It was a shiny Saturday in Seoul, the birds were singing, announcing a bright day ahead. It was almost noon when Jessica opened her eyes, the sunlight disturbing her sleep. She took her phone and checked the time before getting off the bed lazily. Her hair was a real mess, the last evidence of a wild night with her lover, who on the other hand, was already awaked.
Jessica opened the door’s room and called for her lover, “Yuri-ah?”
“In the kitchen, baby” she heard Yuri yelled back.
After she was sure her other half was at home, Jessica went into the bathroom to get herself ready. Today was a special day, they had many guests coming over and it was the first time that they visited.
While Jessica was making herself all pretty for the day, the other occupant of the apartment, Yuri, was up since dawn. Since their friends were coming over, Yuri woke up really early to set the table, cleaned up the living room and prepared the food. It was not like Jessica didn’t want to help, but there was no way she would wake up early to do it. Last night, the couple went out and since they were too tired when they got back, they went straight to bed, though they didn’t sleep immediately…
“Wahhh” Yuri was startled by her girlfriend’s exclamation, “it’s so pretty” Jessica praised upon seeing the dining table. “You did a very good job Kwon Seobang”
Stopping what she was doing, Yuri turned around and smiled brightly, “I know right? I’m so talented in decorating” she praised herself.
Jessica rolled her eyes and walked up to her lover, “yes yes, you are amazing” she said before planting a kiss on Yuri’s lips. “Good morning” she greeted their lips only inches away from each other.
“Morning sunshine” Yuri gave her another light kiss, “slept well?”
Jessica smiled, remembering their last night, “wonderful sleep I had” she said before pouting, “but I’m still tired”
Yuri laughed and kissed her girlfriend’s forehead, “I assumed, that’s why I didn’t wake you up this morning”
“I would have killed you” Jessica turned serious, “like really kill you”
Yuri smiled, amused at her girlfriend’s threats. “I assumed that too”
Jessica’s face softened up again and she embraced Yuri, “but you really did an amazing job, thank you”
“Well, I had to since you are so bad at cooking” Yuri teased.
“Kw-“
“BUT that’s why I love you” she quickly added before Jessica could scold her.
“You love me because I can’t cook?”
“That’s one of your charms” Yuri winked, “and after last night, I won’t mind cooking or doing whatever you want me to” she brushed Jessica’s back with her hands and planted kisses on her neck.
Jessica smiled and allowed Yuri to tease her, “yeah, I must admit we were really good last night”
“See, I told you we had to practice again and again and again”
“Stop it, it’s ticklish” Jessica laughed and tried to stop Yuri from teasing her neck, “Behave a little, you pervert!”
“I know you lo-“ *Ding Dong*
The doorbell rang and stopped the couple in their actions, “guess I have to wait until tonight” Yuri said disappointed.
“Who said you will get anything tonight?” Jessica freed herself from her lover’s grip and stuck her tongue out at her, “you had enough already” she teased Yuri before walking to the door.
Yuri followed Jessica to the door, a creepy smile on her face, “I’ll never have enough of you baby, never”
“Shhh now, behave! We have guests” Jessica hit Yuri’s arm before opening the door.
“HELLO!!!” their friends, Sooyoung and Hyoyeon greeted loudly, “thanks for inviting us!” the duo shouted in unison, “we brought you guys some food” they gave Jessica a huge plastic bag.
“Thank you” Yuri stepped aside, letting them in.
Jessica rolled her eyes, “you know, you two don’t have to scream” she told them.
“Ah Sooyeon-ah, I’m sure your neighbors are used to hear loud noises from here anyway” Sooyoung teased, which make both Yuri and Jessica blushed.
“You’re so bad Shikshin, teased them like that,” Hyoyeon scolded her friend, “that place is huge” she said, walking around.
“Yuri will show you around,” Jessica offered, “what do you want to drink?”
“Any soft drink you have is good” Hyoyeon and Sooyoung said in unison again, “by the way, when are the others coming?”
Yuri led the duo to the first room, “I told them noon but they will be late because of my sister, I’m sure”
“Who is picking up your sister?”
“Oh Seohyun’s sister is driving them, you will love her, she is really nice”
After Yuri showed the apartment to Hyoyeon and Sooyoung, they went back to the living room where Jessica had prepared the drinks. “It’s a really nice apartment” Hyoyeon praised, “and I love the decoration”
“Yup, really nice, I bet you did it Yuri?” Sooyoung asked, ignoring the cold glares Jessica was throwing at her.
