Tiffany's POV

"Girls, let me introduce you to my mentor." I heard Bora's voice. "Kim Taeyeon ssi."

My head automatically looked up straight when I heard that name. When our eyes met, it seemed like the time had stopped around us. I saw the shock in her eyes, the way she swallowed her saliva and the little curve at the edge of her pink lips that was forming into a small smile.

'Taetae.' The first word that popped out on my mind as I felt the familiar pumping of my heart that I always felt whenever she smiled at me.

Taeyeon's POV

I looked at my watch and saw that it was already 9.15pm as I continued to walk aimlessly towards the arrival gate. "Aigoo, how am I suppose to find them when everyone is so much taller than me. They should have landed half an hour ago." I mumbled to myself and was about to look away when I saw a hand waving at me. I recognised the energetic girl from a distance and smiled a little.

"Did you wait long, Unnie?" Bora asked the moment she stood in front of me.

"Anni, I had just arrived. Where are your friends?" I asked as I didn't see anyone walking beside her.

"Girls, let me introduce you to my mentor." Bora turned around and stood aside. "Kim Taeyeon ssi."

I was about to bow down to greet her friends when something caught my eyes. One of the girls was staring straight at me. A girl that I've missed so much. 'She still looks like an angel.' I thought to myself as I swallowed my saliva and tried to control my smile. I saw her bowing a little at me so I quickly regain my composure and bowed back.

"Taeyeon-unnie, these are my colleagues. Nicole and Tiffany." Bora introduced us as I continued to just nod my head. "By the way, Tiffany is the same age as you so both of you don't have to be so formal to each other. Like how I am to her."

"You're informal to almost everyone no matter the age difference." Nicole rebutted as Bora meronged at her.

"Shall we make a move first?" I asked as my eyes stole a glance at Tiffany who seemed to be very quiet.

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"Nice car, Unnie." Bora complimented the moment everyone was inside the car.

Bora was seated at the passenger's seat while Nicole and Tiffany were seated behind.

"It's my sister's car. I borrowed it from her to fetch you girls." Taeyeon explained as her eyes were focussed on the road but once a while, she would steal glances at the rear mirror where she could catch a glimpse of Tiffany.

"Sorry for the trouble." Nicole said as Taeyeon just shook her head and smiled a little. "Hey, Tiff. Why are you so silent suddenly? It's so unlike you to be this quiet."

"I.. I'm just.. a little tired." Tiffany replied as she looked up and caught Taeyeon looking at her from the rear mirror. Tiffany quickly shifted her eyes to the window to avoid any eye contact.

"By the way, what's with the sudden trip to Seoul?" Taeyeon asked. "You contacted me through email just a few days ago and told me that you needed some urgent help."

"We have a meeting here in Seoul on Tuesday, representing our company. The urgent help is for you to be our companion for the next two days. You'll have to bring us around. Shopping, eating and have fun." Bora explained to which she was surprised when Tiffany suddenly declined the idea.

"I don't think that is necessary, Bora. Taeyeon might be busy. We can find our own way around. Furthermore, I still keep in contact with my other friends in Seoul." Tiffany explained her decision.

No one said anything until the car stopped 15mins later, right in front of the hotel where the 3 girls were staying. Taeyeon exited from the car to remove the luggages from the back while the 3 girls quickly went out to assist her. The bell-boy arrived to receive the luggages as Taeyeon leaned against the car. 

"With regards to your suggestion, I'm actually free since it's the weekend." Taeyeon said as she looked at everyone before her eyes stopped at Tiffany. "Furthermore, am I not one of your friends too, Tiffany Hwang Miyoung?"

Tiffany saw the look in Taeyeon's eyes. Just by staring at them, she could almost feel the pain that Taeyeon was hiding behind the small smile that she was showing at the moment. While the two of them were lost in their own world, Bora and Nicole were looking confused as they stood by the side.

