[Chapter 8]

The Final Mission

A nervous gulp slithered slowly down Amber's throat. How could she already be caught? “Sp-Spy?” She chuckled weakly. “What uhh...what are you talking about Krys?” The tomboy furrowed her eyebrows in confusion even though she knew exactly what her girlfriend meant. The only question she had now was how much of the meeting did she hear?

Krystal giggled at her girlfriend's guilty antics. She honestly found it pretty cute. Still, the whole playing dumb method wasn't going to work on the younger Jung. In fact, it made her scoff. “Do you really think you can lie to me like that?” Krystal whispered with a risen eyebrow.

Amber couldn't help herself from having hang open. She hoped that some sort of sentence would flow out and cover up everything. It was something she was really good at doing. However, in the end...nothing. Not even a single word slithered out. Hanging her head in defeat, Amber pursed her lips and sighed. “Not even a day and I've already been exposed.” The tomboy exhaled, disappointed with herself, before she soon locked her eyes with her girlfriend. “How did you know?” The spy made sure to keep her voice as hushed as she could. Just because Krystal knew, it didn't mean that the other members had to know of her discovery. The last thing she wanted was for the group to do an initiation and an extermination on the same day.

Hearing the question made Krystal look at her with disbelief. “Do you really think that if I saw my own girlfriend get literally dragged into a room that I would just walk away like nothing happened?” Krystal rose a challenging eyebrow. Once again, Amber was at a loss for words. “Hey.” The younger Jung sister called out. She grabbed her girlfriend's face and looked at her right in the eyes. “I. Love. You.” and with that, the youngest couple at the party locked lips. Once their quick kiss was done, they stared into each other's eyes, forehead to forehead. “Don't ever think I don't care about you okay?” Both girls smiled sweetly to each other. Obviously love ran in the Jung genes, despite how cold and heartless anyone else said. Amber's only answer was a nod of her head before capturing her lover's lips again.

Without any warning, a couch pillow was flung across the room, hitting its intended target of the maknaes. The interrupted girls looked at the party goers, one bewildered and the other furious. However, both want to find out the culprit of the sudden attack. It wasn't until both Jung sisters locked gazes with each other did the answer finally present itself. “If you're gonna do that, do that in a room.” Jessica said with a bit of a snap to her voice.

Krystal simply rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest. There was a glare in the younger sister's eye. She didn't find anything wrong with her and Amber's PDA. It wasn't as if they had gone to the point of making out. It was just a simple kiss on the lips. “Jess, If you're so jealous about us kissing, why don't you do it with your lover then, hmm?” The maknae of the party challenged.

Suddenly, it fell silent with half of the room. Tiffany and Seohyun were the only ones who stared between the two sisters in shock. Obviously everyone else knew of the older Jung's relationship by now so the members in the secret group carried on their half of the conversation like they hadn't heard anything. However, before Tiffany could ask who the lucky guy was, Jessica continued with, “I would, but Yuri's too busy getting strangled to death by the little shortie over there.” She jutted her thumb to the girl beside her who was wrestling with the smallest girl in the room. Apparently the short jokes weren't done crawling out of the tan girl's mouth just yet. Not to mention that insulting the little one there was also contagious in her relationship. Meanwhile Taeyeon wished that her arms were a little longer. Then she would've been able to grab the Black Pearl's neck. It wasn't until both girls realized that everyone's attention was on them did they finally stop trying to kill each other.

There was a gentle pause in the air as the conversation was finally being put together in everyone's head. “Wait a minute Jess.” Tiffany called out in her native tongue. All of the English speakers stared at the eye-smiler to continue while the others looked at her in awe of the bilingual intelligence. It never ceased to amaze any of them when someone in their group would speak another language, no matter what language it was. “Are you saying that you and Yuri are dating?” Tiffany's eyebrows rose in huge curiosity. Did she hear her best friend wrong or was that really what Jessica was trying to say?

The older Jung sister glanced at Yuri then back at her American friend. “Yeah. We're going out.” She confirmed nonchalantly. It's not like she was embarrassed or afraid to say it. Jessica just didn't want to brag about their relationship to everybody. Sooner or later the others were gonna find out anyways, they were all best friends after all.

Tiffany's jaw had dropped at the news. No doubt she expected Jessica to be getting in a relationship soon, it was only human nature to start looking for love, she just never thought it would be with another girl. “So, you and Yuri are dating?” She questioned again. Jessica only rolled her eyes before breathing out a sigh and nodding. “As in...girlfriends? Like, an official couple?” The older sister just nodded her head with every question. There was only so many times a question could be rearranged. “Wow.” Tiffany breathed out. It baffled her, and in all honesty, it made her think more about Taeyeon's question from days ago. “When did this happen?”

An eyebrow rose on the the Ice Princess's face. She wasn't sure what it was, but something about all of this made it seem like Tiffany was...disapproving of their relationship. “It happened just before Christmas. Yuri took me out for dinner and asked the question.” Jessica shrugged her shoulders as if the sudden question was nothing.

However, Tiffany couldn't see it as calmly as her best friend could. “She asked you just like that?” Starting to get a little irritated with the seemingly obvious questions, Jessica just nodded her head with more eye rolls. “Don't you think it was too sudden?”

