The meeting was indeed tough. The Board of Directors of GG Corporation expected something big this year with the economic situation not being so great. Taeyeon carefully noted down every expectation uttered by the Board of Directors. So far her presentation could cover all of those expectations. She then heard one of the directors, Mr. David, call for her to begin the presentation. She calmly walked to the front to explain every slide she had made the night before. She brought up some fresh ideas to tackle current unsolvable issues with rational and tangible solutions. She also proposed some new programs and partnerships to double the company's profit. In short, her presentation was flawless and apparently the Board of Directors thought the same as they nodded in agreement. Although some of them threw complicated questions, Taeyeon answered them with flawless effort as if she already saw them coming. Other managers in the room were stunned by Taeyeon’s presentation. None of them had ever satisfied the Board of Directors as well as Taeyeon did. The tough meeting miraculously ended in just an hour and a half, since the Board of Directors were satisfied with Taeyeon’s presentation and decided to have a short break before another meeting began.

As the Board of Directors left, everyone left in the meeting room let out loud sighs. They were relieved that one of the toughest meetings they had today ended well, all thanks to Taeyeon. The said woman sat in one of the chairs in the meeting room, typing up the overall summary of the meeting on her laptop.

“Taeyeon.” Mrs. Tamara suddenly called out.

“Yes, Ma’am?” Taeyeon stopped typing to face the woman in her late thirties.

“Thanks for saving our butts today. The meeting wouldn’t have had a nice ending if it wasn’t for you.” Mrs Tamara thanked her as she patted Taeyeon’s shoulder.

“Ah, it was nothing, Ma’am. I’m happy as long I can help.” Taeyeon smiled politely.

“Don’t you think you work too hard sometimes? I mean, you saved us a lot with your perfect presentations and brilliant ideas. Please take care of yourself once in a while, your eye-bags will end up making you look like a panda if you keep lacking on sleep.” Mrs. Tamara gave her a playful suggestion.

“I’m totally okay, Ma’am. I’ve always been like this since my first day at work. I think my body already adapted to it. So, no worries, okay?” Taeyeon gave a reassuring smile to the woman. The woman opened again to answer Taeyeon, when she heard a knock on the door. Mrs. Tamara halted what she was about to say and made her way to the door, opening it to find the office receptionist holding a document.

“Hi, Mrs. Tamara. Sorry for the sudden notice but is Miss Taeyeon available right now? Mrs. Irene from Human Resources asked her to join an interview for the job opening.” The receptionist explained her objective. Taeyeon heard her.

“Could you please give me five minutes? I need to email the minutes of meeting to the Board of Directors. Please communicate to the HR team that I will be joining them soon.” Taeyeon kept her polite manner even as she spoke to the receptionist.

“I brought the applicant's files in case you want to read them before joining the interviews.” she placed the files on the table.

“Thank you very much,  I will definitely need them.” Taeyeon smiled. The receptionist nodded and made her way out of the meeting room.

Taeyeon finally sent the minutes of meeting and grabbed the file that was left by the receptionist. She opened to a photo of a girl that she just met earlier this morning, Tiffany. She immediately closed the file and mentally face-palmed when she noticed that her action was too obvious and could lead to suspicions of other people in the room. She looked around to make sure if anyone in the room noticed her reaction. Fortunately for her, everyone else was busy inside their own worlds. She took a deep breath to slow down her heartbeat, and reopened the file. She looked at the photo closely and was totally convinced it was Tiffany. She checked the applicant’s name: Stephanie Hwang. It was definitely her. She scanned the CV to find Tiffany’s profile. She also read the employment history and other details. She made some mental note to save Tiffany’s phone number and birthday in her phone later. After reading Tiffany’s CV, she closed the file and excused herself to join the interview.

Taeyeon knocked on the door of a meeting room with the  sign ‘HR Meeting Room’ written on it. The door soon opened, revealing a beautiful middle-aged woman with a playful aura.

“Ah, Taeyeon! Finally! Please come in. We’re about to start the interview.” The middle-aged woman cheerfully greeted Taeyeon then shifted her body from the door so Taeyeon could come in. Taeyeon slightly bowed to the woman as she came into the meeting room.

