Taeyeon was sitting at her desk, reading her History textbook. It was hard for her to concentrate because her mind kept drifting towards her brunette friend. I really hope Fany’s doing ok. She can be a little too dramatic at times, but I’m sensing that she wasn’t exaggerating about her problem today.

She thought about the last time her close friend had a strong crush on a girl, back in high school. As it turned out, the girl was not only straight, but was already in serious a relationship with a guy. Tiffany hadn’t taken that well at all, and Taeyeon had to console her for days.

And it took a lot of consoling as Tiffany tearfully declared that she’s given up on love.

We ended up making so many trips to the ice cream shops and bakeries. I think I gained nearly five kilograms that week.

Fany doesn’t fall for girls very often, but when she does, she falls for them hard. I’m starting to see that with Jess right now, and it’s making me worried.

Tiffany unlocks their door and comes in.

Taeyeon could see tears running down her cheeks. She sighs as she gets up, spreading her arms out for a hug. “Come here.”

Tiffany drops her messenger bag and rushes into Taeyeon’s arms, crying.

Taeyeon soothingly Tiffany’s back, letting the younger girl cry into her shoulder. “It’s alright, Fany, just let it out. I’m here for you.”

After a few moments, Tiffany looks at Taeyeon with teary eyes. “Jess is s-seeing someone…”

Taeyeon felt disappointed for her friend. Oh no, she’s going through it again. “I’m sorry.”

Tiffany sniffles. “A-and she was refusing to t-tell me about it at first, because she’s in a bad relationship w-with a girl.”

Taeyeon reaches for her box of tissues, and then gives one to the brunette. “That’s terrible. I can see why she was reluctant to tell you at the beginning,” she says gently.

Tiffany accepts the tissue and wipes the tears from her eyes. “Why do I keep falling for girls that aren’t available? Why the can’t I just be like Yul and not be so emotionally invested in one girl?!”

“Trust me, Tiff, you don’t want to be like Yul. Her lifestyle of being a player is very unfulfilling.” The short girl shudders at the thought of having another player like Yuri in their group. One is more than enough. How can anyone be satisfied with just having flings all the time?

“And how is mine is so much better?! At least she doesn’t get hurt like I do!”

“That’s true, but as long as she’s a player, she won’t experience true love from a long-term relationship either.”

Tiffany sighs heavily as she removes her coat and tosses it onto her desk chair. She then takes a seat on the edge of her bed, sniffling.

Taeyeon sits next to her. “Why are you so into Jess?”

Tiffany stares at the floor as she responds in a quiet voice. “I’m really attracted to her, and the way I feel around her is something I can’t really describe. And I just found out that we actually seem to have pretty good chemistry.”

“Really? Every time I see the two of you together, she always seemed standoffish around you.”

“She was totally trying to keep me at a distance before, but she’s warming up to me now.”

Taeyeon raises a brow. “Just out of nowhere?”

“No, she started trusting me after the talk we had last night.” Tiffany grabs another tissue, feeling her eyes getting moist again.

“What exactly were you two talking about, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Our discussion consisted of me telling her why I want a relationship, and why I have a crush on her.”

Taeyeon’s lips curl up into a half grin. “That must have been a rather one-sided discussion.”

“It was more about me confessing my feelings than an actual talk,” the brunette agrees.

“Maybe she was seeing how open you’d be with her?”

“Yeah, I’m sure that’s what it was, because she seemed to have gotten more comfortable with me afterwards.” Tiffany grabs the water bottle on her desk and takes a long drink from it.

“It sounds like she’s now comfortable enough with you that she told you about her relationship problem.”

Tiffany stays near her desk and absentmindedly stares out the window. “She still has feelings for the girl, even though the relationship is hurting her.”

“So what are you going to do now?”

“I don’t know... she wants me to move on, but how can I? My feelings for Jess grow stronger as I get to know her better!”

“Maybe she wants you to move on because she cares about you, and doesn’t want you to be stuck in a hopeless situation of an unrequited love.”

Tiffany looks into Taeyeon’s eyes. “But that’s just it! Can’t you see how she seems to be interested in me? Don’t you see how she appears to be giving me mixed signals?”

“For the sake of argument, let’s say that she is giving you mixed signals. Do you want to get involved with a girl who still has feelings for someone else?” Taeyeon answers cautiously, not wanting to upset Tiffany more than she already was, but at the same time not wanting to give her any false hopes.

Tiffany sighs heavily again as she lowers her gaze. “I don’t know what to do anymore...”

---

Tiffany steps into the Shinyang Library, which was supposedly one of the most popular libraries on campus. It was easy to see one of the reasons why; it was so much bigger than what she and her friends had in high school, to the point where it was like comparing a studio apartment to a mansion. Her high school library consisted of just one very large room, while the Shinyang Library was a building that has three stories of bookshelves, tables, study rooms, computers, and offices.

And even though it was still quite early in the term, there were a lot of students walking around, studying, or chatting with their study groups.

“Wow, this place is huge! I’m sure this place will be crowded when it’s time for midterms!” Tiffany looks around, hoping to see a familiar face, but she found none. She pulls her phone out.

Tiffany: I’m here

Seohyun: Can you meet me in room 209? It’s on the second floor.

Tiffany: Omw

Tiffany slips her phone back into her jean back pocket as she looks around for the stairs. Oh, there it is. It’s conveniently placed on the other side of the library!

As she heads in that direction, she notices a group of three excited girls standing nearby, whispering to each other while watching her.

Tiffany gives them a polite smile as she walks by. Why are they looking at me like that?

One of the girls has blonde hair, and was the first one to speak up. “Excuse me, is your name Tiffany?”

“Yes, it is. Do I know you?”

The blonde girl squeals. “See?! I told you it was her!” she shrieks triumphantly at her friends.

Her friend rolls her eyes. “Ok, so you finally got something right