[Chapter 2]

So Nyuh Secret

The strangling and struggling between Sooyoung and Hyoyeon continued for a short while. Poor Sunny in the middle of them gave up trying to escape. Her main objective now was to just sip her drink, but every time she attempted to do so, someone would always bump into her, delaying her sweet tooth from being satisfied.

“Alright, alright. That's enough you two.” Tiffany piped in with a voice loud enough to catch anyone's attention. When neither side obliged to her order she sighed and tried again. “Yah!” Her voice was much louder now, but still, the duo continued to fight. It was at this point where she was starting to believe that they personally muted only her voice in their heads. Not wanting to get too annoyed, Tiffany looked over to Taeyeon. “Help me out here TaeTae.”

With a simple nod, the short haired blonde cleared and took in a deep breath. “Yah!” She tried. Undoubtedly her voice was louder than Tiffany's last call. She even caught the attention of a few people near their table. But still, there was no success.

Getting irritated now, the brunette slammed her hand in the center of the table, roaring a loud, “YAH!” Finally...all was still. The violent pair paused for a moment to set their eyes on the annoyed Tiffany. That look she was giving to either side was one no one would dare mess with. Only then did they realize that maybe being more civilized with a better conversation would be easier to settle things out.

Hyoyeon reluctantly let go of Sooyoung's jacket collar and both sat back. In the middle of the duo, little Sunny let out a sigh of relief and sipped her drink happily. That sweet tooth of hers was finally pacified with every gulp she consumed. Pleased with the ordeal now over, she soon gave Manager Hwang her own set of eye-smiles along with a very grateful, “Gamsahamnida Tiffany.” in which the latter responded with a smile and slight nod.

Now calm, the giant went back to her second bowl of soup as Hyoyeon started on the only bowl left for her. Both were tired and, of course, food first...but that was more of Sooyoung's motto. Sunny looked around the mall eatery while she continued to sip her, what seemed to be, never ending drink. The walls were decorated in green and red ribbons, icicle-like lights along with glitter covered snowflakes hung from the ceiling, and just barely audible cheery music echoed throughout the building. It only meant one thing, “Omo! Tuesday's Christmas!” She called out happily.

Many pairs of eyebrows rose at the little one's sudden outburst until her words finally sank in everyone's noggins. Looking around, only then did the others spot the Christmas themed decorations. Sunny was right, Christmas was just around the corner! “Aigoo. Yuri, you completely lost track of the days.” The Black Pearl mumbled to herself with a face palm. “Now you gotta buy presents for mom, dad, your brother. Ugh. What would they even want? It's not really a surprise if you ask-”

“Yuri-unnie.” Seohyun called out. The tanned girl rose her eyes to meet with the girl who could also pass as her twin. Even though the latter didn't say anything, the maknae knew she had her attention. “You're talking to yourself again.”

Scanning the table, Yuri realized that she indeed was talking to herself. Everyone's very confused expressions towards her was enough evidence to back up the claim. “Mianhae. I just forgot to do Christmas shopping.” The Black Pearl heaved a sigh and ran a hand through her dark locks.

The hungry giant slurped up the rest of her second bowl and reclined comfortably in her seat. The entire time, she muted everyone's voice. Sooyoung really wanted her intimate moment with her number one lover; food. Eventually, the lingering words sank into her head. “Omo! I forgot to do that too!” A loud slap echoed near the table as a palm came into contact with her face.

Hyoyeon glanced around. She noticed as the other girls nodded slightly to the giant's words. Thinking about it as well, she hadn't bought any presents for anyone either. Curse those days where she was too busy studying for her last test of the school year. “I guess our school finals made us forget.” She mumbled, scratching her non-itchy face.

A sudden loud clap between the giant and dancer made everyone alert. “Alright then! Why don't we go Christmas shopping right now?” Sunny suggested happily. “We're at the mall and we need to do some shopping. It's only logical right?” Everyone contemplated with whether they should or not. It was a good idea. So why not take up the opportunity to do so? Soon, many of them nodded to the suggestion while others...were quite skeptical. Why? Well, shikshins would rather eat than shop. When Bubbly Sunny sensed some protest from the big eaters, she knew only one thing would reel them in. “There's a lot of chocolate and candy on sale too, right?” Her pair of hopeful orbs scanned the other's features hoping for someone to agree. After no one second her motion, her attention rested on a certain short haired blonde directly across from her.

