"1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8, 2 2 3 4 5 6 7 8"

Music was blasting out of the stereos, its sound waves bouncing off the mirrors that covered every corner of the walls up to the ceilings. The only place that was not covered with mirrors was probably the floor. In the middle of the room of mirrors, a young girl stood, her eyes closed and her feet tapping to the rhythm as her arms and legs moved lazily. However, even though the movements were sloppy, one could still see the preciseness and the swiftness under the sloppiness. It would take no eyes of the expert that the girl indeed did excelled in it.

"Hyoyeon..."

A sudden click, and the music immediately stopped. The room turned silent. However, even without the music playing, Hyoyeon still stepped along to the beat, the rhythm long engraved in her mind.

"Bam bam bambambam tak tak 5 6 7 8 and BAM!"

The sudden shout from the engrossed girl shocked the other people in the room, whom the former had not realized their presence. It was only with a sudden whip of her hair that her father finally spotted the two ear buds stuck in the ears of the blonde.

Pressing his lips into a thin line, Mr. Kim walked towards the dancing girl and with a sudden attack on her waist; Mr. Kim brought the girl into his clutches and reached out to pull off her earplugs.

"What?"

That action of losing freedom and her abilities to move around wildly was enough to irritate the girl even if it was only for a moment. It was obvious that the girl had been so into her groove that anything that disrupted it would be the cause of her frustration.

"Hyoyeon..."

The deep growling voice of her dad was enough to bring her senses back. Turning around to face her father, Hyoyeon smiled sheepishly as she tucked her earplugs neatly into her pocket.

"Hyoyeon, this is Uncle Hwang and her daughter, Miyoung. They just came back from America."

Yo, hi!"

Mr. Kim frowned at the actions of the young girl who was grinning mischievously with a rocker hand gesture in front of her. Seeing the two shocked strangers not responding to her American greeting and her stern father glaring at her, Hyoyeon gulped and retreated her hand awkwardly, giving a 90 degree Korean bow.

"Hello."

Hyoyeon greeted with a smile on her face to which Mr. Hwang just ruffled her hair and Miyoung returned the bow with a shy smile.

"Hyoyeon, Miyoung is new to the country and Uncle Hwang has to deal with some things at the company so can you please bring Miyoung around?"

"But dad, why can't unnie bring her around?"

"Hyoyeon... Taeyeon is busy with practice."

"But so am I..."

"Hyoyeon..."

"Fine..."

Hyoyeon grumbled. She knew there was no way she could argue whenever her dad used that kind of tone.

"Good. So we will leave Miyoung to you. Remember to take good care of her. If anything happens to her..."

Even though Mr. Kim did not finish his sentence, Hyoyeon knew the next sentence. It was frequently used to threaten her that if she did not behave, she would be locked out of the only studio she had been allowed free access to. Dancing was her life and soul and not a day could she do without dancing.

"Thank you Hyoyeon. I'll be back in the evening. Miyoung, till then stay with Hyoyeon okay?"

Miyoung nodded her head slightly as she peeked at Hyoyeon who was frowning away. After the two men left, Miyoung looked at Hyoyeon, biting her lips nervously. Half of her was afraid of that petite girl who seemed strong enough to crush her if anything were to happen. While Miyoung was sneaking peeks at Hyoyeon, the other girl was staring intently at Miyoung as if trying to read her mind.

Without saying anything, Hyoyeon took a step forward to which Miyoung responded by taking one backward. This time, Miyoung was staring at Hyoyeon, wondering what the girl was doing. Hyoyeon however was enjoying herself slightly as she looked at the girl's frightened face. Relentlessly, she continued her steps forward while Miyoung retreated till her back felt a cool sensation. It was then that the latter realized she had reached a dead end. Now all she could do was to watch helplessly as the girl before her continued pacing her steps towards her. Regrets filled her mind as she chided herself for not following her father. Not that she was allowed to, but she would at least beg and plead her father not to leave her alone here with the scary girl who seemed to be preying on her.

