Chapter 016 (1/2)

<strong class="bbc">Chapter Sixteen

The shikshin duo found Tiffany just as the latter came out of the forest, though none of them actually saw her walking out of it, they only wondered why they failed to notice that slender figure when they drove past the row of trees earlier on.

Yoona jumped out of the car before it came to a complete stop. Ignoring her partner’s annoyed glare, she ran towards Tiffany, who was standing by the trees waiting for them, and threw her a tight bear hug.

“Unnie! You scared me! I thought you were in troubles!”

Tiffany wrapped her arm around the younger girl’s waist naturally and patted on her head. “I’m sorry. I guess I took too long this time.”

“I hope you really realized that.” Sooyoung said angrily. She seldom panicked for Tiffany and when she did, that means she had gathered tons of wild imaginations and conclusions for that hunter. For once, she really thought something bad happened to Tiffany and that certainly scared the hell out of her.

Tiffany raised her eyebrows with amusement, “It’s rare to see you getting so anxious for me.” She grinned and quickly added on before Sooyoung tried to hit her out of annoyance. “I’ll give both of you a treat, how does that sound?”

Sooyoung and Yoona turned to one another immediately. Their eyes glittered like sparkling stars.

They answered in unison, “Perfect!”

And so, thanks to Tiffany’s awesome suggestion, the trio went straight to the city instead of reporting back to the headquarters for this good news. The shikshin duo was literally lost in their world of food with a helpless Tiffany following behind, looking after them as though she was their mother instead of a friend.

It was only until two hours later, they finally returned to the headquarters.

While Sooyoung and Yoona returned to their respective rooms with all the goodies they bought back from the city, Tiffany went to the infirmary when she heard from Sooyoung that Yuri was searching for her.

Conversation could be heard as she approached the ward after getting direction from the nurse in-charge. Tiffany knocked on the door and entered the ward, interrupting the people inside before they had the chance to react to her arrival.

Yuri and Jessica stopped talking when they heard the knocks. Yuri, who was back-facing the door, turned around and looked at the door. When the door opened and revealed her partner from behind it, her eyes dilated with surprise and she jumped up from her seat immediately.

“Fany!” Yuri walked in big steps towards her partner. “Where have you been?”

“I was checking out the wilds just in case we missed out any mutants.” Tiffany lied, hoping to keep her meeting with Taeyeon as a secret. She tried to divert Yuri’s attention away by changing the topic to the blonde lady who was lying on the bed, staring at her.

She frowned slightly at the sight of that. “How is she?” Tiffany asked. Though that blonde’s gaze wasn’t intense, still, Tiffany didn’t like how she stared at her.

Yuri took a glance at Jessica, “She is alright already, but got to stay on bed until the skins on her wounds develop.” Yuri slipped her hand into Tiffany’s hand and pulled the latter towards the bed. She smiled at Jessica who was wearing a curious expression on her face. “Jessica, this is Tiffany, she’s a hunter too. And Tiffany, this is Jessica. She is a rather um… bright person.”

It was as if Jessica wanted to prove Yuri was speaking the truth, she held up her hand in the mid-air immediately and greeted Tiffany, “Nice to meet you Tiffany. I’ve been longing to see you!” Her eyes overflew with excitement.

However, Tiffany only felt awkward. She was never comfortable with strangers–– actually no. She never felt comfortable with anyone other than her housemates: Yuri, Sooyoung and Yoona.

And perhaps Taeyeon too…? That little pervert sure m class="bbc" style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;font-size:14.44444465637207px;line-height:24.44444465637207px;">amused her.

Tiffany was never like this before the death of her parents and after she was brought back to Aurales. She was originally a bubbly and cheerful little girl, until some miserable experiences she had in the past turned her into the now quiet and conservative person.

For someone like her who lived in the jungle with zero restriction, life was always wonderful in her eyes whether it shines or rains. She could laugh whenever she was happy and cry whenever she was sad, no one would be there to reprimand her for any mistakes she made and her parents would always praise her whenever she did things right.

Life was so simple back then, yet amazingly perfect and certainly filled her with warmth. It was only until her father’s death and her mother chose to follow her father and abandoned her all alone in this world, her world turned upside down.

An Aurales’ member found her when he was exploring the jungle. Upon learning that Tiffany’s parents had passed away, he took her in and brought her back to the Aurales’ headquarters, genuinely hoping that Tiffany could have a better life rather than being left astray in the wilds.

But little did he know his decision only worsened Tiffany’s life.