Chapter 28 – Jagiya

 

 

“Are you sure this is a wise idea? I mean kidnapping someone is a serious offense and we can go to jail for this.” Taeyeon voiced out her concern.

 

 

They were following Yuri’s car home and Jessica was driving while Taeyeon sat beside her and the two teens sat at the back.

 

 

“It’s fine. It’s not like we haven’t done this before, Taengoo.” Jessica pointed out as she glanced towards Seohyun’s direction in the rear view mirror, remembering what they did to the maknae.

 

 

“I’m just glad it’s not me you guys are trying to kidnap this time around.” Seohyun said with relief. One experience was good enough for her.

 

 

“Plus, it’s not like were kidnapping her for ransom. We just want to talk to her. Once we settle everything and we all become friends, I’m sure she’ll forget all about the fact that she has been kidnapped and we’ll all have a good laugh about it later on.” Yoona assured her, chuckling a little from her joke.

 

 

However, Taeyeon didn't find the joke funny and the concerned look on Taeyeon’s face remained.

 

 

“Don’t worry too much unnie. We’ll be fine.” Yoona said as she leaned forward from her seat and patted Taeyeon’s shoulder.

 

 

Even with everyone’s reassurance, Taeyeon still didn’t feel good about the whole kidnapping thing. It felt so wrong in so many ways. But she couldn’t really oppose the idea since she was desperate on having a talk with Yuri. This might be the only answer to her problems.

 

 

She sighed and just kept mum for the rest of the ride.

 

 

Finally, after driving for half an hour, they reached Yuri’s house/mansion. Everyone gawked at the enormous house with glistening eyes.

 

 

“Wow. Her house is gigantic.” Yoona commented.

 

 

“Yeah. Her whole mansion encompasses one entire block. That’s incredible!” Seohyun added.

 

 

Jessica just shrugged. “Can’t expect anything less from a chaebol.”

 

 

Taeyeon’s eyes were glued to the mansion and just nodded along to everyone’s comment.

 

 

As soon as Yuri’s car disappeared behind the huge white gate, the four of them dismounted the car.

 

 

“So, how do we go in?” Seohyun asked as she eyed the tall gate from top to bottom. There's no way they're going to climb over that thing or try to force it open with brute force.

 

 

Everyone turned to Yoona for the next step since she was the one who proposed the idea.

 

 

“Uh…actually I haven’t thought it much far ahead.” Yoona confessed. "I didn't think we'd get this far, to be honest."

 

 

Everyone groaned. Can’t expect anything less from Yoona.

 

 

“Really Yoona?” Jessica asked in disbelief.

 

 

“What? I’m only the idea person…” She mumbled, shrinking back from everyone's deathly glares.

 

 

While the trio reprimanded Yoona for being plan-less, Taeyeon walked around the premise of the mansion and searched for another way in other than through the front gate. For some reason, there was a nagging feeling inside of her, telling her that there was another way in. Like a secret passage of some sort. She really wasn’t sure where she was heading, but her feet seem to know the way, therefore she didn’t resist her instincts. She just kept going and followed her legs to who knows where.

 

 

“Aigoo, Yoona.” Jessica said exasperatedly. She placed both her hands on her hips and shook her head. That’s when she noticed Taeyeon’s disappearance. “Yah…” She called the other two.

 

 

The two students stopped bickering and turned to her.

 

 

“Where’s Taeyeon?”

 

 

Yoona shrugged. “I don’t know. She was just here a minute ago.”

 

 

Everyone craned their heads around and searched for their shorter friend, but to no avail.

 

 

“Guys!”

 

 

The trio turned to the source of the voice.

 

 

It was Taeyeon.

 

 

“Taengoo where did you go?”

 

 

Taeyeon jogged back to her friends.

 

 

“You…guys…” She breathed out as she panted heavily. She had to run around the entire block to find the backside of the mansion that's why she was so tired. Coincidentally, that’s also where she found it. The secret passage. It was a surprise that she actually found it.

