Dating 801
A/N: Wrote this almost two weeks ago because Stephan unnir gave me the 'random fluff' challenge, which was to write something and finish it within one day (or something like that). I surprisingly managed to come up with something kind of decent and pretty long, but was lazy to post it then, so here it is. YAY :>
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Taeyeon was particularly intelligent, having graduated the top of her university and even now, working as one of the researchers at a nationally recognised science facility. All her life, she focused on understanding theories, writing good reports and acing her papers.
Her life revolved heavily on her academic performances, barely leaving any time at all for anything else. It was worth it to her, because she actually loved what she did and she made her family proud. She managed to find a spot in their legacy which consisted of generations of professors, doctors, entrepreneurs and alike throughout the family tree. They expected big things from her and they weren’t disappointed. They were proud of her, but recently, it seemed like they were expecting even more from her but this time, in an area she was completely foreign to.
“Are you seeing someone yet?”
“Still single, Taeyeon?”
“Your cousins are getting engaged, when will it be your turn?”
Taeyeon was smart, but she hadn’t had any experience in love or anything related to it. She had always declined potential suitors throughout her life, knowing she wouldn't have time for it nor was it a good time to have one. She wasn’t and hadn’t been looking, because all she wanted was to do well in school and achieved it, fairly easily too. She barely even had friends, only one that stuck since the first year of university.
Now at the age where she should be thinking of settling down and finally looking for a progression in her personal life, she sat in the fairly small library next to the facility during lunch time every chance she gets for the past 2 weeks, flipping through several self-help books about dating and courting. Someone had finally caught her attention, making her feel the flutters of attraction for the very first time. She had finally felt the yearning for something - anything - and for once, she was clueless on what to do. She wasn’t that stupid, of course, thankfully, but out of pure habit, a little research didn’t seem completely worthless. She had even started on reading romance novels before bed, because maybe they had something useful in there, something that could help her inexperienced heart. Maybe, she thought, they could give her a little insight on what she was actually getting herself into.
She wouldn’t say it had all been redundant and a waste of time, but yet, now buried behind a stack of dating and love related books, she had to admit that it wasn’t completely useful either because unlike science, people were highly more variable. A theory might or might not work, depending on other variables like the place, the way it was carried out and even the parties involved. It had a lot more variables than it had constants, and it was scary. It was like carrying out an experiment, almost blindly, and Taeyeon wasn’t sure what was the safest, fool-proof way; she wasn't even sure of the standard procedures.
'Can I borrow your library card?
[Why?]
Cause I’m checking you out.'
She visibly grimaced, closing the book on popular pick-up lines after only the 4th one on the first page, and putting it aside. She doubted any of those would work on the person she was attracted to and sighed, looking over to counter right across from her table. Even from behind her makeshift fort of dating tips, cheesy pick up lines and sappy love poems, she had a clear view of the main reason for her helplessness.
Sitting upright behind the counter by the library entrance was a girl typing behind a desktop, hair tied up in a bun, her bangs neatly framing her gentle features, dressed in what Taeyeon had assumed to be the dressing code of a creaseless white button up shirt and a black pencil skirt. Taeyeon lets herself stare for a moment before drifting to the name plate on the wall behind her.
Librarian in-charge: Tiffany Hwang
She had doubted it was her name at first, since there were a few others working there but she had by chance heard another girl call her that and remembered being secretly grateful she decided to drop by that day. Tiffany, she smiled unconsciously. Pick up lines surely wouldn't work on someone like her.
Taeyeon had retreated to the library for a change two weeks ago, stepping into it for the first time in a whole year of her working in the facility. Their facility had their own library, thus, she never really visited the one next to it and judging by how empty it was, she doubted many knew of its existence in the first place. She had been browsing the shelves and briefly met the eyes of the most beautiful girl she had ever seen as Tiffany was walking back to her counter. She looked so beautiful, all sophisticated and smart with a confident poise aura surrounding her that made it hard for Taeyeon to tear her eyes away. She remembered surprising herself as she was literally checking her out when the girl walked past gracefully, leaving a soft scent of vanilla behind her.
Taeyeon had been inexperienced with dating, and never really knew that she could even be interested in another girl but she definitely knew attraction when she felt it.
Granted, this wasn’t exactly what her family had meant when they told her to start looking for someone but she figured, she had been doing everything to make them proud; she had done it all with them as her priority, herself only coming in second, and this time, she was determined of choosing her own to love just like she did her course of study when her family had wanted her to take business instead.
They had to give it to her at least that, they had to at least let her choose who to love, regardless of background, career or in this case, gender. Thankfully, she did have a cousin who was gay. He came out to the family at a gathering, his hand holding his partner's, and although it wasn’t exactly what the elders of the family had wanted, they hadn’t treated him any differently nor were they unfriendly to his boyfriend. She was proud of them for that, and hoped that this time, they would accept it too.
Her phone vibrated and she looked away, checking the text she received from her best friend since university, who was also currently her colleague.
"I tried asking around and scored. She’s just a year younger, single, available and supposedly rather open-minded, says Bora from clinical testing department. They’re friends, apparently. You’re welcome.”
She read the text, feeling her heart increase its pace and her thoughts going into a frenzied state. Another text came in.
“Go for it.”
Her fingers nimbly typed a reply and she only managed to realise how dumb she sounded after she had sent it.
“What do I do?”
She frowned at her own question. She could see her best friend was still online and anxiously waited for a reply. It might be a dumb question, but she couldn’t help hoping the other girl actually had an answer. It didn’t take long for a response.
