Fly to Your Heart
Love hits people unexpectedly. Love hits Tiffany when a female pilot decides to use air traffic communication unwisely.
Prologue
“Los Angeles Tower, Boeing Hotel Lima Eight Two Seven One, eight miles east north, inbound for landing with information Tango.”
The sudden female voice coming from her headset has actually managed to startle Tiffany, the action is saying a lot by itself. Hwang Tiffany does not get surprised, not on her line of work where she is deemed to be calm even when people are burned to death down on the runway. Blaming the slow traffic on the airport, the young air traffic controller immediately springs to action. She shifts her attention to the screen in front of her. It may look like a boring plain map with moving dots and random number on top of each blinking red speck, but it represents hundreds of lives. Lives that will be endangered if Tiffany makes a miscalculation that resulted into a crash between the dots.
After making a quick mental calculation and deciding the next course of action, which in fact has not taken more than three seconds, Tiffany replies back to the communicator, “Boeing Hotel Lima Eight Two Seven One, Los Angeles Tower, enter right downwind, runway two four, report entering right downwind.” It is all, short and simple, almost robotical even.
“Hotel Lima Seven One will report right downwind, two four,” The pilot replies back then directs the plane to the designated runway. It does not take much to control a Boeing 777 because it is equipped with the new fly-by-wire smart system, but it is still better safe than sorry. “Los Angeles Tower, Hotel Lima Seven One, right downwind, two four.”
By now, Tiffany can see the new blinking dot nearing the runway with HL8271 attached on it. She easily recognizes it as the only Boeing from Korean Air, which mostly contains Koreans, her kinfolk. While she is born and raised in America for her whole life, she is still a full-blooded Korean. Her people, the closest term she can call them with, for her countrymen shall forever be the Americans, are the last she wants to put in danger. With the additional pressure, Tiffany glances and takes note of the other aircrafts on the radar, just to make sure, before she sends the new information to the waiting pilot.
“Boeing Hotel Lima Seven One, cleared to land.”
“Cleared to land, Hotel Lima Seven One.” Then the pilot cuts off communication, putting her whole concentration to land her plane safely.
Tiffany, although keeping close eye on HL8271, continues her job by informing the Ground Control for the incoming Boeing. Once each plane has safely landed, the responsibility of guiding it moves from Tower Control to Ground Control. Such network ensures everyone work seamlessly in keeping up the airport. From her position in the tower, Tiffany watches the redblue Korean Boeing roll to a stop on the runway. The landing is perfect and now Tiffany can breathe a little easier, knowing she has done yet another perfect job.
“Hotel Lima Seven One, turn right next taxiway, contact Ground, point six five, leaving the runway,” Tiffany passes the information. She only needs confirmation from the pilot then she is free to guide another landing. A Qantas is already looming on the outer part of her radar, about twenty miles away from the airport.
“Right turn, contact Ground, Hotel Lima Seven One.” But then the pilot did not cut the communication.
The air traffic controller waits, keeping the positive thought inside her mind. The communication works in a way that ensures pilot to have full access to the air traffic controller for as long as they need, meaning the line will not cut off unless the pilot stops pushing the communicator button. Tiffany knows this female Korean Air pilot is not new, even though she has been in the IncheonLAX flight schedule for only about three months. Tiffany has heard her voice on every other day and the pilot has been anything but perfect on executing each landing process. That rules out the possibility of her forgetting to cut off the communication.
Two more seconds and Tiffany can’t keep quiet. “Hotel Lima Seven One, contact Ground, point six five,” she repeats, hoping the pilot will move the frequency to Ground Control because by now, she is practically hogging the Tower Control for herself. Tiffany feels a mix of irritation and worry when she receives no response. “Boeing Hotel Lima Eight Two Seven—“
“Hey, it’s Friday night and a little too fast to ask, but do you want to go out with me tonight?”
The question throws Tiffany off. She has heard pilots and air traffic controllers throwing jokes at each other, she has heard air traffic controllers losing their patience on clueless new pilots, but she has never ever heard a pilot asking out an air traffic controller, or vice versa. The pink pen she was twirling on her fingers falls to the table, knocking off her pens’ holder, and within second they are cluttering on the floor. Tiffany can feel eyes on her, from the other staffs who work on the tower and her fellow air traffic controllers, and she is painfully aware that it is not because of the mess she made.
Although Tiffany admires the pilot for having the guts to ask her out on public communication, where practically every airport workers can hear them, she does condemn her way of doing it. It is unprofessional. “Negative,” she states simply, earning collective thumb-ups from her senior coworkers.
“I’ll ask again in three days.”
Tiffany rolls her eyes. “It will still be ne—“ but the pilot has cut off their communication, leaving her with empty static.
Introvert Pilot
“Los Angeles International information Juliet one four five zero Zulu weather. Wind two three zero at six, visibility one zero. Two five thousand scattered, temperature three three, dew-point minus three. Altimeter two niner niner five. IFR approach is ILS or visual, runway two four left and two four right. Simultaneous parallel ILS approaches in use. VFR aircraft say direction of flight. All aircraft read back and hold short instruction. Advise controller on initial contact that you have Juliet.”
Both pilot and co-pilot are listening to the ATIS message intently. They take mental notes of the information, storing it to the back of their heads, but so far it is a perfect condition to land. The co-pilot, a twenty eight years old man named Kim JongHyun, gives a thumb-up to the pilot as a silent agreement to go forward with the landing procedure. They still have several miles before approaching the airport, though.
“Stop grinning like a maniac, you’re creeping me out.”
“I’m just encouraging you. Go get her, tiger!”
The pilot, Kim TaeYeon, makes a face. “You know it’s not like that...”
“Are we going through the ‘I’m-hurt-my-fiancée-dumped-me-after-two-years-being-togetherand-now-I’m-scared-to-start-dating’ talk again?”
“Are you insinuating that I’m scared of love?” TaeYeon fires back. She is very sensitive when her ex gets brought up into a conversation. “Or that I’m playing with the ATC girl?”
At the accusation, JongHyun cocks a brow, frowning. “If you think like that, then maybe you are.” He shrugs, ignoring TaeYeon’s taken aback expression. “Ten miles away, you better send the message now.” Then the previous topic is replaced just like that.
TaeYeon, although still looking a bit irritated, follows through. “Los Angeles Tower, Boeing Hotel Lima Eight Two Seven One, nine miles east north, inbound for landing with information Juliet.” The words flow from her lips with practiced ease.
It goes exactly like it did three days ago, except this time TaeYeon feels excited, unlike her usual sour mood. She has been in the flight business since she is born, her father owns a private aviation company back in her hometown. It is really nothing big. The planes have propelled engines, mostly for doing crop dusting and sometimes banner towing. It does, however, contribute greatly to TaeYeon’s career. With a pilot as a father, she began training really early. At sixteen, she started flying solo and by seventeen, she already got her pilot license with about a thousand hours of flight under her belt. Now, barely twenty five and after two years out of college with Bachelor of Science degree, she has secured a line in international flight.
With such amazing accomplishment, it is natural for TaeYeon to think that she has it all, until her lover left her for a man and she became devastated. It took JongHyun a month to lure her out of her shell, but his tactic of getting her into night clubs and picking random girls in bar for one nightstands failed to work. TaeYeon is never good with human relationship. To say it simply, she is socially awkward, which is bizarre because she works as a freaking pilot, the dream job with big income and beautiful flight attendances ready for a game or two. On more than one occasion,
JongHyun and several other pilots have called her an introvert and she does not even bother to retaliate, because she knows it is true. The fact that right now, she is talking with the air traffic controller, whose voice she has a crush over—if that is even possible—through the communication but does not dare to meet her face to face, is enough proof of it.
“Hotel Lima Seven One, turn right next taxiway, contact Ground, point six five, leaving the runway.”
If the air traffic controller feels bored for reciting the same message over and over again, it can’t be detected in her voice. But again, she sounds as static as she always does and TaeYeon can’t help but think that maybe they are not that different. The ATC girl is hiding behind the communicator as well, and even worse, she is trapped in a tower for at least six hours a day. Both of them definitely have something in common.
“Right turn, contact Ground, Hotel Lima Seven One. Go out with me?”
“No.”
TaeYeon can feel JongHyun rolling his eyes at her unsuccessful attempt, so she tries a new approach. “At least tell me your name?” It comes meekly and she can only hope the other woman does not notice it.
“No.”
This is her last shot. As much as she wants to spend hours talking—harassing, as JongHyun would have corrected—to the air traffic controller, she knows she can’t. Actually, it is against the rule to talk more than required and even more when it is for petty matters like wooing someone. TaeYeon can only wonder why the woman has not reported her yet.
Maybe she is not as bothered as she sounds... the thought puts a small grin on TaeYeon’s face. “Then I’ll call you Rapunzel, because you are ‘trapped’ in a tower.”
“This action is really—“ Again, TaeYeon cuts it off.
From the corner of her eyes, TaeYeon sees JongHyun shaking his head at her. “What?” She puts in the ground control’s frequency and without waiting for her co-pilot’s reply, she talks to the microphone, “Los Angeles Ground, Boeing Hotel Lima Seven One, taxi to transient parking.”
“Boeing Hotel Lima Seven One, taxi to parking,” a deep manly voice replies.
“Taxi to parking, Hotel Lima Seven One.”
JongHyun postpones their chat as he concentrates fully on parking the plane. It is probably the only one time when an airplane is going slower than a car. For such humongous metal, the pilot and co-pilot fully depend on the light line marshaller, since they are so high up there and not able
to see any fine detail of the ground. TaeYeon and JongHyun finally relax when the marshaller puts both of his arms up to form an “X” with his red batons and they secure the break.
“You’re so mean.”
“I know,” TaeYeon answers back, feeling satisfied that for once she is in full control of how she wants the ‘relationship’ to progress. “I hope she isn’t mad at me.” She frowns slightly. Even after such exhilarating exchange, uneasiness still resides inside her.
“After that ‘Rapunzel’ line? I doubt she will.” The older man takes off his safety belt and headset then smacks his blonde companion on the shoulder. “This calls for a drink!” He cheers loudly.
Chance Encounter
“Cheers!”
The large number of bar’s patrons simultaneously raise then clink their glasses together before downing whatever they have in one go. TaeYeon, however, does not share the same excitement. Instead, she flinches over the loudness before taking a small sip of her cherry coke. Drinking in a bar at six in the afternoon is never her thing, but with her messed up schedule—arriving on LA at around four then departing back to Seoul at midnight on the next day—it is the only empty timeslot that she can afford to go out. It does not mean she has to be happy over the activity, though.
I should’ve been sleeping soundly right now... the blonde pilot thinks eyes drowsy.
The only thing that keeps TaeYeon awake is the drink on her hand and the occasional loud shout coming from somewhere inside the bar. JongHun usually drags her out on Saturday nights for real drinks back in Seoul, since they have Sundays off. However, today is Monday and they are on duty within the next twenty four hours, which means they should avoid drinking any alcohol, and yet he still insists to buy her a drink. So they end up sticking with the next best thing, drinking non-alcohol beverages in the Marina bar by gate 105.
With her glass half empty, TaeYeon is barely able to keep herself awake. The small amount of caffeine in the coke does not hold a candle for a religious coffee drinker like her. So, when all of a sudden JongHyun slips to sit beside her on the deserted booth then wraps his muscular arm around her shoulders, she jolts up.
“You scared me!” TaeYeon hisses, harshly pulling off her partner’s arm from around her shoulders. “JongHyun!” She warns, but it falls on deaf ears.
“Relax, TaeYeon.” The older man pokes TaeYeon on the cheek. He then takes a swing from his glass that is filled with something that suspiciously looks like beer whilst ignoring the glare TaeYeon is giving him. “Are you serious about Rapunzel?”
The out-of-nowhere question has taken aback the blonde woman. She quirks a brow, as if to say excuse me?!, but of course the small detail slips JongHyun’s attention. “Are you drunk, Kim JongHyun?” TaeYeon fires back with a hardened look on her face. “I’m not up to spend another twelve plus hours being trapped with SiWon and his preaching just because you got ‘sick’.”
“As if a glass of A&W root beer will get me drunk...” JongHyun sneers before his expression turns solemn. “I’ll ask you again, are you serious about the ATC?”
Sensing her partner’s unsaid concern for her well-being, TaeYeon softens slightly. “It’s only a harmless flirting. I don’t know her, she doesn’t know me.” She then takes another sip of her drink. The words have left foul taste on her mouth and she does not even know why.
“And that,” the older man dramatically points his forefinger at TaeYeon, whose eyes widen in surprise, “is the reason I’m so worried about this whole harmless flirting.” He notices that the blonde is ready to talk back, so he waves his hand to stop her. “No, no. Let me finish it first. There is nothing not harmless about the exchange you have with the ATC girl. Do you remember my Nana?”
The random question gets TaeYeon confused. She really wonders whether JongHyun is drunk of his root beer or not, because it seems like he does. “Yeah...?” She answers uncertainly.
“My old wrinkly Nana has a very beautiful, soft voice over the phone. One day, she received a call from an unknown number. The caller, a boy, admitted that he had put in a wrong number and apologized.”
TaeYeon still does not know where the story is leading, but she knows better than to disturb JongHyun on his story-telling time. So, she nods politely as to signal him that she is listening, but does nothing more than that. JongHyun appreciates the gesture and grins widely at her.
“But the boy didn’t hang up after. Instead, he made a lame attempt of a small chitchat with Nana.” JongHyun chuckles. “You know the old generation and their belief in keeping up politeness no matter how shady the situation is. She held to it and entertained him, until he asked her out.” He is laughing loudly right now and TaeYeon finally sees where the story is going. “He was so adamant about it; no matter how polite she was while trying to turn him down. Until she had no more and kinda yelled at him about her age and how she is a proud grandmother of a boy that’s probably around his age. He hung up right away.”
“So you’re saying that the ATC can be an old woman?” TaeYeon actually takes offense from his insinuation.
“No. I was saying that you don’t know anything about this woman you have a crush on. She can be Asian, or Caucasian, and even Africa-American. She can be twenty, or thirty, or even fifty.
She can be single, married, or a widow with three kids. You don’t even know if she plays for the same team, TaeYeon.” Seeing TaeYeon mulls over his points, he adds, “I’m all for this flirting, I really am. You have all my blessing. But you only ever heard her voice; she might turn out to be someone you wouldn’t like... and it will crush you again.” JongHyun reaches out to hold TaeYeon’s hand and squeezes it in his bigger one.
“I...” TaeYeon trails off. She realizes that JongHyun is right and she does not have anything to argue back, so she decides to flee instead. “I’m going to get a refill.” Without waiting for her friend’s reply, she slips out of the booth and goes to the bar with her empty glass in hand.
“More cherry coke?” The bartender asks whilst taking TaeYeon’s empty glass. He holds no judgment over her choice of drink, many pilots are regular patrons of the bar and every bartender knows better than offering any alcohol for them unless they ask for it themselves. “Or would you like to try our new mocktail, berry patch? It’s a mix of blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, vanilla ice cream, and milk.”
“Can you change the milk with soda?” The blonde asks after pondering over the mix.
“Sure thing! Please wait for a moment.”
TaeYeon then takes a seat on one of the stools. Everything JongHyun said is clouding her mind and she unconsciously sulks. They should be having a celebration, not a wake-up call in a bar that tempts her to drink alcohol. Too deep in her gloomy thought, TaeYeon does not realize someone has occupied the seat beside her.
Soon after, the bartender comes back and serves her drink. “One berry patch with soda.” He takes the payment, smiling at the extra tip TaeYeon has slipped in. “Enjoy your drink.” He then moves to the next customer and asks for her order.
TaeYeon is eyeing her new drink suspiciously, fearing that it is far too sour for her, when she hears the person beside her says, “Can I have pussyfoot?”
The blonde pilot freezes on her spot. Eyes wide, heartbeats roar in her ears, and pinkness dusts her cheeks. It, obviously, has nothing to do with the bizarre beverage’s name. She recognizes that voice, although it sounds a bit clearer and deeper now.
Rapunzel?! TaeYeon’s eyes look like they might pop out from their sockets after she steals a glance at the girl and then the first thought that crosses her mind is she is not a wrinkly old woman!
Dream Girl After taking one deep inhale, TaeYeon scurries off from the bar counter. She never looks back at her crush and opts to disappear within the crowd of people whilst inwardly hoping that the ATC does not take notice of her awkward action. Her steps falter and come to a stop when she reaches
her booth. JongHyun, startles by his partner’s sudden appearance, immediately cocks up a brow after he gets a good look on said partner. TaeYeon is clutching her glass, hands trembling slightly, and she is hyperventilating. Despite the rather dim light inside the bar, the older man also manages to spot the redness on TaeYeon’s face.
JongHyun gasps. “You’re drunk!” He exclaims.
When TaeYeon stares at her co-pilot with unseeing onyx eyes, he takes the initiative to investigate it by himself. JongHyun sniffs the blonde’s drink wearily, expecting to catch the hint of alcohol, but he fails to detect even a whiff of it. He furrows his brows, confusion paints his handsome face.
“S-she is here!” TaeYeon squeaks.
“Who?”
“Rapunzel!”
The outburst earns the duo several stares from the patrons around them. JongHyun immediately tugs the stuttering, blushing mess, which is TaeYeon, to sit beside him. He, again, wraps him arm around the blonde’s shoulder to give the outlook of an intimate couple, while in fact, he is keeping her still by locking his arm around her neck. JongHyun fears TaeYeon will bolt and run
out of the bar like a headless chicken anytime soon. The heavy blush on her face does make her look like she is going to explode, though.