“I DID!” Jessica stopped herself from punching her friend, but when she saw Yuri staring at her, she corrected herself, “we, we did it, together”
“It took us 3 weeks to get that result,” Yuri explained, “the shopping took the longest, it was a real pain to agree on everything”
“No wonder with Jessica” Sooyoung mumbled, but unfortunately for her, Jessica heard it.
“Do you want me to kick you out?” Jessica glared at her friend.
“I was joking! You know I love you” Sooyoung tried to save her life. *Ding Dong*
Yuri stood up and went to open the door. “Welcome kids!”
“Who are you calling kids?” Yoona pushed her sister aside and ran into the apartment. “HELLO guys!” her voice could be heard.
“Hello Yuri-unnie, thanks for inviting us” Seohyun, the opposite of Yoona, greeted politely before stepping in too.
“Yo Yul, what’s up?” Sunny entered the house, “we brought you guys some fruits” she handed them over to Yuri.
“Thank you, I forgot to buy some yesterday” Yuri walked her new arrived guests to the living room, where the others were sitting. “This is Sooyoung, Hyoyeon and this is Seohyun’s sister, Lee Sunkyu but call her Sunny” she introduced them.
“Lee Sunkyu?” Sooyoung repeated, wanting to laugh really hard.
“You laugh and I choke you” Sunny warned her before she could do anything.
Sooyoung gulped and leaned back on her chair, “No comment on your name”
“Aren’t you Taeyeon’s cousin?” Hyoyeon, who was checking on Sunny since she entered, asked.
“Yup, how do you know?”
“I know everything” Hyoyeon replied.
“Okay…” Sunny said a little freaked out.
This time, Jessica showed them around.
“I’m hungry!!!!” Sooyoung complained, “can we eat already?!?!”
“Yeah I’m hungry too!” Yoona joined in.
“Calm down you two, I prepare so much food that you can’t even finish” Yuri said.
“Excuse-me? Is that a challenge?” Sooyoung asked seriously.
“Yeah, are you challenging me? I can eat everything if I want to” Yoona said with confidence.
“Yeah me too!” replied Sooyoung.
Then the two shikshins looked at each other, fire burning in their eyes. “Want to compete with me little kid?” Sooyoung defied Yoona.
“Bring it on!” Yoona accepted the challenge.
“Ok” Sooyoung walked to the kitchen and opened the bag she brought for Yuri and Jessica. She opened it and took out 2 bags of chips, “here, a little starter” she threw one to Yoona and went back to her seat.
“You will regret this” Yoona said, opening the bag and starting to eat.
“Gosh, remind me again why we invited them?” Jessica whispered to Yuri.
“We need them to finish all the food you wanted us to buy, Miss I-don’t-know-how-to-measure-quantity” Yuri whispered back.
“You-” Jessica was ready to give her lover a scolding.
“Let’s eat!” Yuri ran to the kitchen to avoid getting hit by her girlfriend. Soon enough, everyone was gathering around the table, ready to appease their hungry stomachs.
“Yuri cooked all that?” Sunny asked, her eyes amazed by all the dishes.
“Impossible, since when my sister can do this?” Yoona teased.
“That’s the magical effect of living on your own” Yuri answered.
“I can’t believe that in all Seoul, you were still able to pick an apartment in Taeyeon’s building” Hyoyeon stated.
“This building is good and it’s a good area too. Not too far from downtown and not too far from my parents’ house” Yuri explained, “it’s like in the middle of all the places we want to go”
“And I don’t mind living near my best buddy” Jessica said, thinking about her best friend.
It has been a month since Jessica and Tiffany didn’t see each other. One was busy decorating and moving in her new apartment while the other flew around the globe for vacations.
“THANKS FOR THE FOOD!” everyone shouted in unison.
As everyone started eating and chatting happily, Jessica looked around her and felt emotional. She couldn’t believe that she was really sitting there, happy with her friends. A year ago, she was still lost within her past relationship, trying to believe in love again. And now, she has found Yuri.
Jessica stared at Yuri and smiled to herself. So many things happened between them, they went through so much to finally be together like this and Jessica didn’t know which of her lucky star she had to thank. Yuri was the happiness that was missing in her life.
“Are you okay?” noticing that her girlfriend was staring at her, Yuri held Jessica’s hand and squeezed it gently.
“Yeah~” she showed her infamous eyesmile, “I-I just can’t believe we are here”
Yuri smiled and bringing Jessica’s hand to her face, she kissed it gently, “I love you”
“Hum Hum there is people around” Sunny coughed, stopping the couple’s little moment.
“You will understand us once you find your other half” Yuri teased her.
“Oh you’re single shorty?” Sooyoung asked.
“Call me shorty again and I choke you” Sunny warned again.
