Chapter 14

Taeyeon adjusted the loose waistband of her pyjamas pants, pulling it higher than it was meant to be before plopping herself onto her bed.

“For God’s sake, please throw your old pyjamas away. That thing doesn’t even have any elasticity left in it anymore.”

“Whatever Soonkyu, I don’t care. It is comfortable and I like it.” She switched off her nightlight and pulled the sheets up to her chin.

“What? You’re going to bed now? It is only 8.30.”

“So? I’m tired.”

Sunny was somewhat frustrated at her best friend’s behaviour in the past few weeks. Taeyeon has been either sleeping in a lot or spending all of her free time on her assignments. She was back to the quiet Taeyeon of the past. At first, Sunny understood it was because of the break up and that her best friend needed time to recover from it. Well, it has been more than three weeks and she was still behaving in the same frustrating way. She hated to see her best friend being miserable for so long. This cannot go on forever, she thought to herself.

“Yah.” She pulled the sheets away from her best friend, dragging her up from the bed by force. “I am not going to let this go on forever.”

“What are you doing!” Taeyeon struggled against the visibly stronger Sunny’s firm grip but failed miserably.

“Get dressed up. We are going out for ice-cream tonight. My treat. You need to stop wallowing self pity and get over it.”

“Who says I am”

“I say so. Either you get dressed or I am just gonna drag you out in your ugly pyjamas.”

Taeyeon groaned as she hopped off her bed. She knows better than to defy her best friend. Sunny was indeed perfectly capable of shaming Taeyeon by dragging her out in her Donald Duck pyjamas.

“I hate you Soonkyu” She mumbled as she dug her closet for a hoodie to slip on.

“See? Isn’t this better?” Sunny remarked as she pulled Taeyeon into her favourite ice-cream shop.

As soon as Taeyeon saw the buckets of icecream that lined the counter, her eyes lit up as she peered through the glass display. Sunny shook her head and allowed her best friend to admire and choose the flavour. It always took Taeyeon some time to decide on a flavour.

“Hm, Soonkyu, it seems like they have new flavours today.” Taeyeon pointed at the black coloured bucket. “Black sesame?”

Sunny was about to reply when she saw a familiar figure walking into the ice cream parlour. A very familiar figure to be exact. To make matters worse, that familiar face was walking with another girl in tow. Sunny’s blood boiled at the sight.

“Lee Soon—“, Taeyeon’s breath hitched when she turned her head and too, saw the very familiar figure. Tiffany.

Tiffany was walking into the ice-cream parlour with a girl that was clinging tightly onto her arm, almost half dragging her inside. They looked intimate.

 Taeyeon suddenly became uneasy and felt the familiar stabs to her heart. So she has moved on so quickly…

“Sunny, can we go back? I don’t feel well.”

But Sunny had a different idea. “Why must we leave? She was the one who cheated on you. She should be the one leaving. Not us. Choose your flavour. We are staying put.” Sunny was adamant in staying. If someone had to leave, it has to be the shameless Tiffany.

Taeyeon blinked several times, not knowing what to do but eventually decided to order her ice-cream.

==

“Why did you even drag me out for ice-cream at this timing? I don’t even like ice-cream all that much.”

“But sis, I have heard that this is the best ice-cream shop in this area. You need to get some fresh air and I need to try their black sesame ice-cream.” The younger sister argued as she dragged her elder sister into the ice-cream parlour.

Tiffany felt her breath hitch the second she saw the very girl who had been tugging endlessly at her heartstrings for the past couple of weeks. Taeyeon.

It was cute seeing how Taeyeon, who wore a hoodie that was one size too big for her, peered into the glass display with round, wide eyes.

But then she remembered how she had hurt Taeyeon. “Come on Taylor, let’s go somewhere else. I’ll treat you.”

“Nah sis. I really want to try their ice-cream. Don’t deprive me of it.”

Tiffany shook her head. “See that girl over there? The one in the ugly hoodie? That’s Taeyeon.”

Taylor’s eyes sprang open at the revelation. “WHAT?”

“Yeah. Now can we leave?”

“Of course not! Sis, this is your chance. Go talk to her. Get her back. She’s cute.” Taylor exclaimed, speaking loudly. A loud voice runs in the Hwang family afterall. “It’s time you stopped mopping around.”

“Shush!” Tiffany almost wanted to cup her sister’s big mouth. “Do you want everyone to hear you?”

