A day went by uneventfully and it was already the weekend. As promised, Taeyeon was standing next to a small billboard at the subway station waiting for Yuri; she tried banging on Yuri’s door to meet up at her place, but it looked like she already left. This whole thing seemed odd and it was even stranger how Taeyeon couldn’t get a hold of Yuri yesterday after lunch or even that evening.

 

As she stood there looking at the clock every five seconds, in her mind she constantly kept telling herself that this was not a date but just hanging out with a good friend. She kept telling herself that, but she still put consideration in her outfit so that she looked presentable. She chose to wear denim shorts that ran above her knees and a simple black shirt with a long sleeve zip up green hoodie with a pair of sneakers to complete the ensemble. She wanted to go for a casual yet chic look.

 

It was five minutes before eleven and she wondered if maybe she arrived a bit too early. She did wake up at 6 a.m. to do her hair and choose her clothes, but that’s something Yuri didn’t have to know.

 

“Taeyeon!”

 

Taeyeon turned around and saw her best friend running towards her.

 

“Hey Yur-”

 

Her sentence was cut short because when she got a good look at Yuri, almost dropped directly to the floor.

 

Yuri looked to almost have the same idea as Taeyeon but took it a step further. She wore a sleeveless white shirt that showed a bit of cleavage and her toned stomach. Over her shirt she wore a red leather jacket and below that she had on green jean short shorts with high black stockings and trendy leather boots. If Taeyeon didn’t know any better, she would have thought Yuri was a supermodel or a fasionista.

 

Yuri waved spastically while slowing down to a walk. She wrapped her arms around Taeyeon tightly and rested her chin on her head like a mother dog being protective of her puppy.

 

“It’s so good to see you again, Taeng. I missed you so much,” Yuri sang in a cheerful greeting.

 

Taeyeon responded with a small hug to Yuri. She let go after two seconds, but Yuri was still holding her. It felt like Yuri’s fingers were tracing small circles on her back and she swore it felt like Yuri was sniffing her hair.

 

“Ahem!” Taeyeon cleared deeply like an old lady. Yuri shaked a bit and finally let go of her friend.

 

“Sorry ‘bout that. My mind was somewhere else, haha.”

 

Yeah, I’m sure it was.

 

This was it. Taeyeon had to set the ground rules and remind Yuri that this wasn’t a date. As much as she cares for Yuri, she doesn’t want to lead her on. The record needs to be set straight.

 

“Listen Yuri. About today-”

 

“Oh that’s right!” Yuri interrupted, “We gotta go before the lines get long!”

 

Yuri swiftly grabbed Taeyeon’s hand and pulled her through the large crowd of people in the subway station. Taeyeon was trying her best to keep up with Yuri, despite her short legs moving as fast as they could. It looked like Taeyeon couldn’t talk to Yuri seriously yet, so she decided to talk about it once they reached their destination, wherever that may be.

 

As she tried to keep up with Yuri, Taeyeon noticed that Yuri’s hands felt very warm for some reason. Yuri’s hand easily wrapped around Taeyeon’s slender hand. Her grip was firm enough to keep a hold of, but also soft and gentle. It kind of felt nice to be holding hands with Yuri, but Taeyeon had to keep telling herself that she just liked friendly skinship and there was nothing more to it.

 

Yuri led them out into the warm spring day where the streets of Seoul were bustling with many people wanting to enjoy the weekend. Taeyeon looked around, wondering if their destination was nearby.

 

“So Yuri, you mind telling me where you’re taking me?”

 

“Hehe, don’t worry your cute little head, Taeng. It’s gonna be a surprise,” Yuri assured.

 

Cute? Little head? Why is Yuri acting so weird today?

 

Taeyeon was about to reply but she was interrupted by a loud shriek of what sounded to be a banshee in heat.

 

“Oh my god! Yuri!!!”

