Three girls were seated at a table in a restaurant, waiting for their meals to be served. The tallest one continuously fiddled with the cutlery on the table in an attempt to mask her nervousness.

“Are you okay?” Sunny asked in concern.

“Yea.” Came the cold, standoffish, one-syllable reply.

“Oh she’s probably really hungry.” Yoona responded as she kicked the shikshin under the table, who tried to act nonchalant. “She tends to get all restless and moody when her stomach's running on empty.”

“Oh…” Sunny giggled. “I see. It'll be here soon yea?” she smiled at the shikshin, unknowingly sending more jolts of electricity down the latter’s spine.

Sooyoung could only half-smile in response.

Sunny got off her seat. “Excuse me while I go to the washroom.” she said as she left the table.

As soon as Sunny had disappeared, Yoona stared at the girl directly opposite her for a good five seconds.

“What?” Sooyoung asked.

“Will you PLEASE stop acting badass? You’re not yourself today!” Yoona exclaimed, slapping the shikshin on her hand. “And stop touching the knife! What’s wrong with you?!”

“GAWD.” Sooyoung dropped her utensils and buried her face in her hands. “I don’t know!”

Her muffled cries amused Yoona immensely. “People in love.”

Sooyoung brought her hands down and shot Yoona the glare of death. “That’s my line. And I am NOT in love.”

“I didn’t say you were.”

“You…” Sooyoung gritted her teeth. “ARGHHHH. Help me.” she begged.

Seeing Sooyoung like that was a first even for Yoona, as The Great Choi Sooyoung never begs or asks for help. Inevitably, it caused Yoona to break out into her alligator laugh.

“I am so darn serious, Im Yoona.” Sooyoung stated. “Please, help me get through tonight.”

“Friends for so long, and this is a first.” Yoona giggled. “Alright, alright. But please, for godssakes, try being a little friendlier, will you? Stop acting so cool. It doesn’t get you the ladies.”

Scoffing, Sooyoung crossed her arms. “Oh and you sound like you know how this works.”

“Well of course I do. Watched and learned from Casanova Kwon.” Yoona replied with a smile. "Just be dorky, silly and sweet."

Sooyoung huffed. “Fine. You have a point. Speaking of which, how’s Yuri?”

“Sulking.” A voice came from behind.

Sooyoung’s mouth hung wide open as Sunny suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

OMGAWDDDDD

“Oh you’re back!” Yoona hurriedly exclaimed in an attempt to appear normal. “Uhhh… Yuri was with you?” she asked.

The same thing was going through inside both the girls’ heads now: Did Sunny hear our conversation?

“Yep, she was one hell of a sour grape sitting in the clinic the whole day whilst Jessica was at work. I had a good chat with her though.” she said while settling back down in her chair. "I can see why Jessica loves her so much. She's really cute, especially when she's all jealous and stuff. Too bad she's Jessica's."

Just then, the loud clattering of metal was heard. Sunny and Yoona immediately turned over to the source of the noise.

"Oops. Sorry." Sooyoung said as she positioned her knife back in place.

Stupid stupid stupid Sooyoung. Yoona mentally facepalmed herself.

"You okay?" Sunny asked.

"Yea." the shikshin replied with a half-hearted smile. Her cold replies were getting on Yoona's nerves.

“SO..." Yoona quickly diverted the topic. "Why was Yuri sulking?”

“Well, Jessica’s attending some dinner party tonight with the Henneys. You know, that guy, who hugged…”

“OHHHH.” Yoona understood immediately.

"Didn't Yuri tell you guys?"

Yoona shook her head and sighed. “She has a tendency to go MIA whenever she's with Sica. I haven't gotten in contact with her since last night."

"Well, I get it. They haven't seen each other in years, so... I get it. Which reminds me, they were all over each other in the consultation room. I uhhh... walked in on them." Sunny explained.

"Urgh. Okay spare the details." Yoona said, with a tinge of disgust in her tone. "So where is she now?” she asked.

Sunny shrugged. “I don’t know. She left with Jessica after work. I think they’re meeting Taeyeon and Tiffany.”

