My hand dashed across the paper as I scrawled the disconnected words and fragments of emotions that were plaguing me right now.  To confess, I’d been hoping my first entry in the diary Tiffany had gotten me for Christmas to be a more cheerful, maybe even cheesy, gushing about how romantic or y Tiffany had been.

Unfortunately, things hadn’t been going so great.

For the first time after returning to Korea after a trip overseas, I actually wished I was still abroad.  And while I enjoyed California for its warm weather and laid back culture, it was actually the peace and calm we had there that I missed the most.

There was an obvious rift in the house that became more noticeable every day ever since we returned. 

When Tiffany and I were alone everything was fine, if not better than it was before we went to California.  I felt especially bonded to her after making the promise to her father and seeing her actual home life first hand.

But around Jessica, I could see she was still very vulnerable. Tiffany seemed to think that she was fooling me but every time she let her guard down I could see the lingering worry in her eyes that I hadn’t been able to do anything about yet. 

Our busy schedules had actually separated most of us for now, with dramas and photo shoots, I hadn’t had the chance to get Jessica alone long enough to actually talk to her. She was filming almost every night to meet her obligations before we left for Bangkok.

But whenever we met in crossing, Tiffany became more affectionate towards me in Jessica’s presence.  She was being very territorial of me and when approached head on by Jessica she was blatantly cold and sometimes even hostile. I didn’t know what to do and I somewhat took the blame for Tiffany’s behavior, as I insisted on handling it myself.

It’s not like I could turn around and defend Jessica without knowing her true intentions first, not when Tiffany was so… insecure.   But wasn’t going to give Tiffany an avenue to express herself as she wanted to because I knew it would probably result in another screaming match that she might end up regretting.

It… hurt to know that my words alone weren’t enough to comfort Tiffany but I wasn’t mad at her, she didn’t do anything wrong.  I knew she trusted me but this was about more than just me.  It wasn’t exactly jealousy or possessiveness that plotted Tiffany’s warpath.

She felt she was being betrayed by someone she considered a sister. In my short experience in relationships, betrayal by someone you trust seems much more difficult to handle than jealousy.

If Jessica was really still after me after the warnings she’d received, then Tiffany had every right to be furious. The only difference between Tiffany and me, was that I was still willing to Jessica the benefit of the doubt until I found out one way or the other. Tiffany was already ready to pounce.

On top of everything else, somehow Yuri felt Tiffany’s actions towards Jessica were my fault.  Her irritation with me was becoming more obvious with every argument.  Jessica, however, didn’t react much towards Tiffany’s behavior; rather, she seemed to be trying to avoid Tiffany altogether.

On the outside Jessica seems like a cold person, the “Ice Princess” as she’s dubbed, but she really isn’t one for confrontation and she’s quite sensitive.

I would imagine, if this is just a misunderstanding, that all of this is hurting her just as bad as it’s hurting anyone else.

What a mess.  Did I really cause all of this? My head was pounding from the stress of it all.

I leaned back against the couch and exhaled slowly, spinning my pen through my fingers absentmindedly as I thought of what else I wanted to move from my chest to the crisp pages of the diary.

“… The other girls don’t seem to want to get involved on either side, which is good.  I’m very thankful for Sunny who’s been trying to keep things civil and posit-“

I stopped writing abruptly when Sunny came to sit next to me.  She didn’t say anything, but she stared into my eyes very deeply. 

I smirked, knowing what was coming.

“Taeyeon, we need to talk.”

“Do we?” I asked, closing the diary.

“…Yes.  I’ve been keeping this from you for too long.” She said.

I rolled my eyes and ran a hand through my hair, looking at her warily.

“I can’t keep playing this charade.  I’m in love with you, Kim Taeyeon.” Sunny said.

I shook my head at her.

Over the past week, Sunny, I assume, had coerced each of the other girls into approaching me when I was alone to ‘confess their love’ to me. A joke, to play up the idea that I suddenly had prowess with women, which I knew Sunny thought was hilarious.  It was Sunny’s way of making light of the ‘love triangle’ and it actually gave me the laugh that I needed.

Seohyun’s ‘confession’ had been the best, hands down.

“Unnie?  I need to tell you that I like you very much and you’re a great friend but my mother would be so disappointed in me if there was anything more to it than that, which is understandable.  So, I should really just focus on my career.”