“Don’t be stupid, Taeyeon. Just be you.”
Well, that wasn’t helpful at all. She sighed, opting to put all the books away when she noticed her lunch time would be ending soon and she should probably grab a sandwich before going back to work. She tidied the table and placed the books on the return trolley, all the while still thinking what she should do. Tiffany was surrounded by books. How do you ask out someone who probably had read a lot of romantic novels and probably had a certain standard or idea of romance? How can she meet them when she was completely new to attraction in the first place? Funny, she never had worries quite of this extend when she had her thesis due or even when she had to write up a full report to her supervisors.
She was about to leave, but her feet stopped right in front of the counter, facing the doors. She couldn’t possibly leave without saying something right? Maybe say hi? Introduce herself? It’s been two weeks after all and she should prob-
“Is something wrong?”
She jumped at the question and turned to see Tiffany eyeing her curiously. It wasn’t loud. She wasn’t loud at all, but Taeyeon hadn’t expected Tiffany to notice her when the girl had been typing away into the computer.
“Can I borrow a library card?” she all but blurted out and instantly felt her face grow warm. Oh god.
“Oh, why? Did you forget yours?” Tiffany asked politely.
“Uh, cause I’m checking-,” she hesitated, “- you out?” It came out as a question and she mentally buried herself in the ground. Thankfully the library was close to empty, the only other occupants were sitting quite a distance away from them.
It was all quiet again with Tiffany staring at her in surprise before she started laughing softly, muttering, “Well, that’s new.”
“Um, do- can I have a paper and a pen, please?” Taeyeon asked suddenly, feeling embarrassed but glad that Tiffany didn’t seem put off by it.
Tiffany chuckled again, looking very amused, before nodding. She smiled, placing the items on the counter. “Here,” she said before turning back to the desktop, the smile never really leaving her face. “Cute,” Taeyeon heard her mumble and blushed again.
As the typing resumed, she slowly reached out for the pen. Her mind completely blank, she had asked it on impulse, wanting to delay her leave and get herself out of the awkward situation, only to put herself in a different one. She pursed her lips and her best friend’s words repeated in her mind.
“Just be you.”
She sighed, sparing Tiffany a small smile, shaking her head when the latter looked questioningly at her. She looked down again at the blank paper barely bigger than the size of her hand.
She had read of love poems, read of love stories and corny lines, but instead, she picked up the pen and wrote her own words. Shutting down her mind, she let her heart speak instead. She didn’t write much, deciding to get to the point and hope for the best. Please let this work.
'Hi Tiffany,
I'm Taeyeon. I was wondering if I can bring you out for dinner some time?'
She took a deep breath before putting the pen down, rereading the words over and over before timidly sliding it towards the girl, gesturing her to take it when Tiffany looked at her again. She could ask that out loud, of course, but she wasn’t sure she could do it without stuttering, nor did she want anyone to overhear it should they walk in or out. She studied the girl’s expression as she read the words. Time seemed to have stood still because Tiffany hadn’t moved, eyes still staring at the paper and Taeyeon felt her heart pounding hard against her chest, fingers nervously fiddling with each other as she rested her hands on the counter. She felt like she was waiting for the results of her finals in graduate school all over again, or maybe worse than that in a way.
Tiffany’s eyes met hers again, and she shifted uncomfortably under the gaze, fighting the urge to look away. She smiled a little, nervously, hoping to ease the tension and it seemed to work because Tiffany smiled, really brightly, in return and Taeyeon figured even if she were to get turned dow-
“I end at 6pm today, if you want to.”
She froze, gaping. “I- wha- you-,” she spluttered stupidly, making Tiffany laugh again, covering her mouth to stifle the volume.
With a lighthearted smile, Tiffany spoke again between her sniggers. “You don’t want to?”
Coming to her senses, Taeyeon closed her opened mouth, grinning widely. “Tonight’s perfect.”
Tiffany looked at the paper again, smiling a little wider, eyes curving up adorably, before turning back to her and waving it slightly. “I’m keeping this.”
“Go ahead. I-,” she glanced at her watch, suddenly remembering she was on lunch. Her break was ending in 10 minutes, just enough time for her to get back to the facility and to laboratory from there. “I have to go. I’ll come and wait for you here after I’m done at work,” she told her, feeling a little confidence creep back into herself.
“I’ll see you then,” Tiffany replied, beaming, and Taeyeon felt so proud of herself for making the girl smile like that.
She left, walking down the stone steps of the library, mentally counting down the hours to the end of her shift. Her shift ended at 5pm, and she had to wait an hour for Tiffany but was that really an issue when she had a date with a beautiful librarian? She started to worry about where to bring her, but she figured they could decide on that later. She started to worry about what they could talk about or how she should act, and internally started to panic.
She took a deep breath to calm herself. Maybe she’d ask for tips from her best friend, seeing how she chose to listen to the other girl’s one tiny advice instead of any from the books and it worked. Except that one lame pick up line she used, which surprisingly made Tiffany laugh and she considered that a good reaction. She chuckled to herself, cringing. She couldn’t believe she tried to use a silly pick up line like a teenager.
They were both adults, she reminded herself, and she decided she would just be mature about it, and go with her instincts. She wanted to follow her heart on this.
“Just be you,” she said out loud to herself, feeling calmer despite the nervousness of the date she would have later. “Just be you, Taeyeon.”
