S1 High School,

Tiffany’s POV

I saw Taeyeon leaving the apartment very early this morning but she didn’t attend school later on. It wasn’t the first time though; she would sometimes wake up very early and disappear the whole day. I’ve never asked her where she spent her time if not at school. I guess…there are things that I’m not supposed to know.

We were eating lunch at our usual spot with Sica, Yuri, Sooyoung and Hyoyeon. I wanted to ask Yuri if she knew where Taeyeon were but because Hyo and Sooyoung were there; I had to wait until we walk back to class to ask her.

“Yuri-ah! Do you know where Taeyeon is?” I asked her. We were both walking ahead of the others.

“Hmmm…Taeyeon? I know but…” she began.

I looked at her with my puppy eyes. “Please tell me Yuri-ah!!! I won’t tell Taengoo! I promise!!” I begged.

“Hmm…I think it’s better if you ask her Fany-ah…Aish, don’t look at me with those eyes, it’s creepy!” she told me as I tried to convince her with my puppy look.

“Wah you don’t think it’s cute? Even Taeyeon don’t say I look creepy…” I complained. “If it was Sica, you’d love it! Don’t you Yuri?” I teased her.

“Wh..what? What are you talking about?” she tried to deny.

“Listen, what if I tell you a secret about Sica? Would you tell me about Taeyeon?” I stopped walking and looked at her.

I knew she couldn’t refuse my offer. “OKAY! DEAL” she shook my hand. I think her eyes were sparkling of happiness.

“So? Where is Taeyeon?” I immediately asked her.

“I can’t tell you directly, Taeyeon would kill me BUT I can show you something that will make you understand” she smiled.

“Huh what’s the difference?” Yuri and her complicated plan give me headache sometimes.

“There is a difference! Anyway, we’ll go together after school” with that, she ran to catch up with the others.

She forgot to ask me about Jessica…how weird.

After school, Yuri took me to a newspaper stand. “Huh Yuri, what are we doing here?” I asked her confused.

She was looking for some magazine. When she finally found it; she took it. “Do you ever read business magazines?” she asked while giving it to me.

“Do I look like someone who read them?”

“True…Anyway, take a look at it, you might find something very interesting” she told me.

I flipped through the pages; there was nothing interesting, mostly news of last business transactions with pictures of people I’ve never seen in my life. I was about to scold Yuri for tricking me when I saw a familiar face on one of the pages.

“Taeyeon-ah?” I said while looking at the picture.

The title of the article says “The heiress of Kim Corporation, Kim Tae Yeon strikes again”. On the right page, was a picture of Taeyeon wearing a black suit and shaking some businessman’s hand. The picture was probably taken at some press conference. I read the article a little bit and it was talking about how Taeyeon was able to get a partnership with some Japanese Co. for her father’s company. Apparently, it was a huge deal because lots of Korean companies were fighting for it as well. The journalist that wrote this article was probably a fan of Taeyeon because the word “smart” and “genius” were often used.

“So do you understand now?” Yuri asked me.

My eyes were glued on the magazine. “I…I…How come?”

Yuri took the magazine from me and put it back on the stall. “Taeyeon has been helping her father since she was around 14, that’s why people in the business see her as a little genius” Yuri said, her face was a little bit sad when she said this.

“14? Isn’t it a bit young?”

“She is the only heiress…someone has to take over some day and the earlier you learn, the better you get” she simply said. It was obvious that Yuri didn’t agree with this statement.

“So that’s why she leaves early in the morning and sometimes the whole weekend…” I stated. That explains why sometimes Taeyeon would come back on Sunday evening and be very tired.

“Her parents are in New York so she has to keep an eye on the office in Korea. She must go there at least 3 times in a week” she explained to me.

“I’ve never ask Taeyeon but what exactly do they do?”