 

 

“Why are you panting? Did you run a marathon or something?” Yoona chuckled.

 

 

Jessica glared at her and elbowed her on the rib, making her stop laughing.

 

 

“Taengoo what happened?” Jessica asked worriedly as she rubbed Taeyeon’s back with her palm.

 

 

Taeyeon panted a bit more until her breathing became regular again. “I…I found a way into the mansion!”

 

 

“You did?” Yoona asked excitedly.

 

 

Taeyeon nodded. “Yeah! Come on!” She took Jessica’s hand and dragged her along.

 

 

The other two followed behind them.

 

 

Taeyeon led them to the back of the mansion where a huge wall stood and tall grasses resided, serving as barriers for trespassers.

 

 

The three stared inquisitively at the gigantic wall of vines.

 

 

“Unnie, it’s a wall.” Seohyun said, puzzled at why their unnie led them to the back of the mansion, only to find another barrier blocking them. Yoona and Jessica were equally puzzled as well.

 

 

“Yes, it’s a wall Seohyun, but that’s not why I brought you guys here. I found something. Come on.” Taeyeon led them through the tall grasses to a section of the wall behind a tall tree.

 

 

“You don’t expect us to climb this thing do you?” Yoona asked warily as she eyed both the tree and the wall.

 

 

Taeyeon gave her a look before placing her palms flatly on the wall.

 

 

“Omo, are you going to perform magic unnie?” Seohyun said excitedly as she clapped her hands.

 

 

Jessica looked at Seohyun like she was nuts.

 

 

"She's a Harry Potter freak." Yoona explained to her unnie.

 

 

Jessica just nodded and didn't ask any further.

 

 

“Wha—no!” Instead of explaining what Taeyeon was planning to do, she just pushed her hands onto the wall and a small door opened.

 

 

“Whoa! Daebak! How did you find this unnie?”

 

 

“I…I don’t know. I just found it.”

 

 

“Well, it doesn’t really matter how you found it. Let’s just go in before we miss her.” Yoona said ushering everyone inside.

 

 

Once inside the property, they carefully made their way towards the front of the mansion where Yuri’s car had entered. They passed by the garage and noticed that Yuri’s car was already parked inside. They continued to the front door.

 

 

As they were making their way to the front door, they suddenly heard muffled voices. They halted immediately and listened further. There were sounds of struggling and shoes skidding on the ground and a girly yelp.

 

 

The four of them glanced at each other knowingly before hurrying over to the front door.

 

 

Taeyeon was leading the way. Once they turned behind a bush, a body collided into Taeyeon’s body, causing her to fall back. Thankfully, Jessica caught her in time before she fell on the hard ground completely.

 

 

“What the—?”

 

 

The four them stared at the two people with ski masks on carrying an unconscious girl.

 

 

“Oh my god is that Yuri!” Yoona pointed to the unconscious girl in their arms.

 

 

They couldn’t see her face properly because her dark locks were blocking her face, but they were pretty sure it was Yuri from the clothes she was wearing.

 

 

“W-what are you doing to her?” Taeyeon asked the two men suspiciously.

 

 

The two men in ski masks glanced at each other before one of them answered.

 

 

“Kidnapping her.” Said the man holding Yuri’s legs.

 

 

“What? You can’t kidnap her! We’re kidnapping her!” Yoona interfered.

 

 

“Well we got here first so we get first dibs.” Said the man carrying Yuri’s upper half.

 

 

“No fair! We’ve been following her since this morning! You can’t do that!” Yoona protested. 

 

 

“Too bad!” The man holding Yuri’s upper half tugged at his friend and motioned him to follow him.

 

 

Yoona quickly covered their way.

 

 

“Yah, are you guys seriously going to kidnap her?”

 

 

“Yeah, now move!”

 

 

“Wait!”

 

 

The two men halted and stared at the tall, lanky woman.

 

 

“Can we kidnap her first?” Yoona suggested out of the blue.

