It was one of those rare days wherein all of them are free to do anything they want—anything that won’t get them mobbed by their fans that is. Going outside without any of their managers was a big no-no so it was a unanimous decision to stay some place where they could enjoy the company of each other and not get bothered by anyone else.

They love their fans but would it really hurt them to give them space instead of having their cameras all up on the girls’ faces all the time? They had to wear shades to avoid getting photographed with their zombie-eyes or simply to just avoid getting temporarily blinded by the camera flash and end up bumping into a pole or anything that’s in the way. It was burdensome especially when the nose pads of their shades leave a mark. They’d get weird looks from the other passengers not because they’re SNSD but because they’d be sitting there holding the bridges of their nose to get rid of the marks left by the specs.

So here they were waiting for that familiar ding which would indicate that they’re already on the 23^rd floor.

“I wonder what Jessica would do if the power in this building went out and there’s absolutely no way for her to get to her place but to take the stairs,” said Sooyoung who was sporting a hoodie. She insisted on wearing one so she could bring snacks and at the same time hide it from her members. She wouldn’t have problems with sharing her food but it was the last bag of dried mangoes.

Seohyun giggled when she saw Sooyoung bringing out a piece and quickly putting it inside .

“That already happened actually but you were doing a shoot,” Hyoyeon said as she pushed the button repeatedly, half-hoping they’d get there faster by doing it. “There was this nationwide black out and unfortunately for her, this building had problems with their generator so she called Fany and asked her if our elevator was working. Fany said yes and ten minutes later she’s on your bed sleeping comfortably.”

“How come I didn’t see her when I got back?”

“Sica-unnie left early because she had a schedule that day,” Yoona answered.

“Ah, I see. Well, this feels nice. We all get to hang out together. It’s been a while since we’ve done this.”

Taeyeon grinned. “It’s been a while since we’ve been to Sica’s place.”

Tiffany chuckled. “Right. We got temporarily banned from her house when she told her dad we were bullying her.”

“What were we thinking when we placed that strip of cucumber on top of her beloved phone?” Sunny remembered Jessica’s face that day as if it only happened yesterday. She was so angry that there was a visible steam rising from her head. Well, technically, it was from the kettle behind Jessica that time but who cares about technicalities?

Every member knows the rule; whatever you do, never mess with Jessica’s phone.

“We were trying to get back at Sica-unnie for all the times she’s bullied us,” Yoona answered.

It wasn’t long before the lift stopped at the 23rd floor and Hyoyeon was the first one to get out. “I really hate elevators.”

Taeyeon burst out laughing when she remembered the time Hyoyeon got stuck in an elevator by herself. It was their first trip outside of South Korea as a group and everyone was excited to look around. Later that evening, she received a call from the girl whose breath was hitching from crying too much. Hyoyeon told her the situation she’s in and Taeyeon tried her best to calm her down. It was fortunate that despite being in an elevator, the girl’s phone still had coverage. That day Taeyeon swore that she’d be eternally grateful to their service provider. She’s convinced herself that paying that much money was worth it.

“Yah, stop laughing,” Hyoyeon said with a huff.

“I’m sorry. You were just so cute when you finally got out. It’s not every day we get to see Kim Hyoyeon so vulnerable.”

Sooyoung stood beside Taeyeon. “I guess this is the right time to come clean. I took a photo of your face that day. I couldn’t help it. It was just too precious not to capture.”

“YAH!”

If it weren’t for Jessica and her great timing in opening the door, Hyoyeon would’ve been able to pull out a couple of strands of Sooyoung’s locks.

“Hi, Sica. How’d you know we’re here already?” Taeyeon asked.

“I was standing behind the door waiting for you guys to arrive. I’ve been doing that for like an hour now and I heard your voices so here I am.”

Everyone just stared at her and wasn’t quite sure what to say. 

She released a sigh. “I was kidding. The doorman told me. I’m not going to stand behind the door and wait for you guys to arrive. Geez, use your common sense please.”

“Common sense is useless when it comes to you. How were we supposed to know you’re kidding when the expression on your face tells us that you could’ve done a better job in portraying a stoic Bella than Kristen Stewart herself?” Tiffany let herself in when she received a glare from Jessica.

The others soon followed and as always, the last three people to come in would be sitting on a bean bag while the others would be on the couch.

Yoona plopped herself on the red bean bag and said, “No matter how comfortable this thing is, I still wish we could find a couch that could fit all nine of us.”

“Maybe we should’ve asked our fans for that instead of the huge framed picture from our Genie album jacket,” Sunny said as she took her seat on the other bean bag. She giggled and added, “I know I said that as a joke but I think if we really asked for it, our fans would fly to the moon and back just so they could get us that couch.”

