(Taeyeon’s POV)

“Hey, you’re home late,” I said to Fany as she walked in the door.

I was still unpacking the last of my stuff since I moved in with her last weekend.

“Taeyeon-ah, you still up? Yeah, you know my friend Jessica? She invited me over for dinner. Have you eaten yet?” she asked.

“Yeah, I had an early dinner before coming home. Ugh! I hate that I have so much stuff to unpack.”

I had just returned to Korea after a year of studying abroad in Europe. I didn’t want to go back living with my parents and Fany offered to let me bunk with her until I got my own place, so I accepted.

Fany and I have been best friends since middle school. Even while I was away, we kept in close contact with each other, mostly because I honestly couldn’t go a day without thinking about her. She wasn’t just my best friend, she was like a sister, except not, because she meant more than that to me. I loved her. I’ve known it for a long time but I’ve never told her. Now we’re probably stuck in the friendship zone forever.

“Serves you right for being such a hoarder. I don’t even understand how you have so much stuff… you just got back to the country,” she said.

“Well I can’t just throw out all my pieces. I worked really hard on them, even if they are technically assignments,” I told her. I basically brought everything I had back with me. “So how was dinner?” I asked.

“Surprisingly good. Jess is not usually the best cook. She’s even worse than I am.”

“Wow, I didn’t think that anyone could be a worse cook than you,” I joked.

She pinched my arm. “Yah! You want to live on the streets?!”

I rubbed my hands together in apology. “Mianhae! Jalmothaesseo!”

“Yeah, yeah… You haven’t changed a bit.”

“No, but seriously, I am so grateful that you let me stay with you. I promise I’ll find a place as soon as possible.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it. I want you around… It gets a little lonely living alone sometimes.”

“Aha! I knew you had an ulterior motif for letting me stay with you…” I laughed. “Why didn’t you get a roommate then?”

“You know I can’t live with just anyone… I need someone who can handle my eccentricity.”

“Well, I’m the right person for you…” Oh, you have no idea how right I am for you Fany…

“That’s why you’re my best friend…” she giggled and threw herself on me, nearly causing me to lose my balance.

I caught her and managed to regain my balance. “Someone’s in a good mood…”

“Mmm... yes, dinner really made my day.”

“So this Jessica, she’s your friend from college right?”

“Yeah, she works for me now… or rather with me…”

“Oh really? You know, you talk about her all the time but I’ve never actually met her.”

She really did talk about this Jessica person quite often. I had a feeling that she had a crush on this girl. It made me kind of jealous. They must spend a lot of time together since they work together now.

“Huh… I never realized that… Well you know you’ve been away for a year…”

“You should introduce her to me some time…” I needed to keep an eye on the competition.

“Yeah, of course… Anyway, have you found a job yet?”

“You know an art degree doesn’t have as much cache as you might think. I’m still looking…”

“I have some connections with some marketing firms. They may need a graphics person…”

“Thanks but I don’t really want to work for some corporate monsters.”

Fany laughed at me. “Okay… If you change your mind just let me know.”

“Maybe if I was totally desperate… Actually I might be if I don’t find a job soon… It’s to be an adult Fany-ah!” I let out in frustration.

“Oh, my poor Taengoo!” she gave me another hug to comfort me. “Think about it this way… If I can do it, you can…”

I rested my head on her shoulder. It always made me feel comforted when I did that.

“I wish we could just go back to being kids… Do you remember how we met?”

“How could I not?! You nearly got us both in trouble and I didn’t even know you.”

She still hasn’t let me live it down.

(Flashback…)

Taeyeon and Tiffany: Aged 13

“Hey you! Stop running! Don’t think that I won’t catch you!” shouted the guy I pissed off.

I had decided to teach him a lesson after he bullied countless other girls. He totally deserved it. I couldn’t stand by the injustice anymore so I decided to do something about it. I didn’t do anything that terrible; I just doused him with a bucket of water and flour from behind and ran for it.

He was catching up to me so I decided to use some evasive tactics, turning a sharp corner.

*Bump*

I ran into someone and I fell on top of a girl that I didn’t recognize. I was in a little bit of a shock, unable to move. I found myself staring into a pair of beautiful eyes which were absolutely hypnotizing.

“Oww… What are you doing?” the girl said as she rubbed the back of her head.

I was still unable to respond.

“Uhm… could you get off me please,” she said when I didn’t move.

“Oh, sorry…” I apologized as I got up and held my hand to her to help her up.

She took my hand and I gave a hard pull. I yanked a little too hard and she fell into my arms.

We looked at each other awkwardly. But then, I heard the sound of running footsteps so I pulled her behind a nearby bush.

“Hey, what are you-“ she started to say but I covered with my hand.

“Shhh… I’m sorry. Please stay still for a second…” I whispered.

Just then, the boy stopped in front of the bush.

“Argghh! She’s got to be here somewhere,” he said to himself in frustration. He turned his head left and right, looking for me but he couldn’t find me. “You got lucky this time! Next time I WILL catch you!” he shouted when he thought he had lost me. Then he walked off.

I let out a sigh of relief.

The girl pulled my hand off of .

“Are you crazy?! What was that about?” she exclaimed.

“I’m sorry… I had to teach him a lesson. He was bullying a bunch of helpless girls…” I told her.

She squinted her eyes and shook her head disapprovingly. “You’re just fighting fire with fire…”

“Okay, I admit that it wasn’t the most thought out plan… but I just wanted him to have a taste of his own medicine,” I explained.

“You didn’t have to drag me down with you,” she protested.

“True but I didn’t want you telling him I was here and honestly, it was a knee-jerk reaction. I’m so sorry. Besides what if he thought it was you who did it. I totally saved your life… Anyway, I’m Taeyeon,” I held out my hand.

She hesitated for a second and then took my hand for a shake. “I’m Tiffany. It’s fine… I can understand you mean well despite your ill-conceived plan.”

“I just hate guys like that… bullying poor, defenseless girls… It just makes my blood boil!” Just thinking about it made me angry again.

She laughed.

She had a beautiful laugh, accompanied by some really adorable eye-smiles.

“I’ll give it to you though" she said. "You’re brave for sure…”

(End of flashback…)

And just like that, we became friends and then best friends. She thought I was amusing with my crazy antics while I adored her cheery disposition.

“We were fine. He didn’t even see us and he never found out that it was me who did that,” I said proudly. “And besides, if I hadn’t done that, we would have never been friends…”

“Hah! You were lucky… what if he had found us? We would have gotten beaten up for sure!”

“Yeah, I guess you’re my lucky charm then…”

She flashed me a smile. “You and your sweet talk… I can see right through it!”

I just laughed. This was basically how we were. We just got each other, and that’s why I loved her. She’s my soulmate, and I know that I am hers.

But how do I make her see that? How has she not noticed all these years how I felt for her?

It was difficult but I had learned to accept it. We were only going to be best friends for the rest of our lives...