Hesitation

6

They’re both quite good at pretending nothing happened. Taeyeon does notice herself being a little more touchy-feely with Tiffany, and makes an effort to curb that. It’s three weeks later when Tiffany’s father insists that she invite Taeyeon over for dinner again. He plans to make kimchi and bulgogi for old times’ sake and would love to hear Taeyeon’s review of his cooking. Taeyeon, naturally, says yes right away.

She’s already soaked by the storm raging outside when she arrives, and Tiffany fusses over her with a towel and a mug of hot tea. Mr Hwang is slaving away in the kitchen, apparently making a bit of a mess as he strives to achieve his goals, as Tiffany chattily informs Taeyeon while finishing off the task of drying her.

Taeyeon couldn’t care less what Mr Hwang is up to in the kitchen, because Tiffany is going quite slowly with the fabric of the towel over the skin of her neck. She sets the mug of tea on the coffee table next to Tiffany, who’s perched on the edge of it so she can face Taeyeon while she dries her off. Taeyeon’s hands gravitate smoothly to Tiffany’s lower back.

Tiffany only bites her bottom lip briefly at the contact before ignoring it. But Taeyeon is persistent. She moves Tiffany closer by her hips, causing their legs to fit together like puzzle pieces, her knee brushing against the inside of Tiffany’s thighs and Tiffany’s knee doing the same to her.

“Taeyeon,” Tiffany hisses, moving the towel away and glaring at her. “What the hell are you doing?!”

Taeyeon blinks. It’s the first time she sees Tiffany so mad. But her hands aren’t put off, and she runs her fingers over Tiffany’s thighs and back again to settle lower than their original position.

“Taeyeon, what are you -” Tiffany pulls Taeyeon’s hands away and pushes at her shoulders to create distance. “Other than the fact that we’re not supposed to do that anymore,” she hisses at the girl, “my father is right in the next room! Did you become some stupid hormonal pubescent boy, huh? Can’t you keep your hands to yourself?!”

Taeyeon stares at her blankly. Tiffany swears at her in Korean and storms out of the room.

Mr Hwang notices nothing different between his daughter and her friend as they all eat together later, and this is because nothing is different. Tiffany has gone back to normal, though Taeyeon is sure there’s something maybe a bit lighter in the way she touches her, and the dinner goes on like anything else.

The rain is still almost dangerously heavy outside when it’s time for Taeyeon to leave, so this time when Mr Hwang insists she must stay the night, she agrees. He leaves Tiffany to help her out, reminding her of where the spare bedding and futon is since they don’t have a guest room, and wishes them a goodnight.

The lights in Tiffany’s room are dark for less than an hour before Taeyeon lifts Tiffany’s blanket and slips into bed with her.

Tiffany sighs resignedly. “You really are like a teenage boy, huh?”

Taeyeon’s hands run along the curves of Tiffany’s body slowly before she rests her arms around Tiffany’s waist and presses against her back. “It’s okay, sleep. I’m not after sex.”

Tiffany sighs again. “I can’t believe you even just said that. What are we doing, Taeyeon? We used to be strangers, then friends, now we’re like this.”

Taeyeon nuzzles her face into the crook of Tiffany’s neck from behind and places a soft kiss there. “Shh. Don’t think about it yet. Sleep. I’m here.”

Tiffany closes her eyes and they drift into sleep together while the storm rages on outside the window.

When Tiffany wakes up, she finds Taeyeon staring at her. She huffs, annoyed, and wiggles her body as she pushes Taeyeon away with one hand.