“So that explains why the honeymooners were MIA too." Yoona said. "The married couple’s meeting the honeymooners…” she sighed and pouted.

“Yea…” Sunny nodded. “Leaving us 3 single girls lonely.”

The girls fell silent after that, pondering on the issue of being single. Wanting to break out of the awkward phase, Yoona kicked the shikshin again, which led to the uncharacteristically silent shikshin finally speaking up. “So… How did you meet Jessica?” Sooyoung asked.

“During our senior year. We were both doing our internship at the same clinic.”

“So you’ve only known her for a while?” Sooyoung probed further, following a look of approval from Yoona.

“Almost a year now.” Sunny responded. “But I pretty much know how she’s like. I have an uncanny talent in reading people.” she smiled at Sooyoung, who gulped a little. Across the table, Yoona shot a worried glance at the shikshin. There was an awkward silence again.

Clearing her throat, Yoona began, “Anyway! Thanks for being our tour guide for tonight. We would either have been bored out of our wits or stuffing ourselves to death in the hotel room if it weren’t for you.”

“No problem. I'll be glad to show you guys around.” Sunny replied. “Oh about time! Food’s here! Tuck in girls!”

“FINALLY! Omgawd come to mama!” Sooyoung exclaimed as the waitress served what seemed like Sooyoung's virgin meal. Face fully lit up and finally dropping her cool act, the girl's antics caused Yoona to roll her eyes, half-sighing at the embarrassing shikshin. Sunny on the other hand, broke out into a huge laugh as the tall girl went crazy at the table.

As Yoona carefully observed the entire scene, an expression of revelation slowly dawned on her face.

Stupid Sooyoung. The girl likes you.

-----

“I’m going in.” Jessica said to her taller fiancée, whose eyes were looking elsewhere. It made Jessica slightly unhappy. Crossing her arms, she huffed, “Seriously, Kwon Yul. Do you want to marry me?”

That line caught the tanned girl’s attention. She looked down at the blonde, and was astonished by the girl’s beauty - again. Dressed in a pretty little cream colored gown, she had taken Yuri’s breath away for the umpteenth time that day. It made Yuri picture the day she would see the girl walk down the aisle towards her.

Slowly, Yuri nodded. “Sorry, Sica. Of course I wanna marry you, but I really don't think that he'll agree to let you go back to Korea. I mean, it's too obvious.”

Jessica fell silent at Yuri's response. She was obviously as unsure as Yuri.

Yuri reached out for Jessica’s hands, grazing the ring on her finger. “I have a bad feeling about tonight.”

Jessica gripped Yuri’s hands tightly and smiled. “Let's just hope he's a man of his word. Don’t worry. Go right back to the hotel alright? I’ll call you.” she reassured, knowing that the girl probably still wouldn’t be at peace. “Now go, TaeNy’s waiting in the taxi. I’ll be fine.”

Very reluctantly, Yuri nodded and turned to the taxi, where a tired Taeyeon and an excited Tiffany was waiting. Before entering the vehicle, she watched as her gorgeous fiancée entered the quintessential building and disappearing behind the magnificent swivel doors.

“Yuri, don’t worry. It’ll be fine.” Tiffany reassured as she went through her numerous buys which filled up the tiny space in the taxi.

Fumbling through the bags to get a glimpse of Yuri, Taeyeon added, “Yea, Daddy Jung might just agree to it, you never know.”

But Yuri didn’t respond. Instead, she kept her eyes out of the window, watching the building become smaller as they went further.

What’s this uncomfortable feeling…

Reaching for her phone in her pocket, she cursed when she remembered that it was still dead. Afterall, Yuri hadn't returned to the hotel since the night she proposed.

"Fany, can you make a call to Sica please? My phone's out."

"Sure, lovesick mush." Tiffany giggled, obviously picking up that term from a certain cynical-turned-lovestruck shikshin. "You just left her for barely a minute, Yuri." she said as she made the call and handed her phone over. "Here. I need to sort out my stuff."

Beside Tiffany, Taeyeon groaned inwardly.

"What, Kim Taeyeon?" Tiffany picked up on the girl's dreadfulness.