“Okay guys, let’s cheers for Yuri and Jessica on their new life as roommates” Sooyoung stood up, ignoring Sunny’s glares.
“Cheers!” everyone cheers together.
“And let’s cheers for Tiffany and Taeyeon who aren’t there with us.”
“Cheers!” everyone cheered again.
“Talking about Taeyeon, I really can’t believe what happened to Taeyeon, she nearly died, right?” Hyoyeon asked. She heard lot of gossips going around that Taeyeon nearly got into a car accident but she wasn’t able to learn more about it.
Yuri and Jessica looked at each other, remembering that crazy day their friends told them about. Each detail of the story was burned into their memories.
<< Flashback - About a month ago >>
<<NEWS: A car accident has taken place in downtown Seoul, an unidentified girl got hit by a car, causing the traffic to be stopped>>
*Ring Ring Ring*
Misses Kim was startled by the sudden sound of the phone ringing, she slowly stood up and with shaken legs, walked to answer the phone. Tiffany, who was sitting on the couch, stared at Taeyeon’s mother, anticipating her phone conversation.
Her heart was beating so fast, so hard that she thought it would jump out of her chest. The news she just saw on TV made her really nervous, and it didn’t help that she had that familiar feeling again, like she knew something really bad happened.
“Misses Kim speaking?” Taeyeon’s mother spoke gently, her voice shaking a little.
Tiffany was staring at her, praying the older woman wouldn’t break down or faint, sign that her intuition was right.
“Oh my god Taeyeon”
“Don’t tell me she-” Tiffany felt the tears coming up, but Taeyeon’s mother next sentence calmed her down.
“Where are you?” Misses Kim asked on the phone.
“I’m at the police station, there was an accident mom…it was horrible…” Taeyeon said, “I have to talk to the policemen now, tell them what I saw, can you ask someone to come and pick me up?” she asked her mother, her voice was so childlike, so innocent.
“Of course honey, I will tell your father. Be careful until then, okay?” her mother said, before adding, “I love you”
There was a short pause before Taeyeon replied, “I love you too mom” then she hung up.
Misses Kim hung up the phone, her eyes a little teary. “She is fine” she said before hugging her husband who was standing next to her.
Tiffany allowed herself to breath and realizing she was quietly crying, she wiped her tears. “Thank god” she whispered, “she is fine”
Taeyeon’s mother walked up to her and gave her a huge too, “Don’t worry, she has nothing” she reassured Tiffany, “she is at the police station now, you will see her soon”
“I’ll go pick her up then” Mr. Kim said before exiting the living room.
Tiffany and Taeyeon’s mother stayed in each other’s embrace for a while, both women were relieved to learn the good news.
<<End Flashback>> “Oh my god, it must have been a real nightmare when they heard the phone rang” Sooyoung said, totally absorbed into the story.
Jessica nodded, “I wouldn’t have dared to pick up the phone”
“Me neither” Yoona agreed.
“So she was lucky?” Hyoyeon asked, wanting to know more.
Yuri nodded, “I don’t know if guardian angel exists, but Taeyeon sure used hers that day”
<<Flashback – About a month ago>>
The lights were all green and Taeyeon crossed the street as fast as she could.
“WATCH OUT”
It happened in a split of second. The car, the girl, the shouting, Taeyeon…
Taeyeon barely had the time to turn her head that she was already down on the ground, two strong hands on her shoulders. Taeyeon sat up, her breathing was irregular and her eyes were looking around, like searching for something, before it lay on the bloody and lifeless body lying meters away from her.
“Hey kid, are you okay?” she heard someone behind her.
The same strong hands helped her stand on her feet, “what’s your name?”
“T-T-Taeyeon”
“Ok Taeyeon, are you okay? Are you hurt somewhere?” he asked her again.
“N-No I-I don’t think so”
“Fine, the paramedics are on their way, okay? Its fine now” he reassured her.
“T-Thanks”
Taeyeon walked a little away and sat against a building’s wall, trying to calm herself down so she could think properly. She tried her best to not look at the lifeless victim lying on the road, but it was too hard. She could have been that girl lying on the ground, it could have been her blood, and it could have been her life…
Putting her hands in her pocket, she realized that something was missing. “W-Where is it? She stood up and started looking around, “where is it?”
The man that saved her was kneeling near the victim, staying with her while the police and the paramedics were on their way. Taeyeon wanted to ask him whether he has seen what she was looking for, but before she could open her mouth, she spotted the little shiny object lying near his knee.
Taeyeon wanted to go and pick it up so badly, but she didn’t dare to. She was too afraid of going near the victim, the blood was scaring her away. “Hey kid!” the man called her, “is that yours?” he showed her the little box.
