Chapter 6
One, Two Step
 

Sunlight reflected its shiny rays through the glass window as morning welcomed a new day. Despite being exhausted from the day before, Kwon Yuri had risen even before her alarm clock had reminded her to... or maybe she just couldn’t sleep peacefully with all those thoughts running through her mind.

Sitting beside an opened drawer, Yuri had been staring intensely at an old photo ever since she had woken up. The picture was of a pair of two girls, best friends, wearing big, funky glasses as they smiled happily at the camera. Flipping to the back of the photo was a note, written by Yuri herself: “September 4th, 2008 - Yul + Sic, this is why we are the YulSic couple ♥laugh♥ And this picture… I got to keep it forever because we winked at the same time… > <”

It was a piece of memory… of Yuri and Jessica.

Sighing at her pathetic self, Yuri placed the photo back in its place, pushing the drawer closed. Facing her back to it, she began taking steps out of the door…shutting it without looking back.

 

☆★☆
 

A particular female student was laying her head flat on the table, gripping her hand tightly while watching out for the call of her name. Around her were other students, divided into two groups: the over-relieved one and the silently-grieving one. Even though the fellow student knew best that there would only be seven percent chance that she could be part of the cheerful side, she endlessly prayed for a miracle to occur.

“Im Yoona-sshi!”

There it was. Yoona got up from her seat, fists still clenched tightly, as she approached the teacher who handed her a piece of her paper: her own test. She silently walked back to her table and held the white sheet in front of her face… with eyes closed.

‘Okay…one…two…three…’

The minute she opened her eyes, Yoona felt like jumping.
Not out of joy…but out of the window in great despair.

“Hyunnie… is so going to kill me.”

---

The final bell signaled the end of class. As she was walking down the hallway, Yoona gazed at the red marks on her paper and sighed for the hundredth time out of depression. ‘Time to ask Hyunnie to tutor me again…’

“Why the sad face?”

Yoona jumped back in surprised upon hearing a deep tone voice right next to her ear. Stumbling on her feet, Yoona lost her balance and fell backward. However, just in time, she was safely caught in someone’s arms… and as soon as that happened, fans’ screams could be heard echoing through the halls.

Yoona heaved another deep sigh as she helped herself away from her savior muttering an almost silent ‘thank you’. She clearly knew who it was.

“You sure know how to sneak up on people, Taecyeon-oppa.” Yoona sent an unpleasant glare at the young man who had frightened her.

“Sorry, I just wanted talk to you.” Taecyeon replied apologetically but Yoona ignored him and continued to walk her way. He did not give up and matched his footsteps with hers, walking side by side. “So how have you been, Yoona?”

“Well. Thanks for asking.” Yoona answered emotionlessly. She was starting to get annoyed at all the attention they were receiving. ‘Aish, why doesn’t he just go away…’

Ok Taecyeon: a rich and popular college sophomore male student who had been following Yoona around ever since she attended the school. Taecyeon openly confessed to Yoona (numerous times) that he loved her and would like her to be his girlfriend… but all were, of course, in vain. He would often give her bouquets of red roses in the morning or would perform all other acts like a kind gentleman should to prove his point. However, he did not understand that Yoona’s rejections meant that her heart had already been occupied by someone else. And because of all the things the little moments that Taecyeon had self-orchestrated, the ‘TaecYoong Fan Club’ had been gaining quite a number of supports.

Yoona had not been paying attention to whatever Taecyeon was rambling on about as her attention was fully concentrated to the girl standing near the gates. A bright smile lit up from Yoona’s face as she completely ignored Taecyeon and ran to her best friend while calling out to the girl’s nickname.

“Hyunnie!” Surprising the younger girl, Yoona slyly hooked her arm with Seohyun’s as her feet started to speed away. “Sorry to keep you waiting. Let’s just hurry and go.”

“W-wait, Yoona-unnie! Taecyeon-sunbaenim is calling you.” Seohyun tugged on Yoona’s arm as she pointed behind them to the young man, who had not stopped for even one second from chasing after Yoona.

“Don’t mind him. Just keep walking.” Knowing that small quick steps won’t get them far away from the ‘beast’, Yoona hastily changed her pace, gripping onto Seohyun’s hand tightly as they both started to aimlessly dash off.
 

---
 

After a few minutes, the hunted had successfully hid from the hunter, and now they were trying to regain their loss energy.

“Aigoo… I think…I’m going to…get enough exercise every…day just running away from…him.” Yoona sarcastically said, trying to go back to her stable breathing pace.

Furthermore, it seemed Yoona was too exhausted to even notice that her hand was still intact tightly with her friend’s. Seohyun did not really know what to say for she was too embarrassed to. “U-unnie…”

“Hmm?” Yoona looked over to Seohyun who was staring down at their intertwined hands. Yoona quickly released her hold and scratched the back of her head shyly. “S-sorry.”

‘Aish, Im Yoona, you looked like you’re taking advantage of her.’

Just having realized that she was crushing on her best friend, Seohyun now experienced the strange feelings she had never felt before through the slight physical contact they were sharing. Without really knowing it herself, Seohyun asked her best friend the question that had been on her mind.

“Do you like sunbaenim, unnie?”

Yoona turned to give Seohyun an odd look. “Who? Taecyeon? No…no, not ever in my life…Just…no. Actually, don’t even mention it.” Just thinking about it sent shivers to Yoona’s skin. Taecyeon’s a good guy… but she just couldn’t find the chemistry between them.

“Oh, I see…” Unknown to herself, once again, Seohyun smiled at the satisfying answer. Her sight was then caught by a rolled up piece of paper held in Yoona’s other hand. “What’s that?” Seohyun curiously asked, pointing to it.

Yoona trailed to where Seohyun’s finger was directing at and immediately slapped herself once she realized what the object of attention was. “Hyunnie, promise me you won’t be mad at me…”

“Why would I be-” Yoona cut off Seohyun and unfolded the piece of paper filled with red x’s…and an obvious, circled in red ink, eleven percent written on top. “…mad…at…you…” Seohyun was speechless. It was the worst grade she had ever seen from Yoona, for Seohyun, herself, had never gotten anything under a ninety percent average.

