*A FEW MINUTES AGO*

 

Yuri was jumping up and down like a lunatic when she saw a group of girls that were in Taeyeon’s classes. It was weird to see it up close. Taeyeon knew Yuri was kind of popular, but she always thought Yuri was more reserved in public. She always thought Yuri only showed her spastic side when they were alone.

 

It was a silly thing to think about as Taeyeon watched from. She was standing beside a lamppost as she felt envy towards at the energetic group. Taeyeon wanted to believe it was nothing. It was just a bunch of girls talking about nonsense. To think Yuri was so close to them. It started to make Taeyeon to feel a bit uncomfortable.

 

Taeyeon just stood there and tried to blend in with the scenery, but suddenly her phone vibrated erratically in her pocket. It was odd for her to receive a text since usually the texts are either from Yuri or her mom. There were only ‘xxxx-xxxx” as the sender’s phone number and no name. By now Taeyeon could probably guess who was sending this mysterious text.

 

hey. you prolly know who dis is by now. u aint busy, rite? meet me at this café in a few min. i wanna see u. leave the dark wit her howling monkey friends. she wont miss u. address is below.

 

Taeyeon looked at the address and knew where it was. It wasn’t too far from her. Originally Taeyeon wanted to do her best to forget Tiffany and just make it a day with her and Yuri. But since Yuri decided leave her with a lamp post, Taeyeon thought she might as well do the same.

 

She took a few steps back to see if Yuri would notice. It looked like Yuri forgot Taeyeon existed with the smile she was showing. The gloomy girl turned around and dragged her feet towards the café with a load of questions in her head.

 

As Taeyeon trudged her way towards the café, she now just noticed the heaviness in her chest and the shortness of breath. Her head felt so cloudy. She didn’t know what to feel right now. Yuri ditching her for some other girls and Tiffany now wanting to see her. Felt like Taeyeon was being dragged around by these girls left and right and she didn’t have much of a say in anything. She decided to be straightforward when she saw Tiffany and hoped they could have a mature conversation about this.

 

After a few minutes, Taeyeon finally found the plain looking café. When she walked inside she could’ve sworn the French inspired cafe she noticed not a single person was inside. There were mugs and half eaten pastries lying on some of the small circular tables. Looking around more, she caught a glimpse of a brunette wearing a trendy looking halter top that showed off her slender and smooth arms. Her legs were crossed while fit snugly in a pair of ripped jean shorts. The mushroom was sipping on a glass bottle of cola while staring at Taeyeon with a poker face.

 

Taeyeon froze from instinct as her gaze met Tiffany’s. No matter how many times she looks into the mushroom’s eyes, it feels like she’s staring directly at a lion. She stood her ground towards Tiffany, bending her knees slightly just I case she had to make a run for it. Right now she didn’t know if this was the hypocritical homophobic Hwang or the cute Tiffany who embraced her that night. She needed to be smart to approach this weird girl.

 

She took a deep breath and took a shaky step forward which turned steady pace as she slowly approached the chair across form Tiffany. She maintained eye contact with Tiffany, not wanting to drop her guard. She stopped right behind a chair and Tiffany placed her soda on the table before breaking the silence.

 

“Hello Kim.”

 

It felt like something hit her chest. The hollowness in her chest felt even emptier. She never knew hearing her family name like that could cause her pain.

 

“Tiffany. How have you been? I haven’t seen you at school.”

 

She knew she had to stay cool and calm. Taeyeon was determined to get some answers.

 

“Tiffany? My my Kim, don’t you have some balls. Where the do you get off calling me by that name?” Tiffany raised her voice, putting most of her emphasis on her last word.

 

Usually by now Taeyeon would flinch at Tiffany’s loud voice and back away. This time though Taeyeon showed no fear as she kept direct eye contact to the bully. Instead of replying, Taeyeon pulled up a chair in front of Tiffany and leaned in a bit as if to show she wasn’t afraid anymore. Tiffany smirked at the short girl’s tough act. She decided to ignore it for now and took a swig of her bottled beverage before slamming the bottle down in disgust.

 

“Blech. I hate the soda they have here.”

 

Taeyeon really wasn’t in the mood for games and just sat there, waiting for what Tiffany had to say. It’s been way too long since she saw Tiffany and she deserved an explanation about that night.

 

“Okay Kim. I’m just gonna be straight with you. That night was just a ing mistake. Mostly on you. I was wasted out of my ing mind and wasn’t thinking clearly. Even while wasted, you looked cute and I was probably acting sappy cuz I was watching a drama or some . So anyways, yeah. That’s it. I’m done.”

