Jessica appeared at the kitchen table for breakfast. She and Yonghwa sneaked home late last night and their parents didn’t suspect anything. Jessica was smiling but Yonghwa knew her heart was aching so badly. And of course, his parents and Yunho had no clue of what had transpired.

“Are you going to school today, Jessica?”

Mrs Jung was preparing some breakfast for her children. Jessica shook her head. She looked visibly tired and Yunho was already touching her forehead with the back of his palm. Yonghwa was jealous.

“Why are you touching her forehead?”

“Hm?”

Both Yunho and Jessica turned to look at Yonghwa. The younger guy realized what he had just said; looked away before his feelings get caught. Yunho was staring at him.

“I was just checking if she’s running a temperature. And I think she is.”

“Really?”

Mrs Jung came forward and touched her daughter’s body. Jessica was indeed a little warmer than the body temperature. She looked at her daughter’s face; it was warm and red. Yonghwa looked on with worries.

“I’m okay, Omma.”

“No, you’re not. Yunho, grab the thermometer from the cupboard.”

But instead of Yunho, Yonghwa was the one who rushed towards the cupboard and grabbed it before Yunho. The older brother was amused.

“Why are you so eager now?”

“She’s not well.”

“No, the question should: why are you so worried about her?”

Yonghwa ignored his brother and gave the thermometer to his mother. The old lady coaxed Jessica to open so that she could place it underneath her tongue. Mr Jung looked on while Yunho settled down in front of Jessica.

Jessica studied their faces carefully; one person at a time. They were worried about her even though her fever might just be mild and almost unthreatening but they were all genuine concerned about her condition.

The thermometer beeped and Mrs Jung took it out gently. She was relieved. Jessica’s fever wasn’t that high. But the girl looked weak and lethargic.

“Jessica, I’ll bring you to the doctor later. You can skip school today.”

Jessica nodded and let out a cough. Yonghwa was leaning forward and gently caressed her back. Yunho looked on and then grinned.

“Omma, Yonghwa has been very attentive about Jessica lately.”

“Hyung, she’s sick. Don’t be rude.”

“I’m not. I’m just curious and amused. You look like Jessica’s worried boyfriend.”

Yonghwa glared at his brother and then turned to look at Jessica. She was giggling and he poked her nose with his index finger.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Yunho oppa is right. You seem worried about me.”

“You hardly fall sick.”

Jessica grinned before leaning closer and hugging her brother. Yonghwa’s heart was beating rapidly; he stared at Jessica’s face.

“You’re such a sweet brother. Your future girlfriend will be so lucky to have you.”

“Get off me. You’re heavy.”

“That was not what you said the last time!”

“You’re sick. I might get you germs or something.”

“You’re so mean!”

Yonghwa sniggered before stepping away from Jessica. His cheeks were blushing and he didn’t want Yunho to catch him again with a red face. Yunho was patting Jessica’s head.

“Stay at home and rest well. I’ll buy your favourite food when I return later.”

“Really?!”

“Of course but you must promise Oppa that you’ll stay at home and rest well.  Eat proper food and take your medicine.”

“That’s a lot for me to do.”

Jessica pouted her lips and Yunho was already pulling her nose gently. Yonghwa’s eyes blazed with jealousy.

“If you don’t do it, I won’t buy for you.”

Yunho was good at comforting girls. And Jessica was already nodding her head.

“Okay, I promise to be good.”

“If you need anything, you can terrorize Yonghwa.”

Yunho grinned at Yonghwa but the younger guy rolled his eyes and turned his attention to his breakfast.

“Don’t worry, Oppa. Yonghwa oppa will always be here for me. He made a promise last night.”

Yonghwa was taken aback before meeting Jessica’s eyes. She smiled and then nodded as an acknowledgement that she heard what he said last night at the hotel.

“Right, oppa?”

She was directing her question to him. He nodded.

“Yes, I promise.”

Jessica was smiling widely. And Yonghwa felt good that she was smiling because of his promise. He didn’t want anything anymore; he would give up everything just as long as he could see Jessica’s smiling face.

-

Mr Hwang waited for Tiffany. He knew his daughter didn’t return home last night. He couldn’t call her because he was the one who smashed her phone into pieces. He regretted being nasty towards her; he didn’t think of the consequences.

Not long after, he saw the silhouette of his daughter from far but she wasn’t alone. Someone was with her. They were walking towards him and Tiffany looked upset. For some reason, he knew why she was no longer happy anymore. His heart bled.

Tiffany hasn’t notice him yet but the person next to her had already spotted him. She nudged Tiffany gently and finally his daughter looked up. Their eyes met but there was a certain degree of hostility from his daughter.

“Tiffany..”

“I’m going to take my bag and then go to school.”