--
She downed her sandwich and her drink quickly. She was absolutely starving, and for good reason, seeing how she had totally skipped lunch. The sandwich would probably fill her up till she could get some proper dinner. She smiled unconsciously, remembering whom she was having it with. Finishing off her sandwich and drink, she threw the wrapper and bottle into the bin before making her way up the stone steps of the library. Stepping in, the girl behind the counter looked up and instantly smiled. She grinned, silently gesturing that she would be wandering around and received an ‘okay’ sign in return.
Taeyeon only had half an hour left to wait, and to be honest, she didn’t have to sit down and read anymore after deciding to be herself and wing it so she chose to mindlessly browse the shelves of her area of expertise, randomly browsing through books of research related to her work. Time flew passed and the next thing she knew was the library eerily empty and a hand lightly touched her elbow, as if she didn’t want to startle her. Tiffany somehow managed to find her and softly told her, “Let’s go, my colleagues need to close up.”
“I have to go and get my, um, car from the carpark,” Taeyeon said as they walked down the stone steps and gestured to the facility building next to it. “Do you want to wait here or - ?”
“Can I come with you?” Tiffany asked, looking at the building curiously. “You work here?”
“Sure, and yes, I do work here,” she answered, chuckling as she lead the way to the building, flashing her pass to the security guard at the gate. “Just gonna get my car, Jeff. She’ll be with me, we won’t take long. Don’t worry,” she told the old man, having known him since she had started to work there; she had befriended him since that one time she had forgotten her pass. He had always been friendly and kind, greeting everyone with a warm smile, and everyone was fond of him, Taeyeon included.
“No problem, Ms Kim,” Jeff replied, smiling and nodding briefly to Tiffany.
“It’s ‘Taeyeon’, Jeff, seriously,” she called back to him, throwing him a playful scowl, as she continued to walk and heard him laugh.
She glanced at Tiffany and found her smiling at their interactions. They didn’t say anything to each other all the way to the carpark and only when they reached Taeyeon’s car did Tiffany speak up, “Woah, nice ride.”
She laughed, patting the hood of her two-seater convertible proudly. “Thanks, it was my graduation gift.”
“This was your graduation gift?!” Tiffany exclaimed, staring at her incredulously, making Taeyeon laugh even harder.
“Yeah,” she replied shortly, opening the passenger’s door for Tiffany before going over to the driver’s side.
“I think I hit jackpot,” Tiffany said jokingly once they were buckled in, laughing along as Taeyeon chortled loudly. “I’m just kidding,” she added later on, pulling her hair down from the bun and ruffling them loose.
“I know.” She grinned, finding her even more beautiful that way, though she had seen her with her hair down once before. “Do you have any place in mind to eat?”
“Nope,” she replied, still smiling that gorgeous smile of hers. “Surprise me.”
The date went well, even if she had to say so herself. Taeyeon had chosen a ramen diner she had always wanted to try, and Tiffany conveniently happened to love ramen. Conversations flowed easily as they got to know each other. Tiffany was surprisingly easy to talk to, making Taeyeon feel at ease quickly. They made each other laugh and Taeyeon hadn’t met anyone that easy to talk to before.
Before she knew it, two hours passed without a glitch, except for the part Tiffany had argued about Taeyeon paying for her meal. Of course, Taeyeon had argued back that the deal was her bringing Tiffany for dinner, hence, she wanted to pay for it. She won the debate in the end, and Tiffany made it clear that she was determined to pay for the next meal.
Taeyeon couldn’t stop grinning at the insinuation of a second date ever since as she drove Tiffany to her place.
“Why are you smiling goofily like that?”
She grinned wider, glancing at Tiffany who was blatantly staring at her. “Did you have a good time tonight?” she asked, directing her attention back to the road.
“I had a great time. I mean, with an extremely cute, smart, girl who makes me laugh, opens the car door for me, and she’s loaded; how could I not have fun?” Tiffany boasted in fake arrogance.
She laughed at that; she had indeed been laughing a lot that night, and she liked it that Tiffany could make her laugh easily, too. She knew Tiffany was just kidding about her being ‘loaded’, mainly due to their conversations earlier; she had picked up that the girl was nowhere near materialistic and was extremely down to earth. If she had been attracted to Tiffany before, she was even more so now.
“Good, so, there’s a chance of another dinner?” she asked, not wanting to beat around the bush.
“Definitely,” Tiffany answered before adding sternly, “I’m paying next time.”
“Okay,” she replied, sparing the grinning girl another smile. Maybe dating wouldn’t be so bad, after all.
====================
Dating sucks.
She huffed to herself at the childish thought, ignoring the girl in the passenger seat who was trying to get her to talk since they met up 10 minutes ago. They have been dating for two months now, regularly meeting up for dinner after work, and occasionally having dates during the weekends. Recently, she had taken it upon herself to drive Tiffany home since it was on the way to her own place too - even though she probably still would have wanted to do so if it wasn’t along the way.
For the past couple of weeks, Taeyeon had been considering on taking their status to another level where she could safely say that they were in an exclusive relationship but didn’t know how to. She wasn’t even sure if she was the one who was supposed to initiate that step or if the ball was in Tiffany’s court now since she had been the one who asked the girl out in the first place.
Her best friend had called her stupid, again, for overthinking everything. “Taeyeon, for goodness sake, this isn’t rocket science,” she had said, not forgetting to roll her eyes. Again, the girl was advising her without actually giving a proper advice.
She was planning on talking about it with Tiffany that night, until she saw a guy trying to hit on her girl while the latter was at her usual post behind the counter, working. Well, at least she was supposed to be working instead of entertaining the jerk. She could tell, even from a mile away, that he was totally flirting just purely from his posture.
