Yes!! It's an update guys!!!

I've been working on it for the whole month, but immersing myself in emotion and juggling between busy hours and lack of sleep was hard hahaha I'm trying my best though. I hope it's good enough for you. Without further ado, enjoy~~

Poignant

Chapter 37

“Yes, Mr. Park. How is it?”

“I’ve got what you need, Jessica-ssi.”

“So, whose is it? Please elaborate.”

“It’s your father, Jessica-ssi.”

The grip on her phone was getting stronger altogether with her clenching fist upon getting the answer from the man.

It actually crossed her mind before that the one following her could be one if Jung Yunho's man other than them being paparazzi. He had his fair share of going overboard with him, recounted the golden cage time also some other times when he was being overprotective to her younger self. However, she tried to push that thought to the back of her mind, because it sounded ridiculous. Why would he sent someone to follow her when she was willingly come to his place? It was out of her logic.

When she asked Mr. Park to track down the car, she wished it was just some paparazzis, craving for gossips. So when the reality didn't come as she expected, what should she feel?

All that she could feel was anger of disappointment and betrayal. Gone the worry from her system. Or that tiny bit of regret and guilt that try to creep up into her heart.

Through gritted teeth she thanked the man before cutting off the call. She stomped out to the backyard and the old man was sitting on the bench, already waited for her with lips that trying hard not to curve upward with big enthusiasm.

“Hi, Sica.” His voice although a bit hoarse but felt warmer than what she got all these past years.

She felt sick.

That hoarse but warmer voice than what she got all these years. That calm tone with lingering hint of longing. That not-so-subtle smile. That bright deep brown eyes staring at her gently.

She couldn't take it.

“Don’t ‘hi, Sica’ me.”

Her voice was the total opposite of her father's. It was cold and sharp, like meant to freeze anything it lay upon.

The father immediately lost his smile. His eyes dimmed.

“What’s with the cold attitude? Don’t you come here to visit me?”

She rolled her eyes and scoffed. “Yes, I planned on visiting you. I was worried about your condition and wanted to check up on you. Until someone is being so arrogant and annoying, thinking he can control everything, ruins everything. Now I regret coming here.”

If he was hurt by his daughter’s words, he sure hid it well because there was nothing can be read on his face. It was almost emotionless. “What are you talking about?”

“Oh, you’re playing innocent, now?”

“You’re being ridiculous, Sica.”

“Me, ridiculous?” She laughed. “Aren’t you the one? Always thinking you can control everything.”

“What’s this nonsense you’re talking about?”

“Oh, really?” She scoffed again. “Then explain why there is someone following me around. In fact, I just found out you sent someone to follow me on the way here!”

“I don’t know what you’re saying.”

“Then why is it stated that the car is yours?”

“That’s…” he turned his head away.

“For god sake, stop being so controlling. I’m going to your place, why would you need someone to follow me? It’s ridiculous.”

He took one calm breath and with his deep voice answered, “I have to.”

“What?”

“I have to do that to ensure your safety.”

“I’m a grown-up woman. I can take care of myself.”

“But you are my daughter!”

“So, what? It doesn’t justify your action.”

“You were sick. I’m so worried when I heard you came to the hospital. I just can’t stay still. I have to make sure you’re okay.” He looked at her. “You still look a little pale. What happened actually?”

She hated it. She hated how he gave her a worried look like he cared. As if he would care about what happened to her. As if he always loved her in the first place. As if all he had done was for her best. She hated it.

“It’s not your business.”

“Sica…”

“I’m fine.”

He sighed. “Let’s stop fighting and go inside. Lunch is already prepared for you.” The father approached Jessica, but the latter stepped away from him, creating more distance from him.

“No! Stop telling me what to do.”

“Sica.”

“I’m done here.” She walked out but was stopped when he talked again.

“It’s my fault, I know! But how do you think I make sure of your safety and well-being all these times?" He took a step closer. "I know you hate me, but you’re still my daughter and you are my responsibility.” Another step.

“All these times?” Her eyes widened. “You mean you’ve been following me all these times?”

One more careful step.

“I’m making sure you won’t get hurt, Sica.”

“You are the one hurting me!” Jessica yelled out. “I’m really done here. Don’t even think to follow after me,” she warned before turning on her heels.

“Sica…”

The woman was stopped by a catch on her wrist.

"Let me go," she hissed in a dangerously low voice.

"You've had a long trip. At least stay for lunch."

Had she mentioned how much she hated this? The way his voice sounded desperate pleading for her to stay. Or his firm yet gentle grip on her wrist that not letting her to go. Or the worn out expression on his face that coupled with a bit of hope. She hated how all of these quenched her heart, rendering her feeling into a doubt whether to stay for him or not.

The brown haired woman shook away the thought and steeled her heart. She yanked away her arm before storming out of the house as she said, "I'm leaving."

"Sica!"

But the woman didn’t care about the helpless calls from her father and heading to her car.

