“Fany-ah! Happy Valentine’s day!” A cute blonde girl, ran into Tiffany’s room and jumped childishly on the latter’s bed, forcing the girl to wake up.

 

“Taetae! It’s still early in the morning on Sunday! Why are you excited already?” Tiffany grunted, while lazily opening her eyes. Her hair was a mess, some strands covered her bare face but it did not subside her beauty. “And stop jumping on my bed! You are almost 23 years old for God’s sake!” said the sleepy girl as continued grunting.

 

“It’s Valentine’s day, Fany! Wake up!!” Taeyeon finally stopped jumping and sat beside the half-awaken girl.

 

“I don’t care! I don’t have boyfriend anyway!” Tiffany shoved her best friend’s petite figure grumpily.

 

“But you have me, your girlfriend! Wake up!”

 

“You’re not my girlfriend, Taetae! Just let me sleep!” Tiffany turned her body, back facing Taeyeon, mumbling something like ‘annoying dwarf’, and closed her eyes, trying to sleep again.

 

“Fany doesn’t love Taetae. Taetae is very sad.” Taeyeon whined cutely which usually never failed to get Tiffany’s attention for two reasons: first, Taeyeon’s cute attempts usually ended up failed and it made Tiffany laugh; second, it simply annoyed Tiffany.

 

“Shut up, Kim Taeyeon.”

 

“Fany…” Taeyeon kept whining but Tiffany no longer responded. She frowned at the sight of Tiffany’s back facing her. Her housemate did not seem to be in the mood to celebrate Valentine’s day whilst, in contrast, Taeyeon could not hold her excitement for today. Out of three hundred sixty-five days in a year, Taeyeon only had this one day to freely say she loved Tiffany without worrying the latter would hate her and destroy their six-year long friendship.

 

“Miyoung…” Taeyeon tried to call out once again, this time using Tiffany’s Korean name in another attempt to annoy the girl and get the attention she hoped for. To her dismay, she only got a soft snore as a reply. The blonde chuckled understandingly, realizing that her best friend has fallen back asleep already. She leaned forward to take a peek at the pretty girl who was sleeping peacefully before leaning closer to plant a light kiss on Tiffany’s cheek.

 

“Happy Valentine’s day, Fany. I love you.” Taeyeon whispered lovingly before she finally stood up to leave Tiffany’s room. It was still early in the morning and she got the rest of the day to let Tiffany hear her saying she loved her, just like what she always did on every Valentine’s day.

 

Taeyeon came into her own room and sat on her desk. She took a certain book from the drawer with the inscription ‘T_T story’ boldly written on it. She stared at it for a while and smiled, remembering when Tiffany once asked her about what ‘T_T’ meant; she had told her it was a crying emoticon. She also told her best friend that this book was a journal of her depressing thoughts, which made Tiffany grimace. Telling her that she would never try to read such depressing journal. It was one of the lies she told Tiffany to hide her true feelings. The fact was, ‘T_T’ stood for Taeyeon and Tiffany, and the book was actually the journal of her stories with Tiffany. Every special moment she had with Tiffany was there for her to remember. There were colorful page markers plastered on some pages. The yellow ones were to mark their movie dates, the blue ones were to mark their special celebrations such as Birthdays, Christmas, and new years. And the ones with Tiffany’s favorite color, pink, were to marked every Valentine’s day they spent together.

 

Taeyeon didn’t want to write any entry for today just yet. But since Tiffany was still asleep in her own room, she decided to reminisce the memories about her past Valentine’s days. She opened the first pink page marker. It was the entry she wrote at the first Valentine’s day after Taeyeon realized her feeling for Tiffany, back then in the University, when both of them still lived in a dorm, having rooms side by side.

.

.

.

“Happy Valentine’s day, Fany!!!” Taeyeon barged into Tiffany’s room making the girl who was in the middle of finishing her paperwork on the bed, startled and almost dropped her laptop.

 

“Taetae! You startled me!”

 

Taeyeon laughed at the sight in front of her but soon continued her way to sit beside her best friend. “Since today is Valentine’s day, I want to give you this.” She discharged her backpack, put it on her lap, and then took out a huge box of chocolates.

 

“Wow Tae! So huge! Do you plan to make me obese or suffer from diabetes?” Tiffany asked as she put her laptop by the nightstand.

 

“Yah! Fany!” Taeyeon slapped Tiffany’s arm in protest, earning a smirk from her pretty best friend.

 

“Happy Valentine’s day to you too, boo!” Tiffany smiled, making her eyes form into a pair of two crescents. She then hugged Taeyeon’s petite figure, showing her appreciation towards her cute best friend. Tiffany smiled at the gesture then took the chocolates box from Taeyeon’s hands and focused on opening it.

 

“You should be thankful that I don’t have boyfriend, so I can give chocolate to you, my girlfriend.”

 

“Yah! Since when am I your girlfriend?!” Tiffany slapped Taeyeon’s arm in return.

 

“You’re a girl, and you’re my friend. Therefore you are my girlfriend. Correct me if I’m wrong.” Taeyeon answered smugly.

 

“Annoying midget!” Tiffany stuck out her tongue.

 

“You’re not so tall yourself, Miyoung!”

 

“Who gives you permission to call me by my Korean name? Dwarf!”

 

“Yah!” Taeyeon protested.

 

“Yah!” Tiffany followed along.

 

“What did you say ‘yah!’ for, Fany?” Taeyeon let out her signature laugh, which sounded like that of an old lady. Tiffany noticed that she yelled just because she wanted to cut off whatever Taeyeon was about to say but the latter did not say anything besides ‘yah!’.

 

“You’re annoying, Taetae!” Tiffany protested but laughed along with her best friend.

 

“I’m annoying but you love me, Miyoung.”

 

“You wish.” Tiffany rolled her eyes playfully.

