The holidays, no matter your religion were always a joyous occasion. Whether you spent your free time with family or friends, laughs and love were hardly difficult to find.

 

Each girl found happiness in various gifts, lots of good food, sloppy relative kisses and talking about how their school was going.

 

 

After days of not seeing each other, the girls were getting antsy to see each other despite their previous plans to have dinner then go karaokeing for the midnight countdown.

 

Sunny was already with Taeyeon, beating up each other’s fictional pixel representative while Yoona cheered in the background. It was 11AM and the two other girls planned with each other previously to invade their best friends’ house.

 

Seohyun was preparing sliced fruit for their uninvited guests and was happily humming to herself. She dearly missed Yoona and was happy to see her at the door. Of course, her chest was still hurting from how tightly her girlfriend gripped onto her when they embraced for the first time in days and she swore that her face was still red.

 

 

As soon as she finished, she arranged the fruit delicately before cleaning up the supplies she used to cut up the snacks. With a bright smile she picked up the plate and walked back to the living room where her unnies were playing.

 

When she entered the room, she shook her head at the sight before her. Sunny was sitting on top of Taeyeon and Yoona had Sunny in a head lock. Was there a point in asking questions?

 

With a cough, the youngest caught the other girls’ attention and they all whipped their heads back to stare at a very disapproving Seohyun.

“She started it,” Sunny and Yoona chorused at once, both poking their fingers into the eldest who was lying helplessly on the ground. Taeyeon groaned in retort before making a futile attempt to escape from underneath Sunny.

 

“What did Taeyeon unnie do?” Seohyun asked curiously as she placed the fruit on the table, took a slice of strawberry in and walked casually over to the couch. Her lips curled into a smile as she watched her elders behave like children.

 

Sunny wiggled her , crushing the poor girl beneath her, “She tried to take the controller back when she clearly lost and it’s now Yoong’s turn to play.” It was only then that Seohyun noticed that the wires of the controller had been wrapped around Sunny’s body.

 

“Wait, then why does Yoona unnie have you in a head lock?”

 

Yoona coughed a little awkwardly before chuckling nervously and gave Sunny’s hair a ruffle, “Because I wanted to fight too?”

 

 

Seohyun sighed and walked over to grab Yoona’s hand and pull her towards her. Like a magnet, Yoona instantly floated over to her girlfriend and happily lied down on the couch, placing her head on the girl’s lap.

 

“Since Hyunnie’s back, I don’t need to play anymore. We’ll just watch Taengoo unnie lose a few more times.”

 

“Hey!” Taeyeon yelled out with protest, shaking her fist in the air before shooting glares at Yoona for the comment. She almost got up to throw fake punches at the girl when a knock came at the door.

 

The girls all looked at Sunny and the shortest sprung up and ran upstairs to get changed.

 

Seohyun was about to get up, but Yoona stopped her from moving.

 

“Taeng unnie go get the door,” she suggested with a pleading smile, “I don’t want my pillow to move away from me.”

 

Taeyeon just rolled her eyes before sticking her tongue out at her junior. Ever since Yoona and Seohyun started dating, Yoona had become much more comfortable with teasing and bullying Taeyeon. It was supposed to be the other way around since Taeyeon wanted to be the tough and scary older sister. Unfortunately for her, there was nothing scary to be found from head to toe of her small body.

 

When Taeyeon opened the door, she was more than relieved to find Jessica on the other side of it. The two instantly made eye contact and enveloped each other into a warm embrace.

 

It was strange to Taeyeon at first. After she got Yuri’s text about her first kiss with Jessica and after getting Jessica’s text about how she decided to give Yuri a chance, Taeyeon wondered if she’d feel jealous of the two. But with every conversation with Yuri and her absolute adoration for her ex-girlfriend, Taeyeon couldn’t be any happier for the two.

 

“What are you doing here?” Taeyeon asked as she let Jessica inside. It wasn’t snowing that day, but it was fairly windy. Taeyeon wondered if the girl could even hear her for she was buried under layers and layers of clothes, scarves, hats and ear muffs.

 

“What?” Jessica called out, answering Taeyeon’s question right away.

