The smile never left Taeyeon’s face as she read the email she just received in her personal account. The email subject alone made her felt giddy inside.

”Happy 12th Valentine’s Day”

Twelve-year was not a short period of time to spend with one person. There was a lot could happen within twelve years. There were three presidential changes in South Korea within those years. There were more than ten iPhone releases within that period of time. Queen Elizabeth II passed away and finally Prince Charles become a King. Ice bucket challenge was a thing. Leonardo Di Caprio finally won an Oscar. Same marriage became legal in US. So many things happened. But here Taeyeon was, still together with her sweet heart. The one person who sent the email which made a smile drawn on her face.

From: [email protected]

Taeyeon looked outside the window, looking at the rain came down from the sky. The drops hit the glass singing out the comforting symphony in Taeyeon’s ears. In the comfort of her bed, underneath the warm blanket, accompanied by the nature rhythm from the rain outside the window, she finally opened the email.

”Happy Valentine’s Day, my wife!”

The greetings itself made her heart warm.

Wife.

Started off as best friends in college, who would’ve guessed they would become wives? It was as if yesterday she used Valentine’s day as an excuse to say she loved Tiffany without any worry of risking their friendship. It was as if just yesterday Tiffany came into her room, bringing a cute teddy bear holding a pink envelope. The love letter which she received confession of her best friend’s feelings. The love letter which started their relationship.

Taeyeon continued reading the email she received.

”I know you must be in our bed, comforting yourself under the blanket. How convenient, huh? I also want to be there with you, cuddling while listen to the playlist which consists of your favorite songs, listening to your sweet talkings, and exchange our Valentine’s gift.

Can you believe that we’ve been together for twelve years already? And those twelve years exclude the previous six years we spent as friends. And the funny thing is, even all those years being together with you, never once I get bored of loving you. That’s how I believe, we’re really destined to be together.”

Taeyeon let out a soft chuckle as she read the first two paragraphs of the email. Tiffany was always straight forward. She wasn’t the type of person who would love bomb you everyday. So on special occasions like today, Tiffany’s sweet words meant a lot for Taeyeon. She continued reading the email.

”Do you remember eight years ago when I proposed to you in our bed room? I could not express with words how did I feel after you said yes to my proposal. I really wanted to scream at the rooftop, announcing the news, but I was distracted by the present I prepared for you that night.”

Taeyeon laughed, understanding the present Tiffany referred to, was the strap on for her gift. The present was like a cherry on top of the cake — which was the proposal. The Valentine’s day eight years ago was really special for her, and she believed for Tiffany as well. It was the Valentine’s day where they took one step forward to their relationship.

”The morning after the proposal, I woke up early and recorded a video. The video was intendedly for my personal collection. I have a lot of videos of us for my personal collection and you would watch most of it today ^^

Taeyeon smiled wide at the mention of videos. It reminded her of one of the Valentine’s surprise eight years ago when Tiffany made her play a video of Tiffany reading the content of Tiffany’s Diary. She really wanted to watch the video Tiffany mentioned.

”I bet you’re excited now, huh? This is the link to the video. Please manage your expectation. I didn’t edit it at all. You know I am not good at doing that kind of stuff, don’t you?

So here we go, baby. This is the link to the video. And don’t worry, I unlisted this video, so only you — who got the link could access this.”

Beneath the last paragraph, there was a link to the video with caption:

”Hello, Fiancée”

Taeyeon clicked the link and it redirected her to youtube and a video played for her.

“Hello, fiancée.” Tiffany’s husky voice immediately greeted her from the video. She still had her sleepy face, and she covered herself with blanket up to her chest. Taeyeon knew Tiffany didn’t wear anything underneath the blanket. Thanks to the new toy Tiffany just bought that night. Tiffany then giggled as she moved the camera to capture the sleeping Taeyeon next to her.

“This is my fiancée.” Tiffany scooted closer to Taeyeon and looked for Taeyeon’s hand before zooming in the camera to Taeyeon’s finger which was decorated with a gold ring with tiny diamond on top. “Taeyeon is mine, everyone.” She giggled once more before switching the camera to shot herself.

Taeyeon laughed at how random Tiffany was. She never knew Tiffany recorded this the morning after the proposal. It was the first time she watched this video and she found it cute, knowing Tiffany did this.

