CHAPTER XL

TO THE WAY THINGS WERE

The Solitaire was full that Monday evening, and the waitresses were having a hard time handling all the orders from their loyal customers. The café was filled with people coming in wanting to relax after a long, hard and hot summer day of work, but mostly it was filled with young and passionate couples. The café was pretty well-known among those young teenagers, as it was the perfect place for a date; with its dim lights and romantic atmosphere, and a faint but relaxing sweet smell of cinnamon. And even with the hot and humid air of Korea’s summer, they were sitting so close to each other, like they were glued together, that some other single patrons would get jealous of their public display of affections, while some older customers would wonder if they were not bothered by the hot air and their sweaty skins.  

But then again, the hot and humid air of summer always had some mysterious effects on their teenagers, that made them want to cling onto their loved ones tighter, as they couldn’t get enough of each other. Love is in the air, they said.

But their romantic atmosphere was disturbed by two groups of girls sitting in one corner of the café. The two groups seemed to be quarreling and fighting among each other, and their irritating shouts and harsh remarks really ruin what supposed to be their steamy and romantic dates.

“What are you looking at, you shameless piggy?” One brunette short girl hissed at the tall girl who was sitting with her group in the table right next to hers.

“What?” The tall tanned girl slammed the table and stood up, and some couples glared at her, hoping she would notice their annoyed expression and tone her voice down. “I can look at whatever I want!”

“And besides, what makes you think I would want to look at an ugly fat ogre?” But the tall girl raised her voice even louder.

“An ugly fat ogre?” It was the brunette girl’s turn to slam the table and stood up, angrily. “Why don’t you say that again, you little skinny pig—“

“—Ugly fat ogre!” The tall girl shouted as loud as she could, and some patrons were shaking their heads at their rude exchange.

“Let me go!” The brunette shouted as her friends tried to hold her from getting into a fist fight with the tall girl. “Let me at her!”

“Come on, then!” The tall girl yelled as her friends held her back too. “I’m right here!”

“Unnie, stop!” A young sweet, innocent looking girl shouted as she held the tall girl’s hand. “You’re making a scene!”

“She started it!” The tall girl shouted as she was kicking her legs in the air.

“Shut up, you pig!” The brunette girl hissed as she kicked her legs too.

The other guests were starting to feel uncomfortable and annoyed with the commotion they were starting, and a young waitress in her twenties noticed them and decided to approach the girls.

“Now, now, girls…” The round faced, slanted eyed waitress said to them. “Play nice…”

“You’re bothering my other customers…”

“She started it, Rikku-chan!” The tall tanned girl said to the Japanese-born waitress.

“She’s the one calling me names!” The brunette girl shouted back, and the waitress let out a sigh as she held her tray against her chest.

“You girls are going to stop this right now or you can find some other place to bicker!” The short haired waitress yelled, and the girls suddenly got quiet.

“O-Okay, Rikku unnie…” A deer eyed girl said as she quickly sat down in her chair, frightened by the older girl.

“W-We won’t do this again, Rikku unnie…” A tanned girl with long black hair said timidly.

“Good,” The scary waitress stared at the girls with her scary, angry slanted eyes. “Now keep your voice down or I’m going to kick you out.”

“Y-Yes, unnie…” All the girls said at once.

“Marvelous!” The Japanese girl turned cheerful and cute so fast that the girls were startled. “Now, do you want me to refill your coffees or are they enough for now?”

“W-We’re fine, unnie…”—“We’re good…”—“M-Maybe later…” The girls quickly said at the same time.

“Well, then,” Rikku-chan smiled cutely and pinched Yuri’s cheek. “Let me know if you need anything else…”

“O-Okay, unnie…” Yuri said as she and her friends watched the waitress walked away in a cute manner.

“God…” Hyoyeon let out a deep sigh of relief when the waitress was far enough. “She’s so scary…”

“Yeah,” Yuri said as she touched her cheek which was pinched by the waitress earlier. “We’ve known her for years and this is the first time I saw her like that…”

“And how could she change expressions so fast?” Yoona said as she leaned towards her friends to make sure the waitress couldn’t hear her. “It’s like; she has a split personality or something…”

But amazingly the Japanese waitress turned around and glared at their tables, and the girls froze in their seats, frightened. The short haired waitress then put a finger on her lips and gestured the girls to keep their voice down, and the girls nodded frantically to show their obedience.

“Do you think she heard what I said?” Yoona whispered timidly when the waitress went to serve another customer.

“Stop that!” Sooyoung whispered back as she elbowed the deer eyed girl. “Ssshhh!”

“Ssshhhhh!” Yoona shushed her back.

“Ssssshhhh!” Hyoyeon glared and shushed.

“Sssshhhhhhh!” Yuri slapped the dancing queen’s arm and put a finger on her lips.

“Ssssshhhhhhhh!”

And that last shush earned a glare from Rikku-chan from across the room, and the girls were so scared that they hung their heads low and just stared at their drinks in front of them.

The girls then didn’t say anything for a while, and the steamy romantic atmosphere slowly returned to the café, and some of the couples was already starting to show their unnecessary and exaggerated PDAs again.

“What’s taking her so long?” Sooyoung said as she grew tired of their silence and was getting bored of having to watch a couple being all lovey-dovey across from her.

“Hang on; let me message her.” Yoona said as she started to push some buttons on her cellphone.

“Do you think Sica unnie forgot?” Seohyun asked with her sad eyes.

