[Taeyeon's POV]

It was a beautiful sunny morning with a nice warm breeze. I was walking my way into the school when my phone vibrates in my hand.

"Hello?"

"Taeyeon! I... I have to tell you something.... It.. It's your dad." My manager said in a hesitating manner.

"My... My dad? What about him? Is he okay?!" I couldn't wrap my head around what he just said. Is he hurt or something?

The phone went silent for a bit before my manager could speak again.

"...He was... involved in a car accident, Tae." He stated in a defeated tone.

"He's in the hospital right now and he's in critical condition. You're dad's a fighter though, I know he'll be fine!"

At this point, my head was spinning and my hands were shaking. I lost hold of my phone and it dropped to the ground, dissembling into several pieces. Tears started falling uncontrollably and all I could do was stand in the middle of the hallway of my school, incapable of moving. Luckily for me, there was no one around because I got to school early for my vocal lesson. I stood there for a few minutes in a hazy state before I was able to gather myself together, running towards the farthest stairwell in the school. Pushing the door open with all my force, I stumbled towards the bottom of the staircase and leaned against the wall, trying to catch my breath as thoughts came running back.

This isn't real! Dad is fine! He's on a business trip in the States and is at a meeting right now! He's totally fine!

As reality started to sink into me, I could feel the overwhelming tears forming up inside. My dad means everything to me, he's all I've got. All I could do was think about how life without him would be. How I'd live a life without the one person that truly loves and cares for me. I lowered myself to the ground and sat there in a fetal position. I tried so hard not to cry and to think about the positive, but I couldn't do it and tears came flooding back. The worst part is that he's in America right now and I'm here in Korea. All I want to do is run to the hospital where he currently is and be by his side, but I can't! That's what's bothering me the most right now. Why did this have to happen to the one person that loves life and embraces it with open arms? It's always the good people that get hurt unexpectedly and the bad get away with living a life they don't even deserve. My dad is always a cheerful, happy go lucky type of guy. I'd like to think he's the coolest dad out there, without a care in the world of what others think.

As I sat there remembering vivid and happy memories of my dad, I heard the stairwell door open around the corner. I buried my face into my knees with my arms over my head, hoping that my sobs couldn't be heard from a distance. Unfortunately, it didn't work out that way as I heard footsteps coming closer to me.

Please go away... Please just go away!

"A-are you okay..?" A girl asks moments later, standing a few feet away.

I lifted my head to the left, preventing the girl from seeing my face full of tears before wiping away the evidence of sorrow. With a few sniffs following, I reluctantly turned my head to face her. I laid my eyes on a pale skinned girl with beautiful eyes and a worried look on her face. She was wearing a plaid shirt, her long brown hair fell effortlessly onto her shoulders with grace and her small face spoke wonders in the light shining through the windows beside us.

Tiffany...

Tiffany... I've known her for years now, ever since she moved here from America. She's like one of those people that you know of and see every single day, but you know nothing about them at all. All I know is that she's American, smart and is inevitably one of the most beautiful girls in the school.

"Are you... okay?" She asked hesitantly again, taking a few steps closer to me.

Being temporarily distracted by her presence, I hadn't noticed my tears still streaming down my face, no sign of mercy in sight. I never was one to cry my heart out, especially in a public place like school. I always showed people the strong side of me, even if I was extremely tired or just over the constant attention I receive on a day to day basis. Sometimes I just wish to live a normal teenage life with no worries, no constant attention of every move I make, every word I say and every piece of clothing I wear.

She slowly sat down next to me, looking at me with worried eyes like she was trying to read my thoughts. Just then, Tiffany turns to face the doors which were blocked by the wall in front of me. I could see her mouthing some words to someone that I guess she was with before she found me sobbing in the corner. A few seconds later, the unknown friend of hers left with a click of the metal doors and we were now left alone in the stairwell.

Daddy...

All the terrifying thoughts came rushing back to me right then and there. It's still so surreal to me, I don't believe anything I heard from my manager 10 minutes ago about my dad being in an accident. I can't believe it! I won't believe it! Something took over me as I drifted into an unknown place, my heart aching with a pain that I've never felt before. It was like part of my heart was taken from me in the matter of seconds and nothing could be done to get it back. Usually, I'd feel uncomfortable around others that I don't know or talk to often, but something about being around Tiffany was different. It wasn't like she really did anything for me to feel at ease in her presence, it just happened. I'm not sure when exactly it happened, but I was now resting my head on her shoulder, sobbing away while my tears fell down my face and onto my jeans. I could sense that she was a bit taken back by my actions as she sounded a little confused with the situation.

"Wh...... I........ I..I have to get to class now..." She stuttered moments later before getting to her feet. "I'm gunna leave now, sorry."

I looked up at her with weary eyes, hoping she wouldn't walk away. I grabbed her hand before she could take a step forward.

"Please... Please don't go..." I plead. I didn't want to be alone in this moment, I just wanted someone to lean on. My dad was the only one I could really lean on in a horrible situation. But now that he's the one in trouble, I have no one here to stay by my side and help me through this tough time.

