It was obvious that Taeyeon and Tiffany would choose to be together for their last few hours on Earth. Taeyeon didn’t have any living relative remaining, besides an evil, magic dictator that was attempting to recreate the world into a new generation of magicians. In Tiffany’s case, she still had her Mother and Father to see, but visiting them out of nowhere would only bring worry. They hadn’t heard from Tiffany for a few years and if she were to show up at their door for no apparent reason, they would just ask too many unnecessary questions that Tiffany wouldn’t be able to answer without endangering them. Taeyeon, Tiffany and the rest of the crew knew that the possible end of the world was on the horizon, but it’s not like the rest of the mortal world knew this and it was best to keep it that way. They didn't want to create mass panic, it was best to leave it a secret so they can keep the world at peace. Having her parents believed that everything was fine was enough for Tiffany, so she decided to let them be. Which left only one other person she would want to spend her last moments with, Kim Taeyeon. It would be truly impossible to imagine Tiffany spending her final days without that perfectly charming midget by her side. After all, Taeyeon was responsible for the most defining moments of her life. Of course, Yuri, being her best friend, also made a huge impact on her journey, but to say that Taeyeon’s impact wasn’t the greatest of all would simply be a lie. Taeyeon’s impact may not have always been positive, but without Taeyeon, who knows if Tiffany would still be the woman she is today and not a murderous, bloodthirsty vigilante. Taeyeon may have caused the worst and grimmest sides of Tiffany Hwang to appear, but she was also responsible for bringing the happiness back to the black-haired beauty.

TaeNy had slightly over twenty-four hours to enjoy themselves before they would need to defend their world from their greatest threat ever. Tiffany rolled over towards Taeyeon on the other side of the bed and couldn’t help but admire her. Tiffany wasn’t just admiring Taeyeon’s physical features that she could see before her, but she was also admiring how strong Taeyeon was on her emotional side. Taeyeon had suffered just as many emotional hardships or even greater ones than Tiffany had throughout her lifetime, but Taeyeon had never teetered between the light and the darkness in the same way that Tiffany had become Black Witch. This forced Tiffany to wonder, did she deserve Taeyeon? Was someone as flawed as she was, good enough for her? Taeyeon noticed Tiffany was in deep thought and asked her, “Fany-ah, what’s on your mind?”

“Nothing, TaeTae. I was just, thinking…” She sighed.

“Thinking about what?” Taeyeon asked.

“Okay, be completely honest with me TaeTae, when you left for eighteen months, what was your motivation?” Tiffany asked.

“Motivation? Like, why did I feel the need to leave?” Taeyeon asked.

“Yeah, kind of like that.” Tiffany answered.

“Well, Shinju’s death was heart-wrenching. After that, I realized how weak I was, how completely hopeless I was that I couldn’t even defend the only family I had left. I knew from that moment on, I didn’t want to feel this way any longer and I had to do whatever it took to be strong enough, to defend the ones I love…”  Taeyeon explained. Tiffany stayed silent, she wanted Taeyeon to explain herself fully without any interruptions. “The reason why I left was because Shinju’s passing showed me I wasn’t strong enough to defend my loved ones. So, if I wanted you in my life then I would have to be prepared to defend you at all costs,” Taeyeon said while Tiffany’s toned thighs.

“I couldn’t let anything happen to you, you meant the world to me. So, all I could do was get stronger, for you.” Taeyeon held Tiffany’s hand and stared deep into her eyes. Tiffany laughed slightly before a frown came back to her face. “I don’t deserve you TaeTae. I’m so flawed. When you left me, all I could think about was myself. All I thought of was how terrible you were for abandoning me, for promising that you would be there for me but then you left me out of nowhere. That anger, that rage festered and ignited my thirst to punish the world for how cruel it could be, but in reality, you didn’t abandon me. Everything you did, was in my name, it was so that when you returned, you could keep me safe and I was too blinded to see that. My negativity took over and I became a ruthless vigilante. You’re too good for me Tae, I don’t deserve you.” Tears began flowing out of Tiffany’s big brown orbs, she couldn’t hold them in any longer.

