[Chapter 18]

Cleaned To “Perfection”

“Just promise me one thing.” A gentle voice echoed inside the Troubled One's head. Her eyes closed tighter as she tossed and top of her pink bed. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. The wall mounted clock had just struck past four in the morning. Its rhythmic ticking trying to be a guide to the sleeper's unsettled heart. “Promise me that you'll try.” Her mother's voice spoke again in her unconscious state.

Tiffany tossed her head back and fourth while in dreamland she watched the horrific events of that night unfold. In her nightmare, Tiffany was on the sidewalk, ready to cross the street, when she spotted herself in the passenger side of the car with her mother at the wheel. That's when she knew. “No!” She screamed as the traffic light changed from red to green. “No mom! Don't!” She cried again, trying to push past the wall of people that were waiting to cross. Her hand reached out for the car that had eased its way into the intersection.

“TIFFANY!”

Just as the drunk driver smashed into the driver's side, Tiffany shot up in bed, gasping for air. Instantly she glanced around, trying to figure out what was reality. All she spotted was her all pink blanket that covered her body. Now she remembered. It was just a nightmare... A sigh of relief escaped her lips as she began to relax. Slowly, Tiffany thought more to herself about what had awaken her. As the answer quickly came to mind, she felt her lips purse tightly while a deep sigh slithered from her nostrils.

“Can't sleep?” A voice from the middle of the room emerged. In reflex, Tiffany's head turned to the noise only to spot an all white figure in the darkness. The being was none other than her own Guardian. The woman in white was floating a few inches off the floor in a reclined position. Her hands were behind her head with her top hat resting gently over her eyes. It looked as if she were fast asleep. That's when complete reality struck the Troubled One. She wasn't exactly alone after all. When no answer came out, a smile sprawled onto the Guardian's features. “Gwenchana, neither can I.” In one swift movement Taeyeon sat up and pulled back on her top hat to balance it on her head. She presented the girl on the bed a reassuring smile that everything was okay.

The two girls in the room locked gazes with each other until Tiffany looked away. “I honestly didn't know that Guardians can sleep.” She guiltily admitted. It was something they never exactly talked about before. The Troubled One decided that flipping the topic onto Taeyeon's kind would help get her mind off of that nightmare she just had. It was one Tiffany didn't want to talk about for obvious reasons. No matter how long it's been, the pain would never really heal.

Hearing what the latter had to say made Taeyeon smirk and lean back into a more comfortable position. “Fany-ah, Guardians were once living people too. Therefore, we go to sleep as well. It's just that we spend a lot more time dreaming.” Again the Guardian positioned her hands behind her head. Her eyes scanned the Troubled One's face. She could easily tell how bothered Tiffany really was. Mentally it worried her, but Taeyeon knew that it would be best not to let it show. She wanted to keep calm and collect of herself to not worry the latter, but that didn't mean she couldn't be curious. “Tell me Fany-ah. What woke you up? Are you too excited about saving your cafe?” Obviously Taeyeon knew that it wasn't that. She was no fool and after observing the living for over 900 years, it made it that much easier for her to tell what emotions would be running through a person's mind. Excitement wouldn't wake a person up like that. Taeyeon knew that it had to be more, something darker, lingering in her Troubled One's mind. All she wanted was for Tiffany to be reminded that things were going to get better. They had found a solution to her problem and everything was going to take a turn for the good.

When the question was to her, Tiffany's eyes thoughtlessly settled onto her pink blanket. Her mind wandered for a moment before finally replying with, “Aniyo. It's not that.” Her voice was soft, but in a sense, she knew that the latter would be able to hear her. “I was thinking about...” Tiffany paused. Her chest started to constrict at the thought of her mother and that unforgiving night. The Troubled One looked over to her Guardian with eyes that would worry anybody before she finally opened to answer, “...the past.” Though her answer was broad, it wasn't hard to tell that Tiffany's past was troubling. Many things had gone wrong in the young shop owner's life. There was no wonder she had nightmares. The look on her face made it clear to Taeyeon that she didn't plan on going into detail.

Silence.