“TaeYeon, breathe!” JongHyun hisses on her ear as he tightens his chokehold. “Breathe!”
Instead of doing as she is told to, TaeYeon turns blue. “Can’t-can’t breathe!” She claws at his forearm and he finally realizes that he is, indeed, choking her then quickly lets her go. “You moron!” The blonde nudges JongHyun on the ribs with her pointy elbow, hard.
“I’m sorry.” The co-pilot rubs his forearm and side sheepishly. “But come again? Who is here?”
“My Rapunzel! The ATC girl!”
JongHyun’s eyes become wide in surprise. “She is here?! Where?!” He looks around frantically, trying to spot the unknown woman TaeYeon has been crushing over, although he does not even have the slightest idea of how the woman looks like. “Where, TaeYeon? Where? Is she pretty? How old is she? Can I meet her?”
TaeYeon makes a face at her partner’s overflowing excitement. “Are you sure you’re not the one having a crush on her?”
“Oh, please…” JongHyun continues scanning the crowd. “It’s just SooYoung,” he mentions the stewardess who usually joins their flight every other day, “and I, and also YoonA,” yet another stewardess, “are having a bet about how your crush looks like. I bet fifty bucks that she is nerdylooking thirty years old—Ouch!” He yelps when another nudge lands on his side again, harder this time. JongHyun grins guiltily. “I didn’t mean it that way…”
The blonde rolls her eyes at her rather childish partner. “You can say goodbye to your money.” Nervousness gone, TaeYeon turns giddy, like a schoolgirl after seeing her crush smiles at her for the first time. “She is drop dead gorgeous! And she is Korean too! And her hair is shoulder length and not blonde, but I love Tangled so she can be my kick-ass Rapunzel forever! And her eyes—“
“Stop, stop!”
“What?”
“How did you even know that it’s her?”
“You really hate losing a bet, don’t you?” TaeYeon narrows her eyes at JongHyun. She loves the man like a brother, but he can be damn annoying at times, even more than their resident gay pilot, Kim KiBum. “I heard her voice, she came up beside me on the bar and ordered pussyfoot,” she explains. “I didn’t gather more about her, though.” She frowns, regretting herself for being too shy and ran away instead of introducing herself and all. If only I did, I might be talking to her
instead of JongHyun right now… TaeYeon sighs then mumbles, mostly to herself. “I was in panic so I didn’t get to use my gaydar on her…”
“Shoulder length brown hair and she is Korean, right?”
“Yeah…” TaeYeon takes big gulp of her drink to sooth her disappointment. “Why?”
“Well… If that is her...” JongHyun points at the general direction where a group of people, probably part the airport staff, is sitting together, and one of them matches TaeYeon’s description of her dream girl. “Then you don’t need your gaydar, because mine exploded the moment I saw her.”
TaeYeon whips her head to where JongHyun is pointing. It takes her millisecond to find her crush, sitting among the group, and she can’t see what her partner meant about his gaydar exploding. “That’s her, yeah...” she confirms dreamily then continues on without letting her eyes off from her crush, “but I can’t see anything gay about her yet and you don’t even have a gaydar.”
“I have the gayest of them all as my best friends; my gaydar is much more honed than yours, but whatever.” The co-pilot rolls his eyes before he slaps TaeYeon on the shoulder, snapping her out of her trance. “Grow a ball and talk to her!”
The blonde gasps, shyness goes back in full force. “N-no, no! I can’t do that! She’ll think I’m a creep.”
“You are a creep...”
But TaeYeon has not heard JongHyun's sarcastic remark and goes on with her panic rant. “How big is the possibility of meeting your crush in a bar after you flirted with her about three hours beforehand and-and I’m not ready. I have no idea of what to say. Can I just come up to her and say ‘hey, I’m the pilot who has been annoying you every other day. I know I’m short, yeah. And I’m also an awkward turtle when it comes to courting and such, but now that we’ve meet in person, I’ll be a brave gentleman for once and ask, would you like to go out with me? Oh! Wait! Do you even swing that way? I’m TaeYeon, by the way.’? And then what? What if she turned me down? In front of her colleagues? I’ll just make fun of myself and—Mmfh!” She gets cut off as JongHyun clamps his big hand over her mouth, effectively shutting her up.
JongHyun laughs sheepishly. Apparently, TaeYeon has attracted the attention of the people around them and they are staring at the duo weirdly. “I’m sorry, my girlfriend here get a panic attack.” But the stares do not cease so he adds, “We are going to have sex for the first time!”
As expected, the crowd cheers. They all just need silly reason to drink more. While they are busy clinking their glasses together, JongHyun takes the chance to pull the too-stunned TaeYeon out of the bar. Only when they are out and safe out of anyone’s earshot that the blonde stomps her heel onto her co-pilot’s, earning a loud painful yelp from the man, before she walks away angrily.
Two days later, after a lot of apologizing and a spa coupon, TaeYeon and JongHyun are back into their normal self, with the former being all ecstatic and the latter keeps rolling his eyes at her. They have successfully landed yet another flight despite the rather cloudy day, which, by the way, has given TaeYeon a perfect excuse to ask detailed direction from her crush. The ATC did not seem to mind at all. In fact, if TaeYeon dares herself to say it, her crush sounded happier than usual, as if she knows something they don’t.
Ignoring the nagging feeling inside her chest, TaeYeon continues talking on the communicator, “I like blue, and sometimes purple too,” she informs without being prompted to. The blonde feels she has the upper hand because she has seen her crush while the latter knows nothing about her. It’s only fair if I tell her about me, right? The blonde giggles happily, empowered by the fact that she, apparently, is the one wearing pants in the relationship. But her glee is not going to stay for a long time.
“I know, Captain Kim TaeYeon.”
The Note
“I know, Captain Kim TaeYeon.”
TaeYeon freezes on her seat, forgetting about what she is supposed to be doing next. On the seat beside her, JongHyun goes through an almost identical reaction, except that he gathers his wits faster and practically smacks the pilot’s hand off one certain button on the panel, effectively cutting off their communication. His Nana would have chastised him for being rude but such grave situation requires an equally grave action to counter and it has nothing to do with this urge he has for acting dramatic. Nope. Not at all.
Since the pilot is still looking blankly at the panel, JongHyun takes the initiative to enter the Ground Control’s frequency. The man’s voice replacing her Rapunzel’s soothing one manages to pull TaeYeon out of her shock, but only as far as making her operate in autopilot mode. They park the plane without any more heart-stopping incident.
“Are you okay?”
“No.”
“Do you want to get out of this plane so we can talk about it?”
“No.”
JongHyun let out a sigh. “We kinda have to get out, though.” But TaeYeon does not react so he continues, “It has been ten minutes since the passengers left the plane.”
“Hmm.”
“YoonA had checked on us twice.”
This time, not even a hum answers JongHyun. Apparently, TaeYeon has opted to withdrawn back into herself and freaked out inside her mind, as usual. Her action is not something JongHyun has not predicted—he is very used to his captain having silent moments where he can hear her thoughts echo inside her thick skull—but this one seems worse. TaeYeon does not even flinch when he practically breathes on the side of her face and he knows how much the woman hates having her personal space intruded.
“That’s it!” JongHyun exclaims, throwing his arms into the air rather dramatically. “We’re going to the tower,” he states with finality as he undoes the belt around TaeYeon then tugs her back on her feet.
“What?! No!”
TaeYeon’s loud objection to the one-sided decision falls on deaf ears, although not for the unwanted spectators they gather along the way. The blonde is trashing and flailing her free arm about, like a small child refusing to go to school, while JongHyun holds her wrist hostage as he
leads the way. A fleeting thought of going all caveman on the petite woman, slinging her across his shoulder, crosses his mind once before it gets turned down almost instantly. Even with her small figure, TaeYeon is packed with quite a kick. He has witnessed his partner kicking a drunk man right on the balls when he touched her inappropriately while they were drinking in a club back in Seoul. JongHyun does not wish for such treatment to befall upon himself, thus his smart decision in keeping his weakest spot—and practically all part of his body, except for an arm— away from the blonde. That does not manage to save him from getting his shoulder punched, though.
“Kim JongHyun, I demand you to release me. Now!” TaeYeon speaks with as much authority as she can muster. Panic rises as they are getting closer to the North Tower. “Kim JongHyun!”
JongHyun grimaces, offering awkward smiles to the people who have taken interest on them along the way. A female pilot spluttering what sounds like an angry alien language to her fellow Korean pilot is not everyday happening. The usual calm and collected TaeYeon is long gone. Thankfully, they are taking the employee pathway so the general public will not see their very unprofessional behavior. Although the dirty look a janitor sends to JongHyun as they march past is enough to make him duck his head in embarrassment.
“For the love of God, shut up and grow a ball,” JongHyun finally hisses when they take a turn into a deserted hallway.
By now, TaeYeon realizes they are on the wrong way. She truly does not mind not getting to meet her Rapunzel sooner; she knows she will only make a fool out of herself without proper preparation. But going through a roundabout course and therefore prolonging the torture are not doing any good for the blonde either. She will get aneurism if it is going to take any longer to get
to the tower. The elevator’s loud ‘ding’ snaps TaeYeon out of her death wish and she looks around in bewilderment. They are in front of the control room of the tower, the South tower.
“What are we doing—“
“Every pilot has to report before departure and they check our identity all the time.” The tall man rolls his eyes. “It’s the best place to start if someone was searching for your information.”
JongHyun then jerks the door open and pushes TaeYeon inside before she can retort. She stumbles then turns around to glare at her co-pilot after she gathers her composure, face flushes in red. The man only points behind her, where some staffs are staring at them with raised brows. TaeYeon’s blush deepens as her self-consciousness shoots through the roof and she mindlessly smoothes her uniform, trying to look more presentable. She hates being the center of people’s attention. Fortunately for her, a short blonde woman shushes the rest of the staffs and comes bouncing to their aid.
“To what do we owe the pleasure of this visit, captain,” the woman looks at TaeYeon first before moving to JongHyun, “First officer?” She is perky, with dimples popping and sparkly blue eyes. She is everything TaeYeon is not. “It’s so rare for pilots to come up here to send the departure papers in person, so I guess it’s not that?” She deduces smartly.
“We’re looking for information.” JongHyun steps up to stand beside TaeYeon. Even he feels a little irked by the woman—Robbins, her name tag says so—and her happy-go-lucky attitude. “I hope you can help us, Miss Robbins.”
“Sure!” The blue-eyed woman bounces on her feet again, hands clasp in excitement. “What do you want to know?”
“Captain Kim here—“ JongHyun begins, but he gets interrupted by a squeal. Several squeals, actually.
“Wait! You’re Captain Kim? As in Captain Kim TaeYeon?” Robbins asks.
TaeYeon nods dumbly, lost of why these men and women suddenly stare at her like she is a piece of fresh meat and they are the salivating zombies. The spark on their eyes can be categorized as predatory. TaeYeon’s fight-or-flight instinct tells her to flee, but JongHyun has started holding her hand again. What the blonde pilot is not aware of is the fact that her partner does it because he is scared too.
Another staff joins them, a short man with sleek brown hair and doe eyes. “You’re so cute!” He claims, high-pitched. Then when TaeYeon replied his compliment with gruff voice and an expression between aloof and intrigued, he fans his heated face with one hand. “Oh my... That’s such a turn on.”
Eew... This time, both TaeYeon and JongHyun share the same thought. They want to get out of the tower, fast. TaeYeon grips her co-pilot’s hand as hard as she can and he catches her silent suggestion right away.
“I take that all of you have heard the exchanges between my captain here and the ATC on North Tower?” JongHyun asks and a chorused ‘yes’ answers him. Apparently the South Tower is less strict due to the considerably younger staffs running it, unlike the North Tower. “Uugh... We are wondering if anyone can share some information with us.” He chooses to ignore his own stalkerish manner since they are too deep to pull out, so it is better to just get through it for once and all. “As you see, the ATC isn’t really thrilled with Captain Kim’s approach.” A collective nods respond him and TaeYeon can’t stop blushing in embarrassment, apparently everyone in LAX know about her and her silly wooing approach for the ATC. “But she knows her name while she doesn’t and it’s unfair. We hope anyone can help us to even out the ante...?”
“Actually...” This time another woman steps up. “We have something better.” She hands the folded note she has taken from her drawer to TaeYeon. “When she came here to ask about your data, she had predicted that you would pay a visit soon, so she left this for you.”
The blonde can’t hide her surprise as she receives the note, her jaw slacks and eyes wide. Again, TaeYeon gets beaten by her crush in the rivalry game they have unconsciously created together. The woman seems to defeat her on every chance she gets and moves several steps ahead before TaeYeon can even catch up. It is both annoying and challenging.
TaeYeon fights off the blush and the stupid grin that threatens to break on her face as she slowly unfolds the note. Her stomach is doing flips whilst her heart flutters with anticipation, but the neat Hangeul written inside makes her stomach drop. JongHyun, who peeks over TaeYeon’s shoulder, immediately squeezes her hand when he read the single sentence.
Please stop bothering me at work, Captain Kim.
Captain Kim and Miss Hwang
TaeYeon eases herself onto the bed. She does not care enough to peel the cover nor taking off her shoes first. She does not even care the wrinkles her uniform will surely obtain in the process. The blonde is heartbroken. It feels like high school all over again, except for the absence of her thick glasses and brackets, and the fact that her crush did not even know of her existence. But her Rapunzel—No, Miss Hwang Tiffany, did notice her and yet she still got her heartbroken.
Hwang Tiffany.
Robbins had kindly informed TaeYeon of her crush’s name after she saw her crestfallen expression. It failed to ebb the pain, despite how nice the name rolls off TaeYeon’s tongue. The changes must have been so obvious that even JongHyun did not make any joke and let TaeYeon have her space. He too did not raise a protest when the blonde woman later on decided to not participate in the flight back to Incheon on the next day. That is two flights in a row—LAX to
Incheon then Incheon to LAX—and she did not even blink when she was told about a certain amount of money in her paycheck would be reduced then handed to SiWon, her replacement.
TaeYeon just wants to sleep, but even the sandman evades her tonight. Again, the time difference is part to blame. Now that sleep is elusive and her thoughts are making her restless, TaeYeon turns to the tiny pills her physician had prescribed shortly after her major break-up with her ex-fiancée. Two blue bitter pills and a glass of water later, the blonde finally dozes off. When TaeYeon wakes up the next morning, the first things she notices are the fact that she is still in her uniform, sans the shoes, and then, that she is alone in the lodge room the airport has provided for international pilots like herself. The memories of what had happened the other day rushes into her mind and she sighs dejectedly.
The blonde goes about her morning routine in a vain attempt of distracting herself. She takes a long shower, dressed herself in civilian clothes, and grabs a quick brunch with JongHyun at a nearby restaurant. It works well, until she comes back and checks her uniform before she supposes to send it out to be dry-cleaned, and finds the note from Tiffany. TaeYeon had shoved it inside her pocket after she read it once, not bothering to see it ever again. Despite the pang of displeasure inside her chest telling her to toss it away, or better, burn it off, she still goes against her own better judgment and sits down on the bed, rereading the lone sentence that had managed to break her heart.
Please stop bothering me at work, Captain Kim.
TaeYeon scoffs. Thinking so highly of yourself, huh? She then rolls her eyes, heart sets on the more traditional way of getting over the heartbreak by hating the woman, or in this particular
case, ignoring the woman. I will get over this stupid crush, she promises herself as she tosses the note haphazardly and plops down to lie on her back. I will overcome it. It’s so not worth—
Whatever newly-made determination TaeYeon is going to declare suddenly vanishes when she turns to her side, looking straight at the back of the folded note, where a string of numbers stares back at her tauntingly. Bewilderedly, she reaches out for the paper and brings it in for closer inspection. The numbers are written on the bottom and in smaller letters, which is why she had not noticed it before. It is a foreign cell phone number, written by Tiffany, but it can be of a random person’s. Or it can be another proof of her crush’s apparent disrespect of the affection she harbors towards her, the deliberate use of used note is to mock said feeling.
Or it can be hers... the small, hopeful voice rings from the far back of TaeYeon’s head. It can be Tiffany’s and she wants me to call her...
Before the stupid self-argument TaeYeon normally engages in can commence, her heart has yet again beaten all logic her brain is ready to throw out. With her body in perfect tune with her heart, the blonde finds herself scrambling ahead to retrieve her own phone from its charger on the nightstand. The number is typed in and soon followed by the green call button being tapped, panic finally settles in TaeYeon after the first ring. She might be calling her freaking crush and she has no idea of what to talk about. When she thinks of hanging up to gather her wits first, it is too late.
“Hello?”
TaeYeon’s heart skips a beat and the butterflies she does not know she has start doing silly somersaults inside her stomach. It is Tiffany. The pilot tries to greet back, yet no sound manages to come out. Her mouth opens and closes like a fish out of water. She hears small rustle on the other side, probably Tiffany taking the phone away from her ear, and she waits for the dial tone to resonate with bated breath. TaeYeon is sure Tiffany will hang up, thinking it is a prank call, but the noise never comes.
“Captain Kim?”
“Yes!” TaeYeon squeaks out.
The blonde has to remind herself that Tiffany is, in fact, not standing in front of her. She can’t see her. There is no reason for her to be so worked out over a phone call. It is just like another courting attempt through the air traffic communication, except it is better because the whole LAX staffs can’t hear them. With such reassuring thoughts, TaeYeon’s nervousness dissipates and replaced by her composed, flirty persona.
“Hello, Rapunzel.” This time, TaeYeon’s timbre goes down by a notch into her pleasantly soothing voice. She also uses Korean to subtly hint that she knows about Tiffany’s lineage. A smile breaks on her lips when she notices a tiny, almost timid giggle comes from the other end. Maybe I’m not the only one who is shy here. Her grin widens into a toothy one.
