Part 1 When Taeyeon received a call from her eccentric father, who had been away for more than a year traveling the world, the first thing that came out of her mouth was— “Hell no, dad. Over my dead body.” She almost threw her phone out the window of her luxurious penthouse suite, because her father, whom she had missed rather dearly, just blurted out an absurd request. “No! I will not marry your long lost best friend’s daughter!” ‘But Taetae,’ he said with so much aegyo a man his age shouldn’t have, ‘I thought you said you were gay?’ “Dad, this has nothing to do with my gender!” She yelled on the phone as she ran her hand in between her golden locks frustratingly. “I will not agree to this arranged marriage thing!” ‘But Taengooooo—’ Taeyeon didn’t even bother ending the call and just chucked her phone over the veranda, rubbing her temples as she went back inside her spacious living room. She threw herself on her expensive leather couch and groaned before punching the cushion out of frustration. “Ugh! I can’t believe this!” Ring. Her house phone rang and she eyed the thing suspiciously. Ring. Ring. Taeyeon sighed and pressed the speaker phone button. Click. ‘Ooooooooooooooooo—’ “Oh my god, dad, stop it! You’re too old for this!” Taeyeon held her house phone and screamed at it like a fool, throwing the thing back on the side table with a loud clank. ‘But Taetae,’ his father’s voice rang clearly from the speaker phone, ‘She’s your type! You’ll like her, I’m sure of it!’ “You don’t even know my type, dad! You haven’t even met any of my exes!” ‘Yes, I did!’ “Name one.” The line went silent for a moment, with Taeyeon staring at the phone. Seconds went by, and just when she thought the line went dead, her goof of a father spoke with so much pride, she could feel it slapping her on the face. ‘I met Jessica!’ “Jessica is my best friend, what’s wrong with you!” ‘What, really?’ “Yes!” Taeyeon screamed again before sighing. “You need to stop this, dad. I love you but this is too much. I’m not marrying a stranger!” ‘That’s why you’re going to meet her first, silly Taengoo! Then you’ll fall in love at first sight, accept the arrangement and get married!’ “No!” ‘Please, please, do this for daddy, pleeeaaaasssseee—’ “Dad, no!” Taeyeon heard a sigh from the other line and she smiled, feeling a little victorious. Her dad sighing could only mean one thing, defeat. ‘Okay,’ he said dejectedly and it made her smile grow bigger. Sweet victory, Taeyeon thought happily. ‘I’ll make you a deal you’ll never refuse!’ Or not. Taeyeon covered her face with her hands and groaned, ruffling her hair as she plopped on her couch sideways. “Dad,” she said, “Trust me, there is no way—” ‘If you agree to at least meet her, I’ll let you off to do anything you want.’ Her ears perked and instantly she found herself sitting up, elbows leaning on her thighs and fingers interlaced in front of her. Suddenly she felt nervous. “I’m listening…” There was some shuffling on the other line before she heard her dad’s firm voice, a hundred eighty degrees different from his previous playful whining. ‘I’ll come back as soon as I can, kick you off the company myself, enrol you in that culinary school you like in Paris and let you study to be a chef like what you’ve always wanted.’ Taeyeon couldn’t help but gasp at her father’s offer. Her hand instantly shot up and grabbed the receiver before pressing the earpiece on the side of her head really closely. “You’re kidding me, right?” ‘No, I am absolutely serious.’ “You’d let me ditch my company responsibilities to chase my lifelong dream if I go and meet her? Just meet her?” ‘Yes. And it’s a promise.’ “No take backsies? Even though I don’t end up marrying her after the meeting?” ‘No take backsies, Taetae. You know I always keep my word.’ That he does, she thought. Taeyeon bit the nail on her thumb as she weighed her options. She could almost taste the freedom (and her nail) at the tip of her tongue. But what if it’s a trap, she thought again. What if she gets shotgun wedded as soon as she goes off to meet the girl. Worse of all, what if she’s ugly?! Her eyes widened at that thought. “I-Is she pretty?” She asked, feeling a little shallow. ‘Oh, Taetae, she’s beautiful!’ “Stop exaggerating!” ‘I’m not! I swear you’ll be eating your words once you see her. You’d be begging me to marry you two immediately.’ Taeyeon kept quiet while her dad continued to rain praises about her potential fiancée, mentally listing the pros and cons of the whole situation. It was her dream versus potential (and metaphorical) imprisonment, but the offer was just too tempting not to take. And if her father said that the girl was pretty, then Taeyeon would take his word for it. “Okay. Fine,” she said, finally accepting defeat. “I’ll do it.” ‘Aha! That’s my girl!’ The old man screamed and clapped. “When can I meet her?” ‘I’ll tell my secretary to email you the directions to their private estate on the South, should take you about a day to reach by driving.’ “What?! I’ll have to drive there for a day?!” ‘Road trips are the best, my lovely daughter! You should enjoy nature every once in a while!’ “You’re the one who shoved me into the company to take over while you go travelling around the world! I haven’t had any breaks since forever!” ‘Oh, right. But hey, at least you’d be able to study in Paris soon! Delaying gratification Taetae, delaying gratification. Also, you could use the time to unwind for a little bit before meeting your future wife.’ He ended that with a giggle and Taeyeon wanted to kill herself. “Whatever, dad. When are you coming back anyway?” ‘Soon. I’m still not done visiting the other sights here, and now that I’ve found my best friend, it’s going to be twice as fun!’ “Fine. Take care of yourself, old man. See you soon. Love you.” ‘Love you too, Taengoo! I’ll bring you lots of souvenirs. Bye!’ “Bye.” Taeyeon shook her head as she ended the call, dragging herself off the couch towards her mini bar to grab a shot of her strongest liquor. She downed a shot, and another, and another, until she felt her world starting to spin. She slumped her torso on the bar counter and looked at the family photo hanging on the wall next to her. It was a photo of her parents hanging upside down after bungee jumping, their huge smiles showing how happy they were at that moment while giving peace signs at the camera. Taeyeon couldn’t help but smile back, remembering how hard it was for her to press the shutter button because of laughing so hard at her goofy parents. Her dad was crazy for asking her such a huge request, she admit, and Taeyeon thought, with a sad chuckle, what her mom would have done if she was still there with them. “Mom,” she whispered to the picture, “I’ll never understand why you married dad. He’s just so spontaneous, it’s getting hard for me to follow him sometimes.” Taeyeon sighed as she stared at the photo before laughing to herself. “Scratch that. You’re both crazy.” With one last shot, she headed to her room with wobbly steps, silently psyching herself for an adventure. —– “Are you really gonna do this, Taeng?” The shorter girl stopped halfway from entering her walk in closet to stare at her best friend who was lounging lazily on her bed, fiddling with the new phone she had asked her to buy. “Jessica, one word: Paris.” With that she continued pulling random clothes from her wardrobe before throwing them back on the bed, returning with a small duffel bag in her hands. “Your dad really knows how to make a deal, doesn’t he? No wonder everyone wanted to be his business partner.” “Yep, he’s really smart,” Taeyeon agreed as she continued to shove the clothes inside the bag. “But my mom was the genius one.” She saw Jessica looking up at her on her peripheral, giving her a soft smile that only she receives from the latter. “Too bad I didn’t get to meet her. I really wanted to.” “She would’ve liked you. She likes befriending scheming people.” “Hey!” Taeyeon snorted as she zipped her small travel bag before dusting her hands. Jessica got off the bed and handed her the new phone, the same model with the one she threw off the building. She thanked her best friend with a grin before pulling her in for a hug. “You sure you’ll be fine by yourself?” She heard Jessica ask, the two of them still tangled in a tight embrace. “I can go with you if you want.” “Nah, I’ll be fine. Thanks, Sica.” She playfully patted her on the butt and it earned her a giggle and a slap on the back. “Call me if there’s anything, okay?” “I will.” —– This was it, Taeyeon thought, feeling the weight of her duffel bag on her shoulders.