Taeyeon isn’t sure when she fell asleep but whatever time it was, it still isn’t enough to rid her of her splitting headache. She winces as she rolls out of bed and rubs her temples on the way to the kitchen.

A glass of water and a pill later, she calls in to cancel her training session and slumps back on her bed. The little light on her phone flashes blue. She has unread messages but her headache is bothering her too much and the pill is beginning to take effect. So she closes her eyes, and drifts back to sleep.

A few hours later, Taeyeon wakes up feeling better. The headache is now a dull memory of what it was and she feels more energetic. Feeling the rumble in her stomach, she heads to the kitchen again.

Warm milk and a bowl of cereal. Taeyeon sits on her couch and eats her late breakfast while watching the news.

“Let’s go over to our reporter, Kim Shinmun, stationed onsite with the thousand blissful couples.”

“Thank you. I am here at the Hangang Park. One thousand couples are waiting to renew their vows and the atmosphere is bustling with joy and excitement but one emotion is the most palpable of all . . . love.”

Taeyeon puts her spoon down and reaches for the remote. It’s time for a change of channels.

“The biggest question in life . . . is love. Who should we love? How should we love? Will we be loved? On this episode of Love Life, we are going to explore who we should love.”

With a groan, Taeyeon changes the channel yet again.

“Are you saying that you still love him after everything he has done?”

“Yes.”

The audience gasps.

“That is incredible. Incredibly amazing and disturbing at the same time.”

“I can’t help it. My heart won’t listen to my brain.”

“But how does your heart still love him after he has cheated on you more than ten times?”

“I don’t know . . . I really don’t. But I still love him.”

Taeyeon gives up. It seems like she can’t run away from the problem of love. And Leeyun’s words are swarming in her mind.

Are you really sure about Tiffany? Are you in love with her? Will you be with her forever? Can you guarantee you won’t leave her for the next man who seduces you?

All the questions are troubling. She’s not sure how sure she is about Tiffany. She’s not sure if she’s in love with Tiffany. There’s no telling what she might do if she meets someone new. If she starts to develop feelings for someone else. Like another man. What if she wakes up one day with a change of heart? What is she going to tell Tiffany then?

But when have I ever doubted myself in the past? When have I ever worried about falling for someone else? When have I ever let that stop me from being with someone? Even if I wasn’t in love with the person yet?

She has always been confident in matters of the heart. She has never second guessed herself like this. When she decided to give it a try, she had done so with a heart that was ready to step into the unknown. And she had done so with a mind set on taking it like any other relationship. Why should dating a woman be fundamentally any different from dating a man? Isn’t it all on a case-by-case basis?

Damn, my headache is coming back.

X

Taeyeon sinks into another deep sleep on the couch and when she finally checks her phone after waking up, it is stretched to its seams with unread messages and missed calls, more than half of them coming from one person.

Did you get home safe?

Are you asleep?

Have you had breakfast yet?

Are you mad at me?

Are you ever going to reply?

Taeyeon sighs as she reads all the messages. She feels sorry and a reply is definitely required as soon as possible. But how is she going to explain her mood last night? Should she tell Tiffany about Leeyun? Or should she keep it to herself and spare Tiffany from the trouble?

After some thinking, she sends Tiffany a message to say she’s safe, has woken up and has had breakfast (although that counted more as lunch). That should put Tiffany’s mind at ease. But a phone call from Tiffany comes in barely ten seconds later and she doesn’t sound at ease.

“Hey, I hope you’re not still mad at me.”

“No, no. I was never mad at you.”

“Really? ‘Cos you seemed that way last night.”

“I was bothered by something.”

“Something or someone?”

Does she know? How does she know? “Whatever it was, it’s not a problem now.”

“Really?”

Taeyeon smiles, suddenly feeling silly for worrying a ton. “I was over-thinking last night. But it’s all sorted out now.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“I’m sorry for missing all your calls. I didn’t check my phone all day till now.”

“It’s okay. You must have been busy training and all.”

“Actually, I didn’t train today.”

“Why not? Are you sick?” Concern returns to Tiffany’s voice.

“I woke up with a headache but I’m feeling much better now.”

“I see. Want me to go over after work? I know how to make you feel better.”

Taeyeon chuckles. “Oh, do you?”

“Oh, yes I do.”

“Then you’re most welcome to come over later.”

“Great. I’ll see you soon, sweetie.”

“Okay, bye, sugarbaby.”

Tiffany’s laugh at the end puts a smile on Taeyeon’s face. 

X

Tiffany arrives at Taeyeon’s door, holding a bouquet of lavenders. She puts on a big smile when Taeyeon answers the door bell and presents her with the bouquet immediately. “Surprise, sweetie.”

Taeyeon does look surprised. Her eyes are widened, jaw hanging loose. “Thank you, sugarbaby.”

Tiffany leans in to give Taeyeon’s cheek a peck. “You’re welcome, sweetie. Lavender is good for headaches. Smelling them will relax you.”

“You’re so thoughtful, you’re making me feel guilty.”

“Guilty? About?”

“Putting you through the worry. And I wasn’t nice to you last night.”

“Yeah, you were kinda mean last night but I forgive you.”

“Tiffany . . . I—”

“Listen, I get that this is new to you. I’m prepared to go slow for you. But you gotta talk to me when something’s bothering you. It’s really frustrating to be clueless and it really when you shut me out and I can’t help you.”

“I try to do that but whenever a problem crops up, I usually try to solve it by myself first.”

“I respect that, but we’re a team now. Just remember that I’m here for you, okay?”

Taeyeon smiles and nods. “I’m here for you too.”

Tiffany hugs Taeyeon, not caring if she squashes the flowers. “I’m glad we worked that out. Now, can we have dinner? I’m starving.”

“I cooked some simple dishes for us. And I didn’t add salt this time.”

No salt at all? Wouldn’t the food be bland without salt? “Sounds great! Take me to the food,” Tiffany chirps as she heads to the dining table. “Bulgogi?”

“Yeah, do you like it?”

“Like? I love bulgogi. Let’s eat.”

Taeyeon puts the bouquet in the kitchen before joining Tiffany at the table. “Go on, try it.”

Tiffany puts a piece of meat in and chews carefully. It is surprisingly tasty and not bland at all. Neither is it too salty. In fact, it tastes as good as . . . wait a minute. Taeyeon is grinning.  “You didn’t cook this, did you?”

Taeyeon laughs out loud. “I got it delivered.”

“You ,” says Tiffany, laughing.

“I thought of cooking at first, but I decided not to risk us going hungry again.”

“Next time, then.” Thank God she didn’t risk it.

“Next time. We’ll cook together next time.”

“You’re on.”

X