Chapter 7

Cover Up

"A little bit more to the left side..... No, no,no.. That's too much. To the right.... Yah!!! Choi Sooyoung!! Do you need to check on your eyesight?"

"Unnie.... How am I suppose to see from up here? Do you want to do it instead?" Sooyoung replied with a pout as the siblings heard some chucklings from the side.

"Do you need help, Doctor Choi?"

Sooyoung observed as Tiffany walked up to her sister with a small bag. 

"What's that, Tiffany?" Soojin asked as Tiffany took out some cute stationaries and coloring books from the bag. 

"I didn't know what to get for the children though." Tiffany said shyly as Soojin patted her back.

"It's okay. It's the thoughts that counts. We can just put this together with all the other gifts." Soojin pointed to a corner of the room where a pile of presents had been stacked up nicely. "By the way, can you help Sooyoung with that banner? My sister seems to have poor judgement."

"Yah!! I heard that, Unnie."

Tiffany smiled at the pouting Sooyoung who waved excitedly at her. With Tiffany's help, they managed to put up the banner quickly and then went to help Soojin with other preparations for the children's day celebration at the hospital tomorrow.

"I didn't know that it's going to be this fun. The kids are really going to be enjoying themselves tomorrow. It's like a mini funfair here with all the game booths. But aren't we going to need more help to mend all these booths?" Tiffany asked as she pumped more air into the balloons that the 3 of them were currently doing.

"Don't worry. We have a lot of student volunteers coming tomorrow and some of the kid's parents would also be helping out. The doctors on duties will also dropped by to help whenever they could" Soojin explained as Tiffany nodded her head.

"By the way, I didn't know that the hospital had such a big empty hall. It looks like an extension." Tiffany asked again,

"Yes it is. This place was built for the sole purpose of organising such events and was built about three years ago. Once a while we will use it for staff retreat or celebrations like Christmas, Halloween or whatever event that needs to be held for the staff or even the patients. Last year, we had a small wedding here for one of our patient who actually got to know his wife at this hospital." Sooyoung explained as Tiffany listened in interest.

"That's so cute. Having a wedding in the place where they first met each other." Tiffany had a wide grin on her face. "But why only three years ago? If I remembered correctly, this hospital has been built ten years ago."

"That's because the person who sponsored this hospital expansion, only returned to Seoul at that time. She's also the one who started this children's day event three years ago for the kids who had been admitted to the hospital. Our main sponsor for the event." Sooyoung answered nonchalantly, causing Tiffany to be curious.

"I think we have enough balloons already. Tiffany, why don't you go back and rest first? You came here straight after you ended your shift. You must be feeling tired at the moment." Soojin suggested.

"It's okay, Doctor Choi. I'm actually feeling excited for the event tomorrow. I'm already anticipating the reactions from the kids." Tiffany had a warm smile on her expression. "Is there anything else that you need me to help with?"

A sudden grin appeared on Sooyoung's face as an idea popped up in her head. "If you're okay with getting up early tomorrow, would you like to accompany me to get the breakfast for the volunteers?"

Tiffany nodded her head aggressively as Sooyoung informed her about the time to meet and also the place. 

***************************

A knock on the window screen of the car caused Taeyeon to open her eyes slowly. A familiar grin appeared from behind the tinted window as Taeyeon asked Yoona to unlock the car door.

"Good morning, grumpy boss." Sooyoung chuckled at her own remarks as Taeyeon rolled her eyes while Yoona giggled from the driver seat.

"You're late." Taeyeon said with no emotion as she closed her eyes again.

"5 mins only. You look sleepy though. You should have just rest at home and come down straight to the hospital during the event itself." Sooyoung commented as she leaned back against the seat.

"Yah!!! Who's the irritating person who kept bugging me to accompany her to get the breakfast for the volunteers? And what happened to your car? Why did it broke down suddenly?" Taeyeon blabbered on as Sooyoung just shrugged her shoulders and ignored her while Yoona started to drive away from Sooyoung's apartment to their next destination.

