Chapter 25

Jessica meant what she said. Right after taking off from the hotel, the couple were now in Jessica's house to carry out the most essential part of The YulSic Elope Plan;

Packing.

Opening the door quietly, Jessica stepped into the house just in time to bump into Krystal, who was just about to leave.

"Sis?" Krystal looked at her sister with a bewildered face. "I thought you would still be at the hotel."

"I left." Jessica replied.

"Why?"

"Anyone home besides you?" Jessica asked worriedly.

Krystal nodded her head. "Girlfriend. Upstairs. Why are you here, Sis?"

Jessica opened the door wider, revealing Yuri behind it. "Long lost lover. Came for me."

Krystal broke into a huge smile. "Yuri-unnie!" she walked forward and hugged the girl tightly. "I haven't seen you in ages!"

"Me too." Yuri said as she patted the younger girl's back. "You've grown so much taller! Gonna beat your sister in the looks' department soon, eh?"

It earned Yuri an elbow on her side. She winced in pain as Krystal started laughing. "Careful Yuri-unnie. My sister has been exercising a lot since she came back."

"Oh?" Yuri arched her eyebrows in surprise. "Why?"

"To tear you to smithereens when I see you." Jessica replied.

-Awkward Sica Effect sets in-

Krystal coughed a little to break the weird atmosphere. "So when did you get here?" she asked Yuri. "And why didn't you tell me!" she grabbed her sister's hand, only to realize that there was a new addition on it.

"Great. My sister's finally reunited with the long lost love of her life, getting married to her, and I didn't know till NOW." Krystal commented while holding up her sister's hand.

"Well... I only proposed last night, so..." Yuri said sheepishly.

"Ahhh well. Congrats!" the young girl chirped happily.

"Thanks. So my sister's running away from home and I didn't know till NOW." Jessica commented.

"Right! About that... I was just going to tell you. I'm moving into my girlfriend's place. For the summer at least." she responded. "I just cannot live under the same roof as that man anymore."

"Dad's sending PIs to stalk you, Krys."

Krystal frowned. "He'll find me eventually anyway. And that man has serious control issues. This justifies my moving out."

Jessica sighed. "My sentiments exactly. I'm going back to Korea."

"Really?"

Jessica nodded. "Will you be okay?"

"Of course I will! Don't worry about it." she said.

"Krystal?" A voice sounded from the stairs. Jessica immediately recognized the girl from moments earlier.

"Oh! Come here! Introduction time!" Krystal chirped as her girlfriend came down the stairs carrying Krystal's bags.

"Sis and sis-in-law, Amber. Amber, Jessica and Yuri." Krystal said.

"It's nice to meet you." Yuri extended a hand.

"Nice to meet you too. And congratulations for your wedding." Amber replied as she dropped the bags and shook Yuri's hand.

"So... When's the wedding?"

"Not yet." Yuri answered. "Sica has to meet my parents, and technically, I've already met hers."

"Well," Krystal picked up her bags. "I'll be waiting then. See you soon, sis and sis-in law."

"Take care of yourself, Krys." Jessica walked forward and hugged her sister. "And you, take care of my sister. I will have your head if you ever break her heart."

Amber gulped and quickly nodded while Yuri chuckled. "You don't want to be on her bad side, trust me." the tanned girl said as she put an arm around her fiancée.

"Rest assured I will." Amber replied confidently while Krystal responded happily.

"I'll see you soon, Sis."

The couple watched as the younger couple cheerfully skipped to her Amber's car. Their happiness was almost infectious.

Turning to Jessica, Yuri asked, "Will she be fine when you're gone?"

Jessica felt guilty just at the thought of leaving her sister. "I'll stay in close contact with her." Jessica reassured as she led Yuri into her room.

Jessica wasn't bathing alone in guilt. The tanned girl felt that she alone held the responsibility of taking Jessica away from her family. As she watched her fiancée pack her things, she couldn't resist the urge to question again. "Sica, are you really sure that you want to do this?"

Exhaling, Jessica dropped another couple of clothes in her luggage before walking to the side of the desk to retrieve the wastepaper basket. Handing the full basket to a curious Yuri, she began, "The amount of crumpled paper you see in here is about the amount for just... two weeks. These are the letters that I've tried to write but failed, because I wanted you to come for me. Without me asking you to do so." Jessica said.

