A week had gone by since the unexpected cafeteria meeting. She was still feeling down but she had now entered the blaming-yourself phase. She shouldn't have had a crush on some random girl who happened to be nice to her nor should she expect such a pretty girl to be available. She should have asked the girl's name since the first time they met because maybe she would have gotten to know her before she started to have a crush on her thereby preventing said crush and the minor heartbreak that followed - or she should've at least asked around.
She had seen the girl around campus but she kept her distance, avoiding her at all cost because there were also times when she saw her talking and laughing with that pretty girl she had started to quietly mutter 'Avada Kedavra' at.
If there was to be a silver lining in all this then it was only that she managed to finish all her assignments long before they were due. She had pushed herself into full study mode to forget about that girl and the-brown-haired-girl-that-must-never-be-named.
It was on one tiring Thursday afternoon when she heard irregular rushing footsteps behind her as she left the library. Tiffany knew who it was because there was only one person she knew that couldn't run properly.
"Fany! Good news!"
"What is it, Syoung-ah?" She didn't even have to turn her head to look.
Sooyoung was catching her breath while excitedly flinging her arms. "That... girl!" She panted. "Your... girl."
"There is no 'my girl'," she answered flatly.
Sooyoung ignored the reply. "I just... overheard her! In... the toilet!"
"You listen to people doing their business or something?" She finally turned her head, looking at her friend while scrunching her nose in disgust.
"What?! Of course not! That's disgusting!" Sooyoung had finally started to breathe more normally.
"Then why were you eavesdropping?"
"I wasn't eavesdropping! I was in the stall and I heard her talking to someone." Sooyoung paused for dramatic effect. A smug grin started to form on her face. Slowly. She even added a little playful raise of her eyebrows.
She rolled her eyes. "I don't have time for this." She quickened her steps.
"Yah! Don't make me run again!"
"Can't run, can't swim... what can you do anyway?" She muttered under her breath.
"I heard that." Sooyoung pulled her friend's arm to stop her. "Just listen to me, will ya?"
"Then get to the point, will ya? I'm hungry and tired. I wanna go back to my room and sleep." She yanked her arm free.
"She's not seeing anyone." Sooyoung grinned like she had just told Einstein that E=MC2. She folded her arms and tilted her chin up, resuming her smug pose.
"Stop looking so pompous." She fought the urge to slap her friend. "You don't even know whether she was really the person you overheard." She wanted to hope, she could feel that her heart was screaming for her to hope, but she controlled herself. One disappointment a week was enough.
"There was no one else there!"
"You were in the stall. Unless you do your business with the door open, I don't see how you can be sure that it was her."
"Eww!" Sooyoung grimaced. "You're so disgusting today!"
Tiffany shook her head and started walking again.
"Okay okay!" Sooyoung grabbed Tiffany's shoulder. "It was her for sure because when I came out, she was still talking to her friend."
She stopped to listen.
"Her friend was basically telling her to go find someone else because apparently the person she likes doesn't like her back or something. She used the word hopeless."
Her heartbeat accelerated. "Are you sure?"
Sooyoung nodded. "Positive! I even agree with some of the tips her friend was giving her. Silently, of course."
"Tips?"
"Yep. On how to get a date. They're kinda similar to the steps I had painstakingly researched and gathered for you."
Tiffany rolled her eyes once more, knowing what her friend was implying. "I didn't ask you to do that."
"I was being a good friend!" Sooyoung protested. "I'm even bearing you good news now, aren't I? I ran all the way from my building for crying out loud!"
"Fine. Thank you for trying to be a good friend."
"You're welcome." Sooyoung grinned then put an arm around Tiffany's shoulders. "Now let's talk about asking her out."
"WHAT?!"
"Yah!" Sooyoung took her arm off of Tiffany's shoulders to grab her ringing ears. "Volume!"
"I'm not going to ask her out!" She glared at her friend.
"Oh yes you are!"
"No, I'm not!"
"Yes, you are!" Sooyoung raised her voice. "Or would you rather let some other pretty girl come by and eat from her bowl? Do you like that, Miyoung? Do you like seeing someone sit next to her? Cling to her? Exchange saliva with her?"
"EW! SERIOUSLY!" She hit her friend for real this time.
"I saw that girl using her spoon. Exchanging saliva" Sooyoung stated matter-of-factly.
Tiffany sighed.
"So..." Sooyoung once again put her arm around Tiffany's shoulders while she grinned. "Where do you usually see her?"
