Taeyeon

Friday. The day went past quickly. Taeyeon had a morning lecture. Sitting at her usual spot. Right at the corner. She bumped into Yuri during the 10 minute break. It was enough time for Yuri to babble about hitting the club, something about Jessica insisting that Taeyeon should join them, something about Hyoyeon’s friends from the neighboring university being there. Clubbing has never been her thing. Taeyeon would rather stay in bed or sitting in a quiet corner in a bar/pub and enjoying her drink. The thing about clubbing is, there is no such thing as personal space. Strangers grinding, touching, dancing just having a good time. Human bodily contact. Taeyeon’s rejection was futile. She agreed, telling herself that someone has to be the designated driver.

Taeyeon walked over to Yuri’s place at about 9pm. The pair drove to pick Jessica up along with Sunny and Hyomin. Everyone seemed to be in a party mood, even Jessica was chatting along with Sunny and Hyomin in the backseat though Taeyeon wasn’t sure if Jessica was ignoring Yuri. The ice princess barely said a word to the taller girl. Taeyeon handed the keys over to the club’s valet and followed Yuri’s lead. It wasn’t surprising to her that they were on the guest list. Things like these are easy when your friend’s parents practically own the place. Hyoyeon’s father owns a few exclusive clubs in the country, the club that they’re in belongs to him too. That meant being on the guest list, VIP tables and free flow of drinks.

The group of five joined Hyoyeon and her friends at the VIP lounge. Taeyeon recognized them, they were a few who went to the same high school. Min, Hyuna and Junhyung, Hyoyeon’s on-again, off-again boyfriend. It turns out to be an acquaintance's birthday.  As usual, the entire group left Taeyeon on her own while they hit the dancefloor. After a few hours, Sunny and Hyomin decided to go off first. By then, Jessica’s batteries had run flat. The ice princess leaned against Taeyeon’s shoulder, it didn’t take long for Taeyeon to notice that the girl had fallen asleep. For Yuri, Hyoyeon and the others, the night just started.

Taeyeon noticed Yuri stealing glances at her and the sleeping Jessica. She knew it was either Yuri was uncomfortable with their current position or Yuri is torn between partying with Hyoyeon and sending Jessica home. Yuri walked over after a few minutes giving Taeyeon a look she has seen many times before.

‘I’ll take her home. You stay.’

‘You sure?’

‘Yeah. Not the first time.’ Taeyeon tried her best not to sound sarcastic

‘I’ll walk you out. Fresh air might do me good’ Taeyeon could tell that Yuri had one too many drinks.

Just as they were walking out of the club, the others joined them. Taeyeon knew it wasn’t just for fresh air. Yuri and the rest were babbling nonsense while they waited for Taeyeon’s car. The valet guy was helping Taeyeon open the passenger door when Taeyeon heard Hyoyeon and the others catcalling someone.

‘WOAH WOAH WOAH.DID I DRINK TOO MUCH? Woah, isn’t that Pinkstar? Damn, it is pinkstar isn’t it. Hey! HEY! OVER HERE! HEY! PRETTY ONE!’ Taeyeon heard Hyoyeon’s voice.

Taeyeon gently laid Jessica on the passenger seat and buckled her seatbelt before looking at the direction that the others were looking. It was indeed the girl. Red hair, pink shorts, pink slippers. What was she doing here at this hour? Given her clothes, she definitely wasn’t clubbing.

‘YO! PINKSTAR!’ Hyoyeon continued shouting.

Taeyeon knew the girl heard them. She knew because the girl looked directly at her before entering the convenience store.

‘I’ll be going now. You guys should get inside. The alcohol and music isn’t going to wait forever’ Taeyeon told the rest to distract them from the new girl.

Taeyeon watched them slowly walking back inside the club. She turned to look at the convenience store and noticed the redhead making her purchase at the counter. As soon as the girl walked out, Taeyeon went inside the car and drove towards Jessica’s place.

‘Taeyeon.’

Taeyeon heard Jessica mumbled.

‘Hmm?’

‘Thanks.’

‘No worries’

‘Can we go for supper?’ Taeyeon turned to see Jessica sitting up. Wide awake.

‘What? I was getting hungry, and sleepy.’ Jessica shrugged and look out of the window.

‘Rice cakes and fish sticks?’ Taeyeon asked

‘Sure. Whatever.’

Taeyeon could have sworn that she saw what seems like a few tears rolling down Jessica's cheeks. She knew better than to ask the girl about it. Taeyeon reached out for Jessica's hand, squeezing it lightly. She heard a sniffle as Jessica used her other hand to wipe the tears off. The rest of the ride was silent. A silent understanding between the pair.