Tiffany had once joked, saying how Taeyeon wasn’t the first to try and ask her out and that Taeyeon was by far the cutest attempt, but Taeyeon hadn’t actually realised back then, that she might not have been the last to attempt that. For an excruciating remaining 5 minutes or so, she watched as Tiffany entertained the guy before seemingly politely declining his advances. Although she had been relieved, it didn’t stop her from getting annoyed that Tiffany hadn’t just turned him down straight away. She tapped on her steering wheel impatiently, thinking about what a bad time it was to be stuck in traffic.
“Wow.” She heard Tiffany say after another 5 minutes of silence. She glanced over at the girl despite herself and looked away again when she saw Tiffany’s small smile and warm gaze. “I never really thought I’d see you get jealous like this.”
She refused to reply, keeping her eyes at the stationary car in front of her.
“You know, if you keep ignoring me like this, I can just take the subway.”
It was only when Tiffany made a move to unbuckle her seatbelt that Taeyeon sighed, turning to meet her eyes and putting her hand on Tiffany’s to stop her. She shook her head, not wanting Tiffany to leave at all.
“Are you upset?” Tiffany asked instead. “I’d apologise for it but I turned him down so I’m not quite sure wha-”
“You’d be upset too,” Taeyeon retorted grumpily, frowning at her.
She raised her eyebrows. “At what exactly?”
She looked at her in disbelief. “Maybe not. Forget it,” she replied in the end, not wanting to get into an argument.
She knew she was being childish by not wanting to talk it out, but she was still bitter and she was pretty sure she might make the situation worse by throwing a fit over it. It was quiet for a while and the traffic was starting to move a little. She was calmer but still unwilling to talk to the girl she knew had been watching her.
“Okay, I’m sorry,” Tiffany said softly in the end, her hand reaching out to rub Taeyeon’s forearm soothingly. “I guess, yeah, I’d be pretty upset too. Sorry.”
She sighed heavily, feeling any remains of her sour mood leave her. She met the worried girl’s eyes and gave her a small smile, patting the hand on her arm. “Sorry for getting that upset.” She had to apologise too; she did technically throw a tantrum at the poor girl, who did actually turn down the guy.
Tiffany smiled. “It’s okay, you were kind of cute for a while,” she admitted, making Taeyeon laugh. The atmosphere was lifted up instantly. “You don’t really need to worry, you know. I’ve been telling them I’m taken.”
The cars moved again, and she closed the gap before stopping again. “You have?”
“Well, yeah. I am dating you and we’re not actually seeing anyone else, right? I’ve been thinking and- wow, I didn’t expect to be talking about this like this, but I guess it doesn’t really matter,” she rambled, and Taeyeon had to smile at that. It was a quirk that Tiffany had when she gets nervous, which didn’t happen that often. “- but I wanted to ask you if you’re ready for us to be serious,” she continued, biting her lower lip.
“Are you asking me to be your girlfriend, Tiffany?” She was totally milking this moment for all its worth, holding back her laughter when her question made the girl flustered.
“I- I guess so? Yes?” She looked so adorable when she was nervous that it finally made Taeyeon chuckle, grinning widely.
“I don’t know about you, but I’ve always been serious about us,” she told her, making the girl smile shyly. “But sure, I guess I can be your girlfriend,” she all but nonchalantly replied, waving a hand mindlessly.
Tiffany shoved her shoulder playfully, making her chuckle once more as she began driving again when the traffic finally started to move at a constant speed before eventually clearing up.
She wasn’t experienced in dating, let alone in relationships. She had told Tiffany that on their third date and since Tiffany hadn’t had that much experience either - only having gone on dates a few times, a fling that didn’t last and one serious relationship- they had chosen to always be honest with each other because of that, opting to be mature and more open-minded about everything. Their new relationship status reminded her that and she began to worry again, knowing that it would take a whole lot more commitment than when they were merely going out. She might make mistakes along the way, and she could only hope it wouldn’t ruin them in any way.
“Be patient with me, okay?” she reminded her once they had reached Tiffany’s place, holding the latter’s hand before she got out of the car.
Tiffany smiled, and Taeyeon couldn’t help but smile along when the girl gently cupped her face. Closing her eyes, she lets her kiss her, feeling her heart beat erratically against her chest. She lets Tiffany kiss her slowly, indulging fully on the feelings the girl never failed to deliver every time.
They had kissed only a few times before; the first time would always be memorable, because it had been Taeyeon’s first kiss. It was shy and clumsy, and Tiffany had laughed but Taeyeon didn’t mind because when Tiffany captured her lips again as an apology, it had been all worth the embarassment.
She hadn’t kissed a lot before, didn’t have anything or anyone to compare it to, but she wondered if all kisses would make her feel like she was special, like she was the only thing that mattered in the world. She wondered that often, how kissing another person would differ from Tiffany, but then she decided, she didn’t really want to know because she wouldn’t want to kiss anyone but her. Now that they were official, she knew she could definitely get used to that; she could get used to having Tiffany’s lips against hers whenever she wanted and she liked the idea of that, a lot.
Leaning their foreheads together, Taeyeon nudges her nose against her cheek, laughing softly through her nose as Tiffany kept peppering her lips with light pecks. She was falling so hard for her, and she wondered if the girl had any idea at all what she could do to her. She hadn’t remembered anyone having the power to make her happier than the past couple of months with Tiffany.
