"Tiffany?" Taeyeon's voice echoed in the apartment.

There was dread coursing through her veins when the silence was her answer. Taeyeon noticed how she could not hear Tiffany well these days. Even when Tiffany was seated across her, Taeyeon had to strain her ears frequently to hear what Tiffany was saying. With a rueful smile, they came to an unspoken conclusion that time was running out. It has gotten worse the past few days when Tiffany appears lighter- so vulnerable and transparent like a hologram. Taeyeon wondered if Tiffany would disperse like air if she held her close to her heart.

"Taeyeon? Are you looking for me?" Taeyeon exhaled in relief when her ears picked up the strained voice. Taeyeon chuckled at the crouching spirit at the plateau.

"What are you doing out here?" 

"Playing with them." Tiffany smiled, "Prince is acting weirdly though."

"Weird?" 

The pup was weak and had refused to eat. Taeyeon heeded Tiffany’s advice and cradled the wheezing ball of white throughout the drive to the vet. Taeyeon regretfully left Prince at the vet for an overnight observation with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Later that afternoon, Taeyeon received the news that Prince could not make it. Tiffany seemed to sense it before Taeyeon broke the news and the spirit quietly mourned his passing, seated on the plateau. They decided to dig a little grave at the corner of her yard. Tiffany was glum as Taeyeon wrapped the corpse in a cloth and laid it with a flower. She was no longer watching from the plateau when Taeyeon began to fill the hole with dirt. Taeyeon couldn’t swallow the breath that was caught in that evening when Tiffany laid down beside her without a word. 

“Taeyeon?”

“Hmm?”

“What will you do when I’m gone?”

“What do you want me to do?” Taeyeon sighed with the inevitable talk she knew they have been avoiding. 

“I don’t know. I don’t want to be forgotten,” Taeyeon’s heart sunk when she realized how distant Tiffany sounded. 

“You know I won’t,” Tiffany gave her a smile that tugged at her heartstrings. Taeyeon stared at the ceiling in silence. 

“Sell this building when I’m gone? Go abroad like you had planned. I don’t want this to hinder your studies.”

“It’s not up to me to decide.”

“It is. The deed is with the documents that Sunny kept in the envelope,” On days like this, Taeyeon really disliked how observant Tiffany is. 

"Let's not talk about this now. I'm tired."

"We need to talk about this eventually, Taeyeon. The year is almost over."

"Not now. Let's sleep."

"Stop avoiding this. Don't let me be a burden to you."

“I won’t. I just... I just happened to change my plans.“

“Taeyeon, I know when you tell a lie.” Taeyeon exhaled and buried her face in the pillow.

“I stayed here without knowing how much of an impact you have on my life. I stayed here without knowing that I’ll fall in love with you. Tiffany, I don’t want to-“

“Taeyeon.”

“I don’t want to sell away the last thing that will remind me of you,” Taeyeon muttered and blinked her tears away. 

“Taeyeon,” Tiffany hugged Taeyeon, "Let's spend the rest of our days happily. After that, I want you to live without any regrets. That's my biggest wish for you. For me. Please?"

With her heart lodged in , Taeyeon felt asleep to the warmth Tiffany eludes more than any physical body had given her. Taeyeon leaped out of bed the next morning and pulled out a stack of paper. Her heart felt a little lighter when she heard the giggle.

“What are you doing?”

“Come hwere, Fwaeny-ah," Taeyeon called with a marker held between her lips.

"I'm not good at drawing but I want to do this, so be my art subject today," They laughed at the lopsided drawing- an attempted portrait of Tiffany with scribbly black hair, a wide smile and curved eyes for eyes that charmed Taeyeon. Tiffany suggested tracing instead like a kindergartener would and Taeyeon thought it was brilliant despite her sulking. 

"Why the sudden thought of this?" Tiffany asked as Taeyeon clumsily traced the outlines of her toes. They both giggled- Tiffany with the thought that it would be ticklish if she could feel Taeyeon's slender fingers dancing around her feet and Taeyeon at the wiggling toes. There was a mellow stillness as Taeyeon speechlessly completed tracing both of Tiffany's feet. 

"Your feet are huge," Taeyeon joked to lightened the atmosphere and placed the outlines beside her face, "Look!"

Tiffany burst into laughter at the childish behavior and Taeyeon placed her masterpieces aside to work on Tiffany's hands.

"You haven't answered my question."

"You told me to live without regrets," Taeyeon flashed a small smile as the black marker contours along the curves of Tiffany's fingers, "I want more than photos to remember you by."

Taeyeon admired the outline of Tiffany's left hand. 

"The last," She grinned and gestured for Tiffany to widen her fingers as she lined the pinky of Tiffany's right hand.

"Thank you," Tiffany whispered with gratitude, "I'm glad it is you that I-"

The marker in Taeyeon's hand halted and gritted her teeth. The tip left a widening blop where it stayed stagnant and Taeyeon's falling tears smudged the clear lines of what was there. Tiffany had vanished before she could finish tracing her thumb- leaving an incomplete picture and gaping hole in Taeyeon's chest.

"I wanted them to remind me of how much bigger your hands are against mine. I wanted something physical- something more than pictures to remind me of you whom I like. I want to hold you."