Chapter 20

“There we go.” the lady said. “You’re all cleaned up. That wasn’t so scary now was it?”

The boy felt around his cheek and then slightly shook his head. “Thank you!”

“You’re welcome." she smiled. "And remember to cut down on the sweet stuff, or you’ll have to come more often.” she lectured.

"Hmmm..." the boy pondered for a moment. “Then I’ll have more!” he exclaimed excitedly.

She arched her eyebrows in surprise. “Why?”

“Because I want to see Dr Jung. Dr Jung is nice and pretty. Other dentists are scary.”

“Silly. You don’t have to do that to visit me. Come here anytime you want, okay?” Jessica ruffled his hair. “Okay, go home now.”

The boy leapt off the dental chair. “Thank you Dr Jung. Bye!”

Jessica waved as the boy ran out. Removing her gloves, she walked over to the trash bin and disposed of it, and then stretched her limbs.

Another long, tiring day’s finally over…

Jessica sighed as she packed her things. Being a dentist wasn’t an easy job, it was patient after patient, back to back appointments and she barely had time to rest. She missed the days she could sleep 12 hours without a care, but that seemed impossible now that she had her own practice. Her father had offered, and there was no way she could reject the stubborn man. As usual.

Putting on her coat, she proceeded out of the room, and was greeted by a chirpy looking energizer bunny who smiled brightly at the fatigued dentist.

"Congrats Jessica, done with another day!"

“Sunny, please tell me there are breaks tomorrow.”

Looking intently at her computer screen. “Hmmm… No breaks in between,” Sunny said. “But good news! You finish an hour early. I kept your last 2 slots empty for tomorrow. You’ve been looking tired these days.”

“Omgawd, thank you!” Jessica said earnestly. “You’re the best assistant EVER.”

“Of course.” Sunny replied confidently.

Jessica smiled, still excited about that early break tomorrow. “Let’s close up and go for dinner, shall we?”

“You forgot?”

“Forgot what?”

Sunny shook her head and sighed. “I really pity the guy. He seems to really like you a lot…”

“Oh, crap. I forgot.” Jessica rubbed the back of her head. “Is he waiting outside?”

Sunny walked towards the glass door of the clinic and took a peek outside. “Yep, handsomely dressed in a suit, standing by his awesome Audi convertible with a huge bouquet of roses that looks even more awesome than the Audi. Wow.”

Jessica ignored Sunny’s brilliant description of the man. “Help me, please.” she pleaded.

Sunny crossed her arms and arched an eyebrow. “And why should I?”

“Pleaseeeeeee Sunny bunny.”

Sunny shot her an incredulous look. “Seriously, don’t go all cute on me. That’s MY thing.” she stated. “Arghhhhhh fine.”

“Thanks Sunny! You’re the best!” Jessica declared happily.

“Go hide in the room in case he comes in looking for you.”

“Okay.” Jessica agreed and headed straight back into the room. She didn’t dislike the man waiting outside; she just wasn’t interested in him, nor any of the guys that her father tried so desperately to introduce to her. It wasn’t anything against them, they were mostly gentlemanly and nice, but Jessica’s beliefs were still no different from high school.

Standing by the window, Jessica looked out at the spectacular Golden Gate Bridge in the distance.

Giving that perfect love wasn’t easy. Finding that perfect love was even harder.

She wondered if her perfect love was ever going to come back.

In the 2 years that went by, there wasn’t a day that the blonde didn’t think about that tall, tanned dork. It was as if the girl had been burned into the back of her mind, etched forever, chaining her down. Even so, she liked being chained down. The feeling of being tied down to Kwon Yuri was something she craved for, so much so that it sometimes didn’t matter that the girl wasn’t around.

Fiddling with her necklace, Jessica mumbled, “What are you doing now, Yuri…”

There was a knock on the door. Sunny’s head poked in and her face wore the smile of success. “It’s settled.”

“Thank you.” Jessica smiled.

“C’mon let’s go for dinner. I think someone owes me a treat.” Sunny stated with her hands on her hips.

“No problem.”

-----

During dinner, Jessica was too tired to talk. Afterall, she had been doing it for an entire day; explaining procedures to every single client. All she longed to do was sleep after a long, draining day of work. Any normal person would dismiss Jessica’s behavior as being unfriendly and cold, but Sunny understood her boss well, since the day they met during their internships in their senior years. (Sunny was doing her internship as a dental nurse) Moreover, Sunny was uniquely gifted; having the ability to read people easily, and with precision. She could easily tell the good eggs from the bad.

Jessica: a good egg. An icy cold egg.

Raising her glass of water, Sunny spoke up, “I realized something.”

A hungry Jessica was too focused on her piece of steak to look at the girl. “Hmmm?”