 

Tiffany got up from her chair and tried to fast walk out there. She didn’t even bother turning around to see Taeyeon with agape. Tiffany was already halfway towards the exit when Taeyeon jumped up from her seat, her chair falling to its side. Taeyeon’s limbs were shaking with anger and her legs moved on their own towards the stupid girl in order to grab Tiffany’s wrist with both hands.

 

“Hold it! We’re not done yet!" Taeyeon announced to the empty cafe.

 

Tiffany thought it was comical to see Taeyeon trying to pull her back with all her might. It was like seeing a child trying to pull away a car. Tiffany chuckled and casually shook her wrist with a flick, sending Taeyeon back flying a couple of feet into the air and onto the ground. Scrambling to get up, Taeyeon could just see Tiffany taking long strides towards the door. She had to act quickly and stop the so called bully. She needed answers about her feelings and she needed them now.

 

“So are you just going to admit that all those nice things you said to me were lies? So all that you said and you giving me that flower was just a joke? Huh? Cuz if you ask me, if you were really drunk you wouldn’t have given me a unique flower that night. Explain that!” Taeyeon yelled at the top of her lungs.

 

The short girl managed to get on her feet only to see Tiffany’s back facing towards her. Tiffany’s hand was already on the door handle, but the stinging truth in Taeyeon’s words held her back from exiting.

 

“What do you want me to say? Huh?” Tiffany said softly to the front door. “Do you expect me to just tell you that I’m in love with you and we can all go along our merry way? Or did you expect me to have some clever answer that would justify why my personality made a one-eighty that night?” Tiffany turned around with her eyes becoming a bit red from the tears she was forcing back. “What the do you want from me Taeyeon?!”

 

Out of all the outcomes, Taeyeon definitely wasn’t expecting this one. It was hard to comprehend but it felt like Tiffany was shrinking before her eyes, metaphorically speaking. The mean and short tempered girl she learned to always hate wasn’t in front of her. Instead a cute almost crying little girl stood before Taeyeon and said girl was having a hard time making eye contact with her. Wanting to be the mature one here, Taeyeon pulled up a chair and motioned to the chair across from her.

 

“Sit.” Taeyeon gestured with a flat voice.

 

Normally Tiffany would never take orders, especially from a weak girl like Taeyeon. But in this case the quiet mushroom obeyed her and sat down without question, looking into Taeyeon’s eyes for a few seconds before looking away and stared at the table. Taeyeon cleared before making her statement.

 

“So let’s just get the facts straight. That night we both felt something, right?” Taeyeon motioned her hand to Tiffany. The mushroom took a deep breath in order to calm herself down. Her eyes looked to have dried out a bit. With most of her composure back, Tiffany just nodded in agreement.

 

“I’ll admit, that night was something else and at first I was at a loss. The last person I wanted to see coming into my home and saying all those sweet nothings. It’s something you’d find in a romance movie,” Taeyeon reminisced with a smile of disbelief. “It’s funny thinking about it now, but after you were dragged away I started to realize the impact you’ve had on me. It’s hard to describe but I don’t think its love.”

 

Taeyeon glanced to see if Tiffany would show any reaction, but her face showed little to none as if it was a stone statue. Taeyeon continued.

 

“I mean after the time in the library I thought I felt infatuated above having absolute loathing for you. But…. it’s confusing. I hate you, yet I can’t stop thinking about you. And whenever I try to make sense of it I always get a headache. Do you know what I mean?”

 

Taeyeon felt relieved to empty out her feelings for the first time to Tiffany without the bully trying to kill her and/or make out with her. She was waiting for Tiffany to respond, but the grumpy frown she was wearing on her face was saying otherwise. It felt like a minute before Taeyeon finally gave up and broke the silence.

 

“You know I’m trying to be mature about this. The least you could do is agree or disagree with me,” Taeyeon sighed when Tiffany continued to stare at her. It felt like this was going nowhere and maybe this was just being a waste of time. When Taeyeon was beginning to lose her patience, she could have sworn she heard Tiffany mumble something from the corner of .

 

“I’m sorry, did you say something?” Taeyeon leaned in closer in order to hear her properly.

 

“...I...her”

 

“You’re gonna have to be a bit louder than that.”

 

Tiffany looked up and Taeyeon could almost see hurt in her eyes. It was like looking at a wounded puppy. But in an instant Tiffany’s eyes changed again and now she looked like mauling wolf.

