Taeyeon stood over the 3 Minute Girlfriend 2.0 kit. There were two cases left in it and she stared at them. “I just need one of you to work out,” she said. “Just one. Please show yourself, perfect girlfriend."

 

There was no movement. After a long moment, Taeyeon sighed. “This one, then. Instagram girlfriend,” she read as she picked it up, “might be fun. Hopefully."

 

She was in the middle of making herself some toast when the doorbell rang.

 

“Hey,” said Tiffany, kissing Taeyeon on the cheek before stepped into the apartment. “Smells good! What are you making?"

 

Taeyeon watched as Tiffany set her purse on the couch. Loose button-down over a white shirt that ended a little above the waistline of her skinny jeans, completed with a pair of large sunglasses. Simple, but kind of really hot. Taeyeon had to hand it to the 3 Minute Girlfriend 2.0 designers - they knew what they were doing with Tiffany’s clothes, at least.

 

“Taeyeon?"

 

She blinked to see Tiffany grinning at her as she put away her sunglasses. “Sorry,” said Taeyeon hurried. “Uh, I’m making toast. Want some?"

 

“Sure! Need help?"

 

Taeyeon gestured at the fridge. “Can you grab the jam and butter? I’m just going to put the toast on a plate."

 

The trickiest part of making toast was getting it out of the toaster. This time, with only minimally singed fingers, Taeyeon carefully stacked the slices onto a plate and carried it over to the kitchen table. She was about to set it down when a hand shot out to stop her.

 

“Wait!” Tiffany squatted down until the tabletop was at eye-level. She moved a little to the left, then a little to the right, then finally stood up and took the plate from Taeyeon. Setting it precisely at the center of the table, she turned to Taeyeon with a triumphant grin. “Okay, done!"

 

Taeyeon sat down gingerly. “Wow,” she said, looking over the table: two small plates, each with a knife and a fork next to it; the jam and butter scooped into little shallow dishes and arranged in dainty shapes. And were those flower petals? “This looks really pretty."

 

“Of course. Could you move your hands back a little? Yes, right there.” Tiffany stood over the table, holding her phone directly above the food. There was a clicking sound and she checked the photo. “Hmm.” Taeyeon’s plate was moved slightly forward. This time Tiffany was satisfied, and she put her phone away and sat down with a smile at Taeyeon. “Let’s eat!"

 

“What do you want to do today?” Taeyeon asked as she slathered jam liberally over a slice of toast. “It’s such a nice day."

 

“Wanna walk around the park for a bit? We can pick up some lunch on the way and have a picnic."

 

“Lunch? Already?"

 

Tiffany looked up from her phone. “Yeah! Time will pass so quickly. Let me just post this and then we can go."

 

They walked down the quiet street hand in hand. It was really peaceful and Taeyeon let herself hope, just for a moment, that this might be the one that would work out. Glancing over at Tiffany, she saw her looking around with a smile on her face - a beautiful sight. 

 

“Look!” Tiffany tugged her to a stop as she pointed at a wall. “That is such a cool idea."

 

Taeyeon followed her finger. “Ah, the graffiti."

 

“Could you take a picture for me? Like this?” Tiffany ran up to the picture and stood next to it with a contemplative expression. “Is the whole image in frame?"

 

Taeyeon backed up. “Yep,” she said, snapping the picture. “Is this okay?"

 

“Yes, it’s perfect! Thank you!” Tiffany tapped quickly on her screen before pocketing her phone and linking her arm with Taeyeon’s. “All done. I know this little bakery nearby that sells the most delicious sandwiches. Let’s go there!"

 

The walk there involved a lot of turning left and right and going down small alleys, but Taeyeon had to admit as they walked inside the small shop that it did smell really good. As Tiffany ordered their food, Taeyeon walked around and curiously at the displays. There were big cakes, really long eclairs, blue loaves and a whole mountain of tiny, tiny cupcakes. She bent down to look at them.

 

“Want to get some? They’re really good.” Tiffany pointed. “The mini croissants, too."

 

“Will that be too much food?"

 

“Nah, I just got us each a sandwich so a few of these won’t hurt. The coffee here is really good, too - do you want anything to drink?"

 

Taeyeon straightened up and looked up at the menu above the counter. “I’ll have…just an iced coffee, thanks."

 

She watched as the lady behind the counter bagged a few of the cupcakes and croissants under Tiffany’s watchful eye. The sandwiches and drinks also soon appeared on the counter and all disappeared into a large plastic bag along with the mini pastries. Tiffany picked up the bag and turned to Taeyeon with a grin. “Ready for the park?"

 

“Yeah,” said Taeyeon, returning the smile. 

 

Thirty minutes later, Taeyeon idly plucked at some grass as she lay back on a blanket under the shade of a tree. She sighed in contentment, just enjoying the warmth of the sun on her skin and the feeling of Tiffany breathing next to her. Taeyeon turned her head to find Tiffany looking at her. 

 

“What?"

 

“I’m just thinking it’s a beautiful moment,” said Tiffany, moving her arms behind her head. “The sky, the wind, and you. I don’t know if there’s anything more perfect than this."

 

Taeyeon felt an unbidden happiness rise up in her chest. “I think you’re discounting yourself quite a bit there."

