Awkward.

Taeyeon watched as Tiffany greeted Taehyeong and shook hands with him. She watched as Tiffany laughed about their mistaken identities. She continued to watch as Tiffany sat down with Taehyeong to talk about the instrumental piece they had been working on for the past three months.

Turns out, it wasn’t just one piece. It was a number of pieces, for the entire film. Turns out, the person that Tiffany had felt compelled to come all the way to meet, was in fact, Taehyeong. Turns out, all that mystery was for naught.

Taeyeon decided to clear out of the way. She was out of place. They were engaged in their project discussion and she had work to do. She did. She really did. There was that song she was listening to. And another song she had to finish up for one of the big labels.

“Tae-er-Taeyeon.”

Taeyeon stopped and turned around with a smile that didn’t feel right. “Yes?”

“Thank you.”

Tiffany’s smile was kind and sincere. Taeyeon didn’t want to make her feel bad so she put on a cheery grin. “You’re welcome.”

In the privacy of her studio, however, Taeyeon slumped in her chair and stared at the digital soundwaves as her mind tried to deal with the weird feelings swirling in her chest. It was confusing. Those feelings inside. A mixture of disappointment, awkwardness, some amount of relief. Relief that she didn’t have to figure out the strange chemistry that was developing between them.

A corner of her mind wondered if Tiffany was disappointed too.

Nah. Tiffany didn’t look disappointed. She was smiling at Taehyeong and talking to him like she had known him forever. Get a grip.

Taeyeon let out a deep sigh, then grabbed the edge of the console table and pulled herself to it.

Back to work.

T

The hand on her shoulder ended her train of focus.

“Taeyeon, Tiffany would like to talk to you.”

Taeyeon stared at Taehyeong for a moment, her thoughts not quite up to speed with the present. “Huh?”

“Tiffany. You know, the lady you were hanging out with?”

Did Tiffany tell Taehyeon? Did she tell him everything?

“If Taeyeon is busy, I can come back another time. It’s okay.”

Taeyeon turned to Tiffany. Seeing those sincere eyes snapped her out of her daze. “Er, yeah, yeah. I mean, no, I’m not busy. I have time.”

“Great,” said Taehyeong, his expression a little unusual. “I’ll leave you two here to talk and get out of the way.”

“Thanks, Tae,” Tiffany said to him with a toothy smile.

Taeyeon pulled up a swivel chair and patted it. “For you.”

Tiffany sat on it and inched up to Taeyeon. “Thank you.”

“So, what did you want to talk about?”

Pulling back a notch, Tiffany threw her a weird look. “You’re acting weird. Why are you acting weird?”

“Weird? Me?” Taeyeon coughed a laugh. “I’m not acting weird.”

“Yes, you are. You totally are.”

“I’m not. I’m just distracted.”

Tiffany glanced at the soundwaves on the screen. “Am I interrupting your work? I don’t want to bother you.”

“You’re not.” Taeyeon shook her head. “Go on and say what you want to say.”

“I don’t know how to talk to you when you’re like—that.”

“You know what—” Taeyeon saved the file and closed the program. “Okay, now I’m good.”

“Mmm,” Tiffany shook her head, “your vibes are still a little off. Like we’re acquaintances, not friends.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Okay, if you insist.” Tiffany’s mysterious smile reappeared. “So, how about dinner? Do you have any plans?”

“I don’t have dinner plans. Yet.”

“Yet.”

“Mhm.”

“I can be your dinner plan.”

“Well, if you’re my plan then I have a plan.”

The mystery in Tiffany’s smile turned into sunshine. “Do you know a good Japanese restaurant?”

T

“Nice place,” Tiffany commented the moment they stepped into the restaurant.

“It’s nice and cosy, isn’t it?” Taeyeon leaned closer to Tiffany and lowered her voice to a whisper. “Celebrities come here sometimes, for the grilled eel.”

Tiffany’s eyes widened. “Have you met any here?”

Taeyeon stared at Tiffany for a moment. Then she broke out into laughter.

“Why are you laughing?”

Taeyeon was laughing so hard, she couldn’t speak for a while. “Your eyes. They were so big.”

“And that’s funny?”

“Yeah.”

Tiffany smiled and giggled. “You’re funny.”

Taeyeon blushed but didn’t have time for a reply because a waiter was here to usher them to a table. “So the talk with Taehyeong went well, I hope?” she asked, after they had settled down.

Tiffany’s eyes brightened. “It went great! I’m so happy I finally met the music brain on the other side. I think we’ll work even better together now.”

“Great. That’s great. Really great.”

“I know, right? It’s really nice when your musical visions are aligned.”

“So, you came all the way here from another country and decided to move here because of Taehyeong?”

Tiffany’s steely gaze locked on Taeyeon, and for a moment, she stopped breathing. “Yes.”

“Oh.”

“But not entirely.

“Oh?”

“I mean, we had some conversations about music production prospects and he said I would be able to meet more people in Seoul and get more opportunities. That’s when I thought about it. I thought, hey, I should go on an adventure and check it out. So I came, with the intention of testing the waters for a bit. But guess what? On the very first day in Seoul, I met with both a disaster and a blessing.”

“A disaster and a blessing?”

“The guys from the bar, they were the disaster.”

“And a blessing?”

Tiffany smiled and warmth spread through Taeyeon’s chest. “You.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, you.” Tiffany took Taeyeon’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “You saved me from the disaster.”

“Oh.”

“Before coming here, I wasn’t sure if I could live here for good. But after meeting you, I think it’s possible.”

“Why?”

“Because I found an anchor in Seoul.”

“An anchor?”

“An anchor, a reason to stay.”

“What is it?”

“Not what,” said Tiffany, shaking her head and smiling, “it’s who.”

“Who?”

Tiffany dropped her eyes and stared at their clasped hands. Then she brought her eyes back up to meet Taeyeon’s. “You.”

T