Tiffany’s House
Gangnam-gu, Seoul
10.30 p.m.

“Oh, My Prince…” Tiffany cuddled her dog, “Let me talk to Ahjumma. Her retriever shouldn’t be playing with little doggies like you.”

Kwang Jin laughed. “This is funny, babe. It’s ten p.m. and we’re knocking at your most favorite neighbor because her dog bit your dog.”

“Whatever, babe.” Tiffany stuck out her tongue at the still laughing Kwang Jin.

Tiffany didn’t really like Kang Soo Lee, her fifty-something neighbor. First, that rich, unmarried woman always picked on Tiffany and she didn’t liked idols (except for BIGBANG’s TOP). Next she’s a bit arrogant especially to the younger ones in that expensive and luxurious building that they live in. Miss Kang also has issues when she sees Kwang Jin at the hallway or even at the lobby late at night. And she always had a say on things… and about everything.

So Tiffany basically dreaded that she had to talk to her that evening especially that she was about to confront her why her dog bit Prince.

Kang Soo Lee was already in her nightgown when she opened her door the third time Tiffany buzzed her doorbell.

“Dear, what brings you here at this time of the night?” Her voice was too annoying; Tiffany wanted to tell Prince to bite her.

“Mrs. Kang, I mean Miss Kang, I think your dog, Charlie something, bit my Prince.” Tiffany told her, “I was told by the housekeeper this morning.”

“Mrs. Choi. That isn’t my dog.” She smirked, “That Charlie belongs to our new neighbor over there. My Chocolate won’t bite a toy like your puppy.”

Great.
 

Miss Kang just called her Mrs. Choi and she called Prince a toy.

Even Miss Kang hasn’t moved on yet.
She is still Mrs. Choi to her.

“Thank you.” At least she was polite enough to say thanks. She didn’t bother to talk to her even longer. No more further discussions whatsoever.

Tiffany was pressing the doorbell of her new neighbor’s house. It was actually the one next to her very own house. It was been a while since the last owner moved out, so she was glad that she finally had a new neighbor. Too bad their first meeting is not going to be pleasant. Tiffany will have to ask Charlie something’s owner to explain why Charlie something bit Prince.

“Hi.” The door opened.

That smile was so familiar.
That Choi Seunghyun smile.

“This has got to be a joke.” Tiffany wanted to scream. She can’t believe what was she was seeing.

Her heart was pounding like crazy the moment her eyes met his. Not out of excitement though, and definitely not out of love. Tiffany was too mad, too enraged that she wanted to throw her injured dog. But that was too violent of her, so she handed Prince to Kwang Jin who suddenly stopped laughing at the sight of his rival.

Kwang Jin’s head (and most likely his heart) is rejecting the fact that Seunghyun is living next to Tiffany now. Seunghyun went to that extreme of occupying that home next to hers. He was that desperate; Kwang Jin finally realized that suddenly. And the software genius had to listen to his own heartbeat too – he’d gotten too nervous in a matter of seconds. He’s not just messing with somebody negligible. He is Choi Seunghyun. He is not just ‘somebody’ or ‘anybody’. Kwang Jin felt threatened.

Oh Kwang Jin.
You should’ve felt that way since the very beginning.

The moment Prince was in Kwang Jin’s possession, Tiffany went inside Seunghyun’s house and closed the door, leaving her boyfriend and her dog speechless. Not that Prince can speak, but it didn’t bark. His woofs awhile ago were enough to wake neighbors up, but when Tiffany entered her ex-husband’s house and closed the door immediately after, the poor dog didn’t emit sound any longer.

Not even a soft aw-aw, or a gentle woof-woof.
Na-da.
None.

The poor doggie recognized Seunghyun…
or maybe he felt the tension…
Or maybe he took pity on the guy…

To which guy… Seunghyun or Kwang Jin,

We’ll never know.

“What the…” Tiffany was almost out of breath. She still can’t believe it. She wanted to curse; wanted to throw things.

Bottom line: She thinks Seunghyun had gone beyond farther than the farthest.

“ it, Choi Seunghyun.” She shot at him. “ you.”

There.
She did curse.

And while she swore at him, she pushed him hard, making Seunghyun walk few steps backward.

