“Taeyeon!”

She looked up from her book and saw a lanky girl approaching her hammock. She straightened her back and greeted her with questioning eyes.

“What are you doing here?”

“What am I supposed to do? Aren’t we done picking out fruits for the daughter?” She raised her eyebrows. The latter shook her head and crossed her arms.

“Yes we are but aren’t you going to the hacienda to take a glimpse of her? I heard she’s a beautiful girl.” The tall girl winked and wiggled her eyebrows playfully. The other just scoffed.

“I am fine here reading my book.” She raised her book and showed it to her proudly.

“Hey, loosen up! Let us at least go there to see what’s happening. Come on. Don’t just sit here on your favorite hammock and be all the quiet, reserved kid you are.” She swiftly grabbed the book away from Taeyeon’s hold and took the latter’s arm.

“Yuri, I don’t want to meddle in the party. I’m fine here. I like to be here.” The other just rolled her eyes and ignored her protest.

“No, I insist. But I do hope that you should take a bath first because you stink. Ew!”

She resisted the urge to punch the other girl so she just followed suit.

“Sigh, whatever. You stubborn kid. We’re just going to embarrass ourselves in there.” She straightened up and proceeded to walk past the other.

Taeyeon stood awkwardly in the middle of the room with wandering eyes. Yuri, on the other hand, was hungrily eating a chicken lollipop she got from a waiter while quietly observing the crowd that had gathered to celebrate Tiffany’s return.

The boisterous music filled up the room. Some were sitting down, some were standing and some were grooving to the fast beat of the music. She was never the partying-type, she thought. And she never belongs to something like those stuffs.

“I shouldn’t have gone here.” She meekly said to herself while scanning the crowd. She was not used to such elegant parties. She liked simplicity that’s why she was hesitant to go earlier.

She observed Yuri who was busily scanning the buffet. She smiled and shook her head.

Suddenly, the music stopped and the people who were busily talking quieted down and directed their gazes to the stage when a man in suit who seemed to be Mr. Hwang stood on it and held the microphone.

“Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. To our relatives, friends and laborers that have gathered here today, thank you for coming. It was such an honor to have a successful daughter coming here in my hacienda. It was her first time here after spending her time living and studying abroad. She was so busy at that time so finally, you could all see her.” The man smiled proudly showing his gums.

Everyone cheered and applauded.

“And now, let us all welcome my lovely daughter, Hwang Stephanie.”  The spotlight turned to a certain spot. All eyes retreated from the man to the figure slowly going down the stairs.

Taeyeon’s eyes widened the moment she saw the bearer of the elegant, long cut red dress. Her breath was hitched and for a moment, she thought she saw the brightest star in the universe smiling her biggest smile to the mesmerized audience.

Everyone stood up and lauded her presence. She was extraordinarily beautiful.

For Taeyeon, it was an exhilarating feeling. She still couldn’t fathom how could such enormously attractive person exists on Earth.

She’s indeed beautiful. Or the most beautiful person that I ever saw.

“Can you close your mouth now?” A figure appeared beside her, it was Yuri.

She didn’t respond and looked straight ahead observing the lady of the night carefully mounting the stairs guided by the guards leading to the stage.

“Hello everyone. My name’s Stephanie Hwang. My American friends call me Tiffany so you can call me that too. And I also prefer it that way because I’m used to it. And oh, thank you for welcoming me. I really appreciate it.” She showed everyone her eyesmile and the people just stared in awe.

And Taeyeon looked like a kid drooling over such a sweet candy.

What happened next caught her off guard because she was sure they locked eyes for a split second and it’s more than enough to make her heart pound even more.

She’s totally star struck. It was her first time feeling that kind of feeling.

What do I call it? Crush? Love at first sight? Uh-oh. This is not good. 

She gulped.