Taeyeon knew precisely how to press Tiffany’s buttons. Not seeing each other for years could’ve made a gap between them, but for probably the fifth time that day, Taeyeon quickly got on her nerves.

She puts on her best poker face for hours.

It felt like Taeyeon booked a schedule just to annoy and test out her patience, which is, by the way, definitely working. Tiffany didn’t have the right mind to process what Taeyeon had previously said about looking good in dresses.

So she opted to shut in case she accidentally stuttered or cursed Taeyeon.

“You’ve got a nice lamp here…” she watches Taeyeon check out random items like a child who just visited a museum for the first time. A side of her only somehow visible to Tiffany.

“If you don’t have any decision yet, Isabella can just start taking your sizes,” Tiffany says.

Taeyeon stops and puts down the lamp. She raises a brow, “Isabella?”

“That’s me, Signora Kim.” Isabella slowly raises a hand behind Tiffany.

“Yes, she will.” Tiffany starts walking back when she hears Taeyeon protest.

“Why can’t it be you?” Taeyeon calls out.

The question weighed a little heavy. Perhaps it meant two different things.

“I mean, Isabella..,” Taeyeon continues and addresses the young woman with a smile. “No offense, of course.”

“Yes, Signora.” Isabella steps back.

“Miss Kim, what’s the difference between–”

“I booked a schedule, right? A schedule with you. The whole clothes preparing situation kind of package, remember?” Taeyeon argues.

“It is but–”

“And I want that suit Isabella was talking about. I liked the way she presented it.”

The stubbornness, the way she cuts off Tiffany, and her cheeky remarks didn’t make the designer think twice about rolling her eyes in front of her staff and Taeyeon herself. She saw how Taeyeon stopped herself from laughing.

“Fine. Isabella, why don’t you help Kai with the inventory? I’ll take it from here.”

The latter leaves the room, leaving Taeyeon with a panicking heart and Tiffany, who has a sly smirk.

“Let’s start with taking that jacket off, Miss Kim,” Tiffany instructs, eyes focused on the clipboard she was holding. “I don’t have the whole day, okay?” she continues when she senses Taeyeon not moving a single muscle.

This better be fun. Tiffany thought.

Taeyeon quickly took off the denim, laying it ever so slowly on the chair to buy more time to process what was happening. She sees Tiffany put down what she was reading before grabbing a measuring tape and giving it a couple of stretches.

She gulps at the sight.

Her breath hitches when Tiffany suddenly grabs her arms and starts measuring. The proximity between them made Taeyeon forget to breathe, and Tiffany knew that. Both of them are in some sort of trance when physical contact has been made.

Tiffany’s soft, delicate hand grabbed onto Taeyeon’s bare skin thanks to the short-sleeved shirt she wore-it was utterly undeniable, predictable even, to assume that there would always be that spark between them.

It questioned the natural laws of life, science, or physics. It didn’t make sense how each of them naturally felt that surge of happiness whenever they were together.

So, Taeyeon stood still. Almost like a mannequin.

She lets Tiffany do what she does best. It was a form of art just to watch her do these things. Taeyeon knew how much Amare meant to Tiffany, even before they had accidentally slept together. Her father did a great job of trying to convince Kim Holdings to invest. It was actually a….

Her thoughts are cut off when she feels Tiffany’s hands on her neck.

Taeyeon turns around, stepping back with wide eyes. “What are you doing?”

Tiffany had a flat expression on her face. They stay silent for a couple of seconds before the designer ends the eye contact to go write on the chart by the table. Taeyeon was left astounded, thinking if she had overreacted for a bit.

“Holy , what was that?!” Taeyeon screamed in her head.

She figured she had to say sorry if she offended her, but… what the- Taeyeon gets startled for the second time when those same hands grabbed onto her shoulder, making her face to face with Tiffany.

“Ti–”

“What?!”  Tiffany shoots her an irritated look. “I am just going to measure the base of your neck. Stop jumping around.”

With that, Tiffany successfully wrapped the tape measure around Taeyeon’s neck, just below her exposed adam’s apple, for gulping way too hard when she could almost feel Tiffany’s breath on the side of her face. And, as always, Tiffany smelled like freshly bloomed roses.

It made Taeyeon’s head swirl like a drug. A good one; that is. Tiffany’s seriousness exhibited an insane amount of iness. The flimsy tape measure looked like a murder weapon in her hands. Like it was about to choke the life out of her.

But Taeyeon stands by her statement; Tiffany Young is hot.

Her little musings get canceled again when she feels Tiffany stand in front of her again. This time she ought to record her waistline.

Oh god.

Taeyeon isn’t sure where to focus her eyes. Not when their faces are a few inches away from kissing.

Dear lord, she’s probably dying today.

Tiffany fixes a loose hair fringe. Good thing because Taeyeon would’ve stupidly fixed it herself. She unconsciously starts to tap her shoes, looking around the area and focusing on maintaining her breathing. The aircon helped a lot in hiding her sweat.

“If you don’t stop tapping on your heels and step on my newly painted nails, I’m going to personally make sure you wear a potato sack on that damn dinner, Taeyeon.”

And so she stopped.

Stopped because of the threat.

But more importantly, she stopped because Tiffany finally called her by her first name.

Oh, and did she forget to mention that the designer deliberately tightened the tape around her waist?

Talk about being strict.

Tiffany finally distances herself, letting Taeyeon breathe and miss the closeness between them. The strong scent of greenery and Italian rose comes from her perfume which Taeyeon assumes to be Rosa Nobile. As expected, it was from one of the latter’s favorite brands.

“Is it done?” Taeyeon bravely asked.

Tiffany nods. “Yeah, we’ll call you so we can decide on the designs. I still need to do some sketches, though. When do you need it?”

“Probably by the end of the week.”

“Today is Monday, Miss Kim.”

“I know. Friday sounds good to you?”

Tiffany sighs. She puts a hand on her hips, looking at Taeyeon tiredly. “You’re not my only client, Miss Kim.”

“Oh.” Taeyeon decides to put on back her jacket. “Well, you can decide on which day would be best. I can wait.”

Tiffany once again gets caught in the words Taeyeon spoke. The tension in the atmosphere never left, even if they knew they were playing a teasing game earlier. It still doesn’t change their history.

The relationship between them that once had a name.

“Okay, we’ll keep you updated about it, Miss–”

“Taeyeon.”

Taeyeon gave her a small smile. It was a blissful one, and Tiffany wanted to frame it. It was comforting yet distant.