—–

There were moments when Taeyeon thought that the only reason why Tiffany stayed was because of Madame Dupont and her offer, but whenever she would exit her school and find the other girl waiting for her at the front, perched on her moped and wearing her adorable helmet, all doubts and insecurities would fly off once they ride the streets of Paris, looking for yet a new place to eat at.

Not this time though, because Cosette had an important event scheduled in the evening and she needed Tiffany to dress her fabulously. It was fine, Taeyeon thought; she was actually really proud of what Tiffany has been doing for the past few months.

Who would have thought that the other girl would actually find something to do in Paris?

Taeyeon suggested it—it was her idea—but that was a mere act of making conversation while she packed in her office that day Tiffany visited and invited her for dinner.

But then again, she was glad that she had said it, because now Tiffany was with her, and she no longer felt lonely since then.

The short girl had just started her moped and finished fastening her helmet when her phone suddenly rang, forcing her to turn off the scooter’s engine.

“Hey, dad,” Taeyeon greeted as she leaned back on her scooter, phone sandwiched between her ear and shoulder while she took off her helmet again.

‘Hi, Taetae! How are you? How’s school?’

“It’s good, dad. Everything’s great! I love it here.”

‘I’m very glad to hear that, Taetae. Oh, but don’t love it too much, I still want you back home.’

She could hear the pout on her father’s voice, and when she would usually cringe at the image, Taeyeon smiled instead, actually missing the old man’s antics.

“I miss you, dad. You said you were gonna visit me before you head back home but you didn’t. I haven’t seen you for more than a year now!”

‘I’m sorry Taeyeon, you know what happened in the company when you left. Everyone on the board wanted your seat; I had to straighten them out again. But don’t worry, as soon as I get some downtime and once I made sure that no one’s gonna steal our business, I’ll fly there immediately.’

Taeyeon only chuckled as she shook her head.

It was still rather early, just a little over after noon, but her classes were all done for the day. Noticing that she had been talking to her dad like a fool on her idle moped, she had decided to continue the chat in a nearby café.

On her way, she had told him of her adventures in the kitchen, how she looked at food differently now and how she had almost cut a whole finger yesterday.

“Oh, dad, that reminds me,” Taeyeon suddenly said, plopping on a vacant table outside the café near her school, “I bumped into Madam Cosette. She says hi.”

‘Ah, that crazy lady. How is she?’

“Same old, same old. Always busy, always has a party to attend.”

Taeyeon suddenly remembered Tiffany. She swallowed audibly. If her crazy father knew about it, she was sure that—

‘Oh, oh, wait! I almost forgot! Speaking of bumping into people…’

She almost jumped from her seat at her father’s excited squealing.

‘I called you because I bumped into my best friend’s wife and she said Tiffany is in Paris too! You should meet up with her!’

Taeyeon exhaled through her nose, slumping back on the chair dejectedly. She called for a waiter and ordered something cold to drink; this was going to be a long chat.

“Uh, well, uhm… About that…”

A few months ago…

“So, where are you planning to stay? Don’t say hotel. I know you’re rich but that would still be ridiculous.”

Taeyeon was still lying on the grass, her back flat on the soft ground. She had one arm under her head acting as a pillow, and the other draped across Tiffany’s collarbone while other girl’s head was resting on her tummy, playing with her fingers.

“Well,” she heard Tiffany say, “Cosette asked me to stay with her but, I don’t know. Staying with her wouldn’t feel right.”

She hummed, enjoying the feel of Tiffany’s fingers playing with her own.

The night had started to get colder but Taeyeon was still comfortable. She was feeling rather warm, actually, and she definitely knew why. She smiled, because she felt the same way that time they spent the night at the back of her mother’s truck.

“Why don’t you just live with me?” Taeyeon suddenly said, not really thinking. The warmth that Tiffany was making her feel had reached her head, affecting her brain.

But then it disappeared as soon as she closed , and she blinked, finally realizing what she had blurted out. Lifting her head up, she looked at Tiffany and found her looking back at her with a straight face.

“Are you asking me to move in with you, Kim Taeyeon?”

