It's been quite some time since the last update and I am so sorry about that, work and this pandemic made it harder to write. But I really wanted to share this chapter, it's more of a flashback and we get to see YoonYul's (ft. Taeyeon) high school selves.

Also this is isn't that proofread so there will probably be many mistakes up ahead but I was excited to update so please excuse any errors!

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The moment Taeyeon felt the rays of the sun hit her square on the face, her automatic response was to block the offending light and continue her slumber. She stirred a little and was about to do just that until she realized her arm was immovable. Groggily glancing to her right, only opening one eye, she recognized why. Yuri’s head was lying on her now numb arm since… well probably last night and she looked really comfortable as she slept soundly.

Taeyeon wasn’t that surprised, they did share one bed after all, it was a pretty normal occurrence. Until she felt another slight pressure on her chest this time and found Yoona’s head there too, also fast asleep. So of course the first thing Taeyeon did once understanding settled onto her was to shake her body violently so the mattress shifted until both of her companions fell off the bed—it wasn’t a big bed in the first place.

The two yelped in unison, both rudely awakened. “Yah, Kim Taeyeon!” Yuri yelled all the way from the floor at the same time Yoona cries “Unnie! What was that for?!”

Taeyeon simply cackles in amusement and leans back on the bed comfortably propped with her arms folded behind her head. This was how they usually started mornings in the YulTae dorm.

“Here’s your brachiosaurus pancake, Yoong.” Yuri gave the younger girl a fond look before plastering on a very saccharine smile that looked so obviously fake in Taeyeon’s direction and slid a plate towards her too. “Here’s your bacon and eggs, Taeng.”

Taeyeon looked down at her plate and couldn’t help but laugh. “Your sentiment is very much felt, Yuri-ah.” Her best friend carefully crafted her breakfast platter to look like an angry emoji. “The frowning bacon and that touch of the ketchup pout is truly commendable.”

“Thank you for taking notice of my artistry,” she says complete with a badly executed curtsy. They both end up laughing, Yoona also smiling across them, clearly endeared.

Breakfast between the three of them wouldn’t have been complete without Yoona stealing bits of food from Yuri’s plate to which the latter could never say no to anyway. Her best friend was just that whipped for the youngest.

Taeyeon ate quietly, despite the outside appearance, her meal was actually quite exquisite — as expected from the cook of their small group. Her attention was divided between filling up her stomach and watching her friends interact, trying to note anything new which she noticed — there wasn’t. She realized that they were pretty much the same as before, not much has changed even after they finally became official.

It was the same sweet, fond gazes at each other and the usual hand holding. Except now, there wasn’t that invisible line in the air indicating what friends can and not do. And even if it does still make Taeyeon queasy whenever they kissed in front of her, the feeling of happiness still overtook everything else.

“I haven’t said this yet,” Taeyeon says and gets the attention of the other two. “But I’m really happy you two finally sorted things out.”

Yuri smiled at her appreciatively. “Me too. Took me a while to ever do anything, huh?”

“Damn right,” Taeyeon says before groaning when a memory ungracefully popped out in her mind. “It was so painful to watch you two pining for each other. I had the worst urge to knock your heads together hoping it might put some sense back.”

She remembered all those times Yuri tried to hide her jealousy whenever Yoona went out on casual dates with someone who was not her. Taeyeon could sense the way her partner forcefully glued her arms to her sides to stop from reaching out and preventing Yoona from leaving their apartment.

Those flashes of hurt that Taeyeon would catch from Yoona’s face whenever Yuri came home with the umpteenth girl hanging off from her arms. Yoona would avert her eyes right away, not letting Yuri see through her. Only when they were alone again would Yoona finally drop her guard and cry into Taeyeon’s oversized sweater.

Taeyeon witnessed all of those, endured it because she knew it wasn’t her place to get in between them. They may be her closest friends but it was still ultimately up to them what to do with their uncanny relationship.

“I was a moron for the longest time,” Yuri says, her tone implying sadness.

“It wasn’t all you,” Yoona gently objected. “I’m partly to blame for this mess too.”

Yuri tilts her head to the side quizzically unable to understand. “What do you mean?”

Yoona looked thoughtful, “High school, you and Taeng-unnie were seniors and I was a year younger…”

-

“What number is it now?” Taeyeon asks. “Girl number fourteen? Or was it fifteen?” She sounded so unsure.

“Number eighteen actually,” Yoona answers for her. Not that she was keeping count but it was now the eighteenth poor soul to get their heart shattered by the one and only campus player, Kwon Yuri.

The two friends continue to silently observe number eighteen, a cheerleader, beg for Yuri to reconsider her decision and take her back again. Yuri simply shook her head solemnly which in turn made Eighteen start up the waterworks. She was full on sobbing now and was kind of making a scene in the middle of the football field where she decided to corner Yuri who just finished up practice.

Yuri just sighed before brushing away Eighteen’s hands that were grasping her arm pleadingly then coldly turning around and walking away. The action seemed to egg the cheerleader to start screaming profanities but Yuri didn’t pay any mind and kept on with her stride instead.

Once she spotted her friends standing not too far away, her stoic expression transformed from zero to twenty in an instant, she was grinning widely now. Taeyeon waved for her and Yuri started to jog her way towards them eagerly.

“Hey!” Yuri greeted once she got close enough. “Hope you guys didn’t wait too long. I was kind of held back with some stuff.”

Yoona wanted to scoff but held it back just in time. Here she was again, acting like nothing just happened even when they all practically saw what went on and she’s pretty sure the whole school would know about it in five minutes too. She just hated how nonchalant Yuri acted every time something like this happened. Like it didn’t matter to her at all that she crushed another person’s heart.

It wasn’t a surprise that Yoona disliked the girl very much because of it. Sometimes (all the time) she wondered why Taeyeon was so fond of the jock. Needless to say that Yoona only tolerated Yuri for the sake of her childhood friend.

“Yuri! Yuri! Teach me that tackle thing you did in practice!” Taeyeon suddenly requested.

“Sure thing!” True to her words, Yuri dropped all her stuff on the ground and instantly went on to teach Taeyeon how to take down someone twice her size like it