“I don’t know how you did it, but you cheated.”

I came back to my body with a stiff jolt; everything in front of my eyes came into focus. 

“What?! I did not cheat.”

Hyoyeon’s mouth was hanging open.  I could see the back of Sunny’s head tilt to the side and I imagined her glaring, though I couldn’t confirm it from this perspective.

“You just drew three aces?” Sunny asked, skeptically.  I grinned.

Hyoyeon saw me and her face flickered with glee.

“I’m done.” Sunny said.  She stood up and waited for me to move my leg that was resting on the table beside her, so she could leave.

“I just got lucky!” Hyoyeon called after her, bringing the cards together to form a deck and shuffling.

My eyes fell to Jessica who was on the couch opposite me, face down looking lifeless.  Her arm was hanging off the side fondling the carpet, her face completely blank.

I took a little pride in knowing that I could still fully function when my lover was out of town. 

“When does their plane get in?” Hyoyeon asked me.

“Any minute now.” I said

“Well, that gives you some time then.” She smirked, shuffling the cards. “Are you up for a game?”

“Not after I just watched you cheat.” I laughed.

Hyoyeon made an unsatisfied noise with and stood up.

“Does that hurt?” Jessica asked, dully, pointing at my foot.

“Only if I touch it.” I said.

“…It looks really gross, Taeyeon.” She looked away.

“Of course it does.” I said. “

She was referring to the toenail I managed to all but rip off.  My foot was elevated, wrapped in a soft cast in order to keep myself from putting pressure on it.  I examined the remains of the mangled nail on my biggest toe.  The dark bruises were starting to fade a little and the fact that my toe was crusting over was pretty gross, but the doctor told me it was supposed to do that. 

I flexed it gingerly and Jessica actually rolled over to face to couch to keep herself from looking at it any longer.

“Thirsty, Taeng?” Sooyoung asked me from the kitchen.

“Yeah, some water please.  Thanks.” I said back.

Being taken care off was pretty nice but I didn’t enjoy being immobile.  It wasn’t a horrible injury or anything that would keep me out of work, but it was just enough to annoy me and give everyone else a reason to keep me down for a few days. 

“Are you excited?” Sooyoung asked me, setting my water on the table beside me.

“Yes.”

“You do seem like you’re in a much better mood today.” She said, sitting beside me.

“That’s to be expected.” I smiled.

“Have you heard anything from her?”

“Not since their plane took off.” I said, picking up my phone and double checking that I hadn’t gotten any messages.

Sooyoung took it from me and looked at my background, a new picture Tiffany had sent to me of herself.

“I really like this color on her.  And the cut… omo.” Sooyoung said, admiring Tiffany’s new hairstyle.

Sooyoung eyed me, as if expecting me to talk.  I stared back at her.

“Well?  Do you like it?” She asked.

“Of course I do.” I said.

“Aren’t you just dying to see it?” She asked.

“Honestly, I’m more excited to see her than just her hair.” I smirked.

Her hand connected upside my head.  I winced.

“Smart mouth you got there.” She smirked.

My lip curled.

“She could come home bald and I’d still think she was breathtaking.” I said.

Sooyoung sighed heavily, leaning back against the couch.

“Ahh, my heart.” She shook her head. “You guys are so unconditional.”

I nodded.

“But what happens when… you know…” Sooyoung wondered.

“…What?” I asked, completely clueless.

“Eventually you guys are going to want your own place, right?”

“After SNSD.” I said.

“Really?” She asked.

I grinned.

“We talked about this, Tiffany and I.”

“That’s pretty serious to be talking about.” Sooyoung said, sounding impressed.

“Well... yeah.” I agreed.  I took my water and stared down into it. “I guess you could say we’re pretty serious.”

I didn’t see the glass of water anymore but I could hear running water in my mind.  I could almost feel myself become engulfed in the steam once more.

“Are you insane?”

“No.” I said assertively.

I stared at her, not budging.  The entire right side of my body was in the direct stream of the water, I could feel my hair becoming heavier with the water’s weight, pressing into the side of my face and I didn’t care in the least.  Tiffany’s expression was soft as ever, she was changing her weight between either of her feet. 

“…Why?”

“Because!” I looked around wildly. “Tiffany, I already know I want you forever, what’s the point in waiting?” 

“But what’s the rush?” She asked.

I felt a pit in my stomach.  For the first time I actually doubted the outcome of my question.

