Tiffany sat in the café, stirring her coffee rather absentmindedly. She hadn’t seen Siwon for such a long time that she was actually nervous about meeting him again. Why does he want to see me?

 

Frankly, she missed him a lot. Just a little. His deep, deep molten brown eyes that glinted with mischief, humour, tender loving care… She sighed. Why did things turn out this way?

 

She was younger and hopelessly in love then…

 

She first saw him at a music event. He was drumming in a band and had the entire female population present at the concert swooning over him. Tiffany didn’t think that she would ever end up like those girls, but he’d caught her eye and winked at her. And that was the beginning of their sad love story.

 

Siwon was the perfect boyfriend. He was well-mannered, considerate, talented and to top it all off…insanely, madly, incredibly good-looking. Every cell in his body screamed jaw-dropping handsome. Tiffany had her long line of suitors hankering after her as well which made their pairing one of the most despairing from their admirers’ point of view.

 

They were perfectly happy together, holding hands, going on dates. They were best friends and best lovers. Nothing could top Tiffany for Siwon and Siwon for Tiffany.

 

Siwon didn’t take to any of the girls who were dying to drop their pants for him. None of them felt right and it was awkward trying to communicate with a girl who frequently got lost in his eyes and looked dazed half the time they were with him.

 

However, he had been attracted to her beauty and poise at the concert. That made him wink at her and winking was something that he didn’t usually do to random girls he didn’t know. In fact, Tiffany was the first girl he had ever winked at while performing. He surprised himself and it surprised her too—but in a good way. He managed to find her after his gig and asked her out. She agreed and his heart flipped happily just as hers did.

 

Tiffany had surprised herself by agreeing so easily. Gosh, he must think that I’m so easy, she had thought at that time. The gossip mill kick-started when somebody spotted them together and the news spread like wild fire throughout their school about them going on a date. Both of them had to suffer their fair share of misery as their admirers gave their partner a hard time. Tiffany had to ward off the girls’ jealousy and Siwon, the boys.

 

None of this really mattered to them, however, as they were strong together. They met every day after school and spent all their free time together. They were tight, inseparable and their friends could only smile and shake their heads at the two love birds.

 

So how did they end up apart? It may sound very cliché but it was his family.

 

His family—conservative, traditional, old-fashioned—contrary to popular belief had not objected to them being together. In fact, Tiffany was everything they wanted in a daughter-in-law—smart, decent, beautiful, well-groomed and hardworking. Siwon’s mother adored Tiffany and treated her very much like her own daughter from the moment she set her eyes on her. Siwon’s father was proud of his son for having such good taste in women—a taste he accredited to himself since he was the father.

 

It was all fine and dandy until Siwon proposed. She was in college, completing her degree and he was just about done with his—he had accelerated his degree and completed it earlier than most—and that was when he proposed for he had been offered his dream job in a pharmaceutical company.

 

Tiffany was beyond happy when he proposed. She was elated, thrilled, swooned. Every happy word that you could think of wouldn’t have been enough to describe the sheer joy that filled her heart, making it swell so; threatening to burst at the seams. She had accepted it without hesitation and Siwon was the happiest man in the world but it all came crashing down, the ultimate castle of their wildest dreams, crumbled into bits, leaving nothing but a gigantic cloud of ash and dust that suffocated their hearts to death.

 

What destroyed their castle of their dreams? His family’s and Tiffany’s differing opinions on what his wife should be like.

 

Tiffany as the girlfriend was perfect. Tiffany as the wife however… His family wanted her to marry him and stay home. A domesticated wife was what they wanted. Siwon, having been brought up that way, didn’t disagree. Tiffany, however, was repulsed by the idea of not completing her degree.

 

“I’m rich enough to take care of you. I will eventually take over my father’s pharmaceutical empire. You will never have to worry about food or clothes or anything for that matter. You can stay home and look after our many children.” Siwon grinned widely as he said that; his face shining like the sun.

 

Tiffany’s heart however was plunged into darkness. She had a choice to make—Siwon and family or her independence. She was brought up to be self-reliant. “A woman must make her own money. A woman must be able to take care of herself.” Those were words that her mother left her before heading up to heaven.