Taeyeon felt the pair of eyes on her, making her look at her danshin friend. The look in Sunny's eyes towards her was very obvious; “Just go with it”. With a slight grin, the blonde nodded. “Neh. Chocolate and candy are good last minute Christmas gifts too! There are probably a lot of 'buy one get one free' sales right now.” Taeyeon watched as Sunny's eyes turned into happy crescent moons. She didn't know if there were such sales going on right now, but at least it was enough to make the latter happy. Now, it was time for the domino effect.

Just like Sunny had planned, everyone started to agree with what was said. First the Dancing Queen, then the Black Pearl, and even the maknae agreed. It wasn't long for Yoona to go with it once Seohyun did. All eyes were now on Sooyoung as she was the only one who wasn't quite enthusiastic to go shopping. Hmm...I've got to convince her. Thinking quickly, little Sunny Bunny looked up at her best friend. “Soo, I'm planning on buying some sweets for my family. Would you want some of the extras?”

In an instant, the giant's eyes locked with Sunny before finally nodding. “Sure!” She beamed. The thought of food, especially if it were free, would undoubtedly cause the big shikshin into agreeing with whatever. “I would love to get the extras, Sunny. We wouldn't want any of it to go to waste!” Sooyoung nodded at her own thought, and that's when everyone knew that she was going to be fully cooperative.

The little one had an ear to ear smile with the giant's final verdict. “Great! Kaja!” Sunny stated, or rather commanded, as she stood up excitedly.

“Wait!” Yuri suddenly called out. Everyone's attention quickly went to the Black Pearl. Knowing that there was going to be a bit of a delay with the shopping, Sunny breathed out a sigh and sank in her seat. Though she tried to give Yuri a hurry-up-already glare, the Black Pearl was completely ignoring her. Instead, Yuri's attention was right on the short haired blonde. The two shared a quick look before her eyes then flickered over to the second youngest. Again, a glance was shared before Yuri turned her attention to the impatient little one. Uh-oh. Think of something quick! The protestor paused for a moment before finally saying, “We should probably split up...Er, that way we could get our Christmas shopping done quicker.” Yuri nodded to her own thought, finding it as a logical reason. Her eyes then shifted back onto Taeyeon.

Figuring that Yuri needed some assistance for the others to agree, and that she was once again the one that had to start the domino effect, Taeyeon piped in as well. “That sounds like a really good idea Yul.” She nodded. “Since we're all behind on the shopping, it'd be better to get a lot done in the little time we have left.” In need for back up for the chain reaction to take off, Taeyeon glanced over at Yoona. Something more was hidden up their sleeve that the others clearly weren't in on.

“Neh. That's a great idea Yul. Since there's nine of us, we can split up into groups of three!” The others around the group nodded silently. Shopping would get done quicker if they split up. Waiting an hour for someone to buy clothes, then an hour for accessories, and then another hour for food to keep the shikshins busy would obviously take forever. The group could only stay so long at the mall. In a quick second, Yoona suddenly pointed to the Black Pearl. “I wanna go with Yuri-unnie and Taeyeon-unnie!”

The pair that was called out widened their eyes. To the rest of the group, they interpreted their stares as more of a wow-that-was-unexpected kind of look. However, Yuri and Taeyeon were really giving the young one a look that was more of you're-being-too-obvious! Breaking the awkward silence, Sooyoung sat forward. “Alright? So I guess you three are a group then.” Her eyebrows shifted to the other girls, each shrugging their shoulders in confusion. Apparently everyone was just as clueless as she was. The giant didn't mind though. Whatever evil, or rather dorky, plan they had up their sleeves wasn't going to stop her from getting that sweet treat she was already looking forward to. “I'm gonna go with Sunny since she promised to give me any extra food.”

