Chapter Three

~~~

"Excuse me," the husky voice rang out into the night silence. Taeyeon turned and looked at the red head. The black haired girl then turned, checking if Tiffany was actually talking to her.

"I'm talking to you," Tiffany pointed to Taeyeon, seeing the confusion in Taeyeon's eyes. Taeyeon widened her eyes before raising an eyebrow at Tiffany.

"I was wondering if you wanted to eat some tteokbokki with me," Tiffany suggested, pointing to the vendor that wasn't that far from the two.

Taeyeon looked at Tiffany for a moment before staring at the ground, "Sorry, I don't have any money on me," Taeyeon apologized, slipping both hands into her sweater pocket.

The red head then smiled at Taeyeon, who happened to look up at that moment, making the shorter girl's mind stop for a moment, seeing how Tiffany's eyes smiled along with her lips. That's when Taeyeon knew she was practically gawking at Tiffany and she stopped, drifting her eyes back to the ground.

"Don't worry, it's on me, come on, let's eat," Tiffany smiled and began to walk to the vendor.

Taeyeon stood still for a moment as if her feet were glued to the ground. Tiffany turned around once she realized Taeyeon was not following, "Are you coming?" she asked with a hint of amusement. Free food, Taeyeon thought to herself as she let her feet bring her to the vendor before she sat next to Tiffany as the old man gave them another disposable chopstick for Taeyeon.

"It's a nice night, isn't it?" Tiffany spoke as they ate the tteokbokki, staring out onto the streets that were lit up by the street lamps. Taeyeon simply gave a nod as she savored the taste of the food.

Tiffany examined Taeyeon for a second before speaking, "You're not much of a talker, are you?" Taeyeon shook her head as she picked up another piece of tteokbokki with the chopsticks and plopped it into . The red head shrugged, "That's fine,"

~~~

Taeyeon woke up bright and early on Sunday morning and refreshed herself in the bathroom before immediately heading to the university. Entering the classroom, Taeyeon sat herself down at the empty table and pulled out her notes and reviewed the information she needed. 

Soon enough, the class room was now full of people. Some were studying, some were playing around, some were even catching up on the sleep they lacked from partying. Taeyeon let out a weak scoff, partying. All they did at a party was drink alcohol and grind on sweaty bodies. Thanks but no thanks, Taeyeon thought to herself.

Glancing at the seat next to her, she realized that everybody had a seat partner but her. Taeyeon didn't care all that much, it just means that there's more room for her. Taeyeon's pencil spun in her hand like usual as she stared at her notebook, taking in as much information her brain could handle.

Once the professor passed out the tests, Taeyeon sped through it easily and handed it over to the professor in less than twenty minutes. Surprised murmurs went around the room before the professor shushed them and smiled at Taeyeon, "Thank you, Taeyeon. You may leave now,"

Taeyeon nodded and went back to her seat, putting her stuff in her back pack. Looking up, Taeyeon connected eyes with the red head whom she still doesn't know the name to. Tiffany let out a small smile at Taeyeon but Taeyeon simply looked away and went out of the room, escaping to the roof top.

~~~

The dark haired girl breathed in the scent of the many different flowers. She liked the smell, it smelled bitter sweet to her. Flowers were bitter sweet and it reminded Taeyeon of herself. Bitter sweet. She let out a sigh and walked over to the side of the building, doing her usual intakes of deep breathes as she watched the city life.

Taeyeon heard the door to the roof creek open and she figured it was one of the volunteer gardeners here to water the flowers. But, to her surprise, she saw a familiar red head leaning on the rail next to her, "You like the garden a lot, don't you?" Tiffany asked.

The older girl nodded as she watched Tiffany's actions out of the corner of her eye. "My name's Stephanie," Tiffany started and Taeyeon angled her head to look at the girl, "But everyone calls me Tiffany," Tiffany wasn't making any eye contact with Taeyeon as the younger girl looked at the cars parked in the lot.

Tiffany spoke again but this time she connected eyes with Taeyeon, "You're Taeyeon, aren't you?" Taeyeon let out one nod as she tried to figure out when she ever told Tiffany her name. Tiffany let out a small smile at the confused look on Taeyeon as she stared out into the city, "Everyone knows who you are, whether you know it or not," she spoke in a low voice.

It was silent after that. But, this time, Taeyeon didn't feel as lonely as she did when it was usually silent. Perhaps it was because someone was here to share that silence with her, because, after all, silence is her friend.

~~~

The rush of people that day in the small noodle shop was phenomenal. It was one of the busiest days Taeyeon's seen in all her years of working there. Sweating, Taeyeon used the napkin to wipe her sweat off and continued to deliver the bowls of noodles.

At the end of her shift, she found the boss sitting down at one of the tables, "May I have my pay now?" Taeyeon asked politely. The new boss simply smiled and handed the envelope to Taeyeon. Opening the envelope, she frowned slightly, "This.. this is half of what I usually get,"

"I've decided to pay all the workers half of what they get at the beginning of the week and I'll give them the rest at the end of the week," the lady explained. Taeyeon gulped down the lump in , "Is it okay if I get my whole pay today?"

"I'm sorry, it's just how it's going to work now," the lady apologized, though Taeyeon knew she wasn't the least bit sorry. Clenching her jaw, Taeyeon nodded and bowed to her new boss, holding the envelope in her hand. She sighed as she got outside the shop, feeling the fresh air of Spring.

