Chapter 12 – Freaking Popsicles

So here we are, the five of us—four humans and a fairy--sitting on the beach, watching as the waves roll in. I’m in Sica’s bikini which is a pretty shade of pink. It isn’t skimpy for a bikini but her generous assets can’t help but spill over the top and I attracted many unwanted stares from people passing us by as we made our way to the most secluded part of the beach. My body too, attracted its fair share of attention, but we ignored them all as we walked.

Now, it’s time.

“Let’s give it a try, Sica.” I get up and walk toward the water. We had practiced in the pool yesterday but there’s nothing like open water practice. The open waters aren’t as forgiving as the calm waters of a pool and Sica needs to get some practice.

Meanwhile, Hyoyeon is lying on a towel that she conjured up a while ago. And so are Yoona and Seohyun. Hyoyeon had conjured towels for them too. Well, that’s one perk of having a fairy around, I guess. If she doesn’t mess up her spell, that is. Hyoyeon had actually begged to come along with us, telling us a pitiful story about her being grounded by her father and how we were her only ticket to freedom. Sica was pretty adamant on sending her away regardless of what Hyoyeon said but between Yoona, Seohyun and I, we managed to convince her otherwise.

I’m beginning to think that being a fairy isn’t as easy as it seems and perhaps being an ordinary human is a little less complicated in some ways.

Anyhow, Sica finally reaches me (she really takes her time to stroll, oh my mouse!) and I lead her into the water. She shrinks back as soon as we get waist deep in water.

“It’s too cold,” she whines and I can only shake my head at her.

“I’ll warm you up,” I suggest and begin rubbing the length of her arms to warm them up.

She freezes a little and blinks as I do this but I don’t think much of it. My only concern is that she is warmed up and is ready to practice. She squeaks like a mouse when I give her a hug and rub her back and I can feel all of her muscles tensing up. Oh no, this won’t do. To swim well, one must be relaxed.

“Sica, are you nervous?” I ask as I lean away from her and look into her eyes.

Her cheeks are pink and her eyes are shy. But it lasts only for a second before she shakes her head and says, “I’m ready. Let’s do it.”

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I’m annoyed. I’m annoyed with Yuri. What kind of a person rubs my arms and hugs me in front of two humans and a fairy and asks me if I’m nervous?! Just how dense can Yuri get? She must be a flirt. That’s why she thinks nothing of touching me so much. Yet, she said that she really wants to be my friend. And I still can’t forget how I felt when we stood together, our arms brushing so close, after that wonderful dinner date.

I don’t date often because too many people ask me out. And I know that all they see in me at first sight is my beauty. I’m aware that I’m a beautiful girl. How can I not know when I have to look in the mirror every day? But I don’t want to go out with people like that. I want somebody who is interested in who I am inside.

It’s ironic though because good looks attract me and I definitely took to Yuri so quickly because she’s very beautiful and charismatic. Double standards, perhaps. But I’m pretty so I have every right and right now, I have the right to be pissed off with Yuri. She’s not going to get away with touching me like that and leaving me cold. Hmph.

Yuri swims a distance away from me and treads water as she signals me to rescue her. I remember all the things that she taught me yesterday and I’m confident of doing it because I have her body. Maybe I should try to work out a little bit more. It’s nice to feel strong and fit and have more stamina.

Then again, maybe not. I’d rather sleep for another hour in the morning than get up extra early to go for a jog like Yuri does. She had asked me to consider going for a jog with her in the morning but I declined, even though she was pouting. Maybe if it were Yuri’s face I was seeing, things would’ve been different but watching myself pout really doesn’t do anything for me. Besides, it’s a lot of fun to see Yuri in misery. She’s extra cute when she’s in misery. Tee hee hee.

I kick off and swim towards Yuri. She is already floating face down and motionless. This is a critical rescue case. I’m fully aware that Hyoyeon, Yoona and Seohyun are watching me, ready to help if anything goes awry so I have no worries. I will definitely get my hands on Yuri. I will definitely get my hands all over Yuri. Hehehe.

Yuri is still motionless when I get to her.

Not for long, Yuri. Not for long.

I use the rear approach as she taught me and press the rescue tube she gave me between my chest and her back. But instead of locking my arms around her torso, I sweep my hands down her front and over her s before locking my arms at a less sensitive area. She jerks and tenses when I brush past her s and I want to laugh out loud at her. It ain’t over, babe. Not by a long shot.

I lock my arms tight and roll her over so that she is face up and floating on the rescue tube. At this point, all I have to do is tow her back to shore but I’m feeling frisky so instead of wrapping my arms under her armpits, I deliberately angle my arms so that they nudge her s ever so often.

Oh yes, if you can touch me everywhere and get me hot and bothered, then I can do the same.

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Yuri’s blush is a deep crimson red when we get back to the beach. It is even more noticeable since she now possesses my extremely fair skin. She’s pink from the tip of her ears to the tip of her nose and it’s all I can do to stop myself from laughing at her. But my laughter ceases when my eyes wander down and spot two rather distinct points, standing out proudly, to say the least.

Mother of all icicles. Yuri! You—!

