Ah, maybe I should’ve used a lighter shade … well, it doesn’t look that bad. I can probably make up by using a darker shade of blue for the water. How about the boat then? It’s not like I can use a lighter shade of white. Actually … can I? I have a white—

              The jarring noise of the house’s doorbell shattered my concentration. Luckily, the drawing wasn’t ruined as I was in the motion of reaching over to my box of colored pencils. Unluckily, in my shock, my hand slipped, causing the colored pencils to scatter across the desk.

              “Taeyeon-ah! It’s me!” I immediately recognized the owner of the voice.

              Tiffany? What was she doing at my house?

              I quickly rearranged the colored pencils, removing myself from my desk, putting on my slippers and shuffling to the door. I paused as a thought entered my mind.

              I only did very light makeup today. Was that ok? Should I do more? But Tiffany’s already at the door, and I shouldn’t keep her waiting. Should I just let her in and then fix my makeup?

              “Taeyeon-ah, you don’t have to worry about makeup.”

              I didn’t even know how to react to that. I would be surprised except for the fact that this happened before … Tiffany was just completely unpredictable, after all. “What … how did you—“ I cut myself off, realizing what finishing that sentence might mean, “I mean, I’ll be right there,” I concluded, hoping that Tiffany didn’t catch that. I had no such luck.

              “What? So you were thinking that?” she teased from the other side of the door.

              “No!” I stubbornly refuted.

              “Aw that’s ok TaeTae, I’ll love you even if you don’t have makeup on,” she continued regardless.

              “Yah, I’m not going to let you in if you keep on doing that,” I countered.

              “Ah ok, I’m sorry,” she immediately replied. I wasn’t convinced of her sincerity but opened the door for her regardless. “Tae, let’s go out!” she said as soon as I opened the door, reaching for my arm.

              I just barely dodged her, causing her to stumble a few steps. “Come in first,” I told her, opening the door for her and stepping back.

              “Fine, but you have to keep your promise,” she told me, finding her balance and stepping in.

              “What promise?” I innocently inquired.

              I knew what she was talking about, but didn’t feel comfortable with Tiffany suddenly bringing that up. The gleam in her eyes as she answered all but confirmed my sneaking suspicion that she was planning something.

              “Come on Taeyeon, I know you didn’t forget,” she said, unconvinced of my act.

              I huffed, turning around and heading back to my room. Tiffany took her shoes off and followed me. “What is there to do outside anyway?”

              “There’s a lot to do!” Tiffany countered, “There’s shopping, the beach, escape rooms, karaoke, arcades—you just have to look for them!”

              “Ah, so you were planning on taking me swimsuit shopping and then immediately to the beach?”

              Tiffany didn’t have a readily available reply. “Now I know how you felt on Thursday night,” she said, covering her head with her hands, stopping at the entrance to my room.

              My face paled at the mention of that.

              Although I couldn’t recall too much of that night, I figured it was for the best as the few memories I did have as well as Tiffany’s stories made me want to just hide in a closet for a good decade or two.

              Tiffany, upon seeing my reaction, laughed. “Seriously though, how did you guess?”

              I shrugged, swiveling back around in my chair to my desk. “The first two things you listed were ‘shopping’ and ‘the beach’, and since you just said, ‘go out’ instead of ‘go shopping’, I assumed that meant you wanted to do more than one thing. At that point, I just made a random guess that you only wanted to do one additional thing and that the two activities were linked, but also considering it’s you, it made sense to me,” I explained.

              Tiffany walked behind me, peering over my shoulder. “Wow, you’re so smart … did you draw this too?” she inquired, gripping the backrest of my chair.

              “I used a picture as a reference,” I told her, reaching for my white colored pencil.

              “Wow, you’re just a perfect all-around artist, huh? What, can you play piano too?”

              I shook my head, smiling. It was seriously hard to keep up with Tiffany and all her compliments—or ‘compliments’—sometimes.

              “Seriously though Taeyeon, let’s go! It’ll be fun! I mean, don’t you want to see me in a swimsuit? You can even pick one for me!”