 

“I gave you chocolate on Valentine’s day and you accepted it. Does that mean you accept my love, oh my pretty friend of mine?” Taeyeon wriggled her eyebrows to tease Tiffany. But deep down, she really wished that every single word she said was taken seriously by Tiffany.

 

“Whatever.” Tiffany stuck her tongue out again then shifted her focus to open the chocolate box. Taeyeon noticed the struggle and took the box from Tiffany’s hands, helping the girl to open the box. She did it in just one swift try and handed the box back to Tiffany.

 

“Let’s eat together, Taetae.” Tiffany said as she put the chocolate box on her lap. Taeyeon smiled, taking a piece of chocolate for herself.

 

“How can you eat first? It’s mine already!”

 

“So, what? We share everything. What’s yours is mine as well.” Taeyeon mumbled as she chewed the chocolate in her mouth.

 

“I hate you!” Tiffany pouted as she also took a piece of chocolate and ate it.

 

“But I love you.” Taeyeon answered playfully.

 

“Aish. Since it’s Valentine’s day, then… I love you too.” Tiffany answered, taking another piece of chocolate and feeding it to Taeyeon.

 

Taeyeon smiled at the beautiful girl in front of her before opening her mouth, letting Tiffany, feed her the chocolate. Even though Tiffany didn’t really mean her ‘I love you too’, hearing those words from Tiffany was enough to make her happy for the rest of the day.

.

.

.

‘… Fany-ah, your ‘I love you too’ today means more than anything I heard for the whole year.’ Taeyeon smiled as she reached the end of the page. She remembered about how hopeless she was back then. How weird it was for her to give Tiffany the chocolate after realizing her feeling towards her closest best friend. After trying to date a lot of boys in one year, she finally noticed that the only person she wanted to be with was not one of those boys, but Tiffany. Even so, since they were very close and Taeyeon did not want to put their friendship at a stake, she could only explicitly say she loved Tiffany on Valentine’s day. Valentine’s day four years ago was the first time she did it, and she promised herself to do it every year on Valentine’s day.

 

Her fingers traced another pink page marker and slowly flipped it to reveal the write-up about the second Valentine’s day.

.

.

.

“Taetae!”

 

“Yo!”

 

“You and your swag!” Tiffany laughed at the antics of her short best friend. Taeyeon smiled at Tiffany’s laugh. It always mesmerised her.

 

“So, what’s up, boo?” Taeyeon continued.

 

“What’s your plan today?”

 

“Nothing. Just wanna go back to the dorm.”

 

“Has anyone ever told you how boring you are?” Tiffany rolled her eyes. Knowing her best friend for three years already, Tiffany noticed how much Taeyeon loved to stay in the dorm, doing nothing but lazing around.

 

“Nope. Are you going back with me?” Taeyeon offered.

 

“I wanna watch a newly released movie, Taetae.” Tiffany whined.

 

“Oh, go then.” Taeyeon answered cooly.

 

“I want your company, duh.” She groaned at the lack of understanding from the blonde in front of her.

 

“Oh. But I still need to go back to our dorm. I want to take a bath first. I didn’t get to bath because I was late for morning class.”

 

“Eeeewww!!! Disgusting! It’s one o’clock in the afternoon already, Tae! Let’s go back to the dorm then!” Tiffany grabbed Taeyeon’s wrist and pulled on it forcefully as they made their way to their dorm.

 

They reached the dorm in no time with Tiffany grumpily scolding Taeyeon all the way for being late to class and for not taking a bath in the morning. Even though Tiffany knew how difficult it was for Taeyeon to wake up in the morning, but not taking a bath in the morning was too much. Tiffany herself was a clean person, and to find out Taeyeon did not take a bath really made her somehow irritated.

 

Once they were in front of Tiffany’s room, the grumpy girl rummaged her handbag to find the key to her room. But before she could find the key, she heard a click from her door. She abruptly stopped as she looked up only to see Taeyeon just unlocked the door and grinned widely.

 

“Old Tiffany is starting to forget things easily, huh?” Taeyeon childishly teased.

 

“Yah! How can you have my key?” Tiffany snapped.

 

“I borrowed it earlier today, Fany-ah. I came to your class, to borrow the key because I left my textbook in your room and I needed it for today’s class. You don’t remember?”

 

“Oh.” Tiffany finally remembered Taeyeon came into her class before lunch to borrow the key. Taeyeon threw her a winning smile and stepped aside to let her crabby friend open the door. Tiffany opened the door only to gasp in surprise seeing her room was full of pink heart-shaped helium balloons.

 

Taeyeon smiled at the reaction. “Happy Valentine’s day, Fany! Since I still can’t find a boyfriend for myself, I decided to give a surprise to my girlfriend.” She said playfully.

 

Taeyeon had planned it days before. She ordered 50 heart-shaped helium balloons and intentionally left her text book in Tiffany’s room so she could have an excuse to borrow the latter’s key to put the balloons in the room without any cause for suspicion.

 

“Oh my God, Taetae…” Tiffany forgot all her crankiness towards Taeyeon. “If I had a boyfriend right now, he would be very, very jealous of you.” Tiffany chuckled but could not hide how surprised she was. Her grumpy face soon turned into a very wide smile, and Taeyeon just stood there, enjoying the sight of the most beautiful eye smile in the world.

 

“You should be thankful I do not have a boyfriend, Fany. You would miss this kind of surprise if I already had one.” Taeyeon joked, earning a melodious chuckle from Tiffany.

 

The smiling girl proceeded to enter her room, still in a state of amazement. Soon, she noticed that there was a pink envelope attached to one of the helium balloons. She took the envelope and opened it. A small piece of paper was folded inside. She unfolded the paper to find a messy hand-written note from Taeyeon.

 

“Happy Valentine’s day, Fany-ah! I love you!

-Your girlfriend.”

