CHAPTER XXIV

THE CAMERA

A few weeks had passed from what Tiffany had called a very eventful first week of New Year. The girls had gone back to their routines and put the rumors behind them. The crescent eyed girl recalled how the instructors had briefed all the trainees about spreading bad rumors and warned them not to do such a terrible thing in the future. They had also demanded every trainee to focus their energies and thoughts into training and nothing else. Tiffany was glad that the company took the matter seriously and quickly acted to prevent more rumors from spreading around, but Hyoyeon and Yuri were had their doubts. They thought that even with the long and detailed speech from the instructor, there would always be whispers among the trainees. That was how their world was; filled with cold war and bad rumors.

And deep inside the black haired American girl knew it too. Her eyes were opened now and she had been noticing how the girls divided themselves into groups, how they whispered among each other and threw suspicious or mean glances at the other groups. Sometimes she noticed she was a target from their secret glances to, and she would be reminded that there were also rumors about herself and Jessica. Sometimes she would feel sad and discourage, but her friends would then comfort and lifted her spirit with their jokes, while Jessica would simply smile and all Tiffany’s worries were gone.

Ri-in had been busy with her preparation that they had not been able to really talk like they used to. Taeyeon said it was a good thing actually, since the Chinese girl would be too occupied with her schedules to think about the rumors. Youngjin had not found anything related to what Yujin said about the company dividing the trainees into teams, but he promised if he heard anything they would be the first to know. The young manager had been doing okay now, as he showed less sad and tired face now, and started to smile a lot. Yujin and Jihye were still avoiding her and Taeyeon, and they had not talk with each other since the night Tiffany confronted the curly haired girl. The girls said that they should take it slowly and believed that sooner or later they would open up to them once more.

But New Year had not been all bad news for Tiffany. There was the news of Ri-in’s debut, and like she joked; there was more space in their shared apartment bedroom now. Tiffany also became friends with Hyoyeon, the cheerful and confident trainee girl who had just returned from her trainings in China, and they got along pretty quickly. Hyoyeon even taught her a few dance moves and helped her with difficult choreographies when she was not practicing with the boys. And at school Richard and his friends really kept their words and treated her and her friends with kindness now. They had not been talking much, but their attitude had changed completely, from jerks into gentlemen. Even Jessica admitted she was surprised and thought it was a nice change.

And Jessica. The blonde girl with bright starry blue eyes was more than enough to make the New Year filled with hope and joy. Jessica gave her a pair of beautiful silver ankle bracelets last Christmas and she had not taken it off since then. And the girl with alluring small smiles that almost looked like a smirk but made her face shone like an angel had been wearing the other pair. And on her right hand was the pink with white stripes knitted bracelet with a tiny golden bell that Tiffany had given her. And Jessica promised she would never take them off too. Jessica; her bestest best friend, who was the one who comforted her when the crescent eyed girl found out about the rumors. Who held her hand and hugged her when she was crying. Tiffany giggled at that thought; somehow she had been crying a lot now. She cried when she was happy, when she was upset, and when she was sad. She had become a crybaby, like what Jessica told her. And the blue eyed girl really loved to because of it. But Tiffany didn’t mind; somehow she liked it too when the blonde . Somehow she got used to all the teasing Jessica threw at her, and somehow, secretly, she wanted to be teased by her all the time. Because she felt butterflies when Jessica teased and flirted with her. Because she had grown to love the burning sensation of her face and her chest tightens every time she blushed from her words.

Or her gestures. All the small kind gestures Jessica made. From waiting for her to finish packing her bag when school was over, asking what she would like to order every time they went to Solitaire, asking if the meal or drink she had ordered tasted good, even when she had ordered the same thing before, and setting aside their empty plates so their table would look clean and neat and comfortable for them to continue their chat, holding her hand every time they walk together, resting her head on her shoulder when she got bored or tired, until the petting she gave on her hair. And one thing that Tiffany could not wipe from her mind; the kiss she gave on her cheek. It was a second Christmas gift she gave her, as she claimed it was, and the best gift she had ever received her entire life. The crescent eyed girl stared at the blonde who was sitting next to her and her gaze traveled to her small thin lips, and she could feel her face was getting warm as she thought how nice it would be to feel those lips on her cheeks once more.

“Tiffany!” She was so deep in her daydream that she had not noticed a hand was rocking her shoulder for quite some time now.

