Taeyeon stood in the kitchen, grinning widely as she made two mugs of hot chocolate. “This is the best choice, Kim Taeyeon. You are a genius. A freaking genius."

 

She had crawled home last night after a whole day of intense bike training. The moment the door closed behind her, Taeyeon had retrieved the 3 Minute Girlfriend 2.0 set from under the fridge and laid it open. Bone-weary, already feeling the tingles that spoke of unbearable pain the next day, she had fastened on a one word goal - “sitting” and picked a girlfriend accordingly. 

 

And it had been the correct choice, evidently, because this time, the doorbell rang just past eleven, allowing Taeyeon to sleep in and rest her creaking, battered body. Taeyeon had hobbled to the door and opened it to see Tiffany smiling shyly at her.

 

It took every ounce of self-control she had to keep from squealing because Tiffany was wearing an oversized, soft gray cardigan over a cute cat shirt, along with pastel pink sweatpants covered in small cats, her hair tied up in a messy bun. It was so cute Taeyeon nearly jumped her there and then, but the large glasses made Tiffany look so lost and confused and Taeyeon just ended up gawking at her as Tiffany stepped into her house, blushing slightly.

 

And now, here she was, making hot chocolate for the two of them as Tiffany picked out a TV show on Taeyeon’s laptop. 

 

“Taetae?"

 

Taeyeon turned around just in time to fall into Tiffany’s warm hug. “Yes?"

 

“Are you done? Do you need help carrying the mugs?"

 

“That would be nice.” She turned and gestured. “Pick one."

 

“I want the cat one,” said Tiffany, letting go of Taeyeon to admire the mug.

 

“Want marshmallows?"

 

“Okay!"

 

Fifteen minutes later, Taeyeon sighed in contentment. This was the life, she thought, as she breathed in the gentle scent of Tiffany’s shampoo. They were cuddling together on the couch, Tiffany’s head resting on Taeyeon’s shoulder, the laptop open on Taeyeon’s lap. Even the show was good; Tiffany clearly had good taste, because Taeyeon hadn’t laughed this much for ages. Or maybe it was because Tiffany was really warm and snuggly and all this happiness was really getting to Taeyeon’s head.

 

They stayed like that for another hour or so, which allowed Taeyeon to rest her sore body. Even that had been a blessing in disguise. She explained it away by saying she had been cleaning the house really vigorously the day before, and Tiffany looked at her with a sympathetic expression and started to gently massage her shoulders. Taeyeon had nearly fallen asleep right there and then, until there was a sudden loud meowing.

 

Tiffany sheepishly pulled her phone out of her pocket.

 

“Hello?” She began to play with Taeyeon’s hair. “Yes? Oh! Mhmm! Oh no…um,” she glanced at Taeyeon, “I’m sure she won’t mind. Mhmm. Okay. Alright. I’ll meet you downstairs in ten minutes? Okay! Bye!"

 

“Who was that?"

 

Tiffany set her phone on the coffee table and looked earnestly at Taeyeon. “Can I ask you for a favor?"

 

“What is it?"

 

“Well,” said Tiffany, glancing down at their joined hands, “My friend has an emergency and needs to leave her house for a day. But she has a sick cat that needs to be watched, and she just asked if maybe we could watch him for her?"

 

Taeyeon grinned. “Sounds like you already agreed, didn’t you?"

 

“Um.” Tiffany blushed. “Sorry. I was too excited."

 

“You have to go pick it up in ten minutes, right? How about I go and buy us some lunch while you…do whatever needs to be done with the cat, then we can keep watching this when we’re both done?"

 

Tiffany beamed. “You’re the best, Taetae."

 

Taeyeon basically skipped down the road to the fried chicken store. She had not felt this happy in a long time, and it was all due to the 3 Minute Girlfriend kit. “I really have to write the producers a letter of thanks,” she said to herself. “Who knew a cat lady girlfriend was all I needed?” All the way through the line, even when she was ordering their food at the counter, she couldn’t wipe the grin from her face. Best. Day. Ever.

 

She was still smiling as she unlocked the door. “Tiffany, I’m back!"

 

“Hi!” A head poked out of the bathroom. “Sorry, I’m still trying to fix the litter."

 

“Take your time, there’s no rush.” 

 

Taeyeon took off her shoes and carried the box of chicken to the living room. Setting the food on the coffee table, she sat down and leaned back on the couch - only to feel something really warm and soft.

 

“What the—”

 

She whirled around to see a large ginger cat looking up at her with an oddly human expression of betrayal.

 

“Sorry, buddy. Didn’t see you there.” Taeyeon reached out slowly, and after a moment’s contemplation, the cat allowed her to its head. “Good boy. Good boy. You don’t look sick, though. Are you sure you’re sick?"

 

“Actually, that’s Henry and he’s not the sick one."

 

Taeyeon turned to see Tiffany with her sleeves rolled up, her bun even messier than before. She smiled. “I thought he was sick?"

 

“Pebbles is sick, Henry’s just along for the ride."

 

“Pebbles?"

 

Tiffany picked up Henry with ease and sank into the couch, setting the cat on her lap. “Over there,” she pointed wearily. “By the bathroom."

