Being the light sleeper she was, Taeyeon awoke to the muffled sound of the blender droning on in a low monotone from the kitchen. She groaned and flipped over onto her side, almost in her weak attempt to escape from the racket going about outside. However, upon snapping her eyes open in exasperation, Taeyeon had nearly recoiled and rolled away in surprise, her heart catching right in .

Because lying merely inches away from her was the sleeping face of a certain Tiffany Hwang. 

Taeyeon could only lie, stunned, holding her breath as she drank in the sight before her.

With the morning rays, filtering in through the gaps of the curtains, cascading down onto the sleeping girl with her hair all mussed up in a manner Taeyeon found so ridiculously attractive, it almost looked as if she had popped right out of a painting.

Flawless and entirely breathtaking.

As cliché as it was for her to probably say this, but she looked like an angel.

It’s seriously sinful to be this beautiful in the morning, Taeyeon thought and sighed inwardly, her eyes never leaving the sight of the slumbering girl before her.

Her fingers itched to reach in, to trace her features— those closed lids and that adorable button nose— and to revel in the softness of that fair skin. For once she had looked so peaceful. Not thinking or scheming over some plot. Just peaceful and so very— Taeyeon dared say— innocent.

Memorizing the curve of her face, Taeyeon’s eyes unknowingly drew lower, falling onto a pair of pink, luscious lips.

Immediately, thoughts of what had occurred just a couple nights before struck her.  

The air, thick with the smoldering scent of whiskey and perfume.

The soft waves of jazz music flitting in the background.

Idly she wondered if those lips would feel just as soft against her own. As it were when they were pressed against the corner of her lips that night.

And it was only when Taeyeon felt hot breath blowing against her face that she finally broke out of her stupor, only then did she realize she had been leaning in subconsciously.

The redhead’s lips were only inches away from her now and she couldn’t find it in herself to look away.

Her heart was pulsing heavily in her ears, every beat pounding with utter clarity.

Swallowing thickly, Taeyeon held her breath. Craning forth just by a millimeter more, her lips barely ghosted over the surface of the pair of pink, tantalizing lips set right before her.

‘I missed you too.’

Breath hitching, it was like some tiny shard of glass had impaled itself deeper into her heart. Taeyeon quickly drew away as if scalded by fire, the feeling of guilt pooling in the pits of her stomach as images from the night before, flooded her.

She sighed, catching her breath as she reorganized her whirled thoughts, feeling slightly lightheaded from the almost encounter of Tiffany’s lips— a mistake she nearly committed while caught in the haze of… sleep.

Yes, sleep. Because anything suggesting more than just that, would be considered inappropriate to be thought of towards a friend.

A friend.

Another stab to the heart.

Taeyeon spared the sleeping redhead a good, long glance, eyes softening in tender affection. Her thumb gently brushed a couple stray strands out of her face as Tiffany let out a soft blissful hum, stirring slightly in her sleep.

She sighed.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she inhaled deeply and squared her jaw. Gathering whatever remaining pieces of her heart, Taeyeon rose from the bed.

As Taeyeon silently made her way out of the room, she failed to notice a pair of dark brown eyes following after her and a frown that came marring the face of the woman in bed.

--

“You’re up early,”

Taeyeon shuffled into the kitchen, wearing a weary smile in greeting as she slipped into the chair by the table. “With you blending your favorite Ma juice at seven in the morning? I don’t see why not.”

 “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you. I’m pretty used to living with a family of heavy sleepers, you see.” Yuri said, smiling sheepishly.

“Well, I’m glad to see you settling in well with the in-laws.”

The Black Pearl blushed and gave a casual shrug of her shoulders, though still smiling. Wiping her hands off the kitchen towel and grabbing her cup of freshly blended Ma juice, she joined Taeyeon by the table.

“So… “ The tanned brunette started, after taking a long drag of her juice.

Her hands coiled round her mug and she took in a deep breath. The playful look she had on earlier was slowly dissipating and the corners of her eyes were crinkling into that same look of concern from the night before.

The night before.