“Oh, what was that, Sooyoung?” The black haired American girl turned to face the taller girl and lazily replied as she was forced to look away from Jessica’s lips.

“Oh, my God!” The tall tanned girl rocked her shoulder even more violently. “Stop zoning out, you crazy grinning monster!”

“Gri-Grinning monster?” Tiffany was surprised to hear the comment. “I’m not grinning!”

“Well you should’ve checked the mirror then!” Sooyoung pressed both of her hands on the crescent eyed girl’s cheeks.

“Stop that!” She pulled away and turned around to see the other girls laughing at her. Even Jessica was giggling adorably.

“So what is it that you want, Sooyoung?” Tiffany quickly said to turn everyone’s attention from her.

“You tell me,” The tall tanned girl looked puzzled. “I was asking what you guys were talking about.”

The black haired American girl had just realized that Sooyoung had just joined the girls in their dancing class. Her friends must have been talking about something when she was daydreaming earlier. She met Jessica’s blue eyes and her sweet smile and quickly blushed as she was afraid the blonde would know that she was zoning out thinking about her.

“Oh, I know!” Luckily Sooyoung had another thought in mind. “You guys were planning a surprise birthday party for me, weren’t you?”

“Aww, you don’t have to do that, guys!” The tall girl laughed. “But I’m really excited to finally have a Sooyoung Day!”

The girls looked at each other with confusion in their eyes before they burst out laughing. Even Tiffany quickly joined them and laughed at the silly tall girl. Sooyoung, on the other hand just stood there staring at the girls with a big question mark on her face. It took her a couple of seconds more before she realized that they were laughing at her.

“What?” The tall girl had her hands on her hips. “Are you telling me we’re not having a Sooyoung Day on my birthday?”

“What are you talking about Sooyoung?” Hyoyeon said after she finished laughing. “What’s a Sooyoung Day?”

“A day which I get to be the queen and you guys follow my every wish!” Sooyoung’s eyes were sparkling as she thought of her wishes. “You had one! And Seohyun too!”

“Now it’s my turn!”

“But we didn’t have Yuri Day for my birthday,” Yuri pouted. “So what makes you think we’ll make you queen for the day on your birthday?”

“Because you would just prank us like you always do!” The tall tanned girl shouted.

“When is your birthday, Sooyoung?” Tiffany asked her.

“It’s next month!” Sooyoung kneeled and grabbed Tiffany’s hands and looked at her with expectation. “February the tenth!”

“It’s just one week from now!”

“O-Okay…” Once again the crescent eyed girl pulled away from Sooyoung’s hands.

“We’re not having a Sooyoung Day, Sooyoung,” Yuri explained. “We’ve thought about what happened when we had Hyoyeon Day and how it ended with Tiffany crying…”

“We learn our lesson from observing how Hyoyeon abused her power and bullied Tiffany,” The tanned girl continued. “And we don’t want anything like that to happen again.”

“I wasn’t abusing my power!” Hyoyeon quickly said. “I was only joking!”

“And I’m not Hyoyeon!” Sooyoung defended herself. “I won’t use my authority to bully!”

“I said I was not bullying her!” The brunette was now in a shouting contest with her taller friend.

“What’s automaty?” Tiffany looked confused.

“Authority, Tiff,” Jessica giggled and playfully pinched her cheek. “It means the power to give orders…”

“I know what it means, Jessie…” The crescent eyed girl said sheepishly but she didn’t want the blonde to let go of her hand. “Jeez…”

“And besides; it will be the last day of Seoullal that day,” Yuri pointed out. “So some of us might already have plans...”

“I know that!” The tall girl shouted. “But I’m sure you can spare some time to celebrate my birthday!”

“We can have a party at my house!” Sooyoung continued passionately. “My mom and I have already made the preparations!”

“Oh, if there’s going to be a party then I’m in.” Hyoyeon quickly agreed.

“Me too!” Yoona giggled.

“Me three!” Tiffany raised her hand and flashed her eye smile.

“Well then I guess it’s okay…” Yuri nodded repeatedly. “… But we’re not having a Sooyoung Day.”

“But why?” Sooyoung glared at her tanned friend. “It’s my birthday party!”

“We can have a party but no Sooyoung Day.” Yuri said firmly.

“But it will be my birthday party’s theme!” The tall tanned girl insisted.

