Two
SuddenlyHer phone rang but she didn't bother looking at the caller. Instead, she stuffed the phone inside her bag then grabbed the bucket of popcorn and cup of soda resting on the counter.
She made her way inside the theater, struggling to look for her seat in the dark. She almost stumbled going up the steps when she felt a soft hand grab her arm.
"Hey, I'm here."
She squeezed herself between the girl and the seat in front to get to hers. She sat down with a huff, earning a chuckle from Taeyeon. "What?" She asked as she put the cup into the cup holder and shoved the bucket at the girl.
"Why are you so grumpy?"
She rolled her eyes. "Because you made me buy the popcorn and soda!" She hissed.
Taeyeon put the bucket between her thighs before raising her arms up defensively. "Hey, don't blame me, you were the one who refused to be left alone in the dark." She put her hands down.
"Aish! Don't talk to me!"
Taeyeon chuckled again before it went quiet.
She quietly sighed, loving these little silly arguments they would have from time to time. It was testament to their budding friendship.
It was another Saturday, but unlike before, she chose to spend her day with Taeyeon, not even bothering to call him to ask him if he was free. Luckily, Taeyeon was free the whole day.
Unknowingly, she fell asleep with her head resting comfortable on Taeyeon's shoulder.
---
A hand shook her shoulder and she groaned.
"Fany," a soft voice said.
"Five more minutes, Oppa."
The shaking stopped and the soft voice changed into a strained one. "Tiffany."
She opened her eyes and lifted her head off the shoulder she didn't even know she was leaning on. "Oh, Taeyeon. I'm sorry, I fell asleep."
"Yeah, I know."
The chuckle that came after that sounded forced, but before she could ask, Taeyeon stood up and told her that they should get going.
The walk to the parking lot was a quiet and awkward one. It bothered her because they have never been like this, not even that night they first met.
"Taeyeon, hey, are you okay?" She grabbed the girl's arm before she could walk further.
The girl opened but closed it again when her phone rang. She wanted to ignore the ringing and let the girl speak but Taeyeon told her to answer it instead.
She kept her eyes on Taeyeon as she answered the call. "Hello?"
"Tiff?"
She raised an eyebrow when she heard the voice. "Oppa?"
"Tiff, where have you been? I've been calling you countless of times. Is everything okay?"
She frowned. "Yes, everything's fine, Oppa. I was just watching a movie with a friend."
He sighed in relief. "Okay, but what about our date?"
He was asking about it now? After weeks of not showing up? "Oh, I thought you'd be busy again so I didn't bother asking."
He sighed again. "It's okay. It's my fault anyway. I'll make it up to you next Saturday, how does that sound?"
"Next Saturday?" Since she never took her eyes off Taeyeon, she saw how the girl was fidgeting.
"Yeah, I'll be free by then. We can go out on a date. Please? I'll make it up to you, I promise."
She sighed. She couldn't really say no when he was pleading like that. "Okay, Oppa. Next Saturday."
That was when she noticed Taeyeon's shoulders slumped.
She ended the call after that and put her phone back inside her bag. She walked closer to Taeyeon. "Hey, what were you going to say earlier?"
Taeyeon stared at her for a few seconds before shaking her head. "Nothing. Let's go, it's late."
She decided not to push it even though she was dying to know.
---
It has been a week since she last saw and talked to Taeyeon. And she hated it. She wanted to see her so bad.
Luckily, today was her off day and she didn't have anything to do. So here she was, standing in front of the reception area of Taeyeon's office. She was glad Taeyeon once mentioned where her office was.
"Good morning. How may I help you?" The receptionist asked.
"Hi. I'm here for Kim Taeyeon."
"Your name please?"
"Tiffany Hwang."
"And do you have an appointment with her, Ms. Hwang?"
She frowned. "Oh. I don't."
The receptionist smiled. "It's fine. Let me just call her to see if she's available to meet you now. Would you mind waiting by the couches over there?"
