They had only been in the holding cell for 15 minutes, yet it felt more like a few days. When Yuri was thrown in, she had initially spent her first minute trying to persuade the guard to listen to reason and let them out. He eventually left, tired of her shenanigans, and Yuri was inclined to try and get the guard to come back by yelling at the top of her lungs and banging on the iron jail bars with her fists.

 

Once her lungs felt as though they were set on fire, Yuri finally accepted that it was a lost cause as she sluggishly dragged her body next to her silent friend. Taeyeon barely moved when Yuri took a seat next to her; it made Yuri worry since the shorter girl hadn’t made a single peep since they were unceremoniously thrown into the prison. The silent blonde was hugging her legs close together as she stared down at the pair of Converse she had decided to wear that day. Hoping to get a response, Yuri gently shook Taeyeon’s shoulder.

 

“Hey. Taeyeon,” Yuri said as she began to shake a little harder after her first few futile attempts. “Taeyeon, are you in there?”

 

Taeyeon didn’t bother to answer. A million thoughts were swimming around inside the older girl’s head while the image of a certain cackling brunette was burnt into the back of her retinas.

 

Giving up on her hopeless attempts, Yuri released the grip on her friend and held her own left wrist instead. “Taeyeon, I know you can hear me, so you don’t have to respond, okay?” Yuri said, hoping that Taeyeon would show any sign that she understood. To her dismay, the short blonde took no effort to say a word.

 

Yuri let out a sigh as she continued. “Look, I’m sorry I brought you to the mall. I was just trying to cheer you up. If I’d have known something like this would’ve happened, I would’ve suggested that we just have stayed at school.” The taller girl tilted her head, hoping to make eye contact with her close companion.

 

“I don’t know what happened to you in there, but come on Taeyeon. You have to open up a little bit and let me help you. You know you can trust me. If I’d have known you were in trouble, I would’ve come to save you as soon as I could,” Yuri said, thumping her chest in a friendly manner. She tried her best to connect with her friend, but Taeyeon kept her gaze fixed on her shoes.

 

When Yuri found out her friend was with that mushroom, she had sprinted through every store she saw, hoping to stop Tiffany in whatever she had planned. If only she’d have caught on sooner that Jessica was keeping her away from Taeyeon, maybe they wouldn’t have ended up in the jail cell. They probably would’ve been at the ice cream parlor by now, sharing funny stories as they enjoyed their creamy treats and the other’s company.

 

But it wasn’t a happy moment and they weren’t at the ice cream parlor. They were in a holding cell in a mall that was kilometers away from home. A drab and isolated room where the only emotion that could be felt was pain and sadness. Yuri leaned her head back onto the cold surface behind her.

 

“You remember Tiffany’s friend, right? The blond girl with the icy stare? It was because of her I wasn’t able to get to you on time. Jessica, if I remember her name correctly. She was really weird. She was like a ninja when she was standing outside of the stall. You just knew she was near when you felt a coldness run down your spine. And the way she talked, it was like she was talking to royalty or something... No, it was as if she was royalty. Such eloquence and grace,” Yuri said as she remembered the pretty blonde.

 

Wait, why am I even talking about that ice princess in detail? It was because of her that I was stuck in that bathroom! If it wasn’t for her, we wouldn’t even be held up in here. Oh my god, she even gets into my head when she’s not around.

 

“But yeah. My guess was that the mushroom told her to keep me occupied while she had her way with you,” Yuri explained as she turned her gaze to the ceiling. It wasn’t until Yuri replayed her previous words in her head that her eyes went wide. She noticed that Taeyeon was looking at her with an eyebrow raised.

 

“Haha, I’m sorry. That wasn’t what I meant. What I meant to say was ‘while she was bullying you’ or something like that,” Yuri explained with an embarrassed laugh. Taeyeon relaxed her face as she went back to staring at her shoes.

 

“I really think you should tell the principal, or your parents... or even anyone for that matter, because this isn’t right Taeyeon. You can’t keep living your life like this. It’s only been a few days since Tiffany’s been targeting you and she’s already done so much damage on you. Imagine if this keeps happening after high school and throughout your life,” Yuri tried to make Taeyeon understand while ruffling her long, dark hair. To Yuri’s surprise, Taeyeon shrugged her shoulder as if she was saying ‘whatever’.

 

It didn’t seem like Taeyeon wanted to listen to reason, so Yuri felt it best to just drop it.