Neither side wanted to say anything, fearing that even more memories would overcome the living girl. The Guardian's lips pursed in concern at the sight of the latter. She wanted to ease her Troubled One's mind with reassuring words, but she knew that it would just do more damage than healing. Tiffany, on the other hand, couldn't look at her mystical friend. She didn't want to make it obvious that she was on the verge of crying. With a gentle sniffle, Tiffany finally turned her head towards her Guardian. “TaeTae?” Her voice was soft, but with those mystical powers that her companion seemed to have possessed, she knew that the woman in all white could hear her. Seeing the risen eyebrows of the latter let Tiffany know that her Guardian was paying attention. Her lips quivered for a moment, trying to recapture the words that she wanted to say. “What do you think about at night?...When you can't dream.” Tiffany's eyes locked hopefully on Taeyeon's onyx orbs. She wanted to get lost in them and find the answer that could soothe her.

However, the question made the Guardian's lips purse together tightly. Every time she couldn't dream suddenly flooded Taeyeon's mind and in a span of 900 years there certainly were plenty of those nights. What did she think about when she couldn't venture into her own version of dreamland? It was something that only the living could guess. To Taeyeon, to the entire Guardian race, the answer was simple.

“The past.”

[Taeyeon's POV]

Sunday. It's the day that Fany-ah has the cafe closed for the whole day. It's also the day where she's gone from the morning until the afternoon because she's at church. So where does that leave me? Well, on a normal Sunday morning, I would be out walking the streets trying to gather up some loose change for more ice cream. It's something I really can't 'live' without. However, today was different. Why? Well, I had to get all of my stuff ready for Fany-ah to sell. We had to make a whole bunch of money to pay for all of those bills and trying to sell everything for the way they look now would probably only get me one small cone of ice cream.

So here I am in Fany-ah's office, staring at all of my belongings from a time and place that no one would know about. I've laid all of my possessions out on her desk just like she did when they were on the counter. I made a pile for everything that was relevant to each other...all except one. My eyes glanced to the top of one of the filing cabinets. There by its lonesome self was the only thing that was so out of place. It was the hand weaved basket that Mimi had given me. I felt my lips purse at the thought of someone from my past. There were too many memories crashing in my head to think straight. That's the exact reason why I had placed it so far away from the other things. If I didn't have to look at it, I wouldn't be reminded.

I settled my gaze back onto the other precious items that had come from the chest, which by the way was tucked into one of the corners of the office. We didn't want to constantly move that gigantic thing around otherwise all of the dirt on it would just spread all over the floor and make a big mess. Looking at its contents on the desk, I figured that the best way to make everything presentable was to clean it. That meant getting a wash cloth and cleaning them gently with water. It was always interesting to find the useful stuff laying around this place that Fany-ah rarely ever used.

In my head, I found it best to clean the smaller things in the sink first. Trying to wash weaponry and a shield would probably end up with me making more of a mess than anything else. With a quick touch of the little knickknacks, I quickly transported them to the side of the sink behind the long counter. Thankfully Fany-ah keeps the store blinds down while the place is closed otherwise it would be practically impossible for her to explain why inanimate objects were cleaning themselves in her cafe. Running the sink water at a gentle pace, I delicately began to wash each and every little piece until they shined like no tomorrow. I was skeptical with using any soaps that was lingering nearby because I knew that over time the chemicals in today's time would probably damage the silver than make it shine. For now, this was as good as it would have to get. Not to mention that it kept that old authentic feel to it too when not every piece of dirt was washed off. I just hope it racks up as much money as I plan it to.

Finally, I was done with everything besides the things that were meant for war. After a quick dry of the freshly cleaned items, I sent everything back to its rightful place on the desk and folded my arms across my chest to admire my work of tidiness. They were practically spotless! Now came the time for the swords, shields, and everything a warrior would equip. “TaeTae. Where are you?” I felt my ear twitch at the call of my Troubled One. Looking to the clock on the wall I noticed that it was about the usual time where Tiffany would be done with church and entering her apartment.

Before I knew it, a small smile was already on my face. How long had I been like that? I shook my head for a moment to set my mind straight. When I wasn't acting all weird to even myself, I had honed Fany-ah's position and teleported to her apartment living room. There she was, dressed so beautifully in her church attire. It was both innocent and elegant at the same time. I couldn't help but smile at how wonderful she looked. “Annyeong Fany-ah.” I greeted happily.

My Troubled One quickly turned her attention onto me before presenting me with three smiles, two being from her eyes. Her eye-smiles... They were always so stunning, so captivating, so...familiar. I could never put my finger on it but there was something about Tiffany's eyes. If I hadn't known any better, I'd say that they really looked like- “Annyeong TaeTae. What were you doing while I was away?” Fany-ah questioned me, finally snapping me back to reality. Her eyebrows were now risen while her head was tilted to one side curiously.

