It was the fifth meeting when Taeyeon felt like losing it. She was tired, stressed out – her brain was literally on fire. All these marketing strategy, statistic, budgeting whatsoever drove her insane. She thought her parents would give her time to warming up with work world. But of course, no, no such thing as that. The vice president position fell straight onto her lap the first day she walked into the building.

Even after working for almost a year and half, she had not got used to it. Low curses always managed to escape from from time to time. She had gone overseas to broaden their business with her parents. Her least favorite moment aside from boring – full of meeting was the flight. Their private jet was sufficient for twenty people but that was not big enough to keep the distance from them.

“What do you think, Ms. Kim?”

Taeyeon subtly raised her brow, trying to formulate a diplomatic opinion since she didn’t hear a thing.

“Just say yes, Ms. Kim.” Mr. Bo muttered under his breath. His hand was delicately covering half of his mouth so no one would notice his action.

“Marvelous idea, Ms. Choi.” Taeyeon nodded professionally. “I think we’re good to go.”

To go where? She’d worry about it tomorrow – no, Monday. She’d worry about it on Monday. Tonight, she’d fetch Tiffany from her shared apartment with Sooyoung, take her to her condo and they’d be having a good meal accompanied with good wine and maybe multiple physical pleasures after.

When it was almost the time to wrap up the meeting, her private secretary interrupted. Her face was in total horror. She apologized to the board, bowing ninety degree towards all of them before she proceeded her way towards Taeyeon.

“The president is on the line, Ms. Kim.”

Unsurely, Taeyeon took the phone from the young woman. She excused herself and told the board to finish up without her. As she was out from the meeting room, she attached the device on her ear.

“Good evening, Sir.” She greeted her own father formally.

“What did I tell you about keeping it as a secret?” His voice was colder than usual.

Taeyeon’s brows wrinkled in confusion. “What are you talking about? It what?”

She could hear a sigh at the end of the phone. A sigh that said what an incredible ignorant human. Taeyeon held her breath, preparing herself for vicious words that would come in no time.

“I’m in the middle of important meeting with Secretary of Commerce right now. Just follow the script. I don’t have time to always clean up the mess you pleasingly make. So try harder to keep your manner in the right track.”  

With that, the line was off.

“What in the world?” Taeyeon stared at the phone confusedly. She didn’t do anything wrong these past couple days. Meeting people was all she did.

“Ms. Kim?” An older man, Mr. Shin, the company’s PR, ran towards her with a file in his hold.

“What’s going on?” Taeyeon asked as she took the file he offered.

“Dispatch has leaked your photos with Ms. Hwang just now. It’s all over the internet.” He tapped his tablet then showed it to his boss. “As a matter of fact, it is on the breaking news right this second.”

Taeyeon’s jaw fell to the ground. Her eyes were wide as she read the article and the pictures of her and Tiffany in slightly compromising position. Tiffany was on her lap as they were making out. She remembered that day she was tipsy – both of them were. Those pictures were taken at Taeyeon’s friend birthday party last week. The event was held at a private club for close friends only. As it said private, no photos were allowed. Those who attended were prestigious people. They valued privacy like no other.

“Look, Ms. Kim, these pictures are kind of blur. They are matchmaking your outfit with the pictures of you outside the venue. I’ve made your statement for the press conference. Stick to it and you’ll be fine. I will try everything in my power to quiet it down as soon as possible.”

“I need to talk to Tiffany.” Taeyeon spoke shakily.

“I’ve talked to Ms. Hwang. She has agreed.”

“What the hell?! Tiffany Hwang is my girlfriend! She’s not yours!” Taeyeon snapped angrily. “I should be the one talking to her!”

The PR guy straightened his posture professionally. “Ms. Hwang is a social media influencer. People have bombarded all of her social media platforms demanding answer. We need immediate action, Ms. Kim. We have to prevent her from making unfavorable statement against you.”

“Against me?! She’s not my enemy!” Taeyeon shouted furiously. She turned her heels and walked rapidly to her office. She had left her phone there since it needed charging.

She disconnected the cable roughly. There were seven missed calls from her girlfriend. Panicky, she dialed Tiffany’s number.

“Hey, this is Tiffany. Leave a message.”

When she heard the voicemail, Taeyeon’s legs almost gave away. She leaned on the huge bookshelf, feeling terrified. Tiffany never turned off her phone, ever. Even when they were spending time together, she’d only put it on silence.

“Ms. Kim?” Mr. Shin was standing by the doorway. “We’re ready whenever you are. I’ll be waiting outside.”

Taeyeon took a moment to breathe after she was left alone. Her head was spinning. It was ironically fantastic how easy people figuring out the girl she was with. They were always careful. No one had ever got a sniff of their relationship for three and half years. Or… or she was just too naïve. Maybe some people had it but her parents were quick to erase the evidences.

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