"Let's make a toast to welcome Suzy into our team!" Sojin raised her glass and the others round the table did the same.

"Thank you!" Suzy thanked them and finished her drink in one shot.

"Let the party begin!" Sojin screamed and pulled her colleagues onto the dance floor.

They were all at a club after dinner to continue their welcome party. Taeyeon thought there should at least be someone sober to get all of her colleagues back home safely so she volunteered to stay and be their driver. She was the only one present that had a car so she naturally took the job. She suspected that they planned this 'welcome party' just so they could let loose. Work had been hectic with new projects to be handled by the handful of them so they were elated when boss announced that there would be a new colleague.

"Aren't you going to drink something alcoholic?" Suzy asked as she pointed at the glass of coke.

Taeyeon shook her head and took a sip. "Nah, they need someone to send them home."

"Ah, that's so nice of you," she paused, "You're... Taeyeon, right?"

"Yes, I am. Good memory you have there. Usually newcomers either can't remember names or can't match names with faces."

Suzy chuckled and tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear. "Because you made an impression."

"Oh?" That sentence got Taeyeon's attention so she sat up straighter and leaned forward. "What impression?"

"You look very young although we're about the same age. I thought you were an intern." Suzy chuckled lightly to herself when she recalled her thoughts the moment she saw Taeyeon. She wondered why was a college student with blonde hair doing her work so dilligently, and got a shock when Tayeon was introduced as a senior executive.

Taeyeon touched her face and laughed. She had heard people saying she looked younger than her age, but this was the first time it made an impression on someone.

"Wow, I'm flattered. I could say the same for you."

---

"Can you walk?" Taeyeon asked as Sojin opened the car door.

Sojin grumbled and waved her hand around, stumbling out of the car. Taeyeon unbuckled her seatbelt and was about to open the door to help her colleague up to the apartment but Suzy held her arm to stop her.

"Let me. I'll be back soon," she said and got out of the car.

Taeyeon watched as Suzy put Sojin's arm over her shoulder and carefully helped the drunken lady up the steps, until they disappeared into the building.

As she waited for Suzy, she played with her phone and saw a few unread messages. She might have missed the ringtone as the club was too noisy.

She filtered the messages and deleted those advertising texts. Her eyes landed on the message sent by Tiffany. She checked the timestamp and saw it was sent two hours ago.

'Are you free for dinner this week? Siwon's out of town.'

She wasn't sure how to react to the text. Was she a backup? It didn't occur to her before, but it seemed like it. What was Tiffany trying to do to her? Not saying that it wasn't right of her to ask a friend out, but Taeyeon felt exceptionally sensitive whenever it came to Tiffany. And Siwon.

"Sorry, I can't. Work has been busy lately." She replied and locked her phone, placing it into the cup holder.

She figured that if she wanted to get over Tiffany, she had to put some distance between them. The first step would be to stop hanging out with her that often.

For the past week, she was able to do that. She gradually stopped hoping for such invitation texts from Tiffany. She had to suppress the urge to see or talk to the brunette but she managed to do it. So easy to fall in love but so difficult to get out of it.

The car door opened and Suzy stepped in. Taeyeon noticed the foul smell that followed and was about to ask her about it. Before she could, Suzy put up her hand to stop her.

"Sojin puked. And I smell. I'm sorry. I wanted to clean up at her apartment but I don't know your number so I couldn't inform you. I didn't want you to wait for long. Could you maybe open the windows for the rest of the ride?" She finished it in one long breath.

Taeyeon smiled and found it very amusing. Suzy was more worried that she might wait for long instead of being frustrated being puked on. She noticed the dark patch on Suzy's dress and silently turned off the air-conditioning, opening all four windows of the car.

"She puked on me once," Taeyeon said as she started moving the car, "and then she passed out. The next day she forgot about everything that had happened. So on behalf of her I apologize. She may not remember what happened except for a very bad hangover tomorrow."

"We have been under a lot of pressure from boss so when they found an outlet to relief stress... Let's just say they can get a little overboard with the drinking and partying," she continued, taking a glance at Suzy.

"It's okay, I understand. That's why boss decided to hire me, isn't it? To help you guys and lessen the load." She smiled and exhaled, relieved that Taeyeon didn't find the pungent odour an issue.

She panicked the moment Sojin looked like she was about to throw up. She fumbled with the keys to her apartment and once they stepped in, Sojin puked. Before she could react, she felt the warm and sticky fluid on her dress. She almost gagged at the sight and smell.

Ignoring the state she was in, she helped her colleague into the room and wiped the corner of her lips. She contemplated if she should clean herself before heading down but she didn't want Taeyeon to wait for long. It was late and she didn’t want her to think something happened. So she wiped off whatever residue that was left on her dress and left the apartment, locking the door behind her.

---

"You know, Tiffany asked me if you're really that busy these days. She mentioned you rejected hanging out with her couple of times until she gave up asking since she knew what your answer would be." Sunny kept her eyes on Taeyeon who had her eyes fixated on the television.

She wanted to find out what happened between her friends. It wasn't like Taeyeon to outright reject Tiffany's invitations. Unless-

"I'm not lying, technically. Work has been busy," Taeyeon answered, eyes not leaving the drama they were watching on her TV.

"Yeah, right," Sunny rolled her eyes, "so busy that you have time to invite me here to watch Juhyun's drama."

"I'm getting over her, Sunny-ah. Isn't that what we all wished for? The best way is to stop the frequent hangouts."

"Hm," Sunny answered absentmindedly. It was definitely a good start. She should relay this to her friends in case they blurt things out unknowingly. "So you're finally getting over her? What made you change?"