“She’s the one who invited us to hang out, Juhyun-ah,” The tall tanned girl said. “There’s no way she could forget about meeting us here.”

“Maybe she got held up on traffic…” The deer eyed girl said once she finished sending a text message to the blonde girl.

“At this hour?” Sooyoung looked unconvinced.

“Did she say anything about why she didn’t come to training today, unnie?” Seohun asked her older friends again.

“She didn’t mention anything, Seohyunnie…” Yoona said as she sipped her iced tea. “She just texted me saying she wanted to hang out…”

“Do you think Sica unnie is sick?” The youngest girl looked worried.

“She can’t possibly be sick if she wanted to hang out, Seohyun…” Sooyoung sighed and shook her head.

“W-Well, I was only asking…” Juhyun pouted as she played with her straw.

“Yeah; she was only asking, unnie,” Yoona defended her childhood friend. “You could’ve just explained it to her nicely.”

The tall girl stared at the deer eyed girl in disbelief, but soon she sighed and switched her gaze to Seohyun, and gave an apologetic look.

“I’m sorry…” Sooyoung said as she patted the pouting Juhyun.

“That’s okay, unnie…” And Seohyun’s pout quickly turned into a smile.

At that time a familiar girl walked into the café with her large pink sport bag, and after looking around for a while, the crescent eyed girl found her friends and quickly headed for their table.

“Sorry I’m late.” Tiffany cheerfully said as she sat on the last available chair in the room.

“And what was taking you so long?” Hyoyeon smiled and asked.

“Um; traffic?” The black haired American girl reply sounded more like a question rather than an answer.

“And why were you absent in training today?” Taeyeon, who was sitting in the corner and kept quiet the whole time, finally voiced her thoughts.

“I-I got an extra assignment in school today?” Again her answer was more like a question.

“Oh, really?” Both Taeyeon and Hyoyeon were staring at her in suspicion.

“Oh, what does it matter?” Yuri quickly said when she caught Tiffany’s uncomfortable look. “She’s here now; isn’t she?”

“Fine…” The dancing queen said as she let out a sigh. “So why did you want to hang out tonight, Pany-ah?”

“Nothing,” The crescent eyed girl said with her eye smile, and Hyoyeon wondered what made her look so happy, since it was so long since the brunette saw the cheerful side of her. “I just thought we didn’t get to hang out more lately…”

“Oh?” Hyoyeon decided to . “And whose fault was that?”

“You’re the one who bailed on us last Sunday and spent the whole week brooding over something…”

“Yeah,” Yuri added. “Why did you ran off anyway?”

“W-When did I ever bail on you guys?” The black haired American girl tried to look like she didn’t remember what happened at the mall last Sunday.

“Really?” Yuri scoffed. “Do I have to remind you?”

“We were hanging out at the mall last Sunday, after watching a horror movie, and then we saw those annoying brats, and then you suddenly ran off by yourself to God knows where—“

“—Okay, okay!” Tiffany quickly covered Yuri’s mouth to prevent her from saying anything else. “I’m sorry!”

“So why did you run away?” Hyoyeon kept asking. “And where did you go?”

“I-I was…” The crescent eyed girl tried to find an excuse.

“Do you know, Taeyeon?” The brunette decided to ask her best friend and fellow roommate.

“She didn’t tell me,” The slanted eyed girl shrugged as she stared at her American best friend. “And she wouldn’t answer me when I asked her…”

“I-I was just not feeling so well that day, okay?” Tiffany said quickly without really thinking about it.

“Oh?” The dancing queen grinned at her reason. “Did your tummy hurts again?”

“Y-Yes; actually…” And the black haired American girl had a bad feeling about where the talk was going.

“Like always.” Yuri was already giggling.

“Poor Tiffany,” The brunette girl pretended to be worried. “Your stomach always ruins your day…”

“Did you have an emergency and had to run to the toilet?” Tiffany blushed; embarrassed.

“Did you spent the whole day there?” Yuri acted concerned.

“Did your butthole—“

“—S-Stop!” The crescent eyed girl yelled and her friends laughed; even Taeyeon was giggling quietly. “Stop talking about my stomach!”

“But we’re not talking about your stomach,” Hyoyeon laughed. “We’re talking about your pooping problem!”

“P-Pooping problem!” And Yuri couldn’t control her laughter.

“S-Shut up!” But the girls kept on laughing, and Tiffany couldn’t do anything but sat there and pouted, and hoped that the other customers didn’t hear about her problem.

“But, seriously, Pany-ah,” Hyoyeon said after they had calmed down. “You should go see a doctor about it…”

“What if it turns out to be something serious?”

“I-It’s not!” The crescent eyed girl shouted. “It’s not serious at all!”

“I-I just…” Tiffany desperately trying to find an excuse for her “problem.” “I’m just having trouble adapting to Korean food!”

“Oh?” The dancing queen looked surprised with her answer.

“I do!” She went on to explain, even when she herself was surprised that she could think of such a good reason in a short time. “Korean foods are so spicy and my stomach can’t handle them!”

“Yet…” She added.

“Ahh, I see…” Yuri and Taeyeon nodded in agreement. “So that’s the reason…”

“I’m sorry, Pany-ah,” The slanted eyed girl finally spoke. “I never thought that you’d have problems with our food…”

“That’s okay, Tae…” The black haired American girl shook her head and smiled. “The foods here are great, but my stomach needs a little more time to adjust…”

“But still…” Taeyeon looked a little bothered. “I should’ve realized it sooner…”

“I’m your roommate after all…”

“Oh, it’s really okay, Taetae,” Tiffany tried to comfort her best friend/roommate. “I think I’m starting to get use to the food here…”

“Really?” Taeyeon looked hopeful and Tiffany flashed her eye smile to reassure her.

