Tiffany kept looking at her watch and glancing around. She had been in the ample lobby of Seoul’s School of Arts for the last half an hour. I bet you can guess who she was waiting for. The American girl had emphasized Yoona how important it was to be on time. All the other contestants were there, waiting to be called in. What if she was called in before Yoona could get there? She needed the support Yoona had promised to give her. Tiffany had tried hard to ignore how the doe-eyed girl seemed to grow even more distant to her, but she didn’t want to play dumb anymore. She knew that, even though Yoona and she would rarely fight, her relationship was on crisis.

“Are you waiting for someone?” She heard a soft voice asking. She looked up to meet the gaze of a girl holding a guitar case on one of her hands. The girl was short and strangely reminded Tiffany of a child. The American girl, noticing she was staring a little too intently at the girl in front of her, nodded her head and averted her eyes casually.

“Yes, I am. Why do you ask?” She answered politely. The other girl smiled lightly and also lowered her gaze.

“I was wondering if I could take the seat next to yours, at least for now. When the person you’re waiting for comes, I’ll stand up. Sounds like a deal?” She asked dorkily. Tiffany couldn’t help but smile at the energy coming from the stranger, also noticing she had a slight country accent.

“Yeah, it sounds like a deal.” Tiffany answered, dedicating her signature eye-smile. It made the unknown girl’s heart skip a beat as she sat.

“What’s your name?” The stranger asked. Tiffany looked at her absentmindedly, still thinking if Yoona was going to show up or not.

“Tiffany, and yours?” She politely answered, not wanting to appear rude.

“Taeyeon, nice to meet you.” She said, bowing slightly. Tiffany bowed back and mentioned a quiet ‘likewise’ to her new acquaintance. The two sat in comfortable silence; Tiffany was still wondering if Yoona was going to show up or not while Taeyeon felt nervous about being called in. Differently from Tiffany, no one had heard her sing before and she didn’t feel confident enough singing in front of a stranger who was probably going to kill her with criticism. However this silence was brief, because after around ten minutes (that felt like hours to Tiffany), as Tiffany glanced back around, she finally saw who she was looking for. Yoona had just entered the lobby and was now standing awkwardly, just looking around trying to find the contestants and her girlfriend. Tiffany stood up immediately and waved at her. Yoona saw her and went to reach her, walking across the lobby. Taeyeon seemed to be the only one observing the interaction between the two girls, and judging by how Tiffany’s face lit up and the tight hug the two girls shared, the two seemed to be more than friends. She couldn’t help the slightly disappointed feeling on her chest. After pulling away from Yoona, Tiffany took her hand and led her to her seat.

Yoona kept quiet and followed, satisfied with seeing Tiffany happy. She hadn’t meant to be late, but getting Chansung home the night before had been quite exhausting. Even though Dongwoon had stayed with him until Yoona got there and then had helped her to take him home, Chansung was pretty much a dead weight. He was half unconscious all the way and he was actually quite bruised, but nothing too serious. Mr. Im was doing his shift at the Hospital that night, so Yoona had thought on taking him to the emergency room so that their appa would know what had happened, but when they got home, Chansung lay on the couch and went into a deep slumber. Yoona was also exhausted, so she decided that he was going to be okay for the night. She waited until Mr. Im came home from the hospital so that she could tell him what had happened. Of course, she didn’t mention the fight she had had with her brother before he took off to the bar. Mr. Im, as exhausted as he was, took a quick look at Chansung’s bruises and when he had made sure that his adoptive son hadn’t broken any of his bones nor had any major visible trauma, proceeded to clean the wounds with his first aid kit, of course, with Yoona’s help. All the while, the boy didn’t make a single movement or sound. After that, they both went to bed finally, and it was past midnight. She skipped Pre-cal because she overslept, so Tiffany used their Orchestra period to give Yoona details about their meeting at the Institute of Arts. The contestants were supposed to meet with the judges and they were going to be explained about rehearsals, if they could use the dance studios and different themes about the contest. The doe-eyed girl had gone straight home because she wanted to take a nap, which made her oversleep, once again. Now here she was, taking Tiffany’s hand, taking the hand of the girlfriend she had cheated on. Yoona didn’t know how to face her or how to hide her shame.

“Sorry I’m late… You can guess whose fault it was…” Yoona said, clenching her teeth. She had only helped Chansung because she knew that’s what her mother would have wanted, if it were for her, she would have left Chansung there, lying on that sidewalk, in vengeance for making Seohyun suffer. Tiffany, knowing who Yoona was talking about, gave her hand a small squeeze, before caressing the back of it with her thumb. Once again, without saying anything, Tiffany was showing Yoona that she cared. Yoona looked right into her eyes with a look of pure adoration and gratitude. She wondered how in the world was she going to break up with Tiffany, or if she could ever be able to do it. For Tiffany, moments like this one, where Yoona would look at her as if she was the only person in the entire planet, told her that maybe their relationship could be saved; that maybe and just maybe, Yoona could love her back.

