"Ready for the Confession Corner Taeyeon?" Soyeon-unnie asked through the chatbox on the computer screen.

I was going to be on air in an hour and we were double-checking all the audio panels for the radio show. Reading quietly and preparing alone, I found myself musing and mocking simultaneously while getting all comfortable in my own swivel chair behind the booth. Sitting on this thing for two long hours should be a treat. 

"Why do I have to do this again unnie? Remind me?" I sluggishly typed back and gave her a double brow high up on the forehead as I watched back beyond the glass.

PD-nim popped up with another window on the monitor and a detestful frown just dotted my face.

"Coz you have to, it's your job or else you get fired." PD-nim replied. I looked over the screen top and he was flipping his fingers, back and forth from me and to his eyeballs mouthing "I'm watching you.".

Wow. What a douchebag. Displeased, I stuck my tongue out briefly at him when he wasn't looking and rolled my eyes while twirling my pen in hand.

Ji-eun, standing beside me, was the only one who caught me with my little rebellion and I immediately placed my index before my lips, signalling her to keep quiet. That made her shockingly giggle and I couldn't help but chuckle back as she nodded and rechecked the camera for broadcast.

Roughly entertained, I then proceeded to where I left off from my job for tonight. Oddly, I was actually in a better mood than previous days and it even seemed like people from the radio station had also noticed. I barely protested to random suggestions nor gave execrating comments about anything about the program---even the live broadcast radio on the web for tonight.

Yep. I wasn't complaining. Well, aloud beyond my thoughts, that was.  I scoffed in my head again and adjusted in my seat while looking distant from the papers.

Gee, I guess I was happier. Or was I really? Would this be just temporary? Like I don't even know what to do next? What if this was just impulse? And it was still the start...like we haven't even figured out if we're official or dating or whatever...we just kissed...talked...but nothing really definite.

I shook my head and blinked.

Ah, here I go again overthinking of things. I should just forget about it and focus on work.

Looking down at my folder, I underlined some of the important stuff I needed to advertise for tonight's show and I chanced upon browsing on tonight's guest for the corner.

A man in his late thirties, I read. 

Married. Has one kid and has been living as a common office man. Typical. Average. Non-thrilling.

I listed in my head, posting as many dreary synonyms as I could. There was basically nothing interesting with this guy. I cocked up an eyebrow. I wondered what was so special with this man that someone else in this production team had chosen him over hundreds of letter senders. To think, I had to read painfully each and every piece overnight yesterday.

Repeatedly turning my swivel chair round and round in its place like a teacup ride, I sunk myself to oblivion reading the rest of my lines for tonight. It was making me nauseous but I enjoyed that feeling of light-headedness. It was so similar to the feeling of being in the clouds or high up above a Ferris wheel. It reminded me of just being around her.

Tiffany.

I let out a sigh.

Anyway, for once I coud say to myself that I was contented and I was indeed feeling a bit happier each day. Looks like the scrooge and the grinch have met the merry christmas. Ah. Enough with the puns.

I continued pushing my foot on the ground and twirled endlessly, delighting in the addicting feeling of losing myself slowly in the nausea.

Hmmm. What should I do for Tiffany tonight? Should I come by the cafe? Take her out? Should I call her up before the show? What? Come on. Think Taeyeon. Think!

"Aren't you too old to play around in a swivel chair?"

Suddenly, someone stopped my little theme park-inspired revolution ride. 

Aish. Just when I was having fun.

Looking up, I surprised myself seeing a blonde head staring down with an impish smile.

"Oh...you." I groaned upon recognition. 

"Geez. You're gonna make everyone here barf." Sunny commented sarcastically. "I already got dizzy watching you."

"Ugh. Yeah. Hi." I greeted back with equal sarcasm.

"You look ecstatic to see me. Your enthusiasm is kicking off the roof." Sunny commented slyly back. "Never saw you this spirited. Unless you had some spirits. Wait, are you drunk again?"

"Ha. Sure." I agreed smugly while Sunny chuckled away.  Seconds after, I barked in question while raising both brows. "Anyway, what the hell are you doing here?" 

"Oh excuse me Miss Hot-lips DJ. The last time I came to the station, I was pretty sure I still had the same job and did the same show as you do." Sunny quipped, leaning back against the desk while looking down at me. "What's your problem Tae? On your bloody period?"