“Then I think you shouldn’t eat too many spicy foods…” The slanted eyed girl started to say, like she was trying to work on some diet plan for her American best friend. “So no Ddeokbokki and Jjambbong for you…”

“And we have to cut down on those spicy ramyun…”

“But Ddeokbokki is my favorite food here so far…” The crescent eyed girl protested.

“Well maybe you can eat them once a week then…” Taeyeon said as she kept listing all the spicy food Tiffany needed to avoid in her mind. “Or maybe twice a week…”

“But I already said I’m starting to get use to the spiciness…” The black haired American girl whined.

“No-no-no,” The short girl quickly said. “This is for your own good.”

“You can’t push your stomach too much…”

“Aww, you’re so sweet, Taeyeon-ah,” Hyoyeon laughed at her comment. “You’re just like my mother…”

“I think she’s more like an old grandma worrying about her granddaughter…” Yuri laughed too.

“Wha-I am not an old grandma!” Taeyeon pouted, but after thinking about it for a couple of seconds she could see the resemblance.

“Well, maybe a little?” The short slanted eyed girl said, and her friends laughed at her silly comment.

The girls then talked about how sweet and kind Taeyeon was, but the slanted eyed girl got embarrassed quickly and denied her friends claims. Yuri found her shy and bashful self to be cute and decided to tease the short girl by praising her some more. Tiffany and Hyoyeon laughed at how Taeyeon kept trying to deny all of Yuri’s flowery comments, and how her face blushed even more with every praise.

It was when Taeyeon hid her face behind her hands and Yuri laughed out loud that Tiffany caught Hyoyeon was staring at her with a wide grin, and the crescent eyed girl wondered if there was something on her face that was funnier than Taeyeon’s red and steamy face.

“What?” She asked the widely grinning brunette girl.

“Nothing.” Hyoyeon giggled as she shrugged and turned her attention to the short girl once again, and Tiffany decided not to ask further and laughed at Yuri’s jokes again.

“Nice save…” The brunette girl muttered so that only Tiffany could hear her, and the crescent eyed girl quickly turned to Hyoyeon again, with a puzzled look on her face.

“What save?” She asked, but the dancing queen just winked at her and quickly laughed at Taeyeon’s bashful behavior.

Meanwhile the other group was just sitting there busy with their own world. Sooyoung and Yoona were busy with their cellphones, while the youngest, Seohyun, was busy doing her homework. The tall girl and the deer eyed girl overheard about Tiffany’s pooping joke and laughed about it too, but they were careful not to let Hyoyeon or Yuri caught them laughing with them.

“Seohyun-ah,” Sooyoung said as she finally got bored playing with her cellphone. “How can you do your homework now?”

“I want to get this done as soon as I can, unnie.” The youngest girl replied simply.

“But we’re supposed to be hanging out,” The tall tanned girl whined. “Not doing homework!”

“Don’t bother Seohyunnie, unnie,” Yoona said as she kept her eyes on her cellphone’s screen. “Let her do her homework…”

“Urgh, you guys are no fun!” Sooyoung grunted as she glanced at the table next to theirs, and saw how the other group looked like they were having so much fun.

The tall girl quickly got jealous and wanted to tease Taeyeon too, but then she caught Hyoyeon was glaring at her, and she quickly turned her head somewhere else.

“Urgh, where is that Sica?” Sooyoung grunted once more. “We’ve been waiting like forever…”

“I swear if that stupid blonde—“ But she couldn’t finish her words as she noticed a familiar blue eyed girl standing at the entrance, looking around the fully-filled café.

“Sica-yah!” The tall tanned girl stood up and waved to the blonde girl, and Jessica smiled and walked towards them.

The blonde’s arrival quickly alerted Hyoyeon and her group, and their laughter quickly disappeared. The dancing queen carefully watched Tiffany’s expression as Jessica drew closer to her table, but curiously she found that the crescent eyed to be calm and relaxed, not like these past couple of months, and her eyes shone like she was actually waiting for the blonde girl to come. But then the not-so-attentive Yuri nudged her elbow and gestured her that Jessica was getting nearer, not realizing that Hyoyeon had known of her coming the whole time.

“Stop it,” The dancing queen said when Yuri nudged her the third time. “I know!”

“What took you so long?” Sooyoung asked when Jessica finally stood next to their table. “I’ve been bored to death…”

“The managers oppa wanted to talk to me about something…” The blonde girl said as she looked around but found there was no empty chair left.

“Really?” Yoona finally put down her cellphone. “What did they want to talk about?”

“It was nothing…” Jessica said as her eyes met with Tiffany, and her gaze slowly turned into a cold icy glare.

“Hmph!” The crescent eyed girl quickly turned her head elsewhere when she caught her glare, and she looked very annoyed by the blonde’s presence.

And with her annoyed gesture, the atmosphere quickly turned dark and tense, and the girls suddenly felt uncomfortable being in the same room as the two American girls. Seohyun immediately stopped doing her homework and she was about to offer Jessica her seat when Rikku-chan came to their rescue carrying a chair.

“Jessica-chan!” The Japanese born waitress greeted her cheerfully. “Come, come!”

“Here’s a chair for you…” Rikku-chan placed the chair and gestured the blue eyed girl to sit down.

