CHAPTER XXII

WE WERE NEVER FRIENDS

“Where did you guys go?” Sooyoung quickly interrogated the two American girls as soon as they entered the Solitaire.

“Nowhere…” Tiffany said as she took two chairs from an empty table for her and her blonde best friend.

“Don’t lie, Tiffany,” The tallest girl crossed her arms on her chest. “I’m serious.”

“We didn’t go anywhere, Sooyoung,” Jessica said as she sat down. “I was just not feeling so well and Tiffany didn’t want to leave me alone…”

Taeyeon was eyeing at the two of them but didn’t say a word, though her face clearly showed dissatisfaction.

“Oh,really?” Sooyoung was not convinced. “Then why didn’t you just tell our instructor?”

“Or our manager?”

“And why did you have to leave the building?” Her tone was getting higher with each sentence.

“W-Well…” Even Jessica ran out of excuses.

“W-We…” The crescent eyed girl couldn’t even look her tall tanned friend in the eye. “I…”

“I thought Jessie needed some fresh air so we took a walk…”

“Did something happen, unnie?” Seohyun looked very concerned.

“It was nothing, Juhyun-ah,” The blue eyed girl smiled. “Don’t worry…”

“So are you feeling alright now?” The youngest girl asked again. “Do you want to go to a doctor?”

“Seohyun, please.” Sooyoung scoffed. “They’re obviously lying.”

“So you’re not going to tell us the truth, huh?” The tall girl looked very upset.

And both American girls stayed quiet for a while.

“We…” Jessica sighed. “… We went to the mall…”

“You what?” Sooyoung and Yuri shouted in surprise.

“You ditch training just so you can have fun together at the mall?” Yuri looked equally upset.

“D-Don’t blame Jessie!” Tiffany blurted out. “I was the one who forced her to go to the mall!”

“Tiff, it’s okay…” The blonde the crescent eyed girl’s arm.

“N-No, we have to tell them the truth!” Tiffany insisted and Jessica held her breath. “I… I…”

“I-I had… I had an upset stomach but was too embarrassed to use the toilet in our building!”

“Y-You had a what?” Sooyoung was startled by her confession.

And the other girls stared at the black haired American girl for a while, including Jessica.

“I-I had to use the toilet every ten minutes…” And Jessica had opened in disbelief.

“S-So you mean…” Yuri leaned forward and said carefully. “… You had diarrhea?”

“D-Don’t say it out loud!” Tiffany stood up and shouted.

“S-Sorry… Sorry…” The tanned girl tried her best to hold her laughter.

“D-Don’t you dare laugh at me!” The crescent eyed girl warned them and sat back down.

And the girls then quickly covered their mouths with their hands to hold their laughter in, while Jessica giggled. Everyone thought it was funny, except for Hyoyeon, who still had her eyes filled with suspicions.

“Both of you are doing this on purpose, aren’t you?” The brunette glared at the two Americans.

“W-What are you talking about?” Tiffany stuttered as she feared Hyoyeon found out she was lying. “I-It was the truth…”

“I don’t care if it’s the truth!” Hyoyeon looked angry. “This was supposed to be my day!”

“Your what?” The other girls turned to the upset girl.

“My day!” Hyoyeon glared at the puzzled girls. “I just got back from China after one year and I haven’t been in the spotlight yet!”

“Yesterday it was Ri-in with her debut!” She frantically shouted. “And today you two decided to play hooky!”

“And now you took the spotlight from me with your cursed diarrhea!”

“I said don’t say it out loud!” Tiffany was shouting too now, and her face was blushing. It was a lie but she was still embarrassed. “Stop yelling!”

“I don’t care!” Hyoyeon raised her voice even more. “I want you guys to welcome me home today and I’m not backing down until you throw me a party!”

“A party?” Yoona’s voice could finally be heard. “Isn’t that too much, Hyoyeon unnie?”

“Yeah, it’s not like it’s your birthday or something…” Yuri agreed with the younger girl.

“Ugh! I don’t believe you guys!” Hyoyeon’s eyes grew bigger. “I thought you were my friends!”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Yuri said nonchalantly. “Don’t act like such a drama queen…”

“Yeah, I thought yelling and shouting were Sooyoung unnie’s specialty…” The deer eyed girl giggled.

“Hey, watch it!” The tall girl said in a threatening tone, and Yoona pretended to be afraid of her.

