Yuri woke up and did her daily routine. Running, doing crunches and sitting on the doorsteps. She’s been doing it for a couple of months now and anyone who has eyes would see the changes in her body. There are times when she couldn’t help but be a narcissist while looking at her reflection in the mirror.

When she finished taking a bath, she got dressed and made her way to the front door only to get pulled by Jessica.

“You’re not going to skip breakfast anymore,” she said coldly. “Sit,” she said as she shoved Yuri on a chair. Taeyeon and Jessica were the only ones there.

She sat properly and stared blankly into space then she heard someone laughing. She looked at Taeyeon who was failing miserably at stifling her laugh.

She only stopped when Jessica hit her head. “Ouch! Sica, what was that for?”

“Why were you laughing?”

Taeyeon pouted cutely and looked down. “I still think what you told me this morning was funny.”

“And they say I’m the sadistic one.”

“Fine. Sorry, Yuri-ah.”

Yuri stared them, baffled. “Why are you apologizing?”

Jessica answered for Taeyeon. “Yuri-ah, please don’t be mad… I told her about your feelings for my sister,” she said in a hushed tone just in case someone was eavesdropping.

“YOU WHAT?! Sica, I told you not to tell anyone,” Yuri whined.

“I’m sorry but Taengoo saw us hugging and got jealous and made a fuss about it and she wouldn’t stop sulking unless I tell her my reason for hugging you. I told her you hugged me first but she got angrier and said that she was going to punch you or something so technically I saved you from getting punched. I had no choice but to tell her,” explained Jessica.

“You need not to save me from the punch of that midget.”

“Yah, do you want me to reveal your secret?” teased Taeyeon and it made Yuri pale.

“Do you want me to break up with you?” Jessica asked using the same teasing tone. “Look, Yul, she promised me that she will not tell anyone.”

“I swear Taeng if you tell anyone about this—“

“I won’t so don’t worry and I’m really sorry about laughing at you earlier. It’s just that I never thought you’d fall in love with—“

“Don’t!” Yuri raised her palm in front of Taeyeon. “Don’t say her name. I have this weird feeling that someone is eavesdropping.”

“You’re being paranoid.”

“Whatever. I don’t want to talk about it.” They ate in silence while Taeyeon and Jessica occasionally stole glances on Yuri.

“Hi, Soo. Hi, Tiff,” said Jessica. 

“Good morning,” Sooyoung greeted while Tiffany just sat down beside Jessica, across Yuri’s seat.

Tiffany and Yuri avoided eye contact while the three girls observed them and glanced at each other. Unlike Sooyoung, Jessica and Taeyeon knows the real reason why Yuri was avoiding Tiffany and they felt like they were stuck in the middle of a messy love-triangle.

Tiffany finished her breakfast and stood up. “Thanks for the breakfast, Taengoo. Jessie, mom said we should have dinner with them tomorrow night.” She looked at Sooyoung and noticed that her girlfriend was still enjoying the breakfast. “I’ll go ahead, Soo. I’ll see you later.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“No, no. Finish your meal.” She kissed Sooyoung’s cheek before heading out. Sooyoung stuffed the food in and grabbed a couple of brownies before standing up. She looked at Yuri and said, “Let’s talk later, Yul.”

Yuri nodded and forced a smile. When the two were gone, she heard Taeyeon asked, “Did that hurt? Seeing Fany kiss Soo?”

The taller girl looked at her blankly then stood up. She walked away but turned around when she thought of what to say. “If I kiss Sica in front of you, wouldn’t you be hurt? You know what, screw what I just said, I’m telling you now that I’ll kiss Sica every time I bump into her so you’ll know what I feel.”

Taeyeon was appalled. “Y-yah! Don’t even try—“

Yuri left before Taeyeon could finish what she was saying.

Taeyeon looked at Jessica who was glaring at her. “Sica, you’re not going to let her kiss you, right?”

Jessica didn’t answer and continued to send the shorter girl her death glare. “Sica-yah,” Taeyeon called out desperately.

“How could you be so insensitive, Taengoo?” she sighed. “No, I’m not going to let her kiss me and if it’ll make you feel better, if she tries to kiss me, I’ll kick her . Now, if you won’t stop taunting Yuri, I’ll kick YOUR .”

“Sorry,” Taeyeon muttered.

