Taeyeon had decided she would call Anthony Hwang and request that he come home sooner than he had planned. Tiffany approved of Taeyeon’s idea; she, too, wanted the couple to sort their differences and conditions regarding the next days and weeks before Seohyun installed herself in the mansion. However, as the days went by, Taeyeon given up on what had been previously decided. Hwang being home a day earlier meant the possibility of having to share a bedroom with him for a night more than intended; it also meant discomfort, as well as the lack of privacy she had grown to enjoy between her and Tiffany. Now, a day prior to the man’s arrival, as well as that of Tiffany’s cousin, she and Tiffany spent the afternoon cleaning up the room in which Taeyeon had been sleeping. They were transferring most of her belongings to Tiffany’s father’s room. At first, Taeyeon did not want to do thatㅡnot only did she feel uncomfortable to enter a man’s room without his knowing, she also didn’t want to be there, so she would pick her things up from the guest room, pass it on to Tiffany, and the younger would, quite reluctantly, place them accordingly in her father’s room, but as the girl fulfilled her task, Taeyeon joined in.

“Well,” Tiffany breathed, placing Taeyeon’s perfume on her father’s counter, and then looking around herself. “That’s it. We’re finished.”

“Thank you,” she addressed Tiffany with a sigh. She, too, looked around, and made a dissatisfied face as she quietly pictured in her head the possible outcomes of the next few days. Her belongings, she thought, sparsely distributed around the man’s accommodations, looked out of place. She, standing by the door, as she looked inside, felt out of place.

Tiffany offered her a sad smile. “No problem.” Her voice was small and despondent.

Upon seeing Tiffany’s  downhearted countenance, Taeyeon held out her hand, looking affectionately at the girl. Readily Tiffany reached out and grabbed the woman’s hand, and let herself be pulled toward the latter. Cradling Tiffany’s face in her hands, Taeyeon placed a tender kiss on the girl’s cheek as the two exited the room.

“Don’t be that way,” mumbled the woman.

Tiffany sighed. “I don’t like this,” she admitted, looking into Taeyeon’s eyes. “I don’t like the idea of you sharing a bed with my father. I don’t like remembering you two are married. I don’t--” she choked. Taeyeon pursed her lips worriedly when she noticed the grim look on Tiffany’s eyes. “Taeyeon, what if he tries something?” she asked, in a small voice.

Taeyeon stepped back a bit. “He won’t,” she readily responded. She had no confidence in her answer, but she had to try to ease Tiffany’s worries.

“He’d better not,” Tiffany mumbled as she looked away, frowning, unconsciously taking hold of both Taeyeon’s hands. “At all.”

“Tiffany, please,” Taeyeon said as she squeezed the girl’s hands, regaining her attention. “I understand your discomfort, but be reasonable. He is your father. And, before the law, my husband. And he is going to act like a husband at your cousin’s party, and I’ll have to act like a wife. And you will have to stay around. What are people going to say if they see you with a face as that during it?”

Tiffany looked sternly at Taeyeon. “I’m not uncomfortable,” she assured. “I’m jealous.”

The girl’s answer came unexpectedly to Taeyeon. The woman arched her eyebrows in reaction, blinked a few times, and for a second or two was speechless. Then there came a low, amused, flattered husky chuckle from . “Jealous?”

“Oh, what’s the surprise?” Tiffany questioned, mumbling shyly. Taeyeon could see a tinge of light pink on her cheeks as she looked away, crossing her arms.

She watched Tiffany speak and sulk with a grin on her face that she wanted to, but couldn’t retain. She took a step closer to the girl and, as she positioned herself behind Tiffany’s back, she wrapped her arms around her torso, pressing the younger’s body against her own. Leaning her chin on Tiffany’s shoulder, and tilting her head so that she could catch a glimpse of the girl’s flushed face, she felt her smile to widenㅡand she couldn’t discern whether that was from delight, amusement, or sheer adoration.

“You know, Tiffany, I’ve been trying my best not to cross the limits with you, because at least one of us has to be sensible, but sometimes I just can’t handle you,” she whispered close to Tiffany’s ear. Taeyeon’s voice sounded throaty as her breath caressed Tiffany’s hair, sending chills down the girl’s spine and arms, causing her to close her eyes for a moment. “You silly baby,” she added in the same breathy tone, and kissed Tiffany’s cheek again.

Tiffany sighed. “You’re taking the situation much too lightly for my taste,” she said, turning her face around to look at the woman. “I feel like I’m the only one dreading the very passing of the minutes.”

Taeyeon loosened her arms around Tiffany and gently turned the girl around, then tilted her face upwards by touching Tiffany’s chin with her fingertips. “Do you trust me?” she asked, boring into Tiffany’s eyes with her own, and offering her a small smile when she watched Tiffany assent. “Then listen to me when I tell you that everything is going to be fine as long as you do as I say.”

The two were startled when they heard light footsteps approaching from the floor below. Taking Taeyeon’s hand into hers, Tiffany dragged the woman toward and then into her room, closing the door behind the latter’s back once the two were securely inside. Tiffany looked at Taeyeon for a secondㅡfor the first time, with an expression the woman couldn’t read. She let go of the blonde’s hand and ambled toward her bed, sitting on the mattress with a heavy sigh before she returned her attention to Taeyeon. “All right. What am I supposed to do?”

