AUGUST 20, 1998, Thursday

            “Am I still pretty?”

            Tiffany asked Hyuna, Hyomin, Hara, and Yuri tiredly, hoping to feel a little better about her well-being after staying in bed for two days. She really hasn’t paid much attention to herself and focused completely on her baby, even though the little child didn’t do much but sleep, eat, and poop. With bloodshot eyes, eye-bags, and hair that hasn’t been properly washed for a while, Tiffany definitely didn’t look, felt, or smelled that good. She knew she had to clean herself up for the baby.

            “Of course you are!” Yuri said softly hoping not to wake or stir little Eunji who was sleeping in his arms. On the other hand, Hyuna just shuddered at the sight of Tiffany’s mess but didn’t say anything.

            “I think I trust Hyuna’s expressions more than yours, Yuri,” Tiffany chuckled.

            “Hey, I meant what I said, you don’t look that bad,” Yuri said.

            “Are you sure?” Tiffany said and stood in front of him. She looked like a wilted flower that has been trampled on by a passerby.

            Yuri bit his lip and nodded, “Ah… yeah, I guess you kinda look horrible right now.”

            Hyuna laughed and proceeded to help Tiffany clean herself up. They went to the bathroom, leaving Hyomin, Hara, and Yuri in the bedroom with Eunji.

            “I wonder what it’d be like to have my first child,” Yuri said while softly caressing Eunji’s thin hair

            “Well how do you feel right now?” Hara asked.

            “It’s really nice… Eunji is really warm. She’s so small that she only fits one arm. And look at her tiny little hands! Look how vivid details of her finger print are—ah, what an art! Everything is so small. It’s so fascinating!”

            “Do you feel like a dad right now?”

            “Hm, not really. It feels more like I’m an uncle, and I guess I am?” Yuri shrugged and chuckled. “I was really close with her father back then… It just seems fascinating to me how this little thing kind of looks like him and Tiffany both at the same time. And you know they both mean so much to me, right? To be able to be holding my best friends’ child seems like such an honor.”

            “What if it was your baby?”

            “Ahh… I already can’t stop staring at Eunji. Imagine what it would be like if it was my child. I wouldn’t take my eyes off of her… or him. Whatever the chances,” Yuri chuckled.

            “Would you rather have a boy or a girl?” Hara asked, fluttering her eyes at Yuri. Hyomin just sighed and rolled her eyes at the sight of the two. She busied herself with cuddling Prince to get her mind off the both of them.

            “Both would be nice, but I don’t know, I think I’d rather have a boy first. To carry the Kwon name, you know? Because who else would?” Yuri said and Hara nodded.

            “You look really handsome holding her by the way. You look very husband material,” Hara snickered and Hyomin gagged behind their backs.

            “Do I really? Hahaha, maybe it’s because I just really like kids.”

            Suddenly, Sunny was shouting at the top of her lungs when she entered the gate of the hanok house. “Tiffany! Tiffany!”

            “Oh, it’s Sunny!” Hyomin excitedly exclaimed as she looked outside the shutters. She stood up and went out to greet Sunny since she really wanted to get out of that room where Hara and Yuri might soon start talking about their own marriage and their own future children.

            “Hey, how’s Pureum? Finally doing some work?” Hyomin asked.

            “Yeah, he’s doing well,” Sunny nodded with a smile but then asked, “Where’s Tiffany?”

            “She’s cleaning herself up,” Hyomin said. “Why, what’s the matter?”

            “Tiffany has an unexpected guest,” Sunny sighed.

            “Who?”

            Sunny huffed. “I need to have a word with Tiffany.”

            “Who’s the guest?” Hyomin asked again.

            Sunny didn’t answer and came in the house impatiently. She passed the bedroom and saw Yuri and Hara, smiling and chuckling at each other with Eunji peacefully sleeping. Sunny took a deep sigh at the sight of the both of them and entered the bathroom without warning.

