A grey, cold Monday in New York city, the usual.

Taeyeon glanced at the sky and cursed under her breath.

She was waiting for Sunny outside the airport, freezing her bones with as only heat source a cup of hot coffee. In the end a taxi parked just in front of her. The young woman was out of it immediately, big dark sunglasses covering half of her face, engulfed in what seemed a really warm oversized pink sweatshirt and skinny tight dark leggings, pink and red sneakers on really tiny feet. The pout on her lips mixed with the grumpy expression on her face was adorable, she had to stop herself from coo.

A big red luggage was out of the taxi and when the girl got near to her, she noticed the real difference in their heights, she was taller, by few inches but still.

“Good morning Miss Kim.” Was the slurred greeting. She couldn’t not smile at the annoyed voice, not a morning person eh?

“Good morning Miss Sunny, but you can call me Taeyeon. Come on now let’s go to the checks. Did you have your breakfast yet?.” The girl made a lopsided smile, a lazy one, her shoulders jumping at a sound of a horn in the distance. She looked like a little girl, with pouty lips and a whine ready to be uttered.

Taeyeon found her cuter that she should.

“Call me Sunny, we are supposed to be girlfriends.” The smile now was almost a full one. “And I just wake up.”

“But is that your real name?” It wasn’t a proper Korean name. She smiled that polite closed lips smile.

“Absolutely, now let’s go inside I am starving.”

She kept forgetting she was a paying client and not a new friend. Damn it.

“So, I think we should decide on what story to tell my parents, you know how we meet, and all of that.” Taeyeon fastening her belt, ready for the take off.

She didn't want to start that kind of talk so early in the morning, but the client is always right, right? “Sure, so when we met?” She yawned and felt her eyelids closing on her.

“Maybe you’ll want to sleep a few hours before… rough night?”

You don’t want to know. She had to entertain a group of young new associated from who knows company, she had just the time to do three hours of sleep before waking up, her body was sore and her head hurt so bad. “No, it’s okay so I can sleep later.” Just be quick.

Taeyeon was staring at the young girl almost cuddling to herself and to her head pillow, her eyes puffy and heavy, and her heart suffered for her, imagining what kind of evening she got. She wanted to hold her, make her sleep for the rest of the flight in a warm secure embraced. What the I am thinking. “Alright, let’s say you are a new secretary at my studio and we met there. Easy, simple.”

Sunny squinted her eyes. “We are going with the secretary/boss dynamic? Fine, it’s a used dynamic because it’s very possible.”

She tried to not think of all the o she had seen with that plotline, stopped her brain from picturing the with a tight skirt and high ponytail. Blinking fast and nodded. “I think is a good idea, so we have been together for a month? I think it’ll be comfortable, we don’t have to know everything about each other.” Taeyeon thought she had studied all of this thoroughly.

“Ok with me.” She just stared at the blond for a minute, studying her figure, from the bun on her head, the grey jumper and low waisted jeans. She was pretty, had a thin figure and big dark eyes that seemed dull now, but maybe someday used sparkled. She seemed a good person too, gentle and kind. Just in a bad period of her life.

“Ok, now go to sleep. You seem exhausted.” Sunny gave her another polite smile, this time a bit warmer and finally closed her tired eyes.

The flight was a direct one, so it’ll about fourteen hours, and they’d arrive at ten in the morning in Seoul of Tuesday. The jeet lag was going to kill her, but at least they could sleep through it and find some kind of balance. Sunny was sleeping soundly, emitting strange sounds, her eyes twitching maybe for the light coming from the window. So she closed the curtain paying extra attention to not disturb her. Then she tried to close her eyes too, it was going to be a long flight.

Both wake up at "lunch", the first thing Taeyeon saw were brown bloodshot eyes, she was brushing the sleep away with her hand. “I feel almost human now.” She said slurring the words.

Tae chuckled and nodded, feeling almost the same. “Ready for an almost decent lunch?”

Sunny sighed and opened the curtain just to be shocked by the light and close it again. “I am not ready for anything, I don’t know if you can tell.”

“I kind of can, if that makes you feel better I promise you plenty of sleep, in a comfy bed and good food.” She had to breathe through the full smile that was presented her.

