...When despair comes in a storm of unyielding frenzy, wrought with sheer force, emotion, and agony, the most people can do is to hold on to something so they wouldn't fly away...

Taeyeon watched the steam from her coffee swirl in solemn motions. Thick in terms of consistency near the surface of the beguiling liquid, yet so immensely thin as it lifted itself up to the recesses of the space before her. The girl couldn't help but to compare herself with the lucid haze. Taeyeon was so thick moments ago, so full of genuine hope, and now, like the steam drifting away from the coffee, she too was wearing thinner and thinner by the second like the withering of youth. The girl wanted to cry, let everything out in a wave of consuming tears, but no matter how hard she tried, they just wouldn't succumb to her wishes. With grave reflection, her eyes drooped to the marbled floor below her, held by the sheer weight of hopelessness. 

No more. There were no more angels.

Taeyeon stuck out her tongue to touch one of the many cascading flakes of snow that descended down from the sky. Feeling the cold kiss of the snowflake as it touched her tongue, she let out a blithe giggle. Snow had been continuously falling for a week now in Seoul, and the girl couldn't help but be mesmerized by the entrancing beauty of the heaven-sent pearls that waltzed with the winter zephyrs that breezed past the playground.

“Catch!” a voice chirped from behind her, and instantly a ball of snow collided with her unguarded back. 

Belting out an “Ufh” from the impact, Taeyeon hastily swerved herself towards Tiffany who stood there with a fat grin. “Oh, is that how it's going to be?” she asked with a smirk, already picking up a palmful of snow and rolling it into a ball. “Two can play at this game,” Taeyeon admonished with a mischievous glint in her eyes. Positioning herself like one would a baseball player, she glanced at the ball before shifting her gaze back to Tiffany. And just like that, the snowball was out of her hand and onto the girl's pink jacket. “Yes! Perfect hit!” Taeyeon rejoiced, before getting hit with a second snowball on the head.

The two instantly waged war on each other, hurdling snowball after snowball to one another before throwing in the white flag once they were too exhausted to throw anymore.

Letting herself fall on the patch of snow below her, Taeyeon stared blissfully at the pearl sky. Streaks of euphoric white stained the bleak canvas above, as tiny dots of snow descended down to her gentle features.

“Fany, look!” Taeyeon chimed as she spread her arms and legs as far apart as possible. Whirling all four of her limbs in a circular motion, she started to make a flawless snow-angel. Tiffany, who had heard the girl call to her, ran up to Taeyeon and giggled upon seeing the angel imprinted on the snow.

“Ta da!” the shorter girl caroled with much pride, “I found us an angel. Now we can go make our wish.”

“That's not a real angel TaeTae, you just made it.” Tiffany argued with a heavenly smile, “and plus, it's too cold so I doubt angels would want to come here in this kind of weather.”

“There are angels everywhere. And no matter what happens, there's always going to be angels – even if the weather .”

“Really?”

“Uh huh, now let's go make our wish. It's better to be safe than sorry, cause who knows, this angel could be the real deal.”

Tiffany stared at her for a while before nodding. Grabbing Taeyeon's hand, the two best friends closed their eyes and started making their wish with hopeful hearts. And just like that, Tiffany and Taeyeon held hands alongside each other, battling out the bitter winds and numbing cold with the firm promise that everything was going to be alright – as long as angels still existed.



Taeyeon heaved a solemn sigh, allowing her shoulders to drop down along with her burdened heart. Taking one final sip of her coffee, the girl chucked it inside the open garbage bin and headed back to the hospital room where Tiffany was staying. With heavy eyes planted on the steel doorknob, she slowly grazed it with her fingertips as the girl steeled herself for the inevitable wave of emotions that would come flooding in once she stepped inside the room. Taking in a deep breath, she opened the door with a click.

The room was dark, but not totally, as a lamp illuminated the room with its glowing warmth - a light that stretched like fingers over the suffocating blackness. A girl was seated on a bed beside a largely framed window that overlooked the city center. Flickers of ghostly city lights kindled the horizon with quiet reassurance and subtle guidance like a lighthouse in an ever growing night.

"TaeTae, you're back." Tiffany croaked with a weak smile as she readjusted the oxygen tube that was draped neatly underneath her nose.

"Yeah Fany, just had to go get some coffee." Taeyeon voiced before patting the girl on the head. Tiffany was bald due to her chemotherapy, but not once had she felt insecure about her image. Taeyeon knew she was a fighter since watching Tiffany after chemo slide in and out of bed to go to the washroom and puke in the toilet, but like always, she would come out with a smile on her face. It was no surprise to her though, she had always believed the mushroom to be strong and brave, heroic and valiant.

"You should get some sleep, you look awfully tired."

Taeyeon inwardly laughed at the comment. How could she sleep when she knew that the girl would die in less than three months. Tiffany had terminal leukemia, and time was running out for her. 

Would Taeyeon still be willing to waste time looking for angels? No, she didn't believe in them anymore. The prospect of death makes children out of people, but Taeyeon was always childish back then, believing in fairy tales as much as any five year old, so maybe the logic worked backwards for her. All knowingly, when facing the imminent death of her best friend, she grew up and found out there was no such thing as angels. And now she had given up, wanting nothing more but to tuck that childish quest in a toy box and leave it there to gather dust. All Taeyeon wanted now was to make the most out of the little time she got with Tiffany.



"TaeTae, would you still believe in angels even if you're... I don't know.... forty?"

Taeyeon snorted, "What kind of a question is that? Of course I would, because they're real."

"I know, but we've looked and looked but still haven't found any. I'm starting to have my doubts." Tiffany said while scratching the back of her hand that had the I.V needle in it. The shorter girl jumped on top of her bed, though she wouldn't really call it a bed, more like a cushioned cardboard box since the hospital refused her petition to buy a better mattress for Tiffany.

"Stop with all this nonsense," Taeyeon ordered in a firm but warm tone, "I'll find one for you, and you'll get better."

"But what if they don't exist?"

"They do. And you want to know why? Because I just know. It's like me knowing you ate the jelly Nurse Choi gave you, and didn't bother sharing some with me. Or how I know that you're in a lot of pain right now even with that smile on your face. It's a gut feeling."


"It's okay Fany, I'm not sleepy. I was just craving for some coffee, that's why I went out. You know coffee has no calories, it's naturally a no calorie drink so it's perfect for me" Taeyeon replied with a Cheshire-like grin.

Tiffany scoffed with an amused expression, "Kim Taeyeon, on a diet?"

"Of course," she flatly voiced, "look at you, you're so skinny.... you make me look fat"

Tiffany just laughed at that.

"Hey, your twenty-first birthday is coming soon. We should go celebrate." the sick girl added followed by a throaty chuckle, "How long have we known each other for?"

"Too long. Now if you don't mind, I'll be taki