Taeyeon wasn’t sure what she was doing with her life. Okay, okay. Maybe it wasn’t that dramatic, but things weren’t exactly in the clear right now. Then again, she always felt this way whenever she sat down to write music. A glance at the clock told her it was time for a shower or she would be late for the movie. Taeyeon made sure to save her audio recordings and back them up before shutting down her computer. Then she headed for the bathroom.

A lukewarm shower later, Taeyeon stepped out feeling much better than before. A quick look-through her wardrobe produced her outfit for the day—a black cropped sleeveless top and a pair of dark blue denim jeans. She grabbed a denim jacket (in case it got cold in the cinema), her phone and backpack, and slipped into a pair of white sneakers with extra thick soles. Any form of added height was significant to people like her.

The cinema was a thirty-minute drive away so she set off an hour early and got there in good time. She got in line and redeemed the tickets with her gift card. The movie was a rom-com that Tiffany had chosen. Privately, she would rather have gone for a horror movie but a rom-com wasn’t too bad. At least it wasn’t a full-on tragic romance kind of movie.

She spotted Tiffany from a mile away—or rather, about ten metres away. Decked in an oversized pink pullover and black leggings on white sneakers, it wasn’t hard to spot Tiffany. Back at the café, Tiffany had been eye-catching from the moment she stepped in. There was something about her. The way the air around her shifted to make way for her. The way light fell upon her. Something glowed from within.

Taeyeon remembered how she felt when she first saw Tiffany’s smile in the café. Tiffany had been smiling at the barista but Taeyeon had felt the impact all the same. A blast of beauty of the purest kind. Like fresh water from a spring, cooling and cleansing. That was when Taeyeon decided to sketch her. For that winning smile. Of course, she noticed the beauty of Tiffany’s curves as well, sooner after, but it had been that smile. That smile had opened her heart.

Taeyeon thought about the woman she was currently sketching. The barista in another café across the street. She was great for sketching too but she missed sketching Tiffany. It was just too bad that Tiffany turned out to be Yuri’s new manager.

“Hey,” Tiffany said with her wholesome smile.

Taeyeon couldn’t help smiling too. “Hey.”

“I see, you’ve redeemed the tickets.”

Taeyeon held up the tickets. “The movie you wanted.”

“Are you really alright with my choice?” Tiffany asked, her brows burrowed with concern.

“Yes, really.”

Tiffany relaxed and smiled again. “Okay.” She thumbed the snacks counter behind. “Popcorn?”

“Sure.”

“Sweet or salty?”

“I’m okay with both.”

“I like the sweet ones.”

“Then we’ll get the sweet ones. My treat.”

“No, you shouldn’t.”

“You paid for the tickets so the popcorn’s on me.”

“I’ll pay for half of it.”

Taeyeon shrugged. “If that’s what you want.”

They got the combo that included a huge tub of popcorn and two drinks and Tiffany noted the price, promising to pay Taeyeon for half of it later. Taeyeon shrugged it off, not intending to remind Tiffany if she forgot about it, and in they went into the theatre.

Their seats were in the middle of row G, pretty good seats in Taeyeon’s opinion. They settled down, made themselves comfortable and Taeyeon got started on some popcorn. The movie started out with the couple running into unfortunate incidents. It was as though they were jinxing each other and needless to say, they weren’t on the best terms at the beginning. But they were thrown together in a situation they couldn’t get out of without each other’s help. A typical set up, Taeyeon thought. But it was funny. The female character was a mess but adorable. She had a good heart and the male character soon realized that. Then came the cute moments and physical comedy.

Taeyeon sneaked a peek at Tiffany when the first kiss scene happened. It was accidental. The female character slipped and fell and ended up kissing the male character. How very typical. Taeyeon wasn’t moved by any means but Tiffany had a silly grin on her face and she was giggling. Taeyeon smiled. It was cute, in a Tiffany way.

More comical moments ensued. Accidental had to happen, of course, and Taeyeon roared with laughter when the shower curtain fell, revealing the male character posing like a body builder as the female character gaped and screamed. But the events that followed weren’t as funny and Taeyeon began to feel a little sleepy.

Since they were sharing a tub of popcorn, their hands brushed each other often throughout the movie. But Taeyeon didn’t think much about it until Tiffany’s fingers actually hooked around hers. Tiffany simply smiled and moved her fingers out of the way but Taeyeon couldn’t help wondering if it had been deliberate. But why would Tiffany do that unless she . . .

No way. You’re thinking way too much into this. Stop it.

A few moments later, it happened again. This time, Tiffany was grinning with a playful gleam in her eyes as she hooked the popcorn straight from Taeyeon’s fingers. Taeyeon wasn’t sure what that was supposed to mean, but she wasn’t going to let Tiffany get away with it.

