A little girl just dropped her ice cream and stared at it with remorse written all over her face...just like when you had the same faith with your gelato at the fair.

....

Ohh. The prize is a big bear plush... I'm sure you'll give your all to get it.

....

The little boy beside me fell from his sit a while ago and he looked cute denying it hurts with those teary eyes .... just like how you looked like when you fell from the stairs at home.

....

It's always these things...

Things considered as one of the many simplest and little things humans do that could affect one's well being so easily, and she never imagined herself in the same situation. 

Before, she wouldn't even mind, wouldn't remember such things happened around her... but today is different. Not just today, but since the day when one person went out her door.

"Yaaaaaaahhh!!! That's my ice cream! Give it back!"

She was busy staring daggers at the creepy looking clown she despised her whole life when she heard children screaming their lungs out because of an ice cream. Banana flavored?  She thought as she eyed the yellow cream.

"Noooo~ This is mine, I it already~"

"Ewww! You're gross!"

"You love me anyway", he stuck his little tongue out over the girl's direction after.

The little girl chased the little jerk boy for her dear ice cream as the boy laughed his heart out. Then he finally stopped and gave back the ice cream to the girl and patted her head as the little girl pout but laughed afterwards with the boy's antics.

God. She never thought she'd be super jealous of kids to the point that she wanted to go near them, snatch the ice cream and eat it all herself. But it would be rude seeing she's already an adult and an adult picking a fight with children is never a good thing to see in society, so she proceeded to just do so in her mind as she changes her line of sight to the big Ferris wheel over her far right.

She stared as it circled slowly, travelling up and stopping for a while for passengers to enjoy the moment with the view and finally go down slowly and gently.

"Uggghhh! Why did I even come here?!", she mumbled to herself as she rose from the bench and picked her phone from her pocket.

"Hello"

. . .  

"Yongsun-ah, I'm gonna go ahead"

. . .  

"I remembered I have something to do"  

. . .  

"Besides the others aren't here yet"

. . .  

"No, it's fine. I'll just join you next time, okay?"  

. . . 

"Yes yes, I promise I'll just be at home”, she paused, “I won't go to any bars, I promise"  

. . .  

"Yes. I will remain decent till the day ends, I swear...”

Yongsun kept on blabbering conditions and she couldn't help but sigh.

"And tomorrow. Okay, I promise”

. . .

"Okay, bye"

She ended the call, held the phone tight in her hand and went straight to the stand she was eyeing even before Yongsun answered, eyes not leaving the candy in the first row. 

"Uhm miss, are you gonna buy?"

" . . . "

"Miss?"

" ... Uh yea, sorry. Uhm... I'll buy this one please"

With a sigh and one last look at the big rainbow-colored wheel, she left with a heavy feeling in her chest and a Kuma lollipop in her other hand.

~~~

Hours in hailing a taxi and experiencing the dreaded weekend traffic, she found herself finally in front of her apartment door, not sure if she should feel happy or not.

This time felt even lonelier.

She sighed as she turned the knob and entered the dimmed space that felt empty, kicked the door close and continued removing her shoes. She entered her room and placed her bag beside the stacked photos and decided to change into comfortable clothes. She caught a glimpse of a shining object by the night stand that made her crave for a certain drink and so decided that she'd have it tonight. I won't be sleeping anytime soon anyway. She thought as she entered the bathroom. 

After a quick shower, she prepared the beverage and went straight to the studio, clicking the switch of the pin lights on. She turned the speaker on and played a relaxing jazz music before sitting on the reclining couch that faced the glass wall and showed a view of the city lights with the cup in hand.

The smell of coffee spread inside the room, that sweet scent you would usually make in the morning to wake me up with and relish with your own senses, smelling it gently from the cup first then sipping the content as it slowly flows down your throat. Feeling the warmth and the flavor, you tilt your head backwards and let out a soft sigh of pleasure with closed eyes, she thought as she stared at the glistening lights through the night.

She took the cup close to her lips and sipped the warm content as her eyelids closed. I didn't know why you do such things just from drinking coffee but I happened to do it today, remembering you through the process. She sighed silently and kept the cup near her face as she smelled the coffee, not willing to open her eyes and see anything else but the memory flashing in her head. 

She thought more about the girl in her mind as she slowly lowered the cup to her lap and leaned back, snuggling closer to the human-sized bear plush on the couch. You literally cried when you saw this toy on the bed that day and pounced over me. She couldn't help but chuckle at the memory of a crying adult lying above her, hugging her as she practically yelled out 'thank you's' on her neck. 

With the soothing music in the background and the dim surroundings, she tried to forget everything she was shouldering, but she couldn't. Much less take a nap is a hard task for her to do. She wanted to take her mind someplace else, just not with the girl who kept looping in her head for the whole six months, even just for an hour.

Placing the now empty cup on the small table beside the couch, she shifted her sight to the two paintings hanged above the speaker and closed her eyes when she sensed something warm coming up her system to try but failed to prevent the lone drop of tear that she quickly wiped with her hand and so covered her whole face with as she slumped further onto the couch.

With the memory of the girl with the happiest, most beautiful smile that was hanging just meters away from her, she cried herself to sleep for the umpteenth time with a longing heart.

