Chapter 31

The fall wind felt good against her warm flushed cheeks. A walk did her good. Actually, it did wonders. She managed to forget everything but the beautiful sight around her. She wished she would have done this more often. Then maybe, for once, she would be able to speak with her mind & not her heart. She momentarily stopped when she passed by a small bush of roses. She winced & looked away. Sure, a walk does her good but not when she sees things that reminded her of him. Why couldn’t she just forget about him? Why did he have to haunt her mind & heart? Why did she have to love him?

The sound of crushing leaves broke the silence in the air, “Hey, Tiffany.”

Tiffany turned around to see who was speaking. She smiled & replied, “Hey, Taeyeon.” The female caught up with her.

“Why are you out here all by yourself? It’s dangerous for such a pretty girl to wander around alone in this town.” Her tone was unmistakably sarcastic.

“I live on the dangerous side.” They both continued walking, side by side, talking as they went.

“Tiffany, I was wondering, have you spoken to Jaejoong Oppa lately?” She seemed hesitant to ask.

“Actually, I haven’t even seen him, let alone spoken to him. We haven’t been in contact ever since he left for New York. How’s he doing?” She mentally kicked herself for asking such a question. She didn’t want to know how he was doing or did she?

“I haven’t seen him much either. He barely came home a few days ago. It seemed like the business trip of his took longer than a month. I heard from my uncle that he’s not good at all.”

“What do you mean? He’s not doing well?”

“He said that Oppa looks like a zombie. He hasn’t really shown any signs of a real life within that shell of his.” Tiffany could tell that the woman was worried. To tell the truth, she was, too. Jaejoong was probably only like this once & that was when he got into that accident.

“Will you go & see him?”

“I won't have the time to. Perhaps you could pay him a visit. After all, you two are still friends, right?”

Tiffany thought for a minute & then answered, “I’m not the one that doesn’t consider him as a friend. He’s the one that doesn’t consider me as one. Do you think that I’m wrong, Taeyeon? I mean, was I wrong in hiding it from him for so long?”

“No. You are not wrong but it’s not all his fault either. You have to put yourself in his shoes as well. I know that you are the one that suffered. I can’t say that I know how you feel right now because I have never been in such a situation but I can say that both of you are hurting right now.” She paused momentarily for Tiffany to ponder on the thought, “I think that you should have come out with it sooner. I know he loves you & probably still does. Everyone can see that. I don’t think it would have made him change his mind about you. I think that you were too worried that you might lose him.”

“I know. I feel so bad. I should have explained it to him earlier. Then maybe all this wouldn’t have happened.” Taeyeon had a point. She hadn’t really thought of that. Perhaps all of this was her fault.

“I understand how hard this must be for you. If I was in the same exact position, I don’t think that I would be able to handle it as well as you have. Just promise me to let your heart speak once more. Sure, if you let your mind do the t