“I, uh, well—Uhm…”

“Don’t you think we’re going too fast? I never thought you’re like that, Taeyeon…”

Tiffany rolled off her stomach and sat up, still eyeing her. She couldn’t gauge what her look meant but Taeyeon felt really nervous, thinking if she had offended her.

Taeyeon sat up too, but she kept her gaze down towards her lap, towards her fidgeting hands.

“I didn’t—Well, I was just—I think—” She sighed. “I’m sorry…”

Taeyeon kept her voice low, feeling guilty, embarrassed. It was true that they had already kissed not too long ago, so she thought, maybe, also for Tiffany’s convenience, that—

A snicker reached her ears and when she lifted her head, she found Tiffany biting on her knuckles, suppressing her laughs.

“Wow, I hate you,” she said with a straight face, finally catching up.

“No, you don’t,” Tiffany said in between her silent laughs, overly confident and teasing.

Taeyeon scoffed, but she was smiling especially when Tiffany started to crawl towards her, parting her legs before settling in between, her front against the other’s back. Her arms went around her waist in reflex, pulling the other girl closer towards her body.

She pressed her lips on Tiffany’s temple and nuzzled her.

“That was mean; I thought you were really mad.”

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist. You should’ve seen your face though, so cute!”

Taeyeon only chuckled, opting not to say anything anymore. Instead, she drew the girl sitting in front of her closer, resting her chin on the other’s shoulder.

She could feel her body buzzing against Tiffany’s and it was really pleasant, the type were you could just fall asleep because you felt so comfortable, so safe, and that there was nowhere else in the world you’d rather be in than there.

It didn’t matter if the neatly cut grass were poking and irritating her skin through her pants, because inconveniences like those were just superficial compared to what she has in her arms. Taeyeon could be anywhere, as long as Tiffany was with her too.

“So…? How about it? I—” she cleared before continuing, “I’ll cook for you. Every day. Breakfast, lunch, dinner—whatever you like. I’ll make it for you.”

Tiffany only giggled in response but the way she snuggled closer to her body was a clear sign that she won’t be alone at home anymore.

“Add in a midnight snack and I’ll think about it.”

Taeyeon let out a hearty laugh this time.

—–

Back to the present…

“So we’re kinda, uhm… Together now…”

Her dad became quiet after that, and Taeyeon was so sure that it was only the calm before the storm. She sipped her coffee slowly, carefully, waiting for her father’s impending outburst.

But instead, she heard a cough, followed by a very calm voice.

‘Okay, Taetae. I’m glad you have someone to take care of you there.’

Taeyeon blinked her eyes, once, twice, until her brain had absorbed what happened. She scoffed.

“Wha—That’s it?”

‘Of course. Should I say something else?’

“N-Not really, but—”

‘Okay, good. Now I need to go, I have a very important matter to attend to. Give me a call every once in a while, okay Taengoo? I love you, kid. Bye.’

She hadn’t even replied yet when the line went dead.

Taeyeon was about to keep her phone when it rang again, displaying the name of her father’s trusty secretary.

“Hello?”

‘Miss Kim…’

“Yes? Is there something wrong?”

‘Uhm, I just wanted to ask, Miss Kim… Did something happen?’

“Why, what do you mean?” Taeyeon asked, suddenly sitting up.

‘Well, Chairman Kim just ran out of his office screaming, giving everyone a week off and a raise…’

Taeyeon slumped back and dropped her head on the table with a thud, making her cup of coffee jump a little.

“Ugh, I knew it.”

—–

When she arrived home, she was surprised to hear shuffling coming from Tiffany’s room, and though she wasn’t sure why the other girl was there, she smiled at the thought of seeing her before she accompanied Cosette for the evening.

“Fany? I’m home!”

“Hi, hi!”

She heard the loud voice from across the apartment as she made her way towards the kitchen for a drink.

“I just left something, I’m heading back now! Where are you?”

“Kitchen!”

The sound of heels clacking on the wooden floorboards stopped and Taeyeon knew that Tiffany was already behind her. She could smell the faint fragrance that the other girl always wore, the one that she really liked.

“Hey, sorry I couldn’t fetch you today.”

“Don’t worry, it’s fi—”

The words died on her tongue and the sound she made came out as garbled mess, because as soon as Taeyeon turned around, she was met by a sight so beautiful, she had to stop breathing.