Taeyeon chuckled as she remembered their first New York fanmeeting. “The life of a fan really is harder than the idol’s.”

“True.” Sooyoung sighed. “That’s why my life is this hard. I’m both an idol and a fan. I don’t even know how to begin to describe what I’d do if I officially become a member of Brad Pitt’s fan club.”

Jessica rolled her eyes at Sooyoung’s silliness and her undying love for the actor. “Anyone up for snacks? I have chips, ice cream and we can also make patbingsoo—“

“I do! I want everything in your fridge!” Sooyoung bellowed.

“And just like that Brad Pitt’s fangirl have forgotten everything about him.”

Sooyoung stuck her tongue out at Sunny and linked arms with Jessica, dragging the older girl to the kitchen.


---


Taeyeon, Sunny and Hyoyeon decided to go to the kitchen to see what the other two girls were up to. They were in there for almost half an hour already so the other girls were expecting to see shaved ice in a bowl and red beans on top but all they saw was a tub of ice cream that’s almost empty.

Sooyoung the ice cream off the spoon and grinned. “We got side-tracked.”

“No kidding.”

Taeyeon took the spoon from Sooyoung and scooped the remaining ice cream in the tub.

“Taengoo-ah, there’s more in the fridge.”

The older girl walked towards the fridge and picked a flavour that the other members won’t mind eating. She brought it out to the living room to share it with the others.

“Taeng, are we supposed to eat the ice cream using our hands?” Tiffany asked.

“Yes, your majesty. They ran out of utensils.”

Before Tiffany could retort, another girl entered the room and greeted them. “Hi, Taeyeon-unnie, Tiffany-unnie, Yoona-unnie and Seohyun-unnie.”

“Hi, Krystal, just got back from a schedule?” Yoona asked when she noticed that the younger girl still has her make-up on.

“Yes.”

Tiffany told her to join them but the girl politely declined. She didn’t press on knowing very well how tiring f(x)’s schedule is nowadays.

The younger girl, despite being worn-out, was still quick to notice things. “I’ll go get you your spoons, unnie.”

Tiffany smiled at her and mouthed a ‘Thank you.’

Krystal came back with three spoons and excused herself.

“Sometimes I imagine what it’d be like to have Krys in our group instead of Jessi.”

“We’d be having quadruplets in our group. I mean, our fans already call Yuri-unnie, Yoona-unnie and I, triplets so…”

Yoona nodded and thought about what Tiffany said. “I think we won’t be late all the time if we had Krystal instead of Sica-unnie.”

“I agree so damn much.” Taeyeon regretted what she said the second she felt someone standing behind her. She looked back and forced out a grin. “I was just kidding, Sica.”

“I personally think it’d be boring and lifeless not having me around.” She sat between Yoona and Tiffany.

Tiffany creased her eyebrows. “But if we take out the boring and lifeless, wouldn’t we have more fun?”

“Are you saying I’m boring and lifeless?”

“You’re lethargic most of the time.” That comment earned her a slap in the shoulder.

“What are you all yapping about?” Hyoyeon was trying not to spill anything as she slowly made her way towards the coffee table.

The oldest girl moved the tub of ice cream out of the way and answered, “We were imagining what it’d be like if instead of having Jessica we had Krystal as a member of our group.”

Hyoyeon frowned. “That won’t be fun. I won’t have anyone to play with.” Jessica smiled widely and gave the girl two thumbs up.

“You could do that with Krystal,” Sunny responded.

“I can’t. She’s way taller and I don’t have the heart to hurt that adorable kid. I’m more comfortable doing that with Sica.” Jessica’s smile didn’t falter. Oddly enough, she liked her relationship dynamics with Hyoyeon.

“It’s hard to imagine not having anyone in the group that sleeps like Sica. I guess I’ve just been used to dealing with this sleepyhead.” Sunny ruffled the girl’s hair before sitting on a bean bag.

Everyone was eating their patbingsoo and no one bothered talking. That was until Sooyoung who finished eating first, no surprise there, asked them a question. “Which group would you want to be in if you weren’t a member of SNSD?”

Sunny swallowed the food in before responding. “Hmm, that’s weird. I thought we had a free day today. Why are we suddenly in a talk show with MC Sooyoung?”

Everyone except Sooyoung laughed. “I’ll take the liberty of answering first. I would want to be in SES. I’d put the ‘S’ in SES,” she grinned proudly.

“Stupid. They already have the ‘S’ in SES. They’re named that way for a reason,” Hyoyeon replied.