“Tell that to Yuri. Weren’t you even listening to what I’ve said earlier? Didn’t I tell you that it’s not just a simple crush? She loves her Taengoo and she’s hurting every time she sees those two together. It’s not something to joke about. What’s wrong with you?”

“I’m sorry. It’s just that…I know now why Sunny loves gossips. It’s fun knowing other people’s secrets and it’s kind of tempting to tease them about it,” Taeyeon said and looked down, feeling guilty of what she’d done.

“You are so childish.”

“Like it never crossed your mind to about it. They hated each other’s guts when they first met and now Yuri’s in love with her.”

“It…it did! But at least, I had the decency not to. Now, eat.”


---


I arrived at my first class today with five minutes to spare. I saw Tiffany reading her notes quietly. I couldn’t decide whether to sit beside her or to take a seat away from hers like I always did these past couple of months. I finally decided to take a seat beside her and I saw her look up but quickly turn away. Great. Tables have turned and she’s avoiding me now.

It went on like that for the whole day. Both of us went home to eat lunch but none of us spoke. I should’ve been used not talking to her. I guess it’s different since she’s the one avoiding me.

During dinner I didn’t see her eat anything that I cooked. Just like the first day. I guess I really ticked her off this time. I’d like it better if she’d shout at me and throw things at me than this. Getting cold treatment from Fany makes me want to jump off a bridge.

After dinner, Soo and I talked about this whole ‘switching rooms’ situation and she also asked me why I was avoiding Fany and I couldn’t really come up with an excuse so I told her what I told Fany. “I’m not avoiding her.”

Sooyoung sat on her bed and stared at me as if waiting for a real answer. Too bad because I’m not gonna crack. She sighed and hauled her suitcase full of snack to my former room. Could you believe her? She only got a handful of clothes but a bag full of food.

I’ve just finished moving my stuff to my new room. I sat on Soo’s bed and looked around, trying to take in every details of the room. Not like I haven’t memorized it yet. This was it. No more staring at Fany before going to sleep. No more listening to her voice every time she sings. No more Fany as my roommate. 

“That ,” I mumbled, failing to notice that Seohyun was already inside the room. 

She shot me a confused stare and I quickly smiled and said, “It that I’m hungry again. I’m becoming like Soo.”

She just nodded. Weird kid. She didn’t even ask why I switched rooms with Soo. Well, at least she’s not nosy. Thank God!

For a whole week, Fany ignored me. It shouldn’t even be a big deal since we weren’t really talking to each other even before she started avoiding me. I’m supposed to want this but I don’t. I’m not used to seeing Fany not friendly. It’s like seeing a crème brûlée without the top part burnt. It’s simply NOT a crème brûlée. I miss the talkative Fany. She goes quiet when I’m around. I don’t even see her smile anymore. I miss her. A lot.


---


It’s a Saturday morning and everyone was still in bed. Two days from now, they would be having their finals week. They’ve finished all their projects and they could all relax. Reading notes two or three days prior to the exam day is useless. They’d only forget about what they’ve read or at least that’s what Taeyeon thinks.

Taeyeon was the first one to wake up. She was going to stretch her short arms in hopes of growing taller but she noticed the blonde girl clinging onto it. Ever since that faithful day, about three weeks ago, they’ve grown even closer. Much closer. You could see from how they arrange their beds before sleeping. There was still a gap but it’s only about an inch. Taeyeon complained at first but stopped when she realized Jessica’s reason was valid.

Flashback

“Taengoo, what did I tell you about staring at me like that?”

Taeyeon grinned, “Not to do it anymore because I look like a creeper.”

“Why are you still doing it?” asked Jessica who was completing her final project on a minor subject she’s taking for the term.

“Oh right, I didn’t tell you. I’m fine looking like a creeper.” Taeyeon sat on the blonde girl’s bed and continued being a creeper. Jessica just rolled her eyes.

“Done. I could finally rest,” Jessica yawned. She stopped when Taeyeon held her forearm.

“Sica,” said Taeyeon while looking straight into her eyes.

“What?”

Instead of answering, she inched forward and kept her gaze on Jessica’s lips, heart pounding and cold sweats forming on her forehead.