              To say that I didn’t picture Tiffany in a bikini would be an upright lie. I scoffed, clearing my mind of the distracting image. “This is fun too,” I responded, carefully shading the planks of the boat with the white colored pencil.

              “It’s only fun if you’re good at it,” Tiffany whined, patting my shoulder in protest, “Come on! Today’s my day off! Are you just going to leave me by myself?”

              I started feeling uneasy as my excuses expired one by one. My will to stay home was slowly crumbling under Tiffany’s resolve—however, it was yet to be extinguished. “I have other plans for today,” I told her.

              “Other than this?”

              I nodded in response, silently concentrating on my coloring.

              “Like what?”

              “Something that I’ve been planning for a long time,” I responded vaguely, hoping Tiffany would drop the subject. Unfortunately, no such thing happened.

              “As in…?” she pressed, leaning down and placing her head on my shoulder.

              Calm down Taeyeon, this is what friends do. “It was just something that a friend recommended me do but I’ve never had the chance to do,” I responded, continuing to respond vaguely.

              “Do you have to do it now?” she whined in an imitation of an impatient child.

              “Well, I might not have enough time if I don’t start soon,” I told her.

              “What is iit?~” she pressed harder. At this point, I became unable to continue coloring, fearing an inadvertent mistake from Tiffany’s proximity. “Teell mee~”

              “It’s…” I started, feeling self-conscious. “It’s…” Should I really tell her? Would I be a bad person if I didn’t? “I was planning to watch an anime,” I quietly admitted.

              “What?” Tiffany exclaimed in English, “Anime is more important than me? Taeyeon, how could you?”

              I knew she was acting, but her aegyo was just too effective. How could a 22-year old’s aegyo be this good? Was she really 22 years old? “Fine I’ll go, but I’m picking my own swimsuit,” I said, setting my colored pencil down and rising from the chair. Tiffany jumped in excitement, quickly grabbing my hand.

              “Ooh I bet you look so good in a swimsuit,” she commented, pulling me towards the door with all the energy she always had, “I won’t accept a one-piece.”

              “You don’t get to decide that,” I stubbornly refuted. My words fell on deaf ears as we exited my residence, making sure to wear sandals. A quick taxi ride and a short walk later, we arrived at the clothing shop.

              “Ok, meet in front of the changing room in ten minutes,” Tiffany said, pulling me towards the swimwear section. Why was Tiffany so excited to see me in a swimsuit anyway? It’s not like I was as naturally blessed as she was.

              Tiffany skipped off, leaving me by myself as I browsed through the racks. I briefly considered running away but then imagined how Tiffany would react to that. Jessica never directly bothered me with these types of requests, but ‘subtly’ pressured me into buying one, occasionally saying such things as “Wow, this weather is perfect for going to the beach, huh?” and “Oh look at this one, I bet this swimsuit would look cute on you.” Seeing as how I never learned to swim, I never really had a need for a swimsuit, so I just resisted Jessica’s attempts to guilt-trip me into buying one. It seemed like Tiffany wasn’t about to let me employ that strategy, though.

              I picked out three sets and went to the changing rooms where Tiffany was waiting.

              “What’s this?” Tiffany said, plucking the one-piece from my pile. My hopes instantly vanished as she took it and threw it into the ‘return’ bin. “No one-pieces. Now come on, let’s try them out!”

              With that, she pulled me into a changing room. Before I really had a chance to ask what was going on, Tiffany reached for the hem of her shirt and pulled it off.

              “Whoa wait, what are you doing?” I said, pressing my back against the door and averting my gaze. My mind briefly flashed back to a last week in Tiffany’s apartment.

              “What do you mean? I’m changing. It’s more convenient if we both went into the same changing room and checked out each other’s swimsuits as soon as we put them on, don’t you think?” she said, pulling off her shorts.

              “I’m not going to get in front of you!” I stammered, “I mean, you’re—you’re going to me or something!”

              Tiffany burst into laughter as made that claim. “Ok fine, you have a point. I promise I won’t ually harass you or anything like that,” she replied, her eyes curved up into those beautiful black crescents.

