“Hyoyeon! Kim Hyoyeon!”

A familiar woman barged into the house frantically, shocking the other occupants who were silently doing their things. Upon seeing the startled faces, Tiffany gave a bow, smiling sheepishly as she muttered strings of apologies. The family simply nodded in return before gesturing the young lady up the stairs.

Having been around since young, the lady was no stranger to the house. Running up the stairs as quickly as she could while careful not to thud the floor loudly, Tiffany quickly made her way to a familiar door and rapped on it.

“Hyoyeon… Hyo… Are you in there?” Tiffany tried to keep her voice soft. “Hyo… Open up!” She continued her rapid knocks when a door beside her opened.

“Tiffany?”

“Taeyeon unnie.” Tiffany bowed her head.

“Looking for Hyo?”

The lady gave a nod before frowning at the tightly shut door.

“She should be inside. I didn’t hear her coming out from her room.” Taeyeon took a glimpse at the door. “You usually don’t have to knock this long. Have you tried calling her?”

“I did. But Hyoyeon wasn’t picking up. I went to other places to search for her first, but she wasn’t there. That’s why I’m here.”

Taeyeon frowned as she stepped out of her room. Pressing her ear against the shut door, she tried to listen for any noises before knocking and calling her sister. When there was no response, she tried the knob, only to find that it was locked.

“She’s probably sleeping. I’ll get the key.”

Without waiting for a response, the older girl walked down the stairs, leaving a very worried Tiffany standing outside the door.

“Hyo… It’s Fany. Open the door. Talk to me.” Tiffany pleaded, rapping desperately on the door. She was about to lay another knock when a palm gently tapped on her shoulder. Stepping aside, she allowed Taeyeon to insert the key into the lock, watching with bated as the door creaked open, revealing a pitch-black room. Stepping cautiously into the room, she pressed the light switch, brightening the messy room. At the far end of the room, a figure huddled in the blankets, covering the body from top to toe with only a wisp of blonde hair visible to the eye.

“Hyoyeon…”

Tiffany crouched down slowly, afraid to startle the fragile figure. Gently, she peeled off the blanket, revealing an equally messy blonde. She in deeply when her eyes caught sight of the vulnerable state Hyoyeon was in. Pale and tired looking face, two red and puffy, bloodshot eyes and streaks of dried tears on her cheeks.

“Unnie, do you mind getting Hyo a cup of water?”

Taeyeon nodded silently, walking out of the room despite the concern and worry on her face. Despite being close to her sister, Taeyeon knew there were some things that Hyoyeon would only share to her best friend, and if Tiffany was here, she would have known the reason behind her wrecked sister.

Silence reigned in the room as the newcomer observed the other lady who was staring blankly into space. Without a word, Tiffany leant in, bringing the blonde into a warm tight hug.

It was minutes of silence when the door reopened and Taeyeon peeked in with a questioning face. Getting a nod from Tiffany, the older girl entered, placing a jug and two cups for the younger ones. Giving a last glance at the duo, she mouthed words of support to Tiffany before tip-toeing out.

Minutes ticked by and the room remained in absolute silence, apart from the clock that ticked by the bedside. Neither of the two wanted to break this rare moment of being alone with each other. It had been some time since both were busy with school and activities, only meeting up occasionally. Even then, it was with a bunch of friends, never only the two of them.

“Have some water.”

Tiffany finally broke the silence, handing a cup to the wrecked lady who gulped it down gratefully before all became silent again. It took some adjusting into a more comfortable position from the blonde before the latter decided to break the silence.

“You heard?” The voice cracked, hoarse from crying. Tiffany simply nodded her head, tightening her arms around the smaller lady in reassurance.

“Then everybody would have known already.” Tiffany gently rubbed the blonde’s arm in circles with her thumb, still saying nothing. “I didn’t know that. I should have known. I should have believed those rumors.”

Tiffany still said nothing, only nodding her head to show that she was listening.