The maknae managed to say that to me with a straight face and walk away without even waiting for me to say anything in return.  I thought Sunny must have forgotten to explain the joke to her properly.

I ended up in a fit of laughter just thinking about it.  It felt good to laugh again.

“Yah, what’s so funny about my confession?” Sunny said severely.

“Sorry, just thought of something.” I smirked, trying to stop laughing.

Sunny sighed dramatically, apparently not finished with her confession yet.

“Look at this situation, Taeyeon.”

“Pretty messed up, right?” I asked.

“Just think, it all could’ve been avoided if you weren’t so DAMN IRRESISTABLE.” Sunny held her fists in the air.  Her sarcasm and irony were palpable.  She always found a way to remind me she still saw me as the nerdy kid I was before I started dating Tiffany.

While the statement was hilarious, I had to look around to make sure Tiffany hadn’t heard.  She probably wouldn’t find this one very funny right now.

“Aigoo, shut up.” I shoved Sunny, laughing nonetheless.

“No, seriously, how did this happen?” She asked me.

I shook my head and shrugged. How would I even begin answering that?

“Is Sica shooting tonight?” I asked.

“Yes, until very late.” Sunny nodded.

I frowned.  This was starting to get ridiculous.  I’d have to wait up for her to get home if I ever wanted to get this over with.

“…I spoke to her a little.” Sunny said.

I shot daggers at Sunny with my eyes.  I had also made her promise not to approach Jessica before I did.

“Just small talk!” Sunny said quickly, holding up her hands.

“…And?”

“And… I think she’s depressed.” Sunny said, drawing to one side of her face.

I ran my palm down my face slowly and sighed.

“She seems to think that Yuri doesn’t want her anymore.”

I spread my fingers apart to stare at Sunny intensely from between them.  That… would be very, very bad.

But...

“But if Yuri didn’t want her anymore why would she be giving me grief for Tiffany?” I said. “No, that’s ridiculous, Yuri’s still crazy about her.”

“Then she needs a kick in the right direction.” Sunny said. “Maybe Yuri gave up, I don’t know, but she’s been distant.”

“Aish.” I croaked. “Sunny, why does it feel like we’re in high school?”

Sunny just grinned.

“Yah, dinner!” Hyoyeon called from the kitchen.

Sunny stood up and held a hand out to me, which I took.  We both started walking together to the kitchen when I saw Jessica cross ahead in front of us.  I stopped.

“You’ve been home?” I asked her, dumbstruck.

She came to a complete stop in midstride and looked surprised that I was talking to her.  She blinked a few times.

“Yeah. I got a break today.” Jessica said, dully.

Sunny was right, Jessica did look depressed.  Out of makeup, as she was now, I could see dark circles underneath her eyes.  She looked even more tired than she usually did, which was hard to imagine with how much she enjoyed sleep.

“Oh.” I mashed my lips together.

Damn it, if I’d have known… I felt like hitting myself for not actually checking to see if she was here.

With impeccable timing, Tiffany’s arms came around me and Jessica walked away emotionlessly.

I felt a pit in my stomach that I knew would only grow bigger with the prospect of this awkward dinner ahead of us.  I turned my head to the side to kiss Tiffany’s cheek reassuringly before taking her hand and leading her to the table.

Tiffany ended up sitting in between me and Jessica which only made me more nervous.  I was glad to see the others were talkative as they came in. I wanted Tiffany to be as distracted as possible so we could get through this without incident.

“Did you have a nice nap?” I asked her.

Tiffany nodded, still looking tired.

“It would have been nicer if you would’ve joined me.” She said in a husky voice, thick with sleep.

I patted her hand.

“Next time.”

“Did you take my fork?” She asked me. 

I held up my chopsticks and looked at her, then I felt my stomach drop.  On the other side of Tiffany I could see Jessica completely frozen beside her, holding a fork in her hand and staring at and additional fork sitting on the other side of her plate. 

I winced. Tiffany noticed.

“Sorry…” Jessica muttered, passing Tiffany the extra fork.

Tiffany paused a moment. I could see her her lips and think for a moment before turning her attention back to her own plate.

“It’s fine Jessi, I think we all know that you’re usually drawn to things that belong to me.” Tiffany said just loud enough for me to hear.

If I heard it, I knew Jessica must have been able to hear it.  I was alarmed when I saw Yuri’s head snapped around to glare at us.  The others continued talking like nothing had happened.