“Great, now you’re going to make this about Sooyoung too?” The brunette crossed her arms on her chest.

“Jeez, Hyo!” Yuri laughed. “Are you on your period or something?”

“Yeah, Princess Fiona!” Sooyoung blurted out. “Stop acting like a little kid!”

And the girls laughed at Sooyoung’s comment, as they remembered a certain ogre princess from an animation movie they had watched together at Jessica’s house not so long ago.

“Princess Fiona?” Tiffany quickly covered with her hands as she understood the pun. Even Taeyeon couldn't hold her laughter.

“Who’s Princess Fiona?” The brunette looked puzzled; she seemed to be the only one in the room who had not watched the Shrek.

And the girls laughed even louder, and even Seohyun could not stop laughing.

“Are you making fun of me?” Hyoyeon was not sure how to react.

“No, no, Hyo!” Yuri laughed so hard that her eyes were teary. “How can we make fun of a princess?”

“Then why are you laughing?”

“It’s just… It’s just that Sooyoung unnie was so funny!” Yoona playfully slapped Sooyoung’s arm.

“Y-Yeah, Sooyoung unnie is so funny…” Seohyun tried to hide her laughter and nodded repeatedly.

“If I find out you guys are messing with me…” The brunette threatened them.

“Oh, chillax, Hyo!” The tanned girl wiped her tears.

“I’ll tell you what,” Yuri continued. “We’ll dedicate this day for you!”

“But it’s already ten,” Hyoyeon pouted. “That means I only have two more hours!”

“One hour,” Jessica corrected. “It’s bad for us girls to be outside after midnight.”

“But…” The brunette looked sad.

“Well I guess it’s better than nothing…” The dancing queen finally agreed.

“What?” Sooyoung sighed. “Now it’s Hyoyeon Day?”

“We haven’t even had Sooyoung Day…”

“So how are we going to celebrate this Hyoyeon Day?” Yuri asked the girls.

“Let’s play a game then!” The brunette said cheerfully. “Let’s play a quiz game about me!”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Sooyoung said as she drank her soda.

“You shut up and stay quiet.” Hyoyeon glared at her, and her taller friend stuck her tongue out.

“Okay,” Tiffany flashed her eye smile and quickly agreed to the brunette's suggestion. But at that time she would agree to any idea as long as it would turn the girls' attention from her and Jessica's odd disappearance . “That game sounds fun!”

“Great!” Hyoyeon grinned widely. “Let’s start the game already; we don’t have much time!”

“Wait, how do we play this, Hyoyeon unnie?” Seohyun asked.

“It’s easy,” The brunette smiled. “I’ll ask you questions about myself and you answer them.”

“The one who gets it wrong will be punished.”

“And what’s the punishment?” Jessica knew it would go into something like this.

“Oh, I have an idea!” Yuri looked very excited and pulled out a red lipstick from her bag. “The one who gets the question wrong will get their faces drawn by this!”

“Ooohh, it’s a great idea!” Yoona quickly agreed.

“Hey, that’s not fair!” Tiffany looked worried. “I don’t know anything about you, Hyoyeon…”

“Yeah, me too…” Taeyeon finally said something.

“That’s okay,” Hyoyeon smiled. “I’ll make sure you two get the easiest questions.”

“Hey, then it wouldn’t be fair for us!” The tall tanned girl said.

“Okay!” The brunette ignored her friend’s comment. “Let’s start the game!”

“Okay, Taeyeon.” Hyoyeon asked the shortest girl first. “What’s my surname?”

“U-Uh…” The slanted eyed girl was not sure.

“A hint then!” The brunette sighed. “It’s the same as yours.”

“Kim?” Taeyeon answered it pretty quickly.

“That’s right!” Hyoyeon smiled and reached out her hand to the slanted eyed girl to do a high five and Taeyeon hesitantly and awkwardly threw her palm at hers.

“Hey, that was way too easy!” Yoona protested.

“Next; Yuri!” Again she ignored her friends. “What’s my favorite dancing routine?”

“That’s easy; hip-hop!” The tanned girl said confidently.

“Wrong!” Hyoyeon laughed and reached for the lipstick. “I like Salsa now.”

“T-That’s not fair!” Yuri shouted. “How was I supposed to know you change your favorite dance?”

“You should’ve asked for a hint then…” The brunette drew a circle around Yuri’s left eye. “There; perfect!”

And the girls laughed at the tanned girl’s funny face.