Well that was another for sure group stuck together. A weird feeling of eyes on her made the Ice Princess look around, discovering that her American friend was indeed staring at her. With a quick glance Jessica knew right away what her friend was telling her. “I'm going with Tiff to go look at some clothes.” Sica's voice was monotone. It wasn't out of the ordinary, that's just how she would answer at times. No one thought twice about it, except for one person.

Yuri glanced over to the person beside her with an emotionless expression. What's with that tone? It intrigued the tanned girl. When it came to shopping, especially for clothes, the Ice Princess would melt and actually seem excited...even just a little. This...this was something that really caught her attention. However, she found it best to leave it alone...for now.

An innocent, “Can I go too?” chirped into the air. The words had escaped from the maknae's lips. Everyone's eyes were now on her. She looked so delicate as she gently sank into her seat. She wasn't one to usually get a lot of attention so when all eyes were on her, she found the need to go invisible. Hmm? Yoona glanced at the younger girl next to her. That shy side of Seohyun was her years ago, back to when she first joined the group. So then why feel so shy to ask the group a question? Yoona found it unusual, but for now, she wouldn't press on it. While Yoona's curious orbs were on Seohyun, the maknae's eyes remained glued on the two Americans as she waited for an answer.

“Sure. Why not Seo?” Tiffany reassured with a small smile. It wasn't that she was unhappy with Seohyun joining their group, it's just that there was something...distracting her. It was something Taeyeon couldn't help but notice. This wasn't like her. When someone would want to join Tiffany's shopping group for clothes, she'd be more than enthusiastic. She could talk about dresses, shirts, jackets, you name it. She could do all of that without boring the other person. After all, they were the ones that wanted to go shopping with her. However, this yeah-sure-whatever vibe that Tiffany was emitting was truly out of the ordinary. But the blonde kept to herself as the brunette continued on. “That completes our group. I guess Hyo goes with Sunny and Sooyoung.”

“I am NOT going with her!” Two voices clashed. Both, belonging to the feuding duo from earlier.

Here we go again... Sunny sighed deeply. She knew that it would take at least another 10 minutes or so for them to stop arguing. That means less time to shop, and less time to enjoy the mall. The only way to get through it, sipping her bubble tea. The only bad part was...she finally ran out. Great... Just the when the bickering began, Sunny slammed her empty cup on the table and glared at the two. Both parties rather surprised with the action. “Look. I really don't wanna spend all of my time here at the mall with the two of you arguing!” The pair hushed up and sank in their seats. She was right, they did spend a majority of the time trying to kill each other. Now, their ears were settled on the little one. Sunny composed herself with a deep breath. “So, to stop you two from fighting with each other, Hyo and Sica will switch groups.”

The two mentioned stared at Sunny. Hyoyeon's look was more of a 'Did I hear you right?' while Jessica was giving her all to infamous icy glare. Sooyoung didn't mind it, her mortal enemy for the day would most likely be on the opposite end of the mall from her. It didn't faze the maknae either. As long as she was with shopaholic Tiffany then they were bound to go looking at clothes. There was a slight pause before the brunette finally piped in. “Why'd you switch her with Jess? Why not with someone from the other group?”

Sunny's head tilted. Hmm...why didn't I? Being best friends with Taeyeon, the shortest one locked eyes with the blonde across from her. There, she saw it. She could see in Taeyeon's eyes that she didn't want her group switched. Sure she may not know why her, Yoona and Yuri had to be locked in a group, but Sunny understood that it had to be done. With that, she turned her attention back to Tiffany and stuck with her original reason. “Because if our groups ever bump into each other, I'd be able to hold Sooyoung back and you can hold back Hyoyeon. Sica might just stare at the commotion while Seohyun can't really interfere, her being the maknae and all. At least with you, I know you'd stick to your Manager nickname and step in.” Sunny nodded as she stated her claims. It was all logical and everyone else knew that they didn't give Tiffany that nickname for nothing.

