Chapter 5

Tiffany jumped onto the queen-sized bed and rolled around, thinking about the 12 people that she met earlier. Xiumin, Luhan, Kris, Lay, Baekhyun, Chen, Chanyeol, D.O., Tao, Kai, Sehun. She still felt so jetlagged from her flight yesterday.

"Hey, hey! Watch it! You're messing up the pillows!" Jessica insisted, pulling Tiffany off of the bed. "Argh. What made me decide to room with this mess?" Jessica grumbled to herself.

"Because you love me?" Tiffany guessed, eye-smiling at Jessica. Ping! Tiffany's phone went off. It was a message.

From: Unknown Number

Hi Tiffany! This is Lay. Thanks for your number. Everyone is having a meet up tonight at seven.

An address was listed below.

Tiffany all of a sudden realized that Jessica was hovering over her shoulder, trying to read the message. Without turning around, she smacked Jessica.

"Yah! What was that for? And what was the deal about all those people this morning?" Jessica complained, rubbing her head.

"Uh...It's a long story. But uh, let's just say that I'm...getting married soon. To...one of them." Tiffany told her.

"Wait WHAT?! You're getting MARRIED? Why didn't you tell me!" Jessica shrieked in her ear, sounding like an overexcited dolphin.

"Well I'm telling you now." Tiffany answered, clamping her hands on her ears in an attempt to save her eardrums.

"You're going to fall in looooooooooooooove," Jessica shouted, bouncing around the room.

"Hey, I'm going out for a moment, kay?" Tiffany said, grabbing her bag. Jessica didn't respond and just continued fluttering around the room hyperactively and squealing.

Tiffany scrunched up her nose, thinking about what Jessica just said. You're going to fall in love.