The journey to the restaurant remained in silence as Taeyeon decided to nap while Sooyoung played with her phone and had small talks with Yoona in between her games. When they arrived, Sooyoung tapped Taeyeon's shoulder lightly to inform her.

"Do you want to follow us or do you want to just rest here in the car?" Sooyoung asked as Taeyeon straightened her back and stretched her hands out.

"I'll just wait here then." Taeyeon replied sleepily as Sooyoung asked if she had slept late the night before. "I had a meeting with some students for their school project until about 1am. Reached home almost to 2am and had only a few hours of sleep when you called me up at 6am."

Sooyoung bit her lips and felt a little guilty for troubling Taeyeon. She had already realised that there was something wrong with her car since yesterday. Initially, she had wanted to borrow her sister's car for today but she had something else in mind.

"I'm sorry, Tae. If I knew that you only had a few hours of rest, I won't have troubled you." Sooyoung confessed as Taeyeon gave her a small smile.

"It's okay. I can rest in the car. By the way, here." Taeyeon took out her credit card and handed it over to Sooyoung for her to make the payment for the food.

Sooyoung and Yoona then exited the car and made their way to the restaurant which was a few metres away. Sooyoung asked Yoona if she was the one who accompanied Taeyeon last night and the girl nodded her head. Yoona explained that they had the meeting at a cafe just outside the university but Yoona sat at a different table since they're having an official meeting.

"I don't know the content of the project though but Taeyeon-unnie did mentioned that the student wanted her to sponsor their project. There had been a few groups of students that had came to see Taeyeon-unnie for the past few days." Yoona ended her updates.

"It's a yearly thingy. The school projects for the university students to submit for their final grading. It's been two years since Taeyeon had offered to sponsor one or two projects but she would look through their paperworks and choose which one she would sponsor." Sooyoung explained to Yoona who nodded her head. "By the way, if you had accompanied Taeyeon last night, that means you've not had enough rest too."

"Anni. I had the day off yesterday so I have been resting at home until Taeyeon-unnie called me in at about 9pm to accompany her. Kibum was on duty yesterday since 8am so she told him to report off." Yoona explained.

"No wonder you look more fresh than Taeyeon. Now I feel guilty for asking her to meet me so early in the morning." Sooyoung pouted.

The two of them finally entered the restaurant as the staff recognised Sooyoung from afar. They had already made their orders at the restaurant a week ago and were only here to collect their orders. As they waited for the staffs to pack their orders, both Sooyoung and Yoona continued to talk until someone called out to Sooyoung.

"Hi. I'm sorry if I'm late." Tiffany appeared in front of Sooyoung who had a huge grin on her face as Tiffany bowed her head at them.

"Oh no. You're just on time, Tiffany." Sooyoung stood up and introduced Yoona to her. "This is Yoona. A dongsaeng of mine who will also be helping us out later at the hospital. Yoona, this is Tiffany Hwang. She's a doctor at the hopsital."

"Hi, Doctor Hwang. Nice to meet you." A sweet smile appeared on Yoona's face as she shook Tiffany's hand while trying to remember where she had heard that name before.

"You don't have to call me doctor, Yoona. Tiffany will do." She replied with an eye smile as Yoona finally remembered.

"Tiffany. Now I remember. You're that pretty doctor." Yoona blurted out before she covered and giggled by herself. "You're older than me so I should call you Fany-unnie."

"Fany-unnie? I've never had anyone called me unnie before since I'm the youngest in the family. But I like that name and thank you for the compliment earlier." Tiffany said.

"Talking about that compliment, it's actually from someone else but I have to agree with that person. You're really pretty." Yoona replied as Tiffany blushed a little.

The food was ready soon as the 3 of them took two bags each before making their way to the car. Sooyoung asked Tiffany on how she made her way to the restaurant and Tiffany replied that she took a cab since she didn't owned a car.

"That's okay. It's better anyway since we can all move in one car." Sooyoung commented and luckily no one noticed the cheeky grin that she had since they were all busy putting the food into the car boot. 

