"You have to meet Jessica, Taetae! She's the closest definition of Ice Princess who doesn't have a frozen heart." Tiffany excitedly told me about her new colleague named Jessica. I smiled as I listened to her story today. It had always been our routine for as long as I remembered. We would just sat on a bench in this park, she told me about her day while I just sat beside her with Ginger, my dog on my lap, closing my eyes which covered with a pair of sunglasses as I listened to the melodious voice of hers.

I still remembered our first encounter that day. It was just another boring twenty-four hours of my day. I was on my way back home with Ginger, my cute dog who always accompanied me wherever I went. We reached an intersection and waited for it to change into red so we could cross the road. I did not pay any attention to my surrounding as my mind was filled with unnecessary thoughts. I was deep in my own world when suddenly I felt a tap on my shoulder and a girl's voice talked to me.

"Are you going to cross the road?" The voice brought me back to earth. I was startled and my movement made the sunglasses I put on slid down a bit from my small nose. I immediately fixed it to the right position and I heard a giggle from the same girl.

"So, are you going to cross the road?" She asked again. This time I nodded awkwardly.

"Come on!" She said as I felt a warm hand hold mine and it was being pulled gently to follow her lead. I was sure she could feel how awkward my gesture was and how stiff my limbs were, as she pulled me to cross the road. To my surprise, Ginger did not bark at the girl, he just calmly lead my way to cross the road.

"Thank you." I said as soon as we reached the opposite.

"You're welcome." I heard her smiling voice. "Can you go home alone? Where is your home, little girl?"

I frowned at her remark. I hated to be mistaken as little girl. I was twenty-five and here she was, calling me 'little girl'.

"I am not a little girl. I am twenty-five." I told her.

"Ah, I'm sorry. My bad. We're in the same age then." She apologised for her previous remark. I just nodded as a response to her apology.

"So can you go home alone?" She repeated her question. I clenched my jaw in frustration. I already told her that I was twenty-five but she kept asking whether I could go home alone.

"Sure I can. I am with Ginger anyway." I answered as Ginger barked, hearing me calling his name.

"Ah I see. So this cute puppy here named Ginger." She said, answered with another bark from Ginger. "Take care of your owner, okay?" She kept talking to Ginger and Ginger barked again as if he answered her.

"I don't mean to be rude but I have to excuse myself now. Thank you once again." I decided to leave the girl since I did not like to stay too long with a stranger.

"OK. Take care, then." She answered with the same smiling voice. I nodded and made my way with Ginger leading on the front. She was just another stranger I met.

A week after my encounter with the girl, I walked with Ginger on the same road again to visit my favourite coffee shop to grab a cup of coffee. The barista and the waiters there greeted me as soon as I entered the coffee shop. I held some amount of money in my hand, which definitely would be enough to pay a cup of medium sized Americano. I always made sure that I had the money in my hand before I went to the coffee shop so I did not need to count the money from my wallet.

"A cup of medium sized ice Americano, please." I told the waiter as I reached the cashier counter.

"OK, Taeyeon. On the rock?" He offered.

"Sure." I answered shortly. No matter how often I visited the coffee shop, I did not intend to be friendly to the staffs. They were just strangers in my life.

"Ginger, is that you?" A familiar girl's voice called Ginger's name and answered with a bark from Ginger.

"Ah, cute puppy! How are you?" The girl continued asking Ginger.

"Bark! Bark!" Ginger answered. I snickered. I did not like it when Ginger was being friendly to strangers.

"Quiet, Ginger." I told him and he let out a soft whimper. I guess he could sense that I did not like it.

"Hey again to you too." The girl now greeted me. I was sure she was the girl who helped me cross the road a week ago.

"Hi." I answered without even turned my head to her.

"I assume you forgot me already. How mean. Even Ginger remembers me." She chuckled at her own sentence. I smiled a bit just to appreciate her effort talking to me.

"Tiffany." She said making me finally turned my head to her. "My name. It's Tiffany." She continued.

"Okay. Nice to meet you again, Tiffany." I said.

"And you're not gonna tell me your name?" Tiffany asked me.

"Bark!" Ginger barked as if telling me I was rude.

"Quiet Ginger." I told him before answering Tiffany's question. "It's Taeyeon."

