“Have you heard, Taetae? Your younger cousin just got engaged last weekend.”

“Mhm.” Taeyeon mumbled distractedly as she tapped her fork against her scrambled eggs. It jiggled and wiggled back and forth in an uninteresting way, but Taeyeon would rather fixate her eyes on the uneaten breakfast than on her parents who were being especially annoying today.

“And your brother has decided to travel overseas since he’s been wanting to do so for the longest time now. But instead of going alone, he’s actually bringing along the nice young lady from his workplace. I will bet my left leg that they’re either seeing each other or they will be. Oh, romantic getaways! Isn’t that exciting, Taetae? Even your antisocial brother has someone that he likes.”

Not one nerve in her body was stimulated with excitement, but nonetheless, she laid down her fork to give a pathetic fist pump in the air as she said monotonously, “Woohoo, so exciting.”

Exhaling exhaustedly, Mrs. Kim turned toward her father. “Dear, are you hearing this? She’s clearly making a mockery out of me.”

He then gave Taeyeon a stern look. “We did not raise you up to disrespect your elders. Now, apologize to your mother at once.”

Giving in with a sigh, Taeyeon reached for her mother’s hand and gently squeezed it. “I’m sorry for being disrespectful. I guess I just know where this conversation is headed, so my mood was instantly shot down.”

“Oh, honey, you know I only have your best interests at heart. I hate having to listen to my friends brag about their children dating or getting married. As a mother, it worries me that you’d be missing out on that wonderful part of life since you’re constantly cooped up in that company of yours.”

“But I like work and I don’t see how meeting someone would do anything for me. I have a business to run. Dating would just get in the way of it.”

“That smart brain of yours got you to the top, but you are very dense and inexperienced when it comes to love. When you finally become interested in someone, you’ll realize how worth it, it really is.”

“Uncle Siwon got divorced from his third wife two months ago. My friend Jieun just got out of an abusive relationship. Yeah, no thank you, I think I’ll pass on the drama.”

“I know you look like a kid, but can you at least act your age for once? You’re turning twenty-nine in a couple of months for god’s sakes. It wouldn’t kill you to go out with someone. They can’t actually give you cooties, you know.”

Something snapped in her as she shot up from her seat. “First you treat me as if I’m still your little baby, now you’re demanding I act like an adult? Fine. The grownup thing to do would be to walk away before we say something we’d regret, so I believe it’s time I left. Goodbye, mom and dad.” Flinging her purse over her shoulder, Taeyeon turned toward the exit.

“Taeyeon, don’t you dare walk away from us.”

“Well, this is me now acting like a kid.” She argued back as she slapped her palms over her ears. “I can’t hear you, la la la.”

“Taeyeon!” Both of her parents called out to their stubborn daughter who was now ungracefully slamming the door.

***

Taeyeon entered her company in long strides. She was not in the mood for greetings, which was made clear by the prominent frown on her face. Her employees made sure to clear the pathway for her as she made her way to her office.

“Good morning, Ms. Kim.” Her secretary of five years, Tiffany, greeted her politely. Despite her boss’s intimidating expression, the secretary appeared unfazed by it as she laid down a tray of Oreos on her desk. “I hope it’s okay that snack time is earlier than usual. Also, Manager Im should be arriving in about five minutes.”

Plopping lazily on the swivel chair, Taeyeon began munching on her cookie with unnecessary force as if she were imagining all the people that were the cause of her current state to be the cookie.

Her third cookie remained in her hand as Taeyeon finally noticed Tiffany tapping away on her company cell.

“If you’re ordering apology flowers to my parents, then forget about it. I am not going to be the one to apologize this time. They’re the ones at fault, not me.” Despite her anger toward her parents for this morning’s disaster of a breakfast, she was still impressed that her secretary was able to figure it all out without her having to say anything.

Tiffany’s fingers froze from confirming on the order. “I understand.” She quickly pocketed her cell phone and clasped her hands in front of her.

Four minutes and thirty seconds had passed before the sweating Manager Im entered the room. When she first hired him, he was ambitious and glowing with life. The man in front of her now was unkempt and bitter with permanent frown lines.

“Hello, Ms. Kim. You wanted to see me?” The scrawny man meekly asked under the death glare directed at him.

Snorting in an unladylike manner, Taeyeon crossed her arms. “No, Mr. Im, I do not want to see you at all. But I’m forced to because of your careless and incompetent behavior.”

“I-I’m s-sorry. I do not understand what I did wrong?”

Taeyeon slammed her hands on her desk and only the manager jumped.

“Well, let me brief you on what you did wrong, Mr. Im. You’ve been working for this company for four years and have been SNSD’s manager for all four, correct?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Then why is it that you decided to stick your stinky nose into that does not concern you? Are you the boss or am I?”

“Um, you are the boss, but I’m sorry, I do not follow.”

“You ing imbecile!” Taeyeon growled, ready to launch at the man. “I’m talking about Yuri! How dare you tell her she should not have a fanmeet at the impossible possibility of underselling?! You dare speak to any member from my star group like that again and the only one not attending Yuri’s fanmeet will be you.” She pointed her finger at the idiot before her. “Now, I want you to prepare Yuri for her upcoming fanmeet, and after that, you will be transferred to manage the trainees from now on. It’s time you returned to your roots and remember how you first started. Now get out of my sight.” Taeyeon flicked her hand in a dismissive manner as the manager bowed and apologized profusely while backing away towards the exit.

