As I grab my lunch tray, I find Tiffany sitting alone on her phone at our table. Perfect to set my plan in motion.

"Hey Tiff." She glances up at me and gives a genuine smile. She looks much better than yesterday and I can barely catch the strings of hurt in her eyes. I am expecting her to be solemn or the like as she is in the middle of a break up, but I hide my confusion. "Are you doing anything this afternoon?"

Tiffany pursues her lips. "Yeah, I am, actually. Why?"

Tiffany has something on? Something that doesn't include me?

A wave of hurt and a little jealousy washes over me but I don't let it show on the outside. It's strange as well, she usually has all the time in the world. I sit down and straighten my back. "Oh, I just wanted to come over and hang out. Just us two."

She her head at me. "You haven't requested to spend time with me alone in a long time Tae."

I bite my lip. That is true as the Year 11 study pressure has gotten to me. I only participate in group hangouts, not the usual Tiff-and-Tae afternoons. "Well, I miss it and I've been longing to have our old hangouts."

That is partly false; I am planning to sneak Sehun into her place and let them sort out their argument. So far, things don't seem to be going according to plan.

"What do you have on?" I ask as I break the wooden chopsticks.

A bright smile lights up Tiffany's face, one that nearly reaches her eyes. "I have a guest." I raise my eyebrows and she smiles cheekily at me. "Okay, Kris is coming over to my place."

"Kris?!" My eyes bug out as I watch a light pink spread over Tiffany's cheek. "The guy from the party?"

"Yeah. I got a hold of his phone number and invited him over."

"To do what?"

"Just to hang out."

Over me? I stop myself from saying it out loud just in time as I realise a pyramid of hurt is building up in my chest. Tiffany would choose a guy, someone she merely talked to for no longer than an hour, over me, her best friend that has been by her side since the age of five.

I shake my head. I am doing this abruptly. I should have asked to come over last night, right after the conversation with Sehun.

Sehun. Oh gosh, if Kris is coming over, how am I supposed to get Sehun and Tiffany back together? 

I bite the side of my mouth in guilt as I should have been thinking about Sehun rather than myself. After all, it's Sehun who needs to confess his love for her, not me. 

Suddenly anger passes through me. Sehun loves Tiffany and here she is, inviting the man who initially caused their break-up over to hers, to 'hang out'. Love is not something to be handled lightly nor treated like a toy. 

"You can come hang with us too," Tiffany speaks and I prepare to snap a comment at her obliviousness. However, her offer processes in my mind and I hold back, the anger disappearing all at once.

"Huh? Oh. . . Well. . ." Should I? I am being offered the chance to meet this Kris guy and according to Sehun, if Kris fell for Tiffany, it will be a lost battle. I have to drag Kris away from Tiffany, for Sehun's sake. "Oh yeah, I'd like to."

I pretend not to see Tiffany's disappointed expression. She was probably planning to treat this afternoon as a date or something.

"I wouldn't be intruding on anything, right?" I ask, completely out of politeness as I had every intention on coming over and putting everything back to where it was before the party happened.

"Um. . . No. . ." Tiffany answers back in a weary tone and I know she regrets asking me in the first place. Lately, sometimes we act like we're not best friends at all, with all the fakeness circling around us. It has always bothered me and I've always wanted to settle things out between us, however, now is not the right time.

-

Tiffany energetically waves to me as I spot her across the school courtyard. I smile and start towards her, picking up my pace to hastily cover the hundred metres of grass. I frown at her overly happy grin as she loops her arm through mine, eyes shining. She only gets this excited around Sehun.

"Kris said he'll come as soon as he can," Tiffany exclaims in a high pitched voice as we exit the main gate, "which he estimated to be in half an hour. He's actually turning up!"

"Why are you so excited?" I envelop an abundant mass of calmness to hide my suspicion.

Tiffany looks away. "Oh I don't know. It's Kris you know, he just has this fun vibe to him. You'll see what I mean."

"Hmm."

Ten minutes later, Tiffany and I are walking up her elegant stairs and head in the direction of her massive pink bedroom. She opens her light pink door and steps inside. I don't hesitate to follow her, placing my bag right next to the doorway. I look up and immediately gasp as I survey her walls. My body freezes in shock as I stare at random paintings that I know Tiffany has no interest in placed around the room. To others, the flower paintings may make the room look elegant but I have ventured in this room countless times and I have never seen her walls so bare. For the past year, Tiffany's bedroom walls always had photos of Sehun and her together, covering every pink of the wall. 

