Knowing the old lady, I would never have guessed that her daughter is a complete opposite of her.

I’ve heard about her daughter Tiffany so many times whenever we had a small talk before I picked up Seohyun from their house after school, but all her descriptions were the complete opposite of what I’m looking at right now. Sweet, loving and friendly was what I always thought of every time she talked about her daughter. But looking at her now and actually meeting her, I can’t find the sweet, loving and friendly person I imagined.

“Are you mute? Why aren’t you answering my question? Who the hell are you and why the are you here?” I cringed. Such a pretty girl but loaded with a foul mouth. Scary.

So, this is the age Taeyeon was supposed to be? I’ve only seen her with girls my age and she pretty much blended with everyone though she’s 2 or 3 years older that everyone. I wonder how she acted with this scary noona.

I looked over to the room where Taeyeon came in and tucked Seohyun to bed. I’m in a really frightening situation and I think I can’t deal with this without Taeyeon. This is her best friend, not like that Sehun guy whose impression of me doesn’t matter. Tiffany is different, her impression of me matters a lot if I want to stay with Taeyeon a little longer.

“Tiffany! Hell, and are prohibited in this house. How many times have I told you that?” I sighed in relief. Finally, Taeyeon’s here.

“It’s not like you don’t use them.”

“I don’t use them with my daughter around.”

“She’s asleep. It’s not like I’ll use it in front of her. I don’t want her to be accustomed to those languages as much as you, you know.”

“Still…”

“Enough. You’re changing the subject.” She brought back the glare towards me. I gulped.

“Who is this guy Taeyeon?”

Taeyeon and I side glances with each other. I can see the hesitation in her eyes. She did tell me that she doesn’t want to lie to her friends.

“Well?”

“He’s…um… Baekhyun.” I almost slapped my face. I thought she’s going to come up with something smart.

“I don’t care what he’s name is. That’s not the answer I’m looking for by asking who.” Both of us cringed at the sudden raise of her voice.

Taeyeon sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Tiffany, can’t we just talk about this tomorrow? At least go see your mother first. She’ll be ecstatic to see that you’re finally back.”

“No. I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what your relationship to this guy and why is he here.”

“Tiffany…”

"Taeyeon.”

“Okay, he’s my cousin…”

“Bull. You don’t have any relatives… Is he blackmailing you?”

Then she turned to me when Taeyeon looked away from her. “Are you blackmailing her?”

“I… um…” She’s so sharp.

“Did you use Seohyun to get what you want from her?”

Damn.

Too sharp.

“What are you getting from by blackmailing her? Do you like her? Are you some stalker who got a hold of weakness?” I choked at the lump on my throat from everything that she accused me.

“Oh my god Tiffany. Stop. It’s not like that.”

“Then what?”

“He’s just…”

“It’s okay Taeyeon. I’ll handle this.” Tiffany crossed her arms and raised her head and gestured me to go ahead and talk.

“I’m Taeyeon’s classmate. And I happened to know her secret by accident… I know it’s wrong but you’re right, I am blackmailing.”

“I knew it…”

“But not because I like her and wanted to stalk her… You see, I left home and had nowhere to stay…”

“Are you friendless?” She said in a sharp tone.

“I have friends but they’re no good…”

“Of course, living with a pretty girl is definitely good right?”

“Tiffany, would you just listen until he’s finished?”

“Oh my god Taeyeon! Are you actually taking his side?”

“I’m not… It’s just… you don’t listen to his reasons. It’s rude, since you asked for it.”

“His reasons aren’t supposed to matter. I’m just asking it out of nothing, because whatever reason he come up with I’m still kicking his out here since you obviously can’t do it.”

Argh. This is really pissing me off. My reasons don’t matter? Kick my out? Hah. it. Who cares about good impression anymore? Why would I even need that in the first place?

“I’m not going anywhere.” I said in a monotonous voice.

“What did you just say?” Tiffany whipped her head on me while Taeyeon only shook her head. It seems to me that she’s expecting for me to snap at her friend.

“You heard me. I’m not going. I’ll stay here for as long as I want. I’ve lived in a damn sauna for a couple of weeks and I’m never going back. I’ll stay here whether you like it or not.”

“What the hell? Did you just drop honorifics with me? Hey brat, I’m not like Taeyeon who would allow to be talked in an informal manner…”

“Does honorifics even matter to you right now? Whatever I say doesn’t matter anyway right? Just like whatever you say wouldn’t matter to me. Taeyeon already agreed that I can live here so I’m living here. Can’t you just respect her decision and get over with this already?”

“The thing that I can’t accept about this is the fact that she’s living with a total stranger. Taeyeon is what any guy out there would want, you are not an exception. They’re like my family and I wouldn’t want to risk their safety. I don’t trust you. That’s my problem.” She looked at Taeyeon then back to me.

“Who asked you to? Don’t trust me. But I’m still staying here because I trust myself, and I won’t lay a hand on Taeyeon if that’s what you’re worried about. She’s not even anywhere close to the type of girl I like. I won’t sway that way.”

She knitted her brow for a while before she scoffed. “Oh, I get it. This kind of attitude… This annoying-I-always-get-what-I-want-attitude.”

She shook her head and glanced at Taeyeon for like 3 seconds and shook her head once again. Taeyeon and I looked at each other and both shrugged. “He really does have the same bratty attitude.” She looked at me with a wicked smile and I drew my brows together in confusion.

What is she talking about now?

Taeyeon seems to be wondering the same thing when she asked. “Tiffany, what are talking about?”

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

“What?”

“The way he talks really resembles Luhan’s.”

“What?” Taeyeon’s voice raises one note higher.

Luhan? This is the first time that name come up in a conversation. I’ve wanted to ask who he was since the first time I heard his name. I just didn’t have the audacity to do so since it felt like I’m intruding to her life. And if ever I asked about him, I might slip up and tell her that she kissed me after mentioning that name. And now I’m feeling a little weird, hearing that I’m being compared with the guy.

“Is that why you can’t kick him out? That’s so shallow of you Taeyeon. You know what? I guess I’m going to see my mom now. This is crazy.”

I looked to Taeyeon but she remained her head down low. Even when her friend started to stand from her seat and walked out the door, she remained quiet. I was a little irked by the fact that I don’t know what the hell is going on. I want some answers and I’m sure that Taeyeon is not in the state to talk right now so I stood up and followed Tiffany outside.

“Hey wait.