3 – Frustrations and Wishes

SONG OF THE CHAPTER - MIRACLES IN DECEMBER by EXO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUDwrN3c6yY

Tzuyu is on the site today. For the first few hours of her day, the head architect bossed her around, much to her annoyance, but it's a part of their job so she just followed everything that she has to relay to the workers. However, as the head engineer for the project, she has to double-check the materials, work with her fellow engineers and make sure that the base is steady in case of casualties and calamities. She had her hard hat on and a few blue prints with her. Her partner, Mark Tuan, another engineer, talked to the laborers. As soon as he's done, they went to work immediately. Tzuyu supervised the construction while Mark supervised the material-making.

"Mr. Reyes, please fix the framework." Mark instructed as she walked around. He checked the time. 12:53. "Everyone, it is lunchtime already. Tzuyu come here, let's eat Patrick's wife made lunch."

"Nae." Tzuyu obeyed then sat down next to Mark and Renalyn, the only female laborer. Despite being a female engineer, Tzuyu gained respect not only because she's an engineering genius, but also because she's tough during work hours however, once it's the break time, she becomes the most approachable person alive.

So the team started eating. Patrick, another laborer, started the conversation. "Engineer Chou, Engineer Tuan, would you mind if I call in absent tomorrow?" He asked.

"Omo why?" Mark asked.

"It's me and my wife's 15th anniversary. I'm planning to take her out for a date." Patrick received squeals from his workmates.

"It's fine with me." Tzuyu said with a smile then she looked at Mark with a frown. "You?"

"Oh, I'm cool with it. Pat, you're the sweetest thing alive." Mark laughed and the team laughed along.

"So that's why we get to eat three types of meal today! Barbeque, sinigang and tilapia." Renalyn remarked.

"Oh, Ren, today's my firstborn's first birthday."

Then Tzuyu got a call. "Omo, excuse me." She excused herself and distanced from the team.

** Im Nayeon calling **

Tzuyu answered the call. Im Nayeon is her friend who’s currently in Law School. She used to go by the nickname Hwasa during their high school days.  "Nae, Nayeon."

"Annyeong Elsa!" Nayeon greeted cheerfully.

"Annyeong to you, too. Why did you call?"

"Omo Tzu, are you in a hurry?"

"I'm eating but you called, anyway. What do you need?" Tzuyu asked. She wasn't about to waste her time on Nayeon's jokes.

"We have an alumni meeting on Wednesday." Tzuyu gasped when Nayeon told her that. She was a little shocked, to be exact.

"We're supposed to have it at the 2nd of January, right? What's going on?" Tzuyu asked.

"Apparently, China Thaww got an invitation as well. So she called the Alumni Council people, and guess what. We're getting a meeting so that Eunji can brief us." Nayeon explained. Tzuyu groaned. That darn Eunji.

"Okay, where will it be?"

"Maxx's. SM Marilao." Nayeon said. "Will you be there? Everyone in our squad will be coming over."

"Yeah. I'll be there. Is everyone really coming?" Tzuyu asked worriedly.

"Umm, yeah. Even Jisoo. Don't worry; he said Eunji won't be sitting with us."

"Arasso. I have to go, Nayeon."

"Oh, okay. See you, Tzu!" Then the two ended their call. Tzuyu sent a message to Hanbin.

Tzuyu: We have an alumni meeting this Saturday. You better go or else we're officially F.O.

A minute after, she got a reply.

Hanbin: Okay, then we're F.O. ◐﹏◐

Tzuyu grunted then rolled her eyes and then replied.

Tzuyu: Fine.

As if it was sound, Hanbin replied immediately.

Hanbin: I was just kidding lol. Where and what time? It's my day off but I'm on call. If I don't have surgery, I might come.

Tzuyu was annoyed so she answered him,

Tzuyu: ask Irene.

Tzuyu smiled a bit then shut her phone back off. She mentally face palmed when she remembered that she forgot to ask Nayeon about the time.

Bwoya, I'll just ask her later. She told herself then she went back to the team.

"Omo, Tzuyu, your smile is different!" Mark teased.

"It's just Nayeon so shut up, Tuan." However, everyone in the team noticed that their Ice Queen engineer is evidently smiley after her conversation with Nayeon and Hanbin.

Saturday. 6:30 pm at Maxx's SM Marilao, a certain squad is waiting patiently for their friend. Im Nayeon, Myoui Mina, Kim Dahyun, Terrence Perez, Cha Hakyeon, Raven Lopez, Kang Minhyuk and Vernon Guttierez are the ones waiting. Nayeon is a Law student, Mina is currently an Intern, Dahyun is an architect, Terrence is also an intern, Hakyeon and Raven are accountants, Minhyuk is a computer engineer and Vernon is a CSI. Enough of the introductions, the star has arrived.