Jessica’s miserable face didn’t even change.  Expressionless, she got up from the table and brought her full plate of food to the sink, before excusing herself to her room.

I set down my chopsticks and brought my hands to my face.  This was probably about as bad as things could have gotten in my mind.  The worst case scenario, come to life.

“…I’m sorry.” Tiffany whispered.

I looked sideways at her and her eyes were wide with remorse.

“I wasn’t thinking.” She whispered. “It just came out, it was too much, I know.”

Yuri stood when Jessica entered the living room again, her purse slung over her shoulder and her sunglasses already on.  I suspected she put them on early for a reason. 

She stared after Jessica looking heartbroken, but Jessica didn’t spare any of us a glance before walking out the front door.

Yuri turned to us, visibly shaking.  Her fists were balled up so tight that I almost considered getting up to stand between her and Tiffany.  She sighed loudly before leaving the room. 

Funny, how out of everything that had just happened in the last minute, Yuri’s haughty sigh had been the trigger to capture everyone else’s attention.

“What happened?” Yoona asked.

I shook my head, throwing my napkin onto the table before walking to my own room.  I heard Tiffany call me but I didn’t respond.  I expected her to follow me. I needed her to, we definitely needed to talk.

I sat on the bed, and not much longer she came into the room, closing the door and walking slowly to me before coming to rest on her knees in front of me.  She stared up into my face trying to gauge my expression.  I hated seeing her look so devastated but at the same time I was glad she knew what she did was wrong. 

“I’m so sorry.” She said.  She looked like she was going to cry.

“Fany-ah, you said you’d let me handle it.” I said evenly.

“I know.” Pain flashed in her face.

“I think you really hurt her.” I said.  I couldn’t keep the disappointment off my face as much as I tried.  I felt so bad for Jessica.

“I… I need to go apologize to her.” Tiffany said, standing up.

I grabbed her wrists.

“Tipani, let me handle it.” I nodded slowly.

“But Tae-“

“No.” I shook my head.  “I’ll take care of Jessica.  When everything is straightened out, I will let you know and you can make your peace, okay?” 

I was talking more like a leader than a lover and I could tell Tiffany noticed my tone was off.  She sat beside me and took my elbow, looking at me closer.

“…Are we okay, Tae?” Her voice shook.

“Omo, we’re fine Fany-ah.” I said exhaustedly. “This whole situation just… has really just taken it out of me, you know?”

“Yeah… I do.” She said. “I’m sorry I’ve been so-”

“I know it’s not you talking, love.” I said, waving a hand in the air.  “We’ll get this fixed, don’t worry.”

“I shouldn’t have woken up.” She frowned, crawling up to her pillow and falling flat on her stomach.  I rubbed her back.

I yawned loudly

“I’ll take you up on that nap now.” I mumbled, coming to rest beside her.

“Tell me you love me.” She spoke against the mattress.

“I’ll always love you.” I said automatically, letting my eyes close.  “Don’t worry so much.”

When I opened my eyes again, it was dark in the room.  I didn’t even remember falling asleep.  It was just past midnight and I knew I’d gone to bed so early that my entire sleeping pattern would be disrupted for days to come now. 

Tiffany was still asleep beside me, rolled onto her side with her hand just centimeters from where mine was.  She looked so gorgeous underneath the moonlight; her beautiful features were highlighted and popped out at me with every deep breath she took.  I watched her sleep for a long time thinking about the day’s events and how even though that altercation we had was the closest thing we’ve had to having a real fight since we became a couple.

First fight… It took four months to get here.  I slept off all the irritation I felt towards Tiffany. All there was left to do was fix the problem and I knew we could avoid having this happen again.

I heard the front door open and close gently and I had to actually think for a long time who would be coming or leaving so late when realization struck me.

Jessica.  Here’s my chance.

I looked once more at Tiffany before slipping out of the bed.

Jessica was moving slowly in the kitchen, using the refrigerator as her only source of light.  I could tell by her slumped shoulders and bowlegged stance that she must have been completely worn out. I flipped the light on in the kitchen.

Jessica looked around before spotting me.  became a line but her expression remained blank. 

“Are you okay?” I asked her.

“…Hell of a day.” She said.

“Do you want me to heat something up for you? There are leftovers.”

I pushed the fridge door open wider to bend down beside her and pull out the containers.

