Since Tiffany had left UCLA Hospital, the image of Taeyeon didn’t left her mind. She can’t still believe that the person who had left her has been living a good life and started her own family here in Los Angeles while she had suffered and longed for years hopelessly waiting for Taeyeon to come back. Tiffany even scoffed when she thinks that the person that is Taeyeon with right now is Dean.

Then it crossed Tiffany’s mind if Taeyeon had really loved her back then. She asked herself if there’s anything lacking with her that Taeyeon found on Dean. She asked herself on why Taeyeon just gave up on her and didn’t fight for her, for them.

Tiffany was pulled out from her trance when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked at the person in front of her and meets Nichkhun’s concerned gaze. “Are you okay, Miyoung-ah? I kept on calling you from afar but it seems like something’s bothering you.”

Tiffany shakes her head and gives her friend a reassuring smile. “It’s nothing, Khun. Maybe I just got tired from wandering around. Let’s go?”

Nichkhun sees that the look in Tiffany’s eyes says differently. Being friends with her for a long time and being there with her all throughout those years of misery without Taeyeon has made Nichkhun to distinguish every expression that Tiffany’s eyes are showing. There’s something troubling Tiffany and Nichkhun can’t decipher on what it is.

Before Tiffany could start walking, he grasped her wrist and asked her again out of concern, “Are you sure that you’re just tired?”

Tiffany heaves a sigh and nodded, “Yes.”

There is indeed something bothering Tiffany and Nichkhun knows that if he pushes his question further, he might strike a sensitive spot that will infuriate her and he doesn’t want. So instead of asking about it, he said, “Okay. Let’s go.”

The two of them headed their way out of the airport and walked their way to the private parking area where Tiffany’s car is waiting. Nichkhun noticed that there were no people other than them so he asked, “Where’s Daniel?”

Tiffany just shrugged her shoulders and lazily said, “I asked him to take a rest. Besides, I know my way around LA. You won’t scold him, would you?”

Nichkhun shakes his head and chuckled. “You’re kidding me, right?”

Then there’s a brief smile coming from her face. She was about to open the door to the driver’s seat when he approached her and took the key from her. “I’m driving.”

Tiffany gave him an intimidating look but it didn’t work on him, not anymore. He just disregarded him and placed his luggage on the backseat of the car. He takes a glance at Tiffany and said, “You’re tired right? Just get some rest and I’ll do the driving.”

“Fine.” She blandly told him, totally not in the mood to argue. Tiffany moves her way to the other side of the car and gets inside.

Nichkhun stifled a smile and opened the door to the driver’s seat and gets inside.

“Just wake me up when we arrive.” She remotely said and comfortably leaned her back onto the seat, her head carefully rested on the car’s window frame. She took her earphones out and plugged it in.

“Yes, your highness.” Nichkhun playfully said and buckled his seatbelt. Then he started driving, making sure not to disturb Tiffany’s sleep.

After a few minutes of taking a break from everything she’d just been through earlier, Tiffany opened her eyes and told herself to have some control. It didn’t take some time when the car halted and Nichkhun cheerfully announced, “We’re here!”

Tiffany takes her seat properly and creased her eyebrows as soon as she realized on where her friend has brought her. She shifted her gaze from the hospital’s logo to Nichkhun and shot him a glare. “Why did you bring us here? Perhaps are you trying to make Taeyeon talk to me?”

Nichkhun carefully eyed Tiffany and suddenly burst into laughter. “Taeyeon noona’s here? Are you kidding me?”

When he noticed that there wasn’t any change from Tiffany’s expression, Nichkhun stopped laughing and stared apologetically. Tiffany impatiently looked at him and said, “Are you done ?”

“I, I’m sorry. Are you sure that Taeyeon noona’s here? Wait. Miyoung-ah. I have no idea that she’s here. I only brought you here because I thought you need to see a doctor. We can just leave right now. I’m sorry.” Nichkhun immediately apologized, not wanting to offend Tiffany any further.

He was about to maneuver the car and step on the pedal when they heard a voice, a kid’s voice.

“Miyoung noona!”
 

-

One day, one month, years later, both Tiffany and Taeyeon live a different life. It was never easy for Taeyeon to leave the very person who filled her day to day. She was never ready to leave Tiffany but she did what she had to do.

Taeyeon even convinced herself that everything's going to be fine, that she would smile again and everything will be a memory. But the more she had convinced herself to it, the more those memories with Tiffany become vivid. She knows that moving on becomes pointless, that she just have to accept the fact that she made that horrible decision. Taeyeon was somehow grateful that she was blessed with Hyeonhyuk. The kid's existence somehow brought happiness to her again.