Taeyeon had never seen Tiffany dejected. Quiet and sullen, perhaps, but never in such low spirits. Throughout the months Taeyeon had thus far spent in the mansion, Tiffany had revealed herself to be the quintessential go-getter, assertive and positive and logical in her own lovely, delicate, and sometimes even innocent way. It pained Taeyeon profoundly to see the girl so fretful and insecure, especially when Tiffany had always been the one to try to find the best solution for everything, and to fight for what she wanted.

However, she knew, of course, that Tiffany’s unconfident approach to the situation was due the fact that she didn’t quite understand it, even if she said she did.  Regardless of the conversation the two had shared nearly a week earlier, Taeyeon knew that Tiffany still failed to comprehend how grave the circumstances under which they encountered themselves were. Tiffany had been thus far free to express her feelings for Taeyeonㅡthey were wary about the presence or absence of the maids, and Mrs. Winters was always far too busy with anything to give them too much attention, but how would things turn out when Anthony came back home? The man wouldn’t be away forever. They would have to pretend: pretend they did not have feelings for each other, pretend their lips never locked, and be away from each other for as long as the man decided to stay in the house. And how would Tiffany, who wore her emotions and her feelings on her skin whenever she was around Taeyeon, feel to be forced to do that, especially when she couldn’t even see why what they were doing was, to most people, so wrong?

Taeyeon’s guilt and concern escaped her nostrils in a breathy sigh. Slowly, she began approaching the girl with calm steps, and when she was close enough to, she sat down by her side, Taking Tiffany’s hand in between her two. “Do you see now why I didn’t want this to happen in the first place, Tiffany? I didn’t want you to worry about those things. You are not supposed to feel uncomfortable and wary in your own house. Or at any place at all, for that matter.”

“Just tell me what I have to do,” Tiffany responded. “Tell me what I have to do to keep you. Not by a careless mistake nor by anyone’s suspicion.”

Taeyeon wanted to smile, but she couldn’t. “You’ll have to pretend, dear,” she cooed, tucking a few strands of hair behind the girl’s ear. “Pretend you and I share nothing but a friendly relationship, and that you are very happy for your father’s marriage. That’s the saddest part.”

“Having to pretend you are something you are not?” Tiffany inquired, then nodded. “I guess I’m beginning to see it.”

“I wish you didn’t have to,” Taeyeon mumbled.

Perhaps it would all have been much better for the both of them had Taeyeon never accepted Anthony’s proposal. It would perhaps have spared them from the sorrow their sentiments for each other came carrying along. It could have spared Tiffany the ordeal of having her life turned upside down into something it was never meant to be, and it could have saved Taeyeon from the grief of loving someone she knew she would never be able to truly claim as hers.

“Don’t blame yourself,” Tiffany said, breaking the silence, as though she could read the woman’s mind. “I chose this, fully aware of the consequences. And I don’t regret it.” She lifted her eyes from the floor and looked at Taeyeon. “So, if you need me to put on an Oscar-worthy performance, that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

Taeyeon finally smiled, though very faintly. She touched Tiffany’s cheek with her other hand, put quickly withdrew her fingers from the girl’s skin. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“Don’t be.”

“But before you put on your Oscar-worthy performance, I need you to put on a smile on that pretty face,” Taeyeon said, successfully making the girl grin. She rose from her seat and took Tiffany’s hands, pulling her up as she took a few steps back. “How about a sneaky quick visit to that ice cream parlor before dinner time, hm? To brighten up that terrible mood of yours?”

Tiffany giggled gleefully. “Oh,” she muttered, shaking her head, then drew closer to Taeyeon, wrapping the latter’s arms around her waist, and pressed her lips against the woman’s. “Nana is going to be furious,” she mumbled against Taeyeon’s mouth.

Taeyeon rejoiced as she felt Tiffany’s warm lips against her own. Once the quick kiss had been broken, her gaze fell intensely into Tiffany’s eyes, and she bit on her lower lip as she playfully and lightly smacked the small of the girl’s back. “Go get ready,” she ordered, and untangled herself from Tiffany’s grip. “And don’t take too long.”

Tiffany watched the woman leave the room and head to her own with a smile spread across her lips, musing about the strange ways through which fate wove its web. Had anyone told her on that eventful wintry February day that the strange woman she swore to hate, whose life she swore to turn into hell on Earth, would in a matter of a few months be filling her bones with passion and her heart with joy, she would have never, ever believed it.

***

“Why don’t you tell me more about your cousin?” Taeyeon suggested as the two accommodated themselves inside the familiar ice cream parlor, each with an ice cream cone in hands. “Seohyun. Isn’t that her name?”

Tiffany sat prettily by the table, her legs crossing delicately under it, and her ice cream once before she looked at Taeyeon. “What do you want to know?”

The blonde sighed. “Anything. Everything. Enough for me to feel like I’m aptly prepared for whatever beast I’m going to be facing for the next couple of weeks or so.”

Tiffany chuckled. “She’s not all that bad, when you get to know her. Just a little rebellious at times. Well, most of the time. Occasionally reckless, too, and definitely very astute.”

“That seems to scream danger,” Taeyeon mumbled.

Tiffany appeared to enter in a trance when she glued her gaze to Taeyeon’s mushy lips, perfectly colored with crimson lipstick and wet with the melting ice cream as she discreetly dragged them against it, taking the sweet into . A strange sensation sprinted in her nerves as she watched the scene, and the warmth she felt growing on her cheeks and necks soon descended through her whole body, holding not only her person in place, immobile, unable to move, but also her breath in her lungs.