              “Ok…” I said, playing at the edge of my shirt. I mean, we were both girls, right? There wasn’t anything to be afraid of … and Tiffany promised, although realistically, she probably wouldn’t have me in the first place. After all, why would she someone like me? Surely, if she wanted it, she could ask someone more attractive and well-endowed than me—like Jessica.

              I then had to deal with removing the idea flashing across my mind of Tiffany and Jessica … yeah. That definitely was not good for my health.

              “Taeyeon, get changing!” Tiffany said as she reached for the hangers attached to a hook on the wall.

              My heart was furiously beating in my nervousness. I took a few deep breaths before pulling my shirt up my body, over my heads, and through my arms. By the time I set my shirt down, Tiffany was already in her bikini, looking eagerly at me.

              I instantly felt my face flush beet-red. “Don’t look while I’m changing! I’ll tell you when you can look,” I stuttered as an automatic response.

              Tiffany huffed. “Fine. Before that then, what do you think of this one?” she said, looking down at herself.

              It was a relatively standard red bikini with a light red, thinner material at the edges, the bra strap leaving her shoulders bare. The bottom piece was designed in a similar way to the top.

              “It looks good,” I commented, nodding.

              “Ah, so this is what it takes to get you to check me out, huh? We should go shopping for lingerie next time,” she noted.

              “I’m changing now,” I warned her, deciding not to grant her words a response. She nodded in an obviously gloomy manner, turning around. “Yah, don’t look at me through the mirror!”

              “Whaat?” Tiffany pouted, “I thought you wouldn’t notice.”

              “Just face the wall,” I told her, the tips of my ears pink in embarrassment. When I was satisfied that Tiffany wasn’t peeking, I changed into the two-piece bikini as quickly as possible.

              Tiffany ended up settling for a white bikini with a lace pattern on top of a plain white cloth with straps that went over her shoulders, the bottom piece sharing a similar pattern. She insisted that I bought a matching light-blue set that she picked up, which I did after falling prey to her aegyo once again (which she was starting to use with more frequency, leading me to resolve developing a resistance to it).

              “Ok, to the beach!” Tiffany exclaimed as we exited the store. Her loud voice attracted the attention of some passerby’s, to whom Tiffany apologized. “You know what, actually,” Tiffany started in English, trailing off as she pondered a bit before finishing in Korean, “Do you want to go to a beach?”

              I was genuinely at a loss for words. Being introverted, one would expect someone like me to be at a loss for words somewhat often, but my shy nature stemmed more from a desire to not bother others than not having anything to say. Normally, my head was swirling with a multitude of thoughts, with the caveat being my reluctance to voice them. The sole exception was right now, where I couldn’t even think of what to make of her proposal.

              “What—what’s the point of buying theses swimsuits then?” I inquired accusingly at Tiffany.

              Tiffany sighed, once again exaggerating her disappointment. “You’re right, fine. Besides, I haven’t even seen you by myself yet.”

              I ignored Tiffany’s last statement, walking to the edge of the street to grab the attention of a taxi.

              What I didn’t tell her was that I felt uncomfortable with the idea of Tiffany being in such a public place. Tiffany would definitely tease me about that, which is why I withheld that thought.

              Before stepping foot on the beach, we rented a towel. I had forgotten sunscreen, but before I could use that as an excuse to head back home, Tiffany lent me hers. My skin was sensitive to UV, which was another excuse in my arsenal of ‘reasons to remain a homebody’. Unfortunately, like all my other excuses, they were all meaningless to Tiffany.

              The changing rooms were equipped with lockers and custom locks, which was convenient because I had failed to foresee this issue as well. As I emerged, Tiffany, who was already changed, squealed.

              “Oh my god Taeyeon, you look so good! I could just eat you up right now~”

              “What? Are you a cannibal?” I said in an over-the-top exasperated manner. Tiffany simply responded by smiling, rising her eyebrows suggestively. “You look good too, Fany.”

              She simply smiled and took out the sunscreen lotion, giving some to me before applying it to herself; this time, I noted, there seemed to be no particular reaction. Maybe I was just overthinking things last time?