“You must have known my name already, Captain Kim.” Tiffany’s Korean flows impeccably but her heavy accent makes it very distinguishable that she does not use the language frequently.
“So do you, Miss Hwang.” TaeYeon switches back to English, it never hurts to practice the language more.
“It took you long enough to finally call me, TaeYeon.”
TaeYeon frowns, but not because the intentional use of her name. “You told me to stop bothering you, Tiffany.” She really does not want to be petty, but the woman had caused her unnecessary suffering.
“Yes, at work.” Tiffany sounds like she is enjoying the small banter too much for TaeYeon’s likings. “I prefer to act professional while I’m working. That’s why I gave you my number.”
“Yes, number that I prefer to be written in big bold letters on front, under your message.” TaeYeon would have rolled her eyes but she is too distracted and buzzed with excitement, so much that she ends up blurting out, “I’m free today and the date offer still stands.” Then smacks herself square on the forehead, even when it is too late to take it back.
Tiffany laughs good-naturedly. “It does?”
“Y-yeah...”
“Then pick me at seven on the North Tower.” A small chuckle follows. “I expect you to recite the line from Rapunzel—“ It gets cut off.
TaeYeon is sure her heart has leapt up to her throat when Tiffany agreed, but the abruptly ended call has pummeled it back down to her chest where it proceeds to drop down to her stomach with each second passes and she hears no more sound coming. Confused and a bit hurt, TaeYeon pulls the phone away from her ear and stares at the black screen. She cusses out loud when she realizes it has run out of batteries.
Rapunzel, Rapunzel...
TaeYeon is early, thirty minutes early. She has gone up and down the North tower twice and visited the restroom to check her appearance thrice. Now, with ten minutes left, she starts pacing in the fortunately-empty hallway in front of the control room, hands balled on her sides in order to stop herself from biting her nails. She is a total emotional wreck today and with no JongHyun around to talk with—he is going to fly back to Seoul with SiWon later tonight—her anxiety simply burns her out from inside.
An older man casts a questioning glance at TaeYeon while he gets inside the control room and the pilot—now unidentified in her sleek black slacks, blue plaid shirt, and dark jacket—actually glares back at him. He huffs in disapproval at her as he closes the door behind him. Less than a minute later, the door opens again and TaeYeon stops dead on her track. Back stiffs and breathe hitches in her throat, she waits, thinking the man had informed his coworkers about her presence outside their control room and Tiffany had come forward to speak to her outside. TaeYeon can barely hold herself up when the person behind the door pokes their head out through the gap. The gender, lineage, and even hair length are correct, but the age is not.
“Mister Doyle, it’s not my granddaughter,” The middle-aged Korean woman calls back to the room, eyes still on TaeYeon. When the pilot makes a disbelief face and grunts back at her, she adds in disdain, “My granddaughter has better manners.” Then slams the door shut.
The small exchange, while unpleasant, has managed to distract TaeYeon for the rest of the time. She leans on the wall across the control room’s door and crosses her arms defiantly across her chest. When a few minutes later the door opens again, TaeYeon readily throws the coldest glare she can muster at whomever that will poke their head out. Only this time, a well-dressed Hwang Tiffany comes out.
Tiffany cocks a brow at the menacing then shocked look she receives from her suppose-to-be date. “Should I come back later?” She takes a step backward, crossing the threshold without taking her eyes off from TaeYeon.
TaeYeon is beyond dumbfounded. The sudden fear prickling on her skin snaps her out of her stupor. She peers past Tiffany, where about a dozen pair of eyes—belongs to the staffs that are almost as old as her own grandparents—staring straight at her with clear warning. Hurt her and we will hunt you down. It is like meeting the parents of her date, six times the number and double the age.
The blonde gulps uneasily as she avoids the penetrating gazes and chooses to look at Tiffany. “Can we start over again?” She pleads sheepishly.
“Sure.”
Then Tiffany closes the door, leaving a perplexed TaeYeon alone. But it is not for long because the door opens again and this time, Tiffany steps outside then closes it behind her back. TaeYeon sighs and smiles gratefully at her date, but the expectant look the latter gives her is making her brows furrow in confusion. TaeYeon’s brain rakes through their exchange earlier. Tiffany had replied to her apologetic text message with a simple ‘it’s okay’ and told her that she would turn off her phone because her work shift was going to start, so it must be something during the phone call.
I expect you to recite the line from Rapunzel. TaeYeon eyes widen and she stares at Tiffany bewilderedly. She really wants me to say it?!
As if she can hear TaeYeon’s thought, Tiffany nods encouragingly. After one full minute the now-blushing blonde has stayed quiet, Tiffany nudges her head slightly at the direction of the door behind her as a silent threat. TaeYeon knows she has embarrassed Tiffany before with her insistent public courting attempts and it will only be fair if she gets her fair share of embarrassment herself. At least Tiffany does not require her to actually recite the line while she is down outside the tower.
Eventually, TaeYeon huffs in defeat. She takes in a generous amount of air to prepare herself in getting the taste of her own medicine. “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair.” The words flow along with her exhale, growing exponentially softer with the redness on her cheeks.
Nonetheless, it pleases Tiffany. She actually takes her hair out of its tight ponytail—the hairdo TaeYeon had failed to notice earlier due to her attention being placed somewhere else, namely Tiffany’s eyes—then shakes the tresses free. The silky dark brown locks cascade down elegantly, not even a strain sticking out of place despite its recent confinement. TaeYeon does not bother to be more discreet, she openly gapes at the action and Tiffany grins back in delight. As soon as the exchange ends, silence reigns.
TaeYeon grows uncomfortable then does the first thing that comes to her mind; she sticks her hand out for a handshake as she mutters a quiet ‘nice to meet you’. Tiffany stares at the offered hand then at TaeYeon, who schools her expression to not give any hint of the incredulousness she is feeling at the moment, before accepting it. No electric sensation crawls over their skin, no random realization of how their hands fit each other, just one warm and firm handshake.
However, TaeYeon, in the ill-advised effort she again comes up with to salvage the awkward situation, brings Tiffany’s hand up then kisses it smoothly.
Oh no... The blonde groans inside her mind as she breaks the contact, avoiding looking at Tiffany on all cost. The date has not even started yet and she had made fun of herself. “I-I’m sorry. It’s just... an impulse. Your hand feels so soft, I can’t help it.” The last unnecessary sentence flies out of her mouth without her consent and undoes her whole effort to act less crazy. With how deep she has dug, TaeYeon is surprised she has not buried herself alive yet. I’d love to have the ground opened up and swallowed me whole now!
“It’s okay.” Surprisingly, Tiffany’s voice holds no teasing tone in it. “Thank you.”
TaeYeon looks up just in time to see the other woman’s small, shy, but genuine smile. She grins back, a little more confident than before. “Shall we go?”
Be Your Everything Instead of offering her arm, the pilot nudges her head down the hall. Skin to skin contact will be too much for her already-rattled brain to handle and Tiffany seems to be on the same page with
her in this as she takes the first step. They walk together until they are out of the tower and in the public area, where TaeYeon abruptly pulls to a stop.
“Where do you want to go?”
“Anywhere is fine but I can’t stay out too late.”
A small flush invades TaeYeon’s face. “I’d like to treat you dinner somewhere outside the airport...” She rubs the back of her neck; a sheepish smile tugs on her lips. “But I have no idea of where to go...”
“You’re not familiar with the area?”
TaeYeon shrugs. “Never have the chance to roam in the city.”
“I know this nice Thai restaurant,” Tiffany suggests after considering the options. “Are you okay with Thai food? There are plenty of Mexican grills and American bistros too if it doesn’t fit your palate.”
“More than okay.”
One problem settled, they resume the walk out. At this time of the day, the airport is on its highest activity. Passengers and staffs alike are running from one end to another. With such packed crowd, Tiffany is forced to walk closer to TaeYeon, arms and shoulders brushing against each other as they amble towards the entrance. The blonde halts, but her date continues forward and she has to catch up until they are walking side by side again.
“Are we going to the parking lot?”
“No.”
TaeYeon quirks a brow when no more explanation coming. Tiffany’s answers so far have been clipped, but she does not feel any animosity radiating from the ATC. It seems like the brownhaired woman just functions that way. Straightforward, clear, and neutral. Just like the way she responded to TaeYeon’s courting through the air traffic communication. She is decidedly warmer during their phone call, though.
Tiffany stops on the curb and hails a cab when she says, “I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For this.” Tiffany points to herself, as if that will make any more sense. Even she is frustrated with herself. “I’m just not used to...”
“Dating?” TaeYeon supplies as she opens the taxi’s door for her date. “Me neither.”
Tiffany gets in first and scoots away to give TaeYeon space to sit. She then tells the driver to go to Ayara Thai Cuisine on Westchester and soon enough, they are out of the airport complex and into the city street. Tiffany does not make any attempt to revive their conversation, feeling uncomfortable to talk about her dating life, or lack thereof, in front of a stranger while they are confined in a closed space. Since it is her official first time being out, TaeYeon takes the chance to drink in the surrounding view as much as she can, the slow change of day to night and the twinkling lights fascinate her. It is like any other big city, but the different architecture, people, and culture are giving different vibe from Seoul. Unfortunately for her, the drive ends as they reach their destination.
TaeYeon takes out her wallet to pay, but Tiffany beats her to it. “You can pay for dinner,” she says in finality, leaving no room for argument as she slips the crisp dollar bills to the driver.
The dinner can’t get any better. The food is great and conversation between them flows seamlessly. They have mutual love for the aviation, but surprisingly, other than the initial exchange of short stories about how they came to love it—TaeYeon and her father’s business, Tiffany and her memories of watching the planes from the airport’s waiting room whenever she went to send or pick her parents from their year-round overseas business trips—their conversation topics broach to everything else but the aviation itself.
Just as TaeYeon has suspected earlier, Tiffany is the type of uptight, blunt, and no-nonsense person. While it does not make her necessarily a socially awkward turtle like TaeYeon is, she
does tend to steer people away from her due to her brutal honesty and lack of common compassion sense. It is really peculiar, their relationship that is. People who is shy and rather keep to herself like TaeYeon should not be with people like Tiffany, who does not even bat her eyelashes when she told TaeYeon about how her shiny heeled dress shoes do not fit the rest of her attire. Normally, the blonde would have taken offense and called the date off as soon as the words left her date’s mouth, but she did not this time because she knows it is never meant to be an insult. It is just Tiffany being Tiffany and she finds it endearing. So, there they are, walking out of the restaurant with arms comfortably intertwined.
“Let me take you home.”
Tiffany immediately puts some distance between their bodies without breaking their link. “No,” she answers with straight face.
TaeYeon looks confused and a tad upset at first, before she becomes painfully aware of what her previous statement has insinuated. “I didn’t mean taking you home that way!” She cries out, mortified.
“I know.” The ATC chuckles, squeezing TaeYeon’s arm as she brings herself closer again. “But seriously, you don’t need to. I live nearby, I’ll just walk.”
“Walk?” The blonde asks in disbelief.
“I live in West Sepulveda Apartments, 8501 Sepulveda Boulevard. That’s next block. Ten minutes top.”
“Should you be that precise all the time?” Tiffany’s literalness sometimes scares TaeYeon, just like in this instance. “I might have some evil intentions and now I know where you live.”
“Yes, my job requires me to, and I have to inform you that I own a semi-automatic twelve gauge Benelli Montefeltro Silver shotgun at home.” As if the unnecessary bit of information is not enough to make TaeYeon’s jaw sweep the ground, Tiffany rummages through her bag to take out a can of pepper spray and pink lipstick tube shaped stun gun for her date to see. “I’m going to be fine walking home. You should take a cab back to the airport.”
Oddly, the new knowledge of Tiffany’s vast amount of self-protection weaponries does not waver TaeYeon’s confidence. “I insist. I’ll take the cab in front of your place.” She grins a bit roguishly. “Letting a lady walk alone at night will make me a bad date, won’t it?”
“But you’re a lady as well,” Tiffany points out as she tugs TaeYeon to walk along with her, wordlessly agrees on the latter’s suggestion to walk her home. With the unhurried pace of their stroll, it will definitely take more than ten minutes to get to her apartment and for once, she does not mind at all. She enjoys their chat and banter all the same; both are as lovely as it is amusing.
“I’m wearing the pants tonight.”
“Then I’m going to wear the pants next time.”
TaeYeon’s eyes twinkle hopefully. “Next time?”
“Tonight is enjoyable.” Tiffany ducks her head slightly to hide the redness on her cheeks. “I won’t mind a repetition.”
“It can be arranged.”
Instead of taking shortcut back to the main street, Tiffany takes the roundabout way by circling the block. It is something she will not do if she were by herself as she deems it as a waste of time, but she decides to show the blonde around the area. They stroll along West 87 th Street, take a left to Truxton Avenue, until they are out on West Manchester Avenue.
Along the way, the ATC animatedly points out each building that seems to attract TaeYeon’s attention and provides a little background story of the establishment. TaeYeon listens to her tentatively, although she is sure she will not shop on Tanner’s Sewing and Vacuum Center, or get to Red Ross Tattoos, or being inside the Calvary Chapel, anytime soon. She might have to get an appointment with the foot doctor from the corner of West Manchester Avenue and South Sepulveda Boulevard if she was going to walk any farther in her very uncomfortable heeled dress shoes, though. One shop in particular has managed to catch her full attention and popped a rather romantic idea inside her mind. So, when Tiffany announces her apartment is across the street, TaeYeon pulls her to a halt on the sidewalk.
At Tiffany’s questioning look, TaeYeon responds, “I... Uum... I need to get something.”
The brown-haired woman takes it as a clue for their parting. She beams as she untangles their arms. “I have a nice time tonight, thank—“
“No, no.” TaeYeon waves her hand frantically, her blush deepening. “I really need to get something but I want you to wait for me in front of your building. I promise I’ll come back as soon as I can. Give me fifteen—No, twenty minutes. Please?”
The quizzical expression does not cease, but Tiffany nods then hands her pepper spray to TaeYeon, who takes it without any protest then sprints down the street as fast as her short legs can. The pilot knows she will most probably get ugly blisters on her feet by the end of her scheme, but she could not care less. Approximately eighteen minutes later, TaeYeon crosses the street and goes straight to where Tiffany is waiting for her. Her fair locks are tousle and cheeks flushing from the exertion, but the toothy grin she sports is bright and wide.
Tiffany frowns in disapproval. Before she can ask anything, TaeYeon brings out the single rose she hid in her jacket’s inner pocket and presents it to her date, who takes it with a perfect blend of wariness and gratefulness. She is sure TaeYeon like her in romantic sense, but the present makes her doubt herself. Maybe she has been reading the blonde’s approach in the wrong way, because the rose is not red (“romantic love”) or even purple (“love at first sight”). It is yellow and Tiffany never loathes the color as much as she does now.
“Yellow is for—“
“Friendship,” TaeYeon completes the sentence, grin never falters.
It was something the blonde had realized two months after her major break up. Her ex-fiancée and she were never friends. They met through mutual friend, clicked, then decided to pursue the romantic relationship right from the start. They have different sets of friends—her ex is a few years older and is a dentist—and whenever problem arose, they would turn their back towards each other instead of working it out together. When TaeYeon noticed their relationship was slowly slipping out of her grasp due to their busy schedule, she desperately tried to keep it together by tying her ex with the engagement ring, but never entertained the idea of marriage itself. Apparently, it was the same reason that drove the woman away and into the arms of her fellow dentist, an older man who is ready to settle down and have family. For once, TaeYeon is the one who was left behind.
So, when she was picking which flower to buy for her date in the LA International Floral shop she had noticed earlier, she chose to go forward with the yellow rose. Single, not because she can’t afford buying a dozen, but because she was being considerate of Tiffany. Not all women love being smothered by flowers. The ATC’s almost insignificant slump of shoulders when TaeYeon said the word ‘friendship’ does not slip her attention either.
“You’re a wonderful person. I’d love to know you better and be your friend first,” TaeYeon declares, proud that she can say it all without blushing or stuttering. Her smile grows wider, if it is physically possible, as Tiffany’s chocolate eyes lit up. “Because a great relationship starts from a great friendship, don’t you think so?”
For the flower, audacity, and especially for the thoughtful words, TaeYeon earns herself a kiss on the cheek from Tiffany.
Green-eyed Monster “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome on board on flight KE062. This is Captain Kim speaking and I have some information about our non-stop flight. Our flight time today will be thirteen hours and twenty minutes and our estimated time of arrival in Seoul is on Sunday, 06.00
local time. The weather in our route is good and the forecast says it will be cloudy in Seoul when we arrive. We remind you that if you need any special attention, all our crew will be ready to assist you. Latest update on weather at our destination will be given as we approach Incheon. Enjoy your flight.” TaeYeon then repeats the message but in Korean this time as the plane taxies out to the runway.
After getting an okay from the ATC, the plane slowly rolls down on the runway, gaining more speed and eventually altitude as it takeoffs. JongHyun makes report to the North Tower while TaeYeon retracts the landing gear. Once they fly past the cloud, the blonde turns off the ‘fasten seatbelt’ sign, letting the chief flight attendant to inform the passengers that it is safe to undo their seatbelts even though the plane is still ascending in order to gain its preferable cruising altitude. TaeYeon does another throughout check and all five eight-inch LCD color screens— two primary flight displays, two navigation screens, engine indicator, and warning system of the crew (EICAS) screen—on the flight deck are all showing excellent information.
