Why is Kim Shortae stalking me? Why is Kim Shortae coming after me like that? Is it because I’m an imposter? Is this her way of torturing me into giving up on hating on her?

Question after question siege her mind as she stands at the back entrance once again. Yuri is nowhere to be found—thankfully. At least she doesn’t have to tolerate Yuri’s incessant praises and gushing over Kim Shortae. If only the short singer-who-can-sing-without-making-ears-bleed’s fans knew about their favourite’s true colours. If only they knew how their idol stalked her and sent her that creepy I-Know-What-You-Did-Last-Summer e-mail. If only . . .

“Hey T.” A tall girl with a head of gold saunters up to her. “You’re here early.”

Tiffany’s blood runs cold at the sight of Hyoyeon, a fellow Ho Un Dung fansite master. “You’re early too.”

“Yeah. Class got cancelled for once.” Hyoyeon shrugs. “Had nothing better to do.”

Out of a corner of her eye, Tiffany sees Yuri arriving. No! Nooo! She tries to shift so that Hyoyeon’s immense height will block her from Yuri’s view but the smiling girl is already waving at her. . . . “Ah, Tiffany, hi!”

Tiffany can see Hyoyeon turning her head and the raise of a questioning brow. She is close to running away from this whole fiasco but somehow manages to remain standing where she is. Yuri is right next to them now. She has no choice.

“Yuri, hi!”

Yuri smiles and turns to Hyoyeon. “Hi, I’m Yuri! Are you here for Taeyeon unnie too?”

Hyoyeon snorts. “No. She’s not my cup of tae.” Hyoyeon laughs after saying that and Tiffany forces herself to giggle along, all the while sneaking worried glances at Yuri.

“Oh, you must be here to accompany Tiffany then?” With a bright smile, Yuri turns back to Tiffany. “By the way, I saw the photos. They are very nice! You have great flair for the camera.”

Tiffany is sure her lips are trembling as she smiles but she manages to thank Yuri for the compliment. To her great relief, Yuri sees some other friends and goes over to talk to them before she can give the game away. But Hyoyeon is still staring at her as if she has two heads or three eyes.

“It’s a long story,” Tiffany says before Hyoyeon can voice her question. “And you won’t want to hear about it.”

With a suggestion that they pick up some coffee, Tiffany successfully lures Hyoyeon away from the scene but the problem is, she has to go back to catch Kim Shortae’s arrival. Feigning dismay with a loud gasp when they are halfway to the coffee place, Tiffany tells Hyoyeon to wait for her at the café while she runs back to get something back from Yuri. Hyoyeon nods and Tiffany runs.

Never has she dashed this hard in her life, but she has to get back in time for Shortae. She just has to. So she lowers her head and sprints forward with abandon.

[o]

There are screams ringing shrill in the air when Tiffany gets back. She pulls out her camera and dashes to the end nearest to the entrance and squeezes her way to the front, ignoring disgruntled noises coming from the other fans. Settling in behind a couple of tall fans, she finds a gap between them and starts snapping away. Everything is going well until the pair of towers move and block her lens. Frustrated with the disturbance, Tiffany goes up on her toes (oh, the perils of being too down-to-earth) and lifts her camera as high as she can.

For few moments, all is good. She is snapping and the pictures are going to be lovely. Then drama strikes. It begins in the form of a pull. A swift pulling sensation in not one but both of her toes and before she knows it, she’s crying out in pain and bowing over. The towers in front of her jump away in shock, leaving her with nothing to lean on and therefore, crumpling to the ground.

Damn it, this is the worst time to cramp! Right in front of Shortae too. How embarrassing!

With a groan, she pulls her legs in and tries to push herself up to sit. And so focused on sitting up she is, that she starts and lets out a shriek when a gentle voice goes, “Are you alright?”

The voice is distinct so Tiffany knows who it is without looking up. “I’m okay. It’s just a cramp.”

“Unnie, will you help her?”

Not again? Tiffany wants to melt into nothing when Shortae’s manager squats down and helps her up. The sound of shutters going off never stops as she hobbles to the steps of the back entrance.

“Sit here,” says the gentle voice.

Tiffany sits but refuses to look up at Shortae.

The gentle voice returns, “Take your shoes off and massage your feet.”

Nothing knowing what else to do other than obeying, Tiffany pulls the laces of her shoes and take them off. With the liberation, her toes feel better immediately.

“Curl your toes, tuck them in.”

Tiffany does as suggested and nods when relief sets in. Meanwhile, shutters are still going off everywhere.

“Do you feel better now?”

Numbly nodding, Tiffany finally meets Shortae’s eyes. They are big, round and kind, nothing like the creepy stalker vibe she got from the e-mail. Is it because they are surrounded by fans and cameras? Which is the real Shortae? “I’m good. Thank you, Sh—Taeyeon unnie.”

Shortae’s eyes twinkle and she smiles. “Unnie? How old are you?”

“I’m twenty-two this year.”

“Oh, so am I. Which month were you born in?”

“August.”

“Ah, I was born in March. So I am the unnie here,” Shortae states with a chuckle. “I will expect you to call me unnie from now on. Are your toes alright now?”

Tiffany nods.

“Alright, put your shoes back on.”

After slipping her shoes back on, Tiffany ties the laces of her right shoe. Two beats in, she is stunned to see Shortae squatting before her, tying the laces of her left shoe for her.

“You can sit here until the cramps are completely mended,” says Shortae after the laces are done up.

Stunned beyond coherent thinking, Tiffany stutters, “T-Thank you. A-Again.”

“I will be looking forward to the pictures you took before cramping up.” A warm smile. “See you later.”

“L-Later . . .?” Tiffany breathes but Shortae has already climbed the stairs. She stares as the singer enters the building. Looks back at the horde of fans that are dispersing. Then it hits her. There’s going to be pictures of this spreading around real soon and her face will be in it! The end is coming soon. She just knows it.

[o]