Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Come in!" Tiffany exclaimed. She craned her neck and bent her head backwards after struggling to take her eyes away from the book she was reading when she heard the door cracking open, revealing a flustered Taeyeon carrying a small tray in her hands.

When she opened the door, Taeyeon couldn't help but notice the girl's exposed groins, that were visible thanks to Tiffany's skirt that had been upended in consequence of the latter's strange, yet relaxed position; hence, her embarrassment. Tiffany was lying on the bed on her back, her legs were leaning over the wall behind it, which made them look longer than they were in reality, and she held up in the air a thick book with both of her hands, and read it as her had rested on a thin pillow. A quirky, funny position that was, Taeyeon thought. But the girl looked very comfortable.

"Hello," Taeyeon said, looking away from Tiffany's slender legs and walking inside the room. The brunette put down her book and sat up on the bed, wondering what could have brought the woman there. Tidying her dress and hair, she turned around, sitting prettily as she eyed the blonde.

"You didn't show up for dinner," Taeyeon continued, as if she had just read the girl's pondering mind. "I thought you could be hungry." She placed the tray on Tiffany's nightstand, and exhaled in relief when she noticed the brunette's countenance lit up at the sight of the snack neatly arranged on the large plate, which spread around the room a delicious sweet smell.

"Thank you, I am," Tiffany said, smiling at Taeyeon. "And even if I weren't, there's always room in my stomach for Nana's cookies," she added, reaching out to pick up one of the cookies.

Taeyeon cocked a brow. "Oh? Mrs. Winters bakes?"

"Not exactly," the brunette responded, shaking her head before she took a mouthful bite at the cookie, making Taeyeon smile silently. "The cooks do everything: the cooking, the baking, everything. But when it comes to cookies, Nana takes the lead. She doesn't like it when the cooks bake them for me. She's convinced that her cookies are the best in the world, especially after I told her that. But these..." Tiffany trailed off, attentively tasting the food her teeth were smashing. "These taste a bit different."

The blonde observed the way Tiffany's cheeks moved as she chewed and how the girl's delicate and thin fingers gently dabbed at the corners of her lips between one bite and another, working as an imaginary napkin to remove any possibly existent crumb. She was aware that her staring could make the younger uncomfortable, but it was just too hard for Taeyeon to take her eyes off of Tiffanyㅡshe failed miserably every time she tried to do so. 

"Well, I'm sure that's because I made them myself," Taeyeon stated, almost proudly.

Tiffany, who was about to hungrily stuff with yet another cookie, halted herself as she heard the woman's explanation. A little intrigued, she eyed Taeyeon and asked, "Nana let you handle her cookies?"

"My cookies," Taeyeon corrected. "And she doesn't know I've made them. Which makes me relieved, actually. I wouldn't want her to be angry at me. I had no idea how important cookies were around here."

The brunette chuckled gleefully in amusement. "How sneaky," said she, making Taeyeon grin. The atmosphere between the two was oddly comfortable and friendly that night. Taeyeon blamed it on the cookies, and reminded herself to make those more often. The joy on Tiffany's face was priceless. "So, does that mean you're skilled in the kitchen? These are really, really good," she complimented.

"Thank you, but not quite. I know how to make those and... well, frankly, that's about it," Taeyeon cooed sheepishly. "I can't cook for a living, but I can get by without poisoning myself, or someone else, if I come across desperate times. In other words... I can cook, I just can't make good food."

Tiffany smirked playfully and shifted on the bed, still gazing at Taeyeon. "She might throw a fit if she comes to know you've made cookies in her kitchen, you know. Nana."

"Then let's make it our little secret," Taeyeon responded, almost murmuring. A strange chill ran through Tiffany's body when the mellifluous voice reached her ears. The brunette simply nodded absentmidedly in response, averting her gaze with some difficulty and reaching out for another cookie, mulling over her own strange reaction.

