A/N: Sorry it's been...ages! I've been so stuck on this fic, even though I want to work on it so badly (story of many of my fics) but today I just sat myself down and told myself, you have to finish this chapter, it's Fany's birthday. And even though my muse loves defying me, somehow that actually worked. I've had most of this chapter written, and I wrote the last two scenes just now. Hope the chapter is worth the wait!

---

Of all the things that she’s learned first as a trainee and then as an idol, cooking is not one of them.

“What were you trying to make?” Sooyoung asks, staring at the charred mess in the frying pan.

Tiffany runs the pan under some water. “Kimchi pancakes.”

“Don’t we have the boxed mix batter?”

“That’s what I used.”

“You’re really talented,” Sooyoung says, like she’s genuinely impressed.

“Thanks, coming from you that means a lot.”

“Soooooo,” Sooyoung says. Tiffany feels a cold fist of dread seize her stomach at the wide grin on her face. She knows that expression can’t mean anything good. “I heard you met a pretty girl during the photoshoot and now you’re all gaga over her.”

Tiffany scowls. “And where did you hear this from?”

“News spread, my friend. You should know that you can’t keep any secrets from me – I mean, us.”

“Did…” Tiffany pauses. “Did Dispatch catch us?”

“Dispatch?” Now Sooyoung looks confused. “Taeyeon just mentioned to me that you met an old friend. She didn’t say anything about the paps.”

“Oh, okay. Good. I mean, not good for Taeyeon because I’m going to kill her but – good.” Tiffany’s surprised that nobody has found out the connection between her and Jessica earlier, but she’s grateful for it. She’s already burdened enough by unwanted media attention; she doesn’t want Jessica to be too.

“What did you think Dispatch caught you doing?”

“Nothing,” Tiffany says forcefully. “We were—we just had lunch together.”

“Aww, you went on a date? Where?”

“It wasn’t a date.” She’s not that lucky. “I bumped into her when I was in the company building, and then neither of us had eaten yet so.”

“So you decided to go on a date together,” Sooyoung concludes. “You don’t even go out to eat with me when we both haven’t eaten yet.”

“That’s because you always stick me with the bill and you eat three people’s worth of food.”

Sooyoung sighs. “What happened to chicks before di—err, bros before—what happened to friends coming first, Fany?”

“Is this about Tiffany and her new lady friend?” Hyoyeon asks, walking in with an empty glass that she rinses under the tap.

Tiffany barely suppresses a groan. “I am going to kill Taeyeon,” she mutters, not quite under her breath.

“Maybe you should wait until after your promotions are over,” Hyoyeon suggests. “I think Taeyeon’s kind of important.”

“If she’s kind of important, shouldn’t Fany just not kill her at all?” Sooyoung asks.

Tiffany glowers at her. “I’m going to kill you first.”

Sooyoung doesn’t look the slightest bit fazed. “You can try, shorty.”

“I’m not short!”

“Ignore her,” Hyoyeon advises, opening the fridge and taking out a carton of juice. “She’s a giant, everyone looks short to her.”

“Especially you,” Sooyoung says, and Hyoyeon flips her the bird. “Hey, Fany,” Sooyoung says, voice softer now.

“What?” Tiffany asks warily.

“You shouldn’t be mad at Taeyeon. She really didn’t say much. I kind of pestered her.”

Hyoyeon snorts. “You’re always a pest.”

“But from what she told me,” Sooyoung continues, “I think you should go for it.”

“Go for what?” Tiffany asks casually.

“For her,” Sooyoung says seriously. “If she’s what you want, then you should go for her.”

Hyoyeon looks curiously at Tiffany, but she doesn’t say anything. Tiffany doesn’t quite know how to react. She knows that her members would be fine with her dating a girl, but she didn’t think about telling them about Jessica quite yet. Not because she doesn’t trust them, but because there isn’t even enough to tell. Not for the present, at least; she could write a book about their past and another one about the future that she wanted for them, that she still wants for them.

Tiffany clears . “Are you…giving me your blessing?”

“Yep,” Sooyoung says crisply. “I expect to be the first one invited to your engagement party.”

Tiffany gives a short laugh. “I don’t think we’re going to get engaged. She doesn’t even—we’re not… We’re just not, okay?”

“Well, if you are, just know that you have my blessing, okay?”

“Okay, thank you,” Tiffany says, with a smile. “I’m still not going to treat you to dinner though.”

