Taeyeon drops her bag on the floor the same time Sunny drops hers before dumping themselves on the living room couch — tonight’s one of the times where Sunny is glad the two of them are short enough that they easily fit on this thing — grunting in satisfaction when they bounce on the pillow-like furniture.

“Ugh. I want to sleep,” Taeyeon whines as she struggles to take off her blazer without sitting up.

“Hey, don’t,” Sunny half-heartedly scolds since she, too, can’t find the strength to move to her bedroom.

“But I think I’m going to end up falling asleep while waiting for 30 minutes!” Taeyeon whines again before setting her removed blazer on top of her bag.

“Do you want to go to sleep with your face sticky with sweat? Besides, you’re going to end up smearing all that dirt on your bedsheets,” Sunny says in an attempt to give Taeyeon some motivation to stay awake, where she then smirks after hearing the blonde huff in defeat.

They then quiet down, starting to rest for half an hour, until Sunny remembers something.

“By the way, Uncle messaged me earlier and told me he had already deposited the money. You?”

“Dad told me the same. Oh, and he also said congratulations to us both.”

“Tell him I said thank you then. So, we still on for tomorrow?”

“Depends if the weather’s going to be okay,” Taeyeon pauses to sit up since she knows she’s going to fall asleep if she doesn’t. “Please tell me it is.”

Sunny chuckles at her best friend’s plea, removing her blazer as well, while she too sits up to use her phone. She then busies herself for a few minutes before beaming at Taeyeon, “Friday’s going to be cloudy throughout the day!”

“Thank god!”

“If! If it’s accurate of course,” Sunny teases, much to Taeyeon’s annoyance.

“I hate you.”

“Love you too,” Sunny replies back with a giggle. She then chooses a song on her phone to play to keep the two of them preoccupied.

Two songs later and with the third one currently playing, they’re back to silently laying down on the couch. When the song’s reached the chorus, Sunny sits up again to check her phone’s timer and found that they still have 7 minutes left. Just when she’s going to lay back down, Taeyeon suddenly calls her name.

“Hm?”

“Can I invite Tiffany for tomorrow too?” Taeyeon asks. She then waits for an answer while staring at the ceiling, but when the silence only continues to stretch, she sits up in confusion, only to see her best friend staring at her in surprise. “Sun?”

Considering what happened last time, I’m surprised she’s even thinking of including someone else in our plans.

When the third song hits its , Taeyeon jerks her awake. “Sunny, did you hear me?”

I know Taeng likes Tiffany’s voice but…this is the most unusual. This has never happened before!

“Hello?”

What the , Tiffany? What have you done to my best friend?!

When Sunny still failed to give any kind of response aside from staring, Taeyeon simply shrugs and fishes out her phone from a special pocket in her bag that her mom had sewn for her. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

It takes a few seconds for Taeyeon’s phone to connect to their dorm’s wifi, which Sunny uses to quickly get back to reality. “Wait, wait. Why do you want to invite her in the first place? I’m sure this isn’t part of our plans!”

“It’s not,” Taeyeon agrees with her gaze glued to her phone’s screen. She then inwardly sighs in relief when she sees that Tiffany is online. She immediately taps on the name, Tiffany Hwang, and ends up chuckling to herself when she notices their last message to each other, which was yesterday evening that concerns their system.

Glad that’s over now.

“Dork, answer me! You’re acting weird!” Sunny accuses when she’s the one who ends up getting ignored.

“What do you mean?” Taeyeon asks with a raised eyebrow, confused enough that she has to put her phone down since she’s sure her best friend’s behavior is weirder.

Sunny quickly opens to answer, Tiffany at the forefront her mind, before she realizes her thoughts just as quick, so her brain immediately zeroes into the invite so that her secret stays as one. “It’s been a while since you asked anyone to join us, that’s all. Remember last time?”

The reminder seems enough to satisfy Taeyeon since her expression quickly changes to match her as-a-matter-of-fact tone. “Well, Tiffany was a part of our group and she did lose sleep like us. I just thought she’d want to unwind in some way. Also, I want to thank her, and tomorrow seems the perfect chance to do so!

“Besides, she might even arrive earlier than us!” she coaxes in addition before beaming like a lighthouse when Sunny just stares at her while seemingly mulling over what she had just said.

She does have a point…and I do already know she’s right. Tiffany seems to be the kind of person who’d stay true to her word, and she does seem responsible enough…

Besides, Sunny already knows that she really can’t say no when the blonde is looking at her with those amber eyes shining gold in the dark lighting of their living room and with that stupidly cute chin-dimpled grin since it’d be like kicking a puppy if she does, but Tiffany is still a stranger at best.

Ugh, Taeng! I just don’t want anyone ruining our plans and, in retrospect, your schedule! I know Tiffany’s a sweetheart but it’s not like she knows of these things!

Another look at her best friend’s happy expression, though, causes her to hesitate; damn those bright, puppy eyes!

