“Tiffany, I’m hungry” Yuri whines as she rubs her stomach.

            Tiffany had banned them from stealing other people’s wallets and they’ve been on idle for a few weeks now since the hospital incident. The oldest of the three says that they should be better role models for Seohyun because she wants her child to grow and be a better part of society.

            “Unnie~ just one fatter wallet and we’re really going to stop.” Yoona negotiates, she couldn’t even move because of hunger.

            There’s only a few left from the month-long supply of food they’ve bought and they’re saving it all for Seohyun because the kid needs it more than them but being kind-hearted doesn’t mean they would be spared from hunger.

            Tiffany holds her stomach as she hears it growl too. She looks at Seohyun happily coloring the book she bought and she smiles. Her child gives her strength.

            “We’re going to have to find work then.” She says, receiving some reactions from Yuri and Yoona.

            “We barely know anything about working, Unnie~”

            “I asked Mrs. Lee if she could give me some housework even just for the day and she told me that she can give me some, like watering the plants and cleaning her house. I’ll do it this afternoon and she agreed to pay me a few bucks.”

            Yuri hums then thinks, “I could wash some cars in the gasoline station later.”

            “I’m going to stay here with Seohyun, I suppose?”

            Yuri and Tiffany laughs then nods.

            “We’ll take turns to look after Hyunie”

            “Tae Tae!” Seohyun excitedly claps when she hears the radio calling out Taeyeon’s name. She gets really excited at the name of Taeyeon because she thinks she’s her guardian angel.

            “Here are some not-so-new rumours for everyone who’s listening, the best closer in Korea, Kim Taeyeon, finds herself in deep trouble after the prank calling incident she pulled off a few weeks ago!”

            The three women face palms them as they listen to it. They didn’t want Taeyeon to be ridiculed by the media for the incident, they never intended for it to happen.

            “Tiff, listen….” Yuri says as she eggs Tiffany to listen more,

            “And rumour has it that members of the Jung and Jung board want her out of the firm for unprofessional behaviour!”

            Tiffany winces at the word and winces more as she hears laughter from the radio hosts.

            “These news reporters are more unprofessional than her!” Yoona defends.

