CHAPTER XXV

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SOOYOUNG

Choi Sooyoung stared at the ceiling of her room, snorting and sighing. She was lying in her bed with a massive headache and a runny nose. She looked around her light cream bedroom; there were used tissue scattered, a half full glass of water, and a box of cold medicine on her dark brown wooden bedside table. She tried to sit in her bed but her head immediately spun and she quickly gave up. She sighed and grabbed a tissue to blow her nose and pulled her blanket to her neck.

The tall tanned girl cursed at herself for being sick on her birthday. She cursed her older sister for forcing her to accompany her to the park yesterday just to avoid their visiting relatives. She cursed at that pretty feminine pride of her family for buying her ice creams on such a cold day.

But she knew she also wanted to get away from those family meetings, and she knew she was the one who begged and whined to her older sister to buy her some ice creams, and she knew she was the one who didn’t want to go back home when it was getting colder and persuaded her older sister to stay at the park longer; a terrible decision since she had only worn a thin black sweater and a pair of short pants.

Now she lied sick in her bed, on a cloudy Thursday morning, the last day of Seoullal holiday, and her sixteenth birthday. She wondered what sin she had committed in her past life to deserve such bad luck. Her mother came by earlier to wake her up and wished her a happy birthday and told her she had everything ready for her birthday party, but when she found out that her youngest daughter caught a cold, she decided it was best to postpone the party. Choi Sooyoung cried when she heard that, and begged her mother not to cancel the party. She had waited too long for that day, and she had already imagined how much fun she would have today with her friends.

“But you need to rest or your cold will get worse,” She imitated what her mother told her earlier. “And then you wouldn’t be able to go to school or trainings…”

“It’s not fair…” She whined as she blew her nose on another tissue.

“Is my little sister still whining?” Sooyoung could hear a sweet voice by the door. It was a very similar voice to hers; the only difference was probably how feminine the tone was.

Choi Soojin stepped inside her younger sister’s bedroom and sat on the bed. Sooyoung could see the resemblance between her and her older sister; they both had pretty cheekbones and petite nose, they both shared a thin wide lips, and their eyes were dark brown. But her older sister had long wavy hair and smaller face, and her skin was fairer.

The crown jewel of the family, Sooyoung thought to herself. The pride and joy of the Chois…

“Why are you glaring at me like that?” Soojin smiled at her baby sister as she put a bowl of warm chicken soup on the bedside table. “It’s not my fault you got sick…”

“… You were the one who insisted you wanted to play around some more yesterday…”

“… And when I told you it was too cold you said you were fine…” The older Choi picked up the used tissues and threw them into the trash can.

“Shut up…” Sooyoung muttered as she pulled her blanket to cover her face.

“You can have your birthday party when you’re better,” Her older sister ignored her. “I already told Hyoyeon to pass the news—“

“—I said shut up!” Sooyoung shouted under her blanket, but the act strained her sore throat and made her cough violently.

“Don’t yell, Sooyoung-ah,” Soojin giggled and gently lifted the blanket. “Here, have some soup and then take your medicine…”

But the younger Choi was still upset with her and she turned her back on her. Soojin found the act pretty cute and she giggled as she rubbed her younger sister’s back.

“There, there, don’t be such a grumpy pup,” Soojin whispered gently. “Do you want me to spoon feed you?”

“Get out!” Sooyoung yelled and threw a pillow at her older sister, successfully hitting her face. “I hate you!”

But Choi Soojin laughed and threw her pillow back to her, before she rushed towards the door and stuck her tongue at her little sister. Sooyoung grabbed the pillow and raised it above her head, ready to throw it again.

“Okay, okay, I’m leaving!” Soojin laughed as she left. “Just make sure to finish the soup and drink the medicine.”

The tall tanned girl hugged her pillow and stared at the warm chicken soup. She could smell the delicious aroma of the dish and her stomach growled. When she was sure her older sister had really left her room, she lifted the spoon and quickly shoved the warm soup into . And although she was sick, she could still enjoy a warm delicious food any day.