“After being your friend for this long, I still don’t know much about your personal life, aside from the fact that your father’s desperate for you to find a man. I don’t want to come across as a nosey parker, but I’m just curious.”

Jessica looked up at the girl, still chewing on her food. “What do you wanna know?”

Sunny smiled slyly and took a sip from her glass. “You have someone, don’t you?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Just curious.” Sunny smiled.

Jessica narrowed her eyes. "What makes you think so?"

"Cos you've been dead stubborn against meeting all of them."

Jessica tilted her head, pondering. “I guess you can say I do.”

Sunny immediately got excited at her response. “Oohhh! Tell me more!!”

“Ask me questions. I’m not good at elaborating.” Jessica stated as she chewed on her food.

“Okay!” Sunny put down her glass and thought for a while. “So what does he do?”

"Save animals."

"Oohhh a vet! Sounds kind and heroic. But he's not here is he?" Sunny asked. "I'm just saying, I haven't seen him pick you up ever since I met you."

Jessica nodded solemnly just thinking about that fact.

"So... Where is he?"

Jessica swallowed her mouthful of food and pondered for a moment. She wondered if telling Sunny that the ‘he’ was actually a tall, beautiful woman was a good idea, but seeing that she didn’t have that many friends here, she decided that maybe, it was better to be a bit more ‘Tiffany’. Plus, Sunny had been nothing but a good friend and an even better assistant.

Looking down at her steak, Jessica replied, “She, is in Korea.” as she sliced into the beef.

“Oh Kor—“ Sunny paused. “Wait. What?”

Jessica nodded while stabbing her fork into the piece of meat.

In an instant, the term “OHHHHH” was written all over Sunny’s face. “And let me guess, Daddy dearest knows. Hence, all the men.”

Jessica nodded again.

“So..." Sunny arched an eyebrow. "Am I... attractive to you?”

Jessica dropped the utensils in her hands almost immediately. Eyes wide open, she looked at the girl in disbelief. “Uhhh…”

Sunny burst into hysterical laughter upon that sight. “Your face, right now, is epic.” she clutched onto her stomach as she laughed. “Seriously, Jessica, you can’t catch on a joke?”

Jessica heaved a sigh of relief and then pouted. “No, apparently.” she said as she picked up her utensils.

Sunny smiled, amused by the girl. “So why the long distance relationship?”

“I don’t even know if we’re still in a relationship.”

Sunny noticed the sudden sadness in Jessica’s eyes. “What makes you say that?”

“It’s a terribly long story.” Jessica sighed.

“Oh come on, pleaseeeeeee… Jeeeesssssssicaaaaaa…” Sunny whined continuously and did her trademark killer aegyo thing deliberately, knowing it was her best weapon against Jessica.

Jessica shuddered. “Urghhh!! Stop that! Fine, I’ll tell you!”

Sunny giggled. “Works all the time.” she said as she scooped up another mouthful of food.

Jessica came clean to Sunny about everything that night. She figured she could tell Sunny everything because the latter didn’t personally know Yuri, plus, her constant aegyo whining had put Jessica off tremendously, consequently leading Jessica to reveal more. Despite looking totally naïve, Sunny was level-headed and wise, and also a good listener. Jessica was glad to have her as a friend.

The dinner lasted till late, and when Jessica finally got home, she was exhausted from all that talking. Plus, reminiscing about Yuri had brought an inevitable sadness and longing for the girl, and she needed a break from thinking about her.

“You know what I think? I think the girl’s too in love with you, that she puts you before anything else, including herself.”

Sunny’s words rang through her head throughout her journey back home. She wanted to believe those words, but it had been 2 years, 2 long, grueling years since she’s heard anything from the girl. Time seemed to be fighting against her. But she couldn’t deny it, Sunny’s words ignited a little sparkle of hope in her heart.

Stopping in front of the door to her house, she turned her keys quietly, being careful to make minimal noise in case it woke anyone up.

“Sis?”

The voice startled Jessica a little. Looking over towards the source, she noticed her younger sister sitting at the living room. “Krys! Why are you up so late?” she whispered.

“I was waiting for you to be home.”

Jessica dropped her bag and keys on the table and then sat down on the couch beside her sister. “What’s up?”

Krystal remained silent, hugging her legs on the couch and propping her head on her knees. It was obvious to Jessica that something was bothering her little sister. She put an arm around Krystal’s shoulder. “You know you can tell me anything, Krys.”

Krystal stared down at her feet. “You have to promise me two things first.”

Jessica smiled a little, inquisitive about what she was about to hear. “Sure.”

Krystal looked up at her sister. “Number 1, you cannot tell anyone about this.”

“Done.”