Taeyeon nodded but didn’t move. “Here, take it” the man handed it to her, “your fiancée’s name is Tiffany? It’s very nice, you are lucky” he told her before walking back to the victim.
Holding the little box, Taeyeon took out the ring and looked at it, “Always in my heart” she read the short inscription inside, “Tiffany…”
<<End Flashback>> “Wow, she was really lucky” Hyoyeon said after Yuri told them the story.
“I know,” Yuri nodded, “She told me it was really close, just one step behind and it was her”
“That guy was really quick to grab her,” Sooyoung commented, “I don’t think I would have reacted that quickly”
Yuri explained, remembering every single word Taeyeon told her, “She had a foot on the sidewalk when he grabbed her, but it went really fast.”
“Yeah that kid is definitely lucky” Hyoyeon and Sooyoung nodded, agreeing with each other.
“I also told her that next time I see her run down the street, I will smack her” Yuri joked.
“But it is really horrible for the victim,” Sunny said, “I read in the newspaper that she was really young”
“She was around our age I think,” Yuri tried to remember, “they said she had some important appointment that day and that’s why she was running too”
“The driver was our age too…”
“I can’t believe he really tried to escape though, there were so many witnesses” Yoona said.
“He is young, I think he panicked” Hyoyeon guessed.
“But that is going to ruin his chance of having a lighter sentence” Sunny stated.
“Sure, he will go to jail for a very long time,” Jessica said, “but I can’t feel sorry for him, honestly”
“He nearly ran over my best friend so yeah, I can’t feel sorry either” Yuri added.
"I bet Tiffany was freaking out when she learned the news” Sooyoung said, thinking about their friend that wasn’t with them.
“She told me she nearly had a heart attack when she saw the news on TV. She was so sure something happened to Taeyeon” Jessica remembered.
“So did she forgive Taeyeon? They are back together, right?” curious Sooyoung asked, her eyes switching between Yuri and Jessica.
“Yeah, I want to know this story too!” Seohyun joined in.
“Well…” Jessica started, remembering the story her best friend had told her.
<<Flashback – A month ago>>
Kim’s Residence,
Tiffany’s POV
I was sitting in the living room with Auntie, waiting for Taeyeon to come back. I knew she was fine but I was still very nervous. It has been three weeks since we last saw each other, and the last time we talked, it didn’t end well.
“Hey~”
When I looked up, she was there, standing by the door, a sorry smile on her face. Almost like a robot, I stood up and walked toward her. Taeyeon didn’t move and waited for me. When I reached her, I stared right into her eyes and held up my right hand, ready to slap her.
Taeyeon closed her eyes and waited, but the hit never came. Instead, I hugged her tightly, tears falling down on my face. “I hate you Kim Taeyeon”
When I felt Taeyeon’s arms around me, I cried harder. “I hate you, I hate you”
“I am so sorry Tiffany,” she whispered, “I will never leave you again” she hugged me tightly.
That night, Taeyeon and I were sitting in her room, trying to talk about the last events. I was about to talk when Taeyeon showed me a little box with a ring inside.
“I-I bought this…for you” she said nervously, giving me the box.
I held it in my hand, not sure of what it was supposed to represent. “This is…”
“I was about to propose” Taeyeon announced, “but I won’t do it”
My heart went from about to explode, to disappointment again. But that was before she could give me her reasons.
“You know,” she started, “that accident, or more what I saw of it…i-it didn’t last more than one second and yet, even for one second, I saw something in my head, you know what it was?” she asked me.
I stared at her, not knowing what to respond, “What did you see?”
“You mean who?” Taeyeon smiled, “I saw you”
I didn’t know what to say, I didn’t know whether I had to believe her or not, so many things happened and though I wanted her back, I wasn’t completely sure I could trust and forgive her again.
“Actually, since that day, all I could see whenever I close my eyes was you” Taeyeon went on, “I know it sounds cheesy and cliché, but all I think about was you, Tiffany, not a single day, a single moment where I wasn’t thinking about you”
“Taeyeon…”
“I know what I did was unforgivable and I don’t have the right to ask you to forgive me,” Taeyeon took my hand, “but…we are mean to be together”
“I wish it could be that easy” I told her, remembering the pain I went through when she left me.
“It will never be easy, life isn’t easy and relationships are worse, but I don’t care,” Taeyeon was holding both of my hands now, “I just know that, if something had happened to me today, I would have hated myself for not making it up to you, for never having the chance to apologize, for leaving you behind”
“How can I trust you again?” I asked out loud, the love I had for Taeyeon would never change, but the trust I put in her was almost gone.
