Taeyeon steps outside of the building and blinks, taking a few seconds to adjust to the bright sunlight. Feeling a hand on her shoulder, she turns around and comes face to face with Sooyoung, who gives her a small smile.

 

“Get home safely,” Her friend says, patting her on the shoulder. Taeyeon nods and walks away, turning around every now and then to wave back to her friend.

 

When Taeyeon fades off and blends in with the background, Sooyoung sighs heavily and hangs her head low as she walks back inside the building and tries to move on with her life.

 

 

 

Checking off her shopping list of items she needs to buy, her pen hovers over the next product and she makes her way over to the health aisle of the supermarket. Quickly scanning the shelves and spotting what she needs to buy, Taeyeon reaches forward for the last box of bandaids on the shelf when a hand beats her to it, making her blink in surprise at the fast movement. She connects the arm to the stranger’s face and nods in apology, noticing wide eyes and a wave of revelation appear on the woman’s face.

 

“Taeyeon?” The stranger says, standing still in shock as she registers the person in front of her. Taeyeon her to the side in confusion, not being able to connect the dots in her head.

 

“Do I know you?” Taeyeon responds, baffled that this stranger knows her name. Somewhere in her brain, a voice screams at her that the woman standing in front of her is someone she should know from the past. Unfortunately, she can’t put face to name and stands in befuddlement.

 

“T-Taeyeon? Y-You don’t recognise me?” The woman stutters, paling as she continues to scrutinise the petite woman in front of her.

 

Taeyeon her head to the other side in confusion.

 

“I’m sorry; have we met before?” Taeyeon asks kindly, feeling slightly guilty that she can’t recall the woman in front of her. She watches a look of disappointment and sadness quickly flash across the woman’s face before it’s masked with a polite smile.

 

“No; I mistook you for someone else. I’m sorry,” The stranger says, bowing her head before quickly scurrying away. Taeyeon blinks as she watches the distance increase between them and sighs. She turns her head back towards the shelves and notices something amiss.

 

“Hey, you forgot your bandaids!” Taeyeon calls out, sighing again when the woman doesn’t turn around and keeps walking away from her.

 

 

 

Slinging her bag over her shoulder, Taeyeon walks to the bus stop in front of her house. As she waits for the bus to arrive, she kicks a pebble across the ground and watches as it bounces along and disappears into the grass. Sighing, she checks the time on her phone and notes that the bus is several minutes later than usual. She makes up her mind and is about to call a taxi to pick her up for work when the bus arrives and opens its doors. Sighing, she steps onto the bus and tries to find a seat to sit down. As she walks down the aisle, she notices a seat to the right beside a woman and gestures to the spot.

 

“I’m sorry; is this seat reserved for someone?” She asks politely, waiting for a response. The person occupying the other half of the seat lowers their sunglasses down to their nose bridge and both Taeyeon’s eyes and the stranger’s widen in surprise as they recognise the other person.

 

“Oh! It’s you!” Taeyeon exclaims, smiling softly but continuing to stand and not sit.

 

“You can sit,” The stranger says quietly, shuffling over in her seat so that Taeyeon has more space to sit. Taeyeon sits down beside her and sighs in relief; morning bus rides are the worse when children are going to school and others are going to work. Remembering who she is sitting with, she fishes inside her bag and takes out a box of bandaids, giggling softly when the woman beside her gives her a surprised look.

 

“You forgot your bandaids the other day,” Taeyeon says, pressing the box into the woman’s hands.

 

“It’s okay; they’re yours now,” The woman replies, shyly picking at the sleeves of her shirt.

 

“But you got it first,” Taeyeon insists, letting go of the box and watching as the woman meekly nods and stows the box of bandaids into her handbag.

 

“Thank you,” She utters, going back to playing with her sleeves.

 

“You’re welcome. Hey, I’m curious. How do you know my name? Did we meet each other prior to that day?”

 

“No...you just remind me of a very close friend of mine,” The woman confesses, nervously playing with her fingers.