After the plane reaches the desired altitude, TaeYeon’s hands are still holding on the yoke and foot plants firmly on the rudder bar. She can feel the fly-by-wire system alternating the controls JongHyun and her have made separately. With not much going on at the moment, she relaxes and leans back on her seat. Her mind immediately goes back to a certain beauty with short brown hair and the pair of most beautiful chocolate eyes she has ever seen and she can’t stop the upward tugs on her lips as she sighs happily.
“I hate to pop your pink bubble of happiness,” JongHyun’s voice came from the headset, breaking the happy reminiscence TaeYeon was having. “But it’s getting too big and unbearable for this small cockpit, it starts suffocating me.”
TaeYeon sticks out her tongue at him.
“Very mature, Romeo. Did you stick your tongue down her throat as well?”
As expected, TaeYeon blushes furiously. “No! We didn’t—“
“I know, I know. It’s only dinner, walk, yellow rose, friend request, and a peck on the cheek. You told me while we were checking the plane, twice.”
The date sounds so plain when JongHyun sums it up like that and TaeYeon can’t help but huff. For her, it is a very important, a very pleasant experience. The blonde is satisfied she did not commit any grave mistake that might alter the outcome of her budding relationship. With such assurance, she can relive everything, step by step, from the beginning until the end, and finds a smile gracing her lips every single time the memory invades her mind. To put it simply, it is perfect.
“You are grinning like an idiot again,” JongHyun comments in a sing-song tone before his expression hardens into a serious one as he says, “I have something that will steer your mind away from your Rapunzel.”
TaeYeon catches on the sudden change and feels herself tensed with anticipation. “What is it?”
“News. Bad, worse, and worst. Which one do you want to hear first?”
“Easiest first.”
“The company hired a bunch of new pilots so they can start exercising the new FAA rules.”
The blonde nods. “That’s not so bad...”
The new FAA rules include new pilot fatigue rules. It restricts pilot flight time to eight or nine hours per shift and for two-pilot crews it is decreased from previously sixteen to just fourteen hours. It also requires pilots to get at least ten hours of rest in between shifts; eight of those must involve uninterrupted sleep, and to have thirty consecutive hours of rest each week. TaeYeon has predicted the mess it will cause, but JongHyun and her are working in two-pilot crews system for about thirteen hours flight and with average one day rest between the shift, they have covered the requirement. The blonde then groans when the big prospect of herself being tied in meetings— something that will definitely take place on the next few days—surfaces in her mind. TaeYeon prefers sitting inside the cockpit rather than inside the meeting room with a dozen other pilots.
“What is the worse news?”
JongHyun falls into silent before he sighs, torn between joy and grief. “I got promoted to Captain.”
The initial reaction from TaeYeon comes in the form of a proud pat on her partner’s shoulder. She would have hugged him if not for her hand being required to be steady on the yoke and the central console separating them. The taller man has been her partner for quite a long time, as copilot, it is time for him to get a raise in rank. The congratulatory words, however, dies down on her throat when the less wanted consequence of JongHyun’s promotion slaps her straight on the face.
“They are going to make two captains for LAX-Incheon Boeing line?”
“No.” It is the worst news and JongHyun himself feels bad to be the one delivering it. “I get an Airbus. This is the last time I fly with you.” JongHyun made a mock salute, despite his own eyes betraying him. “They have assigned a new co-pilot for you, Captain.”
Their second date is an ambush. TaeYeon flied back to Incheon on Saturday and supposed to be back on LAX by Monday, but she never did. Her sudden time off before makes her one of the pilots who has not gotten briefing from their supervisor and she also has yet to meet her new copilot. So instead of TaeYeon, a male Captain Kim was the one greeting Tiffany on Monday. Confused from the sudden change, she tried to text TaeYeon but the time difference is playing against them. The ATC ended up not hearing a lot from her favorite pilot until Wednesday. It is so tempting to ask where the blonde had been through the communicator, but Tiffany successfully fought the urge and kept professional. Instead, she takes an hour break to wait for TaeYeon on the arrival gate.
“Where have you been?”
TaeYeon instantly snaps her head away from the conveyor belt she was staring at and comes face to face with Tiffany. “Tiffany? What are you doing here?” She snatches her black carry-on once it made an appearance on the belt then takes several steps ahead to close the proximity with the flustered ATC. “Shouldn’t you be working right now? Are you okay?”
“I am.”
For once, Tiffany shies away from TaeYeon’s questioning gaze. She twiddles with the name tag hanging in front of her chest, finding it intriguing after she has unceremoniously flashed it to the security outside the gate so she can get in without any question asked. It is an action that is so unprofessional and so unlike her, but she was dead worried about the blonde that she could not sit still and try to manage the planes before she sees TaeYeon—alive, breathing, and safe—with her very own eyes.
“I’m just wondring where you were these past four days...”
“Oh!” TaeYeon’s expression quickly changes to an apologetic one. She had only managed to send a very brief text to Tiffany during the said four days of her absence. “I’m sorry, I was busy. The company started making adjustment to follow the new FAA rules.”
TaeYeon sports a small relief smile when the other woman’s understanding shines on her eyes. Of course Tiffany will know which FAA rules and what kind of alteration she was talking about. Truth to be told, she both hates and loves the change at the same time. She had just lost her partner, have to adapt with a new one, and she is obviously not the best person to start making friends with, let alone adjusting to share plane control with a complete stranger. Less flights also means less money, but also more time to rest, which reminds her of the information she wants to share with Tiffany.
“So... Are you free right now?” TaeYeon fidgets a little, another rush of incoming passengers start filling the arrival gate. “Can we talk somewhere else?”
“Sure, I am on a short break.” Something I never did after two years, seven months, and one week of my career as an ATC in LAX, but Tiffany leaves the rest of the unnecessary information stored away and offers a suggestion, “We can talk over coffee.”
They walk together out of the arrival gate with Tiffany leading the way. She is far more familiar with the airport anyway. TaeYeon kind of presumes it will be either Starbucks, Euro Coffee, or the Marmalade Café—the typical over-priced big-name coffee place in airport—when the ATC brings her to the food court on the upper level. The whole floor is dedicated for restaurants, cafés, and lounge. Tiffany surprises TaeYeon by escorting her to a small coffee place by the corner.
The bright-eyed young man behind counter seems startled at first when he saw Tiffany at this time of the day, but it is immediately replaced with a smile. “The usual?”
Tiffany steals a glance at TaeYeon first, who nods back in agreement. “Make it two, please.” Then she proceeds to make a payment.
The ATC would have waited, as usual, but the man tells her that she and her pilot date need to grab a booth and he will bring the coffee to them later. It prompts redness to dust her cheeks as she does as he said. She lets TaeYeon pick a spot, even though there are not many to choose from, and the blonde takes one closest to the door. Thankfully for them, the shop is right on the corner so not many people walk passes it and it offers quite a semblance of coziness.
Only when TaeYeon starts unbuttoning the navy blue pilot-issued standard jacket that Tiffany becomes painfully aware of how attractive her date is in a pilot uniform. It is not a sudden revelation; she has known it from the moment she saw the blonde waiting for her outside the control room. But then again, at that time TaeYeon was wearing casual clothes, which, if Tiffany has to admit, made her look so young that she can pass as college student. This time, though, TaeYeon is the embodiment of beautiful and handsome at the same time. How it is even possible, Tiffany has no idea, but her breath hitches when TaeYeon peels off the jacket from her body, revealing soft feminine curves hugged by the crisp short-sleeved white shirt and decorated with the dark blue tie. Then the blonde slings the discarded jacket on top of her luggage, takes a seat, and time goes back on its normal pace again, leaving Tiffany standing beside the table with a flush on her face.
“Two Americano.” The man announces as he set down the order, effectively snapping the distracted ATC from her daze. “And free blueberry muffins for my favorite costumer.” He winks at Tiffany, who has finally sat on a seat across TaeYeon, with a knowing grin on his lips.
“You don’t have to do that, but thank you, Jake.”
“No prob Tiff.”
TaeYeon smiles and nods in gratitude at the man before he goes back behind the counter, leaving the two ladies on their own again. TaeYeon lit up after she took one experimental sip of the warm beverage. It is so rich in taste, better than any of the tax-laden drink she ever had in any airport. She then sips vigorously and eventually burns her tongue, earning a set of giggles from Tiffany. Despite the pain, TaeYeon laughs along. It is so worth it if she were going to hear the melodious sound coming from the beauty who has held her heart hostage for a while now.
“It’s so much better than whatever coffee I had on plane,” TaeYeon says with slight lisp.
“Try the muffin.”
Tiffany regrets her suggestion right away. TaeYeon practically moans after popping a bit of said cake. The constant buzz in the airport does little to nothing to hide the soft noise and Tiffany blushes beet red. In a panic of being noticed, the brown-haired woman distracts herself with her own drink. Who ever think a cup of Americano and blueberry muffin on the hand of a petite pilot can be deathly weapon for a certain stoic ATC?
“Jake passed the certification tests from level one and two in Barista Guild of America Certification Program. Most of the coffee here is his own recipe. I suspect he adds some spices to enhance the flavor, but he never shares his secret and I don’t want to pry.” Of course Tiffany will come up with the unnecessary information to hide her freaking out moment. “I found his blend
far more satisfying than the usual big brand kind, although I do like some creative mix selection in Starbucks... Have you tried the elephant-fermented coffee beans?” She winches after the question left her lips, it is never a good idea to talk about waste product and if her quirkiness has not driven TaeYeon away before, she may have now.
“Elephant-fermented... As in elephant eats the beans and then...” TaeYeon trails off, but the laugh that follows after is from genuine merriment rather than to ridicule Tiffany. “I’d love to try it! I like the Luwak one.”
The enthusiasm settles Tiffany’s nervousness and she sighs in relief. She really likes TaeYeon ever since the first time the pilot asked her out through the communicator. She refused her advance purely out of professionalism. Not even TaeYeon’s obvious gender manages to deter the attraction because Tiffany is the kind of person who believes in sexual fluidity. The ATC has both men and women as her prior lovers, simply because she likes people based on their personality, not because of their gender.
Tiffany is too enthralled in her own thought that she becomes confused when TaeYeon excuses herself. “Yes?”
“Sorry, I have to turn on my phone,” TaeYeon answers as the black device on her hand lit up. She waits for a minute for it to fully load but no message comes in so she settles the gadget down on the table, placing her hand over it as she frowns. The blonde feels like she is forgetting something important, but she can’t remember what it is and decides to brush it off for the moment. “Back to my disappearance earlier this week...”
TaeYeon goes on reciting her tale in a surprising ease whilst Tiffany listens to her attentively. The blonde only halts once, when her companion slips her slightly bigger hand over her own on top of the phone over the table. They both simultaneously blush from the contact; none of the two is a fan of skin to skin contact—the intimacy of such action sometimes feels too intrusive on their personal space—but this time they revel on the simple hand-holding. It is the reminder that while they have agreed on being friends first and are going through the slow pace, they are still pursuing more than just a simple friendship from the other. The contact, however, unfortunately has to end when all of a sudden, TaeYeon’s phone buzzes.
The pilot grins apologetically as she retreats her hand and the vibrating phone from under Tiffany’s. “Just when we start talking about her...” She mutters after checking on the name flashing on the screen. “Hello?” But no answer comes so she just hangs up.
Truth to be told, TaeYeon is far more eager to spend whatever minutes Tiffany has left from her short break rather than talking to her new co-pilot, even though she had promised to show the girl around LAX and had practically ditched her on the arrival gate. The blonde honestly has enough of the so-called prodigy, youngest girl ever made into first officer. A small part of her is jealous of the girl, because she herself is the youngest woman ever made into captain in Korean Air and her co-pilot may beat the record soon. The bigger part is just irritated because said girl is too energized for her taste and is apparently TaeYeon’s ‘number one fan’. After getting over the initial shyness, the co-pilot is exactly like the female version of SiWon, except for the preaching part. TaeYeon is in the process of telling Tiffany just that, earning a laugh from her date, when a hat lands on her head and she looks up in surprise.
“You forgot your cap, Captain.”
TaeYeon fights the urge to roll her eyes and plasters a smile instead. “Thank you, SunMi.” She then proceeds to stand up beside the girl to introduce her to the ATC, who not so furtively runs a pair of calculative chocolate eyes over the newcomer. “Tiffany, this is my new co-pilot—“
“Partner,” SunMi quips.
But TaeYeon ignores her. “Lee SunMi.” She stares at Tiffany, sending a see what I meant? through her gaze and the latter nods in silent agreement. “SunMi, this is my...” TaeYeon halts, hesitating over the correct term to address the ATC. Girlfriend? Date? “Friend,” she ends up with the most neutral one, “Hwang Tiffany.”
“Nice to meet you.” Tiffany got to her feet to match the other two and offers a handshake, which SunMi accepts. “TaeYeon had just begun telling me about you,” she comments out of politeness but the other woman takes it differently.
“Really?” SunMi perks up happily.
Without much consideration, SunMi links her arm with TaeYeon and snuggles herself closer to the latter as she radiates pure joy. The captain squirms awkwardly, sending apologetic look to the stunned ATC. It took them approximately six days consist of several flirting over the communicator, a note, a phone call, and a whole dinner date to be comfortable and brave enough to link arms with each other and yet SunMi does it easily. All of a sudden, Tiffany is no longer interested in being just a friend anymore.
Extra Baggage Tiffany is restless. After the unfortunate end of her short break, she has gone back to work and inevitably leaving TaeYeon with SunMi. The reluctant look the pilot was sending her before she walked out of the café is the only highlight of the situation. Clearly, TaeYeon is not interested in entertaining the cheerful co-pilot.
But with time, grows understanding... fondness... and then, love... The treacherous voice on the far back of Tiffany’s head whispers for the nth time since she left the two on their own.
Three hours. For three long hours that feels like years, Tiffany is heavily distracted. Three torturous hours combating a mental battle inside her head whilst going about her job managing the planes on autopilot mode. The ATC fully comprehends how absurd, dangerous, unproductive, and so many more negativities it can and has caused her. Yet she can’t stop the jealousy streak from spanning all over her heart and taking over her faculties to twist them into something dark, something she does not recognize.
The green-eyed monster.
The term comes as Tiffany hands over her headset to the night shift’s ATC, fake smile plastered over her lips. The older man replies with a crooked smile of his own and several kind words about job well done, but Tiffany fails to register any of them. Instead, she nods and bids goodnight to her coworkers before leaving the control room. She does not even bother to hide the disappointed downturn on her lips when she steps into the empty hallway. The brown-haired woman had indulged herself in the wistful thinking of TaeYeon waiting for her after her shift to continue their date, in order to ebb the uneasiness knotting in her stomach.
Maybe it was not a date at all. Again with the insecurity. TaeYeon wants to be friends.
Tiffany is aware of the madness she is trapping herself in, but she also acknowledged the advantage of TaeYeon’s request. Being friends is like having a safety-net and the two of them are undoubtedly scared of the prospective of dating then falling apart. Different personalities, upbringings, and demanding job schedules with long hours are some of the things that can put strain on any kind of relationship. They are lucky to have met and somewhat share mutual attraction to each other at all.
The sky is already dark when Tiffany, distracted as she is, manages to board the public bus without any incident. After getting seated, she fishes her phone out of her purse to turn it on. The ride home is a quick one, but she needs to occupy herself with something—anything other than the blonde pilot. Her hope comes crashing in a complete package when the sleek black device buzzes with notification of a new text message, from TaeYeon.
Are you home yet?
I’m going to be within fifteen minutes. Tiffany hesitates for a second before adding, How was your day with SunMi? The brown-haired woman stares at her phone, willing the screen to light up again, for there is no immediate response after a couple of minutes she has sent the message. I’m sorry, forget| She has not finished typing a new message when TaeYeon’s replies come in.
Boring!
I’d rather spend more time with you.
Is it okay?
What is? Tiffany types back, feigning innocent even when the heat creeping up from her chest to her neck is a good indicator of her awareness of what TaeYeon is asking about. Maybe you need to spend more time with her then you’ll find her no longer boring. Lie, but she can’t possibly tell TaeYeon to stay away from SunMi. She is her co-pilot, after all.
I had spent and from now on, will spend more than twelve hours with her.
Every. Single. Day.
Would you like to come to my place? The out of nowhere offer has obviously thrown TaeYeon off because she has not replied yet and Tiffany beats her to it. I didn’t mean right now. How
about Friday night? Still no response and the ATC is getting flustered. I will cook dinner, anything you like, and we can watch movies afterwards...
At this point, it is practically begging plus bribing, but Tiffany has dug in so deep that she can’t see any way out. So far, TaeYeon has always been the one leading whatever relationship they have and it is refreshing for the ATC to be the one taking the first step for a change. She bites her bottom lip nervously as she waits for a reply. A small laugh erupts from her throat when TaeYeon answers with something she does not expect.
You can cook? o_O
At other time, Tiffany will surely scoff at the use of emoticon on text message. She never quite understands how improper combination of letters and symbols can even eloquently convey human’s expression, but she gets it this time. TaeYeon is surprised, and animatedly so. Tiffany can actually picture the pilot’s widened eyes and maybe a slightly dropped jaw.
Yes, I can.
Wow...
Did you expect otherwise?
You just don’t seem like someone who enjoys playing in the kitchen...
I don’t play in the kitchen.
Somewhere inside the airport lodging, TaeYeon rolls her eyes at Tiffany’s literalness but says nothing about it on her next text. Friday night, then.
Do you want me to cook anything particular? Do you have food allergies?
I haven’t eaten home-cooked meal for months now, so I’ll eat everything you dish out. And nuts upset my stomach.
Okay. No nuts.
I’ll bring wine. Red?