“He was so good to me. So nice, so sweet. He was excellent at dance. I like people who dance, you know. He was the only one who caught my eye. I liked him. For the longest time, I liked him.”

Tears started rolling down Hyoyeon’s eyes. Tiffany brought the blonde closer to her, her hand reaching up and gently wiped away the tears, but still keeping silent. The blonde had always kept any problems to herself, putting a strong front for others, but only Tiffany saw the fragile girl, the girl who would frown and cry behind others. Hence, she knew better than to interrupt, allowing the blonde to speak whatever that came to her mind. That was the quickest way to know the latter’s feelings, for her to let everything out. If the moment was disrupted, it would take ages for the lady to speak her mind again.

“I pretended not to like him, avoiding him everytime he came near. But he chased after me. I was afraid, but I accepted him because he said he would be with me.” The voice cracked once more. Tiffany felt a stab of pain in her heart, her heart aching so much for her friend that it hurt her. She never knew how much pain the woman had kept to herself after her breakup, not till now.

“5 years. We were together for 5 years. Ever since high school. How could he throw us away carelessly?” Fresh tears cascaded down the cheeks, but this time Hyoyeon quickly wiped them away carelessly. “5 years. How could you even cheat someone for 5 years.”

The blonde started to hiccup as Tiffany pulled her in nearer, this time her palms soothing her back while placing a kiss on the former’s temple.

“I trusted him.” She cried. “But I shouldn’t. I should have believed you.” Hyoyeon turned to the other lady. “But I didn’t. I should have. I should have believed the rumors. I should have doubted him. I should have broke off with him long ago. But I didn’t.”

With that, the blonde started to sob, burying her head in her friend’s neck and her arms wrapped tightly around the latter’s waist. Tiffany simply continued patting Hyoyeon’s back, not minding the tears that was wetting her neck and shoulder and allowing the broken girl to cry her heart out.

Slowly, sobs turned into hiccups and hiccups turned into sniffles. It took some time for Hyoyeon to stop her tears from flowing and Tiffany was aching from the uncomfortable position she was sitting as she held two persons’ weight. However, she still said nothing.

Finally, the sniffles stopped and Hyoyeon looked up at Tiffany. Wet streaks of tears still lingering on her face with mucus running from her nose and bloodshot eyes that screamed the word crying.

“Aren’t you going to say anything?”

“Wash up! You look horrible.”

“That’s all?” Hyoyeon forced a small smile on her face.

“What about Ice cream? I'll make sure Narsha unnie treats you to extra scoops!"

---

“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 each 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 lady stood in the middle, 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 takes no eyes of the expert that she indeed did excelled in it.

The door to the room opened slowly, oblivious to the dancing lady. Quickly yet silently, a head popped in, closing the door behind her as she sat down on the floor beside the door. The eyes glued to the dancing lady as her lips upturned into a smile and her heart swelled in pride.

Hyoyeon was just as she remembered after leaving years ago to pursue her career in another country. Blonde, small body yet powerful muscles, the ability to look like a professional dancer despite the sluggish movement of her limbs, the sparkling gleam in her eyes when music played and her body moved along with it as though they were one, and the most important thing, the sense of familiarity, the feeling of home.

She glanced up when the music stopped but broke into a grin at the familiar scene. The blonde was still dancing as though she could hear the music.

“Hyo…” Tiffany stood up when the girl looked like she would not be stopping for the next hour or so.

“Hyoyeon.” Tiffany walked towards the dancing lady. Spreading her arms wide, she made a grab for the blonde only to be shaken off like slime. Frowning, Tiffany stared at the lady, catching sight of the ear buds stuck in her ear. No wonder the latter could not hear her at all.

“Hyoyeon.” Tiffany shouted, making a lunge at the lady’s earpiece wire instead, pulling them out with a tug, breaking the trance the woman was in. Upon seeing the intruder, the irritation that was once present on the dancer’s face turned into a wide grin.

