“We just need to polish some of these documents and then we can resume with the transaction. It will take about an hour to finish so feel free to tour the surrounding city shops.” The man dressed in what looked like a very classy tuxedo politely bowed his head at Taeyeon. Taeyeon slightly curtsied in response before placing her pen into the front pocket of her Elite uniform and walking out of the high-class jeweller.

Just outside was Tiffany who was patiently waiting for the whole ordeal to finish. She felt out of place inside the jeweller so she opted to remain outside and save herself from the embarrassment of being criticised by her non-designer clothes. She tried to peek at what was inside but the windows were heavily tinted, leaving her with only the visuals she got from the glimpse of the open door.

“They’re just going to follow through some papers before the finalisation of the payment will be made. We have an hour to kill until then,” Taeyeon informed the moment she met Tiffany. The human straightened herself up instantly and bobbed her head a little too eagerly. She was on edge from the drastic difference in their surroundings. She caught sight of women pacing down the street donning Prada shoes, Burberry trench coat, Channel handbag and Louis Vuitton scarf. Her outfit alone was worth more than how much Tiffany had ever spent in her whole existence thus far. The idea of how much more the lady possessed merely terrified her. “What’s wrong?” Taeyeon noticed the rigid demeanour Tiffany was displaying.

“Oh... It’s nothing...” Tiffany assured. “Just feeling a little insignificant and... outclassed?”

Taeyeon cocked a brow at Tiffany. She made a mental note of how timid Tiffany has become after getting a job. She was a completely different person from the girl who dared to storm up to her even as an Elite when they had just barely met. She wondered whether the management was treating her properly or perhaps she was just more financially aware, now that she was going to have to rely solely on herself to cater for her needs.

“A lot of these people have an excessive amount of time in their hands. A designer bag and a non-designer bag are no different. As long as they serve their purpose then why pay a hefty sum of money for something that should only cost a fraction of the price?” Taeyeon shrugged. Tiffany revealed a small smile at Taeyeon’s words of wisdom however she felt fairly remorseful for actually desiring designer apparel. It was every girl’s dream.

“I’ve never been to a place like this so it’s unsettling. Maybe one day, I can at least be able to buy something from this area, but that’s most likely a long way away.”

“I can lend a hand if you want.”

“No, no, no!” Tiffany quickly denied her offer. “I want it to be from my hard work. It wouldn’t mean a great deal to me if someone else was to get it for me. To be able to acquire something with my own labor just makes it more special,” she explained. Taeyeon released a sympathetic smile and nodded. She didn’t know what it was like to experience what Tiffany was depicting but she fathomed it for the most part. She has tried accomplishing things out of her own effort but for some reason, they never really turned out the way she intended.

“Well... I need a change of wardrobe and I’m not keen on spending in these areas. Care to join me?” Taeyeon invited. Tiffany breathed a sigh of relief at the knowledge that they weren’t going to be hanging around this uptown locale for much longer.

“More than happy to. This can be added to the list of dates,” she beamed eagerly. Taeyeon coughed awkwardly at the mention of the word date. They’ve never officially been on a proper date where Taeyeon ever admitted to it actually being one but according to Tiffany, they’ve had multiple already. Wanting to at least be an adequate partner for Tiffany, Taeyeon just let her regard whatever it was as a date whenever she felt like it. One day, when things would be less crazy, she’d be able to take Tiffany out on a decent date.

Sooyoung skimmed through the list of names leisurely whilst Yuri and Yoona were mucking about with Jessica and Seohyun. She was trying to find new names for their new identities but she really didn’t like having them change the original since they would probably forget it further on in their life of eternity. She herself has retained her real name with only her surname varying because to her, it was something that her parents had put thought into and she wanted to keep it as something memorable to her. However, she wasn’t even certain of what her real family name was anymore but Choi seemed to resonate well with her gut feeling.

“Oi dweebs!” Sooyoung hollered. Yuri and Yoona immediately turned their heads, much to Jessica and Seohyun’s amusement. “Do you want to maintain your family names again? We can keep your first names if that’s not the case.”