 

 

Once the door closed behind them, Jessica threw off all of her winter gear and let out a huff of air.

 

 

“That Yuri made me wear all this extra stuff because she thought I’d freeze to death,” she commented as she wiped the sweat off her brow. “Yeah, I’m warmer but it was difficult to breathe.”

 

“You were at Yuri’s house last night?” Taeyeon teased with a sleazy wink. She also decided to throw in a light jab of her elbow, but instead got pushed to the ground.

 

“Shut up, you Byuntaeng!” Jessica screamed in disgust, lightly kicking Taeyeon with her foot for good measure. Taeyeon wasn’t even sure if she was hurt because she was too busy laughing at Jessica’s blushing face.

 

When Sunny heard the commotion downstairs and Jessica’s signature screech, she took off her binder and put back on the outfit she was wearing earlier. One of Taeyeon’s band shirts and a pair of shorts. She walked downstairs and almost fell down from laughing at the sight of Taeyeon laughing on the ground with Jessica kicking her.

 

“Why is everyone so violent today?” Sunny asked no one in particular as she descended down the stairs.

 

 

Yoona and Seohyun also heard the commotion and came over to greet their favourite violent unnie after Hyoyeon.

 

“Sica unnie!” Yoona called out, running to hug the girl.

 

Jessica stopped her revenge to turn around and hug her other favourite shikshin. With her freakish strength, Yoona lifted the smaller girl up and twirled her.

 

“I haven’t seen you since the party! How have you been? Has Yuri unnie been treating you well? She talks about you all the time. How cold is it outside?” Yoona fired question after question for she was in a very good mood. Seohyun placed a hand on her girlfriend’s shoulder in an attempt to calm her down.

 

Instead of answering her questions, Jessica just patted the taller girl on the head and walked over to the living room. Seeing the plate of fruit, Jessica made herself at home and grabbed a few slices of apples for herself.

 

“Fruit is so boring,” she commented as she chewed loudly on the apple, “Let’s go get lunch or something soon. I’m starving.”

 

---

 

Sooyoung pouted at the rejection to her offer for lunch with Sungmin. It turned out that he already had plans, but she managed a smile when he said he’ll come pick her up for dessert right after. She was thankful for dessert.

 

However, lunch still had to be eaten and Sooyoung had a massive craving for hamburgers. Despite the amount of protest she’s heard in the past from their maknae, if her stomach craved grease then she was going to get grease. She sent a text to Hyoyeon to see if the girl was free.

 

Did Sungmin turn you down?

 

Shut up. You in or not?

 

Mind if I bring Fany and Yuri? Yuri and I were jogging in the park and we ran into her.

 

Yeah, did you really have to ask? Tell them we’re eating burgers, nothing else.

 

It’s okay, Seohyun isn’t coming is she?

 

Should we invite more people?

 

Naw, she’s probably with Yoona. Besides, we’ll see everyone for dinner.

 

The tall girl nodded, it was much easier to have lunch with fewer people and there was a smaller chance of getting kicked out if less of them were there to stir up some chaos. Sooyoung finished her conversation with Hyoyeon, dodging her teasing and rolling her eyes every once in a while but laughing anyway.

 

 

When she paused to think of what to wear, she realized that she hadn’t really had the chance to talk to Tiffany in a while. She was always interacting with Hyoyeon and Yuri because of dance practices but outside from their small conversations throughout Christmas and text messages here and there, she hasn’t really had a deep talk with Tiffany in a while.

 

 

Sooyoung was curious about Tiffany. They had briefly discussed Sungmin and the talent show and Sooyoung occasionally helped the girl develop ideas for stories and articles but she couldn’t help but wonder if there was anything going on. Sooyoung had been so busy with Sungmin that she didn’t really get to ask Tiffany much about herself.

 

There seemed to be something troubling her, she just knew there had to be. Through Tiffany’s twinkling and smiling eyes, she could see uncertainty. It was one of the points she admired in the girl and one of the points she wish she didn’t have. She had a tendency of shining as bright as possible, no matter what was troubling her internally. She wondered if she could ask her.

