Taeyeon pictured a condo made of glass: glass doors, glass floors, glass windows. She also imagined that a team of valet drivers would be waiting on the tenants at the entrance. So she was clearly surprised when she arrived at the address Jessica had sent her to witness a building not covered in glass, save for the broad windows stacking up to about forty floors. The condo looked well-maintained, but not nearly as extravagant as she assumed it to be. No valet drivers were in sight, and the lobby was moderate in size, empty except for a kind-looking doorman sitting behind a tall shiny desk.
 

Taeyeon gave him Tiffany’s name and room number, and he immediately brightened up and allowed her entry, telling her that Miyoung-ssi was expecting her. Taeyeon deduced that Tiffany was probably on very friendly terms with the doorman if she allowed him to use her Korean name, and for the upteenth time, she wondered why it was so hard for herself to be close to the brunette.
 

As she reached Tiffany’s floor, she got off the elevator and slowly walked through the wide hallway, admiring the décor. A few modest paintings were hung along crème walls that matched well with the wooden floors. The whole feel of the place was to Taeyeon’s liking, and she even imagined that she would consider living there.
 

Taeyeon wondered how she could have never stepped foot inside Tiffany’s apartment for the last three years. Neither had she ever been to the apartment Tiffany had previously stayed in before she was able to afford this place. Such technicalities further cemented Taeyeon’s belief that she and Tiffany weren’t friends, but mere acquaintances. For now. She didn’t know where it came from (or why it took so long), but she wanted to remedy this weird relationship she had with Tiffany.
 

Adjusting the huge plastic bag she was holding in her hand, Taeyeon rang the buzzer once she reached Tiffany’s door. After a few seconds, slow shuffling was heard from the other side, and then the door was opened by a red-nosed and disheveled Tiffany Hwang, which was a brand new sight for Taeyeon.
 

Tiffany was wearing a loose light pink shirt that was falling off one shoulder, as well as a pair of gray sweatpants that were long enough to only allow her pink-colored toenails to peek out. Tiffany was also now wearing a very confused look, her bangs falling over her eyes as she blinked at Taeyeon. “Taeyeon?”
 

“Yeah, hi. Jessica sent me over. She couldn’t come because of an emergency meeting.”
 

The confusion from Tiffany’s eyes cleared, but was now replaced with a shy sort of nervousness as she looked down at her attire. Tiffany had also come to realize that Taeyeon had never seen her in this state before. She thought about leaving the shorter girl for a few minutes in order to change into better clothes, but dismissed the idea and just opened the door wider to allow Taeyeon to enter the condo.
 

Taeyeon walked inside and quickly took a look around. Much like the building’s exterior, Tiffany’s home was also classy and neat. There was barely any clutter around, but Taeyeon kind of expected this, given Tiffany’s bordering-on-perfectionist kind of personality. What there was a lot of was the color pink, but Taeyeon expected this too, being in the humble abode of the pink monster herself. Pastel pink walls were painted across the living room; there were pink throw pillows on the beige couch, a pink laptop on the coffee table, and many more things with light dashes of pink. But even though Taeyeon wasn’t fond of the color, Tiffany’s living space surprisingly wasn’t an eyesore. It also had a homey feel to it, as well as a homey scent that Taeyeon couldn’t really put a finger on.
 

A slight sniffle brought Taeyeon’s gaze back to the woman behind her who was subtly shuffling her feet.
 

Taeyeon tried but failed to suppress a small smile. It was kind of cute to see Tiffany like this. Gone were the narrowed eyes and passive aggressive glances. It made it easier for Taeyeon to feel more comfortable around her. She also couldn’t stop thinking about how Tiffany had helped her escape Hyunbi’s possessive clutches the last time they met, which was more than a week ago. Taeyeon admitted to herself that she really thought that Tiffany wouldn’t raise a single finger to help her, and would have probably even gladly pushed her into shark-infested waters if she got the chance, but that incident seriously proved her wrong. It made her feel a little guilty, and also a whole lot grateful. It made Taeyeon think that Tiffany really does consider her as a friend, since she knew that Tiffany always went the extra mile for the other seven women in their group whenever they needed her help.
 

