“I'm for an off-site launch.”

“But an in-dealership launch is more convenient.”

“Convenience is not the best reason for site selection.”

“Cost savings is always one of the considerations.”

“Cost saving is not our priority right now. We want to project the right image of our new line of cars to the right group of people. But our premises do not have the right facilities to project the image we have in mind.”

“It looks like you've already decided on everything.”

“We haven't decided on anything. I'm just explaining our team's point of view.”

“Well, let's take a vote then. Who's for an in-dealership launch?”

A few hands rose.

Her heart leapt with joy. The majority was with her! “And who's for an off-site launch?”

All remaining hands were raised and she couldn't stop herself from smiling.

At this point, Paul spoke up. “The majority wins. We will have the launch off-site. Tiffany, I want the full-length proposal on my desk by Monday.”

“No problem, Mr Kim.”

Murmurs filled the room, fading out with the crowd as they left and she could hear the few disgruntled whispers of those who didn't agree with her proposal but she was too happy to be affected at that moment.

-

“Well done, Tiffany. Your proposal was well thought out and meticulously planned,” said Paul, as they walked back to his office.

“Thanks Paul. I'll make it your money's worth.”

Paul laughed. “Right now, I'm feeling the satisfaction of making a high returns investment.”

“On?”

“You.”

“I'm a high returns investment?”

“You have proven to be one so far.” Paul patted her shoulder and smiled. “Make it good, Tiffany. This car launch is pivotal to our company's growth and market position in future. We can either make the leap into the legends or crash into the muck.”

“I'll make it good.”

“That's what I like to hear.”

-

“Dinner's ready soon.”

“Alright. Give me a minute.” Tiffany put her papers back into her file neatly and headed to the kitchen. She put her nose over Taeyeon's shoulder and sniffed. “Mmm, smells good.”

“Me?”

“The food.”

“Of course it smells good. I'm the chef.”

Tiffany was impressed by the colour of the meat and vegetables. “You're pretty good at cooking.”

“It comes from practice.”

“I'm guessing you had to cook for yourself most of the time.”

“I moved out when I was 18 so I've been cooking since then. But I haven't been cooking recently. I might have lost my touch.”

She couldn't resist giving Taeyeon a kiss just then. The woman looked just as delicious as the dish she was frying, if not more.

“Please contain your affections. I don't wanna end up with a burnt dinner.”

She grinned. Taeyeon was the sort who didn't do too well with distractions. “I'll set the table,” she said, and went about her business.

-

“How is it?”

Taeyeon was looking at her intently as she chewed. “It's really good.”

“Really?”

A little giggle escaped her. “Really.”

“You don't have to be afraid of hurting my feelings. Tell me if it's no good.”

“Taeyeon. Have I ever minced my words to avoid hurting your feelings?”

“No.”

“There you go.” She smiled and stabbed her fork into another piece of chicken. It was honey glazed and the sauce was some kind of wonderful. She loved it. She could eat it every day, for the rest of her life. If Taeyeon would let her.

“What are you so busy with,” Taeyeon asked, nodding her head towards the file on the coffee table.

“We're launching a new car and my proposal was chosen so now I'm in-charge of the whole event.”

“That's huge.”

“Yeah. It's so big that I'm all stressed out over it.”

“Even then, congratulations. You're doing well.”

Her heart swelled at Taeyeon's warm words. “Thank you.”

“I've been to several car launches. I can help if you need it.”

Her smile turned into a grin. “Thanks boo,” she said and giggled when Taeyeon cringed, her face contorting into a stress ball squeezed for a second. This moment she filed into her heart, stowing it away carefully. Taeyeon was a lot more adorable than she gave herself credit for.

-

They washed the dishes together after dinner. She had a great time taking the plates and cutlery from Taeyeon to dry because their fingers would linger. Knowing smiles played across both their faces, indicating mutual enjoyment of the sneaky touches, and she was amused by the way they were, now that Taeyeon had accepted her.

Once the dishes were done, they moved out to the living room and she sat by the coffee table, diving right back into work. Taeyeon watched TV for a while, surfing channels mostly, before ending up on the carpet next to her.

“So. Whatever the deal is between you and Paul, he's definitely getting the better end of it.”

Tiffany put her pen down and leaned back against the couch. “What makes you say that?”

“Look at you, working all weekend for this.”

“We don't have a lot of time to get things done. I have to refine all the requirements and make sure everything is specified. And it's more complicated because it's off-site.”

Taeyeon flipped through the sheaves of papers scattered all round the coffee table. “Furniture. Décor. Lighting. Catering. Vehicle display. Entertainment. Man, this is a lot of work.”