“We’ll be fine,” Tiffany whispered against her lips and Taeyeon believed her, knowing they were both going to give their best for each other. “We’ll be alright.”
*****
Have a good weekend. :)
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Taeyeon was particularly intelligent, having graduated the top of her university and even now, working as one of the researchers at a nationally recognised science facility. All her life, she focused on understanding theories, writing good reports and acing her papers.
Her life revolved heavily on her academic performances, barely leaving any time at all for anything else. It was worth it to her, because she actually loved what she did and she made her family proud. She managed to find a spot in their legacy which consisted of generations of professors, doctors, entrepreneurs and alike throughout the family tree. They expected big things from her and they weren’t disappointed. They were proud of her, but recently, it seemed like they were expecting even more from her but this time, in an area she was completely foreign to.
“Are you seeing someone yet?”
“Still single, Taeyeon?”
“Your cousins are getting engaged, when will it be your turn?”
Taeyeon was smart, but she hadn’t had any experience in love or anything related to it. She had always declined potential suitors throughout her life, knowing she wouldn't have time for it nor was it a good time to have one. She wasn’t and hadn’t been looking, because all she wanted was to do well in school and achieved it, fairly easily too. She barely even had friends, only one that stuck since the first year of university.
Now at the age where she should be thinking of settling down and finally looking for a progression in her personal life, she sat in the fairly small library next to the facility during lunch time every chance she gets for the past 2 weeks, flipping through several self-help books about dating and courting. Someone had finally caught her attention, making her feel the flutters of attraction for the very first time. She had finally felt the yearning for something - anything - and for once, she was clueless on what to do. She wasn’t that stupid, of course, thankfully, but out of pure habit, a little research didn’t seem completely worthless. She had even started on reading romance novels before bed, because maybe they had something useful in there, something that could help her inexperienced heart. Maybe, she thought, they could give her a little insight on what she was actually getting herself into.
She wouldn’t say it had all been redundant and a waste of time, but yet, now buried behind a stack of dating and love related books, she had to admit that it wasn’t completely useful either because unlike science, people were highly more variable. A theory might or might not work, depending on other variables like the place, the way it was carried out and even the parties involved. It had a lot more variables than it had constants, and it was scary. It was like carrying out an experiment, almost blindly, and Taeyeon wasn’t sure what was the safest, fool-proof way; she wasn't even sure of the standard procedures.
'Can I borrow your library card?
[Why?]
Cause I’m checking you out.'
She visibly grimaced, closing the book on popular pick-up lines after only the 4th one on the first page, and putting it aside. She doubted any of those would work on the person she was attracted to and sighed, looking over to counter right across from her table. Even from behind her makeshift fort of dating tips, cheesy pick up lines and sappy love poems, she had a clear view of the main reason for her helplessness.
Sitting upright behind the counter by the library entrance was a girl typing behind a desktop, hair tied up in a bun, her bangs neatly framing her gentle features, dressed in what Taeyeon had assumed to be the dressing code of a creaseless white button up shirt and a black pencil skirt. Taeyeon lets herself stare for a moment before drifting to the name plate on the wall behind her.
Librarian in-charge: Tiffany Hwang
She had doubted it was her name at first, since there were a few others working there but she had by chance heard another girl call her that and remembered being secretly grateful she decided to drop by that day. Tiffany, she smiled unconsciously. Pick up lines surely wouldn't work on someone like her.
Taeyeon had retreated to the library for a change two weeks ago, stepping into it for the first time in a whole year of her working in the facility. Their facility had their own library, thus, she never really visited the one next to it and judging by how empty it was, she doubted many knew of its existence in the first place. She had been browsing the shelves and briefly met the eyes of the most beautiful girl she had ever seen as Tiffany was walking back to her counter. She looked so beautiful, all sophisticated and smart with a confident poise aura surrounding her that made it hard for Taeyeon to tear her eyes away. She remembered surprising herself as she was literally checking her out when the girl walked past gracefully, leaving a soft scent of vanilla behind her.
Taeyeon had been inexperienced with dating, and never really knew that she could even be interested in another girl but she definitely knew attraction when she felt it.
Granted, this wasn’t exactly what her family had meant when they told her to start looking for someone but she figured, she had been doing everything to make them proud; she had done it all with them as her priority, herself only coming in second, and this time, she was determined of choosing her own to love just like she did her course of study when her family had wanted her to take business instead.
They had to give it to her at least that, they had to at least let her choose who to love, regardless of background, career or in this case, gender. Thankfully, she did have a cousin who was gay. He came out to the family at a gathering, his hand holding his partner's, and although it wasn’t exactly what the elders of the family had wanted, they hadn’t treated him any differently nor were they unfriendly to his boyfriend. She was proud of them for that, and hoped that this time, they would accept it too.
Her phone vibrated and she looked away, checking the text she received from her best friend since university, who was also currently her colleague.
"I tried asking around and scored. She’s just a year younger, single, available and supposedly rather open-minded, says Bora from clinical testing department. They’re friends, apparently. You’re welcome.”
She read the text, feeling her heart increase its pace and her thoughts going into a frenzied state. Another text came in.
“Go for it.”
Her fingers nimbly typed a reply and she only managed to realise how dumb she sounded after she had sent it.
“What do I do?”
She frowned at her own question. She could see her best friend was still online and anxiously waited for a reply. It might be a dumb question, but she couldn’t help hoping the other girl actually had an answer. It didn’t take long for a response.
“Don’t be stupid, Taeyeon. Just be you.”