"Nothing! Hahaha... Sica's not picking up?" Taeyeon made a 180 and quickly diverted the topic.

Yuri shook her head. Seconds passed, and there was no answer. It only made Yuri feel worse.

Clutching onto the driver’s headrest, Yuri said, “Sir, please turn back.”

“No wait! What are you planning to do going back there, Yuri?” Tiffany asked, finally giving the worried girl her full attention.

"Where should I go now?" the driver asked.

“Just keep driving ahead." Taeyeon told the man.

"Go back with us okay? We’ll call her again later." Tiffany urged the tanned girl.

"No, I need to go back.”

“You’re not gonna just bust in and expose yourself to Jessi’s father are you?! It might ruin things!” Tiffany exclaimed, feeling even more anxious now. “I think it might be better if you let Jessi talk to her Dad first.”

Unknown to Yuri, Jessica had planned for TaeNy to 'escort' Yuri back to the hotel. Knowing her father, her request to return to Korea would definitely be rejected if he knew the-daughter-stealer was in town. Tiffany could not fail her best friend in this.

Yuri pondered on Tiffany’s words for just a moment. "Please stop the car." she told the driver, who acceded to her request. "I'll see you guys later." she said as she scrambled through the bags, out of the car and began running back towards the hotel.

“WAIT!!” Tiffany yelled, but to no avail. Grabbing the whole pile of bags on her lap, she dumped them onto her girlfriend and exclaimed, “Tete, stay here with the bags!”

“B-B-But…”

“JUST STAY WITH MY BUYS! DON’T YOU TAKE YOUR EYES OFF THEM!!” Tiffany yelled as she started running towards the hotel behind Yuri.

“Omgawd….” Taeyeon groaned as she pushed some bags to the side. Upon noticing the driver, she flashed an apologetic smile. “Uhhh... I guess I’ll just alight here.” she said sheepishly as she slowly wriggled her way out through the bags, resigning to the fate that she had a serial shopaholic of a girlfriend.

-----

As the blonde passed through the swivel doors, she mentally braced herself. Constructing best-case and worst-case scenarios in her head, she felt uneasy knowing that the probability of things going her way was near zero.

Am I being too naïve?

Dismissing everything, and recognizing that her one and only aim was to marry Kwon Yuri, she could only move forward and hope for the best. Walking towards the ballroom, she spotted her sister disappearing around the corner.

“Krystal!” she called out.

Her sister didn’t seem to hear, and to top it off, she seemed like she was rushing somewhere. Curious, Jessica followed the girl. Finally emerging around the corner, she spotted Krystal.

Leaping into the arms of another girl.

And then, kissing.

This girl is playing with fire… Jessica thought. And just as the worried girl was about to approach her sister, a voice came from behind.

“Jess! Where are you going?”

It was as if fate was playing with them on purpose, because the voice belonged to none other than Daddy Jung. Jessica needed to act fast. Turning around and striding towards her father swiftly, Jessica tried to capture her father’s full attention. “Hey Dad! I’m here! Let’s go in!”

“What's the hurry? By the way, where's your--"

Too late. Jessica watched helplessly as her father's face darkened in a split second.

"Is that… your sister?”

Jessica’s heart was nearly beating out of her chest now. “Dad…”

He didn’t respond to Jessica. In fact, he didn't even hear her voice. By now, the man was a headful of irrationality. Swiftly walking ahead, the man rose in fury with every single step as his glares pierced through his daughter.

Fortunately, Krystal noticed before he approached closer. Breaking apart from her girlfriend, her once lively expression turned into one that screamed fear.

“D-Dad…?” she said timidly, slightly pushing her companion away.

The man was now breathing deeply, and he wore a look of disbelief. Jessica followed closely behind her father, but before she could even say anything, he had raised a hand and brought it heavily down on Krystal’s face.

Only to be stopped by her sister’s companion right before it landed.

Clutching onto his wrist tightly, the girl begged, “Please, Mr Jung. Think twice.”

"You..." Mr Jung was seething with so much anger that it was fully possible that he could strike the stranger in front of him. "I could do the same to you!" he snapped.

