Hyoyeon groggily opened her eyes, let out a yawn and brought her hand up to rub the sleep from her eyes when she realised she couldn’t move her arm up. She felt her heart jump as she looked down at her body to see her arms and legs shackled to the wall. Then she realised she wasn’t in her bed in the dorm, but instead in a dank, dungeon resembling room. Wincing as she moved her head around, she spotted Sunny chained to one of the other walls in the room, eyes closed and an obvious bruise on the side of her forehead.

She let out a panicked whisper, “Sunny! Sunny! Wake up!”

Hyoyeon tried to stand up and move but the chains were far from the definition of light and she fell back to the ground in a tangled heap. As she made another futile attempt to stand up, the door swung open and Hyoyeon squinted at the piercing white light that streamed through. As her eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness, she saw a large figure standing beside the door. Looking up, her breath latched into and she tried not to choke.

The figure leered at her, “I am Yuri’s brother if you haven’t guessed already. You are Hyoyeon right?”

Hyoyeon tightened her lips and refused to answer.

He chuckled, “Don’t worry, I already know who you are. And who your little friend is. Now, what can you tell me about Seohyun? Or rather your relationship with her?”

Smirking as he saw Hyoyeon’s figure stiffen, he demanded, “Answer me now! Or you will be sorry when you see the one so precious to you being…”

Hyoyeon realized she had no choice, he already knew about their relationship so hiding it wasn’t going to do any good.

Staring challengingly into his eyes, Hyoyeon answered, trying not to let her voice waver, “She’s my girlfriend. And if you dare to harm one hair on her head, you will be more than sorry.”

Yuri’s brother raised an amused eyebrow, “Really now? But who is there to stop me from getting her? They don’t have bodyguards around them all the time while I have hundreds of men willing to do deeds for me at a second’s notice.”

Hyoyeon shook with uncontained fury, “Don’t you dare!”

He grinned and took a knife from his belt, passing the blade across his tongue, “By the time I’m done with you, let’s say if you will say the same thing.”

*

Groaning with pain, Donghae massaged his head only to feel a bandage wrapped around it. Sitting up quickly as if he had just woken from a nightmare, he looked at his surroundings. This room looked unfamiliar to him. Standing up, he slid on the slippers next to the bed he was on and looked at the mirror. His face was an absolute mess, peppered with an assortment of bruises and cuts which had obviously been tended to. Scratching his head, he wondered who was kind enough to take care of him like this. His stomach let out a low grumble for food, so reaching for the door handle, he twisted it only to find that it was locked. Donghae felt his stomach drop to the ground, as questions filled his head like the incessant humming of a swarm of wasps. He tried desperately to remember who had rescued him last night but all he could recall were strong arms lifting him up and carrying him away.

*

Tiffany’s frown deepened as the four members excitedly bundled her into the car, a blindfold over her eyes and a promise of a surprise still ringing in her ears.

“Where are we going?” Tiffany questioned for what was like the thousandth time this morning.

She could hear a few giggles here and there before Jessica replied, “We said it’s a surprise so no point telling until we get there.”

Tiffany sighed, “Do as you wish then”

The other members looked at each other with encouragement and silently mouthed ‘Fighting!’ before getting into the car, Jessica and Sooyoung in the back with Tiffany and Seohyun and Yoona in the front.

For the rest of the journey to Jeonju, Tiffany laid her head against the side of the car window and slept fitfully.

After seeing that Tiffany had fallen asleep, Jessica slowly began to feel her eyes dropping as well. It was not long before she too entered dreamland.

Sooyoung smiled gently as she saw Jessica’s eyelids flutter close and let Jessica’s head fall onto her shoulder. Looking down on her beautiful face, Sooyoung turned her head and laid a soft kiss on Jessica’s forehead.

Yoona looked up from driving the car and despite all the messed up feelings inside of her, gave a little smirk to Sooyoung and a cheeky few words, “I saw what you did there Sooyoung.”

Sooyoung slid down her seat a little, a pink tint on her cheeks and a pout on her lips at the words but inside she didn’t regret kissing Jessica and she was glad to see Yoona’s cheeky side showing again. Sliding an arm around Jessica to get her to lean closer to her, Sooyoung also settled down for a nap.

Now, all the people sitting at the back had fallen asleep leaving Yoona and Seohyun sitting attentively at the front.

“Yoona unnie” began Seohyun.

Yoona looked away from the road for a millisecond, “Yes, Seohyun?”

“What do you feel now?” questioned Seohyun.

Yoona had a hunch on what Seohyun was asking her about but she pretended to play dumb, “What do I feel now? Kind of nervous, but hopeful too. I’ll really wish it will work out between the two of them.”

Seohyun’s mouth twitched, “That’s not what I’m asking you.”

Yoona put a surprised and confused expression on her face, “It isn’t?”

Seohyun nodded, “I meant how do you feel towards…”

Yoona let out a loud shriek, slamming on the brakes at the same time. Despite the jolt,  luckily nobody in the back woke up.