3 steps

2 steps

1 step

Hyoyeon was only a foot away from the helpless girl. For a moment, Miyoung wanted to scream out loud, but she knew that the dance studio was soundproof as mentioned by Hyoyeon's father before they entered. Hence, Miyoung could only watch as Hyoyeon eyed her intently while she shifted uncomfortably under the piercing glare.

"Kim Hyoyeon. 8 years old."

Miyoung glanced back and forth at the outstretch hand and Hyoyeon's face, shortly at a loss of what to do. She had conjured up conspiracies that the girl must have hidden some unseen weapons in her palms so that she could kill her and nobody would know where and how she died. However, before she could respond to anything, Hyoyeon had already grabbed her hand and pressed her palm into it. Suddenly, flashes of the previous night horror scene of the killer hiding a poisonous pin inside his palms allowing him to kill the victim without anyone realizing appeared in her mind. Tears started welling up in her eyes as she started blinking her eyes to hold back her tears. All she knew was she was on the verge of dying; killed by some unknown girl named Kim Hyoyeon. Slowly squatting down, Miyoung allowed herself to lean against the mirror as she resigned to her fate, tears rolling unstoppably down her cheeks and onto her knees.

Hyoyeon, on the other hand, was surprised with the sudden burst of tears. Was she too fierce or too harsh? She did not say anything, but only wanted to shake her hands, was that wrong? Even though she resented the fact that she had to 'babysit' an American girl who probably could not speak a single word of Korean, she still tried to welcome the girl, but she had never expect for the latter to burst out into tears.

"Hey... Hey..."

Hyoyeon reached out to touch the girl's shoulder, only to have her hands slapped off and the girl screaming hysterically not to touch her. Frowning, Hyoyeon retreated her hands awkwardly. Opening , Hyoyeon tried to say something comforting only to clamp it shut soon after. She did not know what to say to comfort the girl who was now sniffing uncontrollably. Her face was damp with streaks of dried tears settling on her cheeks as she bundled herself up in a tiny ball.

Minutes passed as Hyoyeon still stood before the sniffling girl, still at a loss of what to do. One thing that Hyoyeon could never do well in was when somebody cried. Normally she would have just walked off but this time she was just rooted to the ground for reasons she could not understand. Unable to stand the awkward atmosphere anymore, Hyoyeon shuffled towards the stereo slowly and with a press of her finger, she allowed the music to boom freely through the blasting speakers.

Slowly, Hyoyeon felt her body and mind relaxing as her limbs started to move according to the beats. Soon, she was so lost in her own world that she did not even remember the crying girl sitting at the corner of the room.

Tiffany gradually stopped sniffling after hearing the music as her eyes glued to the petite figure in awe. The way her body flow to the music, the way her blonde hair danced along with the rhythm, the way each of her moves pumped powerfully to each beat were just too amazing for the American girl to absorb. It was not that it was the first time she watched such powerful dancing, but she was just amazed at how such a tiny body like the one in front of her was able to execute such powerful and difficult moves. The dancers she had seen in America were tall and lanky; some were muscular, even for the females too. Thoughts of her being killed or dying flew out of her mind the moment her eyes laid on the blonde.

After few minutes of continuous dancing, the song ended with a powerful jump and pose. Hyoyeon walked over to the stereo and changed the song to a softer ballad song as she drank her water. Suddenly claps filled the room as Hyoyeon turned around in shock. She had totally forgotten of another being in the same room with her. Smiling sheepishly, she walked towards the young girl while wiping down her perspiration.

"Hey."

Hyoyeon held her hand out. Miyoung did not seem to be as afraid as before anymore. Slowly, Miyoung reached out towards the hand of the other girl and Hyoyeon pulled her up with ease.

"Wanna go for ice-cream Miyoung?"