“Haven’t I made myself clear?” Her voice was so angry, it was shaking. “WE’RE OVER. I DON’T HAVE FEELINGS FOR YOU ANYMORE. IT’S OVER CHOI SEUNGHYUN. WE’RE OVER. How many times should I tell you? One hundred times more? Are you stupid? Why can’t you get it???”

Her words were on fire.
And so were her eyes, they were flaring.

But Seunghyun did not reply. He just looked at her with pitiful yet loving eyes. He was still begging.

“I can sue you for harassing me, for trespassing.” Tiffany warned him. “I am getting harassed. I don’t live a normal life anymore because of you.”

Tiffany, some reminders for you, dear:

Number 1 – You are the one trespassing; you are inside his house, in case you are forgetting.

Number 2 – Who lives a normal life if Choi Seunghyun is part of that life? Oh, C’mon. We all know better.

But Seunghyun still, never felt insulted nor he felt obligated to answer any of her tirades.

“I hate you, Choi Seunghyun.” Tiffany had to bite her lip, “Now, I hate you. You made me hate you.”

“I love you.” He replied.

Boom.

Boom Shakalaka.

He replied I love you with her I hate you.
 

Awww.

If this is how Tee-Oh-Pee replies to I-Hate-You’s, VIPs most likely will create banners and posters in BIGBANG’s concerts with “I HATE YOU T.O.P.” rather than ““I LOVE YOU T.O.P.”

And for sure, they wouldn’t be screaming ‘I love you’ anymore, would they?

Oh, Choi Seunghyun… I hate you.
I hate you so damn much.

“You useless freak.” Tiffany anger hasn’t subsided, “No wonder, they call you Bingu. You can’t understand a thing. No matter how I try to explain, you couldn’t…”

She stopped…
Oh well; she had to stop… because he stopped her.

She was talking too much, saying too many hurtful words. It was painful already. So Seunghyun stopped her. He hugged her again, more tightly than he did before.

Yes, he did.
And she hugged him back.

Oh dear.

Say what?
She hugged him back.

Tiffany hugged him back. She held onto him as tightly as he is holding onto her.

It was like the hug that they used to share before: warm and possessive.
That Mr. and Mrs. Choi Seunghyun embrace.

They paused for a while to look at each other’s eyes and then they continued to do what they are doing. Seunghyun had very much longed for this moment and he held her with so much love and emotion that he almost shed tears. Tiffany held onto him too with the same intensity.

 “I love you.” Seunghyun planted a soft kiss on her head as Tiffany was about to pull out from his embrace.

 “I love… Kwang Jin.” She smiled evilly and turned her back on him and walked away, “That should make you understand.”

Seunghyun froze.
Tiffany was just pretending; it was all-play.

Oh .

She was holding the doorknob when she spoke again, “It hurts isn’t it? To be played like that? Just quit it TOP. Once and for all, just quit bugging me. That hug meant nothing now. I didn’t feel anything with that hug.”

She really didn’t feel anything.

“Oh I felt something.” Tiffany took it back, “It was disgusting. I felt disgusted holding you...”

BIGBANG’s Tee-Oh-Pee exudes that image that he’s an elite idol, definitely unique from all the rest in the KPOP world; nobody expected (and probably nobody will ever believe) he would be crazy enough to be going after one girl. He comes of as someone who women would run after, and not the other way around.

But desperate and pitiful that he might seem, he did things unimaginable. And the great and the very handsome, Choi Seunghyun of course didn’t leave his villa in Hannam-dong and moved in Gangnam-gu just to do nothing.

Things had become harder since he moved in next to Tiffany’s home. He had waged a war. Tiffany hates him now. 

 ‘Love-turned-hate-turned-indifference’ is not a dead-end after all. It can still go back to hate. And that’s what happened to Seunghyun.

Tiffany’s hired more men to guard her 24/7. She was always with someone all day, all night. Seunghyun can’t get anywhere near her at all times. Even Charlie can’t play with Prince (by the way, Seunghyun never got to explain that it wasn’t Charlie who bit Prince the first time. It was really Chocolate, Miss Kang’s dog).

But Seunghyun, despite being frustrated and lonely, was surviving each day by the mere glimpse of Tiffany going to and leaving her house. And he had memorized her routine:

What time she’d pick her newspapers up from her door.
What time she will go for a morning jog.
What days of the week she’d take her breakfast outside her home.
What time she goes to the gym on the 23rd floor.
What days of the week she swims in the outdoor pool.
What days of the week she swims in the indoor pool.
What time her yoga classes are.
What time she walks Prince around the vicinity of their place.

