I don't usually write things before a chapter. But I just wanted to warn you because: heavy chapter(s) ahead. You may not like it, but it's part of the story progression. So just a heads up!

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"Tiffany? Why are you here?"

"Am I disturbing? Can I come in?"

"Sure, come on in."

She walked into the apartment and went straight for the couch. She sat down and leaned on the backrest, her hands limp in her lap. She never liked fighting with Siwon. It always drained her physical and mental state.

"Here."

A glass of water appeared infront of her and she took it with a smile.

"Thanks, Sunny-ah."

"What's wrong?" Sunny sat beside her and lowered the volume of the drama she was watching. Juhyun would have to wait.

"I-I I had a fight with Siwon and didn't want to see him so I came here. Hope I'm not bothering or anything," she said as she eyed the television screen that was flickering amidst the low lighting.

She couldn't go back to their apartment. The first person that came to her mind was Taeyeon. She was so close to saying her address to the cab driver but she realized she couldn't go to her place, too. There were too many questions, too many doubts. She wasn't sure if she could handle it.

So she went for the next best option- Sunny. For she, apart from Taeyeon, lived alone. She could head over to Sooyoung's place but her boyfriend knew Siwon so it wouldn't be ideal. She didn't want him to find her. She needed space from him. Looking at him would fuel her frustration further. Who was he to speak of her friend like that?

"You did no such thing. Care to share?" Sunny turned to face Tiffany on the couch and folded her legs. She propped her elbow on the couch, her cheek pressed onto her fist, and looked intently at Tiffany.

It didn't cross her mind that she would need to be honest with Sunny on the reason for their quarrel. She wasn't sure what she should say. Should she come clean why they quarreled? But it meant she would have to broach the subject on whether Taeyeon liked her- something she denied furiously. Well, that and Taeyeon being a biual. She was so sure that the blonde was straight.

She was comfortable with it if Taeyeon was into both genders. It wouldn't affect anything between them. She would still treat her the same. But would she still be comfortable after knowing her friend -a female- had feelings for her but she was too oblivious to see it? Was she ready for the revelation? She was curious yet she didn't want to know- she's in a dilemma.

It had never happened to her before. When she was in the States she heard gossips that some girls had a crush on her but that were it. None of them came forward, and none of them were her friends.

"He was bad-mouthing my friend so I snapped. I mean, he doesn't even have proof to back up what he said."

"Oh? And why would he do that? What's the topic about anyway?"

"Uh, he made some... remarks about my friend that wasn't very nice," Tiffany paused and bit her lower lip, "He- let's just say he was really rude."

Sunny looked at Tiffany with her head tiled sideways. She wasn't sure why Tiffany couldn't go into details since she was definitely here for a reason. To get away from her boyfriend, definitely. And also to share and perhaps to get some input from her too? But the way she behaved was the opposite. It felt like she didn’t want her to know.

"Is it about us? One of us? Is that why you're reluctant to talk about it?" Sunny took a chance and saw Tiffany fidget a little on the couch. She smiled knowingly and reached out to hold her hand.

"It's okay. You can choose to talk to us about it, or you can keep it in. Either way, just know that we won't stop befriending you just 'cause your boyfriend bad-mouthed one of us. You're a good friend, Fany-ah, and we would like to keep you in our small group."

The softness and kindness in Sunny's tone made Tiffany look up to face an encouraging pair of eyes. Her walls broke down and she felt herself giving in.

"H-he said Taeyeon's a lesbian. Or a biual, whichever way. But she had only dated men in the past! He shouldn't have said that. He doesn't even know her!"

Tiffany bore her eyes into Sunny's. She wanted Sunny to agree with her so she could go back to her boyfriend and say 'Ha! See! Told you so' but Sunny's silence made her panic. If Taeyeon was a biual, then this could mean that... she silently prayed for it to be false. 

Sunny's smile wavered but she tried not to show how surprised she was. How did Siwon find out? For him to tell Tiffany meant he had confidence it's true. Was that why you decided to get over Fany? Taeyeon-ah, why didn't you tell us? Silly girl.

