Eyes darted around the area as fingers intertwined tightly with her favorite sister, who was squeezing her hand in reassurance, but a look on her sister’s face was enough to console the younger lady that her sister was as anxious and worried as she was. She smiled. After years of living and knowing each other, nothing could go past the younger’s eyes, no matter how strong or tough the older had tried to be.

“Let’s go?” She looked down at her older sister, receiving a wordless nod from the latter. She could feel the other lady tensed up as they made their way towards the gates, catching sight of the glimpses of fans outside waiting for her.

“Can’t believe our Juhyun has so much fans, even for a musical star.”

The blonde laughed, trying to ease the tension surrounding them only to receive a playful slap from the younger one. The door opened as the duo walked out from the gates, an automatic smile appeared on their faces as cheers rang out, chanting the younger’s name. Almost immediately, the managers surrounded them, forming a human shield as they made their way towards their vehicle stationed outside.

“Unnie, I don’t see them.”

The blonde took a quick look around but all she could see were a mass of bodies and heads. She shrugged. “If you can’t, what makes you think I can."

“Do you think they will not be here?”

The younger’s face turned crestfallen as she tightened her grip on her sister’s hand. The blonde looked up in concern, not knowing what to answer. She knew that Juhyun had looked forward to returning to Korea so much that she could not stop chatting about it. The duo had also rushed their schedules, practicing their much-needed choreography overnight so that they could return earlier.

“There are so many people cheering for you. Even if they are here, you won’t be able to hear or see them right? Perhaps they are just waiting for the crowd to disappear before meeting you? Or maybe, they will be following behind us. You know how they are, they might want to keep a low profile.” The blonde tried consoling Juhyun who nodded her head in disappointment.

“Don’t worry Juhyun-ah. We will see them. They will remember. They will. If not I'll personally kick their butts and make them sing and dance Kissing you while holding lollipops in front of you.”

The duo made their way towards the road, stopping to wait for their vehicle to arrive. All these time, the fans continued their chants and flashing of their cameras as the duo smiled politely to the fans. A vehicle stopped in front of the duo and the door opened.

Quickly, the staff motioned the duo to enter the vehicle. However, before entering the door, Juhyun took another quick glance around the airport, hoping to catch sight of any familiar faces. Yet with the crowd surrounding her, it was to no avail. She sighed in disappointment as she stepped into the car, only to stop abruptly.

Eyes shot towards the left expectantly as they looked for a familiar face to match with the even more familiar voice. A wide smile cracked from her lips as she spotted a face she had missed so much.

“Unnie!” She screamed and waved, not caring about the flashes of cameras around her and what pictures may appear on the headlines. “Unnie!”

Beside her, her sister looked at her in confusion, clearly not understanding the situation. It was only when a familiar loud, low-pitch voice penetrated into her ears that she grasped the situation. Turning towards the source, she watched as the crowd opened up, and a red head and a brunette walked towards them, pushing their luggage as though they were on a runway.

“Miyoung unnie!” Juhyun screamed as she jumped down from the van and launched her body against her long-lost member. “I missed you.”

“Then what about me?” The brunette beside the red head spoke up, removing her sunglasses as she eyed the youngest.

“Sica unnie!” Juhyun released her body from the red head and launched once more into the arms of the brunette. “I missed you even more.”

Smiles turned into a wide grin as the trio embraced each other, only to break apart when they caught sight of the loner standing awkwardly away from them, smiling warmly.

“Hyoyeon-ah…” Jessica walked towards the frozen lady, her eyes twinkling in tears at the sight of her lost best friend. With her arms wide open, she engulfed the shorter lady into a tight hug. “Hyoyeon ah! I missed you.”

“Hyoyeon ah.” Jessica released the choreographer’s body and let the stiff body be embraced by the red head as the other two companion giggled at the frozen state of the blonde.

“Unnie.” Juhyun nudged Hyoyeon by the side, jolting the latter from whatever state of mind she had been in. “Miyoung unnie and Jessica unnie are here.”

Slowly a wide grin cracked on the blonde’s face as she shook her head in disbelief, happy tears twinkling in her eyes.