Well, Tiffany will never know if she’s got no exposure in the first place. Besides, if she can’t understand or, at the very least, if she can’t try to follow Taeng’s schedule, it’s better to know now than later. Cut it before it buds and all that.

When Sunny ends up sighing, Taeyeon knew she won.

The alarm then goes off.

“Alright, fine, but go and make sure she has no plans for tomorrow first, okay?” Sunny relents as she turns the alarm off, much to Taeyeon’s apparent joy if the wide smile and flapping wrists are anything to go by. “I’ll go and wash my face first.”

Taeyeon then cheers and rocks side-to-side, unable to contain her excitement, much to Sunny’s amusement before the redhead leaves her alone. Typing a greeting then her question, she starts chatting with Tiffany.

- - -

In the middle of drying her face with a towel, Tiffany hears her phone vibrate against the surface of her bedside table. Checking her notification, she’s surprised to see that Taeyeon had sent her a message but is then confused, and a little hopeful, when she reads the girl’s chat.

Taeyeon: Good evening! Are you free tomorrow?

In that instant, Tiffany’s mind flies to so many possibilities, her synapses rapidly firing, before abruptly halting that it’s only a miracle that her brain didn’t end up fried.

I know, I know, that Taeyeon’s not asking me out on a date — hell, I may have a crush on her but I don’t think I want to ask her out — but why am I feeling hopeful in the first place?!

Tiffany’s roommate watches in confusion when the girl practically throws herself into the other bed, landing on her stomach. “Everything okay?”

Tiffany: Yeah, I’m free. Why?

After pressing send, Tiffany sends her roommate a thumbs up, though; she doesn’t bother pulling her gaze away from her phone’s screen. Despite the slight frown on her face, her roommate simply assumes it has something to do with uni and leaves it at that.

Meanwhile, Tiffany notices that Taeyeon’s typing something so, for some reason, she holds her breath as she waits. Feeling stupid, she breathes out.

But when Taeyeon’s reply came, both her frown and her thoughts disappear as she, instead, smiles so brightly that her roommate stops scrolling through her phone’s newsfeed to look for the source of the extra lighting before realizing it’s actually Tiffany being extra happy.

Taeyeon: Sunny and I are going to a carnival tomorrow to celebrate since we got a good grade and to release some stress too! Wanna come with?

Tiffany immediately replies with an affirmative.

Taeyeon: Great! Do you know where it is?

Tiffany: Nope

Taeyeon: Well, let’s just meet at the mall around 10. Sunny says tomorrow is going to be cloudy throughout the day but bring an umbrella just in case. And an extra shirt and water too! Lots of water!

Tiffany: Imma keep that in mind. Where do I wait?

Taeyeon: Depends. Will you be able to eat breakfast tomorrow?

Tiffany: Yup. I can have my roommate cook for me

Taeyeon: Gud, gud. Just wait in Starbucks then! You do always love to start your day with their coffee ouo

Tiffany blinks then re-reads Taeyeon’s reply. When she’s sure her eyes aren’t deceiving her, she lets herself frown in thought.

That’s odd. I only remember her seeing me drink a few times before the start of a morning lecture but that’s months ago. Those are the mornings where I kept on waking up late. How come she still remembers that? It’s not like we’ve been hanging out either.

The memory of Taeyeon softly smiling at her with the setting sun in the background pops up in her mind so suddenly that her cheeks inevitably erupted like active volcanoes, though she’s back to smiling wide.

What else do you know about me, Kim Taeyeon?

Her thudding heart then swells in her chest like blooming flowers during spring. Of course, when there are flowers, there are butterflies too, which results in a garden dedicated to the one and only Kim Taeyeon.

Now, she doesn’t know what to do with the bouquet her heart had picked; dandelions for her current joy, white carnations for this innocent crush of hers, forsythias for her anticipation to tomorrow, a bit of geranium because she feels a bit stupid for being so affected by the shorter blonde — who the hell stops breathing while waiting for a reply, crush or not?! — and a mix of gladioli since, even if she does feel quite stupid with her herself, she is sincerely affected by Taeyeon. But included amongst these flowers are oleanders for caution. Crushes could always bloom into more and she doesn’t know if that’s a good thing.

Feeling rightfully overwhelmed, Tiffany heaves a long sigh as if she’s blowing on the flowers to let the petals dance along with the wind, effectively freeing her hold on them. She then lowers her head, squashing her face against her pink bedsheets, before groaning out loud.

Ah, damn it. My crush on her is inflating! Oh, please just let it stay as a crush! I don’t think I could handle it otherwise. And, just how attentive is she?

“You sure you’re okay?” Her roommate suddenly asks, obviously concerned. She hasn’t seen Tiffany change moods that quickly before. When the blonde had stopped smiling, she swears their room dimmed.

“I am, I am,” Tiffany quickly answers, her head turned towards the other bed, but when she sees the look of disbelief on her roommate, she continues, “A bit…stressed out, is all. Sorry for worrying you.”

Her roommate shakes her head in reply to show that there was no need to apologize. “Just talk to me if you want or need to, okay?”

