“Honey?” Yuri turned at the sound of her wife's voice behind her and watched as she walked over to her with a worried look on her face. She hated that look on her and it usually had something to do with her antics. She quickly wracked her brain for her recent activities but couldn’t think of a single thing that would cause that look. 

“Babe? Everything's okay?” 

Taeyeon sighed. “Winter's school called.” 

“Winter's school…? What? Is she okay?” Yuri quickly closed the distance between them. 

“Allegedly, our daughter got into a fight.” Yuri paused, blinking dumbly. “Yeah,” Taeyeon said slowly. “They tried to get a hold of you first but couldn't get through your phone. We need to go pick her up.” 

“It baffles me that Winter got in a fight, I wonder what happened?” Yuri squinted. 

“We can find that out when we get to the school,” Taeyeon said.

"Honey, you know I can't go, my flight is in 30 minutes." She winced suddenly hating the damn business trip that had to take her away from her family.

"Ah... I forgot, go ahead then honey, I will take care of it myself. I'll just get changed and leave immediately."

"I'm sorry love. I have to go now. I trust you will take care of it well, you ain't a fierce attorney for nothing." She said giving her wife yet another peck on her lips, before quickly turning and jumping into the back seat of her car.

It only took Taeyeon a few minutes to change, and in no time she was already in her car heading for the school to pick up her kid. She was so nervous her palms were sweating as she drove through the traffic, she couldn’t stop going over the fact that Winter, her quiet and reserved Winter, was in a fight. The more she thought about it the more it didn’t make sense. 

“Stop over-analyzing,” she commanded herself softly. 'Let Winter explain what happened.' She thought to herself just as she pulled up at the front of the school She sighed. “Here we go,” she said and jumped out of the car. The receptionist was waiting for her just inside the doors and with a blush on her cheeks she took her to the principal’s office. 

Before she even stepped in, Taeyeon knew that Winter was aware that she was there. Squaring her shoulders, she nodded to the principal and stood behind her daughter, resting her hand lightly on the girl’s shoulders. 

“Uh, Ms. Kim” The principal stuttered before composing herself. “Thank you for coming.” 

“Yeah, about that,” Taeyeon said, squeezing Winter's shoulder. “Why exactly am I here?” 

“We were in a fight,” Winter answered the question. “I’m sorry, Mum.” Taeyeon looked at the other girl and didn’t recognize the kid. She also didn’t see any bruises or marks on the kid either. 

“Winter is correct,” the principal said. 

“What was the fight about?” Taeyeon asked her daughter, trying to catch the kid’s eyes but Winter refused to look at her. She moved around the chair until she could squat down by Winter's knees. She placed her hand on her knee and squeezed it to encourage her kid to look at her. “Sweetie? Hey, can you look at me?”

Very slowly and shifting hesitantly in her seat, Winter lifted her head. “I’m sorry,” she whispered again. Taeyeon clenched her teeth as she took in the black swelling that was spreading across her daughter's eye and the split lip that was clotted with blood. 

“Unfortunately Ms Kim, both girls will be suspended for a week,” the principal said. 

Taeyeon jumped to her feet and whirled around, shielding Winter from the principles gaze. “Suspended? My daughter looks like a panda right now while this kid hasn’t a scratch on her.” 

“While that may be the case,” The principal said. “Winter made the first move by pushing Karina.” Taeyeon opened to argue but her daughter's hand slipped into hers and squeezed. 

“It’s okay, Mum. I’ll accept the punishment. I’m sorry, Karina. Sorry, ma'am.” Winter bows her head.

“Are we done?” Taeyeon asked through clenched teeth. Before the principal had finished saying yes she was already helping Winter up out of her chair and just as she turned to leave with her, she froze in her spot and paled, suddenly finding it hard to breathe as she stood a few feet away from Jessica, her trembling hands clutched on her hips, her hot eyes flashing resentment. Suddenly, everything, every memory she thought she'd buried about the woman came flooding right back in. Scenes from the past began flashing into her mind.

Flashback.

A seventeen years old Taeyeon shifted onto her side a little too fast to face Jessica and immediately regretted the movement as a sharp stone poked her hip through the shabby blanket on which they lay. The old faded beige blanket seemed like the perfect camouflage since it was almost the same color as the tall wheat stalks that stood over them, gently whipping back and forth in the wind, concealing them from prying eyes. 

