Chapter 19

The morning light seeped through the blinds, urging Tiffany to wake up and leave the bed.

From Taetae:

Fany-ah, I know you’re still mad at me. I know it’s hard to believe but what you saw was an accident. I feel nothing for Jessica. I love you and only you. Please come back to me, Fany-ah. I don’t know what to do without you by my side.

A huff escaped her lips, her eyes rolled as she read the message again.

Should she reply to the message? She was still mad at the girl but that didn’t mean she has already forgotten the love she has for her. But what about Jessica? Was Taeyeon telling the truth when she said she felt nothing for the blonde maid? Tiffany couldn’t really tell.

“Forget her, Tiffany. You knew from the start that it wasn’t going to work out.”

She deleted the message afterwards and took her shower.

That afternoon, same day, Tiffany decided to go to the bookstore. Yoga was futile with the state of mind she had now hence she opted to buy new books to read to distract herself.

Busy scanning the books on the shelves, Tiffany was interrupted when she felt someone crashed behind her.

She had a pair of black wayfarers covering her eyes, but Tiffany caught a glimpse of them when the blonde bent over and picked up something on the floor. Looking closely into the other girl’s hand, she saw a key attached to a familiar peapod keychain. On her other arm clutched a blue notebook and a book - an Idiot’s Guide to-something. It was when the girl stood up when Tiffany finally realized that the girl she literally bumped into was none other than Jessica.  

Tiffany was frozen in her spot, myriad of emotions welling up inside her. Are they really that far in their relationship? She thought and the memory of seeing the two blonde girls in an intimate situation resurfaced. Never did Taeyeon once ask Tiffany if she wanted to have a spare key to her flat. But Taeyeon always invited her to come over, it was just her who always refused to hang out there , due to Tiffany’s curfew and most importantly, her fear of getting suspected of being a lesbian and having a relationship with Taeyeon.

“Sorry.” Jessica muttered and gave a brief bow then walked to the cashier without even bothering to look at the other person.

Busy playing on her phone, Taeyeon rested the device on the couch when the door swung open. “Where have you been?”

“Outside.” Came Jessica’s obvious answer. She tossed a brown bag onto the table, revealing its contents – a book and a blue notebook. “Read that while I take a shower.”

A nod came from the shorter girl. “What about the notebook?”

“Don’t touch it.” Jessica ordered.

“Idiot! Why can’t your pea-sized brain differentiate simile and metaphor? The difference is so obvious!” Jessica groaned as she rolled her eyes and pointed at a certain page on the book.

Scratching her head, Taeyeon mumbled an apology, “Sorry Jessica…”

Biting back all the sarcastic talk tingling on the tip of her tongue, Jessica clutched both sides of her head and growled a, “Stress!” in a perfect American accent.

Jessica instantly regretted her actions when she saw Taeyeon tremble in apprehension. To make the older girl feel comfortable, she gave a pat on Taeyeon’s back. “Listen carefully this time.”

Taeyeon wasn’t sure if letting Jessica sleep in her home, moreover beside her, was a good idea. Sure, they weren’t doing anything wrong but would the others think the same if they knew about it? What about Tiffany? Was this even called cheating? The only thing Taeyeon was sure of at the moment was Jessica’s presence comforted her. Having Jessica around her made her forget her problems with Tiffany temporarily despite the other girl being the cause of their break up.

Morning came and the two girls had already prepared themselves for the day ahead. The bus was a kilometer away when they arrived at the bus stop.

Timidly, Tayeon started, “Jessica, thank you so much.”

“You don’t need to thank me. I got paid.” Jessica replied.

“No, for everything.” Taeyeon said with sincere eyes. Jessica knew what she meant and she just nodded in acknowledgment. She wasn’t sure how to respond to that anyway.

“See you soon?” Taeyeon said with hopeful eyes.

Jessica had her usual neutral expression. “We’ll see.”

Taeyeon waved her goodbye. “Take care.” Jessica hummed in response and hopped into the bus.

For the first time in her life, Taeyeon was filled with confidence. To her, examination days were hell days. But today was an exception, she felt she could do everything – be it eating fire or lying on a bed of nails.

“Hwaiting!” Sunny mouthed as she pumped her fist in the air.

Taeyeon did the same gesture and mouthed, “Thanks.”

“Yo sup!” Ta