“And Sooyoung-ah,” Her older sister peeked through the door and said with a lovely tone. “Happy birthday…”

After finishing her warm soup and taking her cold medicine Choi Sooyoung lied back in her bed. She stared around her room. In front of her, right on the edge of her bed; was her yellow wooden closet, which was now half full since she took most of her clothes to her dorm. The door was a few feet to the left of the closet, and there were a pair of her jackets and some shirts and pants hanging on its hanger. The tall tanned but now pale faced girl looked to her left beyond the bedside table and found her black sleek wooden study desk with piles of books and magazines on it. The desk also had tall racks that housed her photos and trophies. And even with her sleepy and tired eyes she could still found a particular photo she always treasured among all; a photo of her and a beautiful older friend whom she admired the most. Sooyoung met the older girl when she was staying in Japan, and the girl was already a huge star back then. She was the one who helped and guided her as she struggled in her new debut life a few years back. And Sooyoung could still remember the older girl always smiled at her with her ridiculously big and cute dimples and her round pretty eyes; the smile that could instantly wiped her worries away. And how she wished she was here with her right now and gave her that smile so her cold would disappear.

“Boa senpai…” Choi Sooyoung muttered her name as she fell asleep.

“I never knew she could be so cute like this.” Sooyoung heard a voice said.

“Aww, look at her her thumb…” Another voice said, and she swore it sounded just like Yoona’s.

“What a baby…” She wanted to open her eyes and yell at whoever said that, but she was too tired to do so.

“Stop that, Hyoyeon unnie,” A sweet innocent voice said, “Why do you have to be mean to Sooyoung unnie all the time?”

“Her fever is not so high…” Sooyoung could feel a warm gentle hand on her forehead. “… She’ll be alright…”

And that warm hand somehow gave her strength and she slowly opened her eyes. Everything was still blurry for Sooyoung as she stared at her now crowded room. And the first thing she saw was a kind worried face of a black haired girl sitting on her bed with one hand on her forehead and the other on her own. And Sooyoung noticed how kind and pretty her smile was, like a certain older friend she knew.

“Boa senpai?” The tall girl said weakly, was sore now.

“Some pies?” The black haired girl looked confused. “You want some pies?”

“It’s senpai, Tiff,” A cute giggle could be heard from a blonde girl sitting in Sooyoung’s study desk. “It’s Japanese…”

“She thinks you’re Boa sunbaenim…”

“Boa sunbaenim?” The crescent eyed girl looked puzzled. “Do you mean that Boa sunbaenim?”

“Does she know her?”

“Yeah, she lived with her for some time in Japan.” A sarcastic voice could be heard; no doubt it was Hyoyeon’s. “It’s not a big deal…”

“Wow…” Sooyoung could see things clearer now, and she could make out Tiffany’s face in admiration. “… She’s so lucky…”

“Tiffany unnie…” The tall girl muttered as she finally recognized her friend, but her head was still clouded.

“U-Unnie?” The black haired American girl looked surprised, and the other girls looked exactly the same.

“Unnie, I’m thirsty…” She weakly pointed at the glass of water on her desk.

“Oh, okay…” Tiffany quickly handed her the half filled glass. “… Here…”

“Can you sit up?”

Tiffany helped Sooyoung to sit up in her bed and carefully gave her the water. The crescent eyed girl watched how the tall girl weakly lifted the glass and sipped the water and gave the glass back to her, before she slowly lie back down and closed her eyes.

“Did she just call me unnie?” Tiffany turned to her other friends.

“Well, she is actually a year younger than us…” Yuri finally laughed; she was holding her laugh for some time. “But this is the first time I ever hear her call someone unnie…”

“I think the fever made her say that.” Yoona giggled as she sat on the edge of the bed, and Yuri followed and sat next to her.

“I think it’s so cute…” Seohyun smiled her widest.

“Cute?” Hyoyeon scoffed as she sat herself down on the floor next to the closet. “There’s nothing cute about that skinny monster.”

“Stop that, unnie!” Juhyun slapped the brunette’s arm and sat next to her.

