The next day the couple spent their time pampering themselves. They had spa and body massage together. Taeyeon changed her hair color into lighter gold locks while Tiffany had her bangs and dyed her hair ruby. They were quite happy with the result. They went out of the salon hand in hand.

*** 

Taeyeon was nervous as hell. She kept fidgeting. Tonight she will be meeting Tiffany’s family. And her father. FATHER. Aish. You can do this Kim Taeyeon.

Tiffany reached out for Taeyeon hand and held it tightly. She knows Taeyeon is nervous and the only thing she can do now is to assure her that everything’s gonna be alright.

She smiled at Taeyeon and squeezed her hand. Hoping the gesture can somehow bring comfort to the other girl. Taeyeon gave her a weak smile.

“You look beautiful Fany-ah.” Taeyeon sincerely complimented her.

Tiffany blushed at the remark.

“You look beautiful yourself Taetae.” It was a sincere compliment too. Tonight Taeyeon really looked beautiful than usual plus her new gold locks which suited her.

Taeyeon blushed. It crept up to her ears. Good thing she had chosen to let her hair down covering her ears.

They went inside the huge house hand in hand.

***

Taeyeon let out a deep breath and held her chest. She has been holding her breath the whole encounter with Tiffany’s father.

“Good evening Mr. Hwang. I’m Kim Taeyeon. Nice meeting you.” Taeyeon bowed at the man before her. She was really nervous from the time she stepped into the large lawn of Tiffany’s cousin.

“Oh. So you are the Kim Taeyeon. I’ve heard a lot about you. Miyoung has been sharing stories about you.” Mr. Hwang chuckled.

“Dad! You don’t have to tell her that!” Tiffany blushed. She doesn’t want Taeyeon to know that she has been mentioning her to her family. It was just embarrassing.

“Shouldn’t I? Ohh. I didn’t think you’d be all too shy now Miyoung.” Mr. Hwang gave a heartily laugh. He likes teasing her daughter. And seeing her all too shy and happy about her new lover makes him happy as well.

“Okay now just leave us for a moment and get me water please.”

Tiffany glanced at Taeyeon eyes asking her if she would be alright if she leaves her with her father. Taeyeon gave a small nod and smiled. Tiffany then excused herself from the two.

“So Taeyeon, I heard she has moved in with you. Everything alright?

“Yes sir. We’re working things out together.”

“Ahh. That’s good to hear. You know she’s not really good at household stuff especially in the kitchen, I guess you already found out about it?”

“Yes sir. I found it the hard way.” Taeyeon answered and chuckled. Earning a laugh from Mr. Hwang.

 “I assume you knew what happened to her previous relationship?” His tone became serious.

“Yes sir.”

“Make my daughter happy Taeyeon. She’s not a bad person and she deserves to be happy. So I hope you won’t make her suffer how she suffered back then. I didn’t know much about her previous relationship because she kept it from us. But I saw how devastated she was when it ended. So I really hope you’d be different from her previous lover.” Mr. Hwang’s solemnly added.

 “Don’t worry about it Mr. Hwang. I will take care of your daughter.” Taeyon gave him a sincere and reassuring smile.

“Well, that’s good to hear. So---“

“Dad! Here’s your water.” Tiffany instantly came into Taeyeon’s side and giving her a look of is-everything-okay-didn’t-he-do-anything look. Which Taeyeon responded with a genuine smile and a shake of the head.

“Thank you princess. Oh well, I better get going now. Nice meeting you Taeyeon.” Mr. Hwang gave Taeyeon a pat in the shoulder and gave Tiffany a wink before leaving the two alone.

“Oh my God. Finally…” Taeyeon gave a deep breath.

“Hey it wasn’t that bad was it?”

“No. Your father was friendly. I’m just thankful it was finally over.” Taeyeon held again her chest.

Tiffany could only chuckle.

“Come on. Let’s get some drinks.” Tiffany was dragging Taeyeon when they heard someone call. And even with her back against the owner of the voice, Taeyeon swore, she knows that voice all too well. She froze. She felt panic creeping through her whole system. Then Tiffany let go of her hand and faced the voice who just called for her.

“Tiffany!” A voice called out and approached them.

“Jessi!” Tiffany instantly turned and ran towards the owner of the voice.

Taeyeon couldn’t bring herself to turn her head. She was shaking. She was nervous as hell. She was afraid that her suspicion might come out correct. She’s doomed. She’s screwed. She’s dead.

“I was right! It was you! I saw uncle back there and he told me you’re here. How have you been? We lost contact for like ages! I missed you!”

