Tessa heard her phone ringing. She looked away from her desktop to try to see who it was.
‘Hansol’ was the name flashing on her screen. She wondered why he was calling. It must be important.
It had been two weeks since Tessa had last seen him. The three musketeers had left the mansion and went to stay with their respective families since that bouquet incident.
Soonyoung still stayed with her. Thankfully, there were no more incidents of gift-giving.
Tessa quickly reached for her phone. “Yeoboseyo, Nonie-oppa?” (Hello, Nonie?)
“Tessa? Where are you?” Vernon’s deep voice asked.
“Uh, I’m at my office. Mwo hae?” (What’s up?)
“Tessa, are you alone? Are you sitting down?”
“Oppa? What’s going on?”
“There was a fight…” The rapper started to say.
Tessa immediately got up from her desk and a wave of nausea hit her. She grabbed the edge of the desk with her free hand. “Soonyoung? Is he alright?”
“Tessa…”
“Vernon!” Tessa screamed. “What is happening? Is Soonyoung alright?”
“Hoshi-hyung... Hoshi-hyung…”
“Oh my God!” Tessa dropped her phone. She knelt to pick it up. “Which hospital… What happened?”
“Tessa just stay where you are. I’m on my way to get you. Just dropped Hoshi-hyung off.”
“I can’t just stay here. I have to be there. Unnie, I have to call Unnie.” Tessa was rambling now.
“Tessa. Tessa.” Vernon kept calling her name through the speakerphone to bring her focus back to him.
“Nonie-oppa, please you have to tell me what happened. Where are you? Which hospital?”
“I’ll come get you, Tessa. It’s not safe for you to travel by yourself.”
“Chwe Hansol! Tell me what is happening please.” Tessa pleaded. She sunk to the floor and was reduced to a puddle of tears. “Please…” She stayed that way for a few minutes until someone barged into her room.
It was Vernon. “Tessa?” He approached her slowly, eventually kneeling beside her. “Tessa?”
Tessa looked up. Her face was a mess and all splotchy. Her eyes were puffy from crying so much. She immediately came to life when she saw Vernon. “Nonie-oppa? Where is he? Where’s Soonyoung? What happened?”
Vernon held Tessa by the shoulders and looked her straight in the eyes. “Tessa, I need you to trust me on this okay? Do you trust me?”
Tessa nodded in between sniffles.
“Okay, come here. Let’s go over to the couch.” Vernon gently led Tessa to the couch in the middle of her office. “There we go. Now, I need you to be as comfortable as possible okay.”
“Nonie-oppa, Soonyoung?” Tessa asked.
“Tessa, look at me.”
She looked up with those puffy green almond eyes.
“Tessa, Hoshi-hyung is…” Vernon began to talk. “Hoshi-hyung is…”
Just then, Soonyoung walked in the door bringing a huge bouquet of roses on one hand and an equally huge plushie of a tiger on the other.
Tessa’s eyes widened. She sat there in silence staring at him walking through the door.
“Hi, baby!” The performance leader called.
Behind him was a line of people, each one bringing a cloche. Right behind Soonyoung was Minkyung, behind her was Hyun and behind him was Wonwoo.
Tessa stared at them wordless. Vernon stared at her, gauging her reaction.
It took her a minute but she finally understood that everything that happened was a prank. She did not know how to react. So it was a surprise to her that she mindlessly started punching Vernon’s right thigh.
“How could you do that to me?” She asked the rapper. Tears were still streaming down her face.
“I’m so sorry, Tessa. I honestly thought it was going to be funny.”
Soonyoung rushed to her. He placed the bouquet and the tiger plushie beside Tessa and hugged his girlfriend. “Baby… Shhh… Shhh.”
He turned to Vernon and mouthed the words, ‘What happened?’
The younger idol placed his hands together and mouthed his apology. ‘Sorry.’
“Baby?” Soonyoung called as he caressed her back. “Everything’s going to be alright.”
“Of course its going to be alright. You’re safe.” Tessa replied in between sobs.
Vernon motioned to Soonyoung that he would be slowly exiting the room for a bit. He thought it would be a good idea to give Tessa some time to recover.
As soon as Vernon had left the room, Soonyoung looked at Tessa in the eyes. “Baby, I take responsibility for this. I asked Hansol to make sure you were surprised. I wanted to make our quarterversary extra special. I’m so sorry.”
Tessa shook her head. “It’s fine, baby. I’m sure he meant well. Just glad you’re okay.”
Soonyoung rubbed her shoulders. “Yes, everything’s alright. Look, I brought your favorite dishes.”
Minkyung smiled at her bestfriend as she opened up her cloche. “It’s baked veggies, with lots of potatoes and thyme.”
Hyun mirrored his girlfriend and did the same. “Pasta Carbonara.”
Wonwoo opened his cloche as well and there was an array of Kimbap. There was Tuna and Bacon but most of it were vegetable Kimbap, which was Tessa’s favorite kind. “Kimbap. Tasty.” The older rapper said.
That made Tessa laugh as her and Wonwoo’s eyes met.
Vernon’s head appeared at the doorway. “Is it safe for me to enter now?”
Tessa laughed and nodded. “C’mon in, Nonie-oppa. All is forgiven.”