“I-I have until this Friday to make it up… Hyunnie! I beg of you! Please help me! Idefinitelydon’twanttofailthisclass!” Yoona was to her desperate stage, gripping onto Seohyun’s hands as if she was seeing the end of her life. The last time she brought home a bad grade, her parents banned her from all outside contacts for two weeks during her break, confiscating her phone and her car key, and stuck her with a hired tutor, whom she barely learned anything from. During that time, it was hell for Yoona, since she could not even once see her precious Seohyun.

“Alright, I’ll help you.” Seohyun agreed as Yoona’s face lit up in excitement. “But, you must study hard… and I mean it, unnie. Pay attention this time.”

“Okay, I promise! Hyunnie is the best!” Without warning, Yoona threw her arms around Seohyun and pulled the girl into a tight hug, shocking the latter once again.

Putting the upcoming retake aside, both Yoona and Seohyun had their own personal problems to worry about… but neither of them knew that their thoughts shared a relation in similarities…

 

★☆★

Politely gaining permission to enter the office, Sooyoung placed a pile of folders onto her boss’ desk, and began to notify her of today’s schedule. “Ms. Kwon, take a look at these files of résumés. I’ll have you know right now that you would be the one personally interviewing all of them.” Not receiving a reply or a reaction from the young lady, she looked around to see if anyone was spying on them then quickly sent a knuckle flying on the sleepy girl’s head.

“Ow! What did you do that for!? I was listening…” Yuri exclaimed, rubbing the bump formed on her skull.

“Yah! Kwon Yuri! You just got your title as the Kwon Enterprise’s heiress yesterday and now today you’re slacking off!?” Sooyoung yelled loudly, however soft enough so that others outside would not hear. Even so, Sooyoung could care less about the boundaries between their relationship of the boss and the secretary. To her, Yuri was still Yuri regardless of where they were.

“Quiet down. People might spread the rumor that you’re bullying your boss.” Yuri gave a teasing warning while letting out a deep sigh. “I just need to finish all of these interviews today right?” Yuri lazily picked up the folders then quickly set them aside without looking through any of them while irresponsibly leaning back on her chair. “Okay, I will check them later.”

“You better. I sort them out from a dozen to seven last night, so considered yourself fortunate. They each have a personal appointment starting from 9:30AM.” Sooyoung quickly calculated the time in her head as she observed her watch, “The last one should be at 1:00PM if you’re quick enough. There’s one that’s really interesting, so I’m sure you’ll ‘enjoy’ your time.”

Yuri’s eyes widened, paying attention to only the first half of Sooyoung’s short announcement. Not only she was currently lacking sleep but now she had to deal with seven interviews for about three hours and a half straight.

“I have an appointment to attend to right now so I’ll be seeing you later.” Sooyoung excused herself with a quick bow (just in case if anyone was peeking through the windows, watching over her behavior) and started heading toward the door.

“Have a fun date with Soonkyu.” Yuri grinned as she waved to her best friend while giving off a bright smile full of tease. Sooyoung looked back at Yuri for a few seconds with her head tilted and eyebrows arched. Her question was then answered before it was even asked. “Coincidently heard you talking to her over the phone this morning.”

“Eavesdropper.” Sooyoung shook her head at Yuri’s ‘coincidence’ as she walked out and shut the door loudly behind her.

Yuri smirked, knowing that her friend had quickly escaped to hide her flustered face. ‘She didn’t even deny it…’

As soon as Sooyoung was out of sight, Yuri’s smile dropped as she stared back at the stack of files on her desk, looking ever so uninterested. “Now…what am I going to do with you?”
 

☆★☆
 

“SoShi café…Soshi....Sos- Oh! There it is!”

Coming back to Seoul after fifteen years of being in Japan had made Sooyoung became directionally challenged in finding the new shops she had never seen before. She was still getting used to the surroundings that she had missed due to her transfer to overseas because of her family’s business.

A tingling from the bell sounded as Sooyoung pushed the glass door and entered the shop. One person after another took a quick glance at the tall young lady, which later turned into a full observation of admiration. Oblivious to the attention she was receiving, Sooyoung looked around for a certain someone she made an appointment with, whom was somewhat difficult to find among all other (tall) people.

Sooyoung took out her phone and pressed the green button on the left. Contacts she had recently talked to popped up, and ‘Sunny Bunny’ was the first name on the list.

“Hello, hey shortie! Where are you?”

“Who is this?” An unfamiliar voice not belonging to the one she wished to speak with replied.

Sooyoung removed the phone from her ear and checked on the screen if she had called the right person. ‘It is Sunny’s number…’

“Hello?” Although Sooyoung could vaguely hear the voice because of the phone’s distance, she could recognize it was Sunny’s this time around.

“Sunny? Who was that just now? More importantly, where are you?”

“Sorry about that. I’ll tell you later. I’ll be there in a few minutes.” There was a short pause. “Just reserve a table or something. Talk to you later, bye.”

A series of beep then sounded as the other end of the line hang up on the call. Confused, Sooyoung stared at her phone and pondered at the possibilities of what were going on.

‘Maybe that was her girlfriend... Quite the clingy type.’

---

“Two servings of ddeokbokki please.”

Sunny blew some air onto her hands rubbing them together to keep herself warm as she stood in front of an outdoor food stand. The short girl took out her phone and checked the clock on the device; it was about twelve minutes until the appointed time to meet with a certain human-giant. She was currently only two blocks away from the place they had agreed to be at. Fairly close, but yet so far.

Handed the meal she had placed an order on, she placed her phone on the tray in rush and headed back to a small table where another young girl sat waiting.

“You wanted this right, Hyomin?” Sunny asked as she handed the other girl the plate of spicy rice cakes and the preferred eating utensils.

“Yes! Thank you!” Hyomin smiled happily and scooted herself closer to Sunny. She hooked her arm with the other girl’s and began picking up her chopsticks, placing the rice cake in .

Sunny, on the other hand, wasn’t looking so bright. She picked up the phone from the tray and stared intensely at the two dots which flickered on and off, hoping that time somehow would stop or that she would be able to magically transport herself. She frowned even more whenever the last digit number changed when sixty seconds had passed.