"Where are the photos?" I ask in an accusing tone albeit I know the answer as soon as I spoke the first word.

Tiffany drops her bag on her bed and turns around to blink innocently at me. "What photos?"

"You know what I'm talking about." I fold my arms and stare sternly at her. Inside my head, I am asking myself what is the point of bothering to question her if I knew her reason a while ago. Maybe I want her to outright admit it. Maybe I want to save Tiffany and Sehun's relationship and that this is a desperate way of approaching it.

Tiffany rolls her eyes and turns her back on me, rummaging through her layers of expensive clothing in her walk-in closet. "I ripped them off," she replies in a calm voice but I can still detect the slightest flick of annoyance.

I sigh and walk up to lean on the large doorway of her walk-in wardrobe. "Come on, Tiff. It's your first argument, it's not over."

"I think it is," she replies in a cold tone.

"No it isn't. You just need time. Sehun has been trying to apologise-"

"For flirting with a girl to the point where he kisses her?"

"He didn't kiss her. She kissed him." I watch as Tiffany looks away, halting her roaming hands. She doesn't say anything but I know she was biting back tears. "Tiff. . ." I close the distance between us and wrap my arms around her body. She leans into me, letting her tears fall freely. I lower us to the ground and her hair.

Tiffany and I are two strong girls throughout our years of friendship. We were always two happy beings, free from any crushes or the like so we didn't encounter any sort of relationship pain. That of course all changed in high school when Tiffany met Sehun who asked the former out. From then on, Tiffany had begun to spend more time with Sehun over me but I forced myself to think it was okay, even though my emotions said otherwise. They are a couple, that's what they are supposed to do. I had my studies anyway. From then on, Tiff and I interacted less though we reminded each other of how close we once were through our occasional meet-ups, talks, and facial expressions. I suspect that it had something to do with our changing moods during puberty but at times, we feel somewhat annoyed around each other and will act coldly, even though we never meant to, thus cueing the further distant phase.

Silence surrounds us as we sit there in her walk-in closet with Tiffany's head in my arms. I never stop her head as I listen to her quiet sobs. I do not know what is going through her mind but right now, my only concern is her pain, if that is even what she is feeling.

She can only love Sehun as much as Sehun loves her for her to break down like this. And that is why Kris needs to stay out of the way.

Gradually, her sobs subsides and her body stops quivering though it still vibrates from her after-tear hiccups. I guess that my presence is soothing to her and a warm feeling stirs inside of me. Does this mean she still needs me by her side?

"I know I'm wrong to not let him speak," her voice is calm and steady, evenly interrupted by her hiccups, "but he was flirting with her. I don't care who leant in to kiss who, he still kissed her."

"He got jealous because he saw you with Kris."

"I was talking to him."

"Sehun said you kept touching Kris' wrists and batting your eyelashes."

Tiffany hesitates. "At least I didn't kiss him," she spits out with venom dripping all over her words. 

I sigh. She is being stubborn and it would take me a while to knock some sense back into her. I let her think it through alone as I let another round of silence hit us. I stop caressing her head as her hiccups disappear - probably supressed by her anger - but leave my hand at her shoulder to let her know I am still here. Tiffany makes no move to indicate that she wants to break our comfortable position and so I sit there, thinking about how I plan to save the broken relationship.

"He probably got bored with me." Her first words comes out strong but she whimpers in the end and her sobs return, her slim body violently vibrating in my arms.

"No Tiff, Sehun would never be bored with you," I hush in a gentle tone and her arm. He loves you, I want to tell her, but it isn't my part. "You're his one and only; he treasures you." The words slip out of my mouth and I cringe, knowing exactly what Tiffany will say back.

"H-he defintely p-proved it."

Damn it Taeyeon.

"No no, he was only doing that as an act of jealousy." He loves you! I want to desperately scream but I bite my lip.

Tiffany stays quiet and I decide to not expand on my statement as I probably would say something that would make me look silly. After all, Sehun did physically touch the girl and he did kiss her even though that was the last thing on his mind.

Minutes fly past as I stare at Tiffany's clothes, wondering what to do next. Tiffany is immobile giving no indication as to what she is feeling at the moment. Then, her doorbell rings through the house twice and Tiffany's head shoots up, narrowly missing my nose.

"Oh my god!" she squeals in horror as she looks around frantically, giving me a glimpse of her puffy red eyes. "He's here? It's four already?!" She stands up from my embrace and runs out of the closet while shrieking, "I gotta get ready!"

