“You seem to be hanging out with Seohyun a lot lately... do you… like her?”

“I just see her as a friend, Yul.”

“Taeng, you know that girl likes you.”

Taeyeon stopped stuffing his things in his duffel bag and looked at Yuri who’s looking back at him with disappointed and worried eyes. They were left alone in the dance studio as Sooyoung left earlier because he has a date with Sunny and Yuri takes it as his chance to talk to Taeyeon about his cousin.

“Let’s go for a drink?” Taeyeon asked and Yuri smiled as he nodded in agreement.

Instead of going in a club, Taeyeon and Yuri chose a huge tent that serves soju and beers, just a few blocks away from the dance studio. They were both silent at first but after a few shots of soju, they both started their serious talk as they continue to drink.

“Am I wrong, Yul?”

“For what?”

“For… leaving her…”

“Well… yeah.”

Yuri and Taeyeon chuckled and they both filled each other’s shot glass with soju. It has been over a month after Tiffany and Taeyeon’s break up but their friends chose not to meddle with their problem. However, Yuri is already getting worried for his cousin and also for Taeyeon since he decided to go back to New York once the school semester ends.

“Taeng, do you still love my cousin?” Yuri asked. Though he already knows his answer, he chose to ask him the question, hoping that their conversation could knock some sense into him.

“I do. I love her, Yul… and it hurts me to leave her…” Taeyeon soflty said with a sad smile on his face.

“Then go back to her before it’s too late and stop complicating things. Taeng, you should’ve known better and stayed with her… or atleast… do something to prove to her that you really love her and only her… not like this.” Yuri said with a glimpse of disappointment in his voice.

Taeyeon stared at him for a few moments before he looked away and chuckled bitterly. He knows Yuri is right and after leaving Tiffany alone when the girl needed him most, he couldn’t help not to feel like a jerk to the girl that he promised he’ll always be there for – to wipe her tears, to protect her, to take care of her, and to make her happy.

Silence engulfed them again and Taeyeon continued to drink. Yuri just allowed and watched him as he gets drunk as he no longer knows what to say. Besides, he knows that only Taeyeon and Tiffany could fix their problem.

“I’m sorry…” Taeyeon mumbled and tears escaped from his eyes. He quickly wiped it away and bitterly chuckled as he gulped another shot of soju. Yuri just sighed and motioned the older woman to bring them something that could help Taeyeon to sober up.

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“Tiff!!!”

“Yah!!! Tiffany!!!”

Tiffany groaned and cursed the person who barged into her apartment in the middle of the night. Without closing her laptop, she went out of the mediaroom with an obvious annoyed look on her face and trudged towards the living room.

“Yah! What the hell are you doing here, Yul?! Don’t you know wha---” she yelled but abruptly stopped upon seeing a familiar figure sleeping on Yuri’s back.

“I don’t know where Victoria’s place is and she’s not answering her phone so I thought I’ll just bring him here.” Yuri explained and headed towards Taeyeon’s old room in the penthouse, but he was stopped by Tiffany.

“Why did you bring him here? You should’ve just brought him in your place.” She said with a cold tone of voice, causing her cousin to an eyebrow at her.

“Stop being stubborn, Tiff. He’s drunk, I’m tired of carrying him on my back, and we’re already here.” he scoffed and without waiting for his cousin’s answer, he continued walking towards Taeyeon’s room.

Yuri released a tired sigh as soon as he had put Taeyeon on the bed. He stretched his upper body and glanced at his sleeping drunk friend before he walked out of the room. He wandered around his old apartment to look for his stubborn cousin and frowned when he found her back in the media room, typing something on her laptop.

“Yah! Can you stop that and take care of Taeng instead?!” he yelled at her but Tiffany just rolled her eyes at him.

“You brought him here so you take care of him.” she casually said without even looking at her cousin.

“I’m not his girlfriend.” He retorted. Tiffany stopped typing and bit her lower lip before she stared at him with cold expression on her face as she answered him.

“I’m not either.”

Yuri stared at her in disbelief. He ruffled his hair in frustration and marched towards the girl as he’s already getting annoyed with her behaviour.

“Don’t act like you don’t care, Tiff. Because you do.” He closed Tiffany’s laptop and looked straight into her eyes, causing her to flinch a little. She looked away and Yuri smirked at her reaction as he decided to push the girl to get her guards down and just follow her heart.

“Tiff, if you really love him – and don’t lie to me and say you don’t because if you no longer love him, you wouldn’t still be wearing that bracelet… don’t give up just like that.” He continued and sighed in content when Tiffany hangs her head low. He mentally patted his back for acting like a love expert and hoped the two will finally talk to each other and get back together.

“I’m going now.  Don’t forget to put an ice pack on him ‘coz I accidentally bumped his head on the car door earlier.” Yuri chuckled and patted Tiffany’s head as he headed out of the media room and went home.