“By giving me another chance” Taeyeon pled, “I’m not asking you to trust me now, or tomorrow, but I’m asking you to give me the chance to win back that trust. Whether it is in a month, or a year, I’ll earn it back”
“Does it mean you want us to be friends until that day?” I asked kind of confused.
“I am in love with you Tiffany,” she told me, “and if I have to wait then I will, but…I don’t want to be your friend, because I am not. I’m your soul mate”
Taeyeon picked up the box I had dropped earlier when she held my hands, and took out the ring. “Here,” she handed it to me, “it was supposed to be an engagement ring, but let’s make it a promise ring or a second chance ring instead. When you are ready to be with me again, wear it”
I stared at the ring and read the inscription inside, “Always In My Heart” Taeyeon said it out loud.
“You can wear it now if you want to” she tried to joke but smiled awkwardly after, “sorry”
I wanted to smile and hugged her, tell her I love her no matter the circumstances, but a part of me held me back. I couldn’t forgive her that easily, I suffered so much during those three weeks that I couldn’t let it go.
After our talk, Taeyeon and I slept in different rooms. But that night, I didn’t sleep at all, knowing she was so close to me, yet so far, was uncomfortable. I wanted her with me, holding me tight like she used to, but it was too quick. We needed some distance from each other, needed to learn how to breathe without being attached to each other’s hips.
<<End Flashback>> Everyone around the table was focus on Jessica who was telling the story. Seohyun and Sooyoung, the two sensitive girls were even teary, listening to Taeyeon’s words for Tiffany.
“Their love is so beautiful” Sooyoung said, wiping a little tear from her eye.
“I was holding back my tears when Tiffany told me the story,” Jessica recalled, “I couldn’t believe Taeyeon could be so romantic and cheesy”
“Taeng isn’t as cold as people think,” Yuri said, “and Tiffany changed her a lot”
“But wait,” Sunny was confused, “Tiffany didn’t want to forgive her but she still went on vacations with her? Around the world?” she asked in disbelief.
“What do you want? They can’t live without each other” Jessica said, laughing.
“I think they went together as friends” Yuri explained, not really convinced either.
“But they can’t be friends!” Yoona exclaimed, “That’s just crazy if they thought they could be friends”
“To Tiffany’s defense,” Jessica tried to explain, “she said she went for the shopping and not for Taeyeon”
“Yeah right” Yoona rolled her eyes.
“It’s been a month. Do you think she is wearing the ring?” Seohyun asked, wondering if her cousin was finally forgiven.
“Hmm I bet she is” Yuri was confident.
“Nahh I think this time she will make Taeyeon suffer a little longer” Jessica disagreed with her girlfriend.
“Wanna bet?” Hyoyeon who was always ready for some kind of betting game jumped in.
“I bet she won’t be wearing the ring when they get back” Jessica said, Yoona and Hyoyeon joining her.
“I bet she is wearing it already” Yuri, Seohyun and Sooyoung all agreed with each other.
“There is no way she will resist Taeyeon after such confession” Sooyoung was sure of herself.
“You guys are going to lose!” Jessica declared, “Tiffany told me herself that this vacation was a test and she wouldn’t go easy on Taeyeon”
Upon hearing her girlfriend, Yuri complained, “I wish Sica’s tests would include long and nice vacation too” she said, “most of the time, it involves us going to the beach and her hitting my head whenever my eyes dare to look away from her” she laughed, earning a hit from Jessica.
“That’s because you are a pervert” she pinched Yuri’s cheek.
“But that time I didn’t even look!” Yuri defended herself.
“I knew my sister was a pervert!” Yoona exclaimed while everyone laughed.
“I really didn’t though,” Yuri whined, “The real pervert is Taeyeon, she likes to look at people’s butts” Yuri dragged her friend into the mess.
“Can we talk about something else? There are kids around!” Sunny playfully scolded them, covering her little sister’s ears.
“Please shorty, your sister is a big girl already” Soooyung rolled her eyes at Sunny’s comment.
“You s-“ *ring ring ring*
Sooyoung stuck her tongue at Sunny before answering her phone, “Hello?” she then sighed and got angry, “for the love of god! Leave me alone! Find someone else to bother!! AND STOP CALLING ME!” Sooyoung hung up angrily.
“Ya Sooyoung, what’s wrong?” Yuri asked, while Hyoyeon was holding her laughter.
Sooyoung nudged Hyoyeon before sighing again, “whose fault?!?!” she stared at Yuri.
“What? Me?” Yuri pointed at herself, “what did I do?”