“…There’s no rush, I’m not saying let’s get on the next plane to New York or wherever and go do it today.  I just… I want the promise.  I need you to know how I feel.”  I said far too quickly. “After everything, after yesterday… it just confirmed it for me, Tiffany.  I want you forever.”

She smiled kindly at me.  I started preparing myself for rejection. 

“What about SNSD? What about my dad and your parents?”

“It doesn’t have to be now. We’ll have an extended secret engagement.  We don’t have to tell anyone until we’re ready.” I said.

I could see she was really thinking about it.  She moved the messy mass of my hair out of my face and considered me. Her smile grew.

“You really want to marry me?  This is serious, Tae.”

“Yes.  This isn’t something I just woke up and decided to do on a whim.” I muttered.

“I’ve thought about it, too.” She said.

In this span of silence I took the time to admire her makeup-less face, to take in every ounce of her beauty and only know that it was multiplied tenfold on the inside.  The woman standing in front of me was my wife, whether she said yes now or I had to wear her down later.  I wouldn’t take another answer.  I would ask again and again if I had to.

We were at a standstill.  She was glancing downwards with a thoughtful grin on her face and I was hanging on every gesture, every little change in her facial expression. 

She was teetering on the verge of speech.

“So you’re going to move in together after SNSD?” Sooyoung ripped me out of my daydream.

I grinned widely.

“Yeah…”

Something like that.

“Oh!” Sooyoung jumped a little.  She handed me my phone that came to life in her hands.

“They’ve landed.” I said, smiling and scrolling through Tiffany’s text.

“Ah, they’ll be home in no time.” 

“Yep!” I said happily, stepping up onto my good foot to stand up.

“Yah, what do you think you’re doing?” Sooyoung asked, standing up as well.

I raised an eyebrow up at her. “I’m… going to get dressed?”

“You’re not supposed to be walking.” She said.

“So?” I said defensively, “She’s going to be here in fifteen minutes, I need to look nice-Ahhh!”

In a heartbeat, Sooyoung bent double and grasped the back of my knees, carrying me bridal style into my bedroom.  I kept up a steady rhythm, pounding on her shoulders to put me down. 

“When I’m better, you’ll pay.” I said to her menacingly as she set me gently onto my good foot.

 “Whatever you say, short stuff.” The giant bellowed over her shoulder as she left.

Scratch everything I said about it being nice to be taken care of.  This was a little over the top and it left me frustrated and slightly flustered, feeling like a child.  I shook my head after her, positively fuming as I set to putting some mild makeup on and fixing my hair. 

Surely, Tiffany wouldn’t baby me like this…

Even if she wanted to, I didn’t think I’d mind it from her.  Tiffany could treat me any way she wanted, I already knew that, but it was just a stupid toenail injury.  Some of the girls were acting like I’d gotten my foot amputated at the ankle.

I hobbled back into the living room walking on my heel and fell into a chair in the kitchen.  My temperament was changing quickly, knowing that it wouldn’t be long until Tiffany came through the very door I was staring at. 

I convulsed when it opened suddenly.

“Relax, it’s just me.” Jessica said, closing the door behind her.

“What were you doing out there?” I said irritably, sinking back into my chair.

“I was just… checking.” She held up her cell phone. “I’m not getting the best service in here, and Yuri… I haven’t heard from her.” She said slowly.

“Ah… that doesn’t mean anything.  She’s probably sleeping…or something” I said, trying to crunch the time conversion in my head.

“Yeah…” She said softly.

“…” I tapped my fingers on the table awkwardly.  Jessica leaned against the counter in the kitchen looking forlorn. 

“…You know Sica, when Tiffany and I are apart we take pictures for each other to try and cheer each other up.  Maybe you should try that?”

She blinked at me.

“I’m serious. Give me your phone I’ll help.” I said.

I pushed the button to turn on the camera and held it in front of her face.  She looked at me uncertainly.

“Try and look cute.” I said.

She smiled and made a heart with her hands.

“Wait.” I said.  I lowered the phone and pushed Jessica’s hair behind her ear.  Her time on the couch had made it stick up in odd places.  Her face softened considerably at my gesture.

“Good.”  I said and brought the camera back up.  “Yes, perfect.  Look at it just like you’d look at Yuri.”

The result was a really beautiful picture.   She looked caught in the middle of a daydream, her wide eyes were penetrating but they held so many secrets to me.  I handed Jessica the phone back and wondered if Yuri would be able to translate them.

