Chapter 7

Partner – In a law firm, a partner means having a part ownership of the law firm. Considered a senior and important position.

==

All Taeyeon’s thoughts of cutting off all ties with Tiffany evaporated the following day when she saw Tiffany sitting on the couch in her office.

With yesterday’s horrors of having to drag a blouse-full-of-puke Yuri home behind her, she entered the office with aching arms and weary eyes. Her eyeballs almost rolled out of her sockets when she saw the woman sitting on the chili-red couch.

Unlike the last time she saw her, the woman was wearing a fitting black dress with a pretty ribbon going around her waist. It reminded Taeyeon of the second time she saw Tiffany. (at the press conference) Dripping with professionalism with a hint, just a hint of iness. Given the right occasion, she would love to pull the ribbon loose off the woman. She hated to admit all that but credit must be given when credit is due.

Pulling herself together, she cleared with a substantial amount of authority and walked into the newsroom.

In the flattest voice she could muster up, she said (making sure she sounds as uninterested and indifferent as possible), “What are you doing here?”

The woman immediately stood up, smoothed the back of her dress, and reached a hand out. “Good morning Miss Kim.”

Taeyeon raised an eyebrow at Tiffany's professionalism. Just the other night you were in an embarrassing full-on pink pyjamas, complete with an equally pink bowtie on your head.

She responded in kind, “A good morning to you too, Miss Hwang.”

She scanned the office, trying to get an idea for the woman’s unanticipated appearance in the newsroom.

“Ah, Taeyeon you’re here. I was just going to give you a call.” Sooyoung was just walking out of her office with a file in hand. “Did you read the email that I forwarded to you?”

There are a lot of things that Taeyeon disliked about this world, and not being prepared for work is one of them. In her hurry to get to work this afternoon, she had forgotten to check her mailbox, a habit that every self-respecting journalist would eventually acquire.

“It doesn’t matter, I have sent it too late last night anyway. Take a seat.” The editor motioned to the couch. “Well, as you might have already known, Wonho sunbae-nim had taken urgent medical leave. We are currently in the midst of reassigning his work to other journalists.”

The Wonho that Sooyoung was referring to was a senior journalist in their agency. He had recently taken urgent medical leave for an operation and the agency had been trying to reassign his work load for the past week.

“Wonho sunbae was originally supposed to do the interview with Miss Hwang for our annual Youth of The Year special. But since he is now on leave, the management has assigned the interview to you. I know we would be overworking you, but we don’t have much of a choice either. I hope you understand.”

Taeyeon understood perfectly. With readership dropping every year, with the influx of social media, with the ailing economy, it is no wonder that the agency had been keeping manpower to its barest minimum.

She nodded her head. “I have heard that the write up is due in a week. Can I at least have a day go through the notes and familiarise myself before the interview?”

“Of course. Here are Wonho sunbae’s notes. He is more of an old school person so you would have to go through the hardcopies.” Sooyoung handed the clear folder stuffed with documents over to Taeyeon.

“Just in case you’re wondering, I’ve asked Miss Hwang in today for an off-the record interview.”

“I’m so sorry but today is the only other free day that I have before our actual interview. Would be busy with court cases for the rest of the week.” Tiffany’s tone was soft, almost apologetic.

“Don’t worry about it. This is just an off the record interview. Please do not be too burdened by it, Taeyeon.” Sooyoung pats the back of her best journalist before leaving the pair sitting awkwardly on the couch.

Youth of the Year huh. Taeyeon thought to herself as she examined the woman from head to toes and then from her toes back to her head.

There was an uneasy silence before Taeyeon decided that she should be as professional as possible. “Do you want some coffee?”

“Just iced water will do.”

Taeyeon poured herself some strong coffee in a Styrofoam cup and grabbed her Mickey Mouse mug to fill some iced water. She saw Tiffany's eyes lit up at the sight of the Mickey Mouse mug.

“You like Mickey too?” Taeyeon could sense the level excitement that was threatening to spill out should Taeyeon said yes. She quickly decided against it.

“Not mine. The mug belongs to my colleague.”

“Ah. It’s a limited edition mug from Tokyo Disneyland...” The woman said as she examined the mug with the curiosity of a five year old before she quickly remembered where she was.

To reduce the awkwardness, Taeyeon pretended to shuffle her notes around, looking for a piece of document that she doesn’t need. She randomly pulled a piece of paper out. “Would you mind if I scribble some notes while we talk?”

“Of course not. Is that the pen that I returned to you the other day?”

Taeyeon only nodded her head and went back to shuffling papers, arranging her notes.