I shoved my hands into my pockets and presented her with an accomplished smile. How could I not be proud with myself for what I did this morning? “I wanted to get a head start with selling my stuff so I stayed at the cafe to try and get everything ready.” I let out a chuckle and shrugged my shoulders as if what I did was nothing. Of course, typically I would have been out gathering lost change as my usual journey around town but I figured that maybe, for just once, I had enough ice cream in the freezer.

Tiffany's eyebrows rose for a moment before relaxing. Heh. I even impressed her. My Troubled One's eyes then quickly formed into her signature eye-smiles at the news. “Wow. You really do want to help me save my cafe huh?” Tiffany's fingers intertwined with themselves in front of her. She looked so cute like that. Wait a minute, what did I just...think?

Too bewildered with my own thought, I said nothing to my Troubled One. However, I couldn't help but smirk when I realized that I was caught red handed with my plan. But hey, I wasn't afraid to show it. If saving Fany-ah's cafe meant still being able to roam Earth then I was going to do what I could to stay. Although, roaming Earth wasn't the only reason why I wanted to help my Troubled One keep her wish, but I wasn't going to say anything about that. “Well that's what Guardians are for. We help a Troubled One out the best we can.” I waved a hand for her to follow me out of her apartment room. “Now c'mon. Let's go back to the cafe so we can finish up and sell everything. Hopefully we can sell it today so that your workers won't notice anything out of the ordinary.” Involuntarily, I scanned the living girl up and down once. That's when I realized one thing. “You might want to change into something more casual first.”

[3^rd Person POV]

The Troubled One, who was now in an everyday outfit, and her Guardian entered the corner cafe through the back door. She didn't want to give the false illusion that they would be opening up the store for the day. Although, Tiffany figured that she wouldn't be getting any profit for today anyways. Her place was known for being closed on Sundays because practically every little store on the block knew that her cafe was dedicated to her deceased mother.

The duo walked into the manager's office right away, one holding her head up proudly for the progress she made. Everything that was cleaned sparkled effortlessly in the room's light as they rested on top of the desk. Granted they didn't look absolutely new, they still managed to take a small breath away from their appearance. However, Tiffany easily noticed the empty spaces that were meant for the flesh piercers and body protectors. She found those items seeking shelter in the, still Earth covered, chest. In her head, the cafe owner figured that Taeyeon didn't want anything to get damaged by them so she stowed them away for safe keeping.

Walking over to the not-so-easily missed equipment, Tiffany picked up the top most sword. It was the smallest one there but then again, all the swords weren't exactly light as a feather either. Taeyeon, on the other hand, was mesmerized with the basket that she refused to touch. No matter how hard she tried, it seemed to always grab her attention at one point or another. It wasn't until she heard the sound of metal on metal did she glance at her Troubled One in curiosity. “Uhh. Fany-ah. What are you doing?”

Tiffany was staring at the sword in awe. Even if it wasn't shining as brightly as the items on the desk, it didn't mean she wasn't amazed. It took a while for her brain to even register that Taeyeon had called out to her. “Mwo?” Her head turned so she could lock gazes with her Guardian for a split second. “Oh. I'm admiring your work.” She answered while raising the sword in her hand. “I think it looks clean enough for us to sell.” Tiffany reassured with a small eye-smile.

A raised eyebrow was the Guardian's initial response. “Clean? How are we supposed to sell them when they look like that?” Taeyeon chuckled with a shake of her head. Obviously her Troubled One hadn't seen what a clean sword looked like. “Fany-ah, those aren't clean. I wasn't able to get to them yet, that's why I didn't put them with the others. They might get them dirty again.”

The Troubled One glanced down at the sword she had in her hand and pursed her lips gently. Now that it was pointed out, she could see the layer of dirt. In fact, she could even feel the grime that was on the handle. In slight disgust, Tiffany placed the sword back onto the chest and started to rub the dirt off her hand using her thumb. “You're right. If we try selling them like this then no one will ever want to buy the swords. We have to make them look really nice.” Tiffany swept off the last bits of grime from her hand before glancing back at her Guardian. “We have to polish every single one of these until they shine right? I think there's a small cleaning supply store just across the street.” The cafe owner mumbled senselessly. She nodded to herself in confirmation of the said store that she mentally mapped out. It wouldn't take that long for her to buy the chemicals.

Just as the Troubled One took a step towards the door, Taeyeon teleported right in front of it to block her in. “Aniyo Fany-ah.” She protested with a hand towards the living being. “I've spent a whole bunch of years observing the living and it turns out that the big buying antique owners will spend a lot of money for things that aren't exactly polished. Wae? Because a lot of polish now-a-days actually corrodes a lot of the original metal just to make it shine.”