“Miyoung noona!” Taeyeon was pulled out in her trance when she heard Hyeonhyuk calling Tiffany’s name. She looked at the direction that her son was waving at and sees that it is really her Miyoung.

‘No, Taeyeon. She’s not your Miyoung anymore.’ Taeyeon reminded herself.

For a moment their eyes met. The pain was evident on Tiffany’s face and Taeyeon feels guilty that she can’t do anything about it.

“Tiffany.” Calling out her name is all that she can do. Tiffany then avoided her gaze and the car that she’s in started to move.

“Appa, who’s Tiffany-nim?” She heard Hyeonhyuk politely asked his dad.

“Uh, she’s your Taengoo eomma’s… loved one.” Dean briefly explained.

She didn’t hear Hyeonhyuk ask further. It’s either he already understood what Dean has meant or he doesn’t bother about it. Hyeonhyuk’s a smart boy and she knows that he’ll eventually get what his dad said.

"Noona, are you okay? Do you want to go home?" Dean worriedly asked as he kind of noticed that since she had seen Tiffany, Taeyeon has been out of it.

"I'm fine." Taeyeon reassuringly replied to Dean, but she can't swallow those words on .

It's not fine.

She's not fine.

Everything's not fine.

Dean already knew that Taeyeon needed time to think so he holds his son’s hand and looked at him with a smile. “Should we go home first and leave your mom here for a while?”

Hyeonhyuk takes a glance at his mom and asked, “Taeng eomma, gwaenchanhayo?”

Taeyeon gives her sincere smile to the kid and caressed his hair. “Ne. I’m going to finish things at work first. I’ll see you at home later. Be a good boy.”

“Ne, eomma. Take care.” Hyeonhyuk cutely said.

Taeyeon leaned down to give the kid a kiss on the cheek and gave Dean a brief hug before they left. As soon as the father and son tandem are gone to her peripheral vision, she went back to her office room and finished analyzing the chart of a certain patient for her next operation.

After giving it a thought, Taeyeon decided that she has to see Tiffany. She needs to see her and explain her everything happened back then.

Taeyeon looked at her reflection from her room’s tinted glass walls and tied her hair up. She glanced at her blonde hair and remembered that Tiffany was the one who personally dyed it for her after graduating college. And right there, she drifted from reality again.

[<<] Flashback

"Tae, don't you have any plans dying your hair?" Tiffany said as she fiddled with her best friend's hair while they're watching a random television show in their living room.

"Why? You don't like my hair color?" Taeyeon said nonchalantly as her eyes were still set on the screen. She can't look straight at her best friend's eyes especially when they're in close proximity. Her heart beats fast when she's with Tiffany. How more when she's with her in a position like this?

Taeyeon wished that she could hold her best friend's hand right now. She actually can, but she wouldn't dare. It's just, it's always been Tiffany who is initiating all the skinships. And it would be weird if Taeyeon will be the one initiating it. Well, she thinks that Tiffany wouldn't bother being touched by her. But in Taeyeon's case, she would especially that she has romantic feelings with her very own best friend.

"It's not like that. I love your hair black. But don't you want to try something new?" Tiffany replied, still playing with Taeyeon's hair. Then she suddenly rested her head on Taeyeon's shoulder and slung arms with Taeyeon.

"Okay. But we're not going to the salon. You're going to be the one who'll do it for me." Taeyeon replied coolly.

"Okay!" Tiffany said happily as she scooted closer to Taeyeon.

Taeyeon looked at her best friend and immediately get the gist of the expression on Tiffany's face. "Oh, no. Not pink. I will leave this house if you'll do that."

Tiffany's smile faltered when she said those words to her, making Taeyeon felt guilty. Tiffany took her seat properly and frowned. Seeing her best friend acting like that, Taeyeon held Tiffany's hand and said, "I'm just kidding. It's okay that you'll dye my hair pink as long as it has an accent of another color."

Tiffany entwined their fingers and shook her head. She sighed and looked at Taeyeon with her sad eyes. "It's not about the pink color, Tae."

"Then what is it?" Taeyeon said obliviously, unable to comprehend what makes her beautiful best friend frown like that.

"I don't want you to leave me here in this house alone." Tiffany sulked.

"I will never leave you, Miyoung. I'll always be here for you. We're best friends after all." Taeyeon comfortingly said to her best friend and pulled her into a hug.

[>>] END OF THE FLASHBACK

Please Subscribe to read the full chapter