“You better be telling the truth because I’ll be expecting that.” She said while stretching her neck and arms, hearing some cracks.

The blond was already checking the first-class menu, her eyes scanning for something that wouldn’t upset her stomach much. “I am don’t worry. What do you want? They have beef, some fancy pasta, noodle soup and sushi…?” Maybe she’ll take the soup.

“Ehm, I can’t eat raw fish and I don’t trust the fancy pasta, so beef it is.” She was on the drinks while Taeyeon annotated in her head her preferences. “And I’ll have some red wine with it.”

The hostess come to take their orders and smiled brightly, mostly to her really. “So it is a vacancy trip or a business trip?” She was very pretty, long legs and deep dimples on her cheeks. Sunny rolled her eyes at the obvious flirt and busied herself with watching the sky.

“Actually I am going to visit my family, so I think it’s both.” The girl had the audacity to laugh at it like it was the best joke ever, the brunette palmed her whole face, it was awkward, even more when Taeyeon just nodded. “Alright then, I’ll come back in a few with your lunches, for everything just call me.” The girl winked and she almost groaned out loud.

The hostess went away and their eyes met, exasperated black eyes met unamused brown ones. Then they couldn’t do anything but start chuckling. “I hate when they try too hard you know?” And it was like they could smell her money from miles away, it irked her.

“Oh I know that too well.” Maybe that wasn’t the best thing to say to an , she bit her lips, wincing at her own tattles.

“I am sorry…- Sunny made her drop it with a gesture of her hand, a small tense smile on her bare lips.

She made a note to think a bit more before talking. The noodle soup in the end was the best choice, even if the way the girl next to her practically inhaled the beef made her rethink it for a second. It was truly hypnotizing how those full lips would close around the fork and her cheeks moved while munching. She hated the way this girl could capture her attentios with something as simple as eating meat.

The meal was gone in seconds and with it the wine, lucid happy eyes stared at her shocked ones. “I am sorry, I was very hungry and I love beef.” Taeyeon just nodded, smiling, nevertheless.

She was going to feed that girl the best Korean beef she could just to see that expression again.

it. You are not trying to woo that girl.

Then the hostess, her name was Samantha, come to retrieve their plates. “How was it?” She could almost see all her teeth with that smile, she was getting a bit irritated.

“Good, thank you.” She remained the more polite she could.

“I know not much to be enthusiastic about, but tell you what. If you want, when we land I could suggest you a nice place to eat dinner.” And then she winked again.

Sunny felt the sigh Taeyeon let go and had enough, she grabbed the other hand in hers, showing her best plastic smile, all teeth. “Thar’s very kind of you, we could use it, right sweety?” The pet name rolled of her tongue and the blond flinched under her hold. But that did the trick and Samantha retread with a scoff on her face. She retreated her hand, maybe already missing the warmth of it.

The blond was straight up staring at her, oceans of mystery in those deep eyes. She blinked a few times. “I am sorry but I thought she was irritating you.”

“No, no thank you. She was irritating me.” The stare melted into an awkward smile and she felt like she could breathe normally again. It was too powerful for someone she just met. Sunny mirrored that smile for a moment then she turned to the window, praying for it to not be so embarrassing.

Even so she did feel that look infiltrate into her rib cage, without her permission.

The rest of the flight went almost in silence, neither one had the guts to do even small talks, maybe because they both hated it with passion. Taeyeon knows she does and a lot, but her eyes always found the way to her companion, soon to be fake girlfriend, she looked so soft, so warm, so appreciable.

Nevertheless she got to understand in few hours that she isn’t, there’s clearly an armor, something that keeps everyone from her soul. This she can understand, it’s something she also build after the love of her live left her with few pieces of her heart, the rest went with her, and they still hurt. She could understand pain and she could read it into those smoldering looks, plastic smiles and pouty lips.

Eventually the plane started to land and she saw her mother country getting closer and closer. For sure she missed all of her family, she missed the food, but having to pretend, having to fake she was happy and dodge all the toxic trait of her familiars, that could be extenuating.

