“Hana….dul…set!”

“Alright, I’m coming after you!” The little girl yelled as she turned and started chasing after her friends. It was her 8^th birthday and a party was set up for her in the Kims’ backyard. The young girl was too slow to catch up with the others, not to mention her short legs causing her some disadvantage. Even though she never really did talk to anyone in her classroom they were all still invited, rules of her mother. Her parents were worried she wouldn’t be able to have a friend as she grew older.

Most of the kids started making fun of her for not being able to keep up. Eventually, she’d just given up and decided to sit against the tree in the corner of their fenced yard. She was defeated and tired, the idea of the whole class coming to her house was already anxiety handed to her in a lollipop. What she didn’t know was that it would be this hard to keep up with them. Tears were on the verge of falling until one of the players had stopped by her to check if she was ok.

“Taeyeon, what’s wrong? It’s your birthday you’re supposed to be happy.” The girl said with a bit of worry written on her face. Taeyeon had sniffed and wiped her nose. “I can’t run fast….they’re all laughing at me.” A single tear her cheek and it alarmed the other girl. “No, no, don’t cry!” She tried as best she could to make her feel better. She wiped the tear and straightened out her hair. Once finished she held out her hand to Taeyeon, who only looked at it with confusion. “What am I supposed to do with it?” She asked curiously. “Just tag me, I’ll help you out.”

“Hana….dul…set!”

The stopwatch in the older girl’s hand was started and the younger next to her started running down the sidewalk. Taeyeon tapped her foot impatiently as the time was whizzing by on the timer. The time not sufficient enough for her friend, Tiffany. “Come on, faster, Fany!” She shouted and clapped her hands to encourage her. Stephanie was halfway down the street by now and was on her way back. She needed to beat a certain time or else she’d never make the track team. That was definitely not happening so she was out training with her friend, Taeyeon.

Just as it was nearing the past time, Tiffany ran by Taeyeon and clasped a hand on her shoulder to say she was done. The timer stopped and it showed the time of 30 seconds, 35 seconds was the time to beat. A squeal and numerous amounts of clapping went off when Tiffany saw the time it took her to run. She cheered, quite loudly, outside while her friend clapped beside her, astonished how one could have so much energy after running. Well, it was no secret running was something Taeyeon was never good at, all the way up to their seventh grade year still.

“Congrats, Fany, you’ve got this shot in your hands.” With a grin Taeyeon held her hand up for a high-five which was not ignored by Tiffany. Even through all her screaming she had time for Taeyeon. She would always have time for Taeyeon no matter what. Whether it be she’s lonely, she needs a laugh, or just so they can talk about nothing, Tiffany was always there for her. It was the reason the two had grown so fond of each other since they were eight years old. Inseparable.

“Hana…dul…set!”

“Taeyeon, what are you doing?” An angered Tiffany asked, her arms folded across her chest. It was not easy to get Tiffany mad, but Taeyeon mad was a sight to see. Let alone Taeyeon mad at Tiffany. Their list of complaints to each other had turned into raised voices and yelling in the backyard they’d pretty much grown up in. Tiffany was still waiting for her answer, tapping her foot impatiently as she leaned against the tree. Taeyeon had started pacing back and forth, head facing the ground as she started counting to three over and over again. It was starting to bother Tiffany, who’d been still trying to yell at her but had appeared to be talking to a brick wall. Taeyeon was not paying her any attention.

“Kim Taeyeon, will you tell me what the hell you’re doing right now?” Her voice raised once again as she stepped in Taeyeon’s path. Taeyeon saw the feet in front of her and halted her movement. She did not raise her head until after a few seconds to face Tiffany, whose cheeks were red from yelling. “I’m counting to three.” Stating the obvious and walking away, Tiffany grew even more angry and yelled again. This time she spoke her mind. Which she doesn’t necessarily do all the time, on rare occasions, much like this one.

“Kim Taeyeon you walking anxiety attack! Why won’t you listen to me? Why does it matter that I’m going to the homecoming with Donghae? He asked me so I couldn’t say yes! Aren’t you my best friend? Aren’t you supposed to support me? Why did you get angry when I told you he asked me!? You’re my best friend, you told me you had no interest in guys so why are you angry?! Stop walking away and answer me, damn it.” With a kick to the tree Tiffany stomped on her way out of the yard. “Don’t talk to me again, Taeyeon,” Were her last words before exiting the Kims’ backyard.

“Hana…dul…set!”

After three she snapped the photo of the couple standing in front of her, Tiffany and Donghae. It’d hurt her but it was her best friend’s decision, not hers. It was the night of the homecoming, freshman year, and Taeyeon didn’t want to ruin that for either of them. After apologizing a million times, Tiffany forgave her and they rejoiced like nothing had ever happened. They both went shopping for dresses, stayed up late talking about Tiffany’s developing crush, help buy make-up supplies, all the things Taeyeon wasn’t very familiar with. It was all too girly for her, she’d rather keep it simple, white/black dress, heels, and curled up hair. That was formal enough for her, she’d go to the president’s house like that.