 

After deciding her outfit, she ran downstairs when she heard a faint knock. She checked her phone again to see if she had lost her memory, for she was so very certain that Hyoyeon said to meet at the restaurant. Seeing the text blaring the truth before her, reminding her that she hadn’t forgotten, she looked through the peep hole and was surprised to see Tiffany on the other side.

 

She opened the door and smiled brightly at the pink clad surprise, “Hey Fany!”

 

Tiffany smiled her usual eye smile at Sooyoung and tilted her head cutely, “Mind if we head over to lunch together?”

 

“It’s a bit early to go now, but sure!” she replied happily, locking the door behind her and taking Tiffany’s hand. “We haven’t been alone together in a long while. I feel like we barely know each other anymore.”

 

The shorter girl waved her hand dismissively, “You’ve been busy with Sungmin, it’s totally understandable.”

 

Sooyoung let go of Tiffany’s hand and wrapped her arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer, “Now what about you? How’s your Sungmin?”

 

Tiffany’s face instantly flushed and her cheeks were tinted an almost crimson colour. She suddenly couldn’t feel the cold in the air and her eyes shifted to the side and saw that Sooyoung didn’t seem to notice.

 

“W-What?” she asked hesitantly, wondering if Sooyoung was going to ask what she thought she was going to ask.

 

“I was just kidding around,” Sooyoung replied, poking Tiffany on the nose, “What I meant to ask is, what’s going on with you?”

 

Tiffany let out a sigh of relief and managed to put back on a bright smile, “Nothing special in particular! Daddy and I had a lovely Christmas and we made skype calls to my siblings who are over in the States.”

 

Sooyoung nodded and finally turned her head to face Tiffany properly. She noticed that her eyes looked a little distant and they kept following different directions.

 

“Is that all?” Sooyoung asked carefully, reading her response. As expected, Tiffany bit her bottom lip before opening and closing as if unsure of what to say. “Fany what’s wrong?”

 

Tiffany shook her head in protest, “It’s nothing, Sooyoungie. Don’t worry about me, it’s just.”

 

The shorter girl surprised herself with the add-on to her sentence. She didn’t intend on adding that little detail and cursed herself to letting it slip. Should she tell Sooyoung what was on her mind? She didn’t even talk to Jessica about it, seeing that the girl was blissfully preoccupied with a certain sports obsessed freak. But she had probed about it in the past through texts, even mentioning the girl preoccupying Tiffany’s mind. Tiffany couldn’t mention her troubles, her struggles and the questions in her head, she couldn’t distract her Jessi like that.

 

“It’s just what?” Sooyoung asked sternly, a tone that was rare but meant serious business.

 

“There might be a little complication,” Tiffany mumbled, forcing a smile.

 

 

“You can talk to me about it, Fany,” Sooyoung urged, squeezing the shorter girl’s shoulder in reassurance. “You can talk to any of us about it, you know that. Even Sungmin oppa would be more than willing to listen. And you know Sica and Taengoo more specifically are always here for you.”

 

There goes her name.

 

Tiffany sighed as if she was letting a negative energy that was slowly building up in her core out. It seemed dramatic and it was a little forceful, but it was a sigh that was dragging along , begging to be released. A lot was on her mind, that was for sure. But she had to keep it hidden because she couldn’t let her Christmas be ruined and she couldn’t bring anyone down with her. She knew Taeyeon was also feeling her uncertainty and she was afraid that she might have been straining their relationship. But she knows that Taeyeon would never let that happen and she felt bad about it.

 

 

“That’s the thing,” Tiffany finally started, her eyes painfully turning into crescents as tears struggled to come out, “It’s Tae Tae.”

 

Sooyoung immediately stopped in her place and took out her phone.

 

 

“What are you doing?” Tiffany asked, wiping her eyes and trying her best to stop the floodgates from opening. She may be able to perhaps talk about this with Sooyoung alone, but she couldn’t spill everything to Hyoyeon and Yuri too. She couldn’t let more of her friends feel burdened with her problems.

 

“I’m cancelling on Hyo and we’re going to go have lunch alone.”

 

---

 

Hyoyeon and Yuri were currently changing and getting ready in the former’s house for their lunch date. Yuri was putting on a fresh pair of socks and Hyoyeon was brushing her hair when her phone buzzed.

