Like any other day, Taeyeon was sitting on a couch. This time, however, it was her own couch. As in, the Jessica-is-too-busy-doing-ZoNE-stuff couch. Even though ZoNE was on hiatus, their company still wanted to keep them fit to do their job as performers. Plus, they needed to deal with the whole Seohyun thing that had happened the night before.

ZoNE’s manager was able to shush the press and keep any photos, reports, and footage from hitting the news, but the paparazzi could be fickle and demanding. The cost to shut down a scandal was something that Taeyeon could barely grasp.

Taeyeon decided to turn on the TV while eating some lunch.

            Today expect it to be cool and cloudy, with a chance of rain…

                        Click

            Next we go to…

                        Click

            Spotted last night at the police station with…

                        Click

            And back to…

“Wait, what?!” Taeyeon quickly flipped the channel back.

Were provided by an inside source that a group of idols were there last night. We aren’t quite sure who the idols were, but they were not seen leaving the station. More information will be…

Taeyeon sighed as she turned the TV off. She relaxed in her seat before throwing the remote to the side. Thank goodness…the stupid press is going to give me a heart attack.

It didn’t take long for Taeyeon to finish her lunch. Taeyeon was pretty bored, so she ended up calling Tiffany and Sunny and seeing if they wanted to come over. There wasn’t much to do, but Taeyeon still did some tidying up to make sure that her house was ready for guests.

The doorbell rang and Taeyeon rushed towards the door. “Hey~!” Taeyeon gave Tiffany and Sunny a big hug. “How are you guys?” Taeyeon led her friends into the living area and they all planted themselves onto chairs.

“We’re good. Buy we haven’t seen you around much.” Sunny said. “It’s like you’re always busy now, and we’re not part of your life much.”

“Sorry, things have been kind of hectic with Jessica.“ Taeyeon said without thinking.

“Uh, “Jessica”?” Tiffany asked.

“Uh…yeah. You know, from ZoNE? I’ve been just, uh…” Taeyeon tensed as she clawed her mind for an answer. “You know. Die-hard fan, right?”

Tiffany gave Taeyeon a funny look. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Long night. I didn’t sleep well.” Taeyeon said.

The girls sat around for a long time. They caught up on each other’s lives and tried to plan some future lunch dates and girls nights. Taeyeon hadn’t felt that relaxed in a long time. Jessica made her feel good, but there was always a hint of anxiety due to…well…you know.

“So Tae,” Sunny said, “What have you been doing lately?”

“Nothing much, why?” Taeyeon replied.

“I don’t know. I just haven’t seen you this busy for a long time, and I don’t even know why. I mean, you don’t have much of a steady job – or a job at all, to be honest. I know that you’ve been a babysitter but that shouldn’t take up as much time as it does, you know?” Sunny looked a tad bit sad at the thought that her friend has so little time for her.

Tiffany nodded in agreement. “I know you say it’s nothing, but it’s a little hard to believe.” Tiffany grabbed Taeyeon’s arm and rolled up the sleeve. “This?” Tiffany pointed to a large scratch that Taeyeon had received from Seohyun. “This isn’t “nothing”.”

Taeyeon pulled her arm back and rolled her sleeve down. “I just ran my arm into a counter. Babies and little kids can be difficult. You can agree, can’t you Tiffany? I mean, we take care of Sunny all the time.”

“Yah!” Sunny threw a pillow at Taeyeon. “Who are you calling a baby, shorty?”

“You. If you don’t remember, I’m taller than you, even with your insoles.”

“What?! Well at least I make up for it here.” Sunny practically shoved her s in Taeyeon’s face. “What do you have?”

A sly smile made its way across Taeyeon’s face. “Hips.”

Sunny’s mouth dropped.

“Yeah, you heard me! What’cha gunna do about it?”

Then Sunny did it. “Ow!” Taeyeon screamed. “Take this!” Taeyeon and Sunny broke out into a giant pillow fight. Tiffany was sitting off to the side, laughing to death as her friends tried to murder each other with the fluffy goodness that is a pillow. She was very close to crying from amusement as her half-pint friends duked it out on the living room floor. It took a while, but Tiffany decided to be the bigger person and separate the two girls.

