Tiffany felt unbalanced the whole day, starting from the moment she got up. 

She was alone in the bed, which was nothing new. But it was more than just “alone”; it was “empty”, as in "someone was there", who now wasn’t. Someone had made their side of the bed, which was maybe more jarring than if it had been left mussed up, and that was where the off-kilter feeling began.

Breakfast was on the table — still warm — and as Ginger sat at her feet, watching her eat, Tiffany couldn’t help but remember how he had snuggled with Taeyeon the whole night, instead of with her. Did he…did he secretly like Taeyeon more? “Do you just sleep in my room because it’s warmer?"

Ginger blinked once before getting up to play with his ball.

At work, everything was normal. All the way until Soohee from Management started to talk about her engagement at lunch. Tiffany had been listening with half an ear, picking at her rice, but when Soohee suddenly fell silent, Tiffany looked up and found everyone at the table studiously avoiding her eyes. A beat later and Sooyoung started talking about some antique café; while her friends joined in with relief, Tiffany smiled along and wondered if that pity in their eyes had always been there, and if it was really valid anymore…you know? Or did sleeping in the same bed as her almost-ex not count for anything?

Traffic was inexplicably light, which meant that Tiffany got home early enough to find Taeyeon in the kitchen, halfway into making dinner. An odd dilemma: did Tiffany go to her room and pretend she had work, or did she stay and help in the kitchen? Eventually, she decided to stay, and for fifteen minutes they worked together, washing the rice, the vegetables, watching the stew; and even in this eerily familiar rhythm, Tiffany felt unsettled. 

After dinner, she washed the dishes while Taeyeon fed Ginger. Now, this was something she was used to, something not new. And in the hours from then till bedtime, Tiffany felt like she was finally settling into her day. 

She climbed into bed that night without working on her laptop, on account of having unusually finished all her work at the office. She waited for Taeyeon to get settled in, waited for Ginger to once again curl up with Taeyeon, before turning off the lights. The last thing Tiffany saw that night was Taeyeon’s back. And it was with that image in her mind’s eye that she slowly, finally settled into an uneasy sleep.