“Okay, I guess you don’t want to talk about it. That’s fine,” Yuri showed off her signature grin to the glum girl.

 

Yuri thought it best to change the subject, hopefully to get Taeyeon’s mind off of whatever she was thinking. “I can kind of understand what you’re going through. After I finished middle school, my parents told me I was going to attend Soshi High and I was told I had to move here by myself with my babysitter living across from me. It was a big adjustment for me,” Yuri said as she gripped the cold bench under her. She tried to connect with her depressed friend, but it looked like there was no effect.

 

“You know despite what happened today, I had a lot of fun before everything happened. I usually ditch school by myself so I never got to share my experiences with anyone. Now that I think about it, this is the first time I ever hung out with someone outside of school.” Taeyeon gave her friend an incredulous look. Yuri responded with a chuckle.

“I know it’s hard to believe, but this is the first time I actually went to the mall with anyone who wasn’t family,” Yuri confessed as she offered Taeyeon a gentle smile. “To be honest, there were plenty of kids who wanted to hang out with me all throughout my school years. Some of them seemed really friendly.” The smile on Yuri’s face started to quiver. The memories of her childhood began to play in her head.

 

“They were so nice to me yet… I wasn’t,” Yuri said as she noticed Taeyeon’s eyes becoming bigger.

 

“Were you… a bully back then?” Taeyeon whispered. Yuri was so surprised that the quiet blonde finally spoke that she couldn’t help but to crack a smile.

 

“No no, not a bully. During elementary school I was kind of... lonely? Hmm, it’s a little hard to explain,” Yuri didn’t move as she reminisced about her past.

 

Taeyeon decided to place her feet on the ground before she asked, “Were you a loner?”

The taller girl hummed thoughtfully before responding, “I wouldn’t say I was a loner, but I was more of an outcast.”

 

“When I was attending elementary school in Goyang, I was pretty much a tomboy. I had no interest in doing my nails or my hair. I didn’t care about what I wore, even though my mom wanted me to wear pretty dresses and stuff. Because I didn’t ‘act like a girl’ the other kids chose to ignore me as if I didn’t exist. I guess they didn’t want to be affiliated with someone like me. I tried to be friends with the other girls, but they thought I was too ‘icky’. They said it was because I smelled like a boy that they wouldn’t even want to touch me, let alone hug me.” Yuri’s eyes were beginning to look glassy.

 

“It was the same with the boys I played sports with during recess. They didn’t want to be friends with someone who had ‘cooties’. Even though I was good at basketball and football, they only saw me as just another girl,” Yuri said as she leaned forward toward her knees and continued.

 

“This went on for a while during elementary school until my parents suggested I join a club in order to make friends. I wasn’t really interested in anything so I randomly chose the drama club. Despite my expectations, it was very interesting. Everyone in the club learned how to express different emotions and manners as they acted out a play. After learning from the teacher and the other kids, I found out that I was good at imitating people and I thought I finally found some friends. Sadly they weren’t too keen to get to know me. They only joined the club because their parents forced them to,” Yuri said, her fingers unconsciously increasing their tight grip on the bench.

 

“Eventually I finished elementary school and before starting middle school, I decided to make a drastic change because I was tired of being alone. I noticed during plays that whenever a character had a lot of friends, they were always the person people wanted to be around. I wanted to use my newly acquired acting skills to my benefit, so I became the girl everyone wanted to know. I made my wardrobe more feminine, I changed my way of speaking to sound bubbly, and I pretended to be very reserved and humble. I even started to take care of my facial appearance and my hair,” Yuri continued as she got off the bench, only to rest her back on the cold, steel bars in front of her in order to face Taeyeon; she had noticed that the older girl was very intrigued by her story. Taeyeon was holding her chin as she involuntarily shifted towards Yuri.

 

“I found out that by becoming this ‘perfect girl’, people actually wanted to talk to me. I was acting friendlier to my classmates and even my teachers. I did what I was told and volunteered for class duties whenever no one else did. This went on for about 13 years. Eventually the kids at school started to notice my friendly attitude and wanted to get to know me. They would invite me to places and ask for me to join them during lunch. But…” Yuri suddenly paused, noting that Taeyeon’s full attention was on her.

 

“But?” Taeyeon asked in curiosity.