“Taetae…” Tiffany smiled to the camera, and Taeyeon smiled along to that sight.

“I love you.” The words came out as whispers, but Taeyeon could see and hear how sincere Tiffany uttered them. “I can’t believe we’ve come this far. Thanks for saying yes, baby.” And Taeyeon’s heart melted as she listened to Tiffany’s words.

Tiffany suddenly muffled her chuckle. “What am I doing? You’re literally next to me but I am talking to camera.” She then shifted her position so she faced the sleeping Taeyeon. “Taetae, I don’t wanna be a bummer. But I believe we both know that it’s not gonna be easy for us. First thing first, we haven’t come out yet to our families. How silly of me proposing to you even before we come out.” She chuckled as she playfully tapped Taeyeon’s nose. “But you’re even sillier than me. How could you say yes without coming out first, huh?” She then took a long pause, just looking at Taeyeon’s sleeping figure. “Do you know that we’ve spent thirtyfive-thousand hours together, baby? For a person to be an expert in something, it takes only ten thousand hours. But when it comes to us, I’ve always wondered, is it long enough for you to know me inside and out? Is it long enough for me to know you entirely? Or is it too short? To be honest I don’t care. We aim for forever, don’t we? Let’s be strong for each other. You need to know that your love always gives me strength, Taetae. And I wish my love for you can give you courage so no matter how rough our future journey will be, we can be each other support.”

Taeyeon paused the video and exhaled as she held her tears. Tiffany’s sweet words had always been her soft spot. The words always successfully made her heart covered in warmth and comfort, feeling the sincere love from the love of her life. She took a deep breath with a smile drawn on her face before finally tapped on play button again.

Tiffany turned to the camera and dashed her beautiful smile. “Hi future Taetae!”

“Hi time traveller Fany!” Taeyeon replied despite knowing that she talked to a video.

“When you’re watching this video, maybe I already become your wife.” She giggled as she propped herself to sit up and rested her back to the bed headrest. “I know there’re other possibilities, but I would stick to the belief that you’re already my wife when you watch this.”

Taeyeon laughed while shaking her head. This was another thing she loved from Tiffany. Even though there were limitless possibilities on how their relationship would turn up to, she would still believe in the best case scenario. She loved the positivity her wife always radiated with.

“Future Taetae, I don’t know how many time we argued ever since I recorded this video up until you watch it. I don’t know how many happy moments had passed. I don’t know how many roller coaster ride we have had. But if you watch it as my wife, I would like to thank you. Thanks for making things happen. Thanks for making things work. Thanks for still being there for me. Years might passed by, but until then, please always know that I love you.” Tiffany smiled again, a loving stare towards the camera. But Taeyeon knew the smile was for her.

“I love you too, Fany.” Taeyeon replied in whisper. Tears already wet her cheeks as the video ended. She wiped her tears with the back of her hand before switching back to the email.

”Are you crying, baby? Awww, my wife is such a crybaby!”

Taeyeon laughed at the first sentence. “You are annoying, Fany-ah” She yelled playfully while reading the email.

”When I rewatched this video, I was thinking it was funny that we got engaged without telling our families. We were so young and foolish, weren’t we? But I am glad that despite the not-so-ideal circumstances, we made this far!

Do you also remember that not long after the proposal, we finally came out to our families? Do you remember how we held each other’s hands, trying to give strength to each other not to be afraid and to keep moving forward? Do you remember how shocked our family was? Do you remember how my parents didn’t say a word and left the room after we broke the news that we were actually dating and I already proposed to you? Do you remember how Jiwoong oppa needed to do stand-up comedy just to light up the atmosphere after you told your parents? Gosh, those moments were so nerve-wrecking.

After that, we spent the rest of the year, trying to convince our families that what we have is real. We tried to show them that it’s not just a phase. We tried showing them that we need each other and we will face whatever come in front us just to be together. And those efforts were not useless. Valentine’s day 2017, we had dinner with our families to celebrate our engagement.”

Taeyeon’s mind travelled back to seven years ago when she had dinner with both Tiffany’s family and hers for the very first time. It was such a heartwarming moment of her life. When finally their families showed support to their relationship. It was the moment that made her believe, as long as she and Tiffany were together, they could face whatever came through.