“I’ve never seen her like this,” Taeyeon giggled as she sat next to the bed on the floor. “She looks so…”

“… Girlish…”

“Well, she is a girl after all…” Tiffany laughed as she carefully fixed Sooyoung’s short bangs.

“Stop that, Tiff.” Jessica, who was sitting at the desk with her younger sister on her laps, quickly said when she saw that kind gesture.

“Why?” The crescent eyed girl turned her head to stare at the blue eyed girl, who wore a pout on her face.

Tiffany saw how cute the blonde girl was, wearing light beige long sleeved turtle neck sweater and light blue jeans. Around her neck was the white scarf she gave to her as Christmas present. She wore her thick framed light brown glasses like usual, and a touch of pink lip gloss on her thin small lips.

The crescent eyed girl tried very hard to not stare at her lips for too long and turned her gaze to Jessica’s left hand instead, where she could see her wearing the friendship bracelet she also gave her for Christmas. Tiffany smiled happily at the sight and her eyes unconsciously went up to her lips again.

Why do I like her lips so much? Her mind wandered.

“Nothing…” The blonde girl looked surprised by the question. “… Just…”

“… Just let her sleep…”

“But I’m not disturbing her or anything…” Tiffany turned to Sooyoung’s peaceful sleeping face once more. She wondered why her blonde best friend looked so annoyed by her kind and honest gesture. She was just trying to help Sooyoung to sleep better.

She’s just jealous… Her mind said to her, and a smile immediately appeared from her lips as Tiffany’s heart jumped on that realization, and she felt happy all of a sudden.

Jessica Jung is jealous… She could not stop smiling.

Aw, so does cute Jessie don't like it when I pet someone else? She glanced at the pouting blonde.

But her smile quickly faded when she saw Krystal threw her arms around her older sister and whispered something to her. Jessica giggled at whatever it was her baby sister said, and they both laughed cheerfully.

Well, look at how selfish you are, Jessie… Tiffany said in her mind, her happy thoughts suddenly turned into unhappy ones. So you get jealous of me taking care of Sooyoung but it’s okay for you to get all cuddly with Krystal?

And the black haired American girl suddenly remembered how she was supposed to spend her Seollal at Jessica’s house, like they promised, but the blonde girl cancelled it out of nowhere because some relatives were going to stay at her house. Tiffany was packing her clothes when Jessica called her and told her the news, and the crescent eyed girl was devastated.

She had sworn not to talk to the blue eyed girl for a week for that, but when Jessica called her last night and invited her to come and celebrate Sooyoung’s birthday, all her anger vanished. Tiffany was overjoyed by the chance of seeing her bestest best friend again, and she quickly forgot all her lonely and frustrating two days of doing nothing but watch TV and doing laundry.

But now as she saw how Jessica looked more eager to spend the last day of their holiday cuddling with her younger sister, all the frustration came back and her anger rose once more.

So Krystal is more important to you than me, huh? The crescent eyed girl smiled and continued to pet Sooyoung’s hair while giving a taunting look at her bestest best friend. I’ll show you…

The blonde girl caught the act and immediately stopped laughing and glared at her, giving a stop-it-or-else look. But Tiffany glared back with a taunting smile on her face that said or what?

Jessica’s eyes grew even bigger with that taunt and she raised her eyebrow that said just you wait, Tiffany Hwang.

The crescent eyed girl slightly tilted her head sideways and raised a corner of her lips, challenging her; do your worst, Jessie. See if I care.

“Sica unnie?” Sooyoung was awake and turned to her left to find the blonde girl throwing her icy glare.

“What is it, Sooyoung?” It took the blue eyed girl some time before she looked away from her glaring contest with her bestest best friend and wore a worried smile for her sick friend. “Do you need anything?”

“I’m hungry…” The tall girl said weakly, as the other girls held their laughter at the sight of a cute and girlish Choi Sooyoung.

“Oh…” Jessica looked puzzled by the sudden request, but she knew she could not say no. “… I’ll make you something then…”

She patted her little sister’s hips and Krystal unwillingly stood up to make way for her.

