A few nights later, things were still the same between the rock singer and her. Tiffany couldn’t find an appropriate moment to talk to Taeyeon in private. Neither could she bring herself to tell Taeyeon about her secret so any opportunity would’ve been for naught too.

But tonight was a little different. One of the waitresses had tipped her off about the number of beers Garin, a regular patron, had ordered for Taeyeon and the band. According to the waitress, Garin knew all the band members, and were friends with them, but she had a reputation for being a heavy drinker, which was good for the establishment but a problem for Taeyeon.

“Why?” Tiffany had asked.

“Her tolerance is weak. When it comes to drinking, they all call her alcohol trash,” the waitress had explained.

So, seated at the side in one of the VIP booths, Tiffany watched as Garin sat with an arm around Taeyeon’s arm, and a beer in the other hand. Her eyes never left the singer and the ardent patron and she observed every move Garin made on Taeyeon. The singer seemed happy enough with the advances. There was a smile on Taeyeon’s face and she appeared to be enjoying the conversation with Garin. She also noted how Taeyeon staved off the beer offered by Garin. Evidently, it wasn’t going to be a problem after all.

But she realized she was wrong.

Garin was back in the booth with Taeyeon after the band’s set. This time, she had a shot in her hand. From the two-toned colours of Bailey’s Irish Cream and Butterscotch Schnapps, Tiffany knew the shot was a Buttery and she sniggered a little at the insinuation Garin was trying to put past Taeyeon. If this wasn’t a hint, she didn’t know what was.

The problem with this wasn’t the shot, however. It was Garin. She was quite drunk by then and wouldn’t take a no from Taeyeon or the band members. In the end, Taeyeon ended up dunking the shot. The singer followed it up with a huge gulp of green tea and tried to stave off the next shot but Garin wasn’t taking no for an answer anymore.

It was time for her to step in.

With a bright smile, Tiffany entered their booth. She greeted all of them with in her happiest tone and squeezed into the space on the other side of Taeyeon. Garin seemed a little unhappy with the addition but she introduced herself and toasted Garin with a shot. That seemed to appease the drunken woman and Taeyeon’s smile seemed a little less strained than before.

Tiffany managed to intercept Taeyeon’s drinks from Garin three more times before she decided this woman needed to be persuaded to leave. But just as she opened to mouth to kick the persuasion off, Garin put an arm around Taeyeon and slipped a card into the singer’s denim shorts. Taeyeon’s smile was back to lead-stiffness as she extracted the card from her denim shorts. It was a hotel room card.

Tiffany’s eyes widened when she saw what it was. And they widened further when Garin said, “That dude’s sister. You broke up. I knew it.” Garin’s grin was drunkenly salacious as she added, “Hotel with me. .” Garin patted her chest with drunken confidence. “I’ll make you happy. Very, very happy.”

“Hotel?” Taeyeon looked ready to reject Garin but Tiffany had a better idea than to try to talk sense into a drunk.

“Garin,” she started, crossing over Taeyeon to reach the drunken woman. “Taeyeon will go to the hotel, don’t you worry.”

“What?” Taeyeon blasted out loud.

But Tiffany simply winked at the singer before turning back to Garin. “Come on, get up. We’re going to the hotel now.”

“You. I don’t want you there. Only Taeyeon,” Garin grumbled like the typical drunk.

“Of course. Only Taeyeon. I’ll get you a taxi and you wait for Taeyeon in the room, okay?”

Garin flapped her hand at the shots that remained on the table. “The Buttery s. Drink.”

Tiffany grabbed the shot and downed it. “There. Empty.”

Garin tried to grab Taeyeon’s arm. “Taeyeon, come with me.”

“She’ll pack her bag and go.” Tiffany signalled a bouncer for help and together, they hauled Garin out of the bar and packed her into a cab with instructions to go to the hotel.

“Taeyeon is coming?” Garin asked yet again as Tiffany buckled her seatbelt.

“She’ll pack her bag first.”

“Taeyeon.”

Tiffany turned to the taxi driver and thanked him before pulling out and shutting the door. Then she called the hotel to warn them of Garin’s arrival, just in case the woman was too drunk to make it to the room.

When she returned to the band’s booth, she was surprised to see all the band members nudging Taeyeon and giving her the look. “What’s going on?” she asked, looking from face to face. “Don’t worry, we sent Garin to her hotel in a taxi. Your singer is safe from her clutches now.”

“Say it, Taeyeon,” said Sooyoung, giving the singer an extra hard push that sent the singer stumbling towards Tiffany.

“Say what?” Tiffany asked, confused by the odd tension in the air around them.

Taeyeon lifted her eyes and met hers, wide open and soulful. For a moment, Tiffany was struck by how deep they were. But they began to go out of focus. “Thank you.”

“Huh?” went Tiffany. She had heard it, but she wasn’t expecting it.

“I said it once. I’m not saying it again.”

“You don’t have to. It’s my job.”

Sooyoung stepped forward. “The previous manager didn’t help us like you did.”

Tiffany smiled and shook her head. “You are the band. You have an image to keep up. This sort of problem should be sorted out by the bouncers and me.”

Hyoyeon stepped forward too. “Taeyeon, you should hug her and ask her not to leave. A simple thank you isn’t enough,” she teased.

The few of them laughed and Tiffany laughed along but she excused herself quickly after that. She knew she couldn’t blame the others for joking about it when they didn’t know about her experience, but the uncomfortable unhappiness was inevitable. It would be easier to curb the discomfort in her chest in the privacy of her office.

A few moments later, there was a knock on her door. The door opened before she could say a word and the rock singer entered, black leather jacket and all.

“Taeyeon?” What are you doing here?

“I’m here to apologize for Hyoyeon’s joke,” said the singer. “But you can’t blame her ‘cos she doesn’t know.”

“I’m not blaming her.”

Taeyeon nodded. “Alright.” She turned around to leave but halted and looked back. “Thanks again. For getting Garin out. I meant it when I said it. It wasn’t because Sooyoung pushed me.”

Tiffany smiled at the gruff in Taeyeon’s voice. “You’re welcome.”

Taeyeon had her hand on the door handle when Tiffany found herself asking Taeyeon to hold on. The singer looked back again. “What?”

Tiffany took a deep breath. It was a weird time. And very late. They were both tired. But for some reason, she was compelled to say it now. “I would like to tell you the reason. If you wanna hear it.”

Taeyeon turned back and leaned her back against the door. She folded her arms and nodded. “I’m listening.”

So Tiffany took another deep breath and began.

o|v