Taeyeon and Hyoyeon walked up to the gate of Sooyoung’s home. They both knew the code, but Hyoyeon let Taeyeon punch it in. “It warmed up a bit,” Hyoyeon muttered with a comfortable sigh. The sun was going down, but the warmth it brought still remained. Summer was approaching in a few weeks and some days still felt like winter. Hyoyeon hoped the weather would resume normalcy by then.

The gate unlocked and Tae let Hyo enter first. Before following she noticed a figure out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head slightly for a better peripheral look. It was a person. She turned her head fully to look directly at them, but the person turned their body and started walking down the street. Taeyeon, spooked by this, walked through the gate quickly making sure it was locked firmly behind them.

“Kwenchana?” Hyoyeon asked Taeyeon, noticing she had a concerned look on her face.

“Mm. Just thought I saw something, we should find the girls, kaja,” Taeyeon responded and walked up the path into Sooyoung’s home. Hyoyeon looked back at the gate with her eyes puzzled. Did Taeyeon not want to be here or was there something else that troubled her? Hyoyeon shook the thoughts from her mind and convinced herself that she was overthinking a simple look. Tonight would be fun and all of the girls would be together.

“Taeyeonaaaaaa” Sooyoung shouted in an exaggerated fashion as if she were weakened by the sight of her. She had a drink in her hand as she ran over to Taeyeon and hugged her with her free arm. Sooyoung patted her back and said, “I’m-I am sooooo glad you’re here” in a slightly slurred voice, then moved on to Hyoyeon, “Hyoyeonaaaaaa~~!”

“She’s already drunk.” A voice spoke next to Taeyeon. She didn’t even see Tiffany walk up to her. “I’m glad you made it!” Tiffany gave Taeyeon her brightest eyes smile and took her hand. “Come! Chef Yuri is almost done cooking the meat!”

All of the tension Taeyeon had from the moment she left her room to talk to Hyoyeon until the moment Tiffany took her hand vanished instantly. She felt at ease and calm. She let Tiffany pull her to where the rest of the group was situated. Sooyoung’s backyard was decorated in string lanterns and symmetrically placed torches, their intent being to ward off unfriendly insects. At the furthest end of the backyard were the girls. Yuri was tending to the BBQ, Sunny and Sunny sat on clean white patio chairs, Sunny holding a beer and Seohyun sipping something from a clear glass. Taeyeon noticed the near empty bottle of Makgeolli rice wine on the grass next to her. Finally, there was Yoona, her fresh face and innocent beauty greeting Taeyeon as she approached with a smile. Her infectious smile found it’s way onto Taeyeon’s face as well and she looked down shyly before looking back up and saying, “Aedeuraaaaa~” Sunny, Yuri and Seohyun all looked at her in unison and smiles were also formed with their lips.

“Unnnnniieeeeeeeee~~~” Seohyun screamed and hopped up from her chair, she nearly tripped when she ran over to Taeyeon. Taeyeon ducked behind Tiffany jokingly as if to avoid Seohyun hugging her. Seohyun stopped and pouted, “Yaaaaa”

Taeyeon hopped out from behind Tiffany and with open arms hugged Seohyun. Seohyun shakes her a little as she hugs her. They let go and Seohyun takes Taeyeon’s hand and says, “Unnie, come sit,” She brings her over to the set of patio chairs next to Sunny. Sunny gave Taeyeon her biggest grin while slurring, “Taengooooooa”. Her pitch rose and she started squealing like a baby, “TaeeeeenGOOOOOAAAAAA”

“YAAAAAA” Taeyeon cringed, “Hajimaaa!” She covered her ears, but Sunny moved closer to her and shouted, “Shiro!!”

Taeyeon put up a fist and faked a swing at her, “Aish..”. The girls all laughed.