Taeyeon suppressed the urge to let out a scream as she edged the stone away from underneath her and settled back into position. A tingling sensation raced through her as she let her hand glide across Jessica's open shirt. “Do you like that?” she whispered into Jessica's ear as she gently caressed her . 

Jessica writhed beneath her touch. “Hmm, that feels nice, but if I’m honest it would be much better if you stopped talking and just got on with it.” 

“Sorry.” Taeyeon slid her hand away from Jessica's with a grin and slowly seared a path down her taut abdomen, coming to rest between her thighs. She snuggled against her, feeling heady with excitement as she grazed her lips against the smoothness of Jessica's neck. It had only been two days since they had last explored each other – an eternity Taeyeon thought would never end. 

Jessica turned towards Taeyeon, her finger tenderly tracing the outline of her cheek. “I didn’t mean what I said horribly – you’re good at what you do, Tae. I just wish you would stop double guessing yourself all the time.” 

The gentle touch of her caress made Taeyeon feel jittery inside. “I’m sorry.”

“And stop saying sorry, silly.” She clamped her hand over Taeyeon's, stopping her fingers in their tracks. “Look, why don’t we try again tomorrow night? Come to my place; my parents won’t be home. They’re going to play darts.” 

Taeyeon's heart began to pound wildly in her chest. “No, I want to do it now. I promise I won’t talk anymore.” 

Jessica held her gaze steadily. “Don’t say it like that. I love hearing you talk, just not when I’m trying to get off.” Before Taeyeon could respond, Jessica quickly pressed her forefinger against her lips. “Please don’t say sorry!” She laughed affectionately at her. “Now, finish me off before I explode.” 

Minutes later, as Jessica lay breathing unsteadily between parted lips, Taeyeon smoothed back a loose strand of hair from her damp forehead. “I wish we could stay here all day.” 

“So do I, but we can’t,” Jessica said, arching her back as she pulled her knickers up. “Unfortunately, we have to go back to school.” A loud honking sound from a car filtered through the trees that shielded them from the view of the road, causing Jessica to quickly sit up and poke her head above the tall stalks, her eyes darting nervously from left to right. 

“How many times are you going to keep checking?” Taeyeon asked with a laugh as she pulled Jessica back to the ground, laying her arm across her waist. “I’ve told you a thousand times, no one knows about this spot, okay? You can relax.” Taeyeon watched Jessica as she closed her eyes and tilted her chin in the air, basking in the sun’s rays. 

Though both girls were almost the same height, that’s where their similarities ended. Whereas Taeyeon had thin dark brown hair that she wore in an uneven cut, Jessica's thick light brown ones fell in waves almost to her waist and coiled at the ends. Taeyeon's eyes were a dull brown, whereas Jessica's were full of life and the shade of honey. Jessica's provocative, long-limbed body was every girl’s dream while Taeyeon's small bust and chicken legs were their worst nightmares – that’s why, unlike Jessica, who loved nothing more than to wear short skirts and tight tops, Taeyeon kept her body well covered. Despite Taeyeon's reservations about her body image Jessica was always telling her how beautiful she was, and she almost believed it.

Who was she to argue? As the saying went 'beauty is in the eyes of the beholder'. “Do you think if Mrs. Park hadn’t paired us together to work on that presentation for Romeo and Juliet, we would have become friends?” 

Jessica's eyes flickered open momentarily. “Who knows?” 

“I don’t think we would have.” How could they have? Taeyeon wasn’t stupid. She realized that Jessica was way out of her league. Jessica was one of those typical cool, popular girls who had everything – perfect hair, perfect teeth, trendy clothes, and loads of friends. She had the whole package and everyone wanted to be just like her – Taeyeon included. 

Jessica tore at a piece of wheat and stuck it in as she stared through narrow eyes up towards the blue cloudless sky. “Well, if that’s what you think, why bother asking me?” 

Taeyeon gave a resigned shrug. “Dunno. I just can’t get over how differently you act when you’re not surrounded by your friends. You seem like a different person.” 

Jessica looked at her meaningfully. “Not everything is how it seems, Tae.” 

“That isn't always the truth.” 

“What about you? You’re a lot different when you’re drunk. Isn’t that the same thing?” 

“Yeah, I suppose.” If it hadn’t been for Jessica wanting to see her get drunk for the first time, their first kiss most probably would never have happened. It was the bottle of soju Jessica had stolen from her house that had been responsible for a giddy and excitable Jessica suggesting they practice French kissing. Nothing could have prepared Taeyeon for the explosion of their first kiss as an ache was sparked, turning Taeyeon's world upside down as things went further than she would have ever expected.

