The door slammed against the wall, clattering its way to a close.

Tiffany stumbled her way through the hall, dropping her wet umbrella to the side as she desperately attempts to kick off her boots. 

“Yeah, I told you that the meeting was scheduled for tomorrow. No. No, they rescheduled again. Did you…” The brown leather slid off one a piece, finally liberating her feet from confinement. She clenched the phone on her shoulder and slung her jacket onto the hook before pacing herself into the kitchen.

“I told Hyoyeon to put it in my agenda and notify the stakeholders of the change in time and date. It was really difficult getting them to arrive at one place. I know. Yuri will be presenting the quarterly results tomorrow as well. We need them on our side.” She pulled the bottle of dry white from the fridge and pulled the cork, pouring herself a glass that she was in desperate need of.

Tiffany turned around and saw Taeyeon sitting across the couch reading her recent purchase. The blonde glanced up to the girl and gave her a quick smile before returning to her novel.

“We’ll have to figure that out tomorrow. Yeah, I told you I have this under control. It’s going to work out.” She took a big gulp from her wine.

“What are you doing home so early?” she whispered, her hand cupping the bottom of her phone.

“I quit my job.” Taeyeon replied casually.

“You did what?!”

“T...Tiffany?” the voice rang loudly in the silence.

“Ah, yeah I’m here. Keep going.” Her gaze pierced holes through the older girl’s skin.

Taeyeon could hear the other girl pour her second, pacing herself around the kitchen nervously as she tries to solve her business-as-usuals. She rubbed her forehead as she remembers the many arguments they had in the past to not bring work home. Home is the sanctuary for the both of them and especially today, Taeyeon just wanted to enjoy the little newfound time she had for her girlfriend. Unfortunately not much had changed since Monday, two weeks ago. She sighed deeply.

“Well, tell them that that’s unacceptable. We need to get those results in, we are running on a tight budget and we can’t afford to stretch it much longer. Plus, we would need to find another date for the meeting and God knows how long that’s going to take.”

Tiffany walked over to the couch and brushed her hands over the girl’s feet, gesturing for her to make some space before plopping down in comfort. Taeyeon snatched the glass of wine from the table and downed the content in one swift move. She stood up and walked over to the kitchen, pulling another two bottles from the fridge before making her way back.

“Look. If you want, I can come in a little bit earlier and we can discuss this a little before the meeting. Get things ironed out and make sure we’re ready to go okay? I’ll do some prepping as well. This is important for us.”

Tiffany poked her finger against Taeyeon’s thighs. Refusing to see her in the eye, Tiffany poked the girl again. What? Taeyeon mouthed.

Have you eaten yet?

The blonde shook her head. She was waiting for the girl to come home for dinner together, not knowing that “I’ll be late” meant that she would return close to midnight. She poked her again.

I’m sorry.

Taeyeon didn’t care. This happened every single time and although Tiffany could be the sweetest girl on the planet, their relationship strained because Tiffany would always put work before her. Promises didn’t matter, because bills had to be paid. Taeyeon understood all that. But still…

“Well I told you that we need to do better than that. It’s not okay that…”

Taeyeon returned to her book. It was the story about a child who was struggling in his abusive home. One day he escapes from home in the hope to find relief and friends only to escape death almost every single year. Taeyeon didn’t understand why people would take such risks. Why not just stay home and be safe?

She felt a hand slowly rub over the black cloth of her pants, gently touching, caressing her thighs. She ignored the girl and continued to focus on her book.

Tiffany knew that Taeyeon was an understanding woman and she was grateful for that. If it wasn’t for the older and more mature girlfriend, the two wouldn’t have been able to last as long as they had. And although Taeyeon always said that she was mad at her, deep down Tiffany knew that Taeyeon was just a soft marshmallow from the inside.

She continued to massage the girl’s leg, knowing that as a waitress she had to stand all day. Tiffany would do that for her. Regardless of her long hours, Tiffany would always take care of her. She slowly moved her hands up and down, inching closer and closer to Taeyeon’s waist. The cheekiness crept in as she tried to sneak her hands down the middle only to be slapped away by the other girl.

Tiffany moved closer to the other girl, lying right behind her to see what she was reading. The blonde didn’t move an inch as if to show that this time it was Tiffany that didn’t matter. If she wants to make up, she has to work for it. That’s the rule.

“Okay. Let’s talk more tomorrow. I gotta go.” Tiffany put the phone on the small side table and made herself comfortable behind her girlfriend. “What are you reading?”

The older girl didn’t reply, refusing to take the first step into reconciliation. After all, it was her fault to begin with. She felt an arm snake around her stomach and clenching onto her, pulling her closer into the other girl.

“Hey, are you just going to ignore me?” Her plea was met with another silent reply.

Taeyeon knew she couldn’t be upset for long, but she had to at least pretend to be upset to make the other girl care more. Light pecks landed softly on her cheeks.

“I’m sorry, Taeyeon,” Tiffany whispered. “Could you please forgive me this time? I promise I’ll stop eating your cookies and at least clean up the dishes the next time.”

Taeyeon rolled her eyes; she could hear the smirk on the other girl’s face. “God, you are the absolute worst apologizer in the world. Did you know that?”

Tiffany smiled, she held onto the girl tightly. “You know what? How about this weekend you and I go on a holiday?”

The older girl turned her head slightly. “…W…Where?”

“What about…” The girl was all ears to her suggestion.

“What about New Zealand.”

“New Zealand?!” Taeyeon jumped up from her seat. Tiffany knew that Taeyeon had always wanted to go to the island. She had peeked through her browser history and noticed the many holiday places she had added to her bucketlist. Seeing the beautiful landscape was ranked number one. Taeyeon quickly composed herself again. “B-But why New Zealand? Besides, aren’t you going to be too busy at work?”

“I’ll make sure Hyoyeon signs me off on Thursday and then we can go.”

“You’re lying.” Taeyeon pouted and laid back down on the couch.

“I promise, I will do exactly what you want me to. We are going on that holiday. I’ll have Hyoyeon book me two tickets right now.” She reached up to grab her phone, only to be stopped mid-way. “No, don’t. You can do it tomorrow. Let the poor girl sleep too, okay? Also take that stupid grin off your face.”

Tiffany couldn’t stop smiling at her girlfriend’s gullibility and hovered over the girl to give her another kiss. Taeyeon turned her head and pulled the girl closer for a deeper kiss.

“Thank you.”