PART II

ii. Starlight

“I was used to being alone, my days were gray

But I remember the day you lightly came to me, knocking on my door

You shined on me like a light

Woke me up from darkness

Opened the closed door of my heart”

JESSICA

The windscreen wipers go about their endless push and pull, a ticking metronome, evidence of the all-but invisible passage of time. Raindrops streak down the windscreen, some caught up and brushed callously aside, others pulled by gravity, streak down the glass. They race, coalesce and gather momentum until they are blurs travelling at dizzying speeds.

 

Jessica’s eyes follow the individual rain drops, enthralled by their unknown fates. She watches as a droplet slides into the path of the wiper and is brushed aside. She repeats the cycle, tracking another droplet, and follows its path.

 

Taeyeon has parked on the street outside her apartment and for the past half an hour they have been cooped up in the car waiting for a moment of reprieve but the downpour doesn’t show any signs of letting up. They sit in silence, listening to the sound of rain drops bouncing off the roof of the car. The wind outside is barely a lull, insulated by the metal of the vehicle.

 

The car heater hums as it's weak streams of air pathetically try to warm the frigid air and from the corner of her eye, Jessica sees a shiver run through Taeyeon’s body; rain soaked clothes still heavy with moisture leave damp patches on the seats of the car. The blonde girl clenches her teeth together, trying to suppress the shivering and Jessica reaches over, numb fingers brushing against a warm cheek. Taeyeon inhales sharply.

 

“You’re going to catch a cold.”

 

“This is your fault, Jessica.” Taeyeon half-jokes, pouting at her companion. Her bottom lip protrudes and the corners of are downturned in an exaggerated manner. It would’ve been funny, Jessica thinks, if Taeyeon wasn’t shivering so hard.

 

Guilt creeps into the brunette, weighing heavily in her stomach. Jessica glances outside at the rain, anxiously, hoping that it had magically stopped.

 

It hadn’t.

 

“What are you doing?” Taeyeon asks cautiously, eyes narrowed as she watches Jessica reach for the door handle.

 

“We’re heading in. We should’ve done this ages ago.” Jessica replies decisively and pushes the car door open. The sound of rain crashes into the interior of the car, breaching the silence, deafening loud. Rain once again, finds purchase on Jessica’s t-shirt, seeping into the still-wet fabric.

 

“Taeyeon! Hurry up!”

 

Taeyeon sighs, flinging the car door open and steps out into the rain. Forgoing the umbrella this time, she follows Jessica, hurrying towards the apartment building.

 

Somewhere along the way, Taeyeon's hand, cold from the rain, blindly searches for and finds Jessica's own. Slender fingers brush and thread together, drawing palms close together.

 

A frisson of something runs through Jessica's body and despite her insistent tugging on Taeyeon's hand, pulling the other along, she feels as though she's the one being lead down an unknown path towards something uncertain and tantalisingly dangerous.

 

They scramble under the shelter of the stairway.

 

"Hurry up, it's freezing." Taeyeon complains, words barely audible, smothered by the falling rain around them.

Jessica digs through her pockets, pulling out her keys and unlocks the sliding doors with a fob on her keychain. Heated air of the apartment building hits them at full force, its warmth is almost biting, stinging their cold faces which were beginning to thaw. The security guard frowns at the sight of them--battered and dripping water all over the foyer area and Jessica gives him a sheepish wave as she drags Taeyeon towards the elevators.

 

"Sorry, the rain's really bad." She says as they wait for the elevator and the security guard nods, watching them curiously, no doubt wondering why they'd been outside in the first place.

 

"Have a nice day." Jessica says to him as a ding signals the arrival of the elevator.

 

"I thought he was going to kick us out. Well me at least, seeing as you live here." Taeyeon says as the elevator doors close and they are alone, once again in a hunk of metal. She'd stopped shaking so the concern in Jessica chest eases.

 

When she unlocks the front door to her apartment, Taeyeon hesitates.

 

"Stop dripping water all over the hallway."

 

The idol steps through the doorway.

 

"Sorry." Taeyeon says anything but, and pretends to wring her rain soaked t-shirt, all the while grinning mischievously at Jessica.

 

"Go shower." Jessica says pointedly, unamused by Taeyeon's antics. "You're going to catch a cold." She says for the second time today.

 

Taeyeon opens , a protest forming on her tongue. Jessica continues to talk, cutting her off.

 

"And then your manager and the entire company would murder me for ruining your voice and your debut plans."

 

Taeyeon snaps close as Jessica mentions her upcoming debut.

 

"Touché."

