"Try again; it needs a bit more breath behind it," Jessica released the call button and clasped her hands under her chin, watching Taeyeon through the window between them. 

       Taeyeon nodded and reshaped the phrase soulfully, the notes floating through the studio. 

       Jessica nodded vigorously and clicked a button at the board with one hand, removing a pair of clunky headphones with the other. 

"That was just right!"

       Taeyeon blushed as she exited the recording booth. Grabbing her windbreaker from the coat rack, she almost bowed to Jessica before remembering they didn't do that in America. To her surprise, the taller girl bowed anyways,

"I had a great time working with you, Taeyeon! You picked it up so fast." 

She bowed back, "Thanks, Jessica," she got back up with a tiny smirk, "you sure do know how to bow for an American." 

Jessica shot her pearly whites at her, "Well, my parents taught me some manners." 

       As Jessica gathered her things, Taeyeon shyly rubbed the nape of her neck. 

"Uh, Jessica?"

"Hm?"

"Are you doing anything tonight?" 

"I'm actually playing at a venue today for a few hours, why?"

"Well, Fany is off with Soyeon and..." she trailed off.

Jessica tapped her chin, 

"Why don't you stop by for some of my set and then I can show you around town?" 

Jessica pressed a little card into Taeyeon's palm,

"This is the place. See you sometime between six and eight-ish?" 

--

"And then she did this thing where she like, touched my stomach while I sang to see that I was using my diaphragm. She had me kinda...bark? Yeah, bark, in my chest voice while flexing the thing. No one in Korea would do that, and it was cool that she cared that much about the sound, and-" 

"Oh, shut up, Tae. Poor Soyeon hasn't gotten a word in this conversation since you started talking about your precious Jessica," snickered Tiffany. 

       Taeyeon crossed her arms and huffed as the other two girls giggled at her expense. 

"But hey, she recorded with me, too, and never pulled that diaphragm . Maybe Jessi's got a crush on you, too, Tae."

"Ugh, I don't like her, okay? I just think she's cool. Can't I think the producer of my album is cool? Back me up, Soyeon."

Soyeon laughed and shook her head,

"Maybe Fany could. But you're too gay for that, Taeng." 

"Whatever, I told her I'd meet her soon. You guys have fun with whatever," grumbled Taeyeon.

"Oh, maybe we should come with you!" 

"No!"

Tiffany and Soyeon's prim criss-crossed bodies collapsed with laughter on Tiffany's bed in response to Taeyeon's harsh refusal of their suggestion.

"Bye, Taeyeon!" 

--

       After a little cooldown with a girly cocktail, she returned to the stage. Grabbing her instrument, Jessica banished her jitters for the final stretch of her set. She delicately let a nail skim across the strings of her guitar as she got comfortable on her stool and gave a thumbs up to a guy across the room. The lights dimmed save for a bright overhead spotlight raining down on her. Some whispers of chatter here and there comforted her, as she knew there wasn't excessive attention placed on her. 

       Jessica gently glided through a few numbers as scattered applause and whistles reached out through the darkness to tickle her ears. She could only hope that Taeyeon had showed. Perhaps she wanted to prove something to the celebrity; impress her. But Jessica wasn't so sure. As these thoughts played under her mind's more pressing grasps for lyrics and pitches, her ephemeral stage came to a close. 

       With a smile and a wave to the hooting crowd, Jessica languidly packed her guitar into its case and ambled off the stage, looking around for the girl she had invited. 

       A tap on her shoulder startled her. But when she whirled around to find that it was exactly who she was looking for, a small grin escaped her. 

"You were great!"

Jessica shrugged but continued to smile, "Nothing special." 

"I don't even understand English and I know it was special. Give yourself some credit." 

"Well...I am pretty great," Jessica jokingly winked. 

       Taeyeon laughed and shoved the other girl's shoulder,

"Alright, Miss Universe, don't let what I said go to your head."

"Don't let what go to whose head?" A new voice asked. 

       Taeyeon watched curiously as a tall, fox-like girl wrapped an arm around Jessica. The other girl giggled and pecked the new girl's cheek,

"Soojung!" 

       Taeyeon felt a strange twinge of jealousy in her heart as she cleared to regain the attention of th