She was leaving me alone for two weeks.

Two whole weeks. Starting on MY birthday.

How dare she?

"I'm sorry! I don't really have a choice on the matter." Taeyeon held her arms up in an attempt to defend herself from my wrath,

"Hmph…" I scoffed. 

Ever the angel of SNSD, Seohyun, intervened in an attempt to break the growing tension, "You shouldn't be so hard on Taeyeon-unnie, Tiffany-unnie,"

"Hyunnie's right Fany-unnie, Taeyeon-unnie said she doesn't really have a choice," Yoona piped in after swallowing a mouthful of chips,

"Hey! Leave some for me!" Sooyoung said before taking the bag of chips from Yoona's grip, but the force was too much causing some of the chips to drop on Sunny. 

"Yah!" However, instead of apologizing to Sunny, Yoona and Sooyoung focused on the chips that are now on the floor,

"Nooooo! See what you did Soo-unnie?!"

"What?! It's your fault for hogging all of it!"

Jessica rolled her eyes at the two shikshins, "Anyway, gotta agree with the maknae this time. I mean it's not like she's going to leave forever Tiff," She was about to say more but she stopped when I gave her a glare.

"Yaahhh! Fany, stop, you're scaring my Sica-baby! She might not recover!" Yuri said as she wrapped her arms around the blonde.

My glare softened after Yuri said that. I felt guilty that I'm taking out my anger on Jess but thankfully she gave me a reassuring smile, silently saying that it's okay before turning to the tanned woman hugging her,

"Oh please Seobang. Have you forgotten that I'm SNSD's Ice Princess?"

"But-" It was Jessica's turn to give a glare. Yuri immediately shut up and pouted,

"Haha! You are so whipped Yul!" Hyoyeon teased,

"Well, I'm just gonna go back to my room," I heard Taeyeon say before trying to sneakily leave the conversation,

"Hold your horses there Kim Taeyeon, we are not done yet," I interjected and crossed my arms. Today I'm more irritated than I have ever been since… last week. It's honestly difficult not to find yourself with high blood pressure when the company you're working for is constantly giving you a ton of work, and when you finally think you'd get to relax and have quality time with the one you secretly love, she tells you she'd be gone for two weeks, "How long have you known that you're leaving?"

"Err… a little over a week?" Taeyeon almost squeaked, 

"And you didn't tell us?"

"I was busy!" The onyx-eyed girl whined helplessly, dramatically ruffling her long blonde hair in frustration.

Hmm…

I decided to grill her about it a bit more.

"Busy with what exactly? As far as I know, your schedule wasn't packed like some of us do," I placed an underlying growl in my words for effect.

The other members were silent. They knew that if I was in my HellFany mode, it was wise not to intervene.

"I was… doing something," Taeyeon suddenly became oddly silent, looking at anything but me.

I raised my eyebrows, "Doing something…?"

"Yeah. You'll find out soon enough so stop asking Fany-ah," Frustrated and out of gas, the leader slumped down on the couch with a thud.

I felt rather triumphant at her defeat but that didn't alleviate my exasperation. Taetae had never missed any of my birthdays since the two of us met.

"Fine." I scoffed once again before walking to the kitchen to get a drink of water. Hopefully, it would remedy my hypertension.

"I'll make it up to you, I promise, my pink piggy!"

I choked on the water I was sipping. Some even trickled down my neck and into my shirt. I returned my eyes on Taeyeon only to see that she was wearing that silly smirk.

Oh, you are not turning this one on me...

"Oh, look what you did. You spilled your water," Taeyeon giggled as she pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket, "Let me wipe it away for you, baby~"

Taeyeon was reaching out to wipe the water that stained my shirt around my chest area but I slapped her hand away, "Ow!"

"Byuntae!"

The rest of the members carried on as if nothing ever happened.

Eyecatch: Two girls are sitting back to back on a pink plush carpet inside the bedroom. The blonde is humming a song while the brunette is silently listening with a smile on her face. "I've always liked the sound of your voice. It makes any gloomy day sunny."

I soon found myself at the airport at 5:00 AM on the morning of my birthday.

Calling all passengers for Seoul Airlines Flight 3981. We will be boarding shortly.