Jessica flickered her gaze towards her lover, who was still slapping away Taeyeon's hands that were trying to strangle her, before back at her best friend. “All I'm gonna say is that it wasn't something I was expecting at the time.” Remembering the day Yuri asked her out pulled a small smile on the Ice Princess's face.

“But...was everything right?” Tiffany questioned with such a sheepish voice that it made the others listening wonder if she had even meant to say her question out loud. It only puzzled everyone. What was her definition of 'right'? Did Tiffany mean the right time, place, situation? Then again, there was also the other possibility. Amber glanced down at the tattoo on her wrist, having Taeyeon's story suddenly come back to her head.

There was an obvious doubt in the latter's voice. Jessica still had to figure out what her best friend was doubting though. “Tiff.” She called out, capturing her friend's attention. “I don't know what you're thinking about or what's going on in your head, but don't over think about it. Don't force yourself to think what's right and what's wrong. Especially when it comes to love.” The Ice Princess, who now seemed to be warming up, gently grabbed Yuri's hand and intertwined their fingers. Holding her lover's hand was something Jessica promised herself she would never take for granted, even if it was just a tiny thing. With the Jung sister now involved, Taeyeon ceased her onslaught of revengeful attacks. “When it comes down to it, that person you love will always be there for you when other people aren't.” The older Jung sister squeeze her girlfriend's hand, immediately catching Yuri's attention. Without a word, the two lovers seemed to have communicated amongst each other just by staring into each others eyes. Slowly, they both leaned in to peck each other on the lips.

Watching the little love scene sparked a moment of revenge in Krystal's eye. She reached over to grab the same pillow thrown at her and took aim at her sister. In her head, hypocrites deserved consequence. Before the cushion could get fired however, Amber quickly suffocated the comfy square with her arms while giving her girlfriend a look. It was one that Krystal could read easily. “Don't mess with Hellsica.”

Witnessing the kiss made everyone else in the room freeze. Obviously Amber and Krystal knew about the other dating duo already. The Jung sisters would obviously talk. Taeyeon and Yoona knew about the relationship from Yuri's story time during the meeting, but that didn't mean they weren't supposed to pretend. If anyone found their not-so-shocked expressions suspicious then the group would be in jeopardy. As for Tiffany and Seohyun, everything slowly began to sink into their heads. The two were an actual official couple. There was even a kiss to seal the deal! It only made them think more about who their heart longed for.

A soft sigh huffed out of the maknae's nostrils. She had finally given up on getting her revenge. Glancing around though, she realized that even though Taeyeon and Yoona were 'shocked' there was a hint of sadness in their eyes. It could only make her wonder if they wanted to kiss their crushes too. Both pairs of eyes then flickered to the two other girls on the other side of the room that were still trying to soak up the fact that her sister and Yuri were dating for a while now. That's when a light bulb went off in Krystal's head. If she could get Tiffany and Seohyun to confess, or even give a clue, on who they liked then maybe Taeyeon and Yoona could take that opportunity to ask the question!

First thing was first though. She had to get the two lovebirds to stop kissing. If she couldn't kiss Amber then Jessica couldn't kiss Yuri. “Ew~” She called out purposely disgusted. “Get a room~” Krystal teased again while giving her sister a merong. She made sure to speak in Korean so that everyone could be in the conversation. Not in on the sudden plan, Amber quickly clasped her hand over her girlfriend's mouth the minute the older Jung shot them a glare.

“Gwenchanayo.” Seohyun chirped out while trying to shoo away Krystal's words. It was either she was still fascinated with the fact that Yulsic was official or she didn't want to deal with Hellsica either. “Let your sister kiss her girlfriend.” She tried reassuring the older Jung that everything was okay by trying to get the couple back to kissing. A small wave of relief washed over Seohyun's features when she saw Jessica relax a little and lean her back into Yuri.

Surprisingly enough to the others, Seohyun seemed more accepting about the same relationship than they had thought. That was pretty much an open opportunity for the younger Jung to commence her plan. “Jessica-unnie can have a New Years kiss with her later.” Krystal swatted the air between them once. “But since we're talking about New Years, is there anyone that you would like to kiss on New Years Seohyun-unnie?” Her head tilted to the side in sheer curiosity. The sudden question poured blush onto more cheeks than one while everyone waited for an answer from the most innocent girl at the party. When there was no response, Krystal's gaze shifted to the closest single person next to Seohyun. “What about you Tiff-unnie?” This time her eyebrows rose in interest as she noted the latter's cheeks also flushing with pink.

Sensing how awkward everything was starting to get thanks to her nosy sister, Jessica let out a deep sigh and folded her arms. “Krys, stop making everyone so uncomfortable.” The older Jung quickly glanced at the television where the count down timer displayed a time close to midnight. “I think it's time you and your girlfriend get that stash of headache inducers out from the closet. Maybe then things won't be so awkward when you come back.”

Krystal let out a sigh at her sister's orders. Still, from the look Jessica was giving them, she knew that she wouldn't be able to talk her way out of this one. Reluctantly, the younger Jung stood up, holding Amber's hand as she lead the way to the small stash of party supplies meant for midnight. Without a word, they duo had made it to the New Years poppers and noise makers from the closet space just past the kitchen and into the hallway.