”I had some snippets of footage of that dinner event. Every time I watched the video, it always brought warm feelings in my heart. To know that we got the blessings from my parents and your parents to spend the rest of our lives together. I am sure it was such a beautiful memory for you as well, right Taetae? Let’s watch it then!”

Taeyeon scrolled the screen a bit and found the link to the video.

”Family Dinner”

The video loaded, showing Tiffany’s face who were trying to set up the camera to the right position. In the background, Taeyeon could hear people conversing with each other which she believed were their parents.

“What are you doing, Miyoung-ah?” Tiffany’s mother voice asked her daughter.

“Setting up the camera. For my personal vlog.” She answered as she looked up to see her mother. “I want to have a keepsake of today’s dinner, Mom.”

Her mother chuckled before finally showing in front of the camera. “Everyone, today we’re celebrating our Miyoung’s engagement with Taeyeon. Please wish their marriage to be happy and joyful.” She suddenly spoke to the camera like a host, earning a loud laugh from Tiffany.

“Where did you learn that, Mom?” Tiffany managed to ask in between her laugh.

“I watch a lot of vlog in youtube.” Tiffany’s mom laughed along before walked away from the camera.

“Taeyeon-ah, the dinner is set-up already, why are you still in the kitchen?” Now Taeyeon’s father voice got into the camera and the camera shifted to the man.

“Uncle Kim,” Tiffany called out the man, making him turning his head to the camera.

“Omo, you’re recording?” The old man smiled awkwardly.

“Yes. For personal collection.” She explained with a cheery tone. “Uncle Kim, are you ready to hear me calling you Appa?” She asked playfully.

“Aigoo…” The man chuckled. “What do you expect? I won’t allow my daughter-in-law calling me uncle for the rest of my life.”

Tiffany laughed from behind the camera. “Thank you, Uncle Kim!”

“You wanna practice calling me Appa starting now?” The man offered, making Tiffany laughed harder.

“Appa, annyeong!” She greeted playfully, earning a laugh from the old man.

“What are you guys doing?” Now Taeyeon’s voice intruded the recording.

The camera shifted again and finally showing Tiffany and Taeyeon in the frame. Taeyeon had her arm around Tiffany’s shoulder, grinning to the camera before landing a kiss on Tiffany’s cheek.

“Love birds!” Jiwoong suddenly appeared behind them, making the couple laughed at the sudden appearance. “Sit down, Taetae. Let’s start the dinner.”

Taeyeon followed through and took a seat next to Tiffany while Tiffany put the camera back to the dining table so it could capture herself and Taeyeon who sat next to her.

Taeyeon looked around the table with a smile on her face. “Thank you Umma, Appa, Uncle Hwang, Aunt Hwang, and Jiwoong Oppa for coming today.” She thanked everybody as she took Tiffany’s hand in hers. “I am glad that you’re all here today to give your blessings for our engagement.”

Everybody chuckled at how Taeyeon formally thanked everyone.

“No need to be formal, Taeyeon-ah.” Tiffany’s father voice was heard in reply.

“Our Taeyeon is nervous?” Taeyeon’s mother own daughter, making everyone laughed, including Tiffany.

“That’s because Appa asked me something yesterday and it made me thinking that Uncle Hwang and Aunt Hwang might also asked the same thing.” She grinned nervously.

“Ah, that question?” Taeyeon’s father laughed in response.

“What did you ask, Appa?” Jiwoong joined the conversation.

“I asked Taeyeon, how would she and Tiffany make babies.”

Loud laughters once again filled the audio.

“They would need to undergo IVF process. It was quite costly though. Do you guys plan to have children?” Tiffany’s father was the one replied Taeyeon’s father question before throwing another question to the couple.

“Yes, we would love to.” Tiffany replied undoubtedly. “We know it’s costly, we already allocate savings for IVF to be honest.”

“You hear that, Taetae?” Taeyeon’s father mentioned her own daughter. “You need to work hard, then. Don’t disappoint Fany. Get a lot of money and put all the money into that saving.” He scolded his own daughter all of a sudden.

“And Fany, you also need to work hard. You guys must work hard together. Don’t be lazy just because you already have Taeyeon.” Tiffany’s father added.

