After unpacking everything and taking a nice long bath, Taeyeon slumped into a four poster bed in the seemingly enormous guest room Yuri had prepared. Yuri's penthouse was about half the size of her own bungalow back in Korea, and it was huge for one person to share. A year's rent had already been paid upfront by Taeyeon's parents to Yuri's ,so she could have a place to stay for at least a year. She slept soundly till evening, when Yuri came to wake her for dinner. 

" Tae, you've been sleeping since morning. Do you want to go out for dinner with Jessica, me and a few other friends? You can meet the little Korean circle we have here!" 

" Ok, just give me five minutes, I'll be right out. What should I wear?"

"Just something casual, we're going to a Korean BBQ restaurant. It's our treat!"

Five minutes later, Taeyeon came down wearing a simple yellow dress and had her hair in a loose, messy updo. Yuri was in well-cut jeans with a red plaid top tied at her midriff , showing off her tanned, toned body and perfect S-line, while Jessica wore denim shorts and a plain long-sleeved shirt, looking casual yet chic. 

" Wow, Taeyeon, you look great! You've not grown much taller but your body has filled out in the right places! I bet many guys will be attracted to you on campus! "

"Same for you, Yuri! Let's not talk about guys.."

Taeyeon told Yuri and Jessica about Wooyoung, how they had dated for over 3 years, and how he had broken up with her over that high school , Jiyeon. Tears came to her eyes, and seeing this, Yuri and Jessica put their arms around her. Jessica whispered, " Let  bygones be bygones. You'll find someone better here, I promise."

Yuri's driver came at that moment, and drove them to downtown Manhattan to have dinner in a Korean restaurant owned by an old Korean couple who had migrated to the US from Busan 20 years ago. 

The three of them went into the restaurant. 

" Excuse me, I have made a reservation under Ms Jessica Jung for five of my friends. "

"Sure, your friends are already here! They gave me your name earlier!"

Taeyeon was amazed at the authenticity of the restaurant, and excitedly walked to the table reserved, where she saw three girls - one who was now smiling at her - more with her eyes than mouth and two others who were engaging in lively banter and who looked tall and model-like, but friendly. 

" Hi, I'm Sooyoung and this is Yoona right here. We're exchange students from Seoul and are here to learn English. We're both majoring in economics at Columbia. "

" Hi, my name's Tiffany. I was born in America and am majoring in Law. What's your name?" The gorgeous, eye-smiling girl greeted Taeyeon, and shook her hand. 

*What soft hands and what a pretty face... I want to know her better!* Taeyeon thought.

"Annyeong haseyo. My name's Taeyeon. I can't speak English well yet, so I hope you'll teach me!"

*Aigoo, she's so cute, I wonder how old she is...* Tiffany thought.

"Taeyeon and I are both 23 this year, and that makes us the same age as you American girls, Jess and Tiff!"

*Wow the same age >< She's got a real baby face!* Tiffany's heart raced as she saw her polite manners and cute smile.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Sooyoung and Yoona suddenly burst out ," LET'S ORDER OUR FOOD!!!! WE'RE STARVING!!!!"

" SHIKSHINS!!!" Yuri teased them.

After the meal, where Sooyoung and Yoona had insisted on eating nonstop for three whole hours, the six of them went for a short walk along the streets of Manhattan. Sooyoung seemed to pair off with Yoona and Yuri with Jessica. That left Tiffany with Taeyeon.

It was slightly awkward as they walked together in silence, not knowing what to say or do. Tiffany made the first move by linking arms with Taeyeon and gently said," It's nice to have you here. I hope we can get to know each other better. You look really pretty tonight." 

"You too. I really enjoyed the meal. You guys made me feel so welcome here."

The warmth of Taeyeon's body radiated through, and Tiffany felt different. This girl she was holding, somehow, they had a connection.. She felt right at home where they were. The two of them walked and caught up with the others, when Taeyeon suddenly saw Jessica kissing Yuri.

"Oh gosh, are they ---" Taeyeon was shocked and questioned Tiffany .

"Oh, I expect you're not open to that kind of relationships yet. Jessica and Yuri have been going out for a year. Don't worry too much, you'll get used to it.  Yuri was like that when she arrived here and look at where she is now.." Tiffany explained.

"Let's go then, I feel a little uncomfortable looking at them." They continued walking to where Yuri's driver would pick her up.

"It's been a long night. See you in school on Monday. Night. " Tiffany shyly squeezed Taeyeon's hand.

"See you!" Taeyeon replied happily, as she had made new friends.

After a long night, the girls each took cabs back to their respective apartments, and Taeyeon was alone in Yuri's car.

"Yuri, you never said you were in a relationship with Jessica - no wonder you looked so close."

"Oh, Tae, I didn't want to tell you because I thought you wouldn't be open to such things. I hope it's alright with you."
 

Taeyeon gave a dorky laugh and replied," It's ok.... as long as there's no PDA!!!!!! HAHAHA!!!"

" You dork!!"

*END OF CHAPTER 2*