“Thank you, Rikku unnie.” Jessica smiled as she sat down, and the other girls let out a sigh of relief.

“Nice timing, Rikku unnie!” Yoona smiled the widest and raised a thumb up.

“What do you want today, Jessica-chan?” The round face waitress asked the blonde girl with a proud face.

“Just the usual, Rikku unnie; thanks…” The blue eyed girl said, and the waitress wrote down her order and told her she would be back soon.

“So what did the managers oppa wanted to talk to you about?” Sooyoung asked the blonde girl after the Japanese waitress left. “I swear to God I was so bored waiting for you…”

“Oh, it was nothing serious—“ Jessica wanted to explain but the tall girl looked like she didn’t care and went on.

“—Seohyun was doing her homework and Yoona kept chatting on her phone,” The slim tall girl nagged. “And they wouldn’t even talk to me!”

“Oh, really?” The blue eyed girl said but again Sooyoung cut her off. “Well then—“

“—And what worse is we have to sit here next to those annoying girls!” The tall tanned girl said as she glared at the table next to theirs.

“What did you say?” Hyoyeon glared back at her.

“Then why didn’t you find another table?” Jessica asked while she glanced to the self-proclaimed dancing queen with her icy glare.

“The place was so full!” Sooyoung looked so annoyed. “We were lucky to even get a table!”

“I just don’t understand why they still allow these annoying girls hang out here,” The tall girl continued. “I mean; they’re so annoying that they should ban them from coming here!”

“Ugh, we’re annoying?” The brunette girl lost her patience and attacked back. “You’re the one who’s been bothering the other customers with your loud screechy voice!”

“My what?” Sooyoung immediately stood up, glaring angrily at her once closest friend. “My voice is probably screechy but I’m not as loud as that fat Tippany!”

“F-Fat?” The crescent eyed girl stared at the tall tanned girl in disbelief. “I-I’m not fat!”

“You’re fat!” Sooyoung scoffed. “You’re fat and you’re loud!”

“You’re so loud that I thought I’m going to be deaf every time you speak!”

“I’m not loud and I’m not fat!” Tiffany shook her head and glared at Sooyoung.

“Yes; you are.” Suddenly the blonde girl said with her mocking smile, and everyone was surprised that Jessica would attack Tiffany directly, as she usually stayed quiet whenever the others bicker.

“Y-You…” The black haired American girl gritted her teeth as she turned her glare to the blue eyed girl. “You…”

“I’m what?” Jessica taunted her.

“Y-You…” Her face was red and her eyes were already getting teary, and her friends were worried she might cry.

“Pany-ah,” Taeyeon put her hand on her shoulder to try to calm her down. “It’s okay…”

“Don’t listen to them, Pany-ah,” Yuri said as she glared at Jessica. “You’re not fat…”

“Why are you so mean to her?” The tanned girl then stared at Jessica.

“I’m just telling the truth,” The blonde girl said like it was nothing. “She’s fat, and loud, and annoying.”

Everyone was silenced hearing Jessica’s comment, and they all stared at the blonde girl in disbelief. Even Yoona was so surprised that the blue eyed girl could say such a mean thing to the crescent eyed girl.

Everyone instantly felt awkward and stayed quiet for some time, not knowing what to say or do. Taeyeon kept rubbing Tiffany’s back to calm her down, while Sooyoung and Hyoyeon just stood there with their mouths half opened. Jessica, meanwhile, kept her icy glare and mocking smile at Tiffany, while the latter couldn’t even lift her head and stared at her own feet. But the crescent eyed girl was also clenching her teeth and fists; like she was desperately trying to hold back her anger, or tears.

The awkward silence went on for a good three minutes, before a young new waitress approached their tables with some coffees on top of her tray. The new waitress had only been working at the place for a couple of weeks, but she remembered the girls since they were regular customers to that café. The waitress stopped in her tracks when she felt the awkward tension between the girls, and pondered whether she should bring them their coffees or wait until the atmosphere clear out a little bit. That was when Hyoyeon noticed her presence.

“Ah, Jungin-ssi,” The brunette girl said to the waitress. “What do you need?”

“Ah, you’re bringing Tiffany’s order, right?” Hyoyeon continued when she noticed the waitress was carrying her tray. “Great timing; she’s been waiting for it for a while now…”

The waitress smiled politely and was about to put the coffee Tiffany ordered in front of her when a certain blonde girl suddenly said, “Excuse me, but I believe I was the one who ordered that caramel coffee.”

“O-Oh, but…” The waitress immediately stopped and stared at the blue eyed girl, confused. “But I was told this is for table four?”

“Maybe they made a mistake,” Jessica said coldly. “I was the one who ordered the coffee.”

“But Tiffany ordered first, Sica!” Hyoyeon pointed out as the waitress timidly put the coffee down on Tiffany’s table. The dancing queen was starting to get annoyed by the blonde’s new attitude.

“I don’t care.” The blue eyed girl surprisingly said as she glared at Hyoyeon. “I ordered the coffee and I demand it now.”

“Surely you can wait a little bit longer, Tiffany-ssi?”

When Hyoyeon turned to Tiffany she could see the black haired American girl was about to burst. Her face was so red and so were her teary eyes, and she looked like she was biting her own lips to hold back. The pitiful sight made Hyoyeon very angry, but before she could yell at the mean blonde girl, Seohyun had already stepped up.

“Sica unnie!” Juhyun looked like she was holding her tears as well. “That’s Tiffany unnie’s coffee!”