She only came to her senses when she heard Taeyeon’s voice calling her name, apparently for the second time.

“Pardon, what?” she said, still a little absently, and looked the woman in the eyes.

Taeyeon arched an eyebrow. “Are you all right?”

“Yes. I’m fine. Why do you ask?” She her ice cream again, hoping the coldness from the sweet would help ease the alien fire burning within her. She also prayed that Taeyeon would attribute the reddiness of her cheeks, which she was certain now that was perfectly visible, to the warmth of the late spring day.

“You were staring,” Taeyeon answered in a low tone, quietly eyeing their surroundings to make sure they were attracting no curious eyes. “And blushing.”

“I spaced out. And I’m hot,” she responded, looking away. “Where were we, again?”

“You were talking about that seemingly impish cousin of yours.”

“Right. Seohyun. Well, frankly, there isn’t much to her other than what I’ve already told you. She has a strong genius, but she’s not bad.” As she talked, the embarrassment began to wear off, and she gathered the courage to look at Taeyeon again. “She’s the daughter of my father’s younger brother, Robert. I call him Uncle Bob.”

“Oh. She’s a Hwang, too, eh?” Taeyeon remarked.

Tiffany tittered. “The youngest Hwang, yes. Thus far, at least. She’s an only child. And she turns 17 this month. Well, let me see…” She paused for a moment, pursing her lips, trying to recollect enough memories and information to pass it on to Taeyeon. “I’m not that precisely familiarized with her family history, but, well, as I said, she’s the only daughter of my uncle, Robert. She was born after my father had already eloped with my mother, leaving uncle Bob alone back in their hometownㅡforgive me, but I don’t seem to recall its name right now. Anyway; both their parents were already deceased then, but father and Uncle Bob have always been good friends as well as hard-working young men, so Uncle Bob supported my father when he decided to elope with my mother, and didn’t mind staying on his own. Besides, father had promised him he would bring him to New York City as soon as he could raise some money. We were poor until I was about four or five.”

Taeyeon furrowed her eyebrows. “I had no idea. Your father built that empire of his from scratch.”

“That he did,” Tiffany assented, and her ice cream again. “But I’ll tell you that story another time. Well, anyway, soon after father left their home, Uncle Bob met his wife, Helen. Seohyun’s mother. They fell in love, got married in a simple ceremony in their hometown, and began their life together. When my father finally managed to gather a decent, though still demure sum of money to send my uncle and reached out to him through a letter, he responded saying that Aunt Helen was pregnant, and that the baby would be due in a month or due, and hence they couldn’t travel. That was two years after we had arrived in New York.” She stopped, smiling pitifully. “They couldn’t come in time.”

“In time?” Taeyeon questioned.

“To meet my mother,” the girl responded. “Uncle Bob didn’t have the chance to meet her, even back in their hometown. My parents would always meet in secrecy because my mother’s family was strictly against their romance. Naturally, Aunt Helen never knew her, and neither did Seohyun. My mother was gone a couple of months after my second birthday, and my uncle and aunt came to the city with Seohyun early in the next year.”

Taeyeon looked around, and when she ascertained herself that nobody in the not-so-crowded ice cream parlor bothered to throw looks at them, she reached out and touched Tiffany’s hand with her fingertips. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, once she had the girl’s eyes on her.

The girl nodded, forced a small smile, and then continued:ㅡ”They stayed in New York City for some years after they arrived. It wasn’t until Seohyun was about 8 and my father’s business thriving that they moved to California. My uncle began working with my father for his paper as a photographer. When the business had grown considerably and my father began making other connections, as well as hiring different people, my uncle wound up receiving a good job proposal from a magazine based in Los Angeles. He accepted the proposal, moved to Los Angeles with his family, and they’ve been living there ever since. As far as I know, he’s still working for it, though I might have heard something about him photographing Hollywood stars as well as models last year, when Seohyun came visit. It is a very fine job, in my opinion. Imagine meeting all those celebrities! And as you may imagine, he’s richly paid, which has turned Seohyun into quite the spoiled child,” she finished with a quiet chuckle.

“Isn’t that the uncle you mentioned to Irene last time we saw her?”

“Himself,” Tiffany responded, nodded.

“Is he coming to your father’s party? Oh, Tiffany, if so, promise me you won’t forget what you told Irene. That you will ask him to photograph her and try to help her launch herself into the modeling market,” Taeyeon entreated.

“I certainly won’t and, yes, he is coming to the party. Why don’t you invite Irene?” Tiffany suggested, smiling. “She’s such a darling. I would be delighted to have her there.”

Taeyeon grinned. “Do you like her?”

“I do, yes. I think she’s the sweetest. Besides, I believe it’ll do you good to have a friend around. And it will be best if they can meet and discuss things calmly, which can be arranged at the party. My uncle is a very nice man. I’m sure he will be glad to help.”

“Thank you,” Taeyeon cooed.

Tiffany simply grinned and winked at her in response, earning a light tug at her ankle by Taeyeon’s feet.

“Oh, goodness!” Taeyeon suddenly interjected, eyeing the clock on the parlor’s wall. “Hurry and finish this, Tiffany! It’s past 6 in the afternoon. We stay here a minute longer and we’ll never hear the end of it when we get home,” she added, her nearly entirely-melted ice cream cone one final time, and rising her seat as she grabbed her purse.

