Taeyeon the whirlwind had swept in and taken her by storm last night, leaving her no time to think about why she’d taken the first step to make things right. Then Taeyeon had surprised her again when she held her temper down despite seeing Paul at her apartment. And after a thunderous night of that left no skin untouched, she was left to ponder over the reason why.

But with inch after inch of Taeyeon laid bare before her, it was hard to stay focused. She’d discovered last night that Taeyeon was ticklish at a certain spot along the side of her torso. It was a specific area. Near the mole. And that very spot would guarantee a burst of girlish giggles and develop into roguish squeals that weren’t altogether womanly but coquettishly adorable.

There was something about Taeyeon. She couldn’t put a finger on what it was but there was something. Looking at Taeyeon was like looking at a pair of shoes that was the right colour, size, shape, design, price…right everything. And even though the shoes might have hurt her feet at first, they were soon broken in and molded to her feet perfectly.

Maybe that’s what this was too. Had the Great Wall of Taeyeon finally crumbled? Or was it a conscious act of Taeyeon’s to put the wall away and out of sight. She’d seen glimpses of the wall last night but Taeyeon had been open with her emotions, her desires. Then she’d fallen asleep before she could fulfil her side of the bargain.

Was it a bargain really? It was a family story in exchange for a family story. Yes, it was a deal. A bargain of sorts. And she didn’t like it. She didn’t want her relationship with Taeyeon to be built upon bargain after bargain, bet after bet. But it would have to do for now. After all, it’s gotten her this far…

“Fany…” Taeyeon’s drowsy voice aroused her from her thoughts.

“Good morning, Taeyeon,” she replied with a smile.

“Mmmernngg…” mumbled Taeyeon, as she snuggled deeper into her arms, eyes closed.

Everything was perfect the way it was. So, she closed her eyes and went back to sleep too.

-

It was at breakfast when she decided to ask.

“Taeyeon…”

“Mmm?”

“It was the absolute best last night but there’s one thing you didn’t do.”

“What’s that,” Taeyeon narrowed her eyes. “Are you into something that I don’t know about?”

Tiffany spluttered over her coffee. “No! I’m not into anything .”

Taeyeon’s grin was knowing, for some reason. “Everyone has a side. It’s either they won’t admit it or they don’t know it yet.”

“It’s not about that.”

“Okay, so what is it. What didn’t I do.”

“I told you about my family…but you haven’t.”

“Oh.” Taeyeon put down her fork and knife. “I didn’t tell you, huh.”

Tiffany shook her head.

“Well, what do you wanna know.”

“I wanna know whatever you wanna tell me.”

Taeyeon flashed a quirky smile. “You’ve changed your strategy. Don’t you wanna know all my dirty secrets?”

“I wanna know. But I trust you’ll tell me when you’re ready to.”

Taeyeon leaned against the cushion and folded her arms. “Okay. I’m ready.” She took a deep breath. “I hate my mother,” she said, her eyes dim. “She chose them over me.” Her head lowered. “I didn’t want to believe that she didn’t want me but I had to eventually.”

“What happened?” Tiffany asked, her voice almost a whisper.

“My mom had me when she was pretty young. Like, she’s just a little over 40 and,” she pointed at herself, “she has a daughter as old as I am.”

“That’s pretty young,” Tiffany agreed.

“Yeah, so I’d understand if she didn’t feel ready at first. But my dad died just after Hayeon was born and you’d think she was ready for kids by then, but no. She jumped at the first guy who went after her and dumped me when he didn’t want to have anything to do with me.”

“What about Hayeon?”

“He was okay with her. She was just a baby. She didn’t hate him like I did. But that isn’t the point. I don’t care if he doesn’t want me. I’m not his daughter after all. But my mom. My mom left me at home and spent all her time with him.” She scoffed. “And he wasn’t a good man too. He was only taking advantage of her while she was vulnerable.”

“What do you mean?”

“He sorta knew my dad and—“

Tiffany gasped. “They were friends?”

“Nah. Just acquaintances. They were in the same high school together and apparently my mom was the school belle in her time.”

Tiffany recalled how well-groomed Taeyeon’s mother was that night at the hospital and nodded. “So you’re saying he had wanted your mother since high school and saw the chance to get her when your father died.”

Taeyeon shrugged.

“But what made you hate your mother this much?”

“She screamed at me when I was sick.”

“What? Why?”

“He broke up with her and she blamed it on me. She didn’t care that I was having a fever. A high fever too. I should’ve been at the hospital with a fever that high. But what did she do? She screamed at me. Scolded me. Blamed me for her break up. And I was ing sick. In bed. Too weak to get up and ask her to shut up.” Taeyeon closed her eyes. “That’s when I realised she didn’t want me.”

“Taeyeon…”

“Don’t.”

“Don’t? What?”

“Don’t look at me like that. I’m not a poor puppy that’s been abandoned by its mother.” Tiffany opened to say she wasn’t but Taeyeon cut her off. “Just don’t.”

“Okay. I won’t. All I wanted to say was now I know.”

“What do you know.”

“Now I know why you didn’t yell at me last night.”

Taeyeon smiled but her eyes were sad and she couldn’t help but hug the woman as tightly as she could.

-

The silver bullet curved around corners, overtook the blue, red and black bullets in front of it and held its position for the rest of the race. There was no contest. The silver bullet was the fastest bullet out there.

­-

With Yuri’s arm snug around her shoulders, she watched as her sister took to the track like a fish to water. She held her breath at tight corners and sharp turns, exhaled when her sister made it through unscathed and cheered like a crazy fan when she pulled in with no less than first place.

“She’s first. Yuri, she won!” she shrieked.

“I know, I’m watching the race right beside you,” said Yuri, hugging her close.

“Yuri…”

“Let’s go down and congratulate her.”