“Taeyeona, mian,” Sunny cleared her through and then looked Taeyeon directly in the eyes. Her face had a serious and concerned look on it. “Taeyeona…” She started in a low flat voice. “WHERE IS YOUR DRINK?! What do you think this is? Ahh jinjja, get your act together LEAD-ER,”

All of the girls erupted in laughter. Taeyeon stood up and said with small repeated bows, “Ahh, arasso, arasso,” Taeyeon stuck her tongue out at her through puckered lips. She turned to go to the table at the center of the backyard, but a hand stopped her. “Stay unnie, “ Seohyun said, “I’ll get one for you,” Seohyun scurried off and Taeyeon sat back down. She didn't even notice had Tiffany walked back to the small group where Sooyoung and Hyoyeon were. She was resting her chin on Hyoyeon's shoulder, and Hyoyeon had her hand up above and slightly behind Tiffany's head, her hair.

“Taeyeonaa~” Sunny’s voice was firm again, but relaxed. “Is everything okay with you these days? You’re always drifting off into Tae-Tae Land..”

Taeyeon wondered if she should share her worries about feeling left behind by Tiffany and her concerns with Hyoyeon’s behaviors. Although, aside from those disturbances in her life, the biggest burden was her future. She felt a deep ache in her heart every time she thought about it. She felt stuck, as if time stopped for her, but kept going all around her. Their 10 year anniversary was a few months away. A part of her felt as though this may be their last schedule as a group. Not because the girls had plans on leaving, but they were all individually successful and getting more and more busy as time goes on. Sooyoung was getting married next year, her and her fiancé decided that even if she continued with the group, he wanted her to be his wife. Yoona and Taecyeon formed a relationship that was now going on two years and getting stronger, however he would be leaving soon for mandatory military service. Hyoyeon’s reality shows were a hit, Seohyyun and Yuri’s drama roles kept coming in, Tiffany was spending a lot of time in the US for a variety of schedules and Sunny was going to be doing a second season of Grandpa’s Over Flowers. Taeyeon knew she wanted to release another album next year after soshi had their comeback. The thought of everyone branching off and being successfully filled her heart. The thought of being alone emptied it.

“Ya, Kim Taeyeon,” Taeyeon heard her name called and snapped out of her thoughts. “Did you just go to Tae-Tae land again?” Sunny was sitting next to her on the same patio chair now. ‘When did she move?’ and ‘how long has she been calling her?’ were thoughts crossing Taeyeon’s mind.

“Oh, did I?” Taeyeon acted oblivious.

“Are you still thinking about earlier? We didn’t tell the other girls. We decided that should be up to you and Hyoyeon if you want to have a group discussion about it. Hyoyeon did text me, supposedly you were getting dressed at the time, but she did say to me that everything was fine. Was she hiding the truth?”

“Ani,” Taeyeon said, mentally saying ‘I’m the one hiding things’. “I’m just thinking about our upcoming anniversary..”

“Ah—“ Sunny signed. “That IS coming up, huh.”

“We’ll be picking things up around August, I heard they’re finished sampling songs, so I’m pretty anxious I guess.” Taeyeon wasn’t lying, but she wasn’t being completely honest. Sunny put an arm around Taeyeon and rested her chin on her shoulder. “T…” she whisper, “I’m always here for you..no matter what,”

“I know, komawo” Taeyeon gave her a peck on the forehead.

Just then Sunny realized Taeyeon was still without a drink. “Hm? YA, SEO. JOO. HYUN. What is taking so long?!” She shouted. Taeyeon searched for Seohyun with her eyes and placed her in the middle of Hyoyeon, Tiffany, Sooyoung and Yoona. 'When the hell did Yoona also get up?' .They were laughing about something until they stopped to focus on Sunny.

“Omo!” Seohyun gasped as she hopped over to Taeyeon in big spaced out leaps. She had two drinks in her hand. Her glass of rice wine and a beer for Taeyeon. Seohyun’s hopping cause a bit of her drink to spill over her hands and onto the stone marble path that cut in a wavy design through the yard .

“SEOHYUN!!” Sooyoung shouted as she walked over with Hyoyeon. “If you drop that glass that’ll be the end of you,” Sooyoung threatened, giving her a half smiling, half angry face. Hyoyeon followed along, drawing her hand enclosed in a fist with her thumb sticking out, across . That made Taeyeon chuckle loudly. Sooyoung and Hyoyeon had a knack for individually entertaining everyone. Together they were an unstoppable force.

“Ani, Musowoooo,” Seohyun pretended to be scared and hid behind Taeyeon.

