Taeyeon's POV

(Past: High School)

"Sooyeon-ah... You're still mad at me?"
"Don't Sooyeon me, Kim Taeyeon!"

She looked furious. Scary but cute. After school, she shut down herself, she was disappointed by my attitude. She said, "Are you even my friend?". To be honest, I didn't even understand why she keeps getting angry. A week ago, after school, a senior at our high school, Donghae Oppa took her home together. As a friend, I understand that the beautiful Jessica, has many young men who are after her. I'm used to all of it. What's wrong was when I thought she wanted it, but she didn't want it at all. She was angry because instead of me pulling her home with me, I gave Donghae Oppa a chance to be with her. Later, she received a threatening letter from Donghae Oppa's ex-girlfriend, who's also a final year student at our school.

"I'm sorry... Really... I didn't know. I thought you like him."
"Taengo!" She tapped my shoulder quite hard, so that I was surprised. "Don't you dare to do that to me ever again! I don't like him and what's worse is that I have to deal with his ex-girlfriend. Things couldn't get any worse. Lord!!!"
"Mianhae..." 

I embraced her by placing my right arm on her right shoulder, bringing her body closer to me and slowly rubbing her shoulder. I'm really sorry, but I'm not lying, I really didn't know. Since the end of last middle school year, Jessica started dating some guys and I think she really enjoyed it. I pulled my backpack forward and took out a packet of chocolate ice cream that I bought and immediately handed it to her. There, she rolled her eyes cutely.

"I know you want it. Don't show your pout like that. I'm soft."
"You're the softest to me." She stuck out her tounge.
"Right. I'm the softest to you." I meant it. It's been years since the day I met her, my American friend, during middle school. I could still remember how she was struggling to communicate and to actually adapt with Korean's culture. Jessica started to become the closest person in my life and I couldn't be any happier with it all. "Sica, I'm really sorry. Should I talk to Donghae Oppa or her ex to not disturb you again?"
"You would do that?"
"Why not?"
"Uhhh... You're like an angry tiny girlfriend."
"If you're my girlfriend and you keep on flirting with all those guys, I won't be mad at you. I will just leave."
"You're being funny now!" She tapped my shoulder once again.

It was a breathtaking conversation to remember, actually. "If you're my girlfriend", those words were lingering in my head, filling me with such a confusion. Lately, I've thought a lot about how close we were. I didn't really know what I felt, but every time I think back to those words, my stomach tingles and my hands get cold sweat. I looked at her beautiful face: Her skin is shiny white, her long hair dangling with side bangs make her look more mature and her scent has made —since middle school, we're so close as we grew up together, hug each other like sisters and even a few times I stayed in her room or on the contrary, but it felt completely different that time when I inhaled that scent. Still in the same confusion, I felt like with her, I reached the highest level of comfort, more than when I was with other people.

"Taengo-yah! I forgot to tell you something!"
"Uh? What's that?"
"Three days ago, I received an email from an anonymous named PurpleStar."
"Then?"
"I thought it was a prank, but..."
"But..."
"I randomly spilled my problem with she... or he? And that anonymous replied so nicely, giving me good advice and I feel like we could be friends." She glanced at me. "That time, I still didn't want to talk to you cause I was hella mad at you! So, I decided to ask her/him an opinion. I mean, it won't harm me as long as I didn't reveal any real identity to her/him, right?"
"I guess so. What did your PurpleStar say?"
"That you're pretty annoying..."
"She said so?"
"Yes."
"I don't like her/him then..."

I turned my eyes aside while pouting my lips, a sign that I didn't agree with that opinion. But instead, Jessica laughed out loud in response to me and gently, she pulled me back to face her. Still chuckling, she pinched my cheek hard. I immediately complained and tried to avoid the next pinch that came in a row.

"She/he also said that maybe you're jealous. Are you?"
"Yahhh... I don't like Donghae Oppa. That scam is telling you a nonsense."
"Not with him..." She teased me with that smile. "You're jealous that I spent a little time with you cause I started to date the guys around. So, you acted so cold lately. You even sold me to Donghae Oppa! I'm still mad!"
"Sooyeon-ah! I guess you're fine already with the ice cream!"
"You really think you could buy me with a stick of cheap ice cream?!"

I got up and avoided the pinch attacks that began to come insistently. We ran and laughed, chased each other and slowly stopped because we ran out of energy. That afternoon, the sky was orange and the day ended well for both of us. She was no longer angry with me, on the condition that I bought her dinner and I said yes. Along the way back home on foot, several times I looked at her face silently and played back the questions she had asked me —the question she never asked the answer to. I smiled silently and turned my face away. She didn't stop talking all the way, about the models in the magazines she read, about the extracurriculars we had to take as 1st year students, about the new color of her nail polish. Everything.

"Yes. I think I do." I murmured softly.
"What did you say again?" I was surprised that she listened to that one.
"N-Nothing..."
"Let's walk faster then. I'm so hungry!"

That was her first broken heart. I couldn't forget. Daniel Henney, an American-Korean, a student at Seoul National University. He's a tall man, brown skin, sharp eyes and the fact he's a scholarship awardee who can speak English fluently, all the things in him made Jessica fell for him. Like any other girl who's growing up around our age, Jessica started to pay more attent