“If you wanted someone to hold me back, why not HIM Yoona?” The Dancing Queen questioned. Her main reason for asking was mainly because she wanted to be with another choding. Being the only one in a group isn't that fun. At least with another one, she'd be able to crack jokes while waiting.

One glance at Yoona and Sunny saw the same look in her eyes that Taeyeon had given her. The don't-switch-me look. With a quick scoff Manager Bunny, for now, looked back at Hyoyeon and shook her head. “If I put you with any of those kids, the mall security would kick you out before anyone could buy anything!” As playful as her tone was, Sunny was still a bit serious about it. Hyoyeon and the other chodings did get kicked out one time, but that was because they decided to play hide-and-seek while the others were doing their shopping. Still, her words made the others giggle. At least the mood was lightening up. “Alright. Kaja! We've spent too much time here!” Little Sunny Bunny was back to that bubbly mood now that everyone got up without protest.

The assigned groups came together, some more reluctant than others, before discussing as a whole on when to meet up again before everyone were to head off for the day. With a slight debate, the group of friends agreed to go shopping for a few hours before meeting up one final time. Eventually, the three trios took off. HyoTiSeo made up their mind with going to a clothing store. Hyoyeon would be able to look for dancing shoes while Tiffany and Seohyun were close by looking at cute jackets. SooSunSic were off towards one corner of the mall that housed an electronic store, next to a book store with a cafe in it, both next to a furniture store. Sica quickly branched off from the original pair to go 'test out the mattresses'. It seemed as if these three were shopping more for themselves rather than for their loved ones. Lastly, YoonYulTae just decided to wander the mall. Not only could they not pick a place to go in, there were more 'important' matters to attend to.

“Are they gone?” Yoona whispered as the trio searched their surroundings. “Do you see any of them?” They made sure to keep their eyes peeled for their six other friends. If they were to find out about their discussion, their entire plan would be forever compromised! This...was secrecy.

With a grin on everyone's faces, the trio smiled to themselves as they locked their gazes on each other. They knew they were alone. Well, the others weren't around. The mall was still a little packed, though not really. That didn't matter though. What crazy stranger would go out and report their secret meeting to the others? None. Just the way they like it.

Yuri clapped quietly. “Let's start!” She cheered, only to tone down her excited side when she realized that some people were looking at her weird. With a quick clear of , the Black Pearl glanced at the other two. “I call this 'Seobang Secret' meeting to order.” Her voice now more composed.

The two next to her face palmed.

Aigoo...

Not again!

With a loud sigh, Yoona slid her hand down her face before snapping her head in the tanned girl's direction. “Yah! Yuri-unnie! You're changing the name again!” her doppelganger cried out. No matter how many meetings have passed, Yuri always managed to call their group by the wrong name.

“Neh!” Taeyeon joined in. “It's...” Her suspicious orbs glanced around them once. “It's 'So Nyuh Secret'.” The shortest one whispered. To her, and the others, the last thing they wanted to do was have this secret group not be kept...well, a secret. Knowing that no one caught her words but the duo with her, Taeyeon's voice reverted back to normal. “Not that name you gave us!” Her finger wagged around in Yuri's face. The latter shooed her finger away with a quick nip at the slender piece of flesh. “Besides!” Taeyeon continued. “You're not the leader of the group.” The little one popped her jacket collar. “I am.” She said coolly. A dorky smile instantly replaced her tough girl look when the 'twins' burst out laughing.

Quickly composing herself, Yuri nodded and lowered her hand from her once tightened stomach. “Neh. Neh. I know what we're really called.” She stated happily. So why the attempt at a name change? She wants her lover to call her that. “But I'm still having second thoughts.” She mumbled with a small grin. From the corner of her eye, her attention locked onto the little one.

Yoona looked over to her look-a-like. “Second thoughts on what unnie?” Her head tilted to the side curiously. It wasn't long for Taeyeon to follow suit as she too was curious of the answer. Was it something about their group?

The tanned girl chuckled. “How we got a kid to be the leader.” Her thumb jerked over to the short blonde, who's jaw was now dropped from the words that had marched out of .