Taeyeon cringed inwardly and pursed her lips, steeling herself.

She was going to go there after all.

“Are you feeling any better now?”

And this time, Taeyeon did cringe visibly.

“Somewhat,” she said, and noticed the way her voice had cracked at that.

Taeyeon forced a smile and that seemed to only deepen the frown on the Black Pearl’s face.

For a while they sat in silence, with Yuri taking occasional sips of her juice, concerned brown eyes still watching her— still waiting for her to continue. And when it finally looked like she wasn’t about to go on any further— when Taeyeon finally got up from the table to make herself a cup of coffee instead— Yuri spoke once more.

“What happened?”

Taeyeon stiffened, pausing in mid stir of her coffee. She shook her head, quickly gathered herself together and headed back to the table, sliding into her seat with her steaming coffee in tow. She swallowed thickly and was right about to brush it off nonchalantly with a lie when she looked up and met the tanned brunette’s expectant gaze.

Taeyeon found herself faltering, jaw hanging slightly ajar.

Why did she have to look so sincere about this?

Eyes so wide and bright. So innocent and honest.

It made it all the more harder for her to lie to her face.

Then again, they had known each other for nearly a decade, she was pretty sure that no matter what she said, Yuri would just see through her like glass.

Taeyeon released a sigh.

“It’s just…  It’s just something really stupid,” she said, with a bitter smile, shaking her head.

“Tell me.”

Taeyeon inhaled deeply and was just about to part her lips to speak when she caught sight of an unmistakable flash of brilliant crimson peering from behind the entryway to the kitchen.

 “Oh, you’re up already?”

Yuri immediately spun to look over her shoulder as Tiffany shambled into the kitchen groggily, flashing a bleary smile. “Mornin’ to you Taeng, and Yuree.”  She plopped into the seat beside Taeyeon.

“You don’t usually get up till ten.”

“Well, Jessi’ and Yuree’s finally back, I don’t see why I shouldn’t wake earlier.”

Taeyeon frowned.

And there was that sting in her chest again.

She made a non-committal hum at that and left it as that.

Eyeing the steaming cup of coffee in her hands, Tiffany at her lips. “Hey, can I have a sip of that?”

Taeyeon obliged and slid the cup towards her wordlessly. Without a moment of hesitation, the redhead brought the cup to her lips and took a tentative sip from it before releasing a blissful sigh.

“Thanks,” she said, smiling sweetly up at the shorter girl beside her and handed her back her coffee.

“Don’t mention it,” muttered Taeyeon and she did her best to keep the bitterness from showing in her voice.

Glancing up, it was then that she realized the Black Pearl had probably been watching them the entire time. Or herself in particular. Brows creasing imperceptibly, she pursed her lips; looking not exactly happy with being interrupted for the second time.

“So what have you two been chatting about so early in the morning?”

Taeyeon paused, eyes darting from her coffee to the woman sitting across the table nervously.

“We were talking about hanging out together.”

Taeyeon had to say she was impressed with the Black Pearl at how smoothly that lie had come out.

Back when they were much younger, Yuri couldn’t even tell a lie without bursting out into fits of giggles.

Times were definitely changing. Or maybe spending too much time with Jessica was starting to rub off her.

“I’ve heard from Sica that the two of you are planning on having a BFF hangout later?”

“Yeah, we are.”

“Hmm, I guess I’ll have to trust that you wouldn’t steal my girlfriend away from me when I’m away then.” Yuri grinned, teasingly.

Tiffany laughed, eyes twinkling up at the brunette mischievously. “I’ll try not to.”

Taeyeon knew, the teasing was all in good fun and that nothing would— or should— come about with Jessica and Tiffany spending time alone together; so long as Jessica was in a committed relationship with Yuri, it should be fine. But still, that knowledge alone, couldn’t exactly keep her from feeling uneasy or— dare she said it— jealous over this whole arrangement.

She stood up abruptly before she could even stop herself, her chair scrapping gratingly against the kitchen tiles.

Both Tiffany and Yuri looked to her in surprise.