 

Taeyeon looked to where the screaming came from and saw a bunch of girls she remembered from school running up to her and her friend. Yuri’s eyes lit up when she saw her peers and instantly let go of Taeyeon’s hand and ran towards the group while also yelling in joyful hysterics.

 

“Jihye! Yujin! Eunji! Oh my god, it’s been like forever since I’ve seen ya’ll!”

 

Yuri was jumping up and down like a crazed fan girl who just spotted her favorite idol. Her excessive bouncing didn’t cease when she was embracing her classmates in a group hug. Her wide grin covering almost half of her face.

 

“I swear it’s been like forever since we’ve seen you! How long has it been? Like a month?” One of the girls asked after they all calmed down a bit.

 

“It feels like longer. Oh I’m sorry. I just been so busy lately with this and that. You know what I mean,” Yuri playfully stuck out her tongue and the girls giggled while nodding in understanding.

 

“I know what you mean. Me and Jihye have been going nonstop at the student council. It’s to the point they should be paying us. Though I hear Yujin has been busy with this one boy from History. What was his name? Jiyong?”

 

“Oh my god, shut up! He’s just a friend! We just happen to study at the same library. At the same time of day.”

 

The entire group were joking around with “ooo’s” and “ahh’s”, messing around with the girl named Yujin who was beginning to turn a light shade of pink.

 

“What about you Yuri? What you up to today? Meeting up with your boyfriend?” one of the girls giggled while Yuri was waving her hand in denial.

 

“No no, nothing like that. I’m actually here on a little date with a good friend of mine,” Yuri boasted with her hands on her hips and a face of great pride.

 

“Oh? And who’s this friend of yours? Is it that guy Seunghwan?” one of the girls hinted.

 

“Eww, no. I’m not into sporty guys. I’m actually here with someone really special to me.”

 

Yuri pointed behind her, showing her peers Taeyeon.

 

“Umm, Yuri? Who are you pointing to?”

 

Yuri turned around to where she left Taeyeon. “I’m pointing to…” Yuri shifted her head left and right. She could’ve sworn Taeyeon was just standing next to that trash can.

 

“Umm, did any of you notice a short girl wearing short shorts who was standing while we were talking?”

 

All of the girls shook their head in unison for they couldn’t remember anybody who was with Yuri. The raven haired girl was starting to get panicky. She was praying to god this wasn’t happening again. She was beginning to assume the worst case scenario. She just hoped she could find Taeyeon before a certain mushroom tried to molest her or something.

 

“Sorry girls, I gotta go find my friend. Text me later!”

 

Yuri didn’t even wait for a response. She turned tail and zipped passed them, not sure where she was even going. She sprinted into every story, café, and restaurant she could see and hoped she might spot Taeyeon somewhere. She didn’t care about the looks she was getting from all the patrons she passed by. She was determined to make sure Taeyeon and Tiffany didn’t have any funny business going on again. Not as long as she was there to stop it.

 

Yuri was getting tired and out of breath. She probably looked through fifteen restaurants and stores with no luck. She jogged into one of the cafes she looked through before and ordered water while trying to catch her breath. Yuri downed her water with three gulps, her energy slowly coming back to her. Ready to go, she was about to start searching again when something caught her eye. In the café there were people sitting in groups talking and laughing with one another, but in the very corner of the café there sat a girl by herself with her back facing her and it looked like she was on her cell phone while sipping on an iced coffee.

 

Even though the girl didn’t exude much of a presence, Yuri definitely knew she found her target. She briskly walked to the corner of the café and was only inches away from who she thought was her best friend.

 

“Taeyeon?”

 

The lonely girl turned around with a look of shock.

 

“Yuri?!” Taeyeon looked at her with one eyebrow arched. She immediately put her phone away. “Did you have a good talk with your friends?”

 

Yuri sighed heavily. She immediately plopped herself into the seat right across from Taeyeon and just stared at her. Taeyeon just looked back at her with confusion, not sure what was going on.