“Yah!” Taeyeon quickly hollered once she was able to react. “I'm leader because I'm oldest!” She lunged for the much taller girl but with the maknae of the group, that was just as equally as tall as her older version, in between them she wasn't able to get her hands anywhere near the jokester.

“C'mon unnies. Let's get to business. We still need to plan things out.” Yoona reasoned while placing her hands on Taeyeon's shoulders. Eventually the danshin gave up and nodded. Even though their meeting may take a couple minutes or so, they had to make a good plan that they could each do until their next meeting.

Taeyeon took the girls to a near by table that was well out of the way from the main walk ways of the mall. It was a simple small round table that held three seats big enough to support two people each. The short one quickly hopped into one of the seats and waited for the clones to follow suit. Once in order, the leader intertwined her fingers and rested her hands on the table top. “Alright. General Taeng here. I'm requesting a status report from each of you.” Her eyes wandered to the Black Pearl. “Lieutenant Yul?”

Yuri instantly nodded as she folded her arms and rested her elbows on top of the table. “There's nothing new Taeng. Jessica and I are still 'just friends'. I haven't confessed or anything. I'm not sure when I'll be able to do it either.” She paused for a quick moment, hoping to find a brighter side to this report. “But! The mission of getting some skin ship until our next meeting was a success! She does things that makes me question.” In no time, a gigantic ear to ear smile slapped itself on her face. The others knew to keep quiet for a second. She'd spill the details once she was done going over it once in her head. As if on cue, Yuri giggled and looked at the two. “Like today! She came up behind me and wrapped her arms around me.” The Black Pearl paused to savor the moment. “It was amazing.” Her 'report' ending in a very happy smile.

General Taeng nodded her head once. “Gamsahamnida Yuri.” Her attention quickly shifted to the youngest one. “And you, Captain Yoon?” A slender eyebrow rose in anticipation. “I know you succeeded with your mission. Mind explaining the whole hand holding incident when you two arrived?”

A sudden gasp came from the long haired beauty. “Yoon!” She cheered. “You two were holding hands?” The latter's cheeks flushed a shade of pink. “Does that mean you confessed to her?” Yuri bit her bottom lip in excitement. She felt so proud of Yoona going the extra step. Her usual status reports would be that they hugged...and that was it. Holding hands really upped the ante now. Ooo, who knows? Maybe they'll hug like lovers next week and then kiss next month!

Yoona's lips pursed embarrassingly while she was unable to make eye contact with her unnies. Her and Seohyun holding hands was the best contact they ever made in their entire friendship! Especially once she realized she had feelings for the youngest one. Gulping down the lumped up words in , Yoona looked up at Yuri and shook her head. “Aniyo. I didn't confess yet.” Her voice was very sheepish, but the others nodded in understanding. Turning her attention back to the leader, the maknae of the trio cleared before continuing. “I don't know what got into me, I just offered to hold her food with one hand and my other hand offered itself to her. It's like it had a mind of its own! Then we just ended up holding hands.” She explained, scratching the back of her head.

Instead of the disappointed look that Yoona was expecting for not being assertive, she was surprised to see both parties smiling proudly. Taeyeon chuckled. “It's okay if you didn't. At least you two made some progress.” To the side, Yuri was nodding constantly. “Let's just hope for more progress from you two the next time we meet.” Leader Taeng grinned.

With a quick nod Yoona ended her report, but it also triggered Taeyeon's turn in which Yuri was more than eager to hear. She knew that Taeyeon and Tiffany always had the best skin ship between the three of them. When Tiffany left the US to come to Korea many years ago, the first thing she did was move into Taeyeon's apartment complex where the two have lived together ever since. Because of this, they were the most comfortable around each other and weren't afraid with doing anything to the other. In Yuri's eyes, she found it completely cute and a relationship she definitely wants. The hugging, the holding, and the teasing of each other. She wanted it all. The suspense was killing her. She had to know! “Tell us Taengoo! Did you and Tiffany do anything this week? Or even today?” Yuri leaned forward anxiously. “Did you succeed in your mission?!”

