Greedy Chapter 10

# Chapter Ten - "A Little Rebellion, as a Treat"

    "Uhwut? How is it not fair? We've almost won every match so far."

    "Yeah but if I were playing with Kan-Eun we *would* have won every match."

    "That's why we don't let Kanon and Tae-Eun team up too much!" Chiyo shouted from the couch. "They're too good!"

    "See, now *that* sounds like it's unfair. It's no fun if you know you're gonna win! Besides, isn't it great being partners with me? I've missed hanging out with you, so this is perfect!" Akira was really starting to annoy Tae-Tae. I could tell. From the moment she showed up at my room unexpectedly to join in the games, she's been trying to talk to her, and sit next to her, and slapping her on the back when she thinks they've done well in a match. She even keeps trying to get Tae-Tae to try her weird little protein snacks she brought. All my friends are welcome at game night, but I could have sworn Akira had something else to do tonight…

    *Tae-Tae is looking a little red… I think she's gonna-*

    "How can this be perfect if we haven't won once? You're really bad at this game! Have you even played it before?!"

    *There it is…*

    "Duh! Bunches of times! Yume is obsessed with it! She whines about it too. Maybe next time you should just partner with Kanon then if *winning* is so important?! I remember when you were just about having fun! I know you remember how to have fun, right?"

    Akira gave Tae-Tae a playful shove, but since Akira is Akira it hit kind of hard. My BFF would probably have gone tumbling off the bed if that were a possibility, but she was up against the footboard, so she just got squished slightly against it. Game night is going…

    Uh, well…

    I'm winning a lot at *Capsule Girls* this week!

    But, I'm pretty sure that's just because Kanon is my partner this time.

    Once everyone finally showed up - thankfully, Chiyo and Kanon had found the runaway Erika and brought her to my room without issue - Chiyo called Erika as her partner, which left me partnerless. So I called dibs on Kanon, because she's like a genius when it comes to this game. That left Tae-Tae with a choice between Rinko or Akira, and Akira didn't give her much of a voice in the matter. Rinko joined Erika's team, so the three of them can rotate while still playing with Momo, and that brings us to now, where Kanon and I are dominating handily. It's kind of nice winning for once…

    But Tae-Tae…

    She and Akira…

    Well…

    They used to know each other, and from what I've pieced together I think they were a little bit close.

    But that was a couple years ago.

    So…

    Akira is really enthusiastic to have Tae-Eun back in her life…

     And Tae-Tae…

    "Maybe I will! I don't know why you were so insistent on partnering up in the first place!"

    Tae-Tae isn't handling it super well. She's gone just a little bit tsuntsun…

    "Because we're a great team! Don't tell me you forgot just because we didn't see each other for a little while? We're awesome together!"

    "I didn't forget… I just don't… We don't even… You never even… We are not!"

    I think there are two kinds of people when it comes to friends. Tae-Eun is the kind of person who needs a lot of effort put into a friendship or else it'll start to wither away. Kind of like a bonsai tree. Without lots of loving little snips and frequent pruning, her relationships become a total mess. I'm a little bit like that too, but not nearly as sensitive, and I think it's just because I like having a lot of friends to talk to all of the time. Meanwhile Akira is more like a succulent. As long as you remember they exist every now and then, you can just leave them in a sunny place and they'll go on exactly like nothing was happening in between waterings.

    I'd thought Akira had plans with Yume and Anette tonight specifically to avoid this kind of thing, but it turns out I was wrong, so…

    Oops?

    "Here, have some of my soda. It's your favorite! Come on! Don't be shy! We used to do this all the time!"

    "K-Kira! S-Stop trying to…"

    Different people deal with missing people differently. Or with not being as close to someone as you'd like. I get it, I really do…

    "Kira, stop it!"

    "Awut? You don't like grape soda anymore? Just take a sip! It's your favorite!"

    "I'm in training! I can't drink that junk!"

    "Akira, why don't you team up with Kanon next and play Chiyo and Erika? There's something secret I need to talk about with Tae-Tae. Why don't you come sit over here on the couch for a while…"

    "Sure! Me an' Kanon will beat them no problem I bet, since Kanon is a *Capsule Girls* expert." Spoilers: They did not come close to winning, even with Kanon's freaky skills.

    Akira hopped down off my bed and moved to the couch next to Chiyo, while I swapped over to her spot. My bestie was blushing up a storm, or else turning red from frustration. My money would actually be on a bit of both. Whatever was in her head, honestly, there was no chance she'd ever reveal, so that was a lost cause. Still, there was stuff we needed to talk about. I tried to talk really quietly so nobody else could hear, and it helped that Rinko and Chiyo play video games *really loudly* when they're together. Then I remembered that we could just talk in Korean instead. Convenient at times like this, isn't it?

    "Sorry. I thought she was busy this week."

    "It's fine. It's your guys' game night we're crashing anyway. Why would I care? She's just someone I used to practice dancing with at our parents' stupid work events. It's not like we were real friends or anything."

    "Well, I'm still sorry. I know you used to-"

    "Our parents worked together. That's it. I barely knew her. Forget about it! I'm tired of dealing with it. Isn't she bad enough?"

    "If you say so…"

    "I do! Just drop it!"

    I wasn't there, so I can't argue, but there's been something awkward between 'Taecchi' and 'Kira-Kira' ever since the first time I saw them together. Once upon a time they knew each other, then *something* happened around the same time I first met Tae-Eun, and I got busy not long after dealing with my own crisis trying to get comfortable with my foster family. Tae-Tae got a lot more quiet after that, and we didn't really make up and become super good friends again until a few months ago, so for about half a year we didn't really keep up with how the other was doing very well. I ended up doing pretty well with everything. Tae-Tae… well…

    I'm kind of mad at myself for not keeping up with what went on when I was busy with my own issues…

    So, like I said, I don't have any real reason to doubt what she says, other than it doesn't feel quite right.

    Sigh. She can be such a baby…

    "Are you free this weekend? Tomorrow I mean. For the whole day."

    "Why? Did Akira ask you to ask that?"

    "It doesn't have anything to do with her. It's a favor for me. If you aren't doing anything tomorrow afternoon, I have a favor to ask."

    "In that case, I don't have any real plans."

     "You know that song I sent you? I'm recording it this weekend, and I need a favor."

    "Bibi, your favors always end up being a bit crazy…"

    "I know, but this one's important. I'm booked in the studio tomorrow, and I need you to come along. I have everything planned out. I just need for you to agree to the plan or it won't work. I already have everything we're going to need…"

    "What are you trying to pull off?"

    "It's nothing big! It's just, my producer wants me to record with Juney. And she's great! She really is… Just… her voice and mine don't really go well together. At least not as well as mine and yours…"

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