 

“I bet that Shikshin is already there and wants us to come faster,” the blonde laughed, unlocking her phone.

 

“I can’t believe this, we just went on a jog and now we’re going to be digesting everything we’ve burned off,” Yuri complained, shaking her head and sadly poking her horrendously toned abs.

 

Instead of ridiculing Yuri on her statement, Hyoyeon immediately stopped laughing and her face fell into a pout. Noticing the silence, Yuri looked up from her body and turned to Hyoyeon who was texting with a very disappointed expression.

 

“What happened, Hyo?” Yuri asked, getting up and walking over to see if she can read her conversation from over her shoulders. “Girl or boy troubles?” she teased, elbowing the short girl.

 

Hyoyeon finished fiddling with her phone and tossed it on her bed with a groan, “The giant is abandoning us for lunch and so is the pink one. I guess it’s just us.”

 

“What happened?” Yuri asked with a frown.

 

Hyoyeon sighed, “Turns out their parents wanted them to have lunch with them since we have them for dinner.” She shrugged and pulled a sweater out of her closet and quickly threw it on. “I guess it’s just the two of us then.”

 

Yuri’s eyes suddenly lit up, “Oh! Then can we please go to this really healthy-“

 

“If I don’t go to ridiculously and not to mention disgustingly healthy restaurants with our Seobaby then I am not going to them with you.”

 

---

 

Yoona, Seohyun, Sunny, Taeyeon and Jessica went to a restaurant that was rather far away. Taeyeon drove them all the way to one of her favourite Japanese places that was a half an hour drive away. It was so Sunny could dress up like herself without any problems and they could enjoy a lunch without any of the fake testosterone.

 

The ride over was a little irritating for the driver, however. Seohyun convinced her to play her CD with all the Disney classics on it in English and this only called for trouble. While Taeyeon enjoyed the songs thoroughly, Sunny, Yoona, Seohyun and Jessica thought it was a good idea to scream the lyrics throughout the entire ride.

 

It was cute for the first three or four songs, but when Yoona decided that it would be funny for her to try to harmonize and fail miserably at it, Taeyeon’s grip on the wheel tightened.

 

So when they finally reached their destination, Taeyeon let out a sigh of relief as she rubbed her temple. Perhaps the ringing in her ears would stop when they sat down to eat.

 

The good thing about eating in a small number was the ability to fit in a booth. Taeyeon, Jessica and Sunny fit on one side while the happy couple sat on the other side. Their waitress quickly came and the five decided equally as quickly what they wanted.

 

“Don’t take too long to eat guys,” Sunny said as she took a sip from her tea, “I promised Sooyoungie I’d get dessert with her after this.”

 

“Whatever you say, sir!” Yoona saluted happily before grinning stupidly at Sunny, “Speaking of Sooyoung, how are you two?”

 

“Yeah, tell us, Sungmin oppa,” Jessica asked as she elbowed the poor girl who sat in the middle. Taeyeon decided to join in on the fun and poked her as well.

 

 

Sunny cringed at the awful way Jessica chirped her name and shoved the girls on both of her sides so they’d stop their teasing. This caused Taeyeon to lose her balance and in an instant the girl found herself on the floor.

 

The table erupted into laughter as Taeyeon rubbed her sore and growled as she got back into the booth. It seemed like everyone was out to get her today.

 

“Anyway, if you two are done being idiotic, I’d like to say that things with Sooyoungie are great,” Sunny replied finally, dusting Taeyeon’s shoulders as her laughter died down. She winked at her short friend as she glared at her, still feeling the throbbing in her .

 

“We didn’t see each other, but we’ve been texting each other a lot.”

 

Jessica nodded, “I always saw Sooyoung as the clingy type of girlfriend.”

 

“I wouldn’t call her clingy,” Sunny responded with a frown, “That kind of has a negative connotation to it. She’s just very talkative, which is perfectly fine because I am too!”

 

“No way, you told me to stop texting you because I was talking too much just the other day!” Yoona said with a roll of her eyes, “You just like Sooyoung that much.” She tried to pretend that she was mad, but when she noticed Sunny’s blush she couldn’t help but giggle. A love stricken Sunny was her favourite Sunny, especially when the cause of it was her dear friend Sooyoung.