After revealing the stash, one thing stood out to Krystal as she began to gather everything. That dork of a girlfriend of hers wasn't excited to see all of the wonderfully noisy things. There was no squeal, gasp, or even a sparkle in the tomboy's eye. It was weird because that was the exact reason why Jessica stashed them away in the first place. The Ice Princess could only stand so much noise from one of those things. Turning to her girlfriend, Krystal studied the latter carefully, seeing a look that only made her wonder even more. “Amber, what are you thinking about?” Her head tilted to the side just a little to see more of her girlfriend's face. Still, there was that same troublesome look.

The question from the younger girl seemed to have sailed over Amber's head as she didn't respond for a few seconds. It wasn't until Krystal lightly nudged her did the question boomerang back into her head. “Huh?” She stared down at the few party celebrations she had subconsciously grabbed. “Oh. Nothing Krys.” Amber flashed her girlfriend a very faint smile before grabbing another small handful of the items again.

Hearing the answer was very unsatisfying. Not to mention the smile seemed like everything but real. It only made the younger girl stick out her hip and stare at the latter with a challenging eyebrow. It wasn't until Amber didn't even notice her tiny death glares did Krystal realize that something was really bothering her girlfriend. “Amber, tell me what it is.” She lightly demanded with pursed lips. “I already heard your little meeting with the others. You don't have to hide anything else from me.”

A soft sigh slithered out of Amber's mouth. Technically Krystal was right. There was no point in trying to hide her troubled mind. Her girlfriend knew her too well for that and listening in on the meeting only exposed anything else she could have hidden. “I'm just thinking about our mission.” She finally mumbled while grabbing a couple more packets of the celebratory items.

“Mission?” The younger Jung's eyebrows crashed together. Apparently she didn't hear all of the meeting after Amber was dragged in the room. Still, she didn't want to be discovered by the group too. Being the sister of one of their other member's love interests would mean no trusting her. The minute it sounded like they were leaving the room, Krystal fled from the scene.

The tomboy rose a curious eyebrow towards her lover. “Yeah. The mission they let me make up for everyone to do.” Amber tilted her head to one side, wondering exactly how much Krystal really heard of their meeting. Still, a confused face was plastered over her girlfriend's features. “You know, having every member kiss the girl they love on the of midnight tonight?” This time Amber's eyebrows crashed together. She was waiting for everything to click. If it didn't make sense this time, then she knew for sure that her girlfriend was missing out on part of the meeting.

Krystal's expression slowly let up as she nodded her head to the 'old' information. “Yeah. Now I remember.” The maknae nodded her head up and down some more, playing it off the best she could to act like it had just slipped her mind. That way Amber wouldn't shun her out of any thoughts she was mustering up inside her brain. “Why are you so worried about it though?” Her head tilted to the side out of curiosity.

The girl in a tuxedo was quiet for a moment. Why was she so worried about the mission? Her eyes rose to meet with Krystal's when she thought she found the answer. “I honestly don't know. I mean, Yuri and I can do our part of the mission no problem, we're taken. But the the other two...” Her voice trailed off along with her train of thought. She really didn't have a good reason for it. “I guess I just want a happy ending for the others. It wouldn't be fair if only half of us get the girl of our dreams.” Amber gave her girlfriend a sincere smile, mentally appreciating every memory Krystal and her have made together. “So now I'm trying to figure out how Taeyeon and Yoona can have a chance at getting their midnight kiss.”

Krystal mirrored her girlfriend's features. This side of Amber was one of the reasons why she loved that girl. Why wouldn't anyone love their partner's loving nature? Even if it wasn't towards them. “That's cute that you care about your unnies.” The younger Jung nudged the latter playfully with her elbow. Her hands were too busy trying not to drop any of the party supplies. “I secretly wanna help them too. Do you have any plans though?”

Amber bit her lip in thought. Her small plans so far weren't exactly great. They usually ended up with one of the members yelling at her for revealing the secret group she had just joined. With a defeated sigh, the tomboy shook her head. “No...” Her eyes settled onto the floor as she tried a different scenario in her head.

The younger girl grabbed a final handful of the noise makers and closed the closet door with her foot. “It's okay. We'll think of something soon. Right now, we have to go back. It's almost midnight.” Krystal reminded while catching a quick glimpse at the clock in the nearby room. Even though she didn't want to stress her girlfriend out, it was easy for the youngest girl to see how worried Amber was starting to get.

The duo quickly slipped back into the family room where only single digit minutes were left on the countdown board. Despite how close to midnight it was getting, none of the other girls seemed fazed by it at all. Just before the young couple could drop the countless party poppers and noise makers onto the coffee table in front of the couches, Jessica held her hand out like a stop sign. “No, no, no. You better put that stuff on the kitchen counter. I don't want any of those things falling under the couch for the dust bunnies to party with.” Her tone was full of sass as she now pointed to the counter that once held chopped vegetables. Before a sisterly feud could commence, Amber jerked her head to the kitchen. She knew already that when the Jungs fought, it was practically World War III.