Tiffany had not been present during the succeeding group lunches due to her cold, which had only gotten worse the past few days—at least that’s what Jessica had told Taeyeon when she called her a few hours ago. Jessica asked Taeyeon if the latter could bring Tiffany some chicken noodle soup, as well as more medicine, since Tiffany was running out. Apparently Jessica had been regularly checking up on the sick brunette, but she wasn’t able to today. Although Taeyeon wondered why she was the one Jessica asked, when there were six other women whom Tiffany was far more comfortable with, she didn’t voice it out and simply accepted the request, because she had been starting to feel concern for Tiffany’s health, since it was rare for the always-bright-and-energetic Hwang to ever get the flu.
 

Taeyeon lifted up the bag she held. “I brought you some soup, and more medicine.”
 

Tiffany gave her a grateful albeit weak smile, reaching out for the bag, “Thank y—“
 

“Sit,” Taeyeon instructed her, gesturing to the sofa and holding the bag away from her.
 

And the narrow-eyed Tiffany Hwang was back. But Tiffany didn’t say anything about Taeyeon’s brusque command, knowing she wasn’t going to win anyway. She went towards her sofa and sat there. She silently observed the petite blonde who was taking out the things from the bag one-by-one and placing them on top of her dining table.
 

“Have you had lunch yet?” Taeyeon asked her without turning to face her.
 

Tiffany shook her head, then realized that Taeyeon couldn’t see her, so she replied back with a “Not yet.”
 

Taeyeon then began to heat up one of the bowls she had brought, manning Tiffany’s microwave like she had already done it a thousand times. She didn't notice the small grateful smile the girl on the couch was throwing her way.
 

Once Taeyeon was finished preparing the meal, she turned to look at a barely conscious Tiffany, whose head was resting on the back of the sofa. Taeyeon brought the bowl to her and gently called her name to wake her up. “I brought another bowl of soup so you can eat it later for dinner,” Taeyeon informed Tiffany as the latter slowly began to drink the soup she had placed on the coffee table.
 

“Have you eaten lunch yet, Taeyeon? You can have the other one if you—“
 

“I’ve already eaten.”
 

Tiffany gave her a nod in response, and silence descended upon them, save for the tiny slurping sounds Tiffany was making.
 

“Are you hot?” Taeyeon suddenly asked, then her eyes widened as realized how her question had sounded. “I-I mean are you feeling hot? Do you have a fever?”
 

Tiffany’s eyes twinkled as she saw how flustered Taeyeon had gotten. Even though she wanted to tease the blonde, she let it slide because she didn’t really have the energy to banter with her right now. “Only a slight one,” was all she replied. It then came to Tiffany’s mind that Taeyeon was probably very busy, and she might only be staying and watching her eat properly out of courtesy. “Umm…thank you again for bringing me soup and medicine. I’m sure you probably have better things to do than watch me eat…”
 

Taeyeon actually did have a photoshoot to go to, but it was not for another two hours. Thinking that maybe Tiffany felt awkward around her and didn’t want Taeyeon to stay any longer, Taeyeon nodded and prepared to take her leave, but not before putting the extra set of food in the refrigerator and handing Tiffany her medicine and a glass of water.
 

That night, Taeyeon laid in bed for an hour debating with herself on whether she should contact Tiffany to check up on her or not. She was concerned about the sick brunette, although she found it hard to admit it to herself. After another half hour of tossing and turning and staring at her phone, she decided to just ask Jessica tomorrow, since the latter informed her that she would be checking up on Tiffany.