“Go Tiff. Help me order a cup of black sesame while you’re at it.” Taylor pushed Tiffany towards the counter where Taeyeon who was by now, holding onto two cups of ice-cream with a spoon in .

Man up Tiffany Hwang, it is now or never.

Tiffany shot an aggressive glare at her giggling sister and slowly inched her way towards the counter. She felt like a hunter on the prowl as she slowly approaches the unsuspecting Taeyeon who was tryng to fish coins from her wallet. 

“Hey” Tiffany flashed a polite smile as she tried to get the other girl’s attention.

Taeyeon turned her head upon hearing the familiar voice and then got so shocked that sprang open, dropping the spoon on the ground. Tiffany, by instinct, bent down at the same time as Taeyeon to pick the spoon up.

They were so close to each other that Tiffany blushed when she felt Taeyeon’s warm breath against her cheek. She straightened up almost immediately. It was the cliché scene straight out of a typical weekend soap drama. Except there was no male lead but two stubborn female leads.

“H-Hi” Tiffany tried again. Except this time she caught the attention of Sunny.

“What do you want?” Sunny, being the ever so loyal friend, stepped forward almost immediately. She subtly shielded Taeyeon away from Tiffany the hunter.

“I just want to talk to Taeyeon.”

Sunny let out a sarcastic laughter. “You want to talk to her? You mean you want to brag to her about how well you have moved on?”

“Soonkyu…let’s go—“Taeyeon tugged at her best friend’s sleeves, she had no intentions of starting a fight. Not with Tiffany.  

“What are you talking about Lee Soonkyu? I just want to have a proper talk with Taeyeon.” She almost wanted to shove Sunny away. “That’s all. Nothing else.”

Sunny was just about to retort when Taeyeon held her back and said, “Alright. Let’s have that talk then.”

==

“What do you want?” Taeyeon asked as she poked her half melted ice-cream with her spoon.

“I just…want to talk to you.”

Taeyeon raised an eyebrow. “About?”

“Us.”

Tiffany stared straight into Taeyeon’s eyes. They were just as gentle as she remembered them to be.

“There’s really nothing for us to talk about. I understand. And I don’t mind. We are over right? You have the rights to date anyone. There is no need to clarify. I am okay with it. Really.”

“What?” Tiffany furrowed her eyebrows, obviously caught off guard by Taeyeon. “What are you talking about? I am not dating anyone.”

Taeyeon sighed. “You know what Fany? I am sick of all the lies. You can date whoever you want to. I really don’t care.” She dropped her spoon hastily and got off the seat, leaving a very confused Tiffany behind.

“What happened?” Taylor asked as a dejected Tiffany returned to her seat.

Tiffany shrugged. “I don’t know. She just told me that it is okay for me to date. I don’t even know what she was babbling about.”

“Are you stupid or dumb? Sis, she obviously thinks we are dating.”

“WHAT?”

“I saw Sunny giving me a dirty look while they were leaving.” Taylor shuddered. “As if she was going to bite my head off.”

“Are you for real? I hate you. Remind me why did I come out with you again?”

“Come on sis, you need to win her back. And it isn’t my fault that I look so attractive.”

“Stop being shameless.”

Kim Taeyeon you are a stupid girl. But I am going to win you back. Watch me. Tiffany smiled to herself as she scooped through her strawberry flavoured ice-cream.

==

Just like every other patient hunter, Tiffany stood outside with her arms folded, waiting for her prey to arrive. She watched as the clock hits 12pm. Right on cue, a tiny figure emerges from the lecture hall, lugging a stack of heavy books.

Tiffany tidied her hair using the reflection of the glass door, straightened up and walked slowly towards her.

“Hey baby” She smirks a little and quickly grabs the stack of books off the girl, giving the girl a surprise, or rather a shock.

“W-what are you d-doing. Return me...my b-books.” Taeyeon tried to snatch the books back.

“If you want your books back, then follow me.” Tiffany leaned close to Taeyeon and whispered, her lips almost touching Taeyeon’s ear. “I will be waiting for you at our usual meet up spot.”

And in true Tiffany-fashion, she ended off the conversation with a slow, teasing on Taeyeon’s reddened ear. It left a knees weak, arms heavy Taeyeon rooted to the ground for a long, long time. Taeyeon's head was spinning as she watched Tiffany strut away, taking away her books and her heart.