“Ugh, I’ll get you for this, Hyo…” Yuri muttered grudgingly.

“Now, Jessica!” She turned to the blonde girl. “What’s my favorite song?”

“Hint?” The blue eyed girl quickly asked as she quickly learned from what happened to Yuri that the questions were more complex than what they looked like.

“The singer is American.” Hyoyeon grinned.

“W-What?” Jessica protested. “How is that a hint?”

“Fine; here’s the last hint,” The dancing queen was still grinning. “It’s a band.”

“But how can I know which song from those hints?” The blonde girl glared at her brunette friend.

“Well I guess I have to draw something cute on your face then…” And Hyoyeon quickly drew a two curling lines above her lips.

“It’s ‘This Love’ by Maroon 5, Sica-yah.” The brunette laughed. “Remember that next time!”

“Shut up…” Jessica said weakly as the girls laughed at her funny moustache.

“Oh, Jessie!” Tiffany laughed loudly. “They really suit you!”

“You look like a y matador!”

“Don’t look at me, Tiff…” The blonde girl quickly covered her face.

“Why?” The crescent eyed girl tried to pry open her hands. “I think you look hot.”

“S-Stop it…” Jessica whined, and the girls laughed even louder.

And Hyoyeon continued her quiz game with the other girls, and with that clever tactic she managed to draw on all of their faces. Yoona had plenty of pimples on her cheeks, Seohyun apparently had a new pair of big round red glasses, and Sooyoung had suddenly grown a thick red beard on her chin.

“We’ll get you for this, Hyoyeon…” The tallest girl hissed. “… Mark my words…”

“And the last but not least,” Again the brunette ignored her comment. “It’s Tiffany!”

“Okay!” The crescent eyed girl looked confident since the brunette had promised that she would only give her easy questions. And since Taeyeon had successfully answered the first question, she had no worries about her turn.

“When is my birthday?” Hyoyeon asked her.

“A hint, please?” Tiffany asked cutely.

“It’s four months and four days after Jessica’s birthday.” The brunette grinned again.

“Oh, she also got the easy one!” Sooyoung shouted. “It’s not fair!”

But then Tiffany realized she wouldn’t know the answer since she didn’t even know when Jessica birthday was. The black haired American girl gave her blonde best friend next to her an apologetic look and quickly felt like she was the worst best friend ever.

How could I not know my bestest best friend’s birthday? She reprimanded herself.

And you call yourself her best friend?

And then she turned to stare at her hands on her lap and said nothing.

“Come on, Tiffany unnie,” The deer eyed girl was getting impatient. “Just answer the question so we can go home already.”

“Yeah, Tiffany,” Yuri agreed with her younger friend. “Don’t you feel bad for us having lipstick on our faces?”

“I… I…” The crescent eyed girl was about to cry.

“Don’t tell me,” Hyoyeon had a victor’s smile on her face. “You don’t know when her birthday is?”

“I…” Her eyes was teary and her face red.

“I thought you’re Jessica best friend?” The brunette girl .

Tiffany’s brain quickly presented her with ways to defend herself. “B-But she doesn’t have a Facebook account!”

“S-So I can’t see her birthday date!” She blurted out.

“Oh, so you never bother to ask?” Hyoyeon looked serious. “Do you always have to rely to Facebook to know your friends’ birthdays?”

“Hyoyeon, that’s enough—“ Jessica was about to stop her brunette friend but she insisted.

“—Do you always rely on Facebook to remind you when to congratulate a friend’s birthday too?”

“N-No…” Her eyes were teary again.

“I-I just…” And she felt all eyes were on her, but the most painful gaze came from the blue eyed girl next to her.

“That’s okay, Tiff,” Jessica said softly. “You don’t have to answer—“

“—Well I bet you don’t know my birthday too, Jessie!” Tiffany suddenly shouted as she felt cornered.

And the blonde stared at her for a while, and Tiffany could see a disappointment in her eyes. Even the girls went quiet after she said that.

“That’s right,” Jessica said calmly and looked away from her best friend. “I don’t know when your birthday is.”

“See, even you don’t kno—“

“—But if I have to guess, it's August the first.” The blonde girl said with a sad look.

“But I… How did you…” Tiffany was at loss for words when she heard that.

Jessica knew… Her mind said. How did she know?

It doesn't matter because you're the one not knowing your best friend's birthday date!

In fact; you don’t know anything about her…

What a friend you are…

Are you sure you're not just taking her friendship for granted?