The commotion ended when the instructor stepped inside the classroom and warned them not to shout in class. The woman then started her lesson by switching on the music and told them to warm up. Sooyoung was still eyeing her friends and caught Taeyeon’s eyes; that coincidentally and unfortunately looked her way.

“I… Want… A…  Sooyoung… Day!” The taller girl mouthed the words to her as she stretched her legs.

But the slanted eyed girl just shrugged and giggled awkwardly.

But Sooyoung didn’t stop there. She kept on mentioning and whining about how perfect her life would be if they would celebrate her birthday making her queen of the day. The tall girl insisted that she didn’t need or want any present from the girls but to make her wish come true. And somehow she managed to mention her wish in every single conversation the girls had that evening at their favorite café.

“I think I want to try some nail arts…” Yoona said while checking her nails.

“Yeah, you should try that,” Sooyoung chimed in. “It would look good on you…”

“You know what I want?” She continued. “I want a Sooyoung Day!”

“Two days ago I saw Leeteuk and Donghae oppa at the mall,” Yuri said ignoring her taller friend. “They were looking around the toy shop…”

“Oh, I guess they wanted to buy those action figures Leeteuk oppa really like.” Hyoyeon said.

“So they love action figures, huh?” The tall tanned girl quickly joined. “You know what I love?”

“I love to have a Sooyoung Day!”

“You’re pushing it, Sooyoung…” The brunette looked really annoyed.

“Oh, imagined how much fun we’ll have on Sooyoung Day…” Sooyoung put her chin on top of her hands and sipped her soda.

“You mean how much fun you’ll have.” Hyoyeon shook her head.

“Taeyeon!” Sooyoung turned to the quiet girl sitting right next to Jessica. “What would you like for your birthday?”

“U-Uh, I don’t know…” The slanted eyed girl looked surprised by the sudden question, and unconsciously stared at the blonde girl next to her.

“Oh, come on!” Sooyoung insisted. “You must have something you really want for your birthday!”

“I… Uh…” The shorter girl couldn’t let her eyes go from Jessica, who was busy chatting and laughing with Tiffany.

“Don’t answer that, Taeyeon…” Yuri sighed.

“I think I want to spend the day with the ones I love…” Taeyeon said with her head hung low and gazed upon the blonde girl from the corner of her eyes.

“Whoa…” Yoona looked surprised by her answer. “… I didn’t know you’re a romantic, Taeyeon unnie…”

“Wha-I’m not…” The slanted eyed girl blushed and stared at her feet to avoid looking at her friends.

“Ugh, I can’t compete with that…” Sooyoung sighed. “… Now I feel like I have such a childish wish…”

And the girls laughed at her comment and the tall girl stopped mentioning Sooyoung Day for some time.

“But I’m curious,” Yoona grinned widely. “You said you wanted to spend your birthday with someone you love…”

“Does it mean you have someone you like right now?”

The question intrigued the rest of the girls and they quickly stared at the slanted eyed girl. Even the American girls took interest and stopped chatting among themselves for a while. Meanwhile Taeyeon blushed even more and lowered her face until it was only a few centimeters apart from the table.

“Oh, she blushed!” Yoona laughed at the blushing girl. “It must be true then!”

“Tell us, Taeyeon!” Yuri and Hyoyeon shouted in glee. “Tell us who it is!”

“I… I don’t…” Taeyeon kept her head low. “… Have…”

“Oh, come on, Taeyeon!” Sooyoung looked so excited. “Don’t lie to us!”

“Just tell us who it is and we’ll help you with him!” She continued. “And I’ll personally make sure he’ll show up on your birthday!”

Hyoyeon scoffed and stared at the tall tanned girl mockingly. “Aren’t you nice for a change…”

“What?” Sooyoung glared at her brunette friend. “Can’t I be nice to my friend once in a while?”

“And besides,” She put on a cute act. “If I help her with her crush, then she has to help me with my Sooyoung Day!”

“Ah, so that’s what you’re after…” The brunette girl let out a deep sigh.

“Sshh, unnies!” Yoona grew impatient. “Taeyeon unnie is about to talk!”

“Go ahead, Taeyeon unnie,” The deer eyed girl smiled her sweetest. “You can tell cute little Yoona anything…”

“Cute little Yoona…” Jessica giggled at her comment while changing her contacts with her glasses. “That’s the first…”

“Sshh, Sica unnie!”