 

Tiffany still had a very wide smile on her face as she finished reading the letter. Tiffany folded the note again and put it back in the envelope before approaching the grinning Taeyeon at the door.

 

“I bet you’re going to be a very, very cheesy girlfriend for your future boyfriend, Taetae.”

 

“So, I’m a cheesy girlfriend for you now?” Taeyeon kept grinning but her heart was aching a bit at hearing Tiffany’s remark. If only she could tell Tiffany that she did not want to be a cheesy girlfriend for her future boyfriend. If there was anyone she would allow to call her a cheesy girlfriend, it could only be her one and only eye smile girl. It could only be Tiffany.

 

“Since today is Valentine’s day, yes, you’re my cheesy girlfriend.” Tiffany laughed while flashing her infamous toothy smile.

 

And Taeyeon’s heart melted.

 

Even if it was just because Valentine’s day, even if it was just for one day, at least Tiffany claimed Taeyeon as her cheesy girlfriend.

 

“I don’t get a hug for the surprise I made?” Taeyeon pretended to sulk. Tiffany laughed at the sight and stepped forward to give a tight hug to her best friend. Taeyeon hugged her back, not wanting to let go. They hugged countless times almost every day. But for Taeyeon, Valentine’s day was different. Everything she did for Tiffany was special and every little thing she received in return, felt way more than it usually did. Because only on Valentine’s day, could she express her love to Tiffany.

 

“Now, let’s have a movie date.” Tiffany said as she broke the hug.

 

“Is it okay for me to go without showering first?”

 

“I know you’ve taken a shower, silly.”

 

“How come???” Taeyeon was surprised Tiffany knew she had already taken a shower.

 

“I smelt your vanilla scent soap when I hugged you. Now, stop giving me your lame excuses and let’s go to the theatre!” Tiffany was back to being her grumpy self as she locked her door. Taeyeon laughed as she stretched her hand, which was soon held by Tiffany as they made their way to the theatre.

.

.

.

Taeyeon stared at the movie tickets she had pasted on the page and her messy hand-writing under it, ‘movie date with Fany ^^. We’ve watched countless movies together but since it’s Valentine’s day, I will forever remember it as a real movie date, Fany-ah ^^’. The petite girl smiled bitterly at her own note. It reminded her how pathetic she was for saying she would forever remember it as a real date, how desperate she was to have a real date with her secret crush. Her finger reached the third pink page marker and flipped the page again.

.

.

.

“Are you going to give me another Valentine’s day surprise, Taetae?” Tiffany asked in the middle of their lunch.

 

“Why should I?” Taeyeon replied nonchalantly.

 

“Just to remind you that this is going to be our last Valentine’s day at University and I might not be forever single, so you won’t miss any chance to celebrate Valentine’s day with me before I finally get a boyfriend for myself.” Tiffany answered teasingly.

 

“Yah! You should be the one who give me a surprise this year. How can you be so greedy and want me to surprise you every year? I might not be forever single either, Fany-ah.” Taeyeon answered furiously, not because she expected Tiffany to give her surprise, but because Tiffany reminded her that one day she might have a boyfriend. And when that day really came, Taeyeon knew, she would not be able to do anything about it.

 

“Why are you being grumpy all of a sudden?” Tiffany laughed at Taeyeon’s reaction. “It’s always me who has always been cranky every time I am with you.”

 

“Because you are greedy, Miyoung.”

 

“Yah! Don’t call me Miyoung!” Tiffany shot a protest.

 

“Greedy girlfriend, then.” Taeyeon continued to annoy her crush.

 

“See, you keep calling me girlfriend every Valentine’s day. Don’t blame me for expecting a surprise from my girlfriend.” Tiffany let out a huffed.

 

Taeyeon’s heart beat like crazy hearing Tiffany’s sentence. Hearing Tiffany called her ‘girlfriend’ brought her to the highest of skies only to fall back hard to earth because it was just for one day, and, because Tiffany never really meant it.

 

“I told you before, you’re my friend and you’re a girl. Therefore, you’re my girlfriend.” Taeyeon replied as she chewed her fried rice.

 

“But you never call me ‘girlfriend’ on other day.” Tiffany tapped her own chin as she realized Taeyeon’s weird trait on every Valentine’s day.

 

“You know how hard is it to be hopelessly romantic yet still single? I need to unleash my romantic side but I don’t have boyfriend. And since you, my one and only best friend’s still single, I will just practice my cheesiness with you on Valentine’s day.” Taeyeon made up a reason.

 

“Dork!”

 

“No, no, no. Don’t call your girlfriend a dork.”

 

“No, you’re not my girlfriend!”

 

“You said it before, Fany-ah. ‘Don’t blame me for expecting a surprise from my girlfriend’.” Taeyeon mimicked what Tiffany said earlier.

 

“Yah!”

 

Taeyeon laughed at Tiffany’s reaction. No matter how cranky and moody Tiffany could be, she just could not to fall deeper to the latter. Taeyeon always thought, that maybe this is what all the wise man always said, ‘love is blind’. Maybe she was just simply blind because with Tiffany being all cranky and moody towards her, she still could not let herself stopped loving her moody best friend.

 

There were not so many people knowing that Tiffany could be so moody. It only applied to Taeyeon because Tiffany felt very comfortable around her. Taeyeon once protested that it was not fair to her that Tiffany kept unleashing the rage towards her. But the answer she got only made her sighed in defeat at the end: “Because it’s you Taetae. It’s because you’re the closest person to me, the one I can rely on, the one that can calm me down. I just simply need you to make my mood better.”

 

Despite the fact that it was only Taeyeon who could calm Tiffany down, Taeyeon was also the source of the latter’s mood swing. Taeyeon was not only Tiffany’s best friend but also Tiffany’s most annoying friend. And it was what she exactly did at the moment, deliberately annoyed Tiffany while she actually already prepared something for this year’s Valentine’s day surprise. Nonetheless, since they were in the middle of exams, she did not have enough time to finish her surprise yet.