“She started it!” Sunny said.

“No, you did!” Taeyeon called out from the other side of the room.

Tiffany could not keep from laughing. “You guys are both acting like babies!” Tiffany wiped a tear of enjoyment from her face.

It was then that Sunny and Taeyeon finally looked at each other and broke out in laughter. They gave each other an apologetic hug before sitting back down.

~~~~

As night approached, a shadow swept the streets. The shade made its way through alleys and around indistinct paths until it reached the abandoned remnants of an old hotel.

“Welcome back, number two.” Said a girl sitting on an oddly clean chair. The outside appearance of the hotel did not at all lead to the fresh atmosphere that was inside. In fact, the hotel seemed to be perfectly usable if you could ignore the outside. At her feet was a small bag filled to the brim with seemingly useless knickknacks.

The shadow looked at the girl. “What do you want, Hyoyeon?”

“Nothing in particular.” Hyoyeon hopped off of her chair and danced her way to the shadow. “Boss lady went out not too long ago, so she wanted me to inform you of number three’s status incase you got back before her.”

“Seohyun? What of her? Did she not take care of Taeyeon?”

Hyoyeon shook her head. “She tried to. Now she’s off in jail or something. You better watch your back, because it seems like Taeyeon has something up her sleeves.” Hyoyeon let out an evil chuckle. “By the way, I’d stay clear of Boos lady. She isn’t too happy about the situation, and the last person who got in her way will not be walking for a long time.”

“Brat.” The cloaked figure brushed passed Hyoyeon, making sure her shoulder left a mark on Hyoyeon’s.

“Tsk.” Hyoyeon walked out of the entryway to a large room. It seemed to have been a space intended for large banquets or gatherings, but without the tables and chairs cluttering the ground it made for a wonderful dance floor.

Hyoyeon had turned the room into her personal retreat. There was always a boom box or MP3 player around for her to plug into. The privacy allowed her to practice and experiment with her dancing without the eyes of judgment she used to face when she was younger. And the best part was that Hyoyeon could use the room whenever she wanted. Well, except for when “boss lady” called for her, but other than that Hyoyeon was free to dance her heart out.

When the doors clicked shut, Hyoyeon pulled out her MP3 player and fitted her ear buds into her head. “That’s better.” Hyoyeon went through a selection of songs before finding something suitable to her current tastes.

It took a good half hour of dancing before Hyoyeon decided to take a long break. Hyoyeon let the music keep playing as she sipped some water from her bottle. It was bliss. With every ounce of energy Hyoyeon put into her dancing, she felt as though she got twice as much back from every drop of water that passed her lips.

Hyoyeon got back on her feet. She picked up her MP3 player and kept skipping songs until finding something she liked. When a certain song came on, something happened in Hyoyeon’s mind. It was as if a switch was flipped in her brain and caused her internal circuits to go into overdrive.

At times I feel defeated…

The lyrics flowed into every joint of her body, carrying her limbs through every beat of the melody.

What am I supposed to do…

The song was calm. Calm enough that you could question how it was possible to dance to it as fast as Hyoyeon was.

Day by day, my lie is falling apart…

The music was loud enough to send shockwaves through Hyoyeon’s body and rupture the floor beneath her feet.

I’ll never look back…

 Lost in the music, Hyoyeon didn’t notice another person enter the room. The new arrival walked up to Hyoyeon and slickly yanked the ear buds from their place. The sudden lack of sound caused Hyoyeon to stumble and trip. “Ah, Boss lady, how are you?”

“Has she returned?”

“You mean number 2? Yeah. She’s somewhere here. Told her about Seohyun, and she didn’t seem to take it well.”

The cloaked figure that Hyoyeon referred to as ‘Boss lady’ didn’t seem to hear everything Hyoyeon said. Rather, the figure was looking at the ear buds she had taken from Hyoyeon. The song was still playing and she could faintly hear it. “What is this?”

“Mine.” Hyoyeon reached for the ear buds, but Boss lady hid them behind her back. “Give it back, will you? I bought those with my money.”

“I don’t mean the ear buds. I mean the song!”

Hyoyeon hesitated for a moment. Crud… “What about it? Are you monitoring my musical tastes now?”

“Don’t talk back to me. Answer my question.”

“It’s been on there since I’ve had that MP3 player for years. As in before you came into the picture. Now please give me back my stuff so I can get back to dancing.” Hyoyeon held her hands out.

“Don’t you dare play that trash when I’m around ever again.” Boss lady threw the ear buds towards Hyoyeon before turning to leave.

Hyoyeon picked up her ear buds and brushed the dust off of them. By the time Hyoyeon put the ear buds back in, the song had reached its final seconds. With a tilt of the MP3 player, Hyoyeon glanced at the screen. Scrolling across the middle was “ZoNE”, and underneath it was the title.

“She better realize that I’ll do as I please.”

