Chapter 7

“Daddy what are you talking about? I thought I told you that I am not ready to settle down right now.”

                   

“Stephanie. ‘I am not ready’ is not a valid argument anymore. You are turning 25. It is about time you stop partying. This is not college anymore.”

 

“I know dad, you have repeated that a bazillion times.”

 

“You know Stephanie I’ve always let you have your ways but I think that its time for me to take matters in my hand”

 

Mr. Hwang spoke in a stern voice. He is a pompous happy man, and therefore, hearing his stern voice, Tiffany knew that he meant business.

 

“I am arranging your marriage with Taeyeon”

 

“WHAT? Are you being serious?”

 

“Do I look like I am joking?”

”Dad I can’t marry Taeyeon”

 

“Why not? She is nice, polite, kind, reliable”

 

“I can’t live in this dark hole for the rest of my life”

 

“Don’t call your native country a dark hole! And if you don’t want to live here that’s fine! She said she is willing to move there”

 

“Daddy I can’t”

 

“Why?”

 

“Because! We have nothing in common”

 

“You can bond through your differences”

 

“No way! I can’t marry this random village girl.”

 

“Taeyeon is not a random village girl. I thought you guys were getting along. That’s why I told her to look after you while you are here.”

 

“So you planed all of this. You put Taeyeon in charge of taking care of me so we would get to know each other and then you would arrange our marriage. So you tricked me into coming here?”

 

“Taeyeon is a nice person.”

 

“How do you know Taeyeon will agree to this? You already talked to Taeyeon didn’t you?”

 

Mr. Hwang nodded.

 

“She told me to talk to you first.”

 

“OH! So you came to me all prepared. I can’t believe she agreed to this! Of course she would agree. She gets a free pass to come to the USA and finally get out of this village and climb the social ladder as well. Its like killing two birds in one shot for her”

 

“Stephanie. Watch what you are saying. You have no right to assume these things about Taeyeon.”

 

“Oh! Right! And you have all the reason to assume that out of the blue she is agreeing to this without any motive.”

 

“Taeyeon genuinely likes you Stephanie. I know a good thing when I see one.”

 

“She told you that and you believed her just like that?”

 

“Yes I did. She agreed to leave everything to come with you.”

 

“Of course she did! I don’t know why you are not seeing this simple thing. I mean who wouldn’t want this golden opportunity to get out of this junk place. She is just trying to take advantage of your naiveté and leech off you by convincing you that she will be the perfect candidate for me! She told me that her sister wanted to go to school in the states and this is her perfect opportunity.”

 

“Stephanie you are crossing the line right now! You are not going to say a single word about Teyeon. You are getting engaged to Taeyeon next week before we all fly off to LA. I never imposed anything on you. But I can’t just watch you sleeping around all your life. That’s no way to live a life.”

 

“Fine. I need a day to think.”

 

“Take all the time you need but I will only accept yes as an answer.”

 

“Tiff are you sure about this whole thing?”

“Yes Jessie! I will agree to it for now and I will show him what I am capable of. This will put him in place.”

 

“What about that Tae-whatever girl?”

 

“Don’t worry about her. She will get what she wants. She has got Daddy brainwashed that she is in love with me. I still can’t believe that Daddy is buying all her crap. You know she’s just the ordinary gay girl from a small town. She knows she doesn’t have a future in here and I am her ticket to a new life.”

 

“As long as you are sure about this”

 

“I am. I just can’t believe that I was falling for-nevermind! I am sure about this Jessie! It would benefit everyone plus teach Daddy a lesson for tricking me.”

 

“If you say so.”

----------------------------------------

“So I heard from Uncle Hwang that you agreed to this”

 

Tiffany looked up from her laptop to see a widely smiling Taeyeon, she smiled back instinctively but frowned immediately remembering what she had planned.

 

“Yes I did”

 

“Really?” Taeyeon asked eagerly.

 

“Yes really. How many times do you want me to repeat?” Tiffany was getting aggravated.

 

“Okay fine, fine! I just wanted to hear it from you.” Taeyeon admitted shyly.

 

Tiffany smiled a bit, finding this new side of Taeyeon very adorable.

 

“I still can’t believe that you would agree to this. When Mr. Hwang told me that you agreed I almost couldn’t believe my ears.”

 

“Well believe it or not I agreed.” Tiffany said with a smile.

 

Taeyeon smiled wide.

 

Umma! Appa! Haeyeon-ah good things are finally happening to me!

 

“What happened Taetae?” Tiffany asked noticing Taeyeon’s watering eyes.

 

“Nothing! I am just very happy. You make me happy.”

 

Somehow the sincerity in Taeyeon’s voice ate at Tiffany conscious.

 

Is it the right thing to do?

 

“You want to go out?”

 

“Now? It’s almost dinner time.”

 

“That’s the point.”

 

“Is there food, where you are taking me?”

 

“Yeah”

 

“Do we have to ride your bike?”

 

“No we can walk if you want.”

 

“How long is the walk?”

 

“About five to ten minutes”

 

“Nah! Let’s just take your bike.”

 

“Wae?”

 

“What wae?”

 

“I thought you hated riding my bike.”