"Nice to meet you again, Taeyeon." She answered with the same smiling voice a week ago. I could not understand how could a person be this friendly to a stranger. I was just a stranger after all.

"Your ice Americano, Taeyeon." A waiter called me.

"Okay, thanks." I handed him the money in my hand while he gave me my cup of ice Americano. "Let's go, Ginger." I told Ginger and prepared myself to leave the shop.

"Are you leaving already?" Tiffany's voice stopped me for a while.

"Yes." I answered as short as I could.

"I'll go with you, then." She decided herself.

"Why?" I asked, mostly because I felt uncomfortable to walk with a stranger.

"Why can't I?" She asked back.

"Because I'm a stranger." I answered. She chuckled. I got confused. I believed that I did not make any joke there.

"You're no longer a stranger. I know your name already." She giggled. "Taeyeon, right?" She made sure.

"Yes." I answered as I made my way out of the shop with Ginger walking in front of me. I heard her footsteps following me from behind.

"Are you really going with me?" I asked her without even stopped.

"Yes. I have nothing to do today. Do you have anything to do today?" She asked me as she quickened her pace to walked side by side with me.

"Nothing. Just walked with Ginger while enjoying my Americano." I answered. Ginger suddenly stopped and I also halted my step.

"Want me to help you cross the road again?" Tiffany asked.

"I'm okay by myself." I answered coldly.

"Why are you being so cold?" Tiffany's voice turned into a bitter one. I sighed. I really could not understand the girl. We barely knew each other. We just met twice and I just knew her name couple minutes ago and here she was following me and even felt bad when I acted all cold.

"Why are you following me? Do you want to kidnap me?" I asked her back earning a loud gasp from her.

"No! Of course not!" She answered loudly. I flinched at her answer. I did not like loud voice.

"No need to yell. I just asked." I told her.

"Sorry." She mumbled. "I'm new in this place. I just moved from LA and I don't have any friends yet. Sorry if I make you feel uncomfortable." She sounded sad. I let out another sigh.

"Why me, then?" I asked again.

"I don't know. You seem nice. Ginger is also cute and smart. I like him. And I once read that people with pets usually are good people." She answered. I hardly believe what I just heard. How could a person be this naive. What if I was actually a bad person and had bad motives towards her.

"Let's go back to coffee shop then." I gave up. "I feel uncomfortable having a stranger following me home. At least if we stay in coffee shop, the staffs there will know who I am with." I proposed as I turned my heels back to the coffee shop. Ginger immediately caught my movement and ran in front of me leading the way again. I heard nothing from Tiffany anymore but I was sure I still heard her footsteps following me behind.

"Why are you being so quiet all of a sudden?" I asked her.

"I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable." She answered, making me felt guilty for being too cold to her. I stretched my hand, waiting for her hand to hold mine. When I did not feel her hand grabbing mine, I called her. "Tiffany?"

"Are you offering me your hand?" She asked with uncertainty. I nodded. I did not usually do this with strangers. But this Tiffany girl was surely different. I thought of giving her a chance to be my friend. I did not even remember the last time I had friends anyway. So, it would not hurt to once again trying to make friends.

Her hand finally grabbed mine and held it as she walked beside me.

"Thank you." She said softly.

"You're welcome." I answered as we made our way back to the coffee shop.

I spent the rest of my afternoon with Tiffany in the coffee shop. She was definitely a very nice and friendly person. I secretly felt happy for knowing her. It had been a long time since I felt someone's company. When the sun finally started to shift, Tiffany asked me to go home. She once again held my hand when we crossed the road and we bid our farewell right after. I secretly hoped that I would meet her again next time.

A month after we met at the coffee shop, I never met Tiffany again. I did not try to look for her, but I kept walking through the same road with Ginger everyday. Visited the coffee shop way more often than before, secretly hoped I would hear her voice again calling me or Ginger.

It was almost two months and I started to forget her when I heard her voice again. I was about to cross the intersection where we first met when a familiar smiling voice called my name.

"Taeyeon! Ginger!" It was Tiffany's voice. I turned my head to the source of her voice.

"Bark bark!" Ginger barked welcoming the voice's owner.