Tiffany was standing right in front of the biggest window by the living room, and the light seeping in from outside was doing wonders to her already glowing skin. Her white strapless, form fitting mini dress only accentuated what beautiful features she already had, and Taeyeon had to pinch her arm to stop herself from gawking.

“So… How do I look?”

“You—You, uh… You l-look—“

The sound of Tiffany’s ringtone cut her off, and she was gone as soon as she came.

She did, however, left the dazed Taeyeon a peck on her lips, a quick apology and a ‘Don’t wait up for me’ before she had gone through the door with her phone still pressed to her ear.

———

———

Tiffany was quite sure that no one had ever looked at her that way before. It was a little unexplainable; she didn’t know how to put it in words, but when Taeyeon’s eyes lit up like a bunch of fireworks at the sight of her this afternoon, she felt something magical.

It had kept her thinking the whole night while she socialized with Cosette’s friends and acquaintances, while she sipped on her wineglass and while she did practically everything.

The party was pretty enjoyable, though, especially with her new found contacts. They had all complimented her work including her current outfit, some even gave her their business cards, but none of them gave the same feeling that Taeyeon’s wordless admiration had evoked on her.

Some time between the party, Tiffany was surprised to see Cosette smirking at her from across the ballroom, beckoning for her to come to her end.

“Tiffany, zear,” Cosette said when she was near enough, “look who came for you.”

Tiffany followed the direction to where the older lady was pointing at and almost gasped when she saw Taeyeon parking her moped right across the street, still on her chef’s uniform with a backpack slung on her shoulder. She looked even smaller from where Tiffany was watching her and it made her giggle.

“She looks so cute in her uniform!” Cosette gushed beside her.

“She really does.”

They continued to watch Taeyeon from the fifth floor of the hotel, through the ceiling high windows, peeking from the long curtains. She and Madame Dupont giggled continuously, especially when they saw the short girl walking restlessly to and fro her parked scooter while she clutched her phone, as if contemplating whether to call someone or not.

And soon enough, Tiffany heard her phone ringing inside her clutch.

She took it out and saw Taeyeon’s name flashing on the screen, beneath the cute caller’s picture she had snapped of her months ago.

“Excusez-moi, Cosette, I’ll just take this—“

“Non, non, ma chérie, just go. You’ve been more zhan wonzerful zonight. Ze least I can zo is to let you off early. Go, go! Ze night is still young; have fun wiz your petite chef!”

Madame Dupont shooed her off after that, and she left the ballroom happily, almost bouncing inside the elevator as it made its way down.

Her phone rang again when she stepped out of the lobby, and with a spring in her steps she made her way to Taeyeon who immediately ended the call at the sight of her.

“Hi, what are you doing here?”

“Hi. I’m sorry, I just… I wanted to see you, and I—I forgot to tell you something…”

Taeyeon kept on fidgeting on her spot and Tiffany thought she was most adorable when she’s shy and nervous like that. Though she didn’t exactly know why Taeyeon was acting that way, it was still a nice thing to see every once in a while.

“You left so abruptly, I didn’t get to answer your question, uhm—” Taeyeon paused and breathed, “Y-You look great—You look really beautiful.”

It was silly, but Tiffany couldn’t wipe the smile off of her face.

“You came all the way here just to tell me that?”

“Uhm… Yes.”

Tiffany chuckled, blissful.

She loved everything that Taeyeon did, but it was still the small things that made her heart swell more.

“You look good in your uniform too, by the way, really cute. What’s in the bag, though?”

“Oh, I brought you clothes. I figured it wouldn’t be comfortable for you to ride the moped in that dress. You can leave now, right?”

Taeyeon passed her the bag and she held it in her hands, felt the weight of the simple act. She looked at the shorter girl then at the backpack, and felt her face suddenly go warm.

“Thank you. That’s,” Tiffany paused, smiling to herself, “That’s really sweet of you.”

“It’s nothing. Go change, I’ll wait for you here.”

“I’ll be real quick, don’t move,” she warned her with a playful glare before running back to the lobby.

“Okay. I’ll be right here.”

End of Part 7