“Fany… Sica…” Hyoyeon grabbed the waist of her two friends and tightened them into a big hug. “You guys are here.” She whispered in disbelief, still unable to believe that the members she had longed for all the years were right in front of her as Tiffany pulled Juhyun into the group hug.

It was only till minutes later that the girls finally let go of each other, tears twinkling in their eyes, yet neither was willing to let it fall. Now that the reunion was over, the four fell into silence, each having the same thoughts running through their heads.

Will the others remember?

---

Stepping out of the arrival gates, she looked around only to see empty hallways of the arrival hall. She sighed. Sensing her mood, her manager patted her back in assurance, but received no response from the actress. Together they walked out towards the exit of the hall, their eyes catching sight of a huge crowd formed near the road. Immediately, hope rose in her as she found herself standing on tiptoe, hoping to catch sight of the main lead.

“Do you think they would be there?” The actress asked her manager who shrugged in response. “Do you think I could go there to have a look?”

She walked off without waiting for any reply from her manager, leaving the latter flustered at the sudden departure of the actress. Walking towards the crowd, she managed to catch sight of the outstanding red and blonde hair that seemed to sparkle under the sunlight. Her hopes lifted tremendously as she remembered the recent hair colors of two of her favorite unnies. She wanted to rush up to them, yet the rational part of her was in denial, believing that it was just somebody who happened to have the same color. She did not want to get her hopes too high up in case she would be disappointed.

As the actress crept closer to the crowd, her eyes spotted a board with a familiar name printed on it. She broke into a wide grin. Seo Juhyun. She screamed in her heart. A nostalgic wave of memories and feelings surged in her as she struggled to push her way through.

“Juhyun ah.” She had screamed but the screaming crowd, who had taken no notice of the famous star actress in Asia, drowned her single soft voice. With each step forward, she found herself being pushed three steps backwards. Pursing her lips in frustration, she forced herself to squeeze her way through. However, she missed a footing and tripped on a leg that sent her pummeling straight to the ground. Almost immediately, the crowd stopped screaming and turned their attention on the lady clutching her ankle.

“Yoona ah.” Her manager rushed up, checking her ankle and helping her up, only for the actress to fall back down, this time in agony.

“Yoong unnie?” A soft voice entered her ears as doe-eyes looked up to see a worried face. Eyes glanced to the other three ladies who were staring at her in concern and worry.

“I’m fine.” She tried to put on a brave smile, trying to stand up only to wobble and fall down, groaning as she clutched her ankle. Instantly, a pair of arms wrapped securely around her waist as her arm was slung over the youngest’s shoulder and warmth spread within her. It felt like the old times, when the youngest would support her weight, allowing her to cling onto Juhyun after practice whenever she was tired. She had always felt she could regain strength from this small action. She pressed back a smile. With Juhyun’s help, the duo hobbled towards their older sisters, who seemed surprised at the situation.

“Unnie!” A deep familiar ageyo penetrated their ears, causing the older members to cringe in disgust at the sound of it, but successfully snapping them back to their senses.

“Yoona-ah…”

The actress was engulfed into a big group hug by the other three members, with Jessica patting her , Tiffany patting her head and Hyoyeon thumping on her back.

“Unnie! I missed all of you! I thought you guys wouldn’t remember.”

The other four members kept on smiling before Juhyun groaned at the weight of the actress. Immediately, the actress was lifted off and placed in the vehicle behind them as the manager started checking on her foot, twisting and turning, causing the actress to groan and wince as every spurt of pain shot through her body.

“You have to go to the hospital.”

“But I can’t.” She took a quick glance at her past members. “I haven’t met Taeyeon unnie, Yuri unnie, Sooyoung unnie and Sunny unnie yet.”

“But it’s going to get worse if you don’t treat it.” Tiffany spoke up, worry and concern laced in her face and voice. Yoona almost chuckled at the sight if not for the serious faces of her other members. Just like before, Tiffany was always the worried one about the members’ health and well being.

“It’s not like I’m going to walk.” Yoona pouted. “I’m just going to sit here. I will be fine.”