TIFFANY

Friday was probably the worst day since she moved out. She received an email in the morning telling her that her afternoon lecture has been rescheduled. It seems as if the lecturer had a case of food poisoning. Tiffany decided to do more unpacking. She was an hour into it when she received a call from her older sister. Michelle called to whine about her how much she missed her younger sister and asked the girl to come over for dinner.

‘Is Lily going to be there?’ Tiffany asked

‘Of course she is. She’s family.’ It took all of Tiffany not to scoff so it wouldn’t start another lengthy argument.

‘I’m not sure if I’m free.’

‘What? You just told me you don’t have any plans tonight.’

Tiffany cursed silently, knowing she fell into her sister’s trap when the older girl kept asking about her plans for the night before the dinner invitation.

‘Fine.’

‘Great. I’ll get Leo to pick you up. I have to go now, honey. Lunch break is over.’

Tiffany felt like screaming into her pillow as soon as the call ended. She tried her best to distract herself with even more unpacking. Before the girl realized, she had unpacked everything and sat in the middle of the room with empty boxes feeling drained and hungry.

She opened up her fridge to see that there was just an almost empty carton of milk, a few cans of redbull and a few apples. This is pathetic. Tiffany said to herself. She knew she had to go grocery shopping sooner or later if she didn’t want to starve to death. The thought of having to walk 20 minutes to the nearest supermarket made her regret the decision of deciding to live in the outskirts of town. Cereals and milk, again. Tiffany thought to herself as she poured all of the remaining milk into a bowl together with the last serving of her breakfast cereal.

Leo picked her up on time. The ride back to her old place involved Leo nagging at her.

'The place seems........'

'It's the only one I can afford for a year without using any money from daddy.'

‘I don’t get it. You had just one year left. Why can’t you just wait?’

‘You’re just upset cause you have more chores to do now’

Tiffany responded. Leo didn’t say anything after that. He knew that Tiffany had a point.

Tiffany barely touched her food at dinner. She was hungry. Very hungry. But her ego just didn’t let her eat any of the food that Lily had cooked. She knew Lily was trying her best, seeing how most of the food were Tiffany’s favorite. The least she could do was try to be just as hospitable. Tiffany took a few more bites and answered a few more questions. Her father offered to get her a car but Tiffany declined. Living on her own was different than being the youngest child in the family who gets almost everything she wanted. She was from a community where your social and financial status makes a huge difference. Almost everyone wanted to be her bestfriend when her father's business finally picked up. Before that, no one barely spoke more than a word to her. As her father's hotel empire grew, the pool of potential suitors offering themselves to Tiffany grew too. That itself was another reason why Tiffany liked her new environment, seeing how people treat you when they have nothing to gain from you shows their character. She knew if she had shown off her family's wealth from the start with a fancy car and branded goods, people are more likely to treat her better than the weird clothes that she's been wearing. Human nature. Tiffany often told herself. It is human nature to be nice to someone who you think you can gain benefit from.

Tiffany’s father drove her home instead of Leo since her older brother had to be in the office early the next day.

‘She thinks its her fault that you moved out. She’s trying her best. I know it’s hard but can you at least try?’

Tiffany didn’t answer and looked out of the window.

‘Will you come over on Fridays for dinner?’

‘I’ll try. It’s pretty far to be travelling back and forth.’

‘I’ll get you a car. And you can always stay overnight.’

‘I’ll think about it. I can get used to taking the public transport. It's like the old days. I like the old days....with mum. I don't need a car, I don't need the added attention’ 

‘Miyoung…’

‘Thanks for the ride, daddy.’ Tiffany told her father as she unbuckled her seatbelt when the car came to a stop

‘I love you, you know that right?’

‘I know. I love you too. Just give me some time.’ Tiffany gave her father a peck on the cheek and walked to her apartment building. She gave her father one last wave before the elevator doors closed.

Tiffany changed out of her clothes into some more comfortable ones. She opened the fridge again and heard her stomach grumbled. Maybe she should have eaten more during dinner. She went into her room to grab her wallet and walked a few blocks to get to the nearest convenience store. As she approached the store, the loud pumping music from one of the clubs could be heard. Great. Tiffany cursed. She could see familiar faces in the distance. She heard the blonde girl shouting something but her attention was on the other blonde that was being carried bridal style by the girl from the café. The starer. She noticed that the taller girl was just standing next to blonde that has been shouting and wondered how the whole friendship thing work between the group. Then again, it wasn’t any of her business. She looked at the starer again and walked inside the store when their eyes met.

Tiffany grabbed a couple of sandwiches and snacks. She looked outside and saw that the girls were gone but the black convertible was still there. She made her purchase and noticed that the black convertible drove off as soon as she stepped out. Tiffany stared at the car until it disappeared into the distance.