“I could’ve been the last ‘S’ though instead of Yoo Sooyoung-sunbaenim.”

Seohyun who was giggling at her unnie’s answer put the bowl on top of the table and said, “If Sooyoung-unnie wants to be in SES, I’d want to be in Fin.K.L.”

Hyoyeon laughed mirthlessly. “See what you did, Soo? You’ve influenced maknae. Now she wants to replace Ok Juhyun-sunbaenim in Fin.K.L.”

The youngest among the girls shook her head. “I was thinking how it would’ve been fun to be in the same group as Juhyun-unnie.”

Hyoyeon, who was also finished with her patbingsoo, nodded. “Now I’m curious as to how things would’ve worked out if two Juhyun were in the same group.”

“They could just call maknae, Seohyun, you know.”

“But wouldn’t it be more interesting if they refer to them as Juhyun1 and Juhyun2? That would’ve been a first.”

“I swear to god, you say the most random things, Hyo.”

The said girl shrugged her shoulders and spoke, “If I weren’t a member of SNSD, I’d want to be a member of DBSK.”

Sooyoung arched an eyebrow. “You’re going to have to undergo a transplant because if you haven’t noticed yet, DBSK is a boy group.”

“We’d be revolutionizing the KPOP scene then.”

Yoona wiped the milk on her chin. “But there’s already a group that has both male and female in it.”

“Yeah but they were formed that way. If I joined TVXQ after the other three oppas left, it would’ve been different.”

The other eight girls just nodded, not wanting to argue anymore because arguing with Hyoyeon is akin to arguing with a five-year old. No matter how much logic you put into it, you’d never win.

“I’d want to be a member of After School,” Sunny said after a stifling moment of silence, thanks to their dancing queen.

“Sunny, you’d look like a peanut if you were in After School. Are you not aware of their average height?”

“I am and that would be a good thing because my tiny self would be the cutest thing their group would have plus I like their style.”

Taeyeon cleared . “If we’re going to talk about style then I would want to be a member of Brown Eyed Girls.”

Everyone sniggered, even the maknae.

“Every time you try to look y you look like a teenager dressing up as an adult just so she could get inside a bar with her fake ID but eventually goes home because the bouncer could figure out from a mile that she’s not old enough to go inside.” More laughter ensued at Sooyoung’s comment.

Taeyeon sulked and released her anger on the empty bowl.

“I think I’d like to try being a solo artist.” Yuri replied as she placed her bowl on the table and proceeded to open a bag of chips which she then shared with the person next to her.

“Like BoA-unnie?” Tiffany asked, munching on Cheetos.

“Mm-hmm.”

“Well, I’d like to be on a duo with BoA-unnie. We’d be like a girl version of Fly to The Sky.”

“You could be Drive on the Road or something.” Jessica looked up from her bowl and saw the girls giving her weird looks. “You know, ‘drive’ instead of ‘fly’ and then…’road’ instead of s—geez, never mind.”

Yoona spoke to get rid of the awkward atmosphere that her unnie created. “I would still want to be in a group with a lot of members. I kind of like Rainbow.”

“The group with Taeyeon’s doppelganger in it?”

Yoona nodded in response.

Hyoyeon reached out for the bag of chips that Yuri was holding. “Why would you still want to be in a group with tons of members?”
 

“I don’t like the attention being focused on me too much and I don’t know, I guess I just enjoy being in a large group that I’m familiar with. It’s more fun.”

“You mean chaotic, right?”

“Chaotic can be fun. What about you, Sica-unnie?”

She pursed her lips and it took her approximately forty-five seconds to answer. “I would—“

Sooyoung feigned a shocked expression and put her right hand over her chest. “For a second there, we thought you were finally able to master the art of sleeping with your eyes open.” She chuckled when she was answered back with a glare. “What were you saying?”

“I wouldn’t want to be in any other group other than SNSD. No matter how much you all make fun of me, I’d still choose being in a group with you guys.”

Sooyoung, who seemed like she’ll never run out of things to say earlier, was at a loss for words.

Yuri pointed the Cheetos she was holding at Jessica. “Imagine if there’s no SNSD though, just other girl groups, which one would you want to be in? Don’t you ever imagine yourself being a solo performer?”

“I don’t and I can’t. Imagining there’s no SNSD and that the eight of you are not with me every time I go on stage is something that I can’t even fathom.”

The leader of the group stared at her with a huge smile on her face. “You say it with such…nonchalance. I’m not even sure if you’re aware of how you’re saying it. If other people heard what you said and saw the expression on your face, they’d think you’re being sarcastic.”

“Well, I’m not.”

“I know.”