“Well, at first they were only in the advertising business but then they invested in real estate and recently telecommunications. Taeyeon has just got a 5 years partnership for the advertising branch of the company. This Japanese company will only employ and use ads that come from Tae’s company. They didn’t reveal any numbers but I can tell you, it’s a LOT of money” Yuri told me as we got in her car. “Taeng worked her butt off on this project, I don’t even know how she was able to attend school” she sighed.

“Everything make sense now…Hmm, do you know if she has to attend business dinner as well?” I asked Yuri. I remember this incident in Bali with these 2 annoying kids; they mentioned something about Taeyeon attending business dinner.

“Huh how do you know?” Yuri was surprised at my question.

“In short, we bumped into 2 teenagers while in Bali and they kept on provoking Taeyeon and saying how she is spending her father’s money and one of them said she was hiding from business dinner. Something likes that. I’ve never seen them before but they looked like rich kids.” I explained.

“Hmm…yeah probably some kids from rival companies. A lot of these kids are jealous of Taeyeon because she is already successful at such a young age and because they can’t hang out with her, they are mean to her instead” she told me. “As for business dinner…it’s those kind of boring charity dinner where all rich people and their children attend to show off how successful they are and if lucky, you can score some business deal. Taeyeon hates it but there are times where she has to go…its business” Yuri sighed again. It must be hard for her to not be able to help her best friend.

“What about you? Do you also need to help your parents?” I directly asked her.

She laughed. “Nah, my father would kick me off the company if I step in. I won’t be able to stay a day sitting in an office. Business is not my thing. You know? I always say that the biggest difference between Taeyeon and me is that…while my future was still blurred, hers was already decided. “

“That’s why she has to keep a mature image whenever she goes…” I said while looking through the window. Yuri was driving me home as we spoke.

“Taeyeon has always been a quiet girl, even when we were still kids. The only times that she was a “normal” child was when we played together in my house, because there, she didn’t need to be well dressed, sit properly, speak slowly and softly like she was talking to the queen or something. No one was judging her.”

“But how come she got herself into so many fights in school? She knows it would damage her reputation and image”

“First of all, a lot of things that you heard are only rumors. It’s true that Taeng got into some fights but not that much. Her problem is, she kept everything inside and sometimes, she exploded. I always tell her that she is lucky, if someone was smart and took picture of her fighting that would ruin everything.”

Our conversation ended when we arrived at the apartment. I was about to get out of her car when Yuri reminded me. “Fany-ah! It’s my turn now!” she said.

“What your turn?” I asked her confused.

“I told you a lot about Taeyeon so now you have to tell me things about Jessica” Yuri parked her car in front of the building entrance.

“Sure! What do you wanna know?” I asked.

I was sure Yuri only wanted to know random things about Jessica but then she took out a picture and showed it to me. “Where did you get this?” I asked her as I looked at the picture. It was a picture of a very familiar ring.

“I took it in Bali…Jessica looked really interested in this ring so…What does it mean to her?” she asked me. I saw the concern look on her face.

“Yuri…I know we made a deal but I promised to Sica…I can’t tell you, I can’t even talk about it with her…” I sincerely said. “All I can say about this ring is…never show this picture to her, don’t let her see it...” I advised her.

“I…I understand…” she said disappointingly. Sooner or later you’ll find out Yuri…

“I’m so sorry Yuri-ah”

“Fany…am I going anywhere? Is chasing after Sica a lost cause?” It was the first time that I saw Yuri so…low-spirited, her voice wasn’t lively anymore.

“Don’t give up on her. If there is one person on earth that can make her smiles again, it’s you” I smiled at her.

She smiled weakly. “Yeah…and if there is one person on earth that can change Taengoo, it’s you”

I realize how Yuri and I were in the same position; both of us want to get closer to someone who wasn’t ready for any closeness.

