Part 5 - Last & Final Part

 

"Taeyeon!"



The CEO lifts her head curiously, unaccustomed to being hailed in such a manner. The voice is familiar and when she turns around she is ultimately unsurprised to find Tiffany standing in front of her.



The taller girl's hair is pulled back and her eyes are shining under the bright summer sunlight. Taeyeon has the inexcusable urge to lean forward and draw her finger over Tiffany's face.



Instead she pastes a smile on her face; it's the most natural reaction she has to seeing Tiffany. She is happy.



Tiffany struggles with propriety for a half second less than Taeyeon and then the shorter girl finds herself folded briefly in long, gentle arms that cross each other around her back and press against her.



Taeyeon finds herself grinning even though it falters when Tiffany steps back, hands still wrapped loosely around Taeyeon's wrists as she surveys the CEO with a smile that makes Taeyeon's chest burn with loneliness.



Tiffany's eyes narrow as a cloud parts above them and she has to squint past the sunshine. Tiffany is about to speak when Taeyeon hears her name again coming from the direction of the entrance.



Bethany walks up smiling, a program clutched in her left hand as she approaches. Her smile is warm but there is more awareness in it than usual.



Taeyeon reaches for Bethany's hand to pull her closer though her eyes flit between them both as the sunlight glints off their hair distractingly.



Tiffany's gaze is shadowed as she pulls on sunglasses and Taeyeon doesn't know whether she should be grateful or upset. Tiffany's lips are quirking and Taeyeon suddenly feels ly vulnerable with the two women standing just inches apart.



She summons confidence from somewhere and says, "Bethany, this is Tiffany Hwang. My very best friend in the world."



Tiffany extends her hand, shifting a half eaten ice cream cone to her other hand as Bethany offers her right one.



"It's nice to meet you, Bethany."



Bethany responds easily and Taeyeon isn't prepared when a short man with a clipboard and a headset approaches, saying tersely, "Models! Models, what the heck do you think you're doing out here - eating?"



Taeyeon's brows furrow as she turns to face him completely while Tiffany laughs and Bethany looks on bewildered.



The man starts to grab Tiffany's wrist and Taeyeon swats it away quickly, saying, "What do you think you're doing? They're not models."



The man says dubiously, "Of course they are, look at them."



Taeyeon rolls her eyes and scoffs dangerously, "I assure you, they're not. Take your clipboard and make yourself scarce before I lose my patience."



Tiffany takes a at her ice cream and points him in the other direction while Bethany takes in the shared glance between the two women once Taeyeon has turned around to face them.



Tiffany pushes her glasses back distractedly as the sun shifts again and Taeyeon can hear her cell phone ringing. She's changed it. It sounds like something by a girl group of some sort.



Tiffany ignores it, saying briskly, "Listen, that's probably Jess so I have to get in there, but can we do dinner?"



Taeyeon doesn't reply right away so Tiffany grins winningly, saying with an arch of her brows, "Bethany? You'll talk her into it?"



Bethany can't help but be charmed even as she suspects that Tiffany doesn't care whether she comes or not. Squeezing Taeyeon's hand almost unconsciously, Bethany says, "Absolutely. Consider it done."



Tiffany nods once, pushing her glasses down again as she says, "Excellent. I'll call you."



Taeyeon nods back, a ghost of a smile tracing her lips as they watch Tiffany walk away; she makes it ten feet before she turns abruptly and goes the opposite way toward the designers' entrance.



Bethany says experimentally, "That's your best friend, huh?"



Taeyeon doesn't turn around as her vision follows Tiffany's form until it disappears in the crowd.



"That's Tiffany."

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Taeyeon has downed two martinis by the time Bethany joins her in one of the back booths of the club. She's leaning against the back of the seat, looking composed and only slightly uncomfortable when the girl returns from work and leans over to kiss her cheek.



"You look beautiful, Taeyeon."

The CEO smiles and leans over to press a kiss on Bethany's lips. Bethany is attentive and perceptive and really, she must grasp that there is awkwardness here.



Taeyeon is listening to Bethany talk about the meeting for tomorrow morning when Tiffany and her girlfriend walk into the club.