Sooyoung’s sad face makes her laugh.

 

“Hey Fany, did you see my—” Taeyeon has to dodge quickly to avoid the cushion that’s thrown at her.

“Why did you tell Sooyoung about Jessica?” Tiffany demands.

“I—she talked to you already?”

“It’s Sooyoung. Did you expect her to keep shut?”

Taeyeon holds her hands in front of her face, like she expects Tiffany to throw something else at her. “Look, she asked me why you were in a weird mood when you came back, and I think manager oppa mentioned something to her because he had to pick her up for another schedule right after and he was late.”

“Oh,” Tiffany says guiltily.

“And you know Sooyoung, she won’t shut up until she gets an answer.” Taeyeon lowers her arms. “I didn’t tell her that much. Really.”

“Well, she knows an awful lot.”

Taeyeon hesitates. “Were you planning to keep it a secret?”

“I’m just… I don’t know.” Tiffany blows out a breath. “I don’t know what’s going on, and I want to figure it out more before I told the girls.”

“I’m sorry,” Taeyeon says contritely. “I didn’t mean to give you away.”

“It’s okay. I probably shouldn’t keep so much to myself, right?” Tiffany says with a weary smile.

“That’s what you’re always telling me. You should take your own advice, you know.”

“Hmm. That’s harder than it sounds.”

“I know,” Taeyeon says, and Tiffany thinks of the many talks she’s given over the years telling them to open up and share things with each other, how awkward it had been at first and how natural it is now. Tiffany’s told them things that she never thought she’d share with anyone outside of Jessica, but she’s never talked about Jessica. Not because she’s ashamed of Jessica or anything like that, but because Jessica is someone that she wants to keep for herself.

“So,” Taeyeon says with a grin. “Has anything happened between you and Jessica since the shoot?”

“Define ‘anything.’”

“So something has happened! Did she ask you out? Did you ask her out?”

“We’re not dating, Taeyeon.”

“Not yet,” Taeyeon says. Tiffany wishes she had her easy assurance. “Next time you see her, can you ask about my sunglasses?”

“Kim Taeyeon,” Tiffany laughs. “Am I just some kind of…middleman to you so you can get your New York?”

“No, how can you be a middleman? You’re not a man.”

Tiffany rolls her eyes.

“Although your legs look pretty manly when you don’t shave.”

“Kim Taeyeon!”

Tiffany is going to kill her. Slowly and painfully.

 

From: Tiffany
do you want to grab dinner someday?

From: Jessica
don’t tell me - you want pizza

From: Tiffany
you read my mind!
jk i actually want korean food
i love grilled meat <3

From: Jessica
who doesn’t love meat

From: Tiffany
right???
so when are you free?

From: Jessica
i’ll have to get back to you on that
b&e has been really busy lately
altho i’m sure you’re busy too

From: Tiffany
not too busy for you~~

From: Jessica
i’m honoured, truly

From: Tiffany
gonna brag about this on the fan cafe too? ;)

From: Jessica
you know it

From: Tiffany
have fun as the coolest kid on the block
is this an ice block?

From: Jessica
ha ha ha
you’re hilarious

From: Tiffany
i know :D

From: Jessica
i have a meeting i have to go
i’ll text you about when i’m free

From: Tiffany
okay. can’t wait!!

 

When Tiffany returns from her schedule, she has a voicemail from Michelle.

“Hey Tiff, I’m probably going to come to Korea for a couple of days next month for a business trip. We should meet up!”

Tiffany calls her back, and the first thing she says is, “We should!”, her voice shooting up in excitement. She hasn’t seen her sister in too long.

Michelle chuckles. “It’s good to know that you still want to see your sister given the seven you have now.”

“Are you jealous?” Tiffany teases. “You know you’re my sister.”

“Yes, and my friends still tease me that my twenty-something-year-old sister waves around lollipops for a living.”

“I don’t do it for a living! And it was years ago.” They’re never going to let that go, she swears. Her high school friends had a ball teasing her about it. She thought that Jessica would have mocked her the hardest, but Jessica hadn’t even been there. She had already left by then.

“I saw your latest photoshoot,” Michelle says. “That brand you modelled for – it’s Jessica’s, right?”

Tiffany swallows. “Right.”

“Did you see her again? You two haven’t seen each other in years, huh? I remember you used to be attached at the hip.”

“That was a long time ago,” Tiffany hears herself saying.

