“Sica!  Tae!  Guess what happened?”

“You finally decided to sell all your pink stuffies?” the shortest joked.

“Ahahahaha. No,” she said in a sarcastic tone.  “Come on guys, guess!”

“Hmm.  Your daddy finally let you try out for that entertainment company you’ve been dying to get in?” This time it was the blonde who spoke.

“I wish.  But no, sadly.”

“Then what?” the two asked the overexcited girl in unison.

“He asked me!”

“Who?”

“Him.  You know?  That him.”

“Ohhh, that guy,” the shortest raised her eyebrows.

The girl blushed cutely.

“Congrats Fany!  We all know you’ve been dying to go out with him for who knows how long.”

“I’m excited too!  When oppa finally wanted to talk to me, I didn’t know what to do.  But I’m glad everything turned out well.”  She added with a smile.

Just then, that oppa walked by, and Tiffany immediately diverted her attention to him.

“Hi oppa!”  Her tone grew even cheerier, if it were even possible.

“Hi Fany.  I just wanted to know if you were free tonight.”

She squealed internally.  Suffering a loss of words, she finally was able to reply, “of course I am!  Where were you planning on going?”

“I’m not too sure yet.  I was planning on just going to the mall, maybe catch a movie or something.”

“Sure, oppa.  Sounds great!”

“Alright.  See you later then,” he smiled at her and walked away.

As Tiffany turned back, she could see both her friends grinning like excited children.

“What?”

“You’re blushing; So much that you’re redder than a tomato.”

She ducked her head, feeling embarrassed.  She couldn’t help it, she felt so happy.  She’d been crushing on this guy for so long now.

*Ring ring* 

“Well, that’s the bell.  Better get to class.”

--

The next day at school, all three arrived early.

“Yah, Fany.  So how did the date go last night?”

“It was so much fun!”  The girl practically exploded with excitement at the mention of her new boyfriend.

The two laughed.  “Good to know it went well.  Details?”

“Well we went to see that movie about like… vampires.  He was such a gentleman through the entire date.  I don’t know, but it seemed pretty perfect.”

“Sigh, you and your Twilight obsession,” escaped from the mouth of the oldest.

“I haven’t had such a successful date in a long time, honestly.”

“Fany, that makes you sound like you’re a player.”

“Well, I am,” and an evil smirk appeared on her face, earning her a slap on both arms from both the shorty and the blonde.

“Just kidding!  No need to get all violent on me.”

“Stay grounded girl.  We don’t need another replay of that incident.”

“I agree with the lazy one here, Fany.”

“Okay okay, geez guys.  I’ve learned my lesson from that time.  It won’t happen again.”

“Good.  Stay that way.”

--

Months had passed since that day when Tiffany brought to them the news that she had been asked out by him.  Taeyeon felt as if they were growing apart, because of him.  She was so devoted to spending time with him, as if she were in her own little world, away from reality.

Tiffany no longer went to the weekly hangout or sleepovers the three used to have.  Even when she had gone out with guys beforehand, it was never so deep to this extent.  She didn’t even eat lunch with the two anymore, instead choosing to sit with her new boyfriend and his friends.  They aren’t even nice people, thought Taeyeon. 

The few moments where Tiffany is there with them, she spent staring at her phone, or talking on the phone.  She had fallen head over heels for this guy and she didn’t even realize it herself.

“Fany-ah,” Tae started the conversation not even knowing if the latter was paying any attention.

“…Yeah?”  It took a few seconds for a reply.

“Uh, do you want to hang out this Sunday?  Just me, you, Sica?”

“…Huh?”  Tiffany was more focused on her texting.

“Sigh, you’re not even listening.  Never mind then.”

“Tae?  Can you call back another time?  I’m kind of busy.”  She didn’t even bother to wait for the older girl to say bye, and cut her off, returning to her texting.

It was to the point where phone calls like this were now of the norm.  And often afterwards, Taeyeon would call Sica to vent out her feelings.

“Sica… Tiffany is drifting away from us.  I hate this.”

“It’s okay Taengoo, she’s just going through a phase, like always.  Remember?  She used to be so obsessed with that one guy, and a while afterwards she dumped him.”

“But this time is worse than any of the past times.  She’s spending all her time with him, and neglecting us.  I want my Fany back,” she said not noticing what she referred to Fany as.

“Your Fany?”  Sica laughed.

“…Oh.  I mean our Fany.”

“It’s okay.  You know Fany, she has her weird hormones.  Trust me, give it a few more weeks, she’ll be over it.”

“Sigh…I guess.”

“Wait…  You JELLY?”  the blonde emphasized on the last word, letting out a laugh almost comparable to the other’s ahjumma like laugh.