“Number 2, you cannot judge me.”

Jessica nodded. “I won’t.”

“Okay.” Krystal took a deep breath, and looked timidly at her sister, before beginning, “I’m involved… with someone.” She had been expecting an outburst of some sort, but her sister seemed unfazed and was unresponsive.

“And it’s a girl.” she added.

There was still no response from Jessica. Thinking that it might be one of her sister’s delayed reactions again, Krystal spoke up. “I have a girlfr--”

“Shhh!” Jessica covered her sister’s mouth with her hand while her eyes scanned the house. “Not too loud.” Jessica said. “I heard you the first time.”

Krystal removed her sister’s hand and asked softly, “So... What do you think?”

“Just… be careful. Dad must NEVER know about this. I don’t want the same thing to happen to you.” Jessica cautioned.

Krystal nodded. “I’ll be careful.”

“And you’re still young. Do not neglect your studies.”

Krystal nodded again, more earnestly this time. Reading her expression, Jessica could see that her sister was serious, despite her age. Moreover, Jessica was in no position to judge, afterall, she found Yuri in high school.

Smiling, Jessica patted her sister on the back. “You have my support. But she’d better be a nice girl, or else.”

“Don’t worry. Next to you, she’s the nicest.” Krystal said, with a tinge of lovestruck in her voice. It reminded Jessica of herself.

“By the way,” Krystal began, “I’m sorry, sis.” she apologized.

Jessica looked at her curiously. “For?”

“For not empathizing with you then. Instead, I got angry and blamed you when Dad made all of us leave Korea. Now that it’s happened to me, it dawned on me that it must have been extremely hard on you. And if it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have met her.” She hugged her sister. “I’m sorry I didn’t support you like a sister should.”

Jessica shook her head. “It’s okay. What matters is that you do now. Right?” Jessica patted her back. “So who’s this lucky girl who managed to obtain my unattainable sister’s heart?”

“I’ll properly introduce you to her in future.” Krystal replied. “But I just really wanted to get that out of my chest.” she stated as she got off the couch. “Thanks, sis.”

“Sure.” Jessica smiled.

“Oh by the way,” Krystal paused. “Any contact from…”

Before her sister could finish her sentence, Jessica shook her head. At that moment, it felt as if that two-syllable word had the potential to flip the crying switch.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Jessica said with a half-hearted smile.

Krystal looked at her older sister in pity. Settling back on the couch beside her, she put an arm around her shoulder and said, “She’ll come back for you, I know it. We are the Jung sisters! And the Jung sisters NEVER get dumped.”

Jessica cheered up a little at her sister’s joke. She patted her sister on her thigh. “Now go to sleep. It’s late.”

Krystal nodded as she got off the couch. “Good night, sis.”

“Good night.”

Jessica watched as the girl happily skipped into her room. She was genuinely happy for her sister, but there was a part of her that was also screaming envy. While her sister and her best friend both basked in their happy relationships, Yuri was far away. Yuri wasn’t here by her side.

It’s been 2 years, Kwon Seobang.

Walking into her room, Jessica sat by the table and picked up a pen and a piece of paper. She started writing.

Maybe her neighbor wasn’t in when Yuri went home.

Maybe her neighbor threw the letters away.

Maybe her neighbor passed away, afterall, Yuri did say she was old.

She rationalized the many reasons why she hadn’t heard from Yuri all this while.

Or maybe, Yuri is really back with Hyomin.

Putting down the pen in her hand, Jessica teared up again. Glancing over at the wastepaper basket, she crumpled up the piece of paper in her hands and threw it into the bin. It joined the dozens of other letters that Jessica didn’t finish writing.

It was all too familiar; there have already been many nights like this. Too many. Most times, Jessica would wind up in tears just thinking how futile it was.

Tonight was no exception.

It was times like these when she wondered if Yuri had really left her for Hyomin. And if she should still continue to harbor the hope that Yuri would come for her.

“I’m in love with you, Sica. Only you. Remember that.”

Jessica looked out of her window and towards the Golden Gate Bridge. “Did you lie to me, Kwon Seobang?”

-----

(SFO - San Francisco International Airport)

“ACHOOO!” a girl sneezed loudly, capturing the attention of several onlookers. “Seriously, why am I suddenly sneezing?” she said as she rubbed her nose.

“Oh someone’s cursing you.” Yoona commented.

“Do you think I really believe in that.” the former said as she took out a pack of tissues from her bag.

“DUTY FREE SHOPPING!!” another girl suddenly yelled, and then ran off into the distance.

“Wait!!” a shorter girl cried out as she followed her hysterical girlfriend into a shop.

“Omgawd, let’s go get our luggage already!!”