"Hi!" She greeted me after she finally stood in front of me.

"Hi." I answered flatly, trying to hide my excitement. I already forgot that she was just a mere stranger.

"How are you?" She asked.

"Just so-so." I answered. Earning a giggle from her.

"Not much changing, are you?"

"What do you expect from two months, Fany?" I silently cursed myself for calling her 'Fany'. I had no idea how could my brain made such a nickname for her.

"Fany?" She asked but could not hide amusement from her voice.

"Yes. Tiffany is too long. Fany is easier to pronounce." I made up an excuse. She chuckled at my answer. I was prepared if she called me silly or weird or whatever it was.

"That's cute." She said. I was surprised. Cute was not the word I expected to hear. "I like my new nickname." She still had the same smiling voice.

"Want to grab a coffee?" I offered. She did not answer but reached my hand to hold. I felt the warmth of her hand in mine. It no longer felt foreign. Maybe, just maybe, Tiffany was no longer a stranger to me.

I did not remember how meeting Tiffany at the coffee shop became a habit after that. I always went to the same coffee shop with Ginger, ordered the same medium sized ice Americano, and meeting the same girl everyday. Tiffany was sure no longer a stranger for me. She told me anything about her. About her late mother, about how she fought with her father because she wanted to stay in Korea, the country where her mom was born, about how she loved her family. I learned that she was indeed the type of girl who prioritised friends over anything. She could not hide the fact that she missed her best friends in LA but she tried to be strong and slowly learned to live independently. I also found out that she worked as a teacher in a nearby high school that explained why she was always around the coffee shop in the afternoon, after her work finished.

I did not tell much about myself but I let her knew that I no longer had parents ever since a car accident I experienced, which took away my parents and my siblings. I also let her knew that I lived alone with a maid who took care of everything I needed. My parents were rich enough to let me live without working but I tried to manage the wealth they inherited by investing them into some business that wasn't run directly by me so I still could have my own income to live.

After months with the same routine, our meetings then moved to a park, couple meters away from my home. She said that she did not want to be worried if I had to walk home alone from the coffee shop since it usually took at least twenty minutes walking. I told her I had Ginger with me but she kept insisting. I gave up at the end and agreed on her idea of spending our afternoon in the park.

"Taetae? Are you listening to me?" Tiffany's voice brought me back from my memories about our encounters before.

"No." I smiled, still having my eyes closed. I knew that honesty was something she appreciated highly. She chuckled at my answer.

"Were you deep in your thoughts again?" She asked still with the melodious smiling voice I loved the most.

"Not thoughts." I told her.

"So? What is it?" I sensed her getting curious.

"Memories." I answered.

"Of us?" She asked. I could tell she was smiling even without looking at her. I nodded. I heard a giggle from her as her hands cupped my cheeks and pulled my head gently to the side, then I felt a warm kiss on the tip of my nose. I smiled at her gesture.

"Tell me what is it?" She requested as she planted another kiss on my lips and let it stayed that way, waiting for my answer.

"Our first encounter, the meetings in the coffee shop, how you insisted me to move from coffee shop to the park." I answered against her lips. I loved how our lips fit together like two pieces of puzzle.

"What about our first date?" She asked, planting another kiss on my lips. She pulled away to let me talked.

"That was something I would never forget, Fany." I smiled as my mind started to wander again.

I lost count of how many days I spent with Tiffany in the park. The only thing I knew was we got closer and closer. But as we got closer I noticed that I also grew a feeling towards her. A feeling that should had not been growing between two girls. Every little things she did to me felt really special for me. I could not remember when Taeyeon changed into Taetae, I could not remember when our holding hands changed into interlocking fingers. I could not remember when our distance on the bench diminished as I felt so comfortable laying my head on her shoulder. There was no more distance between us, and I was getting afraid of my own feeling.

I started to pulled myself away from her, trying to ignore my feeling that screamed more of her. We started to be strangers all over again until one day, in the park, Tiffany asked me a question.

"Why are you avoiding me?" She asked. Her voice was bitter and my heart ached hearing it.

"I am not. I am still here every afternoon." I answered as matter a fact. I stroke Ginger's head, tried my best not to be affected by Tiffany's voice.