"I don't want to be alone right now... I.. I need you." I blurted out the last part before I could stop myself. I felt a strong sense of need in that moment. Like Tiffany was the only one that would listen to me, or just watch over me even if I wasn't speaking a word. She sighed lightly before taking a seat next to me again. She sat a little closer this time, reaching her left arm around my shoulders, allowing me to rest my head on her again with more ease.

"It's okay.. I'm not going anywhere. Just cry your heart out, it'll make you feel better." She said in a soothing manner.

It felt like time had slowed down significantly just then. That or time had just come to a stand still while she held me tightly, like she'll never leave my side. I felt like I could tell her everything about myself, about my life, about my dad. No one has ever made me feel this way before, yet I felt like I could trust her to keep every word I say safe from the rest of the world, locked up for her ears and her ears only. I'm not sure what I'm feeling right now to be honest. It's confusing me imensely with all these different emotions eating me up all at once. Just as I was starting to finally gather myself together, the bell rang through the school speakers, letting us know that class was about to start. I had no intentions on moving any time soon, but I felt bad for holding Tiffany back, especially because we didn't exactly know each other too well. As much as I wanted her to stay with me, I finally lifted my head to look at her. She looked rather occupied, like she was in deep thought. Her eyebrows crinkled upwards in the middle and she was so concentrated in her thoughts that she didn't even notice me staring, nor did I for that matter. I shook out of it before bringing up enough courage to finally speak again.

"H-hey... Umm... Thanks for keeping me company even though you didn't have to. I'm sorry for bothering you. You should get to class, I don't wanna keep you here and cause you to be late." I said while looking at her intently, feeling rather guilty for holding her up thus far.

She looked at me straight in the eyes, like she was staring into my very soul. Her brown orbs looking so bold, so intense with life and all the reassurance in the world that she wasn't going to leave me. I didn't need her to say it out loud, I just knew it like she had telepathically told me somehow. She gave me a small smile, her eyes arching into half moons cresents and creating the most wonderful eye-smile I have ever seen on anyone. She suddenly took my hand in hers before getting to her feet again excitedly.

"Come on, I have something I wanna show you." She said with enthusiasm rushing through her. I looked up at her confused, not fully understanding what she was trying to insist.

"D-don't you have to go to class? I don't wanna hassle you any longer..." I asked with a look of confusion on my face.

"Nah, class can wait. I think you'll really like it! Come on, get up before someone catches us here and drags us to class!" She said while tugging at my arm, helping me get up.

We opened the doors leading outside to the back of the school. We walked around the outside premises of the school so we wouldn't get caught skipping class while wondering the halls. She turned to glance at me for a second when we finally got to the sidewalk, the school slowly disappearing out of view. Another eye-smile emitted from her before she turned back to face forward as we continued walking down the street. A few minutes later, a park was now in sight ahead of us and it was such a nice view to take in.

"We're almost there! Isn't it so pretty here??" She asked excitedly of me and I nodded in response.

"Just wait til we get over the hills there! You're gunna love it!" She held my hand tightly while we fast walked up the slope of the hill ahead of us.

As I saw the tip of the hill starting to come in sight, my breath was taken away by the view looking down. We were currently looking over the whole city, so beautifully laid out in front of our eyes. I've never seen anything quite like this before, except maybe way above the skies while flying to one of my many destinations to perform. Seeing it so close was so different though, it really did take my breath away in an instant. Tiffany looked at me calmly and just stood there not saying a word, allowing me to take it all in. I felt so free in that moment. So intensely calm and relaxed, even with everything unfolding from almost an hour ago.

"Now, after you've taken in the amazing view... Scream your heart out with whatever is bothering you. Just let it all out and don't stop until you run out of breath or feel like you've let all the weight off your shoulders! Here, I'll show you!" She told me before screaming with all her might.

"UMMA! IT'S ME, MIYOUNG!! HOW ARE YOU DOING UP THERE? I HOPE YOU'RE LIVING HAPPILY AND I KNOW YOU'RE WATCHING OVER ME! I MISS YOU SO MUCH BUT I KNOW YOU'RE IN A BETTER PLACE NOW! I LOVE YOU!" She let it all out in what seemed like one breath.

I was a bit taken back by this, considering I knew absolutely nothing about her. I looked at her for several seconds, probably a bewildered look on my face. She smiled slightly before looking over the scenery in front of us, like she was waiting for me to build up the courage to follow suit. I stood there for a few minutes, thinking of what to say. There was so much going through my head, I couldn't think straight at all. I was starting to get anxious and extremely nervous at the same time. I've never let anyone into my personal life other than my very close friends of over 10 years, let alone let Tiffany know something so deep and painful.

As my thoughts were scattered and going crazy through my head, I felt a soft hand grab mine in an extremely gentle and reassuring manner. And like it was destined to be, all my fears, confusion, loneliness and sadness seemed to fade away and I felt myself giving in. She turned to look at me, waiting for a few seconds to slide by before saying the next words that would change me... forever.

"Taeyeon...  I promise you that everything is going to be fine. Just... Trust me."

Annyeong!! I know, I know... I've been EXTREMELY MIA! ><" SORRYYYYY!! But I'm here now, aren't I?? xD Well here it is! (finally) lol I got sudden inspiration to get back to writing this ^^ too many taeny feels keke~ anyway, I'll be updating more often now! I promise!! hope you enjoyed this chapter! :)