"I’ve already waited for years to be with you, Yuri. Please, don't make me wait anymore."

Staring into the contents of the bin in her hands, Yuri's old guilt was now replaced by a new guilt; the one which was indebted to Jessica. And it definitely felt much worse. Putting the basket down, she walked over to Jessica and bear-hugged the frowning girl.

"A few years’ wait in exchange for the rest of your life. I hope you don’t get tired of me, Sica baby." Yuri said.

"Silly." Jessica smiled. "Now put me down and help me with packing."

"Yes ma'am." Yuri smiled back as she put Jessica down. Leaning forward, she attempted to kiss the blonde, who despite being known for her late reactions, avoided Yuri's advance swiftly.

Yuri was bewildered. "Sica?"

Jessica glared at the taller girl. "This is your punishment for asking silly questions. You do not get to touch me until I say so."

Yuri narrowed her eyes. "Oh really."

"Yes, really." Jessica responded as she went straight back into packing.

Utilizing her quick reflexes, Yuri leapt forward and grabbed the blonde from behind, and then pulled her down on her fluffy bed. Jessica of course, squealed a little.

"I'm touching you now, aren't I?"

"You... Argh..." While being pinned down, Jessica tried to struggle out of the tanned girl's grip, but she knew it was futile. Sighing, she succumbed. "Fine. You don't get to kiss me then."

Yuri narrowed her eyes again. "Oh really."

"Yes... Really..." Jessica managed to say whilst still trying to struggle out of Yuri's strong embrace.

Smirking confidently, Yuri grabbed Jessica's arms and pinned them down on both sides above the latter’s head. "Oh really..." she said, and then leaned down towards the girl's neck.

Jessica wasn't able to dodge this one either. In fact, she figured she didn't even need to try. Relaxing on her fluffy comfortable bed, she allowed the girl on top of her to venture around her neck, whilst trying her best to stifle the moans that were struggling to escape from her mouth. Eventually, Yuri made her way up to her lips, and by that time, Jessica was already lost somewhere in it.

Having Jessica pinned down and to top it off, returning the kiss, Yuri couldn’t help but smirk at her little victory.

“What… are you… smiling at?” Jessica asked in between kisses.

Without responding verbally, Yuri shook her head and kissed the girl even more deeply; indulging in the fact that she had the reins this time.

The making out went almost forever, and when Yuri finally broke off the hot and heavy session, she released Jessica from her grip and stated breathlessly, "Your punishments... don't work. So... Any other ideas?"

Jessica stared at the tanned girl above her for a moment and then said, "You don't get to go further than kissing."

"Oh really."

Pulling Yuri by the collar back down to close the distance between them, Jessica said,

"Yes. Really."

-----

"Tete, what do you think of this--" Tiffany turned around and asked her girlfriend, only to find her missing - again.

She gasped. Oh no! I disappeared again didn't I?

Frantic, she dropped the bag back on the rack and immediately made her way out of the shop. Unfortunately, it was already late into the evening and the only things bright enough to be clearly visible were the shop signs. Then again, those were usually the only things visible within Tiffany's range of vision, irregardless of day or night.

"Victoria's Secret!" Tiffany squealed in delight as she spotted one of her favorite shops. Unsurprisingly, the girl felt herself increasingly drawn to it.

No no no no no!! I promised Tete I wouldn't get carried away!

But the two words on the shop sign were like charms, and soon enough, Tiffany ended up at its front doors.

As she debated long enough whether to step across the border separating "more shopping!" and "find Tete!", the shop assistant of Victoria's Secret emerged through its doors and asked,

"Is there anything that I can help you with, Miss?"

Must... Not... Succumb...

Very reluctantly, Tiffany slightly shook her head and smiled politely, before making a 180 degree turn. Ensuring that her back was against the store's entrance, she decided that "out of sight, out of mind" was probably the best strategy for now.

"Are you Tiffany?" a little boy called out as he tugged on her hand.

Tiffany tilted her head in curiousity as she looked at the boy. Squatting down, she asked, "How did you know my name?"

"This is for you." the boy said as he handed Tiffany a card, and then ran off.

"Wait...!! Argh, oh well…" Tiffany shrugged, and then opened the card.