 

“So? No surprise?” Tiffany insisted.

 

“Aish, this Hwang… Really!” Taeyeon shook her head.

 

“What?!”

 

“Greedy.”

 

“Yah! Don’t call your girlfriend greedy!”

 

Taeyeon smirked at Tiffany’s answer. The latter just referred to herself as her girlfriend. Taeyeon believed, she could tease the girl twenty-four hours in seven days only to keep hearing it over and over again.

 

“Why are you smirking?” Tiffany was really annoyed at Taeyeon.

 

“What did you say earlier?”

 

“What?!”

 

“Don’t call your girlfriend greedy!” Taeyeon mimicked Tiffany again only to receive a death glare from her beautiful best friend. Taeyeon laughed at the sight. Even when Tiffany threw a death glare at her, the only thing she saw, in her eyes, was a beautiful Goddess. Maybe love was not blind. Maybe love just made things seemed way more beautiful than it already was.

 

Taeyeon continued eating her meal accompanied with Tiffany’s grunts about how Taeyeon could receive an award for being the most annoying best friend. The former only listened at the grunts and finally gulped her drink once she finished her meal. The blonde then soon stood up to pay the bills. She came back to the table, finding Tiffany was occupied by her phone.

 

“Fany, I will depart first. I have an appointment today.” She excused herself.

 

“What appointment?” Tiffany snapped. She usually knew Taeyeon’s schedule but she had no idea that Taeyeon had an appointment today.

 

“Aish, why do you always want to know about my schedule, Fany. You are going to be a very possessive girlfriend, I bet.” Taeyeon annoyed Tiffany even more.

 

“Yah! Just go then, annoying midget!”

 

“OK then! Don’t miss me!” Taeyeon stuck out her tongue as she skipped her way out of the campus canteen. She then started to run after she made sure she was out of Tiffany’s sight. She had something to do for another Valentine’s surprise for Tiffany.

 

Tiffany still sat in the canteen when one of the food sellers came to her, giving her a card.

 

“Your friend left it when she paid for her meal.” He said as he handed a white card to Tiffany. Tiffany thanked the man as she cursed Taeyeon for recklessly leaving her belongings around. She then looked at the card to find familiar, messy hand-writing.

 

“First

Hello! This is Kim Taeyeon, your annoying midget! 

We’re going to play a game, Fany-ah!


The word on the top is the theme of the clue. 

Yes, this is the FIRST clue for you. 

You need to find four other clue cards

 to find your Valentine’s surprise. 

This card will lead you to the next clue.

Flip the card now!”

 

Tiffany smiled as she read the card. Even though Taeyeon was the most annoying human being she knew, her best friend was also her source of happiness. From the conversation she had before, she had no idea that her best friend was this eager to give her a Valentine’s day surprise. The smiling girl immediately flipped the card and found another message.

 

“Learn

We were young and clueless when

 we first enrolled. 

That’s why we learn, 

so we can get better

 and it makes us who we are now.

But, there’s an old saying, ‘

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.’ 

Do you still remember your first step?

Do you still remember, 

the first class you took in this University?”

 

Tiffany furrowed her brow at the clue. It’s her last year in University and she has been asked to remember the first class she took. She tried to remember and suddenly she realized, it was also her first meeting with Taeyeon. It was a sociology class, and the class was located in room 701. She immediately stood up, paid her bill and made her way to room 701.

 

When Tiffany finally reached room 701 on the seventh floor of the building., she found out that the floor was empty since there was no class conducted. Her eyes then caught a similar card pasted on the door. She took it and read the message.

 

“Over heart

‘Over hearts, I have painfully

 turned every stone
. 

 

Just to find, I have found what

 I’ve searched to discover. 

 

I’ve come much too far

 for me now to find. 

 

The love that I’ve sought

 can never be mine’. 

 

You know it’s song lyrics right, 

Fany? Hmmm… 

I wonder where can we make 

a song on this campus?

 

PS. See what’s under you!”

 

 

Tiffany looked down, finding a small box of chocolates in front of the door. She took it as she shook her head. Her best friend was the most annoying, yet cheesiest and craziest friend she could ever have in life. She continued making her way to the campus music room since she was pretty sure that the clue she had just read was telling her to go to the music room.

 

When she finally arrived in front of the music room, she could not find any message pasted on the door. She confusedly tried to look down making sure it had not fallen down but she again, found nothing. The confused girl then decided opening the door to enter the music room and soon smiled when she saw something on the piano. Making her way to the piano, her smile grew wider as she noticing a pack of cheddar cheese with the card on the instrument.

 

“A cheese for you! You keep saying that

 I’m a cheesy midget 

and if my cheesiness could be accumulated, 

I might already open my own cheese factory. 

So here’s a present from my newly

 opened cheese factory ^^

Now flip the card!”

 

Tiffany laughed at the note. If she were asked to describe Taeyeon in only two words, ‘annoying’ and ‘cheesy’ would be the best words to describe the dork. She took the cheese and put it in her handbag before flipping the card, reading the next clue.

 

“Warm

Can you imagine how cold would it be if there

 were no one discovered a

 device called heater? 

Do you know who is the inventor of the heater?

 I bet you don’t! How ungrateful you are! 

Haha kidding, Fany^^

The next clue is the nationality of the heater’s inventor!”

 

Tiffany grunted as she read the clue. How could she know the inventor of theheater? And how could her annoying dork even know about this information. She subsequently face-palmed herself, remembering there was a piece of technology called google. Fishing out her iPhone from her bag, Tiffany opened the browser, typing in some keywords to find the answer.

 

“Willis Havilland Carrier was an American engineer… Ah America!!!” An excited squeal escaped her mouth as her mind already processed where the next clue would be. The campus had a general lecture room named ‘America Room’. Tiffany immediately skipped her way out from music room to find the next clue.

