She was now seated beside the First Lady and still can't believe they were here. She was supposed to sit beside her mom but Mrs. Jeon insisted. Now the Prime Minister and his wife are across her instead, and Judah was on her other side.
While her parents and Ysmael's were seated beside Jordynn's respectively. Jordynn—who was the first one to greet her earlier—was two seats away from her because her sister was seated next to Judah. Ysmael was at the end of their row.
"You and Jordynn attend the same school, are you two close?," Mrs. Kim asked with a smile on her face. Her personality was a surprise. It was such a contrast with Jordynn's and her sister's based on her observation. The woman always has a smile on her face.
She glanced at Jordynn and found her smiling before suddenly winking, making her chuckle a bit. "Yes Mrs. Kim," she replied.
"That's great! Jordynn doesn't really tell us things, I'm happy to know she has a friend like you, sweetheart. And call me Auntie," the woman added.
"I'm capable of having friends, Mom," her youngest daughter then uttered.
"She meant good friends Jordynn, not bad influencers," the eldest said, earning a scoff from the former. Lian watched as her friend's grip on the utensils tighten. "Hello," she turned to her friend's sister and found her with a tight-lipped smile, "I'm Jess by the way."
She bowed her head in greeting and smiled back, "hello, it's nice to meet you."
"Are you friends with the boys, too?"
Her eyes turned to Judah for the first time and saw him already smirking at her. She was about to respond when a cool voice beat her to it.
"You don't want to know," Ysmael snickered.
"What does that mean?," the first lady curiously asked. "Are you friends with my son too, Liandra?" Her tone was giddy and her eyes look like they're shining in happiness.
So it's a good thing? She thought.
"We're quite close Ma'am," she hesitantly answered as she felt something cold touching her thigh—Judah's shameless hand. Her head snapped towards him, only to see the latter reaching out for his drink nonchalantly.
"You never told us sweetie!" Her mom happily uttered, "that's really nice."
"I hope you could help him focus on his studies Lian," the President suddenly requested. She felt Judah's hand clench and immediately held it, intertwining their fingers together.
"I'm sure he can manage it Sir, Judah is a smart guy," she proudly stated smiling at him. The guy stared at her with an unknown expression on his face. "I think he's even smarter than me, I believe in him," she added, facing his father again.
"Heard that son? Your friend believes in you, don't disappoint her," President Jeon said with a strict tone.
Judah abruptly stood, "please excuse me," he said before turning around and walking out of the hall.
She looked at Jordynn worriedly and her friend just nodded at her, agreeing with what she's planning to do. Before she could even stand up, someone already did.
"I'll talk to him," Jess said but when she was about to follow Judah, Ysmael spoke all of a sudden.
"Let Lian do it," the guy said defiantly looking up his fiancée's sister. "It's not like he listens to you anyway," he smirked.
"But—"
"Sit down Jessica," Mr. Kim said with a commanding voice. "Please Liandra," he then turned to her with a reassuring smile. She can't help but glance at Jess and found her slowly sitting down before glaring at her lap.
She found Judah outside, casually leaning on their veranda's balustrades. She reluctantly walked towards him and stood a meter away. It felt so long since they last saw each other but it was actually only three days. Look at them now being awkward, or is she the only one feeling uneasy?
"Why are you standing there?," his voice reached her ears, breaking the silence of the night.
She looked down, "I'm sorry... I see, you need to be alone. I'll leave." She hurriedly whirled around to go back inside but in just a few seconds, she felt arms going around her waist from behind, his warm cheek suddenly pressing against hers.
"I meant you're standing too far from me," he whispered as they absentmindedly swayed in a soundless tempo. "I missed you," he added, surprising her.
"Don't say that," she said, rubbing his arms which are resting on her stomach, "if you really did you should've done something to see me."
"Right, so I guess you didn't miss me." Lian swore she detected sadness in his tone, or maybe she was just imagining things as usual.
"I did," she said without hesitation, "but I won't say it because it would just be empty words."
He gently pushed her around to face him, "I'll remember that," he said before leaning down and claiming her lips. She admits she anticipated it as she readily snaked her arms around his neck and kissed him back. He pulled her closer as their lips moved in sync, proving that actions speak louder than words. They definitely yearned for each other the past few days.
"Are you alright?," she asked once she slightly moved her head back. "You suddenly left. Is everything okay?"
"I just can't wait to be with you alone," he said convincingly, yet she can't will herself to believe it. There's just something about his eyes that tells her there was something more.
"I thought I won't see you again," she uttered, changing the topic. "You've been gone for only three days but it felt so long. I don't know why it felt like that. Perhaps I'm getting used to your presence." Her eyes wandered around for a while, not sure if she could continue what she was saying.
"What is it, doll?," he asked, noticing her reluctance.
Lian stared back his beguiling eyes, "do I have the right to ask you to always assure me that you're okay? Do I have the right to think we're more than friends? It's okay if it's not... I mean I can try to control my feelings and—"
He shut her up with yet another heated kiss and released her when they finally needed to breathe.
"You're making me feel guilty again," he chuckled. "I was here in Seoul since the first day I wasn't able to contact you. Family matters, and Jess also came back from the States so I was summoned by my parents here," he explained.
"Oh," she nodded in understanding. "Thank you for explaining. Jess, she..." she started reluctantly, "she was your childhood friend too? Along with Jordynn and Ysmael, I mean."
He was silent at first as an unrecognizable emotion passed his face again. "Yeah, we all grew up in Manhattan," he finally responded.
"She's really pretty," she absentmindedly commented. She guessed it was in the blood; Jordynn is really pretty too but in a fierce kind of way. Jess, on the other hand, has an angelic face. Though when she remembered her glaring earlier, her eyes were really scary.