Taeyeon scanned the room as soon as she entered the meeting room, she found what she'd been looking for: Stephanie Hwang. She smiled politely at the pretty girl in a red dress who in response looked to Taeyeon in awe and shock as her jaw dropped after noticing the new presence in the room.

“Okay, Stephanie, we’re going to start our interview now. Let me introduce myself first. I am Irene, the Human Resources Manager in GG Corporation and this is Miss Kim Taeyeon, our Country Marketing Senior Manager who leads the team which you’ll be joining later.”

“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Irene. And n-nice to m-meet you, Miss Kim?” Tiffany mentally face-palmed herself noticing she stuttered when greeting Taeyeon. She then steadied her breath, tried to calm herself while even though she was totally nervous, knowing the girl she talked to earlier this morning was going to interview her, and if she got accepted would be her boss. She started to worry whether she said something wrong when they had breakfast. Hopefully not.

“I’d prefer it if you call me Taeyeon rather than Miss Kim, Miss Stephanie.” Taeyeon calmly requested.

“Nice to meet you, Taeyeon.” Tiffany let out a very awkward smile.

“You seem so nervous, Stephanie. To make you relax, why don’t you start by introducing yourself.” Mrs. Irene pushed Tiffany to introduce herself. Tiffany focused her attention mostly to the HR Manager to minimize her nervousness. Stephanie sometimes glanced towards Taeyeon who seemed to be focused on taking some notes in her book. Taeyeon’s expression was unreadable, Tiffany managed to keep her nerves down enough to continue the interview.

The interview took one hour. Tiffany talked a lot about her achievements in her previous company, trying to impress the HR Manager but deep down Stephanie didn't have any worries about the HR manager, instead she only worried about the impression she was portraying to Taeyeon. After all, the woman was actually giving her a hard time by throwing some complicated study case questions and expected her to answer it in the most tangible way possible. She really hoped Taeyeon’s impression of her was not bad because she really wanted to join this company as it was listed as the top ten best companies of the year by one of the most reputable worldwide business magazines.

“Okay, Stephanie. I don't think I have anymore questions for you. What about you, Taeyeon? Do you still have any questions for Stephanie?” Mrs. Irene asked before wrapping up the interview.

“I think that’s all, Ma’am.” Taeyeon closed her notebook and nodded at Mrs. Irene.

“Okay, Stephanie, Thank you for your time. We will have a discussion, and inform you within one week.” Mrs. Irene finally wrapped up the interview and walked to open door the for Tiffany.

Tiffany stood up from her chair, nodded politely to the women and excused herself from the meeting room. As soon as she was out of the room she quick-walked to the elevator, she needed a cup of hot chocolate to calm her down. Back at the meeting room, Taeyeon and Mrs. Irene discussed about who would be the next employee for GG Corporation.

Finally Taeyeon walks out the meeting room after reaching an agreement with Mrs. Irene. Taeyeon checked her watch, it was already twelve o’clock. Lunchtime. She walked towards the elevator, getting in as soon as it opened. As she reached the ground floor she entered the same coffee shop she visited in the morning. Chris waved his hand at her.

“Your lunch menu as usual? Spicy cheesy chicken fillet and iced long black with no sugar, right?” Chris offered.

“Yes, could you please add some extra cheese to the chicken fillet?” Taeyeon responded.

“Sure. Anyway, I think you should find another table today. Your favorite spot is already taken.” Chris informed her.

“Really? That’s rare. People usually hate that table since it is really secluded. Maybe, I will just take away my lunch.” Taeyeon felt a bit uncomfortable to take other tables since it was usually crowded at lunch time and a lot of people passing by made her feel insecure.

“Or maybe you can just join the woman who is at your table. You know her anyway. It's the girl from earlier this morning, she looked stressed after coming out from the building. Were you the one who interviewed her? If so, you sure gave her a hard time with your killing questions.” Chris explained.

Taeyeon pouted as she pondered on whether she gave Tiffany a hard time in the interview today. But she shrugged that thought off. She noticed that if Tiffany was still here, maybe she could have another conversation with the girl. She had no idea if Tiffany was gay or not but trying to befriend with her won't hurt anyone, she thought.