 

“Yeah I still do, but I know that your ‘five minute walk’ is probably a thirty minutes hike.”

 

“Hehehe. Don’t worry! I will take good care of you. You are my fiancé afterall.”

 

Taeyeon said with a shy smile. Tiffany smiled at Taeyeon’s shyness.

 

“You lead the way then”

 

“Alright”

 

“Is this the restaurant where you work?”

 

“Yeah”

 

“Does your boss get mad that you are taking all these hours off to show me around?”

“Not really. I work after hours.”

 

“How many hours a week do you work?”

 

“Hmmm! It depends. Like right now. We are doing a lot of catering, plus we are catering for the Shim’s wedding. So, I work about say 60 hours a week”

 

“WHAT? Wow! Your boss is cruel”

 

“Why? It’s only fair”

 

“Still making you work after hours is not fair. Plus you shouldn’t be working more than 40 hours a week. In the states your boss can go to jail for overworking the employees. Does your boss pay extra for working extra hours?”

 

“For me it’s a bit different. I get the profit after everyone gets their deserved share.”

 

“Wow! Your boss even discriminates against you. I can’t believe that you keep mum with this horrible boss.”

 

“Tiffany-sshi it’s not really like that”

 

“Aye! Boss is here with the foreigner unnie!”

 

Tiffany saw a girl yell and run inside the restaurant. Tiffany looked around to see who the girl referred to as ‘Boss’.

 

She just shrugged off her curiosity and entered the restaurant after Taeyeon.

 

She was surprised when someone opened the door for them. The previous customers didn’t get this special treatment.

 

“Sunhwa unnie, do we have a table clear?” Taeyeon asked a girl who was wearing the same uniform as the other girl outside the restaurant.

 

“Yeah! Sunye just came in to tell us that you are coming with a guest. So I saved you the best table.”

 

“Thank you unnie! Is Sooyoung in the kitchen now?”

 

“Yeah I think so; she came in late, so her shift ends in a couple hours.”

 

“Aish! That shikshin always late for work”

 

“Boss! You are here? Weren’t you working after hours yesterday! Sonkyu told me to not let you inside the kitchen anymore”

Tiffany looked at Taeyeon in surprise.

 

“You are the Boss?” she asked in disbelieve.

 

“Err..yea-“

 

“Tiffany you didn’t know? Taeyeon-ah it’s not good to hide things from your fiancé” Sooyoung teased.

 

“Our Taeyeon-ah is getting engaged?” Sunhwa asked.

 

A red faced Taeyeon nodded.

 

“Yah! Boss is getting married! Let’s get soju”

”Boss! Can we have the rest of the week off?” some guy in the restaurant uniform asked expectantly.

 

Tiffany watched as the workers in the restaurant ran around trying to arrange for the instant party for Taeyeon.

 

She was amazed at the bond everyone had in the restaurant.

 

All the waiters and the cooks, everyone seemed to be bursting in excitement at the news.

 

Tiffany couldn’t imagine how Taeyeon could agree to leave all of these for her.

 

Again she felt that pang of guilt.

 

Should I just break it off with her and come clean? But then I can’t revenge daddy. Aish! I am so confused. No, she is just doing it for her own benefit. I am sure! She has a motive!

------------------------------------------

 

“Taeyeon-ah just try to concentrate on something else. You will be fine once you land.”

 

Taeyeon nodded nervously.

 

“Taeyeon is afraid of crowds?”

 

“Yeah and she is also mildly claustrophobic, just tell her to breath from time to time and she will be fine.” Sooyoung explained to Tiffany.

 

“Unnie, you have your passport right?”

 

“Yes. Hyunnie! I have everything. Sometimes I think you are my unnie!”

“Tiffany Unnie please take care of Taeyeon unnie for me”

 

Tiffany nodded at Seohyun and smiled a bit.

 

“Noona!”

 

Taeyeon looked down to see a teary eyed Taemin. She crouched down to be the same height as the little boy.

 

“Taeminie. Don’t be sad. I can always come and visit you.” Taeyeon said with a smile.

 

Taemin nodded and looked down trying hard to hold in his tears.

 

“Come on! Smile for Noona! You can play with Sonkyu and Sooyoung” Taeyeon tried to make the little boy feel better while keeping her own tears at bay.

 

Taeyeon laughed at the awkward smile that the little boy offered her.

 

“Okay! Taeminie! Its time for Noona to go.”

 

“Noona No!”

 

“Taeminie I have to go. But I promise to call you”

 

“Every day”

 

“Then your Noona would run out of money in a week.”

 

“Then every week”

 

“That sounds like a deal”

 

“Deal”

”Deal”

 

Tiffany watched as the young boy and the not-so-young girl shook hands and fist punched to ‘seal the deal’, she caught herself smiling at the sight.

 

Tiffany waited as Taeyeon bade good bye to her friends and Taemin and Seohyun, a pang of guilt struck her, is she doing the right thing, does Taeyeon really deserve to suffer just for Tiffany to get back at her dad? Is it worth all of this?

 

Tiffany tried to block out those unnecessary thoughts by reminding herself that Taeyeon will also benefit from this ordeal.