“Are you worried about time? I’m worried about how am I going to explain to Nana that I don’t feel hungry because I’ve had ice cream before dinner.”

Taeyeon chuckled. She twined her arm in Tiffany’s and hissed a playful “Come on” as she pulled the girl along. The girl gladly followed, leaving the scant remaining of her ice cream cone to melt on the table.

They arrived the house in cheerful disposition, so much that not even Mrs. Winters’s reproach managed to preoccupy them. “Just where have you two been?” the woman had asked as soon as Taeyeon and Tiffany set foot inside the mansion. “Tiffany, how dare you leave the house without telling me? What if your father were here and inquired on your whereabouts? The trouble you could have put me in, child!” she chided. Tiffany just giggled amusedly and told the old woman she had nothing to worry about, for she had been in Taeyeon’s company, under the protective care of Charles, who had escorted the two downtown. When it came to Mrs. Winters’s knowledge that she and Taeyeon had had ice cream just before dinner, however, there came another reprimand from the housekeeper. Taeyeon apologized, telling the woman it had been her idea to take Tiffany out for ice cream. Mrs. Winters just clicked her tongue, shook her head in disapproval, and walked away asserting rather distressfully that the two would have dinner normally anyway, and quietly mumbling something about the high probability of Tiffany becoming a spoiled child because of Taeyeon very soon.

They ate dinner as requested to satisfy Mrs. Winters, as well as because the food smelled delicious and because one cannot survive the rest of a day with half an ice cream cone, which was virtually what Taeyeon and Tiffany had managed to have in the ice cream parlor before they realized they had gotten there too late and had to return promptly. Their good mood prevailed throughout dinner time; they chatted quietly on the table as they ate with gusto what their stomachs could take. Tiffany made Taeyeon promise they would hang out more often. The woman gladly agreed, telling her they would do that again as soon as possible, under the condition that they tell Mrs. Winters their plans before they leave the house, for she didn’t want to be scolded like a five-year-old again. Tiffany assented, giggling.

After dinner time, however, as they got ready to bed, Taeyeon noticed Tiffany’s countenance darken little by little as the minutes passed. She knew what prayed on the girl, so she didn’t bother to inquire; instead, after she had taken a relaxing shower, she sneaked into the quiet kitchen as Tiffany lay in bed reading a book she had just picked up from the library, and a few minutes later she was back on the second floor, knocking on Tiffany’s door. Upon Tiffany’s permission, she stepped inside the room and then closed the door behind her.

“What do you have there?” asked Tiffany as she watched the woman approach while carrying a dainty cup in hands, from which a sweet scent emanated through a white smoke that dissipated itself as Taeyeon walked toward Tiffany.

“Chamomile tea,” the blonde answered, bringing the cup up to smell it before she lowered it into Tiffany’s hands. “Honeyed.”

Tiffany sat up, taking the cup of tea. “Tea? With honey?” she inquired, then paused for a while as she knit her eyebrows together. “That sounds a bit odd.”

Taeyeon chortled faintly. “But it tastes just fine and it will help ease your nerves.”

Tiffany’s gaze shot up and met Taeyeon’s. The blonde’s eyes looked soft and understanding, which was enough to make the girl feel a least a little better. She smiled faintly. “Thank you. I’m sorry I worried you. I wish I could avoid feeling this way, but I can’t. Not when tomorrow is approaching so quickly,” she said, then sipped on the tea, making a small sound of satisfaction as she swallowed the hot liquid.

“Drink your tea, remember what I told you earlier today, and try to get some rest. Everything will be fine,” Taeyeon reassured, and the bent down to place a tender kiss on Tiffany’s forehead. “Good night, Tiff.”

Tiffany’s lean fingers grasped Taeyeon’s hand before the woman could walk away, keeping her in place. Placing the teacup on her nightstand, Tiffany got on her feet and latched herself onto Taeyeon, wrapping her arms around the woman’s neck. “Don’t go,” she cooed, touching the tip of Taeyeon’s nose with her own.

Taeyeon’s hands rested hesitantly on Tiffany’s waist before she took the girl in her arms with a delicate embrace. “I can’t stay,” Taeyeon responded. “Besides, I don’t want to continue interrupting your reading,” she said, referring to the book laid idly on the bed, which she had watched Tiffany toss aside when she entered her room.

“I prefer having you here over reading,” Tiffany argued, making the blonde grin and chuckle with amusement.

They stood there quietly, holding each other, gazing lovingly into each other’s eyes until the moment Tiffany’s began to travel down. Her gaze fell on Taeyeon’s lips, enticingly roseate from the red lipstick that had worn off. She recalled that moment in the ice cream parlor when her body reacted unfamiliarly to the sight of Taeyeon simply yet, Tiffany deemed, seductively her ice cream. She felt dizzy for a second, intoxicated by the memory and by the new vision of Taeyeon’s mouth, now much closer than before, less colored, but surprisingly more attractive. Her gaze then descended lower, and the same warmth from earlier that day took over her body when her eyes fell on Taeyeon’s exposed collarbones and chest, scantily clad in a sleeveless nightgown.

Taeyeon felt shy under Tiffany’s gaze, and she was taken by surprise when the younger placed her palm on her neck, pulling her in for a kiss. Taeyeon gladly kissed her back, allowing her hands to travel upward the girl’s back as she pressed Tiffany against her body. A small sigh escaped her nostrils when their lips parted.