“Aren’t you going to eat?” Hyomin slightly nudged Sunny to catch her attention.

Sunny snapped out of her daydream and placed the phone back down on the tray. “O-of course.” As Sunny was about to pick up her chopsticks and reached for one of the rice cakes on her plate, one was suddenly presented in front of her face.

“Say ahhh,” Sunny did as told and opened as Hyomin fed her a piece of ddeokbokki. “Is it good?”

The shorter girl nodded lightly in response with a weak smile. She then carefully chewed and swallowed the steamy piece of food in , without really tasting it. Sunny searched around for something to wipe the stain on her lips, and then realized that she had forgotten to ask for some napkins. “Wait here, I’m going to go get something.”

Sunny temporarily her lips cleaned as she headed for the stall to request for what she needed. She reached in for her pocket in search of her phone only to realize she had left it back at the table. Pacing back and forth, she was trying to think of an excuse to make to her girlfriend so that she could go meet Sooyoung smoothly without a problem. It was beginning to feel like she was starting an affair, despite the fact she was only out to meet a friend.
Just then, she suddenly heard a familiar ring tone going on in the distance. Sunny quickly rushed back to the table and found Hyomin had already picked up the call… her call.

“Who is this?” Hyomin asked the person on the other line.

Sunny (gently) snatched her phone from Hyomin’s hand and placed it next to her ear, hoping that the other person did not hang up. “Hello?”

“Sunny? Who was that just now? More importantly, where are you?” It was Sooyoung, and Sunny had already guessed that considering how she was currently five minutes late to the meeting she, herself, had set up.

“Sorry about that. I’ll tell you later. I’ll be there in a few minutes.” Sunny felt a sudden tug on her jacket. She quickly looked down to find a pouting girl looking at her with eyes similar to a lost puppy. “Just reserve a table or something. Talk to you later, bye.”

“Who was that girl?” Hyomin asked, getting up from her seat, staring at Sunny with a serious look.

“A f-friend. Yeah, my friend. I already promised to meet her today.” Sunny answered nervously, feeling a bit more than tensed. ‘I’m not even cheating so why am I getting nervous…?’

“You’re not going out with another girl are you?”

“N-no! Of course not! She’s just a friend. It’s almost our friend’s birthday so we’re both going to be discussing on how to plan a surprise party!” Sunny made up a situation on the spot. She was not particularly lying. Sooyoung was now her friend and their meeting wasn’t technically a ‘date’. Plus it was indeed true that their friend’s, or in fact, Yuri’s birthday was in a couple of weeks.

“Will I see you later?” Hyomin asked in cute manner as she held onto Sunny’s arm tightly.

Sunny half-heartedly smiled as she unhooked her arm from Hyomin’s grip. “Y-yeah. Sorry, Hyomin, but I’m really late so I got to go now.” Sunny picked up her bag and started walking off.

“Sunny!”

The shorter girl stopped from her tracks and let out a deep sigh. She knew what she was called for. Sunny retreated back to Hyomin and pulled the girl into her arms. Making sure so that other people around them wouldn’t see, Sunny turned and placed a quick peck on Hyomin’s cheek as she silently whispered into the girl’s ear, “Happy now?”

As soon as Sunny could feel the nod from Hyomin on her shoulder, she released the taller girl. After giving the goodbye kiss to her girlfriend, she ran at an incredible speed, heading toward her desired location… or at least, where she should have already been at ten minutes ago.

---

Feeding herself as she waited, Sooyoung had ordered plates of different snacks to satisfy her hunger in time for lunch. She had been released by her boss, Kwon Yuri, on break earlier than usual because of her ‘so-called-date’ with Sunny, but now the person who had asked her out was late in arrival. From the big window, she could see a short girl in a ponytail dashing toward the shop. Sooyoung was slightly amazed at the girl’s speed despite her height, considering how much slower she was.

“Took you long enough.” Sooyoung said sarcastically, crossing her arms at the shorter girl, who had just settled down after the two minutes marathon.

“Sorry…” Sunny apologized, still trying to catch her breath.

“You’re okay?” Sooyoung asked in concern, seeing how worn out her friend was. “Here, I don’t know if you would like this but I ordered it anyway. Drink it while it’s hot.” Sooyoung pushed the steaming teacup to Sunny while finishing up her remaining bits of food on the plates.

“Y-yeah. I’m fine. Thanks.” Sunny picked up the cup and blew some cool air into it before taking a sip, then a full gulp. “Wow, this is good. Thank you!” Sunny showed her appreciation with a small saying of gratitude and a bright smile. Unlike a few minutes ago, she actually tasted her food this time.

Sooyoung grinned at Sunny’s satisfaction. She leaned forward with one arm resting on the table and the other supporting her chin, while gazing at the shorter girl’s amusing expressions.
Suddenly remembering that she had skipped a few hours of work to go out for some drinks, whom she barely just met, she wondered why she was called out in the first place. “I know I agreed without questioning much, but why did you suddenly asked me to come here with you? Aren’t you supposed to be with your girlfriend right now instead of with me?” Sunny softly placed her cup back down on the table, as Sooyoung took note of her slight change in expression when the question was raised.

“I was. She suddenly wanted to eat ddeokbokki this morning and demanded that I come along. I had just managed to escape.”

“Escape? She’s your girlfriend; you’re supposed to spend time with her aren’t you?” Sooyoung questioned Sunny’s use of word.

“About that… I’m really sorry I’m kind of using you to… ‘get away’.”
Sooyoung eyebrow arched up in confusion. “What do you mean by that?”

“Well… the thing with my girlfriend. She’s not really my… girlfriend.”

“Oh, I see…” Sooyoung nodded in acknowledgement, only until she fully understood what Sunny had meant. “Wait, what was that?”

“Accidents happened and we ended up dating but I don’t really love her in that way. The reason I called you out today is because I need some time to relax… without her around. I feel bad for saying this but, there are times I just need to be free from her.” Sunny explained in a quick rush of confession.

