At the present…

"What, is she like, super homophobic or something?"  Tiffany paced back and forth in front of Sooyoung, hands on her hips.  "No, she's not like that, I know she's not.  I don't—"

"Jesus, Tiffany, she's got a crush on you, okay!"  Sooyoung exploded and then clapped her hands over , mortified that she had just spilled a secret she had promised to keep.  Taeyeon was going to kill her, if Sunny didn't first.

Tiffany blinked, once, then twice.  "She… what?  Me?"  Sure, Taeyeon had always been a little awkward around her, but Taeyeon was a little awkward around everybody.

Well, Sooyoung decided, the cat's out of the bag now.  Really, though, Tiffany should have figured it out.  No straight girl wore snapbacks every day the way Taeyeon did.  "She's had it bad for you for a while."

"Oh my god.  All those times I was just rambling about guys, and she didn't say anything!  And… oh no.  Was she taking it the wrong way every time I touched her?  Oh my god."  Tiffany was panicking.

"Hey, whoa, you don’t have to get freaked out about it.  She's just gay; she's not a -crazed predator.  She's way too scared to make any moves on you."  Crap, this must've been what Taeyeon meant about straight girls getting weird when they found that she liked women.  Not that Sooyoung did that when Taeyeon came out to her in high school, oh no.  Well, maybe she felt a little odd about it for a bit, but when Taeyeon assured her that "you're really not my type," she got over it.  Even felt a bit insulted, because, really, why wouldn't she be someone's type?

"What?  No, no, I don't think she's going to jump me or anything."  Tiffany corrected her, looking offended by the suggestion.  "I just can't believe I've been such a ty friend."

Sooyoung was baffled.  Tiffany could be described in many ways, but "ty friend" was not one of them.

Tiffany continued, crestfallen:  "How could I not see it?  I was so busy thinking about myself that I didn't see how uncomfortable she was.  I'm so stupid."  She drew herself up and clasped her hands together.  "I have to go talk to her."

"No no no no no, you are not!"  Sooyoung almost shouted at her.  "If you tell her you know, then she'll know that I told you and then I will die.  Do you want me to die, Tiffany?"   Her eyes threatened to pop out of her head.

"That's not fair.  I'm just supposed to hang out with her like normal after you tell me she has a crush on me?"

"Yes.  Yes you are."  Sooyoung realized she was being unreasonable, but valued her personal safety more than anything else at the moment.  "She'll talk to you when she's ready."  Her expression softened.  "Please don't say anything about it to her.  She's already stressed enough."

"I never wanted to stress her out."  Tiffany felt like a steaming pile of garbage left outside on a summer day.  "Won't talking it out make her feel better?"

"That's not how Taeyeon works.  She has to spend eight years picking out exactly the right words and going through every single branch a conversation could take, no matter how ridiculous or unrealistic.  Trying to sort through her feelings in the moment is a recipe for disaster.  Trust me.  Taeyeon doesn’t 'talk out' anything."  It was one of her more frustrating quirks, admittedly, but in the decade they had known each other, Sooyoung had gotten used to it.

"I don't know if I can be that patient."

"Honestly, I don't think you'll have to be.  Sunny said she seemed pretty close to telling you when she talked to her the other day."

Tiffany threw her head back and ran her hands through her hair, letting out a frustrated sigh in the process.  "Sunny knows, too?  Am I the only person who doesn't?  Next time I'm in class, maybe I should just take a poll:  'Did you know my friend Taeyeon is ually attracted to me?' and see how many people say yes."

"Now you're just being silly.  Only me and Sunny know.  And we were told not to tell you, but I'm a big-mouthed idiot, so there you go."

Tiffany was at a loss.  Think, she told herself.  Taeyeon liked her.  Did she like Taeyeon?  She pondered that thought for a bit, kneading it over in her mind.  Physically speaking, Taeyeon was attractive, even when she didn't bother putting any effort into her appearance.  If she was being honest with herself, Tiffany had to admit she liked it when Taeyeon looked a little disheveled.  And they had become close the last few months.  Taeyeon had been opening up to her lately, gradually, discussing her hopes, fears, and dreams; Tiffany clung to each word, grateful for every bit of information.  She loved Taeyeon's silly laugh and the way she air through her teeth when she was trying to figure out what to say.  She loved how their eyes would meet, how Taeyeon would always break away first, slipping her fingers through her hair, tucking it behind her ear, all nervous giggles.

But did she like Taeyeon?  Or was she merely attracted to Taeyeon's attraction?

"I need to think about this.  I'll talk to you later."  Tiffany swung her backpack over her shoulder and headed back to her room.

"Remember what I said!"  Sooyoung shouted to Tiffany's retreating back.  "Don't say anything!"