Tails a’ wagging, tongues a’ hanging. They all come a’ running the moment Taeyeon lifts the lid of the huge pot. She stirs the stew in it with a big wooden spoon and is satisfied to see that the consistency is smooth overall. The ingredients are soft and it is mushy, with no flowing liquid visible. Perfect. She scoops the stew out onto eight dishes and leaves them to cool.

“Alright, alright, you gotta let me out, kids,” she says to the eight dogs that are hanging around the gate that keeps them out of the kitchen. She steps over the gate and the dogs swarm around her leg, looking at her with hopeful eyes. She chuckles and pets a few of their heads. “Dinner will be ready real soon. Let me take a shower first.” She hops into the shower for a quick wash down and emerges in fresh new clothes—her favourite blue flannel shirt and black sweats—and heads to the kitchen to bring out the puppy stew. The patter of paws is followed by a flurry of excited barks when she brings out the dishes and the dogs go right for it as soon as she puts the dishes on the floor in the food area. While the dogs are busy eating, she takes the chance to clean out their sleeping cushions and play area. Her little dog care business has a reputation for being clean and safe and she intends to keep it up.

Sometime later, the door sensor bell rings. A familiar face appears and she smiles in greeting. The client’s dog is returned and Taeyeon gives the cute little sausage dog a pet before her client leaves.

“Bye, Jangshin,” she says to the dog and the owner says bye with a nod and leaves. This client of hers is a man of few words. But he is a good client who sends his dog to her for a few days every week. He is a busy man who flies in and out of the country and such people are her best clients. The next best clients are the ones who send their dogs to her regularly to be groomed.

But the sausage dog’s owner is not her favourite client. Favourite as in the client she looks forward to seeing the most (she treats all dogs equally, regardless of who their owners are). Her favourite client is another busy owner who flies in and out of the country relatively often as well. Not as frequently as Jangshin’s owner but this client sends her dog for grooming more often so she gets to see her more as well.

While Taeyeon looks forward to seeing this particular owner the most, she also likes her client’s dog a lot. It is called Prince Fluffy and is an adorable Maltese, bright and playful. Its owner sends it for grooming and care at least twice a week because this breed of dogs require frequent grooming to keep its coat sheared short and well-brushed. It also needs companionship and does not like being left alone for more than a few hours. As a result, Taeyeon has Prince Fluffy over at her shop a lot more than the other dogs.

The bell goes off again and a familiar voice resounds through her little shop.

“Prince Fluffy!”

Taeyeon walks out to the reception immediately. The Tiffany who walks in today is wearing a lovely smile as usual. It is one of the things Taeyeon likes most about Tiffany—her never ending positivity. Along with the smile comes an equally lovely dress. A creamy-white cotton dress, partially covered by the long woollen coat that hangs over her shoulders and falls to her knees.

“Hi, Tiffany. Here for the cutest dog in the world?”

“Yes, I am. How was he today? Did he give you any trouble?”

Taeyeon shakes her head. “Prince was a good boy today.” It had taken effort to housebreak Prince at first but as time passed by, Prince got used to her shop and learnt to respect her. “I think he’s taken to another Maltese recently,” she adds with a giggle. “He’s always sticking to her.”

“Oh?” Tiffany’s eye flash with curiosity. “Which one is it? I’d like to see her.”

“Her owner came by earlier to pick her up but I took a video of them. I can show you. Come on in, I’ll bring Prince out as well.” She retrieves her phone from the drawer and picks Prince Fluffy up. “Your mommy is here to bring you home,” she says to Prince Fluffy. It is active, even in her arms, and she has to be careful to hold it firmly. And a slew of yapping commences when she walks out of the dog care room into the reception area.

“Prince!” Tiffany takes the dog from Taeyeon’s arms and it is ecstatic. All wriggles and squirms and barks. “Calm down, Prince. Calm down, boy.”

I pet it as Tiffany sits with it in her arms and after a while, it is calm enough for me to show Tiffany the video. “He’s adorable. Look.”

Tiffany is all smiles as she watches how her dog follows the female Maltese everywhere. “Aww, Prince, you like her a lot, don’t you. You little rascal.”

“They are very cute together,” Taeyeon says as she puts her phone away.

“Thanks for taking such good care of Prince. He really likes you.”

“It’s what I should do as the caretaker.”

“Oh and I brought you a present. Happy Valentine’s Day, Taeyeon.”

“Thank you, Tiffany.” Taeyeon accepts the pink box with a smile. “You didn’t have to.”

“But I want to. It’s the little things that show you care, like how you trim Prince’s fur for free when he’s here. It’s just a small box of chocolates to show I really appreciate what you do for us.”

“I’m happy to do it.”

“I’m so lucky to have you.”

Taeyeon smiles. Tiffany has no idea how happy her words made Taeyeon feel. “Where are you flying to on your next trip?”

“I’m flying to Hong Kong but I’m crossing over to Shenzhen as well. The budget is tight. They want me to find similar material for a lower price so I have to go to Shenzhen.”

“It must be nice to be able to fly to so many countries.”

“It’s nice at first. But after a while, it gets tiring.”

Taeyeon nods. “I can imagine. You probably feel homesick?”

“Mhm. I miss my home and Prince.”

“Mmm, you’ll be there for four days,” says Taeyeon thoughtfully as she looks at the bookings calendar. “If you really miss Prince a lot, I can video call you and you can talk to him. Would you like that?”

“I don’t want to trouble you. You’re already helping me a lot.”

“It wouldn’t be much trouble. I could do it while I brush his fur.”

“Really? You would do it?”

Taeyeon nods and smiles. “Sure.”

Tiffany puts Prince Fluffy on the floor and gives Taeyeon a hug. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

Taeyeon pats her back and hopes valiantly for her heart to stay calm and not give her away. “We’re friends, aren’t we? You don’t have to thank me this much. Besides, you prepared a present for me but I have nothing to give to you. This will be my gift to you.”

Tiffany’s smile is stunning. Literally. “I look forward to it then.” She bends to pick Prince Fluffy up. “I’ll see you in a few days.”

Taeyeon nods and smiles. She finds it hard to do anything else when Tiffany is smiling at her like that. “See you.”

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