Tiffany was sitting up, awake, and Taeyeon’s world was full of colours, the brightest ones. She sat by Tiffany’s side, holding her hand, grinning like the biggest goof in the world.

“Daddy said you’ve been here since the beginning. No one could get you to go home.”

“I wanted to be here when you wake up.”

“Oh, Taeyeon…”

“Anyway, it’s not like I would’ve had a better time anywhere else.”

Tiffany’s eyes reddened. “Don’t play it down. It means a lot to me.”

Taeyeon’s eyes burned with tears too. “You mean a lot to me.” Tiffany squeezed her hand, an especially wonderful feeling, after so many days of facing Tiffany’s lifeless hands. “And I really wanted to be the first person you saw. I didn’t want you to wake up alone.”

“Taeyeon…”

Taeyeon shrugged. “I’m your girlfriend. Who else is going to stay if I don’t?”

“Stop it. You’re going to make me cry.”

Taeyeon cupped Tiffany’s face and her cheek with her thumb. “Don’t cry.”

“You’re killing me, Taeyeon.”

“What? Why?”

“You’re so sweet to me. I can’t handle this much sweetness.”

“I’m sweet to you?”

“Don’t you know? The things you’ve done for me, the things you’re saying to me; you’re making me a very happy woman.”

“You made me the happiest by waking up.”

If anyone had seen the smiles on their faces right then, they might have been attacked by a wave of nausea, so much love there was. And Taeyeon’s heart had never been fuller as she received Tiffany’s hug and returned it. Every look, touch, word seemed extra precious now that she had experienced what it was like to be robbed of them.

“Tiffany…”

“Hm…?”

Taeyeon snuggled her head deeper into the little nook of Tiffany’s neck. “Tiffany…”

“Mmm…”

“I love you.”

There was a moment of silence. Taeyeon held her breath, waiting. Tiffany’s arms tightened around her shoulders and the moment stretched into awkwardness.

“Tiffany…?” Then, she heard it. A tiny sniff. “You okay?” Taeyeon pulled away, alarmed.

Tiffany shook her head. “I’m good. I’ve never been better.” She pulled Taeyeon back into her arms and squeezed, hugging her as though she were the most treasured thing in the world. “I’m so happy, Taeyeon. I’m so happy.”

“Me too.” Taeyeon leaned back enough to see Tiffany’s face. Her eyes were red, with tears smudged all over. “Oh my God, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I—I want to hear it again.”

“What?”

“What you just said.”

“Oh.” Taeyeon looked down, pressing their foreheads together and closed her eyes. Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in… “I love you.”

Fingers gripped her neck and tugged. Lips pressed onto hers and she parted hers to melt into the kiss that quickly gained passion and desperation—it’s been a long time. She couldn’t get enough of Tiffany. And it seemed like Tiffany couldn’t get enough of her too. It was said in their lips. The way they pressed, the way they parted, the way they locked. How could it ever be enough? Tiffany had come so close to leaving this world for good and she had come so close to losing Tiffany forever. She could never have enough.

Finally, they parted, panting. Breathing to live. Living to breathe. Breathing to kiss some more.

No words could truly convey their feelings at that very moment. But there was no need to use words when their bodies said it all. A hug was the perfect ending to that moment.

–

Taeyeon returned to work a happy woman. Tiffany was undergoing therapy sessions to restore strength in her limbs and the reports were overwhelmingly positive. Being young certainly has its perks, is what the doctor said. Being young definitely helped. Tiffany’s recovery was speedy and Taeyeon couldn’t be happier.

Until her mother visited her at SM.

“How long till you knock off?”

“One more hour. Why?”

“I want to have dinner with you.”

Taeyeon took a deep breath. “Okay.”

“I’ll have my driver swing by to pick you up.”

“Okay.”

Taeyeon watched as her mother’s heels clicked their way out of SM and sank back onto her chair, exhaling loudly as she went.

“Things are better between you two,” Sunny observed.

“Not really. We’re hardly even friends.”

“At least there’s no spitfire.”

Taeyeon shrugged. “I’m not sure what to think anymore. She seemed so different the past few times I saw her, although she looks just like the same old today.”

“Well, the question is simple. Do you want to mend things with your mom?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know who she is anymore.”

“Maybe it’s time to get to know her again.”

“Maybe.”

–

Her mother looked just the same, sitting there at the table with that aura of icy cold don’t-mess-with-me. Maybe it was the outfit. Her mother was dressed fit for the office after all. She decided she didn’t like her mother much when she looked like that. But she wanted to know the mother who picked food for her at the dinner table, the mother who didn’t look ready to slaughter the entire business world.

“I’m here.” Holy , ‘I’m here’? What sort of a ing awkward opening line is that.

“What would you like to eat?”

Taeyeon looked through the menu. The prices were exorbitant. Her mother could never have afforded to pay for it in the past. How times have changed. “Spaghetti vongole.”

“You like clams?”

“Yes.”

“Recently?”

Taeyeon shrugged. “Recent years.”

“I see.”

“Do you?”

“Mmm?”

“Like clams, I mean.”

Her mother nodded. “Let’s order.”

Taeyeon watched as her mother placed their orders. Her mother at present was a far cry from the harried woman who ignored her for most of her childhood. Her tone was confident, assertive and the waiter listened with rapt attention. Nothing like the mother who tried desperately to hush her baby sister in the middle of the night.

