When Krystal returned to their room with a bowl of chicken soup that she cooked, Tiffany stood up and went downstairs. She saw Taeyeon and Jessica who just got back from the school cafeteria.

“Tell me why that obnoxious girl is in our room right now. Aren’t you suppose to register Yul and fix her schedule for the second term?” she glared at Taeyeon.

“Krystal volunteered to do it. I don’t see any problems with that, sis,” she grinned.

“Get her out of our room. NOW! And stop calling me ‘sis’.”

Jessica was having fun watching the stressed out Tiffany. “Why would you want her out? She’s just being nice.”

“How is that nice? Her look…that look that you give when you’re bored and pissed off. That’s what she gave the entire time!”

Jessica shrugged and walked away, pulling Taeyeon with her. “Stop acting like some jealous girlfriend. I don’t see anything wrong with what that girl’s doing. If she wants to take care of Yul then let her be.”

Tiffany could only scowl at Jessica and Taeyeon’s back. She stomped back to their room and saw Krystal taking Yuri’s shirt off. Now, she’d understand, or would’ve tried to understand, if Taeyeon didn’t change Yuri’s shirt minutes ago but the short girl did so she couldn’t really think of a reason why this tall and obnoxious girl is taking Yuri's shirt off

“What are you doing?”

“I’m cooking,” the other girl sarcastically answered.

Tiffany huffed. “Why are you taking her shirt off?”

“I want to stare at her body. Sheesh, you’re like a bank, not filled with money though, but with stupid questions. Did stupid people decide to deposit all their stupidity on you or something?” she asked rudely. Don’t get her wrong. She’s not always rude but Tiffany, in her point of view, was asking stupid questions. It was obvious that she was taking Yuri’s shirt off and she wouldn’t strip someone if it wasn’t necessary.

If there were little people inside Tiffany’s brain, they’d be counting down the seconds before she goes berserk. You know how those bad guys have this detonator with a big red button on it and when they press it, something goes ‘Kaboom!’? Krystal did not just press it, she hit it with a hammer like it was one of those carnival hammer game. Kaboom!

She walked towards Krystal. “Why you little…”

“I’m taller than you,” she said, aggravating Tiffany more.

“…I was talking to you nicely! You’re not even supposed to be here! GET THE HELL—“

“Fany-ah.”

The explosion was short-lived because Yuri, the sick one and probably the cause of all of this, spoke, voice still faint and she could barely open her eyes.

“Fany-ah, she had to change my shirt because of the soup. It spilled and—“

Tiffany glared at the girl and cut Yuri off, “You can’t even feed her right? What if you spilled it on her arm or—“

“It was my fault. I accidentally pushed her hand away.”

Krystal smirked and gave her that look again. Not knowing what to say, she stormed out of the room and slammed the door on her way out. She also didn’t want to see Krystal’s face anymore. It’s making her angrier than she already is.

Back at their room, Yuri was lying on her back once again and Krystal was seated on the chair provided by Taeyeon earlier.

“You shouldn’t have talked to her that way, Krystal,” said Yuri as she turned her back on her.

“But she was asking way too many questions.”

“You could’ve just answered her nicely.”

Krystal felt sorry not because of what she said to Tiffany. She’d be a hypocrite if she said she’s sorry about that. She’s sorry because she clearly made Yuri upset. She sensed it on the sick girl’s voice.

“I’m sorry.”

She didn’t get any response but heard Yuri’s light snore. She walked to the other side of the bed and knelt to see Yuri’s face. She her face carefully as to not wake her up. She leaned forward and kissed Yuri’s cheek.

“Please get better soon,” she whispered.

Krystal left the room and said goodbye to Yuri’s housemates save for Tiffany whom she had a glaring contest with.

After dinner, Tiffany went to their room and checked Yuri’s temperature. Fever was still high and she still looked frail. When she was about to leave, Yuri grabbed her hand but quickly let go when she turned around.

“Do you need anything?”

“I’m sorry about what Krystal said earlier.”

“Why are you saying sorry? Did you tell her to be rude? Did you tell her to say those mean things to me?”