“I want everything to be just right. The right ambience, the right image, the right crowd. I want everything to be seamless.”

“I'm assuming SM will be invited to this.”

“The guest list hasn't been finalised yet but I'm definitely putting SM on the list.”

Taeyeon frowned. “Mmm...”

“What is it?”

“I'll need to visit Sooyoung's boutique again.”

“Sunny's girlfriend, Sooyoung?”

“Mhm.”

“What for?”

“I'll need a dress for this, won't I.”

Tiffany giggled. “Yes, you will. There'll be a photo booth so you'll get to take pretty pictures in your pretty dress.”

Taeyeon grinned. “You'll be in a pretty dress too.”

Nothing could've stopped her from returning the smile. “Yes, I will.”

-

“Close your eyes.”

“And drive?!”

“No, of course not. Just close your eyes.”

Jessica closed her eyes. “Now what.”

“Imagine yourself driving down a straight road. It's completely clear.” Krystal watched as her sister scrunched up her face in an effort to imagine. She waited a moment before saying, “Drive slow.”

“I'm driving.”

“Is it scary?”

“Kind of. I'm nervous just imagining it.”

“Well. Keep driving.”

“Okay.”

Krystal leaned back in her seat and stared out the windscreen into the evening sky. How her life had changed ever since her sister found her. She'd gone from being all by herself to having this family of sorts. She'd surprised herself when she offered to help his sister with her problem. It wasn't like her to be like this. But her sister had given her nothing but warmth since she moved in and she couldn't just return to her room without offering something to diffuse the situation.

So here she was. In the car. With her sister. Just the two of them.

It felt vaguely familiar. Like deja vu. As though she'd been in this situation before. As though she'd been in a car with Jessica before. Well, given that they were sisters, it had definitely happened in the past that she couldn't remember, but this was the first time she had a feeling of this nature.

A part of her wished to regain her memories of her past. But another part of her was afraid of it. Doctor Seo had told her that the success of any form of therapy was largely dependent on the level of cooperativeness of the patient themselves. How open they were to receive treatment. How much they trusted in their doctor.

Her faith and trust in Doctor Seo was sky high but she wasn't so sure about herself. Did she really want to remember her past? If she did, it meant she would remember the death of her biological parents too. Would she regain the love she felt for them and be crushed by the pain of loss? Was it better to go on from here as she was? After all, she'd made it this far without her memories, hadn't she?

“Krystal. I...I can't. My own imagination is freaking me out.”

She turned to her sister and wide open frightened eyes met hers. Without much thought, she pulled her sister into a hug and patted her back. “It's alright. I'm here.”

Jessica tensed in her arms and she pulled back, searching her face for signs of distress, but there was none. Instead, her sister looked as though she were in a trance.

“What's wrong?”

“You just said it.”

“What did I say?”

“You said 'It's alright. I'm here.' You said it.”

“Yeah I did. But—”

“You used to say it to me when we were kids.”

It took Krystal a while to find her voice. “I...did...?”

“You'd say it when there was a thunderstorm and I was too scared to sleep. I would scream because of the thunder then you would climb onto my bed and hug me. You were a brave little girl.”

She didn't know what to think or feel about the recounts of her sisterly affection. But her heart was warm and it didn't feel too bad. And in that moment, she wished she had her memories back so that she could remember all the other moments they shared.

“I wish I could remember.”

Her sister pulled away, took her by the shoulders and smiled. “It's alright. I can share my memories with you.”

“That's what sisters are for, I guess?”

“Yeah. That's what sisters are for.”

-

“Do I look good in this dress?”

“You always look good in dresses.”

“No I don't. I feel awkward in them.”

“You might feel awkward but you look pretty darn good, to be honest.”

Sunny stuck her head out of the fitting room. “Hey, who are you heaping the praises on, huh?”

“That wasn't a praise. It was a professional judgement given in my capacity as the owner of this boutique.”

Sunny opened as though to say something but must have thought the better of it for she returned to her cubicle without saying anything.

“Wow, you got her good.”

Sooyoung grinned as she patted the dress down. “I have my moments of victory.”

“Amidst the tons of losses?”

“A loss can sometimes be a victory too.”

“Deep, deep.”

Sooyoung's smile was knowing. “I'm sure you've played that game before.”

Taeyeon grinned, thinking about her past 'losses'. “Those are the best games to play.”

-

“You've been out driving with Krystal a lot recently. Made any progress?”

“How do you know about it?”

“She told me.”

“Ah, that makes sense. She would tell you all these things when she sees you.”