 

“Oh. But I don’t know your name and we didn’t introduce ourselves properly,” Taeyeon responds, pouting when she realises that the woman knows more about her than she does about the woman. She misses the way that the woman’s eyes cloud and her fingers tightly grip onto the sleeves of her shirt.

 

“My name is Jessica Jung. You can call me Sooyeon.”

 

“Sooyeon is a pretty name! I’m Kim Taeyeon. It’s nice to meet you.”

 

“It’s nice to meet you too, Taeyeon,” Jessica voices, looking down at her lap. Taeyeon smiles warmly and fishes around in her backpack, taking out a packet of gum and offering it to the woman.

 

“No, thank you.”

 

“Awww really? Last chance,” Taeyeon says, continuing to offer the chewing gum.

 

“You missed your chance on tasting Kim Taeyeon’s special packet of chewing gum, purchased from the local supermarket,” Taeyeon playfully laments, pouting and releasing an exaggerated sigh as she places the packet of gum into her bag.

 

Jessica scrunches her nose in response and stares outside the window.

 

Cute, Taeyeon thinks as she slips the woman a stick of chewing gum.

 

 

 

When Taeyeon finishes work for the day, she packs her belongings into her bag and stands up to leave. A sudden surge of pain shoots through her head and she falls back onto her chair, grasping onto either side of her head as images start flashing in her mind.

 

“Hi, my name is Kim Taeyeon! What’s your name?”

 

“Your name is pretty for a beautiful girl – ow! I’m just saying the truth! Ow! Stop hitting me!”

 

“Want some gum? I bought it from the local supermarket and I’m willing to share it with someone as pretty as you - oh my god, stop hitting me!”

 

Taeyeon’s feels a hand on her shoulder shaking her and breaking her out of her thoughts.

 

“Taeyeon? Are you okay?” her co-worker asks, concern written all over her face. Taeyeon gives her a small, forced smile as she closes her eyes and breathes deeply.

 

“I’m fine. Thanks Fany,” She mutters, reopening her eyes and making eye contact with the other woman. She gives her a more genuine smile and notices a tiny fraction of concern disappearing from the woman’s eyes.

 

“Are you sure? You’re very pale,” Tiffany remarks, worriedly scanning the woman over.

 

“I’m fine,” Taeyeon reassures, gathering her belongings and standing up from her seat. She holds onto the table for extra support and slowly makes her way towards the elevator, ignoring the way that Tiffany casts her an anxious look.

 

 

 

Taeyeon groans; peak hour travel is tragic. She tries to not complain when she’s squished up against the train door and disregards the erted look on the middle aged man standing close by. She’s thankful that there’s another man partially blocking the elder’s line of sight and unknowingly acting as a barrier for her.

 

She panics when the man blocking her moves to leave the train and the ert makes eye contact with her again. Just as he begins to move forwards, a blonde-haired woman pushes past him and oh-so-casually stands between Taeyeon and the man. Blinking in surprise, she tries to hold in her laughter when the old man comments how rude the stranger and shuffles away, grumbling under his breath. When the stranger lifts her head and makes eye contact with her, Taeyeon breaks out into a toothy grin.

 

“Sooyeon!”

 

 

 

Taeyeon’s surprised when Jessica spontaneously asks her out for dinner, and hence finds herself enjoying a casual dinner at one of the local restaurants in her neighbourhood. She’s surprised to discover that Jessica lives nearby and almost spits out her soju when Jessica correctly guesses how old she is.

 

“Are you stalking me? How on earth do you know my age and my name before I introduced myself?” Taeyeon sputters, recollecting herself and wiping her lips. She doesn’t notice that whilst she’s distracted, Jessica’s eyes begin to cloud up and she tightly grips onto her chopsticks.

 

“I just happen to have good guesses,” Jessica mumbles quietly, loosening her hold on her chopstick and pushing her food around her bowl.

 

“Sooyeon?” Taeyeon speaks up, carefully placing her spoon down and giving Jessica a pout.

 

“Yes Taeyeon?”

 

“Did we meet each other prior to that day? Is that how you know my age and name?”

 

Jessica tries not to show her conflicted feelings or how startled she is by the question and controls herself to look dead into Taeyeon’s eyes.