"Omo Elsa is here!" Mina said as she laughed hardly. Raven laughed out loud as well, and then Tzuyu hit him.

"Ow, Elsa, you hurt me!"

"Cut the elsa crap, Ravi. It's nice to see you again." Tzuyu said. Half teasing and half serious. She sat down and asked. "What did you order?"

"Chicken and then Pork Sinigang. You want to add something?" Minhyuk nicely asked.

"Yeah. Caldereta." Upon her words, Vernon called a waiter then asked him to add Caldereta on their order. "Who's paying?"

"Villacarlos." Dahyun plainly said. As always, Tzuyu told herself. "Why does he keep paying the Alumni bills? What is solicitation for?" She complained.

"Better ask Kendrick Villacarlos about it, then." Terrence said with a light chuckle.

"So are you guys going to the wedding?" Hakyeon asked while he glanced over at Tzuyu.

"The hell is with that look, Cha Hakyeon?" Tzuyu noticed this and immediately retorted.

"Nothing, Tzu." Hakyeon smiled then asked the same question.

"I am. I dunno bout Tzuyu though." Raven said.

"I'm going." Tzuyu declared, which made the whole table gasp.

"You are?!" Dahyun asked, as if she does not believe what she's hearing. "Omo have you guys made up?"

"Tzuyu." Mina reacted. "Are you...?"

"I am, I mean, we're friends. Just because he's my first heartbreak doesn't mean that we're not friends. I don't want our friendship to look like we didn't have any at all. Oh wait, holy crap, did you get me?" She stammered, afraid that her friends didn't get her point.

"Oh yeah, we got you, Tzu-mama." Terrence assured her.

Just after Terrence spoke his last word, four people arrived. "Ayo! Can we share?"

"Wendy Son!" Mina greeted her old friend.

"Irene, annyeong." Nayeon said.

"Jinhwan, Hi!" Raven smiled as he greeted his old classmate.

"What the hell?" Tzuyu complained as she saw Hanbin.

"Nice to see you, too, Tzuyu." Hanbin greeted back. "Oh, hi, Terrence, Mina."

"Omo! Come, sit!" Hakyeon said as he lent them a few chairs. The four people sat down.

"Annyeong, Tzuyu. How's life?" Hanbin teased.

"It was better without you. Gosh, my day is ruined." Tzuyu battled.

"Yah, it's almost seven in the evening, is it still daytime?" Hanbin fought back.

"Ah shut up! What the hell are you even doing here?"

"No more tables. We had to share with you. Sad life." Hanbin joked. Tzuyu rolled her eyes on his remark. Hanbin's squad and Tzuyu's squad laughed at the small quarrel.

"Hey, is it just me or everyone got Eunji's invitation. Why did that bit** invite me? We're not even close. Is she a Kate Middleton-wannabe?" Wendy complained.

"Hold your tongue, Wendy." Mina said as she drank the lemonade she ordered.

"That was censored." Hanbin said with a cheery smile.

"I think, however, that they're trying to hide a pregnancy. Boy, we have to talk to Jisoo about following Minhyuk's footsteps. Sorry, Min." Raven remarked.

"It's fine, bro. It's been three years. I'm over that." Minhyuk assured him.

"Minhyuk aside, I have to say that that's what I think as well." Nayeon said. "Who gets married at twenty-three? Their hormones must've gotten into them."

"Yeah, talk about estrogen and testosterone." Terrence remarked.

"Ooh, give me five Terrence!" Hanbin said then gave each other a high five.

Damn doctors. Tzuyu, the master of rolling eyes, rolled her eyes again.

Then it got serious on Irene's remark. "But why did she have to invite everyone? Is she, perhaps, trying to shove it on our faces? That she's getting married and we're single?"

Minhyuk spoke up. "I personally think that she's over-acting. Seriously, though." Minhyuk, the guy who has a line for an eye started to turn serious. "She did not shove it on our faces; rather, I think she's shoving it on Tzuyu's face, not anybody else's."

"That girl would really die for Jisoo. Tsk." Vernon remarked. "She'd do anything to sweep everyone on their way."

"What a bit**" Wendy cursed out loud again.

"Censored." Hakyeon laughed at his own comment.

"However, that's the truth. That girl seriously has issues." Hanbin started. "I mean, almost a week ago, I went to a double date with Tzuyu. And then we went to Sana's boutique. She's there and all she's done is boasting about her wedding like it's a queen's wedding." He nudged Tzuyu. "Say something to back me up."

"Your problem, not mine."

"Yah, but you're the victim here!"

"But the witness has already stated his statement. The victim doesn't need to give a statement because the witness proved it."

"Oh, guys HRM alert." Ravi alerted them.

Tzuyu nudged Mina. "HRM? What does that mean?"

