Hours ago in the café.

 

“Don’t go.”

 

Taeyeon saw Tiffany was pinching her shirt with her thumb and index finger and yet she had such a strong grip on her. Tiffany’s eyes were so wide, like a begging puppy wanting its toy back. Taeyeon should have pulled her shirt away. She should have turned back and walk out the door. Although every ounce of common sense was telling her to run away from this crazy girl, her heart was telling her a few more minutes wouldn’t hurt.

 

Taeyeon turned her feet and walked back to her seat, her shirt was finally released. She laced her hands on the table to show she was focused and heaved a big sigh.

 

“Okay? I stayed. What do you want?” Taeyeon asked flatly.

 

Tiffany revealed a small smile from the corner of . Tiffany was looking at Taeyeon’s hands on the table and it looked like she wanted to reach out and hold them. Instead she too laced her hands, but they quivered in want.

 

“You know what? I’ll just flat out ask already. Who the hell are you?” Taeyeon gestured her hand towards Tiffany. “This isn’t the same girl I remember from a few weeks ago. This isn’t the Tiffany Hwang who was always belittling me. This isn’t the Tiffany Hwang who called me so many homophobic slurs. Where the hell is the mean spirited tough girl who hated my guts?”

 

Tiffany closed her eyes and nodded in agreement. She inhaled slow, but deeply and finished off with a long exhale.

 

“Jessi took you to her house, didn’t she?” Tiffany asked bluntly.

 

Taeyeon flinched since she remembered Jessica telling her to make sure Tiffany never found out about that day.

 

“It’s okay Kim,” Tiffany smiled. “I kind of knew Jessi would bring you there sooner or later. She wanted to talk to you about the real me, right?”

 

It looked like the cats out of the bag. Jessica would probably scold her, but Taeyeon would deal with her later.

 

“Yeah. That was like almost a month ago. She kind of forced me and Yuri to come to her house to talk about you and your past,” Taeyeon admitted.

 

Tiffany clicked her tongue in annoyance when she heard Yuri’s name.

 

“So Kwon knows about me as well?” Tiffany was clearly annoyed.

 

Taeyeon nodded sheepishly.

 

Tiffany shook her head. “No, it’s fine. Not like it matters if she knows or not.” Tiffany looked directly into her. “What did Jessi tell you exactly?”

 

Taeyeon had to think about it for a minute. It really has been a while but she thought she recalled the main points.

 

“Honestly I was a little more concerned how Jessica kept shoving fancy snacks down Yuri’s gullet. Like I know Jessica hates me, but if she was gonna invite me into her home the least she could’ve done was offer me a glass of water. You know what I mean?”

 

Tiffany’s mouth opened a bit as she raised an eye brow out of sheer disbelief.

 

“Oh my god. Jessi probably revealed a deep secret about my life and you were worried about snacks? I swear I almost forgot how stupid you could be,” Tiffany frowned in disappointment.

 

“No no! I mean yeah I was upset about the snacks, but I still remember how Jessica talked about meeting you for the first time and how much of a cry baby you were,” Taeyeon remembered.

 

“Was that all she told you?”

 

Taeyeon shook her head. “She also told me your real name. She never explained why you preferred the name Tiffany.”

 

Tiffany raised her eyebrow again. “So if you know my real name, why don’t you address me as such?”

 

“Well… this is just a guess but I think there’s a reason why you prefer to call yourself Tiffany instead of your real name. Unlike you, I always want to respect people’s boundaries and I choose to address people to whatever they prefer,” Taeyeon lifted her shoulders like it wasn’t a big deal.

 

Tiffany chuckled at Taeyeon’s winded explanation. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a silver pocket watch. She opened it with a small click to see that the watch still wasn’t working. A big crack ran down the middle of it. She placed it on the table and slid it towards Taeyeon. The shorter girl reached out and inspected it.

 

“A pocket watch?”

 

“It’s an 1897 Patek Philippe. A family heirloom passed down from my mother’s side of the family.”