Krystal let out a loud sigh and rolled her eyes, reluctantly obeying her sister's orders again. Setting the things down in a pile, she noticed that her collecting partner hadn't said a word at all. Right away she knew what the latter was thinking. Her only question was how far of a plan did she have? “Amber.” Krystal called out to her girlfriend. The short haired girl simply rose her eyebrows in interest. With a final glance towards the wall mounted clock, Krystal finally asked, “Do you have any last minute ideas on how to help the others accomplish their 'mission'?” The party's maknae using quotation marks on the obvious key word. Her voice was a mumbling tone to make sure that none of the other members would realize what was going on between them.

Hearing about the mission made the latter pout. Amber hadn't exactly thought of how this would happen. Her mind always ran over the same things. She and Yuri could easily succeed in their tasks because they were in official relationships, but what about Taeyeon and Yoona? They were undoubtedly the more shyer members of the group and at this rate, it would be practically impossible for them. “I'm still thinking.” Amber grumbled, mentally scolding herself for the lack of a plan. Her eyes quickly shifted to observe the others.

“Yah! Yah! It's the countdown! It's almost time!” Yuri cried out happily when she stole a peek at the television. With a single shove, Taeyeon and her strangling hands were off of the Black Pearl and wrapped around the arm rest of the couch. Grabbing Jessica's hand like they were magnets, the kkab practically dragged her lover to the T.V. “C'mon everybody! Gather around!” Yuri whined like a little kid.

It wasn't hard for the others to notice that the most excited one at the party was practically going to throw a tantrum unless they joined her side. One by one, the rest of the girls gathered around. To the far left of the screen was Taeyeon and Tiffany. Talking excitedly between the two was the American born girl who was having a full on conversation with Jessica. Right beside them, Yuri and Yoona kept talking amongst themselves, leaving the shy Seohyun at the very right with her eyes locked solely on the television.

With a little more spectating, the tomboy realized one thing. “They're distracted from each other.” She thought out loud. Looking to her girlfriend, Amber was only met with her lover's furrowed eyebrows. She then motioned for Krystal to observe the other party goers. “If you look closely, Taeyeon and Yoona aren't even speaking to their crushes. Yuri is stealing all of Yoona's attention away from Seohyun, but I don't think she even realizes what she's doing. Tiffany, on the other hand, is too busy chatting away with your sister, leaving Taeyeon completely out of their conversation. If the others are gonna have even a little chance of kissing their crush at midnight then they need to pay attention to the girl they wanna kiss.” Amber confirmed her thoughts with a confident nod of her head.

The sudden analysis of the others impressed the younger girl. She didn't know how observant her girlfriend was. It only made her wonder what else Amber could have spectated in the past. However, her mind quickly shifted away from that thought. “So then, does that mean you have a plan?” Krystal's eyes looked to her girlfriend hopefully. If everyone could kiss their dream girl then this would surely be one hell of a way to start the new year.

Amber thought about the situation even more. What would be a good plan for all of this? Sure she found out what the problem was but what was the solution? Eventually she nodded her head slowly while figuring out as much of her idea as she could. “I think so.” She looked to the younger girl, housing the call for assistance beneath her eyes. Before Krystal could read what her girlfriend was trying to say through her brown orbs, Amber jerked her head to the television. “C'mon Krys. Let's go.” Even though they wanted their plan to work, they didn't want to miss the countdown either.

The younger girl nodded once before purposely taking her time with Amber to be the last to join the group, all while still figuring out how they would be able to set up the couples. Just before they were side by side with the other 'couples' the tomboy pointed to Jessica. “Make your sister jealous so that she takes Yuri's attention away from Yoona.” She whispered into her girlfriend's ear. “That should make Yoona talk to Seohyun.” Her eyes then studied the situation between Taeyeon and Tiffany. “I'll try to get Tiffany's attention onto Taeyeon...somehow.”

A smirk sprawled across Krystal's face as a light bulb went off in her head. “I know how.” She muttered. Without explaining her plan to Amber, the maknae ventured to between the two Americans, completely leaving behind a confused tomboy. It wasn't long for Amber to hurry up between her girlfriend and Tiffany.

Being rude, in Jessica's eyes, made the conversation between the older Americans suddenly come to a stop. The older Jung couldn't help but glare at her younger sister for being nosy. “Hey sis.” Krystal eventually greeted, giving her sister a side hug. A simple breath hissed into the air from the older sibling before finally completing the hug for just a second. “Let's hope that your cooking skills will improve this upcoming year.” Krystal intentionally insulted with a chuckle.

“Yah! You little brat.” Jessica retaliated with knocking on her sister's head. First Krystal interrupted her conversation and now she was insulting her? That wasn't going to go unnoticed in her book! “Why don't you say something like that to that girlfriend of yours?” The Ice Princess gestured rather fiercely to the short haired girl on the other side of her sister. Her arms folded over her chest while she stuck out a hip.

Krystal giggled when she realized how mad her sister was getting. The only reaction to the injury was to just rub her head. It honestly didn't hurt at all. She had gotten used to the years of sisterly 'love' that Jessica would always show her. Krystal smiled at her sister's question. “Maybe I will. After Amber and I have our New Years Kiss that is.” The younger Jung smirked. “Are you gonna have one unnie?” Her head tilted rather challengingly.