Miyoung's eyes gleamed in happiness but soon frowned when she heard the last word. Seeing that, Hyoyeon became worried, wondering what she had said wrongly.

"It's Tiffany."

"Huh?"

"Tiffany. My name is Tiffany."

Tiffany pouted.

"But Uncle Hwang said..."

"It's Tiffany!"

Tiffany whined and pouted, which made poor Hyoyeon cringed at the sudden ageyo.

"Fine! Just stop doing that."

"What?"

"Nevermind." Hyoyeon huffed. "So ice-cream?"

Tiffany nodded enthusiastically, her eyes turning into crescents when she smiled.

"Wait a while."

With that, Hyoyeon grabbed her duffel bag and dashed off to the nearest washroom. Minutes later, the blonde returned with fresh new clothes and new scent replacing the once sweaty smell. Her blonde hair was also let down prior to her once-tied up hair when she dances.

"Let's go."

Hyoyeon turned off all lights before grabbing Tiffany's hand was walking out of the door. Tiffany was surprised at first but soon grew accustomed to the warmth of the girl's palm. In fact, she felt totally at ease with her, which was the first. Tiffany, who was bubbly and lively to all those who knew her was shy at first, in fact took her few weeks to open up to her few best friends in America. Hence, to be at ease with Hyoyeon, whom she had only met minutes ago, was just surprising. She was afraid the moment she saw Hyoyeon, deeming her as somebody who was rude and ignorant, but now that she knew a bit about the girl, she was not as bad as she seems to be.

As the duo walked down the streets, Hyoyeon was busy greeting and helping with all the ahjummahs and ahjuhssi around the market place, occasionally accepting apples or candies as gifts. Throughout the greetings and helping, never once did she failed to let go of Tiffany's hand, neither did she forget her existence. If Hyoyeon needed to help the ajummahs to move boxes, she would motion to Tiffany to hold on to the other end of the box with one hand while she held on to another, their hands still intact. Those who saw them moving the boxes together found it cute and adorable. Hyoyeon would also introduce Tiffany to the people around, and Tiffany was pleasantly surprised at how friendly everyone was. They even offered some food to the two young girls, to which they politely declined if they found the gifts too much to accept. The walk turned out to have taken longer than expected for the duo to reach the ice-cream cafe.

"Unnie!"

"Hi Hyoyeon! Hi new face!"

The slightly taller girl behind the counter gave the two girls a bright smile while Hyoyeon beamed and Tiffany gave a shy smile.

"Unnie I want..."

Hyoyeon tiptoed to heave herself a little taller so that she could see the flavors. She stared at the mouth-watering variety of flavors available, her eyes scanning through each one while her brains pondered through the options.

"So what do you want Hyo? We can't always have you choosing slowly, I have other customers too."

Hyoyeon pouted at the remark and turned towards the tables in the cafe only to smile cheekily when she found it almost empty.

"Nobody is here, unnie."

"Fine... Choose slowly then." Narsha imitated a huff before turning towards Tiffany who was standing by the side fidgeting.

"Hey there. What's your name?"

"Miyoung!"

Hyoyeon shouted before Tiffany could answer. The said girl bowed down her head as she frowned. There was a sudden urge to smack Hyoyeon for revealing her Korean name but she resisted the urge for she had only known the girl for just an hour or so. Fortunately, someone else did the honors for her as a loud smack sounded through the silent cafe.

"Oww! Unnie!"

Hyoyeon whined as her palm rubbed the spot where she was hit.

"That's for bullying Miyoung!"

"I did not!"

Hyoyeon whined as though she was about to cry, her palm now pressing at the painful area. Tiffany could not help but chuckle at the sight of the poor girl.

"She did bully you, right? Don't worry Narsha unnie will protect you."

Tiffany bit down on her lower lips as she looked apprehensively at Hyoyeon who was staring at her.

"Yah! Tell her I didn't bully you!"