Maybe it was the fact that, growing up, Tiffany never really had a strong feminine presence in the houseㅡMrs. Winters definitely wasn't a striking figure to her, despite all the care and love she dedicated to Tiffany as she was brought up and how much the latter cherished and loved the old woman; maybe it was due to the fishy mystery that guarded her father's unlikely marriage; or maybe it was simply because she had never seen a woman with looks as beautiful as Taeyeon's, but to Tiffany, the blonde was simply hypnotic. Everything, just everything about that ever so reticent woman was extremely inviting, as though she had the power to enchant whoever laid eyes on her, and Tiffany couldn't quite know if that enticed or disturbed her. Wasn't it a bit odd for her to be so interested in a strange woman? What was it that made her so fascinating, in Tiffany's eyes? Did anyone feel the same thing as she? These, among many other questions alike, ran amok in Tiffany's mind, every time she thought of or saw Taeyeon.

"Actually, Tiffany, I'm not here only for the cookies," Taeyeon spoke, preventing the younger from developing her musings any further. "I wanted to apologize. You have apologized to me a few times already, and I reckon now it's my turn." She smiled timidly and allowed herself to sit on the edge of Tiffany's bed.

"For what?"

"I believe I was rude to you earlier today, and that you might have misunderstood me. I wasn't pushing you away or disregarding your concern. I..." She trailed off for a second, wondering what to say in order to give a satisfying justification while avoiding revealing too much. She couldn't really get into details. The story was much too complicatedㅡnot only that: it was something Tiffany just couldn't know about. Taeyeon knew Mr. Hwang would be furious if she told Tiffany the truth behind their marriage, and that the man wouldn't like one bit that Tiffany knew about what Taeyeon did to lead them all to that point. And Taeyeon herself didn't really want Tiffany to know about it, either, both because she didn't wish to reveal any of her privacy, and because she just did not think it was right to put such things on Tiffany's mind. "I received some bad news today, which hurt me a lot, and I couldn't react very decently to it. I might as well have taken out on you by accident. I'm very, very sorry. That wasn't my intention."

Tiffany listened to Taeyeon attentively, taking in the woman's words with some sort of relief. After that moment by Taeyeon's door, Tiffany had grown a tad self-concious of her actions around and towards the blonde; thus, it was gratifying to know that Taeyeon wasn't as bothered by her as she had thought. But regardless, the statement didn't suffice to quench Tiffany's thirst for information. 

"Apology accepted," Tiffany responded, much to Taeyeon's delight and relief. "But I'd like to know what happened."

"You said you weren't the prying type."

"I'm not." Tiffany shrugged. "It's a simple and innocuous question. You must have had a good reason to cry like that."

Taeyeon sighed. "I lost something very important to me. That's it."

Tiffany squinted her eyes a little and shook her head, showing disapproval of the poor answer she had gotten. "No. That's too vague. Try harder."

Tiffany herself was surprised by her own attitude: being that bold, demanding, and straightforward was very unlike her, giving that she had always been a quiet and reserved girl. She was persistent, yes, but never as blunt and impatient. But she had never had to be like that, either. How else could she act? She wanted answers, but Taeyeon didn't want to cooperate. Still, there was something about the relaxed, informal , and almost intimate atmosphere between Tiffany and Taeyeon that night that just made her believe she could inquire further and behave that way without making it a nuisance, and there was this chivalrous gleam in Taeyeon's normally reclusive, but now attentive eyes that made her feel like a brick from the imaginary wall that separated her from the blonde had been knocked down for the first timeㅡwhich, frankly, made her quite happy.

"What do you want from me, Tiffany?" Taeyeon cooed defeatedly, unable to come up with a good response to top the girl's arguments.