 

“The…” Taeyeon stood up. “The black one?"

 

“No, that’s Snowy."

 

“The black cat is called Sn—” Taeyeon paused. “Wait a second. How many cats are in my apartment right now?"

 

“Six?"

 

“Six?! I thought it was just one sick cat!"

 

Tiffany gulped. “Did I not tell you my friend has six cats?"

 

“No, you just mentioned one cat."

 

“I’m sorry,” said Tiffany quietly, head down.

 

Taeyeon sighed and sat back down. She ran her hand through Henry’s fur. “It’s alright,” she said, shooting Tiffany a smile. “Good thing they’re all cats. If there were six dogs in here, I don’t know what I’d do. Anyway, wanna eat?"

 

They began to unpack the food, taking out the chicken and the picked radishes. It was a little hard for Tiffany to move because Henry decided he had to stay in her lap. So Taeyeon got up and took out a bowl for Tiffany - tripping over Snowy and a tabby (“That one’s Archibald,” called Tiffany) on the way back. After some maneuvering, the food, laptop, cats, and humans all ended up in the places they needed to be, and Taeyeon settled next to Tiffany to resume their show.

 

“This is really good chicken,” said Tiffany.

 

“Yeah. Isn’t it great, Henry?” 

 

The cat sniffed at it perfunctorily before yawning and curling back up on Tiffany’s lap. They laughed, then Tiffany lay her head on Taeyeon’s shoulder. For a good five minutes they sat together, eating their lunch and watching the show. Then suddenly something jumped onto the couch beside Taeyeon and she screamed.

 

“That’s just Jabba! Don’t worry!” Tiffany scratched the fat brown cat behind the ears. “He’s very friendly."

 

“I-is he hungry?"

 

“I put their food in the bathroom, so he should be fine."

 

Taeyeon looked nervously at Jabba, who was now sniffing her chicken with great interest. “Um. Should I put the chicken away?"

 

“Nah, he won’t actually eat it."

 

“But— but he’s my chicken! He’s really it!"

 

Tiffany glanced away from the laptop and smiled. “Bad Jabba,” she said, pushing his head away. “Not your food.” Jabba his mouth and looked at Taeyeon with hunger in his eyes.

 

“Not your food,” repeated Taeyeon nervously. “Please go away."

 

Jabba blinked once and was about to move towards Taeyeon’s chicken again when Henry suddenly got up and hissed. His fur puffed up until he was twice his previous size; evidently, that was scary enough for Jabba, who flattened his ears and ran off.

 

“Thanks, Henry.” Taeyeon patted the ginger cat on his now very fluffy head. Henry yawned and settled back onto Tiffany’s lap. “Good boy, goo— oh, who’s this now?"

 

“That’s Truck. Isn’t she pretty?"

 

The white cat shook her long fur and put one dainty paw on Taeyeon’s thigh. “This cat is called Truck?"

 

“Yep!"

 

“And that black cat is called Snowy?"

 

“Yep!"

 

Taeyeon blinked slowly. “Not sure if I really understand the naming system going on here.” She sighed and scratched Truck’s back. “Want to sit?"

 

Truck meowed, a surprisingly high-pitched sound, and stepped heavily onto Taeyeon’s legs.

 

“Ow!"

 

“Did she claw you?"

 

“No, my legs just hurt from—” She stopped herself just in time. “From the cleaning yesterday."

 

“Should I move her away?"

 

Taeyeon eyed Henry, who also seemed to be waiting for her answer. “No, it’s fine,” said Taeyeon, the long fur. “I’m sure it’ll be okay. Right, Truck? You’re a nice kitty, aren’t you? Ni— where are you— no, Truck! No!"

 

The white cat stared back at her while sitting firmly on the laptop, looking very pleased with herself. 

 

“Please get off? You’re blocking the view.” Taeyeon peeked behind the white fluff. “You’re also opening new tabs. Truck? Bad girl!"

 

Tiffany laughed. She reached out and picked Truck up - how was she doing that, thought Taeyeon, lifting a cat from a sitting position with what seemed like no effort at all? Was she secretly athletic Tiffany? - before plonking her down unceremoniously onto Taeyeon’s lap. “Here, just keep petting her and she won’t move,” she said as she leaned over Henry to close all the new tabs. “Okay?"

 

“Okay."

 

Taeyeon felt the first tingling in her nose as the next episode began. It started off as a slight itch, but as Taeyeon kept breathing, the itch grew and grew until a huge sneeze exploded from her.

 

“Taetae! You okay?"

 

“Yeah,” nodded Taeyeon, sniffing. She gratefully accepted the tissue Tiffany gave her and blew her nose. “Just a sneeze."

 

A minute later, she sneezed again. And again. And again. Henry watched, ears up and alert; Truck just glanced up at her with an offended expression. After the last sneeze, the most powerful yet, Taeyeon paused the show and leaned back.

 

“I don’t want to say it, but I think I’m allergic to cats,” she mumbled through a blocked nose. 

 

“No!"

 

Taeyeon looked over to see Tiffany’s horrified expression, mirrored in Henry’s furrier face. She sighed through a blocked nose. “I knew this was too good to be true."