Red will do. I’ll see you at eight on Friday night. Tiffany smiles brightly as she finishes her message with Good night, TaeYeon.
Tiffany puts her phone back into her purse when her bus stop comes into view. She still has to walk to her apartment and paying attention to phone while walking is decidedly a hazardous activity she has been against since a very long time ago. She does, however, check the gadget the moment she steps inside her building. As predicted, two messages from TaeYeon once again greet her and her face almost split into two from grinning too wide.
It’s a date!
Good night, my Rapunzel, with a silly, tiny <3 by the end.
Their exchange that night is what leads TaeYeon to where she is at the moment. Two days later, at 19.55, standing in front of Tiffany’s building with an identical fool-in-love grin but clear nervousness. Remembering their first date, the blonde decided to skip on her usual assemble of pants and shirt. Instead, she wears sleeveless black dress that stops just a little above her knees, tan jacket, and heels. She actually dug through the messy hole that is her closet in her apartment back in Seoul to find them and now she thinks that maybe, maybe she is being overdressed for a simple home-cooked dinner date.
The chilled bottle of Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the wine TaeYeon bought in France—yet another perk of being an international pilot—is grasped firmly on her left hand while her right is holding a bouquet of yellow tulips. “There is sunshine in your smile”, TaeYeon recalls what her choice of flowers means and realizes that she indeed has gone overboard with everything tonight. Pushing all the unrelated thoughts to the back of her head and steeling herself for one last time, TaeYeon finally pushes the button to Tiffany’s apartment and waits.
“Yes?” comes the answer from the other side. It’s Tiffany’s voice, obviously. “How may I help you?”
“It’s TaeYeon.”
“Oh! Come in!”
The front door buzzes open and TaeYeon quickly gets inside. Tiffany’s apartment is located on the second floor so she has to take the stairs. The blonde catches glistening lights coming from the pool in the middle of the compound while she walks down the hall on the second floor. The apartment complex seems to be cozy and holds a good degree of tranquility, definitely the place TaeYeon imagines someone like Tiffany will live at. When the blonde comes out of her inner musing, she is already in front of Tiffany’s door. Taking a deep breath, she knocks on the sturdy door twice. Several seconds later, the door opens to reveal someone TaeYeon does not expect at all.
“Heyyo.”
“Uum... Hi?” TaeYeon stares at the girl in confusion; dread begins filling the pit of her stomach. “Is this Tiffany’s?”
The small girl’s honey-blonde hair sways as she bobs her head up and down. Green orbs hidden behind the arc shapes of her eyelids, creating the identical eye-smile TaeYeon has seen on
Tiffany. “Mama’s date ‘s here!” She calls out loud over her shoulder, where the pilot can see Tiffany coming to their way.
TaeYeon is glad that it is the bouquet of flower, instead of the expensive bottle of French red wine, which has slipped out of her grasp in surprise.
Tiny Human “Sweetie, we don’t shout at home,” Tiffany scolds the girl lightly after she comes up to stand behind her. “Use your inside voice.”
“Sowwy mama.”
The short exchange jerks TaeYeon out of her trance. Almost instantly, she bents down to retrieve the fallen flowers. A hundred and more questions run through her mind, irrational jealousy and unfounded betrayal triumph the rest. When she looks up, her onyx orbs meet Tiffany’s apologetic ones. They gaze at each other for long seconds, before the ATC relents and steps backward, wordlessly inviting TaeYeon to come inside. The ball is on TaeYeon’s court now.
At time like this, the blonde regrets her proposition of being friends first. Instead of being the safety-net she can fall upon, it traps and tangles her and now she can’t possibly run away from Tiffany. One does not walk out from their friend after finding out that they have a child. If she turns around and leaves, she may as well ruin what may turn out to be the best relationship she ever has. So she decides to give Tiffany a chance to explain and steps inside, letting the brownhaired woman close the door behind them.
The little girl must have left them during their staring standstill because when TaeYeon gets into the living area, she is there, sitting on top of the rug whilst hunching over the low coffee table. Papers and crayons litter all over the unfortunate furniture, covering its entire glass surface. TaeYeon feels her stomach drops lower than it already did simply from catching the natural domesticity that emanates from the girl’s presence inside the room. It is obvious that she lives— or at least spends a lot of time there.
“I’m sorry it’s messy. Elisa has been drawing since this noon with her sitter.” The fondness in Tiffany’s voice speaks clear love she has for the girl. “Someone will come to pick her up soon and then we can proceed with our dinner date,” she informs, trying to ease the tension that clouding over them since TaeYeon came.
“Oh...” TaeYeon tries and fails on not stuttering.
With no prior relationship with single parent—or any kind of parent in that matter—and Tiffany never mentions having any child before, TaeYeon is at lost. While she does feel a tad betrayed by Tiffany’s decision of withholding the information, she also respects her privacy. Tiffany herself had never meant to hide about Elisa, but the girl is not supposed to meet TaeYeon yet. On more than one occasion, Tiffany’s date breaks it off after they find out about her daughter and
this time she is not willing to let the budding relationship wither prematurely just because she has a child.
“Are you okay?” Tiffany keeps the question vague, hoping TaeYeon would catch the real meaning behind it. “If you don’t feel like it, we can cancel this dinner...” She suggested with a smile even though her shoulders slump down ever so slightly.
“No, no. It’s okay. I’m fine. And hungry,” TaeYeon jests lamely then without waiting for a response, changes the topic before it gets too weird. “I brought you these.” With slight tremble of uncertainty, she hands off the bottle of wine and flower bouquet.
“Thank you.” Tiffany takes the offered items before adding, “Please take a seat and make yourself at home while I put these away first.” She waits until TaeYeon ease herself onto the couch across Elisa before she leaves them, vanishing behind a huge bookcase that acts as a partition between the living area and kitchen.
TaeYeon can’t help but study the little girl in front of her. She could not see much under the dim light on the hallway earlier. Now, she can tell that the girl is at least three or four years old and aside from the honey-blonde hair and green eyes, she has a very Asian facial feature and skin tone. She is practically a miniature of Tiffany and again, the jealousy flares inside TaeYeon’s heart. Elisa, for her part, is oblivious to the scrutinizing eyes on her and continues scratching an odd-shaped rainbow on a paper.
Eventually feeling the hard stare, Elisa looks up from her drawing and grins toothily at TaeYeon. “Doo-dle?” She offers a blue crayon for the intrigued pilot.
TaeYeon shakes her head in negative; the ability to speak seems to have left her at the moment.
Tilting her head to the side, Elisa asks again, “No?”
“Uum... No, thank you. I’m not in the mood to doodle.”
“Oh!” Elisa frowns before she nods, even though she does not really understand why adults depend their activities over this ‘mood’ thing a lot. “Okey.”
A series of constant knocks coming from the door snaps the two blondes simultaneously. Elisa perks up, abandoning her drawing and runs to the door. TaeYeon, wary of having little girl opening door by herself and without Tiffany’s presence in the vicinity, takes it on herself to follows Elisa’s every movement with her eyes. She is not going to lose her date’s child; no child is going to get kidnapped under her surveillance. However, her determination deters when the door open to reveal a tall middle-aged blonde woman with green eyes and Elisa squeals out in joy as she lunges herself forward to hug the woman’s legs.
“Mommy!”
TaeYeon chokes on the air she is breathing, eyes becoming as large as saucers. A daughter and now an ex?! She groans out loud, accidentally drawing the attention to herself.
TaeYeon hears Elisa more than happily indulge her mommy about mama’s date in hushed voice. The pilot feels compelled to introduce herself, so she gets on her feet, ready to cross the room and introduce herself to whom she believes as her date’s ex, but Tiffany beats her to it. The ATC must have heard Elisa’s loud squeal because she pops out from one of the rooms down the hall and walks briskly to intercept the mother-daughter duo with stuffed baby bags on each hands, shoves them onto the tall blonde lady, lands pecks all over Elisa’s face, and then ushers them out. TaeYeon swears she heard the woman tease Tiffany about dating before the door slams shut.
When Tiffany turns around, TaeYeon notices the soft blush on her cheeks, but she does not tease her about it because she has her own slacked jaw to worry about. It is as if a hurricane had hit them out of the blue and now they are left in shock. Everything is scattered around and if they are not being careful, they are going to hurt themselves.
Taking the first tentative step, Tiffany says, “Dinner is served. Let me hang your jacket first?”
The blonde nods, she had forgotten about it. Peeling the tan jacket off, she gives it to Tiffany, who spends several seconds standing frozen like a statue. The situation earlier had diverted Tiffany’s whole attention, but now that everything is considerably calmer, she finally takes notice of her favorite pilot’s appearance. It is the first time she sees TaeYeon in a dress, the dark fabric contrasts greatly with her fair complexion. Without the outer top, she can see her bare arms and finds herself staring at the muscles hidden under soft, flawless skin. Tiffany swallows thickly before she scurries off to hang the jacket then leads TaeYeon to the dining area.
TaeYeon, not really knowing the cause of Tiffany’s sudden discomfort, grows worry from the silent treatment. Although her concern is immediately dropped as she catches a view of the dining room. “Wow…” The pilot turns to stare at her date, gawking and momentarily forgetting what had happened earlier.
Tiffany had set the table for two and dimmed the light, leaving the candles on the middle of the table to cast soft glows into the room. The wine TaeYeon brought is already opened and currently perching inside a bouquet of ice on the side. Two filled glasses of red wine, each sits beside a plate of what TaeYeon assumes as spaghetti and meatballs. She lets Tiffany pull a chair for her before settling on the one across the table. Then, with one push of a button on a tiny remote by the ATC, soft violin begins playing on the background.
Bella Notte Tiffany smiles timidly. “I hope you are okay with Italian food.” She waits with bated breath as TaeYeon nods and takes an experimental bite from the pasta.
“It’s really good.”
A relief sigh leaves Tiffany in a rush. “It’s the only other decent food I can cook within limited time,” she informs whilst taking up her fork.
“What’s the other one?”
The blonde is careful not to talk with her mouth full, but she already twirls a good amount of pasta on her fork, ready to shovel it into her mouth. She was not lying when she said she was hungry. Preparing for a date has always frayed her nerves and left her with growling stomach. She is, however, surprised because she has not considered keeping good appearance and eating slowly like one suppose to do during dates. Tiffany had just slapped a child’s existence on her face; she should not mind TaeYeon eating a little faster.
“Mac and cheese.”
TaeYeon laughs lightly. “Better than my instant noodles.”
“The rest of it is Elisa’s idea, actually.”
The uneasiness comes back. It never really leaves, though. Because from where TaeYeon sits, she can see not only the yellow tulips inside the vase on the breakfast bar, but also the booster
seat on the far corner of the kitchen behind Tiffany. And colorful drawing of stick figures on the fridge. And the used pink Sippy cup by the sink. She does not need Tiffany to remind her about Elisa, because the little girl is everywhere even when she is not physically there.
In a vain attempt to dissipate the tension, Tiffany hastily adds, “When she found out about the meal I planned to cook, she nagged me non-stop to make it like more like the date in Lady and the Tramp.” She gestures to their surrounding, hoping the pilot catch on the reference.
Of course TaeYeon does. The candles, wine, and violin playing in the background are too common of a romantic candlelight dinner scene, but the meal of choice combined with checkered red-white tablecloth is a glaring pointer. “You should play Bella Notte,” she chuckles teasingly, but soon her eyes bulge when Tiffany pushes another button on the tiny remote she keeps by her side and the exact song replaces the violin. “Elisa’s idea again?”
“No,” Tiffany grins in triumph, “Mine.”
TaeYeon smiles back, but says nothing. They continue eating in comfortable silence until the song ends and another Disney song blares through the speakers, Hakuna Matata. Both women jolt up slightly when the loud music begins. Tiffany turns it back to the violin from earlier; she avoids creating too much distraction that does nothing to help the situation. The blonde is about to finish her meal, while Tiffany is far slower than her, when she decides to bring back the topic. They can’t sit on it too long and can only stall for so long.
“So... A daughter, huh?” Not the brightest or clearest question and TaeYeon flinches after the words left her mouth. She takes a sizeable gulp of wine to steel herself as Tiffany’s intrigued eyes meet her. “You never told me you have a daughter.” Not even the light tone can hide the betrayal seeping from the statement.
“Yes, I carried her for nine months and two weeks.”
A brow cocks up high on the blonde’s temple, as if saying isn’t it what having a daughter normally means?
“Elisa is my half-brother’s.” Mistaking the combination of shock and horror spilling all over TaeYeon’s face as confusion from Elisa’s evident Caucasian characteristics—instead of stemming from the incestuous presumption the blonde actually has—Tiffany continues on her explanation, “We have different mother. His comes from a long history of blonde hair and blue eyes. The pediatrician did mention the possibility of Elisa’s hair or eyes getting darker along with age, but none happens so far. It’s funny, considering Stephan and I look so much alike and Elisa ends up not having our dark hair or eyes.”
TaeYeon doubts her jaw can drop any lower without having a physician to set them back. “Your brother impregnated you?!” She tries not to act hysterical, but it is too much even for her.
“Half-brother.” Tiffany frowns and turns off the music; it had become annoying. “I guess you can say it like that.” She then shrugs like it is not a big deal. “Although Elisa is not biologically mine.”
“Wait, what?”
Tiffany has a troubled expression on her face. She is sure it is not a topic they should be talking about, especially not with meatballs and tomato sauce in front of them. But one glance at TaeYeon, who has pursed her lips into thin line and brows furrowed together, the ATC relents. She takes part on getting the liquid courage first, though.
“Stephan wanted a child. Mary-Anne—the woman who picked Elisa earlier is the biological mother. I’m just her surrogate mother.”
The puzzle pieces click together in TaeYeon’s mind. “Oh...” She breathes out in relief. “So Mary-Anne is your brother’s wife?”
“No.”
TaeYeon tilts her head in confusion.
Tiffany chuckles nervously. If the surrogate mother business has not made the blonde bolt out of the door yet, then this might. “Stephan is gay. Mary-Anne is his husband’s ex-wife.” She pushes her plate away, having no appetite left. Better get this over for once and all, Tiffany decides and prays that TaeYeon will not break out running after she knows the situation. “Mary-Anne’s ex-
husband is infertile. So Stephan had to be the sperm donor. Mary-Anne herself was already on her forties that time. She could donor her ova, but it wasn’t safe for her to carry the baby, so I volunteered.”
Long, deafening silence follows. Tiffany stares at everything but TaeYeon as she tugs nervously on the edge of the tablecloth.
“Is...” TaeYeon trails off, but that one word is enough to make Tiffany look straight at her. “Is your family okay with it? I mean... you’re supposed to be her aunt.”
“They accepted it and I did breastfed Elisa for the first six months of her life. We agreed on letting her have me as another mother, but she knows the truth. She is very bright for her age, which is expected, considering the fact that she has four parents with different field of work.”
Another stretched silence.
“Let me get this straight,” TaeYeon ignores the irony that the situation is nowhere near straight, “Elisa have four parents. Your brother gave his... sperm... that lady gave her... egg... and you carried the baby.”
Tiffany nods on every point. “That’s correct.”
“Then what did the other father do?” The pilot normally will not pry, but the situation is too bizarre for her to just keep quiet.
The odd question eases the tight knots in Tiffany’s stomach. “He gave her his name, Elisa Blanca Sanchez.” Just as she predicted, TaeYeon splutters the wine she was sipping before giving another incredulous look. “I know...” She smiles in understanding. “A baby with Asian features, light hair and eyes, and Hispanic surname is extraordinary.”
“Add that to the four parents thing...”
After another long pause, Tiffany can’t help but softly asks, “Do you want to leave now?”
Looking up from her almost-empty glass, TaeYeon sends the brown-haired woman a questioning look. “Do you want me to?”
“No...”
“Then I won’t.”
“After everything I’ve told you about Elisa, I understand if you want to—“
“Watch the movie you promised me.”
“TaeYeon...” Tiffany sighs.
“It’s a lot to take and I need time to process, to wrap my head around the complicated idea... but not now. Right now, I won’t leave until you make good of that movie promise.”
Tiffany can breathe a little easier after the feeling in her stomach gets washed off by the warmth of relief. “You can pick the one you want to watch while I tidy up a bit.” She collects TaeYeon’s and her plates. “And bring the wine with you too, please.”
“Are you sure you don’t need a hand here?”
“No, I’m good. I’m just going to load them into the dishwasher then I’ll be with you,” Tiffany says over her shoulder as she cleans up the dishes on the sink first.
It actually takes longer than five minutes before Tiffany emerges from the kitchen, with a bowl of freshly-made popcorn on her hand. The blonde pilot had used the time to do a little clean up herself. She piled Elisa’s drawings into one neat stack topped by the crayon and set them on the corner of the coffee table then refilled their glasses with wine. She is tiptoeing in front of the movie shelves beside the TV—heels discarded on the side; they were killing her feet—when Tiffany finally takes a seat on the couch.
“Have you picked a movie yet?” Tiffany stifles a giggle. “Or do you need help taking it out?”
“Don’t laugh at my height,” TaeYeon warns playfully without looking back.
“I didn’t. Are you looking for something in particular?”
“No...” The pilot has figured out that the other woman had purposely placed everything PG and above rated on the highest shelves whilst kids’ animations fill the lower ones. She is checking the options before delving lower and pulls out the movie she want to watch and show it to Tiffany. “I’ve found it.”
“Lady and the Tramp?” The mirth in Tiffany’s voice is palpable.
TaeYeon grins back toothily as she takes out the CD from its case. “It fits tonight’s theme.”