“Do you want to help me, Tiff?” The blonde said as she stood up from her seat and stared at the crescent eyed girl.

“No.” Tiffany quickly said and turned her gaze back to Sooyoung. “I think I’m going to stay here.”

“And take really good care of Sooyoung.”

“Fine.” Jessica said as she took her scarf off and rushed to the door, clearly upset.

“Oh, I’ll help you, Sica!” Taeyeon said as she quickly stood and followed the blonde.

Tiffany scoffed as she watched the two girls went outside of the room. She then turned her gaze back to Sooyoung, who was already back asleep. She brushed her bangs aside once more and sighed, Stupid Jessie…

What’s up with her? Jessica thought to herself when she went down the stairs to the Chois’ kitchen. She didn’t even realize a slanted eyed girl was following her close behind.

“Jessica?” Choi Soojin was about to check up on her little sister when she saw Jessica and Taeyeon.

I thought I made it clear I didn’t like her touching Sooyoung like that… The blonde girl was busy with her jealousy that she didn’t say anything when she passed Soojin in the living room.

“Jessica?” The older Choi called her for the second time. “Do you need something?”

“Wha-Oh!” The blue eyed girl stopped and turned around when she noticed she had been ignoring Soojin. “I’m sorry, unnie…”

“I wanted to make something for Sooyoung,” Jessica adjusted her glasses. “She said she’s hungry.”

“Oh, she did?” The older Choi looked relieved and she smiled. “Well, you don’t have to make anything; I’ll do it.”

“Oh, then can we help?” The blue eyed girl suggested as she finally noticed Taeyeon who stood behind her shyly.

“Okay then,” Soojin sounded excited. “Thank you, Jessica…”

“It’s no problem,” The blonde girl said calmly. “It’s too crowded in Sooyoung’s room anyway; I figured she needed more air…”

“That’s very thoughtful of you…” Choi Soojin said as she peeked inside the refrigerator.

And the three girls decided to cook some porridge for Sooyoung. Their parents were away at the time to visit some relatives, since their youngest daughter’s birthday party had been cancelled. Soojin then tried to get to know Taeyeon more, since it was her first time seeing the slanted eyed girl.

“Well, it’s nice to see Sooyoung making new friends,” The older Choi smiled. “She’s been having a hard time since…”

“… Well…” Soojin looked hesitant to say. “… Since Japan…”

“Oh, what do you mean?” Taeyeon asked as she was curious.

“Oh, we ran out of soy sauce!” Choi Soojin suddenly said. “Let me buy some real quick.”

“Could you watch the pot for a while, Jessica?” She asked the blonde girl as she took her apron off and went to the living room to get her wallet.

“Okay…” The blonde girl smiled and nodded as the older Choi rushed to the front door.

“What did she mean by Japan?” The slanted eyed girl turned to Jessica when she heard the front door closed, but the blue eyed girl just smiled and shook her head lightly and focused on the boiling pot.

“You’re wearing my gift,” Taeyeon said after a while when she noticed Jessica was wearing a metal necklace with a small bronze Christmas bell with leaves as its pendant. Had the blonde girl hadn’t taken off her scarf, she wouldn’t notice it. The slanted eyed girl was the one who gave it as her Christmas present, and it was the first time she saw the blonde girl wearing it. “I know you’ll look pretty with it…”

“O-Oh, thanks…” Jessica felt a little uncomfortable with her praise.

And both girls didn’t say a word after that. Jessica busied herself watching the food they were preparing, while her mind wandered to the crescent eyed girl and her disobedience earlier, and Taeyeon’s courage ran out just by saying her first comment, and she went back to her old timid self.

“D-Do you think the porridge’s ready?” The shorter girl thought she should say something to keep the conversation going.

“A while longer, I think…” Jessica said nonchalantly; she was still picturing Tiffany’s face when they had their glaring match earlier.

“So…” The slanted eyed girl continued awkwardly. “… Did you learn to cook from your mom?”