“Stay,” Tiffany repeated her request, her voice coming sweet and breathy against Taeyeon’s mouth. Vanquished by Tiffany’s soft eyes as she looked at the girl and, admittedly, by the small kisses she had been peppering her lips with ever since asking her to stay, Taeyeon decided to accede to Tiffany’s wish.

“Just for a while,” Taeyeon finally agreed, withdrawing her face a bit to look at Tiffany. “And only if you drink your tea.”

Tiffany chuckled. Defeated, and greatly reluctant, she freed Taeyeon from her grip, and sat on her bed again, taking the teacup in hands and sipping on it. Meanwhile, Taeyeon walked toward the other side of the bed and, mimicking the girl, sat down on the mattress, reclining on a couple of pillows once she felt comfortably settled.

“You’re right,” Tiffany mumbled as she drank the tea. “It tastes good. How did you learn to make this?”

“My mother used to make it for me when I was little,” Taeyeon responded, observing the girl with attentive eyes. “I used to have a lot of nightmares. She would make me drink it at night, before going to bed.”

“Did it work?”

Taeyeon nodded, smiling.

Tiffany grinned discreetly behind the tilted teacup as she watched Taeyeon’s smile. She set the teacup on the nightstand once again, then turned around and imitated Taeyeon’s position, reclining on a pillow beside the woman, propping her head on her knuckles as the pillow supported her elbow. “Enough tea,” she said, eyeing Taeyeon. “I don’t know when we are going to be able to have some alone time like this again, after Seohyun arrives. I want to enjoy it now.”

Taeyeon offered her a kind smile and opened her arms, silently inviting Tiffany to lay in them and next to her. Tiffany did as suggested and nestled against Taeyeon’s shoulder, closing her eyes as she felt the woman’s arms instinctively wrap around her body, bringing her closer.

Unconsciously nuzzling Taeyeon’s neck, Tiffany inhaled the woman’s perfume: she smelled like roses and vanilla blended together. She smiled a little upon the thought. As she opened her eyes to look at Taeyeon, she lifted one of her hands and touched the blonde’s face, faintly tilting it downwards so Taeyeon could look at her.

“What is it?” Taeyeon asked, but Tiffany didn’t respond. Instead, she locked her gaze with Taeyeon’s for a few seconds, and then allowed her eyes to follow the tip of her finger that now brushed along Taeyeon’s features. When her fingertip touched Taeyeon’s lips, Tiffany cradled the woman’s cheek with her palm and propped herself up, locking their lips in a kiss.

Thus far, the kisses they had shared has been nothing but chaste, but when Tiffany leaned back into bed and pulled Taeyeon along, the woman grew alarmed. And even though her reason screamed inside her head telling her to part from Tiffany, the way the girl slowly but effectively slid her lips against her own was enough to drive her senses wild, and thus cloud her thinking, hindering her from freeing herself from Tiffany’s grip and the delightful spell the girl’s lips were casting on her. Heedlessly, the two rolled over, and Tiffany managed to bring Taeyeon upon her, letting her body be pinned against the mattress by the woman’s own.

A pair of curious hands slid down Taeyeon’s spine, and the woman shuddered internally when she suddenly grew aware of how tightly Tiffany’s body was pressed against hers. Her lungs faltered when Tiffany’s hands made their way back upward and rested behind Taeyeon’s shoulders, instinctively playing with the strap of the her nightgown, and so the blonde felt compelled to part her lips from Tiffany’s. As she did so, she opened her eyes and glanced down at the girl, and the sight her eyes met with only intensified the fire burning beneath Taeyeon’s skin. Tiffany’s half-opened eyes and moist, flushed lips captured Taeyeon’s eyes and attention in so deep a way that the woman only managed to avert her gaze when the latter began to descend down Tiffany’s neck and chest, eyeing the girl with the desire she had long ago and through many struggles learnt to retain.

When her eyes travelled upward again and met with Tiffany’s, as the girl’s hands found Taeyeon’s and she laced their fingers together while the inner side of younger’s thigh pressed shyly against Taeyeon’s hip, the blonde understood what Tiffany wanted then. She wanted it, tooㅡmadly so. She was hungry for Tiffany’s body, and she had been so for so long… but she couldn’t bring herself to move an inch to touch the girl in any fashion that did not mean the tenderness her heart and soul swelled with whenever her hand laid on Tiffany’s skin.

She pecked Tiffany’s lips and then kissed her forehead, then slowly moved her body away from the girl’s, lying quietly by Tiffany’s side. She the back of the younger’s hand with her thumb and looked at her as the latter approached, nuzzling Taeyeon’s nose with the tip of her own.

“If I stay here, will you go to sleep?”

The girl tilted her head a little, still dizzy from the sensations that had ran through her body just a couple of minutes ago, still lost in the memory of Taeyeon’s touch, still intoxicated by the woman’s body. “It’s still early,” she finally cooed.

“It’s past ten.”

Tiffany sighed. “If you absolutely must go, go now. I would hate to fall asleep with you and then wake up alone.”

Taeyeon smiled a little and brought the girl’s hand to her lips to give it a kiss. Tiffany smiled largely upon the gesture. “Rest well. We’ll have a busy day tomorrow, and I need you to be fully awake and alert for it.”