Got to get ready? Get ready for what?

Frowning I stand up, smoothing down my crumpled uniform. I wince as pain shoots through my legs and I take my time to stretch them out. I walk to Tiffany's bathroom to see her roughly pressing a wet cloth to her eyes. I am about to say something about the visitor but one of her maids who stumbles into her room beat me to the job.

"Tiffany, someone is here to see you," the maid informs in a pleasant tone after bowing to me.

Tiffany, clutching the cloth to her eyes bends over the sink to rub her face. "I know, I know." Her voice is muffled then she removes her cloth to look at me. Her face is wet and I notice that her eyes are slightly less red from a minute before. "Taeyeon, Kris is here. I know you haven't met him but I don't want him to feel unwelcomed. I'm going to take a while so can you, I don't know, talk to him, do whatever it is that you're good at? Please?"

I frown. "What. . . how do I talk to him?"

"He's easy to talk to, don't worry. Please Tae."

"Fine." I sigh and follow the maid to the door.

"Thank you!" I hear Tiffany call as I step out of her bedroom.

As we walk along the navy blue corridors that will soon lead to the staircase, I think about how I should talk to Kris. Or more importantly, how to drag him away from Tiffany. Do I just talk him out of it? Tell him how much Sehun loves Tiffany? If Kris is the kind of guy that would pursue any girl no matter what, I don't think I can just merely talk to him.

I have no more time to ponder on my thoughts because I find mysef lingering in the doorway of Tiffany's living room. He is sitting there with his side profile facing me and I am a little stunned by his appearance. He is definitely the looker. Kris - or I presume he is Kris - is staring at the floor, chin in hand and school shirt stretched to show his long backside. He can be a model.

I inhale and calmly walk up to him. Kris glances up in surprise as if he just notices my presence.

"Hello, I'm Taeyeon, Tiffany's friend."

"Oh. Kris." He flashes me a smile and I immediately know why Tiffany had flirted so easily with him. I am glad Tiffany is the loyal type because any girl would have definitely thrown themselves at Kris in a much more intense way than just mere flirting.

I take a seat on the other couch that Kris is not sitting on and he his head at me. "Tiffany told me you are her best friend." I am quite surprised how a deep voice could be so soft.

"Oh. . . yeah. We are best friends. It's just that we've grown a little apart during the past year. . ." I trail off, unsure of what to say from here.

Kris frowns but he doesn't say anything to which I am glad. It isn't a topic I want to share with a stranger.

"Tiffany's just fixing up something," I say after a few moments and Kris chuckles.

"I see."

"Do you have a lot of girls throwing themselves at you?" I ask him.

Kris looks taken aback, as if he isn't expecting me to say such things. Not that I usually do. "What? Uh. . . Sometimes?"

"Sometimes?" I press on, completely aware that I am being impolite but I have close friends whose relationship is at stake and I have every intention to try and fix it.

"Why are you asking me this?" he asks calmly and I am caught in surprise as he does nothing to show if he is the littlest bit annoyed. I had expected him to narrow his eyes or to snap at me.

"You met Tiffany through Sehun, I believe?"

Kris catches on quickly and nods his head in understanding. "I see where you're going. Whatever Sehun may have told you about me, they are probably true. I know I kicked him out at Tiffany's request and I apologise for that."

I lean forward, fingers on my chin. "You've known Sehun longer than Tiffany yet you would choose to listen to her without giving Sehun a chance at all?" I keep my voice calm and steady.

Kris stares at me expressionlessly before he leans back in the couch, giving me a small smile. "You're very curious, aren't you Taeyeon?"

I can't figure out if this is a quarrel as I am accusing him yet he rebounds in a calm and polite manner. Tiffany tells me Kris is a kind, friendly guy who she had fun talking to at the party. However, Sehun posed him as a guy who would win at any challenge. It makes sense for Kris to put an act to attract girls and maybe this is how he wins them over. To draw in girls before he lets other guys get a chance.

I am stuck in a dilemma. To continue in this not-so-quite hostile manner and keep accusing Kris or to seek another way in telling him to back off. I am not the type to create enemies, but Tiffany is my closest friend and Sehun is a decent guy. I smile back at Kris and say, "Kris, she has a boyfriend."

To my surprise, Kris snorts and rolls his eyes. "You can think whatever you want Taeyeon, but I'm not a playboy."

