They were in the courtroom, waiting for the proceeding to start. Tiffany looked at her friend who appeared to be lost in her own thoughts again. She sighed, searching for Jessica's hand and held it. The blonde girl turned her head and looked at Tiffany with a slight smile.
"You okay?" Tiffany asked with a worried expression. "I mean, are you sure you can do this?"
"I have no choice, Fany." Jessica squeezed Tiffany's hand - a gesture that should be telling Tiffany she was still standing strong on her own feet. She was not okay, but she can do it. "I can't leave mom alone."
"Dear..." Mrs Jung's voice came from the other site of Jessica. The girl released her friend's hand and turned around, hugging her mother. Mrs Jung looked so much weaker ever since her husband left. She had puffy eyes because of too much crying and lost a lot of weight because she couldn't swallow her meals. She would have starved herself if it wasn't for her two daughters. The woman tapped Jessica's shoulder a few times before releasing the hug. "You've really grown up, Jessica. I-I'm so proud of you."
Mrs Jung's voice cracked and Jessica just gave her mother a weak smile. She knew exactly what's playing on her mother's mind. Mrs Jung was thinking how proud her husband would be if he knew his daughter had turned into such a responsible person. But then, she remembered it was him who pushed the whole family into this kind of situation at the first place. A week had passed by, but not once did they receive any news from Mr Jung. They didn't know where he was, what he's doing, if he's safe, if he knew that they have to appear in court. They didn't hear from him at all.
"Sica!"
Jessica turned around and saw Taeyeon and Sooyoung approaching her. A woman in a black suit was following them, holding tightly onto a small, typical black working suitcase. She appeared to be in her late twenties, her serious face wore glasses and looked both intelligent and beautiful. Jessica stood up from her seat. She knew who this person was.
"Nice to meet you, Ms Park."
"Please call me Narsha, Ms Jung." The lawyer shook her hand.
"Please call me Jessica, too, then."
Narsha nodded smilingly and waited as Tiffany stood up to make place for her. She sat down next to Jessica and immediately proceeded to serious business.
"I have read up on the case file on the way to the venue," Narsha said as she flipped through a document she had just taken out from her suitcase. "So the Kim Company and another company have brought action against the Jung Enterprises for breaking the working contract, right? Since the Jung Enterprises suddenly stopped with the execution of their assigned projects, the two other companies had to suffer financial lost. They now demand compensation, which, according to the contract, the Jung Enterprise has to pay. There's no way to get around it. But JE's financial limit doesn't allow this to happen, and that's why it has to be settled in court. Did I get everything so far?"
Jessica just nodded, knowing that Narsha didn't really want to hear her answer. The lawyer was too occupied with the papers, her thoughts revolving around the case, already scheming a plan of what to say and what not. Narsha was an acquaintance of the Chois, a fairly good lawyer with three years experience in the job. Years ago, when she was an orphan moving to the city from the countryside to study law, the Choi's restaurant was the place she found home - Mr Choi let her rent a room in their two-story house. Soon, she was treated like a daughter of the family. She didn't really have to worry about paying for her meals anymore and could focus on studying instead. Narsha practically owed the Chois her six year university education, and thus, she promised she would help them with any issue involving law for the rest of her life.
