Tiffany was sitting at her desk in the classroom, deep in thought. She couldn’t understand how she always missed the chance to confess to Taeyeon. It’s almost as if the universe is working against her and telling her that she’s not meant to tell Taeyeon about what she had done. There was a part of her that wanted to believe that and think that there was a chance that she would be able to hide the truth from the latter for all eternity. However, the more rational side of her forced her to remember that there is no lie or secret that stays hidden forever. No matter how much you try to hide it, those secrets and lies you buried deep in your heart always come back to haunt you. Tiffany let out an exasperated sigh.

“Sighing again, Tiff?” Jessica asked, taking the seat beside her friend.

Tiffany looked at Jessica and nodded. “I don’t know what to do, Jess. It seems like every time I try to come clean about what I did, I can never find Taeyeon. I looked for her everywhere yesterday, and I just couldn’t find her.”

“So I guess that means you haven’t told her yet?”

Tiffany shook her head. “I don’t know what to do, Jess! I can’t hide this from her anymore. I want this guilt to stop, but most of all, I don’t want to lie to her anymore. I care about that girl too much to put her through this pain any longer.”

Jessica furrowed her eyebrows and sighed. “Maybe it just wasn’t the right time, Tiff,” she said, placing a hand over Tiffany’s. “I’m sure you’ll get a chance to tell her everything soon. So, don’t lose hope, okay?”

Tiffany nodded weakly. There was a moment of silence, and a familiar voice called out to Tiffany. She then looked around for the source of the voice and found Taeyeon standing at the doorway, motioning for Tiffany to follow. She hesitated until the familiar warmth of Jessica’s hand soothed her.

“Go ahead,” Jessica said gently. “It’s time.”

Tiffany nodded and rose to her feet. She walked towards Taeyeon and followed her out of the classroom. As they walked down the hallway, Tiffany felt as if every passing second made it more difficult to walk and breathe. It’s almost as if her mind and body were telling her not to follow through with her plan because everything will blow up in her face. But, Tiffany ignored that nagging thought. She knew what she had to do, and she knew she had to confess now or else she would have to bear the guilt of not telling Taeyeon personally.

Once they stepped outside, Tiffany was greeted by a light, cool, breeze. She followed Taeyeon to a snow-covered bench near a once beautiful pond filled with beautiful water lilies and ducks, but is now frozen solid for the remainder of winter.

“Tae Tae, it’s cold. Why are we out here?” Tiffany asked.

Taeyeon turned around and smiled. “I like it here. This place is special to me.”

“Why?”

“This is the place I first met someone I deeply care about.”

“Oh?”

Taeyeon nodded. “But that’s not the reason I brought you out here. I know it’s cold, but will you be able to endure it? This is the only place I can think of that we can have privacy and I feel most comfortable.”

“It’s fine by me,” said Tiffany. “I was just worried about you catching a cold.”

“Why are you only worried about me? You could catch a cold too, you know.”

“I know,” Tiffany said with a smile. “But I’m not worried about myself. I recover from sickness quickly, so it’s no problem for me. But I know that you’re probably not like me, so I don’t want you suffering through a sickness if we can prevent it.” Taeyeon chuckled. “Why are you laughing?”

Taeyeon smiled. “You sound like my mother, that’s why. Actually, you’re worse than my mother.”

Tiffany pouted. “That’s not very nice, you know.”

Taeyeon chuckled again. “I know, I’m sorry, Fany.”

There was a short pause and they each broke the silence. “There’s something I need to tell you,” the two said in unison.

They looked at each other in surprise then Taeyeon said, “Would you mind letting me go first, Fany? I promise I’ll listen to you afterwards. I just really need to get this off my chest.”

Tiffany hesitated, knowing she wouldn’t get another chance to confess to Taeyeon. However, looking into the smaller girl’s eyes and seeing the sadness in them made her heart ache. “Sure, Tae Tae,” she begrudgingly replied. In the back of her mind, she knew this was her last chance, but she couldn’t bring herself to say no to Taeyeon. If this was the last time she would have a normal conversation with the latter, then so be it. She wanted to hear everything this girl had to say to her and this would be the moment she looks back on when she thinks of the danshin.

“Do you remember how I told you that Sunny and I are dating?” Taeyeon asked carefully.

Tiffany stared at her. “Of course I do, Tae. You only told me that yesterday.”

Taeyeon smiled. “Oh, that’s right.”

“So? Are you going to brag to me how you lovebirds are?” she teased.

Taeyeon shook her head. “No, no. Nothing like that, Fany-ah.”

“Oh? So, what’s up then?”

“I—,” she looked away. “I just needed someone to talk to.”

Tiffany gasped. “Wait. You two didn’t have a fight did you?”

“A fight? I guess you could say that, but I sure wish it was just an ordinary fight.”

Tiffany furrowed her eyebrows and grabbed the smaller girl’s shoulders. “Taeyeon, what happened?” she said in a serious voice.

Taeyeon was surprised to hear Tiffany’s tone change, then looked into the latter’s eyes with a pained expression. “We—we broke up.”

There was a long period of silence as Taeyeon’s words hung in the air. “I—I don’t understand. Why so quickly? You were only getting started.”

Taeyeon smiled bitterly. “I kno