if you could go back to the time when Sooyeon told you about her vacation extension, what would you have really said to her?" Appa asked after both of us stopped laughing.

I paused as I recalled the conversation between me and Jessica. "I would have told her how I really felt. That I was upset about the fact that we couldn't spend time together. I should have said that the 3 weeks being apart with her is already driving me crazy and I couldn't withstand it anymore." I said to Appa as I suddenly thought of something. "I should have suggested for her to let her parents have their own private time alone while she can follow me to Japan to visit you. Aishhhh... Why didn't I think of that earlier?"

I slapped my forehead and leaned back to the couch as I saw Appa smirking at me.

"Because Park Hyun Jae is a pabo."

I was shocked when I heard Jessica's voice from the side. Turning my head to the direction of the voice, I saw Jessica standing near the pillar with her arms crossed.

"Sica?? When did you... Where did.. How did you?" I was too shocked that I started to stammer as my brain tried to digest everything. I heard Appa laughing as I turned back to look at him.

"You really sound like a pabo. " Appa said as he imitated my stammering earlier. "Why don't you join us here, Sooyeon?" Appa gestured for Jessica to come forward and sat with us.

I continued to stare at Jessica who was walking towards us until she sat on the couch, opposite me. She folded her arms and gave me a deadly stare as I swallowed my saliva and gave her a dorky grin.

"Stop staring, Jae. It's rude and if you can't believe that she's real, you can sit beside her to find out." I heard Appa said before he bursted into laughter. Patting me on my shoulders, Appa said that he's going to prepare lunch for us.

After Appa left, I stood up and quickly rushed to the other side, giving Jessica a hug from the sides but my girlfriend still had her arms folded while not even looking at me.

"Are you angry at me, Sicababy?" I asked after I released the hug.

"Should I be angry at you?" Jessica replied as she tilted her head to look at me.

"Do you know how much I've missed you for the past 3 weeks? Actually it's more than 3 weeks." I pouted, trying to act cute in front of her.

"You missed me? Jinjja?" Jessica asked me but her tone of voice sounded sarcastic.

"Arraseo... I know you're angry with me because I asked you to just enjoy yourself even when your vacation got extended. I was suppose to be truthful and tell you how I really felt about it. Mianhae." I said as I looked down and sighed.

"I thought Appa told you to stop sighing." Jessica said as I pouted again. Suddenly, Jessica pulled my cheeks. "And stop pouting. You know I can't resist your cutenes when you pout." Jessica then leaned forward and pecked me on my lips.

I grinned widely as I hugged her again and this time round, Jessica returned my hug as she wrapped her arms tightly around my waist.

"Okay lovebirds. Lunch is ready. Let's eat together." I heard Appa calling us as I led Jessica to the dining area.

While eating, I asked Jessica about her parents whereabouts and since when did she arrived. 

********************************

(Flashback one week ago)

Jessica's POV:

I can't believe Jae is not upset with it. The truth is my vacation was not extended. Well, at least not for me. Appa did suggest for us to spend another week together. Appa wanted to fly to Japan to visit Uncle Park. But I told him that I missed Jae and would like to fly back instead. I then suggested for Appa and Omma to go ahead with their plan, without me.

I suddenly thought of playing a trick on Jae by saying that my vacation was extended. Thinking that she's going to make a fuss over it, I was actually upset when she just told me to just enjoy myself and to bring back souvenirs for her. I was expecting her to actually asked me to fly back instead. She did mention that Appa must have wanted to spend more time with me but didn't she think that 3 weeks is long enough already. Doesn't she miss me at all?

I was lost in my own thoughts when Appa came in and passed the phone to me.

"Appa Park wants to speak to you." Appa said as I took the phone from him.

"Annyeonghaseyo, Appa Park." I said as I heard him greeted me back.

"Sooyeon-ah, how are you? I was talking to your Appa earlier and he told me that you've been sulking since your last phone call with Jae. Did my daughter make you upset?" I closed the mouthpiece before glaring at my Appa.

"Why did you tell Appa Park about it?" I nagged at him as he just shrugged his shoulders and meronged at me before walking away.

I quickly removed my hand and continued my conversation with Uncle Park. I told him everything that happened throughout my conversation with Jae and also about how I felt.

"No wonder you're upset. But knowing Jae, I think she's not showing you her true feelings. You said that she mentioned about your Appa wanting to spend time with you right? Furthermore, you said that your Appa is the one who wanted to extend the vacation. My guess is Jae doesn't want to put you in a spot. Rather than having you torn in having to decide between her and your family, she decided to give in."

"But I've been spending the last 3weeks with them. Isn't that enough? I'll have more opportunities to spend time with them again in the future." I answered back to Uncle Park.

"Well, I guess Jae's a bit slow in her thinking." I heard Uncle Park laughed as I can't help but to giggle along with him. "Why don't you follow your parents to Japan and come here to meet me? I have a plan on how to make Jae tell her true feelings."

********************************

"So, when I called you to ask you to come back home, Sooyeon was already at home with me. We fly out from Japan together. Uncle Ken and Omma left for Taiwan on the same day as us." Appa said while I had my jaws dropped as my eyes turned to look at Appa and then to Jessica.

"You both planned this?" I asked as they nodded their heads. "Aishhhh...." I said as I put down my spoon and folded my arms.

"Who told you to pretend to act so cool about the whole thing? I don't want a cool girlfriend. I want a caring girlfriend who is willing to show her true feelings to me at all times." Jessica said and once again I pouted. "You've been doing very well so far but why did you hide your true feelings this time round?"

"Because I understand the feeling of missing someone really bad. Before I knew that Uncle Ken was your Appa, he always tell me the stories about her daughter and how much he misses her during those times when I was training with him. I just wanted to give you and him the opportunity to spend more time together." I said.

"But I've spend 3 weeks with him and Omma. Don't you think that it's long enough? And if you think about Appa missing me, then how about you. Don't you miss me too?" Jessica asked.

"Of course I miss you. You don't know how my days were when being apart from you. But Sica, our dorms are practically beside each other. Even if I can't spend time with you right now, I can always do so for the rest of the year. I admit that I'll be busy with school work but at least I can put an effort to see you anytime. But once this summer break is over, you can only see your Appa during the winter break." I paused as I saw Jessica slowly understanding my point of view. "I'm sorry if I wasn't truthful to you about how I felt."

"It's okay, Jaegi. I should have known that you're the kind of person who would think of others before yourself. Thinking that it'll be a burden for me to decide, you decided to make things easier for me. But even so, I would prefer it if you share your every thoughts with me. Instead of carrying the burden by yourself, let me share the burden with you and we can try to work things out." Jessica replied as she smiled sweetly at me.

I was about to lean forward to kiss Jessica on her lips when I heard someone coughing.

"Yah, the two of you. Don't spoil my lunch with your chessiness. Get a room." Appa said as he laughed out loud while I saw Jessica turning red as she slapped me on my shoulder.

"Appa!!!!"