“Write something sweet.  You’ll get a response.”

“Thanks.” She smiled softly, biting her lip thoughtfully as she wandered off with her phone.

The door opened then, and I locked eyes with Yoona.

“I told you.” Yoona said over her shoulder. “How did I know you’d be on your feet?” She asked me.

“I was just helping-“ I was brought up short.

Yoona’s eyes immediately went to my foot and a repulsed look came over her face.  I could see her world famous flat fish grimace out of the corner of my eye but in the doorway stood… simply the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.

Tiffany had a slightly timid expression on her face as she watched me take in her new style for the first time.  She sent me countless pictures of it but it still stunned me to see her like this in real life.  It was amazing how much brighter her face looked with lighter hair not to mention the new cut meant the return of her eyebrows. They were such a pivotal point in her expressions, I thought, and I was so glad to see that they weren’t hidden anymore.

They were pulled together apprehensively. 

“…Hi.” I grinned stupidly.  It felt like my face was melting from her mere presence.

“Hi.” She said back sweetly. 

While she walked to me all I could do is watch her hair in amazement.  It had so much volume and life to it that it bounced along behind her with every step.  The color was undefined to me.  It hovered on the edge of brown and auburn and golden…  It just looked so soft.  I just wanted to put my hands in it and feel it against my face.

“Do you like it?” She asked.

I cleared my throat. ”I-I adore it.  You look incredible.”

She grinned and the world got a little brighter.  The baggage that was hanging off her shoulder landed on the floor with a loud thump at the exact same time her arms took me.  My injured foot hovered behind me safely inches off the floor as I leaned into her tight embrace.

“You shouldn’t be walking around, love.” She said.

“I know.. I’m not really.. I just…”

I tilted my face into her neck, taking in her sweet aroma and feeling her warmth.  The consequence of so many days without her was just now occurring to me.  When she finally pulled away, I found that I didn’t want to let her go. I gripped her shoulders tighter.

“Come on…” She coaxed me along into the living room, pulling most of my weight with her as my legs were barely cooperating.

We ended up on the couch; I was practically sitting on her lap.

I pulled her face to mine and kissed her without abandon, my hand entangling itself into her luscious hair.    I felt her smile against my lips after some time and try to pull away.  I did everything I could to make her escape more difficult.

I heard someone clear their throat and Tiffany slowly pulled away from me.  Sunny was standing in front of us with her arms crossed.  I frowned at her, though she seemed pleased to have an opportunity to break us up.

“I have a message for you.” She said to Tiffany, holding up a small square of paper. “From MBC.”

“Thanks.” Tiffany said, taking it. Sunny sat beside Tiffany and starting playing with her hair.  Resigned, I rested my head on Tiffany’s shoulder.

“Rehearsal tonight.” Tiffany muttered to me.  I smiled and she stood up.

“I’m going to change into something a little more comfortable and put my stuff away.” She said.

“Ah I bet you’re tired.” I said, standing up with her.  She pushed me back down into the couch.

“You rest.” She said.

I pouted after her as she retrieved her bags and walked into the bedroom.

“You… are so whipped, Taeyeon.” Sunny said.

I turned to Sunny, my hand balled into a fist, but before I could speak, Tiffany yelled from the bedroom. “Don’t call my girlfriend whipped!”

Sunny laughed. “She even argues for you.”

I almost grabbed her by the back of the neck before she got up and out of my reach.  I stood menacingly and glared at her.

“Now, now.” Sunny said. “You don’t want me to have to tell Tiffany you’re walking around do you?”

Absolutely livid, I gave Sunny an inappropriate hand gesture and began walking down the hall to my bedroom.  I could hear Sunny laughing behind me.  I had had it with being treated like I was disabled.  I tried to flush it from my mind, knowing the only thing that mattered was my Tiffany was home.  She was within reach and I didn’t want sit around and waste time not staring at her. 

When I turned the corner I found her hunched over her luggage, her clothes were scattered into two piles on the ground beside her.  I started limping towards her, my eyes bright on the back of her head.  I cracked the door behind me and it made a low squeak which she heard.  She turned and locked eyes with me, standing up straight.

“…Sunny was driving me crazy.” I said, starting to limp towards her.  I tripped up on the uneven ground over her clothes and almost fell into her.  She caught me and pulled me back upright.

“This is why you shouldn’t be walking…” She laughed throatily.

“Ha.. woops.” I said, grinning up at her.