Tiffany had only fallen in love once. She had been sixteen. And she hated it.

~~~~~ ( ・ω・) ~~~~~

It was raining. And Tiffany had forgotten her umbrella. She sighed, and walked towards the bus stop.

Today of all days, when her driver had taken the day off, it was pouring. Just as she turned the corner, she noticed the bus pulling away from the sidewalk. She waved her hands frantically, trying to catch the bus-driver's attention, but he was already long gone. A kid in the back of the bus sneered devilishly and flipped her off.

"Argh! Why does nothing ever work out for me!" Tiffany yelled into the rain. Everyone else had already left. She shoved her hands into the pockets of her thin blazer and walked as quickly as she could muster without running.

"Hey! Um, Miss!" someone tapped her shoulder. Tiffany spun around to find herself face to face with a handsome stranger.

"You dropped your book." he said, handing her a thick book. She gasped. It was the novel that they had been using in English.

"Noooo it's all wet," she moaned, trying to wipe off some of the water running along the binding. All the notes that she had written along the sidelines had bled all over the pages.

"Why? What's wrong?" he asked, flicking the water off his sleeve.

"I need it for class!" she groaned, about to shove it into her bag anyways. But before she could, he grabbed her wrist. Tiffany tensed, shocked by the sudden contact.

"Wait, let me see. Hmm. ‘The Great Gatsby,’" he read in terrible English. Tiffany dug her fingers into her palm, trying not to laugh. "I think I have an unused copy of this book at my apartment. Come on, I'll get it for you." Tiffany trailed behind him obediently, noticing that they had entered the not-so-great part of town. They stopped in front of a run down building. ‘Prosperity Apartments’ the sign in front of the lawn read.

“You live here?” she asked, studying his face. He nodded, looking at his feet.

“Aish, why is my foot always in my mouth?” Tiffany muttered under her breath, slapping her head. “Uh...let’s go in,” she nudged him. He looked at her blankly.

“Oh. Yes, how rude of me,” he continued, smiling meekly. When they got inside the lobby, the elevator was jammed. He grunted, embarrassed.

“It’s okay, let’s take the stairs. I need some exercise anyways,” Tiffany assured him.

The apartment was probably smaller than Tiffany’s room alone, but it was very neat.

“Here, c’mon, I’ve got the book in my room.” he gestured towards the narrow hallway. She followed him, observing that there was only one bedroom. Did he live alone? She just shrugged it off and tailed after him into a tiny, undecorated bedroom that barely fit a bed, desk, and bookshelf. Tiffany walked over to the bookshelf where he was standing, flipping through rows of books. She put her hand on the sides of the bookcase, the carvings running smoothly underneath her fingertips. The bookcase was the only thing in the room that seemed to be dusted regularly.

“Ahhh...here it is!” he exclaimed, clicking his tongue, holding the book up triumphantly. The front cover was tattered and the pages were worn from being read over and over again, but Tiffany didn’t have the heart to tell him that she could just buy a new copy. She took the book and thanked him.

“I should probably go now, my father is probably looking for me right now,” she admitted. But as soon as she opened the door, she was greeted with a flash of lightning. Rain splattered onto her face. She looked at him, and then back at the storm outside and made a face.

“Then I guess I’m not going to be leaving now,” she surmised, wiping her face with her blazer and grinning. She closed the door. He nodded, sliding a thin disc into one the machines. The black screen flickered to life and he sat down on a small couch in front of the chunky television set. Tiffany shuffled her feet, unsure if she should join him or not, but when he brought out two cups of pink lemonade, she bit back a smile and sat down next to him.

“You still drink this?” she asked, taking small tentative sips

“Yes, what’s wrong with that? It’s my favorite.”

dropped open, but tried to act casual and replied nonchalantly, “Then that makes two of us.”

He glanced at her, before he turned away and went back to watching the movie. Every now and then, she would look at him out of the corner of her eye, taking in little bits of his perfect features. His brown eyes, his perfect hair, his pale lips. He was probably a year or two older than her.

“Are you hungry?” he asked, his eyes still fixed on the screen.

“What? No, I am okay,” she promised, but her stomach grumbled angrily, as if it was arguing with her.

“Aha. Are you sure?” he winked, getting up and heading to the kitchen. Tiffany put down her cup and went over, hoping to help. She had never actually cooked before, but she thought, you have to start somewhere, right.

“What are you making?” she asked, peeking at the pot of water heating on the stove.

“Soup,” he answered simply, looking hard at the carrot he was washing.

“Can I help?” Tiffany asked again, eyeing the array of pots and pans and bowls scattered messily around the kitchen.

“Hmm...how about you cut these carrots?” he offered, handing her a handful of carrots. Tiffany chewed on the inside of her cheek before finally taking the carrots. It couldn’t be that hard, right? She had watched Chef Ma do it tons of times. Picking up a random knife, she began chopping the carrots. And it wasn’t that hard. The boy was stirring the soup, sprinkling in salt, pepper, and some spices that Tiffany couldn’t identify.

“Hey! Come here.” he beckoned her over. He lifted a spoonful of soup to . The soup slid down her tongue and she savored the rich flavor.

“It’s good,” she commented. “Where’d you learn to cook like this?” He just winked and continued stirring.

Tiffany picked up her knife and began cutting the rest of her carrots. She stared at his back as he opened the refrigerator to get a tomato.

“Cut this too, okay?”

“AHHHH!” Tiffany dropped the knife. A drop of blood bloomed on her finger, dripping onto the tile. The guy rushed over to her side, rummaging in the cabinet before taking out a bottle of antiseptic and a bandage.

Taking her finger, he gently dabbed antiseptic onto the cut, making Tiffany wince. Then he tied the bandage into a tight knot. Tiffany gasped in pain.

“I’m okay, I’m okay,” she quickly reassured him. “I’ll go back to cutting carrots now,” she continued, standing up. But he pushed her back down.

“I don’t think so. You wait here, okay? I’ll go-” but he was interrupted by the fire alarm before he could say anything else. Smoke filled the apartment.

After a moment, he returned with the pot of soup.

“Good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?”

“Hmm...the good news.”

“My kitchen didn’t burn down!”

“And the bad?” Tiffany asked.

“Bad news is, the soup is probably not all that edible anymore.” Tiffany looked at the charred pot of soup.

“Do you have any ramen?” she asked, raising her eyebrows. He scanned the small kitchen, opening random drawers and cabinets before finally finding what he was looking for.

“Yeah, apparently I do,” he replied, holding up two bowls of ramen.

Minutes later, they were once again seated in front of the old television, enjoying their noodles silently, accompanied by sounds of slurping and chewing.

Tiffany finished the last of her ramen quickly, remembering that she still had homework to finish.

“Hey... I think I’m going to study now.”

He put his half-full bowl of ramen down, nodding. “Alright, you can work right here, right?”

“Yeah, thanks. Sorry about all the trouble.”

As Tiffany walked towards the dining room, she noticed her reflection in the mirror and tried to fix her hair. She looked so dorky in her school uniform. Stil sighing, she grabbed her bag and dragged it to the living room where the guy was watching a football game.

“Uh, do you mind if I sit next to you? The coffee table’s closer that way.” she explained, digging inside her bag for her textbooks and the notes that she had taken earlier in the day.

“Sure...as long as I don’t have to participate in the ‘studying’ part.”

She laughed, then pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and flipped open to where she had dog-eared the page. She leaned back onto the couch and delved into the process of photosynthesis.

Minutes later, she found herself bored out of her mind and dangerously close to falling asleep. But she chose to continue through the glucose and protons and enzymes for the sake of the exam that she knew the professor would be sure to spring on them the next day. Tiffany sighed, already exhausted, and she thoughtlessly rested her head against his shoulder. He looked sideways at her in surprise, but after a few minutes, she felt him entwine his fingers with hers. It was a pleasant change, and she felt as her brief period of tiredness had passed and was replaced with a burst of energy. Her heart pounded nervously.

Studying had suddenly become much more interesting than she had imagined.

As Tiffany finished up her homework, her eyes flickered at the simple wall clock. It was already 11:00. The rain outside the window grew louder and she grabbed her phone to call her parents and let them know that she wouldn’t be home. But she didn’t have any signal, adding to her frustration. She closed her books irritably, stuffing them in her bag quickly.

“Hey...is it okay if I stay over?” she quietly tapped on his shoulder. Absentmindedly, he nodded, too focused on the game to really realize what she was saying.

“Did you hear my question?” she poked, nudging him harder.

“Toouchdown!” he hollered, pumping his fist into the air enthusiastically. “Did you say something?”

“Uh, yeah. I asked if it’d be alright for me to stay over.” she repeated, trying to be patient. He looked over her shoulder at the rain pattering on the window.

“Why not? No way you are going home in that rain.”

“Thanks. I guess I’ll sleep on the couch.” Tiffany suggested.

“Why? You can take the bed. I’ll sleep on the couch.” he interjected.

“No, it’s alright. It is your apartment after all.”

“Please, you are the guest.”

“Fine, fine, fine. Can we at least watch another movie then?” Tiffany admitted defeat sourly. He tweaked her nose and grinnined wolfishly.

"Sure." he replied, standing up to pick a movie.

Halfway through the movie, Tiffany felt her self drifting off too sleep, but she was so tired from studying that she gave in. Moments later, the boy felt her lean her weight against him. When he looked at her, she was already asleep. He couldn't help but think to himself about how adorable she looked when she was sleeping.

Tiffany woke up to the sun shining in her eyes. She realized that she had her arms wrapped around the poor guy. He must've not wanted to move her. Slowly, she peeled her arms away and sat up, looking around. She still had an hour before school started.

"Hey, you're awake." a voice behind her remarked. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, I suppose." she mumbled, feeling a little embarrassed. "Sorry about that. I mean, last night."

"Nah, it's okay." he said, patting her head softly. Silence filled the apartment.

"I guess I'll get going, school is starting soon." she blurted, grabbing her books and bag. "Thanks for everything." She rushed out of the door.

"Wait! Come here," he called. She froze and turned around and walked back hesitantly. "I need to tell you something...Come closer." She took a tiny step closer. He bent down to whisper to her, and Tiffany felt their noses almost touching.

"Um yes, what is it that you wanted to say?"

"Nothing," he answered before leaning in and gently pressing his lips against hers. It was a pure and innocent action, but Tiffany wasn't sure what she felt about it, since she had no experience to compare it with. As he pulled away, Tiffany felt her cheeks heat up and her heart fluttered.

"Hey...stop staring. You should get to school now." he said, winking. She agreed, waving as she hurried down the stairs.

