Sunday April 19th, 2015

A/N: not my best....and months overdue...please forgive this AWOL author...

The drive home was quiet.

Not because the girls were tired, but because they realized that the day was coming to an end.

It was time to leave and head for their home-homes.

Time to leave Tiffany.

Alone.

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The girls had wanted to spend at least a few more days with Tiffany before they headed home-home, but Tiffany insisted that one full day with her was enough. They see each other practically every day and their families only very rarely. Tiffany did not want to be the one to keep the girls from their families. This time given to them was precious and she was going to make sure the girls took every second of it to their advantage.

The girls understood the logic and reason behind it, but they were still rather reluctant to do so. To them, Tiffany was also family. Tiffany belonged with them in their home-homes. They were sure they couldn’t be fully happy and enjoy their Christmas to the fullest with the knowledge that one of their own was alone on a holiday season that emphasized Tiffany’s misfortunes and exacerbated her pain.

Nevertheless, here they found themselves sitting cross-legged in a circle, close to the brightly lit tree, getting ready to give each other their presents before they headed off.

The girls had all agreed to all pitch in to get each other’s presents so that they could actually afford some of the things that they wanted instead of eight separate presents which may not exactly be up to par. Though some of the girls prepared a little something else for ‘significant’ or ‘almost significant’ others.

Unlike most things they did, the girls decided to go according to age this time, starting with the baby of the group.

Maknae Seohyun.

For the baby, the girls got her a huge bag of gogumas and a state of the art dehydrator so that she could make her own dried goguma snacks. The moment the maknae saw her present, Seohyun temporarily lost her usual calm composure and squealed, excitedly clapped her hands like a girl her age would have. The other girls laughed at the thought that it wasn’t typical things such as a stuffed animal or talk about boys that had brought this behavior out from their maknae. Rather it was a brown, wrinkly, dicotyledonous plant and a glorified fan.

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Next, Yoona.

Yoona received a new SLR camera. Her other one was digital and Tiffany knew that there were certain effects and certain pictures that could be better captured with and SLR rather than a DSLR. The young girl had been working hard on taking pictures to document everything they did in her scrapbook she had bought for Lexi. She could often be found hunched over her desk gluing and cutting late into the night despite her hectic schedules.

Tiffany had made an effort to look up how to develop film in a home-setting and promised that when Yoona got back from the break, she would teach her.

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Shikshin Sooyoung.

Sooyoung got herself a handwritten and handmade card from all the families of the coma patients she had visited and taken care of. Though the girl was much more busy nowadays, she still sometimes took time off to visit the ward Lexi had lain in and took care of the patients as she would have done for the little girl. Many of the family members of these patients soon became aware of the girl’s kindness and were more than happy to sign a card the girls made to thank this wonderful angel for her compassion and care.

Sooyoung was moved beyond tears. And even though there was a second part to her present, a brand new laptop to replace the one she had broken, she treasured the card above all else and it’s value could not be compared.

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Kkab Yul.

For Yuri the girls were a little trumped.

They didn’t want to get her another Mickey Mouse stuffed toy. Yoona had been complaining that ‘her Yuri-ah’ already had too much; so much so that there was almost not enough room for Yuri herself on the bed! The girls wanted to tease Yoona. Wondering if the real reason the younger girl was so annoyed with all the Mickeys was because she herself couldn’t fit on the bed with Yuri. But they kept it to themselves and wracked their brains for other ideas as to what to get for their kkab.

In the end, they settled on getting Yuri a snowboard as the girl had been meaning to try it out for some time now. They got it custom made at a well-known company based in the States and got it shipped to their dorm. Tiffany knew her older brothers used to order from this company and knew them to be reliable and their products to be of good quality. The design of the board was obviously Mickey Mouse. But it was a design that Tiffany had drawn.

The thug decided to go old school and drew a pencil-sketch version of the old Mickey, actually laying out how a real animator would have drawn the mouse step by step. Yoona had the idea of using a yellowish, browning color for the background of the entire board, making the board seem even more like an old page straight from Walt Disney’s own sketch book. The girls finished it of by signing their names at the bottom of the board.

Needless to say, Yuri loved it.

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Dancing queen Hyoyeon.

Hyoyeon was not an easy person to shop for. The girls knew she had a very particular sense of fashion and was very adamant about her style. They decided not to risk that and stayed away from getting Hyoyeon any clothing.

Seohyun then had the idea of getting her Hyo unnie a completely new sound system. Hyo liked to listen to music and her genre often had heavy bass incorporated into the beats. The girls got her an iPod speaker with floor speakers to boot in case Hyo decided to really turn it up.

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For Tiffany.

The girls really had to wrack their brains.

The thug really was not into anything particularly materialistic.

No make-up, no clothing, no gadgets. Even with Jessica’s help, they didn’t really know what to get their oh-so-lovable-Fany-Fany. The only thing they knew Tiffany enjoyed was boxing and fighting, but they sure as hell were not going to be encouraging that behavior anytime soon. Besides, Tiffany already had a few sets of boxing gloves and a wooden dummy to boot. There really wasn’t much else in terms of equipment that she was in dire need of.

In the end, Tiffany herself made a suggestion, knowing that the girls were having a hard time.