 

“No; I told you this already. We didn’t meet each other prior to that day and you remind me of someone I know,” Jessica lies.

 

 

 

“Thank you for walking me home,” Taeyeon voices gratefully, giving her new friend a toothy grin.

 

“You’re welcome,” Jessica replies, smiling softly and laughing when Taeyeon makes a funny face at the sight of a couple making out in a not-so-discreet manner. As they approach Taeyeon’s apartment building and the woman turns around to bid her goodnight, Jessica surprises herself when she wraps her arms around Taeyeon and holds her close, feeling the woman tense up in her arms before relaxing and awkwardly patting her back. Realising how strange her actions are, Jessica quickly releases her arms and steps back and coughs.

 

“Sorry,” She says, continuing to cough to mask her embarrassment.

 

“I-It’s o-okay,” Taeyeon stutters, rubbing her nape and nervously laughing. Jessica readjusts her bag out of embarrassment and gives Taeyeon a small smile.

 

“Good night Taeyeon. I hope you sleep well,” Jessica states, nodding her head at the woman and waving goodbye before walking to her apartment complex.

 

As Taeyeon watches her walk off into the distance, she places a hand on her chest where her heart is located and pouts when she can feel her heart beating faster than normal.

 

 

 

“Y-you want me to eat d-dinner with you?” Taeyeon stammers, her eyes going wide at the proposition.

 

“Why? You don’t want to eat with me?”

 

“No no no! I wasn’t trying to be offensive!”

 

“How on earth did you guess my age?”

 

“I just happen to have good guesses.”

 

“Good night Taeyeon. I hope you sleep well.”

 

Taeyeon wakes up from her dream with a throbbing head. She blinks rapidly as she adjusts to the dimly lit room and ruffles her hair, groaning when she realises that she’s just experienced another flashback. She slumps back onto her mattress and sighs, tossing and turning in bed as she recalls the woman’s sweet voice in her dream until she finally manages to drift off to sleep.

 

 

 

Taeyeon’s caught daydreaming at work when Tiffany is trying to engage in a conversation with her and she stares back blankly in response. She blinks and jumps from her seat when fingers snap themselves in front of her eyes, startled by the unexpected action.

 

“Fany!” Taeyeon whines, blinking and finally focusing her attention on their conversation.

 

“You’re not listening to what I’m saying,” her colleague says matter of factly, tapping on her nose with the of her pen. Grumbling, Taeyeon tries not to go cross eyed as Tiffany continues to reprimand her with her pen until she finally puts her arm down and sighs.

 

“You seem very out of it,” Tiffany remarks, frowning when it takes Taeyeon a while to comprehend her words.

 

“I’m fine.”

 

“Short responses like that indicate that you’re not fine. What’s up?”

 

“Fany!”

 

“I can see right through you Kim Taeyeon and if you don’t fess up I’m going to burn all your dolls,” Tiffany threatens, smirking when Taeyeon’s face pales at the prospect of her beloved dolls becoming tatters and ashes.

 

“No! You can’t do that!”

 

“Then tell me what’s making you act differently or I will do as I said. You definitely don’t zone out as often every other day.”

 

“This is blackmail,” Taeyeon grumbles, confiscating the women’s pen and spinning it in her hands.

 

“So?” Tiffany speaks, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

 

“I had these….flashbacks. They feel like moments that I’ve experienced except I don’t remember them occurring at all. Does that make sense?”

 

“Honestly? No.”

 

“Goddamn it Fany,” Taeyeon mutters, yelping when her friend knocks her head with her knuckles.

 

“So you’ve been experiencing flashbacks that you have no recollection of ever occurring but your heart feels as though you’ve been through them, is that right?” Tiffany clarifies, gauging her friend’s reaction. When Taeyeon mulls over her words and nods to confirm her thoughts, Tiffany sighs.

 

“Have you told Sooyoung about this?”

 

“No,” Taeyeon replies, shooing her friend away when their boss walks into the room with a group of businessmen.

 

She just misses her colleague taking her phone out of her pockets and calling Sooyoung.