 

“I said… I ing hate her!” Tiffany’s fist was rocketing down onto the table, but it looked like she was holding herself back and slowed down enough to make a clunk sound. She released a long breath towards the ceiling. Taeyeon looked to where Tiffany’s fist connected and could have sworn that dent wasn’t there before. She then looked back at Tiffany in confusion.

 

“Who? Are you talking about Yuri?”

 

“Who the else would I be talking about?!”

 

Tiffany was about to say more on the subject, but closed as if she wanted to drop her original though. Tiffany slapped her palm on the table and Taeyeon definitely knew Tiffany created the original dent.

 

“Like… you’re a real piece of work, Kim. I don’t know what to make of you. Deep down I want to punch your face into the wall. Like really drive my fist right into your soft temple.”

 

Tiffany made a fist with her right hand, raising it right up to her face. Tiffany’s eyes narrowed as she continued.

 

“But at the same time,” Tiffany’s fist unfurled and she was reaching out to Taeyeon’s face. She dropped her hand to the table. She stared at her motionless hand and then to Taeyeon’s confused face. “I can’t. To imagine you lying on the ground lifeless. I don’t want to see you hurt. Not being able to see you with that retarded dimple smile of yours. To not see your eyes light up like an idiot when somebody mentions food. To not be able to touch you again….”

 

Taeyeon was taken aback from Tiffany’s last statement and Tiffany was also aware of it. In a way Taeyeon thought that was kind of sweet, in a weird sadistic sort of way. Tiffany had to turn her head away as she tried to hide the shade of red that was creeping up on her face. Taeyeon could only stare with her eyes getting wider. The mood Taeyeon was feeling felt very similar to the mood she felt back when Tiffany and her shared a loving embrace back in her apartment. This was a perfect time to test the waters to see if Tiffany really was a softy at heart.

 

Taeyeon leaned forward. She looked up at Tiffany through her long eyelashes and tried to stir it up with wide doe eyes and her lips pursing to a pout.

 

“Do you really mean it?”

 

It seemed silly, but was her stupid attempt in aegyo going to work on Tiffany? Taeyeon decided to put the icing on the cake and go for a word that was only intimate between themselves her.

 

“Tiffany?”

 

It looked like Tiffany was stabbed in the heart. She wobbled in her chair, almost falling over from the overload of cuteness she was getting. Tiffany tried to look back at Taeyeon but her face was just too precious. Taeyeon went in for the kill and let out a melodic giggle that showed off a cute dimple on her chin. Taeyeon’s smile slowly turned into a frown of concern as she noticed Tiffany seemed to be frozen solid.

 

Taeyeon didn’t think that would actually work. She felt like an awkward loser when she tried to act cute, but it looked like her plan worked and she may have broken Tiffany. She got up from her seat and was shaking her shoulder.

 

“Hey Tiffany, are you okay? Hwang?”

 

Taeyeon continued to shake. Tiffany lost her balance and slipped out of her chair and fell to the floor with a loud thud echoing throughout the cafe.

 

“Tiffany!” Taeyeon shrieked.

 

The young girl knelt down to pick Tiffany up, but she could barely make her budge. Taeyeon was trying to pick up the girl, but then Tiffany quickly regained her consciousness and was aware of how close Taeyeon was. Tiffany’s face was now beet red and she was staring at Taeyeon’s face that was only a few inches away from hers. It only took a second for the mushroom to shoot up straight into the air and she was right up on her feet, somehow being 5 feet away from Taeyeon.

 

“Don’t do that again,” Tiffany pointed a shaky finger, her face still bright red.

 

The romantic atmosphere was completely shattered and Taeyeon took the hint as she glumly stood up and made her way back to her seat. She slowly sat down and watched as Tiffany cautiously sat down as well, breathing very slowly. Tiffany looked like she regained her composure and some of the blush from her cheeks was fading away.

 

“As I was saying. Your so called friend. I hate her. And I hate her even more when I see her next to you.” Tiffany said dryly. “Just seeing that es face pisses me off.”

 

Those words found a way to sting Taeyeon. Hearing this girl talk smack about her friend made her get defensive.

 

“That you’re talking about just so happens to be my best friend. She actually stuck with me after all the you’ve put me in.”

 

Taeyeon could feel rage building up as Tiffany continued.

 

“Is that right? Where was that friend of yours when you were knocked out cold, as well as the time you were locked you in the locker. Tell me Kim where was that dark at.” Tiffany scowled.

 

“She was there when it mattered the most. It's more than I can say for Jessica or you.”

 

“Mind your own ing business. Jessie has nothing to do with this.”