            “What have we done?”

~~~~~~~~~~

            The employees have always been scared of her. They call her the Ice Princess for having a heart as cold as ice and for having the y look on her face at all times. She steps out of her car with her sunglasses on as she judgingly stares at the passing employees. They probably couldn’t recognize her.

            “Miss Jung” Her guard utters as he leads the way. The woman nods her head then removes her glasses, alarming the employees walking with her. They stop on their tracks as they bow in respect.

            Jessica is a softie, at least for Taeyeon and Sunny she is. Everyone outside her circle was just outside so they probably wouldn’t know how soft she is. The woman is also sensitive and kind, different from how her own employees perceive her.

            She enters the lift and the lone employee who was inside with her pushes herself in the very corner of the lift. Jessica looks at her in the mirror with a blank face, she doesn’t get why people are scared of her.

            The elevator dings and she steps out. The people in the same floor as hers and Taeyeon are already immune to her face. No one stopped a muscle when she went out of the elevator. Their lives just went on, just the way she wants it to. She didn’t want people to perceive her as someone higher even if she really is.

            She peeps at Taeyeon’s office then smiles when she sees the short girl inside, doing work as usual. She wanted to talk to her about the incident a few weeks ago. She trusts Taeyeon so she doesn’t think she would be prank calling the police force for nothing.

            “Hello Jessica, it’s nice to see you back!” Sooyoung, one of the top lawyers in the firm greets, with a huge silly smile on her face.

            “It’s nice to see you too, Soo.” Jessica greets back with a smile. She walks past the girl because she didn’t want to talk to her anymore. Sooyoung was an amazing lawyer but Taeyeon didn’t want to be around her because she was too annoying and talkative, much much different from her.

            She opens the door of Taeyeon’s office then sees Sunny helping Taeyeon with the things and information she needed. Sunny greets her then goes out of the office to give them privacy.

            “Had a nice trip?” Taeyeon asks, not batting an eye from the work she was finishing. Jessica chuckles at the workaholic,

            “Well, it could have been nice if I hadn’t known that someone prank called the police force for a wallet.” She quips, receiving a sigh as an answer.

            “I didn’t prank call. My wallet was really stolen.”

            “Then why did news outlets and newspapers say that you prank called because you wanted fun out of your boring, lawyer life?”

            Taeyeon stops writing then opens in disbelief, her life isn’t boring! She enjoys every single second of her lawyer life, this was her dream!

            “Listen Jessica, I do not have time for teasing. I did not, and I mean, I did not and never intended to prank call the police force for my wallet!”

            “But I am not teasing you? I just want to know the truth.”

            “Fine.” Taeyeon stands up then sits across the woman who happens to be her boss, “They really stole my wallet then even hit my head with a brick so I told Sunny to call the police so we can jail those three then I discovered that those three needed the money more than I needed it because they had to pay for a child’s hospital bill so I told the police that I bluffed and that those three were innocent.”

            Jessica stops herself from laughing because she knows Taeyeon would be pissed. She gulps the laughter then opens , “You really do care”

            “I don’t!”

            “Yes you do. If you didn’t care you wouldn’t tell the cops that you bluffed.” Jessica argues., “You know, Tae, you care a lot. You just don’t want people to know because you’re afraid to get hurt.”

            “Woohoo! Jessica!” Sunny’s voice was heard from the telephone.

            “Sunny!” Taeyeon shouts.

 

            Taeyeon’s been thinking a lot that night. She thinks that Sunny and Jessica are right, but not all that they were saying was right, some of it were though. She decides to stop at a gasoline station to fill her car, it’s a good thing that the pick pocket managed to give her back her license.

            She was startled when someone poured a bucket of soap in her car though. Her jaw drops when she sees a woman trying to clean her squeaky clean car. She wanted to tell her to stop what she’s doing but she doesn’t want to leave the gas station wither car soaked in soap so she let it be.          

“Just some donations would do, miss!” The woman says as she diligently scrubs the window.

            “She looks familiar.” She goes out of her car then squints her eyes at the woman, “Have I seen you somewhere?” she asks again.

            The woman opens her eyes wide when she sees Taeyeon looking at her like she did something to her in the past, “N-no, I ain’t that woman” she denies.

            “Are you sure? That woman hit me with a brick.”

            “No, no, I aint that person, dude.”

            Taeyeon, seemingly convinced, goes inside the convenience store then thinks to herself. She knew that woman; she was one of the three girls who stole her wallet. She decides not to pay her money but instead give her food so she can help.

            When she got out of the store, she sees the woman putting on the final touches on the car. Taeyeon must admit that she didn’t commit any mistakes this time.