 

Taeyeon was looking at it thoroughly. The crack on the face was glaring, but it was still a beautiful watch. Each of the silver numbers on the watch shimmered brightly and the case itself was so shiny that Taeyeon knew Tiffany took care of it thoroughly.

 

“It’s really beautiful,” Taeyeon was mesmerized.

 

“Yeah it was made with eighteen karat white gold so I guess its worth about ₩70,000,000.00,” Tiffany mumbled as if it wasn’t anything special.

 

Taeyeon jumped with panic. The watch almost hit the table, but Taeyeon caught it in time and nestled it gently in both of her palms.

 

“Seventy million?! Why the hell do you have this treasure out in the open? Take it back to your house!”

 

Taeyeon carefully shoved the watch back, in which Tiffany picked it up like it didn’t matter.

 

“It’s not like it’s worth full value. With the crack, the value would’ve probably dropped to like sixty million.”

 

“Are you serious?!” Taeyeon gawked. “With that kind of money I could graduate college. Twice!”

 

Tiffany fumbled with the watch in her hand as Taeyeon tried to make sense of it all.

 

“Okay so it’s a nice watch. What’s your point?” Taeyeon asked as she calmed down.

 

Tiffany gripped the watch tightly as she normally would when she felt stressed.

 

“My mother gave it to me before she passed away from a disease,” Tiffany whispered with barely any life in her words.

 

Taeyeon blinked back in surprise. She didn’t know Tiffany’s mother died. She kind of felt bad for her.

 

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Taeyeon consoled.

 

Tiffany shook her head.

 

“It was long time ago, but I still remember it clear as day. Before she died she gave me this watch and told me something truly extraordinary. But the thing is if I was to explain it to anybody, I would sound completely ridiculous,” Tiffany explained with a small smile on her face.

 

“Okay? What did she say?” Taeyeon asked.

 

Tiffany bit her tongue since she really didn’t want to say it, but knew it was about time to come clean.

 

“I was always a socially awkward kid so I didn’t make any friends growing up. My mother was my best friend and we spent so much time together. She knew she was gonna leave me and she knew she didn’t want me to be alone so she gave me this watch. She said it represented a part of her and I took it quite literally.”

 

Tiffany continued to grip the watch in her pocket as if doing so was channeling the presence of her mother. She knew it didn’t but it always made her feel better to believe her mother was still watching over her.

 

“Wait a minute, that day when we bumped into each other. I remember you were checking your pockets. Did I break your watch when we both fell down?” Taeyeon started to panic as everything started to make sense. “So that’s why you were so angry! Hwang I am really sorry that I broke your watch, but it was an accident. I didn’t know you had a family heirloom in your pocket. If you’d have told me sooner, I could’ve found a way get it repaired and-”

 

“Oh my god, could you please shut the up and let me finish explaining?!” Tiffany swore as she slammed her fist on the café table.

 

Taeyeon froze from the familiar threat. Tiffany was showing her true colors as her face was turning red. The anger was beginning to take over her and she could see the fright in Taeyeon’s eyes. Tiffany quickly put her hands up, showing she wasn’t going to start a fight. She was using every ounce of her being to remain calm.  

 

“Wait,” Tiffany said in between slow and deep breaths. “I didn’t mean that. I just have a short temper. Mostly about you.”

 

Taeyeon raised an eyebrow.

 

“Umm, okay?” Taeyeon was a bit surprised Tiffany was controlling her anger for the first time. She was kind of peeved that Tiffany didn’t apologize, but she could sense the mushroom was trying to be sincere.

 

“As I was saying,” Tiffany continued. “Before my mother passed away, she told me the watch was special and that it represented a part of her. It sounds stupid when I say it out loud but she said when the watch finally stops, she’d have chosen a special someone for me. The first person I’d see after the watch broke would be the person who’d bring me everlasting happiness.”

 

Tiffany looked to observe Taeyeon’s face to see if she would react. Taeyeon was just staring at Tiffany as if asking to continue the story.

 

“And? That’s it?”