“Mhm…” The blonde girl wasn’t even listening. Did I do something to upset her? She looked upset.

“I…” Taeyeon was worried the blonde girl didn’t find their conversation to be interesting, so she tried to come up with something, anything to say. After all, this was the best opportunity she had to talk with her alone, and she was determined not to waste the chance. “… I love cooking too…”

“… Perhaps you can teach me sometimes…” The slanted eyed girl eyes were filled with hope.

“Oh, yeah, sure…” Is she still upset because I cancelled our sleepover? But she looked fine until that moment…

That moment when Soojung hugged me… And Jessica’s eyes grew bigger with realization, and she smiled instantly.

“R-Really?” Taeyeon looked excited. “B-Because I’ve been wanting to taste your cooking!”

“Hmm?” Jessica couldn’t stop smiling when she figured out that Tiffany was jealous of her little sister, and she thought it was a good sign for the both of them. “Yeah, sure; anytime.”

“Oh, thank you, Sica-yah!” The shorter girl thought Jessica was smiling to her and her heart jumped with happiness, and she unconsciously hugged the blonde girl. “You’re the best!”

“O-Okay…” The blue eyed girl was surprised by the sudden hug and wondered what she had said to earn a hug from the slanted eyed girl.

Meanwhile as Jessica and Taeyeon went to the kitchen, Tiffany quickly got bored staring at Sooyoung and she stood up from the bed and decided to look around her tall tanned friend’s room to find something to occupy her mind other than a certain blonde girl. But the small room had little to offer, especially with so many people cramped inside. Seohyun and Hyoyeon were busy reading comic books they had taken from Sooyoung’s desk, while Yoona and Yuri were chatting and giggling among themselves. Tiffany turned to her left and found the younger Jung sitting at the study desk. The black haired American girl wondered why Krystal didn’t follow her older sister like always. She caught her eyes that were staring at her and quickly looked away. Tiffany was not comfortable with her stares, not since the younger Jung found out about her older sister skipped school just to nurse her. And plus she had not seen her for a long time that she felt awkward being in the same room as her.

The crescent eyed girl then saw the pictures at Sooyoung’s desk, and her curiosity made her move closer to the desk, ignoring Krystal’s stare, and browsed through the photos. And she found photos of Sooyoung sporting a long wavy hair, very cute and girly. In most of the photos the tall tanned girl posed with a cute girl she never saw before, and they looked very happy with their cute and flashy outfits. And there were some photos of them on stage, with their matching bright-girly costumes and big mics. And finally she found a laminated news article in a language she thought was Japanese, with Sooyoung and the cute girl’s photo in the center. She could only made out two words on that article that were wrote in bold English letters; Route 0.

“What’s Route 0?” Tiffany asked the girls without turning her gaze from the well kept article.

“It was Sooyoung’s duo group when she debuted in Japan.” Hyoyeon answered. “Back in 2002, I think…”

“Sooyoung had already debuted?” The crescent eyed girl looked surprised as she turned to the brunette.

“Hey, quiet down,” Hyoyeon put a finger on her lips. “You’ll wake up Sooyoung!”

“Oh, sorry…” The black haired American girl glanced to the sleeping tall girl and was relieved that the girl was still sleeping.

“Sooyoung unnie debuted in Japan in 2002, with Marina unnie as Route 0,” Seohyun explained. “But they split up after a year and Sooyoung unnie returned to Korea…”

“Marina unnie?” Tiffany asked again as she went back to stare at the photos.

“The Japanese girl in the photos.” The brunette replied. “Her name is Marina.”

“Why did they split up?” The crescent eyed girl was getting more curious.

“Sooyoung never told us.” Yuri joined in as she stared at the sleeping sick girl. “I guess she doesn’t want to talk about it.”

“And make sure you don’t ask her about that too if you don’t want to see her brooding all day.”

“Oh, I see…” Tiffany nodded and they didn’t say anything afterwards.