 

“Do you have any idea how worried I was?!  Why the hell did you leave me? For sure I thought Jessica or Hwang kidnapped you or something! I was literally sprinting all around trying to find you!”

 

Yuri had to carefully word her displeasure without cussing. Taeyeon on the other hand just shrugged her shoulder.

 

“I’m not some kind of damsel in distress. I’m not always getting taken away by Jessica or Tiffany,” Taeyeon said dully.

 

Yuri’s eye twitched when she heard her friend utter that bully’s name out loud.

 

“Well excuse me for being worried about you. I was really scared when I found out you weren’t next to me. I really thought something bad happened to you.”

 

Yuri was getting a little ticked off at Taeyeon. It’s like Taeyeon didn’t even care how worried she was.

 

“Is that so? Well I bet it took you a while till you actually noticed I was gone. You seemed really happy with those girls,” Taeyeon’s voice got quiet around the end of her sentence.

 

It didn’t take long for Yuri to put the pieces together. Taeyeon looked to the ground and was puffing her cheeks, unknowingly showing her displeasure. Yuri thought she looked really adorable the way she sulked. She might have finally understood the situation.

 

“I think I get what’s going on here,” Yuri announced with less stress in her tone. “I may have been really happy to see some peers from school. It might’ve looked like I was ignoring you, but that’s not true. I was about to introduce them to you, but I kinda got lost in the moment.”

 

Taeyeon tried to hide her feelings of annoyance, but her eyes were telling it all.

 

“Taeyeon, just because I’m friendly with other people doesn’t mean I care about you any less. For all that it matters, you really are my best friend.”

 

Yuri reached out and grabbed Taeyeon’s small hands on the table. She tried to cheer Taeyeon up with a smile, but Taeyeon pulled away while shaking her head.

 

“That’s not it Yul. I know we’re friends and all but…” Taeyeon blushed while averting her eyes away from her best friend. “I don’t know. This might sound weird but I just got scared. The way you were laughing and giggling with those girls, for some reason I felt like I’d just get in the way and I didn’t want to ruin your moment with my joy killing mood.”

 

“You wouldn’t ruin the moment Taeng. You’re awesome and people should know that. I admit I might not be showing my true self when I talk to people at school, but I try to. There are some interesting people out there Taeng and one day you might get to meet them. I want to help you so that at least people can start getting to know the real Kim Taeyeon and not just the Taeyeon they heard from rumors.”

 

Silence surrounded the two despite the café being very lively. Taeyeon was the first to stand up walked to the exit, not even bothering to turn around. Yuri immediately jumped from her seat and chased her to the door.

 

“Taeyeon!”

 

Taeyeon looked back and smiled with her little dimple showing at the corner of her cheek.

 

“We were gonna go out and have fun, right? We don’t need any dreary speeches to ruin the moment,” Taeyeon playfully nudged Yuri’s shoulder with her head. “Let’s just drop it for now and go. I could really go for some excitement right now.”

 

Yuri almost forgot about taking Taeyeon on a date and internally hit her own forehead.

 

“Yeah. Let’s go.” Yuri smiled with a somewhat enthusiastic voice.

 

Taeyeon felt Yuri’s arm sling around her shoulders. She was happy Yuri dropped the whole thing. She really didn’t want to go into detail why she really left Yuri.

 

***

 

“Yuri how much longer do I have to walk like this?” Taeyeon wondered as she had a blindfold tied around her eyes. She tried to sneak a peek by looking below the blindfold, but could barely make out any light.

 

“Just a few more steps. Don’t worry. You’re gonna be all like ‘WAH!’ when I show you where I’m taking you.”

 

Taeyeon could hear a lot of people around her; they all sounded excited and were filled with laughter. Was Yuri taking her to a concert? If she was she hoped it was to see the nation’s girl group. Sonya something or other. She didn’t know them in great detail, but she really liked the one member who had the cute eye smile.