"No." I hissed tapping the pen on hand on the table top. I looked up to her again and sneered. "But it'll rain blood if you barge in to my personal space again."

Sunny gave out a devious laugh, cackling to her content.

"Why not? Isn't it a good day today?" she chirped as she brought her face an inch away from mine and I had to fight the urge to hit her. "Should I come back another time then?"

"Oh shut up." I pursed my lips and leafed through another page of the script indignant.

"Eh? You're the one who seems to be out of words." Sunny prodded with every ounce of intent to annoy me. "Hey, you could have given me a head's up, you know!"

"Oh please, will you just shush?" I clipped back in stacatto, almost tearing one of the sheets right in the middle. "Heads up? I got a better idea. Can't I just have your head instead if you don't clip your lips?"

"Oh my lips are fine Tae." Sunny laughed some more. "I'm more worried about yours."

My mind suddenly drifted me back to yesterday.

Tiffany was locked off at my place and we were alone together. I finally confessed to her and I was equally surprised that she let me off so easy. There was no restraint. No games. No tug of war. No pretense whatsoever. 

It was straight poker, without all the bluffs and lying.

"Shut up and kiss me..."Tiffany said to me with those sultry eyes. And I complied, questions absent and obedience at its best.

Her stare was so deep and fiery that I was burning. And yet, the cold harsh world beaten up by the storm outside wasn't enough to temper me down. I didn't care whether it was flooding outside for I was already flooding with heat and desire for the girl in front of me.

My hands pressed on the cushions by her sides and I could hear my heart pound into my ribs, beating into an old pre-war rhythm.

It was deafening but I knew and heard of only one instruction to follow.

Shut up and kiss me... 

I leaned in to her and I took her lips again, pressing more this time, with much fervor compared to light peck I gave her moments earlier. I finally gave up from  the tension I was feeling altogether and wrapped my arms around her waist as she straddled me by my thighs, my back against the couch. I held her that way for a few more blissful seconds as I recorded all the details of her lips into my head.

My fingertips burned as I caresssed my hand over my own sweater over her toned torso. Her legs supported her weight as she hovered over me and I lifted my head up to meet hers.

I just kissed her then like I never did with anyone before.

Heart swelling, I even felt her smiling tenderly in the middle of the buss as I just closed my eyes, feeling the softness yet eager wanting from her side. Slowly, she grasped me above the shoulder and pulled me in. Her fingertips raked the back of my neck as I kissed her more. I've never felt how much electricity had ran through my whole being, awakening all senses and hijacking my heart to beat faster than normal.

"Mmmm. Taeyeon." 

Tiffany moaned tenderly and I almost spiralled into oblivion.

Sitting on the carpeted floor with possibly the most beautiful girl from my entire existence on my lap was the last thought I had in mind when I woke up today. This was unbelievable and yet, I was actually making-out with her, her lips on mine like key and lock. Tiffany. Geez, how could a girl like you notice me all this time?

Her hand gradually slid down my jaw as she cupped my head and dug deeper with her lips, lavishing on the faint taste of coffee, blueberries and  the hint of maple. She tasted so sweet and addicting. I put up my hand against her wrist and gripped on her, feeling the soft milky skin gliding against my palm. At this rate, there was nothing in the world that could stop us. There was nothing in between me and Tiffany except my own clothes, both on myself and hers. A faint moan escaped her lips again and I fluttered my eyes open to briefly watch her enjoy our moment. My hands went roaming around the small of her back, severely tempted to slide under the cloth and touch her fiercely on bare skin.

Oh gosh. She was too beautiful.

The next thing I knew, it was me mewling back as Tiffany parted my lips and slipped her bubblegum tongue into my mouth. It was so exhilirating. The mere poking of her tongue against my own was sending me into euphoria and I was increasingly becoming more anxious. Things were escalating too fast. Part of me wanted to continue, rush it up yet the other wanted to take things rather slow.

"Ah. Tiffany." I murmurred, as her hands gently tugged on my locks and her lips slowly strayed away from my mouth and down to my jawline. She kept on going, tracing her tongue slowly down and gradually nipped on my chin then my neck. Ah. damn, She was this good.