At first the cafe owner gasped at how close the two were standing. She wasn't expecting her Guardian to block her way after all. Not to mention the fact that she didn't want to hurt Taeyeon. Once the reasoning was said, Tiffany huffed out a gentle sigh and pursed her lips. Everything the latter said was true. There were just way too many chemicals in the cleaning agents to risk it. “Okay. So then what do you suggest we do to clean them up?” Tiffany rose an eyebrow in confusion. Maybe there was some Guardian magic that the other girl had to clean everything up.

Taeyeon smirked and pulled out a water bottle from beneath her blazer. It was the same half opened bottle that Tiffany had left on one of the shelves in the room before. “You're gonna have to clean it the same way I did.” Her hand turned to hold out the bottle to her Troubled One. “With water and a bit of elbow grease.”

[Tiffany's POV]

Finished! Everything was finally cleaned to “perfection”, or at least, to Taeyeon's definition of “perfection.” My Guardian wouldn't let me touch the blade of any of the swords though. She thought that I might cut myself by accident. I suppose that was the better decision because, knowing me, I probably would have done something like that. That left me with cleaning the big things, which was both the shield and chest. Yes. That gigantic chest was mine to clean. It was tedious, but with the store hose that was outside in the back alleyway, it definitely made the job easier.

Now, both heaps of antiques were back in the office. Wherever TaeTae got her stuff from, I was happy that there was still one way to keep both my Guardian and my cafe. The only problem now is if this whole thing doesn't work out. If that's the case then I'm out of luck. Either way, I'm just glad that it didn't dent the counter or flooring. How would I be able to explain that to the others?

That's one thing both TaeTae and I agreed on while we cleaned. We weren't going to tell the others about all of this. Why? Well first of all, if they don't ask about this then they won't ask about Taeyeon. If they don't ask about Taeyeon then I won't have to sound crazy to them while I try to explain what in the world a Guardian is. Plus, if all of this doesn't exactly go as we planned then it would be like nothing ever happened. There's no point in bringing their hopes up only to be hugely disappointed. Our plan is to probably tell them when the debt is 100% paid off. Probably. But for now, if they ever ask where I got the money, then I'll just tell them that it was God answering my prayers. Which technically isn't lying. Taeyeon came from heaven...sort of.

Speaking of which, that Guardian of mine had been delicately wiping off everything over and over again even though we had just finished cleaning. I could never understand her. One minute she's saying that she doesn't want these things anymore and the next she's taking care of them like they're her babies. I could only imagine what could have happened to make her suddenly act like this. Then again, these were her last few belongings. They still obviously mean a lot to her. So then why would she want to sell them in the first place? Was she really doing all of this just to help me save my cafe? Ugh. I can't think sometimes when it comes to Taeyeon.

Nevertheless, I can't accept the fact that everything managed to fit inside that chest. So much came out of it. The bigger question though was where she even got it to begin with. My eyes slowly trailed to the other girl in the room, outlining her white suit quickly. “Hey TaeTae?” I called out with a gentle voice. I didn't want to startle her by accident. She might cut herself with the sword's blade...if that was actually possible.

My Guardian ran the damp cloth once more down the sword's blade before looking up at me. “Neh Fany-ah?” Her eyebrows were risen and her head tilted to one side curiously. She looked so innocent and curious. I don't know what it was but something about the way she looked right now was just so cute. I mean...what?

I shook my head once to get that weird thought out of my head. What was going on again? Oh right. “Where did you say you got the chest from?” I flickered my attention to the gigantic thing in the corner of the office. Only then did I realize that the way she looked at me suddenly changed. Uh-Oh. Was I not supposed to ask? Is it too late for me to take back the question? I want to see that curiously cute TaeTae again.

As if reading my mind, Taeyeon's eyebrows rose at my question. Did she ever tell me where she got it? After thinking it over once, I could have sworn that she never told me. “I dug it up from the ground, remember?” She finally answered with a gentle chuckle, but I wasn't satisfied though. I wanted to know the truth. Where did she unearth that thing? Taeyeon's eyes were settled on me before looking down at the sword again. Whatever thought that was running through her head made her lips purse. “It was buried near my hometown.” My Guardian finally answered. Her eyes lifted to lock with mine. “I saw absolutely no one there.” A gentle sigh slithered from between TaeTae's lips. “If I hadn't known any better, I'd say that my village had been empty for a couple hundred years.” Taeyeon paused for a moment. “Does that answer your question?” Her voice intertwined with sadness as she spoke and I could easily see the pain that lingered inside of her eyes.