Putting her hands on her hips with a soft “Hmph.” coming out, Jessica held her head high. “Well of course I am! My Seobang and I aren't even going to say 'Happy New Years' because we'll be too busy kissing!” She practically promised with a confident nod to seal it off. With that, the auburn haired girl folded her arms across her chest again triumphantly.

Just like Krystal had mentally planned it, things were falling into place. The younger Jung looked over at Yuri and Yoona then back at her sister. “Really sis? From what I'm seeing, it looks like Yuri and Yoona are a couple, seeing as your 'Seobang' is more interested in her than you.” The maknae giggled when Jessica's mouth practically dropped to the floor. Krystal watched her sister immediately turn the other way and grab Yuri's shoulders to physically turn her attention onto the older Jung.

Meanwhile, as Krystal's plan was unfolding, so was Amber's. The tomboy gave an apologetic smile towards the eye-smiler for her girlfriend's sudden interruption between her and Jessica. “Mianhae for butting in. You know how the Jungs are, very aggressive and all.” She explained while scratching the back of her head. Amber made sure to speak in Korean so that Taeyeon would hopefully catch onto the conversation.

Tiffany's attention went to behind Amber for a split second. Her eyebrows lifted in shock before shifting back onto the tomboy's eyes. “Neh. Very aggressive and violent.” The older American pursed her lips worriedly as she pointed a finger behind the latter. “Jessica just hit your girlfriend on the head.” Her lips pursed even tighter. Tiffany could only wonder what Amber would do to protect her girlfriend.

Hearing of the injury, Amber instantly turned around to spot Krystal rubbing her head. Still, seeing how mad Jessica was getting from whatever conversation the two sisters were having made it clear to the tomboy that she shouldn't get involved. Dealing with Hellsica wasn't an easy task. With a nervous gulp, Amber faced Tiffany again. “Heh. Sisterly love I guess.” The tomboy gave an unconvincing shrug of the shoulders. Still, it was easy for anyone to understand why they shouldn't mess with Hellsica. Amber cleared to try and change the subject. “So uhm. Any New Year's resolutions?” Her head tilted to the side curiously.

Tiffany's lips pursed slightly in thought. She hadn't really thought about it. There had just been so much stuff going on in the past two weeks that the thought of a New Year's resolution never entered her mind. “Uhm. I guess getting in a relationship? It'd be nice to have someone to love and turn to when times are tough.” A small smile grew on the pink lover's features. The only question she was asking herself now was who the other person in the relationship?

The talk of a possible love life caught both Amber and Taeyeon's attention. Both members shared a quick glance with each other before shifting back onto the girl between them. “Wow. That's a good resolution.” Amber let out a soft chuckle. Still, it irked her, and she knew exactly why. Now was probably her only chance at giving the other girl advice before the big midnight moment. “But Tiff, I don't think being in a relationship should be a resolution though. Yeah it's great to love and be loved, but it shouldn't be something to force yourself into. When it comes to something like that, it's always best to trust your heart instead.” With that, the tomboy flashed her tattoo to the other girl. The little one in the background only read it as ancient writing while the one right in front easily understood what Amber was trying to say. “Your mind can always tell you the wrong thing even if it thinks its right. If you follow your heart, then you've made no mistakes.” The tomboy cracked a smile when she noticed how hopeful Taeyeon was getting. That's when she spotted the matching necklaces the both of them were wearing.

Before Tiffany could say anything, a hand rested on Amber's shoulder, stealing everyone's attention. The tomboy quickly turned around to spot her girlfriend smiling victoriously. Krystal's arms had s to behind Amber's neck as she murmured her progress in the plan. Before the girl in a tuxedo could report her end of the deal, she was suddenly interrupted by a very excited kkab behind the younger girl. “One minute left!” Yuri called out with a finger launched in the air. The fact that the new year was so close made Amber spark with excitement, also turning into a bit of a kkab herself as she now turned to screen.

There it was, the final minute of the countdown had indeed displayed itself on the screen. There was now only 60 seconds before a new year began and it was either now or never for the unspoken words to be said. To the confessors, the only thing they could hear was their own heart pounding inside of their chests that were ready to explode. It was now or never. Now or never. Now or...

Taeyeon let out a deep breath and the balls of her feet to face the very girl she had her heart set on. “F-Fany-ah.” The short girl managed to call out. As Tiffany turned her head to her caller, the blonde grabbed her crush's hands with her own. “Fany-ah, I want to tell you something.” As the eye-smiler nodded, Taeyeon glanced at the television. 50 seconds.

Another breath came out as she tried to figure out what to say. Then, she stopped thinking and started talking. Everything coming out of would be coming from the heart. “Fany-ah, you and I have been living together for years, ever since you arrived here from the US. I'd be lying if I said we never got close, because we did. We've gotten so close to the point where people would mistake us for a couple!” Taeyeon chuckled nervously. Letting out a shaky breath, the shorter girl glanced down to the ground, immediately locking eyes with the latter the minute she looked back up. “Fany-ah, you've been my best friend since we first met and my feelings for you are still the same as when I first confessed. My heart longs for you and only you, and I just want to finally ask you properly since I never really asked the first time...” Shy Taeyeon looked down at their hands, delicately brushing the top of Tiffany's hands with her thumbs. “Will you...Will you be my girlfriend?” Taeyeon rose her head and immediately locked her eyes with the girl her heart was set on.

