Taeyeon sat in a daze. But who wouldn’t? Jessica just kissed her. Jessica. Not just any Jessica, but THE Jessica.

Just then, her phone rang. Taeyeon looked around for her bag and fished out her phone. Her bag was a little high up, but Taeyeon was able to reach if she went on her tiptoes. There was a text message from Sunny.

            Are you okay? Tiff told me what you said to her earlier over the

            phone, and we’re still worried. Call me back when you get this message.

It’s not like Taeyeon could call back. Not when she didn’t know what Jessica already told them. But she wanted to tell her friends how lucky she felt to be in the ZoNE house. She felt bad. She had a shorty-pact with Sunny, too: they wouldn’t lie to each other or do anything to hurt one another. Telling them a lie isn’t the same as not telling the truth, right? Taeyeon sighed.

Yoona walked passed Jessica’s room. She stopped at the door and watched Taeyeon as she fiddled with the phone. Yoona was not one to just spy on someone, but she was not comfortable with Taeyeon’s presence. If she was one of Jessica’s friends, then Yoona would be chatting with Taeyeon like there was no tomorrow. But that’s the thing: Taeyeon and Jessica aren’t friends. They are strangers no matter how you looked at it. And strangers were dangerous no matter how you look at it.

“Yah!” Yoona said from the doorway.

Taeyeon turned around. “Hi! Wow, you’re Yoona, right?” Taeyeon threw her phone onto Jessica’s bed and rushed towards Yoona. “I’m such a big fan of ZoNE. Gosh, you’re so pretty in person. I mean, not like you aren’t pretty on TV and in the pictures and stuff, but wow. You’re skin is so amazingly pretty in person, too.”

Yoona was startled by Taeyeon’s reaction. She didn’t quite recall hearing this same spazz when Taeyeon first woke up and saw Jessica. “Thank…you?”

“You’re welcome! Ah, you have no idea how much I love you guys. You are my favorite people EVER! I’ve been following you since your guys debuted. You guys were like…14 when you got started, right? Well I know Jessica was 14, cause she’s only a month younger than I am and I was 14 when you all started out. And you’re all around the same age, like wow…”

“Calm down, lady!” Yoona wasn’t sure if she could really be mad anymore. Taeyeon was crazy, but Yoona couldn’t help but feel happy from all the compliments. “Jeez. You ate and stuff already, right?”

Taeyeon nodded her head. She was out of breath from her onslaught of spazziness.

“Okay. Do you know where Jessica went?”

Taeyeon pointed down the hallway. “The shower.”

Yoona turned towards the bathroom. She heard the water and a faint voice – likely Jessica singing in the shower. “Thanks. Um…I guess I’ll talk to you later.”

“Wait!” Taeyeon stopped Yoona before she could walk off. “Do you know where I can find Sooyoung? I wanted to thank her for making some food for me.”

“If you go down the hallway, take a right. Check the second and third door on your right. If she isn’t in either of those rooms, then I don’t know where she would be.” Yoona turn and walked to the kitchen.

“Thank you!” Taeyeon bowed before scurrying towards Sooyoung’s rooms. The hall was deceptively long. When she took a right, she almost bumped into Sooyoung. “Eep!”

“Ah…Oh…Taeyeon, right?”

“Yes! Um, I’m sorry about making the mess in the kitchen. We cleaned it up! And all the groceries are put away.”

“Thanks. I’m sorry I was so frustrated earlier. I was just shocked by it all, and…”

Taeyeon interrupted Sooyoung. “Oh, no, we were in the wrong. We made a big mess. But I actually wanted to thank you for making me the food. I’m sorry I’ve been a burden. I can try to help around the house to make up for the trouble I’ve caused.”

Sooyoung didn’t know what to say other than “You’re welcome.”

“Well, I’ll be in Jessica’s room. If you need help, please just ask.” Taeyeon turned around and walked back towards Jessica’s room.