 

A pink heart-shaped helium balloon, which flied aimlessly in front of the door of the America Room, greeted the excited girl as soon as she reached the location. She smiled at the sight while silently thanking God that Taeyeon was smart enough to pick the places well. The general lecture room was not used for any lecture at the moment. So, it would not be weird to see a pink heart-shaped helium balloon flying aimlessly in front of the door. A card attached to the balloon, exactly like what she got for her surprise last year. Smiled wider, the pretty girl reached for the card and read the next clue.

”Empty

Are you expecting another chocolate or cheese, 

Fany? Ooops,

sorry you don’t get it this time. 

Are you now thinking there’s nothing special about this clue? 

No, Fany…

You’re not going to go empty-handed. 

Still remember the balloons from last year Valentine’s day? 

Was it a good memory for you? 

If it was, 

take this balloon 

so you’re not going empty handed.

Now, flip the card! 

The last clue is waiting!”

 

Tiffany could not help to smile. No need to question whether the last Valentine’s day was a good memory for her. Only her Taetae was crazy enough to sneak in dozens of pink heart-shaped helium balloons to her room. She took the balloon and flipped the card to find the last clue.

 

“R******

This is my favourite place in campus. 

Come here, Fany-ah… 

I’m waiting for you…^^

PS. I already gave you all clues. 

And if you’re smart enough, 

you will already know by now, 

what I will give for your Valentine’s day surprise

 ^^”

 

The last clue was too easy for Tiffany. She knew her best friend well enough to know that the clue would lead her to the rooftop. It was a place where Taeyeon spent most of her time besides being in her own room or Tiffany’s room. Tiffany knew exactly the place Taeyeon meant. Getting all excited to find the surprise from her best friend, Tiffany then collected all the cards she got before to find more clues about what will Taeyeon give next. She read all of them one by one, studied it and finally smirked after she found out what Taeyeon will give.

 

“First,”

 

“Learn,”

 

“Over heart,

 

“Warm,”

 

“Empty,”

 

“Rooftop.”

 

The first letter from the themes of the clues, huh? FLOWER. Cheesy midget.” Tiffany murmured but could not hide her smile, as she continued her way to where Taeyeon was waiting.

 

Taeyeon was nervously waiting at the rooftop, standing in the center while hiding something behind her back, awaiting her crush who she believed would agree to play along with her game. Looking down at her feet, the cute girl hoped the surprise would go well. She had chosen the rooftop for the final location because it was one of the places in the campus that rarely visited by the students. Besides, it was also the place where she could place the whole surprise she planned at the campus. This year Valentine’s surprise was special because it would be the last Valentine’s day she would celebrate in campus, and she wanted it to be as memorable as it could be for Tiffany. Sounds of footsteps approaching her, made her look up to see the sight of her best friend, holding a pink heart-shaped helium balloon, with her mouth wide agape in surprise.

 

“Taetae…?” Was the only thing that came out from the surprised girl.

 

Taeyeon just grinned widely without even moving an inch from where she stood while Tiffany could not believe what she saw at the moment. Traces of pink rose petals lead Tiffany all the way from the stairs to the rooftop and ended when it reached a carpet made of pink rose petals. At the end of the carpet, in the center of the rooftop, stood a wide-grinning dork, waiting for her.

 

“A special carpet for you, Fany-ah!” Taeyeon half shouted making sure her best friend could hear her despite of the distance between them, which was covered with the pink rose petals carpet. Tiffany smiled after recovering from the surprise, taking her first step on the rose petals carpet, making her way to Taeyeon. When she finally reached Taeyeon, she beamed her eye smile to Taeyeon.

 

“Taetae…”

 

“So, did you guess the surprise already?” Taeyeon kept grinning.

 

“Flower.” Tiffany whispered, hardly getting back from her surprised state.

 

“It is.” Taeyeon smiled, showing the dimple on her chin, fixing her gaze to Tiffany.

 

“But I had no idea it would be this much, Taetae.” The surprised girl looked at the rose petal carpet she had just crossed. “I thought you would only give me one.” Tiffany chuckled as she looked back to Taeyeon.

 

“You’re right. I will just give you one.” Taeyeon replied as she brought out the hand that was hidden behind her back. “I will only give you this.” She gave Tiffany a pink rose with a tiny piece of paper attached.

 

Tiffany tied the pink heart-shaped balloon to her right hand before taking the rose from Taeyeon and read the message on the tiny paper.

 

“Happy Valentine’s day, girlfriend!

 I love you!”

 

Tiffany chuckled after reading the message. “You will be able to make a cheese factory, Taetae!” She said as she leaned forward to embrace Taeyeon. Taeyeon smiled widely at the response she got, hugging her crush back without saying anything. Deep down, the cute girl just silently enjoyed this moment. How she wished she could give more Valentine’s day memories for Tiffany years ahead.

 

“Taetae…” Tiffany called out without breaking the hug.

 

“Hmm?”

 

“I love you…”

 

The shorter girl was surprised but she kept her cool-self upfront and replied calmly. “I love you too, Fany-ah.”

 

She felt Tiffany’s hug loosened and soon Tiffany broke the hug.

 

“Is there anything more you want to say or give?” Tiffany asked still with a smile.

 

“Hmmm… I guess no.” Taeyeon grinned enjoying every single second she got to see Tiffany’s smile.

 

Tiffany’s smile faded a bit but she then looked at the pink rose in her hand, taking out the tiny piece of paper, and fished out a pen from her handbag. She wrote something on the paper and smiled at Taeyeon as soon as she finished writing.

 

“Since, I can’t give you anything in return ever since two years ago, I can just give this to you.” Tiffany said as she handed the paper to Taeyeon. Taeyeon took the tiny paper and read it. It was just the same message she wrote for Tiffany but there was Tiffany’s handwriting under it.