-----

My dear serial shopaholic Fany,

I'm going to play a little game with you. Since you like disappearing on me, this time I’m returning the favor. Your task is simple; find me. However, to be able to do this, you have to go to certain shops in the area and ask the shop assistants for clues. Just give them your name and they'll lead you somewhere.

You have till 8:30pm or there will be SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES. (so says The ByunTae)

And why don't you start with the nice little pink shop behind you?

See you!

-Tete

-----

What kinda game is this?!

Tiffany's eyes shot open as she read the card. It was obvious Taeyeon was testing her, and she could not let her down. She was determined not to.

Looking at the watch, Tiffany noticed that it was 7:56pm. No time to waste, she thought.

Inhaling deeply, the girl turned around and rushed into the shop. To curb her temptation of grabbing items from the nearest rack, her head was slanted down at a 45 degree angle as she made her way to straight to the counter.

"Hi! It’s you again!" the sales assistant from earlier had recognized her.

Looking up, "Hi my name's Tiffany and I need the clue!" Tiffany said nervously, keeping her eyes on the person in front of her and being wary not to allow her eyes to stray for even an inch.

The sales assistant understood immediately. Reaching into the counter and handing her a slip of paper, she said, "Here. Good luck!"

"Thanks!" Tiffany hurriedly thanked the lady and went straight out of the shop, exhaling in relief as she stepped out of the doors.

Next location: Saks Fifth Avenue.

Tiffany’s jaw dropped.

-----

(27 gruelling minutes later)

"This should be the place..." Tiffany panted as she made her mad sprint to the final location. A park.

"Tete!" Tiffany called out. She couldn't find the girl and was getting more anxious at the thought of not being able to do so before the time was up.

"Tete!" she yelled again in frustration as she came to a stop in the middle of the park. It was faintly illuminated and finding the short girl was a problem. As she walked down the park’s trail, she noticed that there was a little clearing. And a big red box in the middle of it.

Curious, the girl walked closer and inspected the box.

To: Tiffany Hwang

“Omgawd!!” the girl could barely contain her excitement. Big red boxes usually represent big surprises!

Without hesitation, Tiffany went straight into unraveling mode. Untying the ribbon in record time, she opened the lid of the box.

To find another box.

Taking off the second lid revealed yet another red box beneath it.

Seriously, Tete. she sighed as she continued the whole boxes-out-of-boxes routine.

After what seemed like a million boxes to Tiffany, it came down to one little bright blue box. Tiffany recognized it immediately. Her flustered expression dissipated as she held the box in her hands.

Probably too engrossed in her duties, the girl hadn’t noticed that Taeyeon had emerged from behind her. "Tiffany's for my Fany Fany Tiffany." Taeyeon said cheekily. Walking towards her, Taeyeon slowly opened the little box in Tiffany’s hands.

It was sparkly, pretty, and unbelievable. Holding tightly onto the box, Tiffany was rendered speechless.

Tete... Is... Proposing... To... Me...

Getting down on one knee, Taeyeon took the ring out of the box and looked straight into Tiffany's eyes.

"Remember when I said that I have 2 things to trust and 1 thing to have no doubt in?" Taeyeon said as she held Tiffany's left hand. "I want to put my words into action. Tiffany Hwang, will--"

"Wait." Tiffany interrupted. "Don't pop the question."

Taeyeon was taken aback by Tiffany's response. "Why?"

"I-I'm not ready..." Tiffany shook her head and wore an apologetic expression. "I'm sorry... We're still young, med school is crazy, and the future's so unpredictable..." She looked down at Taeyeon and instantly saw the disappointment in the girl's eyes. "Sorry Tete... It doesn't mean that I don't want to get married to you it's just--"

Taeyeon stood up and hugged Tiffany tightly. "It's just not now, right? I understand. We don't have to do this now."

"You do?" Tiffany asked. "I just... I don't want to reject you. I want to be able to say a big yes to you when you ask me."

Taeyeon nodded and stroked Tiffany's back. "I know. I would want you to be ready too." She broke apart from the hug. "This ring," she said as held it up. "will be waiting for its owner." she smiled.

"Thank you for understanding, Tete." Tiffany said.

"Of course."

"But what made you want to propose all of a sudden?" Tiffany asked.

"I guess, seeing Yuri and Sica going through so much just to be together inspired me to." Taeyeon said as she kept the ring back in the box. "I don't want to waste another day of not having you as my wife."