 

 

“What?”

 

 

The two men were clearly confused by her outrageous suggestion.

 

 

“How about this. Allow us kidnap her first, then you can kidnap her later. All we want to do is talk to her that’s all. After we finish talking, we'll free her, then you can take your turn on kidnapping her. Sounds fair right?” 

 

 

Taeyeon, Jessica, and Seohyun stared at Yoona like she had two heads.

 

 

Taeyeon nudged Yoona on the rib. “Yah! What are you doing?” She hissed. If Yuri does know her from her past life she doesn’t want her friend to get kidnapped! That's immoral!

 

 

“Sssh! I’ve got this!” Yoona hissed back. She turned back to the two kidnappers. “So? What do you say?”

 

 

The two kidnappers gave each other another knowing look before turning to Yoona.

 

 

“No!" They both shouted. "Now move!”

 

 

They pushed past Yoona and hurried over to the front gate.

 

 

But before they could reach the front gate, Yoona ran over to them and blocked their way again.

 

 

“Yah!” The man hissed in a low voice. “Get out of the way woman!”

 

 

“No! Not until you give her to us!”

 

 

Taeyeon, Jessica, and Seohyun all ran to Yoona’s side and opened their arms, creating a gigantic blockade.

 

 

The man holding the upper half of Yuri’s body let go of one of Yuri’s arm and pulled out a gun from his back.

 

 

The four women gasped.

 

 

“Whoa!”

 

 

They immediately backed off when they saw the gun.

 

 

The man smirked under the ski mask.

 

 

“I thought so. Now if you don’t want to get hurt, move out of the way!”

 

 

Yoona, Jessica ,and Seohyun were ready to step aside, but Taeyeon held her stance.

 

 

“No! I won’t let you take her!”

 

 

“Taeyeon-ah!” Jessica hissed.

 

 

“Heh, if that’s what you want.” The man pulled back the hammer of his pistol and aimed the gun at Taeyeon’s face.

 

 

Taeyeon’s eyed widened in fear. Her legs were shaking and her heart was pounding loudly in her rib cage. She was scared as hell and she feels like she's about to pee her pants anytime soon but she didn't budge. She held her stance and continued to block the men's way.

 

 

“Taeyeon-ah!” Jessica yelled again. She wanted to go over there and drag Taeyeon to the side, but Yoona and Seohyun held her back.

 

 

His fingers hovered above the trigger.

 

 

Taeyeon gulped.

 

 

The man was about to pull the trigger and shoot Taeyeon point black, when suddenly, the front door slammed opened startling everyone on the lawn.

 

 

They heard a clicking sound, like a barrel of a gun had just been reloaded.

 

 

They all turned around towards the source of the bright light.

 

 

“Whose there!?” The man at the front door shouted.

 

 

That's when they saw the shotgun he was holding.

 

 

“Sh*t!” The two kidnappers quickly dropped Yuri’s body on the grass and made a dash towards the gate for their escape.

 

 

The four girls stood in their places, frozen and scared out of their wits.

 

 

The figure emerged from the house and started making his way towards them. It was too bright so they couldn’t the person’s face properly. But as soon as he was closer, all four of them got a good look at him.

 

 

It was man in a bright pink Wonder Woman bathrobe. In his arms was a gigantic crayon that looks like a shotgun. His eyes shifted to Yuri’s body that was sprawled all over the lawn.

 

 

“Noona…” He mumbled under his breath. He rushed over to her side and patted her cheek gently to see if she was alright. Yuri groaned but she didn’t wake up. Angered, the man pushed himself up and pointed the gun crayon at them. Everyone jolted back.

 

 

“Who are you and what are you doing on my lawn?” He said in a dangerously low tone.

 

 

Everyone gulped.

 

 

“I…uh…” Taeyeon tried to speak but nothing would come out. She was petrified.

 

 

The man’s eyes shifted to her and she quickly raised her hands up in surrender.

 

 

"Please don't shoot!" She begged as her legs continued to shake.