Well, that wasn’t helpful at all. She sighed, opting to put all the books away when she noticed her lunch time would be ending soon and she should probably grab a sandwich before going back to work. She tidied the table and placed the books on the return trolley, all the while still thinking what she should do. Tiffany was surrounded by books. How do you ask out someone who probably had read a lot of romantic novels and probably had a certain standard or idea of romance? How can she meet them when she was completely new to attraction in the first place? Funny, she never had worries quite of this extend when she had her thesis due or even when she had to write up a full report to her supervisors.
She was about to leave, but her feet stopped right in front of the counter, facing the doors. She couldn’t possibly leave without saying something right? Maybe say hi? Introduce herself? It’s been two weeks after all and she should prob-
“Is something wrong?”
She jumped at the question and turned to see Tiffany eyeing her curiously. It wasn’t loud. She wasn’t loud at all, but Taeyeon hadn’t expected Tiffany to notice her when the girl had been typing away into the computer.
“Can I borrow a library card?” she all but blurted out and instantly felt her face grow warm. Oh god.
“Oh, why? Did you forget yours?” Tiffany asked politely.
“Uh, cause I’m checking-,” she hesitated, “- you out?” It came out as a question and she mentally buried herself in the ground. Thankfully the library was close to empty, the only other occupants were sitting quite a distance away from them.
It was all quiet again with Tiffany staring at her in surprise before she started laughing softly, muttering, “Well, that’s new.”
“Um, do- can I have a paper and a pen, please?” Taeyeon asked suddenly, feeling embarrassed but glad that Tiffany didn’t seem put off by it.
Tiffany chuckled again, looking very amused, before nodding. She smiled, placing the items on the counter. “Here,” she said before turning back to the desktop, the smile never really leaving her face. “Cute,” Taeyeon heard her mumble and blushed again.
As the typing resumed, she slowly reached out for the pen. Her mind completely blank, she had asked it on impulse, wanting to delay her leave and get herself out of the awkward situation, only to put herself in a different one. She pursed her lips and her best friend’s words repeated in her mind.
“Just be you.”
She sighed, sparing Tiffany a small smile, shaking her head when the latter looked questioningly at her. She looked down again at the blank paper barely bigger than the size of her hand.
She had read of love poems, read of love stories and corny lines, but instead, she picked up the pen and wrote her own words. Shutting down her mind, she let her heart speak instead. She didn’t write much, deciding to get to the point and hope for the best. Please let this work.
'Hi Tiffany,
I'm Taeyeon. I was wondering if I can bring you out for dinner some time?'
She took a deep breath before putting the pen down, rereading the words over and over before timidly sliding it towards the girl, gesturing her to take it when Tiffany looked at her again. She could ask that out loud, of course, but she wasn’t sure she could do it without stuttering, nor did she want anyone to overhear it should they walk in or out. She studied the girl’s expression as she read the words. Time seemed to have stood still because Tiffany hadn’t moved, eyes still staring at the paper and Taeyeon felt her heart pounding hard against her chest, fingers nervously fiddling with each other as she rested her hands on the counter. She felt like she was waiting for the results of her finals in graduate school all over again, or maybe worse than that in a way.
Tiffany’s eyes met hers again, and she shifted uncomfortably under the gaze, fighting the urge to look away. She smiled a little, nervously, hoping to ease the tension and it seemed to work because Tiffany smiled, really brightly, in return and Taeyeon figured even if she were to get turned dow-
“I end at 6pm today, if you want to.”
She froze, gaping. “I- wha- you-,” she spluttered stupidly, making Tiffany laugh again, covering her mouth to stifle the volume.
With a lighthearted smile, Tiffany spoke again between her sniggers. “You don’t want to?”
Coming to her senses, Taeyeon closed her opened mouth, grinning widely. “Tonight’s perfect.”
Tiffany looked at the paper again, smiling a little wider, eyes curving up adorably, before turning back to her and waving it slightly. “I’m keeping this.”
“Go ahead. I-,” she glanced at her watch, suddenly remembering she was on lunch. Her break was ending in 10 minutes, just enough time for her to get back to the facility and to laboratory from there. “I have to go. I’ll come and wait for you here after I’m done at work,” she told her, feeling a little confidence creep back into herself.
“I’ll see you then,” Tiffany replied, beaming, and Taeyeon felt so proud of herself for making the girl smile like that.
She left, walking down the stone steps of the library, mentally counting down the hours to the end of her shift. Her shift ended at 5pm, and she had to wait an hour for Tiffany but was that really an issue when she had a date with a beautiful librarian? She started to worry about where to bring her, but she figured they could decide on that later. She started to worry about what they could talk about or how she should act, and internally started to panic.
She took a deep breath to calm herself. Maybe she’d ask for tips from her best friend, seeing how she chose to listen to the other girl’s one tiny advice instead of any from the books and it worked. Except that one lame pick up line she used, which surprisingly made Tiffany laugh and she considered that a good reaction. She chuckled to herself, cringing. She couldn’t believe she tried to use a silly pick up line like a teenager.
They were both adults, she reminded herself, and she decided she would just be mature about it, and go with her instincts. She wanted to follow her heart on this.
“Just be you,” she said out loud to herself, feeling calmer despite the nervousness of the date she would have later. “Just be you, Taeyeon.”
--
She downed her sandwich and her drink quickly. She was absolutely starving, and for good reason, seeing how she had totally skipped lunch. The sandwich would probably fill her up till she could get some proper dinner. She smiled unconsciously, remembering whom she was having it with. Finishing off her sandwich and drink, she threw the wrapper and bottle into the bin before making her way up the stone steps of the library. Stepping in, the girl behind the counter looked up and instantly smiled. She grinned, silently gesturing that she would be wandering around and received an ‘okay’ sign in return.