Seunghyun had it all covered. But he’d watch her from afar. Because there were security with her all the time. There were even some at her door now.

The poor ex-husband had to be contented watching and loving her from a far. He smiles by himself when he sees her smile. He laughs alone when she laughs. It gets to a point where he could even smile when he sees her having a good time with Kwang Jin now.

Her happiness is his happiness.
Her eye-smile makes his eyes smile.

Damn.
That’s what you call love.

But Choi Seunghyun is a stubborn guy. If he can’t get anywhere near her, at least he can and he will do something for her. When Tiffany finally thought she was free from him, Seunghyun had connived with one of his security.

Smart.
Not so Bingu after all, that Choi Seunghyun.

She would always get strawberry milk, her favorite drink, everyday from him. That was the first. It was right at her doorstep when she gets her morning paper. When Tiffany would ask the guard, she would get an “I don’t know where that came from” as an answer. Every freaking day, she would get that drink. Tiffany knew of course. She knew it was from Seunghyun. So, that strawberry milk always ends up in the trash bin. After a few weeks, the guards or the staff was the ones drinking it. Then it was her manager. After a while, some of her SNSD sisters were alternately taking turns on who gets to drink that ‘strawberry milk’ that the pink monster never seem to run out of supply of.

So, Tiffany carries it with her already.
She doesn’t throw them away anymore.

Awww.

After then, the strawberry milk was accompanied by her favorite food. Different each day. She ignored at first. Gave away what she can most of the time.

Until finally, she drank that strawberry milk.

Oh dear.

That sweet strawberry milk.

He does Yoga too.

Oh hell, yes.
Not the same class as hers though.
And he had to force himself and the rest of the girls in his class had to force themselves not to scream because Tee-Oh-Pee is in the same room as them.

Seems like it’s not enough for those women that they live in the same building with TOP; they’re also in the same Yoga class. It makes helps them sweat more and palpitate even more.

Seunghyun enrolled in a Yoga class right after Tiffany’s. So he would have some instances where he accidentally bumps into her. Good if there are some people witnessing their encounter; Tiffany will need to smile at him. Or sometimes, Seunghyun would have to kiss her on the cheek.

He will see that smile and that eye-smile.
And he’d go to sleep smiling again.

And the kiss on the cheek.
Seunghyun would settle for that brief, simple and crappy skinship.

And no, just for the record, he doesn’t like Yoga.
And it gives him the creeps that the Yoga instructor keeps smiling at him.

Tiffany jogs every day except Monday and Tuesday. And she usually does it from six in the morning until seven thirty in the park around the building she lives in. It was a huge area, surrounded by lots of trees. It was a perfect place to walk around and to do some morning exercises. Tiffany sees familiar faces in this park; those people who live in the same building as hers, especially the old ones.

She runs, she jogs, and she walks.

So…

He runs, he jogs, and he walks too…

Same schedule.
Same days of week.
Same frequency.

And he wears pink too, just like her.

He usually keeps his distance from Tiffany because her security closely follows around and she couldn’t catch him at all costs. And when there were close calls, Seunghyun is quick enough to run in to the opposite direction or maybe run into hiding. One time, he looked like a dork running to hide himself among the trees.

He was feeling brave and courageous one day, when he jogged past Tiffany. She saw him for sure, but he ignored her reaction. Her security came closer to Tiffany to crowd around her but Seunghyun kept his pace and continued running with his earphones plugged in his ears.

While Tiffany and her entourage had a bit of a commotion seeing he was there too, Seunghyun went on and ignored everyone.

Tiffany asked Kwang Jin to accompany her from then on. Still, Choi Seunghyun wasn’t bothered. In fact, Tiffany started getting used to see her ex-husband running with her. She wasn’t surprised that every freaking day when she prepares to run, she sees him, all ready to run himself.

What surprised her one day is that, she saw him chatting with her security. All of three of them.
They were laughing with Seunghyun while they were smoking together.

.
She had been compromised.

Her security almost panicked when they saw Tiffany tapping her foot watching them talk with Seunghyun. They rushed to her side, but they bowed to Seunghyun first before they went to their fuming mad boss.

“Sorry, Tiffany. I am a fan.” One of the men told her.