Sooyoung leaned back on her seat and scratched her head in bewilderment. “So you’re saying you don’t really love this ‘girlfriend’ of yours and you used me as an excuse so that you could have some free time for yourself.”

Sunny lightly nodded at Sooyoung’s somewhat harsh translation, “I’m really sorry…”

Sooyoung noticed the sincere guilt on Sunny’s face that she had not purposely caused, but did anyways. She then attempted to brighten the mood with her honest feelings, “I don’t mind at all so stop looking so pitiful. I’m helping a friend in need after all.” Sunny’s face lit up to Sooyoung’s success as she returned a reassuring smile to notify the girl of her comfortableness. “A question though: if you don’t like her, why don’t you just break up with her? I mean, she’ll eventually find out and both of you would be hur-”

“I-I can’t.” Sunny cut Sooyoung’s off, returning back to her depressing expression.

“Why?” Sunny’s face suddenly turned red from Sooyoung’s curiosity as she avoided the questioning stare. An assumption suddenly hit Sooyoung, as her face also started to heat up, “Wait…don’t tell me…you…s-slep-”

Sunny nodded in embarrassment and confirmation before the taller girl could even continue to say the rest of her line. Sooyoung was now beyond speechless as gaped opened and eyes widened in surprise. It was the last thing she would have expected from a girl like Sunny.

“It was my mistake. I don’t know how it happened but I just woke up one morning to find Hyomin and myself on my bed…n-na-ked…” Sunny’s voice trailed off at the ending words. She buried her face in the palm of her hands upon remembering the memories she badly wanted to get rid of.

“So now you’re taking responsibility without even sure you had done ‘it’ or not?”

Sunny lower and raised her head in reply, her eyes still on the ground. “She’s a close friend of mine… I just can’t afford to break her heart.”

“So what are you going to do about it now? She’ll find out sooner or later.”

After thinking of several ‘next-steps’ she could take, she ended up with none, lifting her head back up in disappointment. “I don’t know, Sooyoung. If there’s any way to solve this without hardships involved, I would.”

A muffled ringtone could then be heard from Sunny’s pocket. She pulled out the device that emitted the sound and switched the lock off. She had just received a message from Hyomin that read: “I’m heading to SoShi café right now. Do you want any snacks or drinks?”

Sunny’s eyes widened as her eyes ran through the ‘where’ and ‘when’ typed on the message.

“What happened?” Sooyoung asked in puzzlement. Sunny quickly showed the message to her friend, as Sooyoung suddenly bore the same expression on her face. “Let me guess… you’re in trouble.”

“Let’s hurry and get out of he-”

A sounding of a bell tingled near the entrance. Both Sunny and Sooyoung were on full alert. Sunny slowly turned her head back to clarify who had entered. There she was: the girlfriend she had ran away from minutes ago. Sunny quickly reacted, putting her hood on and scooted herself far from Hyomin’s view in hopes of covering her identity.

Suddenly her phone started ringing loudly. Sooyoung took a quick look at Hyomin and noticed that she was starting to stare suspiciously at their way. Being quick as she could, Sooyoung took out her own phone and faked a call in order to save Sunny. At the same time, Sunny picked up her own call while delivering a look of great appreciation to Sooyoung.

“H-hello?” Sunny answered, half whispering. She was glad that the shop was somewhat noisy, blocking the sound of her voice.

Hyomin started walking back to the line, away from Sooyoung and Sunny, as soon as she got a reply from her girlfriend. “You didn’t text me back.”

“S-sorry, I put it on silent. I don’t want anything so no need to worry about me.” Sunny lied nervously.

“Hey, you’re not cheating on me are you?”

“No, of course… I’m… not…” She knew she was being honest, but she just couldn’t seem to understand why she was unable to give a straight reply.

“Alright then. If you say so. I’ll see you later, Sunny. Love you!”

“L-love you…” Sunny could feel her heart dropped in fear of being ‘found out’ as she was super relieved when the call ended.

“She left so relax.” Sooyoung notified her friend after seeing Hyomin left the shop after receiving her orders. “Could have just said you’re cheating. That would have ended it smoothly.” Sooyoung suggested, overhearing the conversation between the two girls.

“If only it could be that easy.” Sunny sat straight up from her seat and situated herself into a more comfortable position, also packing up her stuffs. “Thanks for earlier, but I think I got to go now. Hyomin would be suspicious if I stay any longer.” Sunny reached for her wallet and was about to pull out some money for the coffee but Sooyoung stopped her just in time.

“Don’t worry, that’s my treat.”

“Oh, okay. I’ll pay for our meals next time then. Thanks. Bye, Sooyoung.” Sunny waved before getting up from her seat and heading toward the door. Without thinking much, Sooyoung pulled Sunny’s hand back, causing the shorter girl to turn around in surprise. “Is there something wrong?”

“Uh…well… Feel free to call me when you need to…‘get away’ okay? I’ll keep you company.” Sooyoung offered, receiving, yet, another warm smile from Sunny.

“Our Yuri really knows how to befriend a great person.” Sunny indirectly complimented Sooyoung.

“Are you implying that to yourself as well?” Sooyoung asked teasingly.

“Maybe.” Sunny replied with a grin, skipping out to the entrance as she gave Sooyoung a last wave of goodbye.

Sooyoung sat back and relaxed on her seat, drinking her warm drink, as she watched from the window a girl hopping cheerfully in the streets. She giggled at her childish-like, shorter friend, while accidently voiced out what was on her mind.

“She’s really cute…”

---

The clock struck 12:30PM as the sixth individual interview ended. Yuri laid her head on the table and breathed out a heavy sigh. It was the sixth time she had felt her eyes grew weary. The sixth time she had heard the inner grumble of her stomach. It was also the sixth time she had marked ‘failed’ on someone’s paper. None had seemed to have what it took to qualify for the position in the company.

‘One more… I can do this.’ Yuri pushed herself to lean back on her chair as she massaged her temples in attempt to cease her headache. She arranged the papers on her work space and prepared for the last interview. She grabbed the file which was supposed to be the résumé belonging to the last person and flipped it opened from the backside, going through the history of records before looking through the personal information section.

Her office telephone rang as she reached for the on-speaker-button, pressing it without looking anywhere else but the file on the table.