 

Tiffany sighed in exhaustion because Taeyeon’s lack of understanding was killing her.  She really wanted to beat some common sense into her cute little head.

 

“Okay Kim, think about it carefully. My mother’s fairy tale story said when the watch stopped, the first person I see is supposed to be my soulmate that my mother chose for me. Let me know when the gears in your head start turning,” Tiffany sighed as she rested her chin on her palm.

 

Just watching Taeyeon think really hard was so excruciating. She knows Taeyeon isn’t a complete idiot, but it was at times like this she thought maybe she was wrong. Taeyeon had to carefully put the pieces together in her mind. After what felt like an eternity, realization finally dawned on Taeyeon’s face as her eyes slowly began to widen with surprise. Taeyeon slowly pointed her index finger towards herself.

 

“Me?”

 

Tiffany nodded. “Yes. The last horse finally crossed the track.”

 

Taeyeon just sat there trying to absorb it all in. Was that really what started it all? Did Tiffany really believe Taeyeon was supposed to be her star crossed lover?

 

“But wait a minute. There are a lot of things that don’t make sense,” Taeyeon questioned. “For one, if I’m supposedly the special girl your mom chose, why are you so hell bent in bullying me with homophobic slurs and emotional trauma?”

 

“Wow. I didn’t even know you knew some of those big words Kim. You never cease to impress me,” Tiffany chuckled.

 

“I’m serious. If I’m your soulmate, then why do you hate me so much?” Taeyeon waved her hand around, trying to make sense of it all.

 

Tiffany just shook her head.

 

“Because I hate you,” Tiffany answered flatly.

 

Taeyeon felt like she wanted to throw the napkin dispenser at Tiffany’s head. Wasn’t she contradicting herself?

 

“But you just said I’m your soulmate.”

 

“According to my mother’s story, yes you are. But I never wanted you to be my soulmate. I wanted Jessica since she was always there when I needed a friend. She was there when my mom died, she was there when I was still learning Korean, and she’s still with me despite being polar opposites. I want to believe that my mom didn’t choose you and it was all a mistake. Then maybe if you were to hate me and I was to hate you, then we’d have no chance at being close with each other,” Tiffany explained her long winded speech.

 

Both of them sat there staring at each other, waiting for the other to say something first. Tiffany tapped her index finger on the table a couple of times, waiting for Taeyeon to say something with her bemused look.

 

“Well?” Tiffany asked with sarcasm.

 

“Well what?”

 

“You god damn well know ‘well what’. What do you think of it all?!”

 

Taeyeon took a second to scratch her chin while finding the right words to say.

 

“So what you said back then when you slept over. Was it true? Am I really always on your mind?” Taeyeon arched an eyebrow.

 

She knew this type of question was like poking a sleeping bear, but she had to be sure.

 

Tiffany sighed in defeat.

 

“Yes. What I said to you that night and the other night were all true. I wasn’t really drunk, but I know I was feeling a bit weird.”

 

Taeyeon continued to give Tiffany a look of confusion. She wasn’t making any sense.

 

“It’s like… you’re this beautiful flower growing in most disgusting ghettos of LA. The flower lacks common sense and is gay as all hell. Like straight up flaming homoual. But knowing that, this flower is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in this ugly world. I want to caress this flower and let her know she’s the cutest thing in the world every day and I will not let some fake punk dark lay a fat ing finger on my little flower!”

 

Tiffany realized she was now yelling her cheesy declaration and her cheeks were burning crimson at her own words. This was the first time Tiffany sounded like such a loser. She was expecting to see Taeyeon even more grossed out, but she was looking at her as if she was trying to read the mushroom’s mind.

 

“Is that how you really see me?” Taeyeon asked with wide surprised eyes.

 

Tiffany couldn’t handle the puppy dog eyes Taeyeon was giving her. She knew Taeyeon wasn’t trying and she really hated that.

 

“More or less.”

 

Tiffany tried to sound cool, but Taeyeon was bringing out a different side of her.