Jessica’s expression still seemed indifferent but the words that came out of managed to touch her members’ heart. “I don’t hate saying it but I’m not really fond of speaking about it either…I’ve been with all of you for so long that somehow all the memories we’ve made together, all the stupid things we’ve said, petty fights, laughter, hardships, pretty much everything is like tattooed on me, you know? It’s something I won’t be able to erase. So the what if’s…they’re a foreign thing for me.”

“You can erase tattoo with lasers.”

“True but I heard it would hurt a lot and you know how much I don’t like being hurt. So I’d rather just keep those memories. I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

If you were to ask Sooyoung or any of the other girls if they were expecting their discussion to turn serious and sentimental, they would’ve said no.

If you were to ask them if they were expecting such answer from Jung Jessica, all of them would’ve answered ‘no’ in unison.

But once again, Jessica has surprised them and has proved to them that with Jung Jessica, you should expect the unexpected. They were reminded of the time when they were having their five-minute talk and Jessica suddenly told them that she decided to move out of their dorm and get a place of her own.

“That’s really cheesy, Jessi,” Tiffany said with big smile on her face, trying to hide the fact that any minute now the tears pooling in the corners of her eyes were going to fall. She was touched by what Jessica said not only because it was Jessica who said it but also because she felt the same way. She would’ve been ecstatic if she really was given a chance to be on a duo with her inspiration, BoA, but the happiness she feels every time she’s with these girls wouldn’t have matched that.

Yoona who was sitting beside Jessica hugged the latter tightly. “I like mushy Sica-unnie.”

The younger girl was the only one who said it out loud but the others silently agreed.

The rest of their day-off were spent watching whatever it is on TV, throwing chips at each other, ransacking Jessica’s fridge and of course, Jessica falling asleep while the others wreak havoc in her apartment. The girls eventually got tired and decided to stay for the night but not before pulling a ‘small’ prank.


---


The next day, Taeyeon received a text message from their manager about her schedule and which member would be with her. She woke up Seohyun, Tiffany and Yoona and told them to get ready because their manager was already waiting in the lobby. Before leaving, Taeyeon and Yoona peeked at Jessica’s room and saw her still lying on her side. They grinned mischievously when they saw her shirt riding up exposing the thing on her back.

The other remaining girls, save for Jessica, were picked up by another manager two hours later.

Jessica had no schedule that day but she decided to go out and check up on her members. She woke up and went straight to the bathroom to wash her face. She stopped midway when she felt something just below the small of her back. There was this weird bandage there.

She took it off and then her shirt. She walked towards the full-length mirror and stared at it in horror. There it was in black ink. Taeyeon’s name. It wasn’t even in hangul. No, it was ‘Taeyeon (=’ and yes, with a smiley.

“No, no, no, no. This is not…NO! Jesus Christ, no!” She walked back towards the sink and grabbed the towel, wetting it before scrubbing it on the part of her back where Taeyeon’s name was. Her worry started to grow when it didn’t come off. “No, no, this is so not happening. I did not just get a ‘Taeyeon’ tramp stamp. No, no, no, no…NOOOO!”

The shrill scream woke Krystal up from her deep slumber. When she was fully awake, she walked towards her sister’s bedroom only to have her sister walk past by her. “Unnie?”


---


She was wearing a simple hoodie and a pair of jeans but at this point she didn’t really care if she’d get photographed looking like she just woke up. The only thing in her head right now is to find the perpetrators.

She was so angry that it was hard for her to even dial their manager’s number. She tried to calm herself down by counting but it was no use. When she’s finally found out where they were, she quickly got inside her car and drove to the location.

The girls, namely Tiffany, Taeyeon, Seohyun and Yoona, were shooting for a variety show in front of the SBS building. They were in the middle of recording and Jessica knew she’d get in trouble if she suddenly jumped in there and strangle the girl she currently hated the most so she waited.

The girls ended filming a quarter past midnight and Jessica thought that staying up that late without really having to was an achievement.

Soon as she saw their leader, her blood started boiling again. Before the group of girls could come out of the building, she grabbed Taeyeon and dragged the shorter girl in one of the rooms inside the building. She could only guess that it was a conference room because it didn’t really have that much inside, just tables, swivel chairs and a projector.

She slammed the door and locked it. Taeyeon, who somehow had an idea why Jessica was acting that way, grabbed the girl’s arm and tried coaxing her to calm down.

“Don’t you dare touch me, Kim Taeyeon. Who the hell gave you permission to do it?”

Jessica wasn’t screaming and Taeyeon wished she was because this Jessica was scaring her more.