 

Yuri’s heart felt like it was becoming stone. “I couldn’t. After a few weeks of putting up with the act, I realized that they didn’t like me for who I was. They only liked the girl they saw in front of them; this fictional girly girl who was always full of smiles and manners. I hated putting on makeup and I hated wearing skirts. I wanted to stop this act and go back to being myself; but something in me was telling me I shouldn’t. It was as if I knew that if I showed them who I really was, then it would be elementary school all over again. So I continued the whole façade throughout middle school and I’m still doing it today,” Yuri said as she began to pace around the prison cell. Taeyeon kept her eyes on the frustrated girl.

 

“During this time, girls were asking me to hang out with them and guys were asking me out on dates. I was really scared of getting close to them because what if I got too close to them and they found out I was just wearing a mask? What if they found out who I really was? These thoughts were always in my head and eventually I started to feel anger and hatred,” Yuri finally stopped in her tracks while keeping her gaze to the floor.
 

“Those kids didn’t care about me. They only cared about what I showed them. At first I was just indifferent towards their behavior, but as time went on I loathed how plastic some of the girls acted and how a lot of the guys just wanted to get into my pants. It’s like I’m afraid they’ll hate me for what I really am and I hate them because they only like me for what they wanted me to be,” Yuri revealed; her hands clenched to form strong fists and she continued to pace restlessly back and forth.

 

Taeyeon felt that Yuri’s words were contradicting as she spoke. “Yuri, that’s not their fault. You were the one who chose to act like someone you’re not. We’re all grown up now so I’m sure if you just go back to acting like your normal self then-”

“You don’t understand!” Yuri wailed. She stopped in her tracks as it looked like her eyes were beginning to water. “You don’t understand Taeyeon. I can’t act normally because I don’t even know who I am anymore!”

Taeyeon was so stunned when she saw her friend in such an emotional state that all of her angry thoughts towards Tiffany were long gone. “Yuri, don’t be silly. You’re... well, you’re Kwon Yuri!” she argued.

 

Yuri shook her head dejectedly. “That’s not what I meant Taeyeon. During my first year here, I tried to go back to my old ways of being a tomboy. I wanted to go back to not caring about my looks and not caring about how people saw me, but I couldn’t. I think I played this role for so long that I became someone else,” Yuri added, feeling as though she was out of breath; her mind spun as she realized that this was the first time she had been so honest about herself. Tiredly, she walked back to Taeyeon and slumped back down onto the bench.

 

“Yuri, what are you trying to tell me?” Taeyeon was trying to make sense of her friend’s words.

 

Yuri breathed out a sigh of exhaustion, feeling like a tear would slide down her cheek any second. She gritted her teeth before confessing. “I’m suffering through an identity crisis! For the last 7 years, I’ve been living the life of someone else. I feel like I’ve lost contact with the real Yuri 7 years ago and I’ve become someone I’m not. I haven’t told anyone about this because they would think I’m crazy. So since then, I’ve just been playing the part I put myself into, not caring about anything or anyone.” Before Yuri continued, she wiped away the tears that were about to fall. She gave Taeyeon a caring look.
 

“But then something else happened. When I saw you in the hallway all helpless, it felt like my heart... cringed. Normally when someone was picking up their books from far away, I would just walk away like I didn’t notice them. But when I saw you, something told me I had to help you out. I don’t know how to explain it, but I felt like I had to protect you from everybody and everything around you. It’s just… I don’t know. When I helped you up, it didn’t feel like I was pretending to be caring because for some odd reason, I actually did care if you were alright or not,” Yuri finished as she looked at her confused friend.

 

Taeyeon blushed slightly as Yuri reached the end of her explanation. It felt as if Yuri was confessing to her, but she knew better than to believe such impossible things. Yuri was probably straight and would never see Taeyeon like that. Even so, the way Yuri described her was very comforting.

 

“I don’t know what to say Yuri. I’m still kind of lost about your situation,” Taeyeon apologized; lost for words. She took a few seconds to gather her thoughts before continuing. “What I do know is that you seem like a really cool girl. You were the first person to show me kindness when I transferred here. I know you say that you’re just putting up an act, but in your case I think over time you just learned how to be genuinely friendly. You shouldn’t think that you’re putting up an act. You should just do whatever your heart tells you to do.

