Chapter Eight

The foyer was unusually quiet when Tiffany returned from her trip. Sooyoung and Yoona would usually sit in front of the fire place, doing things like eating, reading or playing board games to spend their afternoon away. It was weird to see how empty the foyer was.

“You’re back.”

Yuri’s voice rang out of nowhere, and it startled Tiffany. The cold hunter turned towards the source of the voice and found Yuri standing behind the railings on the second floor.

“You’re the only one in the house?” Tiffany casually asked while making her way up the stairs.

“Yoona said Sooyoung had been eating too much, so she dragged her to the gym.” Yuri stood still in her position, and watched Tiffany approached her. “Where were you in the morning?” Her tone sounded like a police interrogating a criminal and it certainly made Tiffany uncomfortable.

But still, she answered her anyway. “I was in the city.”

“Again?”

Tiffany frowned upon her reaction, “Yuri, don’t you think you’re going a little bit too far?”

Yuri realized that herself too, but she couldn’t help it when she found Tiffany missing again! Especially after what Hyuk-Jun told her, it was impossible for her to stay calm when she couldn’t find Tiffany.

“Sorry,” Yuri looked away, avoiding Tiffany’s intensive gaze and apologized. “I am just worried.”

“Yuri,” Tiffany grabbed Yuri’s hand and made her partner faced her. “You have been acting so strangely since yesterday’s meeting. What’s wrong?”

Yuri forced out a smile and shook her head, “Nothing.” She should never let Tiffany found out what Hyuk-Jun told her because if she did, Tiffany would definitely stop her from protecting her.

“Your face clearly shows me there is something wrong.”

Yuri took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Can you accompany me to the rooftop?"

*

Yuri and Tiffany were standing behind the railings, allowing the cool wind rushed towards them, relaxing their bodies and calming down their minds. Tiffany held onto Yuri’s hand firmly. She was able to tell Yuri had not been herself since yesterday’s meeting and she was truly getting worried for her.

It was unusual for Yuri to act this way.

“Feeling better?” Tiffany swirled around and faced Yuri. She grabbed Yuri’s free hand with her other hand. “You look really stressed.”

Yuri forced out a smile again. After hearing Hyuk-Jun’s words and the reports on the devices, it was hard for her to remain calm towards any situations which concerned her partner, even though most of them had told her to relax.

How could she possibly calm down when Tiffany was in danger?

Tiffany tilted her head to her side and drew a gentle smile across her face. “Hey, tell me what you’re thinking. Don’t keep it to yourself if you find it hard to handle alone.”

Yuri raised her head and her gaze met Tiffany’s concerned eyes. Should she, or should she not inform Tiffany? But Hyuk-Jun already mentioned Tiffany was good enough to be wary for herself. If she told Tiffany that she knew something too, what would Tiffany’s reaction be?

“What’s wrong? Is it very personal?”

Yuri was hesitating whether to answer to her partner’s question. Her mind was debating if she should tell Tiffany the truth or lie to her about it.

But lying to Tiffany is definitely not a brilliant idea.

Something struck Tiffany all of the sudden while Yuri was busy cracking her head away. She remembered the scene which happened during the meeting, and also the scene whereby Yuri over-reacted when she could not find her the previous night.

Her passion in helping Yuri was immediately gone in an instant. It was as though someone had poured a huge bucket of ice water over her head.

“Yuri…” She called her partner. Her tone sounded worse than indifferent. It was completely different from the rare friendliness she had just a few minutes ago. “It is not about me, is it?” She stared straight into Yuri’s eyes, hoping that her eyes would give her answer away.

Yuri turned away from Tiffany immediately and avoided her penetrating gaze. She had finally gotten an answer to her question. She would not let Tiffany found out what she had been thinking. Tiffany would never like it if she knew she was going to protect her, though, Yuri highly doubted Tiffany actually needed her protection.

“You’re not in love with me, are you?”

“Wha––What?” Yuri jumped up from her position in reflex. She was slightly startled by Tiffany’s reply as she wasn’t expecting Tiffany to say anything like this. “Of course not!” She made a promise with her three years ago, though there were times she thought she would break it, a promise is still a promise.

She would not break her promise.

Tiffany heaved out a sigh of relief. Thank god things were not going the way she thought they were heading.

“Do you really hate it if I fall in love with you?” Yuri was obviously unhappy with Tiffany’s reaction.

“It’s not a matter of hate. I can’t afford to have you fall in love with me.”

“Why?”

Tiffany turned around and faced the railing. She leaned forward and rested her elbows on it. “Because you’re the last person I ever want to love.” She replied almost in a whisper, but Yuri was able to hear it loud and clear.

