There's a loud sigh from behind her,
causing her to stop what she's
doing.
Tiffany turns her head and watches
Taeyeon stretch long and hard. She
smiles to herself. It's a sight that is
now common to her after a few days
of working together. She has grown
to like seeing tired Taeyeon,
strangely, with hair pulled up in a
messy bun, brows furrowed in deep
focus and lips pouting. She has never
seen anyone look so cute when
exhausted.
"What are you looking at?" Taeyeon
asks in a slightly irritated tone when
she realizes Tiffany staring.
"But I can do without the snapping,"
says Tiffany, continuing her thought
out loud.
"What?"
"Nothing. Tired?"
"Aren't you?" Taeyeon stretches some
more, noisily, then lets out the
loudest sigh to date as she slumps in
her chair. "Let's go home."
"We have a deadline to meet,
Taeyeon," replies Tiffany. She has
already resumed working.
"I know but we can finish this in
the morning. The deadline's
tomorrow but there's no specific
time, right? If we give this to them by
lunchtime or even before going home,
it still counts as tomorrow, right?"
"Technically, yes."
"Then let's go home and get some
sleep. We don't have much left to do
anyway."
"You go ahead. I'm gonna try to get
a bit more done before I leave."
Taeyeon swivels in her chair to face
Tiffany who is still diligently working,
eyes focused on the screen.
"Wake me up when you're done then.
I need to rest my eyes," she says,
clasping her hands over her stomach.
She leans her head back and closes
her eyes, trying to get comfortable in
her chair. It doesn't take long for her
to fall asleep for real.
Tiffany turns a few minutes later to
see Taeyeon asleep. "Go home and
sleep."
"..."
"Taeyeon."
"..."
Tiffany puts down the drawing pen
and quietly approaches the sleeping
Taeyeon. She smiles, trying hard to
fight the urge to prank the girl.
Instead, she settles with taking a
stealthy picture of Taeyeon sleeping
with her mouth open and goes back
to work.
--
"Don't fall asleep in the train, okay?"
says Tiffany, nudging the drowsy
looking Taeyeon as they stand in the
middle of the small hall.
It's their daily ritual now to stop at
that spot and say goodbye before
going to their respective platforms.
"I'll try. No promises." Taeyeon
yawns.
"You'll miss your stop if you fall
asleep."
Taeyeon just stares at Tiffany
blankly, making the latter chuckle.
"Alright. Go on home before you
decide to sleep here." She pats
Taeyeon's arm. "Good night. Well
done today," she says. "I'll see you
tomorrow. Get home safely."
Tiffany takes a step back then turns
around to catch her train.
"Wait!"
She hears the Korean word and turns
around by reflex to see Taeyeon
running towards her.
"I almost forgot!" says the girl
rummaging in her bag. "Here."
Tiffany smiles when she takes the
small pink package from Taeyeon.
"So you're really going to do this
every day?"
"Yes," replies Taeyeon, grinning. "And
since you've worked very hard today.
I'm even adding a bonus." She takes
out another package but in green.
"My favorite. Give it a try."
"Thank you."
"See ya." Taeyeon waves goodbye
and starts walking away, hiding her
face. It's been the highlight of her
days so far, seeing the amused smile
on Tiffany's face and the twinkle in
her eyes when she gives her the
strawberry Kit Kat. To her, it's the
perfect way to end each tiring day at
work.
Her steps are light and she's no
longer feeling sleepy. Her smile grows
and it stays on her face until she
reaches the hotel.
"Well someone's looking happy. I was
expecting a whining sulking
exhausted Taenggoo tonight,"
remarks Sunny when she comes out
of the bathroom to see her roommate
smiling at her phone screen. She tries
to take a peek over Taeyeon's
shoulder. "Message from Tiffany?"
"Yah! Nosy much?" Taeyeon quickly
shields her phone screen with one
hand, moving away from Sunny.
"What did she say?"
"None of your business." She swiftly
locks her phone and puts it on the
bedside table. "I'm going to take a
shower," she tells her best friend.
"I'm going to crack your phone
password," replies Sunny cheekily.
Taeyeon quickly makes a U-turn and
grabs the device, taking it with her to
the bathroom.