 

 

The man’s eyes widened once he laid his eyes on her.

 

 

Taeyeon just stood there unmoving. She didn’t dare move or say anything without the man’s permission for she feared for her life.

 

 

The crayon in the man’s hands slowly lowered to the ground.

 

 

He blinked a couple of times as he stared at her incredulously.

 

 

He took a step forward which caused Taeyeon to take a step back. Noticing this, he stopped his advancement.

 

 

“Y-you…w-who are you?” He questioned with a shaky voice.

 

 

“I-I’m Taeyeon. Kim Taeyeon.” She answered nervously.

 

 

Hearing her response, the crayon completely lowered down to his side. Without warning, he walked towards her and hugged her tight.

 

 

“Noona…”

 

 

======

 

 

It was really odd. Right after he hugged her, he released her and smiled at her a distantly familiar smile that made her inside twitch like it somehow recognized it, though she’s almost certain she has no recollection of ever seeing that smile whatsoever. Then he went over to her sister side and carried her inside the house. She thought he was going to leave them out there on the lawn, but she was wrong. He strolled back out and invited all of them into his house as if he was inviting his friends in. Very odd indeed. Of course none of them refused the invitation, that was their mission after all; to be able to speak to Yuri.

 

 

Unfortunately, Yoona and Seohyun didn’t stick for long. They left for home after Seohyun’s worried stricken parents called forcing her to head home that instant. Her mom was rambling on about dangerous people lurking around at night and rapists and kidnappers and whatknot. Yoona decided to take her home, so they’re both gone.

 

 

It was just Jessica and her now, sitting side by side on the couch of Yuri’s den while the man in the bathrobe sat opposite them, silently watching them—well more like watching her. He has been eyeing for the past ten minutes not saying a word. Jessica just sat there, silently sipping the tea the man had offered them a while ago while Taeyeon fidgeted uncomfortably on her seat, trying to avoid the man’s prying gaze.

 

 

A while longer and the man finally decided to speak.

 

 

“I’m Kwon Jiyong, by the way. Kwon Yuri’s younger brother.”

 

 

Taeyeon rose from her seat and reached over the table to shake his hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Kim Taeyeon.”

 

 

Jessica did the same right after and introduced herself.

 

 

“So…you’re Kim Taeyeon?” He asked in wonderment.

 

 

Taeyeon nodded.

 

 

Something sparkled in his eyes at her response.

 

 

“Interesting…” He murmured.

 

 

“So…is that your real name?”

 

 

“Yes. It is.”

 

 

“Hm. I’m assuming you were the ‘conartist’ that my sister was rambling on about?”

 

 

Taeyeon cracked an awkward smile and rubbed the back of her neck. “Uh…unfortunately so. But I’m not a conartist! I swear!” She quickly defended. "I--I don't deceive people..."

 

 

Jiyong laughed. “Okay. I believe you.”

 

 

“Uh, you do?” Taeyeon was surprised.

 

 

“Yeah.”

 

 

“Oh. Well, thanks. But can I ask you why? I mean your sister kind of went off on me not too long ago. But I can understand why she won’t trust me. Just look at what almost happened to Yuri. She almost got kidnapped. So, why? Why do you trust me so easily?”

 

 

Jiyong sighed. “Don’t get me wrong. I still have my doubts. But…I want to give you a chance. You seem genuine enough and…there’s something about you that’s uncannily real. I can’t quite place my finger on it, but I have a strong feeling that there’s more to you than meets the eye. That’s why I’m giving you a chance. I want to know what’s so special about you.”

 

 

Taeyeon just smiled awkwardly.

 

 

Yup, there’s definitely something special about me…

 

 

“So, um, about Yuri…”

 

 

“Oh, noona? She’s fine, if you’re worried. She’s just sleeping right now in her room. The drug knocked her off and I don’t think she’ll wake until tomorrow morning.”

 

 

“Oh…” Well there goes their plan.