 

Jessica hands the idol a change of clothes and a fresh towel and gently directs Taeyeon towards the en-suite bathroom.

 

Giving Taeyeon her privacy, Jessica returns to the open living area once more. The apartment is silent save for the sound of the running shower and Jessica glances around, taking in the mess of sketches for Blanc haphazardly lying around, the pile of unopened business letters and the plate in the sink from breakfast. She runs a hand through her half-dry brown hair, looking for something to pass the time whilst Taeyeon showers. She moves lazily to gather up the still unfinished sketches, carefully sorting them into their respective collections.

 

When Taeyeon finishes her shower, she pads out into the living room and finds her like this, still picking up sketches and sorting them.

 

"Jessica?"

 

Jessica lifts her head up at Taeyeon's voice, slightly croaky from the steam of her recent shower. She brushes her hair away from her face, and straightens up.

 

"Hey Taeyeon, warmer?" Is all Jessica manages to say at the sight of Taeyeon, standing there in her clothes—clothes that were slightly too long on the idol's short stature.

 

Jessica bites her lip, taking in the fresh, bare faced sight of the blonde. The idol's eyes were a warm brown, carrying a bright and innocent quality that twinkled, visible even from this distance. Taeyeon's freshly showered blonde hair, fell to her shoulders, allowing droplets of moisture to cling to the bare skin of her neck and slowly trail down, chasing soft contours.

 

"And finally, dry. Sort of." Taeyeon states unevenly, breath hitching slightly upon meeting Jessica's intense gaze.

 

"I hope you don't mind but I used your shampoo and body wash…Smells nice..."

 

Jessica shakes her head.

 

You smell nice is what Taeyeon means and the blonde swallows thickly at the sudden thought.

 

She takes a hesitant step toward Jessica.

 

"Thanks for the clothes, erm..."

 

"It's nothing, you wouldn't be soaked if it weren't for me."

 

Taeyeon looks at her weirdly. Jessica feels the blonde's eyes slowly traversing down the length of her body and Jessica suddenly feels exposed—bare.

 

"You should dry off." Taeyeon points out, trying not to stare at the way the drying fabric clung to Jessica's body in certain places.

 

"Yeah...I—I'm going to take a shower. Feel free to make yourself at home."

 

Jessica quickly moves toward the bathroom, hoping Taeyeon had not noticed the appearance of her sudden stutter. She keeps her eyes trained on the bedroom door, and away from the idol but as she brushes pass the shorter girl, the smell of her own rose scented body wash on Taeyeon's body, mixing with Taeyeon's distinctive smell, overwhelms her senses.

 

"Whoa." Jessica stumbles, suddenly lightheaded.

 

Taeyeon steps forward, closer to her, a hand hovering protectively, ready to catch the unsteady girl.

 

"Are you alright? Don't tell me you got sick?" Taeyeon says, concerned eyes searching Jessica's face for any sign of discomfort or pain.

 

"No, I'm fine, Taeyeon...might have stood up too quickly." She says hastily, stepping back and restoring the distance between the two of them. Taeyeon's heady scent still lingers in the air around her. "I'll just go shower now." Jessica spins around and retreats into her bedroom.

 

Jessica shuts the bathroom door, pressing her back against it and slides down into a sitting position, her head thrown back, resting on the hard wooden surface.

 

What was happening?

 

Taking in deep breaths, Jessica counts to ten and waits for the fog to clear from her mind. She pulls herself off the floor, turning on the faucet and watching as the mirrors fog up with steam. Stripping down, she steps into the shower.

 

As the water hits her skin, she sighs, feeling the tension in her muscles relax and the nervous energy that resided in her body dissipates.

 

The chaos brewing in her mind is temporarily forgotten.

/

Jessica steps out into the living room, still towelling her hair, and she finds Taeyeon looking at her sketches for her newest Blanc collection.

 

"These are good." Taeyeon nods at her.

 

"They are also top secret. Now I have to kill you." Jessica jests, raising an eyebrow and shaking her head at Taeyeon in mock pity. "But really, thanks...They are still unpolished and works in progress though."

 

"How's Blanc's establishment in Korea looking? " Taeyeon says curiously, and once again, Jessica is surprised by how much the idol knew about herself.

 

"I'm still hashing out the details with a couple of interested parties, but I think things have been pretty smooth so far." Jessica answers as she sidles up next to Taeyeon.

 

"Do you always look this good after a shower? I swear I look like a drowned cat after my showers...I like the shirt by the way," Taeyeon says turning towards her, "Makes you look less intimidating."