“Eh, Sooyoung, Maknae cries now, but she’ll remember this and bring it up on our next variety show,” Yuri chimed in as she carried the huge plate of cooked meat over to the table in the center of the backyard. That was the last thing they needed. The lettuce, veggies and side dishes were all set up already and more alcohol had been brought to the table earlier when Hyoyeon and Taeyeon arrived.

“GOGI GOGI GOGI GOGI” Sunny jumped up screaming.

“YA!! Do you want to get hit?!?!” Hyoyeon shouted. Sunny continued shouting it and Hyoyeon chased her around the background.

“Unnie here,” Seohyun said when Taeyeon stood up to go over to the table of prepared food. She handed Taeyeon the drink she fetched for her. Taeyeon opened the can, it let out a quick hiss, and she took a drink from it. She let out a refreshing “Ahhhhh~”, then walked over with Seohyun to join the rest of the girls.

“Jal mogeseumnidaaaa” The group of girls said in unison, before going to town on the lettuce wraps. They added tons of veggies, dipped their meat in sauces, added it to the wrap and stuffed them in their mouths. There was a happy silence. Only moans of delight and mouths chewing food. Tiffany, Hyoyeon and Yuri sat down on one side of the table, Sooyoung next to Yuri, but she was standing and resting one knee on the bench. Opposite from them in oder were Seohyun, Yoona, Taeyeon and Sunny.

“Yuriya,” Tiffany broke the silence. “When did you learn to cook?”

“Mwoya, I’m the best cook here!” Yuri defended.

“I dunno, I seem to remember Yuri being very bad at cooking,” Sooyoung also joked.

“Ani, Sica-neun was….” Yuri stopped herself before continuing. This time the silence that fell was heavy. No chewing, no expressions of delight over the food. The looks on their faces seemed frozen in time. It was if, in that moment, they all sobered up.

“Has…anyone spoken to her recently?” Sooyoung asked then took a drink from her can of beer, her eyes searched for an answer to her question over the length of the can.

“Last I heard..” Seohyun started, “She was in New York for an event. She sounded happy.”

Taeyeon thought about the last time they saw Sica as a group. It was emotional and painfully abrupt. They gave Jessica an ultimatum. Us or your business. It put her in the awful position of ending a business that just gained flight or ending a 7 year relationship in the group. She chose her business, as this was a once in a life time chance. The girls felt staying with soshi was also a once in a lifetime chance, as they were one of the longest standing female groups without losing or gaining members. Because of that a few girls, including Taeyeon, were resentful. They cut off all communication with her. Removed any and all history on social media that included her. It wasn’t just that she left, but upcoming concerts all had to be rearranged and reformed to support a missing person. Songs couldn’t be redone, dance moves would be off. Those who weren’t bitter were just sad. Sunny, the groups energizer, took it probably the hardest. During that time she also injured her knee, so the combination of mental and physical pain took a toll on her and she secluded herself for a while. Finding comfort in her video games and radio show. She didn’t gain that energy back up until promotions started for Party. Some of the girls have run into a gala or event since then, but in the eye of the camera, they could only smile and move on if avoiding her wasn’t an available option. Taeyeon knew Hyoyeon, Seohyun and Sunny still talked to her. She caught a glimpse of a chatroom where she was certain she saw Sica’s name on Sunny’s phone.

“Yuri must have gotten this precooked,” Sooyoung broke the silence.

“Which market did you go to? It’s so fresh!” Teased Seohyun making the girls laugh.

Yuri slammed her hands down on the table holding a chopstick in each hand. She was about to say something, but instead looked up at the orange and blue gradient sky. She muttered out loud, “Ya Maknae...Ani, Kwenchana, Kwenchana, Yuriya, They wouldn’t know how to cook even if they took a semester on the course.”

The girls erupted into laughter and things felt at ease again. Hyoyeon, after swallowed a piece of beef, complimented Yuri’s cooking, “Kwon Yul, this was soooooo gooooood,”

“Soooooo gooood?” Tiffany mocked her pronunciation of the phrase.