 

 

“If you’d like to speak with her, you two can drop by together again tomorrow morning.” He suggested noticing the downcasted expression on their faces.

 

 

Hearing the offer, Taeyeon immediately accepted. “Yes please! That would be great!”

 

 

Jiyong smiled. “Alright then. It’s settled. I’ll expect you two to swing tomorrow morning, let say around…10?”

 

 

Taeyeon nodded eagerly.

 

 

“Alright. I’m sure you two are tired. I’ll see you off to the door.”

 

 

The three of them walked over to the front door.

 

 

Jiyong saw the two women at the gate and bid them farewell. He stood there for a while and watched as the two women drove away. When their car disappeared at the end of the block, he went back inside the mansion.

 

 

He quickly went to check on his sister.

 

 

She was still sleeping.

 

 

As he was about to head out of his sister’s room, a photograph on his sister’s dresser caught his eyes.

 

 

He walked over to the dresser and picked the frame up and stared at it with a longing look.

 

 

“Taeyeon noona…”

 

 

======

 

 

The following morning, Yuri woke up with yet another headache.

 

 

“Aish…why do I find myself waking up with a headache lately?”

 

 

She rubbed her temples with her thumb and her forefinger.

 

 

A knock on the door made her sat up.

 

 

“Noona.”

 

 

It was her younger brother.

 

 

“Come in.”

 

 

Jiyong opened the door and sat by the edge of his sister’s bed.

 

 

“How are you feeling?”

 

 

“A little headache, but other than that I feel fine. Did something happen last night?”

 

 

“Uh...you were...almost kidnapped last night…”Jiyong revealed carefully.

 

 

This news flared up Yuri’s anger. She quickly sprung up from her bed.

 

 

“Those scums! Why I ought to—”

 

 

“Noona! Calm down! You didn’t get kidnapped! You were saved!” Jiyong quickly tried to calm her sister down.

 

 

“Huh? Saved by who?”

 

 

“Good Samaritans.” Jiyong smiled. “They’re going to drop by later today at around 10.”

 

 

Yuri’s face darkened. “Why? Did they ask for a reward or something? Tell them we’re giving them zinth! So they can forget about visiting! I’m not going to entertain a bunch of spineless scums! I bet you they planned this entire shenanigan from the start; pretending to kidnap me and save me so that they’d appear like good Samaritans and then collect their rewards for saving the richest woman in South Korea. Ha! No! I won’t be fooled! I’m not going to succumb to their trickery! They could whine or sue me for all I care but they’re getting zinth of my hard earned money!”

 

 

Jiyong let out a deep sigh. He knew it. He knew she was going to go off again about the ‘spineless scums’ that lurk the Earth. He hates it when she does that. Stigmatizing people just because of a couple of bad encounters. But could he blame her though? Her trust issues have been compromised long before. The only other person that was able to gain her trust other than him was Taeyeon. Which reminds him…

 

 

“Noona. They’re not here to collect any rewards for saving you. They just want to check your condition. I think it’s very thoughtful of them to do so, don’t you think?”

 

 

Yuri shook her head. “No. They’re just trying to be friendly so that they could manipulate you like a puppet. Don’t let them get to you Jiyong-ah! Stop being so susceptible to such people!”

 

 

“They’re not bad people!” Jiyong said defensively.

 

 

“How can you be so sure?”

 

 

“Because my instincts tell me so! You know how I’m good at reading people? Well, they seem genuine to me. I don’t sense any threat from them. Plus, my instincts are usually correct. Don’t deny it.”

 

 

“The keyword is usually, meaning not all the time. There are still flaw to your instincts. We can’t trust it.”

 

 

Jiyong groaned in annoyance.

 

 

“Noona. Can’t you just give them a chance? I’m begging you here. Please? For me? For your favorite dongseng in the whole wide world?”

 

 

“But you’re my only dongseng.” Yuri retorted.

 

 

“Exactly. Do it for me? Please? Just one meeting. If you don’t like them, then you’ll never have to meet them ever again.”