Tiffany smiles first, grateful. “I will. Thanks.”

Instead of verbally replying, her roommate just gives her a thumbs up like what she had done earlier before going back to scrolling through the phone’s newsfeed. Speaking of, Tiffany’s phone also buzzes from where it’s left on the bed. Steeling her heart, she checks the message.

Taeyeon: By the way, don’t worry about the moolah! Tomorrow is my treat!

Tiffany’s steeled heart sings, but she tries to not pay too much attention to the lyrics as she replies.

Tiffany: Oh no, you don’t have to! I chose to come along

Taeyeon: Really, it’s okay. Besides, I’m the one who invited you

Tiffany’s heart then starts a fight with her independence.

Tiffany: I know but I have enough extra money for things like that.

Tiffany: OTL

Tiffany: Besides, I don’t want you spending too much and not have enough when you need it

Taeyeon: My folks gave me money specifically for tomorrow as a reward for our success

Taeyeon: Our = Sunny + me + you but Sunny is given her own share so that leaves you and me. Also, you’re part of the reason why we got a high grade so it’s only right that I spend that money with you E n E

A part of Tiffany knows that Taeyeon’s right and she just wants to say yes since, if this keeps on, they’ll just end up going back and forth, but, at the same time, another part of her remains stubborn.

Having others spend money on me feels a bit wrong, though, it’s not abnormal. Still I—

Taeyeon: How about this? I’ll treat you tomorrow, where you won’t spend a single quarter even on transportation, then, next time, you’ll do the same for me so we could call it even!

Taeyeon: O u O

Taeyeon: Deal?

This time, both her heart and her independence fall on their knees in mutual surrender. Taeyeon’s just too strong as an opponent.

Tossing the thought around for a few, good seconds, Tiffany finds nothing to object about, all the while ignoring her screaming mind; IT’S LIKE A DATE!

Tiffany: Deal! Just please don’t spend too much on me

Taeyeon: I’ll try huehuehue

Tiffany: Please try hard OTZ

Taeyeon: e u e

Taeyeon: Anyway, the mall’s within walking distance of our dorms so no spending there. As for your coffee…

Tiffany: Can’t I just buy myself some coffee?

Taeyeon: Nope! I’m going to spoil you rotten!

Tiffany bites her lower lip to stop herself from squealing out loud since she knows she’s already bothered her roommate enough, but damn it! Her heart’s making another bouquet again!

Is Taeyeon even aware of just how sweet she sounds?!

Taeyeon: If I arrive first, I’ll buy you coffee. If not, I’ll just pay you. Deal?

Tiffany: Not like you’ll take no for an answer . _ .

Taeyeon: Good to know that you know hehe

Taeyeon: Well, see you tomorrow then! Good night!

Tiffany: Good night Tae

The green dot beside Taeyeon’s profile picture — a cute, pouting animated version of her with her blonde hair tied up — disappears to show that the shorter blonde isn’t online anymore, but Tiffany continues to stare at the screen all the same, unsure of what just happened.

Unknowingly sweet and attentive Kim Taeyeon…why must you do this to my heart?!

Tiffany then sighs mostly because she doesn’t know how else to react; giddiness mixing with slight frustration. She finally lets her phone’s screen go black before reorienting herself so that she’s lying on her pillow, putting the device on her nightstand.

“Is it okay if I kill the lights now?” her roommate asks. Tiffany nods as she drapes the blanket over her before remembering about her plans.

“By the way, I’m also going out tomorrow morning, so can you cook breakfast for me too?”

“Huh? Tomorrow? But don’t you—oh, right. You also don’t have classes on Friday. Would eggs and hotdogs be alright?”

“Yeah, of course!”

Her roommate nods back at her and finally flips the light switch. Darkness immediately consumes their bedroom and all Tiffany’s left with are her thoughts again. It doesn’t take too long before Taeyeon’s typed words successfully intrudes.

Spoil me, she says. Rotten at that. No one’s done that for me before…not like I let them. So why did I let her? She’s not my first crush nor is she the first one to say that to me either. Maybe because she insisted? But, again, she’s not the last one. I think it’s because I get to do the same for her that I relented. But thinking along those lines, did I agreed because I want to be equal or because I want to spoil her rotten too? AHHH! I don’t know anymore!!!

Tiffany huffs then turn to her right, her back facing her now sleeping roommate, to look outside her window. There’s not much to see aside from the matching darkness brought by the night since the light pollution had made the stars almost invisible to the eye, but she finds comfort all the same.

Whatever. I’m just going to give myself a headache. Might as well sleep now and not be late for tomorrow. Oh wait, I forgot to set an alarm.

- - -

Sunny, who had just changed her clothes after washing her face and brushing her teeth, exits her room to cook their dinner when she sees Taeyeon happily humming to herself with her phone on her thigh while rocking side-to-side. “I guess Tiffany accepted then?”