“Sooooo Gooood,” Hyoyeon repeated causing both girls to laugh. Yoona was laughing too until she looked over and saw Taeyeon stirring her chopsticks in a side dish, blankly staring at it. She watched the liquid separate and then melt back together. She traced hearts that would disappear and random squiggles. Yoona nudged her with her elbow softly. Taeyeon looked up at her. Yoona narrowed her eyebrows and raised one slightly, as if to ask if she was okay. Taeyeon smiled and stopped playing with her chopsticks.

After the girls had consumed a comfortable amount of food, they just hung around, having individual or group conversations. “Aedeura, who wants to play Dangyunhaji?” Sooyoung asked in a happy tone. She must have stood up during Yoona and Tae’s silent conversation because she was now standing at the end of the table next to Seohyun. The girls were excited to play the game. Dangyunhaji is a game where no matter what your opponent says, you have to respond with “Of Course,” If you say anything else or nothing at all, you lose. It’s impossible to know what your opponent will throw at you, so imagine a group of girls who have had more than two cans of beer in their system. They got up and moved over by the fire pit near the patio chairs. Taeyeon didn’t notice it was lit earlier, but wondered if maybe some time when she got lost in her thoughts if she just merely missed it happening. 

“How will we decide teams? Do we pick our own?” Tiffany asked. Taeyeon looked over at her and wondered if she would pick her to be on her team. Tiffany looked back at her and smiled. She walked over to Taeyeon and looped her arm in hers, “Taeyeon and I would wipe the flooooor with you guys!” Taeyeon, delighted by this, looped her arm back around Tiffany’s and joined in on the taunting. She crouched down, and with her hand hovering above the ground, simulated a wiping motion.

“The game,” Sooyoung said in her authoritative voice, “Will be in teams of four. The teams will be decided…by a game…. of Kaui Baui bo,” Rock Paper Scissors was a decent and fair way to split up teams, however it took away the guarantee that Tiffany would be on Taeyeon’s team. “After teams are picked decided,” Sooyoung continued, speaking louder to be heard over the giggles of the other girls. “Teams will appoint their own leaders! Yeorobun, are you ready?”

“Neeeeee!” They said in unison. The girls decided to start with Tiffany and Sooyoung. 

“Kaui….Baui….BO!” Sooyoung chanted. It was a tie. “Kaui Baui BO!” She chanted faster. Tiffany Lost. Meaning Sooyoung’s team got to go first. The girls split up, standing about 3 ft away from each other. The winner of each round would end up on Sooyoung’s team, the loser on Tiffany’s team. Up next was Yuri and Seohyun. Seohyun lost and hopped over to Tiffany. Yuri slide over to Sooyoung. Up next, Sunny and Yoona. Sunny won and hopped over to Yuri and Sooyoung. The three girls hopped around in a circle, screaming happily, while high-fiving each other. Tiffany’s team did the same only in a mocking fashion. Sooyoung’s group stuck their tongue’s out at Tiffany’s group. Up last was Taeyeon and Hyoyeon. Taeyeon felt incredibly tense. It was a silly thing to be nervous about, but she knew she would feel a slight pettiness if Hyoyeon ended up on Tiffany’s team and not her.

“Hanaaa…” Hyoyeon started, “Deullllll…..”

“Set!” Taeyeon shouted happily. Game on, she thought. The first roll, they both did Rock. The second roll they both did paper. The third roll they did rock again. The forth roll they did paper.

“Ya, one of you hurry up and lose!” Sunny groaned.

Taeyeon smiled at Hyoyeon. Hyoyeon smiled back. They counted to three and stuck their hands out. Hyoyeon had scissors. Taeyeon had rock. Hyoyeon jumped up and down. Yuri, Sunny and Sooyoung jumped up and down too, repeating what they had done earlier with Sunny. Taeyeon skipped over to Tiffany’s group. Tiffany held her hand out for a high five and Taeyeon hit it hard. Tiffany shouted, “GAME ON SOOYOUNG! You’re going down down dowwwwwwwwn,”

“Ah, that’s interesting,” Sooyoung started, “You’re so short you already look like you’ve gone down.” Sooyoung’s team roared in laughter.