Tiffany herself was in awe with the car since it was the first time she had came close to a Bentley Mulsanne. She didn't realised that she was staring too much until Sooyoung tapped her shoulder.

"Wae?" Sooyoung asked as Tiffany explained herself. "Oh. This car. It's rare to see anyone using this model in Seoul and there's actually only a few of these around if I'm not wrong."

"This car belongs to you?" Tiffany asked as Sooyoung shook her head. "So it's Yoona's?"

Sooyoung laughed louder as Yoona looked a little surprised with Tiffany's question. "I can't afford this even if I work my off. It belongs to my boss."

Tiffany was about to ask another question when Sooyoung closed the car boot. "Do you want to sit behind or in the front passenger seat?" Tiffany was about to answer that question when Sooyoung opened the door and she noticed someone inside.

"I think I'll just sit in front." 

Sooyoung nodded her head and opened the front passenger seat for Tiffany as Yoona made her way to the driver's seat. 

Taeyeon's POV

I heard the car boot being opened and closed as I continued to have my eyes closed. I knew that the two girls were already back with the food as I heard Sooyoung's voice.

"Do you want to sit behind or in the front passenger seat?"

I frowned a little at her question as I found it weird. Why did she ask Yoona that question when Yoona is the driver? 

"I think I'll just sit in front." 

My eyes opened slightly when I heard an unfamiliar voice.

"Yah, sleepyhead... Here's your card." I turned to my side and looked at Sooyoung who was giving me back my credit card. Taking the card and putting it away, I asked her if everything was in order. "All in order. I'll just keep the receipt and submit it to office tomorrow."

"Okay. By the way, Soojin-unnie called just now. She asked us to get a birthday cake because one of the kids is celebrating her birthday today. Do you know where to get the nicest cake in this area? I planned to get a big cake so that everyone would be able to share it." 

"Everyone? We have about 100 kids at the moment and if you include the volunteers and parents, we might need a cake for 125 pax. I don't think we can get such a big cake at the last minute though." Sooyoung commented as I bit my lips, trying to think of something.

"Maybe we can purchase cupcakes instead and arranged them into a birthday cake?"

I looked up to face the voice that had given the suggestion and was surprised to see a familiar face, seated at the front passenger seat.

"Oh yah, by the way, this is Tiffany. I think you've seen her before. She's a doctor at Unnie's hospital." Sooyoung suddenly introduced us as I nodded my head slowly before looking away to face the window. "Tiffany, this is Taeyeon. My boss and Yoona's boss. The main sponsor of today's event."

Tiffany's POV

"I don't think we can get such a big cake at the last minute though." 

I heard Sooyoung's reply as silence filled the car.

"Maybe we can purchase cupcakes instead and arranged them into a birthday cake?" I suggested but quickly regretted my decision to speak up when I noticed someone looking at me with a surprised expression.

My heart suddenly pumped faster when I finally realised who that person. 'Oh my gosh. It's her. The person who has been bothering my thoughts lately.' My ears managed to pick up the introduction done by Sooyoung for both of us and I noticed how she only nodded her head before looking away. I gritted my teeth at her actions as my mind kept playing the word 'spoilt brat' in it.

"Tiffany, this is Taeyeon. My boss and Yoona's boss. The main sponsor of today's event." Sooyoung pointed at the person beside her and smiled as I forced out a smile.

'Main sponsor? She's the one who is sponsoring this event? That means she's also the one who had built that extension hall.' My mind was spinning with all the information as I remembered what Sooyoung had told me last night.

"Hi Taeyeon. Nice to meet you. It's a pleasure to meet a big-hearted person like you. I've heard about your contributions for today's event from Doctor Choi and Sooyoung." I tried to sound as nice and polite as I could be, hoping that maybe she's someone who liked to be complimented.

"Hhhmmmm."

That's the only answer that I received from her before she looked out of the window. 'Is that all that you're going to say to me?' I almost wanted to say my thoughts out before I noticed her turning back to face Sooyoung with a stern expression.