~~~~

Practice.

That was the entirety of ZoNE’s day. None of them had really been in the dance studio recently, and that was not good. They were in their company’s secondary practice room. Except for the three girls and their trainer, the room was pretty empty.

“Sooyoung~ I’m tired!” Yoona whined. “I don’t want to dance anymore.”

Sooyoung sat next to the tired  Yoona and handed her a bottle of water. “Just one more hour, then we can go home. Okay?”

Yoona pouted. “Fine.”

Jessica was still on the dance floor working out a step she was having trouble doing. 1..2..3..4..5..6..7..8.. she counted in her head. Each step and turn and whip of the arm was choreographed to show off her talents as best as possible.

Yoona and Sooyoung joined Jessica and before long the remaining hour of dance practice ended. Yuri, who was also called in for training, met ZoNE at the front of the building.

“Good work, today!” Yuri said as her seniors walked up to her.

“You, too.” Yoona replied. “Thanks for waiting.”

The group of girls walked towards the bus stop, but suddenly Yuri stopped in her tracks. “Oh no! You guys go on ahead. I left my bag back in the dance room.”

“I’ll come with you.” Sooyoung said.

Yuri shook her head to that. “I’ll be fine. I can ask if someone can give me a ride home or something.” Before Sooyoung could protest, Yuri ran off.

Jessica pulled Sooyoung towards the bus stop. Their bus arrived and they went to sit in the back row of the bus like they always did. The ride was peaceful and the girls nearly doze off with the hum of the engine.

To keep herself awake, Jessica pulled out her phone and checked her messages. There weren’t many. Maybe she could find something on the web. Jessica spent the next ten or so minutes looking at articles and picture and whatever she could find.

Off to the side of a news site, there was a box that listed hot topics that were getting a high number of views. One caught Jessica’s eye. The headline read “In the Danger ZoNE”. Normally this article wouldn’t have been anymore interesting to Jessica as any other, but the way “ZoNE” was typed out made her do a double take.

Jessica could feel it. Something in her gut was telling her it was bad. Something made her feel like the world was out to get her. And even though Jessica hated to be wrong, she would have loved to be wrong just this once.