Jessica, on the other hand, was quite sure that she knows what Taeyeon was planning to do so she just sat still. "She’s going to kiss me, right? Damn it! What was that thing that Tiff said about kissing? I should’ve listened every time she talked about those idiots she went out with before," Jessica thought. Despite the nerves kicking in, she tried to act cool. She saw Taeyeon closing her eyes and she copied her. Then she felt it, Taeyeon’ lips on hers. She’s well aware that Taeyeon has a pair of soft lips but the sensation it brought her was something she’ll never be able to put into words.

Taeyeon let her lips linger on Jessica’s but the latter didn’t even make a move. She just sat still, eyes and lips closed. She wasn’t sure if Jessica was holding her breath. She pulled away and looked at her only to see slightly opened. She smiled and leaned forward to kiss her again. "Come on, Sica. If you don’t kiss me back, this would be very awkward," she thought.

Taeyeon kissed her lower lip and to her surprise Jessica kissed her back. She couldn’t help but smile. That smile grew wider and turned into a giggle so she had to pull away yet again.

“Why?”

“I lost count on how many times you’ve hit me and now I have this irra—,” she paused and smirked at the girl, “rational fear of getting hit by Ms. Jessica Jung every time I try to pull anything like that. I thought you were going to hit me.”

Before Jessica could react violently, she leaned forward and whispered something to Jessica. “I’m sorry if that kiss wasn’t what you’ve imagined your first kiss would be.”

“You’re right.”

Taeyeon backed away to look at Jessica. 

“I never imagined my first kiss to be in this room. I never imagined it to happen after finishing a school work. I never thought the person who’d take my first kiss would chuckle right after kissing me. I never thought she’d think of me as a person who’d hit people just because. And sure it wasn’t the first kiss most girls dreamed of but you, Kim Taeyeon, had given me so much more. You’ve asked me to be your girlfriend while swimming with dolphins and sea lions. You’ve given me a birthday party that I’m sure I’d never forget. Ever. You’ve put up with my sh*tty attitude from day one. You swam with sharks and gave me shark teeth, for some reason.”

Taeyeon chuckled.

“You’ve given me this,” she pointed at the pendant Taeyeon gave her, “I’ve never taken this off, by the way. I’ve never given you anything but you never complained. You make sure I get to eat what I want to eat and how much I want to eat even though the others seem like they’d be hiring a hit man to get rid of you or just to scare you so you’d cook what they want. I’m talking about Soo. You…you’ve even taught me how to be nice and be more considerate. Because of you and your BIG family, I learned that it’s important to learn the names of every family member.”

She chuckled at her last statement. “If my dad heard what I just said, he’d be upset. I still don’t know the names of our other relatives.” She shook her head and tried to finish what she was saying. She looked at her hands on her lap and continued, “In a short period of time, you’ve made such a big impact in my life so…no, I don’t really care if my first kiss is not the ideal first kiss most girls would dream about. While those girls brag about their stupid first kiss, I’ll go on for hours bragging about how my Taengoo won me over.”

She looked up and said, “I love you, Taeyeon.”

At that point, Taeyeon’s mind just started to go haywire. Those were a lot of words to process. A lot of sweet words coming from Jessica’s mouth. Sweet and cheesy words that she never thought Jessica would utter. Every word Jessica said just now touched her. She was about to die from happiness. 

“Y-you remember all of those things and you… Am I dreaming? Did you really say…’I loveyou’?”

Jessica nodded. “You’re supposed to be saying ‘I love you, too’ right now instead of just asking questions.”

“I love you, too, Sica.” 

Taeyeon was still in a daze. She saw Jessica looking at her weirdly but was sporting an amused smile. “I love you,” she said, trying to test if Jessica would say it again.

“I love you, too. Just so you know, I’m not going to say it all the time just because.”

Taeyeon, who seemed to have her head cleared again, grabbed her phone. “Could you repeat it again though so I could record it? So that every time I say those three words to you and you don’t say it back, I could just play the recorded one?”

“That’s what you want? Come here and kiss me again but this time take a picture of it. That way I won’t have to kiss you ever again.”

“I was kidding. Can I kiss you again?”

Jessica shook her head. “No. Move my bed closer to yours and let’s go to sleep.” That night, their beds were pushed together to form one big bed. 

The next morning, Taeyeon woke up and saw Jessica standing in the foot of their joined beds. She saw her glaring at her.