Maybe you don’t deserve to be her bestest best friend after all…

Maybe you don’t even deserve to be her friend! And that last thought crushed her heart and she burst out and cried.

“I… I’m sorry!” She wailed. “I’m sorry, Jessie!”

“I didn’t mean to…” She covered her face. “… I’m so stupid!”

“I’m not a good friend after all!” And Jessica sighed and put her arms around her and pulled her closer.

“It’s okay, it’s okay, Tiff…” The blue eyed girl tried to comfort her best friend. “It’s just a game…”

Tiffany quickly buried her face against the blonde’s neck and cried louder. The girls all stared at the crying girl with a confused look on their faces.

“You did this!” Yuri shouted at Hyoyeon. “You and your stupid game!”

“What?” The brunette looked very confused. “But I was only joking around!”

“I didn’t know she would cry like this!”

“Well obviously you’re not smart enough to know when you’ve crossed the line!” The tanned girl stood up and glared at her brunette friend.

“What did you say?” Hyoyeon looked furious and returned the glare. “Are you trying to put all the blame on me?”

“Then who else is at fault, Hyoyeon?” Yuri stepped forward.

“Watch it, Kwon Yuri!” The brunette hissed. “Take one step forward and I’ll—“

“—Stop it, unnies!” Seohyun was about to cry as well. “You’re making this worse!”

“It’s my fault!” Tiffany wailed once more. “It’s all my fault!”

“I should’ve known! I should’ve asked you, Jessie!” The crescent eyed girl threw her arms around the blonde. “I’m sorry, Jessie! I’m really sorry!”

“That’s okay, Tiff,” Jessica was still trying to calm her down. “It’s not a big thing, don’t worry about it…”

“B-But it is!” Tiffany hugged her tighter like she was afraid her blonde friend would fly away and leave her alone. “It’s very important to me!”

“Tiffany, look…” Hyoyeon felt sorry for the black haired American. “… I’m really sorry for teasing you…”

“Sica’s right; it’s not what matters—“

“—It matters!” Her voice was hoarse from all the yelling now. “It matters to me!”

“I’m sorry, Jessie! Please forgive me!”

“But it’s really okay, Tiff…” Jessica said again gently. “… It’s okay, so stop crying…”

“Ssh, Tiff…”

But the crescent eyed girl would not stop crying, and the girls were running out of ideas to calm her down.

“It’s April the 18^th.” The blonde girl finally said. “There; now you know when my birthday is.”

“Now do you think you can guess Hyoyeon’s birthday?”

Tiffany slowly raised her head and counted the dates in her mind.

“It’s… It’s September 22^nd…” She said between her sobbing.

“That’s right!” The blue eyed girl praised her and wiped her tears with her fingers. “Good girl!”

“Yeah, that is correct, Tiffany!” The brunette girl laughed. “Now you don’t have to be punished! Hurray!”

“Hurray!” The other girls joined and shouted.

“Now since Tiffany unnie gave the correct answer; Hyoyeon unnie will get the punishment.” Yoona grinned widely.

“What?” Hyoyeon stared at the deer eyed girl in disbelief. “Why should I get the punishment?”

“Because you made her cry.” Yoona simply said as she took the lipstick from Hyoyeon’s hand.

“Don’t worry,” The deer eyed girl laughed evilly. “I’ll make sure you’ll look prettier than ever, unnie…”

And the dancing queen pouted when she checked out her face through her pocket mirror. She had now a pair of big round red glasses and a Hitler moustache, a red nose and a thick red beard.

The girls all laughed at her, and Hyoyeon suddenly burst out laughing too. And even Tiffany started to giggle at the funny girl.

“There; you look much better when you’re laughing,” Jessica said gently as she rubbed the black haired American’s cheek, and Tiffany snuggled closer to the blonde.

Meanwhile a certain slanted eyed girl who was sitting in the corner and kept quiet the whole time was staring at the two American girls with a sad look on her face. Taeyeon let out a deep sigh and Hyoyeon caught her and wondered why she looked so sad, but decided to ignore her thoughts since she had only known the shorter girl yesterday.

It was after the girls had cleaned their faces and Tiffany was in the restroom to freshen up her face that Taeyeon approached the blonde girl looking all nervous.

“So J-Jessica…” The shorter girl didn’t even look at her eyes.

“Yes, Taeyeon?” The blue eyed girl said.