              After the sunscreen was applied, we found a spot to set the towel down. The ocean breeze felt undeniably good; it was a Saturday, and given that it was summer, the beach understandably suffered no shortage of visitors, ranging from full families to couples to groups of friends like us.

              “You know what, I’m a little thirsty; do you want a drink?” I asked, standing back up.

              “I’ll get it,” Tiffany said, starting to get up; I stopped her in the motion, placing a hand on her shoulder.

              “I’m already standing, it’s ok,” I told her.

              “I don’t need anything,” she replied, conceding and sitting back down on the towel.

              I walked over to the vending machine located right next to the changing rooms. There were so many attractive people on the beach, I felt a little out of place. I probably had the smallest s of all the women wearing bikinis; for the most part, everyone else in swimsuits were fit and had nice bodies.

              Stop thinking this, Taeyeon. Jessica warned me against this; it’s self-destructive and not in any way helpful. … Still, it was pretty easy for someone as attractive and warm as Jessica to say that, huh?

              As I stepped back on the beach’s sand, I found myself momentarily lost—the location our towel was set down was instead occupied by a man. As I carefully looked, however, I realized that the man was talking to someone, that someone being Tiffany.

              I stood a distance away for some reason, electing instead to stand a distance away and listen in on their conversation.

              “Yeah, I am.”

              “Oh? It’s such a shame for such a beautiful woman like you to be single, isn’t it?”

              “I don’t really mind.”

              “Really? Don’t you get lonely sometimes?”

              “Well…—”

              “I can accompany you. Be my girlfriend.”

              I clenched the water bottle tightly. Who was this guy, asking someone he just met to be his girlfriend? How could one be so cocky? Did Tiffany know that these types of people are the most dangerous?

              “No thank you, I’m fine being single. I’m not lonely, the friend I’m here with makes my life very interesting. Worth being single, almost.”

              That made me feel uneasy too, but in another way. Did Tiffany notice me yet? It didn’t seem like it … so was this Tiffany’s honest opinion of me? Maybe she was just saying this to drive the guy away?

              I didn’t know what to do or what to think. What was I supposed to think? Maybe it was the summer heat or maybe it was from embarrassment, but I suddenly noticed warmth present on my face.

              “Aw, don’t say that baby. I won’t get in the way of your friend; you can spend the daytime with your friend, and nights with me.”

              Tiffany shuffled on the towel. Everything about her was screaming discomfort: her facial expression, her legs being bent, her body twisting slightly away from him, her hands scooting away from him, her overall defensive posture. “I work at nights. In a bar,” she answered firmly, as if well practiced.

              Even her words were filled with unease. I grimaced. I couldn’t stand this anymore.

              “How about early mornings—”

              I gathered up my courage, throwing away my shyness and approached the man. Tiffany’s eyes went wide as she noticed me, but before she had a chance to react, I tapped him on the shoulder.

              “Excuse me, are you flirting with my girlfriend?”

              He turned around to face me. In any other scenario, he would be attractive, but I couldn’t see him as anything else than a disgusting, ignorant, exceptionally socially inept excuse for a man.

              “Hm? Your—”

              “Yes, my girlfriend. If you aren’t gone from my sight in ten seconds, I will scream and attract attention you don’t want,” I stated firmly.

              “Ok, ok, I’m sorry,” he said, walking off, eyes wide in astonishment.

              “Thank you, my hero!” Tiffany exclaimed, getting up to hug me after the guy was far enough away.

              “Sorry you had to experience that,” I replied, turning my head to look at him. As I did, I found a familiar face looking back. Wait … was I seeing things?

              “It’s—” Tiffany cut herself off as her gaze followed mine.

              I shifted my attention to the woman; the more I looked at her, the more I was sure. Even if she wasn’t looking in my direction, it was undeniably Jessica Jung sitting on the very same beach I was currently at.

Oooh, who is that? Jessica Jung? What’s she doing there?

We’ve all seen Taeyeon talk about her, but now she’s finally here!

Stayed tuned for next week’s chapter :0 it’ll definitely be an interesting one

Hope you enjoyed, and as always, thanks for reading!

P.S. sorry for being 2 hours late (to all those who wait for my updates live) :c I had some family stuff to take care of first