As the door shut on his way out, Taeyeon fell back on her chair and rubbed her temples. “I should’ve fired him.”

“But then he wouldn’t get to suffer at the hands of the trainees.” Tiffany spoke in an upbeat voice, fully enjoying the idea.

“You’re right,” Taeyeon huffed as she swirled in her chair to look out the window. Having the entire view of Seoul was one of the highlights of locating her company building in the middle of the city. The building wasn’t the tallest, but it was definitely the fourth tallest. Her goal was to be the first, and any form of relationship would block her sight from her main goal.

Her parents didn’t understand her. Nor do her friends, she realized as she stared down at her phone and reread the messages from their group chat.

(Yoona): How about using Tinder or any dating app for that matter, Tae?!

(Hyoyeon): Dude, you should totally do it. My coworker just got with a doctor from that app. I actually wish Tinder existed before I met my boyfriend.

(Jessica): Wow, you messed up :O

(Hyoyeon): Kidding! I love him ;). And Tae, you should definitely use it. Don’t you feel lonely sometimes?

(Taeyeon): I’m fine.

(Yoona): You are like fine wine, mature and all that , but every wine has an expiration date. Don’t turn into trashy, spoiled wine, Tae!

(Taeyeon): Well, my expiration date isn’t anywhere close so…

(Jessica): Fine, let’s say being single is great. But who is going to be your plus one for Hyorin’s birthday party? Your y ex from the dinosaur era will be there, and I’m sick of her rubbing her new girlfriend around as if she’s the best thing since the existence of kpop.

(Hyoyeon): Ooh I know! Bring Zero! No one will notice you since they’ll be paying attention to the cute puppy in your arms xD

(Jessica): No, Taeyeon should bring my aunt.

(Taeyeon): Isn’t she in prison?

(Jessica): She just got out

(Yoona): She’s like fifty.

(Jessica): She looks young for her age. Her prison mates all say so.

(Hyoyeon): Okay, NO. Taeyeon is not bringing your ex-convict of an aunt to the party no matter how single she is. She ain’t that desperate.

(Taeyeon): I hate you all. Does it really matter if I go alone or not? Who cares??

(Yoona): We do!

(Jessica): Your stupid ex does

(Hyoyeon): ME xD seriously bring Zero. I miss that little fluff ball

(Taeyeon): I am not going to bring Zero as my date nor am I bringing Jessica’s aunt!

(Yoona): Use Tinder?

(Taeyeon): NO!!!!!

(Taeyeon): I do not see why my relationship status should be up for debate! Why are you guys so persistent on this matter?

(Hyoyeon): So we can quadruple date, duh

(Yoona): I feel bad that you always end up being the seventh wheel :(

(Jessica): To prove to your dumb ex that you’ve finally moved on

(Taeyeon): I have moved on. I do not need to prove it by dating someone

(Jessica): It’s been six years since you two broke up and you haven’t dated since, which makes it hard to tell if you’re actually over her or not. And she knows it too.

(Taeyeon): I am over her, and as you can tell, I’ve been busy building an empire

(Jessica): Last week at the fashion show, I overheard her telling her clones how sad it was that a certain someone was still pining for her. Cough cough. Aka you.

(Hyoyeon): The . That

(Yoona): Okay, that’s it. Taeyeon, my cousin is single. You want her number?

(Jessica): I’m telling you guys that my aunt doesn’t look half bad. Just gotta conceal that teardrop tattoo and she’ll be okay.

Anger and frustration began to seep through her pores. Being single wasn’t a terrible thing, but the constant reminder of her status from her friends and family annoyed her more than anything. She was single because she wanted to be, not because she couldn’t find someone.

“Ms. Kim, I thought I should inform you that your five o’ clock meeting with Mnet has been postponed. They admitted to rigging the system so that their own group could win, so now they wish to settle in private.”

Taeyeon's ears perked as she straightened herself in her seat. “Why would they openly admit that? They’ve been denying it for weeks.”

Tiffany grinned shyly. “I might have taken the liberty to send a couple of pictures to their management? Their boss is a very naughty man. His late night yoga sessions were not very kid friendly.”

“You blackmailed them?”

“Blackmailed? Is that what you’d call it?” Tiffany shrugged innocently.

“You’re quite the negotiator, aren’t you?” Taeyeon smirked, leaning on her chin as she thoroughly assessed her secretary. “You’re also always on top of things, never tardy, make efficient decisions that benefit the company, and you don’t annoy me like everyone else I know. So, here’s a crazy thought, why don’t we negotiate, Tiffany?” Uncrossing her legs and walking around her desk, she then leaned her back against her desk and asked the beautiful secretary in front of her, “What will it take for you to be my girlfriend?”

I have no idea why so many of you guys subscribed with just the description, but I'm happy so many have taken an interest in this. Let's all hope I don't screw this story up lol