"Answers, maybe?" Tiffany began, crawling on the mattress to move and sit closer to the blonde. "I just want to understand what has been going on." She made a small pause, eyeing Taeyeon with confidence before continuing, "My father came home one day telling me he was to wed, when he had never mentioned, let alone introduced, his bride-to-be before, or even broached such topic. Then, he got married and brought you home with him. It's not an uncommon story if I stop here, but, you see, when my father came home with you, you two weren't holding hands or liking arms like any couple does, and I didn't see smiles of bliss on your faces nor love in your eyes; in fact, you barely even looked at each other. And you, Taeyeon, seemed quite gloomy for a lady who had just gotten married. And that is uncommon. Moreover, you sleep in a room of your own, instead of sleeping in his room, and I don't think I even need to get started on how my father left for one of his business trips on the night that, I believe, was supposed to be his honeymoon," she said, quirking a brow and pausing again, noticing how Taeyeon had been clearly taken aback by her sudden outburst. "I'm not naive, Taeyeon. I'm young, inexperienced in many things, but not stupid. I know normal, healthy marriages aren't supposed to be the way yours is. So, considering all that, don't you think I have the right to be intrigued?"

Taeyeon took a moment to digest Tiffany's detaining words. The feeling of being cornered was staring to give her a little anxiety, and she felt like she needed to come up with a good response soon, or else she was just going to admit her guilt and feed Tiffany's imagination about to how fishy the whole situation was, and why it was so, but she didn't know how to respond to that. Tiffany was right, absolutely right, and hence every argument Taeyeon could try and use to defend herself could be easily either held against her, or it could reveal more than desired. She was afraid of accidentally saying something that could contain a concealed ounce of the truth about the whole storyㅡand she knew that, if she did, Tiffany would find outㅡor just add more fuel to the girl's inquisitive mind, and that would definitely be a problem. Regardless, she knew she had to give Tiffany an answer. 

"Smart girl," Taeyeon muttered, smirking at the brunette as she attempted to mask her nervousness and insecurity. "You're right. You do have that right. And you also do deserve your answer, so here it goes: think of my marriage to your father as a business deal."

Tiffany leaned back a little and raised her eyebrows. "A business deal?"

Taeyeon merely nodded.

"That would be the first time I see a woman make a business deal with a man. What do you get from this 'deal?'" Tiffany queried further, crossing her arms.

"This life," Taeyeon said with an empty tone. It wasn't a lie, though. That had been, in fact, the only good thing she managed to get from the situation, which she deemed quite tragic, other than the safety of her reputation. That is, if she could even call it good.

A life that I know you don't want, Tiffany thought, but dared not to speak. "I see. What about my father? What's his benefit?"

Taeyeon secretly cringed at the answer that crossed her mind and was about to come out of . "A wife." She paused and then added, "He said he needed one."

Tiffany frowned, indignarted by the answer. Since when did her father need a wife? One he didn't even love, especially? She scoffed silently, shaking her head in disapproval, and fancied the whole situation even more ridiculous and dubitable than she already did. "Too vague again. It doesn't make any sense."

Taeyeon repressed a chuckle caused by Tiffany's rather childish reaction, which the woman found to be quite endearing. Her lips curved into a gentle smile as she observed the girl, whose eyes wandered around the room, making her seem immersed in thoughts. Tiffany, however, just remained quiet and serious, making Taeyeon's smile fade away gradually.

"All right," the blonde muttered, standing up. "I'd better go now. Enjoy the cookies, Tiffany."

Taeyeon's voice and movement captured Tiffany's attention, and the girl looked up and watched as the petite figure made her way towards the door.

"Thank you. For the cookies," she spoke sincerely.

The blonde opened the door and turned around, catching sight of Tiffany shyly smiling at her. She smiled back and bobbed her head a little. "Anytime," she crooned, stepping out of the room and closing the door behind her. 

***

Tiffany restlessly kicked the blankets all around, changing positions repeatedly in many unsuccessful attempts to fall asleep. At some point, growing tired of trying to rest, she sat up on the bed, groaning frustratedly when she gazed at the clock and saw it marked 2 o'clock in the morning. The girl rolled her eyes and got up, wrapped herself in a baby pink silk robe, and made her way towards the door and out of the room. She rubbed her eyes a few times, and brushed her messy hair with her fingers. She ambled down the staircase, intending to go to the kitchen and get herself a warm beverage to help her sleepㅡMrs. Winters had always told her that was a good solution for insomnia, and would often give her a glass of warm milk when she was a child and couldn't sleep well. As Tiffany got to the first floor, however, she changed her destination when she heard a faint noise coming from the living room. She followed the sound quietly until she reached its source and, when she did, she found Taeyeon, crouching down in front of the television, switching the channels in hopes t find something entertaining enough to watch, much to her surprise.