“You should wait for yours instead…”

“Y-Yeah, Sica-yah,” Even Sooyoung was concerned for Tiffany. “Just give her the coffee…”

“It’s not a big deal…”

“But it is to me,” Jessica said unexpectedly. “I’m tired and thirsty, and I want my caramel coffee right this instant.”

“Sica unnie…” Yoona couldn’t believe the blonde girl had just said that.

“And Tiffany doesn’t mind giving me the coffee,” Jessica continued with her ever cold glare. “Do you, Tiffany-ssi?”

“No.” The crescent eyed girl sternly said, and all eyes were set on her.

“You see? She doesn’t—“

“—No; I’m not giving you the coffee!” The black haired American girl’s words were trembling when she said that.

“I’m sorry,” Jessica threw her icy glare. “What did you say?”

“I’m not giving you this coffee!” And Tiffany raised her voice and stood up. “This is my coffee and you should wait for yours!”

“Didn’t you hear what I said?” And Jessica stood up too, and both American girls started their glaring contest. “I want that coffee. Now.”

“Sica unnie, why are you being so mean?” Seohyun was already sobbing.

“Sica-yah; just stop…” Sooyoung looked scared for once.

“I can’t believe you, Sica…” Yuri shook her head, disappointed with Jessica’s mean attitude.

“I said I want that coffee and I want it now.” The blonde girl hissed, and Hyoyeon took a deep breath to calm herself down. Meanwhile the ever shy girl Taeyeon just stared unbelievably at the blonde girl. "N. O. W. Now."

“No.” Tiffany said again. “This is my coffee and I want it too.”

“Sica-yah,” Hyoyeon finally said. “You better stop now or I’ll—“

“—So,” But the blue eyed girl ignored the dancing queen’s warning. “I guess we both want the same coffee, huh?” 

Seohyun and Yoona were so scared that they were already praying the situation wouldn’t turn into a fist fight. Meanwhile the new innocent waitress was clenching her tray against her chest and watched in horror.

“I guess so,” Tiffany gritted her teeth. “What do you suggest we should do about this then?”

Sooyoung and Hyoyeon was already preparing to hold both girls down, and Taeyeon looked like she was about to cry.

“I guess there’s only one thing left to do now,” The blonde girl took a step forward, and Seohyun and Yoona gasped in horror. “Tiffany.”

“Jessica!” Hyoyeon shouted her final warning, while Tiffany just stood there like she was ready for the worst.

“Well I guess we should share the coffee then…” Jessica said as her face suddenly turned into a sweet smile.

“N-No!” Yoona and Seohyun shouted as they closed their eyes, too frightened to really catch what the blonde girl said. “U-Unnie!”

“W-Wait; what?” Sooyoung and Hyoyeon were about to separate the two American girls when they realized what the blonde said.

“I guess that’s the most logical thing to do in this situation; yes.” Tiffany flashed her eye smile and calmly sat back down in her seat.

“Yeah; let’s share it.” The blue eyed girl said as she scooted her chair next to Tiffany’s.

“W-Wait…” The other girls were dumbfounded and they left their mouths wide open as they watched the two American girls sat next to each other comfortably. “W-What’s going on?”

“What do you mean?” The crescent eyed girl smiled at them while Jessica was adding sugar syrup and cream into their shared coffee.

“B-But I thought you guys were going to fight?” Sooyoung said as she dropped down to her chair; her knees were weak from all the tension.

“But why would we fight over a cup of coffee?” The black haired American girl feigned innocence.

“B-But you guys were…” Hyoyeon couldn’t even finish her sentence as she just stood there confused. “… And then you guys were…”

“We were what?” Jessica said as she finished stirring the coffee and gave it to Tiffany. “I think you should sit down first, Hyo…”

“Oh, my God!” Yoona shouted while Seohyun giggled and wiped her tears. “You guys were acting!”

“You pranked us!” Yuri added as she slapped her own forehead.

“Oh, my God!” And Hyoyeon finally sat down as she watched the two American girls laughed. “I can’t believe this…”

“Oh, Sica unnie,” Juhyun finally laughed too. “You meanie…”

“We’re sorry,” The blonde girl laughed. “We’re sorry…”

Soon all the girls let out a sigh of relief, and they laughed when they found out that Jessica and Tiffany were only joking. The new waitress let out a deeper sigh, and shook her head, before she decided to leave the girls on their own.

“You guys are so mean…” The deer eyed girl said when their laughter subsided. “I can’t believe you tricked us like that…”

“You made Taeyeon cry!” Sooyoung pointed at the slanted eyed girl, who was sitting at the corner, busy wiping tears from her face.

“Taetae!” Tiffany reached out to the short girl next to her. “Why are you crying?”

“I-I was so scared you were going to fight…” Taeyeon giggled as she kept wiping her cheeks.

“We’re sorry, Taetae…” The crescent eyed girl said as she pulled her Jeonju best friend for a hug. The blonde girl saw that and she immediately pinched Tiffany’s hips, and the latter whined in pain. The black haired American girl turned around and found her blonde girlfriend pouting, and she couldn’t help but find her jealous face to be the cutest ever. Tiffany then smiled apologetically and caressed Jessica’s arm, all the while praying that the blue eyed beauty wouldn’t get angry with her. Although she felt like she wanted to see more of the blonde’s jealous face.

“So I guess this means you guys have already made up?” The dancing queen suddenly asked.

