"No!"

 "Why not?"

 "Just- how can you- absolutely not!"

 "But why?"

 "Are you stupid? Have you no common sense!?" Tiffany practically screams. The conference room stares as she windmills her arms and rages with her face red. "Let me put together a list, then, if it's so ing hard to comprehend:

1. Taeyeon and I are not even dating and never would
2. Two girls dating isn't going to be accepted. You've seen how bad hetero dating news go over, this is inevitably going to be worse
3. We don't even know each other and pretending to date is in no way beneficial for either of us

 Does that help you understand, ers?" She's so angry that she doesn't even care about respect. Most of the people in her room are light years above her pay grade and a lot older. However, this was her life. Not theirs.

 "Okay, so I've written all your point down, how about we assess them at a deeper level?" The man sitting near the head of the table, Taeyeon's publicist, speaks calmly. The whole room isn't even phased about Tiffany's tantrum. No reaction at all. It's as if they're used to this. She glances at Taeyeon, who has the decency to look away bashfully. She sits back down and takes a deep breath.

 "Okay, so point number one: you and Taeyeon would never date. Obviously, on a professional level, we can't really argue for or against this one. However, it can still be noted that you do suit one another." When Tiffany's about cut in, another exec continues, this one Taeyeon's head stylist.

 "Oh, hundred per cent, they look totes cute! They compliment each other in appearance so well!" In what world that makes sense, Tiffany does not know. But she does know she wants to strangle Kim Taeyeon for what she says next:

 "We are a beautiful couple, aren't we?" Taeyeon holds her hand so tight she can't pull away.

 "I'll literally assault your half of this beautiful couple if continue with this ," Tiffany growls at the shorter woman. The stylist squeals.

 "EEEEeeeek! And the banter! The personality! It's all perfect! Imagine what we could do with this! It would be so aesthetically pleasing!" Sacrificing her entire life to be in a fake relationship that would last maybe a few months was a lot more than aesthetically pleasing.

 "Second point, the homophobia. You have made very valid arguments, but you would be surprised to find how progressive our country really has become! Soo-Hyun, tell us the facts!" This Soo-Hyun was another member of the PR team, under the publicist.

 "So far the news of Taeyeon having a girlfriend have been conflicted. But, not because she is gay, but because she is taken!" Tiffany is speechless. "Her diehard fangirls are, as of this current moment, flooding Tiffany-ssi's social media with possessive and obsessive comments. The same is happening to Taeyeon's official accounts. #Taeny is trending on Twitter.com, closely followed by Taeyeon's promotional trailer for the comeback. The publicity is juicy!" Tiffany was still speechless but more affronted that someone would call publicity juicy of all things. Clearly, Taeyeon's team was a bit on the eccentric side. "Goo-Hyun, please take it from here." Goo-Hyun is a sales rep. Oh, boy, here we go again.

 "None of our sponsors has pulled out or indicated as such. The company's stocks have actually risen! Views and streams have spiked! Album sales are at an all-time high!" Goo-Hyun sounds like a sports reporter on the radio, yelling into the mic when the home team scores a point.

 "Third point!" The publicist, by the name of Hoo-Hyun, takes charge of the situation again. He's up from his chair, leaning over the table and gesturing with his hands like he's giving the most convincing propaganda speech to his troops. "You might not know each other yet, but that's what dating's all about! You don't need to pretend to be married. And, you're wrong, Tiffany-ssi, this is highly beneficial!"

 "Yes, but-" only for Taeyeon, she wants to say, but they don't let her.

 "So you agree! Great, then it's settled! You know what to do, people, let's get this party started!" They all rise from their seats and filter out of the room until it's Taeyeon and the manager that came to get them from the balcony. Tiffany sits still, dumbfounded. Had her fate been decided just like that? In just a snap? Without her say or anything.

 "Have the rest of the day off, Taeyeon." He smiles and pats her on the shoulder. "Probably good to lay low for a bit now, but we've got this. Hwaiting!" As he passes Tiffany to go out of the door as well, he gives her a thumbs up. A thumbs up. The audacity makes her tremble with rage.

 "So... What'chu wanna do, girlfriend?" She turns to Taeyeon when the singer speaks. She's smiling. It's all-teeth, so wide that her cheeks are almost split and the dimple on her chin is prominent. It's like if a Colgate-ad turned sinister. And it makes Tiffany burst.