"How come your mentor knew Tiffany's full name?" Nicole whispered to Bora who was standing beside her.

"I'm not sure. I don't even...." Bora suddenly stopped talking as she covered and had her eyes wide opened before pointing at Taeyeon. "Tae? As in Taeyeon? Plush-toy owner? Teddy-bear lover? You were the one who sent that white bear to Tiffany, right?"

Tiffany and Taeyeon turned to look at Bora while Nicole kept blinking her eyes.

"And Tiffany is the angel that you've hurt before. Your broken angel. Am I right, Taeyeon-unnie?" Bora continued saying as Taeyeon slowly nodded her head.

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(Flashbacks)

Bora's POV

"Can you stop daydreaming and concentrate on the statistics?" Taeyeon-unnie shook her head at me as I just smiled at her.

"Unnie, are you free after this tutorial?" I asked as she frowned. "Let's go to Disneyland."

"I'm not interested." Taeyeon-unnie replied as she leaned back into the chair. "But if you can finish this financial stats by 2pm, maybe I'll treat you to ice-cream."

"Okay. It's a date then." I smiled cheekily as she shook her head again.

It was a motivation for me to work on the papers as I managed to finish it 30mins before the time was up. Happily packing my things, I saw Taeyeon-unnie going through my papers.

I was already in my 3rd year, studying financial management in Tokyo University. My grades has always been average and from the recommendation of my friends, I applied for the buddy system whereby a senior student will be a mentor to a junior student to assist in improving their grades. With a one to one coaching, the system has helped a lot of students learned better and faster.

A month ago, I was introduced to Taeyeon-unnie who was assigned as my mentor. I was surprised when I saw her. She didn't look like a senior to me with her child-like looks. Our first few meetings were a little awkward as she doesn't seem to talk much but since I was the talkative one, Taeyeon-unnie started to be more interactive over the weeks. She always had this cool and charming aura, emitting from her. Her patience in explaining things to me, the way she pout when I ask her things that she can't answer instantly and the way she would smirk when I'm having trouble with my assignments. All these little things made me fond of her and soon enough, I had a little crush on my mentor.

"Unnie, it's been almost a month since you've been tutoring me but the only things that I knew about you are your name, your age and your major." I pouted before she took a spoonful of her ice-cream.

"That's all you need to know about me." Taeyeon-unnie replied, with her eyes still on her own ice-cream.

"But I want to know more. It must have been fate that brought us together. Out of all the tutors that had volunteered for the buddy system, you were paired up with me." I tried another approach.

"Fate?" I saw her cute shocked expression. "Both of us are Korean. Besides majoring in music studies, I also took a degree in financial studies in Seoul. I think both factors are good enough for them to put me with you." Taeyeon countered my argument.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" I suddenly blurted out and was shocked when she glared at me. "I.. I'm sorry. I should have asked if you have a boyfriend. I didn't mean to cross the privacy line. Mianhae."

For the next 2 weeks, I didn't feel like talking much to her. I could still remember the glare that she gave me. It was like I've touched a very sensitive issue and I was sure I saw a slight pain within that glare.

"Bora, is everything okay?" Taeyeon-unnie asked me during one of our session after that incident. "You've been quiet for the past 2 weeks."

"I'm okay." I replied shortly.

"I'm sorry for glaring at you that day." Taeyeon-unnie's words caught my attention. "The truth is, I don't have a boyfriend but I used to have a girlfriend."

My eyes widened not because I was surprised that she had a girlfriend. I was surprised that she's actually admitting to it.

"Used to have? Does that mean you're single now?" I asked as I looked into her eyes, causing her to nod nervously. "Why did you break up with your girlfriend? What is she like?"

Taeyeon looked at me and smiled a little. "Complete your papers and if your score is better than the previous one, maybe I'll tell you more."

I didn't have to be told twice. Concentrating on my papers to make sure that I didn't make any careless mistake, I was glad when I managed to do better after Taeyeon-unnie went through my papers, an hour later.