“I missed you too Jessi! You didn’t call! You just vanished in thin air!”

Both gave each other a tight hug before breaking apart.

“Sorry. A lot of things happened while we were in the States. It’s a good thing I’m back here. I missed a lot.”

“Yes you really did miss a lot. And you owe me a long catching up woman. You better prepare yourself. You have a lot of explaining to do!”

“Yes. Yes. I know. Don’t worry we have all the time in the world to catch up. Dad says we might be staying here for good.”

“That’s good to hear. How have you been?”

“How have YOU been? I heard you have a new girlfriend. I’m happy for you Tiff.”

Tiffany laughed. Jessica is just too good to get back at her. And upon the mention of girlfriend it was only then she remembered about Taeyeon whom she left a while ago. She glanced back and saw her still frozen in place. She came near Taeyeon dragging along Jessica. Then she nudged her girlfriend to turn and face them.

 “Jessi, this is my girlfriend, Kim Taeyeon.”

“Taetae, this is my cousin, Jessica Jung.”

Time stood still. Everything stood still. Taeyeon couldn’t believe her eyes. She couldn’t believe anything that’s happening right now. This is sick. This is such a joke. A very bad joke. She could feel her heart pounding so hard against her ribcage. She could feel her blood rushing through her veins. She couldn’t breathe. Her lungs ceased to allow exchange of oxygen. She felt nauseous. She couldn’t feel her legs. Her arms. Her whole being. What has she done in her past life to deserve this kind of fate. Sica-ah.

Jessica froze. She couldn’t believe her eyes. Right in front her….

Taengoo.

The only girl she loved the most. The girl whom she once wanted to spend the rest of her life with. But also the same girl whom she knew she had broken so much. And the girl…whom is Tiffany’s girlfriend now. Is this karma trying to get at her now? Jessica just couldn’t believe how fate is trying to mock her.

Tiffany held Taeyeon by the waist ushering her to come near them and introduce herself. The squeeze on Taeyeon’s waist brought her back from her daze. She flinched at the pain upon contact. Damn this girl. She doesn’t have to be this physically abusing me.

“Hello Jessica. I’m Kim Taeyeon. Fany’s girlfriend. Nice meeting you.” Taeyeon managed to introduce herself. She’s quite sure that Tiffany has no idea about her cousin being her ex-lover. So she played along. She will explain everything to her later. She doesn’t want to create any scene by wailing or whatever she wants to do at the moment. She remembered Tiffany’s father is just around the corner so she must stay cool and respond calmly at the current situation. Though in truth she really would like to just run off and leave them there. But she knows that’s out of the choices. She can’t do such a stupid thing.

“H—Hi Taeyeon. I’m Jessica Jung. Tiffany’s cousin. Nice meeting you too.” Jessica responded. She caught on what the other girl is trying to do of the situation. Tiffany has no idea that her current girlfriend is her ex-lover. She tried her best to act cool. It’s not Tiffany’s fault that she didn’t introduce Taeyeon back then. She eyed Taeyeon and scanned her. Gorgeous as ever. Her gold locks suited her. Still had the baby face she loved staring at for hours. Still had those onyx eyes staring back at her. Her eyes landed on Taeyeon’s lips. Those lips. Down to her neckline. Collarbone. Shoulders. Milky skin. Then she saw it. Tiffany’s hand on Taeyeon’s waist. Their bodies too close to each other. She felt a knot inside her. She sighed inside. She’s jealous and she knows it. But she doesn’t have the right to feel such thing. Taeyeon isn’t hers anymore.

“Excuse me, Jessica-shi your father called for you. He’s waiting for you inside the house.” A maid interrupted them.

“O—Oh okay. I’ll be right there.” She addressed the maid that she’ll follow behind.

“Uhmmm. If you’ll excuse me. Nice meeting you again Taeyeon. And Tiff, we’ll catch up next time.” She hurriedly excused herself and left.

Taeyeon let out a deep breath. She wasn’t aware she had been holding her breath while staring at her ex-lover. Sica-ah. She had gotten rid of her full bangs. She dyed her hair light brown. Still beautiful in Taeyeon’s eyes. She was scanning Jessica the whole time. From her eyes, to her nose, to her slightly pouting lips, to her neckline, her porcelain skin. God. She loved everything about Jessica.

Sigh. Get a hold of yourself Kim Taeyeon. This isn’t the time to gawk at your ex-girlfriend. She was thankful that the maid has interrupted them and Jessica left. For if not, she’s not sure if she could stop herself from staring.