Taeyeon's eyes widened when she noticed the anticipation from her friend. Only then did she realize that Yoona was doing the same thing as well. Aish. These two really are twins. The leader's eyes dropped to the table as she tried to reminisce what happened most recently. It wasn't long for what happened today to shoot to the top of her list. With slightly flustered cheeks and an embarrassing smile, Taeyeon shared glances with both girls before finally answering, “Today...she kissed me.”

There was a slight pause between everyone until the twins emitted high pitched, “Aww! So cute!” Both had wide smiles on their faces only making the latter blush deeply and hang her head. In no time the duo began bombarding their leader with questions of, “Where was it this time?” and “Was it a quick peck or a long smooch?”

General Taeng found it hard to believe that her own friends would be such fangirls over her and Tiffany's skin ship. Sure they had done all the other things before, but she was confident that Tiffany was only doing it out of friendship. The first couple encounters of skin ship between the two only happened because she took the first step. Now, Tiffany kisses her cheek like it's no big deal. Today wasn't the first time, so why was her stomach still filled with butterflies? Composing herself, Taeyeon flashed a small smile. “It was on the cheek.” Again, the duo squealed in excitement. Quickly trying to make an excuse to tame the pair, General Taeng put a finger to her lips. “You guys! You have to calm down or mall security will kick us out for being too loud.”

The duo pursed their lips tightly, their pink lines still curved up into small smiles. Every now and then little giggles would escape. Taeyeon knew that they wanted to hear more about it. What better way to pacify their eager minds than tell them the truth? A very boring short version of the truth that is. “Look, I'll only tell you two what happened if you be quiet. Okay?” The twins nodded excitedly, giving their leader their full attention. They leaned across the table more, anticipating the cute interactions between the two. “Fany-ah wanted something her way, I let her have her way, then she thanked me with a kiss on the cheek.” Yuri and Yoona squealed quietly in hopes to not grab anyone's attention. That didn't work. Some shoppers passing by their table couldn't help but turn their heads when they heard joyful squealing.

Getting a bit embarrassed, Taeyeon sank in her seat as she waited for the other members to quiet down. At a tone less ear jerking, General Taeng let out a sigh of relief and eyed the two. “I don't understand why you two gush over what Fany-ah and I do. This isn't the first time she's kissed me on the cheek, you know.”

A shooing hand from the younger twin caught the leader's attention. “Taeyeon-unnie, it's something to gush over because it means you two are getting closer to each other. Who knows? Maybe you two will kiss on the lips one day.” Yoona teased as she patted her own lips with her pointer finger.

Taeyeon rolled her eyes. “Like that will ever happen.” Her head shook negatively. “Fany-ah is Christian...or was it Catholic?” She lifted her eyes to the duo for a confirmation but both pairs of shoulders shrugged cluelessly. With a soft sigh, Taeyeon continued, “Either way, her religion doesn't accept it. There's no way she'll purposely kiss me on the lips.” The trio's leader let out a deep sigh as she rested her chin on one hand.

“Then make it look like an accident.” Yuri suggested with a grin. General Taeng rose her eyebrows, her attention now fully on the Black Pearl. “The next time she goes to kiss your cheek, turn your head like something caught your attention, then bam!” Her hand smacked the table. Yuri's lips pursed tightly when she noticed a few people staring at her. After clearing once, the older twin smirked. “Her lips will make contact with your lips and she may throw her religious side away to be with little Taengoo.”

As much as Taeyeon found her plan cleverly elaborated, she just couldn't pass up the moment to glare at her friend for calling her 'little'. It does sound like a good idea. The Kid Leader's eyes dropped to the table top in thought as she discussed with herself with whether she should attempt something like that or not. It would work right? What's the worst that could happen? Suddenly, the danshin of the group began to think of every worst case scenario that would happen after the event.

Sensing the bottomless negativity emitting from Taeyeon, Yoona found it best to reassure the leader with something more positive. “Unnie.” The little one's eyes met with hers. “Maybe doing that will make her happy. Have you noticed that she was really quiet today?” Her head titled curiously as she waited for their friend to answer. She knew Taeyeon would answer, it involved her long time crush.