 

 

 

Taeyeon’s sitting at home watching reruns of her favourite television show when the doorbell rings. Grumbling about leaving her comfortable position on the couch, she shuffles over to the front door and opens it. forms an ‘o’ and she almost feels bad for having intentions of not opening the door when Sooyoung stands outside in the cold weather, a thick coat wrapped around her tall and thin frame.

 

“Hi Tae,” She greets, stepping inside the house and embracing the petite woman. She ruffles Taeyeon’s hair which makes the woman whine and mess her hair up on purpose, making it stick up in random directions on her head. Giggling, Sooyoung smooths out the tangled ends.

 

“You’re such a kid,” She comments, not containing her laughter when the older woman scowls and messes up her hair again.

 

“What do you want?” Taeyeon says, going off to the kitchen to pour her guest a cup of tea. Sooyoung follows her and sits herself on one of the stools at the countertop.

 

“I heard from Fany that you have had several flashbacks.”

 

“That .”

 

“Taeyeon!” Sooyoung scolds, although she bursts into laughter a couple of seconds later at her friend’s outburst.

 

“It’s true! Fany is a –”

 

“Taeyeon, this isn’t the point of the conversation.”

 

“It’s not? Damn it,” Taeyeon playfully pouts, passing her friend the cup of tea and joining her on the stool beside her. Sooyoung chuckles and pinches the woman’s cheeks.

 

“Tiffany is our best friend. Don’t be so mean.”

 

“I know; I was just kidding. So what do you want to know about the flashbacks?”

 

"Tell me about the person in your flashbacks.”

 

“The person in my flashbacks?” Taeyeon asks, baffled by the question. Sooyoung nods and gestures for her to continue.

 

“She’s beautiful. I wasn’t able to picture her face because it was very blurry but I can recall her laughter. She has a very infectious giggle. In the flashback where we first introduced ourselves, she was very violent but later showed that she was a kind-hearted person beneath the cold exterior. I can recall her hair blowing in the wind and her hand tugging me around the night markets. I remember she gave me this watch as a present for my birthday,” Taeyeon reminisces, holding up her watch for Sooyoung to see.

 

She’s surprised when her friend’s face pales at the sight of the watch and she grips tightly onto her mug of tea.

 

“No no no,” Sooyoung mutters under her breath, just faint enough for Taeyeon to detect her mumbling.

 

“What’s wrong Sooyoungie?” Taeyeon asks carefully, frowning when her friend’s cheerful demeanour disappears and is replaced by one of sorrow.

 

“Did you become friends with someone new?” Sooyoung utters gravely.

 

“Yes; why?”

 

“Is she exactly like the woman in your flashback?”

 

“Now that I think about it, they’re very similar. Why?” Taeyeon says, a baffled look on her face. Sooyoung sighs and ruffles her hair gently, a worried look on her face.

 

“Stay away from her Taeyeon. You don’t want to be friends with her.”

 

 

 

Taeyeon tries very hard not to blush when Jessica leans over her to retrieve the remote control for the television. The woman had invited her over to her apartment and after spending minutes deciding on what television channel they should watch, Taeyeon had clicked to a random channel and hid the remote control behind her in victory. She now thinks that hiding the remote control behind her is a bad idea because Jessica just keeps coming closer with a playful smirk on her face.

 

She squeaks when Jessica accidentally brushes her hand on her back and she instinctively jumps up from her seat, accidentally brushing her lips on the other woman’s. When she recovers from her shock, her eyes widen in shock as she registers what has just happened and the similar look of surprise on her friend’s face confirms her suspicions.

 

“Oh ,” Taeyeon whispers, face burning immediately as she scrambles to stand up from the couch. Frantically grabbing her belongings, she mumbles an apology and hurriedly dashes out of the apartment out of humiliation.

 

Taeyeon ignores the soft cries of her name that fade into the distance, the increased pounding of her heart and the butterflies in her stomach as she runs away.

 

 

 

Taeyeon describes the embarrassing situation to Sooyoung and expects her to provide her some words of comfort - after all, Sooyoung is her best supporter and advisor. What she doesn’t expect is for her best friend’s jaw to drop to the ground as she manages to stutter out a ‘Jessica Jung’?