            “Oh god, Sunny! You can’t just barge in like that!” Tiffany screeched, completely in front of Sunny. Hyuna laughed hysterically at Sunny cringing at what she saw. Sunny apologized quickly and the sensitive girl taking a bath forgave her.

            “You have a guest by the way,” Sunny said after the little incident flew over their heads.

            “A guest?” Tiffany wondered. “Who? Wait… Oh… Oh no… I totally forgot!”

            Sunny huffed out of frustration and her bangs floated for a second. She felt like scolding her cousin but refrained from doing so understanding how out of order Tiffany’s brain has turned after giving birth. “They’re already at the bottom of the hill waiting. What do you want me to say?”

            “Already? Ugh, I can’t believe I forgot about this!” Tiffany said in frustration. “Stall them from going here for a little while,” she said. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

            Sunny nodded and went out to greet the guests. When she reached the gate, Hyomin was peeking out, trying to see who the guests were. Sunny didn’t mind her and came out of the gate quickly. Hyomin followed along.

            “So who are they?” Hyomin asked as they were going down the hill.

            “Just someone close to Tiffany,” Sunny said.

            “You mean like a family member?” Hyomin guessed.

            “No,” Sunny simply said.

            Close to reaching the black Ford SUV, the backseat door opened, and out came a petite girl in a loose white blouse and some blue jeans. Her pale face and uninviting aura gave Hyomin a bit of a chill. Hyomin also seemed a bit thrown off by the girl’s blonde hair when she definitely looked Korean. Blonde Koreans weren’t exactly a common thing to see. On the other hand, Sunny knew exactly who it was. Jessica Jung, who else could it be?

            The moment she came out of the car, Prince jumped off of Hyomin’s arms and ran to Jessica, somehow recognizing who she was. Jessica’s squealed in excitement seeing the dog again and carried him on her arms.

            “Prince!! Did you miss mee?” she smiled and the dog kept her face. She laughed at the dog and then calmed it down when she started petting it.

            “Where’s Tiff?”  Jessica asked.

            “She’s taking a bath and panicking a little that you’re here,” Sunny chuckled.

            “But I sent her a letter saying I’d come visit her. That letter did not reach her, did it?”

            “It did reach her. She just forgot about it, I guess. Things have been quite hectic around here, especially for her.”

            “What could possibly be so bad that she’d forget I’d visit?” Jessica pouted.

            “She’s just tired,” Sunny laughed. “I’m assuming you still don’t know what had happened. She gave birth already.”

            “Umphhhhwhat!?” Jessica snorted, utterly shocked at what Sunny said. “She already gave birth?! Whaat?!”

            “Yeah, just two days ago, actually.”

            “Oh my g…” Jessica opened the front door and said to her dad, “Dad, Tiff already gave birth!”

            “What? Oh dear!” Mr. Jung smiled.

            “Would you like to see the baby girl?” Hyomin said cheerfully, making Sunny mentally panic when she remembered Yuri and Hara were with Eunji.

            “It’s a girl? Ahhh!” Jessica squealed excitedly.

            “What’s the baby girl’s name?” Mr. Jung asked as he came out of the car.

            “Maybe Tiffany would like to tell you that herself.”

            “Oh my gosh, I’m so excited!” Jessica smiled brightly. “I thought I wouldn’t see her baby until it’s a year old or something!”

            “But hasn’t it only been eight months?” Mr. Jung said.

            “Ah, yes, it’s just she had an unexpected premature birth,” Sunny said.

            “Premature? Is she alright?”

            “Yes, she’s alright. The baby, too.”

            “Why are we waiting around here, though? Let’s go inside!” Hyomin said. Sunny bit her lip and hesitated with what Hyomin said, but she had to go along with it. There’s no good excuse to stop them from going in.

            “Oh, this is Hyomin, by the way,” Sunny said to Jessica as they started walking up slowly to the hanok house. “She’s Tiffany’s cousin from her mother’s side.”

