A lie can be an exclamation. Commonly known as a white lie. A lie can be harmless.

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“Ah, Taeyeon, you look lovely tonight.” Smiled Mrs. Kim, Suho’s mother. She was much taller than Taeyeon was, towering over her, making her feel intimidated. All Taeyeon could see was her enlarged s and sequined dress. The father was a tiny man compared to the mother, he had a red face and his bowtie seemed to choke him. He chuckled and pulled out a chair for Taeyeon. “I warned my son to bring us somewhere fancy… and this is where he brought us? To his darn café?” he laughed again.

Taeyeon noticed how the father curses a lot, but instead of sounding offensive, he sounded friendly. Like it was normal for him to curse, like it was a whole different language that seemed normal to his lips, and normal to everyone else’s ears.

“This is fancy, abeoji...” Suho blushed slightly.

“I am… sorry my parents are away… But I have my maid of honor here with me, Jessica.” Taeyeon smiled, pointing towards Jessica who was next to her. Jessica smiled kindly and bowed her head slightly.

“That is fine. I heard they’re divorced. Don’t want them to create a ruckus here anyway!” the mother said.

Suho looked at Taeyeon nervously to see if Taeyeon took offense, but as always, she appeared calm. “No, mother, no—actually—“

“My parents remained friends. They were mature enough to agree that being bitter towards each other would not suffice to anything. My mother remarried to a nice man and I have never felt close to anyone like I have towards my stepbrother, and my father is in the army, happy with his life. I’d see no ruckus happening if they were here.” Taeyeon explained- then blushed as she realised she has said too much. “I’m sorry, I-“

“No, don’t apologise, darling.” Said the mother again. “I’m sorry I should have bitten my tongue.”

“No tongue biting is necessary, I assure you.” Taeyeon smiled again.

A lie can be of two best friends and their feelings for the same girl. Or the feelings of two towards each other with no one knowing. A lie can be made up of a memory that forces itself to fade.

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Chanyeol nervously hid his hands inside the pocket of his sweater, waiting for Krystal by the chilly Han River. He had a talk about it with his best friend Baekhyun, who told him it was okay for him to take care of Krystal for a while.

“I think Sehun’s testing me.”

“Why would he do that?” Baekhyun inquired, raising a brow. It wasn’t something like Sehun would do.

“Because- I don’t know.” Chanyeol threw his arms in the air. “Because I had a crush on her since forever?”

Baekhyun laughed a little, flipping to the next page of the manga he was holding in his hand, leaning further onto the couch. “Does Sehun know?”

“I don’t really know.” Chanyeol paced around the room.

“Look, as your best friend I’ll be honest with you. Maybe Sehun just trusts you. Maybe he just wants you to have closure.” Baekhyun nodded.

“Ah, oppa.” Krystal approached nearer towards Chanyeol, her hair blown by the wind. “Sehun oppa eodi?”

“He didn’t tell you?”

“Mmm? Tell me what?” krystal asked, raising a brow.

“He’s off to America for a while.” Chanyeol paused, a little disappointed that Krystal was looking for Sehun instead of him. “he told me that I should take care of you while he’s gone.”

Krystal rolled her eyes, fixing her hair. “I bet it’s Luhan.”

“What?”

“Luhan. He’d go anywhere for Luhan.” Krystal sighed. “They’re best friends- I know that. But he tends to leave without telling me. It gets me worried sometimes.”

“Why would it worry you?”

Things were going pretty well despite the cold first impression, but things took a turn when a beep from Taeyeon’s phone was heard. “Excuse me.” She said as she left her seat.

It was a message from Kyungsoo.

Taeyeon couldn’t think anymore as she saw the message. All she could think of was to leave- she needed to leave. Right there and then.

“I—have to go.” Taeyeon said urgently, pulling Yuri’s hand who was holding a plate of shrimp.

“Excuse me?”

“Please drive me there. I need to go, I have to go.” Taeyeon urged her, ignoring the eyes that was staring at her in disbelief, especially Suho’s.

Yuri, in confusion, took off her apron and left with Taeyeon towards her car.

