FIFTEEN

A few weeks have passed. The plagiarism issue against CodenameBlue was now in court and Yonghwa seemed to be busier than ever for their upcoming comeback. It has been weeks too that they’ve last seen each other but they were still in constant contact.  Most of Seohyun's free time was spent with her unnies especially since Young Woon went abroad for a month.

That day, they were at Tiffany’s room in the Jung mansion watching Tory Burch Spring Collection on one fashion channel. The usual chatter was halted when the door opened and closed with a loud thud.

“What did that door do to you?” Sooyoung asked as the newcomer took her seat on the couch beside Yuri.

“What’s the matter?” Yuri asked her sister.

“I can’t believe their agency is holding this date-your-bias thing auction…” Yoona sighed with lips jutting out.

“And I can’t believe you kept your relationship a secret from us.”

“Hyo’s right,” Tiffany, who was then sitting on the floor, said as she moved to sit beside Yoona, “Yoong, you know you can trust us on this.”

“I’m sorry,” Yoona replied noticing her sister friends’ attentions were all on her. The room was quite smaller than that of Sica’s but each of them seemed to own a comfortable space. Fany, Yuri and Sica were on the couch with her. Hyoyeon and Sooyoung were sitting on the floor with a bunch of Vogues and GQs sprawled in front of them. Taeyeon was on Fany’s bed braiding Sunny’s hair and Seohyun was occupying a hot pink bean bag on the corner. She sighed at their expectant stares, “It’s just that we are in this industry and being in a relationship like this is going to kill both our careers.”

“Then why choose that guy over any other available-way-better-looking male in this country?” Taeyeon commented without taking her eyes off her ‘model.’

“I didn’t plan this, Unnie. It just happened. We met; we fell in love, that’s it.”

Taeyeon clicked her tongue and shot a quick glance at Yoona, “Complicated, you say…”

“Yah,” Yuri stepped in, “Yoona’s right. We can’t really stop things like this from happening.”

“What is this date auction—“ Seohyun bit her tongue when she realized that she said that out loud.

“Curious much?”

“Shut up, Taengoo.” Tiffany rolled her eyes then turned to Yoona again, “Yeah, tell us about it.”

“They’re having this for a good cause. Any fan could bid for a date with them and the highest bidder would go on a date and the money would go to charity.”

Sooyoung rested her head on the couch’s edge and looked up at her younger friend, “Then go bid for him.”

“It’s not as easy as it looks. He said I can’t do that because it would surely create a ‘rumor’.  Unless, we have a project together.”

“Then what if you DO…” Sica smiled, “Have a project together?”

“Huh? What do you suggest, Unnie?”

“Well, I can talk to daddy if he can get you and that lead guitarist of yours for a campaign in one of our summer or winter resorts somewhere…”

“OMG UNNIE! YOU’RE REALLY GOING TO DO THAT?!”

“I break nails a lot but I rarely break my word. Besides, I owe you one.”

“Stupid cupid.”

“Ya, Taengoo, I won’t be bullied by you again.”

“Whatever,” Taeyeon rolled her eyes and handed Sunny a mirror. Then, she stopped and noticed her sister’s pensive look, “Uh-oh… someone’s thinking about bidding for her old flame…”

“Give your sister a break, Kim Taeyeon,” Yuri muttered.

“I am not, Unnie,” Seohyun sighed, “I swear, besides I have a boyfriend, remember?”

Sunny looked at Taeyeon from the mirror while she checked her hair, “And what if she is, what are you going to do about that?”

“I would, of course, stop it from happening…”

Hyoyeon listlessly threw a stuffed dog at Taeyeon’s direction, “Ya, don’t you think you are going overboard with this whole Yonghwa shebang?”

Taeyeon laughed rather sarcastically, “Whoa, loosen up people! It’s like it’s really going to happen, or is it, Seohyun?”

“No, Unnie, okay? No…” The atmosphere was starting to feel bleak. She was tensed and she knew that her unnies felt the same.

“Why are you so pissed off with Yonghwa, anyway?” Jessica couldn’t keep it to herself anymore, “What did he do to you?”

“What he did to me was he made my sister cry. That’s what he did to me!”

“Ya, Taeyeonah, no need to raise your voice like that,” Sunny muttered.

“Unnie, it was my fault, okay?” Seohyun could feel her tears almost forming in her eyes.

“Girls… girls…” Yuri said trying to pour water on the smoke somehow.

“No, he didn’t have the right to hurt you… and I swear I won’t let him hurt you now or ever!”

“Heyyy… calm down…”

Sooyoung squirmed on her seat. Hyoyeon bit her lip in anticipation. Sunny dropped her hand on Taeyeon’s shoulder as if it could help the latter calm down even a bit.

“He is not doing anything!”

Hyoyeon moved closer to where Seohyun was sitting and held her hand, “Seohyuna…. just keep—“

“Then good, he better not… and I swear he will never have the chance!” With that, Taeyeon was on her feet and walked out of the room without even looking at anybody.

“Yahhh…”

“Taeyeonah…”

“Hey… where are you going?”

“Unnie—“ Seohyun’s tears finally fell when she stood and tried to ran after her sister but Tiffany stood and Yuri held her hand.

“I got this… stay here…” Fany said before following Taeyeon.

Seohyun dropped on the couch and covered her face with her palms as tears shamelessly fell. It hurts so much to know that she made her sister feel like that again. Worrying for her when all she did was to lie and go against her. She could feel a hand on her back and Jessica’s warm hand on her wrist.

