“Hey,” said Taeyeon to Sunny upon seeing her housemate in the living room. She dropped her bag on the couch and sat next to the engrossed gamer. “You doin’ good in game?” she asked, after watching Sunny play for a while.

“Good. I’ll be even better after clearing this Shrine.”

“Shrine, huh.”

“Yeah.”

“I got a question for you.”

“Ask.”

“Do you think being slapped a few times by someone will change a person’s personality on the spot?”

Sunny paused her game and looked up. “Slapped a few times? Who?”

“Mana.”

“Who slapped her and why?”

“You sound like Sherlock Holmes,” Taeyeon commented. “She was slapped by Seureo.”

“Who?”

Taeyeon explained everything while Sunny listened. By the time Taeyeon was done, Sunny was frowning. “So? What do you think?”

“If you’re asking for my professional opinion, it’ll cost you.”

“ you.”

Sunny merely grinned, not in the least affected by her swearing. “I want fried chicken.”

“I’ll stuff the fried chicken up your nose if you don’t tell me now.”

With a roll of her eyes, Sunny put her controller down and turned to Taeyeon. “It sounds like a case of anxiety.” She put her hand up as Taeyeon opened . “I don’t mean anxiety like the kind you feel when you’re late for work or taking a test. There’s regular anxiety and stress we experience in life. Then there’s the kind that comes from irrational fear of something. I’m guessing she was possibly bullied in the past. Maybe in school. Or she might have been robbed in a similar environment before. Or worse . . .”

“Worse?”

“A really, really bad experience,” said Sunny with a look in her eyes that said a lot worse.

Taeyeon shuddered. “I hope not.”

“It doesn’t sound too severe since she was able to recover quickly after that and go off on her own. In more severe cases, people might have problems breathing. Or they might even puke.”

“I see.”

“In her case, it sounds like she was momentarily taken over by irrational fear even though Seureo had already left. It probably wasn’t something she could control and you were the closest source of security available to her. You were her life buoy.”

“Damn.”

“You’re mana’s heroine now.”

Taeyeon scrounged her nose up. “I’m not a heroine.”

“But don’t expect her to be endlessly thankful to you tomorrow. She might feel embarrassed and avoid you instead.”

“Even better.”

Sunny looked at Taeyeon strangely. “Why is that better?”

“Then we don’t have to talk to each other.”

With eyes rolling, Sunny picked her controller up again. “Whatever floats your boat.”

o|v

Tiffany woke up feeling significantly better than the night before. However, she was embarrassed by the dream she had. It involved a certain rock singer saving her from a faceless bully who had trapped her in an empty classroom but that wasn’t the embarrassing part. What made her cringe was the way she thanked the rock singer with a kiss. Yes, it was just a dream, but it was still weird.

It was during breakfast that Tiffany started to question her weakness. Why hadn’t she stood up for herself when Seureo slapped her not once, not twice, but four times? She thought she had put it all behind her but last night’s episode proved it wasn’t the case. She had crawled back into her imaginary shell at the very first slap, unable to speak even when Seureo taunted her. But she did find her voice once she had back up. Even if she hadn’t been able to look Seureo in the eyes the entire time.

Taeyeon. The last person she had expected to rescue her. The rude rock singer who had disliked her from the start. The obnoxious woman who had a sketchbook with a sketch of her in it. That was still a mystery. Or was she mistaken? Could it have been someone who looked like her? It was a sketch, not a photograph. Maybe it really wasn’t her as Taeyeon insisted.

Damn. Maybe she owed Taeyeon an apology. And thanks.

o|v

Black cap girl’s back.

Tiffany was hyperaware of the girl’s existence the moment she walked into the café. And she wasn’t sure why. She had never really paid much attention to the girl before but today, she could hardly keep her eyes off the corner where the girl was even while ordering her usual dose of caffeine.

Maybe it was because black cap girl was acting strange today. For one, she wasn’t drawing. And she was wearing a black hoodie with the hood over her cap as though it were freezing cold in this café. It really wasn’t. What was up with the girl today? And why wasn’t she here for the past few days?

All these questions aren’t going to answer themselves, are they?

“Sweetie, your coffee’s ready.”

Tiffany smiled at the barista. “The girl’s back today.”

“Who?”

“The girl in the corner.”

“Oh, her.”

“I’m just curious. What name does she give you when she orders coffee?”

“Her? Taengoo.”

“Taengoo. What a weird name.”

“It sounds more like a nickname.”

Tiffany pointed at the barista with a smile. “Genius. You’re right. It sounds a lot like a nickname.”

“Why don’t you go talk to her if you’re so curious about her name?”

“She looks like she doesn’t want to be disturbed.”

The barista shrugged his shoulders. “You won’t know till you give it a try.”

“What if she gets angry?”

“Apologize and never go near her again.”

I suppose it can’t hurt . . .

“Alright, thanks.”

The barista winked at her. “Good luck.”

Tiffany picked her coffee and muffin up and took a deep breath.

Let’s try something new today, Tiff. Be brave.

She walked towards the black cap girl’s table with purpose but with three steps left to go, black cap girl grabbed her bag from the seat next to her and dashed out of the café. Stunned, Tiffany stood and stared for a moment. Then she decided to give chase.

“Hey! Don’t run!”

Black cap girl didn’t stop. She kept running so Tiffany kept running too. She thanked the heavens she was in sneakers today as she sprinted but how long could she keep going? She was beginning to tire but fortunately, the girl seemed to be tiring too.

“Taengoo!” she yelled. “Stop!”

Black cap girl seemed surprised for she looked back for a moment but she didn’t stop running. In fact, she appeared to put on extra speed. But a bicycle appeared from the side, cutting across black cap girl’s path as she sped up.

“Watch out!” Tiffany shouted but it was too late. The collision was unavoidable. Tiffany watched in horror as black cap girl went down with a scream. But not for long. She rushed over to help, coffee and muffin in hand, and squatted to check on black cap girl. The girl’s hood had fallen back, leaving just the cap. Tiffany put her coffee and muffin down on the ground so she could help but black cap girl seemed more interested in covering her face instead.

“Taengoo, are you okay?”

“Miss, are you alright?”

A small, concerned crowd had gathered around black cap girl by now. Surely she wasn’t going to just lie with and cover her face forever?

“Why didn’t you watch were you were going!” the cyclist yelled at her in a rage.

“You shouldn’t have been cycling so fast,” black cap girl retorted angrily with her face still covered.

And that’s when everything became crystal clear to Tiffany. That was the voice that had accused her the very first time they met. That was the voice that had rudely rejected her questions. That was the voice that had stopped Seureo from slapping her again in that dark alley.

“Taeyeon. Is that you?”

“No!”

“I know it’s you. You can stop covering your face now.”

“I’m not Taeyeon. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Tiffany grabbed black cap girl’s hands and yanked them away. A pair of big round eyes stared into hers, blinking in shock for a moment. And then the curses flew.

o|v