 

Taeyeon was just as confused as Tiffany. She didn’t care for Tiffany, but she had to admit she did feel something the last time they embraced, especially when they caressed each other’s s. She really did like it when Tiffany called Taeyeon her little flower. It might have been the hormones flowing through her, but Taeyeon wanted to test something out.

 

“I have an idea. Would you care to listen?”

 

Tiffany just looked at Taeyeon, waiting for her to continue.

 

“What if we were to, I don’t know, pretend we actually liked each other? Like how you were that night?”

 

Tiffany scowled at the idea. “The hell are you-”

 

“I know it sounds stupid, but by doing this we’ll find out if maybe we’re just stupid or maybe we’re attracted to each other. I admit I’ve had thought about us being alone together, despite my hatred. It really doesn’t make any sense, but I’m willing to give it a shot if you are. Besides, nobody here can see us.”

 

It really was a stupid idea, but Taeyeon wanted to experience that night one more time. She needed to know if these weird feelings she had for the mushroom was just lust or just some unexplained attraction.

 

Tiffany had her eyes closed while deep in thought. Taeyeon was also a bit nervous, but thought this experiment might answer a few things. Finally Tiffany opened her eyes and took a moment to examine Taeyeon’s face. Taeyeon’s heart was beating a little fast, but escalated when Tiffany jumped out of her chair and made a bee line towards a lounge couch at the other side of the café.

 

Taeyeon saw her quickly sitting down on the couch with her legs together and her back straight. She wasn’t sure what was going on, but Tiffany slammed the seat next to her twice while looking at the scared girl.

 

“You want to do this, right?” Tiffany said through clenched teeth.

 

Taeyeon jumped out of her seat, but wasn’t sure if she was excited or terrified. She took cautious steps towards the couch, finally sitting down next to Tiffany but also not close enough that they were touching. This whole idea was beginning to sound stupid now that Taeyeon was sitting next to her. The awkwardness was palpable in the air. She turned her head to the right and saw that Tiffany’s fists were clenched and she was avoiding Taeyeon’s stare.

 

“So umm… Tiffany,” Taeyeon tried to ease the atmosphere with a first name basis. “You said you always thought of me, right? What kind of things would you think about?”

 

Tiffany flinched when she heard her first name, but it looked like she didn’t hate it. She unclenched her fists, but still refused to make eye contact with Taeyeon.

 

“Well, Kim-”

 

“No no,” Taeyeon stopped her. “You want to pretend we’re… close right? We shouldn’t be using our family names. You gave me a nickname before, right? Try calling me that.”

 

Tiffany looked like she was about to throw up in . She turned her head slowly to Taeyeon and had to bite her lower lip before speaking.

 

“Well… Taetae,” Tiffany whispered.

 

Taeyeon’s heart skipped another beat when she heard that name. She always thought it was a cute pet name for herself and it made her feel all warm inside. Plus if her heart kept skipping like this, Taeyeon thought she might have to go to the hospital.

 

“Sometimes I would imagine taking you out on a date. Maybe going to a nice restaurant, shopping at the mall, or even sitting at the park while holding hands. I’d imagine you were my girlfriend and we would take care of each other.”

 

Taeyeon chuckled at the idea. The thought of going on a date with Tiffany would be a disaster, but Taeyeon was curious to how Tiffany would treat her.

 

“That’s sweet Tiffany. I never knew you could be such girly girl,” Taeyeon teased.

 

“Shut up you-” Tiffany was about to cuss, but she held her tongue when she looked into Taeyeon’s eyes. “Just shut up.”

 

Taeyeon wanted to test the waters a bit further, so she flipped her palm up and laid it near Tiffany. Tiffany glanced down and then looked at Taeyeon.

 

“So you imagined us holding hands? Why don’t we try that now?” Taeyeon tried to sound confident, but deep down she was very nervous.

 

Tiffany didn’t even miss a beat. She launched her left hand towards Taeyeon’s and gripped it like a clamp.

 

“Ow!” Taeyeon yelped.