“Mhm. She does.” Doctor Seo smiled.

“So she would've told you I've made some progress.”

“Yes, she did. I would also like to hear from you. How you feel. What you think.”

“I feel better. The first few times were just nerve wrecking but we did it a few more times and I don't feel as panicked as before.”

“Krystal said she made you close your eyes and imagine driving.”

“Yes.”

“What do you see when you do that?”

“I see cars beside me, all around me. Sometimes it seems like they're too close and I tense up. But I keep driving and eventually it gets better.”

“How does it get better?”

“The road widens. The cars don't feel so close. And they don't swerve.”

Doctor Seo nodded with a smile. “It does seem like you're improving. Most of your fear stems from your mind. Worries about what might happen. While this is necessary to keep us from being too reckless, it becomes a problem when it overwhelms you and prevents you from functioning as usual. But now that your mind is able to free itself from some of the phobia, you will find it easier to manage your irrational fears and eventually overcome them.”

“It's good to know that, Doctor Seo.”

Doctor Seo smiled with a nod. “I'm sure it is.”

-

“Oh my God, Taeyeon, you cook a mean plate of spaghetti.”

“You like it?”

“Like it? I love it.” She held her plate out. “Gimme more.”

“It's still full. You only took one bite of it. Besides, there isn't any more.”

“I don't care if it's full. I want more. I want an overflowing plate of Taeyeon's spaghetti.”

Taeyeon shook her head and chuckled. “I don't know how but you managed to make that sound downright dirty.”

“It's not me. It's your dirty mind talking.”

“It's not my mind. You need to hear the way you said it.”

“I can hear myself just fine.”

“You'd better not be speaking to random strangers this way.” Taeyeon's eyes darkened. “Or with this smile, for that matter.”

“What's wrong with my smile?”

“It's too flirty.”

“What the ?!”

“The way your eyes smile. You're gonna give people the wrong idea.”

“I can't change the way I smile.”

“So don't.”

“Don't?”

“Don't smile.”

“This conversation has gone from dirty to insane.”

Taeyeon grinned. “Just like us.”

Tiffany couldn't help giggling then. “Just like us.”

-

It'd begun to feel a little more like routine. Going to Taeyeon's for dinner, washing the dishes, settling down on the couch, watching TV, doing work. She liked it, but she wasn't sure if Taeyeon felt the same.

“Taeyeon.”

“Mmm?”

She weaved her fingers through Taeyeon's and held her hand on her lap. “Are you bored?”

“Bored? What do you mean.”

“My work. It's keeping us in a lot. I'm sorry if you want to go out but feel you have to stay in with me.”

Taeyeon snorted. “Then you don't know me.”

“What don't I know?”

“I don't really go out much.”

“You're not saying this to make me feel better, are you?”

“Do I look like I would do that?”

Tiffany stared at her for a moment, then shook her head. “No.”

“Uh huh.”

“So you're not the out-going type?”

“What makes you think I'm that type.”

She shrugged. “I don't know. I just assumed. You know, the racing, the look. And you seem to have many friends.”

“Just because I race doesn't mean I like going out. And what am I supposed to look like if I stay in a lot?”

“Like a hobo?”

Taeyeon opened wide and laughed. “You're so...I don't even have the words for it.”

“I hope it's something good.”

Taeyeon's eyes were sparkling and her heart lifted with happiness as their lips met briefly. “You're something good. To me.”

“That's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.”

Taeyeon snorted.

“It's true.”

“That can't be the nicest thing anyone has ever said to you.”

“No one has ever told me I'm something good to them. Not like the way you said it.”

“How did I say it.”

“Like I'm actually important to you, like how you're important to me.”

Taeyeon stared at her, eyes swirling with darkness and strife, and she found it hard to breathe. “Tiffany...”

“Mmm?”

“Is it possible to abandon someone if they're important to you?”

She took a deep breath. Gone were the laughter and jokes. Taeyeon had executed an extreme U-turn and she knew her answer had to be a measured one. “Extenuating circumstances, maybe...”

There was an unidentifiable emotion flickering in Taeyeon's eyes but she closed them, shutting her out from the windows to her soul. “Extenuating...circumstances...”

She had the strongest urge to ask. The deepest desire to probe. But she knew that this wasn't the right moment. Taeyeon couldn't be forced into a corner when it came to this matter. Too many times, she had lost ground on Taeyeon because she pushed too hard. Too many times they'd hurt each other because of vulnerabilities that lashed out.

No. She'd learnt from history. This time, she would wait. Taeyeon was with her now. All she had to do, was wait. And hug her while doing just that.

-