Taeyeon only had half an hour left to wait, and to be honest, she didn’t have to sit down and read anymore after deciding to be herself and wing it so she chose to mindlessly browse the shelves of her area of expertise, randomly browsing through books of research related to her work. Time flew passed and the next thing she knew was the library eerily empty and a hand lightly touched her elbow, as if she didn’t want to startle her. Tiffany somehow managed to find her and softly told her, “Let’s go, my colleagues need to close up.”
“I have to go and get my, um, car from the carpark,” Taeyeon said as they walked down the stone steps and gestured to the facility building next to it. “Do you want to wait here or - ?”
“Can I come with you?” Tiffany asked, looking at the building curiously. “You work here?”
“Sure, and yes, I do work here,” she answered, chuckling as she lead the way to the building, flashing her pass to the security guard at the gate. “Just gonna get my car, Jeff. She’ll be with me, we won’t take long. Don’t worry,” she told the old man, having known him since she had started to work there; she had befriended him since that one time she had forgotten her pass. He had always been friendly and kind, greeting everyone with a warm smile, and everyone was fond of him, Taeyeon included.
“No problem, Ms Kim,” Jeff replied, smiling and nodding briefly to Tiffany.
“It’s ‘Taeyeon’, Jeff, seriously,” she called back to him, throwing him a playful scowl, as she continued to walk and heard him laugh.
She glanced at Tiffany and found her smiling at their interactions. They didn’t say anything to each other all the way to the carpark and only when they reached Taeyeon’s car did Tiffany speak up, “Woah, nice ride.”
She laughed, patting the hood of her two-seater convertible proudly. “Thanks, it was my graduation gift.”
“This was your graduation gift?!” Tiffany exclaimed, staring at her incredulously, making Taeyeon laugh even harder.
“Yeah,” she replied shortly, opening the passenger’s door for Tiffany before going over to the driver’s side.
“I think I hit jackpot,” Tiffany said jokingly once they were buckled in, laughing along as Taeyeon chortled loudly. “I’m just kidding,” she added later on, pulling her hair down from the bun and ruffling them loose.
“I know.” She grinned, finding her even more beautiful that way, though she had seen her with her hair down once before. “Do you have any place in mind to eat?”
“Nope,” she replied, still smiling that gorgeous smile of hers. “Surprise me.”
The date went well, even if she had to say so herself. Taeyeon had chosen a ramen diner she had always wanted to try, and Tiffany conveniently happened to love ramen. Conversations flowed easily as they got to know each other. Tiffany was surprisingly easy to talk to, making Taeyeon feel at ease quickly. They made each other laugh and Taeyeon hadn’t met anyone that easy to talk to before.
Before she knew it, two hours passed without a glitch, except for the part Tiffany had argued about Taeyeon paying for her meal. Of course, Taeyeon had argued back that the deal was her bringing Tiffany for dinner, hence, she wanted to pay for it. She won the debate in the end, and Tiffany made it clear that she was determined to pay for the next meal.
Taeyeon couldn’t stop grinning at the insinuation of a second date ever since as she drove Tiffany to her place.
“Why are you smiling goofily like that?”
She grinned wider, glancing at Tiffany who was blatantly staring at her. “Did you have a good time tonight?” she asked, directing her attention back to the road.
“I had a great time. I mean, with an extremely cute, smart, girl who makes me laugh, opens the car door for me, and she’s loaded; how could I not have fun?” Tiffany boasted in fake arrogance.
She laughed at that; she had indeed been laughing a lot that night, and she liked it that Tiffany could make her laugh easily, too. She knew Tiffany was just kidding about her being ‘loaded’, mainly due to their conversations earlier; she had picked up that the girl was nowhere near materialistic and was extremely down to earth. If she had been attracted to Tiffany before, she was even more so now.
“Good, so, there’s a chance of another dinner?” she asked, not wanting to beat around the bush.
“Definitely,” Tiffany answered before adding sternly, “I’m paying next time.”
“Okay,” she replied, sparing the grinning girl another smile. Maybe dating wouldn’t be so bad, after all.
====================
Dating sucks.
She huffed to herself at the childish thought, ignoring the girl in the passenger seat who was trying to get her to talk since they met up 10 minutes ago. They have been dating for two months now, regularly meeting up for dinner after work, and occasionally having dates during the weekends. Recently, she had taken it upon herself to drive Tiffany home since it was on the way to her own place too - even though she probably still would have wanted to do so if it wasn’t along the way.
For the past couple of weeks, Taeyeon had been considering on taking their status to another level where she could safely say that they were in an exclusive relationship but didn’t know how to. She wasn’t even sure if she was the one who was supposed to initiate that step or if the ball was in Tiffany’s court now since she had been the one who asked the girl out in the first place.
Her best friend had called her stupid, again, for overthinking everything. “Taeyeon, for goodness sake, this isn’t rocket science,” she had said, not forgetting to roll her eyes. Again, the girl was advising her without actually giving a proper advice.
She was planning on talking about it with Tiffany that night, until she saw a guy trying to hit on her girl while the latter was at her usual post behind the counter, working. Well, at least she was supposed to be working instead of entertaining the jerk. She could tell, even from a mile away, that he was totally flirting just purely from his posture.
