Chapter 4

She turned the alarm clock off with exactly one press and hopped off the bed, slightly drowsy from sleep. She adjusted the waistband of her loose pyjamas pants as she stood up, pulling it up a little.

Her best friend, Soonkyu was still asleep so she had to be careful not to wake her up. She did not want to be whacked on her head so early in the morning. She thinks Soonkyu is responsible for her height, rather, the lack of it. But then, who is responsible for Soonkyu's lack of height? She has always found Auxology intriguing. Taeyeon scratched her neck and made a mental note to read up on human height growth.

She took a quick shower, approximately 5 minutes. She grinned at the bathroom mirror, fixed her braids and combed her bangs straight, nearly touching her eyes. It was time for a new haircut. She prefers her hair neat and tidy. But right now, she has something more important things to handle.

Taeyeon could not believe her luck. She has a cute girlfriend who loves her for who she is. Seriously, what are the odds? She hums a soft tune as she shouldered her backpack and shuts the dorm door carefully behind her.

==

Tiffany felt something ticklish around her neck. She tried to open her dry eyes, squinting as her eyes adjusted to the sunlight. Her head was still throbbing from the after effects of the alcohol.

“Hi darling.”

She felt a breath tickling at the neck and jumped off the couch when she realized who it was.

“Woah, wait a minute. What’s wrong?”

“D-don’t come n-near me.”

“What’s wrong with you seriously?”

“Nothing.” She took a deep breath to calm herself down and grabbed her jacket off the counter. “Last night didn’t happen alright? Let’s forget about last night. I was drunk, and I am guessing you were drunk too.”

“As you wish, gorgeous. Not the first time we have done this anyway.” Sooyoung strutted over and gave the girl a peck. “Why are you so flustered?”

“B-bye” Tiffany put her jacket on and left the apartment hastily.

On the cab, she cursed herself for the lapse in self-control. Last night was not planned at all. Granted, all her one night stands at parties were all unplanned. But she really had no intentions of getting wasted last night. All she wanted was to soak in the atmosphere, reconnect with her friends, and maybe some harmless flirting.

How am I gonna face Taeyeon?

The thought of Taeyeon jolted her memory. She was supposed to have breakfast with her! It was way past afternoon now. She let out a soft curse and turned her phone on. The phone was vibrating nonstop when she switched it on, loading all the missed messages.

==

Taeyeon stretched her legs and fidgeted restlessly on her seat. She took a peek at her digital watch. Nearly half an hour past their usual waiting time. Surely Tiffany would have given me a call if she could right? She’s probably busy with something. She debated whether she should take the initiative to give Tiffany a call. Would I be irritating her by giving her a call? She did not want to be seen as overly impatient. She was not sure of the socially acceptable range of waiting time for appointments.

Maybe I should ask Soonkyu about it.

She punched in the numbers.

“Hello?”

“What. Aren’t you supposed to be on a date?”

“Any idea what is the socially acceptable waiting time for appointments?”

“What? What kind of question is that?”

“Come on just answer my question.”

“Eh…Fifteen minutes? I can wait for about 15 minutes for my friends without getting pissed off.”

Taeyeon tried to internalize the information. If it is 15 minutes for friends, then it is probably longer for girlfriends.

“What about for girlfriends?”

“What? I am lost Taeyeon. Please enlighten me.”

“Okay. I am supposed to meet Tiffany for breakfast as you would know. I mean, I have written it on the corkboard of our room. So we were supposed to meet at 8.30am but she hasn’t showed up yet. It has been…” She peeked at her watch again. “32 minutes and 23 seconds I am not sure if I should give her a call, I don’t want to be seen as irritating or impatient.”

Sunny had to hold back her curse words and took a deep breath to steady herself down. “JUST GIVE HER A CALL.”

Taeyeon flinched a little and pulled the phone away from her ears. “Must you shout?”

“If we were to continue this conversation any longer, I might just trample all over your lego collection. I am hanging up now. Just give her a call and ask her where she is, Kim Taeyeon.”

The line was cut off before Taeyeon could even reply.  

“What’s with her being so cranky in the morning anyway”

Taeyeon punched in a different set of numbers, one that she had already memorized by heart. She swung her legs while waiting for the person on the other end of the line to pick up. The phone rang for a while before getting cut off because no one was answering it.

Taeyeon shook off the scary thoughts in her head. Is Tiffany in some kind of trouble? She tried dialling her number several times to no avail. She fiddled with her bangs as her thoughts went wild.

Her first thoughts were scary ones and then she tries to reason with herself.

What if someone kidnapped Tiffany on her way and took her phone? She tries to calm herself down. Or maybe she has just overslept? Yes, that’s very likely. She should just wait it out.

The chilling wind blew against her cheeks and she regretted not wearing something thicker. She paced around their usual meeting place, the park near their school. Every now and then she would try to call Tiffany or send her a text message.

==

“Thanks” Tiffany passed some cash to the driver and hopped off the taxi.