 

“You know Sooyeon?” Taeyeon squeaks, half excited and half betrayed that her friend has probably known Jessica longer than she has.

 

“I do and Tiffany does too.”

 

“Why didn’t you or Tiffany introduce me to her beforehand? Sooyoung, it might sound really crazy but I think I’m starting to fall in love with Sooyeon and –”

 

“Taeyeon,” Sooyoung says grimly, gripping onto Taeyeon’s shoulders tightly and forcing her to look her in the eyes. Taeyeon quietens down and continues to look at her with stars in her eyes but when Sooyoung’s face reflects the opposite of her happiness, her energy deflates and she starts to feel that something is very wrong.

 

Her world shatters when Sooyoung tells her the brutal truth and she experiences an aching sensation in her head as memories begin to resurface and she finally realises who the woman in her flashbacks is.

 

“Jessica’s engaged. She’s marrying her fiancé in two months. I’m so sorry.”

 

“Taeyeon,” Jessica utters, her voice cracking as she waits for her friend to reply. When Taeyeon nods at her to continue without looking up, she gathers the courage to make her announcement.

 

“I’m getting married in three months.”

 

“What?” Taeyeon exclaims, her head shooting up at the revelation. Jessica just manages to detect a look of hurt and shock in Taeyeon’s eyes before it quickly disappears with a blink of the eye. She shakes her head sadly and reaches forward to hold Taeyeon’s hands, flinching when the woman moves away.

 

“I’m marrying my fiancé in –”

 

“I heard that. You never mentioned that you were dating or engaged.”

 

“I couldn’t bring myself to tell you. I’m sorry.”

 

“You’re lying! Sooyeon would never be like that!” Taeyeon shouts, accidentally knocking her knee onto the table. She ignores the pain as she shoots her best friend an accusatory glare – how dare she say that Jessica is engaged.

 

“I’m not lying, Taeyeon,” Sooyoung replies, sighing when the woman continues to uphold her stance. She sighs again when Taeyeon’s face transitions into a hurtful pout and she brings her friend into her embrace, gently her hair.

 

“The Sooyeon you know is not who she seems to be Taengoo. The Sooyeon you know is Jessica Jung, who will be marrying her fiancé in two months. I’m so sorry.”

 

 

 

Sooyoung is at work when she's informed by one of her staff that there's a woman that needs to see her urgently. She rushes down the hallway and drops her papers from her hands when she opens the door and a haughty looking Taeyeon lifts her head and gives her a melancholy look.

 

“Taeyeon?” Sooyoung asks, blinking in surprise when the woman pushes past her and walks deep down the corridor. Sensing something wrong with how the woman is acting, she hurriedly runs after her friend and stops at the entrance to one of the rooms when she sees Taeyeon hovering above a bed and beside a machine. She feels a sense of dread fill her when her friend turns her head to look at her with a miserable but determined gaze.

 

“I want to have my memories erased.”

 

“Taeyeon –,” Sooyoung begins to protest, only to be silenced when Taeyeon holds up a weary hand.

 

“Please,” She utters, her voice so heartbroken that Sooyoung can only agree to proceed with the procedure even though she wants to stop her best friend from ruining herself again.

 

 

 

“Do you give your consent to have your memories erased a second time?” Sooyoung asks, a look of melancholy hidden underneath her facial expression. Taeyeon nods, closing her eyes as she waits for the machine to take her pain away. She hears the doctor’s footsteps fade away before they come back and a sigh comes out of Sooyoung’s mouth before she utters the next words.

 

“You will no longer remember Jessica Jung,” She says before pressing on the button to start the machine, her hands shaking as she drops them to her side.

 

After an agonising thirty minutes, she watches as Taeyeon reopens her eyes and looks at her; her liquid orbs filled with nothing and her face expressionless. With clammy hands and clenched fists behind her back, Sooyoung braces herself for her friend’s response.

 

“Do the names ‘Jessica Jung’ or ‘Jung Sooyeon’ sound familiar to you?”