~~~~~ ( ・ω・) ~~~~~

Tiffany walked into a small cafe, smiling quietly to herself. Normally, she tried to avoid thinking about that night, but just for that day, she allowed herself to hang on it a little bit longer. Just for one day, she told herself. A waitress appeared, smiling politely.

"Table for one, please," Tiffany requested, in fluent English. The waitress led her to a small booth located right next to the windows.

"Would this be alright?"

"Mhm. It's great. Can you get me a pink lemonade?" she requested.

"Of course, I'll be right back with your lemonade." the waitress replied, making a few notes with her pen.

~~~~~ ( ・ω・) ~~~~~

Tiffany walked around the streets, looking at each and every one of the neglected, crumbling buildings and asking herself it was the one that the boy had taken her to. But every single time, her answer was no. She had never gotten his phone number, address, or even his name.

Those few weeks had been the worst weeks of her entire life. Her grades had plummeted, she had stopped eating, and that boy. That boy was the only thing she could think about. If she tried to do anything else, her mind would always bring her back to him.

"Tiffany! Hello!" Tiffany turned around to see one of her classmates, Yuri.

"Oh, Yuri! Hello!" she returned, startled.

"What are you doing here?" Yuri asked, smirking playfully.

"Oh...ah...I am taking a walk...The architecture and scenery is so nice, isn't it?" Tiffany lied, pointing at the tacky motel behind her. "What are you doing?"

"My grandparents live in the area just past this neighborhood," she replied. "Well...mmm, I'll see you in class."

Tiffany sighed, watching Yuri's retreating back.

~~~~~ ( ・ω・) ~~~~~

No more, Tiffany told herself, finishing her lemonade and leaving a tip. She had never seen that boy again, and she didn't intend to keep on counting on it. Starting now, she had a new life, and she wasn't going to wait on a guy she wouldn't ever meet again.

She had no idea how wrong she was.

~~~~~ ( ・ω・) ~~~~~

Ayy guys. Sorry for neglecting these few days. But here's a special, super duper long chapter in celebration of Miss Tiffany Hwang's 25th Birthday! Yay! Wh-hoo! Happy Birthday to our beautiful "Brighter than Gems," Pany Pany Tiffany!