“I-I was wondering if you…” Taeyeon stopped and took a deep breath before she continued. “… If you like the gift…”

“Oh!” Jessica suddenly remembered that she had not thanked her shorter friend for the gift yet. “I like it so much, Taeyeon.”

“It was beautiful.”

“R-Really?” The slanted eyed girl smiled her sweetest.

“Yes, really.” The blonde giggled. “Thank you for the gift, Taeyeon.”

“You’re welcome!” Taeyeon squealed as she had found her confidence.

“What are you talking about?” Tiffany had just returned from the restroom.

“O-Oh, nothing…” The shorter girl said quickly. “Come on, we should hurry home!”

“She’s right,” Hyoyeon stood next to the blonde; her face was still covered with lipstick since she was the only one who was not allowed to clean her face until she got home as a punishment for making Tiffany cry. “It’s getting late…”

“But I thought you wanted to stay longer?” Sooyoung . “This is your day after all…”

“Well if I’d known that it’d turned out like this I wouldn’t asked for you guys to celebrate my homecoming in the first place.” The brunette pouted.

“Serves you right for bullying our Tiffany!” Yuri laughed as they all walked outside.

“I wasn’t bullying her!” Hyoyeon crossed her arms. “I was just teasing her!”

“Well what you call teasing is bullying for us, unnie.” Yoona said firmly. “You were out of line.”

“Fine, fine…” The dancing girl sighed and stared at the crescent eyed girl apologetically. “I’m sorry, Tiffany…”

“That’s okay,” The black haired American girl giggled when she look at her funny face. “You’re already forgiven.”

“Really?” Hyoyeon smiled.

“Yeah,” Tiffany could not contain her laughter any longer. “I mean; how could I not forgive you when you look like that…”

And the other girls joined her and laughed too, while Hyoyeon sighed and shook her head.

“Well at least I’m forgiven…” She muttered.

And the girls went on their different ways after that. Tiffany and Taeyeon had just entered their shared room when they realized there was no Jang Ri-In. Both girls stared at their empty shared room like they were seeing it for the first time in their lives.

Ri-in’s bed was made up perfectly and her cabinet was left empty. Tiffany sat down on her empty bed and sighed.

“Guess it’s just the two of us now…” Taeyeon said as she sat on her own bed.

“Yeah…” The crescent eyed girl looked sad. “… I guess so…”

“Oh, don’t be sad, Pany-ah!” The slanted eyed girl tried to cheer her up. “It’s not like we’re not friends with Ri-in anymore!”

“She’s just living in a different apartment, that’s all!”

“And we can still see her on her off days.”

“Yeah…” Tiffany slowly nodded and forced a smile. “… I guess you’re right…”

“Of course I’m right!” Taeyeon giggled and pranced outside. “I’m using the bathroom first!”

“Oh, wait!” The black haired American tried to stop her shorter friend. “You always get to use the bathroom first!”

“It’s because you’re too slow!” Taeyeon laughed and ran away, and Tiffany chased her.

Just outside their room Taeyeon bumped into Yujin, who had just got back from the convenience store, and she dropped her grocery bag.

“Hey, watch it!” The curly haired girl glared at the slanted eyed girl.

“Oh! Sorry, Yujin!” Taeyeon quickly apologized and helped her pick up her groceries. “I didn’t see you there…”

But Yujin just stood there with her arms crossed on her chest and watched as Taeyeon was picking up her grocery. Meanwhile Tiffany was puzzled by her strange behavior that she just stared at her with slightly opened.

“Here you go, Yujin,” Taeyeon smiled as she handed her her groceries.

The curly haired girl quickly grabbed her bag and rushed to the living room without saying a word, and rudely bumped her shoulder into Taeyeon’s on the way.

“Ouch!” The slanted eyed girl whimpered and rubbed her shoulder.

“Are you okay?” Tiffany asked her.

“I’m fine,” Taeyeon forced a smile. “It’s my fault for playing around in this small apartment…”

“Don’t you think Yujin and Jihye are acting strange lately?” The crescent eyed girl asked again. “It’s like they’re mad at us for something…”

“It’s probably just your imagination, Pany-ah…”

“No, it’s not.” The black haired American girl said. “They’ve been acting like that ever since they heard Ri-in’s going to debut.”

“I’m going to ask her what’s wrong.” Tiffany said as she rushed to the living room.

