Tiffany stood there a few moments more, unable to wipe the stupid grin off her face.

I should use this god-sent opportunity wisely.

With that thought, she unfroze and silently scampered up the tree, settling on another branch directly opposite Taeyeon. After making herself comfortable, she leaned forward, resting her head on both of her hands as she gazed at her sleeping angel.

The sight of Taeyeon sleeping was indeed angelic. The light breeze caused her brown silky hair to gently sway, mimicking the movements of the leaves that surrounded the girl. It seemed to caress the angel’s face gently, in fear of waking her up. Tiffany shifted her head to one hand, letting the other go limp as she mentally traced the features on Taeyeon’s face, the big round eyes down to her cute button nose and her chubby cheeks. Seeing Taeyeon up close when she was completely relaxed was a first for Tiffany and she felt like she was in heaven. The face which would usually be scrunched up in agony and fear was calm and the beauty within shone through straight to Tiffany’s heart, triggering an irregular heartbeat as she gazed at the perfection before her. How amazing was this, sitting with her little angel, observing the lovely contours of her face and the slow rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. Just that one action of simply breathing could make Tiffany squeal in happiness and grin like an idiot. She sighed softly, eyes never leaving her beloved.

Seeing her like this, no one would be able to tell that she is autistic.

As if she had heard the sigh, Taeyeon stirred, eyes slowly fluttering open. She sat up cutely with a yawn, pushing up her spectacles to rub her eyes. In contrast to the perfect beauty she was when she was sleeping, the image she had when she woke up resembled a cute innocent child. Tiffany’s heart started pounding rapidly and a blush crept up to her face. Then something struck her.

She’s going to see me!

Just as the thought crossed her mind, the little angel stopped rubbing her eyes and looked straight at her. They both froze at the same time, staring at each other. The innocent brown orbs did not register any fear of any sort, unlike Tiffany’s first glimpse, but was filled with plain confusion. Tiffany felt herself being pulled into its dark depths again, and she felt as if she was flung into a world of pink butterflies and mushrooms. In other words, no words could match the happiness blooming within her as they both sat there as if time had stopped.

“Erm.. Hi?”

Tiffany tried to break the awkward silence between the two. Taeyeon immediately broke off the eye contact and flinched slightly at her words. She stiffened up, gripping the branch until her knuckles turned white.  Tiffany’s fragile heart cracked at the girl’s reaction and she sagged down, the previous blooming happiness instantly withering. There was nothing she wanted to do more than run to a corner and hide in order to let her angel be more relaxed, like the picturesque scene she had witnessed a minute ago.

“Erm.. sorry… for disturbing you… I’ll be going first.. then…”

Tiffany stammered uncertainly, dropping her gaze to the floor before sliding to the trunk and scurrying down, face matching the light shade of pink the flowers hanging on the tree had. She knocked herself lightly on the head, whispering to herself,

“You pabo-yah.”

Not daring to look back at Taeyeon, she scurried over the wall, hesitating for a while before jumping back into reality, where the faint sound of the school bell echoed softly in the air.

Tiffany felt as light as a feather as she skipped around, grinning widely as she recalled her encounter with Taeyeon. She was still stuck in her own world where numerous possibilities invaded her and brought her hopes up to the sky, leaving her delirious. All of a sudden, she stopped in her tracks, narrowing her eyes to think. A glance at her watch confirmed her suspicions.

“Oh I’m late!”

She yelled in terror and dashed off to her class, but she could not resist glancing back at her heaven with her little angel inside.

Don’t worry Taeyeon. Once you come out of your protective shell, you’ll understand I don’t mean you any harm.

And I will help you.

One day.

Tiffany peeked into her classroom as a thief would. Upon seeing her teacher facing the whiteboard and scribbling down formulas in indiscernible handwriting, she quietly slipped in, hoping the teacher wouldn’t notice her. Tiptoeing silently along the side of the class,