After practice had ended, Tiffany left right away to pick up something at the dorm before meeting up with Nayeong at the coffee shop so they wouldn’t be late. The two would meet up with the other girls at Mr. Lee’s place. On the drive there, Tiffany’s phone rang. And like every single time before, Tiffany stiffened and her facial features contorted to that of drab gray cement. Hard, dull, emotionless. That was Tiffany’s way of dealing with strong feelings. She hid them.

Nayeong glanced over from the driver seat. She knew Tiffany was scared, the girl didn’t even glance at her phone and it was still ringing. Under any other circumstances, Nayeong would have held Tiffany’s hand to comfort the girl, but here, in a car, that would only make things worse. Much worse.

Tiffany was adamant concerning safety while driving. A complete ruthless dictator. No distractions were allowed whatsoever. The younger girl had even made Nayeong remove the cute dangling hippo ornament that used to hang on the rearview mirror. So keeping her eye on the road, Nayeong’s only other option was to speak instead.

“It’s probably just Mr. Lee asking to know where we are. We’re running a bit late, just tell him we’ll be there in around ten minutes.”

From the corner of her eye, Nayeong watched as Tiffany inched her fingers over to her phone and swiped the screen to answer it.

“Yobosayo.” Tiffany’s voice was rather tense and lackluster. It’s been so long, but it was always this way when Tiffany gets a phone call. Nayeong hadn’t known it to be any other way. The younger girl didn’t get many calls to begin with, and when she did, they often turned out to be bearers of bad news. Tiffany had never gotten over that overhanging fear.

There was some muffled talking on the other side and some terse, short answers from Tiffany. Then the girl hung up.

“Mr. Lee says no rush. The other girls are just settling down.”

Nayeong nodded to signal she had heard, but her eyes never left the road in front of her. If anything could further ruin the already dark mood at this point, it was reckless driving, and Nayeong was not about to make that mistake.

The first and only time she did, Tiffany’s reaction had been nothing short of explosive. The girl was never one to express strong emotions of any sort. Ever.

Nayeong had reached over to grab the map she kept in the compartment behind the gear stick as she wasn’t quite sure where they were. Her eyes had left the road for a few seconds. Tiffany had immediately grabbed Nayeong’s hand in a crushing grip. This was the first and only time the girl had ever hurt her and it shocked Nayeong.

“Pull over. NOW!” Tiffany had demanded. There was an unmistakable overflowing force of anger and unyielding steel in her voice that made Nayeong obey instantly without question. The older woman immediately parked her car on the side of the road and had glanced over to see a livid Tiffany. Except the girl’s anger was not verbal in any way. Tiffany didn’t have to say anything. All her fury was manifested in every cell of her body. Nayeong had been alarmed and for the briefest of seconds, thought Tiffany was about to hit her.

Then, like a switch, the anger was gone, and all that was left was a burnt-out light bulb. A girl who was poorly used by the world.

“How could you, of all people, do that to me? You who know my story. You who know Lexi’s story. You who care and love Lexi as your own little sister everyday! HOW COULD YOU?!?!”

Tiffany’s words had hit Nayeong like a ton of bricks.

Yes. How could she have been so careless? So insensible? So cruel?

That day had been spent in tears as Nayeong asked Tiffany for forgiveness. But in truth, they both knew it was Nayeong who had to forgive herself for her imprudent folly. It was the older woman who had to let go of her burden of guilt for having hurt Tiffany so deeply.

Tiffany had already forgiven Nayeong before it had even begun.

So now, as they drove to Mr. Lee’s house, Nayeong vowed never to make the same mistake. Tiffany would be more than understanding and prefer it to be that way. The girl seemed to relax after a few minutes. She reached over and gave Nayeong’s thigh a quick squeeze in assurance, apology, and appreciation for the older woman’s understanding.

The car ride, like most of Nayeong’s car rides with Tiffany, was silent the rest of the way. But it wasn’t an awkward silence. It was a comforting, calming silence. The two were more than well versed in the art of the unspoken.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Nayeong’s car pulled into the driveway of a rather large, elegant mansion, and honestly, could anything less be expected of the president of SM? The company van was gone, which meant manager oppa had dropped off the girls and had already left. Tiffany and Nayeong got out of the car and the former went to the trunk to retrieve a long, black, plastic tube. Nayeong lifted an eyebrow in question, but didn’t say anything. The two made their way to the entrance where a well-dressed middle-aged man opened the door.

Inside.

It was nothing like either would have expected.

The outside was a mansion, but the inside was a home. Mrs. Lee had turned the potentially elegant yet coldly aloof and unwelcoming house into a warm home for her and her husband. There was none of the vain flashing and useless flairs of flaunting their wealth. The house was decorated in warm tones, with practical furnishings that did not make one uncomfortable to use in face of their projected expensiveness. It was geared for comfort and homely coziness over extravagant luxury.

No one came to greet the two girls who had walked in. There were no maids and butlers bustling around and serving the guests. The president and his wife appeared to live with just what they needed, apart from the huge mansion, which Tiffany suspected was to maintain a certain image in the company more than anything else.

The two walked around the expansive house, studying their surroundings until Tiffany heard the unmistakable booming laugh of Mr. Lee. She grabbed Nayeong’s hand and led her towards where the sound had come from: the lush green backyard.

Mr. Lee had set up a grill and was grilling meat while his wife was sitting and chatting happily with some of the girls. Yuri, Hyoyeon, Yoona and Seohyun were playin