 

She had to take care of herself and help with her family. She was used to making decisions for herself. She had ambitions, aspirations and dreams to fulfill. Having a family of her own was one of her dreams but she had others to achieve before that. Settling down was fine but not being able to work was not.

 

Hence, her answer was no. She was devastated but she stood firm. Her heart shattered into a million pieces as his did. His family shook their heads wistfully, sighing at her foolishness while he blinked, gaped, gasped and stopped breathing. His heart tightened into a painful ball as he asked her one last time. Again, she shook her head.

 

“No.” She couldn’t. She wanted to finish her degree. She wanted to work. She wanted to earn her own keep and rise up the ranks in the corporate world based on her own merit. She wanted achievements. Achievements outside of the domestic realm.

 

Siwon couldn’t defy his parents. He was fiercely filial and a very good son. Tiffany didn’t want to drive a rift between him and his family either. And as a result of all of their differences, they parted.

 

Neither of them managed to fully recover from their heart break. It was truly personal differences that drove them apart—in his case, it was beyond personal; it was family differences.

 

~~~

 

“Hi Fany.”

 

Tiffany jumped in her skin, startled by the voice that came out of nowhere. She looked up and saw his ever so good-looking face in front of her. Her heart skipped and flipped. Seeing him like that made it seem as though they had gone back in time and none of the heartbreak had happened.

 

His face bore a crooked smile and his hair was just as neatly combed as she remembered. He eased into the cushioned chair and a waitress approached their table to take his order. She rolled her eyes when the waitress bent down to take his order; women were always trying to make a pass as him. He kept his eyes on Tiffany however, while he ordered a cappuccino and smiled at her cup of black coffee.

 

“Some habits don’t change… do they?”

 

Tiffany smiled. He remembers the coffee that I drink.

 

“Black is how I like it.” She tried to look nonchalant but her heart was thumping a little faster than usual. Gosh… his voice still sounds as good as before.

 

“I’m glad that you agreed to meet me.”

 

His dark brown eyes were warm and sincere as always. Her heart flipped and flopped again.

 

“There’s no reason not to see you. Why did you want to see me?” Tiffany tried to breathe steadily, not wanting him to know how flustered she felt inside.

 

“I miss you, quite frankly. I’ve been longing to see more of you. So I’m engaging you to be in-charge the opening of my new pharmaceutical flagship store.”

 

Tiffany raised an eyebrow. “Mixing business with pleasure? That’s unlike you Siwon.”

 

“You turned me into something else. Like only you can. You make me lose my way yet the path is so much clearer with you around. How is that?” Siwon smiled sadly and shook his head wistfully.

 

Tiffany squirmed. His words were tugging at her heartstrings way too strongly for her liking. “So this counts as a business meeting, doesn’t it?”

 

Siwon looked up as a look of surprised registered on his face. “Er…I suppose…yes, it could count as business.”

 

“Okay. So do you want to fill me in on the details of the grand opening? Where is your store located? What theme would you like for the opening?” Tiffany rattled off her usual questions automatically, confidently. She had to hide behind her professionalism to prevent herself from cracking.

 

Siwon gaped at her. “Fany…” he began.

 

‘Tiffany!’ A cheery voice broke the tension between them and Tiffany turned her head towards the new voice. It was Taeng.

 

~~~~~
 

He bounded over to her happily as he always was whenever he saw Tiffany.

 

“Tiffany!” He grinned from ear to ear. “What a surprise! What are you…oh…er…hi…”

 

Taeng stuttered as he realized that Tiffany was not alone. She was with a man—a handsome, dashing, good-looking man. Is he her boyfriend? His heart sank into a dark, bottomless pit.

 

Tiffany smiled at Taeng and stood up to introduce the two men to each other.

 

“Taeng…this is Siwon, my old friend and new client.” Tiffany stated matter-of-factly.

 

Upon hearing that, Taeng’s heart rebounded and reemerged from the dark, bottomless pit instantly, bouncing under the bright, bright sun that shone again.

 

“Siwon, this is Taeng, my personal assistant.” Tiffany smiled and a tiny giggle escaped as Taeng extended his hand to Siwon and shook it earnestly. “Taeng…join us. You can help to take notes.”