“But I…” Taeyeon looked like a cornered mouse. A cute tiny white mouse with slanted eyes. “I…”

The girls were waiting impatiently for her to start talking, but the short girl was not ready to tell them anything and she stared at Tiffany to look for help. The crescent eyed girl noticed her cry for help and flashed her eye smile.

“Stop it, you guys.” The black haired American girl said. “Obviously Taeyeon is still very shy about this.”

“So let’s not push her anymore, okay?”

“Aww…” The girls looked disappointed. “No fun…”

“I’m serious.” Tiffany continued. “You can’t force her to tell you things she’s not comfortable with.”

“Yes, ma’am…” The girls saluted the crescent eyed girl and decided to let Taeyeon go. At least this time.

Sooyoung went back into her whining mode and annoyed her friends with her Sooyoung day talk again. Taeyeon kept her head low for some time and the two American girls continued their chat.

“Stop whining already, Sooyoung,” Hyoyeon sighed. “You’re making my head hurts…”

“I’ll stop whining when you guys agree to have Sooyoung Day…” The tall tanned girl was now singing her words.

“Oh, God,” Yuri covered both of her ears. “You’re so annoying…”

“Sooyoung Day,” Sooyoung kept singing. “The day all your dreams come true…”

“Stop it, Sooyoung unnie…” Seohyun who was silent the whole time finally said something. “It’s my time of the month…”

“I can even make your stomach ache disappear with Sooyoung Day…”

“Oh, my God…” Yoona shook her head and let out a deep sigh.

“Alright, alright!” Yuri finally said. “We’ll think about it, so stop singing!”

“Really?” Sooyoung’s eyes were sparkling. “You promise?”

“Yes!” The tanned girl looked like she had lost her patience. “So stop singing!”

“And stop talking about Sooyoung Day too!”

“Roger that, captain!” Sooyoung saluted her and quickly gestured zipping .

“Why don’t we just agree and have a Sooyoung Day?” Tiffany suddenly said. “It’s her birthday after all…”

“A-Are you nuts?” Hyoyeon looked surprised by the crescent eyed girl’s comment.

“You don’t know what she would do to us if we agree!” Yuri looked shocked too.

“I don’t think she’ll do something bad,” Tiffany explained, while Sooyoung nodded passionately and stared at the black haired American girl with admiration. “At least she wouldn’t prank me like you would…”

“And how do you know that?” The tanned girl glared at her. “You don’t know what she’s capable of!”

“Tell me then.” The crescent eyed girl crossed her arms and stared back at her.

Sooyoung shook her head violently and begged to her tanned friend not to say anything with her sad puppy eyes, but she still held her promise and didn’t say a word, and used hand gestures to beg. Yuri ignored her and took a deep breath before she started.

“You know why I’ve been pulling pranks on you?” She said seriously. “Well, actually they were not meant for you; but for Jessica.”

Tiffany was puzzled and she turned to the blonde girl next to her who had the same look and shrugged at the comment.

“That’s because she was the one who pulled a prank on me first!” Yuri glared at the innocent looking blue eyed girl.

“What are you talking about?” Jessica looked confused. “I never did anything to you…”

“Don’t play dumb, Sica!” Yuri looked a little bit scary. “I still remember it like yesterday!”

“Uh-oh…” Hyoyeon muttered as she realized something.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The blonde girl insisted.

“Then let me refresh your memory.” The tanned girl hissed. “It was my first day as a trainee and my first day of training…”

“I was early when I got to the dancing class,” She leaned back and crossed her arms. “And there was only you, Hyoyeon, and Sooyoung there…”

“And when I was about to enter the room,” Yuri turned to the brunette. “You yelled at me and told me to take my shoes off!”

“But when the class started I noticed that everyone was wearing their shoes!” Hyoyeon laughed awkwardly at the comment.

“And the two of you,” She leaned forward and pointed at Jessica and Sooyoung. “Acted mean to me like you’re older than me!”

“Did I?” The brunette was still trying to remember.

“Oh, did you?” Yuri’s face was red now. “You don’t remember ordering me around to pick up props and drinks for you?”

“W-Well…” Hyoyeon finally remembered and she looked embarrassed.

“You don’t remember me calling you unnies because I didn’t know we’re the same age?” The tanned girl gritted her teeth.

“O-Oh, really?” And the blonde laughed awkwardly, while Sooyoung kept her head low.