“You missed me, huh?” She smiled.

I hugged her tighter and she chuckled.

“Who said you could be so cute today?” She asked, messing up my hair.

“I just wanted to welcome you home, Kim Miyoung.” I whispered, grinning ear to ear.

“I don’t think you’re allowed to call me that, yet.”  Despite her words, she looked marginally happier after hearing the new name out loud.

“You don’t like it?  I’ll be a Hwang-“

“Shh.” She said, putting a finger to my lips and looking at the cracked door.  “Did you tell anyone?”

“Nope.” I said, “You told me not to.”

“Good.” She said, breathing easier, “We don’t need anyone to lecture us about how insane this is.”

“… I don’t think it’s that insane really.” I said, sitting on the end of the bed, “I know Sunny pretty much considers us a married couple already.”

Actually, a part of me wondered if Tiffany was ashamed of being engaged at such a young age.   When she had told me not to tell the others, I thought it was because she wanted to be here to announce it with me. 

“Still…” She said, putting her hands on my shoulders.  I took advantage of her proximity and pushed my face against her warm, firm stomach. “It’ll be nice to be able to tell them when we know when it’s going to happen, right?”

“Mmm.” I hummed against her abs, trying in vain to press the worry out of my mind.

She started weaving her fingers in and out of my hair and at that moment I felt immediate comfort.  The days I’d just spent without her were dissolving from my conscious thoughts. 

It’s strange how many things I can think of that can go horribly wrong when Tiffany isn’t around.  Somehow, it’s not until I know her plane has landed safely… until the van makes it through traffic back to the dorms… not until I know she’s within arm’s reach, that I can feel at ease again. Just knowing she’s safe and beside me takes tons of weight off of my shoulders. 

I wonder if she even knew the turmoil I put myself through over her.

“It looks painful, baby.” Tiffany said, kneeling in front of me and taking a closer look at my toe.

“It’s not bad.”

Tiffany pushed my legs apart and put her chin on one of my knees.  Sitting here completely casually, she still looked like she was right out of some high fashion magazine.  I couldn’t take my eyes off of her.

“You’re going to be okay to rehearse, right?” She asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine.  What about you?  Aren’t you jetlagged?” I asked.

She grinned and shook her head faintly.  “Don’t you worry about me.” She poked my nose playfully and stood up again, returning to her bag.

“Fiancé.” I grinned.

“…It does have a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?”

We stared at one another.  When I’d asked Tiffany to marry me, we didn’t have any time to celebrate her answer.  In a way, this was the resounding realization that she’d said yes to me.  That she’d spend her entire life with me; that we’d made that promise to one another.

“Forever is a long time.” I said.  I felt like I had to just double check that she knew what she was getting herself into. 

“It is.” She agreed, walking towards me.  She got back down onto eyelevel with me ran a finger along my jaw line.   “Ask me again, Tae.”

“..Eh.. huh?”

“Ask me again, we were too rushed before.  We should do it properly.” She said.

I bit my lip.

“…I don’t want to.”

“Why not?”

“You already said yes once, I don’t want to push my luck.” I chuckled.

“You think I’d say no?” She asked, her eyebrows hovering high on her forehead.

I bit my lip.  She seemed set on this, I really wish I hadn’t have said anything.

“Ask me.” She said, putting her forehead against mine.

“…Fany-ah…”

“Please?”

I sighed.  “Fany-ah, will you marry me?”

Without hesitating, she answered.

“Yes.  There’s nothing I want more.  Ask again.”

Her eyes were disappearing; I saw what she was doing now.

“Marry me, beautiful.” I crooned.

“I’ve dreamt of it Tae, of course I will.  Ask again.”

I chuckled; she nuzzled the side of my face with her nose as encouragement.

“Be my wife.” I said.

“Forever.” She said, pecking my lips softly. 

I felt my face turning red at her obvious ploy.  She caught on quickly to the skepticism I had at my own shotgun proposal.  This was her way of erasing any doubts or fears I had, but she apparently didn’t realize that I thought she was ashamed.  While a part of my brain acknowledged and felt thankful for her attempt, I couldn’t fully process it.  I was lost in Tiffany’s eyes again. 

God, she’s a knockout.

“Are you ready?” She asked, patting my thighs and standing back up.

“Fany-ah, you just turned all my muscles to mush and now we have to go to work?” I asked.

“It’s just a rehearsal.” She held her hands out to help me up.  “I’ll prop you up if I have to.”