I clutched on the hem of my hoodie that was on her and teased my fingers between the pants and the top. But she stopped me midway, halting my hand with her own while smiling again as she cruised down to my collar. It felt so wrong yet so right. Although I was on top, she was still dominating me on the kiss and I couldn't help but be annoyed by it. My hands scouted from her back to her shoulders and slowly I pushed her back, bringing her down to the floor as I pushed myself above her. Her hair was strewn all over the carpet, radiating from her face like she was the sun. She looked up to me while caressing my face and a feeble chuckle absconded from her lips. Her eyes turned into those upturned bows that paused my breathing.

How does she do this? How can she take away that last molecule of oxygen from the air just like that?

There was only one way to keep breathing. I swooped down and took her lips back into mine. I needed Tiffany to breathe and there was nothing stopping us. There was definitely nothing that could...

"Ehem...Ehem..."

A fake cough broke our kiss and I shot my head up from Tiffany to see two figures by my door. Tiffany, below me immediately loosened her grip from my neck and instead, grabbed my hand when she realized someone familiar had intruded our little session. I scrambled back to my feet and so did Tiffany. Our faces were as red as freshly harvested tomatoes and I rubbed my nape thinking of what to do next. 

The hell. It was my place and these two were clearly trespassing. What was I ashamed of?

"How did you guys get in?" I managed to ask and Sooyoung basically pointed at the shorter girl beside her, who was hiding her snickers behind her closed fists.

"I didn't know you haven't changed your code Taeyeon-ah." Sunny trilled and I just glowered at her with every intention to kill. 

It was a mistake telling her my security codes just in case I got too drunk.

"Sooyoung? Was there a problem at the cafe?" Tiffany interjected, bashfully crossing her arms over her chest even though she was fully clothed. She probably felt embarassed as I was but her confidence was still eminent. 

Sooyoung scratched her head and fiddled with her car keys, clearly still shaken. "Nope. No. Everything is fine Tiffany."

"So what made you two come here? Is the weather outside better?" I asked, hoping to derail from any questions relating to the activity earlier. I still held Tiffany's hand and assured her somehow with the brush of my thumb over the back of her hand.

"I figured I'd pick Tiffany up from here since we have an important investor to meet tonight." Sooyoung informed, her eyes narrowing. She clicked her tongue after and watched the two of us still holding hands.

"Oh wait. Was that tonight?" Tiffany said, semi-panicking and breaking unintentionally from my hold.

"Yeah. We talked about this last week Tiff." Sooyoung muttered, still twirling her keys with her index finger. "You know this was really important."

"I got it Sooyoung. Come on. When have I let you down?" Tiffany answered back, tense building up.

It was awkward. Sooyoung's tone was strict and the only thing I could pinch things on was Sunny. 

"And you? What's your business here blondie?" 

"I was about to ask you about the letters but I see you had been reading on it, judging from the crumpled papers on the cushions and the floor. Working hard eh, Tae?" Sunny larked.

Geez. If Tiffany and Sooyoung weren't there, a murder scene would have sequenced from that moment.

"I'm gonna wait for you in the lobby Tiff." Sooyoung huffed while nudging Sunny by the shoulder.

Sunny only murmurred back in understanding. "Alright. I get it.. I was only kidding Sooyoungie. What's up with you so suddenly?"

The two turned around and closed the door while Tiffany and I slumped our shoulders back to relax. We were both caught in surprise and it wasn't helping that I was actually wishing we didn't bother with it in the first place because I was going to be thinking about it for the rest of the day.

"Sorry about that." I mumbled to Tiffany as soon as I was sure Sunny wasn't meddling with my business again.

"What are you sorry for Taeyeon?" Tiffany said, sliding her hand into my palm and then squeezed it. "It's not your fault. Disappointing turn of events but not your fault at all."

"But---"

"Don't worry. Okay? Just enjoy what we had." She faced me once again and dropped both arms over my shoulders. Before leaning in, she smiled and winked. "Too bad I can't stay. I gotta go though. It was nice to have some breakfast." 

Just like that, she gave me another peck on the lips. I could feel my body ignite once again and my hands rested on her waist, still fighting to urge to just screw it all and remove her clothing.

Oh yeah. Which reminds me...her clothes...

She broke contact and walked over to my coat closet, retrieving her once wet overlay. 

"What about your clothes?" I asked and she turned and smiled at me as she tossed her coat over her body.

"I guess you have to keep it until I come back once again. You never know when I would need it. Alright?"

I felt my whole body burn as I think I understood what she meant.

Wow. She was advancing like a lioness in the wild. Fast, furious and deadly.

