"Alright, that's it Tiffany" Hyoyeon applauded as she finished teaching the basics of the partner points.

Taeyeon was observing the two dance while she bit her index finger nervously, trying to calm herself before she and her manager practice together.

"Now, your turn Taeyeon-ssi." Hyoyeon commanded, giving Taeyeon Tiffany's hand.

Taeyeon anxiously took it as she looked into Tiffany's crescent eyes. She positioned close to Tiffany and her nape started to sweat. Hyoyeon counted the beat instead of playing the music. Tiffany easily skipped into the dance while Taeyeon struggled a bit, too conscious of the close contact. They followed the same dance steps that Hyo and Nicole demonstrated earlier and crossed the floor.

"And one and two, one and two, one....ah, stop. stop." Hyoyeon complained as she broke the contact from the two.

"What's the problem this time? Is it my height again?" Taeyeon hissed although she was thankful she was able to garner a breather from Tiffany.

"No. No. No! Tiffany-ssi, good job. You're dancing really well." Hyoyeon complimented, raising a thumb."But Taeyeon-ssi, what the heck is this?" Hyoyeon continued talking and faced Taeyeon, imitating a stiff cardboard that is square dancing.

"What? We're talking about tango. It has to be stiff." Taeyeon defended herself.

"It's not tango. It's hip-hop tango. More feelings." Hyoyeon acted out frustrated. "Again. This time, more loose feelings...and the two of you, get closer. There's like an ocean between! I could fit five more people between the two of you."

"Okay. I got it." Tiffany acknowledged Hyo's critique.

"Arasso." Taeyeon nodded softly. Hyo I'm so gonna get you for this.

Again they danced together, closer than before. Taeyeon's palms were starting to sweat and she couldn't control herself from heating up. Tiffany, at the same time, had started to notice Taeyeon's uneasiness and she herself was trying not to blush. Taeyeon brushed her hand on Tiffany's abdomen as what the choreography demanded and for the first time even though covered by the hot pink knitted sweater, Taeyeon noticed that Tiffany's abs were really well-toned.

Yah. Yah. Taeyeon. Focus. Oh my God. Her tummy's so tight.

After Taeyeon's touch, Tiffany's eyes widened.

What is this feeling?

Tiffany looked at Yuri dancing with Nicole. She knew she blushed yesterday when Yuri was near her, so she contemplated whether it was the same feeling with Taeyeon. She had to test herself. She watched Yuri like a hawk as the tanned dancer spun Hyo's girlfriend.

Dugeun...Dugeun...her normal pulse, nothing...I don't sense anything weird...

Then Tiffany stared into Taeyeon's orbs as they flipped their arms to the dance step... DugeunDuguenDuguenDugeunDuguen...her heart rate just skyrocketed in just one beat.

It's not the same. It feels like I'm going to have a heart attack.What is going on with me?

"Chowa. Chowa. That's right. and four five six, push, step, spin, step."Hyoyeon roared in excitement.

Taeyeon noticed that Tiffany was staring deep into her eyes. Wae? Dang it! Stop staring at me! Why do you have that y stare Tiffany?!

Suddenly, she lost track of the count and missed a step, causing Tiffany's heel to land on the hallyu star's toe.

"Ow. Ow." Taeyeon yelped.

"Ah! Mianhe! Taeyeon, are you okay? Oh God, I'm so sorry." Tiffany anxiously asked as she stooped down to Taeyeon, holding both her hands to Taeyeon's arms.

"Anniyo. I'm ok Tiff-- I mean Manager Hwang." Taeyeon lied so that her manager wouldn't blame herself while she fanned herself to cool down.

Please. No more skin contact. I'm burning like hell here.

"Gwaenchana Taeyeon-ssi? Shall we proceed?" Hyoyeon encouraged.

Yeah. Sure." Taeyeon lied and huffed. Aaaahhhh! This is too much torture!

Starting from the top, they followed through the routine seamlessly, accompanied this time by the beats from the sound system. Both the artist and the manager took the training seriously and they picked up the partner point of the routine with dedicated moves. With one final turn towards each other, Tiffany's hand slipped from Taeyeon's grip and she crashed, directly towards Taeyeon's chest. Both their heaving busts moved in unison as they both froze in that moment, panting. The world had just stopped turning and all they could both hear are the low exhales coming from each other's mouths.

Hyoyeon lips curved into a sly smile and she waited a few more seconds before snapping the two back to reality. Should I stop them now? Hahaha!