“Time flies, doesn’t it?” Michelle muses. “I remember when you were just this little kid who wouldn’t stop singing, and now you’re this grown woman who won’t stop singing.”

“Remind me again why I should meet up with you?”

“Are you too busy for your poor old sister now, Miyoung? You’re going to break my heart.”

Tiffany wrinkles her nose. “Don’t call me Miyoung.”

Michelle laughs. “Oh and Leo sends his love.”

“Did I mention that he’s my favourite sibling?”

Michelle totally acts like she didn’t hear that. “He’s getting pretty serious with his girlfriend. You might have to clear up your schedule for a wedding in the near future.”

“Yeah?” Tiffany grins. “That would be great! They’re a cute couple.”

“They are,” Michelle agrees. “When are you going to bring someone home?”

“My home is here now,” Tiffany says lightly, “so even if I did, you guys wouldn’t be there.”

“You know there’ll always be a home for you in California,” Michelle says seriously, and then sighs. “I know that Dad wasn’t the most supportive of you in the beginning but—”

“Unnie,” Tiffany interrupts. “You know I don’t care about that anymore. It was a long time ago. He supports me now, and that’s what matters.”

“We all support you, Tiff, but we also want you to be happy, you know?”

“I am happy,” Tiffany says, and if it’s not completely true – well, it’s not completely false either. “This makes me happy.”

“I know it does.” And Michelle’s voice is gentle now. “But don’t you want someone to make you happy too?”

Tiffany closes her eyes. Of course she does. And she doesn’t just want someone in the vague, abstract sense; she wants a very specific someone. She’s wanted her since she was a teenager who didn’t fully understand her feelings, who just knew that she wanted to be around Jessica all the time and Jessica made her so, so happy. Even as so many things have changed, that hasn’t.

“Tiffany. I know you gave a lot up for this. I know you gave her up.”

“I have to go,” Tiffany says abruptly. “Sorry unnie, I have a schedule coming up. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

She’s not entirely lying. She does have a schedule coming up – a radio show appearance with a familiar DJ – but it’s not for another two hours. She was going to use the time to take a nap, but she knows that there’s no way she’ll get any rest now.

Prince wanders into her room and puts his paws up on her bed, demanding to be picked up even though he’s perfectly capable of jumping onto it.

“Hi boy,” Tiffany says softly. “Are you lonely? Don’t worry, I’m going to get you a friend soon. A lady friend.” She laughs to herself and scratches behind his ears. “I sound like one of those moms who try to play matchmaker for their kids. Hopefully this will go better for you. Not that you two have to be anything – you can just be friends if you want. Although I wouldn’t mind some grandpuppies…”

Then she remembers that Prince is neutered. Life is so kind to her.

 

“Tiffany ssi, I know you get this question all the time”—great, that means it’s either about her love life or solo career—“but I just have to ask again. What constitutes your ideal type?”

“What does ‘constitute’ mean?” Tiffany asks, with such a straight face that the MC actually falters and starts explaining it to her before she laughs and he realizes he’s been had. “Sorry, just trying to add a new spin to my answer there.”

He laughs as well, and gives her an apologetic look: sorry, it’s in the script so I have to ask, and she nods back at him: it’s okay, I understand.

“Now, don’t just give us a description about a nice smile or kind eyes this time, Tiffany ssi. Be nice to the viewers, give us a name.”

One immediately comes to mind, but somehow she doesn’t think that either her company or her fans would be very happy to hear it. Only belatedly does she realize that she’s been thinking for too long. Normally, she’s very good at giving answers to these types of questions. It’s Taeyeon who just sits there in silence until Tiffany has to speak for her.

He clears his throat. “You’ve mentioned Won Bin and Dennis Oh before. Any changes to that list?”

“Well, I think they’re going to stay on the list for a long time,” Tiffany says with a laugh. “I mean, who would move them from an ideal types list, right?”

She really does like both those actors, but also they’re perfect as generic, standard answers for the dreaded ideal type question. Both of them, along with celebrities like Jo Insung and Hyun Bin, are ‘safe’ answers that fans would react to with either fervent agreement or passive acceptance. Answers like Lee Yeonhee or Park Minyoung certainly wouldn’t garner that kind of response. And as for Jessica Jung – she won’t even entertain the thought.

“Your latest comeback with TaeTiSeo has been very successful,” he says, changing the subject with tact if not smoothness. “What do you think of promotions with TaeTiSeo as opposed to Girls’ Generation?”