"Can't sleep?" Tiffany called, startling the woman. Taeyeon got up immediately, veering her attention to Tiffany. She just shook her head in response.

Tiffany sighed. "Me neither."

"Why not?" Taeyeon asked and shyly signaled Tiffany to sit on the couch as she herself walked towards it. The girl followed Taeyeon's invitation, and plopped herself comfortably on the soft couch.

 "I feel agitated."

Taeyeon hummed and nodded faintly.

"How about you?"

The blonde looked at Tiffany. The latter was leaning her head on the back of the couch, and she looked dangerously beautiful to Taeyeon as the murky, dirty yellow light of the living room kissed her face. There was no eyeliner on Tiffany's lids, nor any bright-colored lipstick on her lips, and her cheeks looked much more tender and delicate thanks to the absence of the pink rouge she wore every day. The bareness of Tiffany's face, Taeyeon thought, made the girl look much younger than the usual, and softened her features to the point they looked so pure and innocent, Taeyeon could almost call it holy. It could have been Tiffany's pale complexion that reminded her of the white, delicate feathers of a wing, but the blonde could swear, upon looking at Tiffany's face in that moment, that that was probably what angels looked like. "I suffer from insomnia, occasionally," she managed to say under her breath, still unable to avert her gaze from the brunette.

"What do you do to fall asleep when that happens?" Tiffany crooned, taking part in Taeyeon's staring game she scrutinized the woman's face, occasionally making her eyes dance and meet with the latter's own. Neither of them felt uncomfortable to be looking at each other so openly and so deeply for so longㅡmaybe because they didn't really want to take her eyes off of each other, or because being under the other's gaze just felt right.

Taeyeon shook her head and shrugged. "Nothing. I wait  until I feel sleepy. Or I just don't sleep at all."

Tiffany frowned. "Don't you feel tired throughout the rest of the day if you don't sleep during the night?"

"I'm already used to it."

The two fell silent for a few seconds. Taeyeon's eyes glanced at the tedious television, and Tiffany looked down, feeling the unwanted, though familiar, awkward atmosphere between her and Taeyeon arise again. But she refused to succumb to it.

"Do you like to read, Taeyeon?"

Taeyeon returned her attention to Tiffany and smiled a little. "Very much so. I miss reading," she confessed.

"Why don't you read anymore?"

"You tend to lose the habit as you grow older and busier, unfortunately. When I started to work, I was so engulfed in my job I nearly forgot about reading books. I might have read two or three books in five years or so. Now I have time, but I haven't brought any books with me when I moved in here, unfortunately."

Tiffany smiled excitedly. "I think I can help with that."

Taeyeon just cocked an eyebrow.

***

"You have a library... in your house?" Taeyeon thought out loud, stunned as she stepped into the room filled with shelves and more shelves of books of every kind.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Tiffany replied proudly, smiling happily as she closed the doors behind her. "It's one of the fanciest and largest rooms in the house. And probably the only one that has been kept in its original state almost entirely."

"What do you mean?" Taeyeon asked curiously.

"This house is very old," Tiffany said, walking up to Taeyeon as she loosely hugged her own arms. "When my father purchased it, it was almost in ruins. There were only a few rooms in good condition. It was considerably large, though not as much as it is now, but because of its deteriorated state, it did not have a very high price... Which was, actually, very convenient, because my father wasn't as wealthy back then. Anyway, we moved in when I was 2, and throughout the years, he had some parts of the house rebuilt, a few others were added, and he redecorated it entirely, step by step. I believe I was around seven or eight by the time he managed to complete all the work. But he, too, thought the library, which was just a reading room, back then, was a kind of special place, and decided to leave it as it was when he bought the mansion. It was actually one of the only parts that were in a good state. All he did was have it well cleaned and organized, and make a small contribution to the collection that was already here when we arrived," she concluded, smiling a little sadly.

