"What's the news, old pal?" says Sunny cheerfully the moment Taeyeon takes a seat.
"Same old, same old," replies Taeyeon as she puts her laptop bag on the empty chair and sighs. "My goodness it's so hot out there!"
"It's called summer, my friend."
"Where are Sooyoung and Yul?"
"On their way."
"Oh okay." Taeyeon raises her hand and places an order for a tall glass of cold drink.
"So how have you been?" Sunny asks after the waiter has left.
"Err... I'm okay. Why did you ask?"
"Because it's been a month since Tiffany left and you haven't really gotten your old rhythm back."
"What old rhythm?"
"Your brighter rhythm."
"I'm always bright!"
Sunny snorts. "Yeah right and I was once tall. So?"
"So?"
"Update me!"
"There is nothing to update!"
"Are you two still texting each other?"
"Sometimes."
"Phone app?"
"No. Office IM."
"What? So no contact after office hours?"
"Only once or twice."
"I don't get it," Sunny says, leaning back. "After that intensive two weeks you guys spent together, I have expected some kind of conclusive bang to this. Like... maybe you decide to give her a shot or she decides to travel back and forth or something."
"Does it matter? It's not gonna work either way."
"You won't know until you try. What's stopping you, anyway? I thought after that talk with Sooyoung, you'd get enlightened."
"You don't even know what Sooyoung told me."
"That's true but still, that should've at least given you a little push. I mean, come on, you two aren't blind. You know you want each other so why no bang?"
"Stop using the word bang." Taeyeon frowns in disapproval.
"I can't! I'm a disappointed bystander here. I want to see some banging!" Sunny then laughs out loud after hearing her own words, cringing. "Ew... never mind that."
"You pervert." Taeyeon shakes her head at her friend.
"Excuse me for being supportive. I just want you to be happy."
"Then shut up and let me be."
Sunny's food arrives and the girl finally shuts up, much to Taeyeon's relief, as she begins eating.
Taeyeon's drink also arrives and after thanking the waiter, she takes a long sip and sighs, taking out her phone to check her messages.
She taps on the chat she shares with Tiffany and sees the time stamp on the last message. It's dated a week ago and it's just a short message related to work.
Suddenly, an alert pops up, notifying her of a new message from the group chat she shares with Sunny and her other friends. It's from Sooyoung saying "Almost there! Sorry for the wait, Dandyu!"
Seeing Sooyoung's name triggers the memory of that talk she had with her, shortly after Tiffany left.
============
It took her a full day to think about what Tiffany had suggested but her curiosity got the best of her, in the end, and she called Sooyoung, asking to meet for lunch the next day.
After exchanging stories about their friends, Sooyoung smiled at her knowingly and said, "Now that the small talk is out of the way, let's get down to business. You want to talk to me about Tiffany, don't you?"
Taeyeon tried to deny it but her friend knew better than that.
"It's okay to be curious, you know," said Sooyoung.
"I know but I really didn't want to pry. It's just... she told me to ask you about why she left Korea and I..." Taeyeon looks down at her half empty plate. "Maybe knowing will help me figure out what to do next."
"She was one of the most well-known decorators in the events industry," Sooyoung began, surprising Taeyeon. "She was good at what she did. From birthdays to weddings to corporate functions... you name it, she's done it and she's done it well."
Taeyeon listened carefully.
"One day, at this fashion event, she met someone. A model. I never knew that Fany could date women until then. She kept it hush hush, only very few people knew, her friends mostly. The model, on the other hand, was quite outspoken. Although she never mentioned Fany's name, she was always boasting about this wonderful girl she was dating and how lucky she was."
"What's so bad about that?" Taeyeon had to ask.
"Fany wasn't really comfortable with it. She was afraid. Her family is quite prominent. I'm sure you've seen her apartment."
"The one in Gangnam?"
"Her family owns more than one apartment in Gangnam. I'm not sure which apartment she was staying at. Probably the smaller one. When the whole family's here, they'd be staying at one of the bigger ones or at the family mansion."
Taeyeon's eyes widened. "She's that rich?!"
"Her family's that rich. Yes."