TaeNy’s Apartment,

That evening, I wanted to do something for Taeyeon since I knew her little secret. It was probably a bad idea, but I still wanted to try. Cooking! I looked up on the internet for some nice but easy recipes since I could barely make plain rice. I chose to cook rice and side dishes with a bowl of soup. It took me 2 hours to finish everything. But at least, it didn’t taste that bad. I set the table and waited for Taeyeon.

She came back around 8 pm, as expected, she was really looking tired. “What’s going on?” she asked me once she saw the dinner table.

“Tada!!! It’s my treat!” I said happily. I walked to Taeyeon and forced her to sit down. “I put a lot of effort into it so you have to eat everything!” I ordered.

“Wait! You cook it? You? Yourself?” she asked me. Obviously, she was unsure of the result.

“YA! I can cook if I want!” I got angry. “Can’t you just say thank and eat?”

“Okay okay fine but if I got sick, I’ll sue you” she threatened me.

I observed Taeyeon closely as she tried the first dishes; meat and vegetables. She started chewing slowly then ate some rice. I was waiting for her to give me some critics but she was only eating.

“So???? How is it???” I asked her.

“Well, I’m not going to die today” she answered.

“Does it mean it’s good?”

“I didn’t say that”

“Kim Tae Yeon! I worked hard for this result, just compliment me!” I whined.

She sighed then looked at me seriously. “Tiffany, your food is amazing. You should open a restaurant!”

I held my laughter. “Thank you” I said while putting a serious expression.

“You’re welcome” she then smiled. I couldn’t help but smiled as well.

Watching Taeyeon eating the food that I cooked made me very happy.

S1 High School,

Yuri’s POV

I did as Fany told me. I forgot about this picture and about the ring on it. If Jessica wanted to forget about it then I shouldn’t try to find out. For the past few days, we got closer with Sica. She would always scold me for being noisy now or asked me to jump off the roof because I was bothering her. It might sound mean but it was her way of communicating with me. I tried my best to be lively and cheerful around her and make her laugh. Thing were really getting better until that day in class, when the teacher asked to talk to me personally.

“Yuri do you mind staying for a minute? I have something to ask you” the teacher told me when the bell rang.

I was supposed to drive Jessica home so I told her to wait for me. She was standing outside the classroom when I talked to the teacher.

Staying with me and the teacher was another student. “Yuri, I’d like you to sit with Park Gyu Ri and help her during class.” The teacher asked me.

Park Gyu Ri was a girl with long brownish hair; I heard that she was the daughter of the school’s principal or at least, he is a relative of hers. I supposed she was failing in this class thus she needed someone to help her.

“Huh why me?” I asked me. There were so many students in this class…why me?

“Well you and Taeyeon are our best students but I don’t think Taeyeon would agree” he said. Of course Taeyeon wouldn’t agree.

“Hmmm…I’m really sorry to bother you Yuri but I really need your help” Gyuri who was beside me, said.

I thought for a moment. “Just in class right? I really don’t have time after school” I lied.

“Yes just during my class”

“Fine, I don’t mind if it’s only during one class” I said directly. She was lucky that I wasn’t sharing a desk with Jessica, if not I wouldn’t have agree at all.

“Okay so its settle now. This will take effect from tomorrow onwards” The teacher said before leaving the class.

I was going to tell Gyuri I would see her tomorrow in class when the girl literally pulled me toward her for a very very tight hug. “OH Yuri-ah I’m so happy that you accepted to help me!!!!” she said while hugging me, once again, very tightly.

I didn’t know what to do until I heard someone coughing. Jessica. My back was facing the door so I couldn’t see her but I knew she was looking at me…at this girl and me hugging.

“Kwon Yuri, I’m leaving first” I heard her cold voice said. I didn’t even need to think, my body was acting by itself. I quickly pushed Gyuri away and ran after Jessica.

“Jessica wait!” I said while catching up with her. “That’s not what you think!!! She jumped on me!!” I explained to her.

Sica’s face remained very calm but I could tell she was really angry. “I don’t care who you are hugging. You do whatever you want” she told me coldly.