"Her royal majesty."

Tzuyu made an 'oh' sound as she watched Eunji and Jisoo enter the restaurant. "Annyeong." Hanbin greeted Eunji with a smirk. Tzuyu chuckled. Oh, goodness who would forget about Eunji's mini-humiliation? Tzuyu thought to herself.

"Omo, I should find Janette." Eunji stated.

"Nah, it's cool." Tzuyu assured her.

"Totally cool." Hanbin backed her up.

"Hey, are you motherfricking serious?" Mina asked silently.

"Yeah, she's Jisoo's fiancé and Jisoo's from our squad, so why not?"

"Arasso." Mina agreed reluctantly but she still agreed so Eunji sat down next to Jisoo and Hakyeon.

Soon, the two groups had different discussions. Hanbin's squad talked about their food while Tzuyu's squad talked about dating and stuff. However, Hanbin got bored and decided to throw a folded straw on Tzuyu's face. Then engineer made a face then shot daggers on Hanbin. "Yah jinja, you bastard. You are really talented on pissing me off, aren't you?"

After the meeting, Tzuyu and the squad stood up, preparing to leave. "Okay, kaja. It's going to be traffic on my way to Taguig." Tzuyu said. In fact, Tzuyu is a little bored and annoyed. She just wasted three hours of her precious time on nothing but eating, chatting and lots and lots of air comimg from Eunji.

"Hey, can I ride along? I'll drive. I didn't bring my car. "

"Oh, okay." Tzuyu answered. She turned around to face her squad. "Yah, I'm leaving. It's late already."

"Oh, okay. We're actually leaving, as well. I'm going home to Meycauayan, so Minhyuk's dropping me off." Mina explained.

"Nae, and then Nayeon..?" Tzuyu asked. Being one of the eldest, she worries a lot.

"Oh, Jisoo doesn't have loyalty issues. He's dropping me off." Nayeon said proudly. "Ha! That pissed Eunji off!"

"And then Vernon's going to drop everyone home except me. My brother's gonna pick me up." Dahyun assured Tzuyu. "So we're fine, Tzumama."

Tzuyu sighed. "Okay, okay. But you better get home safe, aracchi? Jisoo, Nayeon better comes home safe or else I'll kill you." Tzuyu threatened her friend, who in return, gave a smile.

"Nae, Elsa." He teased.

Hanbin immediately looked at Tzuyu. "You made up?!" He asked, almost bewildered.

"Nae, Anna." Tzuyu jokingly said.

Hanbin gasped. "Is the Ice Queen joking with me?!" Tzuyu smiled then walked first. Hanbin, being Hanbin, teased Tzuyu around until they got to the parking lot. "Gahd, did you and Kim Ji Soo make up?"

"We did." Tzuyu plainly said as she unlocked the car. "Well, both of us can't help it. He may be my first heartbreak, but I have to try my very best to move on, now. Because he's getting married."

"Oh, Elsa's turning to Anna because of a guy yiee!" Hanbin squealed. "I'm driving!"

"You better be." Tzuyu said then she got into the passenger seat next to the driver's.

So the pair went off. As always, Hanbin started talking.

"So, Tzuyu, are you going to the wedding?"

Tzuyu groaned. "Is that the only topic we can talk about? Yes, I'm going, did that answer your question?"

"Well, curiosity kills the cat."

"And they're none of my business now. I can see that Jisoo's evidently happy. I mean, I haven't seen him that happy years ago."

"Are they really not your business, Tzuyu?" Hanbin attacked, like he always has.

However, Tzuyu's Ice Queen Facade is back in a split second, and she ignored him. Bastard, she thought to herself as he somehow asked her lots of follow-up questions. And Tzuyu wasn't able to stand it anymore. "I've said things I didn't mean, I wished I've done this or that. I wish they weren't my business at all. And I had a lot of what ifs. But in the end of the day, they're all just what ifs."

"So they are your business." He asked again.

"Why do you keep doing this?"

"So you can move on."

"And how is this supposed to help me?"

"Tzuyu, one day, you'll realize that everything that happened was just a bad nightmare or a big mountain. And when you finally get over it, you'll even wonder what the heck was wrong and why were you like that in the first place."

Tzuyu wasn't able to hold her tongue. "Is that what happened to you and Yeri?"

How did she know? He asked himself but he shrugged it off. "Well, you weren't the only one who waited." Hanbin said with a sad smile. "And I'm still waiting." Hanbin said then he drove quickly.

Later on, after almost an hour of silence and ballads, they got jammed in the heavy traffic.

"What the heck? Traffic? Even at 10?!" Tzuyu complained.

"You're an engineer, do something about it." Hanbin said, which surprised Tzuyu, since he spoke so coldly. It irritated her.

"Yah jinja!" Hanbin looked at her with sad eyes.

