Tiffany carefully applied the lotion on her newly acquired tattoo. It is tender under her touch but it was amazingly beautiful and Tiffany bubbled with joy. 

With a squeal, she posed and rounded her fingers against different shades of wall she could find in her apartment. A snap, a click, a smile and she was finally satisfied with the addition of sixty three more photos in her camera album.

It took her another hour to select a favorite from her shots, edit it and finally posted it on Instagram. 

"Keep Dreaming," she captioned as a momento to the child within her. Almost immediately, the like count skyrocketed and Tiffany grinned widely at the "Omg it looks amazing, Stepho!" compliments from her friends and family.

With the smile still plastered on her face, Tiffany succumbed to sleep with the lull of the rain.

//////////

It was suffocating; painfully agonizing for the Leo to bite back the excitement on her tongue.

The pressure around the tender skin when she wrapped her fingers around the documents reminded her of another strike from her bucket list- and she was so close to yelling, "Hey look! I finally got a tattoo!" The thought widened her smile but she kept her professional facade in front of her colleagues.

Tiffany was distracted the whole day. She occasionally steal glances at her finger during meetings and subtly wriggled her finger to feel the tenderness on the freshly inked skin. She excused herself on several occasion that morning- spending a few extra minutes in the washroom, excessively slathering the tender skin with Vaseline and slouched over in the cubicle researching about tattoo care.

It was surreal that there, on her finger reflected her thoughts. Delicately punctured under her skin with a needle soaked in ink; was a word that reminded her of her motto. Her head swam with frenzied emotions- good emotions, of course- fuzzy warmth and delirium.

2.17pm, her watch ticked and Tiffany could not wipe the smile off her face as she vaguely remembered hurdled in Taeyeon's tiny room, the hum of the rotary machine and the stinging sensation that spread from the skin of her finger to her fingertips.

//////////

Tiffany caught a glimpse of her company's partners entering the room. Her boss exchanged polite greeting with the executives and introduced his team. She straightened up and smiled wider when she caught Jiwoong's eye. The man mirrored her expression and bowed politely to her.

"I better thank him later," Tiffany thought, "and- oh no." Her face fell.

Did she express her gratitude for Taeyeon yesterday?

She recalled Taeyeon giving her advice after the nerve wrecking 45 minutes; avoid direct exposure to the sun, avoid excessive hand washing, apply lotion- so on and forth.

She remembered that Taeyeon rejected her offer and requested for a minimal amount for payment.

She relived the nagging ache at the back of her head with the scent of tobacco clinging on to her skin as her chauffeur ferried her back home. 

Did she thank Taeyeon for her service? Tiffany frowned.

Taeyeon's indifference may have gotten on Tiffany's nerves but Tiffany have values and that troubled her.

"Tiffany-ssi?"

"Huh?"

"Are you alright? We can postponed the meeting if you are unwell. You look a little..." Jiwoong lips quirked, "....dazed."

"No," Tiffany shook her head, realizing that only Jiwoong was left in the room with her. "I'm fine, just a little distracted."

"Distracted?"

Tiffany raised her hand and wriggled her fingers at Jiwoong.

"I got this yesterday."

"Ah," Jiwoong edged closer to examine the emblem on her finger. "She did a great job, didn't she?"

Tiffany did not miss the pride and fondness in his voice.

"I need another favour," she whispered to him. In an instant, his face drained of colour and his eyes flickered with fear.

"No, no!" She hurriedly explained, remembering that Jiwoong had relayed Taeyeon's words, "I forgot to thank her yesterday." She blushed, embarrassed.

Tiffany caught the relief in his face as he exhaled and couldn't help but laugh.

"Is Taeyeon that scary?"

"Trust me," he chuckled, "You don't want to know."

//////////

Tiffany managed to persuade Jiwoong to give her Taeyeon's number by the end of the meeting. She apologized and felt sorry for the man whose knees literally buckled under him when he left.

Tiffany sat on her vanity desk, pulling the bathrobe her body and dried her hair. She idly scrolled through her social medias and contemplated on how to send her thanks to Taeyeon.

"Hello Taeyeon! It's Tiffany! Thank you for the tattoo, I love it!" Nope, too enthusiastic.

"Hi Taeyeon, Tiffany here. Thank you for the other day." Nah, too cold.

"Hey Taeyeon, it's Tiffany. Remember me? I just want to thank you for the tattoo that day." Oh god, too desperate.

Tiffany scratched her chin and stared at her tattoo. She perked up at an idea that clicked in her head- she could do what she is best at! Tiffany made a peace sign; making sure the tattoo is visible and grinned at the camera.

"There," she nodded proudly at her self taken photograph.

"Thank you, Taeyeon." She typed and sent the message, feeling oddly relieved and contented.