“Oh, it was just a harmful prank, Yuri.” Tiffany defended her bestest best friend. “Think of it as a lesson in manner…”

“And it was not like Jessie treated you like that for a year, right?”

“Bingo.” Yuri turned to face the crescent eyed girl once more.

“Wha-You did?” Tiffany gasped and stared at her American best friend.

“I-It was not for a year!” The blonde said in her defense. “It was more like eight months or something…”

“Ten months and twenty eight days to be exact.” Yuri corrected her.

“Wow…” The crescent eyed girl was astonished. “You thought they were older than you for that long?”

“And they played along!” The tanned girl looked like she was about to cry now. “They kept acting like that until Yoona told me one day!”

“Ahh, so it was Yoona who told you…” The blonde girl said unconsciously.

“Jessie!” Tiffany pinched her arm and glared at her.

“Ouch!” Jessica let out a small whine and rubbed her arm. “What was that for?”

“Apologize to her now!” The black haired American girl was disappointed with her.

“I’m sorry, Yuri-ah…” The blue eyed girl quickly said weakly.

“So now you know why I like to prank her.” Yuri pouted and leaned back in her seat.

“Wait a minute…” Tiffany realized something. “… But you never pull a prank on Sooyoung…”

“Because she was the only one who apologized to me after I confronted them.” The tanned girl explained. “While these two just laughed it off and pretended nothing happened…”

Sooyoung nodded repeatedly in agreement, still in her vow of silence.

“And she treated me some to some Chinese food after…” Again the tall girl nodded passionately.

“Then why did you prank me too?” The crescent eyed girl asked again.

“Hmm…” Yuri seemed to be thinking. “… I suppose you’re just a collateral damage…”

“Co-Collared damage?”

“Collateral damage!”

“Whatever it is; it’s not fair for me to be involved in your pranks!” Tiffany looked a little upset.

“I know…” The tanned girl looked apologetic. “And I’m sorry…”

“Just think of it as helping me prank Hyoyeon since she ran away to China before I get the chance to take my revenge.” Yuri smiled her sweetest.

“And you seemed to enjoy our pranks, Tiffany unnie,” Yoona grinned widely. “You were laughing and smiling happily!”

“I-I did not!” Tiffany was shocked by the deer eyed girl’s comment and felt her face was getting warmer. “Why would I enjoy it?”

“Oh, but I have the evidence right here!” Yoona laughed and put her digital camera on the table.

“Wha-What is that?” The crescent eyed girl stared at the silver camera on the table.

“I took some pictures of you and Jessica unnie at the amusement park…” The deer eyed girl said cutely. “… You know, to remember the good times we had…”

“Give me that!” Tiffany tried to take the camera but Yoona was faster and immediately secured her priceless camera.

“Im Yoona, give me that camera right now!” The black haired American girl stood up and reached out her hands.

“Not a chance, unnie,” The younger girl laughed and held her camera up high, while Yuri quickly grabbed Tiffany’s hands and prevented her from snatching their precious item.

“Calm down, Tiffany,” Yuri laughed. “It’s just some pictures…”

“Don’t you want to see how much fun we had that day?”

“If by fun you mean seeing me and Jessie got drenched and scared; then no!” The crescent eyed girl glared as she tried to free her hands from Yuri’s clutches.

“Oh, come on, Tiffany unnie!” Yoona was checking her camera now. “I bet the other unnies want to see the pictures, right unnies?”

“No!” Jessica glared at her through her light brown glasses.

“Your opinion doesn’t count, Sica unnie.” The deer eyed girl winked at the blonde girl.

“Oh, I’d love to see them!” Hyoyeon agreed.

“Taeyeon unnie?”

“I… I don’t know…” The slanted eyed girl was staring shyly at Jessica.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Yoona grinned.

“Sooyoung unnie?”

Sooyoung shrugged, she was still keeping her promise and would not talk.

“If you want us to have Sooyoung Day then you’d say yes.” And the tallest girl smiled and nodded vigorously when she heard that.

“Excellent.” Yoona looked content. “Now; Seohyunnie?”

“I think you should give the camera to Sica unnie and let her decide…” The youngest girl said firmly.

“Oh, really?” The deer eyed girl kept her grin. “You only said that because you already have the copy of the pictures I gave you.”

“U-Unnie!” Seohyun quickly stood up in shock.