Sunny weighed the pros and cons of letting Tiffany know about Taeyeon's preference, but wasn't sure how much should she divulge. It wasn't right to talk about it without Taeyeon's consent but then... Tiffany was right infront of her, in her house, on her couch. What was she supposed to say or do?

"Um..." She racked her brain for anything she could say.

Her phone rang in the midst of contemplating and she mentally heaved a sigh of relief. She reached out for her phone that was on the coffee table and made a mental note to kiss the caller profusely the next time she sees her, no matter how annoying she was.

"Sorry, I've got to take this call."

---

"Soonkyu-ya, you wouldn't-"

"Yah Kim Taeyeon!" Sunny screamed into her phone. She was in the bathroom of her room to make sure Tiffany, who was sitting outside on her couch, wouldn't be able to hear her.

"Wha-? Why are you screaming?" Came the innocent reply.

Sunny rolled her eyes although her friend wasn't able to see it. Why must she be the one caught in the middle when the problem originated from her friend?

"Tiffany is in my house right now, on my couch watching TV. She asked me about you. Specifically, about your ual orientation because apparently Mr. Boyfriend found out about your little secret." Sunny said without missing a beat. "What do you want me to do?"

The other line went silent as Sunny bit her fingernail. It was a bad habit she got from her dear friend. She did that because she was nervous and worried.

After about two minutes of silence, Taeyeon finally spoke. "She's there now? I'll go over."

"Yah, I don't thi-" Sunny stopped talking when she heard a soft click that indicated the call was over.

She sighed and prayed for everything to be okay. Although she would try to protect her best friend, Tiffany needed protection too. And she genuinely liked her as a friend. She kept her fingers crossed as she wished for the best.

---

Tiffany watched as Sunny went into her room. She thought nothing of it since it might be a private and confidential call. She increased the volume of the TV and watched Juhyun on the screen.

The scene was about how Juhyun found out her best guy friend was in love with her but she was getting married to her fiancé. She cried as she told him how in love she was with him before she agreed to date her then boyfriend. She thought he didn't feel the same way so she moved on.

The plot looked very familiar to Tiffany and she almost cursed at the slight similarity. But that wasn't her case, was it? She had yet to confirm Taeyeon's feelings towards her. But the way Taeyeon avoided her... was she moving on?

Tiffany shook her head and patted her cheeks. She shall not jump into conclusions when there were no facts. She'd just take it as a rumour until Sunny confirmed it. Ignorance is bliss, she reminded herself. But she had to know. She didn't like to leave things incomplete or unanswered.

---

They both sat on the couch and watched the episode in silence as they didn't know how to continue the topic from before. The ball was in Sunny's court now, and Tiffany waited patiently for the answer. She didn't want to seem pushy, although she was dying to know the truth.

The doorbell rang as the credits rolled at end of the episode. Sunny stood up and walked towards the door. It was like she had expected the guest to arrive at this timing.

Tiffany raised a brow as she watched Sunny walking away. Who could it be? Hardly anyone would visit at this hour. Well, she was a special case. So that left her with the only possibility: was Sunny dating someone?

She smiled at that thought and turned around to face the door, waiting to see who it was so she could make fun of Sunny. Her smile faltered when Sunny opened the door to reveal the person standing behind the door.

Tiffany gulped. Taeyeon was looking straight into her eyes. Did she know what she had asked Sunny? Was she here to personally rebuke her? Tiffany was suddenly afraid. What if Taeyeon felt offended and didn't want to see her anymore? She unknowingly tightened the grip on the cushion she was hugging without breaking the eye contact.

---

"I'll be in my room if you need me," Sunny whispered as Taeyeon took off her shoes. She thought it would be better to let them have their privacy. After all, the topic they were about to talk about involved only the two of them.