I took her hands, and she pulled me upright. 

Astounding.

This job was nothing out of the ordinary for me.  Seohyun and I hosted Music core without an issue the week before without Tiffany, but it felt so different now.  It wasn’t just going to work anymore; it was going to work with my fiancé now, even more so since Seohyun stayed longer in the UK for a small vacation with her mother. 

At our rehearsal, I was rather pleased to find out that the producer thought Tiffany and I had good chemistry together.  His proclamation left us grinning for the rest of the night. He told us he planned on giving a small solo segment come show night.   While it did seem a little unfair, Seohyun was still on vacation for the rehearsal.  I couldn’t really fault him for giving it to us instead for that reason. Tiffany was just more focused on teasing me for how cute I had to act.

I was the first one dressed and ready to go the night of Music Core.  The three of us shared a dressing room and even though Seohyun had caught a red eye flight to get here on time she showed no signs of being tired.  I’m sure she was exhausted but she was type of professional that would never show it.

With Tiffany’s hair now done, the last of the hairdressers cleared out of the room, leaving just the three of us.

“You’re so pretty.” I said, standing behind Seohyun, playing with her hair.  It was slightly curled and pulled into a high ponytail.  She looked like she was about to have a heart attack, as if she’d just gotten in perfect and now I was messing it up.

“Unnie..” She smiled nervously, leaning away from my touch.

“I missed you, but I must admit, we used the opportunity to eat rather poorly while you were gone.” I grinned.

She turned around and looked at me with raised eyebrows.

“You’re lying.” She said.

I stared at her with a mischievous grin, weighing the pros and cons of telling her the truth.  In the end, I remained silent.  Being lectured and having my diet monitored for the next week didn’t sound too appealing.

“Don’t let her tease you.” Tiffany said to Seohyun.  I didn’t realize she was standing behind me until she poked my sides.  I started walking backwards slowly into her until I felt her arms come around me loosely.  At the MBC studios, this is as close as we would ever get to displaying affection.

“Isn’t she pretty?” I asked Tiffany.

“Gorgeous.” Tiffany said, “She looks all grown up.”

“You’re becoming an old woman before our eyes.” I grinned.

“Old?” Seohyun asked in a high voice, turning around with wide eyes.

“We need you on the stage, ladies.” A stagehand knocked on our door. I snorted at Seohyun’s expression.

“Here we go.” Tiffany smiled and turned for the door.

“Ah.” Seohyun frantically tried to fix whatever I had done to her hair before following us out.  It was a respectful reception from the audience. 

I did see a few signs for us though I was happy it was dominating the consensus.  Tonight was about the performers, not the MC’s.  We stood in our places and let the cameramen start to work out their angles and plot strategies for the live shots.  The makeup artists returned for their last minute touchups.

“All good, ladies?  One minute until live.” A producer said to us.  A stagehand came up to hand us our microphones.

“Nervous?” Tiffany asked, grinning at me.

“Why would I be?” I asked. “I fit this part much better than you might think.” I winked.

Tiffany pinched my cheek and it actually drew a small cheer from the audience.  I stuck my tongue out at them.

“Thirty seconds.”

I glanced at the monitor we were displayed on and frowned.

“Aigoo, you guys look so much taller than me.” I said.

“Maybe when you aren’t injured they’ll probably put you on a box.” Tiffany giggled.

I glared at her. She leaned into my ear to whisper.

“I happen to find short girls y.”

I lodged my tongue between my teeth and grinned out into the packed audience.  Tiffany… I was starting to realize, was a bit voyeuristic.  She seemed to enjoy watching me squirm in front of tons of people.

I gripped onto my microphone tightly and looked at the back of it.  I hadn’t taken into consideration how cool it was to now have my own microphone with its name on it.  Predebut, while I always enjoyed watching the music programs for the performances, I always thought the MC’s were so cool too.  I hoped I could be remembered as a great MC as well. 

My eyes fell to my hand and I noticed, with a sharp pain in my stomach, that I was still wearing my couple ring. 

I poked Tiffany and showed her behind my microphone that I was still wearing it.  She looked to her own hand and, like a nightmare, I could see she was still wearing hers, too.  We stared at one another in shock. 

“Fifteen seconds.”

“What do I do?! Do you have pockets?” I whispered frantically.

“No, it’s a dress, Taeyeon.” She mumbled back sternly.

It wouldn’t be good if we were found hosting Music Core wearing couple’s rings. 

