Taeyeon ran her tongue over her lips, visibly nervous and excited as she saw Jessica's name flashing on her phone. She took a calming breath and swiped the screen to answer.

"Miss Jung," the artist husked.

"Miss Kim? I'll be there in half an hour."

Taeyeon gingerly ran her finger over the straps of her black cross-back ottoman rib dress to fix the straps in place. Together with a pair of lace up stilettos, she looked—in the words of Santana—"sophisticated as but also the most able girl in Las Vegas." She waited inside the Lily Bar & Lounge at the Bellagio, and quickly experienced what Jessica referred to as cooperative alliances between her profession and service staff. "She was here for Puckerman."— those five words allowed her to be seated in a good location, be served with champagne and no questions asked.

The young artist looked around, everyone's too busy to notice—or they most likely won't care, anyway—that an underage girl is drinking by herself in one of the biggest casino resorts. Several men glanced her way, but she stared at them pointedly, letting them know that she was not free game. In her surveillance came the horrible realization that she, in fact, was not alone in this situation. Several tables were occupied by girls of her age group, similar in appearance and all appeared to be waiting for someone. Vanishing whatever thoughts were about to form in her head, the artist took a huge gulp from her glass and closed her eyes.

Taeyeon felt a soft hand rested on her shoulder. Without turning around, the artist smiled at the all familiar touch. "Did I make you wait too long?"

"Not at all, Miss Jung." Taeyeon breathed out.

Twenty four hours earlier

Jessica suppressed a smile forcing its way when she noticed Taeyeon's bothered expression as the artist went through several folders of "employee files".

"What are you doing?"

"These need to be alphabetized. You have a crappy documentation system."

"I know each and every one of them by heart. So does Taecyeon. Now, what's really making you sour?"

The creases between Taeyeon's eyebrows deepened. She callously picked a photo and held it up. "She's my age."

The turned away and focused on her computer, pretending to search for apartments in San Francisco. She sighed deeply, feeling the intense gaze behind her, unwilling to let go of the matter. "Yes, she's your age. I started when I was your age. What's your point?"

"I - I know that…" Taeyeon stammered, suddenly apologetic. "I don't know. It just suddenly bothered me. I'm sorry. She looks so…"

"Innocent?"

"Yeah…"

"She is. Seulgi… is a college freshman. But her dad lost his job, her mom is a clerk, has three younger siblings, so now…"

"She needs to find money for tuition." Taeyeon concluded. A sudden surge of sympathy and fear took over her as her thoughts brought her to Santana. "Isn't there any other job she can take?"

"There are plenty odd jobs, plus student loans. But she isn't just thinking of herself."

"Maybe I can ask my mom if there are jobs in her company. I'm sure she can arrange to help. Also that Kerry girl who helped dry my hair and clothes. She's still here, isn't she?"

"Uhm, yes. But," Jessica said cautiously. "Taeyeon, you can't save everyone."

The artist shot her an odd expression that Jessica surmised as disappointment. "That doesn't mean I can't try for at least one or two."

"Taeyeon—"

"If someone like me had the same idea ten years ago, you wouldn't have had to experience this ty job."

"Then we wouldn't have met each other," Jessica teased in an attempt to lighten the mood. But Taeyeon was taking none of it. The young artist scoffed. "That's fine with me."

"Y-you don't mean that."

"I meant, Jessica. If in some science fiction universe we're allowed to alter history, I would gladly give up my own happiness now if it meant saving you a lot of pain."

The older woman turned her attention away from the computer and reached for her lover's hand. "Well, I'm glad there's no such technology," she smiled adoringly, "I don't want a world where you're not there. There are things I would've done differently, perhaps, if given the chance. But I wouldn't want to change the bigger picture. Not now, not especially now that you're here."

The artist's hazel eyes bore the look of astonishment after hearing Jessica's words. "You really mean that?"

"Every word."

"Okay." Taeyeon stifled a smile then nonchalantly returned to arranging the folders, without the gloominess of earlier. Sensing the shift into comfortable silence, Jessica focused her attention back on the computer with the actual intention of apartment shopping. Until she heard the other girl grumble once more about their lack of filing system.