"You know what I mean, Taetae." Her voice sounded desperate. I stayed silent.

"Do you know that, right? That's why you avoid me." Her voice cracked. I kept my mouth shut. I did not have any idea what she was talking about but I also did not want to tell her the reason why I made the distance again.

"I knew it. I should've told you sooner." She sighed, followed with a sniff. I did not dare to say a word. I did not want to make her cry.

"So, you mind about my preference, Taetae?" She asked again. I still did not get what she meant.

"I am sorry." She apologised. I did not respond, waiting her to continue her explanation.

"I'm sorry if having a lesbian friend makes you uncomfortable. I'm sorry, Taetae." She sniffed again, signing she was crying.

I was shocked by her explanation. I never knew about the fact. I never noticed that she never talked about men. She never mentioned anything related to relationship or romance. As she now told me everything, I started to pick up the whole picture and understood what she was sorry for. My feelings were mixed, my mind was in a haze, but my tongue had its own will.

"I like you, Fany. And I was afraid my feeling grow more and more as we get closer. I don't know. I... I like you very much. Unfortunately, not as a friend." My tongue betrayed me and telling her everything I hid.

"Tae?" Her voice was enough to let me know how shocked she was.

"I'm sorry." I mumbled. I did not know what I was sorry for. Maybe I was sorry for my feeling, or maybe I was sorry for spilling out my secret.

"Taetae?" She called out again. I had no gut to answer. I stayed there, sat still, cursing myself for letting all those words slipped off my own mouth. Tiffany told me that she was lesbian, did not mean that she had the same feeling for me.

"So, you're just going to stay silent?" She asked, as she stood up from the bench and walked in front of me. I mentally screamed for her not to leave me but my mouth tightly closed.

I sensed her squatted in front of me. I was a bit relieved knowing she did not leave.

"If you keep silent, let me do the talk then." She said. I felt her breath tickled my face. "I like you too, Taetae... Very much." I felt her lips grazed lightly on the tip of my nose, and finally she kissed it. Nothing could explain the feeling I felt. It was just a simple confession, a simple kiss. But I simply liked it.

"Should we date, Taetae?" She offered, answered with a shy nod from me.

"Bark!" Ginger barked as if he also agreed to the idea.

I did not expect the date would be awesome. It was a simple date. Just the two of us, of course with Ginger followed along, reminiscing what we had been through. Started from the meeting at the intersection, moved to the coffee shop and we ended it in the park. Nothing new. But the feeling was totally different.

When we almost ended our first date, I finally asked her a question.

"Why me, Fany? You know I am far from perfect. I am awkward, introvert, cold, and I am... I'm..." I swallowed the lump in my throat as I could not finish my sentence. I felt I did not deserve her. She was too perfect for me.

"Because it's you." She gently squeezed my hand.

"Still... Why? You can get a better person. Someone who can see your beauty. Someone who is not blind." I finally managed to say it. If there was something I hated from myself was the fact that I was blind. The car accident which took my family away also took my sight. And my life had been dark ever since, until I finally met Tiffany. Tiffany was the one who brought the light to my life. For the first time after the accident, I did not mind that I could not see as long as I can feel her presence around me.

"Silly." She cupped my cheeks and turned it to her side. "Let me ask you back. Why me, Taetae? You could not even see me. What if I turn out to be a very ugly girl?"

"What are you talking about? I don't care even if you're ugly. Your personality beats it all, Fany. For me, you're the prettiest person on earth." I bit my lips, noticing how cheesy I was. I heard Tiffany chuckled.

"Then, is there any reason for not liking a person who can see the best in me even if she can't see with her eyes? I like you the way you are, Taetae. So, don't you ever think about that again, okay?" Her smiling voice melted my heart. No matter how often I heard it, my heart kept melting every time I heard her voice.

"Thank you, Fany..." I smiled.

"You're welcome, Taetae..." She answered. Then silence engulfed. I could still felt her palms on my cheeks as if she did not want to let me go. If there was something I wanted to do at the moment was to kiss her, to let her know how much she meant to me.

"Fany..."

"Yes, Tae?"

"Can I... Kiss you?" I finally said it. She did not say yes but soon I felt her soft lips against mine. It just stayed there long, and sweet. And it was enough for me to see the rainbow in the dark. Tiffany Hwang, what did I do to deserve a person like you?