Seohyun’s eyes rounded in alarm, “What happened unnie? What’s wrong?”

Yoona shook her head, letting a few tears glisten in her eyes, “Oh! It’s not really anything now. It was just… there was a rabbit in the road in front of us and I almost… I almost killed it.” Her lips trembled and she tried to look very mournful and troubled while mentally praising her acting skills. She just didn’t want to talk about Yuri now, it hurt too much to think about.

The maknae was fooled by Yoona’s trick and instantly leaned over to give her a hug, “I’m so sorry unnie. It was my fault wasn’t it? The poor rabbit, at least it managed to get away. I’m sorry unnie. I won’t talk to you anymore because I might distract your driving. I’ll just listen to some music now, alright?”

Yoona nodded, breathing a silent sigh of relief. She patted Seohyun’s shoulder consolingly, “You don’t need to be sorry Seohyun, it wasn’t your fault. I should probably have kept more focus on the road. I’ll let you know when we get there, you can sleep as well if you want.”

Seohyun gave a nod in response and put the earphones in her ears before closing her eyes.

For the rest of the car trip, the car was filled with the sound of breathing and occasionally a few snuffles and snores.

After securing a parking space and doing a quick stretch, Yoona gently shook the girl beside her awake.

“Seohyun,” she whispered, “Seohyun, we’ve arrived.”

With a few blinks, the younger girl woke up and immediately went to work waking Sooyoung and Jessica up. Yoona went to wake Tiffany who let out a yawn and asked in a sleepy voice, “Can you tell me where we are going now?”

Sooyoung shook her head before realising that Tiffany couldn’t see with the blindfold, “Not yet. You’ll see soon.”

And so, the five of them began walking to the address they had been given, Yoona and Sooyoung bringing up the front and Jessica and Seohyun guiding Tiffany at the back.

Yoona craned her neck to see a homely looking house a few hundred metres away. She nudged Sooyoung, “Is that the place?”

Sooyoung nodded in affirmation then turned around to the three following, “You three stay back here while Yoona and I go forward. We won’t be long.”

Jessica and Seohyun gave small smiles in reply while Tiffany stuck her lip out but gave no response. Jessica patted her best friend comfortingly, “Don’t worry Tiffany. The surprise will soon be revealed to you.”

*

It was a peaceful morning and Taeyeon felt relaxed as she sat with knees up to her chin on the grassy side of the bank. She could hear the quiet bubbling of the stream beside her and she slipped a hand in, feeling the wonderful coolness envelop her hand. Hearing the sweet singing of the birds and the wistful whispering of the leaves, she joined her voice with theirs.

*

Tiffany let out a scowl as she was pushed along by the overly-excited and anxious members.

“We’ve arrived at our destination, haven’t we? Why can’t you tell me where we are?” she complained.

Jessica hummed and made a signal for everyone to stop.

“Tiffany, we’re just going to ready the surprise for you. Stand here and wait for a minute before taking the blindfold off okay?” said Jessica

Tiffany let out another sigh but nodded her head in compliance.

Then, led by Jessica, the three other members hurried off as silently as they could, throwing the occasional glance at Tiffany as they made their escape.

10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1…60 seconds is up

Tiffany nervously untied the material obscuring her vision and rapidly blinked as her eyes adjusted to the brightness of the world beyond the blindfold. Looking around curiously, all she could see were trees, there was no sign of her members.

She put her hands upon her hips and glared at the surroundings, “I know you’re all hiding behind the trees or bushes. You can come out now!”

There was no reply save for the rustling of leaves in the canopy.

Tiffany huffed and shouted again, “Stop trying to fool me. Is this another one of your stupid pranks? You can all come out!”

Nothing again.

Tiffany scratched her head irritably, “Is this a hidden camera or something? Why won’t those pranksters all reveal themselves. I’ve had enough. Do they think it’s funny? It’s no laughing matter.”

After being replied to by nothing but silence, Tiffany decided to do some searching around. Walking up to the nearest bush, she gave it a loud thwack but was rewarded with a stinging hand. It seemed as though the other members had really deserted her.

But why?

All of a sudden, her ears picked up on a sweet tune in the distance, carried on the currents of the wind. As she followed it, entranced, she realised that it was a person singing, more precisely, a female singing. For some peculiar reason, the voice had a timbre to it that was achingly familiar, but she couldn’t exactly put a finger on where she could have heard it before.

Tiffany heard the sound of water intermingling with that of the voice which became more distinct as she let it lead her onwards. Eventually she saw a figure sitting beside a stream, letting her hands pass through the water as she sang. As she recognized who it was, she felt her breath catch in . She decided to hide behind a tree and let her TaeTae’s melodious voice wash over her in softly crashing waves.

*

When Taeyeon was nearing the end of the song she was singing, she had a feeling she was being watched and her suspicions were confirmed right when she saw a shadow behind a nearby tree. Feeling a little nervousness clench up in her chest, she gripped a large pebble in her hand and advanced.

