Janus

“Do you know of anyone named Lee Sunni?” The man said; his voice carried a sense of control and experience over these things. He was with the Seoul police department. His coat was similar to those seen in shows like CSI back in America. “She paid for the room and damages in cash.”

When he entered, he saw about several cops looking through the room, some took photographs while some were speculating what might have happened and asked the staff who served that night.

Leo Hwang, one of the junior hotel managers was asked to look at the room. There were knife marks on the furniture and wallpaper. There weren’t many guests that vandalize the room on purpose. He shook his head. “No, I don’t.”

“The perpetrator was said to have been alone.” The detective reviewed the notes that he took so far. “We reviewed the tapes and so far we saw no one but a staff member entered the room at around seven o’ clock. Her face wasn’t captured on the security cameras either.”

If Leo would describe the room, it would be like ‘Miyoung and Taeyeon had a fist fight over some lip gloss.’ The wall even had graffiti of what seems to be blood. Although it was confirmed to be ketchup, he kept wondering what the distorted image meant.

“The person in charge of cleaning was scared so much that her voice cringed on the phone when she reported it to the front desk.” The man continued. “What do you want us to do about this, sir?”

“I don’t want this getting out.” Leo said. “We have the money and no one was hurt. I don’t want the public knowing we accepted a whack job inside the hotel. Is that clear?”

“We’ll file it discreetly.” The policeman said.

Leo walked out of the room and phoned his sister. “Noona, can you check something for me?”

•••••••

Tiffany was making Kimchi pancakes. It wasn’t usually a treat that she would serve at night but Taeyeon had asked for some during lunch and the stands at school were fresh out when she got in line.

She was a good cook; not as good as Taeyeon but still pretty capable in fixing a meal on her own. She knew which ingredients mix well by watching the chefs work their magic in the kitchen of their hotels.

Taeyeon told her they were supposed to get a new roommate. Actually, she would much rather have the place for themselves, but given her best friend’s situation when it came to money. She would have to say… She couldn’t exactly say no to it; though she would be lying if she said she wasn’t interested in the new girl.

So she made sure the batter was blended equally and pressed the patty lightly to the pan, making sure she heated one side well enough before she flipped it. She felt someone hug her from behind.

“That smells great.” Taeyeon said as she placed her arms protectively around Tiffany’s waist. She was playfully biting her shoulder but Tiffany didn’t mind that. She rarely ever did.

“Just one more and I promise we can eat it.” She said, drawing a line on the smaller girls’ nose with her finger. During times like these, they tease each other. Tiffany had identified that it was their sweet little nothings that led them in this kind of relationship. Knowing that, she hadn’t had the guts to stay away from it.

Old habits die hard after all.

She bit her lips as she slid the pancake to one of the plates, carefully transporting the food into Taeyeon’s plate. It was only now that the blonde unhooked her arms and took her food away to the table. Tiffany was mildly surprised that her friend didn’t bother to nibble on it. Instead, she skip walked to their room with her phone in hand.

Tiffany poured the rest of the batter in the pan and cooked the last piece of Kimchijion. When one side turned golden brown, she flipped it over and turned down the heat. She was curious to what Taeyeon was up to. So she briefly washed and dried her hands to follow her.

The door creaked when Tiffany tried to open it cautiously, causing Taeyeon to turn at her and smile. She had been discovered before she found anything out.

“What are you doing?” Taeyeon giggled.

“I should say the same.” Tiffany’s eyes narrowed. “One minute you’re all over me and the next, you’re texting from your phone. Who the hell is that?”

Taeyeon stood and handed her phone to her confidently. “I was just checking some emails. Relax. But wait, did that mean you wanted me to be all over you?”

If Tiffany could punch herself in the face, she would have done it right now.

Taeyeon was giving her a very suggestive grin as she grabbed Tiffany’s wrist. For each step she took, the other girl took a step back. Tiffany was about two inches taller than her but her back was on cold concrete in a matter of seconds. The way the short girl’s ego towered over her, pinned against the wall. It was an old sensation that she kind of missed.

But she didn’t completely enjoy her friend pushing her like this. She wanted to fight back, maybe by rubbing on her intimate parts, but she was still in the state of finding out who Siwon was to her. She couldn’t do this. It was a decision she made as she removed herself from Taeyeon’s grip.