“Yes, sir,” Tiffany responded in a low, grave tone, which made Taeyeon chuckle. She pressed her lips against Taeyeon’s one last time and let them linger there, already missing the sensation she knew she was likely to be deprived of for the next days. “Good night, Taeyeon,” she breathed, looking at the woman again.

Taeyeon smiled warmly at the young woman and, much to the latter’s surprise, for it wasn’t like the woman to initiate anything of the sort, placed another kiss on her lips, though hers felt much more fleeting. “Good night, dear,” she whispered as she cradled Tiffany’s cheek in her palm before finally rising from the bed.

She walked away and out of Tiffany’s room in silence and without looking back, for she knew that if she did so she would wish to return. Once the bedroom’s door had been safely closed behind her back, she exhaled heavily and closed her eyes, biting on her lower lip as to contain any louder sound that could possibly leave her lips. She walked into her own room and then out of it soon after, carrying with herself a bathrobe and a clean pair of underwear, and marched toward the bathroom, resolving she would take another shower, this time a cold one, before finally heading to bed.

She stepped inside the shower and drew the sheer white shower curtains with one hand as she placed the other on the back of her neck, feeling the area slightly damp. She closed her eyes, recalling what had just occurred inside Tiffany’s room, when the two of them were together in bed, kissing senselessly, their hands all over one another, dangerously close to cross a line that Taeyeon wasn’t perfectly sure either of them was emotionally or psychologically ready to cross just yet. But then, when she focused on the memory of Tiffany’s lips against her own, moving so painfully slow with unintentional sensuality, and felt the same excruciating warmth and desire burn her nerves, she wished that she had let herself go, even if just a little.

“God, Tiffany,” she muttered under her breath, and a sigh followed. “You’re going to drive me crazy,” she added, and turned the shower on.

***

The next morning, as soon as she woke up, Taeyeon finished gathering the remaining of her belongings and, after mustering up the courage to, settled them in Anthony’s room. She eyed her things with sorrow as she placed them on the man’s counter. Falling asleep in the room she learnt to appreciate and regard as hers had been difficult the night before, as the place was so empty without her belongings scattered and arranged around it. But, surely, it hadn’t been as hard as falling asleep in Anthony’s room would be, she thought.

She was downstairs long before breakfast was even close to be announced. She needed to talk to the man, and she wanted to do it before Tiffany got upㅡthe girl was sound asleep when she knocked on her door and then peeked inside the room as she obtained no response. She didn’t have the courage to wake her up.

Anthony Hwang arrived right when the last plate of pastries had been set on the table. Taeyeon, upon hearing the car’s engine stop in front of the porch, quickly made her way toward the dining room, intending to wait for the man there, knowing it would probably be one of the first rooms he would go to. And so he did. As he entered the dining room, he received a warm welcome from Mrs. Winters, who smiled ear-to-ear to see the man back in the house. When Anthony noticed Taeyeon’s presence, as the latter quietly rose from the seat she had taken, he approached her cordially, knowing he and his wife were under the housekeeper’s scrutinizing gaze.

“I’m glad you’re home,” Taeyeon said before the man could say anything or approach her physically in any way, and tried to do so in her friendliest tone. “I have to speak to you.”

Anthony nodded. “Of course, I want to speak to you as well.” He eyed Mrs. Winters uncomfortably. “Shall we go to a place more private?”

Mrs. Winters bobbed her head. “Excuse me,” she said.

“It’s fine, Mrs. Winters,” Taeyeon assured, stopping the woman. “It’s better if we go elsewhere. Excuse us, please,” she said, and then marched out of the dining room, with Anthony trailing behind.

They settled by the living room, and Taeyeon sat on the armchair as she watched the man take out a cigarette from his pocket and light it up. “So?” he asked.

Taeyeon wrung her hands together nervously. “I heard your niece is coming to visit.”

Anthony nodded. “Yes, I’m picking her up today.” He checked his wristwatch. “Later, in the afternoon.”

“I also heard she’s staying over. In the room you gave me,” she added.

“That’s precisely what I wanted to speak to you about. You see--”

“I have it all sorted out,” Taeyeon abruptly interrupted the man. “I know I can’t stay there because I know I wouldn’t have how to explain my sleeping in a bedroom different than that of the man who is supposed to be my husband. So I’ve cleared the room, and moved my things to yours.”

He raised his eyebrows, looking at the blonde with astonishment.

“Pardon me. I didn’t do it. I wouldn’t dare invading your privacy like that.”

“Who did it?” he asked, intrigued.

Taeyeon hesitated before responding. “Tiffany.”

“Tiffany?” he repeated. He took a puff of the cigarette and scratched his chin as his eyebrows furrowed. “How come?”

“I asked her.”

“Why?”

“Because she was the only one available to help me, for goodness sake!” she retorted, growing impatient.

A frown spread across the man’s face for a second, but quickly faded. “So you understand we’ll have to share a bedroom for a few days. Good. I was afraid you would throw a fit over that.”

Taeyeon bit her tongue not to respond as she wished to. “I don’t ‘throw fits.’ I’m a fully grown woman, not a child, and I understand the situation I am in perfectly. But, Anthony,” she said as she stood up, “I don’t want you to think I am reaching out to you by abiding by that. I’m doing it only because I have no option.”

The man held his hands up defensively. “It’s fine by me. I’ve long given up on the idea of a decent marriage. And I’m sure you’re perfectly aware by now that I have no interest in you at all.”