“No thanks,” the two answered simultaneously.

“I don’t think Taeyeon wants to either,” Yuri added. Sooyoung suspired heavily and continued to scroll through the names. The possibilities were endless and at this point, no one really bothers about what their new names were going to be anymore.

“Why am I doing this? Ungrateful brats letting me do all the work. Wait until I tell Taeyeon about your lazy asses,” Sooyoung grumbled beneath her breath. Yuri caught wind of Sooyoung’s mutterings and decided to help out.

“Let’s do this the easy way. I feel like going American this time so open up the American name randomiser,” Yuri ordered. Yoona decided to get in on the task which dragged along Jessica and Seohyun.

“What if you get a name that you don’t like?” Jessica asked as she peered in the computer screen. Yoona just shrugged her shoulders as she fervently took the mouse.

“My turn first! Ready... and go!” Yoona clicked the mouse button as all five anticipated for the screen to flash Yoona’s new name. Not long after, the name Roxanne appeared. “Woo! This name rocks !” She yelled in English. Jessica stifled her little laugh at the pun the dork made and watched as it was Yuri’s turn next.

Yuri casually clicked the button, not caring much for making a show. The page loaded a tad slower this time but the name Megan emerged soon after.

“Roxanne Im and Megan Kwon. The new Canadian Koreans,” Sooyoung drearily cheered.

“Canadian?” Seohyun piped up.

“We used American citizenship before so we’re shifting it to Canadian this time. We plan on setting our background there,” Yoona clarified.

“What about Taeyeon?” Jessica enquires as her stare was persistent on the screen.

“I’ll do it!” Sooyoung abruptly came to life again. “Let’s give her some really weird name!” Yuri smacked Sooyoung across the head and retrieved the pointer from her hand.

“I’m not going to have some oddly named leader looking after us! I’ll keep randomising until we find a good name,” Yuri scolded.

Sooyoung folded her arms and huffed with annoyance.  “Buzz kills,” she muttered.

Taeyeon and Tiffany were browsing for some casual wear from a place not too far from the designer avenue. Taeyeon was changing her wardrobe transforming from the stunning Elite image to a casual student on a budget. She wasn’t going to actually be a student this time around but it would limit the attention others give her.

“How about this one?” Tiffany asked as she held up a salmon jacket. Taeyeon shook her head and sighed heavily. Everything Tiffany recommended so far had a certain element of pink to it and it was by no means a colour that would avert attention away from her. Pink was simply a colour that begged for attention.

“I think I’ll stick to the old-fashioned grey-coloured garments,” Taeyeon said deliberately, trying not to offend the pink obsessed monster. For a brief moment, her thoughts flashed back to a certain person who similarly adored pink but quickly shunned those thoughts.

“Boring,” Tiffany droned as she deposited the jackets back onto their rack. She scanned through the racks of clothes lethargically when she suddenly caught sight of something. “Speaking of old-fashioned.”

“Hm?” Taeyeon didn’t even get a chance to obtain an answer when Tiffany hastily dragged her out of the retailer to the one across it. Taeyeon felt her gut drop when she comprehended that they were inside a cosplay and costumes store. It didn’t take her long to catch on with what Tiffany was plotting when she found herself standing in front of a primitive 1800s English dress.

“You can’t get any more archaic than this.” Tiffany beamed proudly. Taeyeon internally groaned when she saw the petticoat and corset in the costume. There were many things that she didn’t want to dwell on when it comes to fashion and these were majorly high up on her list.

“I’d rather not. I like modern casual clothes like it is now... Particularly because my internal organs aren’t being crushed by a miniscule corset.” Taeyeon gritted in disgust. Tiffany had a vice-like grip on Taeyeon’s arm as she pulled her even closer to the costume which caused the immortal to flinch with mortification.

“These are costumes so they won’t be as bad. The corset is fake even.” Tiffany poked at the corset to prove that it was just the design that made it look like the actual. “Please at least just try it on? I wanna know what you looked like back then.”