"Ah, yes, I guess so." I walked to her and helped her with the sleeves. "You sure you're going to be fine?"

"I'm not worried about me." she smirked back as she lifted her tresses over the collar of her coat. "I should worry about you. Don't think too much about me."

I blinked a few more times, suddenly frozen from that feisty burning I had a few seconds earlier. She was definitely not like other girls; she was so different from me. 

I smirked back and opened the door and handed her bag. "Not as much as you would probably think of me."

She scoffed teasingly and retorted. "Good one but you better back up your words next time. Try harder Tae."

What? Was there something deeper to what she said? Try harder?

"Hello? HEEELLLLLOOOOOO?!?"

Sunny drawled snapping fingers again at me.

This was getting to be a habit of hers as I snapped back to reality, still holding the folder in my palms.

"Yeah. Yeah. Whatever Sunny." I rolled my eyes, inhaling deep to recuperate from my little flashback.

"Hey, why back to your sulky mood?" Sunny complained. "Shouldn't you be more lively? Considering your love life is say...more lively?"

"Stop getting involved." I warned. I still want to kill her for intruding yesterday. "I changed my code too so no more surprise visits."

Sunny laughed out loud, slapping her right thigh and kicking back her head. "I see but that won't be enough to stop me from missing out on delicious tidbits about your new girlfriend!"

"Girlfriend?"

Sunny and I froze immediately as we heard the student intern's voice.

"Ji-eun...how long were you here?" I asked nervously.

"Not long Taeyeon-ssi." she said, bowing. "Sorry, I didn't mean to listen in to your conversation. I'll be out now."

"We were talking about a friend of mine. Who is a girl. You know. A girl...friend." I raised my hand to explain while lightly punching Sunny by the shoulder. "Right Sunny?"

Sunny just nodded lazily.

"Oh. I see." Ji-eun turned back around to acknowledge and quietly excused herself. "Sorry to disturb you two sunbaenims. I'll come back with the rest of the papers later."

"See you later Ji-eun." Sunny waved brightly, as if it wasn't an issue.

"You and your big mouth Sunny." I said, slumping down into the chair.

I'm glad I now had Tiffany and we were progressing quite good considering we both like each other but please, I'm not ready to walk down the streets with a huge label of lesbian tattoed on my forehead.

"What? You totally covered the tracks. You have nothing to worry about." Sunny murmurred, sitting down on a chair finally next to me.

"I'm going to hunt you down if that intern turns out to be a bloodhound." I replied, kicking her chair lightly. 

"Oh please, if you have a functional gaydar, you'd know you're in safe hands." Sunny snorted.

"What?"

I looked back at Ji-eun now talking to Soyeon-unnie on the other side.

"Nothing. You're too dense for your own good." Sunny rolled her eyes as she took the night's script from me.

I silently scowled with her thievery but was more confused with her replies."Dense?" 

"Oh geez Taeyeon. See what I mean?" she continued as she glanced up from the folder and looked at Ji-eun again.

"Fine...whatever" I suspired. I turned my swivel chair back to face her and tapped the base of the seat with my foot. "Anyway, why are you still sticking around here? Don't you have another gig?"

"Nope. The band's off tonight." Pursed lips, she replied and then glanced over the glass booth. "PD-nim forced me to do the confession corner with you tonight. Apparently, we're doing this thing every night now so you have to come tomorrow when it's my turn to lead the show."

I felt my eardrums ring. "What?!? How come noone told me? So you mean we're doing the show together? Noooo."

"Ha. My reactions were the same. Anywya, I thought you were reading the script the whole time? It clearly says Sunny in the latter parts. Are you even paying attention?" Sunny questioned gallingly but she calmed down a second later, upturning her lips into a sly smile. "Oh yeah... I was the one who was supposed to tell you yesterday. My bad... But then again it wasn't my fault. I was distracted by your little warm lip exercise back in your pad."

I put both hands up to my face in pure exasperation. "Oh my God, when will you ever shut up!"

"Let's see..." Sunny pondered with a pensive look while biting the tip of a pen. "Ughm...never."

"Ugh. Just behave tonight, will you?" I reminded as I pushed myself back into the desk.

"Mhmm." Sunny dropped the folder back on top of the table and twirled my chair to face her, face suddenly filled with staidness which I rarely see from her.

