Rules

Part 9

Taeyeon smiled. Other people would usually just happily let her pay for everything. She took Tiffany's cup and held it for her while she waited. "Here." She handed the cup to Tiffany after the latter had put her wallet back inside her bag.

"Thanks."

They walked towards one of the small tables and sat down, eating their ice cream quietly.

"Good?" Taeyeon asked.

She nodded then offered the cup to Taeyeon. "Try it."

"Here." Taeyeon also offered her cup to Tiffany.

They switched cups with shy smiles on their faces.

"Yours is nice" Taeyeon said, returning Tiffany's cup.

"Yours is sour" she said, grimacing a bit.

Taeyeon just smiled, thoroughly enjoying every moment.

The door to the shop suddenly opened, echoing a tingle from the bell hung on top of it.

Taeyeon lifted her head, looking at the visitors.

Tiffany also turned her head to see two tall young women smiling in their direction before approaching. She raised her eyebrows, looking at Taeyeon for explanation.

"Um... I'd like you to meet my friends." Taeyeon smiled shyly as she stood up from her seat.

Her eyes widened. She hadn't expected this. She put the plastic spoon in her cup and stood up as well.

"Hi, Unnie." One of the tall girls greeted Taeyeon.

She noticed how pretty she was.

"Hey... Yoong, this is Tiffany. Fany, this is Yoona."

"Nice to meet you, Unnie." Yoona bowed then extended her hand.

"N-nice to meet you too." She shook the hand.

"I saw you with Taeyeon unnie last night at the hotel but I didn't introduce myself because I didn't want to disturb you." Yoona grinned. "Do you know how fascinating it is to see Taeyeon unnie sharing her dessert?"

"Yoong." Taeyeon gritted her teeth.

"What? I was just being honest."

"Please be a bit more polite, Unnie" the other tall girl spoke. She stepped forward then bowed. "I'm Juhyun, Yoona unnie's cousin."

"H-hi, I'm Tiffany." She extended her hand and the polite girl shook it.

"I'm going to get a cup for myself" Yoona said before turning around, going towards the counter.

"Me too" Juhyun said before following Yoona.

Tiffany took a deep breath to regain her composure.

"They're nice kids. We practically grew up together because our parents are friends" explained Taeyeon. She watched Tiffany's face and grew worried. "Is this too awkward? Do you want to get out of here?"

"No no. That would be impolite" she said, forcing a small smile. In truth, she was feeling overwhelmed. She hadn't even thought about introducing Taeyeon to Sunny or Sooyoung yet and here she was, meeting Taeyeon's close family friends like they had been dating for months.

"I'm sorry." Taeyeon noticed the different smile. "I should've told you first. Let's just go."

"It's fine" Tiffany told her then stealthily took a deep breath. "There's nothing wrong with making new friends, right?"