Can anyone give me tips on how to write scenes with 9 dynamic individuals? (My comfort zone is 4.)

I hope you like it! :) 

Disclaimer: This is the second cheesiest chapter here. 

Chapter 24

Taeyeon doesn’t let go of Tiffany’s hand and this distracts Tiffany from processing their most recent retaliation. She rolls her chair forward, towards the table, to conceal their almost conspicuous hand-holding - and tries to decide what to do with her free hand. It lies on the table at an awkward angle now, borderline uncomfortable, and Tiffany brings it under the table too, instinctively cupping Taeyeon’s cold hand with both of her warm ones. She catches herself and lifts her right hand to her eyes, shutting them tightly, then turns her head away from Taeyeon, wondering why she’s feeling stupidly self-conscious.

After emptying the frivolous contents of her mind, her eyes flutter open to meet Sooyoung, who looks partly confused, partly worried, and mostly suspicious. The edges of Tiffany’s lips tremble – desperately wanting to force a smile, but knowing it could possibly send the wrong message (or the real one). The members know the nuances of her smiles all too well. She bites her lip instead, looking guiltier than ever.

A rattling ensues and it is only then that Tiffany realises how quiet the room had been. The buzz had died some time ago (Tiffany didn’t notice when) and was replaced by a black hole of nervous anticipation. Taeyeon, oblivious to all eyes plastered on her, is spinning her pen – or rather, attempting to. Her fingers seem out of sync than usual, causing the pen to repeatedly slip and land on the table noisily. But she picks it up and tries and tries – and tries again.

Yoona clears , immediately looking up after she manages to steal the attention of the room, never intending to be the first to speak.

“I’m sorry.” Yuri exclaims, being the first to crack - but her apology ends up sounding more like a question than a statement.

“No, you’re not.” Hyoyeon asserts and Yuri glances towards Jessica, unsure of her own stance now.

“We’re not.” Jessica confirms and nods.  

For some reason, Tiffany feels like laughing.

And Taeyeon does.

It’s contagious – her deep, signature chortle causes the room to descend into chaos once more, rapidly converting the once painfully present nervous energy into a cacophony of laughter. Tiffany had missed this.

“Why didn’t I think of it before?” Taeyeon blurts out between breaths, her voice strained from laughing too hard.

“You were clearly distracted.” Sooyoung says casually and Taeyeon immediately releases Tiffany’s hand.

“Soundproof room, muted mics.” Sunny informs as she spins her chair in a circle, arms in the air. “If you want to talk… confess, or whatever.”

“We’ve violated our contracts. They have a valid reason to cancel our album.” Tiffany panics and states the obvious, shifting the mood of the room once more.

Her mind was elsewhere. It had hit her that it was possible all the members already knew about her and Taeyeon - which tainted her initial excitement with a mix of guilt and fear.

“Unlikely.” Jessica insists. “They’re not that stupid.”

“We were getting our butts kicked and we needed backup. SONEs are reinforcements.” Sunny chimes and spins her chair again, evidently needing some form of release for her boundless energy.

Yoona raises a hand. “We’ll worry when we have to.” she suggests sensibly. “We should move on to more pressing matters. Taeyeon unnie?” she calls out sweetly.

Taeyeon and Tiffany eyes’ find each other instinctively and Tiffany winces – thinking that they are having the worst luck pretending.

“What should we have for dinner to celebrate?” Seohyun asks, intending to divert attention, and ends up receiving a few condescending pats on the back. 

“Oh you sweet, innocent, clueless maknae.” Hyoyeon teases and Tiffany thinks that Seohyun might break the news herself - but Seohyun merely exhales her frustration. 

“Juhyun knows.” Taeyeon snickers, unable to contain her amusement.  

“I told her.” Tiffany confesses and watches as Seohyun flashes a smug smile in response – a smile that made all the secrecy worth it.  

“Why Seohyun?” Jessica and Sunny exclaim simultaneously.   

“Knows what?” Yuri asks, confused.

“Oh my god, Yuri.” Jessica whines and buries her head under her arms.

“Are we talking about what I think we’re talking about?” Sooyoung asks, somewhat dismayed. “Wasn’t that meant to be a surprise?” She was referring to the present they were giving Seohyun on the opening night of her musical.

“We are not talking about that.” Hyoyeon brings a finger to her lips while Seohyun eyes her suspiciously, annoyance bubbling.

“What are we talking about?” Tiffany asks with feigned innocence, deciding to join the fun.