She scanned the park for Taeyeon and had to curse herself for the nth time today when she saw the familiar figure sitting on the stone bench. This stupid girl.

“Taeyeon ah”

The girl turned around and quickly stood up when she saw Tiffany.

“You stupid girl. Why are you still here?”

“I-I am waiting for you.” Her teeth were chattering and her voice was trembling.

Tiffany shook her head and mentally slapped herself. She had totally forgotten what kind of person Taeyeon is. She peeled off her own jacket and draped it loosely around the girl’s shoulders, before pecking her cold lips.

She then wordlessly pulled her into their usual restaurant.

“H-hey I am sorry.”

Tiffany hadn’t said a word to Taeyeon ever since they entered the restaurant. She ordered a bowl of warm chicken soup for her and nothing for herself. She fiddled quietly with her phone.

You don’t have to say sorry. It isn’t your fault. It was mine. Why did you wait for me?”

“I didn’t know what else to do. I tried calling and texting you but there was no reply and I had no idea where you lived. I thought you got into some kind of trouble--”

“How dare you curse me?”

“No no no. I was just trying to analyse the situation. Of course, I wouldn’t wish for you to be in any trouble.”

“Don’t wait for me the next time something like this happens.”

“Why?”

“Don’t ask too much questions.” She snapped.

Taeyeon kept quiet and continued to drink her soup nosily.

Tiffany saw the soft eyes concentrating on the bowl and felt guilty immediately.

“Hey hey. I didn’t mean to snap at you. I am just a little tired today.” Tiffany leaned forward to pat Taeyeon’s puffy cheeks. “What do you have after this?”

“I was planning to go cut my hair and then do back to do my science project.”

“Boring. Want to come over to my place? Sleep with me?”

Taeyeon almost choked on her soup, coughing and trying to breathe simultaneously.

"Stop thinking of erted things, Kim Taeyeon." Tiffany threw a chopstick at the coughing girl. "I am sleepy and I just wanna cuddle with you because you're being cute today."

Taeyeon's mind had already started weaving potential scenarios. Some very weird ones to be precise.

“I am not thinking of anything!” She quickly retorted and silently praised herself for her quick response. 

"The day you stop thinking would be the day you start growing."

“Wait. Am I not supposed to be cute every day?"

"There are tons of cute girls out there--"

"And yet you chose me." Taeyeon flashed a toothy grin before picking up her spoon again.

Tiffany sighed for the second time today. She really needs to sort herself out.

==

"Welcome to my humble abode. There's nothing much to it."

Taeyeon eyes the spacious apartment. It was surprisingly neat and tidy. She had expected it to be messy and pink all over.

"Yeah. There really isn't much to it. But why aren't your curtains pink? Or your bedsheets?"

"Unlike someone who has an obsession with Mickey mouse and dresses herself in Mickey mouses from head to toe, I try not to drench myself in pink. You know, everything in moderation.” Tiffany smirked a little. “I wonder if your have Mickey mouse as well."

Taeyeon understood the jab and wanted to defend herself until the last sentence. The words that she wanted to say got stuck in the midway of .

She blinked her eyes several times before deciding that she should try to change the topic.

Rule of socializing: don't run away from awkward situations, change the topic.

She searched her head for ideas.

"Stop trying to think about potential ideas to change topics. I know you too well." Tiffany took off her shoes and threw herself on the bed.

Taeyeon stood there, feeling stupid. But then again, Tiffany never fails to make her feel things. Strange. tingly things.

"What are you waiting for?" Tiffany took off her outerwear and threw it carelessly to the side. Taeyeon closed her eyes by reflex, not used to the increase in intimacy. "I'm on the verge of throwing you out."

Taeyeon was nervous at the prospect of being on the same bed with Tiffany. Sure, she has slept on the same bed as Sunny but Sunny is her best friend. She was nervous and scared.

But she walked obediently to the bed, fearing Tiffany's wrath.

"We really need to work on your fashion taste. You can't keep wearing the same old t-shirts and jeans. I know you look good in anything but you can't wear Mickey Mouse t shirt everywhere when you're 19." Tiffany watched the girl pulled off her hoodie and folded it neatly before putting it on her backpack. "It's like a rule."

Taeyeon shrugged her shoulders. “But it's comfortable and easy on the eyes.”

“You’re wrong. You’re easy on the eyes, that hideous shirt isn’t.”

She gingerly got onto the bed and made herself comfortable.

“You need some cute things on your bed. It is weird to have a bed without any soft toys.” Taeyeon noted the lack of plushies and made a mental note to get some cute and soft plushies for Tiffany’s next birthday. She is a firm believer in having to hug them to sleep.

“Really?” Tiffany leaned over immediately, her upper body resting on Taeyeon.

She brushed her fingertips lightly over the reddened cheeks. The poor girl was pinned underneath, trying hard to regulate her heartbeat.

“But I already have something cute on my bed right now.”