"But I already am, Tete. We don't need marriage to prove it."

"That's true." Taeyeon smiled sheepishly. "But just having the word "married" attached to us is so..."

Tiffany put her arm around Taeyeon's shoulder. "I want, more than anything in the world, to be married to Kim Taeyeon. Just, not now."

"For now, you just wanna shop till you drop, don't you?"

In an instant, Tiffany nodded excitedly, eye-smiling at the sensitive "shop" word.

Taeyeon understood immediately. That look in Tiffany’s eyes equaled "I saw something reallyyyyy nice somewhere and I want itttttt"

"Where is it?" Taeyeon asked.

"Where's what?"

"That thing you're eyeing."

Tiffany smiled sheepishly. "You know me so well."

"Of course." Taeyeon replied confidently. "And yes, I'll get it for you if you promise me one thing." she demanded.

Tiffany nodded earnestly. "Anything!"

"Don't disappear on me again."

Tiffany arched her eyebrows, pleasantly surprised by how easy the demands of the promise was. Grabbing onto Taeyeon's hand, she said, "Promise. I'll stick to you like glue." with the biggest smile on her face. It made Taeyeon happy. "So what is it that you want to get so badly?"

"Well, since I went into so many shops, I saw a whole lot of things that I like… There was this really cute bag…"

And the girl went on and on and on…

That was a bad plan, Kim Taeyeon. A bad bad plan.

-----

After a whole evening of packing and spending "quality" time together, Yuri and Jessica had gone to the hotel to hide out, wary of Mr Jung sending his private investigators to stalk Jessica again. Everyone else was out, aside from Sooyoung.

"Are you sure Sica?" Sooyoung asked. "You're running away from home just to marry THIS dork?" she pointed at the tanned girl.

Yuri immediately slapped the shikshin on her arm.

"OWW!!" Sooyoung winced in pain and then returned Yuri a payback slap, twice as hard.

Yuri glared at the shikshin. "Why you..." she snatched the bag of chips from Sooyoung's hands.

"Give it back!" Sooyoung cried, reaching for the bag with her long arms.

“No!!” The two girls were now embroiled in a tug-of-war for the bag of chips which wasn't even the topic of the fight.

Jessica laughed at the sight of their childish playfight and held Yuri back by the waist before it turned into a childish brawl. Handing the bag of chips back to Sooyoung, she said, "Yes. I'll do anything to marry THIS dork." emphasizing on the word "this" with a tighter hug that nearly choked Yuri to death.

“Careful, Sica baby. A dead Yuri can't marry you.” Yuri said, coughing. Turning her attention back to Sooyoung, Yuri put her cocky face on and said, "Heard that? Jessica Jung says she'll do anything to marry me."

Sooyoung shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Sica is making a big sacrifice for you, Kwon Yul. You'd better cherish it."

"Heard that?" Jessica said. "Cherish me."

Yuri laughed cheekily. "Of course I will."

Sooyoung shook her head as she eyed the lovey-dovey couple. "People in love." she muttered under her breath.

"Oh. The pot's calling the kettle black." Yuri stated.

"I'm not a pot." came the reply. It was matched with a troubled expression which said it all.

"Hmpf. This girl right here..." Yuri said to Jessica as she gestured at Sooyoung, "...is in love with Sunny. But she thinks being gay is troublesome, and that's why she's avoiding her, leaving Yoona to go out with Sunny alone with the excuse of 'I'm not feeling well'. The actual fact is, my shikshin friend is afraid of rejection and thus is avoiding her." Yuri shook her head as she explained to her future wife, while Sooyoung remained silent the whole time.

"I'm officially giving the title 'wuss' to you." Yuri joked.

But Sooyoung was solemn, and the fact that the bag of chips was still full worried the couple that she might have taken it too seriously.

"Hey, Yuri's just fooling around with you." Jessica said as she slapped Yuri gently on her head. "Don't get offended."

"Yea, it was a joke." Yuri added in.

Sooyoung shook her head. "It's not that."

"Then?"

"We're all going to leave San Francisco in two days. There's no point."

"Oh so our Choi Sooyoung really is in love!" Yuri said, albeit too happily for having been spot on.

"There. Is. No. Point." Sooyoung repeated as she dropped her bag of chips.