"I've always wanted to. I didn't change. Perhaps I wasn't putting in enough effort then, so now I'm doubling that. I have to, Sunny-ah. She will never be mine," said Taeyeon softly. Her eyes were on the TV but her mind wasn't processing anything she saw. "It's unfair to Siwon. And Tiffany herself. I'm like a ticking time bomb, waiting to explode and hurt them both. I'll eventually destroy myself."

Sunny held Taeyeon's hand and interlaced their fingers together, giving it a light squeeze. She was proud of her friend. She just wanted her to be happy, nothing more. And she swore she would be there for her no matter what.

Her eyes widened as she saw the scene unfolding infront of her eyes. "Oh no, you rascal! Let go of my Juhyun! No! You're not allowed to hold her hand! NO! Gasp! HOW DARE YOU KISS HER?!"

Taeyeon laughed at her sudden outburst. Weren't they in a solemn mood just now? She held Sunny's hand tighter, conveying her appreciation silently. It was always good to know that she's got her back.

---

The couple finally had time to go out on a date. They went out for a nice dinner followed by a film that Tiffany wanted to watch. Siwon never brought up what he saw that night, since he knew how upset his girlfriend could get when he 'spied' on her. Moreover, it had been a while since the last time she brought up that friend- Kim Taeyeon.

He wasn't sure if she was aware, but ever since he was away in New York, apart from updating him what she encountered or what she did with her friends, Tiffany always mentioned Taeyeon. He didn't find it weird at first. It was just like two friends who got along well. But he wasn't sure now.

He turned his head to the girl in his arms when he heard her sigh. "What's wrong?"

Tiffany adjusted herself to be in a more comfortable position, leaning on his shoulder as they walked. "It's just- I don't know what's wrong with Taeyeon lately. She hasn't hung out with us for quite a while and she has been rejecting me when I asked her out. Is work really that busy?" She spoke whatever she had in her mind, hoping Siwon could help her out or give her some pointers.

She felt hurt that Taeyeon seemed to be avoiding her. The amount of times she saw Juhyun was even higher than when she saw the blonde. Perhaps it was really work, but Tiffany couldn't help but think it's more than that. She didn’t remember doing anything to annoy Taeyeon in the first place. And they forgave each other for the outburst that night wasn’t it?

"Well, if you think work is not a problem, then it's obvious that she's avoiding you. I mean, citing work as an excuse once or twice is understandable. But well, it could also mean that she doesn't want to hangout with you."

"But why? We were fine before. Didn't seem like she minded."

"Just let her be. You have a handful more friends right? Stick to them. It's just one friend you'll lose out on. No big deal."

Tiffany frowned and lifted her head to look at Siwon. "Why do you sound like you want me to stop hanging out with her?"

"Oh, I thought you sharing about it meant I could input my own opinion. What's wrong with not being friends with Taeyeon?"

"Because I honestly quite like her."

Siwon's expression darkened as he thought of the possibility of Tiffany leaving him for her. He knew the chances were low but he was not going to risk it.

"Stay away from her, as far as possible."

"What? Why?" Tiffany was confused. Siwon had been encouraging her to meet new people, make new friends and this was the first time he told her to stop hanging out with someone.

"Just do it. You won't feel comfortable knowing the reason."

"Hey, I'm her friend. I tend to think that I know her better than you do."

"Apparently not."

"What do you mean?" She got out of his hold and glared at him. What was he trying to imply? Of course she knew Taeyeon better than he did. She's her friend!

He took a deep breath and exhaled lightly. It was now or never. "She's into girls, Tiff. A lesbian."

Her jaw dropped when she heard what Siwon had just said. Where the hell did that come from?!

"What are you talking about? She's straight! She only had boyfriends!" She flailed her arms around agitatedly.

"See, that's where you are wrong. She's a biual, at least." Siwon kept his stern expression to convey that he spoke nothing but the truth. Although he wasn't a hundred percent sure, he could bet on his head that his instincts were right- Taeyeon was into his girlfriend.

"Are you crazy?! Why are you saying this? You're going to ruin her image!" She shoved him by the shoulder. She wasn't going to keep it in when he's obviously trying to humiliate her friend.

"I speak the truth."

"I can't believe you, Choi Siwon. I don't like it when you speak of my friend like that." She frowned deeply.

"I'm just trying to protect you!" He raised his voice. Why couldn't she see that he was helping her? "She likes you!"

"Not by sprouting nonsense like that! I'm her friend, I should know it if she felt something for me beyond friends!" She pointed to herself while stressing her point. Who was he kidding? They were just friends and nothing more. She would've known if Taeyeon was interested in her romantically.

Siwon shook his head and calmed himself down. He was dealing with an agitated Tiffany and it wouldn't do them any good if he were to continue raising his voice at her.

"Tiff. I'm putting this in the nicest way ever. You didn't even realize I was hitting on you until 4 months later, remember? You're oblivious to these things and I'm trying to help you see that. It would save Taeyeon the heartache. And it'd definitely save you the trouble of having to reject your friend should she confess."

"You know what? You're crazy. I don't want to talk to you." She quickened her steps and hailed a cab. Without looking back she stepped into it and slammed the door shut.

Siwon let out a frustrated groan and wanted to punch the nearest lamp post as he watched the cab drive off. Was it wrong to want to protect his girlfriend? His relationship? Knowing how stubborn Tiffany could get, she would only realize he spoke the truth when she validated it herself.

---

Uh-oh. Someone is in trouble. XD 

It was kinda fun writing (or typing) the part where Siwon and Tiffany quarrelled. I could practically hear Tiffany's loud voice in my head.

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