“One lady here had come to interview, Ms. Kwon.”

“Tell her to come in.”

Yuri hung up the phone and got back thoroughly scanning the papers.

‘Such excellent records…’

Yuri flipped to the first page. Immediately, the photo paper-clipped to the paper had caught her eye. A familiar face… and a familiar surname.

‘Song Qian… Wait…isn’t this-’

“Hello there, Ms. Kwon Yuri.”

A familiar voice.

“V-Victoria?”
 

☆☆☆
 

Frozen in their steps. Trapped in one another’s gaze. Captivated by the other’s beauty. Entranced in what seemed to be forever. A brunette and a black hair girl stood staring at one another on opposite sides, bewildered at their own actions, while merely waiting for something to wake them up from their unconscious day-dream fantasy.

“Yuri-sunbaenim!”
“Yuri-unnie!”
“Kwon Yuri!”

It was sudden. Everything happened in less than twenty-two seconds as Jessica somehow found herself suddenly wrapped in the arms of a tanner, taller girl. She had come seeking the utmost peace and quiet time that she could never possibly find anywhere else in this noisy high school environment except this hidden garden that only she knew of. However, she had (unfortunately) encountered an unexpected figure interrupting her attempt of achieving some sleep before class started.

“Um…excuse me…?” Jessica spoke softly, feeling her body’s heat rising from the close physical contact with the stranger.

“Oh!” The other girl, who had had her eyes keeping watch outside, immediately released Jessica from her hold as she soon as she realized what she had done. Feeling embarrassed, she scratched the backside of her head and mentally scolded herself, bowing a couple of times in apology, “I’m really sorry.”

As soon as the other girl lifted her head, Jessica could feel an intense electrical sensation that burned through her body. Without realizing, she was once again caught in the admiration of the taller girl’s outer appearance up close, and even at the sound the girl’s husky voice.

“Yuri-sunbaenim! Where are you!?” The same three voices helped her back into reality. They were slowly fading into the distance, as they must have been not too close to where they were before.

Bearing a rather worried look on her face, the black hair girl began to cautiously scan outside with her eyes, hiding behind a tree to avoid being found.

“I wouldn’t go out there again if I were you. Knowing them, they can be quite persistent in what they do.” Jessica warned. She had not meant to say a single word since it was not her business even if it did bother her, but today was a different case. She had spoken to a stranger willingly.

Taking the brunette’s advice, the tan girl backed away from her keep out and faced Jessica with questioning eyes. “Wait, you know them?”

“No, just personal experience.”

Jessica settled herself down into a comfortable seat on the grass as she leaned her back comfortably against the tree’s body. Closing her eyes in hoping of getting a few minutes of sleep before her troubling day continued, she was once again awaken from her mid-dreaming state.

“Wait the minute… You’re the Ice Princess, right? Jung Jessica?”

Jessica twitched at the sound of her nickname being called right next to her ear. Her eye-lids lifting halfway to send a piercing glare at the caller. “Yeah, that’s me.”

The tan girl reached out her hand toward the brunette as a polite gesture. “Nice to meet you, Jessica-sshi. I’m-”

“Kwon Yuri, The Black Pearl of the ‘great’ Kwon Enterprise.” Jessica cut the girl off, while also ignoring the hand given out to her.

“I guess you’ve heard of me,” Kwon Yuri grinned, withdrawing her hand in rejection as she released a deep sigh.

An awkward silence occupied the air as Jessica found herself drifting off to the first step of her dream, but was once again disrupted by the soft, husky voice.

“Are you sure I can stay here?”

“I don’t own this place so do whatever you want. Now be quiet and let me sleep.” Even though she would love to get at least some rest, she somehow found herself welcoming someone who had been ‘annoying’ her since she last stepped into the garden.

Jessica leaned her head against the tree and closed her eyes. Deep inside, she no longer wanted to sleep, but instead wished she could open her eyes and admire Yuri’s rare beauty without being labeled as a creep. She had only known the popular figure through school newspapers and photos that the Kwon Yuri Fan-Club had taken secretly throughout the girl’s daily activities. She had only heard stories and rumors through her best friend, Hwang Tiffany (who was also one of the many secret admirers) and from skimming the overrated descriptions they used when writing about her in the baseball team reports. Kwon Yuri would fit perfectly into the ‘the-right-type-of-gentleman’ category if she had been born a male. Captain of the girls’ baseball team, tall and beautiful, kind to others, achievements of excellent academic grades, and of course, being the daughter of a CEO or in other words, wealthy… However, those were the only things that were bypassed to Jessica through a secondary source. Nonetheless, half of those descriptions had already fitted, but she could not bring herself to fully trust them unless she witnessed them herself.

Another strange occurrence in Jessica’s case: she had never had any interest in anyone until now, and it annoyed her of how curious she was being. She wasn’t as unsociable as others saw her as. She was just…silent. The scary bored look in her eyes kept others away. Her unintended cold words would hurt others’ feelings. But her undeniable beauty was what drew people closer to her. She carried same status as the girl next to her, so she clearly understood the feelings of being ‘stalked’ by persistent fans.

“I want my normal life back. The life where I can get all the peace and quiet I wanted. The time where I can go home without being worried about people following me. The time where I don’t have to care about my pictures being leaked into the public. The life where I can just sit back and relax. The life where I can date anyone without having that person being burden by my status.”

Jessica felt that her feelings had been outspoken. Those were all she hoped…those were all she wished, and someone had shared those thoughts.
“You don’t always get the things you want. Deal with it.”

“I thought you’re asleep.” Yuri turned around to face an opened-eye Jessica.

“So why are you talking to me?” Jessica asked in an annoyed tone.

“Who said I was talking to you?” Yuri replied teasingly, leaning her head back on the bark of the tree.

“…You’re weird.” Jessica relaxed herself and also leaned back, not knowing that her head was centimeters apart from the girl’s beside her.

“I know.”

Not minding each other’s presence, a smile fell upon both their faces as they enjoyed the peace and quiet they had always wished for.
 