Within little time, TaeYeon manages to load it into the device then plops down on the other side of the couch. The vast space between them can fit another person, but neither woman dares to close the gap and it is soon forgotten as the movie starts. The couple becomes so engrossed in it, even though each of them, especially Tiffany, had watched it several times before. Occasional trivial commentaries, popcorn grabbing, and wine sipping fill the moment.
Somewhere along the movie, Tiffany notices goose bumps rising on her date’s arm so she grabs the blanket thrown over the back of the couch and uses it to cover their lower bodies. It forces them to sit closer, shoulders brushing every time either of them makes any movement. TaeYeon feels shiver run down her spine whenever the smooth fabric of Tiffany’s blouse graze her bare arm. The latter must have spotted the reaction because she stops moving altogether and the blonde actually pouts from the lost of contact, but says nothing. That is until about ten minutes later, all of a sudden, Tiffany rests her head on TaeYeon’s shoulder.
TaeYeon’s breathe hitches. She waits and waits, but no further movement or sound is made by the ATC. After letting out a shuddering exhale—the action caused some strands of silky brown hair to tickle the side of her neck and shoulder—she peers onto Tiffany from the corner of her eyes as best as she can without moving a muscle. The brown-haired woman is fast asleep; her leveled breathing is the main indicator.
She must be tired, TaeYeon thinks fondly. She can imagine how stressful an ATC work is, facing hours of directing pilots and holding responsibility of thousands of life then go home to a child to take care of. A child...
The movie and everything else around TaeYeon are muted the moment Elisa comes into her mind. The blonde admits that the little girl is adorable, mostly because she resembles Tiffany a lot. The complicated way she was conceived is a slight put off, but they live in a modern society. Her parents obviously want and love her so much that they went through unimaginable length to bring her into this world then give her not only one, but two sets of parents. Most importantly, Tiffany loves Elisa. And sitting there with Tiffany’s head on her shoulder makes TaeYeon feel content and she will not change it for the world. Not even the permanent existence of a tiny human in Tiffany’s life is worth the price of killing their mutual attraction for each other.
And it’s not like I’m going to suddenly be her mother too. TaeYeon clenches her eyes shut, she has been dozing on and off for a while now. Too fast for that kind of thought, too fast... is her last thought before she lies her head on top of Tiffany’s and follows her to the dreamland.
TaeYeon jerks awake when she feels Tiffany shift beside her.
“Sorry,” Tiffany murmurs, voice laden with sleep, “I fell asleep on you.”
“’s okay,” the blonde mumbles back, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand. “You know, about Elisa...”
Still half dead to the world, Tiffany is blindly reaching for the remotes to turn off the idle electrical devices when TaeYeon’s words yank her into full consciousness. “Elisa?” She blinks rapidly in confusion. “What about her?” Her voice is full of concern.
The pilot groans in protest. She did not mean to talk about it so soon, at least not when she just woke up. “I just want to tell you... that it’s okay. I kinda like Elisa too. She is a cute kid with amazing huge family. And I’m not gonna walk out so you can stop worrying and asking every time I frown when you say her name... ‘cause I frown and scowl a lot... on daily basis.”
Tiffany stares at her date with narrowed eyes. “Are you drunk?” She eyes the half-empty glasses and wine bottle suspiciously.
“Nope.” The blonde makes a gruff protest noise from deep inside her throat. “I’m like this when I wake up too early.”
The ATC giggles in response. She leans forward to land a kiss on TaeYeon’s cheek—her typical physical expression of “thank you”—for her understanding, another meaningful speech, and especially for her cuteness. However, the drowsy blonde turns her head on the last second and Tiffany ends up kissing the corner of her lips. Eyes fly wide as simultaneous gasps leave them. TaeYeon is far more alert than she did just a few seconds ago. She feels heat crawling up from her chest to her neck then accumulates on her cheeks, painting them in rosy color of bashfulness.
Tiffany would have giggle again if she has not gotten caught in TaeYeon’s eyes. The onyx orbs have dilated to max, making them practically black and sucking her in. She shifts again to directly face TaeYeon, who is doing the same, without breaking their eye contact. Then as if being pulled by an unseen force, they lean closer to each other whilst instinctively closing their eyes and tilting their head to one side. Except that TaeYeon is tipping her head to her right and Tiffany to her own left, which means they end on the same side. Their noses bump before their lips can meet and they fall apart, laughing at their clumsiness.
But the spell has not faded away just yet. Judging from the bright blush on TaeYeon’s cheeks, Tiffany knows the pilot will not be the one initiating contact, but will not deny it either. The ATC then takes the matter into her own hands, literally. With full determination to perfect their first kiss, she cups both of TaeYeon’s cheeks with her hands. Gently but firmly holding her head
in place as she closes the gap between them while angling her head to avoid another nosebumping incident. Their lips finally meet and it is nothing short of perfection.
TaeYeon sighs into the kiss then begins moving her lips to massage Tiffany’s. Convinced that the blonde will not suddenly move her head, Tiffany lets go of TaeYeon’s cheeks to trail her hands down on her jaws, neck, shoulders, and eventually reach her naked arms. She can feel goose bumps rising over the pale skin underneath her palms as she runs them along the length of the upper arms. TaeYeon, fueled by the bold move from the ATC, places her own hands on Tiffany’s hips and sneaks one of her thumbs under the hem of the blouse to rub circle over the skin she finds there. Despite their wandering hands and the strong, sweet taste of wine they share, the kiss stays innocent. They go on like that, lip-locking for several long seconds before they have to part.
TaeYeon is ready to dive in again for the second time when she catches red digital numbers staring back at her from the bookcase and she pulls away begrudgingly. “It’s almost midnight, I have to go.”
“Cinderella?” Tiffany, still dazed from the kiss, asks.
The question draws out a bark of laughter from the pilot. “No, Sleeping Beauty,” she banters back. “Ten hours of uninterrupted sleep, remember? I’m on duty tomorrow.”
Tiffany nods, but before TaeYeon can walk out of their blanket cocoon, she grasps her wrist and tugs her back down to the couch. She casts her eyes down on her lap to avoid the blonde’s
quizzical stare. “You can...” Her fingers are fiddling and picking on the edge of the blanket on top of her lap, a bad habit of hers whenever she is nervous. She also knows the blush on her face rivals the one TaeYeon sported earlier and it will not be long before the blonde catch up. “You can stay the night if you want...”
Experiential Date “I stayed the night.”
TaeYeon peers over the rim of her glass before she takes a deliberate sip of the cool water inside to hide her growing smirk. Across her, JongHyun is sitting on the very edge of his seat, completely enthralled by the story the blonde is sharing. It is Sunday night, their usual hangout time of the week. Normally, JongHyun will do everything in his might to drag TaeYeon into one of the nightclubs to fish for plausible date candidate or to get drunk, or both. Ever since they no longer work together and TaeYeon is somewhat dating, they agree on spending the time just sharing stories over dinner, thus the cozy family restaurant they are in at the moment.
“And?”
“The other bedroom is Elisa’s and she wouldn’t let me sleep on the couch.”
JongHyun rolls his eyes, as if saying of course.
“So we shared her bed.”
“Damn, man!” A playful punch lands on TaeYeon’s upper arm and she would have scowled at the brunet if she is not so invested in teasing him. JongHyun is not aware of the ulterior motive his friend has and asks, “then?” He drawls out with a knowing twinkle in his eyes and suggestive waggle of his brows.
“She lend me her pajama shorts and UCLA tee.”
JongHyun snickers from the image of TaeYeon wearing clothes that is obviously baggy for her petite frame. “And then? And then?”
The blonde pilot lets out a sigh. “I passed out.”
“What?!”
It is TaeYeon’s turn to laugh, earning her a well-placed glare from her ex-partner, before she ducks her head slightly to hide a sheepish smile. “I was nervous... When she left to change first, I chugged down the remainder wine and ended up feeling dizzy, planting face-first to her bed after I changed.”
The brunet’s expression is somewhere between amused and mortified by his friend’s antics. “A beautiful woman, who definitely likes you, invited you to her place. Cooked you decent meal. Went through the pain of preparing a candlelit dinner.” The list goes on, adding guilt on the blonde. “Opened up about her family. Kept up with your stubbornness to watch movie even after like eight continuous hours of work that made her fall asleep on you and finally offered you to stay the night, wear her clothes, and share her bed. And you passed out on her?!”
“You paint me as the bad guy.” TaeYeon huffs in irritation, even though each sentence JongHyun said has struck a cord in her heart. “You know I’ll probably turn her down if she tried to...”
“Have sex with you?”
TaeYeon nods, face heating up.
“You can’t even say it,” the older man teases.
“Shut up!”
“Believe me, TaeYeon... If that woman wants to pounce on you, she would have done so since the first date.”
“Then I would have turned her down plus never contacting her anymore.”
The blonde woman speaks with finality that JongHyun can’t help but agree with. He has known her long enough to understand her rather prude view on relationship. He himself has no problem with it, though.
“I think she is just like you.” At TaeYeon’s quirked brow, he continues, “First kiss after knowing each other for what? Two—three weeks? That’s slow. Like snail-pace slow.”
“She has a kid, JongHyun.” TaeYeon ignores the contradiction she creates; not willing to do more than kissing, yet not wanting to let her friend saying negative thing about Tiffany. “Jumping in bed with random people is not a good behavior example for a child.”
“Oh my God!” JongHyun exclaims rather dramatically. “You already sound like a mom!”
“I’m not!”
“Are too.” Before TaeYeon can form a retort, he cuts in, “At least do tell me you did make it up by making-out on top of the kitchen counter on the next morning?”
TaeYeon stays silent.
“You didn’t?”
“I kind of... overslept...” The blonde squirms under JongHyun’s scrutinizing gaze, her guilt piles up into a hill. “When I woke up, she had gone to work...”
“I can’t believe you,” the brunet man sighs in exasperation.
“Then you would hate me more because she left me pancakes and a fresh pot of coffee. And a new toothbrush.”
“I don’t know whether to congratulate or smack you.” JongHyun ends up doing the latter anyway. “But seriously, you need to do something in return for that woman. She is a keeper.”
“Yeah... I’m thinking about another date. I plan to ask her out when I return her key, but I still have no idea of what to do. It’s hard to top a romantic candlelit dinner and—“
“Stop, stop! Return her key? She gave you her key?”
“To lock down the apartment after I left.” Instinctively, TaeYeon pats her jeans pocket, where said metal is residing along with the rest of her keys. It has been weighting her somehow, but a good kind of weight that makes her smile like a fool.
JongHyun’s smirks like a maniac with evil intention. “U-hauling already?”
The blonde’s brows furrow together in confusion. Sometimes she forgets her ex-partner once spent his adolescent abroad, but when she does remember it is because strange phrase or term he says, just like now. Her confusion must be clear as the day because JongHyun simply returns her quizzical look with a wave of his hand, brushing it off as nothing even when he keeps grinning over some sort of inside joke only he understands of.
“She won’t want it back, trust me. Now onto your date dilemma... If this is high school, I’d say you impress her with the second-hand car your dad bought you for your seventeen’s birthday then make out on the backseat.”
It is yet again another weird idea. TaeYeon did not get second-hand car from her father. She does not even currently own a car because there is no need for one when she spends most of her time on air. Instead, she flies a Boeing 777 that costs about 320.2 millions dollar and it is not up for a spin or being left alone while she make-out with Tiffany somewhere among the three hundred seats at the back. However, back in her hometown, she does own a red Cessna 172 Skyhawk,
which used to be her father’s favorite before he gave it to her as a present for getting her own pilot license.
TaeYeon’s eyes brighten as the idea begins forming inside her brain. “JongHyun! I can kiss you right now!” She beams at him, buzzing with excitement.
“Uugh... No, thanks.”
“I didn’t mean it literally.” The blonde goes on typing whatever it is she has in mind into her phone’s memo. “How are you holding up?” She asks after putting her phone back to her pocket.
“Took a while to adapt with Airbus, but my co-pilot is simply awesome. How about yours?”
Instinctively, TaeYeon scrunches her nose. “I swear to God, she must have planted a tracking application on my phone. One call and the next minute, she will show up, no matter wherever I am.”
JongHyun laughs. “But she is a good partner?”
The seemingly no big deal, offhanded question throws TaeYeon’s mind into a whirlwind. “She is, but not as good as you,” she quickly adds, not wanting JongHyun to feel he is easily replaced and SunMi really does need more training and especially learn to stop talking during turbulence.
“Do you think she is up to a date?”
“With you?” One brow cocks up skeptically before the blonde narrows her eyes when her expartner nods at the question. “Oh no... You don’t...”
“Why not?” JongHyun shrugs; his grin almost splits his face into two while TaeYeon looks simply horrified. “You’re not the only one who needs to have a girl in their life,” and sticks out his tongue at her before the grin turns into a wicked one, “or in their bed.”
The rest of the night spent with playful banter between the two, but JongHyun ended up asking SunMi out regardless how hard TaeYeon had tried to convince him not to. He is also right about the ATC not wanting her key back. The important date itself takes about a month to eventually be carried on after the idea was formed that night. In the mean time, Tiffany and TaeYeon went through a handful of dates on weekends, which consist of more dinners—TaeYeon avoids going to Tiffany’s place when Elisa is around—and wandering around the airport after the ATC’s shift ends.
Their latest date is on a shooting range, where the ATC manages to awe TaeYeon with her nimble hands and sharp precision. While she is never a fan of guns, the blonde strangely finds it hot for a woman to know her way wielding such weaponry. Then afterwards, while they are taking their stuff out from the locker they are assigned for when they first got into the range, TaeYeon feels it is the right time to pop the question, so she does just that.
“Do you think you can take some days off from work?”
“I never took any day-off before.” Tiffany secures the last button on her jacket before she puts her whole attention to her date, who is staring at her hopefully. “I can...” She sighs in defeat. “What for?”
“I’m going to bring you back to my hometown.” Mistaking the baffled look as concern, TaeYeon adds, “You can bring Elisa along, if she wants to and if you get permission from her other parents.”
“She can’t go. Her fathers have her this week and they are in Boston, Stephan has a class to teach there.” Tiffany answers automatically, she can’t figure out the probable reason for TaeYeon to bring her all the way back to South Korea. Unless it is for meeting the parents, which is too farfetched, simply because they are still tethering between the fine line of friends and lovers, even after a lot of making-out sessions. If Tiffany were to be honest to herself, she is tired of waiting the pilot to finally ask her out and make it official. She would have asked, if TaeYeon had not made it clear that she wants friendship from her first. “What are we going to do there?”
Unaware of the taller woman’s inner musing, TaeYeon gives her a toothy grin. “I will teach you how to fly a plane.”
Aviate, Navigate, Communicate Anxiousness had loomed over Tiffany long before they took off from LA. The first-class ticket TaeYeon got her only help easing the tension in her body. The knowing smiles and over the top hospitality she received from the flight attendances are irking her, though. She was thankful it was a night flight, thus after thirty minutes on air, added with the weariness and a nice glass of wine; she was out like a bulb. They were halfway across the ocean when an abrupt turbulence rudely jerked her out of her dreamless sleep, she has been up and restless ever since.
“It’ll be another couple of hours before we get to my parents’,” TaeYeon informs, stealing a glance at her side, “you should take a nap.”
“You’re the one who should be sleeping.”
The blonde shakes her head lightly, smile intact. “I’m good. I used to do this trip before I got my own place near Incheon.”
For the nth time on the span of the lone hour they have been on the train, Tiffany taps the armrest separating her and TaeYeon. With each mile covered, they are getting closer—she is getting closer to meet TaeYeon’s parents and while it is clear she is going to be introduced as a mere friend of the blonde, she can’t help but worrying about the older Kims’ reaction. She never gets anywhere near meeting the parents step with her past lovers. There was Andrew’s, her rather serious boyfriend during college, but she met his parents accidentally on dinner, once. Meeting Miguel’s and Mary-Anne’s are not counted because none of them were her lovers. So meeting
and living with TaeYeon’s, even when it is only for a couple of days, is going to be a whole new situation she is not sure she can handle well.
“Calm down.” TaeYeon’s hand grasps her jittery one; she must have noticed her nervous tick. “My little sister is away in Seoul for school, so it’s only my parents. Mom can be a little overbearing sometimes, but my dad will love you. Just tell him you’re an ATC and he will be all over you in seconds.” She winks, laughing a bit when Tiffany’s lips purse into tight line.
“That’s not really calming.”
“Well... If this might help... I’m nervous too.” The pilot smiles sheepishly. “So, let’s be nervous together?”
“You’re not helping.”
“I know.”
“How about... you let me be nervous this time? Keep yours for when you’re going to meet mine.”
TaeYeon stiffens and Tiffany falters a little; the sudden look of apprehension has caught her off guard. She always presumes they are together, when they are not, yet, she hopes. It has been
months and her frustration of their relationship’s lack of progress is getting on her nerves. Elisa’s (and Stephan’s) continuous prodding is not helping her at all.
“I’m going to meet yours soon?”
The question blinks Tiffany back to the present. She stares long and hard at the blonde beside her, trying to gauge whatever she is thinking at the moment and notices nothing she does not wish to see in the pair of onyx orbs. With a sigh, Tiffany settles on letting the matter drop, again. Both of them are edgy. Adding the pressure of making their relationship official right now—if it goes as the ATC has predicted, will put more stress and awkwardness when she eventually meets TaeYeon’s family within hours, or, God forbids, TaeYeon snaps under the strain and decides to abandon her here in South Korea where she can barely understand the language—is beyond doubt not the best course of action.
“That means you are meeting Stephan, Miguel, and Mary-Anne...” Tiffany inserts a disarming grin as TaeYeon’s eyes grow wide. “And maybe their parents too.”
“Now I’m nervous.”
“You already win over Elisa.”