“Who said you could put a tattoo on my body? I know you guys have sick jokes but this is too much. What if I get a disease because of this, huh? How sure are you that the needle used to do this…this thing was sterilized? I could fµcking die, Kim Taeyeon! This is not funny!”

“Sic-Sica it’s not a permanent tattoo. There’s no needle involved. It’s just henna.”

The girl seemed to calm down a bit but the anger was still there and Taeyeon could tell she couldn’t care less if they used a ballpoint pen to do it. They pulled a prank on her and if there’s anything else Jessica hates besides people touching her phone, it’s when people connive and gang up on her.

“You guys really think it’s amusing to team up against me like this, huh?”

“Sica, it’s not like that.”

The taller of the two scoffed and unlocked the door. She was greeted by the surprised faces of their other members. “You all can go to hell,” she said before walking past them.

“Sica-unnie,” Seohyun called out in a hushed tone.

Yoona who was standing beside the maknae put an arm around her and said, “Sica-unnie is just upset, Seo. She didn’t mean what she said…or at least I hope she didn’t.”

On their way home, Tiffany and Yoona tried calling Jessica but she seemed to turn off her mobile phone so they tried the house phone but after the fifth try, they can no longer reach it as well. When they got to their dorm, they filled in the others with what happened.

“Let’s just leave her alone for now and let her calm down. Knowing Sica she’ll probably more ticked off if we bother her,” Hyoyeon suggested.

“Are you sure, unnie? If we do that she might think we don’t care about her.”

“Don’t worry, Seohyun-ah. I know Sica like the back of my hand.”

Taeyeon who was pacing back and forth stopped and stared at Hyoyeon incredulously. “That’s what you said last night when I suggested about the tattoo. You said she won’t get mad and look where we’re at right now.”

“To be fair, I honestly thought it was a prank that she won’t mind. Did you tell her we all have it?”

Taeyeon shook her head and sat on the sofa’s arm rest. “She was so angry. I couldn’t even explain myself. The story about your fight and you two almost hitting each other just popped up in my head and I froze.”

Sooyoung, clearly tired from all the activities she had that day, suggested that they all should go to sleep and discuss more about it tomorrow. “Everyone agrees, right? We leave Jessica be for now and—“

“Can’t.” Taeyeon showed the text message that she just received from their manager about an event that all of them have to go to tomorrow. “So much for that plan.”

“We’ll talk about it tomorrow. Let’s just rest, please.”

So they all went to their respective rooms to sleep but that night none of them really did.


---


“Can someone explain to me why you all look like zombies? Did you trick maknae into playing video games until dawn? Didn’t I send you a message to rest well because there’s an event today? Most importantly, why does Jessica look the same as you do when she doesn’t even live with you guys anymore and why does she insist on staying in a separate dressing room?”

The manager has been with them long enough that when the girls have bags under their eyes twice the size of their eyes, it could only mean two things: they had too much fun in their dorm the night before or someone fought. He was hoping it wasn’t the latter.

“We just had a little misunderstanding, oppa,” Yoona said as she pulled on her collar.

“Go get your hair and make-up done and fix this mess,” he said sternly, pulling out a pack of cigarette from his pocket before leaving.

“How the heck are we supposed to fix it when she doesn’t even want to talk to us?” Sunny took the seat in front of one of the vanity mirrors.

The eldest stood up and walked towards the door. “I’ll go talk to her and apologize since this was my idea anyways.”

“We all agreed though so technically everyone’s at fault.”

Taeyeon smiled at Yuri. “Just barge in there if I don’t get back in ten minutes.”

“We will,” Sooyoung reassured her.

She went out and asked their manager which room Jessica was staying at. He pointed to the room across theirs. “Can you explain to me in detail what happened?”

“Not now, oppa.” Taeyeon had a lot of explaining to do and she’s not really sure if she wants to reveal every bit of detail that happened the other night. She might tell him but not now, maybe two weeks later, when the tattoos on their bodies have fade away.

She knocked on the door but there was no response. She tried knocking again but the response this time wasn’t exactly what she wanted to hear. “If you’re a member of SNSD then go away.”

“Sica, can we please talk?” she pleaded.

Their manager gave her the key and mouthed, “Fix that today!”

Taeyeon gave him a prompt nod and unlocked the door. She opened it slightly and saw the girl resting her head on her arms. “Sica.”

The said girl looked up and glared at the intruder. “How did you—get out!”

The other girl let herself in and closed the door behind her. “No. We need to talk.” When Jessica didn’t respond, she took it as her cue to say her apologies. “Look, I’m really sorry. It was my idea. I just…what you said the other day about us, the girls and everything that we’ve all went through for the past years and how it’s somehow part of you, it just…”

Jessica hissed. “You took it literally and put a temporary tattoo on my back? It’s not even SNSD, it’s your name!”