★★★

“Yah! Jung Sooyeon, are you listening?” A loud voice screamed, snapping Jessica awake as she realized she was in a moving car. Jessica was forced to draw away from her moment of imaginary silence, massaging her damaged ears as she sent a deadly glare at the person next to her.

“Could you just give me one second to relax, Fany. Ever since you stepped into the car, all you have been talking about is Kim Taeyeon this, Taeyeon that. Not that this wasn’t normal how hyper you are but… it’s kind of…strange. You only had just met her yesterday.”

Jessica rubbed her temples as she complained about the current one-sided conversation about her colleague that had went on for roughly ten minutes. For a moment, Jessica thought she was hearing some kind of suspect report in a police department or maybe Tiffany’s ramble about her first date with Jaejoong. She was surprised at how much information Tiffany had researched, even to the point of memorization, about someone whom she barely just met the night before. Jessica had the least of expectations that Tiffany would be talking about someone other than her boyfriend while feeling so amused and…hyper.

“Sorry, Jessie, but she fascinates me.” Tiffany apologized, however the gleam of excitement in her eyes had not left her even if she was currently receiving the icy glare from her friend.

“It’s like you’re interested in h-”

“I am.” Jessica was cut off before she could finish speaking. She stared wide-eye at her friend, who had not dropped her signature eye-smile since the name ‘Taeyeon’ popped up. “Not in that way. Just to remind you, I do have a boyfriend.” Jessica quickly shook the reply off as merely over-admiration or that something had terribly went wrong with Tiffany’s head.

“So speaking of him… what happened to your lovely, precious, number one in the world boyfriend?” Jessica continued with her distraction toward another topic, bringing up one certain somebody, whom she would rather love keep out of the conversation. However, it was really a no-can-do thing; Jessica was awfully curious about his whereabouts and had somehow wished in the deepest depths of her heart that her best friend had finally broken it off with him, which would explained why Tiffany had chose to talk about ‘someone she just knew’ rather than her ‘long-termed boyfriend’.

“He asked me out a date with him for today’s plans.” Tiffany’s expression slightly changed and Jessica immediately took notice how similar it was compared to whenever Jaejoong broke off an appointment. However, it was slightly different this time. Knowing Tiffany since their high school freshmen days, she could obviously tell that instead of looking disappointed, Tiffany’s eyes were filled with an apologetic look. But to whom? Jessica pondered at how irrelevant the statement was compared to what her friend’s current emotions were telling her.

“And…? Why are you still here?”

“I rejected Jaejoong’s offer to go on a date today.”

Jessica almost choked on her own spit as she stared wide-eyed at Tiffany while unconsciously dropping her jaw in disbelief. It was something she had only heard in her dreams or imaginations. She never thought she would hear the name ‘Jaejoong’ and the words ‘I rejected’ together in one sentence while having them being said by Tiffany, herself.

“You. Rejected. Him. You, Tiffany, rejected Jaejoong?” Jessica reaffirmed in English.

“He called me yesterday night, and I replied saying I was busy.”

Jessica was happy inside for her friend but she just couldn’t find any reason why now of all the time. The blonde had been trying so hard ever since her brunette friend had started dating the young man, persuading her with all reasons from the rational cases to the irrational ones. Jessica just couldn’t see that Jaejoong was the right person for Tiffany.

“Busy? But you would always make time for him no matter how busy you we-” Something hit her at that moment. A simple thought, but also something she considered a rather ridiculous assumption. “Don’t tell me you ditched your boyfriend for Tae-”

“O-Of course not!” Tiffany quickly replied, gaining much suspicion to her questioner. “D-Don’t use that word. You made it seemed as though I had purposely denied my boyfriend’s offer just to go see someone I just met the day before.” However, that was exactly what she was doing, and Jessica knew it. Tiffany immediately averted eye contact with Jessica, turning to face the window, staring at it as if it’s the most interesting thing in the world. She knew she could hide almost nothing from her childhood slash best friend.

“Fany, sometimes, I just seriously don’t get you. Okay, to be honest, I don’t mind it one bit. In fact, I loved the fact you had just totally rejected that jerk. Can’t wait to see the look on his face; it would make a good laugh for me.” Jessica giggled while imagining those anger-filled eyes, receiving a stare along with a pout from Tiffany. “But… I’m really curious why you had chose Taeye-”

“I told you it had nothing to do with her!” Tiffany hollered, her loud voice piercing Jessica’s eardrums.

“M-miss, we’re here.” The driver announced quietly, also being one of Tiffany’s innocent victims.

Immediately after confirming their location, Tiffany swung the van’s door opened to its maximum and carefully hopped out in her heels, fast walking in stomps toward the entrance.

“You need help with directions?”

“No, thank you for your kindness but I can go find the place myself.” Despite being now quite far away from the parked car, Tiffany’s voice was clear as she replied cold-heartedly to Jessica’s offer.

Jessica relaxed back in her seat, smirking to herself upon her own amusement. ‘Maybe you don’t see it yet or you’re just in self-denial, but face it, Fany. You like Taeyeon.’
 

★☆★
 

‘Maybe I needed directions after all…’

Tiffany was in the center of SoShi Records’ main lobby, clueless of which direction she should be heading to arrive at her desired destination. The place was way too big for her just to explore by herself, and the only way she even got in here was through her connections with Jessica, who was an idol of the same company. Knowing how clumsy she was, even though she would deny it often times, she decided that it was a safer choice to ask. Clanking her heels on the glossy ground, she walked straight toward the service counter, where several employees were greeting their customers and higher-ups, and requested help.

“Excuse me?”

“Good morning, m’am. How may I help you?” The lady politely greeted, bowing to Tiffany behind the separated border.

“Do you know where Kim Taeyeon-sshi’s studio is at?” Tiffany asked, making sure she was using her honorifics correctly.

“Are you Hwang Tiffany-sshi?” The employee questioned in confirmation.

“Yes I am.”

“Nice to meet you. Taeyeon-sshi had informed me about your visit. Her studio is at room 27 on the second floor.” The young lady handed Tiffany a map with the circled destination. “If you follow this you’ll be able to get there. I hope you will enjoy your time here.”