TaeYeon chuckles. “I doubt everyone in your family will love me just because I give them a model airplane.”
“It’s a 1:200 scale, exact replica of Korean Air’s Boeing 777-200.”
“Why am I not surprised you remember the specification?” TaeYeon mutters to herself, a fond smile on her lips.
The blonde pilot might have gone a little overboard with the gift (she religiously ignored the 14 years old and over label on the box, which earned her a mouthful of scolding from Tiffany), but she could not help herself. When she saw the model aircrafts, she just knew she has to get one for Elisa. Although Tiffany and she ended up assembling then setting it on top of the tallest drawer in Elisa’s room while the little girl was away with her other mother, the ATC had relayed how much Elisa gushed about it when she saw the plane standing proud on her drawer and TaeYeon felt some surge of satisfaction. Her heart still swells whenever she recalls Elisa thanking (in all three languages) and making smooching noise for her through the phone.
“And the mini pilot cap,” Tiffany reminds with a feigned exasperated sigh. “You’re going to make her want to be a pilot one day.”
“That’s the idea.” TaeYeon grins back toothily.
They manage to maintain the lightness only as far as the front door of TaeYeon’s house. After the train, they have to take a cab for another twenty minutes ride. TaeYeon lived in rural area, far from the city center. It surprises Tiffany when she first saw the house. It is a simple one-story house, with an attached hangar housing two planes and an asphalt airstrip as backyard. Her astonishment, however, cuts short when a middle-aged woman, presumably TaeYeon’s mother because she does resemble the blonde a lot, comes out to welcome them.
The conversation taking place afterward is tuned off by Tiffany’s selective hearing. She pays attention and smile when being clued to do so, but her brain can’t keep up with the rapid talking speed TaeYeon’s mother is doing. There are some words she fails to understand, too. TaeYeon’s father, on the other hand, is calmer. He tries to engage her in English and just like the blonde pilot had told her, he loves her—or more like her job. And just like that, the introduction phase goes in a blur for Tiffany. The next thing she knows, TaeYeon is leading her into the hangar.
“How are you feeling?” TaeYeon slips back to English once they are out of her parents’ earshot. She has juggled between the languages to accommodate both parties earlier and it honestly took toll on her. “My mom scolded me for dragging you out without proper lunch.”
Tiffany smiles, grasping the box containing their sandwich tighter. Their crazy work schedule— especially hers, ATC works seven days a week—granted them two days, a meager time to fit in with the thirteen hours flights and extra miles to get to TaeYeon’s house. They can’t afford lounging around, but Tiffany is more worried about TaeYeon than herself. She did nap on the flight while the blonde only manage a short shut-eye during the train ride and now she is already going to fly another plane.
“I’m fine. You?”
“I am now.”
The grin lights up TaeYeon’s expression as they stop short beside a red-painted Cessna Skyhawk 172. She hums in glee whilst running her hand on the cold, smooth metal surface and Tiffany can’t fight the smile from blooming on her own face. She has seen many sides of TaeYeon over the span of months they know each other. The embarrassing pilot asking her out through public communication, the persistent flirt, the hidden timid woman, the ‘less action, more talk’ believer, the romantic lover, but this version is unquestioningly her favorite so far. The aviation enthusiast.
“Come on, I’ll to show you everything.” TaeYeon captures Tiffany’s hand in hers then tugs her to circle the plane after she pushed the button to open the hangar door. “We have to do the usual checking first before we bring her out.”
“I’m not going to fly it—her now... right?”
“No, I will teach you how to today. The panel can be a little confusing at first glance, but everything is labeled and it’s the best single engine aircraft in the world, far easier to learn flying it than any other airplane.”
True to TaeYeon’s words, she does teach Tiffany about everything (and some more) she needs to know about the red metal bird. After checking the outer appearance of the plane, she angles herself cautiously on the wheel mount and unscrews the cap on the right one, mimicking what
the blonde is doing on the left one, to find that the fuel, surprisingly, goes through them into the tank. It is full. They then climb lower to get inside the plane. TaeYeon’s warn comes a little too late because Tiffany already bumps her knee on the dashboard, yelping on the sudden pain and shooting a glare at the pilot for laughing at her. Apology comes in the form of the blonde hovering almost all over her; the seatbelt and harness are tricky to get on by herself for the first time.
“It’s not as easy to start as a car, but not that hard either,” TaeYeon’s instruction fills the small cockpit after she settles on her seat and did her own seatbelt. “First you have to turn the key to on,” she twists the aforementioned key easily, “flip up these two switches,” she points the ones labeled Mags and does as mentioned. “Now this, you won’t find in any car. A primer.”
“It looks like an old pinball launcher...” Tiffany pokes the protruding button TaeYeon motioned at on the center of the dashboard.
“It works like one as well.” The blonde pulls and pumps it several times. “There... We can start now.”
TaeYeon turns the key into start position and the plane shakes as its motor becomes alive. Tiffany jumps slightly on her seat, the noise is loud. Looking out of the windshield, she sees the propeller move fast up front, creating an illusion of a full circle. Except that it is made of two pieces of blades that are very able to tear through human flesh in ease. TaeYeon must have noticed the ATC’s pale stricken expression because she stops fiddling with the fuel mixture lever and puts an assuring hand on her thigh. The words the blonde said, however, are swallowed by the engine noise.
Rolling her eyes in annoyance at herself, TaeYeon snatches the headsets then put one on Tiffany and her own head. “It’s okay; you will get use to it.”
And she does, eventually. TaeYeon distracts her attention by making her place her foot on the rudder bar, hands on the yolk, and to just feel while she navigates the plane slowly out of the hangar and into the airstrip. Tiffany watches as the blonde explains about the throttle. Her breath hitches as the plane gains speed and at 55 knot mark, TaeYeon pulls the yolk smoothly and the plane is airborne. 10 feet, 500 feet, and by the end 1000 feet above the land.
“You don’t have to report to the nearest tower?”
“We don’t have one for miles and we’re not going to get any higher than this.” TaeYeon is not surprised to hear the question, even as she notices Tiffany looking outside her window in awe. “How about lunch?”
“Lunch? Now?”
“Yes, now. You can hold the yolk while I eat.”
“No!”
A light, happy sound of laugh bubbles from TaeYeon’s throat. “I’m kidding.” She risks another glance at Tiffany, who huffs back at her. “But you can hand-feed me.”
The flying session ends in delight. TaeYeon had mayonnaise on the tip of her nose; something she earned from doing a trick without warning that scared Tiffany enough into believing they would drop straight from the sky for a second there. Other than that and their messy hair, everything is perfect. Tiffany can’t wait for her turn to try the next day and it turns out to be better than she had expected. It is easy and the sensation of having direct control of an airplane, instead of giving commands on their pilots, is something she loves. She does need to practice more to smoothen the landing, though. Then before they know it, they are back in the train to Incheon.
“’Invite your boyfriend JongHyun again next time’?” After the long uncomfortable silence, Tiffany finally says something. “Your boyfriend? Again?!” She tries not to be angry, but it is hard after hearing (and understanding) what TaeYeon’s mother had told them when she sent them off. Apparently the ex-copilot of TaeYeon had made his trip meeting the blonde’s parents long before she did.
TaeYeon looks guilty and Tiffany feels apologetic for almost yelling at her, but only a bit. The ATC had met JongHyun a couple times before. He is undeniably handsome and kind, even though TaeYeon claims him as an annoying big dork. He is harmless and she does not feel threatened by his general presence. In fact, deep down she is glad it is him TaeYeon chose to be the beard, instead of another man she knows nothing of. As a successful female international pilot, of age to marry, first child in the family, she can see why TaeYeon need to appease her
parents’ inquiry about boyfriend. While herself, with an older brother who proudly stated himself as gay on the age of fifteen, the path of coming out had basically been made into a road for her. She understands their difference, yet jealousy is an irrational emotion she does not have a very good control of.
“I’m sor—“
“I get it,” Tiffany interrupts before the blonde can go on with the whole apologizing and explaining. She already knows what the other woman is going to say anyway. “I get it, I do. Just... answer this question...”
The pilot looks troubled but still nods slightly. “Okay...”
“Is that why you still haven’t made us official?”
TaeYeon opens and closes her mouth, but nothing comes out. Her mother had accidentally ruined the mood. Asking Tiffany now will make it seem like she is trying to salvage the situation while she doesn’t. She has everything preplanned, even before she asked her in the shooting range. Just a little more time, TaeYeon thinks as she ends up closing her mouth and avoids the look Tiffany is giving her, just wait a little longer.
Unfortunately, Tiffany takes the silence as a confirmation to her question. “I see...”
Touchdown The silence afterward is overwhelming. TaeYeon tries to engage Tiffany in a conversation, but it does not last long enough. She does not blame her for the cold shoulder treatment she receives, though. As far as she knows, she deserves it. Tiffany herself prefers to keep quiet rather than starting a screaming match filled with emotions. Ever since Elisa began speaking more articulately, she had heard enough screaming to last for a lifetime. Thus when they arrive at Incheon, they part way with less than ten words exchange.
TaeYeon is reluctant at first, but quickly reminds that she has responsibility. With an hour to spare, she has to get into her uniform, meet up with SunMi, then standby around the hangar. Once the plane lands, they should do the routine check-up while the ground workers fill the plane with fuel and passengers’ collected baggage. She is glad SunMi provides enough distraction and before she knows it, they are already inside the cockpit, ready to takeoff. She has finished giving the welcome speech to the passenger and must have zoned out long enough for SunMi to pat her arm to pull her out of her daze.
“I just come back from this very short vacation with a special person,” TaeYeon begins.
SunMi arcs a brow at her, mouthing “what the hell are you doing?” and reaches out to turn off the communicator, but TaeYeon catches her wrist. She shakes her head at her, the slight pleading look was telling the co-pilot to stay quiet and let her continue. SunMi eventually relents, sinking back to her seat with a sigh.
“That person is onboard right now.” The blonde’s smile gets wider a bit from the image of Tiffany’s deer in headlight rendition flashing inside her mind. If she fails (and most probably embarrass the ATC along the way), she would at least get her talking to her again, even when it is in the form of scolding, the last one she might get from her. She hopes it will not be the case. “And I had hurt her with my action—or the lack of it. It may seem like I was playing with her, but it is never my intention…” She sighs; SunMi narrows her eyes at her, as if reprimanding her. Fortunately, TaeYeon is too distracted, staring faraway beyond the tempered-glass window and the cloudy sky behind. “When I planned this vacation, I was supposed to ask this later, because that was how I first talked with her—on my way to land this plane on LAX. So, this is it. Miss Tiffany Hwang… Will you do the honor of being my girlfriend?”
There is a squeal, probably SunMi’s, soon followed by clapping and loud cheering from the passengers. TaeYeon is blushing brightly. She almost loses her composure when a moment later, the cockpit’s door suddenly jerks open. She thinks it is Tiffany and is not sure to feel disappointed or relief that it is only SooYoung, whom gives overenthusiastic encouraging pats on her shoulder. YoonA barges in seconds later, doing the same and congratulates her as well. Before TaeYeon shoos them out from the cramped area, she asks the duo to keep an eye on Tiffany, to which they promise to ‘take a really, really good care of’ that leaves the pilot feeling uneasy.
It is probably the longest flight TaeYeon has ever done. She might or might not sneak a peek at the first class area during her ‘bathroom break’. Tiffany appears to be sleeping; blanket covers most of her body from view. It is all TaeYeon can see before YoonA catches her. Through the thirteen hours flight, there is no sign of Tiffany would come and relieve TaeYeon from her waiting. The blonde wonders if this is some sort of punishment, she had made her wait and now she gets the payback. She brushes the thought off, knowing Tiffany well enough to not peg her as a revenge-seeker type of person. Still, her nervousness wins over again once they have landed safely on LAX.
“It’ll be okay.”
Out of all people, SunMi is the last person TaeYeon thinks would comfort her. After all, the copilot is pretty clear in showing her humongous crush at her. She looks back at her, a little taken aback. They are to stay in the plane until all passengers have cleared it out, so she has no choice but to listen to SunMi for at least another minute or so.
“You’ll get your answer soon. If it doesn’t work out, you still can be friends, right?”
TaeYeon nods. The odds are high, but she hopes their friendship will not fall apart as well. She really likes Tiffany, as a person, and she honestly will like her more as her partner than friend. If things do not work out in the end, there would be fallout at the beginning, she is sure, but nothing they can’t handle. It will sadden her though, losing a chance at love just because she has stalled off from making a move.
“And you still have me,” SunMi says with a wink. She waits until TaeYeon frowns, then laughs gleefully at her, dropping all the pretense. “I’m kidding. Let’s get out of here and find your girl.”
They fail to find her. Even YoonA and SooYoung—with their much taller posture and the killer heels they are wearing—are unsuccessful in locating Tiffany. It seems like she has vanished, like a ghost. The arrival staffs claims that she checked in then left with her baggage minutes ago. It crushes the little hope TaeYeon had left. Even the supportive assurance coming from her friends does not lift up her mood.
Looking straight at SunMi, she asks, “Are you coming?”
Under normal circumstance, the co-pilot would have at least three flirty comebacks at the question. She does, but opts to drop them off and gives an honest, serious answer. “No.” She waves her phone, the message she had just received after she turned it on is displayed on the screen. “I have a date with JongHyun,” she says in singsong voice.
TaeYeon scrunches her nose. There is no date. Her ex-co-pilot and current co-pilot have been hooking up for quite some time now. At least it means tonight she does not have to share the small trailer with SunMi. With their flight numbers expanding and number of pilots increasing, their company was no longer able to rent the usual lodging. Thus the trailers on parking lot B are now the place they stay in. Sometimes TaeYeon would stay with Tiffany, but it is not a possibility this night. After separating with SunMi, she trudges down to the designated parking lot with her luggage in tow. It is going to be a long night as well.
It is way past midnight and TaeYeon is wide awake. Normally, being so close to the runways, the thunderous sound of planes every now and then annoys her, but not this time. The noise is almost deafening, but it sidetracks her from her thoughts. Tomorrow will be a different day. She has not figured out what to do with Tiffany. Should she call her? Wait for her at work? Drop this whole problem until she hears from her again on her next arrival? Pretend nothing happened? As if hearing her troubled mind, her phone chimes in, indicating a new text message.
Are you awake?
TaeYeon stares on at the message incredulously. Out of everything she expects to hear from Tiffany, this is not one of it. Yes, she types back, adding Is everything alright? She restrains herself from asking too little, or too much.
The reply comes about ten minutes later. Open your door.
It sends TaeYeon jerking up from her lying position, successfully smacking her forehead on the bunk above hers. She really hates this small trailer. Putting on a slipper, she crosses the space and gets to the door instantly. Tiffany is on the other side, bundled up in gray LAX’s staff-issued jacket. She dresses differently from the last time TaeYeon saw her, too.
TaeYeon steps out of the trailer, closing the door behind her. “Are you okay?” She is worried something might have happened—something involving Elisa, God forbids.
“I’m here to apologize.”
“What for?”
“I’m sorry I left before answering your question.”
“Okay…” The blonde backs away slightly. It will turn into an awful day if Tiffany is also there to turn her down. In the middle of the night, in the airport’s parking lot, and she is dressed only in blue PJs pants and black tank top. It can’t get any worse. “Is that all?” For once, TaeYeon is dying to get away from Tiffany.
The pilot’s trapped-animal reaction brings smile to Tiffany. “No. I have to leave early not because I want to, but my supervisor needed a replacement.”
“You went to work straight after we landed?”
“Yeah…” Tiffany grins sheepishly. “And—“
A plane flies above them, swallowing whatever Tiffany is saying. TaeYeon narrows her eyes in confusion; she is not an expert in lips-reading. Just when they think the disturbance has ended and Tiffany is ready to repeat her words, another plane passes. Frustrated, she grasped TaeYeon’s top and pulled her closer, their lips meet on the middle. It is chaste, but long enough to warm up their cold lips. When it ends, TaeYeon is stumped.
“I said,” Tiffany whispered, a little breathless from the kiss, “Yes, I will be your girlfriend.”
There is long seconds of stretched silence before TaeYeon lets out a small “Oh.” Her blush follows soon after. “You’re not… mad at me?” She questions cautiously.
“I was.” Tiffany confirms, tightening her grip on TaeYeon’s tank top to prove her point. “I still am. I swear if you didn’t ask me out today, I will do it the next time you ask for permission to land.”
Feeling less tense, TaeYeon smiles slightly. “And if I say no, you will kick me out of your airport?”
“Maybe.”
TaeYeon does not respond back. She tilts her head to the side then kisses Tiffany again, softly, like an unsaid apology. As the kiss deepens, she is content in letting herself being pushed backward, until her back hit the side of the trailer and the ATC’s warm body presses on her front. Her hand goes lower on Tiffany’s back, creeping down to cup her backside, while Tiffany’s own is tugging on the hair on the back of her neck. They had been here before, heavily making out with clothes on and hands seemingly sneaking everywhere, yet never more.
TaeYeon’s reluctance does not come from the faint stretch marks she once caught the glimpse of on Tiffany’s lower belly, but it does somewhat connect to Elisa. She can’t, for the life of her, get aroused enough to bed Tiffany when the evidence of Elisa is in every single corner in the apartment. It feels like she is in the process of tainting a child’s living space instead of making love. It does not appear to be a problem at the moment, giving the fact that they are not in the
apartment, but definitely something they should talk about, sometime later, when her tongue is not currently busy invading Tiffany’s mouth.