“What?  NO.  Ew.  EWWWW.  Yah!  Jung Sooyeon, what are you thinking of?”

She was still laughing.  “Chill man, I’m just teasing you.”

“You better be.”

“I’m so scared,” the younger sarcastically remarked.

“You know, I can be really scary,” the elder tried to convince the other, raising her arm, and gently slapped the latter’s .

“Yah!  Byuntae!”

“That’s what you get,” she smirked.

--

The next few weeks were not much better.  What Jessica had told Taeyeon was completely wrong.  In fact, Tiffany had fallen even deeper into what she believed was love, and her two best friends were losing her as the days progressed.

They barely even saw each other anymore.  Tiffany had almost completely removed herself from the rest of the world.

“Tae-tae, sorry but I won’t be able to make it tonight.”

“…Oh.”

“There will be other times, right?  Sorry, oppa suddenly asked if I wanted to go see this concert.  They’re the hottest boy band right now!”

“Whatever,” this time, Taeyeon cut her off.

Geez, what’s her problem?thought Tiffany.

“What happened?” asked the blonde who was there with Taeyeon.

“She bailed.  Again.  Last minute.  And it’s even my birthday.”

“Aish that girl.  Will she ever learn?”

“Whatever.  Let’s forget her for now, and try to enjoy what’s left of this night.”

A few days later, when Tiffany finally decided to have lunch with the other two for the first time in months, she was ignored.  Taeyeon even left the table, without a word.

“Yah, Sica.  What’s up with you two?  Especially Tae?”

“You ditched… a few days ago?  Don’t you remember?”

“Oh…that.  But we always hang out!  Plus, oppa had those killer tickets!  Front row seats!”

“Oh really?” Jessica accidentally showed a sign of interest when she was supposed to be mad at her.

“Fany-ah, you haven’t spent time with us for over a few months now.  Sparing all your free time with that oppa of yours.  You even forgot it was Taeyeon’s birthday a few days ago.”

It took a while for Tiffany to process it in her head.  Suddenly, her eyes popped wide open, as she realized what she had done.  “OHMYGOD.  WHAT HAVE I DONE?”

“Exactly.  Now you understand why she’s mad?”

“Why didn’t you tell me?  Why didn’t she tell me?”

“Uhh.  Cuz you should have known.  Dude, we’ve spent all our birthdays together since as long as I can even remember… and you forget because of that guy… what a great friend you are.”

“Yah, watch it blondie.  I happen to like that oppa very much, more than all the others before.”

“We’ve realized…”

“I’ll make it up to Taeng somehow.”

“You better,” she stared icily at her.

--

Ding Dong.

Taeyeon went to her door and answered it, not knowing who to expect.

“Surprise!”  It was none other than the smiling angel.

“Hi Tiffany!” was all she managed to blurt out, surprised as she was.

“Happy birthday!  Well, happy, belated birthday.  I’m sorry Tae-tae.”

“It’s okay Fany.  Come in for a while.”

“Okay, but I can only stay a while, and then I have to go again.”

“…Oppa again?”

“Mhmm.  We’re eating out today, at an Italian restaurant.”

“Oh.”  Taeyeon’s sudden mood drop was quite obvious.

“What’s wrong Tae-tae?”

“Nothing.”

“Right.  Come on, you can tell me.”

“You probably don’t care.”

“What?  Why would I not care?  I’m your best friend Tae-tae.”

“It sure doesn’t seem like it.”  She knew she shouldn’t have said it.

“What?  Tae, what are you saying?”

“I’m saying words.  Words, words, and more words.”

“Yah, Kim Taeyeon, don’t play smart with me.”

“Oh, you thought I was playing?” Her voice tensed.  “Well I’m sorry then.  I didn’t know I was just a game to you.”

“I’m confused.  Kim Taeyeon, can you just tell me straight what’s wrong?”

“No.  I can’t.  You’re smart.  You figure it out.  Please get out of my house.”

“Fine.  Be that way.  Forget that I even came today.”

She slammed the door.

All Taeyeon could do was cry.  Why is she like that now?  What has gone into her?

--

They continued not talking for quite a while.  It must have been at least another few weeks.  Jessica hated being the one in between.  She was more on Taeyeon’s side, but she also understood where Tiffany was coming from. 

“Taengoo, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“You can’t fool me.  You know that.”

“Fine.  Tiffany’s still not talking to me.”

“Well, it is kind of your own fault, you told her to pretty much get out of your house, and your life.  For now at least.”

“Well, she should know me better.  She knows I don’t mean it.”

“You hurt her Taeng.  All she wanted to know was what was wrong… and you basically yelled at her.  She didn’t even get an explanation from you.”