Taeyeon opened the envelope and took the bills out, counting the money. She had enough for perhaps three fulls meals, only enough to last her two days. Plus, she had to pay the rent. The black haired girl took a deep breath and stuffed the money into the envelope and shoved the envelope into her jean pocket.

Time to find another job, Taeyeon thought as she walked the streets of Seoul in attempt to find another job that'll get her the money she needs to stay healthy. Taeyeon groaned in disappointment as she couldn't find any job that'd she'd be able to do. Her feet brought herself to the university.

Talking to one of the administrators, Taeyeon asked if she could move into the dorm like they had said at the beginning of the semester. A look of worry was clearly evident on Taeyeon's face as the elder lady told her there were no dorms left open. Taeyeon nodded and bowed before exiting the building. When she got back to her house, she saw her stuff on the front step and a note on the door, 'LATE RENT - UP FOR SALE'

Taeyeon's eyes brimmed with tears but it disappeared as quickly as it had came as she stuffed all that she could into the backpack of hers and walked around Seoul with just a large backpack on her back, the clothes on her body, and enough money to last her two days.

~~~

Taeyeon's feet brought her to the familiar vendor as she sat at one of the stools and asked for a plate of tteokbokki. The old man smiled at Taeyeon and took the money from her before making the tteokbokki. "So, what's a young lady like you doing out late at night?" the man asked, raising his voice for Taeyeon to hear.

The dark haired girl merely shrugged. The man then turned, "Don't tell me you were just at a party," Taeyeon let out a small smile and shook her head, making the man smile, "Good, I don't understand youth and their idea of partying these days," Taeyeon bit the inner side of her cheek, Neither do I.

"Taeyeon?" the voice rang out and Taeyeon turned her head to see Tiffany seating herself on the stool next to her. Tiffany then looked over at the man preparing Taeyeon's food, "Make that two plates, ahjussi," she smiled and the man gave her an 'okay' sign with his hands.

"I'm guessing you like the tteokbokki here too?" Tiffany asked as the old man placed the plate of tteokbokki in front of Taeyeon. The older girl let out a nod as she opened the wrapper for the disposable chopsticks, eating the food. Tiffany smiled, "I don't blame you. It's good food, plus it's cheap,"

Cheap, Taeyeon repeated in her mind, perfect for me. The two ate in silence as the crickets made noises in the background and drunk people made noise in the distance. Tiffany let out a scoff as she swallowed the piece of tteokbokki in , "Tssk, drunk people. I don't understand why people drink. It's basically killing yourself slowly," 

Taeyeon nodded, I couldn't agree more. Tiffany looked at Taeyeon, she knew that the girl would not talk nor did the girl want to talk and she didn't mind. At least Tiffany wasn't being ignored completely considering how Taeyeon would nod or shake her head. Being around Taeyeon made Tiffany feel calm and she liked it.

~~~

"Where do you live, Taeyeon?" Tiffany asked the girl the next night as they ate tteokbokki together. The question made Taeyeon freeze for a moment as she thought about how to respond to Tiffany's question because, at the moment, Taeyeon was homeless. So, Taeyeon didn't answer.

Tiffany furrowed her eyebrows at Taeyeon ignoring her but she figured it was best not to push the topic any further. Taeyeon mentally thanked Tiffany for not pushing the question and they continued to share the plate of tteokbokki.

~~~

It became a usual routine for the two girls to meet up at midnight and eat tteokbokki together. Words were barely spoken, but the two didn't mind. They ate together at midnight but during the day they never spoke, though they never spoke when eating either. It made Tiffany wonder, what were they exactly?

Friends? No, because friends talk to each other. Acquaintances? Perhaps, but acquaintances still talked to each other. Tiffany let the thought go. It's better for some things to left unknown sometimes, this being one of those times.

Becuase if it's unknown, you're more wanting to hold onto it to find out what it is exactly.

~~~

There was that one day when Tiffany had overslept, forgetting to meet up with Taeyeon. The black haired girl sat alone as she used the chopsticks to pick up the little tteokbokki pieces. She felt a sense of disappointment, something she was trying to avoid.

She was getting attached to Tiffany, slowly but surely. Taeyeon didn't want that to happen, no, not at all. The old man simply watched as the young girl stared blankly at the food in front of her, deep in her thoughts. It made him wonder why the girl always came at the exact same time and why the girl would never leave until he closed the vendor.

Taeyeon was a person everyone worried about, whether Taeyeon herself liked it or not.

~~~

"Ahjussi, have you seen Taeyeon at all recently?" Tiffany asked, a hint of worry in her voice as she tapped impatiently on the vendor. The old man shook his head, "Last time I saw the girl was last week,"

Tiffany let out a sigh and played around with the little white pieces of rice cake. The older man walked over and wiped the counter of his vendor, "She's an interesting girl, that Kim Taeyeon," 

The red head looked up, slowly nodding in agreement. Kim Taeyeon sure was interesting.

"She never leaves the vendor until I close down,"

That sentence made Tiffany furrow her eyebrows, "She doesn't?"

The man shook his head, "No. If I didn't know any better, I would've figured she didn't have a home,"

His sentence repeated a couple times in Tiffany's head. Didn't have a home. Didn't have a home. Did Kim Taeyeon really not have a home? 

Kim Taeyeon was a mystery. She was a mystery that Tiffany was determined to uncover.

Hello lovely readers! I'm glad you are all enjoying the story, it's really fun for me to write this kind of stuff actually :P Almost as fun as writing fluff, maybe even more!

As always, leave a comment on your thoughts for this chapter!