Tiffany scanned the directions on the piece of paper and tried to visualize which way she would go. “Thank you very much.” The brunette bowed politely to the employee and quickly headed toward the upper level of the building.

Her heart beat faster with every step she took, and the excitement had not left her since the moment they had made the proposal the night before. Tiffany knew it deep inside her heart the true reason she wanted to come here in the first place. She wanted to understand why she was feeling the way she was. She wanted to know what was that ‘something’ that had made her rejected her boyfriend’s offer. She wanted to know why she badly wanted to see… her.

☆★☆

“Alright, we’re done here. Thank you for coming.” After hours of nonstop interviews, Yuri was able to cut some slack on the work. However, this sole interview was the only one that satisfied her. In fact, it was the only person she had passed out of all that had come in hopes that they would be chosen.

Sitting in front of Yuri in the guest’s seat was an older girl of a few years apart. She had dressed formally for this occasion, being in the right attire for an interview. However, her clothes had only made her foreign beauty radiated more, and Yuri couldn’t help but once again, be jealous of it.

“I have to say… I was really surprised to see you here, Victoria.”

It was none other than the daughter of her father’s close business partner, Song Victoria. To Yuri’s shock, Victoria was one of the people that had come to seek a job at the Kwon Enterprise. Not only did Victoria meet all the requirements, but she had also surpassed Yuri’s expectations by far.

“When will I receive the results?” Victoria questioned. Despite her confidence, she was still worried about the outcome.

“Tomor-…” Yuri paused. Her eyes glanced over the stack of previous résumés that had all been stamped with a red ‘failed’ on their papers. Her eyes returned to Victoria as she gave off a light grin. “You know what, I’ll just tell you now since I already made the decision anyway.” Confusing Victoria, Yuri stood up from her seat and walked around her desk to the other girl’s side. “Congratulations. You passed.” Outreaching her hand, she chose to personally announce the great news to Victoria.

Victoria was speechless for a moment, but she could tell that Yuri was not the type of person who would lie to her based on the assuring smile that she was receiving. She brightly smiled with joy and was relieved inside. Victoria then stood up and shook her new boss’ welcoming hand. “Thank you very much for accepting me.”

“You’re welcome.”

Yuri reached for a file on her desk and handed it to Victoria. “Here is the company’s general information. If you have any questions, feel free to give me a call. If you can’t contact me, then you can go ahead and call Sooyoung, my secretary.”

Victoria took the file and began reaching for her bag, lips still curved up in a smile.

“I’ll take my leave now. Thank you once again, Yuri.” Victoria bowed politely in gratefulness.

“Then I guess I’ll see you tomor-”

Disturbing at the wrong time, Yuri’s stomach suddenly erupted a growling sound as she blushed in embarrassment. Yuri scratched the back of head and tried to avoid eye contact with the giggling Victoria.

Yuri quickly checked the watch on her wrist; 1:00PM it read. It was already past her lunch time and she had not been eating properly since yesterday. Deciding that it was a good time to know more about the person she would be working with, she proposed an offer to her new employee.

“Say, do you want have lunch with me?”

★☆★
 

“Good job, Taeyeon! Just awesome. As expected of the kid genius.” A young man complimented the short young lady standing behind the sound-proof recording room through a microphone. She smiled and bowed lightly as a thank you to the studio manager.

Kim Taeyeon: a lyricist, a composer, and a singer. She had joined the music industry at the age of fifteen and had sky-rocketed on the popularity chart because of her amazing talents. Other artists and colleagues admired her skills and respected her humble and honest personalities, which earned her the love and favor among the entertainment circle.

However, despite her creativity, she had been lacking the inspiration to produce such music that was satisfying to her own tastes. She had been told that they had been ‘excellent enough’, but she had wanted more than just that.

“I think I still need to change things around a bit.” Taeyeon declared, stepping outside of the room and quickly gulping down her water bottle to sooth her vocal chords.

“I really think it is fine as it is. The melody is smooth, the lyrics are great, and your voice is just awesome. What is there to fix? ” The young man continued to praise the girl’s work as he listened to the track for more than the tenth time. “On Friday, you were upset about how you couldn’t come up with any ideas for your new piece but I can’t believe you returned to work with such a wonderful song.”

“Thank you, Leeteuk-oppa.”

“What, did someone suddenly sparked an idea into your head?” Leeteuk asked teasingly, meaning more than what he had said.

Taeyeon ignored the question and pretended to shuffle around with her papers. She couldn’t tell him that in fact, someone had did inspired her the night before, to the point she found herself writing her own feelings down in form of lyrics till morning of the next day.

“Here, why don’t you come here listen to it yourself.”

Taeyeon placed the second pair of headphones lightly on her head as she signaled the studio manager to turn on the music. Closing her eyes as she listened carefully to every single sound that it had produced, she automatically immersed herself into her own music. However, even before the song reached half-way into its duration, she took the piece device off and dashed through her piles of lyrics, scribbling down some quick notes.

“I don’t think it really necessary needs fixing. More like…improving.”

“What now, Taeyeon?” The young man asked, although already understanding what the scene before him had meant.

“I feel like it’s missing something. I can’t pin-point it, but it’s definitely missing something.”

Leeteuk exhaled a deep sigh as he tapped the pen on his workspace. He then blurted out under his breath, “Maybe you need some romantic inspirations.”

“W-what was that?” Unconsciously, Taeyeon’s ears turned red as she wondered if she had heard his words correctly. She never really considered that thought.

“What, you actually have someone in mind?” Leeteuk asked curiously as he stopped his pen tapping to bear open ears to listen carefully to Taeyeon. She had always been the subject to his teasing.

“N-no, of course not. I’m not supposed to remember?” The short girl replied, stumbling on her words and making herself obvious to the world.

“Not that anyone would know.” Leeteuk whispered again, something only meant to be heard by him, but Taeyeon had caught it, stirring some thoughts into her mind.

A fist pounded lightly three times on the wooden material, producing a sound calling for attention, as both Taeyeon and Leeteuk turned their focus solely to the door. The person behind it must have been impatient, for she did not even wait for a welcome permission, but had opened the door herself.

“Excuse me…?” A female’s husky voice spoke up.