“Thanks.”  She said, pulling a chair out and collapsing into it.

In silence, I prepared her plate, putting it into the microwave and waiting beside it while it hummed. Jessica was staring at the table.  I frowned.

“Sica, can we talk?” I asked her.

She didn’t react until the microwave beeped, her head jerking back before looking up at me. 

“Are you allowed to talk to me?” She asked.

“Yes…” I said, grabbing some utensils and crossing the kitchen, putting the plate in front of her.  I pulled out the chair beside her and sat down.

“I don’t know what to talk about.” She said.  She became ravenous with her food and I let her eat.  I wondered if she’d gone the whole night without a meal.

“You said you needed to talk to me when I was in California.” I said, finally.

“Oh yeah.” She said.  Her eyes scanned my face slowly. “It’s nothing.”

“Come on.” I said, smirking.  If it was nothing, I wouldn’t have to have this little chat with her.  Did she not even realize what that text message had caused?

“It’s just… you were right.” She said, her eyes falling back to the table.

“Mm?”

“Yuri-ah.  I waited too long.” She said, her lips becoming tighter. 

“No, I think you’re wrong about that.” I nodded.  I felt pure relief run through my veins.  It had been about Yuri, and not me, all along.

“But… she doesn’t.  I mean-“

“She’s not shadowing you anymore?”

“… Yeah.” Jessica said.

“Maybe she thought you didn’t like it.  Maybe she’s trying a different approach.” I said, reasonably.

“…Maybe she changed her mind about me.”

I shook my head.  Jessica’s eyes were getting moist.

“Hey…” I frowned.  She wiped her eyes.

“I’m just over tired.” She said, standing up.

I stood up with her and she looked into my eyes again.  I raised an eyebrow when I saw her lip quiver.

“Come here.” I said, opening my arms.                         

The flood gates were released. 

Jessica went from completely dry to sobbing openly in my arms in less than five minutes.  It was a combination of things I imagined.  Being starved and exhausted on top of the hostility and confusion she had been dealing with overwhelmed her. 

“Shh… you’re going to wake up the whole dorm.” I said, rubbing her back

I held her there for a long time.  She clutched me tightly, trying to steady her breathing.  Right when I had the thought about what Tiffany might do if she caught me sneaking out of bed and embracing Jessica in the kitchen in the middle of the night, I felt somebody else’s presence.  I moved Jessica aside to find Yuri glaring at me as if I’d done something so bad that she couldn’t believe me.

I glared back at her until Jessica noticed.  I didn’t really have any sympathy for Yuri.  If she wasn’t such a coward in the first place, we may not have had all this conflict.

“Sorry if I woke you.” Sica said, not looking Yuri in the face.

I narrowed my eyes in thought.  What could I do to make Yuri spill her feelings to Jessica?

“Don’t worry about it.” Yuri muttered, still eyeing me as she turned back for her bedroom.

“Yuri, if I ever see you look at Tiffany like you’re going to hit her again, I’ll make you regret it.” I said quickly.

I’m not sure what made me say it, or how it would help my case, I was just certain I needed to keep her here.  We needed this resolved now.

Yuri turned slowly on the spot and looked absolutely livid.

“I wasn’t going to hit her.” She said between her teeth.

“I don’t care.  You could have scared her.” I glared back.

“Well, you need to tell her to watch .”

“I’m not responsible for her actions, Yuri.” I said.

Yuri walked slowly into the kitchen, through me and Jessica and had me backed up against the front door. 

“If I ever see either of you bullying up on Jessica again, I’ll makeyou regret it.” She looked down at me.

I steadied the excitement in my eyes.  This was exactly what I wanted her to do. Yuri tends to have a loose lip when she’s angry.  She wasn’t yet angry enough though.

I laughed sarcastically, trying to spur her on.

“Yah, Yuri why are you even bothering defending her? You can’t even look at her.  Actually, I thought you gave up on her.” I smirked up at her.

Jessica twitched behind Yuri.  She mouthed, ‘What are you doing?’ I tried to signal her to stay quiet.

“That’s none of your business.” Yuri rolled her eyes and started to walk away. 

“Well it is to Sica, isn’t it?” I asked, following behind her. She stopped in the living room abruptly and I almost ran into her.

“Stay out of it.” She warned.