“I’m sorry for being so unprepared. But I can assure you this is not the way our agency works. We take every single interview and feature very seriously.”

“Nah.” Tiffany quickly dismissed that notion. “Everything happened at such short notice. It’s not even your fault.

“I could very well simply used the question that Wonho sunbae-nim had crafted, but I have my own interview style and I plan to keep to it. I hope you wouldn’t mind.”

“Of course not. You’re aware that I am a lawyer right? There is no difficult question I can’t answer.”

“What do you usually do on a weekend?"

Tiffany was caught off-guard by the question to say the least. Especially when it came from someone as rigid and as stiff as Taeyeon.

"Ah, I hang out with friends, bake occasionally whenever I find the time to. Sometimes we would cycle.”

She watched as Taeyeon neatly jotted down whatever she said on a lined sheet of paper.

“Favourite places to visit?”

“California! I try to go back every holiday that I get. Whether it is summer or winter.”

“Favourite food?”

“Samgyupsal! I can eat it every day if not for the fats around my waistline. The best store is the one directly opposite my office. I can even write the address down for you.”

“Favourite TV show?” “Favourite movie?” “Favourite song?”

Taeyeon could almost hear the smile in Tiffany's voice as she recounted all of her favourite things in detail, taking her time to explain why they were the best. There was this preciously bright glimmer in her eyes. She almost didn't want to stop because Tiffany's excitement was infectious and it made her feel light.

Oh well, one last question before we dive into the serious stuff.

“Favourite childhood memory?”

“...” There was an awkward, awkward long pause.

That was not what Taeyeon was expecting. She sensed the air thickening around them and watched the woman fidget uncomfortably.

Unbeknownst to many, there were things that Tiffany remembered and many more things that she couldn’t. She panicked, trying to pull something out of nothing.

Taeyeon eyed the woman closely, observing her body language. She quickly decided that it was best if she switched topics. Her aim of asking seemingly random question was to get her guests to relax and form a rapport with her. But it seemed to backfire for Tiffany's eyes were no longer clear.

“Miss Hwang?”

Deep breaths Stephanie, deep breaths.

She took a couple of deep breaths and managed to compose herself. She was still trying to dig something out of her memory.

“You alright?” Taeyeon pushed the mug of water closer towards the woman. “Here, have some water. I think we are done with today. Thank you for your answers. They are very helpful.”

“Y-yeah. I-I..I might just be a little tired. Sorry for zoning out.”

“No worries. Sometimes I zone out too.” Taeyeon lets out a breathy laughter and whispered, “Especially when drinking too much the night before. Sometimes Sooyoung would have to knock my head several times.”

That seemed to work for Tiffany looked visibly comforted by Taeyeon's indifference towards her earlier strange behaviour.

“Same for me too. I guess it’s alright to drink crazily once in a while. Helps with the stress of being a lawyer.”

“And a journalist.” Taeyeon grinned in an attempt to make the atmosphere less awkward. Building a rapport for her interviewee was a must for her.  

“So the interview would be scheduled for this Friday?”

“Yes it has been confirmed. I will send you the list of questions on Thursday for you to go through beforehand.”

“Thank you.”

“You're welcome.” Taeyeon stood up

“There isn't a need to walk me out, my ride is waiting for me outside.”

“See you on Friday then.”

Taeyeon sipped her coffee as she watched Tiffany Hwang step out of her office, her curiosity of the woman growing by the minute. There was this tiny voice inside her, perhaps borne out of her occupational habit, to find out what was wrong with Tiffany. Something is not very right about this Tiffany Hwang.  

==

Tiffany's hands were trembling. She didn't know why. Goosebumps were trailing down her spine, and her lungs got increasingly constricted by the second.

To many, Tiffany was the epitome of success. She breezed through law school, was made partner just a few years after graduation. Youth of the Year, Young Lawyer of the Year, Most Promising Individual. She has everything she want but not everything she needs.

She doesn't remember anything from the past. The last of many doctors that her dad brought her to said it was for the best.

No it isn’t. It isn’t. It isn’t doing her any good. It makes Tiffany nervous. Very very nervous and trapped whenever she tried to recall the past and realized that she recalled nothing of significance. She wants to remember all that happened. But at the same time, she wishes to forget all that had happened.

She tightened her grip on her briefcase as she waited for her ride to arrive at the lobby of the news agency.

Favourite childhood memory...childhood memory…my memory…

It was gone, forcibly taken away from her. Just like the warmth of her mother. That much she couldn’t and wouldn’t forget.