I slid my ring off inconspicuously and held it on the inside of my right hand against the microphone tightly. 

“Ten Seconds……. Five, Four, Three…”                           

The producer pointed out the last two numbers.  I saw Tiffany had no issue in showing off her own ring, which I guess was fine.  If it was just her wearing it, nobody could connect the ring to me.

“1, 2, 3,”

“Hello we are the girls who love music!”

“MC Tiffany!”

“Taeyeon!”

“And Seohyun, nice to meet you!”

The whole entire key to hosting Music Core, was to act as happy an energetic as possible.  Basically, you take your best mood possible and multiply it by ten.  Of course, this translated into acting like a huge dork, which I think worked well for me.  Even as I was just saying my lines, I found myself nudging or poking Tiffany, who was next to me. 

With a brief glance towards the monitor I could see we had no space between us whatsoever, while Seohyun at least seemed to be giving Tiffany a little breathing room.

“Okay, let’s gather our strength and shout a “Fighting!” to make Show! Music Core more energetic!” Tiffany said, enthusiastically.

I had to remove a hand from the microphone to put it on top of the others and I felt the ring shift behind my sweaty palm.

“1, 2, 3 Fighting!” We shouted.

I quickly replaced my hand and grinned wider because I hadn’t gotten caught yet.  Amazing how near disaster could almost strike when we weren’t even through the opening monologue yet. 

“That’s great.” Tiffany said. “Today is the first time the three of us will be MCing together.  I’m shaking.” She said.

“You’re shaking a lot right now.” I nodded in agreement, as per my lines.

I was the one shaking.  What was in reality only a few minutes seemed to span on for hours.  After hosting this show last week I was pretty sure I had it down. The thing I didn’t anticipate was finding myself nervous about acting ‘cute’ around Tiffany.  It wasn’t exactly my favorite thing in the world to do, on purpose anyway. 

When our opening was done I rushed to the dressing room to stow my ring while the second performance was up.  I got back in time for our second monologue, Tiffany and I were doing this one alone and I couldn’t help noticing a slightly harrassed Seohyun watching us, wondering why she had been ushered out of the shot.

I read the lines mechanically and hoped beyond hope that the maknae didn’t feel like she was any less important than us on this show. 

Our next segment, I would be showing more cuteness than Tiffany had ever seen me do.  She helped me stick the black half circles underneath my eyes and made a gleeful high pitched noise when she saw the end result.

“Soooo cute!” She beamed.

She was enjoying this way more than I was.  I rolled my eyes.

We took our places back on the stage before the performances over and I studied the cue cards while we waited.

“You know, they wouldn’t be giving you the cute things to do if they thought you weren’t good at it.” Tiffany said.

“Ten seconds.” The producer said.

“…SNSD’s new aegyo queen, Taeyeon!” Tiffany quipped.

I gave her a look that could have killed her but she wasn’t looking at me. She was focused on the shot.

“Five, four, three…”

“Ahh! That was great.” Tiffany said, getting out of the van back at the dorms.  She looped an arm around Seohyun and I as we walked into the building.  We greeted the doorman warmly and entered the elevator without letting go of one another.

“…I don’t think I’m a very good MC.” Seohyun said softly.  Tiffany and I both looked at her, then each other.

“You’re a great MC.” Tiffany said, touching Seohyun’s face.

“I didn’t get many lines.” She said. “They were focused on you two.”

I let go of Tiffany to stand in front of Seohyun.

“That’s probably just because you were out of town during the rehearsal.” I said.

“…Did you see that hideous dress they had me in?” Seohyun asked.

… It was pretty bad.  Black and white striped cat dress that looked like it was highlighted with a brown trash bag and power shoulders. 

“You just need to tell wardrobe next time you don’t like it.” I said, biting my lip. “I mean, it wasn’t that bad, right Tiffany?”

“Um… no of course not.” Tiffany said quickly.  “You looked very pretty on screen.”

Seohyun’s mouth was tight.  I could tell she was still upset.

“We’ll take better care of you next week…” I said.  I felt somewhat selfish.  I was the leader; I should have overseen things better.  I should have paid more attention to her.

“Yes.” Tiffany nodded.  “It was just our first show; we have some things to work out.”

“Thanks, Unnies.” She said softly, smiling.

When the elevator doors opened, I let Seohyun walk ahead a little before I launched myself onto her back, wrapping my arms firmly around her shoulders.  She stumbled a bit out of obvious surprise but managed to carry me down the hall.  I felt Tiffany slap my .

