[Chapter 19]

Thinking Like Them

Peace. The early morning sun seeped through the open windows of the corner cafe. Its vibrant rays illuminated the empty shop who's front door sign still needed to be flipped from closed to open. The chairs and tables were set in order and every work station was clean and neat. So where were the ones responsible for this tidiness? Tucked in the corner of the business place was Tiffany along with her white clothed friend right across from her. Ever since they had seated themselves at the table, the two were constantly debating with each other on what ancient item would be the best thing to rack up the most money for the bills.

A majestic finger pointed to one of the words that was listed on a piece of paper between the two of them. The list contained the items that were once sealed in the old chest. The one word the finger was pointing to was 'shield'. Other than the chest itself, that was undoubtedly the biggest item there. “Fany-ah.” The owner of the finger called out with a slight tone of irritation. “You have to sell the shield first. It's the biggest thing there and that means it's going to have the biggest offer.” Taeyeon's stern voice would have been very convincing if it weren't arguing with another very stubborn person.

Across the table was another finger that was tapping the word 'jewelry' over and over again. Its tapping was constant and confident as the words from the other side poured out a valid argument. “TaeTae.” The shop owner's voice had risen slightly in pitch as she desperately tried to have the other being see from her point of view. “Just because the shield is the biggest thing in the chest it doesn't mean that it's going to get the most money. The rings and bracelets are going to get the biggest offers because they're beautifully elegant even if they're small.”

Neither side looked as if they were going to let up anytime soon with the big debate. They had to pick the one item that would hopefully gather enough money to pay the bills off all at once. However, with a discussion that heated, it seemed impossible to tell when the chosen item would even be sold in the first place. Their debate had gotten so distracting to each other that neither of them realized that the two workers were approaching the cafe until the front door's signature bell rang pleasantly throughout the shop.

In the blink of an eye the cafe's corner had frozen and silenced itself as the newly arrived duo tried to warm themselves from the cold weather. Once the temperature leveled, both girls locked their eyes on the seemingly lonely girl. “Annyeong Tiff.” The younger worker greeted while removing her jacket. It wasn't until she spotted her boss's slightly pursed lips did she think that something was out of the ordinary. “Gwenchanayo?” Yuri questioned with a small tilt of her head.

Tiffany glanced down at the paper in front of her then back up at her worker. She let out a gentle chuckle and nodded for a moment. “Neh. Gwenchanayo.” The shop owner pulled her lips up into a small smile as she now stashed the lose papers inside of a manila folder. She read the top most paper once over just before closing the folder shut. With that, Tiffany stood from her seat and pushed the chair in to straighten everything out. “If you need me I'll be in my office.” She tried her best to sound as normal as she could. Although, with a Guardian beside her claiming victory over the 'unanimous' decision, it was hard for her to not lash out another counterargument.

The minute the office door closed shut, a victorious chuckle echoed in the room. “Alright! So the shield it is!” Taeyeon cheered childishly with a fist pump into the air. She stood proudly next to the body protector that was propped up against one of the walls. Her arms were folded across her chest with a smirk sprawled across her face.

Tiffany rolled her eyes towards her Guardian. Aish this kid. The shop owner shook her head as she plopped her onto the seat of one of the few chairs in the room. “No Tae. We never agreed on that.” She argued while facing the woman in white. Tiffany then glanced at the giant shield that Taeyeon was proudly standing next to, mentally estimating the price range of the humongous thing.

“Well,” The Guardian began, instantly snagging her Troubled One's attention away from the eye catching armor. “you never said anything else so you forfeit.” The Guardian pointed out with a small merong. Her arms folded victoriously over her chest as she held her chin up high.

The shop owner shook her head to deflect the latter's reasoning for 'winning' their debate. “Jess and Yuri came in!” Tiffany nearly shouted to get her point across. She quickly hushed herself so that the two at the other part of the shop wouldn't think of her as insane. Having even just one of them barge in the office and see all the antiques wouldn't help much either. “TaeTae, just think about it. Yes, the shield is the biggest thing here. Yes, it's probably going to rack up a lot of money, but how am I supposed to walk down the street without looking like an idiot? Let alone getting passed those two.” She gestured her head towards the front of the cafe.

Taeyeon's lips curved up into a pout. “There's always the backdoor you know. Just make sure you don't knock anything over on the way out. As for the other one...who cares?” The Guardian then shrugged her shoulders up and down simply. She watched as Tiffany's eyebrows rose in interest at her answer. “Why should what others think about you matter? I can't tell you how many missed opportunities the living never went through with because they were too worried about what society thought of them.” Taeyeon's lips slowly tightened as silence lingered between the two beings. Her eyes then lowered away from her Troubled One. “Trust me...I know.” She muttered.

