“Tiffany dated her for a few months, right?”
 

Taeyeon’s ears instinctively perked up at the mention of Tiffany’s name, her pasta-filled fork suspended in the air as she stopped tuning out her friends’ gossip to listen further.
 

“Yeah, they looked hot together, honestly. Too bad she became super famous and had to pretend to be straight.”
 

“Who is she?” Taeyeon couldn’t stop herself from asking.
 

Four amused pairs of eyes focused their attention on her. Taeyeon willed herself not to fidget under the scrutiny.
 

Thankfully, Sunny answered her question. She said a name that Taeyeon was familiar with. A model-turned-actress who was currently rising in fame.
 

“…I didn’t know Tiffany had dated her.”
 

Sooyoung smirked at Taeyeon’s remark. “Because you were too busy hating Fany’s .”
 

Taeyeon wanted to tell her how wrong she was about that, but instead she merely shrugged, pretending that she wasn’t digesting the information her friends had just given her about Tiffany’s love life.
 

She knew Tiffany played for both teams, but she didn’t know the brunette dated gorgeous women like her. She tried picturing Tiffany and the actress together and couldn’t help but agree with Hyoyeon’s statement; they would look really hot together. Tiffany landed beautiful models, while Taeyeon ended up with…women like Hyunbi.
 

Taeyeon had already accepted the fact that she always seemed to luck out on the love department, never finding someone she could actually see herself growing old with. It’s not that she’s stopped looking; she just realized that it was better if she didn’t try too hard to jump the gun on every possible opportunity. She’s still young, and she wasn’t ready to settle down yet anyway.
 

That didn’t stop her from going on dates from time-to-time, though. Just a few weeks ago, she had gone out with one of her fellow photographers. The date was nice, but it didn’t really lead up to anything. They had chemistry, but it was more of the friendship category.
 

Taeyeon wondered if the breakup between Tiffany and the model had been dramatic, mutual, or amicable, but what held more of Taeyeon’s attention was the fact that they had dated for “a few months.” As far as Taeyeon knew, Tiffany preferred flings and one-night stands. This knowledge she had garnered from watching the brunette do the walk of shame countless times during their college days. They did live in the same dormitory after all, so the two would bump into each other in the mornings when Taeyeon was on her way to attend her classes. It’s not like Taeyeon was judging Tiffany’s lifestyle; she, too, preferred uncomplicated relationships.
 

“Taeyeon?”
 

Sunny’s voice brought Taeyeon back to the present. Her friends were looking at her with amusement.
 

“What?” She asked nonchalantly. It’s not like they could read her mind and how her thoughts had only one main focus.
 

“How are you and Tiffany-unnie, by the way?” Yoona asked her.
 

“We’re…okay? I guess? I don’t really know. But we’re definitely in better terms now.”
 

Four heads nodded at her response. They were all glad that the relationship between their two friends was warming up, although none of them really knew why it never developed this way within the last seven years. It’s not like they were the only ones in the group who were practically complete opposites. Many theories had been bounced around by the other seven women, and they even had ongoing bets about them, although the two girls in question were unaware of this.
 

“That’s great, then. Now I don’t have to dissipate the awkward tension between you two every time I arrive,” Sooyoung said.
 

Taeyeon looked down at her food at that, a little embarrassed with how Sooyoung actually knew that she indeed had a role to play every time they met in the cafe. Yet she couldn’t help but smile a little in relief that Sooyoung was right; things were getting better.
 

But Taeyeon honestly didn’t know how much better their relationship had become, because she had not spoken to Tiffany since the latter had left for New York, and that was two weeks ago.
 

The irrationality of her actions maddened Taeyeon, every time she would end up hesitating to type a text to the brunette during most days and nights. She knew she could start the conversation by saying thank you for the candy, but her stupid fingers wouldn’t cooperate.
 

She also preferred to thank Tiffany in person, so it was annoying how the latter still hadn’t come back from her trip. Taeyeon thought it was called New York Fashion Week. Why was it taking Tiffany longer, then?
 

Taeyeon realized that her friends had created the perfect opportunity for her to ask about Tiffany’s return. “When is Tiffany coming back anyway?” She casually asked before taking a sip of her coke.
 

“Why? Do you miss her?” Sooyoung irritatingly teased.
 

Taeyeon narrowed her eyes in annoyance at the girl in front of her. She didn’t think twice before sarcastically firing back with “No, Sooyoung. I’m just not used to how quiet it is when we hang out nowadays. I just want to prepare my ears in advance before she gets back.”
 

The open gaping at her rude response made Taeyeon feel incredibly guilty. Frankly, it riled her up, how much her friends seemed to tease the two of them. Sure, this blossoming friendship between her and Tiffany had been a long time coming, but couldn’t they just accept it and move on?
 