Yuri thought about it for a second.

 

 

After thinking about it, she reluctantly agreed.

 

 

“Fine.” She mumbled. “But they better be here 10AM sharp or the doors get locked!”

 

 

“Yes! No problem noona! I’ll make sure they get here before then!”

 

 

======

 

 

"Are you sure you can't come with me?" Taeyeon asked for the umpteenth time that morning.

 

 

"Yes, jagiya. You heard the phone conversation this morning , Heechul needs me in the hospital to assist him with a surgery. Sorry I can't be there with you to confront Yuri but I think you'll do fine on your own.”

 

 

“But…what if…what if something goes wrong—”

 

 

 

“Nothing will go wrong, honey. Don’t worry too much. If something does happen...well I gave you a phone so just press the speed dial one and it’ll automatically call me, okay?” Taeyeon didn’t respond and just sulked. Jessica sighed. “Plus, I think it’s good to confront her by yourself. If she is someone close to you, this will be a good chance to have a heart to heart talk with each other. Use this to your advantage. Make the most out of it, alright?”

 

 

 

Taeyeon looked away and pouted.

 

 

“Don’t worry. You’ll be fine.” Jessica reassured her one last time.

 

 

 

Taeyeon could only nod meekly.

 

 

Giving Taeyeon a quick kiss on the lips, Jessica bid her goodbye and rushed out of the apartment as quickly as she could.

 

 

As soon as the door closed, Taeyeon let out a sigh.

 

 

“I guess I’m on my own.”

 

 

======

 

 

Yuri and Jiyong sat on the same couch that Jessica and Taeyeon occupied the night before as they waited patiently for their special guests to arrive.

 

 

Yuri glanced at the wall clock. She smirked. Two minutes until 10.

 

 

Jiyong was apprehensive. Inside his mind he was sincerely praying to hear the sound of the doorbell any time soon. Hopefully right about now—

 

 

*Ding dong!*

 

 

“They’re here!” He said in relief.

 

 

 

He jumped up from his seat and ran to the door. With a delighted smile on his face he opened the door for his guests.

 

 

“Welcome!”

 

 

 

“Hello.” Taeyeon smiled politely.

 

 

“Where is everyone?” He asked, noticing no one but Taeyeon outside his front door.

 

 

“Ah, they couldn’t make it today due to prior engagements. It’s just me for today. I hope that’s alright.” Taeyeon smiled awkwardly.

 

 

 

“Of course! Please come in!”

 

 

 

Truthfully, Jiyong was only hoping for Taeyeon to come. He didn’t really care for the presence of the other women.

 

 

The two made their way towards the den.

 

 

Yuri was sitting on the leather couch reading a newspaper.

 

 

“Noona. This is the person who saved you last night.”

 

 

Yuri folded the newspaper and turned around. Her eyes jumped out of its sockets when she saw who it was.

 

 

“What the—You!”

 

 

“Uh…h-hello.” Taeyeon greeted nervously.

 

 

“What the hell is she doing here!? Jiyong, why did you let her in!?”

 

 

“She was the person who saved you last night. I told you she’d be visiting today didn’t I?” He simply explained.

 

 

“What!? Are you sure she wasn’t the one doing the kidnapping!?” It sounded too surreal for her. This girl can’t be her savior. She looks more like her kidnapper!

 

 

“Positive! I can vouch for her.”

 

 

Yuri shook her head side to side. “No, no, no, no. You’re lying. This person right here…she’s the person I’ve been telling you about! She’s the conartist! Get her out of here now Jiyong  before she does something!”

 

 

“Noona! She’s not a conartist! She’s your savior!”

 

 

“No she is not!”

 

 

“Yes she is!” Jiyong insisted.

 

 

Yuri gritted her teeth. “Even so…I’m not going to thank a conartist. Make her leave NOW!”

 

 

Jiyoung pinched the bridge of his nose. This was going to be harder than he thought. “Noona! We had a deal! You said you’ll give her a chance to talk to you if she makes it by ten! And she did! You have to honor our deal! You can’t back out now!”