 

“Happy Valentine’s day, girlfriend! 

I love you!


-Fany, your girlfriend <3”

 

Taeyeon smiled widely after reading the message.

 

Thank you, Fany.” Taeyeon said as she hugged Tiffany. She felt the latter return her hug for a moment before pulling away. And without any warning, Tiffany landed a light kiss on Taeyeon’s cheek.

 

“Thank you, Taetae. Happy Valentine’s day.” Tiffany pulled herself away completely from Taeyeon after planting the kiss.

 

Taeyeon was not able to speak for a moment after receiving a kiss from Tiffany. She could feel her cheek getting warm. The only thing she wished was not to blush in front of her best friend.

 

“Yah! Why are you blushing, Taetae!” Tiffany laughed at her.

 

“Yah! Why did you kiss me?” Taeyeon mumbled shyly.

 

“Why can’t I? You’re my girlfriend for today.” Tiffany teased.

 

“Yah!” Taeyeon could not find anything to reply.

 

“What’s ‘yah!’ Kim Taeyeon?” Tiffany kept teasing her.

 

“Nothing. Just because it’s Valentine’s day, doesn’t mean you can kiss me!” Taeyeon pouted but deep down she was squealing like a lovesick teenager for getting a peck on the cheek from Tiffany.

 

“N’ah, I just kissed you because you’re my girlfriend for today. Don’t ever expect another kiss later, Taetae.” Tiffany said as she slid her pen back to her handbag.

 

“Shall we go home, girlfriend?” Tiffany beamed another eye smile at Taeyeon as she offered her right hand for the latter to hold. Taeyeon happily took Tiffany’s hand and they went home hand in hand, crossing the pink rose petal carpet, with a pink heart-shaped balloon, which was tied to Tiffany’s hand between their intertwining hands.

.

.

.

Taeyeon stared at the tiny piece of paper pasted on the page: the one Tiffany gave back to her on their third Valentine’s day. A note was written under it: ‘Fany-ah, you said ‘I love you’, you called me your girlfriend, and you gave me a kiss on the cheek! I can now die in peace. But I still want to celebrate another Valentine’s day with you >.< Fany-ah… I love you. I really do.’

 

She felt heat rushed to her eyes as she finished reading. She still remembered; a week after that Valentine’s day, Tiffany told her that she finally got a boyfriend. Taeyeon’s heart broke, hearing the news, but she acted well by squealing along with Tiffany and congratulated her, even made a joke about not being able to be cheesy for the next Valentine’s day. Tiffany never knew, ever since the day, Taeyeon silently cried in her room every single night, knowing all the efforts she made all these years was only to be thrown away into dusts.

 

Taeyeon rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands, trying to prevent her tears from falling. She then turned her gaze back to the journal and found the last pink page marker. The fourth Valentine’s day. The only Valentine’s day she spent with Tiffany when Tiffany already had a boyfriend. She slowly flipped the page, contemplating whether to read it or not. There was no surprise gift for the fourth Valentine’s day. She finally decided to open the page and let her memories wandered as she read her own writing.

.

.

.

“Fany! Sorry I’m late. I had a meeting to attend.” Taeyeon ran to Tiffany who was waiting for her at the office’s lobby. They had already graduated from university and both girls had already got jobs in different companies. Fortunately, the companies they worked for were located in the same office complex so they decided to rent a house together and they usually went home together. Life seemed to stay the same even after they graduated. They still had their rooms side by side, walked their way to office together, had lunch together, went home together, and spent their nights talking about nothing to anything before they finally bid goodnights to each other. The only changes were the fact that they were now adults and Tiffany already had a boyfriend.

 

Tiffany turned her head only to find her short best friend who was panting hard after running from the elevator to the lobby. “I told you many, many times that you really need exercise more, Taetae! How can you pant that hard from running such a short distance?” Tiffany snapped at the blonde cutie while shaking her head in disbelief.

 

“Shh, save your lecture for later. Let’s go!” Taeyeon pulled Tiffany’s hand, forcing the latter to follow her.

 

“Yah! Why are you pulling me around! Where are we going?!” The grumpy girl protested as she matched her pace with her best friend.

 

“Just follow me.” Taeyeon smiled secretively.

 

Soon they arrived in front of a small cafe. Tiffany noticed the cafe was the place where she would have a date with her boyfriend later that night. Taeyeon released Tiffany’s hand before entering the door and made her way to a grand piano located on a small stage in the corner of the cafe. She sat on the chair and opened the lid that covered the piano keys. She then noticed that Tiffany was standing beside the stage, looking at her questioningly.

 

“Come here, Fany.”

 

Tiffany followed Taeyeon’s request and got up on the stage. Taeyeon patted the free space beside her on the seat, telling Tiffany to sit. The latter still had her questioning look but took a seat beside her best friend.

 

“I offered myself to perform on Valentine’s day in this cafe. And the owner agreed after he saw my performance.” Taeyeon explained after studying Tiffany’s questioning face.

 

“Why did you choose to perform on Valentine’s day all of a sudden?” Tiffany asked curiously.

 

“Because I still have no boyfriend up until now, Fany-ah. And my usual Valentine’s day girlfriend already has a boyfriend and they will have a date in this cafe. So, I plan to bother them.” Taeyeon grinned playfully, making Tiffany laugh.

 

“You should get yourself a boyfriend, Taetae. You can’t force me to be your one-day-girlfriend every Valentine’s day.” The laughing girl shoved Taeyeon’s shoulder with hers.

 

“Yah! I never forced you.” Taeyeon protested, earning another laugh from Tiffany.

 

Taeyeon then stood up to fetch a standing mic and adjusted it so she could sing whilst playing the piano. After the mic was adjusted properly so that she could sing comfortably, she took her seat again and whispered to Tiffany. “But, my Valentine’s day’s ritual is still on, Fany. Since I can’t give you something more special than your boyfriend now, I will just sing a song for you tonight. This first song is for you. After that, you can take your seat at your reserved table and enjoy my performance all night long.”

