Upon arriving at the Lee Mansion for Sunny's birthday bash, I took in a huge deal of oxygen before stepping out of my car. I clutched my hands over my chest as if doing so would slow my heartbeat down. “What am I being nervous about, anyway?” I nervously laughed at myself as I fixed the creases on my dress.

After a few seconds of double-checking if my car’s secured, I walked towards the main door with the present on one hand and my purse on the other.

“Tiffany!”

I was welcomed by the birthday girl herself. Sunny looked gorgeous & classic in her beige cocktail dress.

I pecked her on the cheek and squealed, “Happy Birthday, Sunny!” I then handed her a small paper bag, my gift.

“Thanks!” she bounced on her toes giddily before disappearing from my view. I laughed at her sudden childishness and started looking around—I forgot to ask Sunny if her Donghae oppa arrived.

Indeed, the newlyweds Eunhyuk oppa & Hyoyeon unnie were there. Eunhyuk oppa even acknowledged me from a distance by raising the flute of champagne in his hand.

I smiled and nodded at him before my eyes continued to wander around.

Of course, the parents of the celebrant were present, Mr. & Mrs. Lee. They were in the same table as Uncle Sooman, Sunny’s uncle who was always so supportive of her endeavours.

As my eyes continued to roam around, my gaze fell upon Taeyeon unnie with the angelically hot Park Leeteuk beside her—practicing skinship, to be exact.

“Taeyeon unnie!” I waved my hands but she seemed to have not noticed. I giggled by myself, “Very busy, it seems.”

After a few more minutes of searching, I finally gave up. My neck was even starting to feel strained. I squeezed through the crowd to Sunny’s seat but she wasn’t there. Bummer.

Just then, I heard a buzzing sound.

Buzz. Buzz. Buzzzzzzz.

I turned to look and it turns out, Sunny left her phone..and someone’s calling. I started to panic, “Where’s Sunny now?” I looked around but to no avail, no luck—Sunny is nowhere in my visual radar. Add to that, the vibrating-slash-buzzing sound was not helping me to not panic, either.

Buzz. Buzz. Buzzzzzzz.

It went off urgently as if inanimately telling me, “Answer me! Answer me!”

At the spur of the moment, my hands flew to answer it but before I could even greet Hello, the caller started talking nonstop. He was a man, I assumed from his voice. “Sunny? Happy Birthday, dongsaeng! I’m really sorry that I couldn’t make it to your party. Can you forgive your oppa? My boss asked me to work overtime and I’m afraid I can’t be there to celebrate with you,” the caller paused, waiting for a response.

My chin trembled as I drew a conclusion that this is Lee Donghae on the other end of the line. If I concluded it right, then this would be, by far, my closest encounter with him.

The deep but gentle voice checked, “Sunny? Are you still there, dongsaeng?”

“Uhm,” I stuttered, “S-Sorry, this is n-not Sunny you’re speaking t-to. She l-left her phone.” My chest tightened as I felt my palms sweating.

“Oh,” the caller replied, “I’m terribly sorry. This is Lee Donghae, Sunny’s oppa. May I ask who I’m speaking to?”

Shoot. I was right! It is him. It is Lee Donghae.

I closed my eyes & swallowed hard before answering, “I’m Sunny’s f-friend, Tiffany. Tiffa--”

“Tiffany Hwang,” he finished it for me.

And with two simple words, my heart raced just like that.

“N-Neh,” I stammered. How in the world did he know my full name?! That, I have no clue.

Just when I thought things couldn’t get any more complicated, he spoke again, “Can you just relay my message to Sunny, Tiffany-ah?” The tone of his voice was casual. Too casual.

Whatever happened to good ol’ honorifics? Here was Lee Donghae, I never formally met before, addressing me informally with Tiffany-ah instead of Tiffany-ssi. Call me demanding, call me old-fashioned, call me insane for Heaven’s sake, but this guy’s messing with me head. Big time.

I think I’m losing my mind over a simple phone conversation.

I wanted to ask so many questions but what came out of my lips was a plain and stutter-y, “S-Sure, I’ll just t-tell Sunny.”

“Thanks, bye!” He hung up after that.

Wide-eyed, I gaped at the screen of Sunny’s cellphone which flashed ‘Call Ended.’

“Hey!” someone tapped my shoulder from behind, forcing my heart to skip a beat.

“Ack!” I shrieked. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up from the shock I got. I almost dropped Sunny’s phone but my reflexes are pretty good, fortunately.

While trying to keep the phone hidden, I slowly and cautiously turned around to find out who it was.

A tiny gasp escaped my lips when I realized that it was just Sunny.

Should I be relieved that it was just Sunny or am I doomed because it was her?

“Well, it seems like someone is a little bit too.. jumpy tonight,” Sunny eyed me suspiciously. Then she asked flat out, “What is my phone doing behind you?”

I nervously faked a laugh with a sheepish smile on my face. I eventually gave Sunny her phone & with a guiltily low voice, I answered, “Someone called.. and I.. answered it..”

Sunny’s jaw dropped but was it just me or her eyes seemed to have sparkled for a second there? “Who called?” she squealed without a tinge of disappointment in her voice. Sunny pressed some buttons on her phone, probably rummaging its list of recently received calls.

I kept quiet, waiting for Sunny to find out the answer herself.

Sunny ‘s sudden gasp made me jump on my toes. Looking and sounding like she just solved a huge mystery, she murmured to herself, “It was Donghae oppa..”

Just the name in itself made me feel uneasy—like dozens of emotions foreign to my clueless self.

I scratched the back of my head and seconded, “Yes.. it was him who called..”

A loud stabbing noise—Sunny squealing like a little girl—broke the formality & solemnity blanketing the gathering. “FINALLY!” she childishly started throwing punches in the air, absent-mindedly drawing attention to herself.

“Sunny,” I hissed, kinda like an indirect Hey, Sunny! Everyone’s staring at us!

Sunny blushed in embarrassment as she, too, noticed that by this time, everyone’s eyes were on us. “Oops,” she bit on her fingernail, bowing to everyone in apology.

I shook my head and sang, “Awkwaaaaaard~”

Sunny playfully slapped my arm and executed that aegyo-ish pout again.

“Aigoo~” I grabbed her hand & went to join the party—her party—with everyone else on the venue.

The rest of the night had been pure fun—eating then dancing then meeting people then a little bit of drinking. Nevertheless, I’m pretty sure that neither I nor Sunny forgot about the ‘me-talking-to-Lee-Donghae’ incident that just happened. In fact, that incident was the reason why I and my BFF Sunny were hyped up afterwards. Well, at least, that’s what I think.

As soon as I finished my second flute of champagne, I’ve decided that I’ll stop at that. I’m driving. Psh.

Kekeke~ The HaeFany Couple’s first encounter! Two more chapters to go, and thank you for your support, yeoreobun! ^.^ I wanna know what you think about what’s been happening, arasseoyo?

COMMENT REPLIES

@ParkEunIn & @kyueunsihae. here's the update.. LOL :D tell me what you think about the story, neh? :))

@lady_cybele. awww, thank you~ ^.^