Jessica immediately tugged on his arm. “Please, Dad. Let it go. At least not here.” she urged.

And he knew Jessica had a point; she was trying not to draw unnecessary attention. After all, Mr Jung couldn’t risk a dramatic family feud in the presence of potential clients. At the same time, she wanted to stall time for her sister, hoping his anger would dissipate with time.

Clutching onto his chest, Mr Jung breathed heavily, “Go home. Now.”

Turning to Krystal’s girlfriend, he threatened, “And you, I don’t want to see YOUR face ever again. Krystal Jung, is off-limits to you.” he poked at the girl's shoulder firmly with an index.

“Dad!” Krystal retorted. The young, rebellious girl stood forward and was all ready to lash out but was stopped by Jessica who pulled her back. “Krys, just go ho--”

“No!" she said firmly, shaking off her sister's grip. "This man here is unreasonable, controlling, and doesn’t even listen to reason. Is this what a real father should be?? I don’t have a father like that!” Krystal exclaimed loudly, shooting offensive glares at their father.

"Don't say that!" Jessica pleaded as she watched her father taking even heavier breaths.

"I don't wanna end up like you, sis!"

“KRYSTAL!” Jessica yelled, incredulous that all this was happening and desperately hoping that her sister would stop adding fuel to the fire. Their father had been effectively rendered speechless. Krystal’s words rang bells in his head, inevitably leading him to remember events from 2 years ago when Jessica pulled a similar stint. He clutched tightly onto his chest and tried to take steady, deep breaths.

“Please. Just go home for now okay?” Jessica begged, worried for her father's health.

Krystal eventually relented after Jessica’s desperate persuasion. Inhaling deeply, she stormed off, dragging her girlfriend along.

Jessica turned to her father, and saw the man reaching for his cellphone. "Dad, who are you callng?" she asked.

Mr Jung had completely ignored her. Instead, the man took the time to recover and steady his breathing while the phone rang.

"Dad..."

"I have a job for you. My young one, Krystal. I want her closely followed." he told the person on the other line. "Also, you will most likely see her with another girl. I want her details. Address, background, anything and everything you can get me."

Jessica watched in disbelief as her father started giving details on where Krystal frequented, her timetable, and so on. The man had her sister on such a tight leash it was just horrifying.

Jessica panicked a little inside. It was as if the whole fiasco was a warning, because now it became clear that her father was still the same man, with the same beliefs from 5 years ago.

He would have noticed Jessica's swollen eyes countless times.

He would have noticed that Jessica hadn't been the same ever since she came back to the States.

Any father, no matter how principled, would have softened.

She thought he would have changed, at least a little. But for the man in front of her, relenting seemed impossible. In the end, Jessica still had to choose. It was either family or Yuri.

“First you, now your sister.” the man scoffed as he kept his cellphone. “I must be cursed.”

"I think it's a blessing." Jessica replied.

Mr Jung was stunned. "What did you say?"

"I think, that it's a blessing." Jessica repeated, more serious and more slowly this time. "Because now, I realize that what I said two years ago was right."

"What do you mean by that??" her father exclaimed, anger waves rising in him once again.

"Do you really love us, Dad?" Jessica questioned.

"What are you asking? Of course I do! Why else would I try so hard to keep the both of you on the right path?" he stated matter-of-factly. "You girls always think you know better but you don't!"

The man was so self-righteous it was hard to swallow. Jessica shook her head in frustration. "If you really love us, you will want us to be happy, wouldn't you?" she tried to explain.

"I do want you to be happy, Jess." he said. "That's why I've been trying to fix you up with Daniel. He's a good--"

"But I don't love him. He won't make me happy." Jessica interrupted, frustrated by her father's warped ideas.

"Well it takes time. I'm sure you'll come to love--"

"And I don't want to stay here anymore. I want to go back to Korea. You said you would promise me anything, and I want this." she interrupted again.

Mr Jung was taken aback by her request. "Whatever for, dear? Your family, your career, your LIFE is here."

"I'm not happy here."

Mr Jung huffed. "Jess. Anything, anything material. Just not that."