“Tiffany.” The sweaty dancer grabbed Tiffany and pulled her into a big hug, squeezing the life out of the latter. It was not long before she pulled away from Tiffany, scrutinizing the latter’s face carefully. “You quit your job?" A shook of Tiffany’s head. “Personally passed me your invitation to your wedding?” Another shook of the lady’s head. “Then why are you back? I thought you would be back next month.”

“Can’t it be because I missed you?”

The blonde rolled her eyes at the statement, disengaging her arms from the hug and walked towards her bag. Fishing out a water bottle, she gulped down its content before slumping down on the floor, patting the seat next to her.

“If you missed me, you wouldn’t be gone for so long.” The blonde pouted as Tiffany took a seat beside her, leaning against the dancer’s body, not minding the sticky and sweaty glands from the lady.

“Sorry.” The once playful atmosphere turned into a solemn one. Hyoyeon kept her silence, but the atmosphere was comfortable.

“But I really missed you.”

“Me too.”

It was silence once again as the two ladies enjoying the relaxing atmosphere that was donned on them. It took a while before Tiffany spoke up once more.

“We broke up.” Hyoyeon hummed in response. “I was fired.” Hyoyeon spared a glance at Tiffany who refused to make any eye contact. “He was one of my superiors from another department. I found out that he was two-timing me. He was dating my manager from my department. They have been dating for two years before me but I didn’t know that. News broke in the office, everyone stared at me like I was some sl*t who threw herself at him. My manager said nothing about it, but he started to pick on me.”

Tiffany paused, sighing at the short confession she made. She fidgeted uncomfortably. It was still awkward and painful for her to speak about it but she wanted to let Hyoyeon know. She trusted her.

“I started being fed up by all the stares and unfair treatment but I wanted the job. It took me years to build my portfolio, I was starting to earn commissions. But he sacked me, citing that I was lazy and not performing up to standard.” Hyoyeon raised an eyebrow at the statement. The Tiffany she knew was someone who did her best even if she did not like the job.

“The company backed me up, but they was adamant. He even threatened to resign if the company decided to keep me. But he was an award winning financial manager. He raked in profits for the company. They couldn’t afford to lose him to other companies.” A sigh. “So I was fired.”

Hyoyeon nodded her head, wrapping her arms around Tiffany’s shoulders, pulling her into a side-hug.

“That’s their loss.” Hyoyeon started softly and gently and Tiffany listened attentively. It was rare that the blonde gave advice or comforting words, but whenever she did, they were words that were worth listening to, regardless whether it makes sense or not.

“They will regret firing you because you are going to work super hard and owned them all. You will become the best financial investment manager who will have all the billionaires and millionaires on your client list, and then you are going to kick them in the .” Tiffany chuckled at the thought. “But before that, you are going to find a great boyfriend. You will marry him earlier than them and send him an invitation to your wedding. You will have a perfect wedding with a man who is more handsome and sweeter and faithful and love you ten times, no hundred, thousand times more. Then he will be jealous at your shining beauty as you walk down the aisle. He will envy the man who will kiss you at your wedding and who will take you to bed…”

“Hyoyeon!” Tiffany blushed at the thought.

“And strip you …”

“Hyoyeon…” Tiffany flushed redder.

“And make love…”

“Kim Hyoyeon! Shut up!” Tiffany shouted in hushed whisper and slapped her palm over the blonde’s mouth, preventing the latter from saying anything further that would cause her embarrassment. Hyoyeon took a peek at Tiffany, grinning cheekily at the tomato red woman, who slapped Hyoyeon’s arm till it was the same colour as the latter’s face.

“Thanks.” Tiffany whispered.

“So ice cream? I'll make sure Narsha unnie treats you to extra scoops!”

---

Sitting in a booth and staring out of the window, the still blonde lady waited patiently, taking her time in observing each person on the street. Some students with heavy school bags dragged their feet down the street, exhausted by the day’s studying while groups of students joked and played around with their friends. Adults rushed by, checking their hand phones every few seconds. A calm smile graced on the now in late 20s woman’s face as she thought back of the time when she thought everything had to be rushed and quick. Now that she had taken a step down from her dancing career, she was beginning to see the world in new light.