"Taengoo~"

"Taeng~"

"Taeyeon-unnie~"

"Midget~"

Yuri, Hyoyeon, Yoona, and Sooyoung respectively embraced our leader dramatically, much to the other members and I and to the Kim family's embarassment. Our silly disguises didn't help the situation either.

"I'm going to miss you, you little midget!" the tallest member of the group declared while still hugging and cuddling Taeyeon. 

"Yah! Take it easy on the height jokes!" I almost snorted at her humorous attempt to try and get past Sooyoung's height using her tip toes. 

Sooyoung simply smirked, "Pfft, and why would I do that? I have to give you a lot of teasings to satisfy my inner devil before you leave~" She purred as she patted Taeyeon's head. 

"It's because your leader ordered you to!" Taeyeon barked, trying to look menacing, but we all know she's just trying to be playful.

Their conversation was becoming nonsensical very quickly.

Calling all passengers for Seoul Airlines Flight 3981. We will be boarding shortly.

"I think we should all say our goodbyes now, unnie, they'll be boarding soon." Seohyun finally spoke up after I caught her smiling at the show Taeyeon and Sooyoung were making right in the middle of the airport.

I nodded, agreeing to her suggestion even though I honestly didn't want to. Sure we had to be apart when going to our individual schedules, but we've never been away from each other for too long. Probably for a few days at most. 

Although I try to shrug the feeling, I know I'm really going to miss her.

"Have a safe trip, Taeyeon-unnie," Yoona bowed respectfully only to be caught in a chokehold.

"Don't pretend you respect me, Im Yoona!" Taeyeon playfully accused the younger girl while poking her cheeks.

"UNNIEEEEE, NOOOOOO" Yoona desperately tried to release herself from the chokehold and begged for help from the other members, but they just stood there snickering at the poor girl's suffering.

"Taengoo," Jessica started, walking up towards the blonde. She then gave her a small pouch that held a digital camera, "Take lots of pictures, okay?"

She winked and then smiled, "It's really for…" I saw her glance at me.

Eh...?

Calling all passengers for Seoul Airlines Flight 3981. We will be boarding shortly.

"Hey, Taeyeon, we gotta go!" Jiwoong called out to his sister before picking his travel bag up and following his parents.

"Dae, dae"

I suddenly felt everyone's eyes on me, "Uhm, Tae..." I began but as every second passed, I found it more and more difficult to continue.

"Sorry, I tried convincing them. I really did. But they were dead serious about wanting to have a family vacation..."

I put my eyes on her and saw her rubbing the back of her neck uncomfortably.

I couldn't help but smile because I knew, just by that familiar gesture, that Taeyeon meant what she said.

"It's alright, Tae."

"No, it's not. I've never missed one. I feel like this tarnishes my record!"

I stared at her, bewildered. "What record...?"

"So, I prepared something for you today!" 

Clearly, she wasn't listening to me anymore. Sometimes I wondered why I even try to retain her attention for more than a few seconds.

Taeyeon opened her bag and started rummaging through the items inside. A portion of my mind was alarmed; although not as bad Yoona and Yuri, Taeyeon would sometimes pull random things out of nowhere to scare me, yet another portion was curious as to what exactly she had prepared for me. She could be very sweet and thoughtful when she really tried. Hopefully, she did try to be sweet this time or she would be leaving Seoul with a bump on her head.

I watched Taeyeon pull a box out from her luggage. "Here!" She offered to you, grinning.

I narrowed my eyes on the box but took it anyway. "I hope this isn't a jack-in-the-box, Taeyeon."

"No, it isn't. Do you have that little trust in me?"

Hmm... well, come to think of it, maybe...

"Nevermind, don't answer that." She waved it off and continued, grinning all the while showing her cute little chin dimple, "Well, Happy Birthday, Fany!"

An eyesmile etched itself on my face. Her bright smiles always had an effect on me, "Thank you, Taetae. I—"

Final call for the passengers of Seoul Airlines Flight 3981. Please report to the boarding attendants.

The announcement cut off whatever I wanted to say. Realizing that she would have to go right then, I tried speak after the broadcast died down. However, I quickly found myself enveloped in a hug, "T-Taeyeon...?"

"I'm really sorry that I'm leaving you on your birthday, Fany-ah. I hope my gift can make up for it," Taeyeon said. Her voice was mellow and utterly sincere.