“Is that so?? You have two of our shortest members, so I’d say odds are, YOU’RE already down!” Tiffany’s witty comeback made Hyoyeon and Sunny stop laughing and press their tongues against the cheek. Tiffany got high five’s from Taeyeon, Yoona and Seohyun. 

“Haha, did you realize it’s TaeTiSeo vs S.H.Y.?” Yoona pointed out while laughing.

“Ya Im Yoona, what are we then?” Sunny put her hands on her hips and stood on her toes.

“Our team is..S.S.H.Y., sshy,” Yoona laughed even harder.

“Ah, so are you supposed to be T.Y.T.S.? ?!” The girls erupted once again into laughed. Some hunching over unable to catch their breaths. Hyoyeon playful nudged Sunny, Yuri had squatted down, burying her face, which had gone red from laughing so hard, in her knees. She looked back up and laughed an adorably obnoxious laugh. She fell back and spread out her legs on the lawn while still laughing. Tiffany and Taeyeon were leaning on each other laughing.

“Arasso, Arasso,” Sooyoung interrupted. She had another beer in her hand and the way she loosely moved it around showed that one was almost empty. “Let’s end this.”

Sooyoung walked up to the space between both groups of girls. Tiffany walked up really close to her, looking her in the eyes smiling. The remaining teammates stood behind their leaders. Sooyoung went first, “Your team is called T.y.T.S….” Sooyoung spoke in a flat serious tone. “But none of you actually have ’Tyts’.”

“OMO” Seohyun shouted in awe that Sooyoung just jumped right in with the hard shots.

Yuri was already on the floor again laughing and pointing at them, “She..she said, bwahahahaha, Sooyounga, DAEEEEBAK,” The girls laughed even more at Yuri’s laughs.

Tiffany tried hiding the smile that wanted to show on her face. She managed to contain it and said, “Dangyunhaji. Even though Taeyeon is the oldest, you’re getting married first. So that makes you the Ahjumma of our group.”

Sooyoung pressed her tongue against her cheek and hesitated before giving in, “Dangyunhaji…We both appeared on SNL right? But my show was 100x funnier and more entertaining, wasn’t it?”

Tiffany bit her lip. The girls on Sooyoung’s team leaned in towards Tiffany. Hyoyeon jokingly says, “Dangyunhajiiiiiii! Come onnnnn say it!” Tiffany whimpered. She opened , then closed it and stomped her food. She turned around and walked towards her group. Sooyoung’s group cheered and screamed. Seohyun, Taeyeon and Yoona faked crying. Sooyoung walked back to her group with her hands up, looking at the sky, giving her champion pose. Hyoyeon jumped forward, declaring herself next, and she wanted Seohyun. “Seo Joo Hyun, deurowa deurowa!” She was really drunk and nearly fell over after she had jumped forward.

“Ani, Na musowooo!” Seohyun panicked and hid behind Taeyeon. She pushed her out and shouted, “Leader Kim, save us!”

Taeyeon wobbled on one foot after being pushed forward by Seohyun. She caught her balance and found herself standing face to face with Hyoyeon. Both girls were smiling. Both girls were drunk. Both also emitting a tense aura that only the girls who were with them earlier could sense. Taeyeon bit her lip and looked at Hyoyeon for any hint that she might not want to do this. Hyoyeon was plastered though and waved back and forth. Taeyeon herself was in a heavily intoxicated state. It was a fun night, this should be fun. This will be fun.

“You,” Taeyeon started, pointing a finger at Hyoyeon, her arm felt so heavy to lift up. She let it drop and the force of it swinging made her shift her weight to that side. “You are called So Nyeo Shi Dae’s Dancing Queen, right? Yet you make the most mistakes during out performances!”

Even Hyoyeon’s team started laughing and agreeing with Taeyeon, “It’s so true, she’s always going the wrong way” Yuri laughed.

“Kwon Yul, you make a lot of mistakes too!” Tiffany pointed out while laughing.

“DANGYUNHAJI.” Hyoyeon shouted.

“Ya, was that to me or to Tiffany?” Taeyeon asked.

Hyoyeon swayed back and forth for a moment, she crossed one arm over her chest and put her other hand under her chin, it looked as if she was taking a moment to think about it. She then said, “Yes,”

“Mwoya!” Taeyeon scoffed, “She loses right?”