Slowly, I nodded my head to her. It took me by surprise with the fact that her hometown was now a ghost town. I really expected the place to have expanded over time, but I guess it wasn't exactly a thriving place. Still, I wanted to know more about Taeyeon. “What about all the stuff inside them?” My eyes pondered to the items again before back at my Guardian. “Where did you get those?”

Taeyeon's eyes fell to the very sword that was still in her possession. I could only guess what she was thinking to herself. Her lips pursed for a moment before relaxing again. Eventually she had given me back her full attention with such a blank expression. Did she forget? There was a slight pause before Taeyeon answered, “I made them.” The corner of her lips tugged up into a smile.

Oh. Well that's cool, she made them. Then it hit me. Taeyeon made these? My eyes pondered the various items that had come from the chest one more time. “You made them? As in, with your own hands?” Everything that came from the chest was so intricate and complex. Was it really possible that Taeyeon had actually crafted each and every thing? I tilted my head to one side completely dumbfounded. Now that I thought of it. Taeyeon never told me what she used to be when she was alive. In fact, she never told me much about her life at all.

Slowly, Taeyeon's head began to bob up and down as she stared at everything again. “Neh. It wasn't easy, but yeah I did make them. Well, everything except the money of course.” My Guardian chuckled to herself. Both of our eyes stared at the small pile of silver that was hopefully worth more than its printed value.

The now confirmed fact that TaeTae had actually crafted everything with her bare hands intrigued me so much. What else did she do while she was alive? Was she someone that her village idolized? Was she an infamous criminal? I wanted to know more about her. The only thing that I absolutely know about my own Guardian is the fact that she's dead. My mind ran with all the possible answers to my questions. Then one thing came to mind. I wonder how much she knows about me. That answer didn't take long to pop into my head. For all I knew, Taeyeon probably knew me better than I knew myself. With her Guardian powers and all I wouldn't be surprised if she knew everything I did from my birth up to now. She probably read me like an open book. As for her, I probably never even opened the front cover. “TaeTae.” I called out half-mindedly. My brain was too busy trying to figure everything out. The moment we locked eyes with each other I felt my mouth run without my command. I couldn't stop myself from asking, “Can you tell me about your life?”

Almost instantly, I saw Taeyeon's small smile drop to an expression that I couldn't read. She stared at me for a long time with that same look. Staring into her deep onyx orbs, I could tell that my Guardian wasn't exactly there. Her mind was somewhere else that was possibly racing around in circles in her own head. What have I done? What happened to the Guardian that I had bonded to? Taeyeon's lips quivered for a moment before pursing tightly at whatever thought was popping into her head. Suddenly, my Guardian looked away from me. Her eyes wandered to something on the wall with that same blank expression. “It's getting late.” Taeyeon mumbled in such a monotone voice as she turned her head to look at me again. “We should go home.” Again her voice was flat. It was as if my question had out all the emotion from her. It was just a simple question Tae. Why are you suddenly like this? Do you not want to tell? What could be so bad about it?

Mentally I regretted ever asking her that question. Sure I may have asked other mood ruining questions before, but this time it was bad. By the way she looked at me I felt like I had just stabbed her in the heart. She looked so lost, so helpless...so hurt. I just wanted to make this feeling go away. There was only way I could think of to make that happen.

“Arasso. Let's go home Tae.”

A/N: Hello my awesome readers! I'm back! How have all of you been? Did you guys have a good first part of the year? Do you guys like love SNSD's Mr. Mr.?! It's just amazing! ^^ Anyways, I wanna say that I'm sorry for taking so long to update. School and work have been kicking my ! But now I'm back!

Great news! Thanks to my two best friends I've been writing SO much more! So hopefully I'll be spitting out chapters faster than this crappy once every couple months pace. They've really inspired me so much since they write fan fic too and we just encourage each other to keep going. I love them! ^^ You can thank both of them for getting me back in my writing mood! Thank you jinribum and ah_thien! ^^

So what do you guys think? I know that this chapter seems like a story filler but I believe that it's best for a lot of stories to take their time and go over a lot of little details [especially the forshadowing hints]. But yeah, I hope you enjoy this update! I'll be sure to sit down and write more now thanks to my best friends. ^^ Please leave a comment about your thoughts! I really do read all of them! Anyways, until the next update!

-Jeo