“I came to cheer you up, not to bring you down with my problems. How do you feel?” Yoona asked, putting on the best smile she could muster, just for Tiffany. Tiffany grinned slightly, leading her once again towards the seats where the other contestants were gathered.

“I’m not nervous anymore now that you are here, so thank you.” Yoona bit her lip. Tiffany, being her sweet self, wasn’t making things easier.

“Have you met anyone?” Yoona asked. Tiffany looked at Taeyeon and smiled a little wider, thinking she and Yoona could get along.

“Kind of. Come here, I’ll introduce you.” Tiffany said, tugging on Yoona’s hand a little harder. Taeyeon looked up when she noticed Tiffany and her companion were approaching her. She gave the two a polite smile as she stood up, knowing that it was the right thing to give Tiffany’s friend her seat. “Taeyeon, this is Yoona. Yoona, this is Taeyeon.” The two girls bowed. Afterwards, Taeyeon took her guitar to leave, thinking she didn’t want to be the third wheel.

“Nice meeting the two of you. Good luck when they call you in, Tiffany. See you around.” She said with a wave as she turned to leave. After saying their ‘byes’, Yoona and Tiffany sat down next to each other. Tiffany immediately took Yoona’s hand in hers and held it tight.

“You’re going to be just fine, Tiffany. Don’t be nervous.” She whispered, and Tiffany nodded, finally getting the reassurance she needed. They maintained a small conversation to distract Tiffany. After an hour, contestants started to be called in for their time getting to know the judges and, if possible, singing so they could get constructive criticism. After a couple of contestants had been called in, the secretary came out calling Tiffany’s name. The American girl looked at Yoona for comfort, to which Yoona kissed her forehead and whispered small encouragement words against it. Tiffany couldn’t stop smiling at the display of affection as she went into the studio. Yoona followed her with her eyes as she disappeared behind those doors. As she waited in silence, just listening to the other contestants gushing about how nervous they were, her phone vibrated. She picked it up absentmindedly, but her expression suddenly changed when she saw it came from Seohyun. They used to text each other all the time when they were just friends and Chansung and Tiffany hadn’t been involved, and now it brought Yoona sweet memories. She picked it up and read it.

Hi, Yoona! Since I wasn’t able to talk to you today I just wanted to say ‘hi’. I wish we could hang out, where are you?

- Seohyun

Yoona re read the text a few more times, not being able to get the smile off her face. After being so far away, they had never felt closer, even if they weren’t together.

Hey, Seobaby. I’m with Tiffany at the Institute of Arts right now… I wish I could be there with you too, where are you? Btw… I haven’t stopped thinking about our kiss ;)

- Yoona

A smile drew itself in Yoona’s face as she sent the text, thinking on how Seohyun would react to it. She could picture Seohyun’s cute little blush and shy smile. However, she worried that she had made Seohyun uncomfortable when she saw it took Seohyun a little longer to answer. She almost jumped in her seat with excitement when she felt her phone vibrating.

To be honest… I haven’t either. And I’m at your house… Chansung asked me to come over. I know what you’re thinking, but he’s hurt… How could I say no?

- Seohyun

Though the first words made Yoona smile wider, the fact that Seohyun was taking care of Chansung and that they were completely alone made her ballistic. She started wishing Tiffany would be coming out soon so she would get to the house as soon as she could. There was no way she could let them be all alone, knowing what Chansung had in mind. In times like this, Yoona wished Seohyun wasn’t that much of a good person.

I won’t take long to be there, and if you could, please add some salt to his wounds ;) If he does something you don’t like, just tell me and I’ll finish beating him up, okay?

- Yoona

She wrote the text and sent it, and by that time, she was visibly anxious. She kept bouncing her foot, checking her watch, staring intently at the door expecting it to open revealing Tiffany, etc… She was beginning to regret agreeing to go to that meeting, but Tiffany deserved it. Too bad things always seemed to get more complicated when the two of them would hang out. As if on cue, the doors opened revealing a happy-looking Tiffany. Yoona stood up immediately, going to where Tiffany was. The American girl swung her arms around her neck the moment they were close enough. That sole gesture told Yoona that things had gone well.

“So I guess they liked you?” Yoona asked, wrapping her arms around Tiffany’s waist. She felt Tiffany nod against her shoulder.