Tiffany's eyes broke out of their signature form as she stared at Taeyeon in awe. There was so much courage in the other girl for asking such a question. Her gaze settled on the latter's blushing cheeks and nervously pursed lips. In a way, Tiffany found it both cute and attractive. She always did whenever that dork of a best friend would do something like that. The serious question that Taeyeon had asked only made Tiffany run through every moment they had in a span of a few seconds. Taeyeon was there for her through thick and thin and even when she had her sudden break downs over her mom, Taeyeon was still there. Then came the question again. Would her being in a girl and girl relationship be wrong? Would it even matter? Better yet, would her God, the number one being she always turned to ever since her mother's death, still love her for following her heart?

Without another doubt in her head, Tiffany's answer to Taeyeon's question was decided. It took her a while to figure out what to really say, but after all that thinking, she knew what her heart wanted. The eye smiler squeezed the latter's hands lightly as she took a deep breath. Anticipation was surging through their veins. Tiffany's lips pursed a final time just before she answered a confident, “Neh TaeTae. I will.” The thought of being more than friends with her best friend didn't seem weird at all. In fact, somewhere deep down in her heart, it was exactly what she wanted. Taeyeon...was exactly what she wanted.

A pair of eyes widened when the latter's response was finally said. All the air in Taeyeon's lungs were nowhere to be found for a long moment. She couldn't even speak if she wanted to. Eventually her brain remembered how to breath as she finally exhaled, “You will?” Taeyeon couldn't believe it. The girl she had set her heart on for what seemed like forever actually said yes to her. So many times, Taeyeon told herself that Tiffany would reject her because she was a girl and that her religion wouldn't allow it. It would only be her dream of being able to finally call Tiffany hers, and yet, this was all reality.

The speechlessness of the other girl was undoubtedly cute. She couldn't help but smile at the dorky antics. “Neh TaeTae. I will.” Tiffany nodded with a giggle that sent a swarm of butterflies into the older girl's stomach. “I've been thinking a lot about us ever since you confessed. Now that I actually had time to think things through, I realized that it shouldn't matter who love is between.” She flashed the latter a warm and loving smile. “In the end, I know that God will love me no matter what...No matter who I'm with.” Tiffany's cheeks suddenly flushed a deep shade of her favorite color. “So yes TaeTae. I would love to be your girlfriend.” The corner of Taeyeon's lips pull up into a smirk as her heart was beating so fast that it was close to exploding.

Dreams really do come true. Taeyeon let out a soft chuckle and looked down to regain herself. It wasn't until she heard a particularly enthusiastic duo counting down the last few seconds of the countdown did she and Tiffany come back to reality. “Heh. Y-You're my girlfriend now.” Taeyeon mumbled to herself. Even she couldn't believe that this was really happening. “In that case, Fany-ah, will you share a New Years kiss with me?” Blush swarmed the little one's cheeks. It wasn't until she looked up at her new found lover did she too notice blush on her girlfriend's cheeks.

There was gentle laughter coming from the eye-smiler. “Silly TaeTae. You don't have to ask. But since you did, I would love to.” Tiffany felt a gentle pair of arms wrap around her waist only to have her own arms naturally wrap around Taeyeon's neck. The blush in her new girlfriend's cheeks made her giggle again. “You dork.” And with that said, the new couple kissed just as the clock struck 12. The Han River lit up with beautiful colors shortly after. However, the new couple couldn't admire the amazing fireworks in the night sky because they were too busy making their own.

[Rewind 1 Minute]

As one confession was being said, so was another. The two youngest High School graduates were very awkward amongst themselves, especially considering the fact that the conversation prior to this ended because of a very heated Ice Princess. Since then, nothing was said between them. Both pairs of eyes were set purely on the plasma screen, watching as the timer ran closer to midnight. While the youngest watched in anticipation for the new year, the other watched anxiously as her confession time was running shorter and shorter with every second that passed. She knew that it was either now or never because once it struck midnight it would be nearly impossible to muster up the courage again. Not to mention that if she took too long, a boyfriend might already be in the picture. It had to be done...tonight.

45 seconds were left on the clock. Yoona let out a deep breath and faced the girl beside her. “Seohyun-ah.” The younger one between them peeled her eyes away from the television. “When we uhh...” Yoona paused, too nervous to continue. She hadn't exactly thought of what to say despite how much her head was rehearsing some confessional scripts. “When we first met, you were the quiet one, the shy one, the one who didn't say much.” The confessor looked up to the girl across from her, locking their eyes together. “But no matter what, I couldn't help but try to get closer to you. Now, we're best friends. We've been best friends for a long time and...and I can honestly say that I love all the times we've spent together...just you and me.”

From the corner of her eye, Yoona spotted the 20 seconds left on the countdown. This only made her panic even more. Her precious time was running out quicker than she had expected it to. “L-Let me start again.” She stuttered with a weak, apologetic chuckle. “Seohyun-ah, ever since you opened up to me about what happens on Christmas I felt so happy that you trusted me enough to tell me about it.” Her mind couldn't focus anymore. The kkab duo's count down of the single digits quickly sent Yoona's heart into overdrive. Time. She needed more time! But in the end, Yoona knew that it couldn't be given to her. She had to act...now! “Seohyun I...I should have done this when we were in your house!” And with that, Yoona quickly leaned in, locking lips with Seohyun.