 " off," She whimpers and bursts into violent sobs the next second. Oh, gosh, this was so embarrassing. But she couldn't hold it anymore. The whole damn week had been too much. So much stress and strain, unresolved misery and chronic pains flaring to life after dormancy. She hides her face in her arms and bends at the waist so her forehead's resting on her knees. She can vaguely hear Taeyeon panicking somewhere nearby.

 "Oh, oh, I- oh no, I'm sorry, Tiffany, I didn't mean to- to uhhhh... I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." The singer mumbles, rubbing Tiffany's back. It would be comforting if Tiffany didn't feel suffocated simply by the thought of someone touching her. She flinches away and surges up from her seat. She retreats from Taeyeon and tries to gather herself.

 "Shut up, you mothering . I hate you. I hate you." Taeyeon only sighs and Tiffany hiccups.

 "Okay. That's okay. I'm sorry I put you into this situation. I should've been more considerate." It's a good apology, but not enough.

 "I'd rather never have met you at all than have your stupid apology." She hiccups again and wipes at her eyes. "You're all the same. I can't stand your kind."

 "I'm sorry, okay? I already apologized. What do you want me to do? I have about as much power as you do with these people. They don't listen to me either."

 "You could have stopped messing around. You could've behaved like you're supposed to."

 "And how's that? Like a robot? A program that follows orders and isn't even capable of independent thought?" Taeyeon's frustrated, Tiffany can hear it in her voice, and as much as she wants to respond in kind, she's too worn for anger. All that's left is a sad, pathetic slush. "What do you have against me and my colleagues anyway?"

 "It's none of your business-"

 "I bet you auditioned and failed." Tiffany inhales sharply and Taeyeon takes that as confirmation. "How many times? How many times until you gave up because you didn't have what it takes? And now you hate me because I'm what you couldn't be, huh? I am your dead dreams. Admit it!"

 "I was scouted!" Taeyeon scoffs. "XXX-Recordings." Tiffany almost feels triumphant at how Taeyeon's face falls. She knows that the singer knows exactly what that company had been. She knew the history, the stuff that had went down.

 "I bet you feel real stupid now. Don't you remember me? I was there, y'know? That sad heap in the corner — that was me." Taeyeon looks as if she's seen a ghost. "You were so lucky. I was so jealous of you. How you could skip practice and eat junk food and no one would punish you. You still take it for granted. You get into a dating scandal that could in a moment-," She snaps her fingers. "kill your career and this is what you do? ing ridiculous." Tiffany sniffs and laughs bitterly.

 "How dare you, Kim Taeyeon?" She whispers and looks at her hands. They're calloused and dry, her nails uneven and thin. Her wrists are thin, but not as thin as when she was training. "I'm not the only one. There was a hundred of us. You might be the luckiest, but even I would be counted as lucky. I made it out of there. Barely" She smiles at Taeyeon and she knows it looks as hollow as she feels.

 "Am I shinier than mushrooms now, Taeyeon?"

 "Tif- Stephanie, I... Oh my god." Tiffany should be proud of herself, really, because the expression on Taeyeon's face is pure gold. "You, how, what-"

 "Oh, shut the up. Look, I'm not going to go into detail, but that place ruined me. You didn't even get to see the worst of it. You don't know half the things they did to us." She leans onto the armrests of Taeyeon's chair, getting up close and personal. "You are not my dead dreams, Kim Taeyeon. They died when our boss d my , they died when I starved for weeks at a time, they died when I couldn't understand a of Korean and no one wanted to help me."

 "It- it's not my fault," Taeyeon whimpers, her usual smiles and their tones long gone. She looks like the trainee years ago, her face full of fear, so innocent that Tiffany almost forgives her.

 "Oh, no, it's not. It's not your fault you were the favourite. You were lucky." Tiffany allows her tone to soften just a little bit. "But that doesn't change what happened." She leans back, exiting Taeyeon's personal space. She walks to the door and turns the handle and says over her shoulder:

 "It's not your fault, just..." She swallows down a lump in , but her eyes still leak tears. "Please, think of us when you're up there." And she leaves the room.