“I’m going to go wash up,” she declared, albeit awkwardly.

“What about your cof—”

“You can have it.” She silenced the redhead with a stiff smile.

Without another word, Taeyeon quickly evacuated the kitchen.

--

“Here you go, a salted caramel latte and a Black Pearl special.”

Yuri eyed the concoction suspiciously before looking to Sooyoung with a raised brow.

“How can I be so sure that you’re not out to poison me?” she asked, eyes glinting playfully up at the taller brunette.

Sooyoung snorted, nonchalantly dropped herself in the seat across of the Black Pearl, beside Taeyeon. She shrugged. “Oh, to poison you so soon when you only got back yesterday? I rather spend my time torturing you for the week. Then poison you.”

“Hmm, touché,” laughed Yuri. She gave her mug an apprehensive swirl. “But seriously, you sure this is edible?”

“Just drink it. Any coffee made by Sooyoung is good. Trust me.” Taeyeon couldn’t resist groaning out in exasperation. Her two good friends had been going on about the same thing for the past fifteen minutes and it was honestly starting to get on her nerves a little.

“Aww, I’m so touched that you hold my coffee-making skills in such high regard, Taengoo-yah.” Sooyoung simpered, sending the shorter girl a wink.

“It’s the truth anyway,” Taeyeon murmured, shrugging.

“Well, if Taeyeon says it’s good. Then it should be good.”

“Of course it is. I made it.”

“Of course you did,”

“Hey!”

Taeyeon shook her head and rolled her eyes at her two best friends’ exchange of banter. As much as she missed watching them go at it— after all it had been such a long time—, she just wasn’t in the mood for it today. Taking a tentative sip at her latte, she welcomed the burn of flavors imprinting into her taste buds.

She sighed softly.

There was just something about the subtle tinge of salt amongst the sweetness of caramel that hit a little too close to home for her. And somehow, it just made her feel all the more horrible inside, but at the same time she couldn’t find it in herself to stop sipping at the cup.  It usually got sweeter after the fourth to fifth sip and she figured that it was addictive in that masochistic way.

“Okay, what’s up?”

Taeyeon blinked, looking up. Both Yuri and Sooyoung had already ceased in their raillery and were gazing back at her with worry lacing their features.

“What’s up?” She shot back, sounding genuinely confused.

Sooyoung let loose a sigh and then proceeded to gesture wildly at Taeyeon.  “This.” She said, pointedly. “Seriously, it’s not like we haven’t noticed you sighing and brooding away in that corner of yours for the past twenty minutes.”

“And don’t say that you weren’t brooding. Because we’ve known each other since middle school, and we know you, Taeyeon.” Yuri supplied, and to put on some emphasis, she had inched slightly across the table towards Taeyeon, staring her dead in the eye.

Taeyeon immediately shut , quenching down any attempt of protesting and glanced away abashedly.

“You’ve even ordered this too,” Sooyoung said, tipping her head to the latte sitting in front of Taeyeon, as if it was the answer to everything.

The shorter girl frowned, looking down at her latte, then back at the taller girl, perturbed. “It’s just a sea-salt caramel latte.”

 “You only ever order this when you’ve got a rough day.”

Taeyeon rolled her eyes and sighed, wrinkling her nose. “It doesn’t necessarily mean anything, Sooyoung. Maybe I just felt like drinking it today.”
 

“You were brooding.” Yuri pointed out flatly.

Taeyeon clamped shut again and pursed her lips into a tight line, shoulders deflating in defeat. She released a sigh and scowled as she sipped at her latte, nearly cringing at the sting of salt against her tongue.

There was short pause between them as they all sat back and waited.

Waited for what? Taeyeon had no idea, to be honest.

She thought the silence sounded a lot louder, now that she had absolutely nothing left— no excuses left— to defend herself with. With every second ticking by in silence, she found herself growing wearier, like all the energy in her was gradually being out of her. She just wanted out.

A sigh pierced through the smoldering silence.

“Look, Taeyeon. What’s wrong?” Yuri asked, voice barely above a whisper.