The one thing that bothered her though was why she was going with Donghae. Taeyeon didn’t know why she was so angry about it, but it just hurt her. She felt Tiffany was hers and he would steal her away. Tiffany was Taeyeon’s only friend, the only one who would put up with her anti-socialness. They spent almost all their time together, now she was always hanging out with him and his friends, leaving her alone. It broke Taeyeon’s heart, but what could she do about it? All she wanted was Tiffany to be happy.

“Taeyeon, you’re riding with us, aren’t you?” Tiffany asked as she clung tight to Donghae’s arm. “Um….I think I should just stay home.” She started but was cut off by a stomp on the floor. “Kim Taeyeon, you are not missing the first dance of your high school life. Not by my rules you aren’t.” She commanded and stepped forward to pull the shorter girl with her. “Tiffany, I don’t even have a dress.” Taeyeon complained in return, really hoping not to go. A night with seeing the two flirt was definitely not what she wanted. “I have a dress in the car, I’ll bring it out and you can wear it. I also have make-up and I know you have shoes. Now come on.” With that, Taeyeon was in an immediate transformation and was on her way to the homecoming. As third wheel.

“Hana…dul…set!”

Her voice was less energetic as it used to be ever since Tiffany insisted that Donghae become part of their best friendship. Taeyeon could say she was surprised that while Tiffany claimed to be her best friend, she didn’t realize that she’d seemed to have lost all happiness inside her. Whenever the two were around her she never said a word, which was easy for her since she never really talked anyways. She only talked to Tiffany, but the times they are alone are miniscule these days. Taeyeon felt like her and Tiffany’s friendship was failing, and not knowing any better she figured that’s what was supposed to happen.

The other two’s hands were atop of hers and as she counted off they raised it to the air and shouted “Hwaiting!” It was the day of Tiffany’s big track meet. Scouts would be in the stands and they wanted to make sure Tiffany wasn’t nervous or having any drops of doubt. Right before Taeyeon was able to give her a hug, Donghae shoved passed her and wrapped his arms around her. Whether on purpose or not, he always did this. He would cut Taeyeon off before she said something endearing, or wanted to give her a present and surprise Tiffany with something much better. Eventually, Taeyeon stopped trying.

“Hey, Fany, I have to go. I have a huge test tomorrow and I need to study for it. But, good luck okay? I love you, remember that, bestie.” Before Tiffany could respond to her words, Taeyeon sprinted off. Those were her last words to Tiffany. She wasn’t able to get very far before leaning against the side of the building and trying to catch her breath. Once done she started walking. They arrived in Tiffany’s dad’s car, she didn’t have a ride so she walked the couple blocks to her house. “Why are you home so early?” Her mother asked when she walked through the door. “I’m going to study.” She repeated the same excuse, knowing her mom would catch her lie. “Honey, you’re teacher told you guys you would be watching a movie for the next few days, and your other classes are electives. You’ve got nothing to study for.”

“Hana…dul…set!”

Taeyeon shouted to herself as she threw the stone at the stacked figure of soda cans. She’d been at it all day in her backyard, trying to knock them all down with one try. Throwing was the equivalent to her as running was. She couldn’t do it. She figured she’d practice in order to get better at least something. She already had all A’s in her classes. With endless time on her hands since she stopped talking to Tiffany, she’d studied enough to bring every grade of hers up from whatever it was to an A. The girl had nothing better to do anymore except throwing rocks, write, and waste her time eating. It was now her junior year, it’d only been almost a month since she stopped talking to her. The break of friendship had been quite a roller coaster to her.

Numerous times her mother would go to her room saying she had a call for her and it was Tiffany. Every time she would tell her to say she was busy. Tiffany stopped calling soon and started going to their door. Her mother would tell her she was here but when asked she had always brought Donghae with her. So, her obvious answer was, “I’m busy.” One particular time, told Taeyeon she was right with her choice to stop talking to her when she overheard the two’s conversation outside her window. “Why is she always busy?” Tiffany’s voice sounded a bit devastated, but it wasn’t long before another set of words set her down the wrong trail. “She doesn’t care about you anymore, Tiffany. You should just give up.”

In the hallways at school when Tiffany saw her, they would just look the opposite way. Before Taeyeon would go to desperate measures to avoid her in the hall. Now she doesn’t have to because Tiffany doesn’t try to talk to her anymore. It was better this way, so she didn’t have to think of her anymore. She thought she would forget about her in time. There was nothing she’d ever been more wrong about before then. It was bothering her too, all she could think about was her and it wracked her brain. With a frustrating shout Taeyeon threw the stone and knocked down the stacked cans.