"I was just kidding!"
"I don't care. It's better to be safe."
"So your password is an easy one,
huh?" Sunny grins and shakes her
head when the bathroom door closes
without a single reply from Taeyeon.
"Kim Taenggoo's Japan love story.
Who knew?"
--
The dreaded day finally arrives and
Taeyeon has been moody since
yesterday. Sunny tries to be the
understanding best friend and stays
clear of her even though she wants
nothing but to slap the back of her
head.
It's Taeyeon's last day working in
Japan. Tomorrow, she and Sunny will
board the plane back to Korea.
She arrives at the office with a mix of
emotions. On the one hand, it will be
great to go home but on the other
hand...
She looks at the empty desk next to
hers and sighs.
No more Tiffany.
It only took her less than a day to
figure out that she likes having
Tiffany around. Now she's pretty sure
that she has entered the 'having a
crush' phase, judging by how much
she dreads leaving.
Sunny would disagree, of course.
According to her, Taeyeon has had a
crush on Tiffany since their fateful
meeting at that train platform.
With another dejected sigh, she pulls
out her chair, places her bag and
jacket on it and is about to go to the
pantry to get a drink when she hears,
"What's with all the sighing?"
Taeyeon turns around to see Tiffany
putting her bag and jacket on her
own desk.
"It's too early for a meeting," says
Taeyeon, hiding her real reason.
"I know right? I don't like morning
meetings either." Tiffany switches her
computer on. "I'm gonna get some
coffee. Do you want something to
drink?"
"Yeah."
Taeyeon follows Tiffany to the pantry,
greeting other employees on the way
there, and makes herself a cup of tea.
They don't talk much. The
atmosphere in the quiet pantry is
awkward as both silently wish that it
wasn't the last day they'd be working
together.
But then the supervisor steps in to
make his own cup of coffee, greets
them and informs them that the
meeting will start in ten minutes.
They bow politely to him and excuse
themselves to prepare their stuff.
The meeting comes and goes without
anything eventful. The team has
managed to complete their tasks
wonderfully with only minor glitches
along the way and Taeyeon is praised
for her contribution and cooperation.
"It's been a pleasure working with all
of you," says Taeyeon, standing up to
bow to the room.
"We'll be sure to keep in touch," says
the team leader. "There's still plenty
to finish."
"Definitely. I'm sure we will complete
this project successfully and my team
back in Korea will do anything in our
power to assist you."
"Wonderful! And since it's your last
day with us, we are going to
celebrate it with a little karaoke
tonight."
Taeyeon's eyes widen. She has
been secretly hoping that she could
spend her last night in Japan alone
with Tiffany, maybe have a nice
dinner somewhere. But she can't
refuse the kind offer so she just fakes
a smile and nods.
"Great. Once again, good job, team.
Let's have fun tonight," the team
leader closes the meeting, dismissing
the staff.
She steals a glance at Tiffany and
sees the same disappointed look on
the latter's face, hidden behind a stiff
and polite smile. She shoots her an
apologetic look when everyone starts
to leave.
"I guess we're sending you off with a
bang then," remarks Tiffany calmly
after they are left alone.
"Or they're just trying to find an
excuse to party on a Friday night,"
jokes Taeyeon.
"I've suspected that too, actually."
They walk back to their workstations
side by side.
"So... um... since it's your last day
and you technically have nothing left
to do today... how 'bout we take a
long lunch break and go to this ramen
place downtown?" suggests Tiffany
once they have taken their seats.
"It's even yummier than the one I
took you to on your first day at
work."
"Can you do that?"
"I need to ask Yamada-san, of
course, but I'm sure he won't mind.
After all the hard work we've done all
week, what's an extra hour of lunch
break, right?"
Taeyeon chuckles. "Right. Go ask him
then."
Tiffany jumps up from her chair and
rushes away, leaving Taeyeon waiting
anxiously. When she returns, she can
see Taeyeon swivel around in her
chair, eagerly expecting good news.
Taeyeon's face falls when she sees
the look on Tiffany's face. "No go,
huh?"
Tiffany sits down and says, "He said
no to the extra hour."
"Ah. It's okay. At least you tried."