I’m too flustered upon seeing her physical reaction to my touch to do anything. It was my touch, wasn’t it? Or maybe it was just the cold waters. Oh that’s right. Cold water does that too. Maybe it’s not me. Or…is it?

I’m appalled by my own thoughts and desires. Am I actually hoping that I am the reason for her…her… her apparent arousal? Tsk. I’m becoming as bad as her. Mother of all icicles. Am I becoming a flirt too?

“Sica…?”

I slowly become aware of Yuri calling me softly. Then, my mind registers the fact that I had not followed through with the procedures after towing Yuri back to shore.

“Y-Yes?” I respond, albeit a little shakily.

“Are you alright?” Yuri is looking at me caringly. She is concerned for me. And I like it.

Freaking popsicles. Get a grip on yourself, Jessica!

“I’m alright.” And to prove that I’m alright, I quickly commence the follow-up procedures to check that the victim I rescued is in no immediate danger.

At last, Yuri sits up and I await her evaluation of my performance. I’m slightly nervous about it. When it comes to work performance, I do have certain expectations of myself and they aren’t low.

Yuri smiles. “That was a good save, Sica. Well done. I’m proud of you.”

Okay. I’m not annoyed anymore. No. I’m happy now. Extremely happy. And I don’t even know why. Just hearing her say that she’s proud of me makes me so happy that I want to cheer and hug someone. So I hug her. I fling my arms around her and squeeze her tight before releasing her. And all this while, I have the biggest smile on my face.

I hear a few wolf whistles and loud whoops and turn to glare at the fairy and two humans. The whistles and whoops stop instantly. Good. I turn back to Yuri and flash a huge grin.

“How should we celebrate?” I ask.

Yuri blinks. “Celebrate?” she says, as though she’s never heard of the word before.

“Celebrate, you know, like cut a cake, pop champagne…”

“Okay…”

“What? You don’t think I deserve to celebrate?” I snap.

“Oh, no, no. Of course you deserve to celebrate,” Yuri says in a hurry.

“Tonight?”

Yuri’s eyes widen just then. “Oh no, not tonight I’m afraid.”

“Why not?”

“I have to meet Tiffany.”

“What?! Why?!”

“She needs your help in rejecting Taeng DJ and I happen to look like you, Sica.”

“No. You belong to me. You’re going to celebrate with me tonight. Tiffany can handle Taeng DJ by herself.”

“But Sica, I already promised her…”

Yuri pouts and looks anxious and I suddenly feel bad for putting Yuri in a tough position.

“Okay. You go help Tiffany but after that, we celebrate at your place.”

“Okay!” Yuri perks up at once. But within the next second, her brows are furrowed again. “Er, by my place, do you mean my place or your real home?”

I roll my eyes at her. Gosh. Yuri will be the death of me one day. “Of course I’m talking about your place. I don’t want my sister around when we celebrate.”

“Oh. Okay then. I’ll meet you at my place after Tiffany is done.”

“Okay. Don’t be too late, Yuri.”

“I won’t.”

“You’d better not.”

“Can I please, please, please, please, please, please come with you?” Hyoyeon pleads.

I’m surprised to find her standing right behind me. I hadn’t even noticed her approaching us during my conversation with Yuri.

“No. It’s a private party. No fairies allowed.”

“Oh, pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. I really don’t want to go back. My father will make me do tons of English homework,” Hyoyeon whines.

“No.”

“Pleaseeeeeeeeeeeee! Pleaseeeeeeeeeee!”

“Okay, you can celebrate with us,” Yuri says suddenly and I shoot icicles at her with my wintery stare. She shrinks a little but bounces back almost immediately and says, “Hyoyeon asked really politely and she really wants to join us. Let’s not be too mean to her.”

I blink. Woah, Yuri is standing up to me. That’s new. And refreshing. I like it. But three’s a crowd.

“Yuri, I want it to be just the two of us. We got through this together.”

“Hyoyeon helped too,” Yuri says firmly and stands up, signaling the end of the discussion. “Besides, Hyoyeon can help to whip up some dishes while I’m gone, can’t you, Hyo?”

Hyoyeon breaks into a huge grin and nods vigorously. “Yes! Yes, I can!”

I know I’m defeated. I can’t cook to save my life and Yuri has used my ultimate weakness against me. That horrible girl!

“Fine. Hyoyeon can come along.”

“And what about us?” Yoona and Seohyun ask as they join us down by the water.

“Of course! The more the merrier!” Yuri says jovially and all I can do is smile awkwardly as my hopes of a celebration for two go up in smoke.

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Sica didn’t look too happy when I left to meet Tiffany so I asked her if she wanted to come along with me. However, she rejected my offer and left for home with Hyoyeon and my friends. Sometimes, I really don’t know what she’s thinking at all.

Sigh.

Yoona did give me a look though. Maybe she knows something. Anyhow, I’m on my way to meet Tiffany now. Sica doesn’t want to tell Tiffany yet so I have to keep up the act for now. I can understand if she doesn’t want come clean today. It certainly has been an eventful day to say the least!