Yuri shook her head. “I’m saying sorry on her behalf. She’s not normally like that.”

“Yeah right. I bet she’s an angel most of the time,” she said sarcastically. “Go to sleep.”


---


A week and a half have passed and Yuri’s in tiptop condition thanks to her friends who took care of her while she was sick. There was a particular girl that she wanted to thank and what better way to do it than to bake a cookie for her.

She got out of the kitchen and was already on her way out when she heard Tiffany’s voice. “Where are you going? You’re not supposed to strain yourself, you know.”

She saw the cookies in a jar that Yuri was holding and smiled. “Are those for me?”

“Uh…no. It’s actually for Krystal. A thank you gift for taking care of me.”

Although she knows that her housemates took care of her, she’s extra grateful for Krystal’s efforts. The girl would go to their house in the morning and go home before dinner. She did it daily until Yuri felt better. Krystal even cancelled a trip with her parents just to take care of her.

“We took good care of you, too. Why don’t we have cookies?”

She was taken aback by Tiffany’s expression and how she talked. Tiffany was looking down and her voice was almost inaudible. Judging from her questions, the appropriate feeling that she should be showing was anger.

It was quite different from what Yuri expected. She expected Tiffany to throw a fit and to shout at her because she’s angry. In all honesty, she wasn’t sure what Tiffany is feeling right now and it didn’t help that she couldn’t read the girl’s expression.

So… she’s not mad at me but she seems upset. Is she upset because I didn’t bake her cookies?

“I’ll make cookies for you later. I have to give this to Krystal first.”

The rest of the week was a complete blur for the girls. They were busy getting ready for their own family getaways. Sooyoung and Tiffany were the first to depart.

“I’m so excited!” Tiffany squealed as she jumped up and down her bed. “I don’t even know how to ride a wakeboard but I’m still excited!”

Yuri chuckled. “Be careful when you go wakeboarding then.”

Tiffany gasped. “That’s the first time you’ve ever said something like that.”

“No, it’s not. You’re making it sound like I’m such a bad person.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean it that way but still, you’ve never actually said that to me before.”

Yuri shrugged. “I’m saying it to you now. besides, everyone knows how much of a klutz you are so please be careful and make sure that you’ll come back here with all your limbs intact.”

“YAH!”

“Fany-ah,” Sooyoung called. “My sister called and she said that if we’re still not there in twenty minutes, she’ll stick my head on the turbine engine of the plane and she’s not kidding. She’d really do that.”

“Oh, okay.” She looked at Yuri who was also staring at her. “Bye, Yul. See you in a week. Please send my best wishes to Victoria-unnie and Ni…his name’s hard to pronounce.”

Yuri giggled and nodded. “Nik-kuh-hun.” She exaggerated the pronunciation just because of the letter ‘H’. “It’s tougher to spell.”

“Bye, Yul,” said Sooyoung, holding Tiffany’s hand as they got out of the room.

Yuri sighed and began to pack her bags. She didn’t need to bring much since she told her dad to bring her some clothes. It’s going to be a very long week without Fany.


---


Taeyeon and Jessica arrived at the airport by noon. Soon as the two got out of the car, Taeyeon’s hand was glued to Jessica’s. Normally, Jessica would complain but she sensed Taeyeon’s anxiety so she just held onto Taeyeon’s hand, as well.

They stopped at a café and decided to wait for Jessica’s parents there. They ordered their drinks and sat down.

“Taengoo, could you please relax? My dad’s not going to kill you and you’ve met him before.”

“Yeah but—“

“He likes you, okay? Just chill.” She sent a text message to her dad to inform them that they were in a café inside the airport.

Jessica’s parents arrived and Taeyeon stood up to give them a ninety degree bow. They all looked at her weirdly.

“Let’s go check-in our luggage and get our boarding passes, yes?” said Mrs. Jung.

When everything was settled, they all sat on one of the benches and were facing each other; Taeyeon and Jessica on one side and Jessica’s parents on the other.

“So…you and my daughter are official now?” Mr. Jung asked.

“Y-y-yes, sir.”