"Whoa. Never knew that. Her apartment in Japan is tiny," Taeyeon said.
"I'll get to that. Anyway," Sooyoung continued her story, "Fany was head over heels in love with this model. The sneaky woman was good, that I must admit. She pulled every cheesy romantic move you could possibly imagine and Fany, unfortunately, is a hopeless romantic with a weak spot for such gestures."
Taeyeon couldn't help but think of the strawberry Kit Kats and what she had done for Tiffany. Is that why she liked me?
"To cut the long story short, we tried to warn her but she wouldn't listen. They got secretly engaged and Fany did the crazy thing of coming out to her family and told them that she was getting married to that model."
"She what?! Wow. That took guts!"
"Yeah but it backfired. Her family was against it and they shunned her for months. Her father even threatened to disown her should she continue with her plan."
Taeyeon winced. That's hard.
"On the other hand, her fiancée was busy showing off her diamond ring carelessly. People started to connect the dots and in the end, they all knew. You know how fast gossip spreads and that particular one spread faster than you can say 'Have you heard?'"
"Ouch."
"Ouch indeed. Her business took quite a hit. No more birthdays or weddings. The jobs she could find were small company functions and for those, she had to lower her fees to merely 20-30% from what she normally charged. To make things worse, most of her friends cut her off."
"No friends, no family, no job? No wonder she wanted to leave," replied Taeyeon, still shell-shocked by the revelation.
"It gets worse, I'm afraid. As you can see, she's not married, is she?"
"Oh no. Please don't tell me that her fiancée..."
Sooyoung nodded. "The moment she saw Fany lose everything, she bailed and hooked up with this rich socialite who happens to be a well known player."
"Man or woman?"
"Man."
"Double ouch."
"Quadruple, actually."
Taeyeon took a deep breath. "Then what happened?"
"Luckily, her family began to change their minds. They saw how broken Tiffany was, I think. Her father didn't disown her and her siblings started to talk to her again. Last time we met, she said that they're no longer saying 'I told you so' as much as they used to. I take it as a good sign."
"Have they accepted her though? Regardless of what that model did?"
"That I don't know. You need to ask her that yourself."
Taeyeon exhaled and shook her head. "Wow. That's a lot to deal with at the same time."
"Yeah but Fany's a fighter, thankfully. She was down and depressed for a while but then she pulled herself back up and decided to start over. Too bad she left without saying goodbye. Rumor has it that she moved back to the States but I guess she found a new start in Japan instead."
Taeyeon recalled their first meeting and the words Tiffany had said to her.
To be able to say that and to stay that positive despite everything that's happened... I can't imagine how tough it must have been for you, Fany.
"I think what hurt her most isn't the money she lost but the betrayal."
Sooyoung's voice made Taeyeon lift her head.
"She's still traumatized, I think. After all, she literally gave everything for that bitch. Pardon my French," Sooyoung said with a grin.
"Your French is marvelous," joked Taeyeon. "Please use more."
Sooyoung laughed. "Well, that's it. I think she refused to use her family's money hence the tiny apartment in Japan. She has always been very independent even before everything happened."
"Wow," mumbled Taeyeon. "This explains a lot."
"I'm sure it does," replied Sooyoung. "But I can't advise you on what to do, unfortunately. I understand your sides of the story, both of you."
"Yeah. It's okay. Thanks for telling me all this."
"No problem. Fany told me that you might ask and she said I should tell you whatever you need to know."
"No wonder. I was shocked when you just started telling her story like that with the 'no gossiping about friends behind their backs' policy you religiously hold on to," says Taeyeon.
Sooyoung merely smiled. "Good luck, Taeng. She's a good person. She just ran into some terrible luck back then so she needs time to recover."
"I understand. Thanks, Syoung-ah."
"Anything for you, pal." Sooyoung paused for a second before adding, "You know, you must mean a lot to her because she didn't even want her friends to know. With a few exceptions like myself and another friend. Even then, we found out mostly on our own or we had to ask her over and over again. For her to actually tell me to tell you... that's really something, Taeng."
