"Why are you sulking?"

She rolled her eyes in annoyance as she felt the couch sinking when Sooyoung plopped down. Although her tall friend was light, the impact made her jump up a little.

"Your favourite performer is out there belting notes and you're here, alone, sulking?" Sooyoung continued after getting no reply from Taeyeon.

They came to Sunny's restaurant for dinner since there was a live performance tonight by one of their favourite performer. Sunny had managed to secure the gig although it was difficult as the independent singer was very popular. Taeyeon initially rejected but they went all out to drag her from her workplace. And that resulted in a grumpy Taeyeon sitting in Sunny's office after dinner.

She just stared at her open palms, ignoring her friend's attempt to get her to respond. Sooyoung was not the first. Sunny came before her but she gave up as Taeyeon ignored her every question. Sunny stomped out of her office while muttering curses under her breath.

"Tae, what's wrong? We're starting to worry. Do you want to talk about it?"

Taeyeon heaved a sigh and sank deeper into the couch. She wasn't annoyed that her friends dragged her here despite refusing. She was just suffering from Tiffany withdrawal syndrome.

It had been more than a month since they last went on any late night desserts, dinner, movie dates or brunches on weekends. The last day she saw her was that weekend when she fetched Siwon from the airport with Tiffany.

Now that Siwon was back, and both their schedules were conflicting, they could only text each other and that wasn't enough for Taeyeon. Call her greedy, but she wanted more. She missed the brunette and wanted to find her at her workplace but thought better of it since she might see her boyfriend there. It wasn't wise to have a re-run of the mistake that weekend. Once was enough.

"Tiffany's here," she announced, breaking the silence as she kept her eyes on Taeyeon.

She tensed when she heard the name coming out of Sooyoung's mouth, but kept her emotions at bay. There was no way she'd let anyone into her head. She said she wasn’t coming.

Sooyoung had suspected as much. Being friends with Taeyeon for such a long period of time, she knew her inside out. Taeyeon was more lively and cheerful when Tiffany was around. It was different from the kind of cheerfulness she had with them. And that small difference was what made Sooyoung realize the possibility of Taeyeon liking Tiffany, and guessed this was what Sunny and Joonhyuk kept from them. She did not miss how her friend had visibly tensed up at the mention of the brunette.

"Taeng..." She called out softly.

She trusted her friend to know right from wrong, which was why she knew Taeyeon was suffering. There was no way she would break the couple up, and it meant she would never let Tiffany know how she felt. She wasn't sure how deep the admiration was but hopefully her friend could get out of this with minimal heartbreak.

"I thought I could but I can't. I can't get her out of my mind," Taeyeon whispered and clenched her fists, "I've tried. But I can't."

She hated the fact that her actions always gave her away. She wished she could be more subtle. Then maybe, just maybe, she could get away with it.

Sooyoung placed an arm over Taeyeon's shoulder and brought the shaking girl closer to her, pressing her head into her shoulder.

"It's going to be okay," Sooyoung mumbled and Taeyeon's hair, "everything will be okay."

Her heart ached at the sight of her fragile friend. Although no one had told her to, Taeyeon always put up a strong front just because she was the oldest in the group. She wanted to be that pillar for her friends but she forgot that at times, she needed that support herself.

"She was looking for you. She's having her dinner now."

"Hm." Taeyeon snuggled closer to Sooyoung and wrapped her arms around her waist. She needed some TLC (tender loving care) before she stepped out of this office to face the cause of her distress.

---

Tiffany laughed at the embarrassing encounter of Joonhyuk when he went out on a date and came across the lady he had a date with the day before. The whole introduction was so awkward that he wanted to run there and then. Well, of course the date flopped and he was never going to see his date anymore. It was a pity since the girl was cute.

"This is why you should stick to one date. About time to cut down on the number of dates." Tiffany wiped with a napkin and took a sip of water.

She had just finished her dinner and was tired but appreciated the quality time spent with her friends. Meeting them always helped Tiffany de-stress. They were a nice bunch to be with. The past month was like a nightmare but she was grateful that she had more job invitations. More exposure meant people were starting to see and accept her. She was gaining recognition slowly but surely.