Smack

"Unnie~~~”

Hyoyeon started rubbed another area of her painful head as she glanced at Tiffany who seemed engrossed in watching the smacking game in front of her.

"Miyoung right?"

"Tiffany."

"Huh?"

"My name is Tiffany."

Smack

"Unnie, what did I do this time?"

"Didn't you tell me her name is Miyoung?"

"Her name is really Miyoung. Yah! Tell unnie that."

"Really?"

Narsha turned her head towards Tiffany who nodded silently.

"See~!"

Hyoyeon whined but was carelessly ignored by the older woman.

"So what do you want Tiffany?"

"Unnie! Tiffany is new here, she doesn't know what flavors is the best."

Smack

"So you want me to let Tiffany try all the flavors, little one? Or was it you who wanted to try the flavors?"

Hyoyeon simply shrugged and smiled. Without further say, Narsha reached behind the counter and picked up a small pink spoon. Dipping it into a tub, she scooped up a spoonful of ice cream and placed it in front of Tiffany who simply stared at her blankly.

"Try it. Narsha unnie's ice-cream is the best."

Apprehensively, Tiffany reached out and grabbed the spoon before putting it into . Her eyes twinkled as she allowed the ice cream to melt on her tongue, savoring the taste fully. The process of ice cream tasting was repeated till all flavors were tasted.

"How was it?"

"Yummy!"

"Isn't it? Narsha sells the best ice-cream here."

Tiffany smiled brightly as she stood alongside Hyoyeon who had already gotten her cone and was eagerly it.

"So which flavor do you want Tiffany?"

"Strawberry."

Tiffany shyly pointed at the tub with pink ice cream in it.

"Okay, strawberry. Here you go."

Hyoyeon looked at Tiffany's ice cream and back to hers before whining once again.

"Narsha unnie, why does she have more ice-cream?"

"Because Tiffany is a good girl."

"I am a good girl too."

"Really? Maybe next time if Tiffany tells me you did not bully her then I will give you one more scoop."

"Not fair!"

Hyoyeon puffed before grabbing Tiffany's hand and leading her out of the cafe. While walking down the road back home, Tiffany had an uneasy feeling like there was something she had forgotten. Money!

"Erm... Hyoyeon..."

"Yeah..."

"Don't we have to pay?"

"For what?"

"Ice-cream?"

"Nope. It's unnie's treat."

"Really?"

"Nope."

"Then..."

"Unnie will get from Appa at the end of the month so don't worry. Let's go."

---

“Tiffany! Tiffany!”

A flash of blonde hair disappeared down the hallway, occasionally muttering a frantic apology when she bumped into unsuspecting students. Turning around the corner, she quickly scanned the hallway, her eyes on sharp alert for a familiar brunette. Seeing nobody who fitted her description, the blonde quickly ran up the stairs. Perspiration poured from her forehead and she panted. She was exhausted, but her legs never stopped moving.

Leaning against the rails of the staircase, she breathed deeply, trying to catch her breath. Her head turning left and right, scanning the already empty hallways, her ears on red alert for any suspicious sound. Unlike the floors she just ran through, the sixth floor was one of the deserted areas in school, the only reason being that it was haunted. Many students did not dare to climb up to this storey, but its haunted rumors failed to deter to those who did not believe in them. Needless to say, Hyoyeon and Tiffany were one of those fearless ones and had even made it a point to hide in there whenever they wanted to escape from the hectic crowd of students.

Forcing her legs to move, Hyoyeon made her way down the corridor, making sure to peek into every single room and eyed every possible cupboards and hiding place. This was the last place in the school that she had searched and she was sure the girl was hiding somewhere. Hyoyeon kept her silence, gently moving through each room, knowing better than to shout the girl’s name.

Walking into the last classroom, the sharp eyes of the blonde caught sight of a piece of dark blue stuck between the doors of a cupboard. A small smile of relief etched her face as she crept her way towards it.