Taeyeon’s happiness is palpable with the way she energetically nods in confirmation. Actually, her happiness seems to be spilling over, she’s pretty much vibrating, with how much she’s rocking side-to-side while moving her arms and clenched fists up and down. The intensity of her movements causes her to slightly bounce on the couch and Sunny finds the sight endearing.

“Why are you so happy? I know that she’s the first one in a long while, but still,” Sunny asks with a smile, finding Taeyeon’s joy infectious, unable to help herself. She’d never seen her best friend look so giddy before.

“I don’t know either. I just am,” Taeyeon answers with a smile, her body still moving, and Sunny knows she’s telling the truth since the blonde isn’t the most well-versed with her emotions. “I’m gonna wash up too. Thanks for agreeing again, Sunny!”

Taeyeon then stands up in her tiptoes and walks in that same regard towards the bathroom, all the while making honking car noises. Sunny’s about to reply but then the door to the bathroom shuts, so she just shakes her head with a chuckle.

As she’s heading to the kitchen, the blonde’s bag catches her attention.

I wonder if…

Opening one of the many pockets of said bag, Sunny quickly finds a small, palm-sized, blue notebook. This is where Taeyeon writes anything she wants and that includes her schedule, which the redhead finds after flipping to the latest page.

***

Friday: Go to the carnival for celebration (10 am)

***

Oh, so that’s why she’s ok with it!

Satisfied that she, at least, had found an answer as to why her best friend readily invited Tiffany, she finally goes to the kitchen to start cooking.

Later, while waiting for the rice to cook, she pulls her phone from the back pocket of her sleeping shorts to send a message.

- - -

Tiffany almost drops her phone when it abruptly starts buzzing for a few seconds before going still. She had just finished setting an alarm and was in the middle of putting the device back on the nightstand.

Checking her notification, Tiffany’s surprised once more when she sees it’s Sunny who had sent her a message this time.

Sunny: Taeng’s yet to tell me the details but come early. If you’re so much as a minute late, we will leave you, ok?

Tiffany gulps, suddenly feeling intimidated even if she knows the redhead is on the other side of the screen. Still, she can’t help it after the smiles and grins Sunny had given her for the past two weeks. The sudden shift is jarring at best. But she agrees all the same as she replies before finally putting her phone aside and laying down on her bed.

Besides, I’ve always been punctual, aside from certain bad days. Nothing to worry about there. I wonder what’s that all about though.

.

.

.

Friday | 8:57 A.M.

“Oh? Seems like the weather report is accurate!” Sunny exclaims in a measured volume, keen on being as quiet as possible while looking outside of her room’s window. Happy to see the fluffy, white clouds scattered across the wide, blue sky on today’s morning, she finishes getting ready.

After making sure she had packed the necessities — her wallet, an extra t-shirt, some medicine, her large tumbler of water, etc. — she picks up her black cap from her bedside table and stands in front of her door.

Okay, time to go to war!

Taking a deep breath and steeling her nerves, she gingerly grasps the doorknob before turning it just as slow. Hearing no loud click, she lets herself sigh in relief before another breath. Now comes the hard part.

“Please don’t be quiet! Please don’t be quiet!” Sunny prays under her breath. Without loosening her hold on the doorknob, she starts pulling on her door while taking tiny steps backward. When a crack finally appeared between the door and the doorway, she immediately strains her ears to catch any kind of noise. There was none.

She inwardly groans when all she heard is silence from their living room.

“Another morning, another Onionyeon,” Sunny mutters under her breath as she then braces herself for another round of dodging bullets.

Slowly turning the doorknob still in her grasp clockwise so that the lock won’t just noisily pop out, she feels it settle before she finally lets go of the metal. With an equally silent victory sigh, she has now opened her door successfully, albeit slightly, without the faintest of sound.

All that’s left is actually opening the door wide enough that she could fit through, which is a whole lot easier since she always makes sure the hinges are well-oiled. She just has to make sure that none of the items grasped by her hand would bang against anything and she’d be a-ok.

That’s when she heard from outside the slightly muffled sound of a curse flying through their living room. Noise in the morning is the only kind of pollution Sunny is absolutely happy about, and for good reason.

Taking the curse as a cue to take off her war helmet, she throws the door wide open, now uncaring if the doorknob slams against the wall, and lets out a loud cheer with a matching wide smile. “YES! NO ONIONYEON!”

Taeyeon, who was actually in the kitchen and not in the living room, understandably jolts from her seat in surprise before another loud bang causes her to curse again. “Yah! You made me drop my phone!”

Fortunately, the phone had landed on the table with another set of noise, though quieter, coming from its speakers — a game, probably. Sunny doesn’t really care what the noise was.‌ She’s just really happy and relieved that there’s no silence for today’s morning.

No need for quiet doorknobs, quiet doors, silent footsteps, silent movements, muted cooking, muted eating, and even muted moving!

Taeyeon is about to scold the redhead, mostly for scaring her, but when her best friend happily bounds over to her with all of the girl’s stuff noisily juggling and clanking against each other along with a bright wide smile that re-justifies her nickname ‘Sunny’, Taeyeon’s annoyance immediately disappears as she, instead, responds with her own crooked grin, “Yay to no Onionyeon?”

