Taeyeon leaned over the head PD's shoulder to nitpick at the last few shots of her group's newest music video with her eyebrows knit close together. Her seven members were dispersed about the set for some downtime, but as the leader, she felt obliged to make sure the MV looked alright before they were dismissed. 

       Distractedly outstretching a beckoning hand with her eyes still glued to the screen, Taeyeon called out to her members. 

"Yah, everybody come here and make sure you're alright with the shots we have." 

       As the members gathered round, Taeyeon eased up a bit. Tiffany elbowed her in greeting as the others made their comments. 

"Lee Sunny, have you out on some weight? You're looking a little chubby here."

"I eat healthily, unlike a certain shikshin I know."

"Why did my face come out so dark? I'm not even the Black Pearl, tsk." 

Taeyeon chuckled tiredly,

"But overall, do you guys want to leave it like this?" 

       Feeling like they had got as much as they could out of the filming, everyone nodded, eager to wrap up.

       Finally, they were dismissed. Giving their thanks to the staff, the girls followed their  manager out of the building. They clambered into their van once they got to the parking garage, making mild conversation and giggling about the day's events.

       Taeyeon sat all the way in the back, huddled in a corner so she could look out the window. As the van lurched to a start, she gently traced the cool glass with her index finger. As the car pulled on to the freeway, the girls' chatter faded, and they were left with the quiet buzz of the heating and the murmurs of a midnight talkshow their manager liked.

       With the technicolor lights of Seoul passing by in the distance behind the freeway walls, Taeyeon wondered how long those exact lights- the signs, the ads, the bright office windows- would mark the everchanging skyline. She felt nearly uncomfortable knowing that the sillouhette of the city she saw right then would almost definitely be different the next day. Some lights would endure for years. Others could fizzle in a few days. But no light could shine forever.

How long will I last?

-

AN: So, after like two years hiatus I've decided to write on AFF again. I know this foreword was super slow, but hey, it's just the foreword! This idea has been on my mind for a while now- just couldn't stop thinking about it, so I found myself here again \o/ Can't wait to see where this takes us. 

​-Coiste