“Tiffany; don’t!” Taeyeon quickly followed her American best friend to stop her, but she was too late.

“Yujin, we need to talk.” Tiffany stood in front of the curly haired girl sitting on the couch.

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Yujin stared indifferently at her American dorm mate. “Now please move aside so I can watch the TV.”

“Oh, but I think we really need to talk.” The crescent eyed girl said as she turned the television off.

“Ugh, I don’t need to listen to this…” Yujin sighed and stood up to go to her room.

“Have we done something to you and Jihye?” Tiffany grabbed her arm and stopped her.

“Let me go.” The curly haired girl glared.

“Please, Yujin.” The black haired American girl forced a smile. “Just tell us what’s wrong with you two.”

“There’s nothing wrong, Tiffany.” She sighed.

“Then why are you two acting strange?”

“What do you mean?” Yujin switched glances between Tiffany and Taeyeon.

“You don’t talk or hangout with us lately,” The crescent eyed girl explained, while her shorter best friend chose to stood behind her and kept quiet. “Ever since Ri-in’s news…”

“Did you hear some rumors about Ri-in?” Tiffany was reminded by the toilet incident earlier today.

Yujin’s eyes grew bigger when she heard the comment. “We’ve been busy; that’s all.”

“And we’ve heard some rumors; yes.” She continued. “But we know those rumors are not true.”

“Then why are you acting like you’re mad at us?” The crescent eyed girl asked again.

“We’re not mad at you.”

“Then why were you being mean to Taeyeon earlier?” Tiffany insisted.

“Look, Tiffany,” She yanked her arm free. “We don’t believe in any of those rumors, and we’re not mad at you.”

“So just mind your own business, okay?”

“See! You’re acting so different!” Tiffany was starting to get upset.

“And why shouldn’t I?” Yujin shouted. “We’re not really friends here, Tiffany!”

“We’re rivals,” She hissed. “And this is a competition.”

“Wha-What makes you say that?” The crescent eyed girl was shocked by her words. “Can’t we just be friends like we used to?”

“We were never friends, Tiffany,” Yujin scoffed. “And we can never be friends.”

“Not when we’re after the same thing.”

“But you and Jihye…” Tiffany was about to cry.

“We’re on the same team.” The curly haired girl said and walked towards her room.

“And why can’t we be on your team?” Taeyeon’s voice could finally be heard; although it was trembling.

“Oh, I’m not the one deciding the teams, Taeyeon,” Yujin turned to stare at the slanted eyed girl. “The company does.”

“And you guys should’ve known that by now.” And with that she entered her room and closed the door behind her, leaving her other two dorm mates confused in the living room.

“Why…” Tiffany stared at her shorter best friend. “… Why did she say that?”

“I don’t know…” Taeyeon looked sad.

“The company decides the teams?” The crescent eyed girl sat on the couch and wondered. “What does she mean by that?”

“I don’t know, Pany-ah…” The slanted eyed girl looked tired and sat herself next to Tiffany.

“You mentioned rumors earlier?” She continued. “What rumors?”

“Oh…” The crescent eyed girl was hesitant to share her experience, but knew Taeyeon deserved to know. “It’s some bad rumors about Ri-in…”

“Tell me.” The shorter girl looked curious. “Please.”

And Tiffany told her about how she heard two trainees talked about how Ri-in managed to debut by seducing the managers and the instructors. But she didn’t want to make Taeyeon more worried or upset so she deliberately left out the part she heard about them talking rumors about herself and Jessica.

The slanted eyed girl listened intently and her eyes quickly showed sadness when she understood what the rumors were. She had known Jang Ri-in for over a year, and shared a room with her, and they both grew closer to each other with each passing time, that it broke her heart to hear such evil rumors.

“I’ve heard similar rumors one time…” She sighed. “… About how Ri-in used her looks to get what she wants…”

“But I thought the rumors died down after they saw how talented Ri-in was…”

“I mean she has a great voice and all…”

“Yeah…” Tiffany stared at her hands on her lap. “… She doesn’t need to use her looks to debut…”

“I wonder if Ri-in knew about the rumors…”

“I don’t know,” Taeyeon sighed once more. “We never talk about it…”

“But I hope she doesn’t find out so she could focus on her debut…”

“Yeah…” The black haired American girl sighed.

“Well, there’s nothing we can do but support Ri-in and pray for her success,” The slanted eyed girl tried to sound positive. “And hope those who spread the rumors realized how wrong they were!”