Deep down, she knew that was the truth, but she just didn’t want to accept it.  She was too stubborn to.

“I guess I should go apologize.”

“You should.  In fact, the sooner the better.  I don’t want to see my two best friends ignoring each other.  We’ve never been apart for so long.  How many months has it been now?”

“Almost five…”

“That girl.  That crazy girl.  How dare she neglect us for so long?” 

“Yeah, I know… I’ll go talk to her today.  The sooner the better, like you said.”

“Alright.  If you need anything, call me.”

--

School was over, and Taeyeon felt the need to go talk to her friend.  She knew exactly where she was because she had memorized her schedule.

She should have just finished Math class, Taeyeon remembered in her head.

Looking into the classroom, nobody was there.  Tiffany wasn’t around there.  Taeyeon went outside to look for the girl.  She couldn’t find her anywhere.  She called, and nobody picked up.

“Sigh…at least I tried.  Maybe I’ll go to her house and tell her Dad I wanted to leave her a message.  Yeah, that’s a good idea,” she spoke to herself.  If anyone were there, they would have thought the girl was crazy.

It didn’t take long to walk to Tiffany’s house.  Taeyeon stopped as she saw there was another person there.  She quickly hid behind a nearby shrub, and tried to hear what was going on.

Only a few words out of the few were audible.  Taeyeon could only make out the words, “next… time… consider…” The rest was just a messy blur.

Just as she turned to look, she saw the guy lean in on her, as the girl closed her eyes.  Their lips met and Taeyeon couldn’t bear to watch.  She ran away feeling hurt.  She didn’t even know why.

--

“Taeng, what happened? What’s with the crying?  Did Fany blow you off or something?”

“…No…*sob*…I don’t k-know why I-I’m cr-crying…”

“I’ll be over in a second.  Stay Tae.”

And indeed, a few minutes later, the blonde arrived at her house.

“Come here Tae,” and Jessica embraced the shorter girl in her arms.  “What’s wrong?”

It took a while for Taeyeon to calm down a bit, and she told Jessca what she had witnessed.

“Tae-tae.  Don’t cry… I mean, he is Fany’s boyfriend.  So, it’s more than natural…”

“Not helping.”

“Ahh, I’m sorry Taeng.  What I meant to say was, why would you…be upset?”

“I don’t even know.  It’s just at that moment, it felt as if I didn’t want it to happen.  I mean, she’s our girl, I don’t want some jerk kissing her.”

“Tae-tae, how do you know he’s a jerk?” 

“I can feel it in my bones.”

“In that very short stature of yours?” the blonde girl laughed at her own joke.

“Yah, I’m not that short.”

“Okay, point taken.  You know… maybe…sigh, never mind.”

“What?”

“Never mind.”

“Tell me.”

“I said never mind.”  She glared at her friend.

Clearly, Jessica had something on her mind, but she didn’t want to tell Taeyeon about it.  Not yet.  It was just a hunch, but the greatest discoveries always come from hunches right?

“Fine.  Don’t tell me.”

“It’s nothing Taeyeon, trust me.  But are you okay now?”

“Yeah, I feel much better.  Thanks Sica.  You’re the best.”

“I’ve been told.” She smiled.

--

Taeyeon didn’t notice it, but she had been avoiding Tiffany for some time now.  If she were to talk to her face to face, she wouldn’t even know what to say.  And she remembered she didn’t even apologize to Tiffany yet about that whole birthday incident.

As she was walking past a classroom, she couldn’t help but notice Tiffany’s boyfriend.  He was talking to some other guy.  And she decided to eavesdrop, and once again, she didn’t even know why.

“Man, that girl.  It’s been like six months now, and she hasn’t given in on anything yet,” the one that was supposedly her boyfriend had spoken.

“Oooh, that’s rough man.  I’d hate that.  It usually only take me a few weeks, and the job’s done,” the other one gave this dirty smile.  It really disgusted Taeyeon.

“Do you think I should just dump her?  I mean, she’s not doing ANYTHING.  The most I’ve done with her is make out.  She’s a damn good kisser though, that much I can say.”

“I think you should let her go.  If she keeps this up…”

“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking too.  She’s too naggy and stuff.  I’m always trying to be all nice-guy around her.  Not my type.  I’ll just end it soon."

That was all Taeyeon needed to hear.  She really just wanted to beat the crap out of that guy right there and then.  But then she realized that she was physically unable to.  The guy is like almost double her size.  Dammit.  He’ll die.  If not because of me, then because of something much worse.  Taeyeon was furious.  She knew all along that the guy was a fake; a lying jerk. 

She had to inform Tiffany right away, before she got hurt.

That day, she walked over to Tiffany’s house.  She didn’t even care that the two hadn’t spoken in a long time, and that the latter might very well still be mad at her.  But she didn’t care. 