General Taeng blinked in awe. So she noticed it too huh? Her lips pursed gently as she nodded. “Neh, I noticed that too.” In her brain, the memories of past Christmases began to pop into her head. All the times they spent together just before she would leave to spend Christmas with her family, Tiffany would be like she is now; quiet and, in a sense, sad. “You know, now that I think about it, Fany-ah is always like this during the holidays. Around mid-December she'd become unusually quiet and everything. I just don't know what it is though.”

Yuri's lips twisted in thought. She wanted to help her friend figure out what was wrong. After all, no happy Tiffany, no happy Taeyeon. That means no Taeny skin ship either. That all leads to no skin ship to gush over! “Maybe there's something that you're forgetting, Taeng.”

Digging deep into her memories, Taeyeon shook her head slowly. “There's nothing. Every year the two of us go Christmas shopping, she helps me pack for when I go home for Christmas, and she tells me that she's going to be spending Christmas with her mom.” Her own lips twisted in a thinking manner. “I don't see what could possibly make her so sad during the holidays.” Taeyeon sighed as she scratched her non-itchy face. Everything just wasn't making sense. Those plans for Christmas seem like a great idea, what could possibly make her act like this? Trying to get her mind off of a sad Tiffany, Taeyeon diverted her attention to the other two and their crushes. “Do you know if Sica or Seo are like that during the holidays too?” She didn't want to believe that it was only Tiffany who was sad, but at the same time she didn't want to find out that her other friends were like this either. Taeyeon's mind was just all jumbled up now.

“Well, I've kind of realized that Seo is like that too during the holidays. I don't understand why though. Her parents are so nice and everything. Plus her family is kind of rich compared to mine. She could have anything she ever wanted.” Yoona's lips pressed together. “I don't see why she would be like this.” Her eyes settled on Taeyeon who nodded slowly before both parties turned their attention to Yuri.

Quickly thinking with a jutted bottom lip, Yuri bobbed her head up and down also. “I noticed that Sica is distant from everyone too. But she only started acting like this when her sister got into a relationship with that tomboy. You don't think she's jealous of their relationship, do you?” Her eyes ventured to her two friends who just shrugged. At this point, no one knew their crush's reason for being so down in the dumps. All they wanted were answers.

“Maybe...” A gentle voice chirped out of the maknae. The two pairs of eyes around the table locked onto her curiously. “Maybe there's something she didn't tell you.” Her eyes flickered between the two friends in front of her. Her answer was more towards both of them instead of just towards her look-a-like. “Maybe there's something that none of them have told us.” The duo nodded their heads in understanding. It was all starting to make sense, but still, those details were nothing but very hazy. “Probably because whatever that something is...it's something sad. And maybe they don't want to burden us with their problems so they never tell us about it.” The maknae's analysis of the problem was one that they all agreed to was the most probable cause.

Taeyeon sighed deeply and looked to the others. “Well, I know one thing's for sure.” The twins gave their leader their undivided attention. “It has something to do with the holidays. I don't know what...we don't know what...but something about Christmas is affecting our crushes. So...I came up with a plan.” She smirked at the thought of it.

The dorky smile that Taeyeon flashed was apparently contagious as the twins followed suit with their own versions. Yuri couldn't help but try to lighten the mood more. All the talk about what could make Fany, Sica, and Seo so sad was enough. They needed to think with brighter attitudes. “Our kid leader made a plan! Yay!” Yuri stated cheerily. “Does it involve coloring?” She teased while she pretended to color in the air between them.

“Yah!” Taengoo cried out, reaching for the kkab. Still, with Yoona there, she couldn't even lay a finger on the joking girl. Not to mention her arms were too short to reach in the first place. After composing themselves, Taeyeon eyed Yuri once more, making the latter giggle. She then interlaced her fingers again. “Like I was saying. Our plan over this winter break...cheer up our girls. We are to do anything we can to keep them happy. We have to spend as much time with them as we can just to make sure that this Christmas is the BEST Christmas they've ever had. Deal?” Just like how they end their usual plan agreement, Taeyeon stuck her hand in front of her waiting for the others to join.