"He said to just take the rest of the
day off instead."
"W-what?"
A huge smile begins to spread on
Tiffany's face. "Gotcha! I should've
become an actress," she says,
laughing.
"Yah! What did he say?"
"He said that since our work is done,
for now, I should take you out to see
the sights. Then we can meet the rest
of the team at the karaoke lounge
tonight."
Taeyeon's eyes are practically
beaming with joy. "He said that? He
really said that?" she asks in
disbelief.
Tiffany nods. "We get half a day off,
Taeyeon. You must've really
impressed them. I know this company
is trying to be hip and fresh but it's
still quite uncommon for the bosses
to give anyone half a day off."
"Oh well. Whatever the reason is, I'll
gladly take the offer," says Taeyeon.
"Remind me to get Yamada-san
something nice later."
"Will do."
Taeyeon spends the rest of the day
replying emails and trying to find
things to do while constantly glancing
at her watch. Lunchtime can't come
fast enough for her.
When the clock strikes twelve, both
Taeyeon and Tiffany have switched
off their computers and have their
bags and jackets at the ready.
"Let's go! Ramen time!" says Tiffany
cheerfully.
"What about the sights?" asks
Taeyeon as she stops at the elevator
queue.
"Well, Yamada-san has kindly listed a
few places that we can visit before
dinner." Tiffany takes out her phone
and opens the note app. "We'll figure
out how to get there after lunch."
"Sounds like a plan."
--
Taeyeon watches Tiffany take another
sip and puts her hand on her arm,
stopping her from pouring herself
another glass. "Don't drink too
much," she says in her ear so that
she can be heard above the loud
singing of their colleagues.
"I'm okay," replies Tiffany, smiling.
"My alcohol tolerance is quite high."
Taeyeon reluctantly removes her hand
and leans back, not taking her eyes
off of Tiffany.
Sensing the concerned eyes on her,
Tiffany decides not to go for the beer.
She takes Taeyeon's glass of juice
instead and drinks it.
"Better?" she asks.
"Yeah. You owe me juice now
though."
Tiffany laughs. "I'll buy you as much
juice as you want."
Taeyeon merely smiles.
--
Taeyeon turns her head and looks at
the girl leaning on her shoulder. I told
you not to drink too much. She
reaches up and carefully sweeps
Tiffany's bangs aside. Good thing it's
my last night here so I can splurge on
taxi fare.
She smiles and looks out the window,
replaying the moments from the past
week. She didn't expect to do
anything but work while on
assignment this week so meeting
Tiffany and actually getting along
with her are two nice bonuses she
considers precious.
Regardless of whether they'll keep in
touch after this, she will always look
back on this past week with
fondness.
Kim Taenggoo's Japan love story.
She recalls her friend's words and
laughs silently.
If this is a love story then too bad
because it's ending before it could
really start.
The taxi stops and she tells the driver
to wait.
"Fany-ah, wake up," Taeyeon says,
gently patting Tiffany's cheek.
"You're home."
The girl mumbles something then
slowly opens her eyes. She lifts her
head from Taeyeon's shoulder and
blinks at her. "Taeyeon?"
"Yeah. Come on." Taeyeon opens the
door and steps out. She runs to the
other side, opens the door for Tiffany
and holds her hand. "Let's go, Fany."
The driver offers his help when he
sees her struggling to get Tiffany out
of the car but she politely refuses.
Tiffany can walk, luckily. She just
feels terribly sleepy and sluggish so
she hangs onto Taeyeon the entire
time.
Not that Taeyeon minds, of course.
She watches Tiffany slowly take out
her keys and open the door to her
tiny apartment.
Taeyeon kicks her shoes off and
helps Tiffany with hers. She then
guides her to the futon and sits her
down.
Tiffany lies down, inching her way up
to her pillow.
"Sleep. You'll feel better tomorrow,"
she says, pulling the covers over
Tiffany.
She watches her for a minute then
remembers what she has prepared.
She takes out two boxes of
strawberry and green tea Kit Kats
from her bag, neatly tied together
with a pink ribbon. There's a card
attached to it, with her handwritten
message inside.
She places the box on the dining
table and squats next to the bed.