“Hey, look at me.” Taeyeon grabbed Tiffany by the chin and slowly lifted her head to be level with hers.
“You, Stephanie Miyoung Hwang, are the strongest heroine I know. You achieved control over your king conjure in a few days, which took me eighteen months to do. You helped defend the city against countless blood relic users and most of all, you’re still protecting the city even now. You may have been a vigilante for a short while, but you never crossed that line. You never reached the point of taking someone’s life in the name of justice. You weren’t as ruthless as you believe yourself to be.” Taeyeon comforted her.

“But… those people, all those people I hurt in the name of ‘justice’… they suffered so much because of me.”

“Yah! Miyoung! Those people are still alive today. It’s true that you injured them, but they’re perfectly fine now. You need to stop blaming yourself for what happened. You’re one of the greatest women to ever walk this Earth, you suffered a horrific loss at a young age that could have twisted your very being and turned you into a criminal years ago, but it never did. You have always been a hero Tiffany, as a matter of fact, without you, there wouldn’t even be a Vermillion.” Taeyeon laughed.

“You’re just saying that.”

“No, I’m really not. You remember the day we first met? At McDonald's.” Taeyeon smiled.

“Yeah?”

“You didn’t know me, you didn’t know a thing about me, but that didn’t stop you from paying for my breakfast. It didn’t stop you from helping someone in their time of need. I’ll be completely honest with you, Fany, I’ve never had a friend. I barely knew what friendship was like. Shinju was the only person I had since we were always on the run from the Emerald Dragon cult. I didn’t know this at the time, all I knew was, we would never stay in the same place any longer than a week. I would attend school for a few days and next thing I know I’m back on the road. I always wondered why that was, and I began to think that I was never meant to have friends. That the reason why I always had to travel was because no one could stand being around me, but you, of all people, showed me that kindness can be found even in the loneliest of times.”

“But how did that help you to become Vermilion??”

“You became my beacon of hope, so when I found out about my powers and the threats that were headed my way, I wanted to be the city's beacon of hope like you were to me. I didn’t want to defend the world from the shadows or the sidelines, I wanted everyone to acknowledge that darkness is indeed out there, but I would be the light to cast it out. To be their beacon of hope so they could walk the streets without fear. You made that possible, you and a handful of meaningful people in my life created Vermilion.” Taeyeon smiled.

“Fany-ah, you may not be flawless like a diamond, but you as a person are brighter than any gem this world has to offer. I love you and I always will. Now get some sleep, we should make the most out of our last day of peace tomorrow.” Taeyeon said as she kissed Tiffany’s forehead.

“How do you always make things so simple TaeTae?” Tiffany smiled.

“Because it is simple Fany, the love we have is all that matters. Now sleep.”

Taeyeon rolled over to her side and at that moment a cheeky grin appeared on her face. Tiffany believed that she was simply going to sleep and wake up like usual the next day, but since Taeyeon was going to oversee their final moments of peace, she was going to make sure that nothing was routine about the following day. Tiffany and Taeyeon had always been in America and therefore, more often than not, they lived the city lifestyle. Even Taeyeon, who moved around constantly, was rarely in rural towns. Shinju preferred the city life, well, an 'affordable city life', but a city life none the less. So Taeyeon’s idea was to give herself and Tiffany an escape from the suffocating confines of the concrete jungle. She wanted her eye smiling princess to breathe in the freshness of nature, rather than the smog that hovered over the cityscape. Taeyeon had never tested whether or not Tiffany was a deep sleeper, but her plan heavily relied on her being one. Taeyeon woke up at around 3 am and made sure not to wake up Tiffany from her slumber. She packed a variety of gear that you would usually use for camping, like a tent, lighters, a few pots and handful of other things. Once Taeyeon was done packing all the necessities for going on the trip, she quietly walked back into the room and began to plan how exactly she was going to take this girl out of the room. The problem wasn’t lifting her, Taeyeon, through her increased physicality from her soul stones, can easily lift Tiffany to where ever she wanted. However, keeping her asleep until they had reached their destination was the biggest problem. She stared at Tiffany for a solid few minutes and it seemed like there was no way to keep her from waking up. The phoenix and dragon soul could tell Taeyeon was struggling with this par