The older brunette giggled then turned her attention away from the computer again. She's certainly not getting her agenda of the day done. "You don't have to be here, you know?"

"But I want to," Taeyeon whined. "It's Saturday, so today is bring your client-girlfriend to work day."

The leaned back and crossed her legs, exposing them to a now attentive and gawking blonde girl. "Okay, then. Be a sweetheart, make me coffee and be a good secretary for the day."

Taeyeon smirked and waggled her eyebrows. "Oooh. Is that an fantasy of yours?"

"I—my what? No," Jessica frowned. "I just really want—is that your fantasy?"

Taeyeon snorted rather ungracefully in response. "You make it sound so dirty… and that I only have one involving you."

"Many?"

"Many."

"Okay."

The artist gazed affectionately at her lover who struggled to maintain composure. She decided to give the older woman time to mull on the information and so she stood up and headed towards the coffeemaker a few steps away from Jessica's desk. She smiled to herself remembering the first— and only time so far—they stepped out of the box by way of wax play.

"So what's yours?" Taeyeon broke the silence by returning with two cups of coffee. "Besides your body as a canvass, that is," she mumbled before covering half of her face with the cup, hiding her grin from view.

"I don't think this is an appropriate venue to talk about this," Jessica said with a pout.

"You… run an business. You sell fantasies. How is this inappropriate?"

"Because I'm not selling you. You don't belong here." the older woman countered with an amused expression. "Didn't you tell me you have commissioned work to finish?"

The artist wagged her finger in jest, "Way to divert topics, babe. I want to prove to you that I accept everything that you are…I'm trying to," she shrugged. "Not that I condone this profession, of course. Besides, I told you earlier, I want to spend time with you even more. So if that means being your ytary…"

"You did not just say y—You are such a dork sometimes."

"Guilty as charged."

Jessica stared at her coffee, shyness taking over suddenly. "Thank you," she whispered.

"For being a dork?"

"For… trying to accepting this part of me. I know that's what you've been doing all this time."

"But? I sense hesitation."

"It's just… I don't really like you being exposed to this, Taeyeon."

"I made that choice a long time ago, Sica. The day I decided to walk in here and… buy your time." Taeyeon reached out to hold Jessica's hand and soothingly ran her thumb over it. "Best decision. Ever.

"The brunette guffawed softly. "No, it's not."

"Okay… maybe not the best decision ever." Taeyeon conceded. "But still. I don't regret it. I don't regret this."

The grew more pensive, chewing her bottom lip then took a deep breath. "Back in New York I had a client. Youngish, good looking, had a high paying and extremely stressful job. He was one of those guys who would fix other people's… indiscretion exposed by media."

Not knowing where the story is headed, Taeyeon simply nodded and continued to hold Jessica's hand.

"Every Wednesday, that was his routine. We would meet at a bar in Brooklyn, he would order the same drinks for us and we would talk about… his clients. I'm pretty sure he wasn't supposed to do that. But that's all he did. In a very condescending way. Like it was his way of releasing all the tension. That set up almost lasted a year until his decision to move to Ohio… and become a farmer."

Jessica then rested her head on the desk, aping her lover's position. "I slept with him. That last Wednesday he had in New York, I slept with him."

Taeyeon swallowed thickly, unsure of how to react. She shouldn't feel jealous, that much she understood. That didn't mean she didn't feel jealousy. Or anger. Jessica once told her she never had with a client and had been trying so hard to trust those words.

"He stopped being my client three weeks before he left." Jessica interjected immediately, as she had read Taeyeon's mind. That made the younger girl visibly more relaxed. "He ended it because he admitted to falling for me. He offered me to go with him. A clean slate."

"You're way too pretty to be milking cows." Taeyeon drawled out, "So… you didn't run away with him but you slept with him. Why? Did you fall in love with him, too?"

"No… no, I didn't. I don't think I've ever really fallen in love with anyone before you."

"So…why are you telling me this?'

"Because," Jessica breathed in, "I'm not really sure why." Jessica laughed