"Can we beg for a yummy home-cooked dinner at your house later, Noona?" Jongin grinned at the woman sitting across the narrow aisle.
"Under the circumstances, I don't think we'll even have time to go to my house," answered Taeyeon. "Some other time, okay? I'm sure my mother would love to meet you guys."
Jongin sighed then leaned back in his seat, talking to Chanyeol.
"Does your mother know about Fany?" Sooyoung asked in a low voice.
"She knows I'm seeing someone," answered Taeyeon. "But I haven't told her who exactly."
Taeyeon's family already knew about her daughter's change of preference after the shock of losing him. They didn't exactly like it at first but since they knew how tough it was for their daughter, they had grown to accept it over the years. But Taeyeon never told her parents who she was dating. She also never took the time to introduce any of her exes to her parents. She didn't deem it necessary.
"Are you going to tell her?" Yuri asked.
Taeyeon nodded without hesitation. "I've been thinking about introducing Fany to them."
"Really?" Sooyoung was beyond surprised. "Introducing as in really letting her meet your parents? In-person? Physically? Face to face? Right there in the same room?"
"Yes." Taeyeon looked at her wide-eyed friend. "What? Is that so crazy?"
"No, but..." Sooyoung didn't know what to say.
"But you've never introduced anyone to them since... you know," Yuri helped Sooyoung out. "And you two haven't even been together for a year yet. It's very mindboggling to see what this Hwang Tiffany has managed to do to you. In a good way, of course."
Taeyeon knew what Yuri meant. She suddenly felt like smiling – like a giddy schoolgirl who was reminded of her gorgeous crush. She turned her head towards the window, hoping that she could hide her face. "Fany's different."
"I can see that," Sooyoung said with a smile. She exhaled in relief. "And I'm glad to see that." She crossed her arms and leaned back while exchanging knowing looks and grins with Yuri.
Taeyeon kept staring out the window. Her mind was tired from thinking about the case and the children so she decided to dwell a little bit longer in thoughts about Tiffany. She didn't even realize that she was smiling until the train went under an overpass and in that few seconds of darkness, she saw her silly reflection on the window. She quickly got rid of the smile before any of her friends could notice it.
It took them a little over two hours to reach Jeonju.
"I hope that we've somehow arrived here earlier than them," Jongin said as he stepped out of the train, stretching his stiff muscles.
"I hope so too. By car, it would take them more than three hours to get here. And that's assuming that there's no traffic jam," replied Taeyeon.