"So he bought even more books?" Taeyeon inquired, walking around the place and examining the shelves with great interest.

"Over the years, yes. Especially when I began to read. I've acquired much of my knowledge about things such as Geography and History with books. It's fair to say that all the newest-looking books you'll find here are mine. That is, they were bought for me. But I was referring to my mother's personal collection. She brought all of her favorites with her when they moved in." She sighed sadly, but recomposed herself quickly. "But there are also books I have no idea where came from."

Taeyeon halted her exploring when she heard Tiffany broach the topic of her late mother. She was unsure of what to say; half of her was afraid of saying something that would make the girl feel bad, and the other half was afraid that her silence could be interpreted as lack of compassion. 

"I see," she managed to respond.

Tiffany's lips curved into a small smile.

"You must miss her," Taeyeon accidentally muttered, through the sentence came out in the sweetest, most careful tone she could utter. 

Tiffany eyed Taeyeon silently for a few seconds before responding with a bit of despondency in her tone, "I don't really have memories of her. I was just 2 when she passed away. All I have are stories I've been told, a picture, and her books, " She paused for a second. "It is a rather empty and strange feeling, not having a mother by your side as you grow up. You miss something, but you don't know exactly what, because you haven't really experienced it. But I was fortunate enough to receive a lot of love as I grew up. I got by. I'm fine now."

Taeyeon smiled sadly. That's one tough cookie, she thought as she scanned Tiffany for a fleeting moment. She knew that it must had been hard for the girl to grow up without a mother and with a father who, she took, had been often absent in her life due to his business trips, leaving Tiffany to be brought up by Mrs. Winters. She knew that, deep down, Tiffany should be a little scarred by that, but she wouldn't let it show. Not only was the brunette a very intelligent girl, Taeyeon could see, but she was also very strong.

"I'm not here to take her place, Tiffany," Taeyeon cooed carefully. "I really hope you're aware of that."

"I am," Tiffany readily responded. "I wasn't before. But now I am."

"What changed your mind?

Tiffany furrowed her eyebrows a little and tilted her head sideways. "You don't look like a mother." She shook her head, adding, "I can't see you as one. I don't know why."

Taeyeon exhaled in relief when she heard Tiffany's answer, and she felt strangely happy about it. It was nearly as though a sensation akin to freedom had come to her. Tiffany's not seeing her as a motherly figure would spare her of many inconveniences, thought she didn't exactly know which. But Tiffany's not regarding her as a motherly figure meant she wouldn't have to play the role of the perfect wife or of a caring stepmother in front of her. It meant Taeyeon would have the chance to be herself around the brunette, and that the both would be given the chance to build a relationship, any kind of relationship, from scratch, instead of having to adapt to one that had been premeditated. 

"Good. Neither can I." Taeyeon said.

Tiffany beamed a small smile, pleased with the fact that Taeyeon and her had both agreed on that, and watched as the blonde resumed exploring the place, attentively studying the shelves and the books that they contained. Her eyes carefully observed the woman's every move: from the way her fingertips brushed through the books that, Tiffany came to conclude, caught Taeyeon's attention the most, to the way the woman's blond tresses swung and bounced as she walked and tilted her head from side to side to read the titles closely.

To her, it was a very enticing vision in its entirety.

"What's your favorite kind of book?" Taeyeon's gentle voice echoed throughout the library, catching Tiffany's attention and interrupting the latter's thoughts.

"Oh, I like pretty much a bit of everything. Thrillers, mysteries, romances, fiction," replied Tiffany. "Yours?"

"I like poetry. But I haven't seen any poetry book so far," she mumbled to herself, eyeing the shelves once again.

