===
"That would be ₩ 5,000 miss."
"..."
"Miss? Are you going to buy the magazine too?"
Tiffany looked up as she heard the cashier. "Um... Oh. Yes please." She handed the magazine over the counter.
"That would be ₩ 10,000 miss."
She paid for her snacks and magazine and quickly went out of the minimart. Tiffany walked faster than usual, excited to read the contents of the latest issue of her favorite interior design magazine. Well, at least that's what she wanted to believe.
===
Tiffany sat on the couch and placed the bag on the coffee table. She took out the magazine and opened the bag of chips.
"Wow. You look different now... But seriously, your smile still looks silly." Tiffany chuckled as she told the person on the magazine's cover. She lightly touched the face she once knew all too well and felt that familiar fluttering feeling in her stomach. She smiled sadly as she remembered the wonderful years they've spent together.
She flipped the pages and found an interview with the rising star of furniture designing.
Q: What's your inspiration in coming up with these unique designs?
A: Ah. Well. I usually get inspiration from nature. I'd like to say that I'm very fond of flowers, tulips in particular.
Q: Oh. So that must be the inspiration for your latest design. Would you like to share with us what made you choose tulips in particular?
A: It was just one of those random moments when I was looking for my sketchpad and I found an old photo, of me and someone else, I keep for good time's sake. It reminded me of red tulips when I saw it. So yeah, that's it. (Laughs)
Q: Quite interesting. I've read somewhere that red tulips symbolizes perfect love. That person must be close to your heart then. Was it a past lover?
A: (Laughs) It was. This may sound silly but I'd like to think that we had the perfect love back then. (Laughs) I'm cringing! I hope that person won't be able to see this. (Laughs)
Tiffany dropped the bag of chips after reading it. She closed the magazine and stared at the picture with wide eyes.
"Damn it! Shouldn't have bought that stupid magazine." She grumbled as she slammed the magazine on the table. She went to her bedroom and grabbed her phone and checked for important emails to calm herself down. She found one from her secretary and opened it.
Good evening Ms. Hwang,
I'd like to remind you that we'll be attending the annual furniture expo tomorrow. That's all.
Secretary Im
"Great. How can I forget that?" She glared at the closed door, remembering the magazine. "Ugh. You and your stupid face."
After thanking her secretary, Tiffany decided to prepare her things for tomorrow's presentation and went to sleep.
===
"If you have more inquiries, we're located at booth 18. We'll be glad to share more about our designs and services." Tiffany bowed after ending her presentation. She closed her laptop and went down the podium then approached her secretary.
"Is Jessi here already? She's quite late." She asked as she looked around, trying to find her friend.
"She arrived a few minutes ago. She messaged me that she'll be waiting at the booth with Jin." Yoona said.
"Oh. Okay, let's go back then. We'll have to go after half an hour though. Just stay here with Jin."
They stopped occasionally at different furniture brands to learn more about the latest trends in furniture designing. Tiffany was having some small talks with Mr. Lee, the owner of one of the famous brands, when she felt someone tapping her shoulder.
"Yoong, please tell Jessi that we'll..." She turned around and her sentence was cut off when she saw who it was.
"Um... Hi..." Taeyeon nervously smiled.
Tiffany composed herself after the initial shock. Before she could say anything, Mr. Lee enthusiastically greeted Taeyeon. Their conversation was long forgotten, so she excused herself and hastily walked to their booth with Yoona following right behind her. Jessica and Jin greeted them as soon as they arrived. The other girl seemed to notice the flustered Tiffany and approached her.
"What's wrong Tiff?"
"..."
"Yoong?" Jessica turned to Yoona and asked.
"Umm... We saw..." Yoona looked back to see if Taeyeon followed them and sure enough, she saw the smaller girl walking towards them.
"Saw what?" Jessica furrowed her brows in confusion.
Yoona faced her and pointed her thumb towards her back. "That."
Jessica tilted her head and peaked behind the secretary's shoulder. Her eyes grew wide and turned towards Tiffany, but the latter was already gone.
"Jin, where's Tiffany?"
"Tiffany noona said she had to go to a meeting."
"What?! But we're supposed to be there together!" Jessica said. She spun around and met Taeyeon's worried gaze.
"Um... Hi... Where's Tiffany?" Taeyeon asked timidly.
"Why are you here?!" She asked exasperatedly.
"I-I was invited to present..."
"What?! How come we didn't know about this?"
"It was a last minute call and..."
"This is... Ugh!"
Taeyeon flinched at Jessica's tone.
"W-where did she go?" Taeyeon tried to ask again.
"I don't know!" Jessica dialed Tiffany's number but it quickly went to voicemail. "Great. Just great." She glared at her phone then at the person in front of her.
"I-I'm sorry... I really am..." Taeyeon looked down.
"I don't need your sorry Taeng." Jessica approached Jin and told him that he would be staying with Yoona for the rest of the day before leaving.
Taeyeon sighed and looked at Yoona, smiling sadly. "Hi Yoong, long time no see." She greeted the taller girl.
"Hi unnie. It's been a long time. Sadly you didn't seem to grow an inch after 3 years." Yoona tried to joke as she patted the smaller girl's head.
===
Yoona and Taeyeon were happily catching up when Tiffany returned.
"Ah, noona! Jessica noona went out to look for you. She left half an hour ago." Jin said as Tiffany approached him and gathered her things.
She looked at Taeyeon then at Yoona. "I'll be going now." She told Yoona and grabbed her bag then left.
Taeyeon quietly observed Tiffany and immediately looked down when their eyes met. She heard heels clicking and looked up to find the other girl walking away. She turned towards Yoona, silently trying to ask what to do.
Yoona looked at Jin then at Taeyeon before hesitantly said, "Go after her unnie."
"B-but... She might..."
"Just go!" Yoona cut her off and pushed her lightly.
Taeyeon almost tripped but decided not to mind it and went off.
===
Meanwhile, Jin curiously looked at Taeyeon disappearing into the crowd and faced Yoona. "Noona, was that Kim Taeyeon? The famous designer?"
"Yeah."
"You know her? Tiffany noona and Jessica noona too?" He asked somewhat innocently.
"Yeah. We went to high school and university together."
"Ah. Must be nice to have a famous friend. But why do they seem to be upset after seeing her?"
"You nosy kid. I'll tell you some other time. Now go have lunch. I'll take over here while you eat."
===