“The crazy girl that kept following you, Park Gyuri, she is bothering me now” Sooyoung explained, defeated. “I did everything I could, I scolded her, yelled at her, threw things at her…”
“I understand you buddy” Yuri offered her hand as Sooyoung shook it, “That girl is a real pain, good luck”
“No but really, I’m so close to push her under a bus” Sooyoung admitted.
“Violence is not a solution” Seohyun said, shaking her head.
“Well in that case…” Yuri looked at Sooyoung, indirectly telling her that it wouldn’t be that bad if she were to throw the annoying girl under a bus.
“Give me your phone” out of nowhere, Sunny spoke up.
Though she was clueless, Sooyoung obeyed and handed her phone to Sunny. “What are you going to d-”
“Quiet!” Sunny said before using Sooyoung’s phone. There was a short silence before she spoke. “Hello? Park Gyuri is it?”
Everyone’s jaw dropped on the floor as they realized Sunny way calling the infamous crazy girl, Park Gyuri.
“What is she doing?” Yuri asked the others, but they were all focus on Sunny.
“Listen you little brat, leave my friend alone or you will regret it,” she said, a smile on her face, “ever heard of Lee Sunkyu? You know, the one who is worse than the Flower Boys? Yes? Good girl, stop bothering my friend if you don’t want to deal with Lee Sunkyu herself. I won’t repeat it twice. Bye” Sunny explained calmly before hanging up.
Her friends were now all in shocked, none of them understanding what happened.
“Huh…excuse-me…” Sooyoung was going to ask Sunny something.
“She won’t bother you anymore” Sunny assured her.
“How did you…what?” Sooyoung was speechless.
“I’m Lee Sunkyu” Sunny answered, a smirk on her face.
“That smirk, is that a family thing?” Jessica asked Yuri, remembering all the times Taeyeon would smirk like that.
“Scary family” Yuri concluded.
“Well, thank you Sunny,” Sooyoung said with a smile, “I’ll threat you dinner next time”
“And I will gladly accept” Sunny smiled, giving back Sooyoung’s phone.
“Looks like we have a new couple in town” Jessica whispered to Yuri.
“Well, if it happens, I pity your friend” Yuri whispered back.
“So guys, did you receive your acceptance letters yet?” Hyoyeon asked, once everyone calmed down.
“Yup” everyone answered.
“And where did you apply?” Yoona asked them.
“Seoul University” Yuri replied, “Taeyeon and I got in, of course”
“Wah you two are really smart then,” Hyoyeon teased.
“We are going to rule the campus” Yuri said happily.
“Count me in too” Sunny held up her hand, “Seoul campus will be mine” she smirked, scaring Yuri.
Ignoring their little childish moment, Jessica spoke, “though my grades weren’t the best, I still got into Kyung Hee, Arts & Design department”
“And we got into Dongkuk” Hyoyeon said, pointing at Sooyoung and herself.
“What about Fany-unnie?” Seohyun asked.
And to everyone’s surprise, Jessica announced proudly for her friend, “she got into Yonsei”
Everyone clapped their hands happily even though Tiffany wasn’t there with them, “I knew she would do it! She worked so hard for that” Sooyoung said, remembering all the studies Tiffany pulled up before the exams.
Breaking the happy moment, Jessica spoke up, “so it looks like most of us are going their separate ways…that’s going to be weird not seeing you guys in the morning”
“And it will be weird to not stop you from skipping school” Yuri added, looking at her girlfriend.
“Oh I will miss the food in front of the school!” Sooyoung cried while Hyoyeon patted her back.
“I will miss…hmm…sitting beside Jessica and staring at her face during classes” Yuri kissed her girlfriend on the cheek.
“Aish~ I wish we could be in the same class” Yoona complained, resting her head on Seohyun’s shoulder. “Life is so unfair”
Everyone laughed at Yoona’s sudden outburst before continuing their discussion. The day went really fast with everyone gathering together like this, chatting, playing with each other. Even though summer was only starting and they were still on vacation, the little party had a strong feeling of farewell. They were saying goodbye to their high school years, leaving happy and sad memories behind as to prepare for a new journey.
Marriott Hotel, Paris
Tiffany’s POV
Paris, City of Lovers. If someone had told me I would ever visit that City, I wouldn’t have believed it. But then, if someone had told me I would have moved in with a total stranger, fall in love with her, get my heart broken into million pieces, I wouldn’t have believed it either. But it happened. All of that happened.
The stranger, the love, the pain, it all happened.
Sometimes, I wonder what are the reasons certain things happen in our lives, why me? Why her? Why at that time? What did I do to deserve that happiness? What did I do to deserve that pain? Some say, everything happen for a reason, but I wonder, what are those reasons?