 

“Yeah. I shouldn’t bring Jessica into this. Not like Jessica stuffed me in a locker or knocked me out cold.”

 

Tiffany had nothing to say about that. Everything Taeyeon said was true, and Taeyeon knew she couldn’t make an excuse for that.

 

“Yuri is my friend and I don’t have to give two s about what you think about her or me.”

 

Taeyeon stood up with anger. She was so done with Tiffany wasting her time. She stomped towards the door, but felt a gentle tug on her shirt.

 

“Wait…” a meek voice whispered.

 

“What?” Taeyeon turned around with venom in her words, but relaxed her tone when she saw Tiffany looking really down trodden with big puppy dog eyes.

 

“Please don’t go.”

 

Taeyeon saw that part of her shirt was being held by Tiffany’s thumb and index finger with the most gentle of touches.

 

“Don’t go.”

 

***

 

Tiffany was now sitting on the bench next to Jessica. The memory of her being vulnerable struck a chord with her. Jessica looked at Tiffany wondered how her friend could be this stupid. It was as if Tiffany was a generic maiden in love.

 

“So that’s it?” Jessica raised an eyebrow? “You get all whipped and leave? Also, did you really have to tell me about her eyelashes and her dimple? Bit much don’t you think?”

 

Tiffany scratched that back of her neck, not knowing how to continue. It was weird to see Jessica’s eyes staring directly at her own.

 

As they keep looking at each other they both heard a distinct scream in the distance. A very familiar scream. Tiffany jumped up immediately. In her mind she thought something might have happened to Taeyeon and she was ready to jump over the fence to get to her. Jessica looked around and with her 20/10 vision she spots Taeyeon riding the rollercoaster with Yuri. Taeyeon in particular was holding onto Yuri with both of her arms tightly.

 

“She’s on the rollercoaster with Ms. Yuri over there. She’s having fun with her, it looks like,” Jessica announced, not really showing much interest.

 

Tiffany squinted her eyes towards the rollercoaster and she too spotted Taeyeon all smiles on the ride. She clenched her fist first, her knuckles cracking from the great amount of pressure. Jessica fought back a smile. Tiffany’s actions were so cute, but thought it would be fun to see how things would turn out next.

 

“So back to the cafe,” Jessica’s voice broke Tiffany out of her train of thought. Tiffany turned to her friend who was looking quite amused. Tiffany cleared and sat back down on the bench, trying not to think about Yuri smelling Taeyeon’s hair on the ride.

 

“So as I was saying. I didn’t want her to leave and well…. I don’t know Jessie it sounds pathetic, but I didn’t want her to leave my side. Even now my chest feels so hollow knowing she’s not next to me.” Tiffany placed a hand on her chest, the hollow feeling not going away.

 

“But don’t you hate Kim? Aren’t you the one who said you didn’t care if she died or not?” Jessica questioned, a grin all apparent on her face.

 

“I told you Jessie. I just don’t know what it is with that girl. I swear you’re the most important girl in my life and I absolutely despise Kim.”

 

Tiffany hunched over, breathing slowing with deep breaths.

 

“But at the same time, my heart keeps telling me to stay close with her. Make sure she’s safe and happy.”

 

Jessica didn’t show any emotion. She continued to stare at her friend, waiting for the rest of the story to continue. Tiffany looked up and took the hint.

 

 

안녕! (annyeong)! So by now I’m sure my readers want a good explanation to why it took the author another TWO MONTHS to update. Well… due to unforeseen circumstances in my life it took me longer to get things completed and edited.

 

Good news is I will try to work hard every day and will try my best to upload every few weeks.

 

To everyone who helped me get the person who stole my story on wattpad, I thank you for your support. For all my readers who still haven’t gotten bored of me yet, I humbly thank you for your patience and promise to continue this story till the end. *Yes there is an end. This isn’t one of those stories that’ll go over 200 chapters*

 

Also I have some sad news. Despite Charito's hard word writing and editing parts of the chapter, I decided to go back to the old ways and write/edit the story by myself again. This way the story would keep its original voice/flow. I want to thank her for all her work and ask her that I meant no ill will. I didn't think the story would change so much if I ever got a co-author, but it looks like I was wrong. Please don't think bad of me or Charito for I was really gratful for all the help she gave me, despite her own hectic life. Again I apologize to Charito and the readers, but I feel like this is for the best so that the story will retain its orgianl flow.

 

Wow, this was a long note. As always, comments and constructive criticism is always appreciated. Also if you really like the story, an upvote would be nice too. Look forward to the next chapter!