“Obviously not with blonde hair.” Taeyeon pointed to her head dyed in a warm honey blonde. Tiffany rolled her eyes and took the clothing off the rack to fiercely put it into her hands.

“You’re compelling me to walk around the aristocrats’ area out of my own comfort so now you owe me this. Now go!” Tiffany ushered.

“You sure quickly gained your tyranny back once we left that district,” Taeyeon muttered. Tiffany smiled shrewdly and shrugged her shoulders. She was really eager to see what kind of beauty Taeyeon was in the past. Taeyeon saw the fervor in her eyes and decided to bite her tongue and rid of her pride to reluctantly haul herself to the changing room. She made a mental note to never take Tiffany with her again whenever she was shopping in an upscale street.

Yuri, Yoona, Sooyoung, Jessica and Seohyun sat wordlessly in front of the laptop screen. Yuri heaved a heavy sigh and crossed her arms atop her chest.

“I wonder what she would think about these names...” Seohyun whispered as the name Gertrude flashed on the screen. Yoona shook her head furiously and took the mouse to randomise again.

Jessica had to sink her teeth into her tongue to stop herself from cracking up when La-a popped up. Sooyoung cocked her head to the side and hummed.

“Laya? La-ah?” She tested, not quite sure of how it is pronounced.

“It’s Ladasha. The dash isn’t silent,” Jessica informed. Sooyoung immediately waggled her head and took the mouse to randomise yet again.

“She’s probably going to be called McRib at this rate,” Yuri huffed. Yoona emitted a small scream of horror and held her cheeks as she shook her head. Mental images of people calling Taeyeon McRib haunted her mind.

“Bumquif?” Seohyun read the name on monitor. Jessica couldn’t hold herself back this time and just let it rip. She leaned back against her chair and laughed until her stomach hurt. Just imagining Taeyeon introduce herself as Bumquif was enough for her to die happy.

“Maybe we should just let Taeyeon choose on her own. The randomiser isn’t doing her any favours,” Yoona suggested. She didn’t dare click for another name. She had enough to trouble her for the next decade.

“Let me try,” Jessica breathed through her dying laugh. The immortals didn’t really care at this point anymore and just handed her the mouse.

Taeyeon stared at the mirror with growing disgust. The dress fit her perfectly but it was evoking many memories that she wished she had completely forgotten.

“Are you done?” Tiffany called from outside. Taeyeon exhaled and rubbed her neck with annoyance. It tends to get irritable whenever she herself was irked.

“Yeah.” Taeyeon begrudgingly yanked the curtains and stepped out. Tiffany and one of the workers who happened to be in sight just stood there and stared with eyes wide like saucers. The dress fit the petite figure perfectly. Tiffany felt her heart race a little faster with the elegance that Taeyeon portrayed while in the dress. Even her blonde hair seemed as if it belonged. “If I remember correctly... My hair should have been like this,” Taeyeon mumbled to herself as she started braiding her hair to the side.

“Wow...” Tiffany gaped once Taeyeon finished putting her hair into place. There was without a doubt that Taeyeon belonged to the 1800s now. She completely suited the part.

“May I revert to my modern clothes now?” Taeyeon gritted. Recollections of the undergarments she had to wear in the past wandered around in the back of her mind as the memories of the streets of England during the late 1800s played carelessly through her head. Dirtied roads with peasants running around with no single care about the stench they emanated. Taeyeon was just thankful that plumbing has advanced to what it is now.

“Does it bring back memories?” Tiffany questioned eagerly. Taeyeon made eye contact with the dumbfounded worker and glared to get rid of her before she spills anything unnecessary to a stranger.

“Plenty,” Taeyeon breathed through her clenched teeth once the worker was gone. Tiffany clapped excitedly, thinking she had done something good for once. “But they’re not pleasant.”

“Oh.” Tiffany immediately stopped clapping. Taeyeon began undoing her hair to change back when her phone started ringing from inside the changing room. She reached in to grab the device and noticed Yoona’s name on display.

“Hello?” Taeyeon answered, deciding to put changing on hold for now. Tiffany glanced at the mirror to see that Taeyeon was sidetracked and hurriedly dished out her own phone.