Bewildered with the sudden actions of her unnie, Seohyun was frozen, eyes wide and locked on the person that stole her very first kiss. In a way, Seohyun was constantly telling herself that this was wrong...even though it still felt so right. Was this the missing thing in her heart? The one thing that her heart needed after all those years? She couldn't tell. She couldn't grasp anything that was going on. Instead, the younger girl relaxed her mind and closed her eyes, enjoying the sheer bliss that Yoona had unexpectedly sent her into.

Once the kiss was broken, neither girl looked at each other, only letting their reddened cheeks reply to any question the other would have the courage to ask. After a short breath, Yoona locked eyes with her crush, gulping nervously. “I didn't know how to explain my feelings for you, so I tried showing you instead.” The older girl between the two pursed her lips tightly. She had to ask the question now that her true feelings were finally exposed. “I hope my message to you was clear Seohyun-ah. Now that you know my true feelings...will you be my girlfriend?”

At the of midnight, only one person was celebrating the holiday meant for the get together. The tomboy of the group immediately stopped cheering and looked around when she realized that she was the only one congratulating the birth of a new year. She wanted to know why she was alone for the celebration. She could have sworn that at least another person was counting down with her. To her left, she spotted Taeyeon and Tiffany. Farthest from her at the very right was Seohyun and Yoona and closer than them was Yuri and Jessica. Each couple was too busy locking lips with each other to even say a word.

Little did the tomboy know, Krystal was quietly admiring the sheer success of their plan. Every couple was locking lips. However, all but one. The youngest couple at the party locked eyes lovingly with each other. Amber's arms were wrapped around Krystal's waist as the young Jung had her arms s around the tomboy's neck. “Happy New Years,” Krystal giggled while pressing her body against the girl in a tuxedo. “spy.” She whispered into her girlfriend's ear. With that said, the maknae of the party finally locked lips with her own lover.

On the balcony looking out to the darkened Han river was a particularly short girl with a blissful smile on her face. She couldn't believe that she had kissed the girl of her dreams on the of midnight on New Years Day. However, one thing quickly overcame that thought; she wasn't single anymore. Knowing that she finally had someone to call her own made Taeyeon forget about every worry she ever had lingering in her head. In fact, she was so happily distracted that she didn't even care about the winter wind dancing around her coatless body. Everything had gone just the way she wanted it to.

Seeing the lonesome girl resting on the balcony railing put a smile on another girl's face. She made sure to put on a jacket and grab Taeyeon's as well before leaving the warm house. Sliding the glass screen door open, she stepped out and shut it behind her. “Hey shortie, you forgot this inside.” She smirked while tossing the extra clothing to its rightful owner.

Taeyeon turned, chuckling as she caught the tossed coat. “Yuri-ah, shouldn't you be inside with Sica? She might be grabbing her whip right now since you're gone.” The group's leader joked while slipping on her coat. It wasn't until Taeyeon was completely bundled up did she realize how much she really needed the extra layer.

A hand swatted away the insult as the taller companion joined the leader at the balcony. Yuri knew how much of a heart Jessica really had no matter what the others said. “Sica is fine. She's just talking to your love interest.” The tanner girl leaned against the railing with her eyes set on Taeyeon. “By the way, how did it go?” A small smile surfaced on Yuri's face making it obvious to Taeyeon that she really wanted to know what had happened between them.

Just before the group leader could answer the question, their attention was quickly diverted to the opening and closing of the sliding door. Out stepped Yoona as she zipped up her jacket and joined the two other girls. “Annyeong unnies.” She greeted with a bit of a smile on her face. The look in both of their eyes was obviously lustful for a relationship status. Wanting to get her unnie's attention on someone else, Yoona glanced over at Taeyeon. “So, how did things go between you and Tiffany-unnie?” She tilted her head curiously with a hopeful mindset.

A smile crept onto the leader's face as she thought about what had happened less than an hour ago. The memory of kissing her long time crush made a huge wave of blush surface onto her cheeks. That meant only one thing to the other two. “Heh. We're official now.” The two fangirls of the Taeny couple looked to each other in shock. They wanted to confirm with each other if they had really heard the right words. “I've never felt so happy in my life.” Taeyeon continued on looked down trying to tame her reddened cheeks.

Yuri and Yoona quietly squealed into their coat collars trying to muffle their excitement of the great news. As much as they wanted to bombard the leader with questions that could make the river overflow, both still knew that they had to stay quiet. Otherwise people would be suspicious and try to figure out what their topic at hand was. The tannest girl concluded to herself that the best way to get over feelings she couldn't describe was to quickly get away from the subject. Her mind diverted away from Taeyeon in an instant as she now tried to think of something else. Still, there was one more 'couple' that needed to be reported on. Lieutenant Yul quickly settled her attention onto the captain. “What about you Yoona-yah? How did things go between you and Seohyun?”