“Yayayaya, I didn’t lose,” Hyoyeon said, “It’s my (hiccup) turn. Neo…..You are the worst driver out of all of us!” She swung her pointed finger in front of Taeyeon’s face, almost hitting her in the eye due to her clumsy stance. Taeyeon didn’t like that, but decided to let it slide.

“Dangyunhaji.” Taeyeon agreed flatly, even though everyone there knew Sooyoung was the worst driver in the group. “You know you’re the fashion terrorist of our team, right?” The girls started snickering and Hyoyeon bit her cheek while smiling. Tiffany playful brushed Taeyeon’s shoulder and said, “She’s gotten a lot better since she started ignoring her stylist,” Everyone agreed, which irked Taeyeon.

“Who’s team are you on?!” Taeyeon asked with her jaw dropped exaggeratedly. The girls laughed and Seohyun shouted at Tiffany, “Go over there then! Naga! Haha.”

“Dangyunhaji!” Hyoyeon said in defeat. “Neo…are an annoyingly picky person.”

“Mwoya?” Taeyeon replied shocked.

“Ah ah ah! She loses right?” Hyoyeon started hopping excitedly. Her team also joining in the hopping, while Tiffany, Seo and Yoona pouted. 

Taeyeon however was still trying to decipher what that meant. “Dangyunhaji” She interrupted their laughter. “I just reacted but that was not my answer. We’re still going Hyoyeon,” The girls stopped jumping and Hyoyeon turned back towards Taeyeon, ready for whatever it was Taeyeon had to say to her. “Kim Hyoyeon,” Taeyeon began. “You call me picky, yet you are the most unbalanced and bipolar person out of us all! You’re going, you’re not going. You’re talking to us, then you’re not talking to us. Right?”

This one caused Tiffany, Yoona and Sunny to stop laughing. The three girls looked at Taeyeon and then each other. Sooyoung, Yuri and Seohyun still laughed because they didn’t know that a fight erupted early due to something along these lines. Hyoyeon glared at Taeyeon. She clenched her fist and her body became cold and rigid. “Dangyunhaji. She said through clenched teeth. The 3 girls laughing didn’t catch the shift in the mood. “You..” Hyoyeon relaxed a bit, but the annoyance was still on her face. “..are so one dimensional. There’s nothing unique about you,” Hyoyeon lightly shoved Taeyeon’s shoulder. “Right?”

Taeyeon almost lost her balance from the push, stomping her foot down to gain balance. The silence from Yoona, Tiffany and Sunny carried over to the other girls now. It was dead silent and the two girls were standing inches away from each others faces. “Hey, Hyoyeon…” Yuri tried to touch Hyoyeon’s arm, but Hyoyeon pulled it away from her. Yuri touched her arm and said, “Hyoyeona,” and this time Hyoyeon yanked her arm out of Yuri’s grasp.

“Neo michesseo?!” Taeyeon shouted at her.

“Am I crazy? Are you asking if I’M crazy?” Hyoyeon scoffed in disbelief. “Were you not the one screaming at me earlier for doing something FOR the group?!”

“FOR the group, HAH. FOR the group does not mean leaving with ONE person and doing something with only them. FOR the group is including them. FOR the group is being considerate of them. How often do you do something FOR the group Hyoyeona? Hm? hm?” Taeyeon was fired up. Hyoyeon should not have pushed her like that.

“Oh you are SO jealous!!!” Hyoyeon accused Taeyeon. “You’re not mad that I went out. You’re mad that I went out with Tiffany. Because she’s not allowed to have other friends right? You’re supposed to be her only friend right?”

“Ya, Hyoyeon…” Tiffany tried to step in, but it was far too late. Hyoyeon and Taeyeon both had their fists clenched and their facial skin tone a very faint red. Tiffany tried to pull Taeyeon back by gently grabbing both sides of her shoulders, but Taeyeon pulled her arms forward to get out of Tiffany’s grasp. In doing so, she accidentally hit Hyoyeon in chest. Taeyeon was about to apologize, but Hyoyeon reflectively slapped Taeyeon. Taeyeon put her hand up to her now red cheek. Taeyeon backed away slowly. Seohyun put her hand on Taeyeon’s other hand, but she snatched it away, turned around and walked off. As she walked away she heard the slight sound of an argument.