“Gertrude! How are you? We randomised our names and yours is now Gertrude.” Yoona’s voice boomed out of the tiny phone speakers.

“What?” Taeyeon’s voice dropped into a deadly growl.

“I’m kidding! I’m kidding! Don’t kill me!” Yoona admitted at once. “We randomised a couple of times for your name but they all... didn’t fit. But this last one suits you.”

“Well then, drop the bomb. If it’s something like Olga then expect an ogre to be after your butts once I return,” Taeyeon threatened. Yoona let out a nervous laugh which was unsettling for Taeyeon as well. She seriously hoped they didn’t choose Olga for her.

“Good news! It’s not Olga. Yuri’s name is Megan. Mine is Roxanne and yours is...” Yoona paused for a dramatic effect.

“Just spit it out, Yoona.”                                                          

“Okay! Jeez. Impatient one, aren’t you?”

“It’s Erika!” Jessica’s voice from a distance bellowed.

“I wanted to tell her that!” Yoona’s loud voice almost deafened Taeyeon’s ears. Tiffany promptly hid her phone when she saw Taeyeon staring at her through the reflection and grinned innocently as if she wasn’t snapping dozens of photos. As the other line fired up on arguing about ruining surprises and being annoying, Taeyeon became aware that she was still dressed in the old English garb.

“Erika it is then. Tell Sooyoung to go ahead. I have to go, bye.” Taeyeon hung up the phone right about when Yuri was suggesting they name Yoona Ursala. She absolutely didn’t want to be a part of that conversation.

“Erika?” Tiffany enquired.

“New name. Yoona’s Roxanne, Yuri’s Megan and apparently, I’m now Erika,” she briefly explained before disappearing behind the curtains to get back into her own clothes.

“By the way, did you use to wear those types of clothes?” Tiffany queried from the outside.

“I wore it a few times but not a lot. I was visiting England to study and become the next Legion member.”

“So which places have you resided in so far?”

“Korea for the most part. But we stayed in Russia for some time as well. The others were America and Egypt.” Taeyeon drew the curtains back and stepped out in her normal clothes. Tiffany noticed that she was surprisingly fast when changing but that was possibly from her many years of experience and her consistent figure of a body.

“Russia?” She probed, wanting to continue their conversation. Taeyeon placed the costume back onto the rack and proceeded to go window shopping out in the streets.

“After Yoona became the latest addition to the group, we had to go in hiding for a bit. It was after the second war so Russia was a good place to keep cover after the damages they received.”

“Must be nice seeing history with your own eyes.” Tiffany was intrigued about what Taeyeon had seen throughout her life to date. And what about the other immortals who existed for much longer than Taeyeon had lived? What did they know that historians didn’t?

“The grass is always greener on the other side. You meet people who are special but when you realise that you’re going to outlive each and every one of them, it’s daunting.” Taeyeon kicked a small rock a good distance away. Tiffany pondered about what it was like watching others grow old without you. What it was like to endure living with memories of those who were long gone. She gazed at Taeyeon and saw her spacing out with a distant expression. From her knowledge, there was only one person who Taeyeon cares about that she had outlived.

“You miss Sooyeon again, don’t you?” Tiffany said quietly. Taeyeon stashed her hands into her pockets and shrugged.

“I always do. But seeing her for a short time again and having her call me unnie once more just evoked everything in my head,” she confessed softly. She had talked to Sunny about granting a temporary visa of some sort but the afterlife council were stern and refused all types of negotiation. Taeyeon even wanted to blackmail them with Miyoung’s custody but she wouldn’t stoop that low. She didn’t deem that the Legion would appreciate an immortal murderer running loose.

“She is your sister so it’s only natural.” Tiffany awkwardly patted Taeyeon’s back. She honestly didn’t know what it was like to be in her plight and she was even more lost in knowing how to comfort someone like Taeyeon.

“Everyone else seems to go on with their lives perfectly fine. Most of them hate all mortals too so they don’t really care about their human roots.”

