Three
SuddenlyIt was one of those moments Tiffany wished she could just disappear. No matter how hard she bit into her hand, she couldn’t muffle her scream.
She could only watch in horror as Taeyeon’s eyes slowly opened. Not giving her the time to say anything, Tiffany all but jumped out of bed, taking the covers with her, completely forgetting about the just-as- Taeyeon.
She picked up her clothes, blushing and shivering as she went when she mistakenly grabbed Taeyeon’s underwear instead before immediately throwing it aside.
Once she was fully dressed, she made the wrong move of glancing at Taeyeon, who was sitting on the bed, still very much . She gasped and threw the covers to Taeyeon, silently pleading her to cover herself. It hit Taeyeon square on the face. “I’m sorry!”
She kept apologizing until she was out of the apartment, ignoring Taeyeon as the girl called for her.
-
Guilt was eating her up. She felt so bad cheating on her boyfriend who was working hard for their future. It had been weeks since the incident but she still couldn’t bring herself to answer any of Taeyeon’s calls or messages.
She didn’t know what to do or how to face Taeyeon. She even stopped going to their usual hangout places for fear of meeting the girl. It was bad. Although she wasn’t exactly sure what happened, the lack of clothes pretty much told the story.
But why?
Why did it happen? She couldn’t remember much but she was sure she wasn’t drunk. She was sleepy, so why didn’t she just sleep? Why did they have to take their clothes off and…
And…
Oh God. She shook her head, trying to shake off the image of Taeyeon’s smooth milky white ski–… no!
She had spent a lot of drunken nights in the past with her girl friends and nothing like that ever happened.
Maybe it had to do with the inexplicable feelings she would have whenever Taeyeon was around.
But, no. I love Oppa.
-
She settled down on one of the seats and waited patiently for her order. She whipped her phone out and dialed a number she hasn’t contacted in days.
“Hello?”
“Oppa?”
“Yes?” She heard noises in the background.
She frowned. “Oppa, where are you?”
“Oh Tiff, I’m in a meeting right now.”
“Lunch meeting?”
“Yeah. Our new clients wanted to try out this new restaurant downtown so my boss and I accompanied them.”
“Oh…” she sighed.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I just thought we could have lunch together.”
“Oh… I’m really sorry, Tiff. I can take you out for dinner tonight instead. How does that sound?”
She still agreed despite that small voice at the back of her mind telling her that he would eventually cancel the date later that day. “Sounds good, Oppa.”
“Okay. I’ll see you tonight then. Bye.”
“Bye.”
She shoved her phone inside her bad and sighed loudly. She was hoping for some kind of distraction but it seemed like the only person who could do that couldn’t be there for her when she needed him the most.
Not that she wasn’t used to it by now. She didn’t mind usually because Taeyeon–…
Damn. Her again?!
-
After a lonely lunch, she decided to walk around the nearby streets where shops were lined up left and right.
A little shopping won’t hurt, she thought to herself. That was until she remembered that she didn’t have enough money with her.
Okay, so maybe a little window-shopping won’t hurt.
She spent fifteen minutes looking around, admiring the clothes, bags, shoes, and stuffed animals she deemed must-buys and made a mental note to come back and purchase all of them one day.
As she walked aimlessly along the street, her eyes caught sight of a very cute – but very expensive – baby pink bag displayed behind the glass window of a famous brand.
She almost ran to the store. She grabbed the bag and admired its beauty from up close. She grinned. It was definitely a priority must-buy.
She suddenly remembered the emergency credit card her father gave her months ago before she moved out.
Well, this is definitely an emergency… I think.
She smirked and made a beeline for the counter, all while keeping her eyes on the bag. She was almost there when she bumped into someone.
She fell backwards, landing on her , and groaned. “Ow!”
“Omo! I’m so sor– Tiffany?!”
She looked up and gasped. “T-taeyeon?” She gulped. Should she make a run for it?
But… the bag.
Oh, to hell with the bag. I’m gonna run.
Just as she was about to push herself off the ground, Taeyeon bent down and reached for her hand. “Tiffany, are you okay? I’m sorry. Here, let me help you up.”
She was going to reject the offer when a sudden jolt of electricity ran throughout her body as Taeyeon’s hand touched hers. She held her breath. She wasn’t even aware that Taeyeon was already pulling her up.
“Tiffany?”
She felt a squeeze on her hand and looked down to see Taeyeon still holding hers firmly.
“Are you okay?”
She was still staring at their hands that she didn’t hear the question.