But the other girl was determined; her other hand slammed on the wall beside her while her foot kick the door to a close. She looked at Tiffany’s shocked eyes as her hand seized the other girl’s waist possessively.

“Kim Taeyeon!” Tiffany shouted.

“You’re the one who said it.” Taeyeon whispered as she began kissing Tiffany’s neck. She felt Tiffany’s hands move to her chest. God, did she miss this! In her excitement, she aggressively sipped her friend’s nape next. “Tell me where you want me, Miyoung.”

“Mmmnn, Tae…” She whimpered. Tiffany missed this as well. Although she knew she had to cut this short because she wanted her to live a normal life. She didn’t want to worry about people telling them off. And her family? What would they say to this? She can’t. She just couldn’t.

She pushed her away. She read Taeyeon’s confused face. Her eyes reflected a certain sadness that can only mean, ‘Don’t you miss me?’ Though she wanted to say that she did, it just wouldn’t be right thing to do. She wanted something else for them, something accepted by the norm.

Don’t you find me tempting anymore?

Actually she did. Tiffany was the person who abused putting her hand in the cookie jar too many times. She had no self control over these things. Of course she wanted to indulge in Taeyeon’s warmth! But do you know what she wanted more than basking in her arms?

It was her well being. Tiffany loved her so much that she is willing to kill off any feelings she had for her. She didn’t know who Siwon was to her yet, but Taeyeon is at a completely different league than him that’s for sure.

Then take me, Tiffany. I’m not afraid.

Tiffany opened the door and walked away, leaving her partner baffled in silence.

But I am, Taeyeon. Even you can’t save me from this monster.

•••••••

Sunny only had a bag full of clothes with her so it wasn’t a big deal to carry around. Jessica said her friend agreed for her to stay in the condition that she will help pay rent. She didn’t think twice to pack her bags and leave. She had paid quite a lot for her accommodation so the next thing that she needed to worry about was getting a job so she can stay in.

She read the text again. She was at the right address. The building seems right as well. She came in the lobby entered one of the elevators and pressed 9.

The high speed elevator took her to the ninth floor. She began looking for the right room. Room 985. She read.

Sunny rang the doorbell and waited for an answer. It took a few seconds but she finally heard someone respond to the telecom.

“Yeoboseo?”

“Annyeonghaseyo, naneun Sseonimnida.”

“What, I can’t see you.”

Sunny tip toed her head to the intercom.

“Oh, there you are!” The door opened as she saw a redhead poke her head out. “Gee, you’re really short. I swear I could only see your blonde hair on camera.”

Sunny’s heart stopped.

Tiffany opened the door to let her in. “Taeyeon told me you were coming, have you eaten? I just cooked some Kimchi pancakes. C’mon in.”

Sunny still couldn’t believe what was happening so she slapped herself.

“Omo. Mianhaeyo. I was rude was I?” Tiffany extended her hand to her. “Annyeonghaseyo. Naneun Tipanimnida. I hope we can become good friends.” She winked.

A few seconds later, Taeyeon heard a loud ‘thud!’ and Tiffany was screaming her head off.

•••••••

Jessica was sitting across Krystal at the dining table. Their parents are out again. They didn’t mind. They were kind of used to it. Besides, they enjoyed dinner together more than anything. Today they were having a lobster that was caramelized in veggies. It was a salty sweet European treat that both of enjoyed.

“Unnie, I met this really cute guy at Japan and…”

“Can it, Krystal.” Jessica snapped.

“Mom isn’t here. She won’t know unless you tell her.” The younger girl argued.

“It’s not as if there aren’t other people inside the house.” She responded. She mouthed, ‘Can’t it wait?!’

Krystal leaned on the table. “What, is it because Donghae oppa is giving you a hard time?”

Jessica threw a napkin at Krystal. She wanted the while cloth to hit her face but given Jessica’s incredibly bad aim, it didn’t even make it across the table.

“What the hell was that?” Krystal laughed. “Unnie, I can’t believe we’re related.”

“Do you want to die?” Jessica said, hiding her irritation with a smile. She said it as affectionately as possible.

“I love you, Soyeonnie.” Krystal smirked.

“Yeah, but it’s all instinct, motherer.”