Sooyoung stood there for a minute. Maybe she’s okay after all.

~~~~

Tiffany walked down the street to Taeyeon’s house. It was empty. The lights were off and there were no signs of life anywhere at all. “Tae…where are you?”

“Tiffany?” Sunny poked her head from the side of the house. “You came, too, huh?”

“I’m worried. Taeyeon seems to be acting weird.” Tiffany walked over to Sunny

“I know. She still hasn’t replied to my text message. I sent it to her almost twenty minutes ago, but nothing.” Sunny pouted as if her cuteness would make Taeyeon reply sooner.

Tiffany gave Sunny a hug. Sunny looked like she might cry, and Tiffany’s eye-smile seemed to disappear from stressing over Taeyeon. “Let’s just trust Tae.” Tiffany said. She wasn’t sure if she was trying to reassure Sunny or herself, but they both needed something to hold onto.

“Excuse me, is the where Kim Taeyeon lives?”

Tiffany and Sunny turned around. “Who are you?” Tiffany asked. A girl was standing at the front door of the house.

“I’m a friend from her middle school days. I just moved back to the area a few days ago, and I wanted to say hi. I found out she lived here from another one of our mutual friends.”

Sunny tried to hide behind Tiffany. “Taeyeon isn’t here right now. We’ll tell her you came looking for her. What’s your name?”

“I see. That’s a shame. Maybe I could ask you guys some questions about her. I want to surprise her, but I don’t know how.”

“Yah! I asked you for your name.” There was a fear in Sunny’s voice. The girl before Sunny had a bad air about her, but Sunny didn’t know why. She couldn’t take any chances when even she didn’t know if Taeyeon was okay.

“I’m sorry. I guess I’m just a bit excited about seeing Taeyeon for the first time. And my name? Hyoyeon.”

~~~~

Taeyeon walked around Jessica’s room. It was small, but there were many pictures and decorations scattered around the shelves and walls. There was one picture in particular that caught Taeyeon’s eye. It was a picture of a young Jessica – probably from just before her debut – with black hair. Taeyeon had never seen Jessica with black hair.

“Like it?” Jessica was standing at the door. “Our company wanted me to dye by hair light brown for the debut. I’ve kept it this way basically ever since, but I’ve messed around with the color a bit more now that they let me.”

There was something innocent about the girl in the picture, something that didn’t seem to be as prominent in the famous Jessica. “You don’t like your hair black?”

“Well…” Jessica looked for another picture. It was from right after her debut. “What do you think? You know me as the brown-haired singer for ZoNE. Did you ever think I was black haired by nature?”

Taeyeon didn’t have an answer.

“It’s not like I don’t like my hair black, but I’m used to it being like this.” Jessica played with her hair. “I just hate having to redo the roots when the color starts to change."

“Have you ever thought of letting your hair just go back?”

“A few times.”

“But?”

Jessica sat down on her bed. “I just never let it happen.” She motioned for Taeyeon to sit next to her. “Do you want me to try and let my hair go black?”

Taeyeon slowly walked to Jessica. But instead of sitting next to her, she pulled up a chair and sat in front of Jessica. “Why are you asking me? I’m not your girlfriend.” But I really really wish I were…

“You could be.”

“Huh?”

“My girlfriend. You, Kim Taeyeon, could be the girlfriend of me, Jung Jessica.”

“Are you sure you haven’t lost your mind?” Taeyeon was excited at the thought of her biggest dream becoming reality. Unfortunately, she still remembered what she needed to do, and that made her very upset. “We’ve known each other for less than a day.”

“I never said now. I just said it could happen.”

This girl…”Right…” She will give me a heart attack one of these days… “Anyway, who was the girl with Sooyoung?”

“The girl with Sooyoung?” Jessica thought for a second before answering. “Ah, that was Yuri. She’s a junior in our company and Sooyoung is helping her out. She probably won’t debut for a couple months at the earliest, though.”

“Wow, as a solo artist?”

“No, she’s probably going to join with some other girls to make a group. She half-lives with us because of Sooyoung, but the rest of the time she lives somewhere else.”

“I see. She looks a little bit like Yoona now that I think of it…”

“Yeah, they get that a lot. But they aren’t related, and you can see they have some pretty different features.”

“Right.” Taeyeon and Jessica sat in silence. “So…about that kiss earlier…”

Jessica winced a bit. “Yeah, sorry about that. You were just so cute looking, and I guess I couldn’t really help myself.”

Taeyeon was a little saddened by Jessica’s bluntness. There weren’t any feelings. Just impulse. “Well, you better pay me back for that. It was my first kiss.”

“No way! You’re 22 though! You mean you never kissed someone before?” Jessica almost jumped on top of Taeyeon. “Does that mean you’ve never dated anyone before?”