 

Seohyun was also giggling, admiring the certain glow that came from her favourite shortest unnie. It was different seeing this shy girl, rather than seeing the usual Sungmin trying hard to hide his bashfulness.

 

However, Jessica and Taeyeon weren’t giggling. They exchanged knowing glances, Taeyeon urging Jessica to make the next move.

 

“Soonkyu, you can’t seriously be thinking of continuing this charade,” Jessica stated rather firmly, instantly stopping the two maknaes from their laughter.

 

 

Sunny felt a shiver go up her spine at the seriousness in Jessica’s tone and her face instantly fell.

 

“I’ve thought about it,” Sunny answered, her frown turning into a bright smile as their food was brought. But once the waiter turned away, all the light was drained from her face.

 

“I have to stick to my original plan.”

 

Yoona turned to Seohyun and the two leaned on each other to support the weight of the situation. Taeyeon was also leaning her head on Sunny’s shoulder, her chin rubbing into her as if constantly reminding her that she was there for her.

 

“Is that really what you want?” Jessica asked in a quiet voice, her cheeks puffing in slight defiance. She wanted to yell at Sunny, tell her that she’s wrong and that she needed to tell Sooyoung the truth as soon as possible. But she knew she couldn’t and she knew that she shouldn’t. After all, whose place was it to tell Sunny what to do? She never understood the entire situation, but she knew it was a bad idea to drag it on.

 

“Thank you for your concern, Sica,” Sunny replied with a small smile, her hand resting on Jessica’s thigh. “And thank you all for your concern,” she continued, looking at all of her downcast friends, “But don’t worry too much, I can handle myself.”

 

Taeyeon knew the truth, Taeyeon knew exactly how much this affected Sunny, but she kept it to herself and she kept a strong front.

 

Yoona wanted to say something, but she wasn’t sure where to begin. Seohyun nudged her to begin eating, but she wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to do when reminded of how much her unnie was struggling.

 

“Let’s just enjoy lunch, yeah?” Sunny offered, her smile practically lighting up the entire room.

 

“I’m a strong girl, and whatever happens in the end, I brought it upon myself. But I certainly don’t regret anything,” she made eye contact with each of her friends, being sure to strongly display her resolve.

 

“Now eat up and don’t think about this so negatively, alright? Sungmin and Sooyoung are happy together, and that’s not going to stop anytime soon.”

 

Sunny being the brilliant mood maker she was, was able to change the darker and awkward mood to something lighter with the discussion of possible karaoke songs to sing later at their New Year’s Eve party.

 

 

Jessica decided to tease the new couple by suggesting the cheesiest duets to sing and Yoona enthusiastically agreed to her suggestions, leaving Seohyun a red mess. Sunny also mentioned that she had practiced her male singing voice since she knew that Sooyoung would want to do some singing with her as well.

 

“I don’t think I’ll be able to keep a straight face when this happens,” Taeyeon confessed with a shake of her head, “All your ‘manly’ mannerisms are too much to take.”

 

“I’m surprised Taeyeon hasn’t blown your cover with how much she overreacts to some of Sungmin’s actions,” Jessica joked, poking Taeyeon in the forehead with her spoon.

 

“Especially Tiffany unnie,” Seohyun added with a light chuckle, “She always gives you these strange looks when you try to hold back your laughter.”

 

“But she instantly finds it adorable and pinches your cheek or something,” Yoona added with a roll of her eyes, “Sometimes you two act like such a sweet couple it hurts my teeth.”

 

Taeyeon tried her best to chuckle nervously, but unfortunately for her it came out way too forced and she managed to let out a groan as well.

 

“What’s wrong unnie?” Seohyun asked, concerned for her older sister’s well being. It seemed that she lost some colour in her face as well.

 

“N-Nothing,” Taeyeon responded, clearing , “I just ate that last piece of sashimi way too fast.”

 

Sunny shook her head with a smile, covering well for her friend.

 

After paying for the bill, Yoona and Seohyun headed to the washroom for a quick stop before their drive back while Sunny, Taeyeon and Jessica went to wait for them in the car.