I walked passed her and stopped right in front of her. “Ya! Go away!” she ordered me but I stood still.

I looked at her. “I want you to care…I want you to look at me like I look at you. I want you to smile at me like I smile at you. I want you to see me Sica…” I sincerely told her how I felt.

Jessica looked at me confused; she wasn’t expecting these words coming out of my mouth. Was she so oblivious to my feelings? “Wh...What are you talking about?” she asked me. She was so clueless…

I looked right into her eyes. “Jessica I’m in…” I was telling her when someone cut me off.

“YURI-AH! Yuri-ah!!!” I heard someone calling my name. I turned around and saw Gyuri running toward me. “Yuri-ah! Wait!” she said as she reached us.

I sighed and turned to look at Sica but she was already running away. “Jessica!” I called her but I felt Gyuri’s hand on my wrist, stopping me from running after Sica.

“What do you want?!” I angrily asked her. I didn’t mean to be harsh but…I couldn’t help it.

She let go of me and looked kind of scared. “I…I’m sorry but you forgot your bag” she handed it to me.

I took it without looking at her. “Thank you and I’m sorry for just now” I sincerely apologized.

Before she could say anything, I was already running. I tried to look for Jessica but she was already gone…she probably took another path or was hiding somewhere. I tried to call her though I knew she wouldn’t pick up.

I really screwed up this time...

TaeNy’s Apartment,

Tiffany’s POV

Since I learned about Taeyeon’s secret, every time we eat dinner, I’d ask her to put on the news channel. I was praying for the news to talk about Taeyeon or the company because it was hard to keep this secret from her.

We were watching some TV shows when I decided to ask her. “Taeyeon-ah, can we do something tomorrow?”

“No” she replied quickly, her eyes still on the TV.

“Why not???? It’s Saturday!! We should go out!!” I started whining. Most of the time, I always get what I want when I whine.

Taeyeon cringed at my aegyo. “I’m busy tomorrow. Go play with Yuri and Sica” she told me.

“No I want to play with you!!!” I continued with my aegyo.

“Ya! Since when are you so annoying! I have to work tomorrow!!!!” she blurted out.

Touché.

“You have to what????” I acted like I didn’t hear it right.

Taeyeon realized her mistake. “I have something to do so don’t bother me” she said.

“You said you were going to work? Where? At the company? Can I come?” I bluntly asked her, she will know sooner or later that I knew so…

“Ya! Why do you ask so much? Who told you I work at the company?” she questioned me.

“You just said it” I smiled at her.

“No I didn’t!” she was starting to get frustrated.

“Yes you did!”

“No I didn’t!!!”

“Can I come with you?” I asked her again.

“I know who told you! Yuri told you right? I’m gonna kill her!”

“No Yuri didn’t tell me! You did it! During your sleep…yeah during your sleep” I lied.

“Huh? What kind of nonsense is that?” she didn’t believe me.

“You said it yesterday night…when you were sleep-walking and sleep-talking” I quickly added. Sometimes I’m surprised at how smart I am.

Taeng stayed silent for a while. “Aish I can’t believe it!” she got angry.

“It’s ok Taengoo-ah! I’m proud of you!” I smiled and patted her head. “So can I come with you tomorrow??? I really want to see you work!” I insisted.

“No. Kids are not allowed there” she teased me.

“I’m taller than you so don’t start” I threatened her. “Please!!! I’ll be obedient!!!” I insisted

Taeyeon stood up and walked to her room. Before closing the door she told me. "8 AM in the living room. If you’re not there, I’ll leave without you.”

“GOOD NIGHT Taengoo!” I shouted then smiled to myself.

That kid is so easy to trick.

The next morning, I got ready at exactly 8 AM. Taeyeon was waiting for me in the living room, she was wearing normal clothes. I guess she didn’t have any meeting planned. It took us about 15 minutes to get there. It was the first time that I saw the office building. Do I need to say that it was HUGE? The building had 40 or more floors and Taeyeon’s company took the last 6 floors. Everything was so high tech that my eyes couldn’t believe it.

