While the topic of Taeyeon's departure is no longer discussed, they decide to try telling Tiffany's father again. It's two days before he leaves on his business trip, and Tiffany opens the door for Taeyeon when she arrives. They smile slightly at each other as Taeyeon removes her shoes and Tiffany takes her hand to lead her to the living room.
Mr Hwang looks up in surprise before greeting her warmly. "Hello, Taeyeon! Came back for more of my wonderful cooking?"
Taeyeon grins. "Your food is perfect, Mr Hwang, especially when I'm feeling homesick. It's like being back in Korea again."
Her words make him chuckle. "You're good at flattering your elders, Taeyeon. Oh, I assume Tiffany has told you about my business trip?"
Taeyeon blinks, and nods. "Yes, sir."
He eyes their joined hands before continuing. "I know she's upset that I've asked her sister to come look after her, and I've been thinking about her opinions for a while now. She's right; it's unfair of me to ask her sister to come all the way here to look after her. And she is technically an adult now, but I don't feel comfortable leaving her alone in the house. She wants to move into the dorms and that's something we can talk about later, but I've decided on something else while I'm away on this trip."
Taeyeon glances at Tiffany and sees from her confused frown that she was not informed of this.
She meets Mr Hwang's eyes again. "Yes?"
"How about you come and stay here?"
They blink at him in shock.
"She can't go stay with you in your small dorm room, and this way you can have a bit of a break and maybe feel more at home in a real house. What do you think?"
Taeyeon and Tiffany glance at each other briefly, their eyes telling each other all sorts of things, before Taeyeon looks at Mr Hwang and nods.
"That sounds great, Mr Hwang."
They disappear to Tiffany's room soon after and huddle together by the closed door to whisper.
"What do we do now?" Tiffany frets. "If we tell him now and he gets angry, he won't let you stay with me. I really want you to stay with me, Taeyeon..."
Taeyeon holds her hands. "I know. This is a really good opportunity. It's okay; we'll just tell him when he comes back. Okay?"
Tiffany smiles at her and kisses her softly. Then she tugs on her hands to lead her to the bed and they sit down.
"Tell me about your regret, Taeyeon," she says quietly, her eyes sharp and focussed. "That big regret that showed you how dangerous hesitation can be."
Taeyeon takes a deep breath and exhales. She turns her body away from Tiffany, and leans back on her hands. Her face looks up to the ceiling and she ponders for a moment.
"I liked singing. I liked it a lot. It was pretty much all I did during my free time as a kid. I knew early on that it was all I wanted to do in my life. I didn't want to sit in some boring office punching keys on a computer or falling asleep in meetings - I wanted to soar on the wings of my voice. Well, the time came when one of the biggest entertainment companies in Korea sent a scout to a singing competition in my area. Everyone went nuts. This was a chance to turn singing into a career, a life. So I practiced and practiced and fretted about my chances; I knew I had a good voice but it takes more than that to be a professional. And, you know, the fear didn't really set in until I was almost there. With every step I took towards the venue, the thoughts washed over me, wave after wave of doubt and terror. Sure, I wanted to sing as a job, and I wanted it to be my life, but I kept thinking that this wasn't right. Someone would take it from me. If it became my job then I would have a boss and my boss could ruin everything at any moment. I would be taking my greatest love and leaving it in someone else's hands."