            “Hey!” she calls the woman out, “You did a really nice job here.” She says.

            “Thanks! I got to work hard for a kid.” Yuri answers back.

            “Here you go, I remember you. I won’t pay you money but I’ll give you these as payment.” She hands her the heavy paper bags then smiles. She really just wants to help the child, or at least she thinks that’s what she wants. “I’m Taeyeon, what’s your name?”

            Yuri is surprised; she didn’t think that the woman would still be good to her even after what had happened. She wasn’t sure if she should receive it because they’ve already embarrassed her too much.

            “I-I’m Yuri.” She stutters, “We’re really sorry for what had happened, Miss Kim.” She bows at an angle to apologize.

            “It’s fine.” Taeyeon fidgets, “Do you need a lift? I mean, I’d really want to visit, I mean, get my wallet back now”

 

            “Tiffany-ah!!! We  have a visitor!” Yuri hollers. Yoona peeps from her bed then sees Yuri with Taeyeon, she was supposed to be scared, but she isn’t because Taeyeon wasn’t scary.

            “Unnie, it’s the woman.” She informs Tiffany.

            “Tae tae!!” Seohyun jumps out of the bed then runs towards Yuri and Taeyeon.

            “Hyunie be careful!!” Tiffany hollers as she runs towards Seohyun.

            Seohyun got a little excited and being a kid, accidentally steps on a banana peel, she slips but luckily, Taeyeon catches her in time however, she also paid the price of Seohyun’s excitement as she slipped. She hugged Seohyun tight to her chest to protect her from any pain.

            “Taeyeon-ssi!”  Yoona and Yuri rushes to help Seohyun and Taeyeon who was now dirty.

            “Dirty tae tae…” Seohyun giggles as she draws on Taeyeon’s muddy face. The woman wrinkles her nose then smiles at Seohyun.

            “It’s nice to see you too, little creature.”

            “We’re very sorry, Taeyeon-ssi” Yoona apologizes as she helps Taeyeon stand up while Yuri takes Seohyun in her arms.

            “It’s fine.” Taeyeon chuckles. She couldn’t help but stare at Tiffany wiping out the mud from Seohyun’s face. She really admires her, or at least she thinks she only admires her. The woman would make a great mother when time comes and she couldn’t help herself but imagine… things.

            “Fany-ah”  she unconsciously mumbles.

            “Did you say something, Taeyeon-ssi?”

            She snaps out of her thought as Yoona starts to wipe the mud on her arms, “Nothing.” She gets the towel from the girl then thanks her. “So, uhm, this is where you live?” she asks, not wanting to sound cocky.

            “Yes! We really enjoy it here although we’d want to save for a better one” Yuri answers as she puts out the groceries. Tiffany raises an eyebrows at the goods, “You bought it?” she asks.

            Yuri stops what she’s doing then remembers what Taeyeon told her in the car. The older woman told her not to tell the other two that she bought it for them because she thinks they won’t accept it, especially, Tiffany.

            “Yes, I did. I washed a lot of cars today so, I earned a big amount plus, I also cleaned Taeyeon-ssi’s car so, that’s a huge plus.”  She grins then continues to look at the goods.

            Tiffany seems to buy it though because she just shrugged her shoulders. She looks at Taeyeon then blushes as she sees the older girl wiping her stomach. If what Tiffany saw was right, she saw abs in there.

            “Unnie are you sick? Why are you red?” Yoona asks, not knowing what Tiffany just saw.

            “No, I am not sick, Y-yoong”

            Yuri smirks. She knows what Tiffany saw because she saw it too. She teasingly wiggled her eyebrows when Tiffany’s eyes accidentally landed on her. To further Tiffany’s redness, Yuri decides to play with Taeyeon for a while.

            “Taeyeon-ssi, would you like to change your shirt? We will wash your dirty shirt” Yuri offers.

            “D-Do you have an extra shirt?” Taeyeon shyly asks, she didn’t want to trouble them so she asks it tentatively.

            “Unnie has a lot of t-shirt. I’m sure she can pull up some for you” Yoona offers with a huge grin. She doesn’t have an idea of what Yuri is thinking but she just said what she knew.

            “So, where would I change?” Taeyeon innocently asks with a smile.

            “You just change there, in front of Tiffany.”

            “What!?” Tiffany looks at Yoona and Yuri in disbelief.

            “Yeah, you hold the curtain so she could change in front of you?”

            Tiffany thinks if her friends could embarrass her more than she already is. She hates them tonight because they’re embarrassing her in front of Seohyun and Taeyeon. But hey, why is she getting shy now that Taeyeon is here? She should grab the opportunity to make it up to Taeyeon but no, her heart decides to be shy.

            “You could c-change here, Taeyeon-ssi” she stutters as she leads Taeyeon to the changing area. She was shy because their house isn’t exactly a house and she was shy because Taeyeon may not be used to these type of smell since they were sleeping near a river.

            “So, Tiffany-ssi, how’s… Seohyun? She wanted to ask about how Tiffany was feeling but it was too soon to be comfortable with her.

            “She’s fine now but she still needs to take her medicines so she doesn’t get the sickness back. She explains, “Which is why we are working hard now so we can buy her medicines.” Tiffany smiles to herself as she answers. It’s been long since someone asks about how Seohyun is doing, aside from Yuri and Yoona of course. Not even Seohyun’s father asks about her, if he’s even alive.