She was avoiding him.

“Tiffany, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, Daddy.”

“You’re still mad at me, aren’t you?”

“No. I just don’t want to see you for now.”

The girl disappeared up to her room while leaving Yoona alone with her father. The younger girl felt awkward but nevertheless put on her best smile and behaviour.

“You’re Yoona, right?”

“Ah, yes Uncle.”

“She was with you last night?”

“Yeah, she slept over at my place.”

Mr Hwang nodded his head and then looked up the stairs. Yoona followed his gaze and realized that Mr Hwang’s worried about his daughter.

“Tiffany will be fine, Uncle. She needs some time to digest all the things that have happened.”

“I understand but can you promise me something, Yoona?”

“Hm?”

“Please look after Tiffany for me. If she wants to stay over at your place, please let her. I’ll pay for her lodging and food.”

“Oh, it’s not necessary, Uncle. I mean she’s welcome at my place but I can afford to look after her. I don’t stay alone. I stay with a friend so you don’t have to worry about her expenses.”

Mr Hwang nodded and then Tiffany appeared. Mrs Hwang wasn’t home. She went to the market earlier this morning.

“Let’s go, Yoona.”

Tiffany was about to walk off when Yoona pulled her hand back slightly. She nudged her and pointed to Mr Hwang.

“I know you’re upset and angry with him but he’s your father. At least say goodbye to him.”

Tiffany bit her lower lip.  Yoona was right. No matter what he did, he’s still her father. Tiffany turned to look at him and she saw tears in his eyes.

“I’m sorry Daddy.”

“I’m sorry too, Tiffany.”

“But I’m really sorry because I really love Jessica a lot. I cannot live without her, Daddy.”

“Tiffany..”

“I will look for her and tell her I love her.”

Mr Hwang looked on.

“I’m sorry, Daddy but Jessica’s my life now.”

Tiffany was determined not to give up on Jessica no matter what.

-

Jong Kook found something valuable. His informant, HaHa had some news about his children – his daughters.

“Hyung, you have two daughters. They are given away to two families.”

“Two daughters? I have two girls?”

“Yes, fraternal twins. Hyori’s father gave them away.”

“So they’re still alive?”

“Yes, and they’re living well. The old man supports them.”

“What? Wait, that bastard paid for their expenses?”

“Yeah, he couldn’t raise them to some personal reasons.”

“Do you have their names?”

“Whose names? Your daughters? The old man named them Lee Soo Yeon and Lee Mi Young.”

“I meant the families.”

“I don’t have any idea but they were given to a family named Hwang and Jung. I think they might be related to the old man.”

“You were saying my daughters’ names are Soo Yeon and Mi Young?”

“Yeah, they should be in their 20s now.”

“Okay.”

“That’s all I know, hyung. If I have more information, I’d let you know.”

“Thanks.”

So Jong Kook knew his daughters’ names.  They are in their 20s now. Jong Kook didn’t realize how long he was away from Hyori. Jong Kook is 37 years old while Hyori is 35 years of age. He was only 18 when Hyori broke the news to him that she was pregnant.

Honestly, Jong Kook was thrilled to learn that he was going to be a father but he didn’t react well. True, he was shocked and terrified to be a father but he managed to calm himself down. He ran away because he was scared however he had a long thought before coming to a decision.

He decided to give up on his sports scholarship and marry Hyori. He was going to take responsibility of Hyori and he hoped to continue school after marrying her. That was what he had planned before he found his family died in the fire.

He was certain that Old Man Lee was the one who killed his family. He saw him when the firemen struggled to get rid of the fire. Old Man Lee looked at him with disdan and Jong Kook was too clouded with the deaths of his family.

So he conveniently blamed it on Old Man Lee. And until now, he’s still bearing the grudge against the old man.  It was because of him, he lost Hyori and now his two daughters. He wanted to be a good father but now he couldn’t anymore.

And meeting Hyori again brought back the memories of his dead family. He knew he was a despicable man for making use of Hyori but he had to. He just needed his revenge for his family’s deaths.

He finally reached his destination. He was all prepared. It was now or never. He needed to release his suppressed anger all these years. He needed to confront Old Man Lee.

He got out from his car and quietly entered the premises. It was odd that there were no security guards or anything. Old Man Lee used to have a lot of men following him wherever he went. The door wasn’t locked; it was open. Jong Kook got his alertness up. He inspected around the compound for any suspicious traps but there were none.

Jong Kook frowned. He wondered if the old man knew he was coming. He moved around carefully; and to his surprise, the old man was indeed waiting for him. He was sitting on his sofa smoking his cigar.

“You came.”

Old Man Lee looked up with a smile. Jong Kook was intensely agitated.

“You’re waiting for me?”