"I don't read poetry so frequently, so I keep the books on the higher shelves. Here," Tiffany explained, signaling Taeyeon to follow her towards the small ladder that leaned on the wall, "I'll climb and get you a few. Just hold this thing for me, it's a bit old and I'm afraid it might slip."

Taeyeon nodded and followed, doing as she was asked after they reached the ladder and placed it near the shelf Tiffany had indicated. The girl climbed up and gathered about five books, but not before selecting the ones she judged to be the best and most interesting. She hugged the bulky books with both arms and looked down. "Oh, dear," said Tiffany before chuckling embarrassedly. "I forgot I have to support myself to climb down."

"Hand me the books. I'll hold them for you," Taeyeon offered.

Tiffany thought for a moment and then shook her head. "No. I'd rather you hold me. It's more practical. Besides, if you hold the books, you can't hold the ladder. I might fall down just as easily."

Taeyeon looked at Tiffany inquiringly. The girl beckoned her with her head, encouraging her to do as she asked. Taeyeon agreed and took a deep breath, positioning herself in front of the ladder and behind Tiffany, raising her arms and reaching out her hands, making them hesitantly yet firmly grip Tiffany's slender waist. Tiffany scrupled a little when she felt a sudden shiver, caused by the older woman's touch, run through her body, but disregarded the sensation as she stepped down the ladder, attributing it to the cold fingers that could be felt through the thin fabrics of her nightgown and robe.

"Thank you," Tiffany breathed out once she reached the floor and handed the books to Taeyeon, who still had her hands on the brunette, unwilling to let go so soon.

Taeyeon looked at Tiffany and nodded, finally taking the books. "Thank you, too."

"You can come here any time now, you know. This is yours too," Tiffany added, beaming a kind and encouraging smile.

"I don't want to bother you," Taeyeon responded, shaking her head. "Apparently, this is where you hide when you're nowhere else to be seen around the house. I take it is your space. I don't wish to invade it."

"You wouldn't be invading it. Aren't I inviting you in? I'm giving you free pass to come in and come out as you please. Take all the books you wish, spend some time here. It's a very comfortable and peaceful place. I wouldn't mind to share it with you, I would like it."

Taeyeon smiled reclusively and flinched a little, feeling a spark be ignited in her chest upon hearing Tiffany's warm words. "Why?" 

"Because you've already noticed that this is the place I adore the most, and also where I like to spend most of my time, and you don't seem to think this is odd. Nana finds it strange that a young lady my age would rather be locked up with her books instead of out and about, partying, or men-hunting. Even my father thinks like that, sometimes, although he does encourages it because he thinks it is good that I acquire culture through books. But you don't seem to think that way. For someone not to think that, they must either be very similar to me or like books as much as I do. I mean, as silly as this justification sounds..." Tiffany trailed off, chuckling. "So you deserve to use my library as you wish."

They both smiled warmly at each other and, for the first time, Tiffany managed to see Taeyeon beam an extremely pretty and toothy, pearly-white grin. 

"Thank you," Taeyeon said again, breaking the small silence. "I mean it. I'm sure these will do a great job helping me distract and entertain myself for a while."

"Have you been bored?"

Taeyeon opened to respond, but ended up just smiling bashfully. She bit on her lower lip and looked down before uttering shyly, "It's a bit tough to find something entertaining enough in a house that's not yours. I'm still adjusting. I don't feel completely comfortable yet."

Nor for a small second did Tiffany's eyes leave Taeyeon's face. The brunette followed and memorized every single small twitch on the woman's countenanceㅡshe particularly took notice of how often her eyebrows moved as she spokeㅡand observed as the strands of hair from a growing-out fringe fell on her face, covering her eyes a little. She gently, albeit timidly, reached out her hands and slowly touched the blond strands, tucking them behind Taeyeon's ear. 

Taeyeon looked up in surprise and quivered internally, tensing when Tiffany's fingertips brushed the area behind her ear and then a bit of her jawline as the girl retreated her hand. Her eyes traveled down to Tiffany's lips, and she held in her breath when she became aware of the sudden little space between the two of them, wondering whether she had caused such proximity, or if Tiffany had come closer without her noticing.