“I’m sorry I had to trouble you, Yuri—I just.” Taeyeon stuttered.

“No, it’s fine. D-do you need help with that?” Yuri pointed towards Taeyeon’s seatbelt. Taeyeon shook her head and nervously put on her seatbelt. “Okay, let’s go. It’ll be alright, mmkay? I need you to calm down and tell me where the hospital is so I can take you there. I’m still new here, I don’t know the way. Is that okay? I’ll keep talking to you to keep your nerves down so don’t panic, okay?”

Taeyeon nodded and gulped, her hands still shaking. Yuri began driving, her eyes focused on the road as it was still raining, the raindrops blurred her view. For a few seconds, only the sound of the swiper was heard. “Talk to me, Taeyeon.” She said. “What’s going on?”

“—My brother— called me….”

“Mmm?” Yuri glanced at her for a while before focusing on the road again. “Don’t worry take a deep breath and take your time with this, I’ll listen.”

“He…. He said… that…. He was…. That he saw him crash.”

“Saw who… Taeyeon?”

“a—a friend.” Taeyeon cried. “I don’t know. I just don’t know.”

“Is your brother okay?”

“I don’t know.” Taeyeon said helplessly, her voice croaked as her tears fell.

“It’ll be okay.” Yuri said, a hand holding Taeyeon’s.

Taeyeon took a deep breath and nodded. “I’m just worried Suho’s parents will hate me.”

“Why would they?”

“For leaving the dinner just for another guy… I’m not like that, it’s just- I hope you don’t judge me, too.”

“I’m not judging you.” Yuri said slowly. “In fact… coming here, I’m hoping I won’t be judged, either.”

Taeyeon looked at Yuri curiously, wiping her tears with a hand. “I saw you… the other day, washing your car outside. There was a mark on the windows….” Taeyeon paused briefly, trying to remember what word it was.

Yuri froze as the light turned red.

“Murderer. It was murderer.” Yuri said calmly.

“D…do you want to talk about it?”

“I don’t remember what happened that day. It was a blur. Everything seemed to be in black and white, and the floor was cold. I stood up- and I saw everything. There was blood. There was blood on him. So I ran away.”

“Who was he?”

“My ex-boyfriend.”

“Did you kill him?”

Jessica and Suho hid in the kitchen of the café, hidden from his parents. He was still holding his glass of champagne, intoxicated and drunk with his feelings. Taeyeon leaving didn’t feel right, he knew as he took another sip of the alcohol.

“You should stop drinking that.” Jessica softly said.

“Where do you think she went?”

“Honestly…? I don’t know.” Jessica leaned at the counter, looking at him worriedly. “Probably somewhere she thinks she should be. She looked a bit… scared.” Jessica whispered softly. “You shouldn’t worry.”

“She keeps on leaving me.”

“That’s not true.”

“What if she leaves me again?”

“She won’t.”

“I might be having another anxiety attack.” Suho’s lips quivered.

Jessica took his glass away from him. “Look at me. Remember the last time you had an anxiety attack?”

“Yes. It was the first time we met. You didn’t know who I was. You just kissed me.”

“It helped you calm down, didn’t it?”

“…yes.”

“I don’t feel like I’m in the right place to kiss you again now that the circumstances are like this but I care about you and I would do it again if you needed me to okay? Please calm down.”

Suho remembered how they first met. Jessica was about to go for an interview to get the job at the café. She didn’t know who Suho was, or who Taeyeon was. Suho on the other hand was about to have a panic attack as it was his first time officiating a business of his own and he wasn’t used to the stress. She kissed him.

They never spoke of it again.

“Are you okay?”

Taeyeon ran towards the waiting room to find Kyungsoo, bruised on his cheek and lip. “Ky-ungsoo.” She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him, crying hard. “Don’t scare me like that.”

“It’s not me, don’t worry. But—baekhyun. He- he was driving and he saw the river. He didn’t see where he was going and we crashed.”

“The river?”

“Yes. He said something about… Heeyoung.”

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And it is an essential rule that with a lie, there is always—always—always a truth.

love, T.