"Call Seohyun to source out the cupcakes as suggested by Tiffany-ssi and tell her to get it done before noon. We can have the birthday celebration around 2pm. Yoona, let's go."

"Fany-unnie, your seatbelt please." Yoona smiled at me as I turned to face the front and nodded my head.

***************************

When they exited from the car, Sooyoung and Taeyeon arrived at the car boot first before Tiffany and Yoona. Taeyeon then took two bags and walked away, leaving the other 3 girls behind.

"Is she always like that?" Tiffany finally voiced out her frustration as Sooyoung just chuckled and grinned.

"What if I said yes?" Sooyoung replied while Tiffany just shook her head. "Don't take it to heart though. She's just awkward with people that she just met and it actually takes time for her to warm up to a person."

"A long time actually. It took me almost 4 months to be able to converse comfortably with Taeyeon-unnie and another 2 months to actually hear her laughing. She's unpredictable, which kind of makes it interesting." Yoona giggled at her own words.

"Taeyeon-unnie? You called her that? I thought she's your boss?" Tiffany asked as Yoona nodded her head and explained that Taeyeon was the one who suggested for her to call her by that. "Wow. I thought she's the bossy type from the way she had given Sooyoung the instructions earlier."

"She's firm when it comes to making decisions and giving instructions. I don't see it as bossy though. Like what Yoona said. She's unpredictable." Sooyoung gave her opinion as they made their way towards the event hall.

It was a vibrant atmosphere when the four of them reached the hospital. Soojin was already there to brief the student volunteers and also some of the parents. The balloons had been put up as decorations around the hall. Following Sooyoung's directions, they made their way to a long table that had been put up at a corner of the hall where Taeyeon was already starting to arrange the packed food that she had carried.

"Why did you walk so fast? Can't you walk together with us?" Sooyoung started to nag at Taeyeon who just ignored her.

Tiffany kept her silence and only observed from the corner of her eyes. Some of the volunteers had started to gather around the table and taking their share of the food so all of them started to become busy. Even so, Tiffany could still manage to notice Taeyeon walking away the moment the first few students came up to the table.

'Where did she go?' Tiffany thought to herself but she didn't have the courage to ask Sooyoung or Yoona about it since both of them were equally busy.

It was only when the crowd had subsided and there were only a few packed food left, did they managed to rest for a while. 

"Fany-unnie, have you taken your share of food yet?" Yoona asked as Tiffany shook her head. The young girl smiled and handed over a packed food. "I'm going to pass this to Taeyeon-unnie so you don't have to wait for me."

"You know where she went?" That question slipped Tiffany's mouth faster than her mind could stop her.

"I know. She would usually be there everytime we have this kind of event." Yoona smiled again when she saw the curiousity in Tiffany's eyes. "Want to follow me?"

Tiffany looked around to see what Sooyoung and Soojin were doing. Both sisters were busy mingling around with the volunteers and Tiffany was still undecided if she should really follow Yoona or just stick to Doctor Choi's side.

"I think.. I'll just...." Tiffany blinked her eyes and bit her lips.

"It's okay, Unnie. I can see that you're awkward around Taeyeon-unnie. Just stay here. I'll be back soon or you can look for Soo-unnie." Yoona suggested before she walked away.

Tiffany just observed the direction where Yoona was going and was surprised to see that she was making her way to the main building of the hospital. 'What is Taeyeon doing there? Don't tell me that spoilt brat had gone back to her car and waited inside instead of spending time here?'

"What are you looking at?" Tiffany's train of thoughts was interrupted with Sooyoung's voice as the tall girl stood beside her along with her sister.

"I was looking at Yoona. She went back to the main building to pass food to your boss." Tiffany replied.

"My boss? Taeyeon, you mean?" Sooyoung asked for confirmation as Tiffany nodded her head.

"She must have gone to look for Yeri." Soojin commented before Sooyoung could say anything. "Yeri will be happy to see her."

"Who's Yeri?" Tiffany asked.

"She's one of our patients here. Our longest inpatient at the moment. She's been admitted here since a year ago due to PTSD." Soojin explained to Tiffany who was surprised to know about it. "Taeyeon was the one who brought her in and also the one who had been financing her hospital bills all this while."