 

 

“It’s not that I’m creeped out or anything, but I’m actually a little flattered about what you said. I’ve never had a friend who was so nice…” Taeyeon paused for a minute as the memory of a certain girl back in middle school popped into her mind and she shook her head before correcting herself. “I’ve never had a friend who cared so much for me. It makes me happy.” For the first time since they got in the jail cell, Taeyeon gave Yuri a bright and slightly dorky grin.

 

“Thanks Taeyeon,” Yuri whispered, trying to force a smile. “I’m not sure where that all came from, but I felt like if I wanted to get closer to you, I should probably be the one to open up to you first.”

 

Since she got that off of her chest, Yuri thought it was a better time than any to finally confront Taeyeon about what happened an hour ago. “Speaking of which, there’s something else I want to get off my chest,” Yuri said as she grabbed the short blonde’s hand.
 

“I’m so sorry. I’m supposed to be your friend, yet I couldn’t even protect you for one second. How am I supposed to call myself a friend when I’m unable to do even that?” Yuri started to shake a little, saying what she wanted to say from the beginning. “It’s just that… I…” Yuri was trying to find the right words to say, but was stopped when she met her best friend’s understanding gaze.

 

“Please don’t Yuri,” Taeyeon said in a hushed voice. She kept a firm grip on the taller girl’s hand. “At first I was a little shaken up about the whole thing, but you shouldn’t beat yourself up because of this. It wasn’t-”

 

“Don’t you dare say it wasn’t my fault Taeyeon,” Yuri interrupted. “I should’ve been with you when you went to confront her. If only I’d have ignored Jessica and came to you as soon as I could, I would have-” Yuri tried to continue, but Taeyeon placed her palm in front of her.

 

“Please don’t be hard on yourself Yuri. I know you would’ve helped me, but it’s in the past now and we have to live with it,” Taeyeon reassured her vulnerable friend. Yuri noticed she still had a hold of the blonde’s small yet soft hand and managed to let go, unable to prevent a small blush from creeping up on her face. Luckily Taeyeon didn’t notice.

 

“I’m going to be honest Yuri. I was a disturbed after what Tiffany did to me today; the whole messing with my head and getting us arrested. She really knew how to get under my skin. I can also say she’s a good fighter,” Taeyeon muttered, remembering the way Tiffany moved so effortlessly; Yuri’s eyes were filled with curiosity.

 

“I felt like I just wanted to die after that. To know that someone knew all about my personal life and is using that knowledge against me is very scary. But then I got to know more about you Yuri. After listening to what you said I believe you’re not that different from me. We’re both confused about ourselves and we both want to better ourselves. I might not understand to a full extent, but I feel like you’re a genuinely nice person. As for you appearance, you should dress however you want because it won’t change who you are inside,” Taeyeon said, a gentle smile taking over her features as she looked at Yuri tenderly.

 

Yuri felt like her heart’s stone shell was cracking as she felt comforting warmth spread through her chest. Without even thinking, her right arm crept around Taeyeon’s neck, pulling her into a soft embrace. “Thanks Taeyeon.” Yuri whispered.

 

“Don’t you worry about that stupid mushroom, we’ll figure out something okay?” She was satisfied when she felt the smaller girl nod her head into the nape of her neck. Yuri had to admit that it always felt nice to have the cute blonde in her arms. She couldn’t describe the feeling, but was content to just bask in it whenever she could.

 

“Okay you two, break it up,” the security guard said as he unlocked the prison cell. He held the giant gate open. “We got word from the higher ups to let you go. You are to leave the mall as soon as possible and you are not allowed to return for the rest of the day,” the security guard said with a sullen look on his face.

 

Taeyeon was slightly confused, breaking away from Yuri’s embrace as she eyed the guard suspiciously. “We’re free? But why?”

 

“All I know is that one of the higher ups told us to let you go and to not contact your parents. Now get out of here before I decide to call the city police on you for theft,” the security guard ordered, causing the two girls to sprint out of their depressing jail and back to the bright and welcoming shopping mall.

 

“Huh, that was weird,” Yuri mumbled as she scratched the back of her head. Taeyeon was just pleased she didn’t to have to call her mom to pick her up.

 

“Hey Taeyeon,” Yuri said, getting her friend’s attention. “I’m sorry I was rambling on back there. I should’ve been focusing more on comforting you. I don’t know what got me into start spilling like that.”

 

Taeyeon shook her head, grinning, “Don’t be sorry Yuri. If anything, by telling me about yourself you comforted me during my depression.”