I get to the café that Tiffany asked me to go to and step inside, my eyes scanning the place for Tiffany. I don’t see her yet so I sit at table and wait. I like this café. It sells the best chocolate coffee in the world and I drink it occasionally when I do that extra lap in the pool, or run that extra mile in the morning. It’s like a reward for me.

“Hi, Jessica. What a surprise to see you here.”

I look up from the slender fingers I’d been admiring and find myself looking into the eyes of Taeng DJ. She definitely looks surprised and slightly downcast, if I’m not wrong. It’s clear that she wasn’t expecting to see me and she had put two and two together very quickly.

“Hi, Taeng DJ. Er, I’m actually here to join you and Tiffany.”

“Oh.”

“I’m sorry, have I ruined your plans?” I say apologetically, feeling every bit as sorry as I sound. I know that Taeng DJ is hoping to get to know Tiffany better—that much was evident during the radio show—and me being here is not how she planned it.

Yet, she graciously smiles and says, “It’s totally fine. Don’t worry about it. It’s just a casual invite for a dinner. You’re welcomed to join, of course.

Out of nowhere, I develop a sudden urge to help Taeng DJ. She’s such a nice person. Surely she deserves a chance with Tiffany?

“Can I be honest with you, Taeng DJ?”

“Please, call me Taeyeon. And of course you can be honest with me,” she says with a charming smile that puts an equally charming smile on my face and I’m even more convinced that Tiffany should give her a chance. Who can pass up on a smile like that!

“Taeyeon,” I call her and she smiles again. Aww, she’s such a sweet girl and very pretty too. She’d be a good match with Tiffany, I can’t help thinking, and my resolve to help her strengthens.

“To be honest, Tiffany actually wants to reject your interest in her today.”

Taeyeon blinks. She doesn’t say anything for a moment until I clap my hands in her face. She jerks when I do that.

“Are you alright?” I ask out of concern.

Taeyeon sighs. “I guess so. I sort of sensed it during the show, actually. She made it quite clear that she has a very close relationship with you. I just thought that I could try, you know. You never know until you try.”

“Well, would you like to know the reason why she’s not into you?”

Taeyeon’s eyes widen immensely and she nods almost immediately. “Yes, please tell me.”

“You’re not tall enough. She’s only into girls who are taller than her.”

A look of disappointment immediately engulfs her pretty face and I hurriedly add, “But I’m telling you this because I want to help.”

“Help? How? I can’t grow taller…”

I shrug. “If there’s a will, there’s a way. If you can find a way to be taller, you’ll stand a better chance with her.”

Just then, Taeyeon looks confused. “A-Aren’t you…close to Tiffany? Why are you trying to help me?”

I can only smile and shake my head. “She’s only using me to discourage you. But I think you deserve a chance. I don’t think she should discount you just because of your height.”

“So…you’re not interested in her.”

I shake my head.

“And she’s not into you.”

I shake my head again.

“Aha! I knew it!” she exclaims with glee before lowering her voice and whispering conspiratorially, “You’re into Yuri, aren’t you?”

Now it’s my turn to blink. “Me? Into Yuri?”

Taeyeon grins slyly. “Don’t think I didn’t notice. I saw how the two of you behaved with each other. It’s like the two of you share a secret or something. There’s definitely something going on between you and Yuri. I thought I was wrong because of what Tiffany said but now that you’ve cleared things up…”

I almost snort. Oh, we share a secret alright. And if Taeyeon knows the secret that Sica and I have…I’ll bet she would change her mind about us.

Yet, I can’t deny the truth in what Taeyeon says. I’m aware of how I feel towards Sica. I’m definitely interested. And so is she. That much was evident from the dinner date we had. That one and only dinner date.

One thought leads to another and all of a sudden, I realize how stupid I’ve been. How ignorant I’ve been to Sica’s plans. Oh my mouse. Only now do I understand why she wasn’t happy when I left. I feel like kicking myself. Argh. We could’ve had some time to get to know each other better but I had to open my big mouth and invite Hyoyeon, Yoona and Seohyun to join us. Yuri! You’ve lost your touch!

“Anyway…can you tell me what Tiffany likes?” Taeyeon asks me, breaking my train of thought.

Uh oh. I have a problem here. I don’t really know what Tiffany likes! Think, Yuri, think!

“I think she likes the colour pink,” I manage to say. From what I’ve seen of Tiffany so far, I know that she has a pink phone, pink bikini, pink earrings, pink clothes…and probably more that I haven’t seen. Oh yeah, this girl definitely likes the colour pink.

“Pink? That’s it?”

“Mhm.” I respond vaguely since I’m not sure about the rest. Luckily, I recall something that Sica told me about Tiffany during our dinner date. Yes, it will definitely distract Taeyeon from asking any further so I begin.

“She loves pink. She doesn’t really like to take medicine but she would take pills if they are pink.

“Wow.” Taeyeon looks amazed. “That’s hardcore love of pink there.”

I nod, not daring to say anything else, lest it be untrue. But I’m saved by the arrival of Tiffany, whose entrance is punctuation by a loud, cheery greeting.

“Hi girls, sorry to keep you waiting!”

I brace myself and cross my fingers. Go, Taeyeon, go!

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