"No, stay. I don't think it's wise to let us be alone in a room." Taeyeon held Sunny's arm to stop her from leaving, breaking the eye contact she had with Tiffany. She needed the moral support. She needed to do this. For Tiffany and for myself. She felt bad for thinking of this but she needed Sunny to do damage control if things were to go out of hand.

Sunny looked into Taeyeon's pleading eyes and mouthed an okay. She could sit between them and pretend she's never there. Yup, totally doable.

They walked towards the couch and Sunny sat back to where she was previously, beside Tiffany. Taeyeon sat on the armchair next to the couch and faced them both.

Taeyeon kept her eyes on Tiffany, and the latter looked at her with an unreadable expression. Her palms were sweating and she could feel getting dry. She wet her lips and exhaled, mentally preparing herself for whatever she was about to say.

This was it. There's a high chance they wouldn't even stay friends. Or maybe she would stop hanging out with her alone. Either way, she knew being honest now was the right thing to do.

"What are you doing here, Taeyeon?" Tiffany asked softly while playing with the cushion in her hands.

"I uh, I came here to-"

"I just remembered there's some finger food left in my fridge. I'll go heat them up," Sunny interjected and stood up. She wanted to be there for her friend, but she found it too awkward to sit there like she was invisible.

She went to her kitchen and rummaged through her fridge for drinks and snacks she could provide for them. They probably would need comfort food after the talk they were going to have. Or maybe she would be the one needing it instead.

---

"Tiffany, I..." Taeyeon took a deep breath and exhaled through her nose. "I heard from Sunny that you're kinda- you wanted some answers. And I thought it'd be better for me to address them to you personally." She played with her fingers as she sorted out her thoughts in her head. She wasn’t the type to prepare a speech, but to speak whatever that was on her mind. Her thoughts were all jumbled up since she was nervous as hell.

Tiffany kept her eyes on the ground as she listened to what Taeyeon had to say. Her heart was about to beat out of her chest. This was even worse than any interviews she had attended. Her stomach was about to churn due to the anxiousness she felt. The moment of truth.

"What Siwon said or suspected was... true," Taeyeon said and brought her gaze up to Tiffany. The brunette's head snapped up almost immediately and she looked like she wasn't expecting that.

"It started in high school," she explained, "I realized I felt something for this female senior I had and... it was freaky. I came to terms with myself but had only dated men because I couldn't stand the way society would look at me if I were to date a woman."

"And I admit that you intrigued me at Sihoon oppa's party. You were dazzling that night. And I'm happy to have had the opportunity to get to know you better in a more personal manner. You're a wonderful person, Fany-ah."

All the while Tiffany remained silent as they looked into each other's eyes. Taeyeon wanted to stop talking but she knew she had to go on. She wouldn't have the courage to do it another day- if there was another day to begin with.

"I'm sorry I didn't control myself better. It wasn't my intention to come between you and Siwon, really. I wasn't even planning to tell you about it, like ever. But I guess I was being too obvious that people started noticing. So yes, I'm a biual and I like you," she paused but quickly added: "And I understand if you feel uncomfortable and don’t wish to remain friends. I'm totally fine with that."

She could feel tears b in her eyes as she fought hard not to break down infront of Tiffany. She felt a heavy weight lifted off her chest although the friendship with Tiffany might be the price to pay. She had finally let it all out. But she understood that she had just passed the bad situation to Tiffany. The ball was in her court now, and she would accept whatever outcome the brunette decides.

---

I apologize if there were mistakes I didn't manage to spot when I was proofreading. I think I edited the chapter for more than 10 times so my eyes might have missed a few errors.

I spent a considerable amount of time on this chapter than for any of the others. I was contemplating on whether I should let Taeyeon speak the truth, or to hold out for a bit longer but decided on the former. The next chapter would be quite heavy too, I think. This 'confession' part is not over but I didn't want to overwhelm you.

But hey, rest assured that this is still a TaeNy fanfic no matter how dark/hopeless their interactions were in the past few chapters (or for the future chapters), including this.

As always, thanks for the subs and comments!

-E