But just as she thought, the world really was out to get her.

~~~~

Taeyeon was still sitting with Tiffany and Sunny. The sun was close to setting, but none of the girls cared. They were just happy to have time with each other since it seemed to be so scarce. Taeyeon had brought out her laptop out so her friends had something to do while she was preparing dinner.

“Fany!” Taeyeon called. “Fany, Sunny! Could one of you help me for a second?”

There was a lack of a reply, and a lack of a person coming to Taeyeon’s aid. “Hey, you guys, I really need a hand with something. I swear it will be quick!”

Sunny poked her head into the kitchen door. “Yeah? What is it?”

“Could you stir this and keep an eye on it? I really need to use the bathroom.”

“No problem.” Sunny looked up at Taeyeon. Taeyeon swore that Sunny was up to something, but then again, it was Sunny. Innocent and adorable Sunny.

Taeyeon walked passed Tiffany, who was intently reading something on the laptop. Taeyeon didn’t take long in the bathroom. As she walked back to the kitchen, she saw that Tiffany had ditched the laptop. Tiffany could be heard talking with Sunny in the kitchen.

Something is definitely up. Taeyeon stayed in the hallway and eavesdropped on her friends.

“Is it really her?” Sunny asked Tiffany.

Her? Does she mean me? Or someone we know… Taeyeon asked herself.

“It looks exactly like her. How many people do you think do their hair like that? Bleach tips? Not a common thing people do to their hair.”

Taeyeon looked at her hair. Her short black hair with bleached tips? They have to be talking about me.

“But the pictures weren’t that good. It could have been the light.”

Tiffany sounded angry. “It was her!”

Taeyeon quietly walked to the laptop. She logged back on and looked through the pages that Tiffany and Sunny had been to. It took a while, but the Taeyeon found it.

“Tae!” Tiffany said from behind her.

Taeyeon quickly changed the web page. She had a look of look of horror on her face. She managed to desensitize herself and face her friends with a smile. “What’s up? I was just about to check me email.”

“Tae, we need to talk.” Tiffany said sternly. Tiffany sat down on one side of Taeyeon and motioned for Sunny to take a seat with them. Sunny sat of the other side of Taeyeon.

Taeyeon tried to not look guilty. She did her best to act natural – but “act” and “natural” were not things that could not mutually exist.

Tiffany clicked around on the computer and got back to the site.

Taeyeon could feel it. Something in her gut was telling her it was bad. Something made her feel like the world was out to get her. And even though Taeyeon hated to be wrong, she would have loved to be wrong just this once.

“Tae…” Sunny started, “The reason you’re so busy lately, is it because of this?” Sunny pointed towards the laptop that was sitting on Tiffany’s lap.

Across the top was written “In the Danger ZoNE”. It was an article about ZoNE, and there were some pictures posted along with it. One was a picture of ZoNE and a girl with a striking resemblance to Taeyeon at the police station.

“Be honest. This is you, isn’t it?” Tiffany asked. It was almost more of a statement.

Taeyeon tried to fake a closer look. “Uh, I don’t know. I don’t recall ever going to the police station.”

“See, Fany, I told you-“

“Stop lying!” Tiffany screamed. “That was you! Your leg is shaking. It always shakes when you lie.”

Taeyeon and Sunny both looked at her right leg. It was subtle, but Sunny could see it.

“Why were you there?”

Taeyeon had no answer. She couldn’t tell her friends. Or, could she?

But it didn’t matter. “I’m out of here.” Tiffany grabbed her things and stormed off to the door.

“Tiffany, wait!” Taeyeon called. She and Sunny ran to catch up with Tiffany. “Fany, please, let me explain!”

“What is there to explain? You’re hanging out with ZoNE or something? You think you’re too good for us now? I don’t want to hear it.” Tiffany reached the door, but Taeyeon grabbed her arm before she could make it outside. “Let go!”

“Not until you listen to me!”

“No. I had to find out you lied to us from the Internet. How do I know you’ll tell me the truth? We’re your friends. You’re supposed to be able to tell us anything!”

Taeyeon felt Tiffany’s cold words pierce her heart. Taeyeon knew she was lying to her friends, but she knew that she couldn’t tell them what was really going on. Who would believe her?

“That’s what I thought.” Tiffany ripped Taeyeon’s arm of off her own. “Sunny! Let’s go!”

“But, I don’t want to…” Sunny was standing behind Taeyeon.

“Sunny!”

Sunny cringed as Tiffany shouted at her. “Sorry Tae…I’ll call you later.” Sunny picked up her things before walking out the door. Taeyeon chased her friends to Tiffany’s car, but Tiffany wouldn’t wait for her. Before Taeyeon could do anything, Tiffany pulled away from Taeyeon’s house and left Taeyeon behind.

Taeyeon walked back inside with tears on her face. She went to the laptop and carefully read the article. ZoNE was mentioned, but the details of the actual events were left unannounced. Taeyeon had no idea how the information got out, after all ZoNE’s company was supposed to take care of it.

Taeyeon pulled out he phone and called Jessica.

“Jessica…the story…what do we do?”

---------

GAH T.t sorry about the delay and for the awkward quadruple spacing...got kinda busy and I didn't realize I didn't update. uh...so yeah. hopfully I'll get around to posting the next chapter this weekend, as well as finishing up my other ongoings ><