“Kwon Yuri, you didn’t want me to stay out of it when you followed me around for advice, did you?!” I pointed at her. “Did you take any of my advice? No.”

Yuri looked the maddest I’d ever seen her.  Subconsciously, I took a step back from her. She started to walk away without another word.

“…Yeah, walk away.  Jessica can do better.”

I was disappointed.  I really thought I could make Yuri snap and release her feelings in front of Jessica as if she’d forgotten the latter was still here listening. 

When I turned, I saw Jessica was frozen with wide eyes in the kitchen. 

I pouted a little, and opened my mouth to say something but Jessica made a sudden movement towards me, and it alerted me that someone was near me.

Yuri spun me around to face her by my wrist.  I took note of how cheesy this move was.  It was straight out of a classic Kdrama and was highly parodied for being over the top.  I actually had a smirk on my face until I felt something sting my face.

I heard Jessica gasp loudly and before I knew it I was flat on my back.  The part that surprised me the most was the sound it made when she slapped me, like it was out of a movie.  I looked up at Yuri who looked shocked at herself.  Her hand was still open in midair where it connected with my face.

I sat up and touched my face.  It felt warm at the place of impact.

“… Omo…” Yuri said to herself, nervously. “Why did you make me do that, Taeyeon!?”

I grinned at this absurdity, knowing I probably deserved to get hit. Just the idea of Yuri hitting anyone… I couldn’t help finding it funny. I was the lamb teasing the lion and I got what was coming to me, but Yuri still wasn’t talking.  Jessica was rooted to the spot, staring at Yuri incredulously.

“Truth hurts?” I asked, getting back to my feet.

“That’s not the truth.” Yuri shook her head.

“Really?  Jessica can’t do any better than you?” I asked, folding my arms.

“…She probably could.  But nobody else would-“

Yuri broke off, looking self conscious.  I wondered if she just realized Jessica was still here. Her eyes fell to the ground.

“Would what?” I said skeptically, shoved Yuri’s shoulder, hoping I wasn’t going to get slapped again.

“Nobody would treat her as well as me!” Yuri said, the ferocity returning to her face.  I stepped backwards away from her, out of warms reach. “You don’t know a thing about me, Taeyeon!”

I laughed outwardly and Yuri’s fists balled up again. “Oh, yeah.  Okay Yuri.” I said, doubtfully.

“I wouldn’t take Jessica for granted, at least. Not like you.” Yuri said.  “You’re such a fickle friend to her.  I’d take care of her and our friendship wouldn’t fade because of awkwardness.  I don’t understand what she sees in you!”

My face softened.  I’d achieved what I wanted out of the obvious cruelty I showed her tonight.  She was on a tangent about Jessica now and she seemed unable to shut herself up.

“…And I don’t even care that she can’t cook, I’ll cook for both of us.  She’s a beautiful… sweet loving person and you treat her so coldly. It makes me so mad!”

We stared at each other.  Yuri was breathing deeply from her passionate monologue and I just smiled at her.  Jessica was walking up slowly behind her.  Her hand landed on Yuri’s rib cage, making her jump.  Yuri gazed down at Jessica with wide eyes.

“…Did you mean all that?” Jessica asked, her lip curling.

Yuri blinked rapidly.  “…Y-Yes.”

Jessica’s entire face softened.  She used a hand to on Yuri’s shoulder to pull herself up and leave a long kiss on Yuri’s cheek, near her neck. 

Yuri stopped breathing altogether.

Jessica was walking up to me now.

“Thank you, Taeyeon-ah.” She beamed at me, throwing her arms around me. “Goodnight.”

“Yep, goodnight.” I said, hugging her back.

Jessica started walking towards her room, turning around once more to smile at Yuri.  Yuri stared after her completely dumbfounded.

“You tricked me, kid?”  Yuri asked me. “That whole thing was a set up?”

I smiled sheepishly at her.

“Aigoo, Taeyeon-ssi, I’m sorry I hit you…-“

“Yuri-ah.” Jessica said, standing outside of her door.  Both of our heads turned to her.

Jessica beamed and tilted her head to the side cutely before beckoning Yuri to join her.

I grinned, patting Yuri on the shoulder.  “Sleep well.”

“…G-Goodnight.” Yuri said, walking unsteadily after Jessica.