 

Taeyeon shakes her head in confusion, making Sooyoung’s heart shatter whilst she tries to maintain her professional demeanour. She curses herself for not being able to delay the process and wait for the woman to arrive and stop her friend from her craziness. She trembles as she speaks and clenches her fists more tightly when she can hear a faint but recognisable cry of ‘Taeyeon’ down the corridor.

 

“You have now had your memory erased of Jessica Jung.”

 

 

 

Sooyoung steps outside of the operating room, placing a hand over her heart as she tries to control her breathing. When the cry of her friend’s name becomes louder and clearer, she prepares herself for the worst and heads outside. She’s not surprised when a sobbing Jessica comes running down the hallway, tripping over her feet several times as Tiffany tries to restrain her and shoots her a pleading look.

 

With a sigh, she sneakily locks the door behind her and immediately holds her arms out to block the woman from entering the operating room.

 

“Let me see Taeyeon!” Jessica begs desperately, clawing and tugging on the woman’s arms to let her go. Sooyoung refuses to relent and stands her ground, holding the woman back. Jessica thrashes around in her arms and it takes a while for her and Tiffany to drag her down the corridor and sit her down.

 

“Let me see her! Let me see Taeyeon!”

 

“No.” Sooyoung says conclusively.

 

“W-Why? Why won’t you let me see her?” Jessica asks, her voice cracking as she clings tightly on Tiffany’s arms. Sooyoung closes her eyes as she recalls a conversation she had with Taeyeon prior to the operation.

 

“Sooyoung?” Taeyeon utters quietly, picking at the hem of her shirt. Her friend looks up from the machine and nods to show that she’s listening.

 

“If you run into Jessica at all and she finds out that I’ve lost my memories, can you tell her that it’s better this way?”

 

“Taeyeon –”

 

“Please Sooyoung,” Taeyeon replies defeatedly, looking up at her with serious eyes. Sooyoung sighs heavily and nods.

 

“I will.”

 

Breathing deeply, Sooyoung looks at Jessica in the eyes.

 

“Because she doesn’t know you anymore. Taeyeon has no recollection of you and it’s better for her this way. Please respect my patient’s wishes,” She voices, bowing her head and walking away. A small quiet plead stops her in her tracks and she turns around to look at Jessica’s tearful eyes.

 

“I-I need your help.”

 

 

 

Taeyeon brushes her fingers against the cobbled wall, fascinated by the building’s detailed architecture. She’s too busy staring at the intricate patterns on the wall when a force bumps into her shoulder and sends her stumbling. Trying to regain her footing, she places a hand on the wall as she turns around and looks at the person who almost knocked her over. A look of surprise washes over her face when she realises that the person who bumped into her is a woman and not a child.

 

“I’m so sorry,” The stranger fusses, fixing her high heels before standing up straight and apologising properly to the person she bumped into. Taeyeon notes how the woman scans her face and blinks several times as she remains speechless.

 

“You look familiar,” The stranger finally says, keeping her gaze fixed on Taeyeon’s face but more specifically her eyes.

 

“I’m Kim Taeyeon,” Taeyeon introduces herself, rubbing the back of her neck shyly. The woman gives her a warm smile and holds out her hand for a handshake.

 

“I’m Jessica Jung. Have we met before?”

 

 

 

 

 

---

A/N: To those of you who might not understand this story, here's a little summary:

Taeyeon is in love with Jessica but discovers she's marrying her fiance. She goes to Sooyoung to have her memories of Jessica erased (hence the scene at the beginning of the one-shot). Her encounter with Jessica and everything after triggers flashbacks of her memories that were erased - the only problem is that she is unable to identify the woman in the flashbacks. When Sooyoung reveals to her who Jessica really is, that triggers the final flashback where Jessica had revealed her engagement. Taeyeon has her memories erased a second time and when Jessica realises what has happened, she's too late to stop the procedure.

The final scene in this one-shot is when the two meet again, having no recollection of who the other is (i.e. Jessica's favour was to have her memories erased).

I hope you enjoyed this one-shot as I had a lot of fun writing something like this; let me know what you think in the comments (I value each and every one of them).