"What?"

"I only just met Tiffany. I'm not starting anything drastic. Oh, well I mean I don't intend to."

I stare at Kris, unable to hide my confusion. Is he acting? He rolls his eyes again and gives me his charming grin. "If I really wanted girls for their looks, don't you think I would have dated one by now?"

"You never had a girlfriend before?" I gawk.

He shrugs. "Never found the right one."

The right one. Kris wants a girlfriend to treasure, to show his genuine love. Sehun has nothing to be afraid of.

"Hi Kris!" I hear Tiffany's voice.

Kris glances up from me and smiles at Tiffany, whose eyes are no longer red but shining, as always. "Tiffany! Hey."

Tiffany chooses to sit next to Kris over me which sends me a pang of envy but I brush it off. Kris is the one she wanted to see in the first place. I am only invited out of an act of kindness. For the next hour, I watch as Tiffany seems to forget I am sitting a few metres away as the two converse. Sometimes, Kris asks for my opinion on the topic they are talking about as an attempt to include me in the conversation, which I find considerate. However, Tiffany takes no notice of me and focuses her attention at the handsome man next to her and I gesture at Kris to give up trying to include me. I settle for observing the two.

At times, Tiffany would sneak attempts at flirting, such as when they would break into laughter and Tiffany would 'laugh too hard that she has to place a hand on Kris' thigh'. I narrow my eyes at that but Kris smoothly brushes her hand off. Tiffany looks confused but not disheartened and continues to sneak more touches to which Kris denies each try. After that, I believe Kris has no intention in starting something with Tiffany. So now, I just have to get Tiffany off him.

Throughout the whole time, I have a feeling that I'm forgetting something important, but staring in disgust at Tiffany's unloyalty to Sehun right this moment, even if they are broken up, prevents me from trying to search what it is I'm missing.

It is about the sixth time that I have sighed at Tiffany's flirtatious actions when Kris looks at his watch and says, "Thanks for inviting me over Tiffany. I had fun but I'm afraid I have to go now."

Tiffany cries a "What?" as I glance at the clock on the wall; 4:58pm. Kris had only stayed for an hour.

"Why do you have to leave so early?" Tiffany pouts at him.

"I live an hour away from you, though my school is only half an hour. My bus comes in five minutes and if I miss it, I will have to wait unitl nine at night."

"You can stay for dinner."

Kris raises an eyebrow as he stands up. Only now do I realise he is very tall, two heads taller than me. "I cannot impose such a disrespectful action," he says sadly though I doubt he is truly sad. I don't frown upon that though, as long as it takes Tiffany one step closer back to Sehun.

"I'll get my chaffeur to take you home, stay a little longer," Tiffany pleads.

I stand up as well and watch as Kris flashes a sympathetic smile. "I wouldn't want to be an inconvenience. We'll meet up another time, alright?"

"Alright." Tiffany sighs and leads the way to her front door.

I smile at how Kris has smoothly got himself out of the situation but then I guess he probably has to do it all the time. Kris catches my smile and winks at me and for some reason, I laugh. We are in the corridor that leads to Tiffany's front door and she slows down her pace on purpose. She looks back at Kris and smiles brightly.

"Hey Kris, remember that time on Saturday when one of my maids tripped over a beach ball and spilt all the drinks on the guy's chest?"

Kris let out a deep laugh. "Oh yeah, I remember that. He got so mad I swear I could see smoke fuming out of his ears."

Tiffany laughs along with him, perhaps even harder than she should while I roll my eyes. We have reached the main door just as their laughs come to an end and Tiffany stops. I sigh as I know she is reluctant to let Kris go and aren't surprised as Tiffany takes a step back and flings herself at a surprised Kris, wrapping her arms tightly against him. I step around them and open the door to get Kris out of the house faster.

Shock spreads through my body as I come face to face with Sehun. His finger is on the doorbell, ready to press on it while his face is stunned to see me open the door for me. Then, his eyes trail behind me and an alarm rings through me, trying to wake me up through my senses. I whip around to see Kris' painful face and Tiffany's surprised one, her arms still wrapped around Kris.

I look back at Sehun and my heart plummets as I take in his hurt features. Only now do I remember: he came here to confess that he loves Tiffany.

And standing right before him is the beloved girl herself, hugging another man. I know that Sehun heard their laughs. A wave of guilt floods me as I recall yesterday afternoon where I told Sehun I would sneak him into Tiffany's place at five in the afternoon so that he could confess.