Taeyeon let go of her hand and shook her shoulders instead. “Tiffany? Hey, are you okay?”
She nodded.
“Are you sure? You’re not hurt anywhere?”
She nodded again.
“Oh, okay.” Taeyeon paused. “U-um…” She looked around the store. “Hold on.” She pulled out her phone and dialed a number. “Umma! Can I just meet you at home? Met a friend at a store and I really want to catch up with her so…”
Catch up? No! She wasn’t ready for any catching up. She ran out of the store before Taeyeon could react.
-
She woke up the next day to the incessant ringing of her phone. Not wanting to open her eyes just yet, she blindly searched for her phone and answered it tiredly.
“Hello?”
“Tiffany?”
The voice woke her up in an instant. She ended the call right away and put her phone on silent, effectively avoiding more of Taeyeon’s calls for the rest of the day.
-
Another week of ignoring Taeyeon passed and to say that she was getting by each day would be a complete lie.
She missed Taeyeon and she wanted to see her but the memory of waking up next to her and the unfamiliar feelings she would have whenever the girl touched her made her hesitant.
She sighed and decided to spend the day with her boyfriend to keep her mind off things.
-
She put the car on park near his office building before taking her phone and dialing his number. It took several rings before he finally answered.
“Hey, Tiff. What’s up?”
“Oppa, hi. I’m just bored and hungry. Where are you right now? Let’s grab a quick meal.”
He took a brief pause before answering. “Oh, Tiff. I’m really sorry. I have a meeting in a few hours and it might take hours.”
She sighed, but since she was already expecting the answer, she wasn’t disappointed. “It’s alright, Oppa. I can just go by myself.” Like always.
“Okay. I’m sorry. I need to go now. Bye.”
He didn’t even wait for her answer and hang up the phone.
She shook her head and put the phone back inside her bag. She turned off the engine and pulled the key out of the ignition then went out of the car. She stood in front of the new café across her boyfriend’s building. Might as well eat here.
She greeted the waiter politely and thanked him for opening the door for her.
“Table for one?”
“Ye–”
“Make that for two,” said a familiar voice.
She looked behind her and was instantly greeted by Taeyeon’s warm smile. “Hi, mind if I eat with you?”
She hesitated.
Taeyeon’s smile faded. “Please? We really need to talk.”
She sighed. How was she going to say no to that sad face. “Okay then.”
“Very well,” the waiter said, “please follow me to your table.”
She felt a hand on her lower back followed by a soft push. Her heart started beating rapidly but she chose to ignore it. She followed the man leading them but stopped midway when she saw a familiar face tables away, accompanied by a girl she has never seen before.
“What happened? Why did you stop?”
She didn’t answer as she continued to stare at the man. It was Oppa The man she was on the phone with not even fifteen minutes ago. The same man who told her that he couldn’t eat with her because he had a meeting.
Oppa?
She stood frozen on her spot as various thoughts crossed her mind. Maybe it’s his colleague? Yeah, maybe.
She knew it was highly unlikely since she was familiar with everyone he worked with but she wanted to believe that.
I have to believe that.
That thought vanished immediately the moment he placed a hand over the girl’s and leaned forward to share a kiss.
Her heart overflowed with rage.
She didn’t what made her do it, but she suddenly found her feet bringing her closer to their table. “Oppa!” she shouted as she drew near. She knew Taeyeon was closely behind her, but thankfully, the girl didn’t try to stop her.
The man turned his head and watched as each step made his eyes grow larger. “T-tiff.”
The man stood up just when she was in front of him. From the corner of her eye, she could see Taeyeon stand beside her with curious eyes and mouth slightly parted. She tried to ignore the cute look and forced herself to focus on the cheating man nervously standing in front of her.
“How’s the meeting, Oppa?”
The man gulped. “I–…”
She was shooting glares at the man. She felt Taeyeon step closer to her and hold her arm. She shivered at the touch but tried ignoring it and hoped Taeyeon didn’t notice it.
She asked the girl he was with. “Is this your boyfriend?”
“Y-yes. Why?”
She gritted her teeth and used all of her free arm’s strength to slap the man hard.
The action garnered the attention of everyone but no one dared to move as they all watched the scene in shock.
“If it isn’t obvious, we’re over!” she shouted at the poor man still cupping his left cheek then turned to the confused girl. “I don’t know if you still want to be with this man, but if you do, I highly suggest you chain him to your bed or he will cheat on you too.”
With that, she pried Taeyeon’s hand away from her arm and ran away – leaving everyone frozen.
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