Taeyeon didn't reply. Her heart only felt heavier because of what Sooyoung just said.
============
"We're here!"
Taeyeon jerks in her seat when she hears the loud voice and sees Sooyoung and Yuri shamelessly running towards their table.
"Yah! Sshh!" Sunny scolds the embarrassing duo.
"Guess what guess what guess what!" Yuri cheerfully exclaims, ignoring Sunny and the onlookers in the restaurant.
"Chill and sit down, Yul!" Taeyeon says, pulling her friend's arm down.
"That clubber girl Hyoyeon brought to my party last month? She's preggo, man!"
"What the-..." Taeyeon's jaw drops.
"How the heck did that happen?!" asks Sunny, eyes wide with shock.
"Wait. Isn't she dating a friend of yours?" Taeyeon asks Yuri. "A girl friend of yours? The one she met at your party?"
"UH-HUH!"
"Uh-oh."
"Spill!"
The four friends huddle in a circle, giggling and gasping as they continue gossiping.
In the middle of it, Taeyeon takes a stealthy look around the table and smiles, grateful that, unlike Tiffany, she has her tight group of friends who loves her and accepts her just the way she is.
—-
The gossip has died down and they're all now sitting quietly at the table, patting their full tummies.
"So how's your progress with Tiffany?" Yuri asks. She has been kept in the loop through Sunny and Sooyoung when she asked them why Taeyeon went MIA during those two weeks of Tiffany's visit.
"I was just asking that before you came," quips Sunny.
"What progress?" replies Taeyeon nonchalantly.
"Do you still keep in touch?" asks Sooyoung.
Taeyeon nods. "I consider her a good friend."
"That's good."
"But the question is, will you only stay friends?" adds Sunny.
Taeyeon can only shrug. "I honestly don't know. Do I want more? I'm sure you all know the answer to that."
"Then why don't you do something?"
"She's not ready yet and I don't want her to feel forced. Besides, no more long distance relationships, remember? Once is more than enough."
"You know her, Syoung-ah," Yuri addresses her other friend. "Can't she move back to Korea?"
"I'm not sure. Maybe she'd come back one day but for now, like Taeng said, she's not ready yet," replies Sooyoung.
"Maybe you should ask for a transfer to Japan, Taeng," suggests Yuri. "It's just a two-hour flight away. Won't be so bad living there."
"I don't speak the language and I have no intention on leaving Korea," says Taeyeon.
"Not even for her? It could just be a temporary move, you know. When she's ready to come back, both of you can move back here together."
"That's not a bad idea actually," Sunny says.
"I'll think about it," Taeyeon says, hoping to end this conversation.
"You should because I've never seen so much instant chemistry between two people. Don't let it go to waste. At least give it a shot."
"I said, I'll think about it. Now are we gonna order dessert or are you just going to continue interrogating me?"
—-
Tiffany quickens her step towards the platforms. It's been a long day and she can't wait to go home.
She was sent to meet a client whose office is luckily just a few stations away from her stop so the commute home will be faster and more bearable than usual.
Her feet slow down when she walks past the snack store.
It's the station where she and Taeyeon first met and she has been trying not to think about it. But her determination crumbles at the sight of the pink display, filled with her favorite Kit Kats, and every memory comes rushing back.
She heaves a sigh as she stops and makes a U-turn, going back to the store to pick up a box, just for old time's sake.
She notices the shelf full of bags of green tea Kit Kats and feels a jab at her heart.
She misses Taeyeon a lot and she has even considered moving back home while crying herself to sleep one lonely night in her tiny apartment.
But she knows that she can't.
Tiffany fully realizes the change she underwent when she was in Seoul last month.
She wasn't as happy as when she's in Japan. The memories haunted her and she always feared running into people she knew, dreading the looks they would give her or the questions they would ask.
It was also partly why she chose to spend all her time with Taeyeon.
That girl wasn't only fun to be with but she helped Tiffany forget –she made her feel like she was not that stupid girl who gave and lost everything– even if only for a few hours a day.
She walks out of the shop with a box of strawberry flavored Kit Kats, a bag of green tea ones and a plan to send that bag to Taeyeon in Seoul.