“But still…” The crescent eyed girl said after a while. “… She’s pretty awesome to have already debuted…”

“Yeah, and she was roommates with Boa sunbaenim,” Hyoyeon agreed. “They were pretty close back then…”

“She’s so lucky to have had Boa sunbaenim as mentor…”

“Yeah…” Tiffany sat back down on the bed and stared at Sooyoung’s peaceful sleeping face. She was amazed with the girl who got the chance to debut at such a young age; an outstanding accomplishment only for those with great talents. And she grew admiration towards the usually cheerful funny boyish tall girl. “She’s amazing…”

“Ti-Tiffany unnie…” Krystal suddenly said when the room fell into silence for some time.

“Y-Yes?” The crescent eyed girl was startled to hear the younger Jung called her name, and she turned to face the shy looking girl.

“I…” Krystal looked hesitant. “I wanted to apologize for being rude to you before…”

“O-Oh, really?” Tiffany remembered her mean glares. “It’s okay, Krystal, I didn’t even notice…”

“No, I was being rude and I have to apologize to you…” The younger Jung shook her head and insisted.

“Okay then, apology accepted.” Tiffany smiled awkwardly, but her mind told her another thing; You ‘have’ to apologize? So basically you’re being forced to apologize to me by your sister.

And I guess you don’t want the others to know you’re apologizing to me, hence the English…

“I was being rude and immature because I was scared you’re going to take my sister away from me,” Krystal smiled as she played with her hair. “But then I realized that it can never happen.”

“After all, unnie already said that she loves me the most.” And the little Jung said that with a smirk.

“W-What do you mean by that?” Tiffany was startled at her comment.

“Nothing,” Krystal smiled her widest. “I’m just stating the obvious…”

“Okay…” And the crescent eyed girl felt uncomfortable with the smile; a smile that looked like she had the upper hand. A smile of confidence from such a little girl, saying that no one could ever take her place beside her older sister. And Tiffany didn’t like that taunting smile.

Is she challenging me? Her jealousy grew when she realized that Krystal was probably saying that no matter how close Tiffany was to her Jessie, she could never be closer than her younger sister Krystal.

And deep inside she knew the little girl was probably right. Krystal had the privilege to cling on her older sister, to hug her, to sit on her lap, to kiss her. And that last thought really made her upset. She had seen with her own eyes how Krystal showered her Jessie with kisses before, and the image was really unpleasant to Tiffany’s eyes. The crescent eyed girl stood up once more and walked towards the door. Her chest was aching with anger and jealousy now that she needed to get away from that room and from Krystal.

When she opened the door she turned her head around to see the younger Jung, who was still staring at her with that annoying smile on her face. The crescent eyed girl scoffed and rushed outside. As she went downstairs she kept thinking about what Krystal had just said and her annoying smile.

Was she really trying to apologize or taunting me? Her mind wandered.

And as she got into the living room she could see the kitchen across from her. And to her surprise, she could see Jessica and Taeyeon hugging each other with Taeyeon’s back facing her. Tiffany could feel her heart instantly stopped and her stomach twirling. Her knees turned limped and her eyes teary. She could feel anger and jealousy filling her chest. But what hurt her most was probably the feeling of disappointment towards the blonde girl. How could her Jessie hug someone else? How could her bestest best friend betrayed her like that?

Tiffany wanted to yell at them, wanted to push Taeyeon away from Jessica, but her legs were too weak to move. And that was the moment when Jessica saw the crescent eyed girl standing in the living room. The blonde girl looked shocked for a second, before she pushed Taeyeon aside with an apologetic look. Tiffany caught her blue eyes and suddenly her legs regained strength and she ran as fast as she could towards the front door. She opened the door and ran outside, bumping to Choi Soojin who just got back from the mini market. The crescent eyed girl could hear Jessica and Soojin calling her name, but she wouldn’t stop running.

Tiffany ran with all her strength. She had never run like that before; not even when she had 100 meters test in her school. She was crying now, and she couldn’t see where she was going in that cloudy afternoon, but she couldn’t care less. All she wanted was to get away as far as she could. Away from Jessica and her betrayal. Her heart was aching so much that she thought she had a heart attack. She remembered the feeling; it was the same pain she felt when her mother left her. And when she remembered those painful memories, her legs gave up on her and she fell down on her knees. And everything went dark for a moment, and when she opened her eyes she could see a swing nearby.