 

 

“But—”

 

 

“No buts! We had a deal and you agreed to it! Now go make her feel welcome!” Jiyong grabbed Taeyeon’s arm and made her sit on the couch. Jiyong pushed her sister down on the couch as well, making her sit next to Taeyeon.

 

 

 

“I will be in the kitchen making brunch. Now go have a civil talk. I’ll be right back.”

 

 

Jiyong left the two girls alone in silence.

 

 

Yuri turned away from Taeyeon. She crossed her legs and folded her arms over her chest assertively making the Taeyeon feel intimidated.

 

 

Taeyeon uncomfortably fidgeted with the hem of her shirt. She was nervous and unsure of how to start a conversation with Yuri, especially because she’s been hostile with her since their first encounter. She’s afraid that Yuri might lash out on her like their last encounter in the hospital and she may end up being hurt. Maybe this was a bad idea? Maybe she should have just waited another day when Jessica or Yoona or Seohyun were free. With them around, this wouldn’t be so nerve-wracking and awkward.

 

 

 

Ha, how odd. She’s been wanting for this moment to happen, yet now that she’s here she’s acting like a big baby…a coward.

 

 

 

D*mn it. Why am I scared for? I’m supposed to be helping her for heaven’s sake!

 

 

Taking a deep breath, she gathered up her courage. She cleared to gauge the other person’s attention.

 

 

“Uh, Yuri-sshi. H-how are you feeling? I hope nothing bad happened to you from last night’s incident.” Taeyeon started.

 

 

Yuri kept mum and ignored her.

 

 

“Uh, I know you might still be wary about my intentions, but I promise you, I have no intent of deceiving you in any way. I just came here to talk, to get things straight, and to finally settle my curiosity  Please give me chance. If-if you still don’t believe me after this conversation then I promise I won’t bother you ever again.”

 

 

This seem to peak Yuri’s interest. She slightly shifted on her seat and listened on.

 

 

“Just—just listen to me for five minutes. Listen to my side of the story. After this, you can decide whether to believe me or not. If you think everything I said is absurd, then you can kick me out of you mansion with much satisfaction. I won’t protest, nor will I keep bothering you ever again. What do you say?”

 

 

Yuri paused to think.

 

 

 

Her offer doesn’t seem so bad. If she doesn’t believe her, which she probably won’t, then she won’t bother her ever again. That seems fair. Plus…she is curious about her side of the story. It won’t hurt to listen for five minutes right?

 

 

Yuri unfolded her arms and uncrossed her legs. She turned around and faced Taeyeon.

 

 

“Okay. Talk.”

 

 

Taeyeon smiled gratefully.

 

 

“Okay. First of all, I’m Kim Taeyeon—”

 

 

Yuri opened , ready to refute Taeyeon, but Taeyeon talked over her.

 

 

“Please don’t interrupt!”

 

 

Yuri bitterly clamped shut.

 

 

Taking this as a sign to continue, Taeyeon continued. “I’m not sure if I’m the Kim Taeyeon you knew, but what I am sure of, is that this is the name that was given to me by the Goddess.”

 

 

Yuri rolled her eyes.

 

 

 

Taeyeon ignored her. “I—you’re probably thinking that I’m crazy right now, but I swear I’m not. I…I’m dead.”

 

 

“What?” Yuri asked incredulously.

 

 

“I died a year ago. I don’t know how and I don’t know when exactly, but I did. I’m a spirit. A lone spirit to be exact. It may not seem like I’m telling the truth but I am. I’ve been living in heaven for a very long time, waiting for my judgement. But…for some reason it never came.

 

“Then one day, I was summoned by the Goddess and she has given me a second chance to live. I’ve been given three tasks. If I can complete all three successfully then I can return to Earth and live my life as a human again. Two of my tasks is already completed. I only have one more.”

 

 

“Okay. Say I believe you. Who’s the third task?”