A few days after she arrived back in Japan, Sooyoung texted her to tell her that Taeyeon had finally asked.
Tiffany was quite anxious to see how Taeyeon would react. She thought that Taeyeon would either pity her –flooding her with encouraging words or showing her how much she could relate– or maybe she would sneer at her for being so stupid and for being a coward, running away to Japan like she did. Or maybe she would just disappear, cut her off like her friends had done.
But Taeyeon didn't do any of that, much to Tiffany's surprise.
The only thing she said was, "I asked Sooyoung. I'm sorry you had to go through all that. Feel free to text or call me anytime you need someone to talk to. I'll always be here."
And Taeyeon keeps her word. They've never lost touch since; even though most of their interactions happen during office hours through the office IM.
Tiffany goes down to the platform, walking towards the far end like she always does.
Her eyes search the crowd and she silently wishes that she would see Taeyeon there, staring at the yellow line and that silly coin on the ground.
She stops at the spot where she had yanked Taeyeon back that night and sighs.
This is not good. I miss you so much, Taeyeon-ah. I thought I'd be able to forget you and go on with my life here but it's so hard to do. Everything reminds me of you. What am I supposed to do now?
—-
Another month goes by without anything eventful.
They still talk on the office IM and they would sometimes text each other outside of office hours.
Taeyeon thanked Tiffany for the green tea Kit Kats and asked her if there was anything she wanted from Korea.
Tiffany said no but Taeyeon sent her something anyway. It was a package of dried squid and beef jerky with a note that said, "Try them with sake and let me know whether they still work for you."
Tiffany had a good laugh that day and sent Taeyeon a thank you message complete with a picture of the opened package of squid and the sake she had bought just to humor her.
One Friday night, she is tucked in bed, ready to sleep when her phone rings.
Tiffany checks the device and immediately sits up when she sees the caller ID.
"Hello?"
"Huhloooooo!"
"Taeyeon?"
"Fany?"
"Are you okay? You sound... weird."
"I'm fantastic!"
"Err... okay."
"I just want to tell you that you're wrong. Them squid and beef jerky can't help me."
"What? Are you drunk, Taeyeon-ah?"
"I don't know. Am I?"
"Taeyeon, where are you?" Tiffany asks, worried that Taeyeon is out and about doing crazy things while intoxicated.
"I'm home, of course!"
"Alone?"
"Well duh? I have no one here. You're all the way over there... drinking sake and whatever... Oh! But you have Kit Kats! Lucky you! I love Kit Kats!"
Tiffany feels a bit relieved to know that at least Taeyeon's home. "Have you been drinking?"
"I have because I wanted to try your suggestion."
"What suggestion?"
"Makgeolli with squid and beef jerky. I don't think they work though."
"Exactly how much makgeolli did you drink?"
"Err... There's one bottle here..."
"Is the bottle empty?"
"How did you know that?! Wow you're psychic!"
Tiffany face-palms. You couldn't even stay awake after two sips now you drank a whole bottle alone? No wonder you're drunk.
"Fany-ah..."
She hears Taeyeon's slurred whining voice. "Yes?"
"What is wrong with me?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Why do I love you?"
"W-wh-what?" Tiffany's completely caught off guard by Taeyeon's question.
"Why do I love you? You don't love me so why do I love you?"
"I... I don't know," she hesitantly says. You love me?
"Do you really like it there? In Japan?"
"I do, actually."
"So you're never coming back? I'm not going to see you again?" Taeyeon's voice suddenly sounds like she's about to cry.
"I can come visit you if you want," she says, humoring the drunken girl.
"Really?!" screams Taeyeon in a high-pitched voice, a total change from her sad voice just a couple of seconds ago.
Tiffany winces as she pulls the phone away from her ear thanks to the sudden shout. "Sure."
"Awesome! Come then! Come come come! Come back! I'll give you anything you want! I'll do anything for you, Fany-ah!"
"Why?" asks Tiffany. She knows that Taeyeon's probably not going to remember this tomorrow and since it seems like she's an honest drunk, she should be able to get honest answers from her. It's a chance that's too good to pass up on.