 

“Okay Taeng! Here you go!”

 

Yuri pulled away the blindfold and when Taeyeon could finally see, her heart dropped when she saw where they were. In front of her she saw a wide array of rides and attractions with bright lights and whirling colors. Vendors of food and souvenirs lined the pathway where many happy visitors browsed through. People navigating with a map in order to find their next destination of excitement. They were at an amusement park. A place that normally would bring joy to anybody who seek wonder and excitement. For Taeyeon, all it brought her was bad memories and an upset stomach.

 

Yuri was looking at Taeyeon and was concerned when Taeyeon looked like she was staring at something gruesome. Taeyeon was shaking just by looking at the rides and the mascots handing balloons to kids.

 

“Taeyeon are you okay?” Yuri tried to console her.

 

Taeyeon stepped back while shaking her head.

 

“No. I’m sorry Yuri, but I can’t do this. I- I- I can’t do theme parks. I just can’t.”

 

Taeyeon clutched her stomach as she hobbled towards a nearby bench. Last thing she wanted to do was to throw up when her friend was trying to do something nice for her. Yuri followed her to the bench and tried to massage her shoulders so she could relax.

 

“I’m sorry, Taeng. I should’ve asked you instead of surprising you. I feel like .”

 

Taeyeon shook her head.

 

“No no. It’s not your fault. You wouldn’t have known unless I told you myself,” Taeyeon showed a reassuring smile.

 

“Is it the rides? It’s okay to be afraid of roller coasters or heights.”

 

“Actually it’s not that. I really do like roller coasters and other rides.”

 

Taeyeon’s gaze shifted to a group of young middle school girls taking a group selfie in front of the entrance to the amusement park. A twinge of jealously was stirring up inside her.

 

“Here’s a question for you, Yuri. What’s the purpose of an amusement park?” Taeyeon looked at Yuri with a serious look she rarely ever showed.

 

Yuri thought about it for a second. It seemed really obvious.

 

“To have fun, right? To go with friends and family and enjoy rides, attractions and all that junk.”

 

Taeyeon could see the imaginary light bulb above Yuri’s head that’s trying its best to turn on. She thought best to spare her the time to interpret.

 

“It was during my elementary years. Back in Jeolla, me and my class would go to an amusement park as a field trip almost every year. Nothing too specific, but I just remember trying my best to make friends during that time. I’d ask different groups if I could join them and they all gave me the same answers. ‘No’, ‘get away from us’, ‘cavewoman’, ‘witch’, and other stupid names kids use.”

 

Taeyeon chuckled as she remembered a girl calling her a tomboy because she chose to play with tops and cars rather than dolls in elementary school.

 

“So every time you went to an amusement park, you were alone. Oh my god Taeng, that’s so sad. Did the teachers even do anything?”

 

“They did. Some tried to pair me up with another group and when the teacher left us, the group would just leave me. Other times the teacher would try to put me in their teacher group, but then I would lie and say I already had friends to go with and I’d spend the whole day in the corner of the park sitting on a bench or under a tree until it was time to go home.”

 

Yuri’s lower lip was quivering throughout Taeyeon’s explanation. Her watery eyes seemed a bit over dramatic to Taeyeon, but thought that maybe Yuri really was feeling sorry for her.

 

“That’s just too depressing Taeng. No kid deserves to be outcasted like that. Especially at a theme park. Why the heck did kids treat you like that? What did you ever do to them?”

 

Taeyeon chuckled half heartedly.

 

“Umm… let’s just say my classmates heard one too many stories about me and I was just branded a freak or whatever they called me. But don’t worry. I’m over it.”

 

Taeyeon tried to reassure her friend with a big smile, but Yuri wasn’t that stupid to fall for it. The taller girl shook her head in disapproval.

 

“No Taeng. If you really were over it, you’d be able to go into the park with me without thinking about your past. Isn’t that right?”