“Yes; let’s do that.” The crescent eyed girl nodded and smiled.

“I wonder if there’s any rumor about us too…” Taeyeon said again after a while. “Did you hear anything?”

“Um…” Tiffany didn’t want to make her best friend worry more. “No… I didn’t hear about anything else…”

“We have to be careful, though.” The shorter girl continued. “There’s no guarantee that they’re not spreading rumors about any of us…”

“Yeah…” The crescent eyed girl sighed. “… What are we going to do about Yujin and Jihye?”

“I think it’s best to leave them alone for a while,” Taeyeon shrugged. “There’s nothing we can do to change their thoughts…”

“I wonder what she meant by the company decides the teams…” Tiffany wondered.

“Then let’s ask Youngjin oppa tomorrow.” Her shorter best friend thought of an idea. “And we can ask him about the rumors too!”

“Yeah, that’s right.” The crescent eyed girl realized that that was the best course of action for them right now. “I’m sure he’ll help us!”

“Yes.” Taeyeon finally smiled. “Let’s talk to him tomorrow.”

“It’s getting late; I’m taking a shower first.” The shorter girl then said as she walked towards the bathroom.

Taeyeon had already gone to bed when Tiffany had finished her shower. The crescent eyed girl sat back on the couch in the living room to wait her hair to dry and took out her cell phone. She dialed a number and pressed her cell against her ear and waited the call to connect.

Hey, Tiff. A familiar sweet voice could be heard after three tones.

“Hey, Jessie.” Tiffany smiled and greeted her blonde best friend back.

Are you alright now? Shouldn’t you be resting? Jessica sounded worried.

“Why?” The black haired American girl was puzzled by her questions. “I’m feeling alright…”

But you said you had diarrhea? Have you taken any medicine yet?

“But I don’t have diarr—“ But she quickly understood that the blonde was just teasing her. “—Oh, stop it you bully.”

“I said that to save us from the girls’ wrath!” She could hear Jessica’s laughter. “You should be thanking me!”

But the blonde girl wouldn’t stop laughing. “Stop laughing, Jessie!”

Sorry, sorry… It’s just too funny!

“I’m hanging up now.” Tiffany pouted and threatened.

Oh, don’t pout, Tiff. Jessica sounded like she knew what Tiffany was doing. Didn’t I tell you you look prettier smiling?

“Stop it, flirt…” The crescent eyed girl smiled immediately.

And both American girls chatted for a while. Tiffany then told her bestest best friend about what happened with Yujin, and how their attitude changed after Ri-in’s news of her debuting. The crescent eyed girl was reminded of what happened in the toilet, and was about to cry again if not for Jessica’s soothing and calming words that no matter what people say, they should not listen to their rumors and concentrate on bettering themselves instead.

There will always be rumors, Tiff. Jessica repeated what she had said at the mall. What matters most is we know that it isn’t true.

“Is it, though?” Tiffany was still not sure. “I mean I’m sure that Ri-in wouldn’t do things like that…”

“… But what if it was true?”

Well no one can tell for sure but Ri-in herself, The blonde said. And you know she’ll deny everything even if she did those things…

The crescent eyed girl thought of the rumors and imagined Ri-in doing such unspeakable things and shuddered. “I don’t want to think about it…”

Then don’t. Jessica continued. You said you’re sure that Ri-in wouldn’t do those things.

Believe in her. Believe in your own judgment of her.

“Y-Yeah…” The black haired American girl suddenly felt stupid for doubting her kind Chinese roommate. “… I believe in her…”

And believe in me too. The blonde said again. I would never do those horrible things.

“Wha...” Tiffany was surprised to hear her. “What are you talking about?”

“Of course I believe you!”

I know, Tiff, I know… I just wanted to say it…

“Well, you don’t have to!” The crescent eyed girl shouted. “I-I never said I doubted you!”

I know, I know… I’m sorry…

And both girls didn’t say anything after that.

“Do you-Do you swear, Jessie?” Tiffany asked timidly; scared that she would hurt Jessica’s feelings.

I swear, Tiffany. And she let out a deep sigh of relief when she heard that.

“I-I’m sorry…” The crescent eyed girl quickly regretted asking that question. “… I don’t know why I asked you that…”

It’s okay… She could tell Jessica was smiling. As long as you believe me now.

“Yes, I believe you.” Tiffany slowly smiled. “I’ll always believe in you…”