Everyone greeted Taeyeon politely when they saw her. I felt weird walking by her side, the mini boss. The Taeyeon that everyone knows was back. Her face was very serious, even when she smiled to her employees; it was polite smile, without any feelings.

We got into her personal office; the view was breath-taking! She could see the whole city there. I thought to myself that I had to come back at night to take pictures. On her desk, I noticed a picture of her and Yuri in Japan and next to it, there was also another picture with…all of us in Bali. I smiled to myself.

“It’s going to be very boring here” she was telling me. “I don’t have a lot of work so we can leave in 2-3 hours but…”

I cut her off. “I’m going to wait for you. Can I walk around the office? Or help you?”

She thought about it. “Hmmm…you’re very clumsy so…” she started.

“Ya! Be careful Kim Tae Yeon!” I warned her. I tried to not shout because that wouldn’t be appropriate with all the people working outside.

“Well, I can ask my assistant to give you easy task like make copies or deliver documents to another floor…” she thought.

“OKAY! I’m in!” I told her. I was more than happy to help her even a little bit.

Taeyeon sighed before calling her assistant in. 10 seconds later, a tall girl wearing a short skirt entered the room. “What can I do for you Miss. Kim?” she asked Taeyeon.

“Miss. Son, this is Tiffany. She is going to hang around the office until I leave so if you can give her some easy tasks to do to keep her busy that would be nice” she ordered.

“That would be a pleasure. Miss Tiffany, if you would follow me, please” she talked to me politely.

“Fany, if you are hungry tell Miss. Son, she will order food for you” Taeyeon told me.

I smiled at her. “See you later Taeyeon!”

I follow the assistant out of Taeyeon’s office. “Miss. Tiffany, are you a relative of Miss. Taeyeon?” she asked me as we walked to her desk.

“No, actually we are…friends” I didn’t know why I kind of hesitated. We were only friends…just friends.

“Oh really? That make you the 2nd friend that Miss. Taeyeon brings here” she said with a smile. “Miss. Yuri would be the first”

That little revelation made me smile. I was the 2nd person to ever see her office, besides people she was working with.

For the about 3 hours, I helped Taeyeon’s assistant. I made copies for some future meeting, delivered documents to another floor and even brought drink to Taeyeon. She was really surprised when she saw me bringing in her favorite hot chocolate. Taeyeon doesn’t like coffee. I stayed in her office and observed her working for the remaining 30 minutes. She was so concentrated that it was easy for me to stay quiet and just looked at her.

Before leaving, Taeyeon gave some instructions to her assistant. We then took the elevator down to the garage.

As we were walking to get her car, Taeyeon praised me. “I must say, you impressed me today!”

I smiled at her. “Really? Why?”

“Well, what you did was kind of easy but very boring and repetitive but you did it without complaining. I’m proud of you” she said while patting my head.

“I must admit you look very cute when you’re working” I said shyly.

She grinned “I’m always cute!”

I made a disgusted face and pushed her. “Don’t be so cocky” I laughed at her.

I love those moments that we were sharing now, there was no more awkward moments between us, no more uncomfortable silence. Taeyeon was no more this tensed, cold girl that I first met. She was more relaxed and happy.

But something…someone…had to turn everything upside down.

“Taeyeonnie?” Taeyeon’s body tensed and her smile disappeared as soon as she heard the voice behind us. It was a sweet voice, a girl’s voice.

Before turning around and looking at her, I knew she would be pretty…and she was. She looked around my age, and was probably a tiny bit shorter than me. Her long silky hair and her dress gave out a warm feeling.

Taeyeon hasn’t moved…Her face was shocked, as if this girl standing behind her was a ghost. I didn’t know who she was, but I knew…right there…at that very moment that nothing would be the same anymore.