♪ Song ot the chapter: Taeyeon & Tiffany - Lost In Love ♪

***

She took a look at the clock on the table. 3:09. She did not realize that it was already 3am in the morning, but what irritated her even more was the person who could not seem to stop banging on her door at this hour. Ruffling her hair in frustration, she dragged herself out of her study room.

She was prepared to give at the person a lesson the moment she opened the door, but stopped immediately once she saw who it was.

“Taeyeon-ah, hi.” The person grinned at her.

Taeyeon frowned at the strong alcohol smell. She helped the girl into the place and settled her down at the couch before she went to grab a warm towel and clean clothes like how she always does. It wasn’t the first time she had to do this, after all.

“What happened to you again?” Taeyeon mumbled to herself as she changed the girl.

“Taeyeon-ah.” The girl laughed and held Taeyeon’s face. “Why are you here?”

“Why are you here? Again?” She mumbled again, not expecting a reply.

Taeyeon was about to pull her shirt off when the girl swatted her hand away.

“What are you doing? Why are you taking my top off?”

“Can you change yourself?”

The girl nodded.

“Alright then. Change while I go get vitamins for you, okay?”

Taeyeon saw her nod again before going to the kitchen to get vitamins and a glass of water. The girl was done changing when she came back. She placed the vitamin and water on the table.

“Care to tell me what happened tonight? Why did you drink so much again?”

“I broke up with him.”

As expected.

“Why?”

“I don’t know.” The girl slurred. “Why can’t people be like you?”

“Huh?”

“Why can’t they care for me like you?”

Taeyeon gulped at the sudden confession. Truth is, she has been having a one-sided crush on the drunk girl sitting in front of her ever since high school. They have been friends since they were 15 and Taeyeon has always had an extra care for her. At first, she brushed it off as friendship and the extra care is just because she is her best friend, but when she realized the fluttery feelings she gets in her stomach whenever she’s with her and how she wanted to just pull her in and kiss her, Taeyeon knew it was something more than a friendship. It scared her since she was young, but she has learned to accept it. She was in love with her best friend, and still is.

The girl leaned forward, putting her head on Taeyeon’s shoulder, seeking for comfort. Taeyeon knew and pulled her into a hug. She rubbed her back slowly, hoping it will make her feel better. She didn’t like seeing her sad like this.

“I wish everyone was like you.” The girl mumbled into her shoulder. 

Her heart started beating faster despite knowing it was impossible for anything to happen between them. The drunk girl was into boys, not girls. So what do you mean, Fany-ah?

Taeyeon loosened her hold when she felt the girl sitting up. They looked at each other for the longest time and Taeyeon swore she saw the girl looking at her lips. She gulped again.

The girl started leaning forward again, eyes slowly closing. Taeyeon felt her soft lips on hers, those lips that she has wondered for a million times how they feel like when kissed. As much as she would like to continue this kiss, the kiss she has been waiting since high school, she knew the drunk girl was not in the right state of mind and did not her to make a mistake.

“Fany-ah, stop.” She pushed her away, fighting the burning urge inside her.

“Why? You like me, don’t you?”

“I don’t want you to make a mistake.”

“I’m not drunk. It’s not a mistake.”

“You’re going to regret this when you wake up. Don’t do this.” Don’t do this to me.

“I wouldn’t.”

“But I will.” Taeyeon stood up. I can't do this. It's going to hurt more. “Take the vitamin and get some sleep.”

“Tae…”

Taeyeon ignored the call and went back to her room.

---

Taeyeon was having breakfast when Tiffany woke up.

“You’re up? How’s your head?”

“Hurts like crazy.” Tiffany sat down at the dining table next to Taeyeon.

“Here,” Taeyeon had already prepared the usual vitamin and water because she knew Tiffany would need it when she wakes up. “Take it. You’ll feel better.”

Tiffany swallowed the pill with the help of the water. “Thanks.”

“Hungry? I can make you some pancakes.”

Tiffany shook her head. “The headache is killing my appetite.”

“You can go sleep more in my room if you would like. I’m not going to be out until afternoon.”

“Don’t mind if I do.”

---

“She came again?”

Taeyeon gave a short nod.

“What happened this time?”

“Break up, as usual.”

“And you let her in?”

“I can’t exactly leave her outside. It was three in the morning, Soonkyu.”

“You could’ve sent her home on a cab or something.”

“I would still have to bring her up to her apartment and do the same routine, what difference does it make?”

“Well, the difference is that you can leave her after you’re done instead of having her stick around till the next day.”

“She was sleeping most of the time anyway.”

“I can never win you in this, can I?”

Taeyeon shrugged.

“Why do you keep doing this to yourself, Taengoo?”

“I don’t like seeing her sad and hurt. You should know why.”

“But this in turn makes you sad and hurt.”

“Still beats seeing her hurt.”

“You’re hopeless when it comes to Fany.”

Taeyeon smiled sadly. “I thought we established that since years ago when I realized I can’t get over her no matter how hard I tried or how many dates I went on.”

Sunny sighed. “Try to look out for yourself too?”

“I will.”

---

“You like me, don’t you?”

Taeyeon kept thinking about what Tiffany said for the next few days. So many thoughts ran through her mind – how Tiffany knew her one-sided crush, whether Tiffany meant what she said about wanting everyone to be like Taeyeon, whether Tiffany was sober or not when she kissed her. She was dying to ask, but Tiffany never mentioned that night again and she didn’t want Tiffany to know what happened, in case she was really drunk.

She was working on the marketing proposal for her client when she got a text message.

“Hey? Are you here?”

“Yup. What’s up?”

“Can we talk?”

Taeyeon sensed the seriousness.

“About?”

“Let’s talk about this face-to-face