However soft her voice was, the direct confrontation of the problem still struck Taeyeon as loud as thunder, and it made her flinch ever so slightly.

“You haven’t been acting yourself since last night.”

Taeyeon took her bottom lip between her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut.  

Her mind was swirling. There were just so many things that she didn’t even know where or how to begin. She just didn’t want to think of it.

“Taeyeon?” Sooyoung’s voice was quiet and gentle, but it was the light touch over her clenched fist that compelled Taeyeon to look up. And when she did, she found herself meeting her best friends’ earnest, worried gaze.

She froze and everything just seemed to click in place right there and then.

“I love her,” Taeyeon whispered, more to herself than anything. She took in a deep breath and steeled herself. “I’m in love with Tiffany.”

There was a brief moment of charged silence as Taeyeon looked to and fro between Yuri and Sooyoung, awaiting their impending reactions to her sudden revelation.

“Well, it took you long enough to admit that out loud.” Sooyoung gave a small shrug of her shoulders and Yuri merely sipped at her special brew, looking very much unfazed.

“And we were thinking you were going to be stuck in denial for the rest of your life.”

Taeyeon blinked, taken off guard at how lackluster her friends’ reaction had been. Then again, they hadn’t always been subtle with their teasing. That knowing look in their eye and annoying smirks. The suggestive raising of brows. 

She should have probably seen this coming.

“Since when?”

“Since you started blushing and stumbling around her.”

Taeyeon bit at her lip bashfully. “That long?”

The Black Pearl gave a wry chuckle.

“Well, you were pretty obvious.”

She winced.

Having that coming from Yuri, herself…

“So what’s really bothering you?”

A small frown came marring across her face and her shoulder slumped miserably.

“I don’t… I don’t think she feels the same way about me.”

Sooyoung gave a loud snort at that. “And what makes you think that?”

The expression on Taeyeon’s face darkened immediately. She tore her gaze away and brought her cup to her lips as she stalled for time, taking a long drag from her latte and instantly regretted her decision for doing so. It tasted like she was drowning in her tears.

 There’s supposed to be only a pinch of salt in it, right? 

“Sica’s not cheating on me, is she?” asked Yuri, in an unexpectedly tiny voice.

Taeyeon flitted her gaze back to the Black Pearl and was surprised to see her looking so severe for once. There was this look of desperation in eyes as they scoured her features for… something.

For first time since Yuri’s return to Korea, Taeyeon could see the familiar hint of fragility flickering behind those dark brown orbs and despite having grown and matured over the years, she recognized the woman sitting across her to be the same naïve and innocent seventeen year old, whom she and Sooyoung had to constantly watch out for, from five years ago. And it nearly made her smile.

But right now, Taeyeon knew— from the glint in her eyes— she was afraid.

Deathly afraid.

“No, she’s not cheating on you, Yuri-yah.” Taeyeon said, choosing her words carefully. She shook her head. “She loves you too much to ever do such a thing.”

“But you saw something that night, didn’t you?” Yuri urged desperately, eyes turning a tad misty. Her lips quivered as she spoke. “You saw something. That’s why you came back looking so… so upset.” She whispered, eyes downcast and shoulders slumped.

She looked very much like a kicked puppy at that point and it made Taeyeon’s heart ache with guilt.

Taeyeon sighed.

“I saw them hugging in the kitchen. That’s all.”

Yuri glanced up her tentatively. “That’s all?”

Taeyeon nodded. “Yes, that’s all.”

“They weren’t making out in the kitchen?”

“No, they weren’t.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.”

She held Yuri’s doubtful gaze for a good full minute before the girl finally let loose a satisfied, relieved sigh, features softening, brightening up in an instant.

“Okay, I trust you,” she smiled crookedly, with the same innocence of a young child.

“So, you saw them hugging in the kitchen,” Sooyoung cleared , bringing their focus back onto topic once more.

“Yes,” Taeyeon said slowly, and she tried to keep the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach from getting to her.

“Well, it could just be purely platonic. You know how both of them are the touchy-feely kind.”

