After a few weeks, Taeyeon got used to the puppy. She found it odd, and a little sad, that he still didn’t have a name; she wanted to ask Tiffany if she had already named him, but something stopped her every time she tried. Taeyeon didn’t know why she was stepping so gingerly around Tiffany, around her own home. Where was the conviction she had had that evening when Tiffany had brought the puppy home?

It wasn’t like it had disappeared. Taeyeon definitely thought about breaking it off with Tiffany almost every day, especially on the bus rides home when she was surrounded by people who seemed to have such vibrant life to them. Why was she staying? Why prolong it, when both of them knew what was coming? If there had ever been a spark between them, it was gone, now. Was she staying because she didn’t want to break a routine? Was it just for convenience? Did she even love Tiffany, still?

Taeyeon didn’t quite know.

But as she unlocked the door to their silent home, the ecstatic barking from the kitchen pushed those questions out of the way, at least for the moment. 

“Hello, baby,” she said as she pushed the kitchen door open, careful not to let the puppy out into the rest of the apartment. “Were you a good boy today?"

A woof of affirmation; she checked the newspaper and saw the neat job he had done there.

“Yes, you were! Such a good boy!” 

Taeyeon bent down to ruffle his small ears — something he enjoyed with almost maniacal passion — before refilling his water and food. As he lapped busily at the bowls, she went over to the sink to wash her hands and noticed the extra set of cutlery drying in the rack.

Now, why did she start cooking breakfast for Tiffany, and why was she still doing it? A part of Tayeon wanted to say it was because she liked the extra time it gave her to play with the puppy in the morning, but then again, cracking an extra egg wasn’t really all that different from what she had been doing before. Was it the plating of it, the knowing that someone would probably, hopefully eat it and like it and— 

Taeyeon didn’t really want to know. She dried her hands, watched as the puppy tried to bite the fridge, and wondered briefly about his vaccinations.