I slid off her back after we got into the dorm and when I moved to walk around Seohyun I accidently walked headlong into Yuri’s back. I barely even disrupted her; she turned around and looked at me quizzically. 

“Oh, you’re home!” I yelled, reaching up and smacking her cheek playfully.

“Yah, watch it.  I’ll rip off your other toenails too.” Yuri said, shaking a spatula at me. 

“I’d like to see you try.” Tiffany said, peeking her head over my shoulder and kissing my cheek.

I saw Jessica on the other side of Yuri; it looked like they were cooking together.

“You’ve got to cut them thinner.”  Yuri said to her, holding up the thickest slice of tomato I’d ever seen.  Jessica pouted up at her.

“I try and they fall apart!”

“Well, then that’s too thin.” Yuri chuckled, “Here, watch.” She took the knife out of Jessica’s hand and reached around her from behind to show her how it was done. 

It warmed my heart to see them reunited again.

“Taeyeon-ah!” I heard Tiffany from down the hall. 

I tore my eyes away from Yuri and Jessica and went to my room.  Tiffany already had my suitcase open and on the bed.

“Seriously?” I asked.

“We leave tomorrow.” She said in a matter of fact tone.

“…We just walked in the door.” I whimpered, falling into the free part of the bed.

“Mm... Did all that aegyo wear you out, love?” She asked, smirking.

“You… need to stop making fun of me.”  I said.  I’d expected the teasing since last week, it wasn’t really bothering me.

“Here.” Tiffany said.  I felt her tap my calf.

I rolled over onto my back and she jumped on top of me.  I let out a loud ‘Oof’ at the sudden weight and smiled when I found her holding my ring.

“You almost forgot this.” She said, slanted, “What’s going to happen when it’s a real engagement ring.  I hope you’ll be more careful.”

“Yes, of course I will.” I said, taking my ring back and putting it on. “About that, when… do you want to get rings?”

“…Well, we can’t get them now.  The girls will notice.” She said.

I frowned at her.  This issue was suddenly in front of my face again.  She registered the change in my mood quickly.

“What’s wrong?” She asked.

“Fany-ah… You’re not…”

I couldn’t make the words come out.

“What is it?” She said, her eyebrows pulled together.  Her eyes were boring into me so deeply, I got the impression that she would do anything to make it better.

“…You’re not ashamed, right?” I asked, sadly.

Shock registered on Tiffany’s face.  Her eyes darted between each of my own quickly, as if she couldn’t believe what I said.  I immediately regretted saying anything.

hung open but she didn’t say anything.

“…I’m sorry.” I whispered.

She shook her head, well, she jerked it actually, when I spoke and got off of me.

“I could never beashamed, Tae…” She said softly, her back to me as she resumed packing.

“Fany-ah… I just, don’t get why you don’t want to tell them.  You know they’ll probably find out anyway.” I said, standing up.

“… You’re right.” She said.

“Well…. Huh!?”  I said, taken aback.

She turned around. “You’re right.  Let’s go tell them.”

I blinked at her. 

“Fany-ah, I don’t want to tell them unless you want to.  I’m just proud of it.”

“You’re right.” She said. “I’m proud of you, too.  Let’s go tell them.”

She held out her hand to me. I hesitated, not knowing what to think.  Was she merely doing this to appease me? 

“It’s okay.” She said.  Her face didn’t look misleading.  “I’m not mad.  I’ll explain better out there.” She smiled.

I took her hand slowly and she led me out into the living room.  My heart was beating so fast.  I don’t know how she could have possibly changed her mind so quickly. 

“Hey girls, could we talk!?” Tiffany yelled down the opposite hall.  We stood in the living room in front of Sooyoung who was already there.  Yuri looked at us from the kitchen.

“Can we listen from here?” She asked.

“Sure.” Tiffany said.

She knocked her hip into me when she saw I still looked uncertain and tried to give me a reassuring smile while the other girls were slowly making their way into the living room.

“Where’s Yoona?” Tiffany asked.

“Filming.” Sunny answered.

“Ah.  We’ll tell her later.” Tiffany nodded.

Seohyun was the last to walk in, sitting on the arm rest of the couch.

“Well…” Tiffany said, looking at me and smiling.  “First off, I wanted to thank you guys for helping me out on Valentine’s Day, it was very successful-”

“You can spare us all the gory details.” Sunny said, to much laughter.