Knock knock.

“Fany-ah.  It’s me.  Taeyeon.  Can I come in?”

No response.

“Please.  I know I haven’t talked to you in a long time, and that last time I was being a butthead, but I really have to talk to you.  It’s important.”

Again, no response.

“DAMMIT.  TIFFANY.  I GOT SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO TELL YOU.”

The door opened.  “What?” was all that was heard, and in a very stern tone.  Tiffany didn’t look at all happy, not even content.

It got awkward.  Taeyeon didn’t even think about the possibility that it might be really difficult to talk to her.  But that didn’t matter, not right now at least.

“…I want to apologize, first of all.  About my behaviour, like a few months ago.”

“Oh.  Yeah, whatever.  I didn’t even remember that.  Is that it?  Cuz I’m quite busy.”

“No.  That’s not all.  I want to tell you something.  Really important.  And you have to believe me.”

“…I’ll see.  What is it?”

“Your oppa.  He’s going to break up with you…” Taeyeon managed to tell the other girl.

“…what?”

“I overheard him talking to some guy today, and he said he was going to break up with you soon.”

“…Stop making up this bull crap.  I know you don’t like him, but there’s no point trying to convince me that he’s going to break up with me so I break up with him first.”

“Listen to me Fany.  I’m telling the truth here.”  She had the most sincere look in her eyes.

“Whatever, Kim Taeyeon.  You and your words, words, words.  I don’t know what to believe anymore.  Oppa and I happen to be in a very loving relationship, and he treats me very nicely.  Thank you very much for your concern.”

“Dammit.  Tiffany.  Can’t you see that you’re changing because of him?  It’s like I don’t even know you anymore.  Please come back Fany-ah.  And now that you know he’s going to dump you, can’t you just dump him before he can hurt you?”

“Stop this act.  It was enough a few months ago, why do you still view him as a jerk?  He’s been nothing but nice to me all these months.  Better than any boyfriend I’ve ever had.”

“I really don’t want to say this out right now, but if it’s going to knock some sense back into you, I don’t mind.  Fany, he’s just doing all this to do stuff with you.  He wants you…in that way.”

Silence.

“That’s bull crap Taeyeon.  I’m not listening to you.  Oppa isn’t that kind of person.  I know he isn’t.”

“Come on Fany, please listen to me.”

“No, not when all you do is yell at me.”

“I thought I already apologized for that.”

“Saying sorry doesn’t erase everything Tae.  That moment really hurt me.  I don’t want you to hurt me again.”

“But you’ll be even more hurt if you don’t listen to me!”

“Enough.  I don’t want to hear it.  If you don’t mind,” and she gestured Taeyeon out the door.

No matter how hard she tried to forget this conversation ever happening, Tiffany knew there must be some truth behind all the stuff she said.  She cares too much for me, she thought. 

--

“Sica.  She won’t believe me.”

“You can’t blame her.  She’s completely head over heels for this guy.  It’s hard for me to even comprehend what you’re saying here.”

“Wait.  You don’t believe me either?!”  She was shocked.

“I do, I do.  It’s just, truthfully, oppa has really been nothing but caring towards her.  Even I can see it.”

“Aish.  Jung Sooyeon, seriously?  You doubt me?  I swear every word I say is true.”

“I don’t doubt what you said.  I just find it hard to believe, that’s all.  Nothing more.”

“…If only Tiffany wasn’t that stubborn, and deep in ‘love’.”  Taeyeon couldn’t even think about her and him, and associate them with that word, together.

“Says the person who made her mad in the first place… Oh the irony.”  Sarcastic Sica strikes back.

“Shut up.”

“Meh.  I don’t have to.”

She knew somehow, she needed to convince Tiffany that what she heard was indeed true; she didn’t want her to get hurt.

Why do I care so much about her?  She was wondering.

“So…why do you care so much?”

“Huh?”

“About Fany I mean.”

“Don’t you care too!?  This is our best friend we’re talking about.  I don’t want her to get hurt.  You don’t either right?”

“Of course I don’t want to see her hurt.  But you know, she chose this path… and she chose not to believe you, so why not just accept that?  Why are you trying so hard?”

“…Sica, I often think about that too… Why do I even bother with her?  When I know she won’t listen, and what I say to her goes in one ear and out the other… I’ve thought about that so many times.”

“And…?”

“…Nothing.”

“You haven’t figured out anything?”

“… Other than the fact that she’s stubborn and won’t listen to her wise friend here… Nope.”

“Sigh…there’s no hope.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know.  Do you ever consider her… as, you know, more than just your best friend?”

-----------------------------------------------

that was part 1~

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