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It’s been ten years, but Taeyeon doesn’t seem to have aged a single day.
 

That’s the first thought that enters Tiffany's mind the moment she sees Taeyeon inside the meeting room.
 

Not a thought about how Taeyeon’s dyed blonde hair brings out her elfish features, not about the subtle paling of her already-pale face once she had seen Tiffany, and definitely not a single thought about the lips that Tiffany knows are as soft as they look. No, definitely not that last one.
 

Tiffany admits she'd savoured Taeyeon's reaction to her presence. Ever since she found out that it was the Kim Taeyeon that SMT would be flying over to New York City to negotiate terms for them, she’d already visualized the reaction she’d be getting. She had explicitly instructed her assistant to refrain from giving out her name, and if ever Taeyeon asks for it, she were to only give out her surname and nothing more. She’d noted the questioning look in her assistant’s eyes, so she gave her an honest answer: “We knew each other back in college, so I want to surprise her.”
 

Of course, this ‘surprise’ was not foolproof, as Taeyeon could have easily googled whom she’d be dealing with in Halcyon, but the completely dumbfounded look on her face told Tiffany otherwise.
 

It’s not one for Tiffany to hold a grudge. She prefers dealing with problems head-on and cutting loose people whom she thinks are doing more harm to her life than good. And she thinks that if anyone were to have any regrets, it would always be the other party. She learned this the hard way though, and Kim Taeyeon was one of the main reasons for that.
 

But she admits that Taeyeon may be somehow of an exception to the usual set of rules Tiffany has set up for herself. Because as long as ten years may be, certain feelings such as the ones Taeyeon had brought back can make it seem like such a short span of time. Because as much as Taeyeon is shocked to find Tiffany standing in front of her, Tiffany is also a bit surprised at the sudden pinching ache that originates from her chest at the sight of the other woman.
 

It isn’t difficult for Tiffany to be brought back to her last memory of Taeyeon, whose eyes were glistening as Tiffany said her goodbyes before getting out of that damn suffocating bus.
 

It isn’t difficult for Tiffany to remember how she had been irrevocably rejected by her first love, because yes, it was definitely love that she had felt for Taeyeon. It wouldn’t have been that painful if it wasn’t love.
 

Only love would’ve made her choke back heart-wrenching sobs in her dorm lest she woke up the students living in the rooms adjacent to hers. Only love would’ve made her run away from South Korea with her tail tucked between her legs. And only the heartache of love would have made her whom she is today: a strong, independent woman who learns from her mistakes. And loving Kim Taeyeon was definitely a mistake.
 

This self-reminder helps Tiffany shake off the sudden ache in her chest. It helps remind her that Kim Taeyeon has probably changed as much as Tiffany has changed over the past ten years, and the circumstances for their fateful meeting is no more than a coincidence, and a tiring one at that.
 

Mergers are basically made of headache-inducing, nonstop arguments until one side just gets sick of it and gives. And then repeat cycle.
 

With the speedy rise of Halcyon’s influence and power, it’s inevitable that the company will try to buy out competition—and succeed, mostly due to the strategic planning and keen instincts of Tiffany and her team.
 

But still, mergers are the bane of Tiffany's existence, no matter how good she is at negotiating them. And so she wants this over with as quickly as possible, so that she can move on and focus all her energy on calculating the company’s yearly financial report, which is another bane of her existence.
 

She makes the necessary introductions for Taeyeon, ignoring the blatant stares she’s receiving from the other woman. She asks her if she’s ready for the meeting, making sure that a well-practiced smile is in place. If it may have been one of the more intimidating ones that she’s giving, then she’s not sorry about it. Maybe Taeyeon will be scared off, and the negotiations will proceed more quickly.

***

Once the staff with her have settled in their seats, Tiffany begins the meeting and gets straight to the point. She acknowledges that Taeyeon needs an ID to enter the building, so she instructs her to go to the IT department down at the 9th floor to get her picture taken once the meeting is over. Taeyeon will have an office for herself during her entire stay, and Tiffany's assistant will bring her there later.
 

Tiffany explains that negotiations will begin between the both of them at first, and once Tiffany approves of SMT’s conditions, she will bring it up to the CFO, and then eventually to the executive VP—which is why she had brought them there with her today.
 

Taeyeon has the good sense to nod at every statement Tiffany makes, and she thinks she’s doing well at hiding the shock still thrumming through her veins.
 

Tiffany Hwang is right in front of me.
 

She still can’t grasp it.
 

She remembers how Tiffany used to struggle in having lengthy conversations with her in Korean, with Taeyeon sometimes having to use her decoding skills to wrap her head around what Tiffany was trying to say. But now, Tiffany is speaking before her, so confidently in English and commanding the attention of every single person in the room that even her bosses are subtly nodding along to what she’s saying. It’s so vastly different from what Taeyeon remembers, and she struggles to compare and merge the Tiffany of her past and the Tiffany at present into one entity.
 

She realizes a lot has changed since then,