"Woohoo. That was great! Kamsamnida Tiffany-ssi! I'm sure Taeyeon's chosen dance partner among the dongsaengs would have an easier adjustment. This is going to be one hell good of a dance number! Ah! Chowa!" Hyoyeon shouted in glee.

Tiffany and Taeyeon both stepped back from each other immediately after hearing Hyoyeon cheering on their sides. Taeyeon faked a cough while Tiffany bowed down timidly at Hyo. Nicole and Yuri stopped from their own practice and stared confusedly at the other three who seemed to have also finished.

"Ah! Oh no!" Tiffany cried out as she looked at her watch. "Taeyeon, you still have a TV promo and photoshoot this afternoon! We have to go!"

"Mwo?" Taeyeon raised her brows together.

"Ah! No time! I also have a meeting later with the organizers so I'll just drop you off at the salon and the broadcasting station." Tiffany panicked as she went back to the table and hurriedly stacked her stuff inside her bag.

She grabbed Taeyeon's hand and faced Hyoyeon and the other two. "Yorobun, jalhaesseoyo. Kamsamnida for the training. Sorry we have to go."

Tiffany quickly dashed towards the door dragging Taeyeon behind her. "Wait, Manager Hwang...ah! Stop pulling!"

"Annyong Tiffany-sii! Bye Taeyeon-ssi!"

"HAHAHA. Bye guys!"

"Taengoo! Fighting!"

---------------------------------------------------

"Jessica!" Yuri called out as she ran towards the blonde who had been standing in front of the mall fountain. The night sky had already fallen and people were strolling by the sidewalks and into the shopping mall.

Jessica spun around and immediately noticed Yuri, now decelerating towards her. 

"Ms. Lily-ah, do you make all your girls wait for you like this?" Jessica complained, punching playfully at Yuri's arm.

"I know. I know. I'm really sorry. I got you this." Yuri apologized and brought out a boquet of white and purple flowers from her back.

Jessica gasped as she received the small boquet.

"It's the same flowers from the painting you gave me. I didn't know what the name of the purple one was so I just showed a picture of your painting to the florist." Yuri explained.

"Ah. Gomawo Ms. Lily." Jessica blushed as she fondled with the white petals.

"Jessica, favor please. Just call me Yuri." Yuri requested.

"Arasso. But I still like Ms. Lily. I can still call you that way, can I? Yuri?" Jessica teased.

The tanned girl crimsoned despite the dim surroundings and the soft glows coming from the street lamps.

"Ne. You can, Jung Sooyeon." Yuri teased back.

"Ah..don't call me that. I go by Jessica." the blonde pouted and pinched Yuri's cheeks.

"Ow. Ow. Arasso. Ok. now, let go of my cheeks Sica." Yuri whined.

The tanned girl massaged her cheeks after Jessica decided to release her clamp.

"Have you eaten dinner?" Yuri asked, changing the topic.

"I had some snacks at the studio earlier so I'm a bit full. You? Are you hungry?" Jessica said back.

"Not really, I also went and grabbed some pancakes with Hyoyeon and Nicole after practice." Yuri regretfully replied. "So what do we do now?"

"Shopping?" Jessica's lips curved into a smile.

"Eh?" Yuri asked. Though she was a woman and women would love to shop, Yuri was a man by heart when it came to spending time at the mall. She knew shopping with girls would only mean hours and hours of nonstop prancing and browsing. She would have complained but since she was with Jessica, she endured her opposing feelings and went along with the blonde's proposed agenda.

"Come on. Let's go shopping." Jessica whooped as she automatically linked her arm into Yuri's.

"Ara. Gaja!" Yuri cried out in return.

They went inside the mall and stopped by a few clothing shops. Yuri browsed on the new designer clothes and elegant garments while Jessica pranced around picking up pieces of skirts and blouses. Jessica had tried out some outfits and every single time she asked for Yuri's opinion. Ironically, Yuri enjoyed it and didn't feel bored with Jessica. She got to pick some clothes that she wanted Jessica to try on while Jessica also did the same for Yuri.

After about two hours, they have visited almost every clothing and shoe shop they could find interesting. Exhausted, they slumped down into one of the mall benches. Yuri then carefully lined up the paper bags containing all the new items they've bought for themselves and each other. 

"Ah, I've never enjoyed shopping like this before." Yuri said, smiling and stretching her legs.

