‘I don’t understand’ Jessica had said, just before she went down the stairs of her friend’s apartment block.

‘What are you talking about?’

‘You were so upset when you found out and now you’re just plotting petty vendettas’

‘I’m not!’ she had replied defensively.

‘What’s the deal with that girl then? Is it because she’s going to take your brother away? Because she ratted you that time at the store? Or- or I don’t know, is it about the song? Just forget about it we’ll find somethi-’

‘She’s Korean-American, right?’

Jessica was annoyed.

‘That’s what we agreed on…but so am I’

‘No, it’s not that. Like, he might go back to America with her or something’

‘So if she wasn’t American, you’d be okay with it?’

‘Well…’

‘And if she stayed in Korea, you’d be okay with?’

‘No.’

‘Then, I don’t get you Taeng’

‘I don’t like her. She’s not a good person’ she began walking down the steps.‘There’s just something about her that doesn’t seem right’

Doesn’t seem right…

She replayed the conversation with Jessica as she rode the bus back to her neighbourhood. Since it was lunchtime, the vehicle was mostly empty and she was able to snag a window seat.

What was it about her?

Was she really a horrible person?

She remembered how she hadn’t told the other policeman about the nosebleed.

Maybe she liked Jiwoong back then.

Maybe it was all a plot, already to get on his good side.

And those two, they were moving fast. If that stupid dance at the club was anything to go by. It couldn’t have been an innocent, love-at-first sight moment. And Jiwoong wasn’t like that. He was kind of traditional in a way.

You want something, right, Tiffany?

But what?

What do you want exactly?

She recognized the gas station near her home and pressed the red stop button. Two minutes later, the bus jolted to a stop and Taeyeon hopped out and headed straight home.

***

She turned the key and let herself in.

‘Taeyeon?’ her brother called from within the apartment.

‘Yeah!’ she replied loudly.

‘You okay?’

‘Never been better’

She heard shuffling coming from the living room. She froze. Why was there so much noise if it was only Jiwoong there?

‘Can you come to the living room, Taeng?’

‘What for?’ she huffed. Her brother’s voice was wavering, much like that time at the club. Was he going to confess to being with that ?

‘There’s something I need to tell you’

She headed towards the living room and leaned against the door frame.

‘I know’ she said coldy and looked at the red-haired girl sitting nervously on the sofa ‘hey Tiffany’

Her brother stared at the floor.

‘Are you feeling better?’ the girl asked.

‘From what?!’ Jiwoong suddenly sat right up ‘I knew it, there was something wrong-‘

‘No, she just bumped into me. Elbow to head contact’ Tiffany intervened quickly.

Taeyeon gaped at her.

Why was she covering for her again?

‘Play along’ Tiffany mouthed at her.

‘Erm, yeah’ added Taeyeon, taken back ‘yeah, and I just decided to stay over at Jessica’s, she insisted, because of erm,’

‘Concussions, yes. I don’t think it warranted a visit to the hospital but since you seemed disorientated, you should at least have someone near you in case you start feeling dizzy or losing vision’            

How the hell did she know this? Who was this girl?

And besides, that’s exactly what happened to her…because of the alcohol.

Jiwoong looked at them, back and forth. Taeyeon could tell he was confused as to why they were suddenly getting along. She didn’t blame him, she was too. That girl was probably trying to make it up to her or something after her rant. But it wouldn’t work.

You want something, Tiffany. And I’m going to find out what.

‘So yeah, Tiffany, whom you met before is actually a friend of a friend’ Jiwoong laughed nervously ‘and, and erm, we met a few days ago and then the group as whole, we decided to go clubbing some days later’

‘The group as whole?’ she blurted out. Yeah right, I didn’t see any groups when the DJ dropped the beat.

‘Yeah, you know, like Daewon from the force was there and then other people like Tiffany. So Tiffany is studying medicine at Yonsei and she’s on her fifth year-’

‘She’s what?!’

‘I study medicine. The convenience store job is just a part-time thing, to help pay the fees’

The cashier girl was a medicine student? At Yonsei?

What?

How?

Why?

What’s a Yonsei  medicine student doing flirting with a police officer?

What do you want?

‘So yeah, Tiffany was talking to me and she apologized if she was a bit harsh on you an-‘

‘Yeah, erm, Taeyeon-sshi, actually I really need that money so I’m kind of overprotective about it’

That’s why you didn’t say anything about the blood right, Taeyeon thought. Your boss wouldn’t have been too happy about that. Maybe making you quit cause it's ‘too dangerous’ or something.

Taeyeon smirked. Slowly but surely, she was sure that Tiffany’s game would unravel.

And that’s how you knew about the drug tests too.

Little Tiffany. You’re just full of surprises.

‘So, the real reason I came, Taeyeon-sshi’

‘Wait, Tiffany. Taeyeon here is the same age as you’

The girl looked surprised.

‘Really?’

Jiwoong nodded.

‘Yeah, she looks younger than she is but she’s already into her twenties’

He laughed. Lame attempt at a joke.

‘So can I call you Taeyeon, then?’

Taeyeon shrugged her shoulders.

‘I guess if that makes oppa happy’

Yeah, that’s right. Don’t think I’m doing it for you.

‘Last time we met. Well, no, first time we met-’ she flashed her a smile. Taeyeon looked away. It wasn’t going to work on her. Tiffany noticed and quickly continued with her story.

‘...you left your bag there and I found it afterwards. I think my boss told you about it, but I opened it to see if I could find a contact address or something. I only saw your name though. So I figured it must have been the same Taeyeon. And then, the stuff was wet and I put it out to dry, but I guess I didn’t really do a great job, right?’

‘It wasn’t your fault’ she icily replied. 

That was her? She was the staff member the old man was talking about?

‘Well, I, you see, I looked at the sheets before and I tried writing down what I could in case the ink got more runny when the paper dried or you know, as the water got through and all. So’ Tiffany rummaged in her bag ‘here’s the magazine that your friend left behind and here’s’ she took out a magazine with some sheets on top ‘is what I managed to read before I set it out to dry’

‘I told her about the whole song ordeal and how upset you were, last night. That’s when she told me about the transcription’ Jiwoong explained.

‘It’s not perfect’ Tiffany fiddled with her hands ‘it’s only what I could make out. I was waiting for you to come back but you when you did, I wasn’t there. And then it slipped my mind. I didn’t know it was that important’ she looked at Taeyeon ‘got caught up in the university work and that’

Taeyeon was barely registering what the girl was saying. She only had eyes for the three sheets of paper that rested on top of the magazine.

Jiwoong handed her the sheets.

Her heart was about to explode.

Her hands trembled and her knees knocked together.

was dry.

She held the sheets, letting the magazine fall to the ground.

And then she cried.

Because it wasn’t the melody that she had written some nights ago that was there, hastily scratched with a black ball point pen. It was the melody that she had heard back at the playground that grey day. Her melody. Her song.

How did she know?