“I am so stupid to even worry about him,” she muttered.

***

Another Sunday, another day for Tiffany to have her morning walk. Like usual, she would walk around the park, feeling the refreshing breeze across her skin, also enjoying the view of fallen leaves across the ground. Not only she enjoyed the fresh air, she also liked seeing all the interactions happened in that open space. From elder taking stroll, to couple having a morning date, to parents playing with their children around. It was enjoyable sights for Tiffany.

In that comfortable atmosphere, her brain would also work better and create more creative thinking. She had always been the type to like going out rather than confined in the space between walls.

The red haired woman ended up in her favorite place, below the oak tree across the pond. It was shady and the view of calm water added the plus point. She opened her book, playing the songs on her phone and started to scrabble some inspirations inside her mind.

It had been a routine for her to be in this park every Sunday since she was back in Seoul a couple months ago. It was also the rare times when she liked being alone. She was definitely the type who preferred surrounded by her friends or acquaintances than being alone.

She might be shy when she was young because of her insecurity, but day by day she found her confidence and managed her shyness away to make a lot of friends. She felt more energized with interacting to others instead of being alone. So, this was one of that rare occasion she preferred being alone rather than had company.

Although lately it hadn’t always been alone time for her.

Tiffany closed her book, feeling enough with all the ideas she had gathered for the last hour. She took her water bottle and drank it, while her eyes scanning the surrounding.

Usually, this friend would show up around this time. Yes, you could say Tiffany had established some friendship with Taeng through spending some chit chat on the park. But today, she didn’t see any sight of him.

Without realize, she pouted knowing she wouldn’t meet the man and had some random conversation with him. The guy was witty and funny in his own way and Tiffany didn’t mind to have that entertainment during her Sunday morning.

“He must be busy,” she mumbled.

She picked up all her belongings and walked closer to the pond where the geese were gathered. She tore the bread on her hands and threw the chunks towards the flocks which immediately responded it with enthusiasm.

“I guess it’ll be me who feed you this week.”

She threw up some more of the bread until the last pieces before pulling out her phone from the pocket of her sweatpants and dialed a familiar number.

“Oppa!” She greeted happily after the man picked up the call.

“Hey sunshine. What’s up?”

Tiffany smiled from the endearing name.

“I miss you. Let’s have a morning date.

***

Taeng arrived at home past midnight. He was surprised to see Jessica was sleeping on the sofa at the living room with TV was playing a random program. He smiled thinking how Jessica was waiting for him.

He told the house staffs to take his luggage upstairs while he approached the sleeping figure.

"Sica," he nudged her shoulder.

The woman stirred a bit before blinking her eyes open.

"Ta-Taeng? You're home?"

He nodded.

"Sorry, I fell asleep." She said as she rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands before trying to sit up.

He brushed her hair gently. "It's okay."

"What time is it?"

"Almost midnight."

"You must be tired."

He smiled and pulled her into a hug. "I don't know. It seems seeing my wife after a week is recharging my energy back. I'm happy to see you again."

Jessica circled her arms around him and tightened the hug. "Me too."

He pulled away, earning some resistance from the woman as she wouldn't let him go. He chuckled and caressed her cheek, making her lean in to the soft touch.

He missed the woman a lot.

The past days they could only interact through the call, which honestly was so limited in the mean of time and intimacy. It was mostly just some minutes of talking, asking each other's day. He was getting busy each days and the different hours between two countries was getting in between of their conversation. In addition, his wife seemed busier too, with her upcoming fashion show and new season launching, hence some calls cut short.

To finally seeing her wife after all those longing was making his heart felt content again. As if all the tiredness inside him was all swept up and replaced by excitement.

"I miss you so much."

He could feel her breath grazing his skin in that close proximity. And no matter how many times they had been this close, his heart would still pound erratically inside his chest. Like it was the first time all over again.

He looked at the brown eyes in front of him and was drawn in it. He closed the gap between them and as she slowly closed her eyes, he captured her lips in a tender kiss.

He conveyed his heart through the kiss. The longing feeling that wasn't enough stated by mere words. The love he had for the woman that made him miserably miss her but at the same time became the reason for him to endure it all because in the end of the day when he was by her side again everything was worth it.

For finally, he was back at home again.

"I love you so much, Sica," he whispered as he had a break from the kiss.  Their lips still grazing at each other. It was an understatement to say he missed kissing his wife. He was addicted to it. The feel of Jessica's sweet lips on his was a bliss.

He wanted to capture it again but was caught off guard when the woman pulled away, taking away the warmth between them.

"I'm...I’m sorry." She put her head on his neck. "I'm...tired."

Taeng looked down at the woman. What was he thinking? Of course she would be tired. It was already midnight and she always sound sleepy these past days. She should have been sleeping by now but chose to wait for him. Yet he stalled her from her much needed sleep. He should have known better.

"And you should take a bath. You need to rest." She added.

He finally let out a chuckle. "O-okay. I'm sorry. I just miss you so much."