“Well you can teach them otherwise. You’re the one who leads them now.” Taeyeon stopped walking and raised her brow at Tiffany. She shook her head incredulously and laughed at her naivety.

“Hundreds of years of hate is going to be easily changed by me, the one who decided to leave them but all of a sudden came back with all my affairs to the one who caused the death of the previous leader? I’m sure that’s going to go smooth,” the immortal sneered sarcastically. Tiffany took a step away from Taeyeon and frowned.

“I’m just suggesting ideas. No need to get so sensitive,” Tiffany defended. Taeyeon closed her eyes and massaged her nape slowly. She hated the ever present feeling it gave her. It just felt like her neck didn’t belong or cooperate with the rest of her body and she was getting tired of it.

“I know. I’m sorry. I just don’t grasp how to lead them with all the flaws I have. Even if I didn’t leave, I wasn’t supposed to take over for at least another hundred and twenty years.”

“Wow,” Tiffany breathed. Taeyeon raised a brow at Tiffany to which she immediately started getting flustered. “I didn’t mean wow in a bad way. It’s just a little weird when you start dropping down ages surmounting a lifetime on me. Catches me off guard sometimes.” Taeyeon nodded understandingly and lowered her hand to stuff them into her pockets again. She felt that Tiffany was losing all of her confidence and was feeling guilty for ruining her mood.

“Enough about me. I could go on forever at this rate. What about you?” Taeyeon asked, wanting to change the topic. Tiffany pointed to herself with her eyes widening. Taeyeon had never asked about her before but after watching history itself, perhaps she didn’t want to know about anyone’s past. She has plausibly experienced enough of it.

“Uhmm,” Tiffany hesitated. Maybe having the spotlight placed on her wasn’t such a good idea. She surely didn’t want to delve into her own yesterday either.

Tiffany looked up at Taeyeon who was looking through the window of a store. Taeyeon got the feeling that someone was staring at her so she peeked to the side to meet Tiffany’s eyes. The younger instantly looked away nervously. She made it her mission to make it apparent that she was different from Miyoung ever since their encounter, and telling her about her past would support that... yet she didn’t want Taeyeon to look down on her either.

Taeyeon sensed Tiffany’s discomfort and wondered about the secrets that she is keeping to herself. The girl was an open book so whenever there are pages of the book that were written in an invisible ink, it must be really deep. Taeyeon waited for Tiffany to deny the suggestion but what surprised her was when Tiffany began to talk again.

“My dad u—”

“How did you, Jessica and Seohyun meet?” Taeyeon abruptly interjected before she could reveal anything. Tiffany was obviously not prepared to share her secrets and Taeyeon wasn’t going to make her do so just because she felt compelled into doing it.

“Huh?” Tiffany gaped with her dumbfounded face.

“You three seem like an odd bunch. It’s unlikely that you guys would become friends unless you were forced to,” Taeyeon continued. She could see Tiffany relaxing a bit and concluded that her dark secrets were well before she and the others met. The investigation would have to wait until the victim was ready to confess.

“Oh, I was looking for a place to stay in during college. I was applying for the dorms when I saw Sunny and Seohyun talking just nearby. I think Sunny noticed me looking because she suddenly turned as well and ran straight towards me.” Tiffany snickered when she remembered the short woman sprinting at full speed in her direction. It was terrifying at that time, but looking back at it now made it amusing. “She offered to let me stay at her place with Seohyun. I was suspicious at first but one of the staff members assured that Sunny was trustworthy.”

“Still would have been suspicious,” Taeyeon huffed. Tiffany chuckled and shrugged her shoulders.

“I was kinda desperate at that time so my sense of caution was pretty bad. Anyway, I moved in and settled for the rest of my high school years. Two weeks in, Jessica suddenly joined the household and we bonded through our many fights and arguments.” Taeyeon raised her brow at Tiffany. Who in the world bonds over conflicts? She rolled her eyes and said a silent prayer for Seohyun who probably held them together. Poor girl must have suffered through many struggles living with those two.

“So Sunny brought you guys together?”