***

A week passed, and Taeyeon was once again people-watching while she waited for her friends at the café. Her thoughts drifted to her usual companion who had not been present in the last four get-togethers. She hadn’t physically checked up on the girl since that first and last time she brought Tiffany soup and medicine, mainly because Jessica never asked her to do so again, and she didn’t want to just barge in Tiffany’s home unannounced. She found that she really wanted to though, when her thoughts during the day usually came back to how the brunette was doing. It was weird, to say the least. She barely spared Tiffany any of her thoughts in the last seven years. And although they were now interacting more than they ever had in the last few years, it still wasn’t comfortable.
 

Taeyeon was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t realize that someone had approached the table, until she came face-to-face with the subject of her musings. Tiffany sat across from her, looking much better than the last time Taeyeon had seen her. Gone were the red nose, disheveled hair, and loose pajamas. It was almost like Tiffany didn’t even get sick at all.
 

Tiffany looked at her with a tentative smile, and Taeyeon was stunned. Tiffany smiling at her in a friendly way was almost like seeing an actual live dinosaur: impossible.
 

“You should close your mouth before flies get in, Taeyeon.” That made her shut her jaw with an audible click. Tiffany was looking at her amusedly.
 

“There are no flies inside this cafe, Hwang,” Taeyeon shot back, but she also gave Tiffany a small smile in return, glad that she wasn’t the only one trying to improve their friendship.
 

Tiffany suddenly bit her lip, looking down at something she was holding in one hand. She then quickly lifted her arm up from beneath the table to give the said item to the girl across from her.
 

Taeyeon blinked at the paper bag that was ed at her face. She hesitated before taking it, shooting Tiffany a questioning glance.
 

“Umm…that’s just thanks…for uh…taking care of me last week…” Taeyeon bit back a smile at the stuttering woman in front of her. Tiffany stuttering was another rare thing she thought she would never witness in this lifetime. “…And for asking Jessi about me these past few days…” Taeyeon cheeks heated up in embarrassment at the last statement. She was going to kill Jessica for telling Tiffany about her texts. Okay, maybe not. It’s not like she had told Jessica to keep it a secret. Taeyeon was just concerned about Tiffany, that’s all. It was actually weird to not be subjected to the brunette’s passive-aggressive glances during the past few hangouts.
 

Taeyeon avoided Tiffany’s eyes and chose to occupy herself with opening the bag. She couldn’t control the wide grin that split across her face once she saw the contents.
 

“Jessi said you loved jelly candy, so…” Tiffany told the blonde, studying her reaction towards the gift.
 

Inside it were four giant bags of gummy candies, ranging from worms to bears to other creatures. Four. Giant. Bags. Even her parents only gave her two of these for Christmas! She immediately took the pack of gummy bears out and ripped it open. “Wow…you should get sick more often and let me take care of you,” she teased Tiffany with full of tiny yummy bears.
 

“Yah! Insensitive, much? And swallow before you speak!” Tiffany shot back, shuddering as she had a front row seat to Taeyeon’s open mouth which displayed a rainbow explosion of mushy half-chewed candy.
 

Taeyeon just laughed in response. She then offered the open bag to the brunette, who declined with a shake of her head.
 

“Whoa. Is the world ending? Is climate change finally eliminating the human race? What is going on here?!”
 

The two women froze at the sound of their friend’s voice. Sooyoung was standing before the table, staring at them with wide eyes and arms akimbo. Taeyeon and Tiffany didn’t even realize that their friend had arrived.
 

“Shut up, shikshin,” they both told the woman at the same time.
 

“Whaaa? I’m so confused! Why are you two smiling and laughing at each other? Am I in an alternate dimension? Are you really Taeyeon and Tiffany?”
 

“Gosh, you’re so dramatic, Sooyoung-ah.” Tiffany took some of the gummy bears in the bag Taeyeon was holding and shoved it into the newcomer’s mouth to shut her up.
 

“Mmmmph! …Mmmm…” Sooyoung glared at Tiffany until she finally succumbed to happily chewing the forcefully given sweets.
 

Once a shikshin, always a shikshin.

A/N:

Poor Sooyoung lol or maybe not. She did get fed, after all HAHAHAHA.