In truth, Taeyeon kind of missed how loud the table would get when Tiffany was there. The dark-haired girl also always had entertaining stories to tell, although Taeyeon used to pretend that she wasn’t listening to them.
 

“…Are you sure you’re in better terms with Fany-unnie, unnie?” Yoona asked her cautiously.
 

“Sorry. It was reflex. I wasn’t thinking,” Taeyeon apologized sheepishly.
 

“Seven years of bickering will do that to you,” Hyoyeon coolly commented.
 

“Fany’s coming back in two days, Tae,” Sunny, the ever-reliable one, finally answered Taeyeon’s question, much to Taeyeon’s relief.

***

Sunny was right; Tiffany did get back from New York after two days.
 

The group opted to have dinner instead so that Tiffany could join them, since her flight wouldn't be arriving till that afternoon.
 

Taeyeon thought that Tiffany would be arriving early as usual, so the former got to the venue 20 minutes before the actual meeting time. Taeyeon didn’t want to think too hard about why she chose to do that.
 

Taeyeon shook off the twinge of disappointment she felt when the first person to actually join her was Seohyun, who was then followed by Hyoyeon, Sooyoung, Yoona, Jessica, and Yuri, but no Tiffany. Sunny wasn’t able to attend due to a business meeting.
 

They found out from Jessica that Tiffany’s flight had been delayed, so it was unclear whether or not the brunette would be able to make it to dinner. They all decided to just order their food and eat it as slowly as possible to give Tiffany more time to catch up.
 

While everyone was in tears laughing at one of Hyoyeon’s hilarious wardrobe malfunction stories, a brunette with windswept hair, wearing a white cashmere sweater and skinny jeans was hurriedly making her way towards them—Tiffany.
 

She was lugging a medium-sized pink suitcase behind her and clutching a variety of things with one hand: her phone, wallet, power bank, and earphones.
 

Taeyeon immediately stopped laughing to observe Tiffany. The taller girl seemed exhausted; flight delays would do that to a person. Nevertheless, even though her eyes looked tired, Taeyeon thought that she still seemed to carry the brightest smile in the entire restaurant.
 

The women nearest her, Jessica and Yuri, stood up to hug her, while the others showered her with warm greetings. Tiffany sat down beside Jessica and focused her beautiful smile on each and every one of them, addressing them individually. When she finally turned to look at Taeyeon, the latter inaudibly gulped.
 

Taeyeon noticed how Tiffany’s smile seemed to dim a little bit, but that didn’t mean that it was any less affectionate. In fact, Taeyeon was sure that her smile actually grew a little warmer, not to mention her eyes, which practically sparkled beneath the lighting of the bistro. Taeyeon couldn’t help but smile in return. It was still unusual for her to be the receiver of Tiffany’s endearingly sincere smile, so she was not used to it and the power it contained. How can anyone not follow her every whim if she smiles at them like that?
 

“Hey, Tae.”
 

Taeyeon opened to greet Tiffany back, but was interrupted by the irritating gasps and squeals of the other women at the table.
 

“She called her TAE!!!”
 

“Omo!”
 

“Oh my goshhhh!”
 

“Eeeeee!”
 

Taeyeon and Tiffany’s eyes met, and they shook their heads at the same time, silently expressing their exasperation with their friends.
 

“Get used to it, guys, okay?” Tiffany said with a roll of her eyes, and then she promptly began handing out the souvenirs she had bought for everyone to prevent them from further expounding on the topic between her and Taeyeon. Thankfully, it worked.
 

Taeyeon was pleasantly surprised to receive an ‘I love New York’ mug and a blue New York Yankees baseball jacket from Tiffany. As Tiffany handed Taeyeon her gifts, the brunette jokingly murmured how she wanted to give Taeyeon more candy, but feared that her teeth might fall off. Candy or not, Taeyeon wholeheartedly appreciated the presents.
 

After giving out her gifts, Tiffany finally got to order her food, and conversation flowed comfortably around the table once again. This time though, Tiffany’s countless stories about her experiences in New York were added into the mix.
 

Taeyeon chose not to join in, allowing the other seven women to ask Tiffany questions. All she did was chew her food and discreetly glance at the newcomer with a small smile on her face. Although she never really directly talked to Tiffany the entire time, she couldn’t help but admit that the brunette’s cheerful presence was a welcome shift in the atmosphere. What Taeyeon didn’t know was that Tiffany was also giving her discreet glances of her own.

***

About half an hour passed before things took a turn for the worst, or as Taeyeon calls it, when things turned into a heaping pile of .
 

It all happened because of stupid Sooyoung’s stupid shikshin mouth.
 

Taeyeon was just minding her own business, listening intently to the fascinating stories Tiffany was dishing out, but covertly pretending she wasn’t straining to hear every single word.
 