“Tiffa…” The blonde opened the door, only to be shocked by the state of her friend. “Sh*t!”

Tears were running down Tiffany’s face as she clutched her bag tighter to her. Her hair was in a mess and her white school blouse was stained with dirt and grass. There were scratches on her face and bruises on her arms and legs.

“Wait for me here. And don’t move.”

Without waiting for a response, Hyoyeon propelled down to her lockers, the anger building in her providing her body the fuel. Gone were the exhaustion and soreness. All the girl could see was red and red only.

Barging back into the room in record time, Hyoyeon kneeled down beside her bruised friend, her arm sliding gently around her waist as she assisted the latter. The limp towards the washroom was silent as Hyoyeon kept shut, not wanting to burst out in anger at her friend and Tiffany had since stopped crying.

Once in the washroom, a mop was placed behind the door, effectively shutting the place from any unwanted intruder. Hyoyeon turned towards Tiffany, gently retrieving the latter’s bag and placing it on the ground. Her eyes made a quick scan of the girl, thankful that her blouse was not torn anywhere lest her father asked about it.

“Wash up and change. You look horrible.”

Tiffany rolled her eyes at the lame attempt of a joke, but took the heed. Slowly she started to her blouse, unashamed that the blonde was staring at her patiently. After all, having grown up together since young, there was nothing neither had not seen before. However, the moment the last button came undone, a soft gasp was heard. Right in the middle of Tiffany’s stomach was a huge purple bruise.

Almost immediately, Hyoyeon clenched her teeth tightly and her fingers balled into a fist. Her muscles tensed as she in deeply, forcing the building anger to retreat. With a shaky finger, Hyoyeon put out her finger and gently prodded the bruise, earning a soft gasp as the girl flinched.

“Take off your shirt.” Hyoyeon commanded, oblivious to the cold tone she had used. Silently and obediently, Tiffany dropped her blouse as Hyoyeon spun her around, checking her back for any new bruises.

“Does this still hurt?” Hyoyeon asked softly, carefully touching the healing bruise from days ago. Tiffany winced slightly in pain as she bit down on her lips and shook her head. The bruise was healing well, though it still hurt occasionally when she accidentally applied any pressure on it. Keeping with the silence, her face would be contorted in pain when the blonde continued her inspection on the body, touching and poking at some old bruises.

“Don’t move.”

Tiffany could only hear the rummaging of the bag and sounds of plastic bags being torn open. She was curious to know what Hyoyeon was doing, but knew better than to disobey. The latter was in a fire mode and experience told her that she was better left alone to cool than to push her buttons.

Tiffany winced at the sudden touching of her bruise before a cold sensation swiped across her skin. It was followed by a gentle and ticklish touch. Tiffany smiled at the care of her friend, thankful for her existence.

“Yah! Stop smiling and start cleaning yourself!”

A wet face towel was thrown at her face, startling Tiffany as she peeled the towel off her face. It was then that she finally saw the items placed on the sink. Alcoholic swipes, cotton buds, cotton wool, gauze, bandage, medicinal cream, Chinese medicinal oil etcetera.

“Did you open a medicine shop or something? You have everything here.”

Tiffany stared in wonder, only to receive a sharp knock on her head.

“I don’t, but because of you, I bought the whole medicine shop.” The blonde retorted. Tiffany frowned at the sentence. Upon seeing the guilt on Tiffany’s face, Hyoyeon gently pushed the girl towards the sink. “It’s good for me too. Appa always scold me for injuring myself during dance practice and forced me to learn first aid. Now at least I can practice my skills on you first. If nothing goes wrong with you, then I can use it on myself. “ Hyoyeon continued with a impish grin.

“Yah! Is that why you are always treating my bruises? So nothing will go wrong when you treat yours?”

“That’s what friends are for.” Hyoyeon shrugged, before digging into her bag and brought out a clean set of uniform. “Hurry, wash up. That’s like the fifth time I’ve said in five minutes. I still want to go home. Appa is going to lock me out of the studio if we are late.”