"So, tell me more about her." I asked quickly after I've put aside my school stuff.

"She was like an angel the first time I saw her. The moment I saw her walking into the cafetaria, with her long red hair, my heart was already stolen." Taeyeon-unnie smiled with a dreamy look and it was the first time that I saw her dimple smile. "She was the sweetest thing alive. Always greeting everyone with her beautiful eye-smile, always polite but she has the habit of wanting to talk a lot. Because she was from the States, some of her behaviour was not really welcomed by the Korean students such as intercepting when someone else is talking. Some students didn't really like her but she didn't mind at all. She would even helped her haters if she had too. Her presence always lifted up my mood."

"Was she your first girlfriend?" I asked as Taeyeon grabbed her bottle to drink a little while nodding her head. "You must have loved her a lot."

Taeyeon-unnie shook her head, causing me to frown. "It's not 'loved'. It's love. Because even at this moment, I'm still in love with her."

Her sincere declaration caused me to feel a little jealous but I put my feelings aside. "So why did you ask for a break-up then?"

"Because I was stupid. That's all I can say." She took a deep breathe and looked up to the sky. "Frankly speaking, you reminded me of her a lot. She was almost like you, always full of energy and zest."

"She's like me? Wow... Is that why you were awkward with me during our first few meetings?" I guessed as Taeyeon-unnie nodded her head. "If she was like me... how did she end up with someone like you?" I saw the surprised look on her face as I quickly explained myself. "Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that both of you are not compatible but you're so laid back and calm. Honestly speaking, you're not the 'fun' type of person and if she's someone like me, she should be a fun-loving person."

Taeyeon-unnie chuckled when she heard my explanation. "Fun? What makes you think I'm not a fun person?" Taeyeon asked as she gave me a cheeky grin. "The times spent with her was always fun. It's true that I'm not as energetic as her. Sometimes I can't even keep up with her. We are almost the opposite but doesn't the opposite usually attracts?"

She suddenly laughed like an ahjumma, catching me off guard but her laughter was so addictive that I ended up laughing along. It took us another 5 minutes before the laughter died down.

"Taeyeon-unnie, do you know you look better when you are laughing and smiling?"

Taeyeon smiled a little and chuckled agian. "I guess after losing her, I've lost myself too. I left her broken-hearted. My broken angel."

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(Present time in the Hotel room)

Silence filled the air as Bora, Tiffany and Nicole looked at each other. They had just finished listening to Bora's narration of her experience in getting to know Taeyeon who had already left after the girls had completed their checking-in process.

"How was she when she was in Japan?" Tiffany was the first one to break the silence.

"Usually alone. I've never seen her mingling with anyone else. It's safe to say that I'm the only friend she has." Bora explained as she grinned. "But I didn't see her much after that 3 months of tutoring. She did came to say goodbye to me a day before she flew back to Seoul, telling me to work hard and said that I can actually do well in my studies if I put my heart in it."

"Were you sad when your crush left?" Nicole asked with a teasing tone.

"Actually, I wasn't prepared to say goodbye to her yet. I had planned to buy her a gift and hand it over to her during her graduation but she left for Seoul a week earlier. She said that she had to hurry back to Seoul so she won't be attending her graduation." Bora explained further.

"She flew back before her graduation? Are you sure?" Tiffany asked since she remembered that Taeyeon's graduation date was 5 days after her graduation. "I extended my stay in Seoul for 2 weeks after my graduation but until then, she didn't return."

"She didn't? That's not possible. I even accompanied her while she waited for the cab to the airport the next day." Bora replied earnestly.

"Do you think something had happened to her? Since she left Japan early but she didn't reach Seoul like she was supposed to." Nicole's question brought a frown on both Bora's and Tiffany's face.

Nicole's remarks was left hanging as the 3 girls decided to get some sleep since it was almost midnight but one of them took a longer time to reach dreamland.