"But you see Taeyeon. I'm actually amazed you two quite click together. I mean there's nothing really much of an intersection between you two. I still don't know Tiffany that much and even though we've been eating at her cafe, I'm still not sure about her. Sorry, no offense but aren't you even wondering how fast things went with the two of you? You barely interacted with one another and boom, one kiss and you are all over each other instantly? Something's fishy. And you two are like oil and water. You know, it just doesn't seem to go together. Both of you are just different. So very different."

There was a huge hint of concern in her voice and that was the first time I actually felt the genuine reminder from a friend.

"What do you mean?" I asked, knitting my brows together and kidded. "Nothing's wrong with Tiffany. You're just jealous."

"No, I'm not. It's just that Sooyoungie said----"

"Much like this, I guess?"

A man came up to both of us interrupting, as we were engrossed with our conversation. I looked up to him and then stood up. He wasn't part of the crew and I haven't seen him from anywhere before.

"Good evening ladies."

Judging from his features, I instantly deduced him as our guest for tonight.

"Oh. Annyeonghaseyo. I'm Kim Taeyeon and this here is Lee Sunny-ssi." I greeted as I pointed to myself and Sunny.

"Pleased to finally meet you. I listen to you both when I have the time. Pardon me. I must have been rude. I couldn't help but hear your conversation. I'm Bae Yong Joon by the way. I believe I'd be guesting tonight." he reached out his hand in greeting while handing both Sunny and I cups of coffee afterwards. "Hope you both like coffee."

"Thank you. Nice to meet you sir." Sunny said as she pulled another chair for him to sit. 

I saw our PD-nim in the background and he seemed to be approving of this quiant hi-hello conversation we were having with the letter sender. It was an odd feeling to be honest but I threw it at the back of my mind as we all then settled down to a semi-circle and started chit-chatting.

"Go ahead. Try it." he coaxed as he smiled to take a sip from his own covered cup.

Sunny practically doused down some of the drink while I took my time perusing the fragrance.

It was weird, not appalling but just strangely new. I smelled coffee in every atom lingering in the air but as I peeked into the liquid inside the cup, I noticed the color was lighter than that of any creamed coffee. It uncanningly resembled what looked like murky muddy water to be frank. And just by looking at it again, I was hesitant to give it a try.

"It's an honor to be the first guest on your show for this program segment. I couldn't be much happier wihen I got the call yesterday." he said as he adjusted his lenses on the bridge of his nose. "Brilliant idea quite frankly. Very touching way to reach out to listeners. I appreciate it."

"It was Taeyeon's idea." Sunny notified unneccessarily. I just mildly grinned to acknowledge it as I scanned him from head to foot.

I've got to give it to this guy. He was actually handsome as I critiqued his overall apperance. He was well-dressed like any eligible bachelor but clearly, he had already been taken, tied the knot a few years back. Yet, looking at his eyes, something was so deep and sullen from his features like he has been missing a piece and I couldn't put my finger on it.

I finally took a sip from the concoction in my hand and my eyes widened from the confusion.

Milk tea? 

My mouth almost spurted the liquid out.

"Surprised?" the man asked suddenly as he probably noticed the bewilderment on my face. "It's Yuanyang. It's 7 parts milk tea and 3 parts coffee. I used Ceylon tea on this one so it's a bit strong on the tea side but you could still smell the coffee. Don't worry, I had the same reaction when I first tasted that drink."

"You look very knowlegeable about coffee Mr. Bae." Sunny commented and I nodded, taking a second sip of the weird combination. Somehow, the mixture was growing on me. Who in the world would have thought tea and coffee could be mixed together?

"My wife taught me this drink. She used to serve drinks back in Hongkong. Just a simple vendor in the night market open-windowed stalls there." he relayed, smiling but still with that distant feeling of missing a puzzle piece. "I've worked overseas before and that's where I met her. Have you two read the letter I sent?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't." Sunny said and turned to me. I shook my head sideways in response. Sunny then mumbled to me and smiled to the guy in front. "I guess Soyeon-unnie picked the story for tonight." 

"Oh. Is that so?" he nodded gingerly and went back to drinking his cup. "Nonetheless, I still thank you for having me here."

"No worries sir." Sunny replied courteously before turning her head my way also to coax me to speak up. "It's our pleasure. We hope Taeyeon and I could help you tonight with your confession."