“Aww love, come on stop crying… for all we know Taeyeon is just PMS-ing…”

“Taeyeon is seriously taking this way too much,” Sunny retorted.

“I know right?”

“Maybe you’re giving her a reason to be like this,” Sooyoung asked but the youngest didn’t say anything while Sica sighed.

“I think it’s time we call Junsu Oppa.”

“What?! Hell, no!!!”

“That’s a terrible, terrible idea!”

“Yeah. Did you forget what happened when we saw him with his fiancé at a restaurant? Taeyeon almost cried her eyes out and staged a self-imposed-bedroom-arrest for almost two weeks.”

“But at least she listens to whatever he tells her.”

“No, that would only torture them,” Sica finally said, “Besides, it’s really better that they separated without too much ruckus—“

“Without ruckus because he vanished into thin air like he never existed at all and he came back with another woman!” Sunny said with obvious annoyance, “He gave up on her!”

“Because that was the best thing to do. His family decided his future even though Taeng fits in their social circle.”

“This .” Yoona sighed, “The life of the rich and famous big time.”

They all fell quiet for a moment until Sica laughed when she noticed that her friends seemed to stare at her unconsciously or not. “What? Don’t give me that look like you pity me. This life , I know the feeling… but I have relinquished my right to freedom of choice long ago. And can we, like, continue comforting, Seohyunie instead?”

~~~

“Damn you, Kim Taeyeon, for making me run like this…” Tiffany grumbled when she reached Taeyeon’s house. When Taeyeon bolted out, she drove herself to their house while Tiffany sprinted since she forgot her car key. Although the Kim’s residence was just a stone’s throw away, Fany was panting because of, well, her stilettos.

“Let’s talk,” Tiffany said the moment she reached the basement where Taeyeon was already taking out her sketch pad.

“Go away, Miyoung.”

“No, I’m not going away or anywhere, for that matter, and you are going to listen to what I have to say whether you like it or not!” Fany put her hands on her waist, the run and Taeyeon’s attitude irritated her some more. “And for the love of good heavens stop calling me Miyoung just because you’re pissed!”

“I want to be alone!” Taeyeon slammed her pencil case on the working table but it didn’t seem startle the other girl.

“Shut up and listen or this friendship is over!”

“What?! That’s bullcrap!”

“What’s bullcrap is your attitude, Kim Taeyeon. NOW, SIT!”

To her surprise, Taeyeon found herself sitting on the couch and stared almost blankly at Tiffany who started pacing back and forth in front of her. After almost a minute of forever, Fany sat beside her and looked at her seriously.

“I have been meaning to talk to you about this. This is the right time and you will listen and you will not react nor comment. You will do nothing but listen. It’s just me who will talk until I tell you that you can finally talk back… but by talking back I don’t mean you talking about what I said or talking about anybody. Do you understand?”

Taeyeon nodded. Tiffany meant business and she knew she had to listen or all hell breaks loose.

“Good.” Tiffany only gave her a tight-lipped smile then started, “The last time I saw you being so impossible like this was when Seohyun got her little heart broken when we thought Yonghwa rejected her—“ she stopped and glared when Taeyeon opened but continued when the latter pursed her lips shut.

“It was your first time seeing your sister got hurt that way. I know you, Taeng. You love Seohyun to distraction, despite her being too hardheaded most of the time. Seohyun is annoying, yes, but you never want to see your sister get hurt. You never let her play tag with us, you never let her do sports, there even came to a point that you never let her touch sharp objects because you didn’t want to see her get hurt. We all believed that Yonghwa liked Seohyun before so we encouraged her to tell him. The consequences never occurred to us.” Tiffany smiled as she watched her Taeyeon’s eyes softened. “We didn’t know any better then. We were so young and excited and never thought that the first one among us to have her heart broken was our youngest.”

“Then, it happened and it wasn’t what we expected. It was something you didn’t see coming. It was something you were not able to guard Seohyun from. You were angry, you are angry… yes, you were angry at Yonghwa but Taeng…” she took Taeyeon’s hand and gave it a little squeeze, “You are more angry at yourself because you think you were at fault. You can’t do this; you must stop doing this to yourself and to your sister. You are hurting her more, and more importantly you are hurting yourself… Taeng, forgive please… forgive Yonghwa and, most of all, forgive yourself.”

Taeyeon cried. She tried to stop her tears but to no avail; she smiled despite her falling tears as she rested the back of her hand on her nose and mouth. And nodded, it was spot on. Everything Tiffany said was like hearing it straight from her heart— as if it her heart that was doing the talking.

Finally, Fany gently pulled her bestfriend in a tight embrace. Taeyeon’s head fell on her shoulder as she continued crying, “It’s okay… hon… it’s okay…”

“I-I’m s-sorry… I’m so sorry… I’m so messed up…”

“No, you aren’t… you just love too much... Shhh… there, there, little kitten…” Fany laughed as her friend pulled away and got the box of Kleenex on the side table and blew her nose and wiped her face.

“C-can I talk now?”

Fany laughed and gave her a thumb’s up.

“First of all, you scared the hell out of me…” Taeyeon found herself crying and giggling then she shook her head, “Secondly, thank you…”

“Aww, come here, you big baby…”

Tiffany hugged her again.

“What am I gonna do without you, Fany-ah?”

“That should be a rhetorical question, my little kitten, ‘cause you’ll never find out.” Fany smiled helping Taeyeon wipe the rest of her tears away but then she remembered something so touched her friend’s cheek, “And, uh, while we're at this heart-to-heart thingie… there’s something you need to know…”

“Hmmm…?”

“It’s about Sica…”

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