“Tiffany?” Taeyeon called out, trying to confirm whether she had guessed that it was the right person or not. She walked closer to the gapped door in a quick speed, and as soon as she saw that it was indeed the person she was waiting for, a full smile lit on her face.

A change in expression in a rather obvious manner.

For some odd reasons unknown to Leeteuk, they had stood at the same spot, staring and smiling at one another with no words being spoken other than simple greetings. Shaking his head as his entertainment had started to grow weary, he stood up from his chair and placed the headphones back on the table and grabbed his stuffs that was on a nearby seat. He walked passed Taeyeon and gave her a pat on the head, one reason was to of her height, and the other reason was trying to wake the girl up so that she could stray from that creepy smile of her.

“I’m going to go now. Just e-mail me if you need to make any changes, and I’ll get the remix done as soon as possible.” Leeteuk informed, as he swung the door that Tiffany had been clinging onto wide open. The brunette bowed lightly to the young man as he returned the bow with his own and along with a soft smile. He held out his hand in front of Tiffany and introduced himself, “Nice to meet you, I’m Taeyeon’s co-worker, Leeteuk.”

Tiffany took the young man’s hand and shook it politely as she responded with her own self-introduction, “Tiffany. Nice to meet you, too.”

“Okay, I’m done here. You two have fun.” Leeteuk waved goodbye to the younger girls and closed the door behind him.

Taeyeon averted her gaze from the door, eyes now on Tiffany, who was observing the studio’s surroundings with much amazement in her eyes. Her heartbeat increased as she reminded herself that they were alone… just the two of them in a small studio room surrounded by an awkward atmosphere along with an odd, on-going silence. She placed her hand over heart to calm her own conscious and found herself facing the door once again, getting rid of her emerging worries. She never felt this way before.

“Taeyeon, can you sing for me now?” Tiffany requested. She was clearly anticipating the moment and it brought Taeyeon a sense of relieve that Tiffany was still interested in listening. She wouldn’t come here in the first place if she hadn’t.

“R-right now?” Taeyeon asked; sweat was starting to form on her palms.

“Yes! I really want to hear them, your singing and your songs.” Tiffany replied enthusiastically, already grabbing a chair to comfortably sit on.

“Well…okay. Could you do me a favor though?” Taeyeon walked over to where she had last left her music sheets and lyrics and picked up the papers. She walked back to Tiffany and placed them on the desk in front of the girl.

“What is it?” Tiffany stared at the sheets on her desk and began to look through it curiously.

“It’s my new song. It’s not perfect yet so I want you to give me your opinion on it. These are the lyrics.”

Tiffany read every single word in the lyrics, even including Taeyeon’s side notes, not skimming even a single symbol. The tension stare that Tiffany was giving as she inspected the piece of paper increased Taeyeon’s anxiety. No one had ever had this impact on her when she was to present her work, whether it was other professional composers or maybe even the company’s head.

Tiffany had not realized that Taeyeon was no longer beside her since her focus was fully on the piece of paper on the table. A soft instrumental melody then entered the silence. Tiffany unconsciously closed her eyes as she enjoyed the melodic sound of the piano that calmed her mind.

Then, a soft voice echoed through the music room: a strong, yet gentle voice that drew attention to its listener.


If I go, if I go closer to you…
I wonder what you may think, I can’t drum up the courage.

Tiffany lifted her head and stared straight at the person behind the glass. Tiffany listened carefully to the words she had just read being sung in a beautiful melody. She had been fully captivated by the voice of that person.

If you go, if you go away from me…
It is scary to figure out how to let you go.

The voice of an angel. The voice of Kim Taeyeon.

Perhaps, the reason I only look at you, like a fool,
is for fear that you may turn your face away, and
you and I may drift further apart.

Taeyeon had never been more nervous in her life. She dared not to look directly into that person’s eyes. The eyes in which would trap her into an inescapable dreamy state. Her heart was beating abnormally fast at the sight of her presence. This was definitely not the first time she was to sing in front of someone new. She had sung in front of a large audience, but why was it that the feelings would be so different when she sang for her?

Perhaps, the reason I can’t say ‘I love you’, like a fool,
is that I am afraid of the painful sad days of waiting after we meet.

Taeyeon closed her eyes, immersing herself as she voiced out her lyrics, or rather...she was expressing the feelings that she had meant for that certain someone. Every word that was sounded through her lips, she had meant it, not as a song, but as a confession. Deep inside, Taeyeon knew. She knew what she was feeling. However… she was afraid.

If you come, if you come closer to me
I really don’t know what to do.

Perhaps, the reason I only look at you, like a fool,
is for fear that you may turn your face away, and
you and I may drift further apart.

She had persuaded herself. Maybe this was just a crush, an infatuation at first sight.
Something that was never supposed to be.
An imaginary feeling…

Perhaps, the reason I can’t say ‘I love you’, like a fool,
is that I am afraid of the painful sad days of waiting after we meet.

A mistake.

Perhaps, the reason I can’t say ‘I love you’, like a fool,
is that I am afraid of the painful sad days of waiting after we meet.

As if her emotions had gotten the best of her, Taeyeon had accidently looked into Tiffany’s eyes while she sung the last lines of her lyrics. Something that should not have been done.

For the time being, she wanted to hide it.

To wipe away all suspicions, Taeyeon quickly faced away from Tiffany, who had not even once flinched in their exchange of eye contact. She placed the headphones on the music sheet stand and grabbed the lyrics on her way out. As soon as she stepped out of the sound-proof room, loud, continuous claps entered her ears, drawing her gaze toward the person creating the sounds.

Tiffany stood up from her seat and approached Taeyeon with a bright eye-smile. To Taeyeon’s surprise, Tiffany suddenly grabbed her hands and expressed her reactions to the short performance.

“Your voice is great! Putting the song aside, I really, really, really love your voice, Taeyeon!” Tiffany exclaimed, adding some repetition to stress her point.

There it went again. A skip of a beat in Taeyeon’s heart.

“R-really? Thank you.” Taeyeon faced the ground for Tiffany’s sparkling smile was too much for her to handle. To her disappointment, Tiffany released her hand and walked back to the table