"I'm glad you had a good time Yuri. I was actually worried you'd get bored." Jessica said back while taking sips from her iced caramel macchiatto.

"I won't get bored because I'm with you." Yuri cooly replied and Jessica sipped her drink away from Yuri's gaze, blushing from the cheesy line.

"Ah! Isn't that Jung Sooyeon?"

"Huh? Yeah! It's her! Oh my god. I'm a fan of hers."

"C'mon! Let's get her autograph."

A group of five young girls who were strolling through the mall noticed Jessica on the bench with Yuri. All of them approached Jessica hoping the actress would take a chance to talk to them.

"Ms. Jung Sooyeon? Are you the actress?" one of the girls asked. Jessica and Yuri's head turned towards the young bevy.

"Ne?" Jessica replied softly and stood up to face the teens. Yuri just watched in awe since it was the first time she'd seen Jessica addressed as a celebrity.

The girls screamed in delight which Jessica abruptly but politely shushed them up.

"Uh, Sooyeon-unnie! We're your fans! Can we have your autograph?" the girls screamed in glee.

"Sure. But just please keep it down low girls. I don't want to cause a riot." Jessica daintily requested. "Yuri, can you hold this for me for a while?"

"Yeah. Sure." Yuri replied and took the iced coffee from Jessica.

"Algesumnida unnie. Ah! Sooyeon-unnie, jinja yapeuda! You're much prettier now! Jinja!" Two of the girls complimented repeatedly as they brought out their notebooks for Jessica to sign.

"So I wasn't pretty back then?" Jessica kidded.

"Uh. Anniyo unnie." The girls laughed.

"Unnie, why don't you come out in movies anymore? We love your acting. We were waiting for you to come up as a lead." the shortest of the group asked in a straightforward manner.

"Ah. Kamsamnida. I kind of shifted from acting. I paint now. I'll have an upcoming gallery show. You five should come after school to see my works. I'll be glad to show them" Jessica explained.

"Ah, jinja unnie? daebak!" this time, the tallest of the girls exclaimed. "We'll surely support you."

Jessica finished signing autographs for the girls when they stopped and requested one more favor from Jessica.

"Sooyeon-unnie. Can we have our picture taken together"

"Okay. But let's just do it altogether. My friend's been waiting for me the whole time." Jessica answered and referred to Yuri who was still watching all of them the whole time.

"Ah. Sooyeon-unnie. Is she your friend? Uwa. She's also beautiful. jinja yapeuda! I could easily fall for her! Oh my god! You look so good together Sooyeon-unnie!" the second tallest girl burted out, fangirling.

"Is she your girlfriend unnie?" the most plump out of the five questioned bluntly, noticing the boquet of flowers in one of the paperbags that Jessica had. The other four smacked her instantly after the comment and apologized to Jessica.

"What? They would look good as a couple." she complained as she rubbed her head.

Jessica stifled her laugh while Yuri tried her best not to blush.

"Anniyo. She's a good friend of mine." Jessica quickly denied which made Yuri's heart sank a little.

"Uhm. excuse me unnie. Can you take the picture for us?" the oldest of the group asked Yuri, who graciously agreed without any hesitation despite being depressed for a second earlier.

"Alright. Closer guys. That's good. Ready? Hana.... deuhl.... seht. Kimchi!" Yuri counted cheerfully as she took the picture.

"Kamsamnida! Nomu nomu. Kamsamnida." the five bowed to Yuri and Jessica as they finished taking more pictures.

"Thank you unnies. Sooyeon-unnie fighting!" The five sped off spazzing and cheering after their close chat with a celebrity. "Bye-Bye!!!"

"Bye." Jessica waved back softly as she grabbed back her drink from Yuri.

"Good friend? Just good friends?" Yuri sulked as she watched the young girls disappear.

"Mianhe. You know how it is with this business." Jessica honestly apologized. 

"Arasso." Yuri sighed as she tucked her hands into her jeans' pocket.  Suddenly she, felt a cold lump of chain and a flower-shaped pendant from the deepest pit. It was the lotus necklace from Jessica. Yuri didn't realize she hadn't disposed of it yet.

"Ugh. Yuri-ah. Forget about it. That's not important. Anyway, I wanna tell that I enjoyed tonight Yuri. Thanks for shopping with me." Jessica cheered in order to change the mood.

"Nado. Me too." Yuri replied. "Here, I got this for you."

