One Year and Three Months Earlier

"Excuse me, what?!" Jessica's exasperated outburst was enough to temporary halt the bustling studio. Jessica usually only shouted in dire situations, and so the scene had been just slightly off-putting. She looked up to see some alarmed and some confused eyes staring back at her. Annoyed, she motioned them back into resuming their work with a single finger, ending the phone call. 

The day had only barely begun and things were already going south. At about one hundred miles per hour. 

Standing in the midst of a controlled chaos that was supposed to be a fairly important photoshoot, Jessica could only rub her temples and rack her brain for a solution to this new inconvenience. This photoshoot was supposed to advertise Jessica's new line of summer clothing, and she could not afford to be behind schedule after getting this far. She hadn't even noticed her assistant trying to get her attention. 

"Unnie, what happened? Where's the photographer? The model and her team are scheduled to be here in twenty minutes and I don't see the photographer anywhere..." Victoria kept her disposition cool, as always, but the frantic flipping of her plan book pages begged to differ. 

"That's the problem. The photographer suddenly can't make it, he got into a minor car collision on the way here," Jessica sighed with resignation. She saw Victoria's eyes widen with worry. "Don't worry, he's totally fine, Vic. Not even a scratch or bruise," With that, Victoria heaved a sigh of relief. 

"But still, he's not here and we currently do not have anyone available, Jessica-unnie. The equipment is ready but no photographer..." She pursed her lips to think. "Aish, where are we gonna find a fashion photographer to do a shoot in twenty, no, nineteen minutes?" Victoria rubbed the back of her neck, clearly perturbed. 

Jessica bit her lower lower lip deep in thought, isolating all of the auxiliary noises and focusing only on possible solutions. Victoria stared at her until she was finished. She knew not to bother her when Jessica was in "the zone." The last time she disrupted Jessica while she was in the zone earned her a crumpled paper ball to the forehead. 