“We have,” The crescent eyed girl smiled sheepishly as she leaned closer to the blonde girl. “Yes.”

“Wow…” Yoona and Seohyun stared at both American girls with amazement in their eyes, and soon the others followed them. They were so amazed when they saw how quickly Tiffany and Jessica turned from what looked like nemesis into BFFs in a flash. Not just two minutes ago they thought the two American girls would get into a fist fight with each other, but there they were sitting so close next to each other with their bright and lovely smiles. And the girls felt so relieved and happy that the two had made up, and they couldn’t say anything but wore their own smiles as they watched the two BFFs cheerfully chatting amongst themselves, like they used to.

“How is it?” The blonde girl asked Tiffany when the latter had tasted her coffee.

“It’s really good…” And the black haired American girl smiled sheepishly. She really had missed that simple question from the blonde girl. That simple comment that others probably thought was just a meaningless question; but for it meant the world for her. That simple gesture that made her chest warm and her cheeks blushed. That simple show of attention that showed how much the blonde girl cared for her, even in little things like making sure if the coffee was good enough for her. And call her a hopeless romantic, but those little things Jessica done for her was probably what made her fall in love with her. "It tastes better now that we're here together..."

“Here…” She said as she shyly offered the blue eyed girl the coffee.

And then she felt her heart and her whole body melted when the blonde girl took the cup, and checked for her lip mark on the cup, and sipped the coffee from the exact same spot, while wearing her flirtatious smile.

The indirect kiss was enough to make Tiffany’s heart went wild, and she had to mustered all her strength to hold herself back from kissing the blue eyed girl at that very moment. She was reminded of their long kissing session on the top floor of their training building a few hours ago, and she immediately felt the urge to start another session. But she knew they were in public, and they had agreed to keep their new relationship a secret, so instead she slipped her hand under the wooden table and held onto Jessica’s free hand and squeezed it tight while letting out a small cute whine.

Jessica giggled as the crescent eyed girl leaned so much closer to her, and put down her cup of coffee to pet her girlfriend. Tiffany quickly felt at ease by the blonde’s gentle touch on her hair, but then she caught Hyoyeon staring at her with a curious smile and she immediately realized they were being watched by their friends all along, and she quickly pull away from Jessica.

“And they’re back with their secret-English-conversations…” Sooyoung was the first to break the silence with her sigh.

“Indeed,” The brunette girl smiled. “And we’re back at guessing what they are talking about…”

“But when did you guys make up?” Yoona asked them with her cute wide smile. “I want to know the whole story!”

“T-The whole story?” Tiffany startled and cupped her own face.

“Yeah; the whole story!” The deer eyed girl insisted. “Tell us unnie!”

The two American girls stared at each other, and soon they both laughed when they imagined what happened on that empty floor a few hours ago. Their friends were puzzled by their sudden laughter, and Tiffany’s mind took her back to the top floor of their training building.

Tiffany and Jessica had just finished their third long and steamy make out session, and although the crescent eyed girl wanted to start the fourth, their breathings were all over the place and their lips felt numb. And so the black haired American girl had to be content with just hugging the blue eyed girl while sitting on her laps, facing her. The sky was getting darker as it was already night time, and if Jessica hadn’t found a switch and turned the lights on by chance, they would’ve had to end their romantic moments earlier than she would’ve wanted. But even with the lights on the large empty room was still so dusty, and there were so many mosquitos after their fresh, boiled blood, making them very uncomfortable. And even though Tiffany hated it, she knew their romantic evening would have to come to an end soon.

The black haired American girl felt an itch on her thigh and instinctively slapped on it, but didn’t catch the culprit, and she clicked her tongue.

“Next time we’ll find a better place…” Jessica giggled as if she could read her mind.

“Where?” She asked in a cute manner.

“We’ll think about it.” The blonde girl playfully touched the edge of her nose, and she flashed her best eye smile.

“The training will be over soon anyway…” She then said dejectedly, but was amazed by how fast time went by, as she felt like they had only been there for an hour or so.

“Yeah…” The blue eyed girl replied in low spirit, and she knew that Jessica felt the same way and didn’t want to end their evening.

“Do you want to celebrate?” Jessica suddenly thought of an idea.

“Celebrate?” And the crescent eyed girl’s face suddenly lit up.

“Yeah; we should celebrate the start of our relationship!” The blonde girl said cheerfully.

“That’s a great idea!” Tiffany giggled happily. “Where should we go?”

“Hmm…” Jessica seemed to be thinking hard.

“How about the Solitaire?” She gave the only idea that came to mind.

“But we go there all the time,” The blue eyed girl said. “I want to go someplace special…”

And that comment made her so happy that she planted a kiss on Jessica’s cheek, and smiled widely.

“Oh; it’s okay,” She said cheerfully. “We can have like a pre-celebration tonight at Solitaire, and next time we can find someplace special for the true celebration!”

“Two celebrations, huh?” Jessica laughed happily. “I like the idea!”

“Right?” Tiffany laughed too. “And next time we can celebrate and have our first date at the same time!”

“Perfect!” Jessica smiled widely, and both girls stared at each other with overwhelming affection.

“Do you want to invite the girls too?” The crescent girl asked after a while.

“Do you want to?” Jessica asked back.

“Let’s ask them,” Tiffany said. “They’ve been fighting a lot lately and I think this will be the perfect occasion for them to make up…”

“I guess so…” The blonde girl hesitantly replied, and Tiffany knew she was expecting they would celebrate without company.