“Hell yeah! I’ll cook fried rice! It’s been so long!” Sunny says with a gleam in her bright green eyes, and Taeyeon almost feels bad for the previous days but she actually doesn’t since they both know she can’t just turn that part of her brain off. Instead, she rides along with her best friend’s giddiness.

“It has been long,” Taeyeon agrees since Onionyeon doesn’t really like hearing the frying noises so early in the morning.

Sunny then dumps her bag on the same chair where the blonde’s bag is and starts cooking their breakfast. “Good morning, by the way.”

Taeyeon laughs at that. “Good morning, Sun.”

Clanking, burning fire, and frying oil poke at the silence in intervals, where Taeyeon uses these precious seconds to bask in the noise she actually enjoys while watching the redhead move about the area with an obvious bounce in her step. A minute after watching, she finally goes back to the game she was playing on her phone with the sounds unmuted; something Sunny easily notices.

After a few more minutes, the food is cooked and placed on the dining table. Taeyeon quickly exits her game and sets her phone aside. She then stands up to get a jug of water from the fridge before taking one yellow cup and one blue cup from the rack.

Sunny gives a quick thanks after she gets her cup filled with water, then the two began eating.

.

.

.

In the middle of chewing, Sunny retrieves the same blue, palm-sized notebook from her best friend’s bag to check if the girl had added anything.

****

Friday: Go to the carnival for celebration (10 am)

Important: TREAT TIFFANY! DO NOT LET HER SPEND!

***

Sunny chokes, coughs into her fist, then gulps down her water to properly sort what should go where. She tries her best to quietly steady breathing, thankful that her best friend is too immersed in her eggs.

There are so many ways she could ask her best friend about this seemingly important reminder like a simple “Is this supposed to be some kind of a date with a third-wheel?” but that means revealing secrets and springing feelings on the poor blonde who’s confused enough by happiness alone, so she settles for playing dumb.

Breathing finally stable and with no food in that could go down the wrong way, she calls out, “Taeng?”

Taeyeon hums to show that she’s listening since she’s too busy coating her rice with the remains of the yolk of her sunny-side-up to look anywhere else.

“What do you mean here by ‘treating Tiffany’? Is she sick?”

Sunny then internally cringes at how dumb she really sounds. But Taeyeon doesn’t seem to notice as she instead abandons her task, where the same blinding smile and flapping hands as the night before reappearing once more.

Instantly, Sunny’s eyebrows shoot up to her hairline.

Could it be…?

“Oh, that! Well, I wanted to thank her, remember? This is my way of doing that!”

Oh, thank god.

“By spending money on her?”

“Uh-huh! I’ll buy whatever she wants or needs!”

Taeyeon starts to rock with her hands still flapping and her smile never leaving.

“And she agreed to this?” Sunny asks without bothering to mask the disbelief in her tone.

Tiffany’s stubborn personality is a well-known fact — well-known enough that even other sections know about it — which includes her unwillingness to not let absolutely anyone spend so much as a dime on her. So much so that she was labeled stuck-up and prissy back in freshman year since they thought they were being viewed as inadequate or subpar no matter how weird as that logic goes, probably because of the girl’s good looks and confident aura. Of course, the label was removed after seeing how much of a sweetheart she actually is, but no one really knew the reason behind that particular branch of stubbornness. Worse, Tiffany never gave a proper answer either.

So, why did Tiffany agree to this?

When no answer came, only then does she notice that her best friend has turned silent and was sitting still, her earlier flapping hand limp on the table. But the girl was still looking right at her…with a pleading look?

“Taeng,” she softly starts when she notices the change in demeanor, “how did you get Tiffany to agree?”

Taeyeon simply averts her eyes in response, much to the redhead’s surprise and suspicion.

She’s embarrassed?

“Tiffany refuses to be spent money on. So how?” Sunny starts again as gentle as she could while fully prepared to back away and stop.

Taeyeon keeps her gaze on her phone and stays quiet. Sunny then knows the girl’s shaking her leg, probably the right one when she hears the continuous squeaking of rubber. Naturally, she waits while discreetly checking the time on her wristwatch: 9:26 A.M. They still have a bit more time to have this conversation.

She watches the blonde take a peek at her before staring right back at the phone. Then, Taeyeon starts speaking, “I told her that she owns a part of the money I’ll be using so, technically, she’s spending money on herself.”

“But?”

“…but I also know it’s not really enough to convince her since it’s my parents’ money.”

“So?”

“…so…I…uhm…well…Itookadvatangeofherstubbornpersonality.”

Sunny blinks, unsure of what she just heard. “Sorry? Did you just say you…took advantage…of Tiffany’s stubborn personality?”

In the face of what seems to be her crime, Taeyeon shrinks into her seat like butter dropped on a sizzling pan. The only reason why she’s still on her seat and not on the kitchen floor are her two arms that kept her anchored to the dining table. She then waits for the scolding…that never came. Instead, she hears a single cough, then the clearing of a throat.

