Unexpected

There are many unexpected things in the world.

All the time, as we are going by on our daily lives, something surprising usually pops up right in your face, like a jack-in-the-box. Maybe it is something good, like your remarkable results for a paper you thought you would fail. Maybe it is something bad, like a sudden notification that you have 6 tests the very next week. All of them are unexpected.

Just like when Tiffany Hwang told me that she was gay.

I blinked, momentarily stunned. Her facial expression morphed into a neutral one, but I could sense the anxiety b within her as she looked at me. I opened my mouth, about to ask if it were a joke, but her unwavering gaze made me close it again. Finally, I said,

“Oh. Okay.”

She smiled at me as if I had just said the most wonderful thing in the world.

~
I was a bit awkward around her, I admit. I knew she noticed that I shifted away when she came close and I avoided her gaze whenever she spoke to me. But she was just herself, chatting happily away about the delicious ice cream that she had eaten a few days ago and how she was afraid she would get fat.

Soon after, I relaxed.

It took me a while, but then I understood that she was still the same Tiffany that I had always known, the same Tiffany that I had grown up with.

The same Tiffany that was my best friend.

And I regretted even treating her the way that I did.

The bond between us grew closer, tighter than ever before. We were just like best friends again, playfully arguing about random things and our occasional half-hearted fights about our heights. We continued to huddle on the couch and watch scary movies and I would laugh at Tiffany’s shrieks of terror.

It was as if she never told me anything. But in reality, I just grew to accept it. Accept that it was a part of Tiffany Hwang, a part that belonged.

Then everything suddenly took a turn for the better, or the worse you could say.

I got a boyfriend.

When I first introduced him to Tiffany, she had smiled brightly and shook his hand, but her darting eyes signaled to me that she needed to talk. I excused myself and we both headed to my room, in which she quickly proceeded to lock the door.

“Yah Kim Taeyeon!”

Her whisper was b with urgency as she hissed at me. I just stared back at her questioningly.

“He’s Lee Donghae! L-e-e D-o-n-g-h-a-e.”

I nodded, still bemused over this entire situation.

“He’s a player, goddammit! How could you be so blind!”

I had definitely not expected that. Her exasperation shocked me a bit and I frowned, crossing my arms indignantly. It was a direct blow to my taste and a horrid accusation on her part.

“Excuse me, but what proof do you have?”

I challenged, lifting my head up to glare at her. She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists, seemingly trying to calm herself down.

“It’s known worldwide, Taetae. Just one week ago, he was dating Hyoyeon! That poor girl, she ended up in a wreck after he dumped her.”

Furrowing my brows, I sniffed at her statement, refusing to believe her.

“That’s just one thing. It doesn’t mean he’s a player. He could have just found she’s not right for him, that’s all.”

Tiffany raised her voice a notch and growled in my face.

“He was dating Yoona and broke up two weeks before he got together with Hyoyeon! And I heard that he was two-timing her with Yuri too!”

“You heard, you heard, you heard!”

I stood up as well, fury reaching its top point.

“Those are all just rumors. I am old enough to tell, Tiffany, and I want to give him a chance. So just leave it, you get me?”

“Taetae, he’s just going to hurt you-“

“He’s not, so shut up!”

“Kim Taeyeon-“

“You won’t understand because you are gay!”

With that, Tiffany instantly shrank away. I regretted it the moment I said the words but my pride just sealed my lips and I stomped out of the room, my emotions churning inside me as I went to join Donghae out in the living room. I couldn’t believe what I had just said and I sat there for a while, trying to compose myself.

Tiffany came out a few minutes later, and I didn’t miss the pain glistening in her eye. Guilt overwhelmed me and I stood up to apologise, but she just muttered about going somewhere and smiled at the both of us, before striding out of the house.

I sat back down as Donghae’s arms curled around my waist and I leaned onto his shoulder, staying there until the guilt had slowly faded away.

~

The next few months, Tiffany and I had drifted so much that we barely said “hi” when we saw each other. I was almost always with Donghae and Tiffany had taken to accompanying Hyoyeon and Jessica. I missed the times we were close, but my wretched pride kept stopping me from approaching her to apologize.

Then one day, I stayed back after school, finishing up a project with my classmate. Happily, I had gone to search for Donghae, just to see him before I went home. I wandered around the school, heart light and fluttering as I casually peeked into the hall.

I froze in horror.

At the side of the hall, Donghae was pressed against another girl, kissing her fervently. I could even hear his whispers to her, saying he loved her so much that he was going crazy. The promise that he would break up with that wretched Kim Taeyeon floated down the hall and struck me right in my chest.

I choked back a sob and I could virtually hear the sound of my heart breaking and littering the floor beneath me. Taking a shuddering gasp, I backed away from the door and broke into a run, hands and legs pumping as I raced to get away from the scene. It