“I-It’s not like that, Sica unnie!” She turned to the blonde girl, who had opened by the comment, and stared at her apologetically.

“I… I was just…” Juhyun was trying to come up with a reason. “Yo-Yoona unnie told me to keep copies in case she lost the pictures!”

“I did not!” Yoona glared at her youngest friend. “You were the one who asked for the pictures!”

“I… I…” Seohyun could not say anything else, and sat back down and stared at her feet.

“Shame on you, Juhyun.” The deer eyed girl reprimanded her. “You promised you would never lie.”

“Ouh…” Seohyun whined and looked like she was about to cry.

“It’s okay, Juhyun-ah,” Jessica said to calm her down. “I don’t mind…”

“Sica unnie…” The youngest girl stared at the blonde with her teary eyes.

“It’s okay.” The blue eyed girl gave her her sweetest smile and Juhyun immediately put on her best smile too.

“Yes!” Yoona suddenly shouted. “Sica unnie said it’s okay!”

“What?” Jessica was dumbfounded. “When did I—“

“—Let’s see these pictures together!” Yoona shouted in glee and the other girls quickly shifted their positions to get closer to the deer eyed girl.

The girls then quickly got engrossed browsing through the pictures. It seemed that Yoona had managed to take a lot of pictures during their last excursion together. The girls giggled and laughed as they saw how funny and happy they were playing at the amusement park.

“Look at Sooyoung here!” Yuri laughed when she saw a picture of the tall girl dropping her chocolate ice cream on her shirt.

“Look at her face!” The tanned girl pointed out how innocent looking Sooyoung was holding an empty cone with her tongue outside , the air as her ice cream had already dropped.

The girls laughed even harder when the next slide showed Sooyoung’s sad face when she realized the chocolate left a huge stain on her chest. The next picture showed her angry face, and the next one showed the tall tanned girl rushing to the restroom; probably to clean her shirt.

“It took a while for me to clean my shirt that day…” Sooyoung remembered. “… And I had to buy another ice cream…”

“But don’t you think I looked so cute?” She continued as the next set of pictures all showed her eating her snacks. “I looked fabulous…”

“Yeah, whatever…” Yuri said as she quickly pressed the next button to skip Sooyoung’s photos.

“Oh, check these out!” The tanned girl squealed as she found her pictures.

Yuri posed like a model in every photo Yoona took. She posed with her hand on her hip in front of the entrance, she cupped her face and held her hair sideways in front of a fountain, she held her hair upwards with both hands and crossed her legs and winked at the camera near the roller coaster, and more pictures of her posing suggestively.

“Now these are art…” The tanned girl said proudly.

“Yes, yes,” Tiffany said as she suddenly appeared between Yuri and Yoona, pushing her head through their bodies and poked her head out to see the photos. “Next slide, please…”

“I thought you didn’t want to see these pictures, unnie?” The deer eyed girl giggled as she pressed the little arrow button pointing right.

The girls then continued browsing through the pictures, still laughing and giggling at their own antics. There was a photo of Seohyun squatting in the bushes with an annoyed face that she claimed because she was being attacked by an army of mosquitoes. There was a photo of Yoona trying to take her own picture in front of the ghost house, but failed miserably as only a half of her blurry face was caught by her camera. There was a photo of Taeyeon dragging Sooyoung away from a snack booth. There was a photo of young Krystal hugging her older sister’s arm and stuck her tongue out to Sooyoung. And there were many other happy moments Yoona managed to capture brilliantly.

But not all girls were looking at the photos. Jessica and Taeyeon stayed in their seats and just stared at their silly friends laughing and chatting. The blonde girl secretly wanted to see the photos too, but she didn’t want to crowd the table across from her more. The slanted eyed girl on the other hand, was satisfied just by seeing the girls had fun and decided to see the pictures later. After all, she felt like she didn’t have that much fun their last visit to the amusement park. Taeyeon glanced at the blonde girl who was sitting next to her and sighed quietly. There was something bothering her since New Year, and she wanted to ask the blue eyed girl, but she never had the chance to talk alone with her since Tiffany or the girls were always there. The slanted eyed girl turned her gaze to the girls, who were still busy with the photos, and thought that now was probably the best chance to talk to Jessica without anyone interfering.

She took a couple of deep breaths and clenched her fist as she mustered all the courage she had in herself and stared at the blonde girl.

“Si-Sica-yah…” She felt her face was getting warmer just by saying that name.