She replied her with an unpleasant snort, “That’s hurting, you know.” What does she mean by the last person she wants to love? Is she that annoying till Tiffany hates to build a relationship with her?

Yuri was hurt, very hurt.

“That is actually an honor for you.” Tiffany grinned, stretching her hand towards Yuri and pinched her lightly on cheek. “So tell me, what is the thing that is bothering you?”

Uh… not this again! Just when she thought she had successfully diverted Tiffany’s attention away.

“Yuri?”

“Um…” Yuri flashed an awkward smile at her partner. “Nothing is bothering me.”

Tiffany straightened her back and folded her arms across her chest. She glared at Yuri with her obvious icy eyes, “You don’t want to test my patience, Kwon Yuri.” Even her tone, it was much colder than when she asked if she loved her.

Yuri shivered uncontrollably. She wasn’t cold at all, but she was terrified by Tiffany’s glare. Like what Sooyoung always told her secretly, Tiffany was the last person she ever wanted to deal with! Give her ten–– no, she meant hundreds! Even hundreds of mutants would be much easier to handle.

“Kwon Yuri.” Tiffany repeated that specific name with a deeper and dangerous tone.

“Okay, okay! I’ll tell you! Stop pressurizing me with that aura!” Ugh! To think they are partners, Tiffany sure doesn’t hold sympathy for her!

“I’m waiting.” She said with her fingers tapping lightly against her arms.

“Uh…” Now, where should she begin with? “Ugh, actually, it’s nothing of a big deal. Why don’t we––” Tiffany unfolded her arms. Her hands were reaching for the blades which were attached to her thighs. Yuri gasped in fear, she quickly changed her sentence before Tiffany was able to touch them. “AH! I was saying it’s all Hyuk-Jun oppa’s fault! He told me something about you, causing me to be anxious since yesterday!!!!”

Tiffany frowned, “What did he said?”

“Uh…” Yuri hesitated again.

“Kwon Yu––”

Yuri immediately answered, “He said the enemy had their eyes on you! And I went to the I.T’s already, Kyuhyun said there is nothing wrong with your device.” Yuri pulled out Tiffany’s communication device from her pocket and returned it to its rightful owner. “He told me two possible reasons we couldn’t connect with one another yesterday. First, it might be someone was tampering with the radio waves. Second, they blocked it off.”

Tiffany took the device away from Yuri and held it high up between her and Yuri. She squinted while staring at it and her thoughts wandered off somewhere.

“Fany-ah…”

Tiffany balled her hands into fists, having the device stuck within it. She tucked her hand into her pocket before turning to Yuri again, and showed her a comforting smile. “Don’t worry Yuri, I will be just fine.” The confident written on her face was just like how Hyuk-Jun commented on Tiffany.

As sensitive as Tiffany, she wouldn’t be clueless with her surroundings.

But… Yuri sighed, “But you know I will still be worried for you. Perhaps you may want to stop disappearing without any warning and wander off somewhere alone.”

“Yuri-ah…” Tiffany suddenly grabbed Yuri by her neck and pulled her towards her. Their forehead touched. Their distance was so close that Yuri could see her own reflection clearly in Tiffany’s eyes.

Yuri couldn’t move an inch at all. As much as she loved how close they were, this was way too creepy.

She stuttered, “Fa–Fany…”

“Yuri-ah,” Tiffany called out to Yuri again, her voice sounded unusually warm and gentle. “You’re not my mother and certainly not my girlfriend. Don’t you think you’re going a little bit too far for demanding me to notify you whenever I leave the house?” Then, everything turned upside down. The tight grip on the back of her neck reflected Tiffany’s displeasure right now.

“Fa… Fany-ah, I just want to make sure you are safe.” She is definitely not trying to be a stalker! “You’re not just my partner, but a part of my family too. I don’t want to see anything happens to anyone of you.” She paused for a second and continued. “If I have the ability to protect all of you, I will do it with all my best without any hesitation, even if it is to sacrifice myself.”

Tiffany loosened the grip on Yuri’s neck and pulled herself away from her. She knew Yuri meant what she said, because she was always a woman of her words. Just like how she promised not to love her three years ago, she could see Yuri had been controlling herself very hard every now and then, refraining herself from breaking the promise despite all the difficulties and hardships she went through for achieving it.

“Yuri, don’t always think about protecting us.” Tiffany grabbed both of Yuri’s hands and held it near to her chest. “All of us, we will protect everyone together. This is what makes us a family.”