"Oh, not at all." She smiled back. "Thanks!"
A few minutes later, she found herself riding the elevator up to the 27th floor of the building's east wing where she was told Taeyeon was already waiting for her.
The elevator doors opened and she was immediately greeted by a confused, but smiling Taeyeon. She stepped out just in time before the doors closed and was pulled into a warm embrace.
Taeyeon chuckled then patted her back. "What a pleasant surprise, Ms. Hwang. You missed me this much huh?"
She wasn't going to deny that, nor was she going to admit it out loud. "Says the person who's hugging me."
"Because I was bored! Good thing you came," Taeyeon said as she released the hug.
"And here I thought you hugged me because you missed me."
"Well, there's that. Even though we just saw each other a week ago."
Tiffany slapped her arm before looking around. "Is it okay that I'm here?"
Taeyeon shrugged. "I don't see why not."
"I feel like I'm disturbing your colleagues."
Taeyeon looked around. "Yeah, you're probably right. They might get distracted with your loud voice."
Tiffany frowned. "That's mean."
Taeyeon laughed. "Just kidding. Tell you what, there's a café downstairs, we can talk there, since it's almost lunch anyway and I'm kinda hungry."
"Sure. Let's go."
---
They were eating lunch when one of Taeyeon's colleagues walked up to them. "Hey, Taeyeon!"
"Hey, Jiyoon. This is Tiffany, by the way. Tiffany, this is Jiyoon, she's from the Accounting Department."
Tiffany stood up and bowed slightly. "Nice meeting you, Jiyoon."
Jiyoon bowed back. "Nice meeting you, too."
"So, what's up?" Taeyeon asked after the introduction.
As the two were talking, Tiffany couldn't help but notice how beautiful this Jiyoon was. And how this girl would every now and then, touch Taeyeon on the arms or shoulder.
She didn't know why she noticed that. Or why it even mattered.
But this Jiyoon's looks were no joke. She was beautiful. Long brown hair. Gorgeous eyes. Nice legs and-
"So, I guess I'll see you on Saturday, Tiffany?"
That snapped her out of her thoughts. "H-huh? Saturday?"
Jiyoon nodded. "Yeah, Taeyeon's party!"
"Party?" She looked at Taeyeon, confused at what party Jiyoon was talking about.
"A-actually, I haven't told her about it yet, Jiyoon-ah," Taeyeon said,
"Oh? Well, you should definitely go, Tiffany. It's Taeyeon birthday so it's going to be lots of fun!"
Tiffany stayed quiet, thinking of reasons why she was never told of the party.
"Uh, Jiyoon, don't you have a meeting?"
Jiyoon gasped. "You're right! I'll go ahead, but I'll see the both of you on Saturday." She walked away and disappeared around the corner.
"Fany?"
She looked at the girl worriedly looking at her. "Hmm?"
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the party."
"It's fine." But it really wasn't. Weren't they close enough for her to be invited ti that party? Then again, they've only known each other for three months. Did she really think Taeyeon already thought of her as a close friend?
"It's not," Taeyeon sighed. "Actually, I was about to ask you after we watched that movie last time b-but I kinda heard your conversation with your boyfriend and I didn't want you to miss out on that date."
She bit her lip, wanting to tell Taeyeon that she'd much rather go to her party than the date. "Maybe I can ask Oppa to reschedu-"
"No, Fany," Taeyeon said firmly. "You've always ranted about him not having time for you. This is your chance to finally have that date with him."
"But it's your birthday."
"We can always celebrate on a different day, don't worry."
She nodded, not really knowing what else to say.
"Just give me a gift and we'll call it even."
Tiffany chuckled. "Of course."
---
"Tiff, are you alright?"
She looked up to see him looking at her with concern. She only nodded.
"Are you sure? You've been playing with your food since it arrived ten minutes ago. You haven't even tried it."
"I'm fine, Oppa."
"Is there something wrong with your food? Do you want me to order you a different one?"