I felt my face burn at the way she spoke to me. I often envied how transparent she was, how true she was to herself and to others. I wished that I could speak as openly as she could without reducing myself into a blushing fool.

Never mind that my insides tingled at the tone of her voice.

"Aww, not gonna hug back?" She teased.

"W-what...?"

"Taeyeon-unnie!" This time, it was her little sister Haeyeon who called out. 

"I gotta go, Fany..." And, at that, she pulled herself away from me.

I stood there, dumbfounded, holding my free arm up. I was about to return her hug too.

"Make sure you get ready by 7:30am, Fany!" Taeyeon said as she zipped her luggage back up.

I blinked. It was Saturday today. I was planning to go back to sleep when I get back to the dorm since we had to wake up really early to go to the airport. 

"Why?"

"I'm taking you on a date."

"...Huh?" How...?

"You'll see when you open my present for you."

I truly hated it when she had that mischievous tone in her voice. It guaranteed a diabolic plan of hers was at play. Before I could ask though, she was already making her way to her family while waving at me and our members/friends.

"Goodbye, everyone! See you in two weeks!"

"Bye, midget!"

"Have a safe trip, Unnie!"

"See you soon, Taengoo!"

"Don't forget our souvenirs!"

"And our snacks!"

Ashamed that I haven't even said anything, I gathered the courage to raise my voice, "Bye! See you in two weeks, Taetae, and thank you for the present!"

She gave me a thumbs up and that wonderful grin of hers before she entered the portal that led to the plane, "I know you'll love it, Fany-ah!"

I looked down at the wrapped present in my hands. Pink and blue giftwrap, huh?

Eyecatch: Tiffany Hwang staring through a wire fence as an airplane lifts off into the lightening sky. Her hair billows westward like a silken curtain. "Until I see you again..."

I soon found myself in my bedroom staring at the peculiar box Taeyeon gave me. It was already 7:00am and, if I were going to play her little game, I must open it now and get ready for that 'date'.

My inner scaredy cat refused to budge. What if something jumped out at me?

I'm going to trust you on this one Taeyeon.

I pulled the frustratingly innocent box closer to myself as I sat on my desk chair and carefully pulled the blue ribbon away. Underneath the thick ribbon, I found a card taped on the box.

"Fany-ah, there's nothing scary in this box. Just open it."

"Pabo..." I spoke to myself while holding the card with a shaking hand. I refused to admit that her message was the sign I was waiting for. It took away some of my nervousness about the silly little box.

Quickly, I unwrapped the box. It was a simple cube about half the size of a shoebox, decorated with multicolored polka dots.

So far, so good. It looks harmless enough...

I felt silly at the thought that I probably looked like I was unwrapping a time bomb.

Tentatively, I placed my left hand on the box's pink lid. Just in case something popped out, I leaned back as I opened it.

Nothing came out.

I sighed in relief.

Now that fear was the last of my worries, I finally managed to examine what was in the box.

Inside, I found a Walkman cassette player with a paper note attached to it, two cassettes, a tiny pink totoro plushie, and a compact disc in its plastic shell. Unsure of what to do with the various type of media and the random toy, my logical brain automatically directed me to the folded piece of paper clipped by the cassette player.

"Prepare a duffel bag, and dress in comfortable clothes (stay warm, it must be cold outside this early in the morning). Oh! And don't forget to disguise yourself. Wouldn't want the paparazzi to ruin our date now would we? After you've done all that, grab a pair of earphones and listen to tape 1. ~Taeyeon"

While I still have my suspicions, I felt oddly excited after reading the note. Just what did she plan? And what was this 'date' she told me about?

This is too elaborate to be a joke... 

Since I didn't change out of my clothes after I saw Taeyeon and her family off, I just reached to my left and took a pair of earphones off my cellphone. Giddy for no apparent reason, I plugged the earphones into the Walkman and looked at the cassettes in search of the said tape 1.

In true Taeyeon fashion, the tapes were all labeled "Play Me!" and denoted by numbers 1 and 2.

I placed "Play Me! #1" in the cassette player, making sure that it was on Side A, and pressed play.

"Hi, Fany! It's me!"

It was a miracle that I didn't fall off my chair at the sound of Taeyeon's excited voice. It was even a bigger miracle that I didn't have a heart attack.

