Taeyeon checked her newly bought watch for the thirtieth time that night and sighed exasperatedly. Even though she had assured herself that this Hwang girl would be stuck up, she had to admit that she had a little, tiny hope that she wasn’t…that much. But now as time approached when she would have to say that the other person was late by half an hour, she had her confirmation.

Nothing had gone well for her for the past three days. After telling Auntie and Sunny the news of her departure, they had protested, especially Sunny, who was absolutely livid about having her leave again for an extended period of time. She knew Sunny had missed her. She certainly didn’t want to leave them, but she had to protect them. She really didn’t want them to be burdened more than they should. She owed them her life, so it was only obvious that she had to do this.

They had a discussion (understatement of the century) and basically Sunny almost threw her out of the house if not for Auntie Hankyu’s intervention. However, that didn’t save her from sleeping in the couch, Sunny not allowing her to sleep with her like they had done it since they were children. It’s true that by the next day Sunny was less angry, enough to say goodbye, but not much.

The next day, she arrived at the Capitol and promptly was ushered to Mr. Hwang’s house, where he told her all she needed to know about his daughter. It wasn’t that bad, actually. It just felt like watching paint dry. The girl really had nothing interesting in her favor.

Typical Capitol girl. Conceited, childish, naïve.

After that, she installed in her new apartment, bringing the few material possessions she had before the Games: some books, a portrait of her parents and another of Auntie Hankyu, Sunny and herself. The exhausting part was to buy new furniture and things for her new house.

Forward to today, where she was waiting for a certain Miss Hwang to come to a dinner that the latter’s father had arranged. Taeyeon looked at her clock and confirmed that the Hwang girl was late by half an hour. She gave a little sip to the liquid she had in her glass and made a face. She had never liked alcohol, nor the taste or the rapid effects that it had on her, but she had nothing to do in her wait but drink. Mr. Hwang (how he had insisted she called him) had told her that she could order anything she wanted because everything would be paid by him, but she felt reluctant to do so. She had pride that she would not throw away for some food in a nice restaurant.

No, she would not throw away her pride. The girl wanted a girlfriend? Taeyeon would be her girlfriend, but she would have to play by Taeyeon’s rules. The only thing Taeyeon was set to give was her body and her presence, nothing more, nothing less (maybe less if she could). She was sure that with this strategy the girl would get bored of her, it was only natural.

“Tiffany Hwang is here!” said a somehow overly cheery voice that made Taeyeon cringe. She cleared her face and sat straight, trying to give her best worst impression.

“Ah, welcome Miss Hwang, she is at the back,” said someone, presumably the waiter.

In no time, Taeyeon could see a young girl her age, with reddish hair, big brownish eyes with long eyelashes, full pinkish lips, tall nose shaped in a way she had never seen, and a strut in her step. She smirked. That was what she expected to see.  She stood up and bowed.

“Good night, Miss Hwang,” she said as respectfully as she could.

“Hi!” she said enthusiastically and undeterred while getting close to Taeyeon. The latter did not expect what she did next. She hugged her. Taeyeon tensed under the hug, not used to having people aside from Auntie Hankyu and Sunny getting in her personal space. 

They separated and sat on the two chairs of the table, making them face each other.

“I’m sorry for being late! I had so many things to do before this.” Then why not invite to dinner other day instead of making me wait here?! “I had to go shopping with Jessi, take Prince to the veterinary to have his fur dyed, have a manicure…” Don’t roll your eyes, Taeyeon Kim. Resist the temptation! The list became so long that Taeyeon zoned out. If Sunny was here, they would be making fun her attitude and her whole dressing. It was plain ridiculous. And let’s not talk about her weird accent. They always did that whenever they had to see the Victory Tour of past winners.

Sunny. She remembered the kiss they gave each other after meeting the first time after a long time. Taeyeon couldn’t remember when they started acting like that, when the caresses didn’t seem so innocent anymore. She just knew that when they reached adolescence, it somehow felt natural to do so. She had questioned many times her feelings for her childhood friend, her angel, but the answer was never there.

“Hey! Are you listening!” said the other girl with a whine, taking Taeyeon out of her reverie.

“Yes, of course,” she said seriously. The other girl pouted, obviously not believing the shorty.