Yuri turned to Jessica. "Should we?" she asked the blonde, who nodded in response.

Clearing her throat, "Sunny's coming back with us." Yuri announced.

Watching her good friend's response to that statement was probably one of funniest things Yuri had ever seen. The shikshin's already huge eyes widened, and she tried desperately to hide a smile that was blossoming on her face.

And she failed miserably. In frustration, Sooyoung covered her face with her hands.

Yuri and Jessica cracked up, much to the embarrassment of the shikshin. "Hahahaha! Omgawd Sooyoung! Are you THAT happy?" Yuri asked in between bouts of hysterical laughter and catching her breath. Beside her, Jessica was already clutching her stomach.

Highly embarrassed, Sooyoung took her hands off her face and glared at the couple. "STOP. TEASING. ME." she ordered.

But Yuri was still laughing. An already-recovered Jessica grabbed the tanned girl in an effort to make her stop. "Don't you want to know why?" the blonde asked.

Sooyoung had probably been too happy that she forgot. Giving Yuri the death stare, she nodded.

"Seobang, stop." Jessica ordered.

Almost immediately, Yuri did. Sooyoung opened her mouth in shock.

"Benefits of having someone wrapped around your finger." Jessica stated as she flashed her sparkly diamond ring.

"Oh..."

"Anyway, Sunny wanted to come along after hearing my plans. Since her family's in Korea she figured she'd go back for good." Jessica explained. "We're thinking of starting a practice over there."

"F-for good?"

The couple nodded in unison.

Taking a while to digest their reaffirmation, Sooyoung began digesting something else - her bag of chips. Across her, Yuri and Jessica stared at the shikshin as she finished the entire bag in record time.

"What? I eat when I'm happy."

"Oh my. At this rate, she'll turn into Shrek when she hears that Sunny's interested in her." Yuri whispered into Jessica's ears.

-----

The night hadn't gone smoothly for the girls' father; he had failed to clinch the crucial deal with the Henneys, and to top it off, Daniel was seen hitting it off with another girl; a loss of another potential man for his daughter. Cursing that things hadn't gone his way, the man headed straight to his personal bar as soon as he got home and poured himself a drink, hoping to rest easy for the night at least. The intoxicated man wasn't even in the mood to lecture his daughters now.

And he couldn't even if he wanted to anyway.

"Our daughters, David!!" Mrs Jung cried as she stomped down the stairs. "You drove them off, didn't you??!"

"What are you talking about?" the man responded.

"See for yourself!" the frantic mother exclaimed.

The man dropped the drink in his hands and hurried up the stairs to inspect his daughters' rooms. Jessica's and Krystal's room were similar in one way; they were void. Not even a single note nor letter was left behind.

Mr Jung instantly felt his chest tighten up again. Yet another blow of the night added to the list.

"I want my daughters back, David. Please, just let them be. I'm begging you..." she pleaded with teary eyes. "I just want them back and happy…"

"D-don't worry, I have it covered." he panted, agitation stemming in his veins upon recalling how the tanned girl had whisked his daughter off her feet and took her away from him just a few hours ago.

She caused all this.

"Rest early. I'll get both the girls back." he reassured as he led his devastated wife into the room.

"No, David. I've been wanting to talk to Jessica about it all these years. As a mother... It pains me to see her so upset. And yet she refuses to me about it. Please... Please just let it go. We've always liked Yuri--"

"DON'T." the man yelled. "Don't even mention that girl's name, you hear me?"

"Why are you so dead against it, David?!"

"Because I am, alright??!!" the man yelled. Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm down at the sight of the fear in his wife's eyes. "Go back to the room and rest. I'll... handle it." he ordered.

Frustrated, Mrs Jung threw in the towel and returned to her room. The fact that her daughters were gone had left her even more vulnerable; she barely had the strength to argue with the hot-headed man she married.

Meanwhile, Mr Jung had headed back to the bar and resumed with the drinks. The man could almost literally feel his blood boiling in his veins as he poured the liquid down his throat. Glass after glass, shot after shot, the man was gradually drowning in the intoxication.

She caused all this. She took my daughters away from me.

Taking yet another gulp of the anger-inducing, emotion-heightening substance, the man picked up his phone again.

"Get me... a hitman. I'll... pay well..."

"I want it... to look like an accident."