Taeyeon and Tiffany laughed at the sudden scolding from their fathers and surrendered with repeatedly saying okay, and convinced their parents that it would be a teamwork between them for their journey ahead.

The video stopped and Taeyeon had the widest smile she had today. Watching the video of their engagement dinner transferred the warmths she felt that night, when their families supported her and Tiffany to go on with their journey as lovers. She went back to the email and continued reading it.

”I always find it funny every time I remember that our fathers talked about children during the dinner. It was escalated so quickly from giving their blessings to us then asked us to make babies.”

Taeyeon laughed reading the paragraph. It was indeed escalated very quickly.

”After that dinner, we were very busy. We didn’t even get to have our 6th and 7th anniversaries dinners because how busy we were. I am glad that we still managed to do the gift exchange though. Do you remember why were we so busy? There’s no way you will forget. It was for our wedding! We spent two years to prepare for everything. We even moved to States, ensuring that our marriage can be legalized. It was not an easy journey but I am glad that you put efforts to make it happened. What cool is, our marriage happened on February 14! We insisted that February 14 will always be our special day, and we decided that we need to get married on February 14. I have this documentation of our marriage, when I was in waiting room, couple of minutes before our wedding. I bet you never watch this one as well!”

Taeyeon immediately clicked the link below the last paragraph she read.

”OMG! I am getting married!”

The video showed Tiffany who was already in her classic simple strapless white gown. She was holding her phone in front of the mirror. The camera captured the reflection on the mirror.

“Oh? It’s the back camera?” Tiffany’s voice got into the video before the camera switched to front camera, showing Tiffany’s face close up. She was beautiful. The make up was simple yet elegant. Tiffany’s beautiful eyes were more accentuated, and the red lipstick complimented her full lips.

“Taeyeon-ah! We’re getting married!!” She almost screamed in excitement

Taeyeon laughed watching what her wife did in the video.

“Everyone, couple of minutes again there will be no Tiffany Hwang. I will be Kim Miyoung. Oh my God, finally!” She still excitedly announce to the camera. “Kim Miyoung sounds a bit…” She scrunched her nose playfully. “N’ah, I will go by Tiffany Kim instead.”

Taeyeon really couldn’t stop laughing at her wife’s commentary in that video.

“Taetae, you might wonder why did I change all my social media account to Tiffany Young? It’s because I am not going to be Tiffany Hwang anymore, you know?” She dashed a smile which made her eyes turned into two beautiful crescents. “I am not too sure whether I will be able to change my surname to Kim after we are going back to Korea, I will just use Tiffany Young for the time being until I’ll finally able to take your last name legally.”

Taeyeon smiled as she listened to Tiffany’s rambling in the video. She didn’t know the reason behind the sudden changes in all of her wife’s social media from Tiffany Hwang to Tiffany Young. She thought it was just a random thing people did in their social media. Taeyeon herself once changed her instagram name to GamerGalTaenggoo when she was addicted to play PUBG. But now she found out the real reason behind the name changes, her heart was full with happiness.

“Taeyeon-ah, do you know that we’ve spent seventy-thousand hours together? It takes seventy-thousand hours for us to finally get married! If ten thousand hours is what people needs to master something, by this time, we’ve mastered seven things already. But that’s true though. I feel like we’ve mastered at least seven new things since we started our relationship. We are now able to have healthy open communication, we now can respect each other even more than before, we compromise with each other’s needs, we learn how to apologize and how to forgive, we commit to each other and make our relationship works, we uphold independence as we understand that having our own individual time is also essentials, and we know how to trust each other.” She paused and smiled beautifully to the camera. “Wait, is that seven already?” She chuckled and mumbled the things she previously said as she counted it with her fingers. “Yes, it’s seven things already!”

Taeyeon shook her head in amusement, but her heart nodded in agreement with what her wife mentioned. Being together with Tiffany made her learn a lot of new things. Because both she and Tiffany wanted the relationship to work, they really put effort to learned the things Tiffany mentioned in the video.

“We’ve only been together for eight years and we learned a lot already. We might be able to be a genius in relationship by the time we reached our fifty-year anniversary.” Tiffany continued talking.