So she stepped in South Korea with love and hate debating into her heart, then she saw Sunny looking around, taking it all in, as if she never saw it. “You never been to Korea?” She asked ready to be told no.

Instead the girl turned around with marvels on her face, she shacked her head and Taeyeon was found speechless. “Really? Your parents never brought you back?” She couldn’t believe it.

Her face turned into a grimace and she lowered the sunglasses. “They weren’t around that much.” She snorted and went ahead.

Tae blinked and froze outside the airport, thinking about how much their lives were different. She thought about apologizing but it didn’t seem right, so she opted to find the usual company of renting car she used. She got the same model of the Benz she had home.

“Are you going to drive all the way to your house? Just so you know, I can’t drive.” Sunny had saucer eyes when she got in the shiny black car.

“Yeah, don’t worry just get it.” The girl got in the co-pilot seat still looking at it with disbelieve.

Her hands caressing the intern with a smile. “That’s a car! Wow.” She was touching all the buttons, putting the radio on, reclining her seat, switching on all the lights. Taeyeon chuckled lightly.

“Happy you like, I love this car. Well not this, the one I have at home, and it’s white.” She met shocked eyes that blinked towards the street.

“You do this much money from just your job? Like all of this, the tickets in first class, the car and well I am not cheap.” The reminder that she did rent a woman closed her stomach but she chose to ignore it.

“I am an associated member of a very famous studio, but my family is… well we own a lot of buildings in south Korea.” She pressed on the acceleration, trying to numb herself from all the feelings.

“Oh, I see” Sunny said thinking that there were really people born with luck. She looked at the pilot in action, she seemed so sure of everything, like the world didn’t scare her. It was kind of good, she felt kind of safe and that just scared her more. The lawyer was just driving, speeding on the street and she felt surrounded by a bubble, as if the world couldn’t touch her in there. She chose to ignore that feeling too.

“Are we going directly to your house? How much is missing?”

Taeyeon was driving for two hours without so much of a break, her eyes still calm and collected, still speeding on the fastest lane. “Yes, we are almost there. Are you tired? We could stop for a bit if you want, no problem at all.” The gentleness in every word she said wasn’t supposed to hit her that way, but every single time it did, like she was taken care of.

The driver looked for an instant at her, a kind smile on her face. “I am not the one who’s been driving for two hours straight, after a long flight.” She scoffed and crossed her arms, the ride was making her sleepy but she refused to sleep.

Taeyeon grinned.

“It’s okay, I don’t mind it, I actually like driving.” She inhaled a little and surpassed a car. “Are you ready for being my secretary slash girlfriend?” She tried to put it lightly, to joke about it, but she was the one who was nervous. Her family knew well how she acted when she was in love and it was going to be tough faking it.

“I don’t know how to be a secretary but I’ll improvise” She chuckled at the predictable answer. “Not that I know how to be a girlfriend, anyway.” The tone dropped to almost shy and Taeyeon raised a single eyebrow.

“How… how… you never had a boyfriend or a girlfriend?” She was stoned, how that could be possible. The smile she got from her sideview was both sad and bitter.

“Would you date a girl that does my kind of job?” The driver shallowed and gritted her teeth hoping that she could take that back.

“I… I don’t know?”

Sunny snorted. “No you wouldn’t.”

Taeyeon didn’t know how to get away with that situation but tried anyway, saying what has been rolling around her brain for a while. “I don’t know if I would, maybe no, but I think you’ll be worth it.” She felt more than heard the intake of air at her side, now brown eyes were staring at her, burning into her skull. She shallowed loudly again, hating her rakish mouth. “I mean generally, I… I think anyone could see you are worth it.”

Sunny batted her eyelashes slowly, taking it in, because for a moment there she thought the blond was telling her she liked her, actually that she was worth it. The fluttering into her stomach didn’t die down, her eyes got a bit teary for no reason at all but she flinched them away.

Her voice cracked a bit when she answered. “Thank you, I think.” Was all she could do with the knot blocking .

The silence that occupied the car was awkward and heavy, the passenger thought about the week that was expecting her, it was going to be harder that she prospected.

The pilot just bit her lips to blood, faking that the vanilla perfume filling her nose and covering her like a blanket was an air freshener of the car.