Taeyeon finds herself smiling as she sets up her webcam. The thought of seeing Tiffany on her screen sets her heart pumping. Tiffany didn’t have much time to chat when she dropped Prince Fluffy off at her shop so she’s looking forward to having a good chat with her now.

“Prince,” Taeyeon calls for the dog that earned her the chance to get closer to Tiffany. “Prince, come over here,” she calls again in a singsong and the dog comes running with its tail wagging. “Come here you cutie,” says Taeyeon as she picks Prince Fluffy up and puts it between her legs. “We’re gonna see your mommy soon . . .”

As soon as Taeyeon says that, Tiffany appears on the screen of her laptop. “Hi!”

“Hello, Tiffany.” Taeyeon lifts Prince Fluffy’s paw and waves it. “Hi, Mommy.”

“Hi, Prince! It’s me!”

Taeyeon can’t help chuckling at Tiffany’s glowing excitement. This woman is just so full of energy. “Are you in your hotel room?”

Tiffany nods. “I’ll show you around the room.” She picks up her laptop and for a moment, Taeyeon gets a close-up view of her glorious neck and chest. “It’s not very big but it’s comfortable. This is the bed. A nice queen-sized bed. And . . . the TV. But I haven’t had time to watch it yet.” Taeyeon smiles and watches as Tiffany swings around with her laptop. “Here’s the bathroom! It’s spacious enough and it’s clean. I just took a shower. The water is nice and hot. And last of all, there’s a table and a chair, which was where I was sitting with my laptop.”

“It’s a nice room. It looks cosy. I wish I were there too.” Oh my God. What did I just say? “I want to go on a holiday.” Nice save, Taeyeon. Well done, me.

“It would be nice if you were here. Then I’d have a friend to have dinner with.”

“Isn’t there anyone over there you know?”

“There are a couple of people I’ve worked with before but it’s Hong Kong. They would have only just gotten off work about now.”

“I see. So what did you have for dinner?”

“McDonald’s. I brought it back here to eat.”

“Aww . . .” Taeyeon pouts. She holds up Prince Fluffy and puts her face next to his. “Don’t be sad. We’re here for you.”

Tiffany smiles, then grins, then breaks into a laugh. “Taeyeon, you’re such a dork.”

“I made you laugh so it’s worth it.”

“You’re the best, Taeyeon.”

A bout of shyness decides to hit Taeyeon like a ton of bricks and she blushes so she hides her face behind Prince Fluffy. “Prince is feeling left out,” she says in a sharp, ducky voice.

Tiffany laughs again. “Aww, poor Prince. You’d like a girlfriend, don’t you?”

Taeyeon giggles. “He really likes Seohyun. Hold on. I wanna show you a picture.” She scrambles to get her smartphone from the table and returns to her bed with it. Scrolling through her photos, she stops at one. “Look.”

Tiffany squeals, “They’re so adorable together. They make me jealous.”

“I’m guessing this means you’re not dating anyone right now.”

“I haven’t been dating for a while.” Tiffany looks down for a moment. “What about you? Are you seeing a special someone?”

Taeyeon nods. “I see many special somedogs almost every day.”

“Somedogs.” This word seems to have pulled on one of Tiffany’s laughing strings because she sets off into hearty laughter and she doesn’t stop for a while. “Somedogs. Oh my God. Somedogs.”

“Dogs are wonderful. Right now, they are the most special to me.”

Tiffany regains her calm and nods. “I agree. Prince is such a wonderful dog. I love him so much.”

“He’s a lucky dog.”

“He’s lucky to have you. I’m lucky to have you too.”

“And I’m lucky to have you both.”

A moment of silence falls between them then Tiffany starts giggling which triggers Taeyeon too. “Oh God, we’re so cheesy.”

Taeyeon chuckles. “We are. But Prince is loving all that cheese. Look at his cute face.”

Tiffany is all smiles. “You just made me feel so much better. I might have to trouble you to video call me whenever I’m overseas from now on.”

Taeyeon returns a warm smile. “Not a problem, Tiffany. I’m happy to do it.”

“I don’t know how to thank you for it.”

“You don’t have to.”

“Oh no, I must. Let me take you out for dinner after I go back.”

Taeyeon is about to shake her head and say it’s okay when her fast wits stop her from saying so. Dinner with Tiffany is a great chance for her. She shouldn’t reject the offer. “Do I get to pick the place?” she asks instead.

Tiffany nods. “Of course. You can pick any place you want.”

“It’s a deal then. Dinner when you’re back.”

And Tiffany’s smile is warmer than the morning sun when she says, “I can’t wait to get back.”

Taeyeon isn’t sure if she’s reading too much into Tiffany’s words so she tells herself to keep it simple. “I have to check on the dogs and let Prince get his sleep. Do you want a video call tomorrow as well?”

Tiffany bites her lip and pulls an apologetic expression. “If you don’t mind, I’d like a video call tomorrow too. It’s nice to have someone to talk to in here.”

Taeyeon nods. “It’s set then. I’ll see you at the same time.”

“Same time. Good night, Taeyeon.”

“Good night, Tiffany.” She switches to a ducky voice. “Good night, Mommy.”

Tiffany smiles beautifully and blows a kiss to the camera. “Good night, Prince.”

=

Later that night, Taeyeon climbs into bed and closes her eyes to sleep. Her video call with Tiffany comes to mind and puts a smile on her face. It’s going to be a good sleep tonight.

=