One
Suddenly"I'm really sorry."
She quietly sighed. "It's fine, Oppa. It's out of your hands."
"I'll make it up to you, okay? Let me just finish everything and you have me."
She found that hard to believe. "Yeah, okay."
"Really sorry, Tiff. I have to go now. Talk to you later. Bye"
"Bye." She shoved her phone inside her bag and huffed loudly. She called the waiter and asked for her bill. She paid for it before strutting out of the café and into her car.
It was supposed to be one of her and her boyfriend's weekly Saturday dates but surprise surprise, much like the last few weeks, he cancelled because of work. At first she tried to understand because according to him, he was working for their future - for when they decide to get married later on. But she was getting tired of it.
She pulled the handbrake as she stopped at a red light. It was still so early in the evening and she didn't want to go home. Plus her parents and sister would probably ask her nonstop about why she was home so early after a date with her boyfriend and she wasn't in the mood to explain.
So she drove to the Han River for some time alone. She parked her car nearby and walked towards the railing. She breathed in the fresh air and tried to relax. This was what she exactly needed.
Some peace and quie-
"Achoo!"
She turned her head and saw a girl rubbing her already very red nose. She frowned. It was quite a chilly evening so she wondered why the girl was only wearing a shirt. Telling herself that it wasn't her business, she turned back to the calming waters of the river.
"Achoo! Achoo! Achoo!"
She giggled - unintentionally, she argued to herself - and caught the attention of the girl. She stopped herself immediately after feeling eyes on her. "Sorry," she mumbled.
"It's fine," the girl smiled at her. "I should be saying sorry instead. I think I disturbed your... uh... moment there."
"No, it's okay," she smiled back. And before she could stop herself, "don't you have a jacket? It's a cold night and you're out here."
The red nosed girl chuckled. "I do... did, actually. But I left it in my boyfriend's car after I told him to just drop me off here."
She had no self-control when she asked, "and he just left you here without warm clothes?"
And at that, the girl laughed then became somber. "Yeah, well, we kinda had an argument and I just walked out on him so..."
"Sorry, I was out of line."
"Hey, it's fine. Thanks for the concern. I should be okay."
She nodded and they went quiet, save for the girl's sneezing. After a while, she pushed herself off the railing and said, "I think I should go. My parents are probably looking for me. Will you be okay?"
The girl sniffed before replying. "Yeah, don't worry about me. I'll be going home soon too. Just need a few more minutes or so alone."
She nodded and was about to walk off but stopped to do something she had never expected herself to do. She shrugged off the jacket she was wearing and placed it on top of the girl's shoulders, surprising the girl.
"Wha-"
"Just take it. I was gonna go home anyway, so I don't need it anymore. You, on the other hand, still plan on staying out here. Don't argue," she added quickly when the girl opened .
The girl chuckled. "Should I be touched or totally creeped out? We don't even know each other's names yet."
She blushed but fought hard to hide it.
"I'm Taeyeon. Kim Taeyeon. And I'd shake your hand but I don't think you would want to touch me after the countless of times I've sneezed."
She laughed. "Tiffany. Hwang Tiffany."
Taeyeon smiled. "Well then Tiffany, may I have your number then?"
She tilted her head, confused.
"To return your jacket, I mean. I wasn't being a creeper."
She laughed again. "Never thought you were. Okay then, I'll give you my number if you promise me something."
"And that is?"
"To have lunch with me once you've returned my jacket." She smiled. "It's nice to have a new friend."
Taeyeon smiled back. "Friend, huh? I'd like that. Deal."
---
She wanted to scream in frustration but held it in. She just got off the phone with her boyfriend and the guy had to cancel their date again because of an emergency meeting. It wasn't unusual now, but what angered her was that he cancelled when she was already at the cinema where they were supposed to meet. She spent a couple of hours preparing for their date, only for it to get cancelled at the last minute.
She was about to leave when she spotted someone familiar sitting on one of the benches. The girl was eating a hotdog sandwich and even from where she was, Tiffany found it cute how the girl would carelessly eat the sandwich, leaving a smudge of ketchup on the side of her lips.
She made her way to Taeyeon. "Taeyeon."
"Hmm?" Taeyeon took another bite before looking up. "Oh! Fany!" She quickly swallowed then stood up.
Tiffany laughed and grabbed the napkin Taeyeon was holding before wiping the girl's lips. "Really ladylike, Taeyeon-ah."
Taeyeon blushed in embarrassment. "I was really hungry."
Tiffany chuckled and watched as Taeyeon finished her sandwich. It had been close to three months since she met Taeyeon and their friendship has been blossoming ever since. She would often call Taeyeon whenever she wanted to whine and rant about her boyfriend. The girl would listen and then make her laugh afterwards, helping her forget her boyfriend.
With the few short months they've been friends, Taeyeon might as well be the best she's had. Maybe even more. It warmed her heart to know that there was someone she could run to no matter how new of a friend.
"Am I that pretty?"
She blushed and looked away when Taeyeon caught her staring. "I wasn't staring."
"I never said you were, Miyoung-ah."
Her heart did a couple of backflips at that. She found her heart doing that whenever Taeyeon called her with her Korean name. There wasn't anything special with the way the girl called her, so she didn't understand what she was feeling. Even her boyfriend didn't have that effect on her.
"Hey, since we're both here, how about a movie?"
Taeyeon raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you tell me yesterday that you had a date with your boyfriend?"
She rolled her eyes. "Surprise! He has an urgent meeting."
Taeyeon nodded.
"So, how about it?" She asked again. "Movie?"
Taeyeon smiled at her apologetically. "I'm sorry, but since you told me yesterday that you had a date, I said yes to Oppa when he asked me out this morning."
Her heart sank and her shoulders almost slumped. She forced a smile out instead. "No, no, it's fine. My offer was too sudden anyway. Of course you had something to do... yeah. Boyfriend comes first."
She saw something flash in Taeyeon's eyes that moment she said that but it was too fast for her to read. "I was supposed to be free today too but he called so..."
She shook her head. "Don't worry about it, really. It's fine."
Taeyeon's phone rang just when she was about to respond. "It's him. I better go. I'll see you some other time, okay?"
She only nodded and watched as Taeyeon's figure disappeared in the crowd. She sighed sadly then walked away.
Comments