Offence is the best defence so Taeyeon waited for her chance and dived in to swipe the popcorn from Tiffany. That prompted Tiffany to return the favour and soon, they were fully invested in a popcorn dominion challenge. Neither woman was paying attention to the movie anymore. The audience around them chuckled and laughed at the comical scenes while they finger-battled for popcorn after popcorn, rather oblivious to their surroundings.

Nobody was keeping score but Taeyeon made sure to celebrate her wins with dramatic flair, exaggerating the way she chewed each popcorn she won from Tiffany. Before they knew it, they were down to the last popcorn in the tub. It was an epic battle with fingers pinching and twirling and pulling each other. Taeyeon managed to get hold of it but Tiffany held on to her hand stopping her from eating it. It was stalemate for a moment but Tiffany cheated and used another hand to pluck the popcorn from Taeyeon’s fingers.

Filled with a sense of injustice, Taeyeon was about to protest the flouting of the unspoken rule when Tiffany silenced her by stuffing the stolen popcorn into her wide open mouth.

Tiffany giggled. “Congrats. You won. But remember to chew, Taeyeon.”

Taeyeon chewed. And swallowed. And blushed.

o|v

“I hate that I don’t know what happened to the couple in the end,” Taeyeon grumbled as they filtered out of the theatre while the credits rolled.

“It’s a rom-com. They obviously got together in the end,” Tiffany said with a laugh.

“I know. But our popcorn war went on for so long that I missed out the part on how they got together.”

Tiffany side-eyed her. “I didn’t know you cared about the movie this much.”

“Why would you think I don’t care?”

“I saw you yawning half way through. I thought you were bored so I started the popcorn war to keep you awake.”

“I wasn’t falling asleep.”

“Oh yeah? Your eyes were droopy. You were sleepy.”

“But I wasn’t falling asleep.”

“If you really want to know what happened to them, I’ll buy you another ticket and you can come watch it to find out.”

“Are you crazy? No way I’m gonna watch a rom-com alone.”

“Fine. I’ll come with you and you can find out how they got together.”

Taeyeon stopped and stared at Tiffany. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah. If it’s bothering you that much. I’ll buy two more tickets and we’ll watch it next Monday,” said Tiffany fully intending to make good her promise.

Taeyeon stared at her for a moment then shook her head. “Nah, you don’t have to.”

“No, I have to. It’s my fault for starting the popcorn war.”

“Okay, see, I was just ranting. You don’t have to take it seriously.”

Tiffany frowned. “Why?”

“I don’t know, okay. I was just uncomfortable so I just had to rant about something.”

“I don’t understand. Why were you uncomfortable?”

“I don’t know.”

“Was it something I did or said?”

“No.”

Tiffany tried to plug the sinking feeling in her chest. “Honestly, do you hate me or something?”

Taeyeon’s eyes widened like she was shocked. “Of course not. Why would I hate you?”

Tiffany shrugged. “How would I know?”

“If I hated you, I wouldn’t be even be talking to you.”

“Are we friends?”

“Are we?”

“I would like to think we are. I would like to think we can get along, especially with us working in the same place and all.”

“I think we get along just fine.”

“I thought that too, until you started ranting.”

“Just ignore that. You don’t have to take it seriously.”

Tiffany wasn’t convinced but she decided to leave it at that. At least she was on talking terms with Taeyeon now. It was a vast improvement and she had to be satisfied with that. Baby steps, baby steps.

o|v

“Hello, Tiffany.”

Tiffany looked up from the table reservation list on her tablet and was met with the bright, smiling, smoky eyes of Ginna. She smiled in returned. “Hi, Ginna. It’s nice to see you again.”

“I’m here as a paying customer this time.”

Tiffany laughed. “You can have a beer or two on the house. It’s okay.”

Ginna shook her head and flipped her long, black hair over her shoulder. “No, no. See, I don’t want you to think I’m here for the free drinks ‘cos I’m not.”

“I know you’re here to support Taeyeon.”

Ginna laughed out loud. “That grouchy granny? Hell, no. I’m not here for her.”

“Grouchy granny,” Tiffany laughed. It was funny to hear someone giving Taeyeon a nickname like that. “What brings you here then? The music?”

“Uh, uh. It’s you.”

Tiffany’s breath caught in . She was not expecting this answer. “Me?”

“Why not? You’re a gorgeous nurse and totally fun to hang out with.” Ginna winked as she gave Tiffany a playful nudge. “And I brought a couple of my girlfriends out here tonight. Doing my part to help boost the business here.”

Tiffany smiled. “Thanks, Ginna.”

Ginna giggled. “I’ll let you get back to your work. Talk to ya later, Tiff.”

Tiffany was smiling and waving at Ginna when she spotted a short figure watching them. It was Taeyeon. She sent a smile and wave in Taeyeon’s direction and the singer threw a cursory wave back. It was weird though. Tiffany didn’t know how she knew, but she had a feeling Taeyeon wasn’t happy about something.

o|v