“What makes you say that, Taeng?” Sunny asks, her words still pronounced softly, after coughing to get rid of the laugh in her system. She really shouldn’t even giggle seeing how affected her best friend is but, my god, this is like Taeyeon confessing that she stole a cookie from the cookie jar!

The blonde squirms on her seat, her face now fully downcast with unhidden guilt before she properly sits up with her gaze now on her empty blue cup. “As I said, I wanted to invite her as thanks, but then just having her there with us didn’t seem enough, so I came up with the idea of letting her just relax for the whole day by not letting her spend any money. Then, I remembered about how stubborn she could be and that she’d surely refuse if I told her I’d treat her, which she did, so I thought that, maybe, if I suggest that she gets to do the same to me on a later date since it’s essentially neutralizing my treating her, she might agree…and she did.”

“And you think your suggestion is taking advantage of Tiffany’s personality?”

Taeyeon nods with a sigh. “She buys the stuff offered to her for free by others with her own money, so it’s not a matter of what, but, rather, the how. Because of that, I somehow knew she doesn’t like being in another person’s debt, among other reasons.”

She sighs again with the same crestfallen look on her face when Sunny doesn’t say anything in reply. She couldn’t even bring herself to look at her best friend in the eye. “I know. I should have backed off when she first said no. I’m sorry.”

Sunny is so glad Taeyeon is too guilt-ridden to look into her eyes or, else, the blonde would have seen the wide smile on her face which definitely doesn’t match their situation nor would Taeyeon be too happy upon seeing it.

Someone’s quite caring.

“Well, since you’re feeling guilty about it, why not apologize to her later when we meet-up at the mall? I’ll give you two some space.”

Though I don’t really find anything wrong with what you did.

Taeyeon just nods, still feeling too guilty to say anything else, but not too guilty to not eat her leftovers.

.

.

.

By the time they’ve cleaned the dishes, it’s already 9:44 A.M. Then, it took them another minute to gather their things and finally leave their dorm. Fortunately, the walk from here and to the mall only takes 15 minutes so that means they would still be on schedule.

Sunny adds that to the list of things they’re going to do today before going back into mentally reciting every single bullet point to stop herself from just blurting out the question that’s been burning the tip of her tongue.

A glance at Taeyeon, though, amber eyes staring straight ahead and posture both a mixture of relaxation and excitement, reminds her again of why they had left at a quarter ‘til 10 in the first place. Unfortunately, the reminder turns the question into a burning blaze, so hot that it causes her lips to quiver because she just wants to let it out and her tongue is starting to really hurt.

It just doesn’t make sense. If she can’t do plan A, she moves on to B, or to C if that doesn’t work either. Why did she stick around with A then?

So, like a squealing kettle, in the middle of their walk, Sunny’s curiosity finally boils over. “Hey, Taeng, why did you insist on spending money on Tiffany when you knew she’s going to refuse? You could have just thought of another way to thank her. There was no need for you to do what you did and feel guilty about it. She’s a sweet girl. She’d probably be just as happy with a simple thank you note.”

But Sunny isn’t really expecting an answer, even though she’s almost close to begging for one since she’s pretty sure emotions ruined the possibility of B and C for her best friend. That’s quite hard to explain even for someone as articulate as Taeyeon. Still, she had wanted to get it out of her chest, which she did.

And as expected, silence replied bac—

“A note won’t make Tiffany laugh,” Taeyeon suddenly says to a faraway tree.

Sunny almost trips on the even pavement. “W-What?”

“I said a note won’t make Tiffany laugh.”

‘I know, I heard you,’ are the words that instantly popped into her head, but then she remembers her best friend’s tendency to take things literally, so she reminds herself to focus. “You insisted on treating her for the whole day…because you wanted to make her laugh?”

That…actually makes sense. Yeah, this dork would definitely do that…but to Tiffany? That’s quite fast.

Sunny tries her best to not coo at the blonde’s sweet words especially when Taeyeon turns red until even the tip of the girl’s ears looks like cherries.

“Is this because...you like the sound of her voice?” Sunny offers to keep the conversation going; Tiffany Hwang is the first person Taeyeon has been this focused on (possibly after months?). Besides, it’s not like it’s affecting her best friend badly — embarrassment isn’t exactly bad, not in this degree at least — so she supposes that she could push a little more.

With a hesitant nod and a small smile, Taeyeon starts elaborating, “Yeah, her voice is where it started. Then, yesterday afternoon, sh-she…laughed…and then I thought…its…one of the most…wonderful sounds I’ve ever heard.

“And then…and then, I watched her s-smile. I now know what a smile means just by looking at it, but, if the Taeyeon yesterday is the Taeyeon from years before, I think she’ll still be able to know that Tiffany was very happy that day because there’s something loud about Tiffany’s smile. Not loud like noise, but loud like music from the radio playing during Sunday mornings. And she looks so relaxed and carefree doing either of the two. Th-That’s when I came up with the idea of treating her today.”