"I-I best return to my room," stuttered the blonde in a small voice, looking away from Tiffany. "I should try to get some sleep, and so should you. I don't want to keep you occupied. It's not healthy to ditch sleeping." She took a few steps back, but stopped abruptly when she felt Tiffany's slim hand hold her arm.

"Do come to me if you need anything," the girl said sincerely. "I think I have told you this before, but I know how boring this place can get, sometimes."

Taeyeon looked at Tiffany, then at the hand on her arm, then at Tiffany again. She chuckled timidly as she adjusted her grip on the books, and bobbed he head in agreement. "All right. I will."

"I mean it," Tiffany cooed, slowly letting go of the hold that now lingered on the woman's arm. "It might sound eerie, but I feel like we're all the other has here now. We're not close, but you are the only one that could possibly keep me some company. A while before you arrived, Nana told me I should give you a chance, for you could be my friend. I didn't believe it then, but I see it now." She looked away and smiled shyly before continuing, "Well, at least that's how I feel. I mean, I don't really have anyone else. Nana hasn't kept me company very often, since I grew up. As to my father... he's a busy man. And I'm not really the social type, I'm sure you've never seen me go out accompanied. I'm always alone." She paused and looked up, eyeing the blonde again as she muttered, "You've sort of become my only company, even though you don't exactly keep me company. But at least you make the mansion feel a bit more crowded."

Taeyeon couldn't help cracking a big smile at Tiffany's sweetness and sincerity. She was glad the girl was so open and outspoken about her feelings, something Taeyeon could never do. And in that moment, Taeyeon felt that, someday, that mansion could, in fact, come to be her home. Not just the place she resided in, but a real home. With Tiffany's help, of course. 

"I want to try. I want to try being your friend, " Tiffany finished

"So do I," Taeyeon finally responded, still smiling. She touched Tiffany's arm gently, and pursed her lips together before adding, "Thank you, again. I'm sure we'll get by just fine."

Tiffany nodded, smiling kindly. Both stood there looking at each other for some more seconds, until Taeyeon took a couple of steps further and dared to lay a quick, tender kiss on Tiffany's sturdy cheek. The girl unconsciously leaned into the touch of Taeyeon's warm lips, almost imperceptibly tilting her face to the side, secretly reveling in the unfamiliar warmth it carried.

"Good night, Tiffany," Taeyeon crooned as she stepped back and nervously gazed at Tiffany before she turned around and made her way towards the library's door, but only after uttering a timid, "Go to bed now."

Tiffany didn't answer. She just stood still, watching as the blonde exited the room, and trying to fathom her thoughts regarding what had just happened. She tried to understand why that simple kiss, a kiss akin to many others she had received, had left so strong a tingling sensation once it had ended. She touched her cheek with her fingertips, and couldn't contain a smile when they brushed the warm spot, where she could swear she could still feel Taeyeon's lips on. Her mind was still busy working trying to figure out why such a strange reaction was evoked within her, but Tiffany was too delighted to ruin the moment with her wandering thoughts, and so she just opted for shaking them off. In the end, she just picked up a thin, random book and headed back upstairs.

   ***

"Bad, bad, bad move, Taeyeon!" the woman reprimanded herself through gritted teeth as she closed the bedroom's door and placed the books on the bed. "Probably your worst, most reckless move ever thus far!"

She sat on the bed, shaking her legs anxiously. She rubbed her palms on her nightgown and threw her body back, falling on the mattress, puffing her cheeks and exhaling heavily. Disquiet, she soon got up, and sat down by the dressing table, eyeing herself in the mirror. "Look at yourself. A grown woman like you, going about kissing pretty ladies because you think they are sweet and lovely. Worse, kissing the pretty lady you are not supposed to lay even an eye on. You are pathetic," she said, still rebuking herself. 