“Okay!”

They made their way down to the tracks and she couldn’t wait to throw her arms around her sister.

“Krystal, you did great!”

Her sister hugged her back and they jumped for joy together. Until the team manager appeared before them.

“Hey, Jessica.”

“Hey.”

“How’s it been?”

“The same.”

He nodded and patted her shoulder. “You know that I’m waiting for you to come back, right?”

“I’m working on it.”

“Good. I hope to have an unbeatable sister team by the next championship.”

Yuri stepped forward with a smile. “I’ll make sure it happens.”

They laughed and she couldn’t resist giving her adorable girlfriend a kiss. “I love you,” she said, after pulling away. And it didn’t matter that her sister was rolling her eyes. It didn’t even matter that her team manager let out a whoop and clap, attracting even more attention to her display of affection. All that mattered was the fact that she did love Yuri, and she was blessed to have awoken to the truth before it was too late.

-

“Did you hear, Jessica’s little sister just won their in-house qualifiers for The Roulette.”

“At least she’s put to the test before entering the company.”

“Yeah. Their company is doing it right.”

“Girls, girls…we all know that Jessica and Yuri are crazy about each other. And Krystal is much too young.”

“You’ve lost me, Denise. What are you talking about.”

“Tsk, tsk. You gotta think on your feet, Bernice. Jessica and Yuri are in love with each other. Krystal is too young and under the protection of Jessica. So who’s gonna sleep with the boss? No one. That’s why Krystal had to take the qualifier. But Tiffany…you know the she is.”

“Are you sure that’s the case…” Bernice looked doubtful. “You know, Tiffany is really good. She would’ve gotten in with or without the tests. And Paul probably watched her race and checked out her racing history before hiring her.”

“Yeah,” chipped in Venice, “Bernice is right. Tiffany is really good. Why would she need to sleep with Paul to get in? I heard that Tiffany is seeing someone and it’s not Paul.”

“Where did you get that from. Your news source has never been accurate.”

“I heard Jimin talking about it over lunch. She was saying that Tiffany works really hard and has many good ideas. And it was Tiffany’s idea that was chosen for the car launch too.”

“So what. You’re all on Tiffany’s side now?”

Venice frowned. “We’re not taking sides. It’s just facts. Tiffany may not be who we thought she is.”

“And the so-called facts come from? People who work with her. People who are fed her lies.”

“I actually think that people who work with her would know her better. Many people are saying good things about her. They can’t all be wrong.”

“That just means she’s a fantastic liar and actress. She got them like how she got Paul.”

Venice stood up, hands on her hips. “Denise, I stood by you because you’re the best racer out of us and I felt you should have been given a chance to take the lead racer position when Jean left. But to be honest, I’m not sure if you’re right about Tiffany any more.”

Bernice stood up too. “Yeah. And I think Tiffany works harder than you too. She’s always at the track. Even when it’s not her session.”

“Shut up you two. If you wanna be Tiffany’s dog like everybody else then go ahead. Go and be her friend. Don’t stay here and fill my ears with your .”

Venice looked at Bernice for a moment. Then, they left the locker room without a word.

“ers,” said Denise, under her breath. “They’ll see. I’m better than Tiffany. She just has a better car. Let’s see what they’ll say when perfect Tiffany screws up and gets into trouble.”

-

Taeyeon was trying not to smile too widely as they walked down the stretch of BBQ restaurants after dinner when Tiffany made her jaw drop.

“So word on the street is that Jessica’s sister has taken her place on the Samjung team.”

“Jessica has a sister?”

“Jessica has a sister.”

“When did this happen.”

“My colleague texted me after she won the qualifiers. Apparently Jessica went a little berserk and was screaming like a fanatic fan when Krystal was racing. Then they were hugging after the race and people around them were told that Krystal is her sister.”

“Wow. That’s news.”

“I know right.”

“Are you worried?”

“Why would I be?”

“She’ll be your competitor at The Roulette.”

Tiffany grinned and the next thing Taeyeon knew, she was jerked backwards by a stationary Tiffany. She turned around to ask what was wrong and was answered with a kiss even before she could get her question out. Not that she minded the answer…

“You’re worried about me.”

“Why would I be.”

Tiffany smiled in a disturbing way. “Why wouldn’t you.”

She shrugged. “There’s no way she’ll beat you. There’s no need to worry.”

Tiffany’s smile went from disturbing to downright creepy. “You believe in me.”

She shrugged again. “Yeah, I do. If it weren’t for me, you’d be the best racer in Seoul. Nobody else can beat you, other than me.”

“I’ve beaten you before.”

“Only because my tyres were busted.”

“Oh, so now you’re not gonna admit to losing to me?”

“I’m not saying I didn’t lose. I’m just saying it’s my tyres fault.”

“Sore loser.”

“Hey I’m not. I held up my side of the bet, didn’t I?”

Love smouldered in Tiffany’s eyes before simmering into golden ambers. “Yes, you did,” she answered in her husky voice. “You held up more than your side of the bet.”

Tiffany’s answer made her feel funny inside so she tugged on her hand and resumed walking down the street. Feeling funny was not something she was used to feeling.

-

“Hi Peter.”

The man she addressed rose to his feet and smoothed his jacket before taking her hand to shake it. They sat down and she gave him the wide toothed grin that she gave everyone out of habit.

“I’m very glad you agreed to take on this position,” he began to say but she waved her hand, dismissing his impending speech.

“Don’t get me wrong. I am honoured to be managing the racing team in Ssamyoong, but I have a very specific aim in doing so. It is not a favour to you or my father. It’s a favour to myself. So you can do away with your gratitude speech and jump straight into the details.”

Peter looked a little stunned but to his credit, he managed to recover quickly. “Alright then. Let us talk business.”

-