Tha adults and Jessica tried to stifle their laugh. The adults were successful but Jessica wasn’t. She cleared when she saw Taeyeon pouting. “I’m sorry,” she said to Taeyeon. She looked at her dad and said, “Go on with your talk and dad, please don’t make Taeyeon faint.”

Mrs. Jung chuckled, “I think the blood supply in her brain is going down significantly.”

The three laughed and Taeyeon pouted even more. Jessica saw this and quickly leaned over to whisper something to Taeyeon. “I told you to relax but you didn’t listen and now they’re making fun of you. It’s your fault so don’t get mad at me.”

“You’re making fun of me, too.”

“I’m not. I’m on your side,” said Jessica.

The four of them just waited there and stared at each other awkwardly. Well, for Taeyeon it was awkward and scary.

The flight was worse though. Mr. Jung switched seats with Jessica and Taeyeon had no choice but to look at Jessica from afar. They weren’t actually that far from each other since they were both seated on the aisle seat but for Taeyeon, it was still considered far.

One whole hour of just staring at Jessica. Taeyeon tried to hold Jessica’s hands and Jessica, as surprising as it sounds, didn’t mind. That made Taeyeon happy but it was only for a brief moment because a snobby flight attendant complained.

This tall, skinny girl is going to get it from me. I am so gonna write a letter to the management! Taeyeon glared at the skinny girl. She stopped when she heard Mr. Jung’s voice.

“You remember what I said to you when we first met, right? I trust that you’re not breaking your promise.”

“I’m not planning to break my promise, sir.”

“Good.”

I hope we get to Jeju faster.


---


Yuri just got back at their house in Daejeon. She’s going to fly to Jeju with her family and they have to be in the airport at dawn. She checked her phone to see if Tiffany has sent her a voice mail or just a simple text message saying that they got there safely. Then again, she never really asked Tiffany to do that so why was she expecting for that to happen?

She was surprised when she saw Tiffany’s message. It was a photo of her inside a cab with the caption: We got here safely. On our way to the hotel but we still have to fly to CamSur tomorrow. Good thing the hotel is like three minutes away. Gotta rest.

Yuri smiled thinking that she was the only person who got that message. Her smile was replaced with a frown when she saw those two dreadful letters. CC

She got her hopes up only to get it smashed by the horrible letters. CC.

“Damn it,” she cursed inwardly.

Her phone rang and she grudgingly grabbed it. Krystal was calling her and she was in no mood to talk so instead of answering it, she just ignored it and hid it under a pillow to muffle the sound. After a few minutes, she checked it again and saw that it was another message from Tiffany. She was frowning as she opened it thinking that it was another message from her roommate wherein she only got ‘CCed’ in.

It was a photo of some kid wearing a Mickey Mouse shirt. From the looks of it, Tiffany must’ve taken the photo secretly. Scratch that because who in their right mind would take a photo of a stranger’s shirt without trying to be inconspicuous.

Look, Yul, they know Mickey Mouse, too.(:

She laughed at how silly the message was. She replied immediately. Of course, they know Mickey Mouse, idiot! You’re not in Mars, Fany-ah. People from other parts of the world know Mickey Mouse, too.

She got another message and it was a photo of Tiffany pouting. Meanie. No need to call me ‘idiot’. BTW, Soo says hi.

They continued to exchange messages for the next half hour. When Tiffany sent her a message saying that she was going to rest first and they’ll continue to talk later, she closed her phone and clutched it tightly like some lovesick puppy.

Then reality hit her in the form of a pillow. “She already has a girlfriend,” said Hyuk-joon.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Her brother scoffed. “You do know Vic and Khun told me everything, right?”

“Shut up.”

“You guys are fighting again?” their dad who just entered the room asked.

“He started it, dad,” said Yuri.

“I was stating facts. Fany has a girlfriend and her girlfriend is not you.” He smirked.

“Stop teasing your sister. Yuri-ah, don’t listen to him.”

“I’ll just go to my room, dad and I’m not going to eat dinner. I feel bloated.”

She glared at her brother before heading upstairs. She locked the door and checked her phone again. No message.

Maybe she’s still taking a nap.

Yuri decided to go to sleep but before doing so, she sent a message to Tiffany first.

