That night Sunny had a lot on her mind.

 

 

 

After Yuri had left, she could have sworn that for a split second, Taeyeon’s face was writhing in pain. But she hid it away quickly, hoping that Sunny wouldn’t see it. They talked over what happened right away, Sunny asking things like if she was really going to let go of Jessica or if she’s going to just give Jessica away to be a good friend.

 

 

 

Taeyeon kept answering with the lying tone that Sunny recognized so well. She told her that maybe she should go home and think things over. She knew she was overwhelmed and Sunny wished that there was more that she could have done for her best friend.

 

 

 

The Yuri factor was beyond surprising, but it started to make sense after looking back. There was the drawing thing and the way that Yuri looked at Jessica. But she never looked beyond that because she knew the two were close and she was more focused on other things.

 

 

 

Shaking her head, she found it pointless to dwell on something that wasn’t even her own problem. She knew that Taeyeon would sort things out and that if she needed help, she’d come to her. If there was anyone who completely understood Taeyeon, it was Sunny. She could never hide anything from her.

 

 

 

Lying in bed, she glanced at her cellphone that was glowing with Sooyoung’s name. The two had been texting all night and Sunny could tell that the other girl was excited about their date.

 

 

 

She hated to admit it, but she was also over the moon about the date. As Sungmin she tried to act calm and as Sunny to Taeyeon, she did her best to pretend like it wasn’t a big deal. But the past self that liked Sooyoung so much was coming back. And honestly every time Sooyoung blushed or smiled at her with those eyes, Sunny could feel her heart exploding.

 

 

 

Sunny wished it didn’t have to be done this way, but she could never date Sooyoung without the disguise of Sungmin. And beside, she needed to keep her act up until the day she was supposed to reveal the truth. It would just be fun anyway. They wouldn’t become serious or anything, they could just have fun off each other, right?

 

 

 

“Sunny!!” her mother called from down stairs. It was time for her to do her nightly chores.

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

Seohyun was going over the party plans that she and the other girls had made earlier in the day with her older sister. She was so immersed in explaining the details that she didn’t notice Taeyeon spacing out.

 

 

 

“So what do you think, unnie?” Seohyun finished, her face beaming with happiness. “It’ll be fun, right?”

 

 

 

Taeyeon flinched and nodded automatically, “Yeah! Of course, I knew you guys could do it.” Her voice wavered a little and Seohyun eyed her strangely.

 

 

 

“Unnie, are you okay?” she asked concerned.

 

 

 

“Yeah, don’t worry,” she patted the taller girl’s head and smiled, “I’m just tired. Call me for dinner when it’s ready, please?”

 

 

 

Seohyun stared at Taeyeon for a while before nodding slowly, “Alright, take care unnie. If you need pain killers or tea, just ask, okay?”

 

 

 

Taeyeon nodded and thanked her considerate little sister before heading up stairs.

 

 

 

After plopping down on her bed, she pulled out her cellphone to see if she had any messages. Ah, yes, one from Tiffany and one from Jessica.

 

 

 

Let’s be partners!!!

 

 

 

Taeyeon was a little surprised, expecting Tiffany to ask Jessica to be her partner.

 

 

 

Sure~ What do you want to dress up as?

 

 

 

She wondered if Jessica knew and how she felt about it.

 

 

 

Do you remember when we were kids and I used to make you stop playing video games with Sunny to play with me?

 

 

 

How could I forget? You even dragged Sunny into your little princess game.

 

 

 

Hehe~ I’m glad you didn’t forget! Let’s be a princess and a prince!! We’ll be white to go with the Christmas theme!! Doesn’t it sound like a lot of fun?

 

 

 

Taeyeon could feel herself sweating a little at the idea of them going as a prince and princess and looking almost like a couple. No, basically looking like a couple. She remembered Sunny switching between being a monster attacking the castle and the priest who married her with Tiffany as kids after she defeated the monster as her prince.

 

 

 

What if one of us has our period?

 

 

 

Ew! Taengoo, don’t think about it like that! Do you have your period? Is it coming up? Mine isn’t!

 

 

 

Keke, I was just joking around.  Alright, when do you want to shop for the outfit?

 

 

 

What about going for lunch tomorrow then shopping?????

 

 

 

Sorry, Fany! I’m having lunch with Sica tomorrow.