--
Tiffany could feel the man behind the cash register eyeing her suspiciously. She silently sighed, placing the random item she had picked up back on the random shelf in the small minimart. She had been hanging around the small store, going from shelf to shelf, display to display, product to product; waiting for the person she often saw there during that time of day.
She checked her watch and realized that she had been standing in that shop for more than half an hour. No one ever took that long to browse that minimart. "No wonder he's eyeing me like I'm some kind of kleptomaniac" she muttered under her breath. She decided on a bottle of milk and a donut to prevent the guy from shooting her should she walk out of there empty handed.
She took her change, placed it in her wallet and grabbed the milk and the paper bag before swinging her bag so she could put her wallet back inside. Her hands were full because she was also holding a book and her phone so she wasn't paying attention to her surroundings as she headed towards the exit.
"Whoa!" Someone said, almost bumping into her.
She stopped in her tracks and looked up to see that smile. She almost dropped everything she was holding.
They just stood there at the shop entrance, facing each other.
She knew she was starting to blush so she quickly stepped aside to let her through, keeping her head down.
The short girl didn't move though - still looking at her from where she was standing.
She didn't know what to do.
"Need a hand?"
She heard the girl say. She looked up and saw the smile she had secretly grown to adore. She shook her head timidly then looked away again.
"Are you sure?"
She nodded even though her fingers had started to hurt from trying to hold the different sized objects all at once.
"Okay then."
The girl hesitated for a second but walked away in the end.
Tiffany exhaled, not even realizing that she was holding her breath. She cursed herself for being so awkward and embarrassing. Quickly stuffing her things in her bag, she then adjusted the bag strap's position on her shoulder and clutched her book tighter. She turned around and saw her in the dairy section, seemingly trying to decide on a yogurt.
"Come on, Tiffany. You can do this. Just introduce yourself, get her name and get the hell out of here" she mumbled to herself.
"Are you talking about my friend?"
The quiet feminine voice made her jump. She was glad that she didn't scream.
She saw her brown haired Voldermort standing next to her, smiling. I should replace Voldermort with the name of one of those creepy ninja dudes Sunny plays on her fighting video game, she thought - disliking the sneak attack.
"Is she the one you're talking about?" The girl pointed at the person at the yogurt section who had her back towards them.
She didn't exactly know what to say or do.
"Her name's Kim Taeyeon." The girl giggled cutely.
Avada Kedavra, said her mind automatically.
"So your name is Tiffany, huh?" The brunette extended her hand. "I'm Jessica, Taeyeon's friend."
She looked at the hand then at the smiling face then back at the hand.
"I won't bite."
She heard Jessica say and reluctantly shook the girl's hand, making a mental note to wash her hand with super strong antiseptic later - or bleach maybe. She made sure that she only touched Jessica's hand enough to shake it then immediately withdrew her hand afterwards.
"Sica!"
They turned their heads.
The girl called Taeyeon was still standing with her back towards them.
"What?" Jessica left, dragging her feet lazily to where Taeyeon was.
She watched them talk for a bit before Jessica left, going to the back of the minimart.
The girl suddenly turned around, holding a pack of yogurt in her hand.
Their eyes met and she instantly blushed. She quickly looked away, turning her body as if she was leaving the minimart. She couldn't get her feet to move though because her brain was yelling things about being a coward and regret and other stuff that was too jumbled for her to even process.
"Are you really okay?"
She heard the voice again. She turned her head and saw her approaching. She gasped, heard herself gasping and gasped again because she couldn't believe that she had gasped out loud like that.
The girl raised her eyebrows. "Seriously. Are you okay?"
"Y-yes."
"Her name is Taeyeon!"
The feminine voice rang from somewhere inside the minimart.
Several heads turned.
Tiffany wished the ground would open and swallow that brunette whole.
The girl in front of her shook her head. "That Jung Sooyeon..." She then exhaled. "Hi, I'm Kim Taeyeon." She smiled and extended her hand. "I think we've met a couple of times before."
She froze.
"Um... You okay?" The hand was still extended towards her.
"Y-yeah." She finally regained consciousness. She shook the hand carefully, feeling goosebumps when she touched the smooth skin. "I-I'm Tiffany. Hwang. I mean, Hwang Tiffany. My name, I mean." She then Avada Kedavra-d herself.
Taeyeon chuckled. "I get that." She let go of her hand. "Nice to finally know your name, Tiffany." She pronounced it carefully. "Do you happen to be born and raised in the States like my friend Jessica?"
She nodded, fixing her eyes on the yogurt pack in the other girl's hand.
"Ah I see."
They grew quiet.