“Yah, very funny.  But that’s not why I asked you guys to come out here.” Tiffany was playing with her own hands.  I felt a pang of remorse in thinking I was forcing to do something she didn’t want to.

She took a deep breath.

“Actually, we have an announcement to make.  The day after Valentine’s Day, um….” She paused.  I squeezed her hand in a last stitch effort to get the point across that she didn’t actually have to go through with this.  She looked me in the eyes and became less nervous.

“Taeyeon proposed to me.”

I heard a gasp, but I didn’t break eye contact with Tiffany to find its source.

“And I said ‘Yes’.”

I heard a loud metallic clang from the kitchen and immediately saw Jessica’s head disappear behind the counter.  The other’s looked blown away.  Sooyoung was covering her lower face in her hands.

“But what about-“ Sunny started, Tiffany held up a hand.

“Let me explain.  We agreed to get married, but, we’re not doing it anytime soon.  Right now, SNSD is still our top priority.”

Tiffany looked down at me.

“That’s why… I didn’t want to tell you guys, because I didn’t want you to think we were going to leave you or take the group less seriously. Even though you guys are my sisters...”

Oh, this girl has a way with words.  My knees felt weak as I stared up at her longingly.

“When Taeyeon asked me, it made me the happiest woman alive…” Tiffany said, softly.

“Oh, shut up you dummy.  I wouldn’t have thought that!” Sooyoung said, getting to her feet. “I’m so happy for you guys!”

She crossed the gap to pull us both into a hug and the others starting following suit. Their words of congratulations and excitement were swirled together in an unintelligible mixture. I might have cried at how beautiful Tiffany had put our engagement into words in front of them, but Sooyoung beat me to that.  I was incredulous, wiping her tears away when I felt another pair of lanky arms take me off my feet.

Yuri, who apparently teleported across the room in the matter of seconds, spun me and put me down a bit too roughly. I stumbled but Sunny caught me, clapping me sharply on the shoulder and pulling me into a hug.  This was the most I’d been manhandled by them in a long time. 

“I’m stunned, really.” Sunny said.

“Really? You didn’t see this one coming and yet you saw everything else?” I smirked.

Sunny shrugged. “I guess I thought you were more traditional. Five months and BAM engaged.” She clapped.

“Why wait?” I smiled.

She messed up my hair and I felt a hand on my shoulder turning me away from her.  I wasn’t sure who was hugging me at this point, until I heard her voice.

“Congratulations.” Jessica said softly.

I decidedly put my hands gently on her back.  I couldn’t see her face so I wasn’t entirely sure how she was reacting, but she held me close for a long time.  Over her shoulder I could see Yuri was still smiling widely so it obviously wasn’t drawing any attention, but it did feel awkward for me.  When she let me go, she immediately had her arms around Tiffany and I didn’t get chance to actually look at her. 

When things finally calmed down, the girls had decided that this was a reason to celebrate.  Most had volunteered to go shopping.  I caught a glimpse of Tiffany leading Jessica off into our room to talk.  I assumed she was finally reaching out to her about the whole confrontation from the other week, which was good.  I hadn’t even thought about how Jessica might react to my engagement before, but it shouldn’t be a problem anymore, right?  She has Yuri now.

“Aren’t you exhausted?” I asked, joining Yuri in the kitchen.

“Yes.  But I am hungrier than I am tired.” She smiled.

“Do you need help with anything?” I asked.

“Nope, Jessica helped prepare everything.” She said, covering a pot and wiping her hands clean with a rag.  She stopped at the fridge to pull out two alcoholic beverages and handed me one before sitting opposite me at the table.

“Are you happy?” I asked her.

“Yeah.” She said, thoughtfully. “I have everything I want.  You have everything you want.  Life is good isn’t it?”

I nodded, tapping the neck of my bottle to Yuri’s before sipping from it.

“You give me great hope for my future.” She said.  “One day, maybe Jessica and I will be announcing our engagement.”

“Yeah…” I said vaguely, staring at her face as she looked into the distance.  I had the impression that she was sitting there imagining it.  I felt terrible because I didn’t feel so confident when I wondered how Jessica felt.

Tiffany walked into the kitchen, taking my face in her hands and kissing me before going to the fridge.  Jessica trailed in after and I locked eyes with her. 

Whatever feelings Jessica was trying to portray outwardly, by looking into her eyes, I didn’t think she looked very happy.