The crescent eyed girl stood up and dragged her feet to the swing. Her knees were hurting now but she ignored them. Finally she reached the red colored swing and sat on it. And she cried. She wanted to scream but she could not find the strength to do so. And so she wept. Sobbing as she stared down her scraped knees, with her mind kept showing her the image of her two best friends hugging each other.

And the sky seemed to know her feelings and cry with her, because rain started to pour on her, light at first, but quickly became heavy. Tiffany didn’t move though; she didn’t want to. She embraced the cold rain like it was a part of her sadness. Her despair.

But when the rain grew heavier and her body shivered from the cold she wished for someone to hold her tight and tell her that everything was going to be okay. That was not entirely true, though, because she only wanted one person to hold her right now, and that person was the one who betrayed her; the teasing cute blonde girl called Jessica Jung.

The crescent eyed girl rubbed her arms to warm herself, but didn’t bother to get up and find someplace to take shelter from the cold rain. Her anger disappeared now, replaced by a strong sense of yearning, and she felt stupid for running away when she could’ve just confront the blue eyed girl.

“Jessie…” She whispered her name. “… I’m cold…”

“Then let’s get out of this rain…” A familiar sweet voice whispered into her ears as a pair of soft and gentle arms wrapped around her shoulders, and all her pain disappeared.

Meanwhile back at Sooyoung’s house, Taeyeon returned to the sick girl’s room carrying a tray with Sooyoung’s early dinner on it. But she looked confused as she put the tray on the bedside table, and sat on the bed next to the sleeping girl and stared at the floor. Hyoyeon caught the disturbed look on her face and stood up.

“What’s wrong?” The brunette girl asked as she picked up the porridge from the tray and sat next to the slanted eyed girl.

“N-Nothing…” The short girl said without lifting her head.

“Where’s Jessica?” Hyoyeon asked again. “And Tiffany?”

“They…” Taeyeon looked more confused. “… They went outside…”

“Outside?” The brunette was getting more curious. “Did they say where they were going?”

“N-No…” The slanted eyed girl looked like she was trying to figure out something. “T-They didn’t say anything…”

“Did something happen with unnie?” Krystal got up from her seat; she looked worried.

“N-Nothing happened, Krystal.” Taeyeon quickly said. “Nothing…”

“It’s okay, Krystal,” Hyoyeon tried to calm the younger Jung. “They probably went to buy some snacks.”

“Then why didn’t unnie ask me to come?” The little girl looked upset.

“Oh, it’s okay, Krystal.” The brunette slightly glared at her. “They’ll be back soon.”

“Now be a good girl and wait for your older sister.”

“Fine.” Krystal pouted and sat back down. Hyoyeon could be pretty scary when she wanted to.

The brunette girl poked Sooyoung’s cheek a couple of times and the sleeping girl slowly opened her eyes.

“Wake up, skinny pig,” Hyoyeon joked. “It’s time for me to feed you.”

“Where’s Tiffany unnie?” The tall girl still looked drowsy.

“Stop acting cute, you monster,” The dancing queen scoffed and shoved a spoon full of porridge into . “Or I’m going to flick your forehead.”

Sooyoung quickly covered her forehead with one hand and whined as she swallowed her meal. And apparently she liked the taste of the porridge and quickly opened to ask for more.

“What a spoiled pig you are…” Hyoyeon smiled as she scooped another spoon full and continued to feed her sick friend.

“I think my fever’s getting worse…” Sooyoung said weakly as she chewed her meal.

“What makes you think that?” Hyoyeon asked as she raised another spoon.

“I’m seeing things…” The tall girl said calmly. “… I’m getting spoon fed by Princess Fiona…”

And the girls laughed at the comment, except for Taeyeon and Krystal, who were worrying about the blonde girl, and Hyoyeon, who still had no clue for who or what Princess Fiona was.

