i. rosa xanthina

Rain was pouring outside SM Town's building during 5 o'clock, rush hour, usually the time people come home from work, however for nine girls, their work was just about to start. 

Jessica sat alone, sitting on the floor, hugging her legs while her eyes were on the eight other girls socializing. They've already done basic introductions a while ago and after that they were left alone to get to know each other more since they were more or less going to be with each other for about 10 years.

Her eyes scanned the room observing everything and everyone on the room. All the girls seem to get along well, she wondered how she was going to start talking to any of them. Her eyes stuck on a girl holding a small flower vase with a yellow rose planted in it. The girl noticed her looking at her and smiled brightly. The girl made her way to Jessica and sat down next to her and put the flower vase behind her back.

"Jessica, right?" the girl spoke and Jessica nodded. 

"I'm Stephanie! You're the other American girl, right?" Jessica nodded again, adjusting her legs to stretch.

"Thank God!" Stephanie said in English "I'm not the only one! Sometimes I get confused when I speak Korean so can I speak in English to you?" 

"Sure, I don't think there's any problem in that," Jessica smiled slightly.

"Great!" Stephanie exclaimed. Stephanie's eyes widen and she covers her open mouth "Oh yeah!" she spoke as if she forgot about something. She turned her back and reached for the flower vase she was holding a while ago and extended her arms to give it to her.

"Rosa xanthina!" she stated. 

"I-It's a yellow rose," Jessica spoke.

"Well, yeah, basically. Yellow roses represent friendship. This is a gift from me in the hopes we'll have a long lasting friendship," Stephanie explained.

Jessica smiled at the gift and kept it, putting it in the middle of them.

"Thank you," Jessica smiled.

"No problem," Stephanie showed her eye-smile.

Time passed quickly as the two got to know more and more about each other. They both easily got comfortable with each other. The rain stopped after a few minutes they talked. Eventually they were the only two in the room; somehow they couldn't run out of things to talk about.  Once it was 7 they both decided they should probably get going but just before they left they exchanged phone numbers and quickly headed home.

Jessica smiled at herself, proud of what just happened. She gained a friend, a new person to be with every day and have fun with. She walked happily along the street with her head held high making her way back to her house.

ii. taraxacum

It's been 3 months since they've met each other and they’ve never been so inseparable. They literally did everything together, they were together 24/7 after moving in the dorm. But in order for Stephanie to get better at Korean, Jessica and Stephanie weren't allowed to room together.

But that didn't stop the two from getting closer.

They were all very close, not just the two. Thanks to Stephanie, Jessica was able to get social with the other members. They were all very happy, no one was left out.

Today the selected members got their stage names. Stephanie got "Tiffany" because she suggested it to the management.

Stephanie was overjoyed at the decision and decided to celebrate it by giving everyone dandelions.

"Thanks Steph, but why dandelions?" Jessica asked.

"That's Tiffany, for you; and taraxacum because they represent happiness; and I am overjoyed Jung Sooyeon," Stephanie explained.

Jessica took a look at the flowers. It wasn't in a flower pot this time; it was a bouquet. It was quite small actually, only containing about nine dandelions and it was wrapped in a transparent plastic with a white lace design and it was tied with a light pink ribbon so it could stay as one.

She looked back at Stephanie "Why are you so happy? It's just a stage name."

"Because, Jessica," Stephanie paused. "It was what my mother wanted to name me. When I was a baby my mom suggested that name would be Tiffany but my dad changed it to Stephanie. My mom died when I was younger so now I want to use the name Tiffany to honor her."

Jessica was shocked at the sudden information. Stephanie mentioned her mom's death before but she had no idea about the name. She had no idea how to react but instead a smile tugged at her lips and she placed her arms around her friend and shook her slightly.

Stephanie chuckled "Alright, alright! Stop being so mushy," Stephanie said.

Jessica laughed it off again "But seriously, I'm going to have a hard time getting used to calling you Tiffany now, Stephanie just sounds more familiar to me."

Stephanie shrugged "I guess, but you'll get used to it eventually," she said.

"Alright, Tiffany," she nudged her friend.

iii. gladiolus x hortulanus

Swift movements were made by the nine girls, their feet in complete synchronization and their hands in perfect harmony. Their bodies move to the beat of the song playing. Each one of them has their own parts to remember, and yet they all did it so effortlessly, they had to admit the dance wasn't particularly easy. There were some details you have to pay attention to when dancing. Every move had to be exact to make it look presentable and all nine girls had that in mind.

The music stopped as they did their dance move signaling for them to stop and take a break for a minute.

The girls sit together in a circle, all out of breath. All of their mouths were open and breathing heavily. Some started coughing but that didn't stop them from starting from the top again.

The music played and immediately the girls start to move in harmony. The first verse and chorus was fine but when the second verse came and Jessica's vision started to blur and she had trouble breathing. She tried keeping up with the dance but all she could see was black dots. Her ears couldn't hear anything, everything sounded like mumbles. Her arms start to wobble and her limbs were harder to control. She felt her legs start to tremble until finally she fell and the last thing she heard was her members screaming her name.

She lay on the floor unconscious and all the members started to worry. They were all panicking but luckily their manager was there to calm them down. Their manager ordered them to back off of Jessica since she needed air and the members followed the instructions. Their manager called an ambulance which quickly came after a few minutes. They rushed Jessica to the hospital to have a little bit of a check-up.

The doctor ordered them to call Jessica's parents and so they followed. After a few minutes they came but Jessica was still undergoing some tests. 

The longer they waited the more anxious they got. Everyone couldn’t rest at all; they were all pacing or trying to keep themselves busy by distracting themselves. Their manager suggested that only one of them members stay behind and then the rest leave, in the end it was just Tiffany, their manager, and Jessica's parents.

The doctor came out with the news. As it turns out she had stable agina, or chest pains. The doctor said that stress and physical activity is what triggered it. He told them not to be worried, it wasn't a heart a attack, but it could be a sign that it might happen one day. He also told them that she fainted because of dehydration and lack of sleep. The doctor told them that right now she needs to rest because her heart isn't at the state to do much physical activity.

Her parents asked if they could go in and they were granted permission.

They walked in seeing a sleeping Jessica. She was sleeping peacefully. She looked like a painting lying down in all white wearing the hospital gown and her hair landed anywhere it wanted to go. was slightly open, it was obvious that she was completely exhausted. Tiffany started getting angry as to why Jessica didn't tell her she was already tired. What made her not talk? Tiffany's mind buzzed with questions with no answers. She stared at her best friend, clueless as to why this had to happen.

A few hours later her parents went out to get some food because it was just about time to get dinner and so Tiffany was left alone with Jessica.

She stared at her best friend, wondering again why this happened.

Was she always like this? Was there some barrier between us that I didn't notice? Tiffany thought.

Tiffany let out a sigh "What happened Jessica?" she said in English.

She crossed her arms and placed it on the hospital bed and buried her head in it.

"Steph-Tiffa-ny...?" Jessica continued stutter, unaware if she was calling out the name of the right person.

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