A frown appeared on Tiffany's face. "PTSD? Post Trauma Stress Disorder? What happened?"

"She was involved in an accident in Busan while vacationing with her family. I don't really know much of the details but from what Taeyeon told me, she's the only survivor from the accident."

Tiffany grimaced with the news as her heart felt a tinge of pain when she thought about the girl who's left alone in this world. "But how did Taeyeon came into the picture? Are they related?"

"No. Taeyeon was in Busan on a business trip. She was the one who made the decision to bring the girl back to Seoul after Yeri was admitted to one of the hospital there. If I was to explain everything in detail with you, we might need a few hours of your time to do so. But I don't think today is a good time to do so since we already have something to take care of." Sooyoung smirked a little when she saw the slight disappointment in Tiffany's eyes. "Why don't you just ask Taeyeon directly?"

"Ask me about what?" 

Tiffany froze in her spot when she heard that cold voice coming from somewhere behind her back. As she turned her head slowly, Tiffany saw Taeyeon with her expressionless face while standing beside Yoona who was grinning. Taeyeon was looking straight at her but at that instance, Tiffany couldn't utter a single word.

"Whatever." Taeyeon said in a low-tone voice before walking away after she realised that Tiffany was not going to say anything.

Once Taeyeon was out of sight, Tiffany grumbled and muttered out the word 'snobbish' which was overheard by Sooyoung, Soojin and Yoona. The 3 of them could only laughed at Tiffany's reaction as the girl blushed a little since she thought that no one would actually hear her words.

***************************

"Thank you so much for everyone's help today. Before all of you leave the hall, there is one last gift from our generous sponsor, Ms Kim Taeyeon, who had decided to give out vouchers to the volunteers today. Everyone will receive $100 each so please collect them from Ms Seohyun at the exit door later. Thank you once again."

A thunderous applause echoed through the hall as Soojin ended her speech. Everyone started to say their goodbyes to each other and even took down contact details for those who had formed new friendships today.

Even Tiffany and Yoona were not excluded from the exchanging of numbers as some of the students, especially the boys, were interested to know them better. The two girls could only giggle at each other when they saw how shy the boys were when they wanted to get their numbers. But their presence couldn't compete with Taeyeon who seemed to have a longer queue of people in front of her.

"Every year, Taeyeon looks like a celebrity at the end of this event. Like as if she's having a fansign event." Sooyoung commented as Yoona laughed while Tiffany's eyes wondered towards Taeyeon's direction, who was standing a distance away from them.

"Most of the volunteers, especially the children's parents, are very thankful for everything that Taeyeon did for their kids. Every parents will be happy when they see their children, smiling and laughing while mingling around with other kids even when they are actually sick." Soojin added her opinion.

"But Taeyeon-unnie always seem to have more fangirls than fanboys." Yoona said, which caused laughter from Sooyoung and Soojin.

"Is she into girls?" Tiffany's question came out of the blue as the 3 girls looked at Tiffany. "Wait. You don't have to answer me. It's none of my business."

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CrissYoung #1
Chapter 17: Chapter 17: Update please.... Have finished reading it again :))
Twinjung88
1098 streak #2
Chapter 17: Fany you should go and see him but don't tell him, I got a feeling that he isn't being honest with you and maybe he is hiding something from you...
Twinjung88
1098 streak #3
Chapter 16: Lol Sooyoung's suggested name for Fany hahaha
snsdgg #4
Chapter 16: Re-read this again and I laughed at fany's contact name 😂
Taenykim_N
#5
Update soon auth pls
Skye1234 #6
Chapter 16: Thank you for the update.
Bellove #7
Chapter 16: Yeaaa, welcome bckkk!!!🍂🍂
lolli_pop
#8
Chapter 16: WELCOME BACKKKK
allhailkty
#9
Chapter 16: uh oh, wow..you are back! welcome 🤩
please continue this good story, authorshii
Taenykim_N
#10
Chapter 16: Pls update soon