"You finally got the guts to open the box, huh? I was thinking of just handing it to you unwrapped but that's not much of a birthday present, is it? So I ended up wrapping it for you. I can just see your face trying to open it. Hahaha!"

Even though she was only a voice recorded in a cassette, Taeyeon still had the capacity to irritate me.

"Since I can't physically be with you today, I spent the last week recording these tapes and preparing for the best birthday you will ever have."

Now all her absences made sense.

"Now, let me explain some rules. First and foremost, you will have to do whatever I say in these tapes or else it won't work out! When I say pause, you will have to pause the tape. Don't cheat and keep playing it! I made sure that you will get prompts to press play again as you go through this date of ours, okay?"

My brain was still trying to get over the fact that Taeyeon had the time to arrange something so complex.

"Now… pause the tape and play it again once you're outside the dorm. The fun will begin then. Remember to take the stuff I wrote on the note and that we're supposed to start this at 7:30 alright, Fany-ah?"

Taeyeon's voice disappeared and the tape ran silent.

I took it as a cue to press the pause button.

I stared at the cassette player, amazed, so incredibly amazed that I felt butterflies flying around in my stomach. Any doubts that this box and whatever was in it were a hoax was thrown out the window. Despite being a dorky byuntae most of the time, she found a way to keep me company in her absence. Not only that, she also organized this so called date for me.

I looked at the wall clock.

It was 7:15 AM.

Hurriedly, I pulled my duffle bag from my closet, placed the box containing the tapes inside, ran out of my room, and made my way towards the exit. I was so excited that I practically glowed.

"Tiffany, where are you going so early in the morning?" Sunny poked her head out from the kitchen when she saw me run past.

"Out, Sunny-ah. Tae gave me these tapes and it's supposed to be a present and—"

"Oh," Sunny chuckled at my enthusiastic jabber before taking a sip of her coffee, "I see. Can you do me a favor before you leave though? Please bring the newspaper and the mail in for me."

I raised an eyebrow out of curiosity and mild suspicion. Usually, she would question me further.

Does she know about this?

"I will."

"Thanks, Tiff."

Wondering why Sunny had that knowing look on her face, I made my way towards the mailbox and took its contents out. Out of habit, I automatically folded the newspaper lengthwise and clipped it under my arm while I sift through the mail just in case some of them were mine. After fishing out a couple of greeting and birthday cards out of the pile and putting them in my duffle bag, I went into the kitchen to deliver the items to Sunny.

"I'll leave them on the table, Sunny."

"Only the mail Fany. The newspaper goes in our pile, we don't really read them anyway,"

"Sure thing,"

"Tiff, aren't you going to eat breakfast first?" Hyoyeon said while cooking some kimchi fried rice on the stove.

I shook my head, "I'm okay. I already ate some toast when we went to the airport earlier today."

"Haha let's let her go Hyo," Sunny said as she approached the table to look at the mail, "She has a fun day ahead of her."

"Sunny...?"

"Go," She urged with a grin on her face, "Just be home before dinner. The members and I also want to celebrate your birthday with you."

"Ohoho, is it Taeng?" Hyoyeon wondered and at the small nod Sunny gave her, she continued, "Lively little midget, isn't she?" Hyoyeon grinned as well.

They know all about this… I just know it. 

"Uhm... I'll be going then." More than a little bit confused, I excused myself from my two grinning members and went out the door.

I almost forgot to press play on the cassette player.

After a few seconds of static, I heard Taeyeon's voice once again, "Welcome back to 'My Awesome Birthday Date with Taetae!'"

I nearly tripped down on an invisible rock.

What the hell?

"Hahaha, I know you did something funny just now. Anyway, let's get this started, okay? Start walking towards the Ranroo's Café while I continue blabbing."

Funnily enough, I had no doubts that Taeyeon could keep a conversation with herself.

I started my trek towards the said café a few blocks down the street. Taeyeon and I frequented that café since it was built a year ago, often taking advantage of its ambience to relax without the distraction of being bombarded with group or individual schedules.

Too bad we have to cover our faces most of the time.

"I wonder what you're seeing Mio. Is it still dark? No, I doubt it. It's already 7:30, right? Heh, I'm recording this in the afternoon so I'm sure I'm seeing very different colors than you are."