            “That’s good to hear” Taeyeon smiles too. She was just happy to hear Tiffany being comfortable with her.

            “Are you done, Taeyeon-ssi?”

            “Yes, thank you for helping me.” 

            “Tae tae sleep here?” Seohyun looks at them then shows them her puppy eyes, she isn’t even trying. Tiffany was immediately shaking her head, she didn’t want Seohyun to get the wrong idea that Taeyeon will be staying there with them for good.

            “Hyunie, Taeyeon-ssi isn’t going to sleep her---“

            “Of course I’ll sleep here with you, creature.” Taeyeon giggles then takes Seohyun from Tiffany’s hold. She didn’t want the kid to be sad, not when she’s about to go to sleep. Seohyun nods her head then yawns. She drops her head on Taeyeon’s shoulder then drifts off.

            “Say, Seohyun’s been very comfortable with you, Taeyeon-ssi and you’ve only seen each other twice! I say you’re really good with kids, someone’s going to be lucky to have you one day!”  Yuri quips as she puts Seohyun’s toys in the toy box.

            Taeyeon returns their smiles then puts Seohyun on the bed. Tiffany watches the scene unfold in front of her and yes, she admits that someone would be very lucky to have Taeyeon. She’s the complete package; gorgeous, rich and very kind-hearted. She wonders if Taeyeon would ever be interested with someone like her; a pickpocket. She’s a lawyer; she’s supposed to hate pickpockets like her.

            But it’s not like she is interested in Taeyeon, or at least she thinks she isn’t interested at all.

            “Tiffany. Tiff. Tiff. Earth to Tiffany, are you there?”

            “Huh?” Tiffany snaps out of thought then sees Taeyeon smiling at her, as if waiting for something.

            “Taeyeon-ssi was asking if she could have her wallet back.”

            “O-oh, of course!” Tiffany rummages through the things in her own box then retrieves the wallet she stole from Taeyeon. “H-here.” She stutters as she hands the woman the wallet.

            As Taeyeon was receiving the wallet, their hands accidentally touched, sending jolts down Tiffany’s spine. She drops the wallet in shock then hugs her hand near her chest. After realizing what happened, she hits her head then helps Taeyeon to get the wallet from the floor but instead, their heads bump, eliciting a laugh from Taeyeon.

            “I think that’s enough misfortune for a day.” She jokes. Tiffany laughs it off as Taeyeon helps her stand up.

            Someone’s going to be very lucky to have you some day.

            “So, I’ll be going now.”

            “Be careful.”

            “Unnie, instead of telling her to be careful, just accompany her to her car!” Yoona pursues the older girl, Yuri on the other hand pushes her towards Taeyeon then waves her hand to say goodbye.

            “Goodbye.”

            “Err, sorry about those two. They’re just hyped because we rarely have visitors who come over.” Tiffany shyly rubs her hands as she explains.

            “It’s fine. I rarely visit anyone but your daughter, she’s different.” Taeyeon answers back in joy.

            “It’s so nice for you to ask and even visit Seohyun, she really needs it.” The younger girl looks up, to the stars as she continues, “Her father just does not care. I don’t even know where he is. He just left us one day and Seohyun never really knew him.”

            “Well, he’s an then. He just lost two wonderful girls in her life.” Taeyeon wanted to ask more but she decides against it because it’s too personal. She knows where the line is drawn when it comes to this.

            “Yeah. But I’m glad that I met you.” Tiffany unconsciously says, immediately though, she regrets it then denies it, “I-I mean, It’s nice to meet you because Seohyun loves you..”

            “She loves me?”

            “Yes, she does. She loves when you’re around and she likes to call you Tae Tae.”

            “Well, that’s nice to hear, then.”

            “Taeyeon-ssi, may I ask if you have anyone in your life, right now? I mean, you’re gorgeous and kind-hearted, anyone would be lucky!”

            Taeyeon smirks when she hears the question. She thinks she heard the word “gorgeous”, well, she admits that she is but Tiffany is so vocal about it.

            “You think I’m gorgeous?” She teasingly asks the girl.

            “H-huh? N-no, I don’t!”Tiffany denies as she hides her red cheeks again.

            “So I’m not gorgeous then?” Taeyeon fakes a disappointed look.

            “You are!” Tiffany covers to stop her from saying anything more stupid, “What I mean is, you are kind-hearted and that makes you good-looking.”

            They stop walking as they reach the car. Taeyeon faces her with a teasing smile,

            “So you do think I’m good looking?” She teases again.

            “You know what Taeyeon-ssi, just enter your car because it’s already getting late.” Tiffany just couldn’t help but smile at their silly banters.

            “Okay then, Tiffany-ssi, I shall go now.” She presses the unlock button on her car then flashes a charming smile at Tiffany, “But to answer your question, no, no I don’t have anyone in my life right now.”  

            Tiffany returns the smile then nods. She watches as Taeyeon drives off, it’s been long since she last felt light and fuzzy.

            “And to answer your question, Taeyeon-ssi, yes, yes I do find you gorgeous.”