Tiffany seems to share the sentiment, although for a totally different reason. She simply does not want to sleep with someone whose status is not quite a friend and not quite a lover either. Once the problem is set, she is more than willing to move thing forward. From the times they had spent together, the ATC has figured that when it comes to physical intimacy, TaeYeon can be very shy to initiate but eager to follow through. With such thought in mind, she slips one hand under TaeYeon’s tank top then wanders up to her chest, where by now supposes to encounter the fabric of her bra instead of the swell of bare breast. She halts, pulling away to stare warily at TaeYeon. Question ready on the tip of her tongue, if not for the sight of TaeYeon’s flushed cheeks distracting her.
TaeYeon beats her to it. “Would you like to come in?” she asks, voice laden with desire.
Tentatively, Tiffany trails her hand—that is still lingering on the underside of TaeYeon’s breast—farther up, brushing against hard peak in the process. She worries at her bottom lip when breathless groan answers her. “Are you sure?” She knows she should not tempt her, but she can’t help herself and repeats the motion for a second time. The flesh is pliant under her ministration.
The answer comes in the form of TaeYeon jerking Tiffany’s hand away from her chest. It throws Tiffany out, her face blanches, but only for a second, because TaeYeon grips on her wrist then tugs her along into the trailer. There is not much space inside and Tiffany, decidedly overdressed, fights hard to dump her purse then kick off her boots whilst TaeYeon peppers kisses on her jaw and neck. The sensation of lips on her skin is very distracting. Their movement grows erratic once Tiffany manages to shed her jacket. She is back on grasping on TaeYeon’s top and
devouring her lips, but TaeYeon is the one leading them deeper into the trailer, stumbling backward blindly with fingers hooking on Tiffany’s belt loops. The magic breaks when their advance is being stopped abruptly as the back of TaeYeon’s head hits the top bunk and she hisses in pain.
“That makes it even,” TaeYeon murmurs.
Tiffany peers down questioningly. “Makes what even?”
The ATC’s voice is deeper than usual, it reverberates throughout TaeYeon’s whole being and she feels herself getting weak on the knees. She wants to kiss her all over again, but resolves enough to raise a hand and brush blonde locks away from her forehead. Under better light, Tiffany notices the angry redness—one that does not belong together with the cute blush on TaeYeon’s cheeks—then giggles a bit before she dives in to land a kiss on the small bump.
If the somewhat motherly action bothers TaeYeon, she does not show it. Instead, she uses the opportunity to rid the top buttons on Tiffany’s shirt. The fabric comes apart then strips off smooth shoulders and lean arms as their lips meet for the nth time tonight. TaeYeon pulls back, standing at arm length, to let her eyes soak in the view. There, standing underneath the dim light, donned in pale pink bra and jeans and kiss-swollen lips, Tiffany is simply the most beautiful woman she has ever had the chance to lie her eyes upon.
TaeYeon subconsciously licks her dry lip as she becomes painfully aware of the throbbing between her legs. It has been months—year even, since the last time she was being intimate with
another human being. The urges to push Tiffany back against the door then getting herself down on the knees to ravage her, are insurmountable. She clutches on the ladder leading to the upper bunk, knuckles white from sheer force, to hold herself together. The only thing stopping TaeYeon from pouncing on Tiffany is the fact that it is their first time, and while they have been waiting for this for quite a long period, they deserve better. Tiffany deserves better.
As if reading the conflicted thoughts fleeting across TaeYeon’s face like an open book, Tiffany makes the decision for them by closing their proximity yet again. Her pupils have blown wide, both from the low light and arousal. She is not shy, unlike TaeYeon. Once she sets her eyes on something—or in this case, someone—she will make sure she does everything in her might to acquire it. It is even better when what she wants also wants her back. She smiles on their kiss as she tugs up the hem of TaeYeon’s top and feels arms comply with the wordless request, raising themselves up so the thin material can finally be taken off. To avoid TaeYeon from getting selfconscious with her state of undress, Tiffany makes a quick work with her own bra in return.
There is not much time or need left to stare, not when their naked chests press against each other on the next kiss. TaeYeon gasps sharply, while Tiffany feels heat intensified on the junction of her legs. At this rate, they will not last long. With hands firm on the hipbones, Tiffany gently guides TaeYeon to sit on the lower bunk, careful of her abused head. She goes along with her, kneeling between her parted legs. Their space is limited, but she makes the best of it. Their lips never part for long, at least not until Tiffany repays the attention she received earlier and begins kissing her way down TaeYeon’s chest. The blonde throws her head back as Tiffany bits on her pulse point, one hand props herself on the mattress while the other tangles itself in her lover’s brunette mane. Her breath comes in short puff of air, heart beats erratically inside her chest. All pauses for a second, when simultaneously, hot mouth and adept fingers tease the erect buds on her chest. A low cry of pleasure rips through her throat.
TaeYeon nudges Tiffany back to her feet when she can’t handle the attention rained upon her breasts anymore. She fears she will come apart from mere overstimulation. Not one to be subjected to one-sided attention, she reaches forward to undo Tiffany’s belt. Tight jeans and matching pale pink panties slides off legs, legs that seem to run for miles, TaeYeon thinks as she tugs Tiffany closer again, arms around the waist and mouth inch away from her navel. She smells heavenly, too.
“TaeYeon…” Tiffany calls, half of a warning and half of a giggle, when TaeYeon nuzzles her nose on her lower stomach. Not quite where she truly needs her at the moment. “It’s ticklish.”
TaeYeon hums, her hands travel lower with purpose. Tiffany understands immediately of what the pilot is going to do when they rest on each side of her thighs and try to draw them apart. She puts a stop on it, untangling from the embrace then shoves her down on the bunk. TaeYeon can’t even lie over it, the space is too small, but she holds on until Tiffany finishes taking off her PJs pants and underwear, before shifting to the side to lie along the mattress’ length. Tiffany crawls after her on all four, looking every bit like a lioness stalking on a prey with her mused hair and intense dark eyes.
There are options, a lot of options. Each guarantees intense pleasure, when being done right, but they had never talked of such topic and it leaves them in a limbo. The solution, surprisingly, turns out to be the easiest. Tiffany has hovered over TaeYeon for some time now, holding her gaze searchingly, and when she finds determination and love shine on them, she leans down to kiss her. That is when their whole bodies touch and sharp gasps echo throughout the trailer. Tiffany realigns her position then, slipping one leg between TaeYeon’s. Wet heat meets her skin and she has to bit her lower lip in order to stop herself from moaning out loud. She fails, though, when TaeYeon elevates her own, wedging the toned thigh on where she needs her the most.
“Oh.”
TaeYeon’s grin is nearly sinful as she shifts her limb ever so slightly. She can feel the additional dampness Tiffany leaves on her skin. The trail burns her insides and invigorates her to move faster. She is sure she will be satisfied just from seeing Tiffany’s expression contorts then relaxes with every motion.
“Not fair,” Tiffany grunts after one particular delicious pressure forces her to keel forward, burying her face on the crook of TaeYeon’s neck.
TaeYeon would have laugh, if not for Tiffany’s sneaky fingers manage to slip between them. She draws a sharp breath; her whole body goes rigid before she shudders. Above her, Tiffany freezes from the reaction.
“It’s okay,” TaeYeon drawls, hips undulating forward to prove her point.
Tiffany nods then kisses her on the cheek. She starts grinding herself on TaeYeon’s thigh while her own hand works the blonde in tight circles. They can do more later, or sometime in the future, preferably on a softer and spacious bed. TaeYeon shows her appreciation of the gesture by catching Tiffany in yet another kiss. They hold onto it as the movement becomes frantic. Tiffany stumbles over the edge first, with a sharp cry she muffles on TaeYeon’s shoulder and free hand interweaves in fair tresses. She does not stop, though, and within seconds the blonde crashes after her.
Later on, after they has caught their breath and disentangled from each other, they lie facing each other under the cover. There really is not much space left in the bunk, which is not a problem for TaeYeon, whom takes residence on Tiffany’s chest contently. Now that they are not engrossed with each other, the planes seem to pass by a lot more. The trailer shakes whenever one passes and Tiffany can’t help but sigh. She is tired, but sleep eludes her. She wonders how TaeYeon ever able to sleep in such poor condition.
“TaeYeon?”
“Hmm?”
A rush of warm air caresses the top of Tiffany’s exposed breast. She can get used to this whole cuddling, even when they are not on a too narrow bunk bed in a too small trailer. She squeezes TaeYeon again. “Move in with me.”
TaeYeon thought she has at least three more days. Thus when she wakes up from the sudden weight pressing down on her hips, she has a slight smile, which never grows into a full one. The heaviness is not quite right and while morning sex—or more like early dawn sex—is something they have developed a habit of, she knows from the constant hum of traffic outside the apartment that it is far too late for that. Peeking experimentally with one eye, almost in fear of finding what—or rather who is sitting on top of her, she instantly clenched it shut after catching glimpse of quite similar but not exactly the face she wished to see. Tousled blonde hair, glazed green eyes, pouty lips, and tears-stained cheeks.
Elisa.
Her whole body goes rigid as her brain races through everything she had read, which is a lot but yet not enough. There are still books in the nightstand and links bookmarked in her phone she has not have the time to read, all children-related. She does not expect to suddenly be another parental figure in Elisa’s life, but it is also her very first time having a child involved in her romantic relationship, she does not want to mess it up for the little girl. She had told as much to Tiffany, whose assurance of it will only be another year before Elisa starts school and therefore stops being juggled between her parents does not really calm TaeYeon’s nerves.
“TaeYeon,” Tiffany calls, her voice darts from one end of the room to the other, “I know you’re awake.”
There is nothing but helplessness when TaeYeon cracks open her eyes and stares up at Tiffany. She is glad her girlfriend does not bend down to greet her with a kiss on the lips—yet another habit they started since she moved in—but then quickly frowns at Tiffany’s stern look. She is ready to leave for work, TaeYeon notices with panic raises inside her chest. Tiffany is supposed
to be there with her when Elisa comes by, they are supposed to sit the girl and explain to her about TaeYeon living with her mama for an indefinite time.
Seeing the odd constipating expression on her lover causes a smile to form on Tiffany’s lips. “Something came up,” she informs with barely veiled annoyance, “Stephan dropped off Elisa earlier and I couldn’t get her usual sitter.” Her chocolate eyes turn pleading. “Can you watch her until lunch?”
TaeYeon wants to scream “no” then bolts out of the bed, but one glance at Elisa has her melted on the spot and nodded her consent. Tiffany rewards her with a peck on the cheek, doing the same to her three-year old before she leaves them with a string of “don’t”s. Don’t act petulant. Don’t eat candies. Don’t forget to brush your teeth. Don’t take a step to the kitchen. (TaeYeon is sure the last one is for her instead of Elisa.) Then she is gone, silence reigns over the whole apartment once Tiffany closes the front door.
Elisa, surprisingly, is the one who breaks the ice. “Ta-e,” she calls with the short ‘e’ that has TaeYeon’s heart swells with fondness inside her chest, despite the tiny hand slapping on the slight lump under the cover that happens to be her breast.
“Yes, Elisa?”
TaeYeon dreads for the why are you here? or what are you doing in mama’s bed? questions, but Elisa only yawns widely before leaning forward to rest her whole body on top of her. TaeYeon instinctively reaches up to rub her back and sighs. She has avoided the bullets for now.
“Sleepy?”
She feels Elisa nod her head, blonde locks shuffle slightly. As much as she does not want to move, TaeYeon knows she can’t let the little girl sleep in such position. She can’t let her sleep in their bed either, knowing Tiffany will not approve it. With the last rub, she stills her hand to support Elisa’s back as she slowly rises to sit. Drowsy green orbs lock with her own onyx ones and she smiles softly. It is the closest physical contact she ever has with the toddler since they met each other a few months ago. It is not so frightening either. TaeYeon thinks Elisa is pretty much an angel as she tucks her in her big girl Hello Kitty themed bed.
The thought persists; at least until Elisa woke up with an ear-piercing wail, then everything went downhill from there. Stephan’s visit during lunch only made the barely-controlled things get worse; he said something that causes certain heat of embarrassment on TaeYeon’s cheeks refuses to leave for the rest of the day. By the time Tiffany comes home, with Chinese take-outs in hand, she dreads to find her beloveds in some sort of misfortune and a thoroughly wrecked apartment. She, however, fails to hide the surprise from spilling all over her face when she discovers TaeYeon and Elisa sitting on the couch, the little girl on the blonde’s lap, as Frozen plays on TV. So far, other than the questionable bucket of Play-Doh and what appears to be TaeYeon’s badges inside the shoe rack (what are those even doing there, Tiffany wonders), no damage can be seen. Bending down as she disposes the bag of food on the coffee table, Tiffany kisses TaeYeon then Elisa on the cheek again, in lieu of greetings.
“Hey,” TaeYeon replies, just as Elisa says, “Mama.”
Both of them have their eyes train firmly on the TV, not even glancing at Tiffany, whom rolls her eyes in annoyance. Sometimes she feels like she is having two, instead of one kid. “I brought food,” she calls as she makes her way to the bedroom, hoping for a change of clothes before dinner. When no reaction comes, she adds, “Can you please put them on plates, TaeYeon?”
There is more than enough hint of sternness in the words for TaeYeon to give an affirmative yelp and scrambles about the dinnerware, Elisa sticks close to her, offering commentaries. Tiffany is very pleased to enter the dining area to see Elisa sitting on her high-chair and TaeYeon by her side, teaching her how to hold the chopsticks correctly. She has expected the pilot to bail, but apparently everything works out in the end.
“How was your day, sweetie?” Tiffany asks as she takes her seat across the two. “I thought Stephan supposed to pick you up this noon?”
“Papi is busy,” Elisa supplies, then goes on babbling in a perfect mix of English, Spanish, and Korean.
It leaves TaeYeon’s head swim. She stares sheepishly at Tiffany after a question is being sent her way and Elisa’s face fills with expectation.
“Her appa—Miguel, promised to bring her to an ice cream parlor tomorrow. She asked if you’d like to come along.”
TaeYeon visibly blanches, before drawing a relief sigh. “I’d love to, but I have to work. Maybe next time?”
Grinning wickedly, Tiffany suggests, “Maybe next time we can bring gramps too.”
“Yesh!” Elisa squeals, clapping her hands. “And mommy!”
TaeYeon has her eyes wide, mind already rushing far ahead to find a way to escape, if not for Tiffany’s giggle distracting her. The blonde’s glare narrows when Elisa, clueless as she is, joins the merriness. She can only fake huffing and nudging—kicking Tiffany’s leg under the table, before letting out a laugh herself. The dinner continues in lighter atmosphere. They share stories and do the dishes together. Elisa is already tucked in and Tiffany is sipping wine on the couch as she watches the news when TaeYeon comes out in her uniform, ready to leave.
“Your badges are in the shoe rack,” Tiffany informs after she notices her girlfriend’s confused look. She abandons her glass on the coffee table and comes to TaeYeon’s aid, snatching the badges she has just retrieved from the rack and intends to put them on herself. “Do I need to know what they are doing in there?”
“Let’s just say Elisa wants to use them as mold...”
“We need to talk about boundaries with her.” Tiffany sighs apologetically when the pilot cocks up a brow at her. “I know, I’m sorry. I’ll be there this time.” She smoothes the crisp white fabric on TaeYeon’s chest and tightens her dark blue tie. “Were everything alright today?”
TaeYeon, captivated by smell Tiffany’s perfume and her close proximity, can’t stop herself from giving her a chaste peck on the lips. “It was,” a sudden redness blooms on her otherwise pale cheeks, “Your brother is the one you should teach about boundaries,” she mumbles under her breath, before quickly adds in a more cherry tone, “I have to go, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Tiffany can only nod. She is going to call Stephan first time in the morning, she thinks as she watches TaeYeon dart out of the apartment with the ever-present blush.
It is 15.30 and Tiffany has been squinting over the radar for the last ten minutes. Any minute now, a new blink with HL8271 attached on it is going to show up. It is only five minutes past the normal arrival time for TaeYeon’s plane, she does not have any ill thought about it yet, but she is impatient. A grin unconsciously breaks on her lips when it finally shows up not a minute later. Her coworkers must have noticed her change of behavior lately, because she hears several sighs and notes some shaking their heads around her. She knows they do not really mind, though.
“Los Angeles Tower, Boeing Hotel Lima Eight Two Seven One, eight miles east north, inbound for landing with information Romeo,” comes TaeYeon’s now very familiar voice.
“Boeing Hotel Lima Eight Two Seven One, Los Angeles Tower, enter right downwind, runway two four, report entering right downwind,” the ATC replies in ease. TaeYeon must have detected the smile in her voice because she can hear the quiet breathy laugh on her reply.
“Hotel Lima Seven One will report right downwind, two four.” Then followed by, “Los Angeles Tower, Hotel Lima Seven One, right downwind, two four.”
Tiffany rechecks the radar before giving the next order, “Boeing Hotel Lima Seven One, cleared to land.”
“Cleared to land, Hotel Lima Seven One.”
The ATC waits with bated breath as the tiny dot makes its way to the designated runway and slows down to a stop. “Hotel Lima Seven One, turn right next taxiway, contact Ground, point six five, leaving the runway. TaeYeon?”
“Right turn, contact Ground, Hotel Lima Seven One.” The pilot is barely able to conceal her surprise. After all, Tiffany had never used the communicator to actually talk to her. It was her who always initiated it and they no longer used it since they have each other’s number. “Yeah?”
“Welcome home.”
TaeYeon smiles widely at the phrase; it is the first time Tiffany has ever said it to her even though she had moved in a week ago. Now with Elisa also waiting for her in their apartment, it does feel like a home. She gazes dreamily at the faraway North Tower, knowing Tiffany is somewhere in it, watching her.
“I’m home.”
The End