If I could choose, I would have kept all the happy memories and erased all the bad ones. Did Taeyeon and I really need to go through all this? Did we really need to fall so deeply in love just to be separated in the end? If the reason for these events is for our love to be stronger, deeper, then I don’t believe it.
Or maybe, this wasn’t about me. Maybe it wasn’t my story to tell, maybe it was Taeyeon’s story all along. Maybe all these tests, all those hardships, the tears, the pain, were the reasons that Taeyeon needed to change, to become someone else, a better daughter, a better lover, a better person.
Because, I love her, I loved her and there wasn’t a time when I doubted about my feelings. I knew all along how I felt and how strong these feelings were. I didn’t need the fear of losing her to open my eyes, never. So maybe, just maybe, these were all for Taeyeon.
“What are you doing out here?” a pair of warm arms encircled my waist, pulling me into a tight embrace.
Standing on the balcony of our hotel’s room, I was watching the passersby walking on the famous Champ-Elysée, though I was more lost in my thoughts than paying attention to them. “I was just thinking” I intertwined my hands with hers. “Miss me already?”
Taeyeon rested her head on my shoulder, her breathing tickling my neck, “I was afraid when I didn’t see you in the room” she admitted.
“Where do you think I would go?” I asked jokingly, but I knew why she was feeling this way.
Taeyeon stayed quiet for a moment, not answering me. I knew what she was thinking about, so squeezing her hands gently, I tried to reassure her. “Stop thinking about it, can you?”
“What if-”
Shifting my body around, I was now facing her. “I’m not going to change my mind and run away, Taeyeon”
“I wouldn’t blame you though”
“What did you promise me again?”
“To forget about it”
“So why can’t you?”
“Because you were thinking…”
“I wasn’t thinking of leaving you”
“I-It’s just…” Taeyeon looked away, frustrated at herself. “I am constantly afraid of losing you now”
Yeah, maybe things do happen for a reason. Maybe everything that happened to us was a lesson for Taeyeon, for her to learn to cherish me, though I got hurt in the process.
“Baby,” I caressed her soft face, “you have to learn how to let things go, it’s not possible to move on if you hold so hard into the past”
“But what I did was awful”
“And I have forgiven you,” I kissed her, “let it go now” wrapping my arms around her neck, I brought her face closer to mine, “we agreed to start anew, didn’t we? This is a new beginning and I don’t want it to be full of sad thoughts, ok?”
Taeyeon finally nodded, “I am lucky, aren’t I?”
“Stop thinking this way, I am lucky too” I kissed her and as our kiss got deeper, Taeyeon had to pull away.
“My god! What if people are looking at us?” she suddenly looked around, checking if there was someone.
I rolled my eyes and hit her arms, “you killed the mood! You babo!” I tried to push her away but she held into me.
“Sorry sorry that was a stupid joke,” Taeyeon laughed, holding me, “let’s start again” she tried to kiss me but I pushed her face away.
“No no I don’t feel like making out with you anymore” I pushed Taeyeon away and walked back into the suite room.
She followed me back in, still laughing. “Oh you prefer making out in the room?” she joked, jumping on the bed, “that’s fine with me”
“Go away” I ignored her and went to pick up my luggage. I kneeled on the floor and opened one of them, Taeyeon still on the bed, making cute faces so I would pay attention to her. “I won’t give in baby, you know it”
I heard her sigh and jumped off the bed. I was quite sure she would bother me again but she didn’t. Instead, she walked toward the bathroom. “I’m going to shower” Taeyeon told me while I started unpacking “wanna join me?” she teased, leaning against the bathroom’s door, “I won’t ask you twice”
I threw a pair of socks at her, “you pervert!”
Taeyeon dodged it away and teased me again, “That’s not what you said-“
I threw another pair of socks at her, “we were wearing bikinis at that time!” I yelled before she disappeared into the bathroom.
Feeling myself blushing, I shook my head furiously, trying to get the weird thoughts out of my head. I could hear Taeyeon singing under the shower and I laughed at her, though she couldn’t hear me. I was just going to take out some clothes for the day, but somehow, I ended up opening all the luggage, and gosh, we had a lot!
I was so absorbed into taking out different things we bought on our trip that I didn’t realize the big mess I created into the room; a mess that Taeyeon didn’t miss when she came out of her shower.
“What…the…hell?” Taeyeon looked at the pile of clothes lying around the floor. “Did typhoon Tiffany just come here?”
“Sorry” I stared at her, my puppy eyes ready.
Taeyeon smiled and came to sit by my side, “what are you doing?”
“I wanted to take out some clothes but every time I picked something up, it reminded me of some part of our vacation” I explained.