Once left alone, Tiffany closed her eyes and leaned her back on the couch as she calmed herself. She would lie if she says she doesn’t care about him anymore or she already stopped loving him but she’s hurt as Taeyeon left her crying that night when she tried to fix their relationship. She knows she had done something wrong and hurt him too but she didn’t expect him to leave her just like that as he used to always understand her and do anything to make things work for them.

She was lost in her own thoughts but she was snapped back to her senses when she heard a loud thud from outside the media room. She hurriedly went out of the media room and found Taeyeon trying to balance himself while leaning on the wall.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” She hissed and helped him to stand up properly. She put his arm around her shoulders and wrapped her arm around Taeyeon’s waist as she guided him back to his room. However, Taeyeon stood frozen as he stared at Tiffany like he was trying to recognize her.

“P-princess?...” he asked. Tiffany froze and her heart skipped a beat upon hearing the familiar name of endearment from her ex-boyfriend. And before she could answer him, Taeyeon suddenly hugged her and they stumbled a little but Tiffany managed to support themselves as she leaned against the wall.

She tried to push Taeyeon from her but he just tightened the hug as he leaned his head against hers. She tried to push him again but stopped when she heard him talk.

“I’m sorry… “ he softly said. He slowly pulled back from hugging her, keeping his hands on her waist as he looked straight into her eyes. Tiffany unconsciously stared back at him and rested her hands on his shoulders. She bit her lower lip when a tear falls from Taeyeon’s left eye, and soon more tears roll down his face as he continued apologizing to her.

“I’m sorry for losing my temper that night… I’m sorry for hurting you… for making you cry… I’m sorry for being so stubborn… I’m sorry for taking you for granted. But most of all, I’m sorry for leaving you when I shouldn’t have, princess.”

Tiffany can’t help but to let her own tears fall from her eyes. She can see how sorry and sincere Taeyeon is but she’s not sure if she should accept him just like that, even though deep inside her heart, she just wanted to kiss him and patch things up between them.

“You’re drunk, Tae… you should rest…” she softly mumbled, causing Taeyeon to lower his head and loosen his grasp on her waist.

Tiffany felt a stabbing pain in her heart when he loosened his grip on her. However, she was taken aback and she covered with her hand when Taeyeon suddenly kneeled down in front of her and hugged her.  She tried to pull him up but Taeyeon didn’t move as he silently cried while saying how much he loves her and asking for another chance.

“Tae…” Tiffany’s voice cracked, sharing the same pain and guilt with Taeyeon. She bent down a little and cupped Taeyeon’s face, faintly smiling as she wiped the tears on his face.

“Please… stop. You’ve hurt me… and I did the same to you. We both hurt each other… but just like you, I still love you. I don’t even know that I can love someone this much… but you know what? I don’t know what I feel now, Taetae…” she sobbed and retracted her hands from Taeyeon’s face as she stood up straight and covered to muffle her cries.

For the past month, she was left alone by Taeyeon and cried over the heartbreak when Taeyeon gave up on her that night. She never smiled like the way she used to – even when her family had visited her from L.A. She tried to spend more time with her friends but no one else could make her happy like Taeyeon does. It was only a month but for her, it felt like it was already a year crying over a heartbreak.

Taeyeon, though his head feels heavy because of alcohol and what Tiffany just said to him, tried his best to stand up and pulled Tiffany in his arms. Being emotionally weak, Tiffany just allowed him to embrace her as she cried harder against his chest when he started to gently her hair and firmly held her in his arms. Not long after, Tiffany returned the hug and enjoyed the warmth that she missed so much.

==================================================================================================================

Morning came and Taeyeon groaned as he felt a sharp pain in his head because of hangover. Since he was never a heavy drinker, the unpleasant effects of drinking too much soju last night begins to wear him off. He sat up without opening his eyes and held his head as he felt like his head is going to break anytime soon.

“Are you okay?”

He stopped massaging his temples and his eyes fluttered open upon hearing the familiar low-pitched and slightly hoarse voice. Slowly, he lifted his head up and looked at the direction where the voice came from, and blinked a few times to make sure his eyes are not playing tricks on him.

‘So it’s not a dream?...’

Tiffany bit the inside of her lower lip to stop herself from smiling at the sight of the bewildered yet cute guy sitting on the bed. She cleared and walked closer to the bed, holding a tray with soup for hangover, vitamin water, and fresh cut fruits along with a medicine for headache.

“Here. Eat these before you take the pill for your headache.” She casually said as she placed the tray on the bed, next to Taeyeon.

Taeyeon couldn’t take his eyes off Tiffany and slowly, a gentle smile formed on his face. The girl kept her head low as she felt the intense gaze from him. She was mentally reminding herself to leave the room as soon as she gave her the breakfast but she ended up sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Thank you…” Taeyeon softly said with a smile on his face.

“I know you’d get a hangover so I prepared something---“ Tiffany quickly explained herself and tried to sound like she did it because it’s the right thing to do and not because she cared but she was caught off guard when Taeyeon cut her off.