The bell chimed, signalling the arrival of a new customer but Hyoyeon paid no notice to it until a body plopped into a chair opposite her and files slammed on the table.

“Sorry, Hyo… I couldn’t managed to get out early.”

Hyoyeon turned and smiled at her long-time best friend understandingly. Picking a menu from the side of the table, she slid it towards the newcomer. Tiffany flipped through the menu, frowning at the colourful pictures, hesitating at the numerous choices of appetizing ice creams.

“Don’t know what to choose?” The soft husky voice broke the silence. “Shall we ask if Narsha unnie could let us taste the flavours?”

Tiffany looked up at the twinkling eyes and her lips twitched into a mischievous smile. As though reading each other’s mind, the duo stood up at the same time, making their way counter and stood in front of the rows of ice cream.

“Hyoyeon, Tiffany, you are here.” A cheerful voice greeted them, clearly happy to see the two familiar faces. “What do want to eat?”

“Hi Narsha Unnie.” The duo chimed as they continued staring at the various flavours and her lips.

“You know we have customers here. I can’t let you stand here and choose your flavours slowly.” Narsha sighed at the familiar actions of the duo.

Hyoyeon gave a glance towards Tiffany who caught her message.

“Unnie.” The blonde started, her lips as she pondered over the choices. “Can we try the ice creams first?”

Smack

“Unnie. What was that for?” Hyoyeon rubbed her arms in mocked pain.

“You’re still the same. Always asking for free trying of the ice cream.” Narsha rolled her eyes. “You should be glad that you are older and taller, so I can’t smack your head instead.”

Hyoyeon pouted at the statement while Tiffany giggled by the side. Even after years, the antics of their favourite unnie was still the same, as sharp and swift as ever.

“I wasn’t. Tiffany is back here from her overseas trip. She doesn’t know the new flavours yet.”

“So we are back to new flavours thing?” Narsha lifted her arms, ready to smack but the alert blonde shifted away quickly, hiding behind Tiffany when she sensed the danger. “Then only Tiffany gets to try. You don’t.”

“Not even a little bit?” The blonde whined, causing the other two to cringe at the sound of the ageyo.

Smack

“Unnie!”

“That’s for whining when you are already 28.”

"Not fair. You are just biased against me." Hyoyeon crossed her arms and pouted as Narsha scooped a spoon of ice cream for Tiffany.

“Nice isn’t it?” Tiffany nodded as the blonde puffed up her chest. “I invented it.”

Smack

“You didn’t invent it. You just helped with the tasting.”

“Which tasted so bad the first few times. I thought I was going to die of food poisoning.” Hyoyeon clutched her stomach in mock pain.

“So which one do you want, Fany?” Narsha asked, smiling at the lady.

“Strawberry.”

“Still strawberry? Don’t you get sick of it?” Hyoyeon chuckled at the question, her hand reaching out to grab her cone from Narsha.

“It’s nice.” Tiffany replied with a smile.

“And it’s pink.” Hyoyeon retorted while her ice cream, gaining a nudge from Tiffany.

“There.” Narsha handed her ice cream over to the lady. “Now go, I bet you have lots to catch up.”

The duo smiled gratefully at the shop owner before walking back to her seats.

“Don’t you need to pay?”

“Unnie’s treat?”

“Really?”

“Nope.”

“Unnie will get from your appa later?”

Hyoyeon turned to look at Tiffany incredulously who returned with a sheepish smile.

“Unnie will get from me at the end of the month. She has the best ice cream.”

“Yeah, and I got the best friend as part of the best ice cream package.”

-END-

A/N: I'm dying for a HyoTae/HyoFany/HyoSic fic, HyoTae especially, coz the current hyotae fic writers are addicted to fluff so its always making me feel fluffy. I should write one myself but I'm bad at fluff and have no ideas right now. Any ideas anybody?