“Y-Yes, Taeyeon?” The blonde girl looked surprised as it was the first time her shorter friend ever calls her by her nickname.

“I-I.. Um…” She was even more surprised by her own courage to act like she was close with her. “I…”

“Is something wrong?” Jessica was getting curious.

“N-No…” The slanted eyed girl took another deep breath to calm herself. “I was just…”

“I was just wondering why you never wear the gift…”

“Oh…” The blue eyed girl was taken aback by that comment. “… I-I’m sorry…”

“It’s just that my school doesn’t allow us to wear jewelries…” Jessica quickly thought of an excuse.

“Oh…” Taeyeon looked disappointed. “… Really?”

“Y-Yeah…” The blonde girl prayed her excuse would be enough to convince the shorter girl. “Really…”

“Then how come you always wear that bracelet Tiffany gave you?” The slanted eyed girl said weakly, almost like a whisper, and Jessica could see tears filling her eyes.

“I…” The blonde knew she had hurt Taeyeon’s feelings. “I’m really sorry, Taeyeon…”

“I-If you didn’t like it then you should’ve just said so…” Her words were trembling now, and she hung her head low so the blonde girl could not see her face. “You could’ve just given it back to me…”

“I…” Jessica couldn’t think of anything to say.

Taeyeon tried her best to stop her tears from falling, and gritted her teeth. She was very disappointed by the blue eyed girl’s answer, but deep inside she knew that she had no right to ask her to wear her gift every day like she wore the bracelet her best friend Tiffany gave her. The slanted eyed girl raised her head a little to glance at the black haired American girl and her heart was filled with jealousy. Tiffany wouldn’t have any idea how much she wanted to be her right now. How much she wanted to be Jessica’s best friend, how much she wanted to mean more to her than Tiffany was.

“I’m sorry, Taeyeon…” Jessica said gently. “I was wrong…”

“I promise the next time you see me, I’ll be wearing your gift.”

“R-Really?” The slanted eyed girl was surprised to hear her say that, and her eyes widened. “Y-You promise?”

“I promise,” The blonde girl smiled.

“B-But…” The shorter girl still had her doubts. “… You don’t need to if you don’t want to…”

“I don’t want you to wear it just because I said so…”

“It’s nothing like that, Taeyeon,” Jessica’s tried to reassure her. “It was a lovely gift and I want to wear it.”

“Really?” Taeyeon stared at her with hope in her eyes.

“Really.” The blue eyed girl giggled. “And I have the perfect scarf to match it.”

“Oh…” The slanted eyed girl finally smiled and nodded. “Okay…”

“I’m sure you’ll look pretty with it…” She added shyly.

“What’s that?” Jessica was not sure what she had just heard.

“O-Oh, I mean…” Taeyeon stuttered. “… Y-You’re already pretty as it is…”

“I-I mean it really suits someone like as pretty as you…”

“What are you guys talking about?” Tiffany suddenly said as she stared at Jessica and Taeyeon with suspicion.

“Hm-What?” The blonde was surprised as she thought the crescent eyed girl was still busy with the photos but tried to sound casual.

“I said what are you guys talking about?” There was a pout in Tiffany’s lips now.

“N-Nothing!” Taeyeon looked nervous as she tried to avoid her American best friend’s piercing gaze.

“So what was it, Taetae?” The crescent eyed girl kept her gaze on the shorter girl.

“I-It was nothing, Pany-ah…” The slanted eyed girl laughed awkwardly. “We were just playing around…”

“Oh, really?” Tiffany raised an eyebrow and Taeyeon quickly looked away.

“It was nothing, Tiff,” Jessica said calmly and smiled. “Why are you so worked up about this?”

“What?” The crescent eyed girl turned her gaze and glared at her bestest best friend, clearly not amused by her comment. “I’m not worked up over this!”

“And why were you two whispering in the first place?”

“And here’s the main show for today!” Yoona suddenly squealed and raised her camera as it finally showed sets of Jessica and Tiffany’s photos.

“Look at Sica’s face!” Yuri laughed and pointed at a picture of the blonde riding the Viking. “Look at how pale she was!”

“How did you manage to take this shot?” Sooyoung asked the deer eyed girl when she noticed the photo was taken as the ride was moving in high speed.

“I sat across them; that’s how.” Yoona answered calmly like it was an easy feat for her.