Tiffany leaned her back against the tree and closed her eyes, so immersed in her surroundings that it took her longer than several seconds to realize the singing had abruptly come to a stop. Opening her eyes, she came face to face with her TaeTae holding a pebble in one raised hand and staring at her curiously.

Taeyeon never expected the intruding stranger to be so beautiful with her rich waves of auburn hair and porcelain skin. She was like a doll. But then, why would this doll be spying of her?

Sweating profusely at the sight of her love looking like she was about to attack her, Tiffany was at a loss of words. Taeyeon’s hair was back to its original black and she still had that innocent aura about her but unlike the other members, Taeyeon now looked well-rested. She guessed it was good for Taeyeon to be able to have a break like this. Tiffany felt she had to do something to break the staring contest so reaching up to Taeyeon’s arm, she tried to bring it down but before they could make contact, Taeyeon flinched and drew her arm away, dropping the pebble in the process.

Tiffany felt extremely hurt by her TaeTae’s reactions but she kept it hidden. Instead, she showed her eyesmile and extended her hand to Taeyeon, “My name’s Hwang Miyoung, but you can just call me Tiffany.”

Taeyeon gnawed at her lip and looked at the girl in front of her up and down. She didn’t seem like a bad person although Taeyeon was still unclear of her intentions seeing as she had been spying on her and tried to touch her when they were complete strangers. After a moment of organising her thoughts and overcoming her hesitations, which was partially aided by the beautiful smile on the other girl’s face, she placed her hand in Tiffany’s and they shook hands.

Tiffany really had to control herself to not throw herself into the arms of Taeyeon who quite obviously had no recollection of her. Yet, she decided to bring up the past a little later when her TaeTae had become more comfortable with her.

Twisting her hands behind her back in awkwardness, she offered another eyesmile to Taeyeon who seemed equally awkward and nervous.

“So…um… what’s your name?” she questioned.

Taeyeon silently debated on whether to give her name to this complete stranger but seeing as Tiffany had already introduced herself, she concluded it was only courteous to do the same.

“My name’s Taeyeon, Kim Taeyeon.” she answered with head slightly lowered.

Tiffany smiled more brightly, “That’s a very pretty name Taeyeon.”

Taeyeon averted her eyes in embarrassment and Tiffany let out a small chuckle. It was not often she got to see the embarrassed TaeTae.

Tiffany leaned closer to Taeyeon, “TaeTae, you like to sing right?”

Taeyeon’s eyes widened. Did the girl standing in front of her just give her a nickname after less than 10 minutes of talking with each other?

Tiffany panicked a little when she saw Taeyeon’s shocked expression and mentally chided herself for letting her tongue slip.

She asked tentatively, “Do you mind if I call you TaeTae?”

Taeyeon shook her head.

Seeing that Taeyeon must have forgotten the question she had said earlier, she asked again and received a timid nod in reply.

Tiffany gave an enthusiastic grin, “I really like singing too. Should we sing together?”

Taeyeon raised her head and gave a little smile at her words so taking it as a yes, Tiffany grabbed onto Taeyeon’s hand and pulled her towards the bank, gesturing for her to sit.

Taeyeon was surprised at the cheerfulness and touchiness of the girl but she couldn’t deny that she quite liked it.

So for the rest of the afternoon, the two of them sat on the bank beside the stream, singing to their heart’s content and also becoming a lot closer.

Taeyeon caught a butterfly in her cupped hands and held it out to Tiffany, who despite her fear of insects, accepted it and couldn’t help but feel fascinated by the creature as its delicately hued wings fluttered against her palms.

“We should let it go free.” murmured tiffany and with an agreement from Taeyeon, she opened her palms, letting the butterfly fly into the blue sky.

As they watched the butterfly soar into the depths of the sky together, Taeyeon placed her hand over Tiffany’s.

“Miyoung…” she whispered.

Tiffany turned her gaze to her TaeTae, “Yes?”

Taeyeon gave a wistful smile, “It’s strange, but somehow I feel like I’ve known you for a long time. I don’t think I’ve ever been so comfortable with a person in such a short period of time.”

Tiffany raised her eyebrows and her heart skipped a beat. Could it be that Taeyeon vaguely remembered her? She decided to take a chance, after all, who knew whether she would get another opportunity to say this.

“Well, to tell the truth, we have known each other for a long time, before you lost your memory after an accident. We were actually very close friends and… this might scare you… but we were a couple and… we both loved each other.”

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*++*+*+*+*+*+

Hello all my lovely readers, 

This chapter had quite a progression for the TaeNy couple although there is still some way to go. How do you think Taeyeon will react to Tiffany's words? Do you think Hyoyeon and Sunny will be alright? And who could have saved Donghae and treated his wounds from the previous night? If you want to share your answers to these questions, have any suggestions or anything else on the chapter or story in general, I would be more than glad to hear them:)

Also, a big thank you for your continuing support, from those who have upvoted, to those who have left comments, to those who have subscribed and even those who silently read this story. I appreciate it all so much♥