“No, no, see, all of us have it.”

“Everyone has Taeyeon written on their backs?”

She turned around, back facing Jessica, and swept her hair out of the way to show what’s written on her nape.

“Seohyun?”

“Yeah. Sunny has your name on her hipbone. I think it’s on her left hipbone. Fany has Sunny’s name at the back of her ear. Hyo insisted to have tiny ‘Miyoung’ on her ankle and Yuri has Hyo’s name on her right shoulder blade.”

“That’s supposed to make me feel better about having a tramp stamp?”

“Well…I’m sorry. We’re all sorry. It’s just that the other day, you showed us a side of you that we rarely get to see and it was a stupid form of celebrating such rare occasions, I know and I’m really sorry. It honestly never crossed our minds that you’d think of it in a bad way. We’re not in any way ganging up on you. It’s really not like that.”

“You did this because I was being sentimental?” Jessica inquired with a much calmer voice now.

“Yes.”

The younger girl looked at their leader who, oddly enough, still looked cute while looking pitiful. “Why is it your name on my back though? Why not Yuri’s or Sunny’s or any other members’name?”

“We did it by age. At first they thought it’d be better to do it backwards and have Seohyun’s name on Yoona and Yoona’s on Sooyoung, so on, so forth but then Soo complained about wanting Yuri’s name on her.”

“That shikshin.”

Taeyeon chuckled at how she didn’t even have to explain why. “Yoong complained as well but Soo convinced her that having Soo’s name written on her skin would be equivalent to having ‘food’ tattooed on her.”

“Because Sooyoung epitomizes eating,” Jessica finished.

“Yeah.”

“So why do I get a tramp stamp?”

“Tiffany.”

“I knew it.”

Taeyeon looked around to see if there was any cotton and alcohol inside the room. “Do you want me to help you get it off?”

“Nah, leave it. Krys have tried scrubbing it off last night, it didn’t work. She complained about her arm falling off from too much scrubbing.”

The older girl leaned on the wall and stared at Jessica. “We’re good now, right? You’re not mad anymore?”

“You guys are crazy.”
 

“But you love us, right? You won’t replace us with any other girl groups out there?”

“I’m having second thoughts now.” Jessica laughed at Taeyeon’s crestfallen expression. “Where did you even get henna?”

“It was from Hyo’s bag. Don’t even ask. She probably has a dead spider she’s keeping there.”

The younger girl shuddered at the thought of it. “Hey, Taengoo.”

“Hmm?”

“I’m sorry about what I said yesterday. I didn’t mean it.”

“It’s okay, we know. Even if you did mean it, we’re going to bring you with us. It wouldn’t be SNSD with one member missing.”

Jessica hit the leader’s shoulder a little too hard while she was laughing. “We’d still be SNSD in hell?”

“Of course, we could release our albums there. We might make a few adjustments with the songs though for it to sell and we won’t forget to bring you your precious air conditioner.”

“That is so sweet of you. I’ll make sure to bring jelly worms.”

“Aww, that’s very thoughtful. Thank you. Are you still going to stay here or move in the other dressing room with us?”

“It’s too noisy there and too stuffy. I’ll stay here.”

Taeyeon huffed. “So much for your speech about sticking with us no matter what.”

The other girl stood up, hopped and hugged Taeyeon tightly. “I’m just kidding, ahjumma.” She broke the hug and linked arms with their leader instead. “You know, I think ‘Taeyeon’ suits me. I’m always so calm…except when I’m angry or scared.”

“And you go kicking inanimate objects,” Taeyeon just laughed when she received a rough shove from the younger girl. “But yeah, you’re always so nonchalant.”

“I’m cool like that.”

“You freaked out because of a henna tattoo. You know a real tattoo would hurt, right?”

“Well, you could’ve drugged me so I won’t feel a thing.”

Taeyeon opened the door of their dressing room and motioned the younger girl to go in first. Everyone in the room stood up and muttered their apologies.

She waved her hand and sat on the seat Sunny was occupying earlier. “You two,” she pointed her finger back and forth at Tiffany and Hyoyeon, “You better sleep with one eye open.”

“It was Taeyeon’s idea!”

The leader looked at her two members and exclaimed, “You traitors!”


---


They’ve finished performing their songs and they were now in the last part of the fanmeeting wherein they have to randomly pick ten lucky fans that’ll receive a gift pack courtesy of the new product that they were endorsing. Taeyeon was staring at her members who were having fun playing with each other when she noticed that the shirt Jessica was wearing that day was riding up.