And Taeyeon chortled at that. “Yah, Fany! How could you come up with that?” She paused the video and smiled. “Fiftieth anniversary…” she mumbled, still with a smile on her face. “I am looking forward to that.” She whispered to herself and the image of Tiffany in her phone. She then tapped on the play button again.

“And Taetae, starting today, 14th of February 2019, I won’t call you my girlfriend, or my fiancée anymore. Brace yourself because I am gonna call you my wife.” Tiffany giggled and shook her head. “What am I talking about? Gosh! I can’t wait to be your wife. Okay then, I need to have final check of my appearance before I walk down the aisle. See you soon, Taetae! I love you, my wife.” And the video stopped.

“Fany-ah…” Taeyeon didn’t switch the video to the email yet. She took her time absorbing all the endearment she felt just by watching the video from Tiffany. She chuckled after she absorbed everything. “I am really glad to be your wife.” She finally switched back to the email.

”Everything seemed going to be smooth, didn’t it, Taetae? Who would’ve thought that we faced pandemic the year after? Who would’ve thought we needed to cancel our honeymoon reservation because of the pandemic? Who would’ve thought I would be tested positive Covid-19 and needed to be hospitalized because of that. And all the news about how many people didn’t survive, it scared me a lot. But what scared me the most at that time was the thought of leaving you from this world. There were nights I spent crying, thinking that it was unfair that we didn’t get to celebrate our first wedding anniversary. Another night I cried because I thought I would die and you might remarried. Other night I thought of how cruel the world was, not letting us having the happy life we’ve always wanted? What about the children we planned to have? What about celebrating our fiftieth anniversary? So many thoughts and worries I had at night. But every time, every single time I had that negative thoughts, all I needed to do was sending you text and you would video call me. There was not many words exchanged as I was barely able to talk. But you were there, you were always there. Just like how you were there during happy times, you were there as well during the lowest point of my life. Thank you, Taetae. Thanks for being my strength when I was weak.”

Taeyeon frowned as her mind travelled back to the time when the world was impacted by the pandemic. Four years had passed already, but she could still remember how scary it was for her when Tiffany tested positive, and the days after that when she couldn’t see Tiffany at all. They would have video call every night, but it was heart-breaking for Taeyeon to see Tiffany who had high-flow nasal cannula attached in her nose for oxygen supply. It was heart-breaking for Taeyeon to hear Tiffany’s heavy breath every time her wife tried to talk. It was heart-breaking for Taeyeon to think that Tiffany might leave her forever. But she needed to be the strong one this time. So every time, every single time Tiffany texted her with a simple “Tae.” she would video call her wife and do all the talking, starting from funny things happened at work, or random funny videos she found on social media. She just wanted to keep Tiffany’s mind happy, so she could recover soon. Which gladly happened after one month of hospitalization. Taeyeon still remembered that she literally gave her wife piggyback ride from hospital lobby to the car, earning a loud laugh from her wife along the ride. She smiled at the happy memory at the end. She then scrolled the screen, continue reading the email.

”Another year passed by. There are a lot of happy memories I have with you. And I wish there will be more of them ahead of us. But the life we’re living in is a circle of happiness, sadness, hard times, and good times. Eventually we faced the challenge that happened beyond our control. And the challenge comes in between one of our biggest dreams. The challenge comes in between us and our child.”

Taeyeon stopped reading, feeling her hands trembled as her mind travelled back time to three years ago.

****

Taeyeon and Tiffany held each other hands. The doctor in front of them explained the procedures Tiffany should take for the IVF. Everything was already in place.

”Tiffany will get hormones injection to stimulate healthy egg development. Our goal is to make 10 to 15 eggs.” The doctor explained.

Taeyeon and Tiffany nodded, understanding the procedures.

”After that, we use a small needle guide to pass a needle over a trans-l ultrasound to remove fluid from the follicles. And on the same day, we can collect the from the donor,” She took a pause and looked at the couple. “Do you already have the donor?”

Taeyeon nodded in answer. “Yes, we’ve got the donor already.”

The doctor smiled. “Good then. Once the is collected we will combine the and the egg using intracytoplasmic injection. We will then monitor the embryo growth. Usually it takes about five days out at the blastocyst stage. If everything’s good, we will do the embryo transfer to the uterus. Tiffany, you are going to be the birth mother, aren’t you”

”Yes, Doctor Choi,” Replied Tiffany.