“Get off!” Taeyeon was clearly embarrassed: her face was red and she could feel the awkwardness of the situation building. “And no, I have never dated before. I just couldn’t get over someone for a long time. Right now, I like someone else and I don’t want to date anyone but her.”

“Ah, I see.” Jessica sat back down; disappointed that Taeyeon had such a boring reason for not dating before. “I guess I understand, but haven’t you ever wanted to just go out and date someone? You know, have some fun?”

“Why would I? What’s the point if I know the relationship is a fling that’s going to just end.”

“What if it doesn’t end?”

“What, do you think that someone can just fall in love with someone they just date for fun?” Taeyeon felt mad. She couldn’t explain it, but the way Jessica seemed to view love made Taeyeon feel like she knew nothing.

“How about we have a bet.”

“A bet?” Interest perked, Taeyeon leaned in and listened to Jessica’s words.

“How about you ask that person you like now out on a date. Like a causal date, of course. And I help make it work. If that girl falls for you, I win. If not, you win.”

“Wow. You are insane.” But Taeyeon was interested in the bet, knowing whom she would get to date.

“Maybe I am. So how about it? Shall we bet on it?”

“You’re on.”

Jessica smiled. It was almost an evil smile, but it was a smile none-the-less. “Good. Now, you have two months to woo the girl of your dreams. If she ever says that she loves you – and I mean seriously loves you – then I win.”

Taeyeon nodded. “And if you win?”

“If I win…you have to be my personal maid for a week. And that does mean you have to dress the part.”

“Grr…fine. But if I win, you have to pay me back for that kiss and help me with something.”

“What? That’s two things! And what do I have to help you with?”

Taeyeon knew what she needed help with, but she couldn’t tell Jessica. “Something. And you’re making me dress up as a maid, so that counts as something.

“No, that is not how bets work.”

“Look, do we have a deal or not?” Taeyeon held out her hand. “Or maybe the famous Jessica is too scared?”

Jessica grabbed Taeyeon’s and shook it. Hard. “Fine. Let the game begin. And remember to address me as ‘Ms. Jessica’ when you lose and your is in a maid outfit.”

“Psh, whatever.” This time, Taeyeon smiled. “Hey Jessica?”

“Yeah Tae?”

Better make the most of this. “Will you go out with me?”

~~~~

Yoona and Sooyoung sat around the kitchen table. “That Taeyeon girl seems to be okay.” Sooyoung said.

“Yeah, we talked a bit earlier. She’s a huge ZoNE fan, too.”

“Think we should let her stay more than a week?”

Yoona played around with a spoon. “Honestly? It seems like her fever is basically gone. She doesn’t need to stay, but I kind of like her. She’s interesting.”

Sooyoung looked at Yoona. “Change of heart, much? But I understand what you’re saying. I agree that she’s interesting. There’s definitely more to her than what she lets off.”

“Well, maybe we should talk to Sica. I still want to run a background check on Taeyeon, but maybe it wont be bad to have her around. You know after what happened…” Yoona drifted off.

“Yah, don’t say that so loudly! What if Sica heard you?”

“Sorry!” Yoona looked down at her lap. “I’m just worried. After what happened that day, Jessica just acted different when she got close to new people. She couldn’t get close to new people for the most part. I’m surprised she did what she did for Taeyeon.”

“Yoona, please, let’s just drop it. If it ever gets that far, we can step in. But for now, let’s just let things happen. Maybe she’s over it now.”

Yoona and Sooyoung resumed sitting in silence.

~~~~

Tiffany and Sunny walked away from Taeyeon’s house.

And my name? Hyoyeon. Although Tiffany didn’t notice it at first, whenever she thought of that Hyoyeon girl, she felt…well she couldn’t put it into words. It wasn’t bad. No, it was worse than that.

I guess you don’t want to talk. Makes sense, since we don’t really know each other. Tell her I stopped by. If you see her before I do, that is. Sunny felt that same “thing” and Tiffany did.

“Do you think Tae is in trouble?” Sunny asked.

“Why do you say that? She’s responsible and smart. She’s like our group leader.”

“But that Hyoyeon girl…she seemed bad. I don’t like her.”

Tiffany didn’t know how to comfort Sunny. “Let’s forget about her. And when we see Taeyeon, let’s just ask her if she really knows that girl.”

“If you say so.” Tiffany and Sunny parted ways, but their minds were both occupied with concern for their missing friend.