“Good. One last thing,” she added, eyeing the man gravely. “I am not going to sleep on the same bed as you.”

“Well, but I only have one bed. I’m telling you I won’t do anything to you. Is it that hard to trust me?” he tried to reason.

“Frankly? Yes,” Taeyeon responded. “So pray, find me a spare mattress or a sleeping bag; anything is fine. I’ll sleep on the floor. I don’t care. I just don’t want to sleep next to you.”

The man exhaled audibly, clearly annoyed by Taeyeon’s attitude, but the blonde couldn’t care less. Finally, Anthony nodded his head, agreeing to Taeyeon’s conditions, which eased the woman’s mind a little. “Fine. I’ll do that.”

Taeyeon tried to offer him a polite, thankful smile, but her lips twitched stiffly instead. “Splendid. Nice talking to you. Thank you very much,” she said, trying to hide the ironic tone the words intended to escape her lips with, and turned around to leave.

“Taeyeon?” the man called before she could walk away.

She turned back around and faced the man again, crossing her arms as her eyes fell upon him. “Yes?”

“Let these following days and the given circumstances be an opportunity for you and I to at least get to know each other a little better,” he requested, looking at her directly in the eyes. “It’s obvious we’ll never have a real marriage, but if we cannot be truly husband and wife, perhaps we could at least be good acquaintances.”

For a few seconds she repeated the man’s words in her brain before she finally assented with a small bob of her head. “Very well,” she mumbled, then excused herself, feeling free as she stepped out of the living room.

Anthony’s words didn’t seem menacing at all, she thought; in fact, he had just sounded very reasonable and decent. Still, she couldn’t help feeling the man didn’t quite mean what he had just said.

As she returned to the dining room, she found Tiffany sitting impatiently by the table. The girl, upon seeing Taeyeon enter the place, readily rose from her seat and trod toward Taeyeon.

“Where were you?!” she inquired, clearly anxious. “I thought something had happened. Nana said you were already up, but I couldn’t--”

Taeyeon shushed her discreetly as she heard the man’s footsteps approach the dining room, gesturing with her palm as to tell Tiffany to lower her voice. She took a step away from the girl, turned around to face the entrance of the place, and a couple of seconds later, Anthony’s figure walked inside the room.

“Daddy,” Tiffany breathed out as she saw him. Her eyes flickered nervously back and forth from Taeyeon to Anthony and vice-versa a few times before she could fix her gaze upon her father. “It’s good to have you back,” she said, and tried to sound enthusiastic, but her tone was bland.

“How are you, princess?” he asked, taking his daughter in his arms and kissing her cheek.

“Fine,” Tiffany responded absently. “When is Seohyun going to arrive?”

“In the afternoon, as far as I know,” he said, patting Tiffany’s shoulder, and then took a seat by the table, looking hungrily the food.

Taeyeon and Tiffany mimicked his action.

“Can I ask you a favor, Tiff?” Anthony asked, glancing at his daugher over a cup of coffee he brought to his lips. Tiffany nodded, encouraging the man to continue, “Will you make sure to accompany the other two Hwang ladies downtown to pick a nice gown for the party, once your cousin has arrived?” he added, referring to Taeyeon and Seohyun. “There will be important people in this party, and I need all three of you to look your best. And please, pleaseㅡmake sure Seohyun behaves like a proper young lady. I’ve heard she’s been giving Helen and Bob an awful time lately.”

Tiffany chuckled faintly. “Leave it to me,” she agreed, nodding. “Dad?” she spoke again, after a few seconds of silence.

“Yes?”

“May I invite someone to the party?”

“Mhm,” he hummed, taking another sip of coffee as he checked the mail Mrs. Winters had just laid by his side on the table. “Whom?”

“A friend,” Tiffany simply responded, and eyed Taeyeon discreetly.

Anthony looked up for a moment, but didn’t bother to inquire any further. “Yes, of course. Do it as you please.”

“Thank you,” Tiffany simply responded.

The rest of the morning went by in agonizing pace. Taeyeon and Tiffany could only breathe free after lunch time, when Anthony said he would drop by the office and then head to the airport to pick Seohyun home. Tiffany uttered a sound of annoyance and frustration as she leaned on the window, watching  her father drive away in his car.

“It hasn’t been a full day yet and it already feels like hell,” she groaned under her breath, withdrawing from her position.

“Just wait until your cousin arrives,” Taeyeon said, approaching Tiffany. “It’ll be nice to have someone your age to talk with. You’ll distract yourself.”

Tiffany sighed. “I hope so.” She looked at Taeyeon and took the woman’s hands in hers, pulling her closer and positioning herself so that Taeyeon would embrace her from behind. The blonde took a wary glimpse around, and when she saw nobody was near, she fully wrapped her arms around Tiffany’s waist, pressing the younger’s body gently against her own.

“The more anxious you get, the more chance things have of going wrong,” Taeyeon mumbled against Tiffany’s hair after placing a kiss on the girl’s temple, “so try not to worry.”

Tiffany nodded, caressing Taeyeon’s arm up and down absently, enjoying the feeling of having the woman close to her, and went quiet for a couple of minutes.

“Taeyeon, do you think Irene would like to come choose a dress with us?” she finally spoke again, earning Taeyeon’s attention and attracting the blonde’s gaze.

“Well, I’m sure she would be delighted to, but don’t you think we should actually invite her first?” the woman responded, chuckling.