She stealthily walked towards her and quickly covered the girl’s back that was slightly exposed. She leaned and whispered, “Your tramp stamp’s showing. Don’t move too much. If oppa sees this we’re dead.”

“Thanks.” Jessica smiled and tried to pull her shirt down to cover the spot.

What they did didn’t escape their hawk-eyed fans’ attention and earned a scream that sounded like someone was being stabbed to death by a headphone jack.

Later that night Krystal came home with a huge grin on her face. Amber was on Twitter during their break and to their amusement “TaengSicIsBackBїtches” was trending worldwide. She was going to tell her sister about it but all she saw when she got home was a note that said she was going to be staying at the dorm with the other girls.

She could only pray for her SNSD unnies because her sister doesn’t settle for a simple apology. She likes getting even.


---


Jessica woke up extra early to commence her plan on getting back with her members. When she was done she had a Cheshire grin that was similar to the grin that Krystal sported the night before.

All the doors of her members’ rooms’ were opened and she took her time in warming up her voice. When she finished, she cleared and released a bloodcurdling scream. She watched in amusement as the girls got out of their bedrooms with dishevelled hair and half-lidded eyes.

“Oh my god!”

“Get the fire extinguisher!”

“Please tell me it’s not a bug.”

There was no fire, not even a bug. All they saw was a girl covering her face and laughing to her heart’s content.

“Sica, have you gone nuts?”

“I’m going back to sleep.” Sunny, who was the first one to reach their living room only to find Jessica laughing like a hyena, pushed her bangs back in frustration and made her way back to her room.

Seohyun, the only person who’s not as sleepy as the others, noticed something on her unnie’s forehead. “Sunny-unnie, is that Sica-unnie’s…”

“What?” She touched her forehead and went to the nearest mirror to look at her reflection. “Holy crap! SICA!” Sunny turned around and the first thing she saw was the exact same thing on Seohyun’s forehead. She looked at the others and pushed back the members’ bangs to confirm her suspicion. “You evil being!”

“What’s happening?”

“Sica decided to give us her autograph,” Sunny stated as calmly as she could but all she wanted to do now was to get back at Jessica. In that short amount of time, she’s already thought of twenty ways to do so.

Taeyeon mirrored her roommate’s actions earlier and all she could do was to stare at her reflection in horror. Jessica’s name written in black ink on her forehead. The letter ‘J’ somewhat resembling the G-clef and a heart at the end of it.

The room was then filled with “Oh my god”, “You are so dead, Jung” and “Matherfather” courtesy of Kim Hyoyeon.

Their manager arrived just in time and bloodshed was averted. He noticed the scowl on the girls’ faces except for one who was smiling like there’s no tomorrow. “Jung Jessica.”

She shrugged. “I was getting rusty when it comes to signing my autograph. I thought it’d be fun to practice on their foreheads since I have a fansign event later. I didn’t use a permanent marker so it should come off easily.”

The emphasis she put on the words pretty much told everyone that if they complained too much she was going to tell their manager about the henna tattoos.

The manager sighed. “Go clean yourselves up. We have a long day ahead of us.”

“Wait. Can we at least take a group photo while you all have my glorious autograph on your foreheads? Please?”

“What for?” he inquired, grabbing the phone from the girl.

“Just a reminder.”

“Of what?”

A reminder that they can’t mess with me, is what she wanted to say. “Nothing. Just take a picture of us, oppa.”

The manager complied.

Jessica wasted no time sending the picture to all the other girls and making it her wallpaper.


---


The two oldest girls were the only ones left in the van after they’ve dropped off Yuri and Sooyoung to the university. The older girl smiled when she saw her new high score in the game that she was currently addicted to. She put down her phone and rubbed her eyes.

“My autograph goes well on your forehead,” the younger girl muttered before showing her the photo that they took earlier. It was zoomed in on her face.

“You are so childish, you know that?”

“Oh please, I bet Sunny, Hyoyeon and Yoona are already plotting their revenge as we speak.”

They stopped at a gas station because their manager needed to use the toilet.

Taeyeon looked out the window and spoke again. “You want to know why I didn’t oppose when everyone else agreed in giving you a temporary tramp stamp even though I had an inkling that you’d go ape crap about it?”

“Enlighten me.”

“Because it was my way of saying that I’ve got your back…despite your evil ways.”

Jessica chuckled and slapped the older girl’s shoulder. “You’re just making that up.”

She wasn’t but where was the fun in telling the truth?

“Yeah we all just thought the tramp stamp would suit you more.”

“Kim Taeyeon, what is that supposed to mean?”