If it weren't for the fact that I walked alone, I might have answered her question.

"Let's see if I can guess what you see… it's morning and although it's August, it can get chilly in the morning... hmm."

I rubbed my gloved hands together to warm them, blowing warm air into them to help the process.

Yes Taetae, it does feel a little bit cold right now.

"Ah, I know! Hey, Fany, do you watch your breath rise up towards the sky? I always think about that when we're walking outside. I wonder if our breaths join the clouds."

Unconsciously, I smiled to myself as I listened to her musings. Taeyeon never truly gave herself enough credit when it came to insight even though she had such a wonderful mind.

Yes, I watch them, Taetae. I watched yours as well.

"Anyway, unless you're moving at the pace of a snail, I'm guessing you're near Ranroo's already, right?"

Ranroo's Café peered at me from around the corner. Did she record this as if she's going through this 'date' with me? Was she walking the same street as I am now while she spoke to this cassette player?

"When you arrive just go on inside. Someone is gonna meet up with you there, okay? Hehe, I know I said it's a date but I can't just keep you to myself on your birthday, you know? Heh."

I stared at the café's door as if it was a portal to another world. I knew nothing about Taeyeons's plan so whenever she told me something, my self-preservation instincts goes into high gear.

"Side A is almost done so you don't need to actually pause. Just let the tape stop so you can flip it afterward. Pressing rewind is against rules!"

Of course it's against the rules... 

The Walkman clicked, signaling the end of Side A of "Play Me! #1."

I sighed, "I might as well humor her…"

I opened the door to the café.

Eyecatch: Two women are haphazardly piled all over each other on the slippery side walk during a snowy winter day. The woman with onyx eyes grins in mirth despite her sore back, "See? I'll always catch you when you fall down even if you're the one who made me slip in the first place."

"Ah, Welcome Unnie!" One of the café's baristas greeted me as I came in. The people who work here knows that Taeyeon and I, and sometimes the members, often come here, but we told them not to directly call our names so no one would recognize us. 

I passed through the café's doors. "Good morning, Wheein-ah. Did you just open?"

"Dae, but we've been expecting you. Taeyeon-unnie told us you'll be coming early today."

"Taeyeon did?" I asked as I folded my scarf around my arms.

Wheein just smiled and nodded, "Come this way," She then led you to sit in the secluded booth where me and Taeyeon usually sat.

"Hello, Tiff." A familiar voice greeted me.

"Jess!" I hugged her as she smiled. "Happy Birthday!"

"Hey, how about me? Give me some love too!"

I looked to the person next to Jessica and immediately hugged her too as soon I recognized her face, "Yuri-ah!"

The tanned woman chuckled, "Happy Birthday Fany!"

Wheein excused herself and left me with my friends.

So Jessica and Yuri were the people I was going to meet.

"Wait, Jess, Yuri-ah, you guys know about the cassettes…?"

The both of them chuckled before Jessica answered, "Yes, Tiff, we do. Actually, the whole group knows. Taengoo told us about it a week ago and since it sounded fun, we convinced her to let us join in." She patted the booth seat next to her, "Come, sit with us."

I sat down and settled the duffle bag I carried near my feet, "So, I'm the only one who didn't know…"

Of course the members are involved, it was so obvious. That's why Hyoyeon and Sunny were acting weird earlier. However, I was more concerned at the fact that I didn't sense this happening. I mean I know I was busy but still, I should've probably got some kind of hint as to what was going in.

The two of them just smiled sheepishly.

"No wonder all of you kept defending her when she suddenly goes somewhere,"

Yuri only grinned and patted my hand, "Taeyeon was only thinking of you."

"That pabo..."

"Tiffany-unnie, here." Wheein came back with a huge mug of Ranroo's special hot chocolate for me.

I watched as the light brown haired barista placed the mug in front of me, "But I haven't ordered anything yet..."

Wheein chuckled, "It's from Taeyeon-unnie. She said it's a birthday treat. Ah, here's your coffee Jessica-unnie and Yuri-unnie." She then handed the two a cup of coffee before excusing herself once again.

I must have had a funny expression on my face because Jessica and Yuri were laughing.

"Damn, never knew that woman could be this sweet," Yuri said.

"Wheein-ah...?"

Jessica face-palmed, "No, dummy,