“Right,” Tiffany agreed, and chuckled along. “I can arrange that.” She untangled herself and turned around to face Taeyeon. She eyed the woman for a moment and, retaining a playful smile, leaned in as if she were going to kiss her.

“No,” Taeyeon reprimanded passively, leaning back and taking a step backwards, chuckling to herself. “From now onwards we have to be extra careful, and you know it.”

“But nobody is watching,” Tiffany responded, crossing her arms and arching an eyebrow conceitedly.

“Still,” was Taeyeon’s laconic, but decided response.

Tiffany sighed in defeat. “Such a square,” she mumbled tauntingly, glancing secretively at Taeyeon as she expected the woman’s response.

Taeyeon leaned forward and approached her lips to Tiffany’s ear. “Such a nasty little brat,” she whispered against it, her breath tickling Tiffany’s hair.

“Ouch,” Tiffany said, feigning offense, and couldn’t contain an amused giggle.

“Come,” Taeyeon said, taking Tiffany’s hand in hers. “Let’s go to the library and relax a little. I’m in the mood for some reading. Surely you have a good book to recommend me?”

Tiffany smiled proudly, following Taeyeon as the latter started toward the library. “I sure do.”

They spent a few quiet hours in the library together until they heard a car stop in front of the house. Promptly Taeyeon and Tiffany rose from their seats and left the room, heading toward the entrance hall. As the door was open, the first to enter was Charles, carrying a set of pink suitcases. Then, Anthony stepped inside the house and stopped, giving way for the girl to pass. Tiffany took a step further upon seeing that; Taeyeon stood still in her place, feeling suddenly anxious about the stranger’s arrival.

“Oh, cousin, dearest!” Seohyun rejoiced when she saw Tiffany, and ran toward her with her arms open.

Tiffany welcomed her with a friendly hug. “Hello, Seo. How have you been?”

“Oh, dreadful! Just dreadful! I wish we had never left New York after Christmas last year. I’ve been thoroughly and constantly tortured ever since. I can barely wait to tell you all about itㅡyou will be furious, I know you will. You would hate to know what your poor baby cousin has been put through. Oh, we have so much to catch up on,” the girl chattered, taking Tiffany’s arm into hers.

“Seohyun,” Anthony called, earning the teenager’s attention. “Before I leave you girls to mind your own business, there’s someone I need to introduce you to.”

Seohyun’s curiosity announced itself through the sharp eyebrow that the girl curved upwards. Untangling her arm from Tiffany as she watched her uncle attentively,  she encouraged him to continue. “Yes?”

The man walked past the two girls and stopped by Taeyeon’s side. Hesitantly and quite reluctantly, he placed one of his hands on Taeyeon’s back, and with the other, he gestured back and forth from the woman to Seohyun. “Seohyun, this is my wife, Taeyeon. Taeyeon, this is my niece, Seohyun,” she announced formally, introducing the two.

Seohyun’s mouth was agape and her face motionless for a second, then she uttered a wry chuckle. “Pardon me, I must be hard of hearing.” She took off her sunglasses and pointed at Taeyeon with them as she eyed Anthony. “I thought you said this was your wife.”

Anthony just nodded.

Seohyun glanced at Tiffany. She nodded, too.

Taeyeon studied Seohyun’s appearance quietly as the latter stood there, deadpanned: the girl’s vibrant strawberry blonde hair cascaded down in perfect curls and she was clad in elegant clothes, although those were of a vivid pastel pink color, an unusual and not very suitable shade for a girl her age to wear. She was tall and lean, and albeit her posture was that of a woman, she couldn’t notice Seohyun seemed to have quite a kiddish body, with small and delicate curves. When the girl looked back at her and their eyes met, Taeyeon felt a bit intimidated when she noticed there was nothing but confidence in Seohyun’s gaze, and her face had a poise of self-assurance and dominance that, admittedly, made Taeyeon tremble a little as she considered the possible negative consequences that could be brought upon her and Tiffany, should they displease Seohyunㅡor worse: make a fool of her.

Finally, deciding she should be the one to break the awkward silence, Taeyeon held her hand out, offering Seohyun her best friendly smile. “Delighted to meet you, Seohyun,” Taeyeon said. “I’ve been hearing plenty about you.”

Hesitantly but politely, Seohyun took Taeyeon’s hand and shook it. Her eyes never left the woman, and she watched the latter’s every moment with precision. “It is a pity I cannot say the same,” she mumbled. “Which makes me wonder: How could you marry and not tell us, uncle?” she asked, turning to Anthony. “Not even your own brother?”

“It all happened very rapidly,” the man responded simply, avoiding the subject. “Well, I’m going to leave you ladies alone so that you can get acquainted. Excuse me,” he said, and left the place without saying a word more, heading upstairs.

“Well, about that you’ve just mentioned,” Tiffany started right when Seohyun opened to say something. “The torturing. What happened?” she inquired further, grasping Seohyun’s arm with both her hands and heading toward the library as she pulled Seohyun along. The taller girl followed quietly, but her eyes never fully left Taeyeon’s figure. As she and Tiffany drew farther and farther from the entrance hall and she lost sight of Taeyeon, she frowned quietly, an arched her eyebrow again as she averted her gaze elsewhereㅡthis time, however, it was suspicion that twitched her features.

There’s something peculiarly odd going on here, the girl thought to herself.