“I’ll just join her table then.” Taeyeon replied to Chris and calmly walked to her favorite spot. She watched the girl shuffling her food around on her plate. Tiffany poked at her meal with a fork without zero interest in actually eating it. Taeyeon frowned at the sight, she felt bad for being too tough in the interview, but she was a professional and did not want to leave an unprofessional impression on anyone, especially to those she just met. Most definitely if she had a crush on them.

“Hi, you stole my favorite spot.” Taeyeon finally reached the table and opened up the conversation with a lifeless Tiffany. The latter looked up to see the owner of the voice and soon gasped.

“Ah, I didn’t know this is your favorite spot. I just want to be away from the crowd. I’m sorry. I will just move to another table.” The girl replied quickly without even looking at Taeyeon while quickly trying to leave the table.

“Hey, I didn’t even ask you to move. I was about to ask whether I could join your table.” Taeyeon explained herself. Tiffany halted her actions and looked into Taeyeon’s chocolate orbs to confirm what she had heard. Taeyeon blinked her eyes several times, trying not to let her heart beat like an internal marching band as she started to drift into Tiffany’s beautiful eyes.

“So, the cute Taeyeon is back?” Tiffany suddenly gave her an eye smile and sat back on her chair leaving Taeyeon to stand in confusion.

“Please have your seat, Taeyeon.” Tiffany offered Taeyeon to sit in front of her.

“Thank you, Fany.” Taeyeon smiled still feeling a little confused yet she sat on the chair.

“Aw, so you're back to calling me ‘Fany’ instead of ‘Miss Stephanie’? So, I was right, the cute Taeyeon is back. Farewell to that serious old lady Miss Kim!” Tiffany giggled.

“I don’t get it.” Taeyeon as she continued to look confused.

“Are you always that scary, intimidating, and flawless in the meeting room?” Tiffany asked.

“Am I?” Taeyeon was a little bit shocked with the question.

“Uh-uh. Yes, Miss Kim. Very scary, very intimidating, yet so flawless. You practically made me die from nervousness and anticipation from every question you threw at me in the meeting room. But those questions were simple yet complicated which really showed how smart you are. That’s why I also mentioned that you are flawless.” Tiffany chuckled. She didn't really care anymore about Taeyeon's impression of her. The interview had ended anyway and this new friend of hers was just too cute to not be teased. Even if she didn't get accepted in the company, at least she could make a new friend.

“I’m sorry Fany, I didn’t mean to be scary and intimidating. I was just doing my job.” Taeyeon apologized while keeping her pout in full effect.

“Aw, Taeyeon, it’s okay. I was just caught off guard because you didn't look so serious this morning when we had breakfast. But in the meeting room just then, all I saw was Miss Kim giving me goosebumps with her intimidating stare.” Tiffany kept giggling while explaining herself.

“And now I am back to the ‘not-intimidating-Taeyeon’, right? No longer Miss Kim that almost killed you with the simple yet complicated questions?” Taeyeon asked.

“Yes.” Tiffany nodded excitedly.

“Good then. I don’t have to see ‘groggy-Miss-Stephanie’ either and can have casual light chats with Fany.” Taeyeon smiled in relief showing a cute dimple on her chin.

“Yes, sure. But please do not bring up anything related to the interview. It’s kind of embarrassing that I couldn't manage to keep my cool and ended up stuttering when answering your questions. Now that I'm mentioning it, I feel embarassed." she chuckled as she hid her bright red face behind her hands. Taeyeon smiled at the sight and pulled Tiffany’s hands away.

“No interview topic. Deal.” Taeyeon offered out her hand for a handshake and Tiffany returned it.

“Deal.” She smiled.

“You girls really look like kindergarteners who just made up after a fight. Seriously, how old are you girls?” Chris as usual suddenly jumping into their conversation while placing Taeyeon’s order on the table. The two jusr girls giggled at his silly action.

Chris then left the girls alone and the girls digged into their meals. Both of them ate their lunch peacefully in silence. Tiffany finished first and checked her phone to reply to some messages asking about the interview. She replied them nonchalantly and moved her gaze to Taeyeon.