"I don't have the heart to reject girls when they ask me out. What do I do?" Joonhyuk sighed and looked as if he was in a dilemma, "I'm too good looking."

Sunny rolled her eyes at the egoistic guy. She swore she would have smacked him across the face for being such an overconfident .

Tiffany could only chuckle and shook her head. She had started to get used to Joonhyuk's annoying comments. It was kind of refreshing to be honest.

She smiled when she saw Taeyeon walking towards their table with Sooyoung beside her. The blonde returned her smile albeit lightly and sat at one of the empty seats.

"Oh, so you finally decided to come out?" Sunny didn't even filter the harsh tone she had used.

She was still frustrated and upset with Taeyeon. She went in her office in hopes of finding out what had happened to her friend but got ignored instead. However, Taeyeon looked so tired and down that Sunny regretted her words the moment she saw her face; guilt was written all over.

"Sorry, Soonkyu-ya," Taeyeon apologized with sincerity in her eyes. She should not have taken out her frustrations on her friends who cared for her.

"Aish, what's going on here? You guys just ruined the happy mood I've set out earlier!"

"Shut up. You boasting about your conquest is not something to be happy about," Sunny retorted. Her heart went out to those females who were deceived by Joonhyuk's look. Although she had to admit he could be a gentleman when he wanted to but most of the time he was a jerk- a good looking one at least.

---

"You're quiet," Tiffany commented as they walked down the pavement, "is something wrong?"

Taeyeon continued walking with her head hung low, kicking small stones on the pavement while she was at it. She should be happy that they were now alone but she couldn't bring herself to be. She still felt guilty that she made Sunny upset. She was also afraid that more and more people would get to know how she felt for the model. Her friends knew she liked Tiffany and she didn't even need to say anything. Actions speak louder than words indeed.

"Just a little exhausted."

"I can go back myself, you know. Or get Siwon to fetch me," she said softly. She should have converted her license so she could drive Taeyeon's car. She really looked like she was going to faint any minute. At times like this she loathed herself for not being able to do something for her friend.

Taeyeon stopped in her tracks and frowned. So now he's back, I'm not needed anymore? She wasn't sure why she felt so bitter all of a sudden. She blamed it on the pent-up emotions and the mention of the man she least preferred at this moment.

"Yeah, you do that. Get him to fetch you," she said and clenched her jaw, "I'll see you around."

She felt her breaths getting shallow as she clenched her fists. All the emotions she held in for the past month were dying to pour out and she had to get out of there before things become ugly. Perhaps it's time to get out of this misery. Why was she doing this to herself in the first place? Holding on when it’s obvious there wasn't going to be anything non-platonic between them. She couldn't possibly be jealous every time Tiffany brought up her boyfriend.

"Yah!" Tiffany raised her voice at the retreating back view and brisk walked to be on par with Taeyeon. "What's going on?"

She ignored the brunette and continued walking. It wasn't the right time to talk to her. Whatever she say would be unpleasant to the ear and she didn't want Tiffany to see that ugly side of hers.

"I'm talking to you!" Tiffany yanked Taeyeon back by her arm and held it tight. She hated it when she got ignored, let alone being ignored when she did nothing wrong in the first place. Why was she being so difficult?

Taeyeon tried wriggling out of her grip but Tiffany tightened her hold, fingernails digging into her skin as her eyes bored into Taeyeon's. She almost yelped in pain and could feel tears in her eyes. No, she was not going to break down infront of her. She had to get out of here, and fast!

Avoiding any eye contact with Tiffany, she used all her might to pry her hand off. Without sparing a glance backwards, she took off and disappeared around the corner.

Tiffany stood rooted to the ground, appalled, with her hand still in mid-air. What just happened? She knew she could get a little loud when she was angry but she didn't meant to chase Taeyeon off.

Taeyeon-ah, what's going on?

