2014...

MAMA 

Tiffany was tearing as she walked along the stage to receive the award on behalf of TaeTiSeo, she felt lonely without her counterparts but it couldn't be helped after all. She knew this was going to be first appearance by a solo member after Jessica's departure and to be brutally honest, she was afraid. She was afraid of being torn apart by anti-fans and the reporters but the award was something major for the group.  

Then again, it was fine with her best friend watching over her from the side lines - there Nichkhun was with his group. Truth be told, they had dated way earlier than the reported date and also broke up way before. The date they had been captured on was actually one of their friendly outings and they had gone for a simple meal as friends, not lovers anymore.

“Every year we were honored by you guys, and tonight I’d like to take the time to honor all our fans. Without you we wouldn’t be here, we wouldn’t be anywhere. And I know there was a lot of things going on this year, but I promise you better days, we promise you better days, so stay strong for us.”

And even as she said that, Tiffany couldn't guarantee what might happen in the future but they would do their darn hardest to give only good things back to their beloved SONES. 

Sailing into the night

eodumppunin bamhaneul arae

kkeuchi boiji anteorado

urin again and again and again

Sailing into the night

Under the night sky filled with darkness

Even though we cannot see the end

We are again and again and again

2015... 

Graduation

Yoona was graduating. 

Seohyun was graduating.

They were finally graduating from Dongguk University after dragging their education for so long. Their break from Tokyo Dome till now had been short but it was also a busy one, having to re-film the entire 'Catch Me If You Can' music video since the old one had Jessica in it. Even during their hectic year, they had to juggle their exams and study in between schedules - it was finally paying off. 

“Oh God… I’m so proud of you two,” Tiffany sniffled, blowing her nose into her pink handkerchief, “our two babies finally graduating with a degree.”

“Oh come on, Fany. They’re the ones graduating but you’re the one crying?” Sooyoung made a what-even face at Tiffany before snuggling beside Sunny on the sofa, “you’re practically our mother and how can you say that you’re not? Look at you crying like a proud mother.”

Yoona and Seohyun giggled to themselves, adjusting the clothes they were going to be wearing the auditorium. Their hearts were also pumping so fast against their ribcage, the feeling was completely satisfying. To think that they themselves as well as their members had been waiting for this moment for a long time now and it was finally happening - emotional wasn't enough to describe it. 

Yoona quickly rushed to the kitchen and stopped short a few steps away from the tanned girl who was at the stove with Taeyeon. “Yul! Do I look good?” Yoona asked, twirling around in front of Yuri for her to take a good look at her. Yuri couldn’t help the grin crawling onto her face as she scanned the goddess from head to toe, “you look amazing, Yoong.”

As Yuri now approached Yoona slowly, the doe-eyed girl could feel her insides tremble. Yuri bent slightly so her lips were at Yoona’s ears, “go and graduate. Make me proud of you.” Yoona blushed at the ticklish sensation Yuri was giving her and smacked her shoulders, running back into the living room.

Taeyeon rolled her eyes and used her spatula to hit Yuri's bum, “I think that’s enough of making me feel like a third wheel, you monkey.” She knew she hit the correct nerve when Yuri's face started to turn pink as they stood beside each other. She knew they needed a push to get things going, “just confess already, Yul.”

As their names were called by their headmaster, both Yoona and Seohyun’s smiles couldn’t have been brighter than before. Yoona had been busy with her progress in the acting sector very earlier into her life and for a period of time, she had the most packed schedule among all of them. Seohyun, on the other hand, was focusing so much on her vocal lessons and dance practices so she put a halt to her studies though she tried to study in between schedules.

“Yoona-ah, Seohyun-ah, congratulations on your graduation!”

“Congratulations!”

“Look over here!” 

The pride in each of their hearts was equivalent to that of their members’ and families’ as they watched the news covering Yoona and Seohyun’s graduation. After so many depressing incidents that took place last year, they were finally facing some positive stepping stones to getting up even stronger. 

Yoona held onto Seohyun's hand, “we did it, Seo… we finally graduated.” Seohyun smiled back and gave Yoona’s hand a tender squeeze, “yeah we did, Unnie. I think Yul-unnie and Sooyoung-unnie will be graduating next year. Their tests have already ended and their marking has started.” Yoona cleared and patted her cheek lightly, hoping she wouldn’t blush at the mere mention of Yuri alone.

The two girls stepped into their van and was bombarded by flowers by their managers. “Congratulations, Yoong, Seo!” Manager Oppa wished, turning back from the driver seat to look at his two girls, “You two look gorgeous in your gowns, by the way.”  

A comfortable silence ensued as they continued on their way home, Seohyun was on the verge of falling asleep while Yoona was simply humming a couple of songs to herself. It was only after Manager Oppa caught sight of the post-it near the steering wheel did he realize he had forgotten something important. 

“Girls, I almost forgot…” Manager Oppa started, holding two big bouquets in his hand as he turned and handed them to confused Yoona and Seohyun, “these flowers are for you two.”

Yoona furrowed her eyebrows, knowing that it couldn’t be from their members because their flowers would have been at home and not with their manager. She was about to look at the flowers closely when she heard a sniffle coming from Seohyun. She turned around in alarm, “Seo? What’s wrong?” Seohyun let out a couple of sobs as she held her bouquet out, lifting a small note with a very simple capital letter - J. 

Congratulations, you two.

You've finally graduated.

We finally have a smart goddess and the future president of S.K. 

J 

Catch Me If You Can

Mmmm... beautiful choreography, Hyoyeon thought. Her dancing has always stood out among all their members but this was truly the song made for the dance line. Not only was it a chance for the dance line to shine, they had also gotten more lines than usual and even though they were merely filling the gaps for Jessica... it meant a lot more than it seemed.

“Fany, you need to kick a little bit higher over here…” Yuri instructed; both she and Hyoyeon were supposed to coach the others a little since they started learning the choreography much earlier than them. Yuri held onto Tiffany’s leg and lifted it to a certain level, “here. You stop here before going back down and your other leg has to kick afterward.” 

Tiffany had never worked so hard on a single part of choreography for so long but the fire was still burning in her. She was determined to fill the gap Jessica had left - the gap now consisted of eight parts and each of them had to do something more to fill it up as best as possible. So no matter how much time she needed, she would put her 100% into this dance as it marks the start of their comeback. 

Yoona had made sure to stop all her other activities as well, taking Yuri's advice in order to prevent herself from overworking. She made it a daily routine now - wake up, dance practice, eat, vocal practice, sleep. She didn't need to have full meals all the time, she had small meals in between practices and it was enough.

Sunny had tears in her eyes every single time she practiced, her knees were shaking and they were so painful. She had fallen and picked herself up countless times in the practice room, the ache in her knees making her entire body go weak.

Taeyeon and Sooyoung hadn’t bre