            “Ah, really? Nice to meet you! I’m Jessica!” Jessica smiled warmly, making Hyomin forget how cold she looked the first time she saw her. “I’m Tiff’s best friend. What brings you here?”

            “Oh, my sister and I came to adopt Tiffany’s baby,” Hyomin said. “Well, actually not me… just my sister, hahah…”

            “Huh?!” Jessica’s nose scrunched up. “Adopt?”

            “Not anymore,” Hyomin continued. “Her baby is her baby now for sure.”

            “What are you talking about?” Jessica scoffed, confused at what Hyomin said.

            “It’s a long, tiring story,” Sunny said. “We can tell you about that later.”

            “When they entered the gate, there Tiffany was at the door of the hanok house, wearing her slippers. As soon as Jessica saw her, she squealed like a dolphin and ran to her best friend. Tiffany was startled, but her pretty eye-smile brightly came to view, overjoyed that her best friend came for a visit.

            Meanwhile, in the bedroom, Yuri who was sitting there with baby Eunji, got startled by the familiar high-pitched scream and wondered if he was hearing things.

            “Who was that?” Yuri said and Hara looked at the shutters.

            “There’s a guest,” Hara said and she went out to see who it was. When she took a peak, she saw Jessica’s golden hair and wondered who it could be. Her face seemed familiar but she couldn’t place where she saw her.

            “Who is it?” Yuri asked. Hara watched as Tiffany and Jessica laughed together and tried to search her mind of names. Then it clicked: the girl Jessica that used to be in Yuri’s wallet—that’s her. Hara’s heart sank knowing where they both stood and she felt Jessica’s presence could sway Yuri’s emotions of her. Too shocked and conflicted at seeing Jessica, Hara was unable to tell him who it was.

            Tiffany noticed Hara who was speechlessly standing there and she read Hara like an open book. Tiffany then looked back at Jessica and held her hands.

            “Um, Jessica,” Tiffany said. “I’m really sorry I haven’t contacted you or wrote to you in a while. I’ve just been kind of out of my mind these days.”

            “You look like it too,” Jessica pouted and caressed Tiffany’s cheeks.

            “And I’m sorry about not telling you about a lot of things. Promise me you’ll forgive me?” Tiffany said.

            “Of course, have I ever not forgiven you?” Jessica said, not knowing that Tiffany was preparing her for whom she will see inside the house.

            And so, they all came in the house and into the living room. Hara stood awkwardly by the sidelines and quietly entered the bedroom, locking her and Yuri in it. She hoped Yuri would not see, but when she turned around, Yuri had already seen a glimpse of who came in the house, and he stood there paralyzed.

            “Why is she… here…?” Yuri breathed.

            “Oppa,” Hara looked at Yuri in the eye and saw him utterly dazed. “Oppa…”

            Suddenly, the door opened and Sunny came in. She closed the door immediately and said, “Give me Eunji.”

            “Is that Jessica? What the hell is she doing here?” Yuri angrily said.

            “Look, they’ll only be here till the sun goes down. If you don’t want to see her, just stay right here,” Sunny said.

            “Are you expecting me to stay here all day?” Yuri said.

            “Well do you want to go out there and meet her?” Sunny said. “Look, it’s Tiffany’s mistake for not telling all of us and it’s a little too late for you to leave the room now. So give me Eunji and you stay here. I’ll make sure they don’t come in here.”

            Yuri gently passed Eunji to Sunny and Sunny left them alone in the room.

            Hara glanced at Yuri hopelessly and didn’t know if she should say anything or not. She knew how sensitive Yuri was at the topic of Jessica so having her here would definitely give him a lot of confusing emotions.

            Yuri noticed Hara worrying about him and held her hand. “Whatever happens, I love you more,” Yuri said. “Remember that.”

***

            As soon as Sunny came out the room with Eunji on hand, Jessica squealed again, but her father held her back f