“I know you sat across from her, that’s not what I was asking.” The tall girl looked annoyed. “You know what; never mind…”

And the girls continued to browse the photos, laughing at Jessica’s scared face when she tried the scary rides. Seohyun was quick to position herself so she could see the pictures clearly, pushing and nudging Hyoyeon aside, and poking her head through Yuri’s arm. Even Tiffany forgot about Jessica and Taeyeon’s secret conversation and was quickly engrossed looking at the pictures, although she was now squished between Yuri and Yoona even more, thanks to their youngest friend’s sudden eagerness to see the photos.

“Seohyunnie, stop pushing!” Yoona whined as she was now crushed between Tiffany and Sooyoung. “You already have these pictures!”

“But I want to see them again, unnie!” The youngest girl pushed harder.

“You can just see them at home by yourself!” The deer eyed girl tried to push Tiffany’s body away from her.

“Oh, look!” The crescent eyed girl ignored them both and forcefully grabbed the camera so she could see clearly. “This is when we ride the log flume!”

“This is when we got wet…” She glanced at Yuri.

“But look how excited you were!” The tanned girl laughed. “I bet you were enjoying it!”

“Look at how happy you were running away with your clothes wet!”

“Sica unnie looked so adorable!” Juhyun squealed when she saw a picture of a confused blonde girl.

“That’s not the issue here-Oh, look; the haunted house!” But the black haired American girl was clearly happy to see the photos.

And the girls burst out laughing when they saw Tiffany and Jessica’s photos from the haunted house ride. The pictures were taken from the front of the American girls’ cart, so they could see clearly how scared both girls were during the whole ride. The photos were taken from close range, so they could only see their faces and upper bodies, while the entire tunnel was in the background, blurred. But they could see glimpses of the walls and how scary they were, decorated with blood and scary drawings and ghostly figures.

There was a photo of the girls with their scared faces as they were entering the tunnel, a photo of them hugging each other tightly and closing their eyes as they went further into the dark tunnel, a couple of photos of them screaming their lungs out, terrified by what they saw in front of them, and photos of them covering their ears, and then covering their faces, and then a photo of Jessica burying her whole face against Tiffany’s chest, while the crescent eyed girl had and eyes opened wide in terror and her hands were around the blonde’s waist, grasping her wet shirt tightly.

“My God, these are epic!” Sooyoung laughed so hard that she cried. “How did you manage to persuade them to ride this?”

“Poor Sica unnie…” Seohyun said after she finished her laugh, and pretended to be concern of her favorite unnie. “She must have been so terrified…”

“Yoona unnie was so bad…”

“W-What?” The deer eyed girl stared at her younger friend in disbelief. “It was all Yuri unnie’s idea!”

“And besides; you seemed to enjoy the photos just a minute ago!”

“I did not…” Juhyun said as she looked away to avoid Yoona’s glare.

“Liar…” The deer eyed girl reached out and pinched her cheek.

“So that’s what the flashing lights were…” Tiffany said as she browsed through the photos once more. “They were lights from your camera!”

“Wait a minute…” Yuri, who was quiet the whole time they looked through the haunted house photos, said nervously.

“… Did we go into the tunnel, Yoona?” The tanned girl swallowed her own saliva.

“Hmm?” The deer eyed girl said as she took the camera off of Tiffany’s hand. “Of course not, we were scared too, remember?”

“Yeah, we waited for them to come out at the exit…” The tanned girl looked shocked and leaned back in her seat, and the other girls turned their full attention to her.

“What do you mean you waited at the exit?” Jessica finally asked when the girls were getting too quiet. “You said you were going to take the next car!”

“We lied, unnie!” Yoona’s words were trembling, and her eyes were opened wide in horror. “We waited at the exit because we were too afraid to follow you inside!”

“Then who took those photos?” And the girls switched glances with each other as they realized no one could possibly take pictures with those angles without Jessica and Tiffany noticed them. Fear was in everyone’s eyes now, and their eyes turned to the digital camera, which was lying in the middle of the table, and they suddenly felt a cold breeze brushing their necks and sent shivers down their spines. “Who took…”

And they swore they heard the camera shutter clicked.

“Hyaa…!”

“Aahh…!”

“Waa…!”

And the girls screamed and jumped and ran into every direction, knocking over chairs and bumping the tables and other guests as they ran for their lives, leaving the mysterious-self-taking-photos-camera lying still on the table…