---

"What kind of friend would leave you out here alone?!" Siwon hissed, feeling the need to voice out his opinion. "This quiet alley with no cabs in sight on the main road, no less!"

He received a call from his girlfriend while he was preparing for bed all she said was she needed a lift home. He thought one of her friends would drop her off but apparently none did. He was livid, he expected more from them.

"She didn't mean to," Tiffany answered softly. She felt the need to defend Taeyeon although the blonde did leave her there- something that had never happened before. "I drove her away."

"What?" Siwon leaned closer to her, with eyes still on the road when he heard her mumbling. "Who?"

"I wonder if she's okay," she ignored him and continued mumbling to no one in particular, "she seemed very upset."

He looked at her and frowned. Was his girlfriend not frustrated that she was left out there alone? Did it even occur to her what might happen if he didn't pick up her call?

They drove in silence as it was clear to Siwon that Tiffany did not want to talk about it. Or rather, she was too preoccupied to talk about it.

Her phone rang as they turned into the basement carpark of their building. She immediately picked up the call the moment she saw who the caller was.

"Where are you? Are you okay?" She asked the moment the call got through.

Siwon glanced at Tiffany when he heard that tone she used. It made him wonder who was on the other line. Why was she so flustered?

"Okay, wait there for me." She ended the call and heaved a sigh of relief, rubbing her forehead with her free hand.

"What's wrong?"

"You head up to the apartment first. I'm going to meet a friend."

"What? At this hour? It's half past 12!"

"Yes, just go."

"I'll send you there."

"It's okay. She's already here. Don't wait up for me alright?" She kissed him on the cheek and got out of the car, half running towards the lift that would bring her up to the lobby.

---

Taeyeon paced around nervously and looked at her watch every now and then. She called Tiffany earlier and wanted to meet her outside her building. The more she thought about it the more she shouldn't have ran away and left Tiffany there alone. What if something happened to her? How would she answer to her boyfriend, her family, and their friends?

"Taeyeon-ah!" She heard the voice she knew by heart and spun around to see Tiffany running towards her. She stopped infront of her and breathed heavily.

"Hey." She can't help but smile at the dishevelled woman. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail but had a few strands of hair sticking out messily. She brought her hand up and smoothed Tiffany's hair, taking note of how silky her hair felt against her fingers.

"Are you okay? What happened? Why did you run off? I'm sorry I-"

"Shh. Let me talk first?" Taeyeon looked at her pleadingly, and saw the slight frown on the beautiful face. Why does it seem like you frown whenever we’re together?

Tiffany kept quiet and looked at Taeyeon expectantly. She hoped she could get her answers from what the blonde was going to tell her. She was worried sick when she ran off just like that and wouldn't answer any of her calls or reply any texts.

"I'm sorry I ran off. I shouldn't have left you there alone," she started out and smiled apologetically at Tiffany. "I was... Work is piling up and I'm drained. I don't know what had gotten into me but I didn't mean to do or say whatever I did."

She chose not to be totally frank with Tiffany. It was her jealousy acting up and it wouldn't do them any good if she were to know anyway. She bit her lower lip and anxiously waited for Tiffany to say anything. 

Tiffany threw caution to the wind and pulled Taeyeon into her embrace. She looked so much like a sad puppy that was being punished for doing something wrong. It was too adorable to resist.

Taeyeon exhaled and wrapped her arms around Tiffany’s waist. She knew she should probably cut down on the frequent skinship if she wanted to get over Tiffany. But let this be the last time.

"At long as you're fine."

Unbeknownst to them, Siwon was watching them from afar with an unreadable expression. He couldn't make out their faces or what their conversation was about, but he knew who that person hugging his girlfriend was. The blonde hair was striking even in the dark.

Kim Taeyeon.

---

Deng deng deng! Hahaha! I'm annoying, I know.

Appreciate all the comments and subs! ^^

Yes, Taeyeon is planning to get over Tiffany. I would too, if I were her. But well, Tiffany has her own way to get Taeyeon to stick with her. Poor Taeng. XD

-E