First date followed with second, third, fourth, and I started to lost count how many dates followed after that. All of them felt special not because of the dates but because of the person I had the dates with.

One day, Tiffany came late. I waited for her in the park, not going anywhere. After what it felt like years, I finally heard my favourite smiling voice called out my name.

"Taetae!"

I smiled. She gave me a peck on the lips. Another simple kiss but again, I simply liked it.

"Where have you been?" I asked. She did not answer but then I felt something cold in my palm. "What's this?" I asked her.

"It's a necklace." Tiffany answered. "Can you guess what shape is the pendant?" She asked.

I tried to trace the pendant with my fingertips, trying to make an imaginary shape in my head. "Is it a key?" I guessed as soon as I finished.

"Correct! Now, this one." Tiffany took the necklace and replaced it with another. "It's another necklace but with different pendant. Guess again the shape." She requested.

I did the same thing to the new pendant. After a while, I tried to guess again. "Padlock?"

"Correct again!" She squealed happily. I smiled along. Her voice was the best melody I ever heard.

"One of this necklace will be yours but with one condition." She told me excitedly. "You only need to answer my question correctly."

I laughed at her excitement. "Shoot the question." I dared.

"Ready, Kim Taeyeon?" She asked. I nodded excitedly.

"The question is..." Her voice trailed.

"Will you be my girlfriend, Taetae?"

I held my breath. Dating Tiffany was one of the best thing ever happened in my life and here she was, asking me to be her girlfriend. I opened my mouth but then closed it again. I would surely answer with a yes. But my mind was fucked up, I had no idea whether it should be 'yes, I do' or 'yes, I will'. Tiffany noticed my hesitation and talked again.

"My honesty policy is still on, Taetae. Just tell me honestly. Whatever your answer is correct. Even if it is a 'no', we can still be friends. I guarantee that." Her voice was soft but could not hide her disappointment.

"No! I mean, yes!" I blurted out nonsense. I did not even understand my own answer. I heard her chuckled. I breathed in relief. At least she still could laugh instead of giving a slap on my face.

"Yes or no, Taetae? You can't choose both." She chuckled.

I took a deep breath to calm myself. Second attempt. I would not let myself ruin the moment.

"Yes, Fany! Yes. I want to be your girlfriend." I finally said a proper sentence. I heard her let out a deep breath.

"Thank you, Taetae."

She then moved closer to me and put a necklace on my neck. "That's yours." she said when the necklace was already tangled on my neck. I traced the pendant. She gave me the key.

"And the padlock?" I asked her.

"That's mine. I wear it now. Do you know what it means, Tae?" She asked. I shook my head. If I was the one who bought the couple item, it might be just a normal couple ring instead of key and padlock necklace.

"That means, the only person who hold the key to my heart is only you, Kim Taeyeon." She told me. I could feel my cheek warmed. She chuckled at my reaction and soon I felt her hand caressed my cheek. I moved my hand slowly, trying to find her cheek as well. She helped by grabbing my hand with her free hand and put my hand on her cheek. I smiled as I felt her cheek in my hand. I slowly leaned forward and gave a long sweet kiss to her. I felt her hand moved to my neck and pulled me closer to deepened the kiss. I nibbled her bottom lips as she enveloped my upper lips, making it felt like a key and a padlock which meant to be together. I broke the kiss but not letting her pulled away. We pressed our forehead together as I kept caressing her cheek.

"I think I no longer like you, Fany. I love you..."

After one year having Tiffany as my girlfriend, I still could not believe what a great luck I had. We argued a lot of course, and just like most couple, we fought, we got jealous, but we managed to get back together again at the end. I would be the stupidest woman on earth for letting Tiffany go. After what she had done to me, there was no reason I could not be grateful for having her by my side.

Tiffany was the light in my darkness, she was the sweetness in my bitter life, she was my hope when all is gone, and she was my soldier when I tried to fight on.