“Neh! But we have to be secretive about it. We aren't a secret group if they find out what we're up to.” Yuri added while joining her hand with Taeyeon's in the middle. With this chance, Leader Taeng found it as the right time to slap the kkab's hand. It was just a little bit of payback, but it was enough.

Yoona stared at the two hands fidgeting in the middle of the table. She wanted to add something to their plan too. Oh! “We also have to figure out what's making them so sad. Why should we only make this one their favorite Christmas when we can fix the problem and make every Christmas afterwards just as enjoyable?” She grinned, and so did the others. The plan to fix their crush's broken holiday spirits was definitely a must. The maknae stuck her hand in the middle of the table as well, her hand in between her silly unnies hands.

Taeyeon smiled as she knew it was her turn to speak. It was her that created the ending chant after all. Therefore, she was given the honors to initiate it. “Jigeumeun, So Nyuh Secret. Apeurodo, So Nyuh Secret. Yongwonhi, So Nyuh Secret.” With the last word, the three members of the group lifted up their hands. Their meeting was now deemed as finished as each stood up and looked around. They wanted to make sure none of the others had secretly eavesdropped in their conversation that would ultimately end in disaster.

With a final scan of the area, all was well. Or so they hoped. Instead, Yoona's eyes widened as she spotted a duo heading right towards them. Planting her on the seat beneath her, the maknae tugged down on her unnies arms so they would sit. “Get down!” She urged in a whisper. Both looked at her curiously, they didn't see anyone near by. Instead of explaining, Yoona just stared at the people that had taken her attention. Just a few stores down, the trio finally spotted Sooyoung and Sunny walking side by side towards one of the stores.

Yuri pursed her lips nervously. “Y-You don't think they heard anything do you?” She whispered to the two. She knew that even with a mall full of holiday music and chattering people, both Sooyoung and Sunny had well hearing. Sooyoung was able to hear a pin drop from across the room, especially if the topic were on food. With Sunny playing a lot of video games, she was able to listen in on conversations even if there were intense explosions in the background. All eyes were on the pair as they advanced nearer and nearer to their table.

“I-I don't think so.” Taeyeon mumbled as she ducked her head closer to the table. With her small frame, she would be able to be close to invisible. The three pairs of eyes watched as the pair read one of the store signs and smile before stepping in. The trio sighed in relief once they knew they weren't even acknowledged in the first place.

Yoona sat up comfortably and looked at the older girls. Each face having a now relieved face. “Unnie? Why do we never include Sooyoung or Sunny in our secret meetings?” Her question was mainly towards Taeyeon but she didn't mind either one of them answering her question.

Looking towards the store that the pair had disappeared into, Taeyeon made sure that it was safe before she could answer. “It's mainly because we don't know if they like each other. I first confessed to Yuri-ah that I liked Tiffany. Then Yuri-ah confessed to me that she likes Sica. That's how we started.”

To the side, Yuri nodded in agreement to the leader's words. “Neh. Then you confessed to me your feelings about Seohyun so we added you in this group. With Sunny and Sooyoung,” Her eyes scanned to the store just once before facing Yoona again. “they never confessed to us. By the looks of things, it doesn't even look like they have feelings for each other.” She shrugged. “But I could be wrong.”

Taeyeon's head bobbed up and down as well. “I don't want to take any chances of exposing the group by asking. They might be suspicious of us and try to figure it out.” Her eyes flickered once more to the store entrance. “So until one of them confesses to us, the three of us...

“We're So Nyuh Secret.”

N/A: Hey everyone! I'm sorry if this took me forever to update. I was stuck with Christmas shopping and gift wrapping and all that jazz. Thankfully I got this chapter done! Phew! I'm also sorry if there are grammar errors, spelling errors, etc. I'm at the family Christmas party right now. It's CRAZY! lol. I hope you enjoy this chapter! Let me know what you think!

-Jeo