 

"You find me intimidating?" Jessica asks curiously, ignoring the tingling feeling that spread through her body at Taeyeon’s offhand compliment.

 

"Maybe a bit." Taeyeon answers vaguely.

 

The doorbell rings, drawing their attention away from each other.

 

"Are you expecting someone?" Taeyeon asks, wondering if her presence was inconveniencing the other.

 

Jessica shakes her head, making her way over to the door. Upon opening it she's greeted by Krystal's smiling face and a familiar figure standing behind her.

 

"Hi Jessi, I was going to come earlier but the weather was horrible. I bumped into Donghae oppa on my way here and I invited him along." As if to reaffirm her statement, she steps aside and Jessica catches sight of Donghae's smiling face.

 

"Hi Jessica, it's nice to see you again." Donghae's handsome face brightens.

 

"Hi Donghae! I know, it has been awhile." Jessica replies warmly.

 

"Unnieeee...Aren't you going to let us in?"

 

Jessica rolls her eyes at Krystal's impatience and steps back allowing the younger to push past her. Donghae politely waits for Jessica to close the door behind them before following her into the living area.

 

"Krystal, I bought your favourite ice-cream. If you want any, it's in the freezer!" Jessica calls out, remembering her sister’s constant whinging for the dessert the other day.

 

There's no response from her Krystal.

 

"Krys?"

 

Jessica checks the couches.

 

Where’s Taeyeon?

 

Donghae shrugs indicating that he too hadn’t seen where Krystal disappeared off to.

 

A crease forms between her eyebrows as she finds Taeyeon and Krystal in her bedroom. The two of them standing on opposing sides of her bed, Krystal with her back towards the doorway. Jessica steps into the room.

 

"Taeyeon, hey, my sister and a family friend came over." 

 

Taeyeon’s lips are pulled into a thin line, and her shoulders are stiff, betraying her discomfort.

 

"I heard from the living room. I'll be leaving now, don't worry."

 

Krystal glances between the two of them, eyes wide with alarm as she takes in their still wet hair, the familiar loose white t-shirt that Taeyeon is wearing and Taeyeon's presence in her sister's bedroom. She watches as the frown lines on her sister's face deepen, and wonders if she had really interrupted something.

 

She wants to scoff.

 

"Jessica?"

 

Her sister turns towards her, disappointment and frustration evident in her eyes.

 

"Yes, Krys?"

 

"Can I speak to you later?"

 

Jessica gives her nod, but her attention was focused on Taeyeon who had finally located her phone. Krystal decides to leave the tension charged room, a feeling of betrayal beginning to crawl under her skin.

 

Taeyeon makes a move to follow Krystal out of the room but she is blocked by Jessica's form.

 

"Taeyeon, wait."

 

"Jessica, let me go... I've stayed for long enough; you should spend time with Krystal and your friend. I...I--Thank you."

 

They stare at each other and Jessica finally relents, moving out of the way, letting the blonde slip past her. She follows Taeyeon to the front door.

 

Donghae notices Taeyeon’s presence and stands, making his way over to the two girls.

 

"Oh, I didn't know you had company Jessica. I'm sorry for coming so suddenly like this." Apology coats his tone, and he scratches the back of his neck, looking down towards the floor. He turns to Taeyeon, holding his hand out for a handshake.

 

"I'm Donghae, a family friend of Jessica's and you are?"

 

Taeyeon's eyebrows raise almost imperceptibly before her face returns to its impassive expression. She looks at the young man blankly

 

"Taeyeon."

 

Donghae shifts awkwardly at Taeyeon's terse response, his hand drops dumbly to his side.

 

"Well, it was nice to meet you, Taeyeon-ssi."

 

Taeyeon offers him a curt nod before choosing to walk out of the apartment. Jessica sighs and steps out into the hallway, half closing the apartment door behind her.

 

Jessica’s hand reaches out—doing what she had wanted to do that first day they met—fingers catching onto Taeyeon's wrist.

 

"Taeyeon..." Jessica says quietly, her gentle grip slightly tightening, not wanting to let go of the other girl just yet.

 

"Yes?"

 

"Drive safely."

 

"I will."

 

There's a pause.

 

"You'll be there?"

 

"I will."

 

And with the promise of another encounter, Jessica lets go of Taeyeon's wrist, her hand dropping back to her side.

 

Taeyeon makes it halfway to the elevator before turning back. She shoots a soft smile at the brunette still standing outside the doorway.

/

"Jessica Jung." Krystal hisses as she drags her sister by the sleeve into the older girl's bedroom. Images of Taeyeon wearing Jessica’s clothes flash through her mind, fuelling the anger and desp