She stopped him before he could call the waiter. "No, Oppa. The food's fine."
"Then what's the problem?"
"Nothing."
He sighed then put down his utensils. "Look, I'm really sorry, Tiff. I want to spend as much time with you too, but work has been really demanding lately. Please don't be mad. I promise to make it up to you whenever I can."
She wasn't mad. She really wasn't. She just much rather be at a different place at the moment but she can't exactly tell him that, so she chose to stay silent.
After a few more minutes of coaxing her, he eventually gave up. "Okay, I don't know what else to do or say. Please tell me what you want, Tiff?"
"Take me home?"
He sighed but nodded. "Okay, if that's what you want. Let's go."
---
"I'm really sorry, Tiff. Please forgive me?" They were at her front door and she was about to walk in without saying goodbye when he held her wrist and asked her to talk for a while.
She sighed. "I'm not mad, Oppa, don't worry." She forced a smile.
He smiled that smile she used to go crazy over. "Thanks, Tiff. Now, go inside before you catch a cold. Good night." He kissed her cheek then walked back to his car.
---
She heard the blaring music through the door. She fixed her shirt and hair before pressing the doorbell. She waited patiently - albeit a bit nervously.
A few seconds and the door swung opened, revealing a girl smeared with cake icing all over her face. The girl gasped then slammed the door almost immediately.
It too fast for her to react so she stood there, frozen. Moments later, the door opened again, and this time, she was greeted by Taeyeon's shy smile.
"Hi," she choked out, not really sure why her brain shut down.
"Hello there," Taeyeon grinned and slipped out from behind the door. She stood in front of Tiffany. "What are you doing here?"
Tiffany pouted. "You don't want me here?"
Taeyeon chuckled. "I'm ecstatic you're here. But I thought you had a date with your boyfriend?"
She shrugged. "I wasn't really enjoying myself."
"Oh. Would you like to come in then?"
"Only if I'm invited."
Taeyeon laughed that unwomanly laugh. "Of course you are! Come on, I'll introduce you to my friends."
---
She plopped herself down the sofa beside the half-awake Taeyeon after helping her clean up a little after the party. It was a little past one in the morning and the party just ended half an hour ago with drunk guests stumbling out of Taeyeon's small apartment.
She wasn't drunk but the alcohol still made her feel woozy and she wasn't in a good shape to drive.
"You can take the bedroom," Taeyeon slurred.
She shook her head then grabbed Taeyeon's hand before pulling her to the bedroom.
---
She woke up the next say to the sound of an incessantly ringing phone. She heard shuffling and felt the bed shift after. Not really minding what was going on. She continued to lie on her stomach, burying her face deeper onto the fluffy pillow.
"Yes?" She heard a raspy voice say. Her eyes snapped open but the rest of her body refused to move.
"Oh, Oppa." A sheepish laughed followed. "Thank you, Oppa. Yeah, it was quite a night." A sigh. "Oppa... we've talked about this." Another, deeper, sigh. "Fine, let's talk on Tuesday then."
Her boyfriend? Hmm, possibly. It got Tiffany thinking. Why wasn't he at the party last night? Ah, he might've wanted to have her all to himself when they celebrate. She mentally nodded.
Taeyeon ended the call then got herself comfortable on the bed, trying to get back to sleep.
It was a few minutes later, when she heard light snoring, that Tiffany finally turned to the side to face Taeyeon. She smiled while staring at the peaceful features. Her eyes traced every part of her face. She then went from the face down to the smooth neck, to the perfect collarbone, to exposed flawless shoulder-
Hold on.
Exposed.
Flawless.
Shoulder?
She gulped and forced her eyes to look at her own body under the covers. She covered to muffle an incoming scream of horror.
Where are my clothes?
On their own - or not - her eyes drifted back to the other body beside hers. She had to literally bite her hand as hard as she could to prevent another, louder, ear-splitting scream.
Where are her clothes?
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