Putting on her best smile, Tiffany waved and said hi to the visitor. She was met by a friendly smile.

“Hi, I’m Jieun.”

“I’m Tiffany.”

Taeyeon gestured at her. “She’s our manager.”

Tiffany got a wider smile from Jieun then. “Nice to meet you,” Jieun added.

“Are you here to watch G Gen’s show later?”

Jieun nodded and smiled. “Yeah. I’m looking forward.”

Taeyeon put an arm around Jieun’s shoulder and grinned. “Jieun is a great singer. She can sing and play the guitar all by herself.”

“Wow, a talented woman,” Tiffany commented.

“You’re still looking for another act for the evening slots, right?” Taeyeon asked. “You should book Jieun while she’s available.”

“I am looking for another act.” Tiffany turned to Jieun, all business-like now. “Would you be interested in auditioning?”

“Audition?” Taeyeon snorted. “Jieun doesn’t need auditions. She’s—”

“It’s okay. I should be auditioned like any other act.”

“That’s great. I’ll pass you the forms and you can fill them out while you’re here.”

Jieun smiled and her eyes disappeared into pretty crescent moons. “Sure.”

Taeyeon and the band had to excuse themselves for the upcoming set so Tiffany sat down with Jieun to find out more about her. During their brief chat, Tiffany found out that Jieun and Taeyeon had met each other through gigs many years ago. They shared mutual respect for each other and through that, they became friends. Jieun’s music style was worlds apart from Taeyeon’s however, so they drifted apart when it came to gigs. Rock bands didn’t exactly play alongside acoustic singer-guitarist acts when it came to the restaurant-bar-pub scene.

“So what brings you here?” she asked Jieun.

“Taeyeon. I recently left a pub I was playing at so she asked me to come here to check things out.”

“How do you like it here so far?”

“This place is nice. I like the wood theme going on here. It’s grungy yet homely.”

Tiffany smiled. “I like it too. The wooden furniture. Wooden floor. The rustic décor really makes this place feel like home.”

“Yeah, and I’ll get to hang out with Taeyeon more too.”

Tiffany nodded to that. She smiled too but it was a little strained and she didn’t know why.

o|v

The audition was held and Jieun was outstanding. There really wasn’t any reason not to hire her so Tiffany sealed the deal. Jieun took the triple thirty-minute evening slot four days a week and those were the days Taeyeon would show up early to dine with her after the gig.

It was the Thursday of the second week of Jieun’s employment when the singer waved Tiffany over and invited her to join them. With no reason not to, Tiffany took a seat at their table.

“I heard you two weren’t on the best terms at first?” asked Jieun with an amused smile, half way through their meal.

Taeyeon rolled her eyes. “Who told you that?”

“Sooyoung.”

“That big mouth.”

“It doesn’t matter since you’re alright with each other now,” said Jieun, giving Taeyeon the eye.

Tiffany pulled a little smile. “Have you ever fought with Taeyeon before?”

Jieun shook her head. “All we talk about is music. We have similar thoughts about music so there’s nothing to fight about.”

“Musical soulmates?” Tiffany commented.

Jieun and Taeyeon exchanged looks and laughed. “I guess you can put it that way,” Jieun replied while laughing. “Taeyeon, why don’t you ask her instead? Since you two have gotten over your differences.”

“Ask me?”

Taeyeon shot Jieun a glare but she merely giggled. “Taeyeon has an extra ticket to a baseball game. She asked me to go but I have a gig on that day.” With bright, smiling eyes, Jieun looked at Tiffany. “Do you wanna go?”

Tiffany blinked. “Er, Taeyeon would have friends she wants to go with, right?”

“Taeyeon? She doesn’t have that many friends.” Jieun threw a cheeky grin at Taeyeon. “Just girlfriends who pull out last minute,” she added with a laugh.

“You’re an idiot, Jieun.”

“Hey, you should thank me for helping you to find someone.”

“You’re assuming too much. She hasn’t even said yes yet.”

“When is the game?” Tiffany asked hesitantly.

“The game is Saturday,” Jieun replied.

“I . . . wouldn’t mind going. If there’s no one else.”

Jieun waved her hand vigorously. “There’s no one else. You are her last chance to save the ticket from going to waste.”

“Saturday is alright for me. But you can always sell the ticket if you don’t wanna waste it,” Tiffany suggested helpfully.”

Taeyeon shook her head. “Nah.”

“That’s what I told her but she doesn’t want to sit beside the person who buys it,” said Jieun, eyes rolling.

“Why not?”

“Cos then she feels she has to talk to the person or something.”

Taeyeon frowned. “It’ll be really awkward. I just wanna enjoy the game without all that stress.”

“I don’t see how that should stress you out but okay, if you don’t wanna sell, Tiffany just said she’s good to go. That’s your solution right there.”

With an uncertain glare, Taeyeon met Tiffany’s gaze. “You really wanna go with me?”

Tiffany wasn’t sure if she would regret this decision but she decided to go along with it. “Yeah. Why not?”

Taeyeon quirked a brow. “Okay then. I’ll meet you at the stadium?”

Tiffany nodded with a smile. “Okay.”

o|v

As the baseball game drew closer by the minute, Taeyeon wasn’t sure it was such a good idea after all. What had possessed her to agree to Jieun’s madcap idea? She should have just let the ticket go to waste. It was all Ginna’s fault for backing out three days before. This was one girl she wasn’t sure if she wanted to see again. Now she had to spend three hours at the game with Tiffany. Was it going to be awkward? What if Tiffany irritated her and they ended up enemies again?

“Are you gonna put that toast into your mouth or are you gonna hold it there and wait for flies to come?” Sunny teased.

Taeyeon looked at the toast, then at Sunny. “I should probably smack your face with it but that would be a waste of bread.”

“Going to the café again?”

Taeyeon shook her head. “Baseball game.”

“Didn’t Ginna back out? Are you gonna go alone?”

Taeyeon shook her head again. “I found someone.”

“Who?”

“Tiffany.”

“Tiffany the mana?”

“Yeah.”

“Woah. How did that happen?”

“Nobody else is free to go. Jieun asked her. She said yes.”

“Oh, Jieun asked her. I see.”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“Don’t ‘nothing’ me. Spill it.”

Sunny grinned. “I’m just imagining how cute it would be if you two ended up together. You and mana.”

Taeyeon rolled her eyes. “Not gonna happen.”

“Oh, you never know.”

“Not—gonna—happen.”

o|v

Holy ing fair lady. Taeyeon stared at the woman in pink sneakers, white denim shorts and a white short-sleeved baseball jersey, standing by the lamp post. Everything fitted snuggly and Taeyeon had the strongest urge to pull out her sketchbook and start sketching. That shoulder. Hip curves. . These were such great drawing material but it was too bad she couldn’t. She had to look for Tiffa—

“Taeyeon.”

The rock singer stood still, staring. The woman in pink sneakers, white denim shorts and a white short-sleeved baseball jersey had turned around and was smiling and waving at her. She closed and swallowed her saliva.

“Do you wanna get some beer first?” Tiffany asked.

Taeyeon shook her head, trying not to stare at Tiffany’s radiant smile. “You get it if you want.”

“I’ll get mine after we find our seats. Let’s go.”

o|v