Chapter Two

~~~

It was only yesterday that Taeyeon had saw Mrs. Lee, the old lady who smiled brightly despite her old age. And today, she was hit with the news of the death of her boss. Taeyeon was so sure she had lost the only job that kept her alive but thankfully one of Mrs. Lee's daughter kept the business going along with Taeyeon's life.

All the workers were shaken up at the sudden death of Mrs. Lee, Taeyeon more than others. Mrs. Lee had become a big part of her life. She saw the lady every afternoon for the past three years and started to get attached. Mrs. Lee had eventually become the motherly figure that Taeyeon lacked since her real mother left her. But, like everyone else, Mrs. Lee left her.

That was like a wake up call to Taeyeon.

Taeyeon needed to reinforce the barriers around her heart.

~~~

Her heart ached as she leaned against the tree behind the university. Without realizing, a tear had escaped from her eye. One lonely tear that travelled down her cheek and landed on her hands that were folded neatly in her lap. Tiffany crossed her legs over one another as she let her head lean back against the rough bark of the tree.

Moments ago she was giggling crazily with Jessica and know here she is, crying. How pathetic, she thought to herself as she closed her eyes, soaking in the light breeze of the Spring and the warm sun light on her face. 

Tiffany often came to the same tree just to relax, to calm her thoughts that were racing all the time. She seldom cried under the tree, but sometimes the pain was just unbearable. The thought of her mother back in America suffering with cancer hurt her, so much.

But, Tiffany never showed her hurt to anyone. She kept it to herself. She didn't like the idea of another person butting into her business. She'd like to keep things private. Not even her 'best friend', Jessica knew about the pain she's containing behind her smiles and laughs.

No one knew and Tiffany was glad. She'd much rather be a complicated math problem than an easy one because then, at least, only the person who knows the answer to the problem will be able to solve it.

~~~

Taeyeon wasn't all that surprise when she saw another person at the garden but what did surprise her was it was the familiar red head that giggled nonstop yesterday. Shrugging her shoulder, Taeyeon went over and leaned against the railing of the roof, watching as the cars in the distant street moved along busily, the honking of horns echoing here and there.

Letting a deep breath in, Taeyeon exhaled and interlocked her hands together, placing it on the warm railing of the roof. Hearing a shuffle and a noise, Taeyeon turned and saw that the red head had began to cry silently. Looking away, Taeyeon watched as people walked on the sidewalk.

Maybe I'm not the only one with problems, Taeyeon thought to herself as she heard the quiet sobs of the red head in the background. Taeyeon reached into her bag and pulled out a hankerchief. Walking over to the crying girl, she let the hankerchief fall into her lap before walking away silently.

Tiffany looked up in surprise to see the retreating figure of the black haired girl. Her face was flushed and it soon began to turn red in embarassement. She didn't know Taeyeon had heard her crying. Picking up the white hankerchief, Tiffany wiped her tears and got up, letting out a sigh.

At least Taeyeon hadn't questioned her about anything.

Entering class late, Tiffany bowed repeatedly to the professor and walked back to her seat. As she passed by Taeyeon's table where the girl sat alone, Tiffany dropped the hankerchief without a word and sat besides Jessica.

"What was that?" the blonde girl asked Tiffany.

"What was what?" Tiffany replied.

Jessica gestured to the hankerchief that Taeyeon was putting back into her back pack. Tiffany waved off Jessica, "It's nothing, I just saw her drop it so I wanted to return it," 

Now, whenever Tiffany cries in public, she's going to make sure no one is around to see it.

~~~

"Remember, you have a test on Sunday, be here early," the professor reminded the class as everyone began to pack up their stuff, ready for the weekend. Taeyeon made a mental note to herself to remember the test as she packed the little stuff she had. A textbook, a notebook, and a pencil. That's all Taeyeon had. She did not even have an eraser. Crossing things out was easier than eraser to Taeyeon.