“Hyoyeon, what the hell?” Yuri yelled. “She didn’t mean to hit you!” Hyoyeon stared at Taeyeon walking away and when she was out of sight, Hyoyeon stormed off as well without a sound.

“What in the hell just happened?” Sooyoung was baffled. She, the drunkest of them all, tried her hardest to maintain a serious attitude while swaying back and forth, constantly trying to maintain balance.

Sunny sighed and went after Hyoyeon. Tiffany walked off in Taeyeon’s direction, but went into the house instead.

“It’s a long story,” Yoona said, saddened by how fast the night turned upside down.

“Unnie, we have time,” Seohyun expressed her concerns. “Did something happen today?”

Taeyeon slammed the gate behind her. As the noise echoed throughout the empty street, she put her hand to her face again, wincing at the pain. The slap was hard and it still stung. There Hyoyeon was wearing a ring hurt the most and was slightly redder. Taeyeon started walking off in the direction of their home. Not intending to walk there, as it was quite far, but just needing to get away from the house. Her eyes swelled with tears, but she tried her hardest not to blink to prevent them from falling. She, however, succumbed and tears flew down her face. It was a mixture emotional and physical pain. She felt embarrassed and hurt, she was mad at herself for taking the game where she did, but even madder at Hyoyeon for thinking her accidentally hitting her was intentional. Her flats hit the sidewalk cement hard as she stomped away further from the house. The sky was now pitch black, light up only by a few stars and street lamps. Taeyeon stopped at a crossed walk and took in a deep breath. She gazed at the stars in the sky, her hand still at her cheek. She lowered her head and caught something in the corner of her eye. A figure standing in the direction form which she came. The person was on the same side of the street as the figure from earlier, so she was sure it was the same person. This time, she could tell they were facing her. She couldn’t see their eyes as they were wearing a baseball cap, but she the white of the bottom half of his face. She knew it was a man by the shape and build. The figure started slowing walking in her direction.

Taeyeon was frozen for a moment, but then turned around and instead of crossing the street she turned at the corner and picked up her pace. The soles of her flats clicked hastily against the cement as she walked faster. She’d turn her head occasionally to get a glimpse behind her. Nothing. She walked further would do it again. Nothing. Maybe he wasn’t following her. She slowed down and decided maybe she should head back. She turned around and at that moment she witnessed the man turn the corner and start walking towards her, only faster than he was before. Taeyeon was really freaked out by this and now she couldn’t go that way. She started jogging away from him, heading more towards where there were street lights, but it also took her further away from the busier streets. She figured if she made a right at the next intersection and 2 more rights after that she would be back on the same street as she was before. The man was still walking towards her, almost at a trot, in order to keep her in his line of sight. He turned the same corners she did, crossed the same streets she did. When she picked up her pace, he did too. She was finally on the right street and decided to run. She was at least a minute away, but could see the tip of Sooyoung’s house. She began sprinting, but heart dropped as she could hear his foots steps behind her hitting the cement as well as he ran after her.

She sprinted as fast as she could, flying down the blocks, not even checking for oncoming cars and neither was he. She was so close. She started to run out of breath, as the alcohol impaired her ability to breath and run properly. She felt herself slowing down but the man still coming. She could see it, she was home. That’s when she spotted a figure also in a baseball cap running towards her as well. The figure was slender, but slightly taller than her. The figure, which she could tell if it was a man or a woman, ran towards her at a scary pace. She caught the glimpse of something shiny, maybe metal, maybe a knife and she screamed loud. She turned at the next street, putting her back to where she turned in the first place. She was terrified, she was crying and she was running out of breath. She was getting dizzy, but still pushed forward. The footsteps chasing her were right behind her. She started screaming for help, saying she was scared, begging for someone, anyone. The footsteps where a mere feet behind her, getting closer and closer and then a hand grabbed her shoulder and spun her around. All the while she closed her eyes and screamed bloody murder.