Tiffany pursed her lips at the unsettling display of her Guardian. She could only imagine what thoughts from years, or maybe even centuries ago, were buzzing through her head. “Taeyeon...” A gentle sigh huffed through her nostrils. She just didn't know what to do. The only way she knew how to comfort someone was to give them a big hug, but hugging Taeyeon would do nothing more than hurt her.

“Besides,” The woman in white suddenly spoke. The mystical being slowly looked up and locked eyes with the other girl in the room. Her worrisome expression was now replaced with a small smile that tried to cast some reassurance into the atmosphere. “every dollar counts.” Taeyeon encouraged with the edge of her lip rising into a smirk.

Seeing Taeyeon's smile brightened up Tiffany's mood just a little. Still, she couldn't help but think of what else Taeyeon never told her. However that wasn't the topic at hand. Right now, it was about her cafe. Playing twenty questions with her Guardian could be saved for another day. “TaeTae, if I do bring in that thing, there's only one of them. If I bring in a whole bag of little things then each of them can bring in a lot of money too.”

Taeyeon nodded slightly as her next argument was already planned in her head. She was determined to not lose this debate. Although, that was mainly for competitive reasons. “I bet that all of that jewelry has little value though. Adding everything up would probably equal the same amount as the shield.” Taeyeon countered as she jutted her thumb to the portable armor that rested next to her. This girl was just so desperate to get that shield sold.

A gentle sigh eased its way out of Tiffany's lungs. Everything the other countered with was a valid argument. They were going no where with their debate and time was ticking. There had to be another perspective to look at everything. That's when a light bulb went off in the shop owner's head. “Hold on Tae.” She gently commanded with her hands out to pause their conversation. “How about instead of thinking about the biggest thing in battle or the smallest jewelry, we start looking at this situation from a different point of view?” Her eyebrows rose to signal to the other girl that she should at least hear her out. Spotting Taeyeon's intrigued expression made it clear to Tiffany that her Guardian was listening. “Why don't we start thinking like the antique dealers? What would they consider to be the most valuable thing here?”

Silence quickly fell inside the office room as both beings scanned the items over again. After one sweep of the antiques, the two pairs of eyes landed on the most eye catching item on the desk. “The swords.” The Guardian and her Troubled One mumbled simultaneously. Taeyeon and Tiffany glanced at each other in awe before looking back at the weaponry.

In the blink of an eye, Taeyeon was already standing in the corner of the room with a sword in her hand. “It's funny that we thought the same thing.” She spoke with an intertwined chuckle. “But it does make sense. It's not too big and it looks more antique than some jewelry.” The Guardian turned the sword to make it glint in the room light.

“Then it's perfect!” Tiffany cheered quietly. She knew perfectly well that their little party would be crashed if the others barged in. “Just think about it Tae, we have so many of them. If we can sell all of them by today then we might be able to make enough for the bills.” A bright twinkle appeared in the shop owner's eye. It was one that Taeyeon clearly couldn't miss. “Maybe for once all of this will be done and over with.” Tiffany prayed as she took in a hopeful breath. The latter's display put a small smirk on the Guardian's face. She found it cute. “We have to get going Tae. I want to get rid of all of this debt.” And with that the shop owner reached for the swords.

Just before the Troubled One could even lay a finger on any of the antique items, she had stopped herself because of a last minute thought. A sigh slowly slithered from between Tiffany's lips as she took a step back to glance at the glinting swords. They looked so amazing but something was obviously troubling the Troubled One. “Gwenchana Fany-ah?” Taeyeon questioned with furrowed eyebrows. Everything looked great, their plan was set, what could possibly be bothering her? Was she thinking about not selling everything again because it all had sentimental value to the Guardian? Was one of the swords broken and useless to sell?

Tiffany's bottom lip jutted out in thought as she continued to stare at the weapons. Eventually her Guardian's question seeped into her head. “I was just thinking Tae. How am I supposed to bring a whole bunch of swords a block down the way without getting accused of being a killer?” Her arms folded across her chest as every means of trying to hide the deadly items zoomed in and out of her head. Taeyeon cringed at her Troubled One's question, but she quickly readjusted herself before the latter could notice. “I can probably walk down the sidewalk with just fearful stares but I know for sure that Jess and Yuri would be asking me all sorts of questions.” The cafe owner mumbled senselessly as she ran a hand through her hair with a deep sigh. “I need a good excuse.” Tiffany mumbled, gently biting her bottom lip in thought. Sure they could put it back in the old chest but dragging a rusty, old chest was no less inconspicuous than walking down the road with a bunch of swords in her hands.