“Okay, seriously; who the heck is Princess Fiona?” The brunette glared to the laughing girls.

“S-She’s a princess, unnie…” Yoona quickly covered her laugh.

“A Disney princess!” Yuri added, and she laughed harder.

“Then why are you guys laughing?” Hyoyeon almost yelled.

“Oh, stop talking and feed me more!” Sooyoung whined as she pointed to her opened mouth.

“One of these days…” The brunette muttered as she fed the sick girl more porridge. “Just you wait…”

“It’s raining…” Seohyun said when she noticed droplets of water on the window.

“It is…” Yuri nodded as she stared at the window.

“And it’s getting bigger.” Yoona added worryingly when the rain poured.

“Did unnie bring an umbrella?” Krystal stood up from her seat once more, clearly worried.

“I-I don’t know…” Taeyeon stared at the window; she also looked very concerned. “They left in a hurry…”

“Don’t worry, Krystal,” Hyoyeon said when she saw Krystal took out her cell phone to call her older sister. “I’m sure they’ll take shelter somewhere.”

“She’s not picking up!” Krystal shouted; she looked like she was about to cry now.

“Calm down, Krystal!” Hyoyeon said sternly. “I’m sure they’re okay!”

“It’s only rain!”

“Hyoyeon’s right, Krystal,” Yuri said gently. “I’m sure your sister’s fine.”

“They’re probably waiting for the rain to stop at the mini market.”

The younger Jung sat back down but she still looked worried. Deep inside she blamed herself for not helping her older sister to cook earlier. If she had helped in the kitchen then she would have known why Jessica and Tiffany decided to go outside, and she probably took her with them too. She blamed herself for taunting Tiffany; she was sure that it was the crescent eyed girl’s idea to go outside so she could have some alone time with her older sister.

The bedroom door swung open and the girls saw the older Choi standing outside looking worried with a drenched blonde girl behind her. Jessica’s hair and clothes were wet from the rain and she was rubbing her arms to warm herself. But there was this happy grin on her face like she had won a lottery or something.

“Unnie!” Krystal rushed towards her older sister. “What happened?”

“Nothing, Soojung,” Jessica’s eyes were sparkling. She looked extremely happy for some reason. “I couldn’t find a place to take shelter from the rain so I ran here.”

“Are you okay?” Juhyun asked as she stood up from the floor and rushed to her favorite unnie, and the latter just smiled and nodded.

“Where’s Tiffany?” Hyoyeon asked as she finished feeding Sooyoung.

“Oh, she went back home,” The blue eyed girl giggled. “She said she had an upset stomach or something.”

“Diarrhea again?” Yuri laughed. “I swear there’s something wrong with her stomach…”

“Yeah,” Jessica laughed. “She’s so cute…”

“She could just use my toilet instead of going home, you know,” Sooyoung said. “That’s why we have toilets here.”

“Yeah,” The blonde girl kept smiling. “She’s such a klutz…”

“Okay, enough chat,” Soojin said as she went into Sooyoung’s closet and pulled out some clothes. “Go take a shower, Jessica…”

“You can borrow some of Sooyoung’s clothes…”

“Okay, thanks, unnie.” Jessica said chirpily as she took the clothes and head to the bathroom.

“She seems…” Hyoyeon muttered as she saw the blonde girl walked away. “… Happy?”

“Is it wrong for her to be happy?” Sooyoung said to her brunette friend. “It’s my birthday after all.”

“I see you’re feeling much better now,” Hyoyeon scoffed. “Aren’t you sad your Tiffany unnie went home?”

“W-What?” Sooyoung looked shocked and the girls instantly laughed at the comment.

“Oh, Tiffany unnie, I’m sick,” Hyoyeon some more. “Please nurse and pet me…”

“I-I didn’t…” The tall girl’s face was burning red.

“Oh, Sica unnie, I’m so hungry!” The brunette girl said in a cute tone. “Please feed this adorable piggy…”

“Argh!” Sooyoung shouted as she violently threw her pillows at Hyoyeon, and the girls all and shout, as they started a pillow fight.