“Oh!” Yuri cries out abruptly. “We’re doing that now?”

“What now?” Sooyoung questions again.

“You’re killing me.” Jessica whines, voice muffled by the table. “All of you.” she sighs. “It’s a miracle we didn’t mess up announcing our comeback to the world.”

“Right now it’s Gi--…what now?” Yoona imitates Sooyoung and laughs.

“Yah!” Sunny claps her hands. “Focus.”

“Was it obvious?” Taeyeon asks, probably sounding more serious than she intended.

“Not at all.” Jessica assures her.

“We settled on this conclusion just last night.” Yuri says.

“Without me.” Seohyun pouts.

“Wasn’t intentional.” Hyoyeon utters with shifty eyes.

“What was the main giveaway?”

Tiffany wanted to know.

“You lock your room door when both of you are in.” Yoona starts. “Nobody locks in the dorm. We don’t even lock the bathroom door.”

“That’s it?” Taeyeon asks, surprised.

“It was tricky. You both acted like a couple long before you were one.” Jessica points out. “You probably acted less like a couple once you got together to avoid getting caught – confusing the hell out of everyone. How long has it been?”

“20 days.” Tiffany replies instantly.

Jessica checks her phone calendar and mouths “I knew it.”

“I knew it.” Sooyoung says aloud.

“When were you planning on telling us?” Yuri asks, sounding slightly hurt.

“Today.” Taeyeon answers and Tiffany nods fervently to confirm.

“Are we good?” Taeyeon asks cautiously with a thumbs up and a dorky smile.

“Don’t look at me. I was okay with their relationship from the very beginning.” Seohyun drags out her words, then shrugs complacently.  

“The fans will probably be more than okay with it.” Sooyoung jokes.

“Feel free to continue locking the door by the way.” Hyoyeon adds.

“Can I just point out that we did all the work for them?” Jessica claims and chuckles. “We could have made it significantly more awkward. We are such good friends.” Her voice sinks to a whisper towards the end - she was basking in her own compliment.  

“We should have made it more awkward.” Yoona says regretfully, sounding extremely disappointed about the lost opportunity.

“I. Am. So. Happy.” Sunny declares and envelops both of them in a tight hug.

Within Sunny’s embrace, Tiffany remembers to breathe. She glances across the room and finds the rest of the members smiling at them lovingly. Her hand finds Taeyeon’s and she intertwines their fingers – and later brings them both to rest on the table.

***

With the key in the ignition, Taeyeon’s mind starts to wander once more.

“Do you feel it too?” Tiffany asks dreamily. The passenger seat is tilted all the way backwards and Tiffany reaches for the cushion at the backseat, wanting something to hug.

The world knew about Girls’ Generation and the members knew about them. Tiffany felt like she had run out of secrets to keep – and that left spaces in her heart just waiting to be filled by better things. The anticipation was exhilarating --

But her thoughts latched onto Taeyeon and soon she had no room for anything better.

Taeyeon pushes her seat all the way back and stares at the ceiling of the car.

“Feel what?” she asks.

Tiffany turns to her side, her whole body encasing the cushion. She pokes Taeyeon’s cheek with her forefinger and allows it to linger there. She gradually walks two fingers down Taeyeon’s jawline - “Like everything…” - then her neck – “…is falling…” – and her shoulder – “…into place.” They run along Taeyeon’s arm and finally Tiffany takes the other girl’s hand, kisses it giddily and brings it up to her cheek.

“Tiffany?” Taeyeon calls out, her voice sounding distant, as if it had surfaced from someplace deep within her.  

“Hmm?” Tiffany inches towards the other girl as much as the car seat would allow, wishing they were home. 

“Do you think that you can be happy without Girls’ Generation?”

Tiffany takes a minute to confirm her answer in her mind, arriving at the same conclusion she did days ago.

“Yes.” she states with conviction.

“Are you just saying that because of me?” Taeyeon faces sideways and pulls Tiffany’s hand towards her own chest this time. Tiffany thinks that this is a lovely form of tug of war - and waits a few moments before she reclaims Taeyeon's hand, hugging it along with the cushion this time.

“I’m not saying that because you’re clearly worried about the future of Girls’ Generation, which has been your default setting for a decade...” Tiffany pauses mid-sentence, eyes lighting up. “…but yes – I am saying that because of you.” 

Taeyeon breaks eye contact, opting to stare at the space between them instead – but she squeezes Tiffany’s hand so hard that it sends a message straight to the heart.

“I love you too.” Tiffany replies.

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