 Why don't you just cover it up instead of erasing it? Becuase if you erase something, it'll be gone forever.

~~~

"Taeyeon! Table five,"

"Table eight, Taeyeon!"

"Taeyeon!"

The constant screams for the waitress made Taeyeon stressed but she kept her calm outerior as she rushed back and forth from the kitchen to the table, passing out the bowls of noodles that were steaming hot. Taeyeon didn't even have one minute to take a deep breath, it was nonstop moving, especially since today was Friday, the busiest day among the week.

As her shift ended, Taeyeon bowed to the workers who were still too busy to even notice her. Finding the new boss, Taeyeon walked up to her, expecting an envelope filled with money.

"I'm here for my pay," Taeyeon announced softly, making the middle-aged woman look up at her.

"Oh?" she asked, confused.

"My pay," Taeyeon repeated.

"I will pay everyone on Monday,"

"But.. Mrs. Lee usually pays me the day I get off my shift,"

"I'm sorry, but that's just how it's going to work from now on,"

Taeyeon let out a small sigh and nodded before bowing respectfully and taking her leave. I guess I'm not going to eat this weekend, she thought to herself as she walked back to her house, avoiding the drunk people roaming the street late at night. Taeyeon never understood the expression of, 'Drinking your pain away'. It seemed stupid to her.

Nearly everything seemed stupid to her. The fact that people think suicide is a way to fix their problems, stupid. How people think drowning themselves in alcohol will help, stupid. How drugs will make them feel painless for only a moment, stupid. Every 'solution' to people's problems were stupid in her eyes. Completely and utterly stupid.

But, after all, she considers herself stupid as well.

~~~

She went home only to be greeted by silence. It was always like this for Taeyeon. The silence was something that became a part of her life. Silence was the only thing that was always there for her. It was the only thing that would never leave her like everyone else in her life did. Silence was her friend.

Taeyeon set her things down on the mat in the corner of the room and took her notebook out, ripping a page out and using her only pencil to scribble onto the paper, 'TEST ON SUNDAY' and placed it on the ground in front of the bathroom where she was sure to see it. She then sat down on the hard wood floor and took out the textbook and reviewed her notes from class. In order to get to the top, you have to work your hardest. That was Taeyeon's mindset, and she was sure to stick to it.

It became late but Taeyeon was still awake, studying hard. Her stomach growled in hunger and she frowned, holding onto her stomach in order to stop the noises from being emitted. I'm hungry, she thought to herself before dragging her feet to the small kitchen only to be greeted by empty cupboards and shelves. Hell, Taeyeon didn't even have a fridge.

The black haired girl let her feet bring her to the mat where she collapsed, hugging her knees to her chin as she stayed awake all night, fighting off the hunger that began to slowly eat at her insides.

~~~

Taeyeon's feet brought her to the streets. Maybe she can walk the hunger off. She walked passed people who seemed to be drunk which was regular for what time it currently was. It was midnight. The petite girl's feet brought her to food stands that were open. The vendors asked for what she wanted, but Taeyeon shook her head, nearly drooling at the sight of food.

Oh, how Taeyeon wished she could get even half of what they serve, she'll be happy.

At the same time, Tiffany stumbled out of her lonely apartment and walked on the sidewalk of the street, heading to her favorite midnight vendor. She was unable to sleep due to a call that came from her father telling her that her mother was not in good condition at the moment.

Arriving at the vendor, Tiffany pulled out a couple bills, "The usual, please," she said politely, handing the bill over to the familiar old man as he nodded. Tiffany sighed and sat on the stool as she waited for the tteokbokki to finish being made. Tiffany's eyes wandered as she looked at the many people who roamed the streets, mostly drunkards. But, one familiar person struck her attention.

The girl was walking with a hunch, holding her stomach with one arm and her other hand was in the pocket of her oversized sweater. She seems hungry, Tiffany thought as she eyed the plate of tteokbokki that was placed in front of her along with disposable chopsticks. Tiffany glanced at the food before back at the girl, then back at the food.

"Ahjussi, I'll be right back," Tiffany said and got off the stool, running up to the girl.

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