Despite her bodyguard's protests, Jessica's feet seem to have minds of their own as they drag her into a private but renowned noraebang in Seoul.

The chimes ring as she enters.

She pulls her mask down and quietly asks for a room.

The manager widens his eyes but immediately welcomes her with delight. Soon after, his smile gradually falters as he checks the computer by the counter. Sheepishly, the man offers Jessica a chair in the office while they wait for a room to become available, but Jessica politely declines. 

It's her own fault anyway for not calling beforehand.

She's about to walk away, maybe try the adjacent karaoke, when she hears a familiar voice belting out Starry Night in the nearby room.

That voice is unmistakable. 

Jessica smiles at herself before walking to its direction. 

Time to time, amidst her busy and taxing schedule, Taeyeon finds herself singing in dimly lit karaoke rooms.

It's quite ironic. She should've been resting her voice, but it gives her comfort — singing away  from the deafening crowd. 

It reminds her of simpler times when they used to sneak out in the quiet parts of the city just to shout on top of their lungs.

Today, she's alone, her members either have their own schedules or in the random corners of the world or both; honestly speaking, it's kind of difficult to gather them in one place now. 

She's halfway done in her fifth song when the translucent door suddenly opens, and the last person Taeyeon expects struts inside the room. (But who is she kidding? A small part of her always daydreams about bumping into Jessica in the most random of places because knowing herself, that's the only way they can actually meet face-to-face.)

"You sound good," Jessica briefly comments after she settled on the recliner seat across Taeyeon, snapping her out of trance.

Taeyeon coughs out loud and mumbles thanks, too embarrassed about being caught singing the other girl's song. 

"You still sing like a woman who has been divorced seven times," Jessica adds, lazily flipping through the songbook. 

Taeyeon is saved from retorting when a man timidly knocks and enters, holding the tray of soju and snacks she's ordered earlier.

He puts them down on the table together with the two shot glasses. 

"Do you have a Masseto available?" Jessica asks, not averting her gaze from the book.

The man looks like a deer caught in the headlights. He stutters, "I-I'm not sure ma'am. I'll check the storage—"

"Actually," Taeyeon intervenes, "any red wine will do. Thank you." She dismisses the poor man tactfully, but not before slipping a tip on his pocket and giving him a look between Thank you for your service and No one shall know about this or else...

The man nervously nods, getting the message, before excusing himself, leaving the two girls alone.

Suddenly, the four-walled space seems smaller than it actually is.

 But just the same, Jessica still feels like a thousand miles away from her. 

The heavily buried, always been repressed want to be closer with Jessica resurfaces hard and fast, suddenly hitting Taeyeon like a truck, so she pours herself a drink and downs it in one go. 

She immediately regrets her decision when she grimaces at the bitter taste, making Jessica giggle. 

Taeyeon's heart constricts at the sound. 

She blames it on the alcohol.

"Pour me a shot, Taeyeon-ah," the other girl half-requests, half-commands while pointing her glass at Taeyeon.

"I thought you wanted red wine?" Taeyeon pours her a shot, anyway.

Jessica just shrugs. "I need a confidence boost." She gulps it down. "It's been so long time since the last time I sang, anyway." She continues like nothing happened, inputting songs using the remote. 

Taeyeon isn't surprised. Jessica's always been the better drinker between the two of them.

Yeah, it's been so long. I've missed you, is also what lies on the tip of her tongue, but what comes out is: "You sing better when you're sober," accompanied by a snort because for Taeyeon, joking is easier than talking, especially when it concerns the matters of the heart. 

They both at talking anyway, let alone emotions, so in