“I think they did, Yoona, I’m so excited!” She said into Yoona’s ear. The doe-eyed girl smiled lightly as she pulled away and took Tiffany’s hand, leading her out the Institute’s lobby. Taeyeon waved at them as she saw them leave, thinking Yoona was indeed lucky to be with a girl as beautiful as Tiffany.

Once they were outside, Yoona turned to Tiffany, smiling at her through her worries. She truly hoped the American girl could win the contest and go to her homeland, and now it seemed pretty likely to happen.

“I’m so proud of you, and I want you to tell me everything, but I’m in a hurry, I guess.” Tiffany furrowed her brows at Yoona’s words. “I have to go home. Chansung is hurt and Seohyun has been taking care of him ever since I left. She can’t do that on her own.” Yoona explained. Tiffany widened her eyes.

“Chansung is hurt? How? Is it serious?” Tiffany asked. Yoona took her hand to lead her through the busy streets of Seoul.

“I’ll tell you what happened.” As they walked, Yoona explained that she and Chansung had gotten into an argument and that he had left, ending up in a bar. She didn’t mention what the fight was about, of course. Tiffany was thinking she wanted to see Seohyun, her favorite donsaeng, who had been avoiding her and treating her coldly for some time now.

Im’s household.

Yoona took a deep breath as she opened the door to her house. Tiffany had refused to go home, and instead had decided she wanted to go with Yoona, much to her despair. How was she going to act around both Seohyun and Tiffany? It all just seemed unavoidable anyways. Chansung was still lying on the couch with his face covered in bandages. He didn’t even bother to look up and see who it was. Seohyun, the moment she saw Yoona had come with Tiffany, widened her eyes. Yoona gave her a look of apology.

“Chansung, Yoona just told me you’re hurt. How are you feeling?” Tiffany asked as she went to the couch and took a look at Chansung. Even though the side of his face was slightly puffy, he didn’t look too bad. He made a vague gesture. “You’re lucky you’ve had a good nurse to take care of you.” She commented, trying to make him talk.

“Not quite…” He mumbled, though Yoona heard. She clenched her fists, but decided not to say anything so that she wouldn’t start a fight in front of Tiffany and Seohyun.

“I think it’s time for you to leave, Seohyun. We’ll make sure Chansung is okay.” Yoona said through clenched teeth. Tiffany turned to her and shook her head.

“She won’t leave. I asked her to stay with me, right baby?” Chansung asked, faking a sweet voice. Yoona looked away, afraid that she’d look at Chansung right in the eye and start cursing him out. Tiffany didn’t fail to notice the angered look on Yoona’s face the moment Chansung called Seohyun ‘baby’. Seohyun nodded her head and went to sit on the armrest of the couch, right next to Chansung.

“How have you been, Hyunnie?” Tiffany asked Seohyun, finally turning away from Yoona. The girl’s erratic behavior was making her more confused than before. Seohyun made an effort to look at Tiffany in the eye, but as she did, it came out as a glare.

“I’ve been okay…” She muttered. In that moment, Chansung’s hand went to Seohyun’s thigh, which was resting next to his head. To anyone, it would have seemed an innocent gesture, but the look on Chansung’s eyes and how tense the maknae became gave Yoona the red alarm. She pretended to go into the kitchen, and casually, as she walked past them, she slapped Chansung’s hand so hard that he winced, glaring at Yoona. Seohyun sighed in relief. Tiffany looked more uncomfortable by the second as she bit the inside of her cheek. She knew something was going on, she couldn’t ignore it anymore. After a while, she decided she couldn’t take the silence anymore.

“Yoona, I’m leaving, if you could please just come outside with me, I have something to ask you.” She said decidedly as she stood up. “Nice seeing you, Chansung.” She said as she went towards the front door, not even acknowledging Seohyun. Once she was standing outside the porch, it didn’t take long until Yoona came out as well.

“What is it, Tiffany?” She asked as nicely as she could. Tiffany’s stare didn’t soften up.

“Tell me the truth.” Tiffany demanded. Yoona nodded, as she thought that whatever was coming wasn’t going to be good. “What’s going on with Seohyun?” She asked. Yoona tried to act as calmly as she could, but all her senses were on hold.

“N-nothing, what are you talking about?” She said confidently, praying that Tiffany would buy it. Tiffany bit her lip.

“Okay, then.” Yoona was about to sigh in relief, but Tiffany was faster. She opened the front door slightly so that everyone inside could see them and then wrapped her hands around Yoona’s neck, pulling her in for a passionate kiss. Yoona knew she didn’t have another option but to kiss back, but somehow during their kiss, she could have sworn she heard a small sob coming from inside the house.

…

Hinting Taeny? Maybe… maybe not ;) This chapter doesn’t entirely convince me, but I want to go to sleep already lol Thanks for reading! You guys surely rock! :)