"Wait, I might know someone. Give me a minute, Vic." 

~~~~~~~~~

Taeyeon was taking a much-needed mental day off from work and school. She had planned on doing absolutely nothing that day. Not one thing. None. She didn't know what time it was, and frankly, she didn't care. 

Taeyeon plopped back into her bed after going about her usual morning routine, looking forward to a day with no responsibilities. She stretched, more relaxed than she'd ever been in weeks, snuggling next to her little dog, Ginger. 

"Ginger-yah, it's gonna be a good day, just you and m-" 

Ring, ring!

"Me," Taeyeon sighed, interrupted by the cellphone. She mentally chastised herself for not putting it on silent before she went to bed. Might be important, though. 

Highly reluctant, she rolled over onto the other side of her bed to reach the incessantly ringing phone. It was her best friend, Jessica. That's strange, she told me she was really busy today... She shrugged it off, answering the phone anyway. 

"Yah, Jung Sooyeon, someone better be dying," Taeyeon joked, feigning irritation. 

"Yeah, it'll be you if you don't watch your attitude, Kim Taeyeon," Jessica quipped back sharply, clearly irritated. She sounded as if she was pressed for time, nervous, even. 

"Woah, I was kidding, sorry." Taeyeon laughed lightly, running a hand through her tousled hair. "Anyway, you sound anxious. What do you need?" Taeyeon finally asked. Jessica didn't usually call her if she was working. But then again, who knows with that girl? She heard Jessica exhale through the line. 

"Sorry for snapping at you, I know you're at home bumming around again but I need a huge favor from you, Taengoo," Jessica requested with very audible sincerity. And, she had used Taeyeon's nickname, which could have only meant that she really needed her help at the moment. 

"Go for it. Unless you're trying to set me up with someone from your job again." 

"No, no, shut up, for a second. Do you have your camera with you? Your part time job camera, the fancy one." Jessica specified. Taeyeon raised her eyebrows quizzically. That's odd, what is she thinking?

"Yeah, why?" 

"Great! Are you at least sort of presentable at the moment?"

"Hey! I always look presentable! What do you need anyway?" It was now Taeyeon's turn to be annoyed. She regretted answering her friend's call, to say the least.  

"Taeyeon, could you please, please, please come? I need you to be our fashion photographer today. Our usual one got held up and we don't have any substitutes. It's for my new summer line, and you were the first person I thought of." Jessica's tone had changed completely, almost pleading. Taeyeon widened her eyes incredulously. What is she thinking??

To say Taeyeon was taken aback would be an understatement. 

"Sica, have you forgotten that I do landscape photography?" Taeyeon sat up, eyebrows furrowed, speaking at the speed of light. "No, forget that, I'm not even a professional photographer! Not even a tiny bit! I just dabble in it to make a few extra bucks, I'm a dabbler, Sica-yah..." Taeyeon was now rambling on. 

"I know, I know, it's so sudden, I'm sorry! But I've seen your work and you're really great. Really. You have an eye for good shots, and I think you'd do a manageable job," Jessica paused, listening if she had swayed her friend. And she did genuinely mean what she said. 

"My hands are tied, Taeyeon, I don't know what my boss is gonna do if I don't find a photographer ASAP. The equipment's already all set up, we just need you. Please?" Sica tried one more time. She would never let Taeyeon hear it, but in this case, Taeyeon was her last hope. 

Meanwhile, Taeyeon honestly wanted to help Jessica out, however, her request was just too far from her level of expertise. Taeyeon was a bio major. She had no business being in a professional studio with important people in the world of fashion, right? 

In the end, she knew Jessica would come through for her if she needed her, too. 

"All right, fine. What time do I have to be there?" Taeyeon questioned, defeated. She had, with the heaviest heart, gotten off of her cloud of pillows and sea of bedsheets to put some nice clothes on. She made her way to the closet. If she was gonna be a random photographer for a some unbelievably hot model, the last thing she was going to do was look like a hobo. 

"...In fifteen minutes. I'll text you the address, you should be close by." Sica mumbled under her breath. Taeyeon dropped the blazer she was planning on wearing. 

"Are you completely out of your mind today?" Taeyeon exclaimed, startling poor Ginger. 

"Bye, Taengoo~ Thank you, thank you so much, I love you, see you in fifteen minutes!" Jessica said in one breath and hung up without another word. 

Taeyeon stared at her phone for a moments, unable to grasp the situation. In what was once a fairly normal morning, she now had fifteen minutes to get dressed and drive to Jessica's building. She would be in charge of a fashion photoshoot, and she wasn't allowing herself to fall short. She was Kim Taeyeon. 

Taeyeon threw on a simple yet chic attire. If she couldn't blow them away with her skills, she would at least trick them into thinking she knew what she was doing with her clothing. 

After filling Ginger's bowls sufficiently, she grabbed her keys and her equipment, donned her black-rimmed specs, and went on her way. 

A Little Over Fifteen Minutes Later

"You made it! Oh my God, you made it!" Jessica triumphantly declared in English. She pushed through a small crowd of people once she found her best friend ambling through the entrance of the studio. Strangely enough, she fit right in. Not because it was easy to lose sight of her for her lacking in height, but she looked like she had been hired in the first place. You clean up nicely, Taeyeon. 

Jessica greeted her with a rushed bear hug. Once Jessica had released Taeyeon from her arms, Victoria also embraced the new photographer, laughing. After the small introductions, they were ready for business. Needless to say, they were all extremely relieved and maybe even excited. 

"You, Jung Sooyeon, owe me big time. Like, think of big and multiply it by fifty-seven," Taeyeon smirked, following Jessica and Victoria's lead to where the shoot was being specifically held. Eventually, Taeyeon recognized the long, snaking wires beneath their feet, a couple of umbrella lights and softboxes, the back drop, and most conspicuously, the people tending to a plethora of things to get done. This was unlike anything Taeyeon had ever experienced. 

After listening to Jessica's basic instructions regarding how she wanted the shoot to go, she had an inkling that perhaps, maybe she could pull this off. Just a couple of hours doing what she taught herself to do, only instead of framing the beauty of scenery, she would be capturing the beauty of a woman. Can't be that hard. You got this, Taeyeon. You're a few minutes away from a hot model. You got this. 

"Any questions?" 

"Uh, yeah. Where are the models at?" Taeyeon asked, scanning the studio quickly for models. Nope, none. 

Jessica rolled her eyes. "I knew you'd ask. She should be here in about a few se-" 

"Unnie, they're here." Victoria notified her boss. Jessica nodded and gave Taeyeon a reassuring nod before disappearing amidst the scurrying staff. 

With that, in the span of a few seconds, the machine engines within the studio set finally began pumping efficiently. Mumbling a short mantra of motivation to herself, Taeyeon attached her camera onto the tripod, making sure it was in the appropriate position. She quickly adjusted the manual settings and the aperture to accommodate and fit the studio's lighting. Perfect. 

Once she was finished, she saw a figure she hadn't previously recognized enter her peripheral vision. She also heard a new set of voices she didn't hear when she came in. Suddenly, she felt a tap on her shoulder. It was Victoria. 

"Taeyeon-unnie, the model's name is Tiffany Hwang. Good luck." Victoria said into her ear, before leaving to find Jessica. 

The figure was now approaching her. Before they even met eyes, she could already feel this woman's aura dancing around her. It oozed with pure confidence, sultriness. Her eyes slowly traced Tiffany's whole physique, before finally meeting gazes. Taeyeon couldn't help but feel like she was being checked out as well. Perhaps she might have been.  

So, this must be her. 

Then something clicked inside of Taeyeon's head, as if the undeniable impression this Tiffany Hwang was making on her was literally evoking a reaction within her. It was inexplicable. 

And Taeyeon wasn't going to lie, she was indubitably stunned. Never mind the fact that she was a model, she could have literally been anything else, anything, and Taeyeon would have gawked at her just the same. Hell, her whole center of gravity felt like it was being thrown off. 

She heard a snicker. 

"I'm Tiffany," 

Holy . 

Her voice sounded like the finest silk dipped in something rough, like aged rum. How was Taeyeon supposed to endure a few hours with this beauty? Was it possible? Was it too late to back out? 

"I know," Taeyeon responded in an even tone, much to her dismay.

The only way to get through this was to act completely unfazed by Tiffany. Completely. Unfazed. 

"Now then, Tiffany. Let's get started."

Holy .  

A/N: First chapter's finally up! I must apologize for the pace of my updates. I'll try to leave a smaller gap between chapters next time ^^;

And so, we finally know how our two main characters meet! What'd y'all think? There'll be way more to come from them, I promise ^^

Thank you for all the subs and the comments ^^ I'll reply later :) 

-Sare

P.S. Taeyeon was wearing this ^^