"S-Sehun?" Tiffany's voice sounds lost.

Sehun doesn't say anything as I watch his heart break into a thousand pieces. His bottom lip quivers as his hand drops away from the doorbell, lifelessly. Numbers cannot catch up to the amount of emotions flashing through Sehun's eyes.

Behind me, Kris doesn't dare say a word and I know that I am the only one in the right position to fix everything, to explain everything before anyone makes any drastic actions.

I will my frozen body to move. I want to step forward and grab Sehun's arm so he won't run away. I want to tear Tiffany's body away from Kris and hiss at her to stop hurting Sehun like this. I want to force the two in a room and lock them up until Sehun has confessed to her and everything would return back to normal.

I want to, and I will make it happen.

I take a tiny step forward but then Sehun takes his eyes off Tiffany and looks at me. No, not look. Glare. Tears are threatening to spill out of his eyes as he shoots daggers at me. At first, I am confused but when he takes a step away from me without breaking his hateful stare, I realise. He trusted me to set things in place. I had a simple job; get into Tiffany's house and open the door for him. Instead, Kris had come along and ruined everything.

No, not Kris. Me. I ruined everything. I could have stopped this, could have stopped it at lunch when I was invited over, could have stopped it when I first met Kris an hour ago, could have stopped it during the hour. But I didn't. I slipped up. 

The worst thing is: Sehun trusted me. He opened up to me, something he rarely does and I had failed to do the most simple thing.

Sehun takes another step away from me and I desperately want to walk over to him but he gives me a hateful shake of his head.

"Forget it," he hisses at me, turning around and walking hastily out of the Hwang's property. "I god damn trusted you!" Sehun shouts before disappearing.

I let him walk, watching his retreating figure. My heart beat against a wall of guilt, a wall of pain. I had failed Sehun, someone who trusted me.

"I. . . I'm sorry," Kris says in a soft tone.

I turn around to face him. For a moment, I forget that Tiffany is there as she stands to the side. I stare at Kris who stares back. I want to scream at him, let it all out on him. After all, if he didn't even think to talk to Tiffany in the first place, none of this would ever had happened. Gazing at Kris now, I am certain he knows exactly what I am thinking.

"I'm sorry," he says again and his stare tells me he means it.

"You don't know what you're apologising for," I say in a small tone and walk past him and a stunned Tiffany. I numbly run up to Tiffany's room to grab my bag and am back to where the two are in less than a minute. They have not moved. Kris looks like he badly wants to say something whereas Tiffany is staring blankly in the distance. I don't feel like stirring up a quarrel as I have my own feelings to deal with but I feel a hand grip on my upper arm as I try to walk past the two.

"Taeyeon. . . I'm sorry," Kris said, glancing down at me. "For everything."

I sigh and reluctantly stare up, having to tilt my head all the way back. "I'm not going to tell you it's okay, because it's not. All I ask you to do, is to stay away from this. From all of this. Besides, you shouldn't be apologising to me." Kris nods and I turn to Tiffany who doesn't even seem to notice me. Suddenly, I don't view her as my best friend anymore. I view her as a girl who I was once close with that started all this mess and got me involved. It is selfish of me to say this but it is true.

"Tiffany." She doesn't look at me. "Tiffany." Her body jolts as if she just realised I am standing inches away from her and glances wearily at me. "You are going to fix this up, okay? I'm going to apologise to Sehun because I promised him something and I failed to carry it out. But this isn't about me. This is about you and Sehun. He treasures the relationship you used to share with him like it's the last thing on this planet and unlike you, he is not ready to give it up so easily. I don't know if you want it or not but it's cruel to leave him hanging like this. Fix it."

Tiffany's mouth is open by the time I finish my harsh outburst. Who could have guessed the calm and reserved Kim Taeyeon has some fight in her?

I regain my composure, turn around and walk out of her house. I feel good to let it all out. I am sick of Tiffany flirting non-stop with Kris. If she wants a relationship with Sehun, she can go right ahead and get it herself because for now, I'm done being involved. I have lost Sehun as a friend, and now Tiffany, and I am definitely not happy. 

As I start in the direction of my house, I clear my mind of Tiffany and Kris, and try to focus on ways to apologise to Sehun. He admits he loves Tiffany and he trusted me enough to open up, something he never does in front of others. He trusted me and I had mucked up.

It is only now that I realise that trust is a very fragile thing. It is so easily broken yet the most difficult to fix.