The leader laughed while she tried her best not to get hit in the head. She eventually received a hit on the side of her head with the other side of her head hitting the window. Talk about a double whammy. After a minute of silence, she talked again. This time, she leaned in to whisper something to the other girl so their manager who just got back won’t hear. “I just realized that our subgroup’s name, TTS, could also stand for temporary tramp stamp.”

“Don’t drag maknae into this. I’m sure it took a lot of convincing for her to even agree getting ‘you-know-what’ on her body.”

Their manager overheard them but couldn’t comprehend what they were talking about so he could only look at them weirdly.

“True. That’s why we ended putting it on the ball of her feet where it’s most unlikely to be seen.”

“So that’s why I’ve never seen hers. Well, this is my stop. See you, Taengoo.”

Jessica alighted from the van and Taeyeon was left to ponder how it would be like if SNSD never existed or how it would be like if there are one or two members missing.

Without maknae we’d be able to eat hamburgers without knowing that the unhealthy substance in it would accumulate and would lead to our early demise but that would also mean there’s a higher chance that the eight of us would die early. I’m sure that’s not on our to-do lists. Not having maknae around would probably be similar to driving without your seatbelt on. It’s hazardous.

Without Hyo, Soo, Yul and Yoong…I don’t even want to imagine that. Life would be like living hell without those four. If I could hire them to live at my house as modern day court jesters when I get married then I would without thinking twice.

Sunny…Sunny Bunny. We probably won’t get ask too often to show our aegyo if she weren’t our member but oh god, the horror of having to do it is too much for me to handle. That and she’s my danshin buddy. How can I possibly be on a group without her?

I could live without the nagging and without Tiffany there won’t be too much nagging but without her we’d have to rely on Jessica to speak for our group in English. That would’ve been fine if most people would think it’s awesome to just watch someone zoning out so I guess no Fany means no speaker. There’s Soo though and Seohyun so I guess we really could survive without Fany.

“There’s a slight change in schedule, Taeyeon. Wait here and I’ll go talk to the PD.”

“Alright, oppa.” Taeyeon watched their manager’s retreating figure and like a lightning bolt, something hit her and it hit her hard.

Oh my god! What was I thinking? No Fany means no ! I’m no ert but who would we rely on to have curves in our group when Yuri decides on going skinny again? Plus our songs would probably sound bad without her husky voice in it.

No Jessica would mean we’d be punctual—well, maybe just slightly earlier than we usually arrive. Less arguing, too. God knows just how confrontational she could get.

She chuckled when she remembered the events that happened these past few days.

But without her we wouldn’t have stories to tell about one member sleeping in the tub holding a toothbrush or a member getting a temporary tramp stamp. Let’s face it, years from now when we’re not promoting as SNSD anymore and we decide to meet up, this whole temporary tattoo thing would be a story we’d all be laughing at. 

As for me, I guess SNSD would still be SNSD without a leader and a lead singer like me.

Just then she received a text message from Jessica.

I just want to let you know that I’ve got your back too, Taeng.

It was followed by another text from the same girl.

I’m too bored. Boredom makes me sentimental. I’ll invite the others so we could chat. Wait a sec.

True to her words, Jessica did invite the other girls to go on their own SNSD chatroom and the messages came pouring in.

I’m bored.
Me too.
You should see Seo’s forehead. It’s blushing.
That’s because I keep on rubbing it. Thanks to Sica-unnie’s autograph.
We should sneak out and go to Lotte World again.
We should!
Totally!
Aish! This idiot basically announced to everyone inside the car that we’re going to sneak out and by everyone that includes Manager-oppa.
Good going, Hyo, really.
Oh come on, I didn’t mean to. We should go to Sica’s place again and make a mess there.
You cannot! My mom cleans up after us, you shameless people.
We’ll clean up after then. 
We should buy an inflatable pool.
I second that!

Why Yoona and Hyoyeon wanted to buy an inflatable pool, Taeyeon didn’t know and she honestly didn’t want to know why. The pointless conversation made her smile nonetheless.

“Taeyeon,” the manager called and she got out of the car.

On her way to the set, she couldn’t help but giggle at the girls’ conversation.

We could put tons of marshmallows in the inflatable pool and eat it. 
Why do we have to put it there?
Eating it the usual way won’t be fun, Sica.
How about putting other treats there instead of just marshmallows?
I like how you think, Taeng. Let’s put gummy bears and jelly worms, too.
Alright! Let’s do it!

The conversation went on and it made her realize something. SNSD would’ve been fine without her but she wouldn’t be fine without the eight other girls.

End.

___

OT9 with a hint of taengsic. another long one-shot.