Chapter 2: Her Voice

Kim Taeyeon. Aged seventeen years old. Birthday is March 9th. Born in the North Joella Province, Jeonju.

That was all that I could really gather from her lack of files. No names, no specific dates. The only way that I was going to find out more about her, was to ask her for myself.

I could feel her gaze on me as I flicked through the pages one last time. This task was going to be slightly harder than I had anticipated.

I clicked my tongue against the roof of my mouth, nodding to myself as I closed over the files. I set my pen down, clasped my fingers together and settled my elbows on the table. I looked at her for a moment. She averted her eyes down, away from mine, her arms crossed over her chest as she sunk a little lower in her seat.

The documents had stated that she was seventeen years of age. I would’ve thought that she was younger if it wasn’t for the intense aura that she emitted. Her face was pure, innocent, but her eyes burned with a certain something that made me think that she had seen things that a girl of her age shouldn’t have.

I had heard from the owner that this one had been a tough nut to crack, but I had been doing this job for two years and had been successful so far, and I wasn’t prepared to fail now with this Kim Taeyeon. I was determined to help this girl, whatever be the problem, regardless of how long it took. She was now my responsibility.

“So...” I started, watching her carefully, my gaze unwavering. “I heard that you’ve been quite a challenge with your past therapists.”

She had no reaction, her eyes locked onto a speck of dirt atop the metal surface of the table, the light dim.

I shifted in my seat a little. “My name is Hwang Tiffany. You can just call me Tiffany or Miss Hwang. Whatever you prefer.”

Her gaze finally broke away from the table, she looked me in the eye and I was left speechless. Her onyx eyes flickered like embers of a fire, through the dimness of the room. I pressed my lips into a line and wondered if she was going to say anything. I had never seen eyes so dark, yet bright, with so much emotion locked away within. Her gaze was intense, persistent.

“Look, Taeyeon, I take my work very seriously and I honestly want to help you.”

She didn’t even flinch and I felt my mouth go a little dry as she looked away again. What was she thinking?

She suddenly stood, her chair scraping against the tiles of the floor, and looked down at me for a moment. Curiosity in her eyes, she breathed out before walking away, out of the door.

She hadn’t said a single word to me, yet she had left the biggest impression.

* * *

Progress was what I had been expecting to get over this week, and yet all I received were those blank expressions and burning eyes.

This Kim Taeyeon was proving to be tough piece of work. It was frustrating. She was frustrating. I mean, how can you spend an entire week with someone and not share any form of communication with them? I had dealt with stubborn kids, but never had one of them refused to talk to me…that was until I met Kim Taeyeon.

“Tiffany?”

I looked up from my plate and met his dark eyes, his face contorted with concern.

“You okay?” He asked, furrowing his brows.

“Uhm…yeah. Why?”

“Oh nothing…it’s just…you haven’t really touched your food yet. Is it too cold? Is the steak not rare enough? I could go cook you another-“

“No, no.” I said, waving my hand in the air. “Everything is delicious, Donghae. Don’t worry. I’m just a bit frustrated with work at the moment.” I sighed, looking back down at my plate.

“Well…do you want to talk about it?”

I looked back up at him and realized that I hadn’t actually told him about Taeyeon yet. I had been at the orphanage so much this week that I hadn’t actually seen him very much at all.

I put my fork down on the plate, lodged my tongue in my cheek, raised my eyes to the ceiling and thought for a moment.

“Well…” I exhaled. “There’s this new kid that I’ve been working with for the past week. Her name is Kim Taeyeon and she is the most frustrating case I’ve ever taken on. I have hardly any information on her and she refuses to communicate with me.”

My eyes landed back on him to find that he had a slightly amused smile on his face.

“Why are you laughing?” I asked, accusingly.

“I’m not.” He chuckled. “I just think that it’s really great that you take your job so seriously. I mean it.” He said, reaching over and placing his hand atop mind gently. “Fany-ah, you’re the most kind and caring person I know. You’re smart, nice, and I think this Taeyeon girl will come around soon. I know you’ll be able to help her, whatever her problem is.”

I smiled a little. How lucky I was to be engaged to a guy like him. Smart, kind, caring and successful.

I only wished that I could have his optimism at the moment.

Everyone had problems. It just so happened that mine came in the shape and form of Kim Taeyeon.

* * *

“Oh, Tiffany-shi.” She looked surprised to see me. I suppose it was because I had only ever shown up after Taeyeon had come back from school.

“Hey.” I smiled. “Sorry to show up so early and out of the blue, but I had some things that I wanted to ask you.”

“Oh, I see.” She nodded, opening the door fully. “Well, please come in.”

I stepped into the orphanage, and Sooyoung closed the door behind me. “We can talk in my office. It’s just this way.” She said, walking down the hall with me following behind her.

“So,” Sooyoung said, closing the door to her office, walking around her desk and sitting in the leather seat behind it. I sat in one of the chairs in front, placing my handbag on my lap. She smiled at me in a friendly manner and clasped her hands atop the desk. “What can I do for you?”

“Well…” I started. “As you know, it’s been a week since I started working with Taeyeon, and to be blatantly honest Sooyoung-shi, I’ve made no progress with her whatsoever.”

Her body tenses slightly and her lips purse into a thin line.

“It’s no