Jessica shook her head. "It's..okay."

"Let's go upstairs then. You should sleep."

Jessica nodded and took Taeng's hand as he pulled her away to their bedroom. The woman went straight to the bed while Taeng prepared himself for the bath. The tiredness finally caught up to his body. A long flight was never nice for the body. No matter how comfortable the flight was, it would still take its toll on him. He agreed with Jessica. He needed the bath and rest.

He took his clothes before walking to the bathroom. But before he reached the door, he was stopped when arms suddenly hugging him from behind.

"Hey." A smile formed on his face as he loosened the arms around his torso and turned around to face his wife. "I thought you were tired.”

She nodded and rested her head on his shoulder, arms never really left Taeng's waist.

Taeng let her staying like that as he too encircled his own arms around Jessica. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just," she leaned away to look into the brown orbs. Her eyes were unreadable for Taeng, but he didn't get into it any longer because she went to cup his cheeks and slowly moved closer to kiss him. "I love you."

Taeng frowned. Why did she sound so solemn when she uttered it? Was something happened while he was away?

He pulled away, pulling the strand of hairs behind her ears to look at the woman's better. "I love you too, Sica." He caressed her cheeks softly while trying to decipher what was inside the brown eyes. "Is there anything wrong?"

She shook her head. "I just...miss you too, Taeng. It's been hard without you."

If he could, he wouldn't leave her behind either. It was hard without Jessica too.

"I'm here now." Taeng pulled her into a hug again and gently rubbed her back in soothing circle motion. They hugged for a while before Jessica releasing herself.

"You should really take a bath now."

"You sleep then. Good night, Sica." He kissed her forehead.

"Good night, Taeng."

***

“We’re here to discuss your new song, Yoona-ssi.” Sunny opened the meeting. The room was filled with her team member and also the said artist. The company was preparing a new project and they chose to start the project with the song by the solo singer. They trusted in her singing that it would gather enough attention to the project.

“It’s for the new project, right?”

“Yes.”

“I see. Manager Oppa has elaborated me about this project.”

“That’s right. You will do a duet for this project.”

“I see.” The young singer nodded. It wasn't an uncommon practice to do duet to boost popularity of each singers. Of course there were times that duet was done purely for complementing each other's singing. Yoona had done some duets too in the past. Mostly with male singers, as their voice will add different vibe. There was only one occasion when she did it with female singer. She wondered who would be her partner this time.

"Has my duet partner already been decided?"

“Not yet, Yoona-ssi. There are some suggestions of course. For now, we will choose the right song first and then see who will fit to be your duet,” the blonde woman explained.

“Alright then.”

“If you don't have any more question then we will now discuss about the appropriate song for you also your duet partner.”

They moved to carefully choose the song for Yoona to sing. There were wide range of songs to choose with various genre from ballad to EDM. The team discussed which one will fit Yoona's color voice the best,  which one the singer love also which one suit the theme lf the charity the most. After some heavy discussion, they finally decided on one song.

“Do you have someone in mind that will suit the song, Yoona-ssi?”

“I have actually.”

“Who is it?”

Yoona smiled. “The demo artist.”

“You mean Kwon Yul?”

“Yes." She nodded. "It’s Kwon Yul himself.”

***

Jessica was blessed to have the best genes ran in her family. Her younger sister didn't only have talent in singing and dancing that made her a popular artist but she also possessed a gift in her features. Beautiful face, y figure and eyes that could talk brought her to be successful in become a model too.

After some photo-shoots and endorsements with her group, Krystal had caught more attention to herself. One by one, offers for new CFs and magazine cover shoots was coming to her way. She also had been invited to more fashion events, from store opening to fashion show.

Tonight, Jessica and Krystal were both invited to attend Tokyo Fashion Week. It was nice for Jessica to be able to share her interest with her closed one. They talked throughout the show, pointing out what caught their attention also some ideas that came through.

They ended up arriving at their hotel almost midnight after attending the end show party. It was a hassle for both Jung sisters but the party meant more connections and more people to know meant more businesses.

After cleaning themselves up, they were now lying on the bed side to side, tucking inside the warm comfy blanket. It was a tiring day and after so many sleepless nights before, Jessica wished she could finally sleep in the presence of her sister. The older sister closed her eyes, hoping to fall asleep soon.

“Unnie.”

Apparently her sister had different thought. Krystal was always the type to strike a conversation at the bed time with her sister and she wouldn’t let this one occasion slip either even though she was tired herself. She liked to talk with her sister and it was already hard to talk to her, moreover talk heart to heart.

Jessica, still didn’t open her eyes yet, hummed, “Hmm?”

There was a silent first before Krystal talked again.

“Is Dad sick?”

Jessica instantly stiffened from the question. Her mind was switched on into a messy mode and she knew she wouldn’t be able to have peaceful sleep again tonight, being next to her younger sister or not.

“Unnie?” Krystal turned to look at her sister. Frown was appare