“‘What better way to thank her than just letting her relax and be happy at the same time?’ is what you thought, didn’t you?”

Taeyeon nods, her smile growing wider by a fraction. “When Tiffany laughs…she’s beautiful,” she admits as she breathes out the last word as if she had drawn her final breath. “There’s just something about seeing her happy that makes me really giddy too, and I don’t think this is a bad thing so it’s alright for me to continue being giddy, right?”

Sunny quickly nods, now unable to keep the smile off of her face. Whatever positive energy that’s rolling off of her best friend, she’s it up like a sponge. “Right. So, you don’t regret inviting her with us?”

“No.”

“How about your way of making her agree to let you treat her?”

“Not so much as I did earlier, probably because I’m going to apologize to her later. Besides, as I said, I really do want to make her happy, so, please, remind me to ask her for more healthy ways to do that!”

“You want a redo?”

“I want to do things right if I could,” Taeyeon affirms with a matching determined gleam in her eyes. Sunny then laughs and agrees before patting the blonde on the head good-naturedly.

Oh, Tiffany. I just hope your heart’s prepared.

.

.

.

Starbucks | 10:00 A.M.

To Tiffany’s surprise and slight amusement, the two best friends arrive right on the dot. She smiles at Sunny when she saw the redhead nod at her, probably out of satisfaction for not being late. Taeyeon’s almost vibrating, though, with the way she starts bouncing from where she’s standing.

“Hey,” Sunny greets softly. “Have you been waiting long?”

“Nah. I just got here…about 5 minutes ago?” Tiffany replies as she looks at her watch before nodding at her own answer. She then continues to smile at the two.

Sunny’s wearing a plain, white T-shirt and dark, jean shorts. Adorning her head is a simple black cap that matches the color of her rubber shoes, where her short ponytail pokes through the hole at the back. As for Taeyeon’s outfit, the only difference is that she’s wearing dark jeans with rips at both knees, her black cap has a picture of the Pink Panther in the middle, and her shoes are white. Hanging on their shoulders are their backpacks.

The two best friends look as casual as she does — hell, as casual as everyone else does, but Tiffany still bites the inside of her cheek to stop herself from swooning at the sight of ponytailed Taeyeon.

I’m sure being this attractive is a crime somewhere!

“You look very pretty today, Tiffany!” Taeyeon suddenly compliments with a wide smile as she continues bouncing. Her amber eyes once again go over the flowing blonde hair, the black tank top peaking underneath the ed red-and-black checkered flannel, the faded jeans, and the black rubber shoes. Her gaze then settles back on the girl’s button nose.

Tiffany manages to calm her heart enough to chuckle at the other blonde’s adorable behavior as she tries to tone down the blush that’s steadily blossoming on both of her cheeks. “Why, thank you! Both of you look great today, too. Oh, have you eaten breakfast yet?”

Sunny opens but Taeyeon’s energetic disposition immediately beats her to it. “Yup! Sun’s a great cook!”

Sneaking a look at her best friend, Sunny watches Taeyeon beam with pride when Tiffany giggles in response, though, her gaze remains on the other girl’s nose.

Like a golden retriever giving the ball back…

If Taeyeon ever noticed that Sunny is chuckling while looking at her, she doesn’t seem to notice because Tiffany is speaking to her again and comes with it is her full attention.

“So, where’s this carnival we’re going to?”

“Well, we have to—Hey! Your coffee! You almost made me forget!” Taeyeon says with a whine at the end.

“Coffee?” Sunny asks at the side but she gets unconsciously ignored.

“Ah, damn,” Tiffany mutters in obvious disappointment. “I thought you’d get distracted enough.”

“Yah!”

Tiffany unconsciously holds her breath when Taeyeon meets her eye for a quick second to throw a glare at her. She then breathes out when the shorter blonde’s gaze meets her nose again.

Why am I holding my breath?!

She manages to compose herself enough, though, to look sheepish and, hopefully, apologetic. “Sorry, sorry. But, come on! It’s just coffee! Can’t I, at least, buy that for myself?”

To her relief, Taeyeon smiles widely at her again.

“Nope! I told you! I’ll—”

“—spoil me rotten, yes,” Tiffany recites in resignation as she sighs, though; she can’t really stop herself from smiling. Still, Sunny’s disbelief remains unwavering at the fact that Tiffany had really agreed to this little arrangement.

“Glad you’ve finally accepted it then!” Taeyeon semi-cheers, but, to the two’s surprise, her bouncing stops and she starts fidgeting instead with her gaze dropping to the ground. “Well. Uhm…”

“Taeyeon?” Tiffany asks, confused but concerned at the same time, while Sunny quickly realizes what’s going on.

Taeyeon squirms then before she wrings her hands and fingers in a way that Tiffany recognizes; Taeyeon does it when she’s nervous. “…I…well…I know…but…you see—”

With a gentle hold on Taeyeon’s elbow, Sunny effectively gains her best friend’s attention who, in turn, stares at the collar of her shirt. “Is it about the people?”