 

 

 

There was a pause before Tiffany replied again and Taeyeon wanted to think it was because of her mentioning Jessica’s name. But she shook her head, reminding herself not to get her hopes up. She had to focus on Jessica right now, not on the possibilities and who knows what with Tiffany.

 

 

 

Oh, alright. You two have fun, but come meet me at the mall after, okay? Jessie can’t have you all day!

 

 

 

Taeyeon laughed at her response and hesitated before replying again.

 

 

 

Don’t be jealous now, Fany. I love you both equally! I’ll text you when I’m done eating with Sica.

 

 

 

She was joking, kind of. But she didn’t know how Tiffany would respond. As she stared hard at her cellphone screen, her heart’s beating went faster and faster with each second there was no response.

 

 

 

I can’t help but be jealous, Tae! Anyway, I’ll see you tomorrow then! <3

 

 

 

Taeyeon gave a quick response before smiling too widely at the response she got. In all honesty she had received texts like these before, but for some reason this particular response at this particular time made her happy beyond belief.

 

 

 

As she checked her inbox again, she saw that Jessica sent her a few more messages. She was getting impatient with Taeyeon. She just laughed it off and rolled over as she tended to her ex-princess.

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

Tiffany sighed as she sank into her study chair after Taeyeon said her goodbye. While she was excited about seeing her and shopping with her the next day, she couldn’t help but feel something strange in the pit of her stomach.

 

 

 

There were weird feelings she’d been fighting since the beginning of high school. She wasn’t sure what they were, and couldn’t identify them right away, but all she knew was that they had something to do with Taeyeon.

 

 

 

It was the force that drove her closer and closer to her, despite how close they already were growing up. With 9 of them in their huge group, it was hard to get extremely close to only one person.

 

 

 

She loved Taeyeon dearly, she knew that for sure. Taeyeon was one of her best friends and one of the most dependable and amazing people she knew.

 

 

 

As the feelings grew stronger throughout the year, Tiffany acknowledged that maybe they were her desire to become Taeyeon’s number one, best friend. It sounded selfish when she thought about it, but it was probably true. She remembered feeling some sort of jealousy when she was with Sungmin but she felt at ease after they broke up.

 

 

 

She wasn’t exactly sure if she had figured out what the weird feelings were, but she knew that they either disappeared or increased 100 fold when she was with Taeyeon.

 

 

 

There could be no other explanation, she wanted Taeyeon to think of her as her number one friend.

 

 

 

Tiffany sighed in relief as she thought about going to the Christmas party with Taeyeon as her partner. She knew she had to act quickly before Jessica or Sungmin asked her first.

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

Yuri stared longingly at her phone as she waited for Jessica to reply to her request to be her partner. She was going to ask Yoona or Hyoyeon, but they asked each other first. It’s not that she wanted to avoid Jessica completely, but with their friendship in such a delicate state right now, it probably would have been better avoid potential awkwardness.

 

 

 

Nonetheless, she was excited to be her potential partner.

 

 

 

Want to go as model and artist?

 

 

 

Instead of blushing furiously, Yuri almost jumped out of bed at the response. She was ecstatic.

 

 

 

Is that a yes????????!???!?!??!

 

 

 

Your question marks are making me dizzy!

 

 

 

You’re not answering me!!!!!

 

 

 

I hope you’re not damaging your phone with all those exclamation marks.

 

 

 

Sica…

 

 

 

It’s a yes. Now decide what our outfits are going to be.

 

 

 

Um, want to do something art related?

 

 

We can do something sporty if you want?

 

 

 

No!! Let’s do something artsy! We can be reindeer or something?

 

 

 

Oh, I think I have an idea for that. Let’s start planning tomorrow after you come over for dinner and you let me draw you.

 

 

 

Alright, sir!

 

 

 

You better be excited about this, Kwon Yuri. Now I’m going to sleep, night!

 

 

 

Night!!

 

 

 

Yuri could have passed out from happiness at that moment, but she chose to do her nightly exercises instead. A surge of energy had arrived and she wasn’t going to let it go to waste. She needed to keep Jessica’s favourite body in shape, after all.

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

The next day came quickly for all of the excited girls and boys on their winter break.

 

 

 

The first student up was Seohyun who wanted to work a bit on her costume for the Christmas party that was later in the week. She wanted to surprise everyone with her sewing abilities, especially Yoona who was the only one who really monitored it.