"I guess she is," Judah shrugged, "but her face is kind of generic for me."
Her mouth parted, "you're just saying that because you're used to seeing her but for sure if you didn't grow up with her, you'll think differently."
He chuckled teasingly, "no need to be jealous, babydoll," he muttered before leaving a chaste kiss on her lips. "I can't get enough of you," he grunted as he showered kisses all over her face.
"Hey!" she laughingly complained, "we need to go back inside, everyone's waiting."
"So you're not going to deny being jealous?"
Lian froze as she gazed at the face she missed dearly. "I mean, I haven't seen you in a while and suddenly there's an unfamiliar girl beside you. I admit I thought of the possibility that she might be the reason you stopped showing yourself, but I just ignored it and—"
"Baby," he sighed, "you've been thinking about these all along?" She nodded, causing him to smile—that rare smile of his that makes him look like a cute bunny. "To answer your questions earlier; yes, you have the right to anything that concerns me, even getting jealous of someone who I never and will never feel something for other than platonic love."
"Okay," she breathlessly uttered because her heart just started beating in overdrive.
They stared at each other for minutes, content with the silence surrounding them as they read each other's eyes. As usual, she can't identify what he was currently thinking nor feeling, but what she's certain about was the secrets hiding beyond those warm pools of brown.
She wondered what those secrets are about. She wondered if she ever crossed his mind the days they were apart. She wondered who Judah Kohen really is beyond the cool and tough exterior of his; the real him that she had not yet encountered. She wondered when will she see his bunny smile again, because it was really something worth to be embarrassed by him for.
She wondered if he likes her as much as she does. She never knew she was capable of feeling this way towards someone who she only met more than a week ago, but who is she to judge? No one should ever invalidate anyone's love based on time. Besides, it's different for everyone.
Out of the blue, the unknown tune from her 4AM curse played inside her mind just like the past few days. It would always play randomly in her head; either when she's walking to school, listening to one of her professors, eating lunch with her friends, taking a shower... it just won't leave her.
"What song is that?," Judah softly asked all of a sudden making her eyes widen. She didn't know she started humming it.
"I don't really know, it would just start playing in my head and now I'm getting used to it," she replied. His hand gently stroked her cheek, making her lean towards the familiar touch. She closed her eyes and started humming again. "I call it Four O'clock because I'd always wake up at dawn with it in my mind," she whispered as she opened her eyes.
Only to find his eyes glazed with suppressed tears. For the first time she recognized an emotion in his eyes and it was deep longing. She chose to ignore her curiosity and did the first thing she thought of to console him—engulfing him in a tight hug before kissing his cheek.
"It's okay," she muttered.
Even though she didn't know what it's all about, like she said to the President; she still believes in him. She knew everything will be fine in the end. She might not be a fan of clichés but she sure has faith in happy endings; they both will get theirs someday.
They were silent again when the faint sound of Judah's ring tone filled the air. He brought the phone out his pocket and smirked, before showing Lian who's calling. Jeremiah's name flashed on his screen, making her chuckle.
"The idiot will probably brag about his date," he shook his head. "You should go inside first. I'll be there in a few minutes."
She nodded, "okay. I'll go." Those were her last words before walking back inside.
Date?, her mind echoed. Was it just a coincidence that her best friend has a date tonight too? She remembered Jeremiah asking her about Rylie—or 'spitfire,' as he called her that time. Wait, don't tell me it's—
"You better leave Judah alone."
Lian turned towards the direction of the voice with her hand clutching her racing heart. Where did she even come from?!
"Jess," she stuttered as the older girl looked at her intensely and started taking a few strides towards her, arms crossed. Where's the angelic face she initially saw?
"You know your brother hates him but you still won't leave him be. What a good sister you are," Jessica spat causing her to take a step back. How does she know her brother? "You'll just break him again, are you really that selfish, Wang?"
Break him again?
"I don't understand..." she drawled questioningly as she started rubbing her temple.
"Just stop be—why do you have that ring!?" In no time, she found the girl holding her wrist tightly and angrily looking at the ring on her finger. "You wench! Give it back to him now!"
She tried prying her hand off his hold because her grip started to hurt, but the latter won't let it go. "I can't, I'm sorry! I don't know why you're doing this but—"
"When will you leave him alone huh? All you do is cause him pain and wreck him until he fucking lose himself! Are you this selfish? Why can't you—"
"Jessica!" Her wrist was suddenly released as Ysmael aggressively pulled Jess' arm away. "What the fuck are you doing!?"
"I'm just doing what you and Jordynn failed to do! Why are you all being stupid? Why can't you see that this girl would just ruin Judah again?!"
"Enough! That's enough!" Ysmael shouted, shutting the girl up. He turned to Lian with an exasperated sigh, "Lian, you can go now. Just forget about everything she said, I'm sorry for this."
She glanced between the two and nodded with slight hesitation, before resuming her walk back where their parents are. But something made her steps falter once again;
"How dare you!" Jess exclaimed, "she did it once and she will do it again, I'm telling you Yael!"
She instantly stopped in her tracks when she's completely concealed by the wall dividing the foyer and the hallway towards the dining area. She knew it was disrespectful to eavesdrop but she can't help it, after everything Jessica told her, it's impossible to forget everything.
"Just stop Jess! What are you doing? This is good for Judah, Lian makes him happy. Why can't you be happy for him too?"
"No!" The girl immediately disagreed, "she'll just make everything worse than ever. There's someone who can make him happy other than that bitch and—"
"Tell me, who's that someone, then? Is it you? You can't let the guy be happy with someone else because you still love him, right? You never stopped loving himm, right?"
"What are you saying? You're accusing me now?!"
"I'm just a fucking rebound, am I right? After all these years, your unrequited love never left. I'm your damn boyfriend Jessica! Not him!"