Taeyeon's breath catches as she takes the extra seconds before Tiffany's gaze finds her in this back corner to survey the pair. Tiffany is a step or two ahead, her eyes searching and curious as a petite designer strides in behind her.



Taeyeon's eyes widen as she takes in glossy hair, gorgeous legs and beautiful face.



Bethany murmurs something beside her and Taeyeon thinks it's something about Tiffany having a type. Taeyeon is certain that Bethany must have caught on by now.



The designer catches up to Tiffany and wraps two hands around her wrist while Tiffany is paused at the entrance.



Taeyeon frowns and it's then that Tiffany spots her. Sitting up straighter, Taeyeon tries to hide her surprise when Bethany stands to greet Tiffany and her girlfriend.



They're approaching the table and Taeyeon can hear the designer's sparkling laughter bubbling out from behind Tiffany. She wonders if it will last when the girl sees her. She wonders if Tiffany has been as evasive with her as she herself has been with Bethany.



Tiffany gently disentangles herself from the designer and angles herself so she is facing all three women when she greets them and introduces her girlfriend as Jessica Jung.



Bethany congratulates Jessica on the thrill of her first Fashion show in Seoul even as Jessica glances in confusion back at Taeyeon. Tiffany is oblivious, kissing Bethany's cheek then Taeyeon's and signaling a waiter all in three graceful turns.




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Taeyeon can't make her eyes look away. Tiffany is speaking with too much enthusiasm and too much familiarity; it's entrancing enough that she can convince herself there aren't two other people at the table for a few seconds at a time.



Tiffany breaks the glance to turn back to Bethany to finish her story before she grins at Jessica and finishes with, "What was that guy's name?"



Taeyeon glances at the other girl, beginning to absorb the other girl's relative reticence for the first time. She's been the only person immune to Tiffany's charms tonight and her voice is unsteady as she says, "Andrew."



Tiffany turns back to Bethany, a smile illuminating her eyes as she says decisively, "Andrew! Yes. And he knew Sunny. He was part of her crew a while back."



Taeyeon can't keep her eyebrows from lifting at the coincidence and Tiffany's looking at her again; brown eyes positively glowing with excitement as she says, "Do you remember that, Taetae? I thought I'd never heard anything weirder."



Taeyeon hears a sharp intake of breath from Jessica and when she looks over the designer is taking a long sip of her wine. Bethany excuses herself with a politeness that should frighten Taeyeon but she presses on, completely unable to resist, saying, "I remember. Sunny's past came back to haunt us all."



Tiffany's laughter spills out around them and then she's focusing on Jessica again, her voice warm as she says, "Wait ‘til you meet Sunny, Jess."



Taeyeon bites the corner of her tongue sharply, the idea of Jessica meeting their friends too permanent for her liking.



Tiffany notices that Bethany is gone then and cranes her neck around to the bar. She rises suddenly, causing Jessica's hand to fall out of her lap as she tells the women, "Let me go help her. We'll be right back."




Taeyeon leans back against the booth for the second time that evening. The fact that Tiffany's girlfriend is doing the same thing does not escape her but it's too late to move now and it would be frightfully rude anyway.



She can feel Jessica's gaze against the side of her face but she can't tear her own gaze away from the sight of Tiffany and Bethany talking at the bar. Tiffany's hand grazes Bethany's back as she walks around and her brown eyes catch Taeyeon's for a second.



Taeyeon doesn't really know what she's doing. She knows that Tiffany is leaving at the end of the week. She and Jessica will meet Sunny and the gang for lunch tomorrow and everything will be in order and they’ll catch their flight and it will be over.



It's this knowledge, cruel and grating, that keeps Taeyeon's attention trained on Tiffany. It's this knowledge that keeps her watching the girl and waiting for her to look beyond Bethany until her eyes lock with Taeyeon’s. Every time it happens there's a smile attached to Tiffany's lips. She holds Taeyeon's gaze and then, so naturally that she can't be aware, she looks at Jessica. She smiles at the designer and Taeyeon can’t bring herself to feel the slightest bit of sympathy for Jessica at being looked for second. She gets to fly home with Tiffany's hand wrapped around hers. She gets to go back to some beachfron