“Oh, come on, baby,” The black haired American girl giggled and playfully pinched Jessica’s nose. “It will be fun!”

“This is just our pre-celebration after all…”

“Okay…” The blue eyed girl put on a smile, but soon she giggled and covered her own cheeks with her hands.

“What’s wrong?” She asked.

“You just call me baby…” Jessica said, and Tiffany face flushed instantly.

“D-Do you not like it?” She asked when the blonde girl kept on laughing.

“No; no…” The blue eyed girl shook her head and smiled sweetly. “I love it…”

“You can call me anything you want…”

“Good,” She flashed her eye smile. “You’re my baby after all…”

Both girls laughed for a while and then decided to text their friends to invite them to celebrate with them. But that was when Tiffany realized that they couldn’t really tell their friends what the occasion really was.

“What are we going to tell them?” She asked her new and first girlfriend. “We can’t just turn up and say we’re dating each other now…”

“Why can’t we just tell them?” The blonde girl asked innocently while she texted Yoona.

“Jessie…” The crescent eyed girl said. “You know we can’t do that…”

“We don’t know if they will accept us like this…”

“I know…” Her pretty blonde girlfriend replied weakly, and she felt that she needed to cheer her up.

“Jessie…” She said gently. “I want to tell them too…”

“I want to tell the whole world about us…” She gently caressed her beautiful blonde hair. “And it hurts me so much not being able to…”

“But you know we have to keep it a secret…”

“You know it’s for our own good…”

“I know…” Jessica smiled and forced a smile. “I was the one who said we should keep it a secret…”

“But I’m sure we can tell them in the future,” Tiffany tried to comfort the blue eyed girl. “I’m sure we’ll get the chance…”

Jessica smiled and raised her head to look at her black haired American girlfriend, and fixed her bangs.

“Look at how fast you change,” The blonde girl smiled her sweetest. “Yesterday you were so confused and stressed out by your feelings and you thought that this relationship will never work…”

“And now you’re so calm and positive…”

“Isn’t this a good thing?” The crescent eyed girl asked.

“It’s the best thing…” Jessica smiled and gave her a sweet kiss.

“So let’s just say we want to celebrate for making up.” The blonde girl said after a while.

“Or we could just text them separately and say we just want to hang out…” She replied when she thought of an idea.

“Why do you want to do that?” Jessica was puzzled, but soon figured out what her girlfriend meant. “Are you saying that we should pretend we’re still fighting?”

“I’m just saying we should let them figure out what happened by themselves…” Tiffany said as she wore a mischievous smile.

“Oh, I never thought you as the type to pull pranks too.” The blue eyed girl laughed, and her girlfriend followed.

“Well I’ll prove to you that I can be as naughty as Yuri or Yoona…” She giggled cheerfully.

“So how are we going to do this?” Jessica said after a while, and the new couple immediately planned their prank…

“We just kinda decided it was best if we made up…” The blonde girl said and Tiffany woke up from her daydream.

“Just like that, huh?” Hyoyeon stared at the crescent eyed girl, whose face was still red as chili sauce, suspiciously.

“Just like that.” The blue eyed girl said again reassuringly.

“But unnie!” Yoona voiced her disappointment. “That can’t be all!”

“That is just so boring!”

“But that is all there is to it,” Jessica giggled at the deer eyed girl. “Are you telling me to make something up to make it more interesting?”

“Yes!” Yoona said at once, and the girls laughed at her silly comment.

“Are you going to tell us now why you were fighting in the first place?” Hyoyeon asked again, and the other girls leaned forward with expectation.

“It was just a misunderstanding!” Tiffany, who finally managed to calm her flushing face, answered plainly.

“Ey, that can’t be it,” Sooyoung protested. “Did Sica did something so bad that made you avoid her?”

“Or did she say something that hurt you?” Yoona added the question.

“She didn’t do anything!” The crescent eyed girl quickly replied, and the girls threw suspicious stares at both American girls.

“Well…” The black haired American girl said after thinking about it. “… She actually did this one thing…”

“What is it?” The girls were excited, and Jessica stared at her girlfriend with a huge question mark on her face.

“But I forgive her now, so it doesn’t matter…” She said as she smiled sweetly to the puzzled blonde girl.

“Ugh, you’re so boring, Pany unnie!” Yoona looked very disappointed. “Why can’t you tell us what Sica unnie did to hurt you?”

“Now, now,” Yuri quickly added. “The most important thing is that they’ve made up; and we can return to our normal lives…”

“To the way things were…”

“You make it sound like we’ve been fighting for years now.” Hyoyeon giggled.

“I’m just glad this whole thing is over…” The tanned girl sighed. “Finally we can put this stupid civil war to an end…”

“But I don’t remember ever asking you to start a war…” The blonde girl said as she calmly offered Tiffany the coffee, and the latter accepted it shyly.

“It was Hyoyeon unnie’s idea!” Yoona suddenly said and pointed at the dancing queen.

“Yeah; well…” The brunette girl shrugged. “I thought it was a good idea at the time…”

“I thought you guys would make up when you saw us fighting too…”

“So you were trying to make us feel guilty for causing you to start a war?” The crescent eyed girl asked while she stared on the lip marks on their cup, and she could feel her face flushed.

“That’s pretty much it…” Hyoyeon sighed and leaned back.

“Well; you shouldn’t have.” Jessica said as she kept her gaze at the flushing crescent eyed girl next to her.