 

“Has she been messaging you lately?” Sunny asked once she knew that the young couple was gone.

 

“Yeah,” Taeyeon replied a little sadly, “It seems like everything’s normal, but I can’t help but feel a little awkward.” She then turned to Jessica, a glimmer of hope in her eyes, “Did she say anything at all, Sica?”

 

The American born shook her head, “I’m sorry Taengoo, but she seems to not want to touch that topic.”

 

Taeyeon groaned before rubbing her face into the palm of her hands, “What do I do guys?”

 

“Wait for her,” Jessica answered before taking Taeyeon into a tight embrace, “This is all on her now.”

 

“We may not know what’ll happen next,” Sunny added, wrapping her arms around the two as well, “But you’ve done all you can. She needs to make the final decision now.”

 

"What's with the group hug?" Yoona called out from afar as she and Seohyun ran towards them hand in hand.

 

"Nothing much, Sica's just cold," Sunny joked, earning a light slap from Jessica.

 

"I want in!" Seohyun exclaimed before latching herself onto her older sister as well.

 

"Me too!" Yoona shouted before practically jumping on the small group of friends.

 

---

 

Sooyoung got her exact wish. The two went to a different restaurant, but to her luck they also had hamburgers. But her craving seemed to have slipped away when Tiffany’s face slowly decided to show her true feelings.

 

The girl looked like she was a complete mess. Her eyes weren’t as clear as usual and her cheeks became puffy as she tried to calm herself down. Sooyoung wondered how long this was going on and applauded the girl on her acting ability. Hiding this must have been difficult.

 

Tiffany explained the gist of her situation on their way over. Sooyoung mostly remembered constantly squeezing the girl’s hand in reassurance and urging her to continue her story, despite the occasional hiccup.

 

It was painful to think of how Taeyeon felt with all this and Sooyoung made a mental note to talk to the girl on a different occasion. But it was completely understandable how Tiffany felt as well.

 

For as long as she knew them, Tiffany and Taeyeon were always close. As the years went by they only got closer and closer.

 

Sooyoung and the rest of the girls knew that they weren’t nearly as close to Tiffany as Jessica and Taeyeon were. Although she knew that she loved her and the rest of their group, Tiffany expressed so much more to the other two. It wasn’t offensive in the slightest bit, but it enhanced the seriousness with the situation knowing that she said nothing to Jessica and that things with Taeyeon were becoming constricted.

 

She thought long and hard about what to say next. Tiffany had shut up when they got to the restaurant, not wanting to cause a scene with her tears. Sooyoung didn’t want to prod further for now, giving the girl space as she composed herself.

 

It had been twenty minutes since they first entered and their food even arrived. Sooyoung opened to say something, but decided against it and shoved a fry into instead. She would wait for Tiffany to start again.

 

“What would you do, Sooyoung?” Tiffany mumbled, almost inaudible but the words were strong enough to catch Sooyoung’s attention.

 

“I don’t think I can answer that,” Sooyoung replied slowly, her eyes unable to meet Tiffany’s. “I know for sure right now that I would just reject Taeyeon’s advances and tell her that I only see her as a friend, but I’m different from you Fany and you two have a different relationship.”

 

Tiffany shook her head, not completely satisfied with Sooyoung’s answer.

 

“Earlier, when you asked about my own SUngmin, the first person I thought of was Taeyeon,” she smiled for a second, remembering how silly and frightened she was. “I thought you figured me out or something, but it turned out you were joking around.”

 

Sooyoung nodded, unsure of where this was heading and ate a couple more of her fries.

 

“To put this in your perspective, what would you do if Sungmin was a girl?”

 

Sooyoung’s eyes widened and she was thankful that she had swallowed her fries before hearing the question. It was completely unthinkable, Sungmin being a girl.

 

“What do you mean?” Sooyoung asked, not entirely sure how to answer Tiffany.

 

“Well, imagine if Sungmin oppa was exactly the same way. Let’s say he had longer hair and girl parts, but everything else was exactly the same. Would you still like him?”

 

Sooyoung bit her bottom lip, her mind fogging at the imagery, at the slightest possibility. What would she do?