Oh dear.

Oppa is a fan.

Damn.
Just damn. 

Miss Kang was being a pain again.

Well, as always. But it’s different this time because she was being hysterical and creating a scene in the whole floor.

Since it’s a luxurious building that they are residing in, only rich people afford to live in those kinds of houses. And it is somewhat hard to believe that Miss Kang would act as if she’s someone who would act trashy and without education and breeding like that.

She was shouting; cursing at everyone. There are only five doors in that floor. One belongs to her, another to Seunghyun, then to Tiffany. One neighbor is a retired politician who had two wives, while the fifth house belongs to a young couple who just had twins.

Her sudden outburst apparently was because she was preparing for a party at the rooftop and she had asked all of her neighbors if she can use all of their parking spaces. Since she was the infamous Miss Kang, they had no choice but to agree. Tiffany, however, thought the party was not until the next two days so she hasn’t moved her car. So the old maid had the reason to get mad and had the reason to shout.

And unluckily, for Tiffany too, she wasn’t present to defend herself. Good thing, the ex-husband was there and he still had a spare key to her car.

“That Tiffany Choi.” Miss Kang muttered under her breath. She was walking with Seunghyun towards Tiffany’s car.

Seunghyun smiled hearing Miss Kang say Tiffany Choi.

How he wanted to hear that again so badly, that Tiffany Choi.

“Make you sure you ram her car somewhere.” The evil old maid laughed, “But don’t hurt yourself, especially your pretty face.”

Seunghyun drove her car to the car wash shop actually. He had it serviced. And seeing it was a bit messy inside, he even took time and cleaned it himself. 

Sweet?

How about the bouquet of roses he placed in the passenger seat before he left?
And the strawberry milk (again) he placed right next to the roses?
Or the Totoro huggable stuffed toy that he bought for her too?

Let’s go sweeter…

A new pair of pink Nikes that he had placed just below the car’s glove compartment.

Sweetest perhaps?

Seunghyun placed a picture of him and Tiffany in the car’s sun visor.

It was taken in their villa in Hannam-dong. They were goofing around one Tiff and Tabi time. They lay hugging each other in their improvised hammock, tickling each other while trying not to fall off. She took the picture, both of them smiling so brightly, so happily. Their eyes smiled. They looked so in love, because they were. That same picture was their mobile phone’s wallpaper for so long. It was still Seunghyun’s actually.

He left a note on her door saying where he parked her car. He lied and said he kissed Miss Kang so she need not worry about getting scolded later on.

Seeing that picture again made him reminisce.
It made him smile again.

But it made him hurt even more.

The flowers, the strawberry milk found its new home in the form of the big, green trash can in the parking area of the building.

Maybe Miss Tiffany Hwang didn’t like the fact that he still had a spare key to her car that’s why she was back to throwing things that came from him.

The Totoro huggable thingy – no matter how much she loved Totoro, will be donated to some kids’ foundation somewhere. And the shoes too; there are people who need them much better than she does.

It was days before she found the picture.
Their picture.

She was driving about ten in the morning, with her manager and her make-up artist as her passengers when they were surprised she had to pull up to the side all of a sudden.

Tiffany was finding the sun too bright; she pulled down the car sun visor instead of getting her sunglasses. Then she saw it.

The picture was torn to pieces before it was thrown.

BUT she remembered…

The villa.
The hammock.
Her wallpaper.
That moment.
Those smiles.
The laughter they shared.
That man.

That Choi Seunghyun.

Onboard KE 703
Seoul to Narita
10.00 a.m.

When they were about to board the plane, she was asking her SNSD sisters who among them was she sitting next to. She was surprised that she sits beside no one that she knew. No one among SNSD, or among their managers or their staff.

Weird.

Inside the aircraft, on the business class section, the girls were busy chatting that they didn’t notice that it was taking a while before the plane pushes back. They are waiting for one more passenger to board the aircraft, the purser told everyone; hence the delay of the take-off.

Tiffany thought maybe, they’re waiting for that someone sitting next to her.

Mmmm.

She was composing Seunghyun Kwang Jin a message when she didn’t notice that passenger already sat next to her and buckled up. She wasn’t able to say goodbye to him because she didn’t want to wake him up anymore.

Tiffany was hurrying up, typing her message because she had to turn off her phone. She didn’t look at the person next to her, but she was sure he had the same