Silence resumed as Tiffany started cleaning her body, rubbing away the dirt and grass. Often, her eyes would flick towards the petite figure of the blonde who was packing away her medicines into a small bag. She knew how much the blonde was holding back because of her. The latter was one of the most popular kids in school, having an easy-going personality that attracted guys and girls, as well as her talent in dancing that always awed the crowds each time she stepped on stage. Students from all levels had grown to like her, wanting to make friends with her. Tiffany had seen how she had politely rejected eating together with her classmates, and how she would sometimes missed her dance club gathering or how she had subtly ignored the advances of the other students who wanted to be her friend. All because of her, Tiffany.

“Thank you.” Tiffany whispered, her eyes still kept on the blonde. Hyoyeon did not answer, but Tiffany knew the former had heard as a small satisfied smile crept onto her friend’s face.

After clearing out of the washroom, the duo made their way downstairs, careful to avoid any large crowds in case they bumped into the injured girl. Walking towards their lockers, Hyoyeon quickly dumped all her stuff in the locker and checked her bag.

“I left my book in class. Wait here for me.”

With a quick smile, Hyoyeon sprinted to her classroom, leaving Tiffany alone in the hallway. It was not long before a familiar voice boomed along the hallway, catching the attention of everyone who were still around.

“You looked clean.” Tiffany jumped at the bang of a palm at the locker beside her head. Gulping nervously, she looked up, trembling in fear at the group that she hated the most. “Remember to bring extra clothes today?” The leader of the group moved closer towards her, taking a deep breath before snorting. “And medicine too.” He took a pause, staring intently and smirking in glee at the frightened girl. “But then again, I don’t really like you to be clean. I prefer you to be dirty…” He his lips disgustingly. “And wet.”

A roar of laughter rang out as the group wriggled their eyebrows, in sync with each other at the thought. The leader pushed in closer, banging his two fists on the locker and successfully trapping the girl between them. Taking a quick glance around, Tiffany took note of how the other students simply seemed to be watching the scene quietly and not bothering to help her. For a moment, she wondered if the students were that uncaring or had hated her so much, but on second thoughts, she knew it was better to leave her alone, especially when her trouble was the group of boys who was known to be troublemakers throughout the school.

“Don’t you want to be wet and dirty for me?”

The leader leant in closer; his palms slide down to lay on her shoulders. Tiffany froze and trembled in fear at the contact. The close proximity of the boy’s breath definitely did nothing to sooth her nerves.

“Even with the smell of medicine, you still smell good. I wonder if you would taste good too.”

The boy smirked, enjoying the look of fear on her face.

“But then, you are only 15. I would get into heaps of trouble if I get you right now. Maybe, I should wait till you are 16. Oh, that’s next year. Maybe…”

“Hey! Get off her!”

A flash of familiar blonde hair dashed past and within moments, Tiffany found herself shielded by the blonde. Relief washed over the girl as she found herself breathing normally once the blonde was in sight.

“Oh! Hi Hyoyeon. Nice to meet you.”

“I can’t say the same to you.” Hyoyeon growled. Her eyes glared piercing at the leader, who raised his hands in mocked defense.

“I was just talking to your friend. Saw her standing alone beside the locker. Nobody was talking to her, so I thought I did take the initiative to talk to her. You know, be friendly and make friends.”

Ignoring the words from the leader, Hyoyeon turned to face Tiffany, making a quick check to make sure the latter was fine.

“Did he bully you?” Hyoyeon asked gently, careful not to scare Tiffany. “Did he scare you?” Tiffany shot a fleeting glance towards the leader before shook her head hesitantly.

“See, I did nothing.”

“Shut up!” Hyoyeon growled within her clenched teeth, shooting lasers at the group before turning back to Tiffany. “Tell me. I can’t do anything if you don’t tell me. Trust me. What did he do.”