Taeyeon simply nods before her face fell in what seems to be out of shame. Sunny spares Tiffany a quick glance and sees that the taller blonde has grown alarmed at the sight. To the girl’s credit, she doesn’t say anything and, instead, just patiently waits at the side.

“Do you want me to be the one to tell her?” Sunny softly asks. At the question, Taeyeon frowns at first, her lips parting as if she’s about to protest, but then the door of the cafe behind them opens, where a stream of voices clings to the customer who had just made his exit before it disappears when the door fully closes, so she seals her lips and they droop into a sad frown before her shoulders sag as well. Wordlessly, she dips her right hand into her jeans pocket and retrieves some cash that she then puts on Sunny’s waiting palm.

Right after, Sunny walks closer to Tiffany before her voice drops into a whisper as if they’re sharing a secret, “Taeyeon doesn’t like strangers. She…gets anxious around them especially when she has to go and talk to one. But she really does want to treat you to that coffee, so, here,” she transfers the money to the other blonde’s palm. “I hope you understand.”

“Of course I do,” Tiffany confirms with a nod, where both her voice and her movement are just as soft as a whisper.

Sunny thanks her with a relieved smile before it turns apologetic. “Normally, I’d go in there with you and stand in line with your order, but Taeng has this weird talent where, if left alone, she gets surrounded by people, which quickly overwhelms her. And…no offense but I don’t trust you enough to leave my best friend in your care. Sorry.”

At that, Tiffany immediately shakes her head with her hands raised to her chest and her palms facing towards the redhead’s direction, “Oh, no, no. It’s okay. Like—”

To the two girl’s surprise, Taeyeon suddenly takes steps closer to Tiffany, who instinctively took a tiny step back, not expecting the close proximity, with the faintest of blush kissing her cheeks.

For some reason, the three of them stops speaking all at once. Two of them are curious about what Taeyeon is going to say or do, but the girl is too nervous to do anything at all.

“Taeng?” Sunny eventually asks when they ended up standing there for what felt like five minutes.

“…I-I…I could g-go with her,” Taeyeon manages to squeak out, though, she continues to wring her fingers in that nervous way of hers while still staring at Sunny’s shirt. Tiffany frowns in concern after remembering that the shorter blonde tends to rub her both her knuckles and her fingers raw, but she doesn’t dare intervene after glancing at the deep frown on the usually laidback redhead.

“Huh? But Taeyeon! There’s a lot of people in there!” Sunny argues. Taeyeon flinches at the notable anger in her best friend’s tone but her gaze remains on the same spot.

“Taeyeon, it’s really fine with me,” Tiffany coaxes as well.

“Bu-But, I should at least accompany you inside instead of just giving you money and making you wait in line when I-I specifically told you that I’d treat you. This seems wr-wrong,” Taeyeon argues back, though; she withers when she feels the intensity of her best friend’s glare.

“Taeyeon,” Tiffany starts with a soft, pleading tone, “please don’t push yourself too hard. Like I said earlier, I really do understand. I’m thankful enough as it is. Besides, there’ll be other people in the carnival later, right? You’ll have to be around them too. You can’t enjoy yourself and relax later if you’re already burnt out even before we get there, okay?”

To Tiffany’s surprise, Taeyeon’s gaze meets hers.

“Okay,” the girl relents with a pout.

Tiffany takes a deep breath and holds it in. She then inwardly screams in her head to let out all the fuzzy butterflies rampaging about in order to refrain herself from smothering the shorter blonde with hugs. She eventually settles with placing a hand on the girl’s shoulder as gentle as she can before giving the girl a slight squeeze.

“You’re very sweet, you know that?” Tiffany compliments with a grin, all the while internally yelling at her legs to remain steady.

Taeyeon blushes prettily at that, much to Tiffany’s pride, before she shakes her head in denial.

“Well, you are,” Tiffany affirms. “Okay, be right back.”

Taeyeon watches in quiet resignation as Tiffany leaves towards the cafe’s direction. She was hoping she could manage some bravery to fully fill out her word for the taller blonde. She even practiced what she has to say earlier! Granted that trees are not exactly Tiffany, but still! And yet, her nerves overcame her. Even if Tiffany seems to be a kind and understanding person, everyone still has a limit.

Her own thought echoes loudly inside her head, so loud she feels its weight on her tongue. She suddenly wants to ask, let it out on the open, but this time, instead of her nerves, fear so primal seizes her entire being. As if getting an answer would actually kill her. So, she does what she had always done with emotions she can’t grasp because it’s either too raw or too much. She clams up.

So, when Tiffany has long disappeared behind the cafe’s doors, Taeyeon’s gaze never strays away. But the question doesn’t really disappear no matter how loud her silence gets.

What happens when Tiffany reaches her limit?

 

 

 

 

---

Belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, guys. Stay safe, stay warm, stay happy, stay healthy, and stay protected. Someone loves you. Don't ever forget that.