The blonde got up and started to roam around the room, nervously nibbling on her thumb nail as she kept muttering her thoughts to herself. "That was bad. That was really, really bad. But, well, it could have been worse, couldn't it? Maybe I am being too hard on myself. I didn't mean any harm. Yes, it could definitely have been worse. I could have kissed her on the lips. That would have been terrible."

Upon replaying her thought in her mind, Taeyeon's eyes widened, and her blood ran cold. She shook her head furiously and touched her temples, massaging them rather rapidly. "No, Taeyeon, no! You couldn't! For crying out loud! Stop it!" she kept talking to herself. It was an habit she had obtained over the years, particularly after she was left alone. It usually calmed her down and cleared her mind. Taeyeon had always been a woman guided by her heart, which didn't always led her to the right decisions, and so talking to herself as she thought something through would usually enlighten her on what to do, or what not to do. It was difficult, at first, not having anyone else to show her the way when her sentiments clouded her mind, but with time, she had adapted to counseling herself. Today, albeit still an emotional woman, she had greatly improved her thinking before acting, and it was all very comfortable to her.

Still, in that situation, she felt she needed aid to rest her mind.

She made her way back to the bed and sat on its edge. Picking up the telephone set on the nightstand, she dialed a familiar number, and waited impatiently for her call to be responded.

"Hello? Who is this?" a tired voice spoke on the other side of the line.

"Irene? It's me."

"Taeyeon?!  What happened? Why are you calling at this time? It's 3 in the morning!"

"I-I know," Taeyeon agreed, twirling her finger on the phone line, "I know. I just... It's... I need to ask you something. It's silly, really, but I need to know it. You know how silly thoughts can ensue restless nights, don't you?" She paused, chuckling nervously. "It's just something I've been thinking about lately, and--"

"What did you do?" Irene interrupted, recognizing the anxiety and hesitation in her friend's tone.

"Excuse me?"

Irene scoffed. "Right. I'm sorry. What is it that you have to ask me?"

Taeyeon remained quiet, hesitant.

"Now or never, Taeyeon. I want to go back to sleep."

"Mothers do kiss their children, right?" Taeyeon finally blurted out. She could picture Irene cocking her eyebrow, as she did every time she was suspicious of something. 

"Yes. Yes, they do," Irene responded after a moment of silence, during which Taeyeon felt like Irene was already judging her.

"So... that means... stepmothers, they kiss their stepchildren, right? I mean, out of affection... motherly affection. Right?" the blonde tried to reason, uttering a nervous laugh yet again, in a failed attempt at disguising her inner panic.

There was another brief moment of silence before Irene fired, "You kissed Tiffany?!" making Taeyeon withdraw the telephone from her ear a tad because of the screeching tone the girl had used.

"On the cheek! ... Out of motherly affection, presumably," Taeyeon tried to defend herself. "It didn't mean anything! I was just being kind! She was sweet to me and I thought... I wanted to return the gesture."

"Oh, no. You do not get to use lame excuses with me, lady. There is no such thing as 'motherly affection' in this case, Taeyeon. Tiffany is a grown young lady! How could you come to endear as a child, as you said, and I quote, 'a woman towards whom you couldn't possibly see as your daughter?'"

Taeyeon took a couple of seconds to make up yet another pretense. "Mothers don't stop loving their children when they grow up, so why would age prevent a stepmother from--"

"Don't even try, Taeyeon," Irene retorted and then sighed. "Be honest with me now, did you think of kissing her elsewhere?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Did you think of kissing her elsewhere?" Irene repeated the question, now with a much more stern tone. "Come on, Taeyeon, I must know. For example, a little bit more to the side? On that area between her nose and her chin? That part of the face that starts with the letter L?"

"No," Taeyeon lied.

"No?"

"No. I thought it would've been worse had I kissed her there," she said, but realized her blunder as soon as the words finished coming out of . 

Irene remained quiet, much to Taeyeon's dismay.

"God damn it, Irene, say something. Your silence is going to kill me. I'm feeling awful enough."

Irene sighed. "Ma'am, you have a problem."