“So you ended up taking out everything”
I nodded cutely, “you are going to help me pack everything back, right?”
“Do I have a choice?” Taeyeon scratched her head.
I laughed and planted a huge kiss on her cheek. “Nope”
“Sure, you know I love doing that” she said sarcastically.
“Why did you buy that by the way?” I held up a huge hat with England’s flag printed on it.
Taeyeon took it away from me and threw it inside one of our luggage, “It’s for Yuri. She told me she has always wanted one like that”
“Jessica will kill her if she wears that in the street” I imagined Yuri wearing that and Jessica walking as far away as she could.
“Where did we buy this?” Taeyeon showed me another hat.
“Mexico” I replied, shocked that she didn’t know.
“And honestly baby, do you think we bought enough shirts?” Taeyeon asked me while pointing at all the I love (insert City name) shirts that we bought in each city we visited.
“It’s a must buy!” I complained, “I want to collect them”
“Fine fine”
“Ya don’t make fun of me, Miss I bought Disney toys!” I took her peas-in-a-pod plush.
“Noooooooooooooooooo my peas!” Taeyeon snatched the plush away from me, “that’s my peas! Look at them! So cute and so soft” she hugged the plush while I looked bewildered.
“Kim Taeyeon! Me or you peas?!?!” I asked for fun.
Taeyeon looked at me cautiously, and then looked at her peas. She then hugged her peas tighter and rolled on the floor, “MY PEAS!”
I grabbed my Totoro plush and hit her with it, “what? You chose peas instead of me?”
Taeyeon laughed and rolled around on the floor, “looks who is talking! You are in love with Totoro!”
“Totoro is my bestfriend!!!” I continued to hit her.
“My peas too!” Taeyeon argued back.
“You met your peas 2 weeks ago!”
“It was love at first sight!”
Taeyeon and I had fun like this for a while, creating an even bigger mess in the room.
So later that night, we lay exhaustively on the bed and talked about various things that happened since we met each other.
“Do you regret it?” Taeyeon suddenly asked me.
“What?”
“Meeting me”
“Well,” I started, remembering our first meeting, “I cried a lot because of you”
Taeyeon pulled me closer to her, “I know”
“But I also smiled a lot because of you,” I went on, “I think the smile overweight the pain so I can hardly regret it”
“I want you to know, that day,” Taeyeon was going to mention a memory that I was trying so hard not to remember so I tried to stop her.
“Taeyeon, I don’t want-“
“Wait, let me explain” She cut me off, “that day, I didn’t choose Sunye over you” she explained, “I chose myself”
I shifted my body a little so I could see her face. “I was selfish…I was tiring of feeling guilty and responsible over her so I left. I chose to hurt you so I could repay her. It was like…I’ll go with you so after that we can be even, but it was stupid” Taeyeon admitted.
“She is fine now” Taeyeon told me Sunye’s surgery was a huge success and she was much better.
“Yeah but I don’t think I was of any help” Taeyeon added, “I was just there you now, like a zombie. In the end, I hurt everyone and for nothing”
“Let’s forget that, okay?”
“I am just so sorry for hurting you”
“Well, didn’t I give you your punishment already?” I placed my hand on her face, “you have to stay by my side, forever”
“I am really sorry Tiffany” she apologized again, I could see tears in her eyes.
“Stop apologizing,” I cupped her face with my hands, “don’t you know things happen for a reason?”
Yes, all these hardships made us stronger as a couple. We went through so much that I don’t know if there is anything in this world that could break us apart. And for sure, these breaking moments were a part of Taeyeon’s changes.
“And what is the reason?”
“You, Taeyeon, it all happened for you”
Taeyeon stared at me, loss at words. “In what way?”
“You changed,” I tried to explain to her, “you are not the same Kim Taeyeon I met a year ago, you don’t treat me like you did a year ago and after what happened last month, I know something changed again”
“I won’t be that stupid again,” she confessed, “if I ever hurt you like that again, don’t take me back”
“I know you won’t” I kissed her cheek gently, “but you have to believe it yourself”
Taeyeon smiled and kissed my nose before hugging me tighter. “Honestly, our story is quite amazing”
“A rollercoaster fairytale” I smiled, thinking about our relationship’s ups and downs.
“Yup a kickass fairytale” she joked.
Intertwining my fingers with hers, I played with her soft hands, “A story I would love to tell our children and grand-children” I said, looking at the shiny ring on my finger.
Taeyeon placed a kiss on my head, “and how would you call that story?”
I turned my body around so I would lie on my stomach and face Taeyeon, “Hmm…let me think,” I said, kissing her first, “what do you think about…” I kissed her again, “Our First Love Story”