“How’s work?” asked her mother after the waiter left with their orders.

“Good.”

“Have you decided if you want to join Ssamyoong?”

“Did Uncle Im send you to ask me?”

“He wants to know, but meeting you for dinner wasn’t his idea.”

Taeyeon clasped her hands. “I want to. I’ve wanted to for some time now.”

Her mother smiled. “Taewon will be happy to hear that.”

“Is that all you want?” Her mother raised brows at her, so she clarified, “Uncle Im. Happy.”

Her mother looked straight at her and for a moment, she was unnerved. “Is it wrong to want the person you love to be happy? Don’t you want the same for Tiffany too?”

Taeyeon blinked. “You know about Tiffany? Who told you?”

Her mother snorted. “I don’t know anyone to tell me. I can tell from the way you look at her. And staying by her side day and night makes it quite obvious.”

Taeyeon narrowed her eyes. “And you’re okay with that?”

“I’m not okay with it.” Taeyeon’s heart clenched at her mother’s words, anger ready to boil over. “Neither am I against it.”

“What do you mean. You’re neither okay nor against it?”

“I don’t have the right to judge your choices in love. You’re your own person. It’s your right to love Tiffany and you definitely won’t appreciate me using my mother card now when I haven’t been using it for years.”

“You used it the last time we had dinner here.”

“You made me angry the other time.”

“So you have no opinion of Tiffany as my girlfriend?”

“If you’re asking for my opinion, I’ll say you should tell Taewon soon. He needs to know.”

“And you don’t?”

“If you haven’t noticed yet, Taewon has very strict principles when it comes to family. He was burned in the past but he’s determined not to be burned again so he’s going to do things properly this time. You should understand what it means to rebuild something from the shambles.”

Taeyeon frowned. “Okay, I’ll tell Uncle Im about Tiffany.”

“He suspects it, but he doesn’t really think you’re with Tiffany in that way. He still believes the two of you are the best of friends. But I think he’s in a little bit of denial.”

“Looks like I’ll have to clear things with him then.”

“Yes, you do. Do it before the engagement announcement.”

“Fine. I will.”

–

“What did the doctor say about your progress today?”

“He said I’m doing well. Very well, in fact.”

Taeyeon grinned at the sight of Tiffany’s proud smile. Her girlfriend was such a er for praises. “Did he, really?”

Tiffany nodded. “He said the speed of my recovery is one of the fastest he has ever seen.”

“So you’re not only the fastest racer but the fastest recoverer as well?”

“Mhm. What else would you expect when it’s me.”

“Only the fastest, of course,” Taeyeon said with a smile. She leaned in and kissed her glowing girlfriend and grinned when those lips kissed her back. It was the best thing in the world.

“What about you? How was your day? How was work?”

“Work was good until my mother showed up.”

Tiffany raised a brow. “Oh? What did she want?”

“She asked me out for dinner.”

“And?”

“She asked about Ssamyoong, if I decided to join.”

“What did you tell her?”

“I told her I want to.”

The glow of Tiffany’s smile was so strong that anyone else would’ve thought she’d just won a million dollar lottery prize. “I’m so happy for you, Taeyeon. I can’t wait to see you in your office.” She waggled her eyebrows. “We can christen your new desk after I recover properly.”

“Hold on, hold on. I’m not even sure if I’ll have an office private enough for that. Uncle Im isn’t going to give me one just because my mother is marrying him.”

“Who said anything about private?” Tiffany winked. “We can do it after everyone is gone.”

Taeyeon laughed out loud. “Sure. I’m up for it if you are.”

The glint in Tiffany’s eyes was familiar and precious. “You’re on. What are the stakes?”

Taeyeon smirked. “The loser will have to marry the winner.”

“What?”

“You heard me.”

“You said marry.”

“I did.”

“Are you serious?”

Taeyeon nodded. “I even have the rings prepared.”

“What?”

“Technically, I haven’t bought them yet. But I’ve scouted for a ring I like. We’ll go shopping for yours after you’re completely recovered. But if you want the same ring as mine, we can get it done in your size too.”

“You’re not kidding.”

“No.”

“This is a proposal.”

“Yes, I’m proposing that we will belong to each other, mutually exclusive, for the rest of our lives. And we’ll wear the rings to prove it.”

Tiffany’s hand pressed over her heart. “This is a ing proposal.”

“Yes, this is a ing proposal. So, are you on?”

“You’re actually serious about this. You planned this.”

“My actual plan was to race you and win. Then, ask you to marry me.”

“How can you be so sure that you’ll win.”

“That’s just the way things are, babe. I’ll win you in a race any day.”

“I might just win you. Then, you’ll have to marry me.”

Taeyeon shrugged. “Sure. That works for me too. But that’s never gonna happen, Tiff. Never.”

“Just wait till I can get out of this hospital and back on the road. Just wait.”

“So that’s a yes.”

“Yes, it’s a yes.”

Taeyeon hugged Tiffany and gave her the kiss of her life. A volcano of bliss erupted right then, melting everything in the path of its molten hot passion. They were lucky enough to get a second chance and Taeyeon wasn’t about to waste any minute of it. No more doubts. No more games. All she wanted was Tiffany. Plain and simple. And Tiffany wanted her too. That was all that mattered.

–