~~~

She woke up with a stiff and aching body thanks to the position she had last night, groaning as she stretched her back and limbs, making low cracking sounds. She realized that she didn't turn the music off thus awakening from a gentle music that she recognized as one of the music she plays every morning. 

Slowly, she let her arms fall on her sides and gloomily dragged her feet to the speaker to turn it off before walking out of the room quietly, cursing herself as to why must she remember the girl in her oversized striped pajama shirt early in the morning. 

"It's too early for this brain", she muttered as she fumbled over the buttons of the espresso machine, "Which of these am I supposed to click again?"

Just press this button when you're done putting the beans inside and make sure that the cup is already in place. We don't want any mess here early in the morning now, do we?

She stopped her hand when she heard the voice. She could've sworn it was real and that the voice was there right beside her when she finally looked on her side and knew that it was just her mind playing tricks with her again when there was no one there.

She looked back at the machine and did all the steps she suddenly remembered and waited for it to finish as she stared blankly at the machine, helplessly recalling the days from when she came back with the machine in arms up to the morning she got curious of why the girl loves coffee—since she hated the beverage with her life—and she taught her how to make one with the machine. Though it was her eventually who ended up doing all the work, making her coffee sweet just for her.

That was the messiest breakfast I've ever experienced in my life... but it was the most fun I've had. She chuckled softly at the memory of eggs all over the table and bacons hanging on the edge of the plate with a large puddle of black liquid on the counter beside two coffee mugs.

She remembered running all over the kitchen with a towel in hand, chasing a huge laughing mess of coffee powder and smudge that then turned to her and hugged her letting her join the forces of 'the breakfast disaster', or so what the mess called herself as at that time.

Laughing with another fragment of the happiest days she had, she heard a beep beside her and grabbed the cup. She sat on the stool beside the counter bar and smiled at the cup in hand. I did okay with this, didn't I? It's not a mess. It didn't spill. She chuckled and drank the content.

She just had a few sips when her phone suddenly rang loudly from the room she just left. Mindlessly, she ran her hand over her hair as she walked her way to the noisy device, growing annoyed by the blaring sound. 

"It's supposed to be a quiet breakfast", she mumbled as she took the device in her hand and stared at the screen to check what it was about, silently groaning as she swiped the green icon and placed her phone to her ears.

"Hello?"

"HIIIIII~!!!"

She palmed her face as soon as she heard the very cheerful—not to mention very loud—voice of the caller, "...Tiffany unnie, it's seven in the morning. What could possibly make you call me at this hour? In a weekend, not to mention"

"Oww~ uri Joohyunnie is cranky~ so early in the morning"

"Right, early in the morning. That leads back to my question, why did you call?"

"Sheesh so much for appreciation and a morning greet"

"Right. Good morning what can I help you with unnie", she flatly muttered while walking back to the kitchen.

"Thank you for the most heart-warming morning greeting I've ever heard from a dongsaeng"

"Yea sure. So? Why call?"

"JOOHYUUUN-AHHHHHH~"

She chuckled as she picked four slices of bread and the strawberry jam and peanut butter in the cupboard, "Okay, sorry unnie. So? What gives? Why the sudden call at seven in the morning?", she asked as she spread the jam on the bread with her phone between her ear and shoulder.

"Nothing much. Just called to ask if you're free today? You see, Taeyeon and I need some help with finalizing things for an event this week"

"Oh? What event is that?"

"The opening of a house resort Taeyeon designed. The rich owners wanted to have a picture of the said event and everything, and they won't settle for anything less. They want the best for the work and well, you're the first to come in our minds"

"Aww. I'm flattered, thanks"

"Welcome~ So? ...Are you in?"

"Hmm... depends. When is this? And pardon but where? I'm not really updated with Taeng unnie's projects anymore, they're way too many", she asked as she picked the ear piece, connected the call, and placed it in her ear with the phone left on the table.

"Tell me about it"

"Excuse me but you're partners so you count in all that projects of Taeyeon unnie" she sighed, "Spare the jobless here" ...and the lonely.

Tiffany laughed, "Okay okay, sorry. Here~ that's why we're giving you a job, remember? You freelance photographer, you"

She chuckled with the comment and bit the sandwich she made, "And for that, I'm grateful. So? When and where?"

“Uhm…”, she heard a faint sigh over the phone and rustles, like the phone kept being passed on, then a batch of faint voices. 

She suspected something but chose to ignore and continued eating the sandwich. She then looked at the other sandwich on the table with only peanut butter in it and sighed. I forgot. You're not here so how can you eat it, right? She thought then grabbed the sandwich and shoved it in .

"Uhm.... about that"

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