 

She just couldn’t forget the genuineness in Taeyeon’s eyes when she confessed her love to Tiffany.

 

Flashback

 

Tiffany woke up at the noise on her window and groggily dragged herself to the window.

 

She was about to scream but managed to control herself upon realizing that it was none other than Taeyeon, whose legs were dangling from the sturdy branch of the tree near Tiffany’s window.

 

“Are you freaking crazy? What are you doing here?”

 

“I couldn’t sleep and I kept thinking about you, so I thought-“

 

“So you thought why not pay me a little visit by creepily knocking on my window at two in the morning while hanging on the branch like a monkey”

 

Tiffany struggled to maintain a stoic expression as Taeyeon nodded her head vigorously in agreement.

 

“I just really wanted to see you” Taeyeon whined with puppy eyes.

 

Tiffany could feel her heart flutter at the sincerity in Taeyeon’s voice. She looked at the native girl looking back at her with a dorky grin plastered in her kid-like face and smiled.

 

“Are you going to keep me hanging or let me in?” Taeyeon asked.

 

Tiffany  laughed at the literal meaning of Taeyeon’s question.

 

‘Here we go! The smartass Taeyeon is back’ Tiffany thought to herself.

 

“Fany-ah my hands are starting to slip.” Taeyeon whined again.

 

Tiffany stood still for a second, hearing Taeyeon calling her by the endearment..

 

Then she quickly opened the window and watched in amazement as Taeyeon tumbled inside her room.

 

The two girls chatted until the sun came up.

 

Tiffany didn’t realize when she has fallen asleep.

 

She woke up when she felt someone delicately position her head on the pillow. Tiffany realized that it was Taeyeon and kept her eyes shut pretending to be asleep.

 

She tried hard to ignore the shivers down her spine when she felt Taeyeon brushing her bangs away from her face.

 

“Fany-ah, I didn’t want to overwhelm you by saying this to you when you were awake, but I don’t think I can keep it inside any longer.” There was a pause and Tiffany could feel her heart beating out of her chest in anticipation. She just hoped that Taeyeon didn’t hear it.

 

She felt a gush of Taeyeon’s breath as the older girl sighed. “Fany-ah I love you” Tiffany tensed a bit hearing the heartfelt confession.

 

End Flashback

 

Tiffany felt a tug in her heart seeing Taeyeon’s glistening eyes as she said her final good byes.

 

A recurring question surfaced in Tiffany’s mind.

 

Is is worth it? Just on a week’s notice Taeyeon left everything behind, her house, car, bike, restaurant, friends, and family. Only to follow Tiffany in this foreign land.’

 

Upon boarding the plane Taeyeon realized that she was a few seats ahead of Tiffany.

 

But she didn’t know that Tiffany did that on purpose.

 

Tiffany got the tickets so that she wouldn’t have to sit beside Taeyeon.

 

The plane was fairly full and it was Taeyeon’s first time flying, she looked around a bit and saw Tiffany listening to her ipod.

 

‘Just breathe in and breathe out’ Taeyeon kept telling herself.

 

Taeyeon smiled at the woman who was seated beside her.

 

“First time flying?”

 

Taeyeon nodded in response and smiled a bit.

 

After sometime, Tiffany noticed Taeyeon fidgeting in her seat and remembered Sonkyu telling her that Tayeon was a bit claustrophobic.

 

Tiffany felt bad for not realizing it sooner. She walked upto where Taeyeon was sitting and found a pale looking and squirming Taeyeon trying to juggle the head of the woman seated beside her as she dozed off with her head on Taeyeon’s shoulder.

 

It was a sight that Tiffany didn’t like.

 

Why?

 

She didn’t know.

 

Was she jealous?

 

Why would she be jealous?

 

No reason.

 

When Taeyeon noticed her she smiled a bit.

 

Tiffany smiled back.

 

“Are you okay here?”

 

“Yeah I am doing fine”

 

“Why are you whispering?”

 

“I don’t want to wake her up. She was saying that it was hard for her to fall asleep in the plane.”

 

Tiffany’s eyes softened a bit seeing Taeyeon’s caring attitude toward a stranger.

 

“Is it bothering you?”

 

“Not much”

 

Tiffany saw the woman lean a bit more on Taeyeon and decided that she had had enough.

 

“Do you know where the bathroom is?”

 

“You go straight and to your right.” Tiffany replied.

 

Taeyeon gently moved the woman’s head and made her way to the bathroom.

 

When Tayeon came back from the bathroom she saw Tiffany sitting in the seat previously occupied by the sleeping woman.

 

 Taeyeon looked back at Tiffany’s previous seat and saw her ex-seatmate. The woman looked up at Taeyeon and smiled. Taeyeon smiled back and took her seat next to Tiffany. 

A/N: 

 

to swallowbird who asked if there are pink microwaves: Yes! surprisingly there is! http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarah-e/3866569418/  

if you are inclined on buying one, there is the link. 

ALSO! Wanted to thank everyone for subscibing and reading my fic and also for taking your time to comment! it really means a lot to me! Let me know how I am doing with this fic. 

 

Thank you again!