 

“Sure!” Taeng was ever happy to help Tiffany out in any way he could. He sat down, his coffee forgotten.

 

“Weren’t you going to order coffee for yourself?” Tiffany poked his arm lightly.

 

“Oh! Well...it’s okay. I don’t need it anymore. I’m ready to take notes!” Taeng beamed at her.

 

~~~~~

 

Siwon watched the interaction between Tiffany and Taeng quietly. It was quite clear to him that Taeng was utterly and completely smitten by Tiffany. He laughed to himself inwardly. Taeng was just another guy who had fallen for Tiffany’s charms but his laugh came to an abrupt halt when he saw Tiffany smiling at Taeng. That smile. It was more than a smile. That smile had elements of fondness and affection embedded in it.

 

Does Tiffany like this guy?

 

Siwon was worried. He wanted her back but it seemed as though Tiffany had moved on and now, it would appear as though she had a new love interest. Or at least, a more-than-friends interest. Was he wrong? Or was he right?

 

“Oh Taeng, thank you for your peas. I hope you slept well without them last night,” said Tiffany.

 

Taeng grinned sheepishly. “Er, I managed… somehow.”

 

Tiffany giggled and Siwon’s eyebrow lifted even higher. That giggle was disturbing to him when it was not caused by him.

 

“I’ll return the peas to you later. I wouldn’t want you all panda-eyed at work tomorrow.”

 

“Later? Where are the peas?” Taeng asked.

 

“At home.”

 

“Oh. So, you are bringing me to your home later?”

 

Tiffany nodded.

 

“Oh. Okay…” Taeng exhaled slowly as the silliest grin snuck onto his face and it didn’t take a genius to read that look.

 

Tiffany giggled again and Siwon felt increasingly disturbed by the entire exchange.

 

“Now, where were we? Ah yes. The grand opening of your flagship store. Do you mind coming down to my office to discuss more about this? It’s getting late and I would like to head home, Siwon.”

 

“Of course, I will go to your office tomorrow.”

 

“That’s great.” Tiffany smiled widely. She extended her hand to Siwon and he looked at it, feeling stunned and totally shocked.

 

Is this nothing more than business to her? No. No way.

 

Nevertheless, he took her hand and shook it before shaking Taeng’s hand.

 

“Let me send you home Fany ah.”

 

“It’s alright Siwon.” Tiffany smiled warmly at him. “Taeng can send me home. He has to pick his peas up from me anyway.”

 

Taeng’s face broke into a dorky grin but Siwon could not do the same. All he had was a bitter taste in his mouth.

 

Tiffany looked at him and giggled yet again. She hooked her arm around his. “Let’s go Taeng.” She waved goodbye at a slightly gaping Siwon and pulled Taeng out of the café with her.

 

“Bye Siwon ssi!” Taeng smiled and waved politely.

 

Siwon forced a smile onto his face and slumped onto his chair as soon as the door shut behind them. This had not gone the way he had hoped for. How was he going to get Tiffany back? He cradled his head in his palms and groaned.

 

~~~~~

 

“Did you drive here?”

 

“No, I walked here.”

 

Tiffany was surprised. “Don’t you live some distance from here?”

 

“Yes I do. But I enjoy a long walk and then sitting down with a good old cup of steaming hot black coffee.”

 

Tiffany was surprised again. For such a dorky and bubbly person, he sure had a different side to him when it came to such things. Long walks and black coffees, it sounded so mature and grown-up, pensive even.

 

“Do you do this often? All by yourself? This late at night?”

 

“Yes, a few times a week. Sometimes I jog. I enjoy the quiet of the night. It’s…calming.”

 

“Wow…I didn’t know that.”

 

“Well…now you do!” Taeng remarked, ever so optimistically.

 

Tiffany couldn’t help smiling again. “Haha… Yes. Now I do. Well, I live pretty near to this café so I walked here.”

 

“I know!” Taeng grinned from ear to ear.

 

“You know?” Tiffany’s eyes narrowed questioningly.

 

Taeng’s grin slipped a notch. “Er… yeah.”

 

“How do you know where I live?”

 

“Er… I’m your personal assistant…?”