“Can I have your number, Tae?” Tiffany asked.

“Huh?” Taeyeon stopped eating and gave a questioning look to Tiffany.

“Your number. Can I have it?” Tiffany repeated.

“Sure. But what did you call me? Tae?” Taeyeon asked. Tiffany ignored the question and handed her phone to Taeyeon asking her to put her number in. Taeyeon tapped on the touch screen to put in her number and handed it back. The latter took her phone back and continued tapping on the screen and not long after, Taeyeon’s phone rang, notifying an incoming message.

“I texted you a random message so you can have my number.” Tiffany said as Taeyeon unlocked her phone and showed the screen to Tiffany while wearing a goofy grin.

“Saved it already.” Taeyeon smirked while Tiffany looked confused as she saw her number was already registered as ‘Fany’ in Taeyeon’s phone.

“How could y-? Ah! The CV, right? I put my number in my CV.” Tiffany realized. Taeyeon nodded and continued eating while Tiffany registered Taeyeon’s number in her phone.

As soon as Taeyeon finished her lunch, she sipped her iced long black while opening Tiffany’s message.

From Fany:

This is Fany’s number. Save it okay, Taetae?

Taeyeon then looked at Tiffany who was still busy typing something on her phone.

“Taetae?” Taeyeon asked as she subconsciously made an adorable face. Tiffany looked up and nodded.

“Yes, Taetae. You gave me a new nickname and I just happened to give you a new nickname as well. So we’re even now.” She grinned while showing her phone screen to Taeyeon to show that she had saved her number as ‘Taetae’. Taeyeon let a laugh out when she read the new name, she thought it was not bad. No one ever called her that and it felt so special that her crush she just met already had a special nickname for her. But above all, she felt happy that finally she met one person who treated her like a normal person despite knowing that she could be a stern and work-driven when it comes to business. For the first time since she started her career, Taeyeon felt so relaxed and she convinced herself that she really wanted to get close to this bubbly girl in front of her. She would not give up on her.

“Hey that’s the first laugh I've heard from you. Your laugh sounds like an old woman anyway.” Tiffany also laughed after hearing Taeyeon’s. Both girls laughed together and continued their chat until the watch on Taeyeon’s wrist showed it was time for Taeyeon to get back to her office.

Tiffany waved her hand at Chris, asking for the bill. Chris brought the bill and handed it to Tiffany.

“Since you are the guest at this table I will pay this one.” Tiffany said.

“No, you’re the guest in this building. So I am the one who is supposed to pay.” Taeyeon insisted.

“If I may choose, I’d prefer Taeyeon to pay. This girl over here is too rich for her age.” Chris joked as he pointed the bill towards Taeyeon, knowing Taeyeon would rather pay on her own. Taeyeon smiled gratefully to Chris and gave a smug face to Tiffany. She did not care about her professional image anymore. She just wanted to be herself in front of Tiffany.

“So, I gotta get back to work now.” Taeyeon said as she packed her things and stood up while Tiffany did the same.

“Sure. I think I am going to hit the gym after this. It’s been a while since my last workout.” Tiffany said.

“Okay then. Hope to see you again, Fany?” Taeyeon offered her hand for a handshake, as usual.

“Yes, we will definitely see each other again, Taetae.” Tiffany ignored Taeyeon’s hand, instead she gave a small hug to Taeyeon which made the latter stiffen in her arms. But she quickly composed herself and returned Tiffany’s hug. Tiffany pulled herself from Taeyeon and gave Taeyeon’s favorite eye smile. Taeyeon smiled back showing her dimple and both girls finally bid their farewell for the day.

Yeay! Second chapter is up! The story is still going slow. Please be patient. More updates to come though. Hope to see your comments, critics, and inputs for this chapter as well. Hope you like it :D

TY so much,

Kim SaRa

E/N: Hi guys! I'm the editor of this story and I know it took awhile but I really hope you enjoy it! Kim SaRa and I, have put a lot of hard work into this fanfic.

Thanks alot!

Coolzab123