"Is there something you wanna say to me?"
"H-huh?" She looked up.
"Since you've been standing here for quite a while..."
"O-oh! No no! I'm just... waiting for a friend. Yeah. I'm waiting for my friend."
Taeyeon raised her eyebrows. "Oh. I see. Err... okay then. I'm gonna go check on my friend." She took a slow step back.
Tiffany saw the hesitation but couldn't bring herself to say what she had rehearsed for the past week. She sighed when she saw her disappearing behind a shelf, in search of her friend. "I give up. I totally suck at this" she muttered to herself as she started to head towards the door.
"Tiffany!"
She stopped in her tracks when she heard that voice again. She turned around and saw Taeyeon being pushed and kicked by Jessica. They were arguing but she couldn't hear what they were talking about. She finally heard a 'Yah!' from Taeyeon before the short girl was kicked for the last time.
Taeyeon rubbed her freshly kicked butt and muttered another hateful remark to her best friend before she looked at her.
Tiffany saw the look and for a second, thought that it mirrored her own. Am I hallucinating or is she actually shy as well? That thought was strangely encouraging.
They stood there at different sides of the aisle just quietly stealing glances at each other.
"Oh for Pete's sake!"
Jessica appeared from behind one of the shelves, grabbed Taeyeon's hand and pulled her towards Tiffany.
"Y-yah!" Taeyeon protested.
"We're in university for crying out loud! Even kindergarten kids have probably kissed by now!" Jessica hissed.
Taeyeon shut her mouth.
They stopped in front of the baffled Tiffany who had turned pink at the cheeks.
"Taeyeon, Tiffany. Tiffany, Taeyeon. Talk. Now!" Jessica ordered. "I'm going to buy a snack and pay for it and when I'm done, I expect you two to be done talking as well. Or else." She glared at her best friend. "And do not ever say that I have bad timing again." She pointed her finger at Taeyeon before stomping away.
Tiffany saw Taeyeon talking a deep breath while avoiding her eyes. It made her smile a little, feeling more at ease now that it was clear that both of them were shy and nervous somehow. "Your friend is kinda scary."
Taeyeon looked at Tiffany. "Y-yeah. She really is sometimes."
A pause.
Taeyeon cleared her throat, opened her mouth then closed it again. She seemed to be contemplating something.
Tiffany saw Jessica walking to the cashier with her snack in her hand. She knew that she didn't have much time left before the scary girl returned. "Um..." She looked down and noticed that Taeyeon was still holding the yogurt pack. "Have you, by any chance, tried that new coffee shop that just opened near the business school?" She asked the yogurt pack.
"Not yet."
Tiffany heard the answer, gathered her courage and lifted her head, meeting her gaze. "D-do you..." She gulped. "Do you wanna have coffee? There? With me?" She felt goosebumps and warmth rising to her face and quickly turned her head, looking at the door.
Taeyeon chuckled, relieved. "Sure."
She snapped her head back. "Really?!" She couldn't believe her ears.
Taeyeon nodded. "When?"
"Um..." She hadn't thought about the when. "When are you free?"
"Well, I have class in about an hour and since tomorrow's Saturday..." Taeyeon paused to think. "How about Monday?"
"O-oh sure. Monday's fine." It would be quite an agonizing weekend but it was better than nothing.
"Okay then. Monday it is. I only have morning classes on Monday so maybe I can see you there for lunch? 12.30?"
Tiffany nodded. "S-sure! Lunch it is. Yup. 12.30. Okay." She then sighed when she heard yet another idiotic answer coming out of her mouth.
Taeyeon chuckled. "I'll see you then, Tiffany." She took a step back towards the cash register - not taking her eyes off her.
Tiffany waved then realized how stupid it looked so she quickly dropped her hand and rushed out of the minimart before she turned into a bigger fool.
She slowed down once she had left the building. A grin started to spread on her face. "Kim Taeyeon" she mumbled the name. She then started laughing, skipping her way back to the dorm.
--
"That wasn't so bad, was it?"
"Shut up! You practically made a fool out of me!"
"I had to! You two were too slow and scared. So frustrating."
"So nosy..."
"Hey, be grateful, Kim Taengoo! I finally got you a date with a girl that you've been gawking at for months!"
"Technically, she was the one who asked me, you know. So you didn't actually get me a da-... Ow! YAH! STOP KICKING ME! Fine! I'll buy you a meal after class later!"
"Now that's more like it. See? It's quite easy and painless to express your gratitude, isn't it, Kim Taengoo?"
"Sigh..."