"Hey, can you hear me?"
There's no reaction so Taeyeon
assumes that Tiffany has fallen
asleep yet again.
"Thank you for a great week and for
saving me from that misunderstood
suicide attempt," she says with a grin
as she brushes Tiffany's messy hair
aside so she can see her face. "Bye,
Fany. I'll miss you."
--
"Soonkyu-yah, I have never seen so
many drunk people in one room
before," remarks Taeyeon as soon as
she switches the hotel room light on.
"Yah! Turn it off!" shouts Sunny,
hiding under her blanket.
"You know those drunk men you see
in mangas? I saw them today. They
really look like that. Red faced,
slurring, loud, their clothes a mess...
Some passed out on the floor and
some couldn't even walk home,"
continues Taeyeon calmly, taking off
her jacket. "There were empty liquor
bottles everywhere. I guess that's
what you get when the company is
paying." She sits down on her bed
with her phone in her hand.
Sunny's head peeks out from under
the white fabric. "Did you get drunk
too?"
"Not at all. Drank juice and soda the
whole night. Fany got a bit drunk
though."
"How drunk?" Sunny pulls down the
blanket, now awake with interest.
"I had to drag her home."
"Was she unconscious?"
"She was asleep most of the time but
I don't think she was unconscious.
She'll probably remember everything
tomorrow."
"Did you take advantage of her?"
A pillow lands on Sunny's face,
making her yelp. "Yah!"
"What do you take me for?!"
"I was just asking!" Sunny throws the
pillow back at Taeyeon. "You
could've used the opportunity to
sneak a kiss or something."
"Again, what do you take me for?"
"Hey, it's the perfect opportunity
since you might not be able to do it
for real after tonight."
Taeyeon stands up, walking towards
her luggage. "Have you finished
packing?"
"Yeah. You should pack. We need to
check out before 10." Sunny then
goes back to sleep, covering herself
with her blanket.
--
She wakes up feeling strangely well
rested but the moment she sees her
clothes, she knows that she has
probably had too much to drink last
night.
She checks the clock and yawns, glad
that it's Saturday.
Taeyeon's gone, huh?
And just like that, she's back to
feeling alone.
It was fun with Taeyeon around.
Work wasn't as dreadful and life
wasn't as boring as before.
But I guess all good things must
come to an end. I should text her
later to thank her for taking me home
last night.
She lets out a sigh and pushes
herself up to take a shower. That's
when she sees the Kit Kats on the
table.
She smiles when she sees the pink
ribbon and carefully detached the
small card from the green box.
"Dear Fany,
Thank you for a wonderful week and
for the most memorable meeting I've
ever had in my life. I still think that
green tea Kit Kats taste better than
the strawberry ones but to each her
own, I guess ^^. Call me when you're
in Korea, okay? Don't be a stranger.
Goodbye, Fany. Until we meet again.
Taeyeon"
--
Taeyeon puts down her chopsticks
and sips her water quietly.
"She hasn't called?"
"Huh?" She looks up at Sunny sitting
across from her. "Who hasn't called?"
"Who else? Your lover in Japan. Your
Japan Lover. Your J.Lo." Sunny then
laughs, totally satisfied with her own
joke.
"I don't have a lover in Japan."
"There is someone in Japan whom
you love," teases Sunny. "You got
yourself a J.Lo, hey yo!" She then
begins bouncing in her seat, making
hip hop gestures with her hands while
going "Yo yo uh-huh yeah come on~
Taenggoo and her J.Lo yo~" over and
over again.
"Shut up." Taeyeon picks up a napkin
and throws it at her hyperactive
friend.
"Admit it! You're still thinking about
her." Sunny points her finger at the
sulking Taeyeon. "It's been weeks
and you're still brooding like you've
lost your dog."
"I'm just tired!"
"Right."
"I really am!"
"You're tired every day?"
"Yes. This project is killing me,"
Taeyeon lies.
Sunny has it right but Taeyeon
doesn't want her to know just yet.
She thinks that her best friend needs
to try humble pie every once in a
while.
"Project smhoject. I know I'm right.