Although almost everyone seated at their table noticed her silence, only Sooyoung chose to comment on it. Stupid shiskshin Sooyoung, who stupidly whispered (Sooyoung said she only whispered it, but is it really whispering when the entire table could hear you???) “I think Taeyeon’s still trying to adjust her ears to Tiffany’s voice” to Hyoyeon, who was sitting beside her.
 

Sooyoung’s statement would have probably been inconspicuous to everyone else, if only the conversation had not lulled down at the exact moment when she chose to open and say those stupid words.
 

Granted, it was primarily Taeyeon’s fault for saying such a rude thing about Tiffany, but she really wasn’t thinking straight when she made that offhand comment, and she had already berated herself for it numerous times for the past two days.
 

The entire table grew eerily silent after Sooyoung’s ‘whisper,’ but nobody’s back had stiffened more than Taeyeon’s and Tiffany’s.
 

Taeyeon’s eyes had immediately snapped up to glare at Sooyoung, who at least had the gall to look very apologetic. Taeyeon’s eyes then quickly focused on Tiffany, whose gaze seemed to be burning a hole through Sooyoung’s face as well.
 

“…What did you say?” Tiffany’s voice was deadly calm. It was practically a whisper, but the message was delivered as if she had screamed it out loud; everyone else visibly flinched. When she said this, her eyes had quickly flitted to Taeyeon’s face, which Taeyeon knew evoked a mixture of panic, rage, and guilt.
 

Tiffany’s statement was merely rhetorical; she had heard the message, loud and clear. Which was why she didn’t even wait for Sooyoung’s reply as she said “It’s okay. It’s fine. I know I can be very loud,” in a seemingly offhand manner.
 

Taeyeon knew it was just a façade. She could clearly see the hurt in Tiffany’s eyes, which the brunette was trying so hard to mask. Seeing it had made Taeyeon breathless, in a terrible way. She’d seen Tiffany incredibly angry, sad, and annoyed, but Taeyeon realized that nothing was worse than seeing Tiffany hurt. Especially because she was the reason for it.
 

Sure, she had probably hurt Tiffany with her snide and passive-aggressive remarks before, but this was different. They were truly friends now. And so Taeyeon panicked internally. Probably also externally. She didn’t want to go back to the way things were before. She never wanted to go back there.
 

Taeyeon scrambled her brain for the best apology she could muster. “Tiffany, I—“
 

“It’s okay, Taeyeon. Really.” Taeyeon knew it was not okay. The resigned way Tiffany said it was beyond terrifying. It was terrifying because again, Tiffany wasn’t doing the bursts-of-anger thing. It’s like she almost accepted Taeyeon’s offensive words—anticipated it, even.
 

Taeyeon opened once again to try and mend the situation, but then Tiffany gave her a look. A look that brooked no argument and made Taeyeon instantly shut to prevent the stream of apologies that were to spew forth.
 

“Okay guys! Let’s get dessert!” Tiffany brightly exclaimed with a forced smile. She signaled for the waiter, and that was that. Everyone scrambled to fill the suffocating silence, and Taeyeon saw Tiffany visibly exhale in relief.

***

Dessert was excruciating for Taeyeon. Tiffany never looked at her, never talked to her, and never even turned her way. Taeyeon watched her mostly talk to Yuri and Jessica, and sadly, Taeyeon couldn’t overhear a single part of their conversation.
 

What made Taeyeon even more remorseful was the fact that Tiffany had stopped telling them stories about her time in New York City. She knew the brunette probably had a couple more to tell, and Taeyeon had to put a damper on that, as well as the mood in the entire table.
 

Halfway through dessert, Tiffany announced that she was leaving. Early schedule tomorrow, she said. Jet lag, she also said. Everyone in the table besides Taeyeon barely got to give Tiffany a wave goodbye before the latter walked out of the bistro with her suitcase in tow.
 

Taeyeon’s brain barely registered what was happening. It wasn’t until Sooyoung had turned to her and uttered a contrite “Sorry” that she snapped into action. Taeyeon stood up and deliberately pushed her way through Hyoyeon, Sooyoung, and Yoona in order to make her way to the open end of the table. She also didn’t forget to give a hard yank at Sooyoung’s collar as she went past her.
 

Once Taeyeon had finally gotten through her friends, she quickly made her way towards the exit. As she stood outside, facing the busy streets of Seoul, her head whipped left and right, trying to spot a distinctly pink suitcase and its owner.
 

All she caught was a glimpse of it a few meters away, before the door of a cab closed and hid it from view. Two hurried steps later, but the vehicle had already lurched forward and quickly maneuvered through the streets of Seoul.
 

All Taeyeon could do was mutter a dozen curses under her breath.

A/N:

Oh my gosh. Fast update!? Who wudda thunk? LOL.

I just became so happy because I finally got to write down another chapter for this story, so...yep. Your comments also fueled me on to write, I think, SO THANK YOU!

LOL. I'M NOT A TEASE, I SWEAR. hah.