After that night, Tiffany became more aware of Taeyeon’s situation, from their classmates avoiding the latter and Taeyeon’s obliviousness. Probably due to her going against the most popular girl in the school.

One thing that stuck in her mind was what Yoona had told her when she left that morning. Yoona feared that her sister might be hiding something from her. The sister asked her to watch over her sister because she noticed some changes in behaviour. When Taeyeon came back with that bruise on her forehead, she saw her sister sleeping earlier than usual and doesn’t spend much time on her hobbies anymore. She thinks it may have something to do with Jessica.

It’s been two weeks since Tiffany had her sleepover at Taeyeon’s, and finally, the final exams were over. Where should she start with this smart but naïve girl? The overly friendly girl had been trying to think of ways to get the shorty to be more outgoing. This break seems to be the perfect time for that and make some progress. Maybe on top of that, next semester, she can also help improve Taeyeon’s image at the school too. But that’s another thought for another day.

“Today we are going to my friend’s birthday party!” Tiffany finally told her what she had planned for tonight.

“P…Party?” Taeyeon looked at her friend shocked, she was expecting a quieter summer. But it’s Tiffany, after all.

“Yes!”

------

There were already people floating around the entrance of the place. As Tiffany and Taeyeon walked through the tiny crowd, the latter quickly gained a few sets of eyeballs and attention.

Taeyeon found it strange why everyone looked at her like they knew her, and then she realized that some of these students were her classmates. Just who’s birthday party is this for?

The two entered the house's front door without having to ring the doorbell, which suggests that Tiffany must know the owner well. Otherwise, this would have been extremely rude.

The two walked down a small corridor towards a room.

“TIFFANY!!!”

That voice instantly told Taeyeon who the birthday party was for.

“I thought you won’t come to my birthday party after this semester!” Yuri chirped excitedly at the sight of one of her best friends.

“Of course! I will never miss one of your birthdays!”

The two friends wrapped themselves in a tight hug, but Yuri’s face quickly turned upside down when she saw the girl behind her.

“What is SHE doing here!???”

The sudden unpleasant voice from Yuri caught the attention of the rest of the members in the room, causing them to skitter towards the door to see who she meant.

“You have the guts to come here!” Hyoyeon exclaimed.

“Can you guys not be so rude! What’s wrong with her joining us? Why can’t you learn to be friends with her?”

Yuri spoke. “Tiffany, don’t tell me you don’t remember what she did to me. Look at her; she doesn’t even fit in with us!”

Tiffany feels frustrated by how much her old group of friends are so against Taeyeon, and for someone who likes to make friends, she can’t understand it.

“Ok. She may be hard to get along with at first and a bit strange at times….”

“THEN WHY THE HELL ARE YOU, FRIENDS, WITH HER!?” Jessica suddenly spoke out angrily at her once best friend, unaware of her loud voice.

“WHY ARE YOU SHOUTING AT ME!??”

“JUST ANSWER MY QUESTION!”

“BECAUSE SHE IS GOOD AT HEART! SHE IS SMART, AND I THINK WE CAN ALL BE FRIENDS!!!” Tiffany replied, feeling the frustration inside her grow.

The two glared at each other. Jessica was angrier, and Tiffany was more frustrated.

“Ah!”

Why does my head hurt so much? Taeyeon winced at a sudden sharp pain in her head.

Thinking the short screech was Taeyeon trying to get their attention, Tiffany then realized that they had been shouting about someone standing right beside them. When she looked at the reason for their fight, the girl was trembling and eyes red.

Instead of the icy cold glare from Jessica, Taeyeon’s gaze was burning, and it pierced right through them. Unknowing to the others, her reddened eyes were caused by the pain in her head and not because she wanted to cry or vent anger.

While arguing, they did not notice that this whole time a group of students was staring down the hallway at the commotion. The students heard the shouting from outside of the house and followed in due to curiosity.

She needed to think of a way to dismiss herself and get away from this place. Being the prideful, arrogant shorty she is, she decided to say something rude. “Jessica, you came to me first saying things to me that are not meant for ears and done other things. Frankly, I don’t care; we all have our frustrations when we can’t get what we want. And with that said, I