 

 

Taeyeon gulped. “You. You are my third task Yuri.”

 

 

Yuri inadvertently scoffed. “Me? Impossible.”

 

 

“I’ve been tasked to help you with your struggles. I heard you’ve been…depress lately.”

 

 

Yuri’s eye twitched.

 

 

 

“H-how the hell did you know about that?” She narrowed her eyes at Taeyeon. “You’ve been stalking me haven’t you!? Oh my god! Not only are you a conartist and a kidnapper, but you’re also a stalker!”

 

 

“Woah, I’m not a stalker! I told you! The angels told me about it! I swear I didn’t stalk you!”

 

 

Yuri was fuming now. She has had enough of this charade. She got up from her seat and grabbed Taeyeon by the arm. She began dragging her towards the front door.

 

 

“I don’t believe your nonsense! Now get the hell out of my house and leave me alone—”

 

 

The wrist that Yuri was holding in her hands suddenly disappeared from her grasp and slipped between her fingers. She almost stumbled forward.

 

 

She spun around and found Taeyeon lying on the floor.

 

 

“Yah! Stop playing around and get the hell out of my house!”

 

 

 

Yuri marched over to Taeyeon and tried to grab her arm, but her hand went straight through Taeyeon’s arm.

 

 

“What the—”

 

 

Yuri’s eyes widened in shock.

 

 

She tried to grab her a couple more times, but every time she did, her hand went straight through thin air.

 

 

Yuri took a step back and stared shock at the girl lying on her floor.

 

 

“W-what are you?”

 

 

Taeyeon sighed and stood up from the ground. She removed her necklace just in the nick of time before Yuri could successfully kick her out of the house.

 

 

“I told you I’m a spirit.”

 

 

“What?”

 

 

Taeyeon sighed. She lifted the necklace that she held in her hands in Yuri’s line of vision.

 

 

 

“This…this necklace right here gives me the ability to turn into a temporary human. That’s why you were able to touch me before. Without this on, I turn back to my original form…an invisible spirit.”

 

 

Yuri blinked.

 

 

 

How could that be? Ghost and spirits aren’t real! They’re fake! Figment of people’s imagination!

 

 

Yuri held the side of her head. She was getting a migraine. No. This was too much for her. She can’t handle this right now.

 

 

Taeyeon noticed the anxiety on Yuri’s face. She slipped the necklace back on her neck and carefully approached Yuri. She gently took her by the arm and led her to the couch.

 

 

“Come sit.” She said in a gentle tone.

 

 

Yuri obliged without much thought, feeling a sense of nostalgia from the other girl’s touch and tone.

 

 

Taeyeon, unaware of what she was doing, pulled the distraught girl into her arms and gently laid her head on her shoulder. She began her hair with her palm, lulling Yuri’s worries away.

 

 

“Sshh…everything’s going to be okay Yuri-ah. I’m right here. I’ll make everything better.”

 

 

Yuri’s eyes widened.

 

 

Immense emotion rushed through her body like a raging river, constricting her heart painfully in her chest and pushing her tears on the edge of her eyes.

 

 

Before she knew it, she was crying. Crying on Taeyeon’s shirt.

 

 

She clutched tightly on Taeyeon’s shirt and sobbed.

 

 

“Taeyeonnie.” She choked out.

 

 

Taeyeon smiled a gentle smile and placed a chaste kiss on Yuri’s forehead.

 

 

“Jagiya.”

 

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A/N: Phew! There you go! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Sorry for the wait, I've been caught up with finals, but I'm done with it! Anyway, tell me what you think about this chapter. I've given you a hint of Yuri and Taeyeon's relationship in the past. Can you guess it? 

 

Btw, if you guys aren't aware yet, I have a TaengSic collection. If you'd like to read more TaengSic stories from me, please head on over to my collection thread! Thanks!  http://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/361228/

 

Comments are very much appreciated! Thank you for reading and commenting! Love you guys! =]