"Does the term "promise" mean anything to you?" Jessica asked, angered by her father's unheld promise.

"No. Not if it's that." he replied. "I don't feel good letting you out of my sight."

It was as Yuri had predicted. A little part of Jessica had known that asking her father for this was naïve right from the start, but she needed a justification. She needed to know that her father was the same stubborn and unreasonable man.

"I have just one more question for you." Jessica braced herself to say.

The man sighed. "What is it."

Inhaling deeply, Jessica finally asked, "Will you be happy just knowing that I am? That I have found the one thing that makes me truly happy?"

Mr Jung frowned, questions popping in his head. "Jess, you can be happy here. You don't have to go to Kor--"

"I'm getting married."

"Married??" Mr Jung asked, incredulous. Finally spotting the ring on Jessica's hand, he held up her hand and asked, "Why don't I know about this? Is this why you've been so against seeing Daniel and all the other men? Because you already have a fiancé?"

Technically, "fiancée" would have been the better word, but since it sounded the same, Jessica nodded in response anyway.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" The man literally had sparkles of hope in his eyes. "Who is this lucky man?" he asked excitedly. “I need to meet him!”

"Kwon Yuri."

To the father and daughter, the mere sounding of the 3 syllables brought about entirely different emotions.

Joy vs Anger.

Longing vs Fear.

Love vs Hate.

In an instant, the man's face had totally changed. Intuitively, he had raised a hand, and struck Jessica on her face. Hard. It hurt Jessica immensely; physically and emotionally. The force of the slap was so strong, she realized that she was taking the fall for her sister as well.

"And I thought you had changed. Listen to yourself, Jess. MARRIAGE." he scoffed. "And now, Krys follows in your footsteps. My daughters have both gone mad. What is this world coming to?!"

The lingering stinging sensation on Jessica's cheek only served as a reminder of the man's stubbornness and refusal to listen. At this point, Jessica saw her father for who he was; controlling and selfish.

She was right. Krystal was right. He wasn't a good father.

"No daughter of mine is going to marry a GIRL!" he threatened. "Does that EVEN sound right to you? The princess and the princess living happily ever after?" he said with a whole tinge of sarcasm.

"Then,” Jessica said, “I am not your daughter." she said through gritted teeth. The girl had had enough of his tyranny.

Jessica's response worried the man more than it angered him. Sensing that the seriousness of her tone wasn't to be taken lightly, he dropped the mockery and tried to dissuade his daughter. "This is madness! Wake up Jess! She left you years ago for that singer! That brat doesn't love you!"

"On the contrary," a voice sounded from the corner, "that BRAT just crossed the Pacific Ocean to marry your daughter."

Yuri...???

"Hello again, Mr Jung." the tall, tanned girl said.

"You..." he muttered, obviously shocked. "You..."

"It's You-ree, sir." the girl replied with the silliest smile on her face.

Seriously, cracking a joke in this intense situation? Only Kwon Yuri the dork was capable of it.

The slap didn't hurt anymore. Her father's condescending attitude didn't matter anymore. Jessica broke out into a smile as she watched her knight in shining black hair approach her. She had envisaged this a thousand times in her head the past 2 years;

But this, this was now real.

"You okay, Sica?" Yuri asked as she gently grazed Jessica's cheek.

Jessica nodded blankly, too surprised to say anything.

Parking herself beside Jessica, Yuri held tightly onto the blonde's little hand. "I want to marry your daughter, Mr Jung. I am dead serious about her and I am humbly asking you for her hand. Please, try to understand." she stated as she looked straight into the man's incredulous face. Jessica could only watch the taller girl in awe, lovestruck. It just felt awesome to hear Yuri say that.

On the other end of the spectrum, the man couldn't say a thing. Just the entire scene in front of him seemed impossible. He watched, in fear, as his daughter looked at the girl beside her with the most loving gaze; something that resembled her mother on their wedding day.

A part of him saw how true it was.

"BULL****!" he cursed loudly.

It caught the attention of several onlookers. The man noticed this, and hurriedly composed himself, deciding not to cause a scene. He looked sternly at his daughter. "The only aisle I'll walk you down, is one where your husband, a MAN, will wait for you." he stated indifferently.