”So, after we transfer the embryo, you would need to be back to the clinic ten days later for a blood test. The blood test will determine if you’re pregnant or not.” She finally ended the explanation. “Any question?”

”What about the success rate, Doc?” Taeyeon was the one who asked.

”It’s about 40% for clinical pregnancy and about 30% for live birth rate.” The Doctor answered.

Tiffany bit her lips as she heard the low success rate. Maybe she was nervous. Maybe she was afraid, what if she kept failing? What if she was not going to be part of those 40% success rate?

Taeyeon noticed the change of expression and squeezed Tiffany’s hand. “Hey, it’s okay. We’re in this together, okay?” She smiled warmly at her wife.

Tiffany smiled at Taeyeon, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes.

”It’s okay, Tiffany. This process is going to be a team work. We will work together to make it happen.” The Doctor joined Taeyeon to support Tiffany.

****

”It’s still not succeeding, isn’t it Doc?” Tiffany’s voice trembled. Taeyeon was next to her, circling her arms around Tiffany's shoulder.

The Doctor shook her head. “Not yet, Tiffany.”

With the doctor’s confirmation, Tiffany’s broke down. The tears won’t stop wetting her cheeks. “I failed. Again.” She said in between her sobs.

”It’s okay, Fany-ah…” Taeyeon pulled Tiffany into a hug. “It takes time for IVF to work. We can try again next time, Fany.”

Tiffany didn’t reply anything. She just hugged Taeyeon tight, and let the streams of tears wetting her wife’s shirt. It had been their fourth time trying, but the result always failing. She was tired physically and emotionally. She was disappointed to herself. And she knew she was disappointing Taeyeon as well. “I am sorry, Taetae.”

”It’s okay, Fany. It’s not your fault.” Taeyeon’s voice sounded calm but Tiffany knew Taeyeon was also broken inside. Tiffany knew Taeyeon put up a strong facade for her sake.

****

"I don't wanna do it again." Tiffany spoke quietly, but Taeyeon could hear it.

”What is it, Fany?” Taeyeon put down her cup of coffee and took Tiffany’s hand in hers.

”All those IVF procedures. I am not doing it again.” She muttered under her breath.

”But, why?” Taeyeon furrowed her eyebrows.

”I am incapable of being pregnant.” Tiffany answered rather flatly. But her eyes immediately became teary as she uttered the words.

”Don’t say that, please. We both know the success rate is low. We can try again, okay?” Taeyeon pleaded.

”What if I fail again?” Tiffany looked at Taeyeon, her eyes glazed in tears.

”We can try again.” Taeyeon replied.

"Try again.” Tiffany suddenly scoffed as she yanked Taeyeon's hand. “We can try again." She repeated Taeyeon's sentence with mocking tone. “Easy for you to say that, huh? You’re not the one who undergo all the procedures!” She raised her tone.

Taeyeon didn’t expect such attitude from her wife. Tiffany had always been the cheerful and positive one between them. But Tiffany who was in front of her was not the Tiffany she knew.

”Try yourself, Taeyeon! You’re not the one who is failing here! It was my egg and my uterus which kept making it fail!” Tiffany covered her face with both of her hands and cried harder. “I am a failure, Taetae." She sobbed. “I am a failure.”

****

”February 14th 2023 was the first time we celebrated our anniversary away from each other. I thought Covid-19 was the lowest point of my life, but apparently it was nothing compared to the emotional roller coaster we had during our effort to have baby. Two years of effort, resulted in nothing. Ninety-thousand hours together with you, I learned two new things: Emotional openness and emotional availability. I shut you out. I rejected all the helps from you. I focused on the failure of our efforts. I focused on self-pity because I couldn’t get pregnant. I was immersed in my own sorrow that I forgot you were always there for me. That was until you broke down, crying your heart out loud, asking me to let you in. But I was stubborn, I wasn’t emotionally available for you, I wasn’t open about my emotional state to you. I was just an empty shell, without a soul. And you left. You walked out of the door on our anniversary. Eleven years after you let me in to you life, I let you out from my life.”