I then realized I haven't spoken a word since I introduced ourselves and I wasn't surprised. I would probably be the last person who could make a good conversation with a stranger and make someone comfortable about it. But somehow, I came back to our chat, looking down at the reddish-brown liquid as I lifted the cup up once again to my lips. 

"Yuanyang you say?" I began with curiosity. Apparently anything that has to do with coffee has made me inquisitive. I guess I had to blame Tiffany for this. "It sounds too foreign. So is it a Chinese drink?"

He looked up again at us, breaking from his forlorn disposition. "I see you are wondering about it. You're right. It's based upon naming the Mandarin ducks. Have you seen them before? They're actually quite different."

Both Sunny and I just shook our heads again. He was talking about coffee, his wife and then ducks. This was getting pretty absurd and it was somehow a surprise having a guy seemingly voluble about his life. 

"Well, you see, the male duck looks vibrant and colorful while the female is so plain, boring and uninteresting. They look so different in many ways, generally the appearance but somehow, when they eventually find each other, they just click together. In traditional Chinese, they represent conjugal love, a bond between two people with no boundaries, nomatter how different they are." 

He adjusted himself on the chair and nestled his hands over his lap. "I guess, it was the same for me and my wife. I'm Korean. She was Chinese. We had different ideologies. Different perception. Different language and even a different religion. But when it all came to love, we both understood each other. Our friends back then even wondered how extremley polar we were but like those ducks, we clicked together and loved each other."

I nodded once again in understanding. Somehow his words hit me pretty deep and Tiffany came barging into my head. I looked sideways to Sunny and just by one look, she understood what I meant. She just shrugged it off though, still ignoring my point.

"You two are really lucky to find each other. You should have come with your wife tonight." I said back to the older man, disregarding Sunny's odd repulsion.

He smiled once more, slipping his spectacles up to his eyes, the glare from the glasses shading his orbs. He pursed his lips and replied. "Hmm...I wish I could. It's been 3 years since she passed. My daughter... is what she has left me. It's actually our anniversary today. That's why I sent my letter and wanted to come here for the radio show. I was hoping she'd hear me somewhere out there. Out in the heavens."

He chuckled slightly and grinned, hiding probably his sadness. "Pretty ridiculous, huh?"

My heart sank to the bottomless pit of my stomach. This man's love was beyond my reasoning and he just garnered my respect and sympathy. He deserved to be heard tonight.

Funny, I thought glumly. I had actually gone soft in a matter of days. There was no way I could mock this one. Somehow I was regretting how I thought about relationships before. Love was not something I should really make jokes about.

"It's not ridiculous. I'm sure she'll hear you. That is actually really thoughtful of you Mr. Bae" Sunny commented, tears shockingly forming at the edge of her eyes. 

"Alright guys! We're gonna be live in 10 minutes. On your stations please. Confession Corner will be up in T minus 30, alright? Sunny-ssi, Taeyeon-ssi. Hwaiting!!!" 

Our PD buzzed through the speakers and we all stood up in command. Mr. Bae was escorted back by Ji-eun to the other side of the booth but before he left, he stood beside me and whispered. I was undoubtedly surprised at first but relaxed as he said his words.

"I'm sorry Taeyeon-ssi. I'm not really sure about what I heard earlier but if you feel like this other peson is the one for you and you understand each other way better than what other people think, I'd say listen to your heart and go for it. You two may be different, but it's the feelings that you both feel for each other that should be the same."

I felt like someone just tasered me and I was motionless, congealed into my spot.

He was right. Dead right. 

I looked up back to him and smiled. "Thank you. I'll surely keep that in mind. Let's have a good roll for tonight's show Mr. Bae."

"I'm glad to share my story. Thanks." he said, composed and accepting, like an older brother. "Good luck Taeyeon-ssi."

--------

The night sky was jet-black and it was again the wee hours of the morning. Sunny and I just finished the show a half an hour back. We both walked back down to the direction of the cafe when we had completed our work back at the station. The whole time we were on our stroll, we were both quiet for once. She had bawled her eyes out when Mr. Bae finally read his letter out for his wife over the broadcast and it would have been the best time to about it but I didn't.

I tried opening up the topic again about Tiffany and I with that ridiculous blonde-head but all I got was a pat at the back and a smile. She was truly a friend, nomatterwhat. I was just glad she stuck it out with me all this time.

As I made my stop a few blocks before the forked road going to the cafe, Sunny finally bid me good night.

"You know I'm here for you Taeyeon-ah. Just watch yourself okay?"