“Yes, I’ve been waiting for you all this while.”

Jong Kook was confused. The old man seemed to be unfazed. He was calm and gentle. The smile on his face was almost fatherly kind. But he couldn’t let his defence down. This old man had a lot of tricks up in his sleeves sometimes.

“You’re an evil man.”

Jong Kook glared at the old man who seemed nonchalant. He just continued to puff his cigar in the most arrogant manner.

“I’ve always been.”

“It’s just so sad that your daughter hates you.”

“That’s my problem with my daughter. I’m just concerned why you’re here. Is there something you need?”

“I want to take revenge.”

“Whatever for?”

“For my dead family.”

Old Man Lee smirked and then chuckled softly. He got up on his feet and put out his cigar on the ashtray. He then walked over to the bar counter and poured himself a glass of whiskey.

“You want a glass?”

Jong Kook didn’t answer. His eyes were focused on the old man. Old Man Lee walked back to his sofa and sat with his legs crossed. He then threw some photos from his pocket onto the coffee table.  Jong Kook glanced down. There were two photos of two baby girls.

“I’m sure you want to know about your children.”

“Why aren’t you asking about your daughter?”

“I know my daughter’s on your side.”

“Don’t you care about her?”

“I care a lot about her but she doesn’t need to know.”

“Why are you showing me these photos? Trying to soften my heart so that I wouldn’t kill you?”

“Will that work?”

“You damn old tard.”

“I guess so.”

Jong Kook was losing his patience but nevertheless picked up the photos. He finally saw his daughters’ photos. They were really cute.

“The one in pink is the younger twin. The one in white is the older girl. The older girl is Lee Soo Yeon and the other one is Lee Mi Young.”

“You’re suspicious. Why are you being so nice to me?”

“Do I have to give a reason for that?”

Jong Kook stared at the old man and then to his daughters’ photos. He remembered HaHa’s words.

“You gave them to people. You know those people, right?”

“I only give my granddaughters to the best people.”

“Are they growing up well?”

“I think better than they live with me.”

“What do you mean?”

“Look at my daughter.”

It was Jong Kook’s turn to smirk.

“She hates your guts.”

“I’m aware of that.”

“It’s too sad that she’s not even caring about you now.”

“I don’t need her to but I hope you will.”

“What?”

“I’ve given your daughters’ information to her through someone. If you want to see your daughters, find her.”

“I don’t need your help.”

“I’m sure you don’t.”

Jong Kook thought all this useless talking was just wasting time. He kept the photos in his pocket and pulled out a gun. He pointed it at Old Man Lee.

“Any last words, bastard?”

“Take good care of Hyori and your daughters.”

Jong Kook didn’t answer. He was more focused on the trigger.

-

Jessica was staring at her phone for the whole day. There was no message from Tiffany. Well, she couldn’t expect any from her because she had instructed Tiffany’s father to smash Tiffany’s phone so that she couldn’t contact her. She sighed softly.

She misses Tiffany. She misses her like crazy. But each time she thought of her lips on Tiffany and the fact that Tiffany’s her twin sister, it irked her so much. She felt dirty and she cringed at the thought of that one time, her hands were all over her twin sister.

She felt sick. It was just so unfair that things happened this way. Why must it be Tiffany? Why must Tiffany be her sister? Why couldn’t it be Taeyeon or even Yoona? Or someone else instead? Why Tiffany?

She kept questioning GOD but there was no way she could deny the fact; the biological link of Tiffany and her. It killed her instantly when that old man said Tiffany’s her sister and he’s her grandfather.

Grandfather.  Jessica was amazed at how suave her grandfather was. He must be a very good looking man when he was younger.  Though his hair was completely white, that dimples on his cheeks were so prominent. He had a killer smile and then Jessica realized Tiffany looks a little like him.

Her eye smiles, her smile and Jessica realized she has a little bit of his sharp nose. Their mother must be beautiful since their grandfather’s a good looking man. Jessica was obliged to smile. She somehow felt a little proud of her family genes. But if Tiffany looks like her mother probably, then she must have looked a lot like her father.

“Geez, I must be crazy to think about all this.”

She slapped her forehead; her mind transported back to Tiffany. Her heart ached once again.

“Tiffany, I’m sorry. We cannot be together. We just cannot do this anymore.”

Tears fell hard.

-

Tiffany was disappointed and in despair when Jessica didn’t turn up for school. She couldn’t call Jessica because her phone was smashed by her father.  She couldn’t stop crying as she pined for Jessica.

It was her fault for not protecting Jessica. She regretted not running after her father when he went out to find Jessica. And now, Tiffany has lost Jessica forever.

She wandered aimlessly around the campus. She felt lost without Jessica. They were all smiles yesterday and today Tiffany was all alone; fearing that she would never see Jessica ever again.