 

She had designed a beautiful angelic dress with wings to wear as the host of the party. And to top everything off, she wanted to play a composition she wrote a while back for her unnies for looking after her. Seohyun thought it was the perfect present in addition to the things she bought them with her tutoring money.

 

 

 

It was 6AM and she had two hours before she had to start helping her mom prepare breakfast. After plugging in her headphones into her ipod, she her music and got straight to work.

 

 

 

As she worked diligently, it was 8 before she knew it. Quietly putting away her things, she left her room and went downstairs to her mother and father who were preparing breakfast and coffee.

 

 

 

Because it was the first day after break started, she decided that she was going to let her unnie sleep in a little.

 

 

 

Unfortunately, it was 11:30AM when Taeyeon finally woke up.

 

 

 

She shot out of bed and almost screamed when she saw what time it was. She had to go pick up Jessica in less than an hour and she still had to shower and get dressed. Instead of freaking out, she decided to get ready as fast as possible.

 

 

 

In a record time of 20 minutes, Taeyeon got everything ready and sped out of the door before Seohyun could wish her a good morning.

 

 

 

Jessica was waiting outside of her house as she eyed the time on her phone. Taeyeon was supposed to be there 5 minutes ago. It wasn’t really like her to be late.

 

 

 

Suddenly, she could see a huffing figure in the distance. It took everything within her body to not laugh at the red faced and panting Taeyeon approaching her.

 

 

 

“I’m sorry!!” she screamed as she approached diligently. Unfortunately for her there was a small patch of ice and she managed to slip.

 

 

 

Jessica screamed and carefully ran over to the fallen Taeyeon who managed to turn an even darker shade of red.

 

 

 

“Aish, that was beyond embarrassing,” she mumbled as she rubbed the back of her head. “I’m so sorry for being late, Sica.”

 

 

 

Jessica just laughed and lightly hit Taeyeon on the shoulder, “You provided some great entertainment for me just now so I’ll let it go.”

 

 

 

“Aren’t you concerned about my health? I’m pretty sure I just got 5 new bruises.”

 

 

 

Taeyeon slowly got up with the help of Jessica and tried her best to catch up with her breath.

 

 

 

“You’ll live,” Jessica replied with a smirk, “Now let’s get going, I’m starving.” She grabbed Taeyeon’s hand and just started to drag her behind her.

 

 

 

“You could at least let me rest for a minute!!” Taeyeon protested, unfortunately her cries fell upon uninterested ears.

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

Sooyoung could not be more nervous.

 

 

 

Sungmin was going to come in about ten minutes and she had been ready for almost an hour.

 

 

 

Her mother was a little worried considering how early she woke up to get ready for the date and more importantly, how little breakfast she ate while getting ready.

 

 

 

She wanted to offer her daughter a snack before Sungmin came since she finished getting ready early, but Sooyoung refused to ruin her appetite.

 

 

 

“He said he’d bring me to a Japanese buffet,” she called out as her mother insisted on her eating a bit more, “Besides, I’m too nervous to eat anything now.”

 

 

 

When the clock hit exactly 12PM, Sooyoung stepped outside of her house to meet face to face with Sungmin.

 

 

 

Or well, s to face.

 

 

 

Sunny fell over backwards in shock at Sooyoung’s body suddenly coming out of her door. She was just about to knock, but remembering their height difference, she was relieved that she was the one who got hit first.

 

 

 

“Sungmin oppa I’m so sorry!” Sooyoung apologized over and over again. She mentally slapped herself a million times having screwed up the date already.

 

 

 

“I’m okay, Sooyoung! It’s okay, don’t worry about me, Oppa is strong.” Sungmin accepted the hand Sooyoung offered and got straight up. However, almost slipping backwards, Sunny pulled Sooyoung towards her into an embrace.

 

 

 

“Oh, sorry!” she apologized right away, hoping that it wasn’t too forward of an action.

 

 

 

But instead of getting an answer, Sunny was faced with an absolutely red faced Sooyoung.

 

 

 

“Sooyoung?” Sunny did her best not to burst out laughing at the state of shock and redness her tall friend was in from a simple hug. Sunny had to make note of this if they were to kiss in the near future. But the thought of that almost made herselg go red.

 

 

 

Sooyoung snapped out of it and shook her head, “Ah, sorry, I had something spicy before I left. Um, let’s go shall we?” her forced laughter was almost as funny as the fact that her face was getting redder.