Finally Taeyeon saw the dilemma. They had to keep it as inconspicuous as they could, especially if they wanted to keep the whole concept of Guardians and Troubled Ones a secret. “You're right.” The woman in white put a hand to her face in thought. “I don't think there's anything here to hide it though. I'm gonna go look around. Maybe I can find something. Arasso?”

Both women locked eyes with each other and immediately Taeyeon spotted the saddened look in Tiffany's eyes. Was her Troubled One sad that she was leaving? Even if it was just for a moment? Then again, ever since the incident the other night, it was easy for the Guardian to understand where her anxiety was coming from. “I'll be back soon.” She reassured honestly with a gentle smile. That made Tiffany copy her facial feature on a smaller scale. “While I'm out searching, do you think you can get a couple towels to cushion all of it? The last thing we'd want is for everything to get so banged up that no one would want to buy it anymore.” With that the Troubled One thought for a moment and nodded her head slowly, trying to think if there were any spare towels just laying around the place. Seeing the nod made Taeyeon smirk victoriously. “Perfect. I'll see you here soon.” She flashed Tiffany a quick smile before disappearing in the blink of an eye. They were getting so much closer to succeeding...and to each other.

In about ten minutes, the Troubled One and her Guardian had reassembled back into the office. Everything they were set off to look for now laid in their hands. Tiffany had managed to gather a big white cleaning towel that was sloppily folded on one of the portable racks in the hallway. The cafe owner decided that it was best not to go to the front of the shop were the others were because she knew for a fact that they would ask her what she was looking for and for what reason. Not to mention the fact that she just didn't want to deal with the 'pro-Siwon' group at the moment. For all she knew, they were probably admiring him at that exact moment.

The Guardian on the other side of the room held, what seemed to be, an oversized briefcase. Its dimensions looked practically unreasonable to hold any paper work in there. That's when Taeyeon explained that it was actually a keyboard case. It was pretty common for bands that went on tour and had an electric piano as one of their instruments. Sadly there was nothing in it for them to sell for extra money, but that wasn't their main focus at this point. “I found it propped up against your store wall in the back alley. Nobody walking around seemed to own it so I was able to claim it for myself.” The Guardian smiled cheekily as she placed the black case on the office chair. “All we have to do now is just pack it up and go.” The woman in white summed up their objectives as she made room on the desk for the case and all of its soon-to-be contents.

Delicately, Taeyeon wrapped all the swords in the large towel, careful to not have any metals touch. They didn't want anyone to figure out that their “piano” was everything but that. When the deadly burrito was wrapped up nice and tight, the Guardian effortlessly lifted the bundle up and tucked it snugly into the piano case. After a quick shut and lock, the inconspicuous transporter seemed just as normal as any other case, aside from its massive size of course. “There.” Taeyeon breathed out satisfied. She flashed a smile of victory while waving a hand to the oversized suitcase. “We can get going now.” The Guardian placed her hands on her hips triumphantly. Her eyes settled happily on the latter as she huffed out a relieved breath.

With an excited clap, Tiffany skipped to the desk to join her Guardian. She made sure to distance herself the entire time so that she wouldn't get injured during the packing process. Knowing that the everything was now secure, Tiffany immediately grabbed the handle of the case. “I can't believe this is really happening.” The cafe owner stated with a sing-song tune just as she pulled up on the box. Miscalculating how heavy the box of antiques was, the case of swords fell.

In quick reflex, Taeyeon lunged for the heavy case. There would be no way to stop the cafe workers from barging into the room if a loud bang erupted from their boss's office. However, Tiffany had also reacted to catch it as well. Thankfully, both were able to stop it just before the thing could attempt to dent the floor. Instead of letting out great sighs of relief, the duo was instantly frozen in place, staring deeply into each other's eyes. Their faces were close enough for Taeyeon to smell the gentle scent of Tiffany's perfume that she had put on for the day. Beneath the piano cases were their fingers that were only inches apart from each other. They were so close, possibly the closest they have ever gotten, and neither of them knew how to back away. The dark onyx eyes and milk chocolate orbs gazed upon each other motionlessly until the Guardian finally looked away. Eventually, they had both managed to come back to reality. Without glancing back at her Troubled One, Taeyeon heaved the case up to the desk effortlessly.

A nervously, embarrassed chuckle slithered from Tiffany's lips. “M-Mianhae.” Her eyes traced the floor's designing, too shy to even stare at her Guardian. “I knew it would be heavy because there was finally something in it, I just didn't expect it to be that heavy.” Tiffany mumbled apologetically. She had flexed her hand over and over again to soothe the sudden pain of having something being suddenly yanked out of her fingers.