“But it works, doesn’t it?” Hyoyeon insisted. “You guys made up after all…”

“We would’ve made up either way.” The blue eyed girl simply replied.

“Well I think you need to show us some appreciation,” The dancing queen clicked her tongue. “After all, we only did it because we care for both of you.”

“Then I offer you our deepest gratitude.” The blue eyed girl said sincerely.

“Oh, do you think a simple thank you would be enough?” Hyoyeon grinned in reply.

“What more could you possibly ask?” And Jessica asked her.

“Treat us tonight.” The brunette girl said as she stared deeply into her blue eyes.

“Deal.” The blonde girl said without any hesitation, and her friends instantly shouted in joy.

“Rikku-chan!” Sooyoung suddenly stood up and yelled, startling every other customer in the place. “We would like to order more!”

The night got livelier as the tension between them completely disappeared, and all the girls were now enjoying themselves to the fullest. Seohyun decided to return to her homework and only joined their conversation if she needed to, and Sooyoung and Yoona kept trying to ask the two American girls about what really happened between them, all the while trying to stuff their mouths with more and more snacks. Yuri joined the two suddenly turned reporter and kept teasing the two American girls. Meanwhile Taeyeon was shy and reserved as always, and only speak when there was a question directed at her. Hyoyeon in the meantime, went back into her surveillance mode, and was happy to just sit there watching her friends chatting and making jokes. The brunette girl caught the slanted eyed girl staring at Jessica and Tiffany, and noticed a confused look on her face. But what the dancing queen enjoyed to watch the most was how close the two American girls were that night; while they were chatting with their other friends, they kept exchanging secret glances and warm smiles at each other. And they both had one hand under the table the whole time. Hyoyeon didn’t even need to guess or to peek what they were doing, since it was pretty obvious for her that they were holding hands the entire time.

And the dancing queen was about to tease them when Tiffany’s cellphone rang, and the crescent eyed girl reluctantly had to pull her hand away from the blue eyed girl’s to pick it up.

“Oh. My. God.” The crescent eyed girl said when she read the text message she had just received.

“What is it?” Jessica asked.

“I-I was supposed to meet with Jessi tonight.” Her face suddenly turned pale.

“Jessi?” The blonde girl asked her again.

“M-My friend Jessi…” Tiffany was busy replying to the text. “We’re supposed to meet to discuss about my transferring to her agency…”

“She’s been calling me for hours now!” She continued when she noticed how many missed calls she had received. “I guess I didn’t hear her calls…”

“You're going to what?” Jessica seemed shocked by her explanation.

“I-I was going to…” And the black haired American girl realized she hadn’t told her blonde girlfriend about Jessica Ho.

“You’re going to switch agencies?” The blonde girl stood up and glared at her.

“I-I was!” Tiffany desperately trying to explain. “I was, Jessie!”

“But not anymore!”

“Not anymore!” She desperately hanged on to Jessica’s hands, afraid that the blonde girl would run away from her. “Not anymore; I promise you!”

“Are you guys fighting again?” Sooyoung suddenly asked them, and the couple could see their friends staring at them.

“N-No; we’re not!” Tiffany shook her head and begged Jessica to sit down. “We’re not!”

“When are you going to tell me about this?” The blue eyed girl said as she sat back down in her chair.

“I-I was going to tell you, Jessie,” She lowered her voice and pleaded. “I swear to God I was going to tell you…”

“Please don’t get mad…”

“Okay…” The blonde girl let out a sigh. “Just tell me what happened…”

But before Tiffany could start, a certain mean looking girl had called her, and after getting Jessica’s permission, she took the call. The other girls watched in silence as Tiffany conversed in English over the phone, and they could only guess what they were talking about. Meanwhile the blue eyed girl, who was a native, patiently waited until the crescent eyed girl finished the phone call.

“I-I need to meet with her right away…” The black haired American girl said after the phone call.

“You do?” The blonde girl looked disappointed.

“Y-Yeah…” She stared at her dejected girlfriend apologetically. “I’m sorry…”

“It’s okay,” Jessica said after letting out a deep sigh. “I guess it’s important that you explain everything to her as soon as possible…”

“Y-Yeah…” She stared down at her feet.

“Do you want me to come with you?” Her blonde girlfriend asked again.

“No; it’s okay…” Tiffany said weakly as she didn't want Jessi to think she missed their meeting because of blonde Jessie. Even if it was the truth. “I guess it will be better if I go there alone…”

“Look; I don’t know what’s going on,” The blue eyed girl tried to be understanding. “But I can tell this is important…”

“Just promise me you won’t switch agencies…”

“I won’t, Jessie…” Hearing her girlfriend’s understanding words returned her confidence to her, and she could lift her head and stared at her blue eyes once again. “I promise you I won’t…”

“Good.” Jessica finally smiled. “Go on then; it’s late…”

“Thanks, Jessie…”

And after saying goodbyes to her friends and her secret girlfriend, Tiffany rushed towards the entrance of the café. In her mind she reprimanded herself for not cancelling the meeting with Jessi and her manager earlier. She was already walking down the streets when she thought about something, and she immediately turned around and ran towards the café again. Once she was back inside she rushed towards her pretty blonde girlfriend and took her delicate hand.

“On second thought; you’re coming with me.” She said to the startled blonde girl.

“What’s wrong?” Jessica asked her while the crescent eyed girl was busy collecting her stuff.

“I'm not letting you out of my sight,” Tiffany said as she finished and took Jessica with her, and their friends could only stare at them leaving the place. “Ever again.”