Yoona was as usual gallivanting around the campus with fresh baked pastries and bread. All genders, male or females, were attracted to her and bought everything that she offered. Taeyeon was really smart to put her in charge of marketing.

All the pastries and bread were sold out. Yoona was proud of herself. She picked up her empty baskets and was on the way back to the bakery when she spotted Tiffany dragging her feet around the campus.

That was odd. At this time of the day, Tiffany would be in Jessica’s arms. Yoona went up to her and patted her back.

“Tiffany?”

Tiffany turned with her red swollen eyes. Yoona was alarmed and sat next to Tiffany. She was concerned.

“What happened?”

“She didn’t turn up for school.”

“Oh.”

“She has left me, Yoona. She’s not coming back.”

“Hey, don’t say that. There must be a reason or something.”

“Yes, the reason is me.”

“Tiffany, why don’t you call her?”

“My father smashed my phone.”

“Oh, that’s right. Why don’t you go over to her house?”

“I went over yesterday but nobody was home.”

“You can go again later. I’ll go with you.”

Tiffany nodded and Yoona wiped her tears away.

“Maybe Jessica’s not feeling well. We can bring some of her favourite pastries later on. I’ll ask Taeyeon to bake more for her, okay?”

Yoona’s heart ached. All Tiffany could do was to nod and then cried again.

It really hurt when it comes to love.

Like how Yoona’s heart hurt when she found out Tiffany loves someone else instead.

-

Taeyeon was surprised when Yoona called her to bake more of Jessica’s favourite pastries. Something must have happened between Tiffany and Jessica. She was worrying for Jessica. Tiffany was like a zombie this morning. So she couldn’t imagine how it would be for Jessica since she was the one got confronted upon.

But nevertheless, she continued to bake and Yoona said she was going to accompany Tiffany for awhile more. Usually Taeyeon would scream at her but she was concerned too. So she urged Yoona to look after Tiffany. She can handle the bakery.

Fortunately, the bakery wasn’t busy at all. Many of the students were having examinations so most of them were spending more time in the library. There were only one or two customers.

Taeyeon disappeared back into the kitchen after the last customer left. She was baking some pastries and she wanted to check on them. But she got a shock of her life when she stumbled upon a figure sitting at the corner of the kitchen.

“SHEESH!”

Taeyeon’s heart jumped.

“I’m sorry.”

“Oh my god, Jessica! What are you doing here?”

“I don’t know where else to go.”

Taeyeon had to calm herself down before approaching Jessica. She took a quick glance and noticed Jessica’s swollen eyes. She must have cried just like Tiffany did. Taeyeon’s heart softened when Jessica whimpered softly.

“What happened, Jessica? What are you doing here? Do you know Tiffany has been searching for you?”

“She’s here?”

“No, she’s not. But Yoona’s with her. She didn’t feel good leaving Tiffany alone. Tiffany was like a zombie. Yoona saw her sitting alone at the bus stop late last night. She took Tiffany home.”

Jessica bit her lower lip. Tears were threatening to fall once again. Her heart bled so badly.

“Taeyeon, can you ask Yoona to look after Tiffany for me?”

“I already asked her but I want to know what happened. Did you two fight?”

“No, I just cannot be with her anymore.”

“Is it because of her father?”

Jessica didn’t say a word. Taeyeon nodded like though she understood.

“But why are you avoiding Tiffany? Shouldn’t you talk to her and tell her what you wanted to do? You just cannot blow her off like this and avoiding her.”

“I have to, Taeyeon. It’s for own good.”

“But you’re in the same lectures and tutorial classes, right?”

“I’m planning to quit and study abroad.”

“What?!”

“It’s the only best way to make Tiffany forget me.”

“This will kill her!”

“I don’t have a choice, Taeyeon!”

Jessica finally burst and Taeyeon was helpless. Jessica cried so badly and Taeyeon couldn’t stand it anymore. She just pulled Jessica closer and embraced her tightly.  She encouraged Jessica to calm down. The girl was seriously out of breath from all the crying.

“I don’t have a choice, Taeyeon. There’s a valid reason for me to do this.”

“I understand and I’m sorry for pushing you.”

“No, it’s not your fault. But I cannot tell you just as yet. This is killing me softly, Taeyeon. I’m losing my strength to live. Tiffany’s my world but I cannot let her in anymore.”

Taeyeon was taken aback but didn’t want to provoke Jessica. She embraced Jessica in silence. She didn’t care about anything else. Taeyeon watched the girl breaking down and wished she could do something to alleviate the pain.

But she couldn’t.

So if this hug and silence could help Jessica a little, Taeyeon would rather stay in this position forever.

-