On a warm morning, my maid received a call from the hospital where I usually went to. They said they found a donor for me and asked me whether I still wanted to do the surgery. I immediately agreed without thinking too long. Once I did the surgery, I would be able to see Tiffany for the first time. I could not wait to see her. So, when we met in the afternoon, I told Tiffany about the news. She squealed happily. I could sense that she was genuinely happy for me. She even offered to accompany me to hospital. I agreed on the idea. I really wished the surgery would went smooth. And the first person I wanted to see once my surgery succeeded was Tiffany and Tiffany only.

"Hey, Taetae! I asked you to tell me your memories. Not keeping it in your head and smile by yourself like an idiot, silly." Tiffany's voice took me away from my wandering mind again. I chuckled at her way scolding me. I took off my sunglasses and slowly opened my eyes.

"You're ugly." I chuckled.

"Yah! Taetae!" She slapped my arms while I only laughed louder.

"That was the first sentence I told you after my surgery." I looked at her with a teasing smile.

"Yes. After I accompanied you to the hospital back and forth, waiting for you after the surgery and when you finally opened your eyes, the first thing you said was 'you're ugly, Fany'. How mean." She pouted.

"Unfortunately my sight was still blurry that time, so I could not witness your expression." I chuckled.

"You should be thankful for not being able to see it back then. My expression would be the best way to explain the word 'ugly'." She still pouted.

"Bark! Bark!" Ginger barked at me as if he scolded me for making Tiffany annoyed.

"Yah, Ginger! I was just kidding. You love Fany more than you love me, huh?" I scolded him.

"Bark!" Ginger barked once again before jumped off my lap. I shook my head, hardly believe my guide dog that helped my when I could not see and the most loyal friend I had in my life even turned his back on me for Tiffany.

Tiffany giggled and stood up from the bench only to sit again, this time on my lap. 


"Ginger just want to let me sit on your lap, Taetae." She said as she put her arms around my neck. My arms automatically wrapped her waist and landed a peck on her cheek.

"Now I see you this up close, I can see you are pretty, Fany-ah." I said, landing another peck on her cheek only to earn a giggle from her.

"Fany, still remember how you give me the necklace?" I asked her. She nodded as she trailed her finger on my necklace.

"Now is your turn to guess. I want you to guess something. But first, let me stood up." I requested.

Tiffany had this confused look on her face but she stood up and sat on the bench while I stood up in front of her.

"Now close your eyes." I asked. She slowly close her eyes.

"No peeking, baby." I teased.

"I am not, baby." She answered with a smile. Her breathtaking smile.

I then squatted in front of her and put one knee on the ground. I took her hand and put it on my chest.

"Can you guess what's this, Fany?" I asked her.

"Your flat boobs." She joked, ruining the moment I built.

"Yaaah! Fany-ah!!" I protested.

"Kidding, baby." She smiled without opening her eyes.

"So what is it?" I tried to build the mood again.

"Hmmm... Your heart." Tiffany answered seriously this time.

"Indeed my heart. But it no longer belongs to me, Fany-ah. It's yours already. I gave my heart to you since the first time I said 'I love you'. And since then, up until now, you keep it well. Really well. Thank you, Fany-ah..."

She smiled at my words. A very sweet smile. I could only thank God for giving my sight back so I could witness the beauty of my Tiffany.

"And now..." I moved her hand from my chest and prepared something in my another hand. "Can you open your eyes?" I requested.

Her eyes fluttered, slowly opened and the first thing she saw was me in front of her holding a platinum ring. Her face soon turned to surprise.

"Fany-ah, thank you for keeping my heart all of these times. Through the darkness until I can finally see the light. Thanks for being my sun even during the darkest night. I hope you will never break my heart and continue keeping it the way you keep it all these times."

Here I was. Kneeled before her, prepared for saying the last sentence for the most precious person in my life.

"Stephanie Young Hwang, will you marry this blindly in love girl?"

She did not say a word but her beautiful eye smile and a nod from her was enough for me to slid the platinum ring to her finger. I saw the ring that now wrapped her slender finger and kissed it lovingly. She caressed my cheek with her free hand and lifted it up as she leaned forward and planted a sweet kiss on my lips.

"Yes, Taetae..." She mumbled against my lips.

As I listened her reply I thanked God once again for taking away my eyes' blindness but kept me blindly in love with the girl in front of me.

****

Author: Sara (srstaeny)

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