Taeyeon took a deep breath as she read the long paragraph in the email. It was a tough three years for her — and she believed for Tiffany as well. They knew the importance of open communication but they didn’t know that emotional openness and availability was as important. The three years they spent trying to have a baby resulted in understanding deeper meaning of relationship and marriage. Taeyeon wiped the tears on her cheek as she was ready to continue reading the email.

“Hi, baby.” Tiffany’s voice greeted her ears and Taeyeon looked up from her phone only to see Tiffany who was standing in front of their bedroom door.

“Hi,” Taeyeon smiled and opened her arms, asking for a hug.

Tiffany laughed at the gesture and skipped her way to the bed before giving a hug to her wife. “Happy anniversary, Taetae.”

“Happy anniversary, Fany,” replied Taeyeon. “Why are you home already?”

Tiffany pulled away from the hug, still with a smile on her face. “I requested sudden half day leave because I really miss you.”

Taeyeon cringed at the cheesiness. “Ew…” She playfully gagged, making Tiffany laughed.

“Did you cry, Tae?” Tiffany stopped her laugh, noticing wet traces on Taeyeon’s cheek.

“Yeah, because of you.” Taeyeon pouted as she showed her phone screen which flashed Tiffany’s email.

“You haven’t finished reading it, have you?”

“Not yet, I am busy crying.” Taeyeon stuck out her tongue, making Tiffany chuckled as the latter wiped the wet cheek with her hands.

“Which part are you reading?” Tiffany asked as she sat at the edge of the bed, looking at Taeyeon’s phone screen.

“Last year anniversary.” Taeyeon pouted, remembering the content of the email.

Tiffany smiled before landing a kiss on her wife’s forehead. She then took the phone from Taeyeon’s hand. “Let’s read it together.” She said as she wrapped her arms around Taeyeon’s shoulder, letting Taeyeon rested her head on her shoulder.

“Did you read until this part?” Asked Tiffany as her thumbed pointed at the last sentence of the paragraph Taeyeon just read.

“Yes, that’s why I cried.”

Tiffany landed another kiss on Taeyeon’s forehead. “Let’s continue then.” She then started to read the next paragraphs.

“It was such a hard time for us, wasn’t it? But I am glad it all happened. In the midst of my sorrow, in the middle of my confusion on how should I get back on life, my mind and my heart led me to finally reached out to you again. When I thought I lost everything, even at times when I lost myself, in that time, I reached out to you, you caught me and led me back to life. And that time, Taetae. That time makes me believe that we’ve always been one team. It was never been you or me. It has always been us together.” Tiffany stopped reading and locked the screen of the phone.

“Why are you stopping?” Taeyeon raised her gaze from phone to her wife who was looking at her with a smile on her face.

“Because I don’t need to read it. I know by heart what’s the next thing in that email.” Tiffany’s smile grew wider before continue talking. “Taetae, my wife… Life might bring us up and down, even upside down. But as long as I have you by my side, and as long as we’re playing in the same team, I know we can conquer it.”

Taeyeon smiled along before leaning forward to land a peck on Tiffany’s lips. Her heart was full, knowing that the hard time they had two years ago, made them understand the significance of their presence for each other’s lives.

“I’m not finished yet.” Tiffany landed another peck before pulling away a bit.

Taeyeon didn’t say a word, but the slight nod and the smile on her face was a cue for Tiffany to continue.

“Taetae, this year marks one hundred thousand hours we’ve spent together. There will be another hundred thousands hours ahead of us. But when that time comes, it won’t just be the two of us. It will be the three of us: you, me, and our baby together. Happy Valentine’s day, Taetae.” Tiffany hugged Taeyeon and kissed the top of Taeyeon’s head before pulled away and leaned in to Taeyeon’s belly, landing a kiss on the bump on Taeyeon’s stomach. “And Happy Valentine’s day to you too, little Kim.”

****

Eiyo! Sara's here! I was in the mood of making this short story of Taeny for Valentine's day. This Valentine's day got me thinking that the time we spent with our partners is not always only consists of happy path. Sometimes we need to face challenges, bad times, struggles, etc. But at the end of the day how we overcome everything is what matters. And I think this story would be a good additional for Over Hearts for a little reminder for us, we need to be strong for each other when things are not as smooth as butter.

Thanks for reading! Happy Valentine's day! I love you guys!

Love lots,

Kim Sara