“Yup! She said something about us being special and that we would be important if we stuck together.”

“A little too coincidental,” Taeyeon muttered.

“Hm?”

“It’s just a little coincidental that my sister’s and my ex lover’s reincarnate would be living together. Sunny seemingly schemed a few things in advance.” Taeyeon crossed her arms and leaned against the nearest wall in thought. There were a lot of things that were offbeat from the overall incident but she’ll have to clear things up much later.

“Well... What about the Elites? How did you guys meet?” Tiffany was quick to change the subject.

“Elites is only the term we use during SM College. We’re not going to be Elites after tomorrow,” Taeyeon corrected.

“It wouldn’t hurt for us to still refer to you guys as Elites. It actually suits elitists like you guys. Brains, finances, personality, and predominantly... looks!” Tiffany beamed. Taeyeon rolled her eyes at Tiffany’s attempt to flatter her and just patted her head to ease her excitement.

“Well I wouldn’t mind telling you about how we met, but it’s up to the other two if they want you to know. I met each of them in very personal circumstances so you will have to ask for their permission first,” she admitted. “I’m sure Yoona wouldn’t mind but Yuri is very guarded about her past before meeting me.”

“Oh... Right. Even simple meetings for you guys are rather different, aren’t they?” Tiffany giggled nervously. Taeyeon shrugged her shoulders and pulled her hand out of her pocket. She then held it out to Tiffany and nudged it towards her.

“We’ll save the past for another day. Right now, I want you to have this,” Taeyeon said calmly. Tiffany held her hand out to receive whatever gift it was.

Tiffany felt a cold metal touch her palm. Taeyeon pulled her hand back and Tiffany gasped at the necklace that was in her hand. It was a familiar jewellery because she had seen it online a few times. It was a four-leaf clover with hearts for leaves from Tiffany&Co.

“It would be questionable to give you a million dollar necklace and I’m sure you wouldn’t agree to accept it either, so I got this for you instead,” Taeyeon explained. Tiffany was honestly at a loss for words but she knew she needed to thank Taeyeon at the very least.

“I—”

“Don’t mention it,” Taeyeon cut her off shortly. She knew that if Tiffany started thanking her, she would begin getting embarrassed. “I thought that I should at least give you something that’s originally yours. I plan on storing the key and locket away somewhere later on.”

Tiffany stared at the necklace and felt her heart jumping for joy in the back of . Taeyeon brushed it off like it was nothing but it meant a LOT to her. She actually has a proper present from Taeyeon now.

There was one question though.

“Why this design?”

“No reason,” Taeyeon responded almost immediately. The odd reply was enough to divert Tiffany’s attention away from the necklace. Taeyeon was trying to act nonchalant but Tiffany knew better. Her lips quirked into a sinister smirk and she stepped closer to the immortal.

“I noticed that you put a lot of thought into buying things. Even just for casual clothing. You wouldn’t buy this design without having a reason behind it. Especially if it’s a present,” Tiffany prodded. Taeyeon refused to meet Tiffany’s orbs and trained her eyes on the floor. Tiffany was going to have to pull out another card to get Taeyeon to talk. “I’m sure Yuri and Yoona would love to know what you just gave me though.”

“Wait! No!” Taeyeon frantically protested. Yuri and Yoona would torment her for days on end for this. Tiffany knew she had won and had a smile reaching her eyes making them crinkle at the corners while patiently waiting for Taeyeon to continue. Taeyeon sighed in defeat but continued to stare at the floor.

“I just thought that it’s lucky that I got to meet you in this life. Fortunate that you managed to help me get over her before she caused further damage and...” Taeyeon slowly trailed off. Tiffany’s features was painted with a face-splitting grin next to her. Taeyeon huffed and swung her torso back to her and started walking. “I’m not good with words so just accept it. That’s all I’m going to say.”

Tiffany laughed and gripped onto the necklace tightly. It was more than enough but she was just pushing her luck to see how far she could get and she was by no means disappointed. She just couldn’t wait for the next time she got to get a surprise from the stubborn immortal.