Yuri handed one of her shopping paper bags to Jessica. The blonde peered into the shoebox and saw a pair of silver stilettoes that she was eyeing earlier from one of the shoe stores.

"Yuri...ah, thank you. How'd you know?" Jessica cried as she embraced Yuri.

"You've been going back and forth for that pair for like 8 times, unable to decide whether you wanted it or not." Yuri laughed.

"Yah. Pabo. But thank you. I love it." Jessica pounded on Yuri's chest.

"Anything for you Sica." Yuri hugged her back tightly before releasing her. "It's also my way of apologizing for not being able to take you home tonight. I still have work later with the dongsaengs. Gotta finish the dance."

"Anniyo. It's ok. I also got my car with me." Jessica said as she tried to straighten the crease from Yuri's shirt.

"I guess we'll part here. Take care of yourself Sica. Drive safe and call me once you get home" Yuri said, clutching both Jessica's hands.

"Arasso."

This time the blonde pushed her hand towards Yuri's chest and Jessica leaned in for a quick soft peck on the lips.

"Is that your thank you?" Yuri smiled and Jessica just nodded.

"One more." Yuri teased and Jessica pushed Yuri away.

Finally they separated ways and Yuri quickstepped her way to the first floor of the mall. Most of the shops on the groundlevel were jewelry stores and she suddenly remembered the necklace. She rushed into one of the most expensive and well-known jewelry brand shops. A tall broad-shouldered guy in business clothes  easily recognized Yuri who came in.

"Yuri-ah! Such a long time! What brings you here? Another present for your girls?" the guy welcomed with a tease.

"Annyong. Anniyo Taewoo-oppa. I need your help." Yuri bowed and took the necklace out of her jeans.

The older guy inspected the chain and then the pendant. "Did you break the chain. I can easily fix this."

"Anniyo. I want to know who bought this." Yuri  begged.

"Well, you're lucky. This is indeed a product from our company. And this looks like it was custom-made. However, I can't just disclose such information to other customers." Taewoo frimly said.

"Argghh. Come on Big bear! We've been buddies for some time. Help out your lil bro here." Yuri begged more. "I'll treat you to some grilled meat if you help me out."

"Jinja? You'll treat me okay? That's a deal!" Taewoo ruffled Yuri's crown and then continued talking. "I'll just snap a picture of this so I can compare it to our database. It'll probably take me some time so I'll just give you a call if something comes up. Is that fair enough?"

"Gomawo Oppa!" Yuri cheered as she once again checked the necklace and the lotus-pendant that holds Jessica's past.

--------------------------------------

People ranging from teens to office workers to yuppies sprawled the streets of the Hongdae district where the club capital of Seoul sits. In one of the underground clubs, young ladies and gents danced to the disco beats and the neon lights. Mirrored disco dancing balls revolved at the center of the dance floor and the club DJ threw her hands in the air, pumping to the beat. The dancers on the floor hollered at the intensity of fresh non-mainstream music.

"Sunny-noonah! Sunny-noonah!" one of the waiters called out to the blonde haired DJ.

Sunny noticed him and pulled out her sugar red candy earphones from her ear. The guy signalled her to come down from the DJ booth so Sunny handed over the headphones and her spot to her assistant.

"What is it Taemin?" Sunny asked, shouting into his ear since they were near the speakers.

"Your phone's been ringing non-stop! I came to get you coz I was worried that it was something important or an emergency perhaps." the young lad handed Sunny's mobile phone and left to get back to work.

"Thanks Taemin!" Sunny shouted back as she moved towards the bathrooms to get a much quieter ambience.

She checked her phone and an unregistered number kept calling her.

I wonder who's calling me. There's only a few people who knows my number.

Sunny picked up the call and questioned the caller.

"Yoboseyo?"

"Soonkyu. Heard you're back from Japan."

"Pfft...Beat of Angel, How'd you get my number?"

"Ah, you remember. Well, I've got friends from the other side of the pond."

"What do you want?"

"Come see me at you know where. I'll send you details on the time. We have some catching up to do."

"Shiro.----"

At that instant, the other end of the line hung up. Sunny redialled the number but couldn't connect. She flipped her phone back aggressively in her pocket and with one leg up, she leaned back unto the bar's bricked wall. With her right hand, she brushed her golden hair from the fringes all the way to the back of her neck and sighed deeply. Afterwards, she kicked her heel on the wall and propelled herself, disappearing back into the darkness of the dancing crowd.

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