“Watch it!”

Tiffany slapped Taeyeon’s hand away. Her patience was like thin ice at the moment, ready to crack under the slightest pressure. “I haven’t even touched it. You’re worse than a baby.”

“I’m ing bleeding here. Don’t you have any sympathy?”

“I would have more sympathy if you stopped swearing at me.”

“Why didn’t you stand up to Seureo with this attitude of yours, huh? Instead of standing there like a mouse when she slapped you.”

Tiffany bit her lip. The reason for that was none of Taeyeon’s business.

“Cat got your tongue?”

“Shut up or I’ll make you feel a lot of pain,” said Tiffany at last, holding the bottle of antiseptic over Taeyeon’s bleeding knee.

“ this. I don’t need your help.” Taeyeon reached for the bottle. “Give it to me.”

“Fine. Do it yourself.” Tiffany set the bottle on the seat and rose to her feet. With her arms folded, she watched as Taeyeon gingerly applied the lotion on her wound. But she couldn’t stand it anymore when Taeyeon fumbled with the tape and gauze. “You’re doing it all wrong.”

“Who made you the expert?”

“Nobody. I’m not the expert. You are. And you deserve to feel all the pain you’re gonna feel later.”

“It’s your fault I’m injured in the first place.”

“How is this my fault?”

“If you didn’t chase me, I wouldn’t be in this state.”

“That’s a good point, actually.” Tiffany put her hands on her hips. “Why did you run away when I approached you?”

“Who wouldn’t?”

“Now you’re just dodging my question.”

“There’s nothing to dodge.”

“You are the girl in the corner. The girl who’s always drawing—” Tiffany’s eyes widened as realization stuck her at last. “You. You’ve been sketching me in that book. That sketch I saw is definitely me.”

“You must be blind if you think it’s you. The girl I sketched is way prettier than you.”

Tiffany grabbed Taeyeon’s backpack and pulled out the sketchbook, fending off Taeyeon’s hands without much trouble. She threw the backpack back to Taeyeon, forcing her to catch it, and took the chance to look into the sketchbook.

On the very first page was a sketch of her. Tiffany held it up next to her own face. “If this isn’t a sketch of me, I’m gonna have to ask you to bring my long lost twin to me.”

“I don’t know where your twin is,” said Taeyeon, sitting back down on the bench in defeat.

Tiffany flipped the page and found another sketch of herself. And another. And another. Feeling more than uncomfortable now, she flipped the pages quickly and saw more. About half of the book. The other half was filled with sketches of another woman. And from the looks of it, they were of similar age.

To her surprise, she was bothered by the existence of another woman in Taeyeon’s sketchbook. Who was she? And why did Taeyeon sketch so much of her too?

“Who is she?”

Taeyeon glanced at the sketch. “Just someone else.”

“Does she go to the same café too?”

“A different café,” Taeyeon mumbled.

“So you’re a serial café stalker.”

“I’m not a stalker. I don’t stalk. I sketch.”

“A serial café sketcher.”

“I sketch at other places too.” Taeyeon frowned. “Stop making me sound like a ert.”

“Oh, but you are a ert.”

“I’m not.”

“Your sketches are prove of where your eyes are looking at.”

“I appreciate the human form.”

“You only draw women,” Tiffany pointed out with a smirk.

“Women are the prettier ones of the human species. There are more curves to draw.”

“ert.”

“It’s art.”

“erted art,” said Tiffany, holding up a page with a sketch of a prominent chest. The next page had sketch of the back view of herself in a pair of jeans. “How do you explain this?”

“Stop it.” Taeyeon snatched the book back and stuffed it into her backpack. “People like you will never understand. Neither will you try to understand. All you want to do is judge. You wanted to know why I ran away. This is why I ran away.”

Tiffany considered Taeyeon for a moment. “What are you going to do with all your sketches?”

“That’s none of your ing business.”

“Do we still have to be so hostile to each other? I already know your secret.”

“That doesn’t mean we automatically become friends.”

“I don’t need us to be friends. I’ll settle for co-existing without snapping at each other when we meet.”

“I’m on the losing end here.”

Tiffany frowned. “Why?”

“You know my secret but I don’t know yours.”

Tiffany stiffened. “I don’t have a secret.”

Taeyeon stood up and closed the gap between them. “What you did last night wasn’t normal and you know it. So if you want us to be civil at least, cough up the explanation.”

Tiffany squirmed. “You won’t understand.”

Taeyeon laughed through her nose. “You don’t understand my sketching hobby either. That didn’t stop you from chasing me and snatching my sketchbook from me.” She rubbed her nose and sniffed. “So if you’re not gonna share, don’t expect me to be kind.”

Tiffany stood frozen as Taeyeon walked away with her backpack on her shoulders. That was a point well made, but how did things end up like that?

o|v