“You ert!” shouted Jessica. 

“What? Could you please lower your voice? Yoona might—“

“Yoona slept in Seohyun’s room! You, you ert, you were touching my while I was asleep!”

“It…I did not intend to do that. I was asleep. Maybe my hands thought you’re , you’re really soft was a pillow or something.” She looked at Jessica who was fuming. “I’m sorry. I seriously didn’t mean to do that.”

“ert!”

Taeyeon sighed, “Sica, it’s not like…we’re not going to…touch each other.” Taeyeon tried to be careful with her words. “There will come a time when we will have to do ‘it’ and I—“

“Stop! Don’t… Stop putting things in my head.”

“Alright, alright. I’m sorry.”

That was how Jessica came up with the rule of their beds having at least an inch of a gap so Taeyoen wouldn’t have a chance to ‘molest’ her. Jessica would use Taeyeon’s arm as her bolster and her right arm isn’t allowed to move. It’s crazy how she makes me do things that are impossible to do.

She got up and stared at the lump on Yoona’s bed which started moving. “Good morning, Nomad Yul.”


---


It was almost noon by the time everyone got up from their beds. They have nothing to do but to sit around so Sunny came up with a bright idea. “Let’s go to the zoo!”

Everyone gawked at her, waiting for an explanation as to why she wanted to go the zoo. “Hyomin and her friends are going there to finish some sort of project so I just thought that we could also go there and hang out.

“Fine with me,” said Yoona. 

The other looked at each other and shrugged.

“So we’re all going?” Everyone nodded save for Yuri

“I’m gonna have to pass.”

“Why?”

“Wouldn’t want to ruin your date. Don’t want to be the third...fifth, seventh or ninth wheel.”

Jessica and Taeyeon shot her a knowing look.

“You could go out with that Krystal. The girl who talks about you like you’re the most perfect creature in the face of the Earth,” Sunny suggested. 

Hyoyeon protested immediately and put an arm around Yuri. “She’s not going to go out with anyone else. Hello? Are you guys forgetting that I’m also single?”

“Oh right. Besides, it’s not like you need someone to hang out with us. Although, you would feel out of place since—“

Sunny got cut off by Jessica when she cleared . “Let’s get going then.”

“Wait!” said Soo. “We need snacks, guys.”


---


They got to the Seoul Grand Park and met up with Hyomin and her friends.

“Wow. It’s been so long since we’ve been here, right Jessie?”

“I don’t about you but the last time I was here was about a couple of months ago.”

“Who were you with?”

“I was with Taengoo. She brought me to see the dolphin and sea lion show then she asked me to be her girlfriend which I accepted,” she said nonchalantly.

“WHAT?” everyone shouted save for Yuri, Hyomin, Seohyun and Yoona.

“You mean, you two are together? You two are a couple? And we didn’t know?” asked Tiffany in disbelief.

“How can you not tell us, Taengoo?” Sunny complained, upset that she wasn’t the first one to know. Same goes for Hyoyeon.

“You guys are dense,” said Jessica bluntly. She then smiled triumphantly seeing their faces.

“Wow. Slowpoke Sica is calling us dense,” Hyoyeon muttered.

Jessica scoffed and remembered something. “Slowpoke? Slowpoke Sica? Is that why you gave Taengoo a plush toy of that ugly pokemon?”

“Oh my god, you just realized now?” said Sunny.

“Wait, so all of us didn’t know about you two?” asked Tiffany.

Before Taeyeon could answer, Yoona spoke. “I knew about it. I just decided not to tell anyone but Hyunnie.” She looked at Taeyeon. “That’s why I don’t sleep in our room sometimes. To give you guys some alone time.”

Taeyeon grinned. “Thanks but Sica’s not ready for that yet.” That earned a hard slap on her forehead. She rubbed it and pouted. “Yuri knew about it, too. We don’t know how but I guess she’s just pretty smart.”

Tiffany looked at Yuri and said, “Why didn’t you—“ she stopped when she remembered that they were still having the cold war. She turned to her step sister. “Why didn’t you tell us?”

“We were thinking you guys would eventually figure it out but like I said, you guys were too dense to know.”

They all stared at her in disbelief. They never thought that this day would come. Jessica was calling them dense. Slowpoke Sica was calling them slow. What ‘s happening to the world?