 

“Hmm…well, that’s nothing worth grinning about.”

 

“IT IS!” Taeng said out loud and a little too quickly.

 

“Oh Taeng…” Tiffany had a wide smile on her face. Some people were staring but she didn’t really care. She had the sudden urge to hug this lovable man. And for the third time, she threw caution to the wind and did exactly as she felt like doing.

 

She threw herself at him and wrapped her arms around his neck. She breathed deeply, inhaling his scent which she found oddly comforting. He smelt safe. Now how about that? Who would have thought that smelling Taeng could have such a calming effect on her? The more she thought about it, the more absurd it seemed and she started laughing uncontrollably; her head thrown back.

 

~~~~~

 

Taeng was infinitely confused by her irrational laughter but he joined in and laughed along for one simple reason—he was happy when she was.

 

~~~~~
 

Taeng stood behind Tiffany as she fumbled with her keys. It was unlike her to fumble and she couldn’t really understand why. Her keys dropped onto the floor and she bent to pick them up only to have his hand clamp down on hers—he had bent to pick the keys up as well. A sudden, unexpected electric sensation streaked across her body from her hand to her toes—a nice tingling sensation. She gasped and he retracted his hand hurriedly murmuring his apologies. Finally, she managed to get her key into the keyhole and the door opened at last.

 

~~~~~

 

“Come on in.”

 

Taeng was pulled into her apartment and he could only gape as he looked around it. The apartment was exactly like Tiffany—organized, spick and span, elegant and beautiful. He thought guiltily of his own apartment—a complete mess.

 

“Sit. Make yourself comfortable.” Tiffany disappeared into her bedroom and reappeared quickly with his peas in her arms.

 

‘”Peas! My peas!” Taeng smiled wider than ever and stood up to take his peas back. He stretched his hands out towards his peas but Tiffany withheld them from him.

 

He looked at her, feeling confused but that was nothing compared to what he felt when Tiffany pointed at her lips and whispered, “Kiss me first.”

 

~~~~~

 

Taeng looked like a pot of gold had just fallen onto his head and Tiffany felt the same. What did I just say to Taeng? What’s wrong with me? Oh my gawd.

 

Her sense and reason seemed to have left the building as her hand made its way to the nape of his neck and pulled his lips to hers. He stood very still and allowed her to have her way with him. She feasted on his lips hungrily and on his lower lip, tugging it lightly before pulling away.

 

Then she realized the enormity of what she had done—she had taken out her frustration on Taeng. She knew the cause of that too. It was Siwon. Her eyes squeezed themselves shut as she tried to block out Taeng’s clueless yet worried expression. She had taken advantage of Taeng. It was so wrong of her and she knew it. She knew how much Taeng had always given in to her. He would do almost anything for her but she couldn’t treat him this way.

 

No.

 

No.

 

NO.

 

“Taeng, I’m sorry.” Tiffany breathed. She ran her fingers through her hair exasperatedly; feeling disgusted with herself. “I got carried away. I’m so sorry.”

 

“Er, it’s ok,” Taeng mumbled. “Does it have something to do with Siwon ssi?” His innocent eyes pierced right through her conscience and she inhaled a sharp breath of air when she realized that he was more perceptive than she’d thought he was. Yet, she knew that he meant no harm; he was simply asking out of concern for her.

 

“Taeng, Siwon is not just an old friend. He was my first love but we broke up some time ago.” Tiffany averted her eyes from him guiltily.

 

“Oh… I see. Then why are you kissing me and not him?”

 

Tiffany was speechless. His question was simply so innocent yet to the point. “I don’t want to go back to him, Taeng. I shouldn’t even have met him but I did and I regret that. Fortunately you came along and saved me from him.”

 

Taeng smiled warmly. “Oh! I’m glad to have helped.”

 

Tiffany didn’t know what to do with him and his innocent, no-strings-attached care for her. In an overwhelming wave of emotion, she swept him into her arms and gave him a really tight hug; a sincere hug of thanks.

 

“You have no idea. Thank you, Taeng.”

 

She stepped back from him and looked deep into his clear eyes. A thought struck her and she asked the question before she could stop herself.

 

“Do you like me?”

 

~~~~~