“I was asking you about what you want to eat,” the taller girl repeated. Taeyeon suddenly became aware of the waiter that was beside their table, waiting for her to order.

“Sorry, I want what she ordered,” she said, not bothering to read the menu.

Tiffany pouted again. “But that’s not fun, Taetae!” Taetae, what? “Bring her a Baeckeoffe.”

The waiter bowed and left. Taeyeon cleared .

“If I could know, why did you call me… that name?” she said, feeling a little stupid after thinking of saying the name that seemed so ridiculous, like she was a dog.

“Because it sounds cute! It’s so boring to call my lover just by her name, don’t you think?” she said again being enthusiastic. This girl is bipolar.

“Sure, whatever.”

Tiffany paid no heed to her answer and started talking again.

“So, tell me about yourself,” the taller girl said. Taeyeon shrugged her shoulders.

“My name is Taeyeon Kim. I’m 18 years old. I live in District 12…”

“But I know that already, silly! Tell me something I don’t know about!” Sigh.

“Well, there’s nothing more to know about me. I am not a very interesting person,” she said as she took a big gulp of the alcoholic beverage. They said that alcohol made everything better, so this was going to be very useful.

“Sure there is! You can tell me about your parents, your home, your friends, your preferences in a girlfriend…” Taeyeon almost spit the drink out, but instead chose to try to pass it through , making her choke in the process.

“Oh my gosh, are you okay?” Tiffany asked a little worried.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” said Taeyeon between coughs. Well, at least she cared about me, something I did not expect from a Capitol girl.

“Have you ever drunk this type of wine? It’s really divine!” Nevermind.

Taeyeon shook her head, and Tiffany took that as an incentive to talk. Inwardly, she sighed again, knowing that this would be a recurrent thing for the rest of the night… or for the rest of her stay in the Capitol.

She got in her thoughts again, this time thinking about a certain stylist that had been her mentor in replacement of the non-existent past victors of District 12.

The last time she talked with Hyoyeon Kim was at the end of the Victory Tour, specifically in the party that was held the last day. She had simply fixed her bowtie and told her ‘Good luck’. She knew that those words said so much more than that was implied, like she was wishing her luck in this land of wolves.

What was Hyoyeon doing now? Was she still a stylist? Duh. She told herself. It was obvious. What she really wanted to know is where she was.

Though mysterious, Hyoyeon had become a fountain of friendship and relief over the course of the games. She was peculiar, yes, but even in her peculiar way Taeyeon could see how much she cared for her, how much she appreciated her. Their conversations were always strange, like disconnected thoughts, but somehow very refreshing, as if the conversation distracted her from the overly pessimistic thoughts that always swarmed in her head.

“Oh, our food is here!”

Taeyeon again snapped away from her thoughts as the waiter put the plate that was supposedly called Baeckeoffe. The dish seemed very fancy, like everything in that place. What type of meat is this?

“Enjoy,” said the waiter and left.

Taeyeon poked the dish, still not used to seeing such fancy food compared to the dishes that Auntie Hankyu always made.

“Hey, Taetae.”

“Hmm?”

“Say ah.”

“What?” Taeyeon finally looked at the front, a fork with Tiffany’s food in front of .

“Say ah,” said Tiffany with a whiny, childlike voice. Gosh, does everyone in the Capitol talk like this?

“Erm, why?” Taeyeon wasn’t really sure why she wanted to do that. It’s a thing couples do… oh.

“Because where a couple, silly. Say ah,” Tiffany insisted, pushing the fork further in a way that Taeyeon was forced to open to avoid being hurt by it.

A flavor explosion happened in Taeyeon’s mouth and a weird feeling in her stomach made her feel uneasy. Maybe it’s because this dish is way different to what I’m used to back home. She chewed the food and swallowed it, watching Tiffany beam. They stayed quiet for a few seconds, Tiffany looking expectant.

“Well?” the Capitol girl asked.

“Well, what?”

As if to answer, Tiffany opened , making an ‘ah’ sound. You’ve got to be kidding me.

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I'm sorry if this Chapter is not that good! I know it can be a little cliché, but please bear with me. Anyways, thanks for reading, subscribing, and voting!

BigDinosaur