 

Tiffany immediately released her iron grip with worry. Taeyeon was cradling her hand, hoping that it wasn’t broken.

 

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” Tiffany’s tone changed to concern.

 

She quickly took Taeyeon’s hand with the lightest of touch and began to examine it like she was a doctor. Tiffany carefully felt around the small hand to try to feel for any fractures or broken bones. She moved her eyes up and just noticed that Taeyeon’s face was only a few inches away from her own and she swore she could smell cherries.

 

Taeyeon’s face was becoming the same color as a cherry while she smelled the scent of strawberries from Tiffany.

 

“Umm, I think my hand is fine. It doesn’t hurt anymore,” Taeyeon spoke softly.

 

Tiffany looked back down at Taeyeon’s slender hand and gently caressed the top of it with her fingertips. Was it possible for someone’s skin to be this smooth? It was like touching silk. Taeyeon wasn’t familiar with this weird sensation. What is she supposed to do in this situation? Smile like a weirdo?

 

As Taeyeon smiled, Tiffany lifted the girl’s palm and rested it against her cheek. Now Taeyeon was surprised because Tiffany’s skin felt like warm porcelain and was getting a bit jealous. Tiffany closed her eyes as she snuggled into Taeyeon’s hand. She wasn’t sure, but Taeyeon could’ve sworn she just heard Tiffany purring.

 

Taeyeon thought Tiffany looked really cute now with her eyes closed and rubbing on her palm. Although she wouldn’t admit she was enjoying herself, she wanted more.

 

Tiffany brought Taeyeon’s hand down, away from her cheek. Taeyeon was about to ask what was going on, but didn’t have time when Tiffany suddenly grabbed Taeyeon’s head and rammed her skull right into Tiffany’s chest. Oh this familiar place. Tiffany kept her right hand behind Taeyeon’s head while her left hand was making tiny circles around Taeyeon’s back.

 

Taeyeon had no complaints as she closed her eyes and snuggled into Tiffany’s supple s. She really liked it when Tiffany was rubbing her head. It was so soothing to have this must euphoria. Taeyeon didn’t want to question this moment. This was just an experiment. Just because she wanted to stay in Tiffany’s arms forever, didn’t mean anything. As long as she didn’t ruin the moment like she always does, everything would be alright.

 

“This feels nice,” Tiffany whispered.

 

Taeyeon looked up from Tiffany’s chest in order to make eye contact.

 

“You feel nice,” Taeyeon whispered which was the first thing that came to her head.

 

Tiffany giggled. “You feel nicer.”

 

Taeyeon was feeling bold at that moment. She wanted to see how far she could go. She reached up and d Tiffany’s chest like the ert she was.

 

“Mmm… Taetae…”

 

Taeyeon never knew Tiffany could make that kind of noise. She sounded like a cat in heat. Or a star. One of the two. She gave Tiffany another squeeze when she blurted out the first thing that came to her head.

 

“So… are these real?”

 

Tiffany quickly opened her eyes and was glaring at the awkward girl.

 

“You really know how to ruin a moment, don’t you?”

 

“Umm…” Taeyeon was turning red with shame. “I’m sorry. It just came out.”

 

Tiffany sighed. She sat up from her position and wrapped her arms around Taeyeon so that the shorter girl was sitting in her lap.

 

“No, it’s fine. I expected you to say something stupid sooner or later.”

 

Tiffany rested her chin on Taeyeon’s head while wrapping her arms around her tiny waist.

 

Taeyeon snuggled in a bit so that could feel Tiffany’s heartbeat resonate onto her back.

 

“You really like skinship, don’t you Tiffany?”

 

Tiffany tapped Taeyeon’s stomach playfully before responding.

 

“It’s a lot different compared to when I hug Jessi. You actually make my heart beat.”

 

She couldn’t believe this was happening. Taeyeon felt like she was going to wake up any minute now. If this was a dream, maybe she could take it a step further.