"Why what?"
"Why would you give me anything I want or do anything for me?"
"Because I love you, silly! Don't you know that? Sheesh. You're kinda dense. Still pretty though. Verrrrrrry beautiful," Taeyeon says. "And very kind too. I like pretty and kind people."
Tiffany doesn't know what to say after hearing that confirmation. You love me. Taeyeon loves me. How... what... She's thrilled to hear it but it leaves her feeling even more torn and confused. She doesn't want to break Taeyeon's heart. Although I've probably done that when I left; hence this little drinking adventure. But I honestly thought she'd move on.
"You know, I keep thinking and thinking..." continues Taeyeon, "If only we had met years ago, I would probably go with you to Japan. But I swore that I would never date anyone who doesn't live in Seoul when she cheated on me."
"Who cheated on you?"
Taeyeon has never specifically told Tiffany about her exes.
"That deceivingly cute Chaehee did." Taeyeon sighs. "I'm telling you, long distance relationships suck. Never date anyone who doesn't live in the same city, Fany-ah. Mark my words. It sucks. No matter how cute or nice that girl is. It. Sucks."
"Thanks for the advice."
"You're welcome. Hey, do you know why the ice cream crossed the street?"
Tiffany almost laughs thanks to the randomness. "No, why did the ice cream cross the street?"
"..."
"Taeyeon?"
"..."
"Taeyeon!"
When she doesn't get an answer, she grows worried and plans to ask Sunny to check on Taeyeon when she hears snoring from the other end of the line.
She exhales in relief and smiles. "Good night, Taeyeon. Thanks for being honest," she says gently into the phone even though Taeyeon can't hear her. Then she decides to say it just for the sake of saying it. "I miss you and I, too, wish that we had met years ago. I'm sorry, Taeyeon. I really am." She takes a deep breath and whispers, "I love you too."
Tiffany ends the call and lies back down, clutching the phone to her heart.
—-
Sunny looks up from her phone when she senses someone approaching. "You're late."
"Sorry," Taeyeon says, sitting down.
"Full subway?"
Taeyeon shakes her head. "I got off work late."
"Overtime?"
"No. It's not because of work."
"Huh? I'm lost now."
Taeyeon inhales and braces herself. "I just bought a ticket to Japan."
"..."
"Sunny?" Taeyeon is expecting to see her friend laugh at her or tease her. "Soonkyu?" She waves her hand in front of Sunny's frozen face.
"Repeat that please," Sunny finally manages to say.
"I... bought a ticket to Japan," Taeyeon repeats herself reluctantly. "I've been working non-stop lately so I thought a short break would do me good," she adds in an attempt to defend her little impulsive act. "Just for a couple of days. I'm only taking one day off."
It takes a few more seconds before Sunny makes a move. She begins to lean forward, over the table, causing Taeyeon to back away.
"What are you doing?" asks Taeyeon as her back hit the chair's backrest. "Y-yah," she stutters in fear when Sunny's face keeps getting closer.
Sunny suddenly grabs Taeyeon's cheeks and shouts, "GOOD JOB, PAPI!" right in the shocked girl's face.
"YAH!" Taeyeon quickly swats both Sunny's hands off of her cheeks. "Sit down!" She pushes her laughing friend by the shoulders.
"Finally!"
"It's just a short break!"
"Yeah sure whatever, Taeng. I'm just glad you're finally doing something about it. It's been two months with no signs of improvement. Our Taenggoo is still smitten."
"Shut up."
"I'll do that. Just for today though. Consider it my generous way of supporting your courageous act."
Taeyeon rolls her eyes and quickly places her order.
—-
"Tiffany-san."
Tiffany stops walking and turns her head to see her supervisor coming to stand next to her in the elevator queue. She bows politely. "Yamada-san."
"Great job on the Shimizu account."
"Thank you, Yamada-san."
"Any plans this long weekend?"
"Ah yes. Planning a short trip home, actually."
"To Korea?"
"Yes. Just for a couple of days."
"I see. Sounds fun. Enjoy."
"I will. Thank you."
#taeny #thedonkatsu