Tiffany stared at the fury lit up in Hyoyeon’s eyes and the squared jaw that indicated clenched teeth. Recognizing the traits of anger in the latter, Tiffany gently grabbed hold of the blonde’s balled fists, rubbing her thumb in circles reassuringly.

“Nothing. Nothing that I couldn’t handle.”

“Tiffany…”

“No. You promised me.”

Hyoyeon stared deep at the girl before her before closing her eyes. She could still sense the fear and pain in her friend, but she was not going to disobey her friend. If that was what Tiffany wanted, that was what she would get. Turning around, Hyoyeon glared at the group with hatred and fury. Just the look of the haughty smirks was enough to warren them a punch on each of their faces, but no, Hyoyeon would do nothing of those sort.

“Get lost! I don’t want to see you near her anymore.” Hyoyeon growled, forcing the anger in her.

“What’s wrong with making friends?” The leader laughed arrogantly. “It’s okay. We will still meet each other next year. Then maybe we can have fun after your birthday. I wouldn’t mind getting wet and dirty with you by then.”

Hearing the statement, Hyoyeon clenched her fists tighter when she felt the girl tensed up beside her. The hand that was grabbing her wrist was trembling as it tightened firmly around her wrist. Feeling the fury gushed through her body, Hyoyeon dashed towards the leader and landed a hard punch on his face.

Immediately, gasps rang out across the corridor as the small petite girl took on the tall bulky leader. Fists flew around as the duo tumbled on the floor. Despite being the main receiver for the punches, the small girl managed to land a few hard punches from her fists, drawing blood from the leader.

It was only when a teacher who had heard the noise intervened that the fight stopped. By then, both were bruised and bloodied, with Hyoyeon faring far worse than the other.

Tiffany stood by the principal’s office, pacing back and forth nervously. Having pressed her ear near the door did her no help as she failed to eavesdrop anything behind the sturdy door. Now, all she could do was to wait, and hope.

Tiffany still remembered how she felt so left out, having difficulties understanding Korean despite it being sixth year in Korea. She could not catch the words fast enough to comprehend and by the time she understood the words, her classmates had already moved on to another topic. Slowly, she retreated into her shell, only communicating when the others talked to her. Even so, it did not take them long enough to be frustrated at the huge language barrier. One by one, her classmates decided it was easier to leave her by herself and as days went by, she became invisible until a group of boys decided to pick on her.

All these, she had tried to keep to herself, but when Hyoyeon found out, the latter was furious. For the first time in their six years of friendship, the duo fought and blew up, ignoring each other for weeks. Throughout their cold war, Tiffany could only watched in jealousy and envy as Hyoyeon mixed with her friends, but seeing the smile on the blonde’s face was enough for Tiffany. However, when Hyoyeon found Tiffany injured and sobbing alone one day, the blonde refused to leave her friend alone. Since then, despite the constant cooing from their classmates or friends, Hyoyeon would always refused to answer and ignored the requests of leaving Tiffany by herself to hang out with them.

The door creaked open and a head popped out from the room. Upon seeing the girl waiting outside, a frown appeared on the face, while Tiffany had a look of relief.

“What are you still doing here?” Hyoyeon demanded, her tone coming out harsher than she intended.

“I was waiting for you.” Tiffany answered in a small voice.

“Who asked you to?” Tiffany flinched at the harsh tone. Hyoyeon immediately felt guilty upon seeing the frightened face. “His group is still around. What if I’m not there to protect you?”

Tiffany pouted at the concern laced in the blonde’s voice.

“Did the principal punish you?”

“Nothing I can’t handle.” The blonde shrugged and smirked.

“Sorry.”

“No sorry.” Hyoyeon smiled, picking up their bags on the floor and linking arms with Tiffany. “So ice cream?”

-TBC-


A/N: Merry Christmas!! Have a great day with your families on this special day before embracing a new year!!