Tiffany at first wanted to ask that the girls put the money into their huge piggybank in the living room, but then she considered that such a request may make the girls feel guilty about getting presents for each other. The girls deserved to get presents and to enjoy them without guilt. They had all worked hard and should be able to take pleasure in receiving gifts this time of year. So Tiffany asked the girls to get her a new electronic keyboard. She had an interest in taking up piano and meant to have Seohyun give her lessons whenever the maknae had time. The girls heartily agreed and Seohyun was more than happy to comply, already writing out lesson plans for her unnie and planning to start once they get back from break.

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Sunny Bunny.

For Sunny, the girls asked Taeyeon. Taeyeon knew the bunny had been eyeing a new game console but she was reluctant to get it for her. Gaming was not exactly the best passage of time and Taeyeon wanted Sunny’s present to be more useful and meaningful than that. The kid-leader spent many sleepless nights laying in her bed, staring glassy-eyed up at her ceiling trying to figure out what to get Sunny.

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“Holy ake mushrooms on guacamole…that’s what you wanna get her? Jeezuzz woman! You’re so far gone up the ‘Alley of Whipped Loosers’ I can’t even see you!”

“Hey! It’s nice and it’s meaningful. Sunny sometimes gets really tired and down and this will really help cheer her up. Please guys? I know it’s a lot of work and thought on our part, but she’ll really love it!”

“Damn Taengoo…this is…really sweet of you. Are you sure you and Sunny aren’t k–”

“OH-KAY!!!!!! Here are the markers and here are the strips of paper! Get writing!” Taeyeon shouted with overt enthusiasm and a slight hint of panic, effectively interrupting Jessica from verbalizing the question she herself was struggling with. But Taeyeon pushed that thought way into the back of her mind and concentrated on writing words that she may never much have courage to say.

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“Oh my god…girls this is…I can’t believe…OH MY GOD!!!” Sunny began to hyperventilate.

How the girls had managed to hide this from her was beyond Sunny. A machine taller than Sooyoung and flashing red, blue and orange lights. Hidden for weeks on end in Tiffany and Seohyun’s room with a large white cloth covering it while the girls filled it up with sweet sincere words and cute stuffed animals.

“Here…give it a try,” Taeyeon said kindly as she pressed a small metal coin into the soft palms of Sunny’s hand, giving the younger girl a slight nudge towards the machine.

Sunny approached rather hesitantly, unsure of what to make of all this. But eventually, with shaking hands, she inserted the coin and the machine whirred to life. Sunny’s gaming expert fingers controlled the joystick with ease and in just one try, was able to clamp the metal claws around the first little plastic ball.

This one was Batman.

Sunny opened up the little black and grey ball that acted as Batman’s face, inside was the tiny body that should be assembled to make the full figurine, the whole thing standing about the size of Sunny’s palm with the head almost more than twice the size of the body. The figurine was cute. But that was not what caught Sunny’s eye. For inside the ball, along with the body, was a tiny rolled up slip of brightly colored paper.

Red.

‘That’s mine! Red’s mine!” Yuri shouted with excitement, jumping up and down and waving her arms in the air like a rambunctious kindergarten kiddie trying to get their teacher’s attention.

Sunny smiled and unrolled it.

‘Sunny! You never fail to brighten up my day and I will always be thankful to you for the meticulous care you have for me. Thank-you Sunny-ah.

~ With much love,

Kkab Yul’

Sunny’s eyes were glistening as she shuffled forwards to wrap the still jumping Yuri into a tight hug. Yuri didn’t stop, instead she wrapped her arms around the shorter girl and jumped even more vigorously than before, practically lifting Sunny off her feet with each bound.

Sunny laughed into Yuri’s chest before patting the younger girl’s back to signal to be let go.

Yuri did so. But not before engulfing Sunny once more into a tight hug.

“Thanks Yuri,” Sunny said tearfully.

“No problem Sunny. But you should thank the kid-leader. This was all her idea!” Yuri exclaimed, still jumping about until Yoona wrapped one arm around her to calm her crazy antics.

Sunny turned to Taeyeon.

“There are fifty slips from each of us in there. Meaning there are a total of four-hundred slips. More than enough to cheer you on throughout the year. They’re in superhero theme, I know how much you have a thing for superheroes.  Pink is Seohyun. Orange is Hyoyeon. Green is Tiffany. Red is Yuri, as you’ve seen. Purple is Jeshika. Yellow is Sooyoung. Lavender is Yoona. And…blue is me. Each slip is a sentiment we want to express to you. Something we sometimes cannot express in spoken artlessness. But each are the deepest sentiments of our hearts and expressive of our love for you. Then, of course, there are the stuffies. Just for fun you know,” Taeyeon added with a wide grin.

“You guys really shouldn’t ha–”

“Yes we should have. It makes you happy and it makes us proud to have been able to do that for you. Merry Christmas Sunny.”

“Thanks Tae…” Sunny mumbled as Taeyeon gathered her into her arms.

Taeyeon never told Sunny how much effort she put in to attain all 400 of those superhero bobble head figures. She had waited in front of those twist machines for hours, waiting for the personnel to come refill the machine. Then she had begged the man deploringly, almost utilizing tears in order to sway him. In the end, Taeyeon bought the man’s entire bag of superhero bobbleheads at a price about ten percent higher than usual.

All this is not even including the machine she had to have custom made and sent to them. And all the shopping she did to get all the stuffed animals she was sure Sunny would have loved.

Taeyeon never said a word of all this to Sunny.

But Sunny knew of Taeyeon’s affections and sacrifices nonetheless.

And she was incredibly thankful for it.

There were many words left unsaid between the two girls that day. But sometimes, the unspoken is clearer than any other word that can be uttered.