“Gwenchanayo Fany-ah.” Taeyeon reassured with her back towards her Troubled One. The Guardian's reflexes weren't the only thing that had raced during the whole ordeal. She was trying desperately to calm her heart and make the faint blush on her face disappear. “I should have warned you about how heavy the thing had gotten.” A gentle chuckle escaped from between Taeyeon's lips. “Then again, Guardians have more strength than than a living person so it would be hard for me to tell you what was actually heavy or not.” Mentally, Taeyeon thanked the fact that she had something to distract her with as her fingers unlocked and locked the case more than once on each side.

Tiffany watched her Guardian examine the case as she spoke. She couldn't help but feel like Taeyeon was mad at her for almost screwing up their practically foolproof plan, especially with her back towards her like that. It was a feeling that the Troubled One didn't like one bit. Something in Tiffany's head was then urging her to make everything better. “Should I just hold it in my arms like a baby?” The cafe owner suggested with an unsure expression. There was a gentle moment of silence between the two beings, having Tiffany slightly hang her head shamefully.

“Uhh.” Taeyeon thought out loud with her eyes still settled on the case in front of her. After something like that, she just couldn't find it in herself to look at her Troubled One. As much as she really wanted to reassure Tiffany that everything was okay, Taeyeon knew that if she faced the latter now, her still pink cheeks would definitely stir up a conversation she most certainly wanted to avoid. She had to keep her mind off of her flustered self right away. “If you hold it like that, people might think there's something wrong with it.” Her eyes scattered the desk top for a quick excuse. “They uhh, they might think that there's a bomb in it.” The quick cover up of her thoughts was undeniably pathetic. Taeyeon just hoped that for this one moment, Tiffany would buy it, even if it would be for sympathetic reasons. “Just hold it naturally.” The Guardian commanded. Taeyeon didn't mean to sound stern with the other girl, she was trying to be stern with herself for acting like that.

The serious order on how the case should be held made Tiffany purse her lips in protest. Doing what Taeyeon wanted her to do was going to be hard considering how heavy the thing was. Tiffany had almost dropped it just moments ago, she could only imagine how much worse it would be for her to walk down a couple blocks with it. “Tae, how am I supposed to do that when I can't even pick it up off the ground?” The only thing now playing in the cafe owner's head was of an image of her arms popping off of her body. Her eyes settled to what she could make of the case since her Guardian was blocking more than half of it from her line of sight.

That finally made Taeyeon turn towards the girl she had to watch over. Still, she avoided eye contact with her Troubled One. “Try picking it up.” She ordered as calmly as she could, placing the case at the foot of the desk. Her slightly flustered heart was too busy trying to find out what a steady beat really was. Obliging to the order, Tiffany walked up to the oversized box and gripped the massive case with her dominant hand. With a couple deep breaths, Tiffany used all the strength she had to try and lift it up off the floor. At first, the case went practically nowhere, lifting only a couple inches off the ground. Then suddenly, the case started to weigh less, making it easier to hold until she stood naturally. Her eyes had gone instantly to the black case, trying to figure out what Guardian magic Taeyeon had probably cast on it to make it lighter. That's when she spotted the white clothed girl on the other side of the case, holding it up from the bottom with one hand effortlessly. “There. I'll help you carry it while you walk. Just be sure to leave some room on my end so that I won't bump into anyone on the way there.” A gentle chuckle then escaped from the mystical being's lips. It was the one thing that gave Tiffany reassurance that her Guardian wasn't mad with her. Once more, the two beings locked eyes with each other.

Only this time, neither was in any rush to look away.

A/N: Annyeong my awesome readers! What's up?! I know! I made another upload that didn't take a couple months! Whoa! xD Like I said in my last update though, I've been really inspired thanks to my two best friends ah_thien and jinribum! I've been writing a whole lot to TGW but the only problem is that I write out of order. /).(\ I know, It's a bad habit of mine but it's something that I just can't break!

Anyways, I hope you like this update! School is bombarding me with end of the semester finals and exams and work is scheduling me for 8 hour shifts on the weekends! I'm just thankful that I can find SOME time to write in my hectic life!

So let me know what you thought in the comments! I love reading your guys' guesses for what's going to happen next! Who knows, your guess might be completely right! Dun dun dun!

Wait a minute dongsaeng, what's with the "Dun, dun dun!" part right there?

Uhh....

Jeo?

Eh heh.

What are you plotting?...Genie. =_=

NOTHING! *runs*

-Jeo