 

Taeyeon’s left eye twitched a bit since Yuri really hit the nail on the head. Just looking at the entrance to the park made her remember her classmates posing for a picture. Taeyeon still remembered she always stood behind the photographer since she knew her classmates wouldn’t want her to ruin the picture. She didn’t want to admit it, but she knew what it was really all about. She just didn’t want to remember the feeling of loneliness. Last thing she wanted was to hide at the edge of the park on a bench and stare at kids riding the carousel.

 

Taeyeon was lost in her train of thought when eventually she noticed something didn’t feel right. Yuri was nowhere to be seen. She could’ve sworn she was just sitting right next to her.

 

“Yuri?” Taeyeon called out amid the large crowd of people passing her by.

 

She was starting to get worried because by now Taeyeon knew bad things happened when she got separated from Yuri. Before panic was about to set in, Taeyeon saw her best friend staring at the sky happily while trying to walk towards her casually. Yuri looked like she was trying to act all innocent  as she approached Taeyeon.

 

“Yuri what are you doing?”

 

Yuri continued to look at the clouds passing for a few more seconds. She glanced down slowly and jumped back a bit when she noticed Taeyeon. Her acting was so bad and Taeyeon was confused as to why Yuri was acting like a crazy person.

 

“Oh my gosh! Aren’t you Kim Taeyeon? Don’t we go to the same elementary school?” Yuri squeaked in a comical little kid voice.

 

“Umm, why are you talking like that?”

 

“What are you talking about? I’m an elementary student. Just like you! We’re all on a field trip, remember?” Yuri shook Taeyeon’s arms enthusiastically with her eyes getting wide with excitement.

 

It was at times like these Taeyeon really thought Yuri was a sweetheart. She now saw what Yuri was trying to do and decided to play along.

 

“Yeah, you’re right. We are on a field trip,” Taeyeon squeaked while also trying to sound like an elementary school child.

 

Taeyeon tried to act like a little kid, but to Yuri it looked like Taeyeon was just being her usual self.

 

“I know some of those other kids can be a real poop to you, but I know you’re a cool girl Taeyeon! Come on! I want you to be in my group!”

 

Yuri pulled up Taeyeon up from the bench and held her right hand with both hands.

 

“What do you say? We’ll have the best time ever!”

 

Taeyeon had to break character and stifle a chuckle since Yuri was being a cute dork right now. Amidst her laughter, Taeyeon nodded twice and that was enough for Yuri to shriek with glee and jump up and down while encouraging Taeyeon to do the same.

 

“Alright! Let’s go get our tickets Taeng!" Yuri happily squeezed Taeyeon's hand as they approached a long line. "And don’t you worry about your money. Since I asked you out today, I’ll be covering all of our expenses.”

 

Just when Taeyeon was checking how much cash she brought, she almost dropped all her money when she heard what Yuri said. Was she serious?

 

“Yuri that’s a bit much. The tickers are like ₩48,000 each and I’m sure you’d want to buy snacks and stuff too,” Taeyeon looked worried.

 

“Now don’t you worry your cute little head Taeng. I saved up a lot of money over time and my parents give me a huge allowance every month, so no problem,” Yuri grinned.

 

Again with that cute little head thing. This was asking way too much of Yuri. She couldn’t possibly let Yuri spend that much money on her.

 

“But Yuri, this is too much. I really think that-”

 

“Okay I got’em!” Yuri interrupted while holding up two tickets in front of her.

 

What?! When the heck was she able to get the tickets?!

 

Taeyeon inspected her surroundings and just now noticed they were in front of the ticket booth. She had to massage her eyes since she couldn’t believe she couldn't stop Yuri from buying the tickets sooner. She took one of the tickets from Yuri and stared at the piece of paper with the cartoon animals grinning right at her.

