BGM: Rehab by Rihanna

A jot of nostalgia crept inside me as I stare at the familiar residential building we have come into. Twice a month for the past year, Sooyoung and I would take turns going here. Today, it was my turn to go but we’ve decided that it’ll feel much better if we come here together. With Krystal roaming around town without us as chaperones and Yuri doing her own business in the hospital, Soo just want to pay our danshin buddy a visit, see how Taeyeon’s doing.

The wooden floorings creaked as we take small steps towards our destination.

We used to come here when we were in college…a lot.

You see, Taeyeon and I met thru English Literature 101… back when she was just a novice in writing and I was trying out for the assistant copywriter position.

No, we’re not that old. Those we’re just a decade ago.

Taeyeon is a very talented person. Her writing skills are not perfect but I should say that it is unparalleled with anyone I’ve ever seen. She writes like a lovesick fool, taking readers to a thrilling rollercoaster ride to experience a world of whirlpool emotions. But in my opinion, after in-depth analysis, most of the characters in her creations are stupid personas that fall in love with their friends and ends up being in the friend’s zone. Talk about unrequited love. I’ve always nudge her to know more about her inspirations in creating tear-jerking-romantic-but-vomit-inducing stories. I needed to learn from her. And she would always laugh and say her best friend’s name—Yuri. And then I would always laugh, half pretending that it was a plain stupid joke and half knowing it was actually the truth.

Yuri and Taeyeon grew up with each other in the orphanage, so I’ve heard. They’ve been together ever since, not like ‘together together’, if you know what I mean. It’s more of like a together as a family together. They’re like two peas in a pod and they quite complement each other. If Taeyeon is the introvert, cute cave-loving baby whom you’ll smooch at first sight; Yuri is the outgoing, loud creature you’ll probably smack in the head at first sight. But they come in package. Befriend Taeyeon and you get Yuri as well. So they’re now both my friend and I need to live with it.

Soo and I entered the lift.

I’m glad the bigger elevators are working now.

I remember one afternoon after school back when we were studying, Taeyeon and I had to finish a written historical article that is as thick as a dictionary. And yeah, by our teacher’s graciousness, the deadline was the following day. We were in the university’s library when Yuri came to pick Taeyeon up, the latter dismissing the idea of going home before finishing the said task. I told you, Taeyeon is talented. But what put her in her glorious pedestal is not just talent but her superb attitude—her hardworking mentality and eagerness for excellence. And Yuri is the same. In fact, Yuri is worse… I mean, better. Yuri has her way in doing things and she doesn’t like getting ‘no’ for an answer. Her persistence is one of the worst best traits she has. Taeyeon had to grovel until the end to stay with me but ended up going home. I felt bad so I told her that I’ll follow her in her apartment after I copy some of the information we needed here in the library. So she went home with Yuri while I continued my work in the library.

It was night time when I decided to go to their apartment. Maybe, just to give her some copies of the articles I did.  I arrived in her building and entered the elevator.  There were three people in the lift, an old geezer and a young tall lady plus me, but it felt so crowded and hot; probably, because it’s the smaller elevator I got into. The slender woman leaned in the walls as the lift went higher, her legs stretching forward, and I saw how long her legs are. She must have seen me gawking at her beautiful legs so she gave me a wink. I blushed. The atmosphere could have been likened to a scene in a romcom film, cheesy and fluffy.

Until…

I smelled something nasty.

Girl, what did I do to deserve this?

I felt my nose scream for justice.

The smell of rotten eggs is an understatement. This is hell.

The woman must have understood what was transpiring in my head and gave me an it’s-not-me-look.

But whether it was her or not… I couldn’t… couldn’t react anymore.

I need to save what little clean air I have in my lungs.

I went out of the elevator as fast as I can and ran to Taeyeon’s apartment, almost gagging for better ventilation.

Taeyeon laughed her off when I told her what happened; she just stopped when someone rang the doorbell.

“Must be my friend” I heard Yuri say as she opened the door.

The girl in the elevator appeared.

Soo.

“So, I’’ll drive us to the hospital and then, after that, let’s go to that Japanese restaurant I want to eat from, okay?” Soo declared.

“’Kay.” Too preoccupied to retaliate.

I stopped at my track, finally arriving to our destination.

I rang the doorbell.

Once.

Twice.

Thrice.

There was no Taeyeon coming out.

I turned the knob, it’s locked.

I rang the doorbell again while tapping my foot on the floor.<