“No, it’s just that… Oh, I don’t know…” Taeyeon pursed her lips tightly and groaned.

Somehow she was just unable to phrase her thoughts together.

“What is it?”

“Well, I think Fany may still have—” Taeyeon cut herself off when she met the Black Pearl’s curious gaze.

She froze. Looked to Sooyoung, who, in turn, looked just as uncomfortable and uneasy as she was, then Yuri again.

It suddenly dawned on her that Yuri may not have been exactly aware of Tiffany’s feelings for Jessica in the past. Especially since, she had been so caught up with the giant mess of the situation she was placed in and was struggling with her own feelings for Jessica as well. She probably wouldn’t even have the time to consider the whole possibility herself.

And right now, Taeyeon had no idea how she would take to hearing this piece of new little tidbit.

“You think that Fany may still have feelings for Sica.” Yuri finished with a hint of finality.

Both Taeyeon and Sooyoung gave a dazed blink.

“Wait, what. You know about it?” asked Sooyoung incredulously.

Yuri shrugged. “I know I can be oblivious. But I’m not that oblivious, okay?”

Sooyoung snorted and Taeyeon bit back a chuckle. The Black Pearl rolled her eyes and fanned her two friends off.  

“I mean, I know Fany’s good at keeping up with pretenses, but she’s still human, y’know?  As subtle as it was, I remember after officially getting together with Sica, she got really ‘busy’ and stopped having lunch and hanging out with us for awhile.”

She chuckled mirthlessly to herself and sighed.

“Not to mention, Sica always had that strange, pained look on whenever I mentioned how weirdly Fany’s been behaving. By then, I kinda’ had an inkling to what was going on.”

There was a short beat of silence.

And then Sooyoung spoke up again.

“Jessica told you about it, didn’t she?” she sniped, eyeing the tanner girl with an eye of disbelief.

“What? Of course not!” Yuri huffed indignantly, pouting. “In fact, she has never spoken about it to me before and I couldn’t bring myself to pry.”

“Well, I guess it was sort of obvious…” Sooyoung murmured pensively.

“Quite,” added Yuri, frowning slightly in mild distaste, but quickly wiped the look off as she reverted her attention back to the shorter girl. “So, you think Tiffany has feelings Jessica?”

Taeyeon had remained silent, nibbling at her bottom lip. And at a closer glance, the Black Pearl noticed how her eyes seemed glazed over and were trained onto an invisible speck on the table. Her hands were also being wrung over again and again— an anxious tick of hers that Yuri recognized.

“Taeyeonie?”

A gentle pat on the shoulder by Sooyoung sent her eyes flying back to them, instantly losing its contemplative look in them.

“Uh, yeah?”

“So you think Tiffany still has feelings for Jessica?” Sooyoung repeated Yuri’s question.

“I… I’m not sure about that actually.” Taeyeon admitted, frowning. “It has been a couple of years and I thought that maybe she has gotten over it by now. But…” She faltered.

Flashes of how distant Tiffany had been in that week before Yuri and Jessica’s arrival and images of a particular evening with the scent of alcohol and perfume heavy in the air, coursed through her mind.

‘I missed you too.’

“But now, I really don’t know.” Taeyeon confessed. “It looks like it from the way she’s been behaving recently, but I really don’t have clue. And it’s making me go crazy because I actually thought that maybe… maybe…”

“Maybe?” Her friends urged on.

“That maybe I had a chance,” said Taeyeon in an awfully small voice, hanging her head low in embarrassment. She swallowed, biting hard at her quivering lip while she held her heart in place.

A short silence followed through and as the seconds ticked by, it was almost like the air grew tenser around them.

There was a soft sigh, accompanied closely by a gentle touch to her shoulder.

“She doesn’t love Jessica.” Sooyoung said, softly.

And there was just something about the way she had said it that made her sound so sure. And it nearly made Taeyeon want to believe.

Sooyoung smiled and pushed the cup of latte into her hands. Her eyes glinted knowingly at Taeyeon.

“If you don’t believe me, you could always ask her yourself.”