Tiffany had once joked, saying how Taeyeon wasn’t the first to try and ask her out and that Taeyeon was by far the cutest attempt, but Taeyeon hadn’t actually realised back then, that she might not have been the last to attempt that. For an excruciating remaining 5 minutes or so, she watched as Tiffany entertained the guy before seemingly politely declining his advances. Although she had been relieved, it didn’t stop her from getting annoyed that Tiffany hadn’t just turned him down straight away. She tapped on her steering wheel impatiently, thinking about what a bad time it was to be stuck in traffic.
“Wow.” She heard Tiffany say after another 5 minutes of silence. She glanced over at the girl despite herself and looked away again when she saw Tiffany’s small smile and warm gaze. “I never really thought I’d see you get jealous like this.”
She refused to reply, keeping her eyes at the stationary car in front of her.
“You know, if you keep ignoring me like this, I can just take the subway.”
It was only when Tiffany made a move to unbuckle her seatbelt that Taeyeon sighed, turning to meet her eyes and putting her hand on Tiffany’s to stop her. She shook her head, not wanting Tiffany to leave at all.
“Are you upset?” Tiffany asked instead. “I’d apologise for it but I turned him down so I’m not quite sure wha-”
“You’d be upset too,” Taeyeon retorted grumpily, frowning at her.
She raised her eyebrows. “At what exactly?”
She looked at her in disbelief. “Maybe not. Forget it,” she replied in the end, not wanting to get into an argument.
She knew she was being childish by not wanting to talk it out, but she was still bitter and she was pretty sure she might make the situation worse by throwing a fit over it. It was quiet for a while and the traffic was starting to move a little. She was calmer but still unwilling to talk to the girl she knew had been watching her.
“Okay, I’m sorry,” Tiffany said softly in the end, her hand reaching out to rub Taeyeon’s forearm soothingly. “I guess, yeah, I’d be pretty upset too. Sorry.”
She sighed heavily, feeling any remains of her sour mood leave her. She met the worried girl’s eyes and gave her a small smile, patting the hand on her arm. “Sorry for getting that upset.” She had to apologise too; she did technically throw a tantrum at the poor girl, who did actually turn down the guy.
Tiffany smiled. “It’s okay, you were kind of cute for a while,” she admitted, making Taeyeon laugh. The atmosphere was lifted up instantly. “You don’t really need to worry, you know. I’ve been telling them I’m taken.”
The cars moved again, and she closed the gap before stopping again. “You have?”
“Well, yeah. I am dating you and we’re not actually seeing anyone else, right? I’ve been thinking and- wow, I didn’t expect to be talking about this like this, but I guess it doesn’t really matter,” she rambled, and Taeyeon had to smile at that. It was a quirk that Tiffany had when she gets nervous, which didn’t happen that often. “- but I wanted to ask you if you’re ready for us to be serious,” she continued, biting her lower lip.
“Are you asking me to be your girlfriend, Tiffany?” She was totally milking this moment for all its worth, holding back her laughter when her question made the girl flustered.
“I- I guess so? Yes?” She looked so adorable when she was nervous that it finally made Taeyeon chuckle, grinning widely.
“I don’t know about you, but I’ve always been serious about us,” she told her, making the girl smile shyly. “But sure, I guess I can be your girlfriend,” she all but nonchalantly replied, waving a hand mindlessly.
Tiffany shoved her shoulder playfully, making her chuckle once more as she began driving again when the traffic finally started to move at a constant speed before eventually clearing up.
She wasn’t experienced in dating, let alone in relationships. She had told Tiffany that on their third date and since Tiffany hadn’t had that much experience either - only having gone on dates a few times, a fling that didn’t last and one serious relationship- they had chosen to always be honest with each other because of that, opting to be mature and more open-minded about everything. Their new relationship status reminded her that and she began to worry again, knowing that it would take a whole lot more commitment than when they were merely going out. She might make mistakes along the way, and she could only hope it wouldn’t ruin them in any way.
“Be patient with me, okay?” she reminded her once they had reached Tiffany’s place, holding the latter’s hand before she got out of the car.
Tiffany smiled, and Taeyeon couldn’t help but smile along when the girl gently cupped her face. Closing her eyes, she lets her kiss her, feeling her heart beat erratically against her chest. She lets Tiffany kiss her slowly, indulging fully on the feelings the girl never failed to deliver every time.
They had kissed only a few times before; the first time would always be memorable, because it had been Taeyeon’s first kiss. It was shy and clumsy, and Tiffany had laughed but Taeyeon didn’t mind because when Tiffany captured her lips again as an apology, it had been all worth the embarassment.
She hadn’t kissed a lot before, didn’t have anything or anyone to compare it to, but she wondered if all kisses would make her feel like she was special, like she was the only thing that mattered in the world. She wondered that often, how kissing another person would differ from Tiffany, but then she decided, she didn’t really want to know because she wouldn’t want to kiss anyone but her. Now that they were official, she knew she could definitely get used to that; she could get used to having Tiffany’s lips against hers whenever she wanted and she liked the idea of that, a lot.
Leaning their foreheads together, Taeyeon nudges her nose against her cheek, laughing softly through her nose as Tiffany kept peppering her lips with light pecks. She was falling so hard for her, and she wondered if the girl had any idea at all what she could do to her. She hadn’t remembered anyone having the power to make her happier than the past couple of months with Tiffany.
“We’ll be fine,” Tiffany whispered against her lips and Taeyeon believed her, knowing they were both going to give their best for each other. “We’ll be alright.”
*****
Have a good weekend. :)