Jessica stared straight into his eyes, and saw a man who wasn't her father. The kind, loving father she had, had disappeared since high school. This man right here, was someone whom she had no respect for.

Once.

Twice.

It was the final straw. Jessica wasn't about to let her father ruin what she had with Yuri now.

"Then you shall not be at our wedding." Jessica replied.

The man found it harder to breathe as he tried to pent up his anger. "You will not be marrying this girl, young lady. She will never be the one for you."

"And who determines that?" Yuri asked.

Mr Jung stared her down, unable to give an answer.

"Please. Don't push your daughter away by refusing her the happiness she's entitled to." Yuri sincerely said. "I love Jessica. If you do too, let her have the best of both worlds."

Jessica held onto Yuri's hand a little tighter. At this moment, Kwon Seobang was a hero; suave and noble, saving the damsel in distress.

"Love." he scoffed. "Listen, I don't know how you're doing it but you've somehow charmed my daughter into believing in your twisted philosophy." he ranted, flustered. "YOU, are the one who's ruining her life. If you do love her, as much as you say you do, then let her go, like you did before. That's the right thing and the only thing for you to do now."

"Don't be ridiculous--" Jessica rebutted, but was interrupted by a composed Yuri.

"I did. I listened to you. And look what happened. Didn't you notice your that your daughter hasn't been fine since she came here? Didn't you think, for just a single second, that you may be wrong all these years? As her father, how could you just let that slide past you?"

"You are in NO position to lecture me, young lady."

Yuri huffed. "I loved your daughter since we started high school, Mr Jung. If these 9 years isn't enough to prove it, what else do we have to do for you to believe it?"

Mr Jung stared down Yuri for a while, but decided to ignore her. "Jess, let's go. We have a dinner function." the man ordered. "Your mother wants to talk to you."

"No."

"You promised." the man said.

"But you didn't keep yours.” Jessica said. “Honestly, Dad, I’ve had enough."  Jessica coolly replied as she dragged Yuri away.

"Jess!" the man cried out.

But Jessica had given the man a complete cold shoulder. To top it off, she walked briskly ahead, holding tightly onto Yuri's hand, putting herself further and further away from her father.

Turning back, Yuri noticed that the man didn't give chase. In fact, he looked defeated, which only served to make Yuri guilty. This was the exact thing she tried so hard to avoid 2 years ago; taking Jessica away from her father.

Only this time, Jessica was taking the lead.

As they walked further on, Yuri turned to the blonde and looked at her worriedly. "Sica... We should talk to him."

Jessica didn't respond. Instead, she continued dragging Yuri along, through the swivel doors, and finally out of the hotel. They came to a stop by the magnificent fountain.

Like the water that was being sprouted into the air, it was liberation. Jessica felt like she could finally breathe.

"Yuri! You're back! And with... Sica??" Taeyeon questioned when she spotted the couple. The girl was panting heavily after having carried about a million shopping bags back to the hotel. Noticing that her girlfriend was missing, she asked, "So where's Fany?"

"Oh." Yuri rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "She's probably still looking for me inside there. You might wanna..."

Groaning, Taeyeon dropped the numerous shopping bags in her hands and dumped some on Yuri, who hugged them. "Guard this with your life, Kwon Yul. You owe me at least this." she said before disappearing through the swivel doors.

Turning back to the blonde with her hands full, Yuri asked again, "Sica... Are you--"

Taking a deep breath, Jessica leaned forward and kissed Yuri deeply, catching the taller girl by surprise (and also causing Tiffany's precious buys to fall onto the floor, but that isn't important now). When it dawned on the latter that this was Jessica's answer, she responded with as much veracity. Perhaps more.

When they broke apart, Yuri smiled at her gorgeous fiancée.

Cream colored gown, beautiful fountain, magnificent backdrop against the quaint hotel. Check, check, check.

Yuri wanted to marry the girl at that instant.

"Kwon Seobang." Jessica called out.

Yuri smiled and gazed deeply into Jessica's eyes. "At your service, Sica baby."

"Let's go home. Our home."