 

“Tiffany.” Taeyeon turned around to look directly into Tiffany’s chestnut colored eyes. She took her right thumb and ever so slowly, traced it on Tiffany’s lower lip. She did it just like in the os she watched.

 

“Kiss me you idiot.”

 

 

***

 

Taeyeon sat there in Jessica’s limo. Tiffany sat rigid next to her, fists clenched in her lap. Jessica leaning forward, waiting for Taeyeon to continue.

 

“And?” Jessica motioned. “Then what happened?”

 

Taeyeon massaged her chin.

 

“You know what, I don’t remember. It was a bit fuzzy after I saw her lips. The only other thing I remembered was sitting at a table with an iced coffee in front of me and Yuri finding me. Oh and my neck was sore for a few minutes, but then the pain went away.”

 

Jessica squinted her eyes at Taeyeon’s neck and then looked back at her friend with wide surprised eyes.

 

“Oh my god, Tiff. Are you serious? You could’ve killed her!”

 

Tiffany sighed in annoyance.

 

“Well I didn’t! She was being drunk off of lust so I had to do it. It was either that or punch her in the temple and hope she would get amnesia.”

 

Taeyeon was looking back and forth from Jessica to Tiffany.

 

“Umm, what are you talking about? Did you do something to me Tiffany?”

 

Tiffany was about to answer but Taeyeon gasped while covering .

 

“Did you drug me?” Taeyeon leaned away from Tiffany.

 

“What?! No! I would never… okay maybe I would if I had some on me, but I swear I didn’t-”

 

“Don’t lie to me Tiffany!” Taeyeon shouted. “You probably injected me with a knockout drug. And when I was unconscious you probably saw me vulnerable. You were probably ogling my supple flesh, stripped me as you my -”

 

“Kim shut the up you !” Jessica yelled with disgust. “Tiffany didn’t drug your . She just pinched your carotid artery and knocked you out. That’s why your neck was sore, right Tiff?”

 

Jessica looked to Tiffany, but she was a bit red while looking away from both of them.

 

“Tiffany?” Taeyeon shook her partner’s shoulder. Tiffany looked at sheepishly.

 

“So… does that mean you’re a ?” Tiffany whispered.

 

“Okay that’s it!” Jessica shrieked.

 

As she said that, the limo made a screeching halt and one of the limo’s doors opened.

 

“You two cheeky es need some time apart before you both start ing each other.”

 

One of Jessica’s body guards poked his head through the entrance and looked at her.

 

“Jin-Wook, Kim out of the limo. As for you Tiff, we need to discuss smacking some damn sense back into you.”

 

Taeyeon was about to retort when Jin-Wook swiftly swept her waist and launched her onto the sidewalk. Thankfully she was able to land on her feet this time. The body guard slammed the door shut and ran to the black car behind them. The door window went down a bit in order for Jessica to see.

 

“Take a cold shower Kim. You’ve had a long day.”

 

The window went right back up and screeched forward as the fancy vehicle sped off into the night with three other black cars right behind it.

 

Oddly enough, Taeyeon was starting to get used to being manhandled by bodyguards. She still felt like she was on cloud nine. As she walked on home, she noticed every step she took was a bit lighter than before. Today didn’t feel like it actually happened. It was as if it was a dream. But she still remembered slapping Yuri and cuddling with Tiffany.

 

As Taeyeon neared her apartment, she hoped maybe a good night’s sleep would help clear her mind. She was about to enter her complex when she noticed there was a crunching sound in her pocket. Did she leave a receipt in there? She reached into her pocket and pulled out a roughly folded piece of paper. On it was the name ‘KIM’.

 

Taeyeon thinks she knows who wrote the note, but hurriedly unfolded the it and read the oddly worded message.

 

 

Taeng,

 

I didn’t fall for you. You ing tripped me.

 

I hate you.

Tiffany

 

 

Any normal person would’ve felt offended or angry after reading such rude note. For Taeyeon, a smile broke out on her face as she held the note right onto her chest.

 

“I hate you too, you loveable idiot.”