It’s another one of those questions that she gets asked a thousand times, but she’s never been so happy to hear one. She doesn’t know what people expect with that kind of question, if they think she’s going to give a different answer because the thousand and first time is the charm. Maybe they’re hoping she’ll slip up and say something like “actually I prefer TTS so much because I can’t stand the other five members.” If so, they’ve pinned their hopes on the wrong person, because despite her initially terrible Korean, she’s one of the members who picked up media training the best.

And it’s all those years of being taught exactly what to say in front of the camera that fuel her ever-present smile as she gives a scripted response.

“Well, I like how TaeTiSeo give us an opportunity to explore a different style but there’s something special about…”

 

“You look tired,” isn’t something you want to hear from your crush slash childhood best friend who you haven’t seen in years, but of course that’s what Tiffany gets.

Tiffany runs a hand through her hair. “I am tired.” She offers a wan smile. “Also, kind of gross because I didn’t get a chance to shower yet.”

She just came from a variety show where they played a game with taking off your makeup as the punishment. She had lost, of course, so she’s sans her fake eyelashes, lipstick and most of her foundation. On the plus side, she’s definitely less recognizable. On the minus side, it’s a lot easier to tell she hasn’t slept or eaten well since their comeback.

“It’s okay,” Jessica tells her magnanimously. “I’ll hold my breath when I get too close to you.”

“How kind of you,” Tiffany says dryly. “Also, um, I probably don’t look that great right now.”

“What do you mean?” Jessica asks, sounding genuinely confused.

“I had to take most of my makeup off because I lost a game, so.” Tiffany shrugs self-consciously. “I’m not looking my finest.”

“I think you look better this way,” Jessica says. “You look more like—you.”

Tiffany finds her face heating up so much that she has to duck her head to hide it. “Oh um,” she says, head still down. “Taeyeon wanted me to ask you about her sunglasses.”

“The New York, right?” Jessica asks without missing a beat. “They’re not ready yet, but I’ll get them to her as soon as possible.”

“Thank you,” Tiffany says politely.

“You’re welcome,” Jessica returns, just as politely.

An awkward silence settles between them. Tiffany looks at the menu again, even though she basically has it memorized. Jessica takes a long drink of water, her ring making a clinking sound when it taps against the glass.

“So Won Bin and Dennis Oh, huh?” Jessica suddenly asks.

Tiffany takes a moment to look up, like she’s deeply immersed in the soju choices. “Huh?” she asks intelligently.

“I caught your radio show,” Jessica says casually. “Those two are still It for you, huh? I remember you fawning over Dennis Oh even when we were in high school.”

Tiffany shrugs. “He was my first real celebrity crush. It’s hard to get over your firsts.”

Jessica looks at her for so long that Tiffany’s face starts to warm again. “I can’t argue with that,” she says, taking another sip of water. Tiffany’s eyes move to her ring, and it’s ridiculous but she’s briefly disappointed that it’s not the twin of the one in her bedside drawer.

“Do you have any?” Tiffany asks brightly. “Celebrity crushes, I mean.”

“Oh, you know, here and there,” Jessica answers noncommittally. “Jo Insung has always been up there, and Hyun Bin has been catching my eye lately.”

Tiffany almost asks her if they had the same media training, even though of course Jessica never had any.

“Don’t tell anyone, but I used to be pretty starry-eyed over Lee Yeonhee,” Tiffany says. “When I actually met her, I couldn’t even say a word to her.”

Jessica laughs. “You, not being able to say a word? I can’t imagine it.”

“Hey, come on. Now you sound like Leo, with his off button comments.”

“That’s right, he used to say all the time that he wishes your mouth came with one, right?” Jessica grins. “I mean, I understood where he was coming from.”

“Hey! You’re my best friend. You can’t take my brother’s side.”

“I mean, if the shoe fits…”

Tiffany gives her best deeply aggrieved frown, and Jessica just smiles back at her. She can’t keep it up for long and just ends up smiling back.

I’ve missed this, she thinks. The waiter comes and Jessica looks to Tiffany, but she waves at Jessica to order first. I’ve missed you.

---

A/N: The line “What happened to chicks before di—err, bros before—what happened to friends coming first, Fany?” is inspired by a line from Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered, aka 3B, by pooltides. It was one of the first JeTi fics I read and definitely contributed to me becoming a Surfer.