“I mean, thank you for taking care of me.” His smile became wider when Tiffany finally looked at him. But his smile was immediately replaced by a frown when his head ached again, causing Tiffany to naturally move closer to him. He groaned again and lowered his head into his hand. Tiffany looked at him worriedly and by reflex, she reached out a hand but stopped midway and quickly retracted it.

“You should eat now so you can take the aspirin to relieve your headache.” She said and bit her lower lip when her voice sounded rather cold than worried. Taeyeon just nodded his head before she stood up from the bed and headed out of the room, and stopped when she heard Taeyeon said something.

“Can we talk after I’m done eating?” he asked. Tiffany stayed silent for a few moments but nodded her head without turning her back to look at him before she walked out of the room. Taeyeon smiled and started to eat the breakfast that the girl prepared for him, mentally complimenting her as she really improved in cooking Korean dishes.

==================================================================================================================

“You should just leave it there…”

“It’s fine. I’m almost done anyways.”

Taeyeon smiled as he glanced at Tiffany before continuing to wash the dishes. The girl watched him and unconsciously, a sweet smile spreads across her face. It has been a long while since she last saw him doing chores in the kitchen and she fought hard with herself not to hug him from behind, like what she usually does when she finds him in the kitchen every morning when they were still together.

“I’ll wait for you in the living room.” She voiced out before she exited out of the kitchen without waiting for Taeyeon’s answer, confusing him as he turned around to ask but Tiffany was already out of the kitchen. He then turned his attention back to the sink and just like there’s a bulb that suddenly lit up above his head, he smiled as he understood what Tiffany meant.

As soon as he was done in the kitchen, he headed towards the living room and found Tiffany flipping through the pages of a magazine. He warmly smiled at the sight of her, sitting casually on the couch with her legs crossed, a cushion on her lap, while reading the magazine like she usually does every morning. He was lost in his thoughts and didn’t notice that Tiffany is already looking at him, with a slight blush on her face but she quickly got her composure back and acted cool as she cleared to wake him up from his trance.

“Errr… s-sorry… I just miss seeing you like that…” Taeyeon softly mumbled the last sentence while awkwardly scratching the back of his head as he sat on the other end of the couch but the girl heard him and she hangs her head low to hide the smile and blush on her face.

There were a few moments of awkward silence between them and Tiffany just keeps her head low, both of them trying to find the right words to start their conversation. If not because of Yuri and Taeyeon’s apology last night, she would probably have stayed being stubborn and choose not to face Taeyeon. However, no matter how much she tried to stay mad at him and move on, she just couldn’t deny the fact that it is only Taeyeon that all she wanted and needed.

“Fany-ah… I know I’m drunk last night but… what I said… I meant it… I’m really sorry…”

Silence engulfed them again. He lovingly stared at Tiffany and his eyes landed on her bracelet. He warmly smiled upon seeing it and hesitantly moved closer to her. He gently held her hand and a tear fell down on his face as he traced the bracelet with his finger while firmly holding Tiffany’s hand. Tiffany just stayed silent as she watched how Taeyeon lovingly her right hand.

“Can you give me another chance, Fany-ah?... I won’t promise you anything but I will do my best to make you believe in me… that I love you. I love you so much and I can’t imagine a day that I won’t… Do you… do you still love me, princess?” Taeyeon lovingly stared at her without letting go of her hand. His voice tells that he’s more than willing to do everything to make things right and with glimmer of hope that Tiffany will give him a chance – just like when she agreed to live with him in the apartment, the first time they met.

Tiffany tried her best to hold her tears as she glanced on their hands that are linked together. She missed the warmth, she missed having Taeyeon holding her hand, she missed being close to Taeyeon, but most of all, she missed him – everything about him.

“Of course… I still love you, Taetae. I love you more and more every day even though we’re not together… and like I said last night, I don’t even know that I can love someone that much… and I know that I can’t love someone else but you. I love you… but it consumed me… us.” She stared directly at Taeyeon’s eyes and gently wiped his tears with her other hand.

Though she wanted to have him back, she doesn’t have the full confidence that Taeyeon will no longer leave her and won’t give her another heartbreak. She’s also scared that she might end up hurting him as well again because of her own flaws but she already made up her mind. She carefully thought about it first thing in the morning after she woke up next to Taeyeon, with his arms that were protectively wrapped around her as she ended up sleeping with him since Taeyeon wouldn’t let her go last night.

“If we are really meant to be together, eventually… we’ll find our way back to each other. I can’t say we’re happier when we were just friends but… everything seems to be simplier before we got together, right? Taetae… I’ve carefully thought about this… yes, we love each other… but… I don’t think both of us are completely ready yet… so… instead of getting back together… why don’t we start over... as friends?” she cupped his face with the same hand she used for wiping his tears, hoping he would agree with her.

Taeyeon stared at her and he k