I sighed happily, feeling pounds and pounds of stress roll off my back.  I took a step into the kitchen and cleaned Jessica’s plate for her.  Tiffany had been very wrong about Jessica’s intentions.  I really couldn’t wait to tell her… after all this I hoped Jessica and Tiffany would get along nicely when all the proper apologies were out of the way and finally things could go back to normal.

Out of a nine person girl group, four of us now had more than friendly relations with each other.  Whether we were a product of a forced lifestyle or it was just plain ironic, I couldn’t decide.

I dried my hands on a towel and started walking towards my own room when I heard Jessica’s door open on the other side of the house again.

My heart dropped, I immediately thought something had gone wrong but instead of Yuri or Jessica leaving, an entire bed comforter complete with pillows and legs started walking down the hall towards me.  I put my hands out to stop it before it collided with me.

It struggled for a moment and an arm emerged, freeing a head. 

Sunny glared at me. 

“Looks like I’ll have to move again.” She said, dryly.

“What…? They aren’t… doing anything are they?” I asked with wide eyes.

“Nothing bad.  I just can’t sleep over the kissing.” Sunny grumbled. 

I smirked, stopping at my door and watched her approach Yoona’s.

“Taeyeon.” Sunny turned. “No tonight, please.  I’m really tired.”

I pouted sardonically.  I wondered if she was awake enough to realize how funny that sounded, to be saying that to me.

“I’m serious.  I’m right next door and if you wake me up I’ll kill you.” She said, entering Yoona’s room.

“Yes, dear.” I chuckled, entering my own room.

I smiled, feeling lighter than air, locking the door behind me.  Tiffany was curled up into a ball now facing away from my side of the bed.  I got in next to her gently and peered over her shoulder.  It looked like there were wet streaks running down her pillow.  I touched them, still wet.  Had she been having a bad dream, or did she happen to wake up when I wasn’t here and assume the worst?

It was the first time we ever fell asleep together on anything but exemplary terms. The ‘fight’ we had today hardly even seemed valid anymore, like it was forgotten because of the changed circumstance.  I crawled on top of Tiffany while she was still asleep.  She had to know what I knew, now.

 She began to stir and I put my face to hers, pulling back when I felt wetness on her cheek.

“Omo, why are you crying Fany-ah?” I whispered.

“What are you doing?” She whined, pushing me away.

“Fany-ahhh..” I laughed, shaking her to wake her up completely. “Open your eyes for me.”

“I don’t want to.” She sobbed.  My mouth dropped open.

“What’s wrong?!” I asked.

“Don’t break up with me.” Tiffany begged.

I gaped at her.

Her eyes opened and I assumed then that it wasn’t a dream at all.

“I was so horrible to her.” Tiffany lamented.  “I understand if you don’t want to be with me anymore, I wouldn’t want to be with me either.” She said.

“I’ll never leave you.”  I said.

“Where did you go?” She asked, sniffing.

“I took care of everything, baby.  Jessica and Yuri, I think they’re getting together. Sica didn’t want me after all.” I said, fixing Tiffany’s hair.

“…but that makes me feel even worse.  I was mean to her for no reason.”

“You were just being my... sweet... defensive… beautiful girlfriend.” I said simply. “Honestly, if someone came after you I’d probably go ballistic.”

Tiffany half smiled.

“Fany-ah, I like that you protect me.” I said. “Maybe you go a little overboard sometimes but we can handle that. You make me feel safe. “

I’d much rather have her be over protective than not care if I was running around with other girls, that’s for sure.

“So you’re not mad at me?” She asked.

“Nope.”

“But I bet Jessica won’t talk to me ever again.”

I grinned.

“I have a feeling Jessica is going to be in a very good mood tomorrow morning, you can talk to her then.  It’ll be fine.”

“Oh, Taeyeon-ah.” Tiffany said, letting her head fall back.  She sighed heavily. “I was so worried.”

“I told you not to worry so much.”

“I love you so much.  Have you ever thought about… I mean when I think about losing you it makes me crazy.” She said.

I pulled myself up to be eyelevel with her and pecked her lips softly.  They tasted salty from her tears.

“I love you too, but you need to trust me.” I said.

Tiffany nodded.

“Kissu.” I said. And she pecked me.

“Again.” I commanded. Tiffany’s eye smile returned.

She kissed me more deliberately this time, letting her arms fall around my lower back.  She lifted her entire lower body to adjust herself and I winked at her.

“And just what are you doing down there?” I asked, glancing down her body and back up at her face.