 

Out of relief, Yuri sighed. “Not sure how that helped, but as long as you’re feeling better then I’m happy,” Yuri smiled as they both walk towards the escalators that led to the subway station.

 

“Too bad we didn’t get to go to the ice cream parlor today. Maybe next time? Yuri asked the blonde next to her. Taeyeon was trying to remember which train route they had to take, before almost forgetting they were supposed to get ice cream. “That’s right, we were going to supposed to have ice cream until we saw Tiffany at that booth. I’m sorry Yuri, it totally slipped my mind. Sure lets go there next time,” Taeyeon agreed before continuing her thoughts on the train route.

 

“Hey, you wanna get some coffee? I know of a café near here where there’s barely anyone there. The drinks are a lil pricey, but I love their cream sodas,” Yuri asked, but

Taeyeon quickly denied the invitation with a quick shake of the head.

 

“That’s okay. I’m short enough and caffeine would probably kill my chances of a growth spurt,” Taeyeon said; her playful statement was followed with a loud chuckle, courtesy of Yuri.

 

“Ha ha, oh my god Taeyeon you are such a crack up,” Yuri said while giggling as she lightly nudged the shorter girl, almost causing her to trip.

 

It’s hard to believe this girl in front of me claims to be putting on an act... she seems so naturally nice and caring. If she’s telling me the truth, I wonder what her true self is. Or maybe as time went on, she just changed and this is her real self now? Looking at her, she seems like a normal girl.

 

“Is there something on my face? You’re giving me a weird look like I have a bug on me or something,” Yuri questioned while patting her face down for any unwelcome critters.

 

“No, it’s nothing,” Taeyeon said just as they bought their subway tickets from the ticket machine.

 

Just after they crossed the turnstile, Taeyeon felt her cell phone vibrate.

 

When she unlocked it, she noticed that she had received a text message from an *unknown number*. Despite it being a little odd, Taeyeon decided to check it out.

 

“i hope ur grateful that i ‘busted you out of prison’. u should be lucky i have a heart or else I could’ve charged u for theft. yet u didn’t really steal that stuff, but that’s not the point. if u want to know more about ‘the mushroom’ meet me in the first floor lobby of ur apartment building at 11pm tonight. come alone.”

 

Taeyeon checked to see if there was anything else, but it seemed as though that was the whole message. She tried to respond to her mysterious contact, but she continuously received a reply saying there was no number to send to.

 

Yuri noticed Taeyeon staring at her phone frustrated. “Hey let’s go! Train leaves in 3 minutes!” Yuri hollered while making her way to the subway gate.

 

Taeyeon snapped back into reality as she stuffed the phone back into her pocket.

 

“Sorry, I’m coming,” Taeyeon apologized as she jogged right behind her friend.

She wasn’t sure what to make of the text message or if she should even agree to meet this person. They might be a kidnapper or something. But it seemed like they knew something about Tiffany and Taeyeon just couldn’t resist the opportunity to learn something about her enemy. Then the thought of Tiffany actually sending the text made her heart stop for a second.

 

“2 minutes Taeyeon! Let’s go!” Yuri yelled as she noticed the blonde suddenly lagging behind her.

 

Taeyeon shook her head again while closer to her friend.

 

Whatever I do, I wonder if I should tell Yuri. Seems like she really wants to help, but it still doesn’t feel right asking her for help. Then again, I wouldn’t want today to repeat itself.

 

Taeyeon and Yuri eventually made their way inside the crowded train. Taeyeon continued to ponder her next move as she took a seat next to her best friend. The bullet-like train quickly sped outside the mall area and found its way outside. While Yuri was busy playing games on her phone, Taeyeon was staring outside the window, hoping that if she observed the passing buildings, it would help her decide what she should do.

 

Before she could pick apart her thoughts, she felt her eyelids getting heavy. She tried to fight the urge to sleep since she didn’t want to miss her stop, but her head was feeling very light and she felt herself lean on Yuri’s comforting shoulder as she drifted off into the land of dreams.

 

Stupid mushroom...

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안녕! (annyeong)! Wow, chapter 12 already. I'm sure many of you already know, but this story was orginally supposed to be a one-shot or a short story. Never thought this story would last this long, but i guess that's how it is. Did everyone enjoy this chapter? I felt this chapter was a little different compared to the last few and I was a little worried. Comments are always welcome and it helps me to know how you feel about the story so far. Look forward to the next chapter!