 

“Hmm?"

 

“I just think,” said Taeyeon as she propped herself up on her elbow, “that honestly, you are the most beautiful thing I’ve seen, not just today, but in my whole life, out of everything I’ve ever experienced."

 

Tiffany looked at her for a long moment, then smiled to herself. “Stop it,” she said. “That’s too much."

 

“I’m being honest. I’ve seen a lot of people—” Taeyeon shut out the disastrous memories of the past few days — “and whoever you are at the moment doesn’t take away from how entirely beautiful your whole being is."

 

Tiffany sat up and reached for Taeyeon’s hand, squeezing it once before letting go. “Wanna eat?"

 

“Sure! Which one is mine?"

 

“I had the lady cut them up so we can share. Take everything out first." 

 

Taeyeon carefully lifted the drinks out and set them to one side. The sandwiches were next - she set them in the middle - and lastly, the bag of mini pastries she leaned against the sandwiches. “Should we just go for it?"

 

“Hmm? Give me a second,” said Tiffany, typing on her phone.

 

“What are you doing? Taking a picture?"

 

“Just Instagramming."

 

Taeyeon crossed her legs. “Can I see?"

 

“Here.” Tiffany held her phone out. “Isn’t it a cute picture?"

 

“Is that a picture of me? When did you take that?"

 

“Just now, when you were taking the food out. I also quoted you, because you were way too sweet earlier."

 

Taeyeon frowned. “Which bit did you quote?"

 

“What you said about me being beautiful. I really appreciated it and felt like it would be a great thing to share."

 

“Oh. I kind of only said that to you, though.” When Tiffany looked at her in confusion, Taeyeon sighed. “It’s okay. Don’t worry about it. Pick and sandwich and let’s eat! I’m hungry!"

 

“Wait, I need to arrange it first."

 

“But—”

 

“Super fast, Taeyeon. Please?"

 

“Okay.” Taeyeon leaned back on her hands and watched as Tiffany began to lay out the food in some sort of fancy pattern: sandwiches in the middle, with the mini pastries set out around them. The petals once again reappeared, and Taeyeon was about to ask where the hell they came from when Tiffany gestured with her phone-free hand.

 

“Can you hold the drinks? Yep, right there, a little higher, yes, right there! Hold it for 5 seconds.”

 

Arms shaking slightly, Taeyeon waited for Tiffany to snap her pictures. One, two, and on the third Tiffany was finally satisfied.

 

“Okay! Let me just post this and—”

 

“Then we can eat?"

 

Tiffany laughed. “You don’t want to take a selfie with the mini pastries first? They’re really cute, just like you. Here,” she said, putting a baby cupcake in Taeyeon’s left hand and a croissant in her right, “hold them up to your face. A little lower, yes. Okay, now look surprised! More surprised! Ah, brush your bangs away fro— yep, that’s it. Okay. One, two, three! Another, this time happy!"

 

Six pictures later, Taeyeon was finally released. She popped the croissant into and was about to eat the cupcake when Tiffany’s phone suddenly appeared in front of her face.

 

“Take a picture for me?"

 

“Um—”

 

“You can eat that later, it’ll be really quick!” Tiffany held a coffee cup in her hands and put a croissant in . “Okay, take the picture,” she said, her words muffled by the pastry. “Good?"

 

“I think so,” said Taeyeon, handing the phone back. “Is that okay?"

 

“Hmm. Maybe this time from a slightly higher angle. Try again."

 

This time Taeyeon got it in two tries. As Tiffany gushed happily over the pictures, Taeyeon hurriedly stuffed the cupcake into . “This is really good,” she said after she swallowed. “How come I never knew this bakery existed?"

 

“Instagram,” said Tiffany smugly. “Great platform. Okay, can you help me take a picture with the tree?"

 

Taeyeon took Tiffany’s picture with the tree.

 

“Great! Oh! Look, there’s a kite! Quick, take a picture! Can you get me in it too? Does it work?"

 

Taeyeon took Tiffany’s picture with the kite.

 

“Okay. Can you take one of me from the back? Yeah, just with the grass as a background. Got it?"

 

Taeyeon took Tiffany’s picture from the back.

 

“Perfect! Okay, I’m going to eat the sandwiches. Take a video of me eating it? I want to post it and tag the bakery later."

 

Taeyeon took a video of Tiffany eating the sandwich.  

 

This went on for a surprisingly long time. Surprising because Taeyeon didn’t expect Tiffany to have this much energy, and surprising because Taeyeon somehow found herself just going along with it. By the time Tiffany nodded at the past picture and pocketed her phone, it was way past lunchtime. The ice from the coffee had melted and the croissants had deflated slightly. Even the bread from the sandwiches got a little soggy, making an odd squelching noise when Taeyeon peeled it back to take a look at the lettuce.

 

“This is why you said time would pass quickly,” she mumbled to herself.

 

“I know right? Isn’t this so fun?"

 

Taeyeon bit into her sandwich and did her best to smile. “Great. Unbelievable! Fantastic."

 

“I’m glad you agree,” said Tiffany, leaning against Taeyeon’s arm with a happy sigh. “We should do this more often."

 

“Ha,” said Taeyeon.