"Can you just, keep quiet?" He requested.

What's with this freak? She asked herself. I got it! "Yah get out."

"What?!"

"I'm driving. If we get into an accident, my body isn't insured. So if we get into one, my career is over. So get out." Hanbin and Tzuyu switched seats then Tzuyu waited for an opening to get out of the traffic.

"Where are we going?"

"Shortcut." Tzuyu plainly said. Then she drove quickly until they got to Mystique Perfumes Inc.

"Why are we here?" Hanbin immediately asked her.

"Too many questions!" She complained. "Just follow me, okay?" She greeted the guard.

"Miss Chou, your grandmother is still in the building." The guard told her.

"Oh, why? She's supposed to be home by now. Oh, please don't tell her I'm upstairs, she might get paranoid." She told the guard.

"Yes, Maam."

The pair went up to the 32nd floor. But they still had to take the stairs to get to their destination. On the stairs, Hanbin asked, "Is this your company?"

"Shareholder. 10%. That's all." Tzuyu said, which made Hanbin gasp.

"You can make a living out of that!"

"I love my job." On top of the stairs, Tzuyu opened the white door. "We're here."

It was the building's Helipad. "Why are we here?"

"I always come here to freak out my frustrations. Because I'm alone and no one can see me." Tzuyu gave Hanbin a sad smile and said, "This place is the witness of my pain."

"Why did you bring me here?"

"Stop flashing a smile. And you reek of pain. It's annoying." She said as she shouted, "I've forgiven you, Kim Jisoo! Please be happy! Be happy for me!"

Hanbin manned up then screamed, "Yeri why did you marry another man?! How did you shove it on my face, thinking that it's alright?! Goddamit, it's not fine, not fine at all! Crap, did you think that I moved on?! I didn't! I still waited." He broke down, and cried. "Dammit, I wish I didn't meet you at all."

Tzuyu gave him a pat on the back and hugged him. Hanbin hugged her back. Because they know that they've been through the same and they've finally found someone to share their pain with, after seven years.

After a week, Tzuyu's front door was annoyingly noisy. Teri went out for a morning jog with Bobby while she dismissed her servants for the rest of the Christmas Vacation. So it's just her inside the house. So it annoyed her that she had to come down and find out who's making that noise.

To her surprise and the visitors' demise, the visitors are the females of her squad.

"What the actual heck?!" She screamed. "It's seven in the morning and you guys are out here?!"

"Oh, hey, Elsa, good morning to you, too." Mina said sarcastically.

"Who the hell invented that Elsa crap?" Tzuyu complained.

"I did. And Terrence did." Nayeon claimed.

"Aish. Come in." Tzuyu said as she welcomed her friends in. As soon as her friends got into her house, the three immediately went to the kitchen, which surprised Tzuyu.

Mina opened the left door of the fridge which contains the drinks. "Bwoya Tzuyu! How can you live with just tetra packs of Bear Brand?! And water! And Mogu mogu! Are you human?!" Mina ranted.

"I am. What the hell? Am I not allowed to drink those?"

"Nah. I expected to see wine, at the least. My nigga, you live in The Fort!" Mina teased.

"Oh yeah, and you live in Global City, so shut up. Get some, if you want." The three friends smiled then grabbed what they wanted on the fridge and then sat on the counter while Tzuyu cooks her breakfast. "What brings you three here, especially you, Nayeon. Don't you have school today?"

Nayeon looks really pissed today. She rolled her eyes. "Well, apparently, HRM wanted to see her visitors' dresses. Damn, I had to write an excuse letter to the dean!"

"I wrote it, signed it etc." Dahyun remarked. "The Dean seriously believed that it's her Dad's last day in the country!"

"HRM wants her wedding to be ultimo perfecto. I'm gonna puke. Seriously. It's Hollywood, so yeah. Ugh, so we have to go shopping." Tzuyu's mouth dropped to the floor upon hearing this and rolled her eyes in irritation.

The four girls went to the mall. And guess whose Salon and Boutique they're going to.

Sana's!

"Sana!" Mina greeted but she was taken aback, so she stopped, which caused a halt from the people behind her. Due to that, the three people behind her bumped on each other. Dahyun whispered a curse, Nayeon 'ooh'-ed and Tzuyu, well,

"The heck Myoui?!" Tzuyu complained.

Then Mina pointed the scene inside with her lips, so the three girls caught a glimpse of the scene inside the boutique.

The two other girls 'ooh'-ed while Tzuyu calmly stared at the scene inside.

The scene? Eunji is having her hair done while reading the catalogue, while Sana was chatting with her stylists when she saw Mina.

"Omo, Mina-chan!" Mina gave Sana a small smile. As friends, they have this 'look-talk'. A telepathy-like wherein this works for friends. They just look at each