“Chill Yuri.” Sooyoung walked over and put an arm around Yuri’s shoulder as she sneezed again. “It’s everyone’s graduation trip. Let them enjoy their honeymoon too.”

“Yea. Let’s just go collect our stuff first.” Yoona agreed and dragged a red-nosed Yuri towards the baggage area. “By the way, that someone must be having a hell of a time cursing you.”

“And I bet it’s Sica.” Sooyoung commented as she followed beside them. “She must be cursing you every night for making her wait this long.”

It freaked Yuri out a little upon recalling her girlfriend’s Ice Princess Powers.

What if Sica was REALLY angry?

Putting those wild thoughts aside, Yuri was here in San Francisco and she was here for one sole reason.  Unlike the rest, who treated this as their graduation trip/honeymoon. “Oh come on. Maybe I’m just not used to the San Francisco air.” Yuri rebutted as she walked ahead.

Leaving the honeymooners to their duty-free shopping, the trio reached the baggage area and waited for their baggage.

“Oh. That’s definitely TaeNy’s.” Sooyoung commented as she pointed at the bright pink luggage which was trudging down the conveyor belt towards them.

Yuri giggled as she collected the luggage and hoisted them on a trolley. “Smart move. You know, we should really get the neon colored ones in future.” she said as she looked out for her black luggage amongst the mess of similar colored ones.

After twenty minutes, the girls were done. Pushing a trolley filled with 3 huge luggage along, Yuri scrambled around, searching for the honeymooners.

“TaeNyyyyyyy where are you?!!” she yelled in frustration as she embarked on her mad rush around the shopping area with the overloaded trolley.

“Yuri! Over here!”

Turning around, Yuri spotted Taeyeon emerging from one of the shops and making a fast sprint towards her. “HELP ME.” Taeyeon begged sincerely. “Fany won’t stop!”

Yuri sighed. The look on Taeyeon’s face symbolized helplessness and even Yuri couldn’t help but pity the girl. “Let the honeymooners enjoy their honeymoons. It’s okay, Yuri.” she mumbled under her breath.

“What’s that?” Taeyeon asked.

Taking a deep breath, Yuri smiled and said, “Take the trolley.”

While Taeyeon blankly followed her instruction, Yuri took her luggage out of the trolley and said, “I’ll meet you outside when you two are done. Hopefully soon.” with an emphasis on the last two words.

Taeyeon had an apologetic look on her face. “Thanks.”

“Honeymooners should enjoy their honeymoons.” Yuri replied. “Nice luggage, by the way.”

Taeyeon laughed sarcastically. “Seriously, why did I agree to use the pink ones…” she mumbled under her breath. “See you later!” she said as she wheeled the trolley back towards the shop.

Dragging her bag back to her two friends, Yuri said, “Let’s go. The honeymooners will join us outside.”

The three girls proceeded into the arrival hall where hordes of people were waiting, many of them holding signs, searching for someone. Yuri scanned the area thoroughly but to no avail; there were just too many people.

“OMGAWD!” the shikshin yelled. The girl looked as if she’d found gold.

“What is it?” Yuri immediately turned over to where the shikshin was looking, only to spot a burger stand.

“Seriously. I hope someday you’ll find a love other than food.” Yuri commented as she continued scouring the crowd with her eyes.

“Tsk. Not gonna happen. Food triumphs all your little troublesome relationships.” Sooyoung retorted before heading towards the burger stand, effortlessly dragging her heavy luggage along. Food was of course, the best motivation.

“Hello! I want this, this, this and uhhh this.” she spoke in simple English as she pointed at the items on the menu. The server blankly looked at her for a moment, probably stunned by the number of items she was ordering, and then went straight into preparing her orders.

“CHOI SOOYOUNG!” Yuri screamed from afar, surprised that the shikshin had got there so soon.

“WHAT?!”

“Let’s go already!” she gestured.

“MY BURGERS AREN’T READY! Besides, TaeNy’s not even out yet!” Sooyoung screamed back. Upon hearing the word “burgers”, Yoona had suddenly disappeared and then mysteriously appeared again beside Sooyoung at the burger stand.

Standing in the middle of the arrival hall all alone with her black luggage, Yuri glanced over at the shikshin duo in the distance, and then turned back to still find no trace of the honeymooners. She sighed and rubbed her temples. “Kwon Yuri, Kwon Yuri. Why did you agree on bringing them along?” she groaned.

“That’s ‘cos they’re awesome friends, aren’t they?” a voice came from behind the tanned girl.

Turning to the voice, Yuri flashed a smile immediately. “Yes, they are.” she said as she extended out a hand. “And it’s nice to finally meet you.”

“Likewise.” the girl reached out and accepted her handshake.