Though Taeyeon had enough self-awareness to realize boys weren’t her thing, she would never have told anyone, not even her mum. Finding out that Jessica was like she had made her feel almost normal. It hadn’t bothered her that Jessica had sworn her to the utmost secrecy; she got it. Jessica had a lot more to lose than she did. 

When Taeyeon had said she wouldn’t tell a living soul about them, she had meant it with all of her heart. Taeyeon rolled over onto her back, sighing heavily. “One of these days, you won’t be ashamed of me.” 

Jessica threw the long stalk aside before leaning over and resting her chin on Taeyeon's almost flat chest. “What are you talking about? I’m not ashamed of you, Tae – I just don’t think it would go down well if people found out about us. It’s sad, but others don’t understand people like us – that’s just the way life is.” 

“You do like doing what we do, don’t you?” Taeyeon asked as casually as her pounding heart allowed her to. 

Jessica's face took on a serious expression. “You know I do ... more than anything.” 

“Do ... do ... you do it with anyone else?” Jessica averted her eyes before leaning back and reverting to her laying position. Her fingertips nervously played with the black beaded bracelet Taeyeon had given her for her sixteenth birthday. 

“Don’t be silly, of course not.”

Taeyeon waved her hand, trying to make light of the conversation. “I mean, it wouldn’t matter if you did. I wouldn’t blame you. You can have anyone you want.” 

Jessica frowned. “Taeyeon, I don’t want anyone else.” 

Taeyeon gave her a sideward glance. “I just meant...” 

Jessica raised her eyebrows at the unspoken suggestion. “I know what you meant.” She pushed herself into a sitting position, a tight expression covering her features as she tossed her hair over her shoulder and began rummaging through her school bag. Taeyeon recognized the gesture as a signal that Jessica didn’t want to talk anymore. 

The familiar feeling of self-disappointment hit her again. Idiot. Why do you always have to overthink things?

~~~

“Hey, look who it is – The loner freak!” a shrill voice Taeyeon recognized all too well called out from behind them as she and Jessica walked along the high street, heading back to school. They both spun around as Sooyoung and her group of bullies headed toward them like a swarm of bees. “Shouldn’t you be hiding under a rock or something?” Sooyoung, a tall, lanky girl with two long ginger plaits, shouted in Taeyeon's face as her group came to a standstill in front of them. 

Sunny, a short busty girl, looked Taeyeon up and down, her features cruel and twisted with malice. “Not even the creepy crawlies would want to hang out with her.” 

“Who could blame them? Look at the way she dresses. She looks like an old hag,” Tiffany, a frizzy-haired redhead, said, pointing at the unflattering long pleated school skirt and oversized cream knitted jumper that Taeyeon wore. Taeyeon stole a sideways glance at Jessica, who stood idly a few feet away, her eyes cast down to the ground, looking distracted as her foot tackled a small stone. 

Hyoyeon roughly grabbed Taeyeon's satchel from her arm and began to rummage through it. “What have you got in here then? Your grandma’s knitting needles?” Laughter erupted amongst the girls as they howled at the comment like hyenas. “Look, she’s a mute,” Hyoyeon said, jabbing her in the ribs, causing her to shrink back. Don’t you dare cry, a small voice inside Taeyeon's head instructed as she felt a prickling sensation behind her eyes. She clenched her jaw, curling her hands into tight fists, her fingernails digging into her palms. 

“What’s up, Sica? You hanging out with the school weirdo now?” Sooyoung asked Jessica, before turning back to look at her friends with raised eyebrows. Jessica walked into the center of the small crowd of girls who had formed a circle around them.

“ you, Soo. I just bumped into her. We were just talking about the test next week.” 

“What’s the point of her taking any tests? No one will ever employ her. She’ll most probably be like one of those crazy cat people, because I doubt if there's a single man on earth that would wanna bang her,” Sooyoung said scathingly. 

Jessica took hold of Sooyoung's arm and edged her forward. “Come on, let’s go to the park. I stole some of my mum’s cigarettes this morning.” 

Linking her arm through Jessica's, Sooyoung looked back at Taeyeon thoughtfully for a second before turning back to Jessica with a wide smile. “Cool. Let’s see who's gonna wi