 

Taeyeon knocked the microphone softly to make sure it was on but she pulled away a bit, turning her head to Tiffany again, “And do not be grumpy on the stage, okay? Your supposed to be girlfriend is going to be a star in this café today.” She grinned and leaned towards the microphone before started talking.

 

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.” She spoke through the microphone and immediately got the attention of the customers in the cafe. Tiffany felt a bit awkward being on the stage without doing anything. If Taeyeon did not warn her about not being grumpy, she would be stomping her feet on the stage, waiting for the annoying best friend of her to finish the song, and scolded her afterwards. But since the day was Valentine’s day, and her best friend already made efforts to have this special performance, she could not protest at all.

 

“Today, you will be accompanied by me during your Valentine’s night. I hope you enjoy your Valentine’s day with your loved ones be it your girlfriend, boyfriend, your friends, or families.

 

Enjoy your dinner, enjoy the night, enjoy Valentine’s day.” Taeyeon paused for a moment as she diverted her gaze from the audiences to Tiffany and gave the latter her cute smile before continuing, “Happy Valentine’s day.”

 

Taeyeon then closed her eyes, taking a deep breath as she put her hands on the piano’s keys. Once she opened her eyes, she pressed the keys, playing melodious tunes, taking another breath before started singing:

 

Over time,

 I’ve been building my castle of love


Just for two, though you

 never knew you were my reason

I’ve gone much too

 far for you now to say


That I’ve got to throw my castle away.

 

Over dreams,

 I have picked out a perfect come true


Though you never knew 

it was you I’ve been dreaming


The sandman has come

 from too far away


For you to say

 

 come back some other day

And though

 you don’t believe that they do

They do come true

For did my dreams come true


When I looked at you

And maybe too, if you would believe


You too might be


Overjoyed, over loved, over me”

 

The lyrics portrayed the feelings Taeyeon had all these years. How she kept her feelings towards the eye smile girls over years, how a random man could take her love away from her, how all her hopes were turned into dusts, and how she still believed that she was, after all, still in love with her best friend.

 

Tiffany held her breath as she listened to Taeyeon’s calm yet powerful voice singing beside her. She unknowingly fixed her gaze to her usual dorky friend; drown in the emotion of the song she sang. Taeyeon closed her eyes once in a while her gesture flowed with the melody she played, her voice sounded so sad to some part of the lyrics, and filled with hope in other parts. And Tiffany heeded all of them. Here she was, sitting beside her best friend who played a hopeful broken hearted song, dedicated to her.

 

Taeyeon proceeded to played the interlude calmly, and took another breath before continued the song:

 

Over hearts, 

I have painfully turned every stone


Just to find, 

I have found what I’ve searched to discover


I’ve come much too far

 for me now to find

The love that I’ve sought 

can never be mine. 

 

And though you don’t believe 

that they do

They do come true


For did my dreams come true


When I looked at you

And maybe too, if you would believe


You too might be


 

Overjoyed, over loved, over me

 

And though the odds say improbable

What do they know

For in romance


All true love needs is a chance

And maybe with a chance you will find


You too like I


 

Overjoyed, over loved, over you

Over you…” 

 

Taeyeon finally ended the song with a smile. The song meant a lot to her. It was the best way she could do to confess at her best friend at the moment. And she silently wished Tiffany would at least notice her emotion towards the song.

 

A big round of applause from the audience took her attention from her wandering mind. She grinned, feeling relieved that the audiences loved it. But the only response she wanted to see was not from the audience but from the girl who sat right beside her. She turned her head to the girl to see her best friend had this unreadable expression on her face.

 

“They love my performance, Fany-ah!” Taeyeon whispered, making sure that her voice would not get to the microphone. “Do you like it?” She asked. Tiffany still had this unreadable expression but soon smiled at her best friend and leaned forward a bit, whispering something to Taeyeon.

 

“Happy Valentine’s day to you too, girlfriend.”

 

That was the only thing Tiffany said before pulling away and stood up, making her way to sit at her reserved table. Taeyeon took a deep breath after Tiffany took her seat. Her heart raced like crazy and Tiffany’s voice calling her girlfriend kept ringing in her ears, while her mind started to make countless assumption from the expression Tiffany had before and from the only sentence the latter told before leaving her alone on the stage. Taeyeon’s gaze fixed at Tiffany who was already occupied with her phone, maybe telling her boyfriend that she was in the café already and it was only couples of minutes before the man came into the café, and sat beside Tiffany after landing a light kiss on the lips. Taeyeon immediately turned her attention back to the piano in front of her. She knew she just hurt herself worse by being here, in the same room with the couple, witnessing how they looked good together, and finally feeling her heart slowly break into pieces as the night ended.

.

.

.

Taeyeon smiled bitterly as she closed her journal. Last year’s Valentine’s day was the worst Valentine’s day she had ever experienced. Spending the supposed celebration of love with her single status, witnessing her loved one having a lovely date with her boyfriend. She let out a sigh but soon smiled again remembering what happened days after the Valentine’s day. Tiffany came home in a very bad mood and told her that she had broken up with her boyfriend. That eventually fixed Taeyeon’s broken heart, and the fact that Tiffany did not go for any dates ever since, brought Taeyeon’s hopes high. She only wished she would not fall hard for the second time but she also knew, she did not have enough guts to tell her best friend about her feeling yet. At least, today Taeyeon could once again claim Tiffany as her girlfriend. This year, she wanted the simplest thing she could do on Valentine’s day: saying ‘I love you’ to her best friend. That was all she could hope for today. Tracing her fingers on the cover of her journal, Taeyeon’s mind wandered at what should she give to Tiffany later this day after the girl who was sleeping in her room would finally be awake when a familiar husky voice suddenly filled her ears, singing a song she sang one year ago.