"I still don't understand what you mean, you blonde pixie cry baby but..." I teased back and paused. "thank you."

"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow. I have to meet Sooyoungie in the morning." 

"What about you two? You and Sooyoungie?" I jested, emphasizing on the pet name she had for that giantess.

"Sooyoung is harmless. We're friends really." she smirked. "But who knows? I might just end up the same as you do. Watch out for me okay?"

"I'm not a babysitter but I guess yeah. Sure." I smiled back. "Good night Sunny."

"Night Taeyeon-ah." 

By the time I reached the front of the cafe, the lights were out but under the shop's little outdoor lamp was someone I was dying to see the whole day.

"Sorry. Did you wait for a long time?" I asked, pouting.

She was smiling from ear to ear, her pink earmuffs clamping her crimson hair that swayed when she wiggled her head. "Not long. I just closed up about five minutes ago."

"I'll just walk you back to your place, if you don't mind. I'm sorry I couldn't do anything much for tonight." 

"It's okay. I'm also tired. That was a great show you had tonight though." Tiffany said, clouds of white smoke dissipating from as we were walking. "You look so pro when you work."

"You watched it?" I asked as I rubbed her hands to keep her from getting cold. Surprisingly, it was more comfortable for me now to have regular skinship with her. It was so natural and effortless.

"Yeah. Sooyoung and Yoona were so adamant on putting up the web broadcast of the program. They said, it was the first time you've done it again. And Sunny was with you, too." She continued as she looped her arm around mine. Each step was beginning to slow down, as if we both were trying to delay the trip back at her unit. "I'm glad you did it though. A pretty face should always accompany that beautiful voice of yours."

I smiled, embarassed by what she said but I saw those warm arcs again from her face that made me proud of myself.

"Yoona also cried from that man's story." She recalled as she let out a tiny chuckle. "All of our customers were actually hooked. Looks like this segment of yours will be a hit."

"Maybe." I mummed, holding on to her hand above her mittens. Out of the blue, I remembered what Mr. Bae told me just before the program started and I reorganized my thoughts.

I purposedly paused in my tracks and pulled Tiffany beside me to a stop.

"Tiffany...about yesterday..." I said directly, though I was staring straight down at my feet. My scarf was disrupting my voice which was shrinking by the second. "About what I said...I just wanted you to know...I meant it." I huffed to let out another cloud of smoke against the cold. "I like you and I'm willing enough to take the next steps to get to know you better. I know I'm not as bold as you are but I hope we could take these next steps together. I want to date you exclusively. There's a lot for me to learn again but I'm willing to open myself up again to what potentially could be between us."

All this time while I was talking, Tiffany just listened and held on to me.

I bit my lower lip and looked down again after taking a glance at her. "So...what do you think?"

She chuckled and pushed down the fabric from my face. "You should lighten up. You're so serious Taeyeon."

I looked up to her face and frowned. "Just saying. You don't know how hard I'm putting myself out here. And I am serious."

"Okay. Alright. I hear you." she said riant while cupping my cheeks playfully. "Taeyeon, listen carefully, okay? I already told you I like you back. And I would be delighted to go out with you. You should have caught on that even before. Pabo-yah. Sigh. No wonder why we're so different."

Her choice of words were quite disparate again from my vocabulary but I knew what I just felt, having her in front of me and I knew we had somehow this understanding, this mutual emotion.

Yes, we were different but we were also alike. We were the same as those Mandarin ducks. Like milk tea and coffee. Yin and yang.

Yuanyang.

Two things so dissimilar but click together given the right proportions.

She caressed my lips and continued staring into my eyes like there was noone else in the world at that moment. I was content, happy and looking forward to what has to come for tomorrow. "And that combination might just work. Right Tae?"

I smiled back and she leaned in, our lips meeting once again for the night before we resumed our walk back to her place.

"Yeah. It really might just work."

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ugh...why hello there...so it looks like i just decided to put this up before the year ends and there would be more coming...

argghh...i have no conviction... anyway, i guess this has become a part of me coping up...i hate the fact that i drink coffee and be reminded of this yet I couldn't help but smile sharing what I had in my head.

i guess writing still helps me release tension in more ways than one. i apologize if this is still a bit scatter-brained.

oh well, byeers for now. 

btw, this is for the shot server :| i know it's about a month late but i guess better late than never? hbd. :)