 

“He’d be exactly the same, just a girl,” Tiffany continued, hoping that Sooyoung would finally start understand where she was coming from.

The taller girl opened and closed as she thought carefully.

 

“That would definitely be weird,” Sooyoung replied, her face scrunching up as she tried her best to respond, “I think we’d definitely still be friends, but I don’t think I’d date him anymore.”

 

Tiffany was a little disappointed to hear that answer. She slumped into her seat and frowned at the taller girl.

 

“Really? Just because he was a girl?”

 

Sooyoung nodded firmly, “I’m not into girls, Fany. I think we’d get along well, but I doubt I’d be attracted to him anymore if he was a girl.”

Tiffany sighed as she accepted Sooyoung’s answer. You really couldn’t help who you were attracted to, and Sooyoung had proven multiple times that she was only interested in men.

 

“I’m the same then, I think,” Tiffany mumbled a little sadly.

 

Sooyoung frowned at this, “You don’t sound very certain.”

 

Tiffany groaned this time before poking around the vegetables on her plate, “I’m not certain.”

 

“Don’t use my answer to change the way you think, Fany,” Sooyoung urged, poking Tiffany on the forehead with her own fork.

 

“But it makes sense,” Tiffany responded as she placed her hands under her chin, “If Taeyeon was a guy I’d definitely go out with her. But she’s not a guy, she’s…”

 

“You don’t sound very certain,” Sooyoung repeated, giving Tiffany a slight smile, “You never know, Taeyeon could be an exception to your uality. Say, have you ever imagined yourself with her?”

 

“I’d be lying if I said no,” Tiffany replied, feeling a smile creep onto her face.

 

“And how was it? Do you think Taeyeon make a good girlfriend?”

 

Tiffany stared into her plate as she answered Sooyoung, her mind wandering over to Taeyeon again, “I know it, I’ve seen her with Jessi, I’ve seen her with Sungmin oppa. She’d be a perfect girlfriend.”

 

Sooyoung was about to let her smile widen and point out to Tiffany that the answer had been obvious, but she stopped when she saw the older girl’s eyes filling with tears again.

 

“But I…I can’t do it, Sooyoungie. I can’t date her, I can’t have a girlfriend. What would daddy say? And I saw the way people stared at Jessi and Taeyeon when they were together, they may not have cared but I do. I don’t think I could handle it, I’m not like them.”

 

Sooyoung couldn’t feel any words come out as she watched Tiffany untangle the rest of her thoughts before her. She sat back helplessly as Tiffany continued her unhappy rant and she couldn’t help but start crying as well.

 

“I love Tae Tae, I do, I love her so much,” Tiffany squeaked, her hand now clutching her chest tightly. “But I’m not ready for…I’m not ready to be with her, I’m not ready to deal with what comes with accepting her, with being with her.”

 

The few patrons that occupied the restaurant were staring at this point and Tiffany could feel their gaze. She hadn't noticed how much her voice was rising and how evident the tears were that stained her cheeks. She excused herself from the table and quickly walked off to the washroom to calm herself down.

 

Sooyoung watched as the girl awkwardly scuffled off and growled at those whose eyes also followed her, “What are you staring at?” she barked, causing the patrons to panic and return to their own meals.

 

She attended her own burger again, each bite getting less savoury as the weight of Tiffany’s tears sank into her. Her own tears were soaking the bread and she tried her best to wipe them off with a tissue. Sungmin had always for being a cry baby, but the fact was that he was right.

 

She wondered what would happen next as they entered a New Year together. Would Tiffany risk it all to be with Taeyeon? Or would she take the safer route and let her down easy? Sooyoung certainly didn’t know what she would do in that situation, even after discussing the outcome if she was the one in a similar spot.

 

It all seemed too complicated. Since when was their circle of friends so full of knots? Her head was spinning and all she wanted was the ability to figure this all out and make all of her friends happy again. Graduation was approaching and so was their reuniting with Sunny. She couldn’t let this go on, she couldn’t have Sunny come back to a broken group.

 

But alas, she was powerless and all she could do now was be there for Tiffany and be there for Taeyeon.