I’ll go to sleep now. When you wake up, try flooding my phone with your messages and see if I’d wake up.(: I’m kidding. Don’t do that. We’ll go to Jeju tomorrow, btw. Have a safe trip to Camsur.

She put the phone beside her and drifted off to sleep. However, she woke up in the middle of the night when she heard her phone ringing, indicating that someone is calling. Thinking that it was Tiffany who’s calling her, she answered it and said, “Fany-ah, why a—“

“This is Krystal.”

Crap!

“Sorry. I thought you were Fany. Why are you calling me in the middle of the night?”

“I just wanted to check up on you and to know if you’re fine.”

“I’m fine. I’m all good. I could probably jump off a skyscraper without hurting myself. I’m as strong as a superhero,” she rambled stupidly.

She heard Krystal giggling on the other line and couldn’t help but to giggle, as well.

“What?”

“I’m sorry I don’t make sense when I’m sleepy,” she said, unaware that she just used her aegyo voice and unaware of the fact that Krystal almost fainted.

She waited but for Krystal’s response but nothing came. “Krystal, are you still there? Yah.”

“I’m here. I’ll hang up now, sleep tight. Bye. Sweet dreams.”

She hung up and didn’t let Yuri answer back. She tossed her phone on the other side of her bed and went back to sleep, unaware that the girl she was on the phone with a while ago would probably stay up all night spazzing about their short conversation.


---


Tiffany woke up and read Yuri’s message. She smiled and quickly replied. I was so tired so I didn’t have a chance to flood your inbox and it’s not ‘Camsur’, it’s ‘CamSur’.(:

She then sent a short message to her sister. Good morning, Jessie. How’s your honeymoon with Taeng going? I hope mom and dad don’t disturb you two.

She smiled and stared at Sooyoung who was sleeping on the bed beside hers. She decided not to wake her up. She stood up to switch on the television and browsed the channels.

She stopped and watched some local news, although she knew that she wouldn’t understand what they’re saying. They kept on saying ‘bagyo’ but since she couldn’t understand, she just changed the channels and settled on watching ‘How I Met Your Mother Season 6’.

She was laughing at Barney’s antics when she heard her ringing tone. She answered it only to pull it a couple of inches away from her ear.

“YAH! What the heck are you talking about? What honeymoon?!”

“Hi there, Jessie,” she said gleefully. “How’s your first night with Taengoo? I bet it’s ‘legen…wait for it…DARY!”

“Whatever.”

Jessica hung up on her and she went back to watching the show. Sooyoung woke up when she heard the closing theme of the show that Tiffany was watching.

“Good morning,” she greeted as she rubbed her eyes.

“Good morning, honey.”

She walked up to the window and decided to raise the blinds only to see that it was raining cats and dogs outside. “Wow, it’s raining during summer.”

Sooyoung looked out the window. “It’s not even a drizzle. It’s like…is there a storm?”

Tiffany shrugged.

Sooyoung received a text message from her sister and one word caught her attention. Buffet. So the two made their way to the hotel’s restaurant and saw the Choi’s eating their breakfast.

They sat at the table after Sooyoung was satisfied at the amount of food on her plate. “Dad, why is it raining? Isn’t it supposed to be summer? I know it could still rain during summer but it looks like there’s a storm.”

Sooyoung’s sister, Soojin, cleared . “About that, I kind of forgot about what my friend told me when I was talking to her. She told me that summer time here in the Philippines is during the months of April and May. During July, that’s when most of the storm comes.”

Both Tiffany and Sooyoung stared at her.

“You’re kidding, right? So there really is a storm?”

Soojin nodded. “But it won’t last though. It’d probably last for about two to three days.”

“So we’re stuck here?” asked Tiffany.

“Basically, yeah but you could do loads of stuff here in the city. You could go to the malls and shop. There’s a casino nearby... but you two can’t go there,” she quickly said when her parents glared at her.

Tiffany and Sooyoung looked at each other. “I guess we could do that for now.”

“How could you forget about such an important thing?” Sooyoung asked her sister rhetorically.

Later that day, Tiffany learned that the word ‘bagyo’ means storm.