 

“Yuri I really appreciate this, but I’m going to pay you back for this ticket later,” Taeyeon tried to sound serious but Yuri just waved her away.

 

“Yeah yeah, don’t worry about it. Take your time. Now come on! I have so much planned for our date today!”

 

Yuri grabbed Taeyeon hand again and was practically skipping with Taeyeon in the back trying to keep up.

 

“Yuri! This isn't a date! We’re just friends hanging out as friends!”

 

“Sorry Taeng, I can’t hear you! The crowd around us is really loud!” Yuri smiled while taking Taeyeon to the entrance.

 

Taeyeon sighed because she knew Yuri could hear her just fine. She really needed to find a time to tell Yuri she’s just not into her. But right now would be the worst possible timing. Taeyeon needed to figure out ways to hint her best friend that she just wanted to stay her best friend.

 

 

***

 

 

From afar a girl wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses was staring at Taeyeon and Yuri who were running to the front of the amusement park. She was able to read both of the girl’s lips and decipher their entire conversation.

 

“I can’t ing believe Kwon! Kim kept ing telling her she didn’t like amusement parks but what does that dark do? She goes and buys the stupid ing tickets and drags the stupid girl like she didn’t have a ing choice! !”

 

Tiffany Hwang was fuming behind a tree while spying on the two girls who were supposedly on a date.

 

“Like seriously Jessi. How inconsiderate can Kwon be?”

 

Jessica was sitting on a bench nearby, barely listening to her friend rant while reading tumblr posts on her phone.

 

“Tiff you were the one who kicked Ms. Kwon Yuri’s while at the same time decimating Kim’s apartment to the point it was a crater. By the way you still owe me for the reconstruction and purchases,” Jessica announced while not even looking away from her phone.

 

“Jessi you know I’ll pay you back later.”

 

Tiffany continued to stare at Taeyeon who looked to be trying her best to keep up with Yuri. She thought Yuri was being so inconsiderate and was really close to breaking her cover and stomping Yuri’s head flat for not even caring about Taeyeon.

 

“Tiff, why are we even here? I thought you said you were done with Kim?” Jessica asked even though she knew Tiffany’s real intent of being here.

 

“I just…. Well you know. I told you I still like you and I still hate Kim. I also hate Kwon so I just want to mess with her a bit. As for Taetae… ” Tiffany trailed off, her thoughts getting lost jumbled within her head.

 

“Tiff we been through this. I’m only like a sister to you and Kim is actually the girl your mother-”

 

“No Jessi! Don’t even! I…I need more time to figure this out, okay? Like I told you about the time I talked to Kim. I was probably drunk or something, but I don’t know what got over me. Saying that sappy to Kim. What was I thinking?”

 

Jessica knew deep down her friend was in denial, though it was actually comical how Tiffany couldn’t even admit she found Taeyeon attractive. Jessica too thought Taeyeon was attractive, but thought it’d be best to tell that to Tiffany another time.

 

“You know you still didn’t tell me what you talked about with Kim in that café today,” Jessica looked away from her phone and stared daggers at Tiffany.

 

Tiffany immediately started sweating bullets. Jessica had that same look during the time she got into a brawl with her. She still remembered feeling pain for the first time in a while. They eventually made up, but Tiffany needed to be careful not to make Jessica super pissed again.

 

 “It’s a long story Jessi. I’ll tell you another time.”

 

Tiffany tried to change the subject by looking back at Taeyeon but Jessica wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

 

“Tiffany. I asked you a question and I want to know. Just remember I don’t need to be here for your ridiculous scheme.”

 

That was stinger since Tiffany really needed Jessica for support right now. Tiffany plopped down next to Jessica on the bench and looked directly at her.

 

“Okay, so you remember how Kwon was talking to her conceited friends and just left Kim standing all alone this morning?”

 

Jessica went back to looking on her phone, but nodded to show that she was still listening.

 

“Well, I took that opportunity to tell Kim how I felt about her.”