 

 

 

Sunny helped the situation by holding Sooyoung’s hand, “Whatever you say, Sooyoung. I hope you like the place Oppa picked for our second date.”

 

 

 

The two walked and held hands for about ten minutes before they reached the bus stop. And while on the bus the two held hands. Sunny was worried about the silence between the two but realized it was just Sooyoung being shy as she caught the girl staring at their fingers intertwined.

 

 

 

“You know,” Sungmin started, catching Sooyoung’s attention, “You almost look disgusted with the way you’re staring at our hands. Do you want me to let go?”

 

 

 

Sooyoung was startled by his statement and shook her head furiously, “N-No!! I’m just, I’m really happy, oppa. I’ve…wanted to hold your hand for a while. Couldn't you tell?”

 

 

 

Sunny was almost amazed at the Sooyoung before her, pink in the cheeks and speaking softly. When they were with friends Sooyoung was much more hyperactive and boyish. Even when they were young, all of their best interactions were pranks or arguments about height or other things. She had never seen Sooyoung that vulnerable since well, since Sunny moved away. It was only their second date too. She wondered how much Sooyoung liked Sungmin and she wondered, deep in the corridors of her heart, if Sooyoung would like her this much if she knew she was Sunny.

 

 

 

Sungmin had made reservations so the two managed to get seated right when they arrived. The air was wonderful and Sooyoung looked forward to eating Japanese food.

 

 

 

As the two looked through the menu, Sooyoung finally noticed something a little different about Sungmin’s hair.

 

 

 

“You slicked it back?” she asked curious, reaching over to touch the slight gel in Sungmin’s hair.

 

 

 

“Yeah! Why? You don’t like it?” Sunny gave a cute little pout but did her best not to overdo it. Sooyoung never liked too much aegyo but she seemed to adore the little bits of it Sungmin displayed.

 

 

 

“No, it makes you look really handsome, oppa,” Sooyoung answered honestly and a little bashfully. “I bet you’d look good in any hair style.”

 

 

 

Sunny laughed and put down her menu having decided her first orders, “I’m the one who’s supposed to say that.”

 

 

 

“I’m hurt that you haven’t yet,” Sooyoung replied a little playfully. Yes, this was the Sooyoung Sunny remembered the most. The girl was probably just extremely nervous earlier. It felt good when she became more comfortable when they were alone.

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

Jessica and Taeyeon were at a local Korean bbq place that Jessica liked a lot. It was the place they went to regularly when they started high school. As they all got busier, they went less often so coming that day felt good for them.

 

 

 

“It’s been a while since you asked me on a date, Taeng,” Jessica started as she poured tea for the two of them. “What’s the special occasion?”

 

 

 

Taeyeon thanked Jessica quickly before responding, “This isn’t a date! I just wanted to talk.”

 

 

 

“But you’re paying, right?” Jessica retorted sharply, smirking at Taeyeon. It was a look she hadn’t seen in a long time. Taeyeon just nodded, “Then it’s a date.”

 

 

 

The shorter girl sighed and slumped her shoulders, “Fine, fine it’s a date, whatever you say Sica.”

 

 

 

Jessica pumped her first in victory before quietly drinking her tea. Taeyeon let out another sigh before smiling at the girl across from her.

 

 

 

“It’s been a while since we had a meal with just the two of us,” she muttered as she picked up some kimchi.

 

 

 

“We haven’t had a date in a long time because we broke up, Taeyeon,” Jessica said in a matter of fact way as the waiter brought their food.

 

 

 

“Sica,” Taeyeon whined, her eyes asking for Jessica’s, “Why are you being like this?”

 

 

 

“I’m just joking around,” Jessica replied with a shrug, “Like always.”

 

 

 

“I wanted to talk about us,” Taeyeon spat out, wanting to get to the point right away since Jessica was making it difficult for her to focus. As much as she wanted a fun lunch with one of her best friends, she had to have this conversation.

 

 

 

“We stopped talking about us when ‘us’ ended,” Jessica answered simply. “It was a mutual break up, what is there to talk about?”

 

 

 

Jessica didn’t mean to keep acting difficult, but she wanted to see how Taeyeon would react. She wanted Taeyeon to be the first to affirm everything, she wanted to hear it first from Taeyeon what exactly there was to talk about between them.

 

 

 

“Sica, I’ll be frank. But do you still have feelings for me?”