Blushing immensely at the question, Yoona looked down to hopefully hide the pink color that was rushing to her cheeks. Her mind was running through the fact that she had kissed Seohyun on New Years. Never in a million years did she think that she would be able to do it, and yet there she was remembering how lovely the younger girl's lips were. Still, Yoona knew that she had to answer the question truthfully. That was one of the rules for the group anyways. With a gentle breath, Yoona shifted her gaze from one member to the other. “We...we aren't official.” The older unnies stared at the younger member with raised eyebrows while trying so hard not to jump to any conclusions. Though they were silent, they couldn't stop the questions from surging through their heads.

Did Seohyun reject?

Did Yoona even ask?

The youngest member on the balcony caught the pursed lips and unsure looks on the other girls' faces before letting out a soft chuckle. “I asked Seohyun if she wanted to be my girlfriend, and she said yes, but she said she didn't want to be considered 'official' until I ask her again after our first date this upcoming Saturday.” The captain of the group let out an excited chuckle. “She doesn't like rushing things. Plus she wanted to go on a date first.” That's when the light bulb in their heads went off as they let out a sigh of relief. Yoona smiled happily at the report. She still couldn't believe how much progress she and Seohyun had gotten ever since the holiday season had started.

Everything had gone just like they had planned. They were able to find out why their crushes were so sad during the holidays. They also changed it so that every Christmas would really be about the joyful and merry atmosphere surging throughout the world, instead of a sad and lonely one. However, their biggest accomplishment was the fact that they were able to build up enough courage to ask out the girl that they set their heart on. This was all a dream come true.

Slowly, the balcony door opened and closed, making the three Seobangs turn around only to spot a grinning tomboy coming their way. “Annyeong unnies.” Amber greeted with her hands in her pockets. The short haired brunette leaned against the balcony railing just like everyone else. “Looks like everyone succeeded in their mission huh?” She grinned widely when she spotted the shocked expressions of the other members. Obviously they couldn't tell that the other members had gotten that midnight kiss too. “I guess everyone was too busy locking lips to notice.” She chuckled, trying to make it as clear to the others as she could. To unnies, Amber made a kissy face towards all three of them, laughing when she saw the blush on their cheeks turn dark.

Eventually the youngest member stopped teasing her sunbaes and turned around to rest her back against the railing. Through the clear glass balcony door, Amber spotted Krystal laughing with the other girls who were obviously happier now than ever. “So what's it like now unnies?” She questioned with a smile on her face. “Having someone to call yours?” Amber turned her head to look at the others. Each one of them had a smile that stretched from ear to ear.

The college attending members shared a look amongst the three of them. It was clear what they were all thinking by the looks on their faces. Simultaneously, the unnies turned their attention to the awaiting 'spy' and answered her with a confident, “Amazing.” at the same time. If they could, they would say more. The only problem was that their feelings were impossible to describe with just words.

Hearing the answers of the other members made Amber chuckle softly. In a sense, she knew what their answers were going to be all along. After all, she was in their positions at one point of her relationship. “It's a shame the others couldn't make it today though. Maybe we could have helped them fall in love with each other too.” Again Amber chuckled. She couldn't help but think of who else would secretly be in love with someone else in their small group. “Speaking of which, did any of you tell the others about tonight?” Her head tilted to one side in curiosity.

Once again the other three girls on the balcony looked at each other. They could only guess if anyone else gave the rest of the group a call that was too excited to hold in. Eventually one head shook, then another. Taeyeon looked to the youngest member of the group and shook her head as well. “Aniyo. We didn't tell anyone. Well not yet at least.” She answered with a shrug of her shoulders.

Amber nodded her head to the answer but it was easy for the rest of the members to tell that there was more on her mind. The maknae twisted her lips in thought, wondering if she would be seen as too eager. Her eyes then shifted up to lock right with Taeyeon. “So when are you gonna tell them?” Her lips pursed in anticipation. She wanted to know now. It's not that she was an annoying little maknae, Amber just knew that after this night, it usually took months for them to finally talk with each other. It would be nice to have a little bit of mental progress to hold onto.

The three members froze in place at the question. They did nothing else but simply look at each other for an answer. The leader of Seobang Secret looked to the look-a-like members once more. In both sets of eyes, Taeyeon could tell what they wanted to say. In fact, it was the exact same thing she wanted to say from the beginning. Being the spokesperson for the group, the kid leader General Taeng locked her eyes once again with the curious maknae.

“We'll tell them when we're ready.”

A/N: Annyeong you awesome readers! You can take that as either a hello or a good-bye because this fan fiction is officially over! Yes! I finally declare this fan fic over. I do plan on uploading an epilogue chapter soon just to tie the ribbon on this little gift to you awesome readers! It's already been typed up and soon to be uploaded, but for now, I hope you enjoyed reading this holiday fan fic.

I'm sorry to those of you that have subscribed to this story from last year. I initially planned for this to be done in just a couple months. No way did I ever plan on it taking a whole year to finish! So I just wanna tell you loyal subscribers from the beginning MIANHAE! OTL Still, I'm glad that I finished this fan fiction instead of leaving it to float on forever without an ending.

Please leave a comment on what you think of the hoiday story! I really do love reading everyone's coments. Yes I do read all your comments! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed! Annyeong!

-Jeo

PS: This means I'll be working more on The Guardian's Wish now! ^^