 

Over dreams,

 I have picked out a perfect come true


Though you never knew

 it was you I’ve been dreaming

The sandman has come

 from too far away

For you to say come back

some other day

And though you don’t believe that they do

They do come true

For did my dreams come true

When I looked at you

And maybe too, if you would believe

You too might be

Overjoyed, over loved, over me”

 

Taeyeon turned her body only to find Tiffany leaning by the door with her hands behind her back, smiling at her. Taeyeon smiled along as soon as she saw Tiffany’s smile.

 

“Hey! Wake up already?”

 

“What? Do you think I am a sleepyhead that would not be awake until lunch time?” Tiffany grumpily answered. Taeyeon only laughed at her best friend antics. She was always grumpy around her but it was just because she felt comfortable enough with her Tiffany continued her steps entering Taeyeon’s room and only stopped when she finally reached Taeyeon who sat still on her working chair.

 

“You know the next lyrics. Sing it.” Tiffany requested, this time with a softer tone. Taeyeon did not ask and started singing.

 

Over hearts,

 I have painfully turned every stone

Just to find, 

I have found what I’ve searched to discover”

 

“Stop there.” Tiffany said still dashing her eye smile. Taeyeon immediately stopped singing and looked at Tiffany questioningly.

 

“How many more Valentine’s days do you need, Taetae?” Tiffany asked.

 

“What do you mean, Fany?”

 

Tiffany took a glance at Taeyeon’s desk and saw the journal. “You just read your depressing journal?” Tiffany suddenly changed the topic.

 

Taeyeon followed Tiffany’s gaze and found her diary. Then she nodded.

 

“That journal is definitely depressing.” Tiffany said as she put her gaze back to Taeyeon who had a shocked expression all over her face.

 

“Very depressing, Taetae.” Tiffany continued.

 

“Did you-…”

 

“Yes I did. I read it.” Tiffany cut off Taeyeon’s question.

 

Taeyeon could not say a word. She lowered her gaze, did not have any guts to look at her best friend. She had been caught red handed for loving Tiffany. If Tiffany really read her journal, that meant Tiffany knew all her real feelings for her.

 

“And though the odds say improbable

What do they know?

For in romance

All true love needs is a chance

And maybe with a chance you will find

You too like I

Overjoyed, over loved, over you”

 

Tiffany suddenly continued singing, making Taeyeon look up again and found Tiffany still smiling at her.

 

“All true love needs is a chance… And maybe with a chance you will find you too like I. Overjoyed, over loved, over you.” Tiffany repeated the lyrics without singing it. Taeyeon still did not understand what Tiffany tried to imply.

 

“And if you will not take the chance, Taetae… I will take it.” Tiffany said as she revealed what she brought behind her back. A little cute teddy bear holding a pink heart. A pink envelope attached to the Teddy bear. Taeyeon looked at Tiffany, who gave her a reassuring smile, then hesitantly took the teddy bear and opened the envelope. A folded piece of paper was inside the envelope. She took it out and unfolded it to find Tiffany’s tidy handwriting.

 

“What kind of best friend gives a huge box of chocolate on Valentine’s day?

What kind of best friend decorates my room with pink heart-shaped balloons on Valentine’s day?


What kind of best friend arranges clues only to let me find her on the rooftop, preparing a carpet of pink-rose petals only to give me a pink rose on Valentine’s day?

What kind of best friend sings her heart out loud to me while pretending to be singing it for the audience on Valentine’s day?

What kind of best friend calls me ‘girlfriend’ on every Valentine’s day?

And what kind of best friend fails to realise that it has always been her I’ve been dreaming of?

That kind of best friend is not supposed to be called ‘best friend’.

That kind of best friend is supposed to be called ‘girlfriend’.

That kind of best friend is you, Kim Taeyeon.

I had enough of waiting for you to ask me. And this time, let me take the chance and ask you:

Will you be my Valentine, girlfriend? Not for today, not for the next Valentine’s day. But for every single day we spend together from now on.

Will you, Taetae?”

 

Taeyeon folded the paper and put it back to the envelope before looking up to find Tiffany still smiling at her but unable to hide her nervousness.

 

Taeyeon started to feel the tears forming in her eyes. She realised how stupid she was for failing to notice Tiffany’s feelings all these years. She immediately reached forward to hug Tiffany really tight and let her tears fall from the corners of her eyes washing away all the worries she had had these past years. Over years, they only needed a chance to let them be together. She felt Tiffany return the hug and soothing her back.

 

“Why are you crying, silly?”

 

“I love you, Fany.” Taeyeon could only mumble the words as she tightened the hug.

 

“I know, Taetae. And I love you too.”

 

Taeyeon finally broke the hug and looked at Tiffany lovingly. Tiffany chuckled at her best friend who obviously cried after reading her letter. She wiped the tears on Taeyeon’s face with her thumb as she caressed the latter’s cheek. Taeyeon enjoyed Tiffany’s touch and soon grinned widely.

 

“So, real girlfriend?” Taeyeon asked.

 

Tiffany nodded, still smiling, but could no longer hide her blushing face.

 

“Happy Valentine’s day, girlfriend!” Taeyeon said as she leaned forward, and lightly kissed Tiffany’s lips for the first time. Both girls had their eyes closed as they felt the butterflies inside them flying aimlessly when their lips touched. Taeyeon broke the kiss only to find a dazed Tiffany who still had her eyes closed. She smiled at the sight, hardly able to believe that Tiffany was her girlfriend for real.

 

“Happy Valentines’ day to you too, girlfriend. Can you kiss me again?” Tiffany bit her lips as she shyly asked the question.

 

Taeyeon chuckled but leaned in one more time, planting a longer, sweeter kiss to her Valentine.

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