You're thinking of her. You can't get
her out of your mind. Every night
before bed, you always think about
her. How you two met. How you
worked together. That last day of
sightseeing together. Her laugh. Her
smile-..."
"Seriously. Shut up!"
Sunny laughs as she dodges the
spoon Taeyeon's about to throw at
her, shielding her head with her
hands. "You can't lie to me and you
know it, Taeng!"
"I'm not lying to you! She's there,
I'm here and like you said, she might
not swing my way. I know reality,
okay?"
"Okay okay. I get it but please don't
look as if it's the end of the world.
You'll meet someone new soon
enough. Go to Yuri's party this
weekend. You're bound to meet
someone there who can help you
forget Tiffany."
"If I do that, will you shut up and
leave me alone?"
"Most definitely!"
"Fine. I'll go."
"Good. Because even though love
don't cost a thing, you can't keep
waiting for someone who isn't into
you. If you had her love, you wouldn't
be so gloomy but since you don't,
you have to get out there, get on the
floor, get loud and I'm sure you're
gonna be alright."
Taeyeon deadpanned, recognizing the
song titles.
"Not funny?" asks Sunny
mischievously. "I tried my best, Papi."
"Don't 'papi' me!" warns Taeyeon
sternly, earning a crazy bout of
laughter from Sunny when she adds,
"I am not your papi!"
"That's true. You're Tiffany's papi. Or
at least you wanna be." Sunny winks
greasily in between her laughing.
Taeyeon shakes her head, finishes her
drink and stands up. "Go work on
your puns."
"Hey, where are you going?"
"Home. This dinner is on you."
"When did we decide that?"
"When you wouldn't stop being nosy.
See ya."
Taeyeon walks out of the restaurant
and takes a deep breath of fresh air
once she's outside. It's true. Her
mind can't seem to stop thinking
about Tiffany even after all this time
but there's nothing she can do about
it.
She keeps wondering what could
happen if she had called her
supervisor and asked for an extended
stay. Or if they both lived in the same
country.
She has had the urge to text her on
several occasions but never had the
courage too. The last conversation
they had was Tiffany thanking her for
taking her home. It stopped there.
Tiffany has never sent her another
message since and she doesn't want
to initiate, afraid to overstep her
boundaries. Because after all, it's
highly possible that Tiffany only sees
her as a friend.
Let it go, Taeng. Some things are just
not meant to be.
--
A few more days have gone by but
Taeyeon is still somewhat gloomy.
Her friends have been psyching her
up for the party at Yuri's tonight,
telling her about the girls that are
going to be there. Their chat room
has been filled with nothing but
pictures of said girls, making Taeyeon
feel like scolding Sunny even more for
telling them about Tiffany.
"Here look," Yuri says before sending
a picture of two young women. "The
one on the left. White coat. Isn't she
pretty?"
"College student?" asks Sooyoung.
"Yeah. Graduating next year. Young
blood, Taeng!"
"Not interested," she types.
"How 'bout her?" This time Hyoyeon
quips, sending a different picture of a
girl in a club. "Met her while clubbing
a couple of months ago. Nice kid and
she definitely knows how to have
fun."
"I'm not a clubber."
"You don't have to be."
"I'm not into clubbers either."
She sighs and puts her phone aside,
deciding to just get back to work.
"Taeyeon?"
She looks up at the sound of her
name and sees her colleague
standing in front of her cubicle.
"Yeonho oppa's looking for you," says
the girl, pointing towards her
supervisor's office.
"Oh?" Taeyeon saves her work and
stands up. What does he want? I still
have one more day to finish that last
revision he sent me.
She knocks on the glass door and
sees him talking to someone sitting
across the desk. Judging from the
back view and the long hair, the
guest is a woman.
"Come in," says the supervisor.
"You want to see me, Oppa?" she
asks, stepping inside the room. Their
company is a young and trendy one
and honorifics are kept at the
minimum. They don't even call their
CEO 'sajangnim' like other companies
do.
"Taeyeon, looks like you're gonna get
your old partner back on this project."
"What old partner? I don't have an
ol-..."
The words die on her tongue when
she sees the guest turning around,
standing up from her seat.
"Hi," greets Tiffany with the biggest
smile on her face, "Partner."