“Your hip was stabbing me.” She chuckled.

“Is that what they call it now?” I asked, rolling my own hips into hers a few times.

“Don’t even try it.” She said. “I heard Sunny.”

Damn it.

I had an early schedule the next morning with Seohyun at MBC.  Tiffany, it turned out, would be missing my debut on Music Core, which kind of left me gutted but there was nothing I could do.  Sooner than I’d hoped, we’d be separated by oceans once again when she went to England.  Having experienced this before, I wasn’t really worried.  I knew we’d get through it.  And I was going to be pretty busy as it was preparing for my own drama.

I was up early enough to watch Yuri and Jessica’s morning behavior.  Jessica looked like a completely different person compared to yesterday in terms of her health and vibrancy and Yuri was all smiles. 

Happy ending, I thought smugly.  I wondered if I could take credit for it.

As for MBC, he producer just wanted to give us a quick rundown of what to expect.  It was nothing out of the ordinary in hosting shows.  Everything was scripted and basically we just had to show up and not mess up the lines.  Be funny, interact with one another, act cute, look pretty.  Easy stuff.  He didn’t bother going over the script with us for this week’s show yet, insisting we’d just come in for a few readings when we returned to the country.

After we met with him our job was to pack and wait for Jessica to get home so we could board a plane to Bangkok for our next concert.

Our… last concert in the second tour of Asia.

It did sadden me a little to know we’d never perform this exact set, as I enjoyed it immensely, and I hoped someday I would get to share the stage with just Tiffany again.  The thing I hated about not promoting new music our touring was that it meant we’d be off on our own doing our own things. I didn’t like being separated.  Even though we just came back not even four months ago I already wanted to release another album and start over again. 

When I was finished packing I ended up on the internet.  It’d been a while since I last took a look at what our fans were saying about ‘Taeny’.  I swear some of the pictures they get of us are absolutely hilarious.  I still don’t know how we get away with being so obvious sometimes.

Yuri came to sit beside me while I was grinning, laptop on my lap. I looked at her. 

I closed the computer without dropping my gaze.

“So? How was your night?” I asked, elbowing her.

Yuri became a light show before my eyes, turning from red to purple as the blood filled her face, her wide mouthed smile practically spanning the entire surface of her head.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” She asked, shyly.

“Come on.” I nudged her again.

“I’ll never tell…”

I put my head on her shoulder.  I wasn’t really satisfied with that answer.  This was my first time playing observer on the outside of a relationship now.  In a way, I could understand how people took to us so quickly after we got together.  It was nice finally seeing Yuri happy again.  She was being very cute and it wasn’t like me to impede on other people’s personal lives, but I couldn’t help myself.

“Yuri-ah, I woke up with a hand print on my face.” I smirked.

“Omo! Does it hurt?” Yuri asked, sitting up straight.

“No, but Tiffany was pretty mad.  I think I saved your life.” I nodded.

“Oh gosh, I really owe you one.” Yuri said. “I’m sorry.”

“…Yes you do. Yah, so how was your night last night, Yuri?” I picked my head up to grin at her.

I’ll admit it was kind of evil to try and guilt it out of her.

“That’s not fair, Taengoo.”

“Just one little thing?” I bit my lip.

“Well…” She sized me up. “You can’t tell.”

“Of course.”

“… Sica’s a really good kisser.” Yuri giggled.

She looked like a child, it was adorable.

“You asked her out, right?”

She nodded.

“She said, ‘I thought you’d never ask.’” Yuri swooned.

“I don’t blame her, I didn’t think you would either.” I laughed.

“It’s fun, isn’t it?” Yuri asked. “It changes everything.”

I nodded and quoted my mother.

“There’s more to life than your career.”

“Exactly!” Yuri clapped.  “That’s what I’ve been thinking about. There’s happiness that comes from success and this is just in a whole new category.”

“Yep.”

“It’s nice to be able to understand you better now.” She said.

Tiffany pulled her suitcase to the front door in plain sight of us, bending over and ping its smallest compartment to slip a last minute item into it.

I didn’t need Yuri to nudge me; my attention was already on Tiffany’s amazing in those tight jeans.

“We’re… very lucky girls, aren’t we?” Yuri asked in an undertone.

Tiffany turned around and winked at me happily before walking back to the bedroom.

“…I tell myself that every single day.”