“But you are going to jump down once you see the others, aren’t you?”

“I’m not. I just going to sit here.” Yoona pouted as she eyed Jessica with ‘hatred’. Trust her member to not believe her. “I promise.” Seeing that her members were not responding to her, Yoona added one last ageyo that she knew would melt their hearts. “Unnie…”

She watched as her members’ faces held a look of disgust before softening, but not before glancing at her manager. After all, they were not a team anymore. Yoona had her own team and manager to account to.

“If your manager says so. We don’t want you to be missing schedules of your drama just because you don’t want to treat your injured ankle.” Tiffany sighed as she stared fiercely at the girl.

“I won’t! I promise.” The actress broke into a wide jubilant smile and she saluted. “I cleared my schedules for the next week! So don’t worry. Im Yoona is here to stay.”

The girls could only laugh at the childishness of the second youngest. Even after years, they had remained the same, easy-going and chatting to each other like old times.

---

A black car with tinted windows drove into the lot far behind from the crowd, the only space for the vehicle to drop off its passenger. Inside, the passenger took a deep breath as she glanced at the picture on her phone one last time. Keeping her hopes up, she opened the door and stepped out of the car. Her heart was beating in anticipation. Yet the moment she stepped out of the car, a sense of loss overwhelmed her. The airport was so huge and they had never decided a meeting point. She did not even know if they were even there.Taking a quick glance at the crowd beside her, she put on her sunglasses, hoping that none of the people recognized her as she steadily made her way into the airport.

Just before her feet could step between the entrance doors, a manly shout surprised her and almost instantly, she was swarmed by flashes of cameras. As a reflex action, she quickened her steps through the door and rushed to find a spot where she could hide herself, but to no avail. Instead, she did what she did best; ignore the continous flashes whle attempting to find the people she was hoping to see amidst them. However, her attempts were drowned by the large amount of people who had recognized her.

A tap on her shoulder and she shrugged it off, thinking it was a stranger. Another tap on her shoulder and she walked away, hoping to lose whoever it was in the crowd. However, when a pair of arms wrapped around her waist and a hand reached to cover , she stifled a scream. A cold whisper in her ears sent shiver down her spine as she froze.

“KWON YURI! You are under arrest for being late.”

She winced at the loudness of the voice despite it supposed to be a whisper before turning around, meeting the cheeky eyes of the ones she was desperately looking for.

“Hyoyeon! Fany!” She grabbed the duo into a tight hug as a wide and relieved smile spread across her face, meeting the ones of her companions. “Where were you guys? I thought you guys had forgotten.”

“We didn’t. We didn’t say anything, doesn’t mean that we forgot. We wanted to make it a surprise, see who remembered and who didn’t.”

“But there is only two of you?”

“Nope! Sica, Yoong and Juhyun are outside.” Hands grabbed each other instinctively and naturally as the two energetic ladies dragged the still-ever tanned member outside to the others.

A surprise greeted the trio as they caught sight of a tall and short people talking and hugging the other three. Their hearts pounded in anticipation as they ran towards them.

“Yuri unnie!” Juhyun had shouted, bringing the attention of the group to the trio. If they thought the smiles on their faces could not be any wider, it was stretched to their limit now.

“Sunny, Sooyoung!” They rushed to each other, grabbing them tightly by their waist and burying their faces into each other.

“You all remembered.” They shouted. Tears that had been brewing in their eyes rolled down only to be wiped off as quickly as it had appeared.

“We would never forget.” Sooyoung replied, smiling affectionately at all the shorter members. Even after years, Sooyoung was still the tallest, her obvious height towering over all the others.

“Yeah. Sorry we were late. Sooyoung couldn’t get out from eyeing the rookie boy group that guested at her show.

“Hey! I did not. We would have got here faster if you hadn’t taken the wrong turn.”

“You should have told me. Or even better drive.”

Upon hearing the last sentence, the group went silent. Sunny gasped in apology as she realized her mistake.

“Sorry, Soo, I didn’t mean to…” Sunny bowed her head, biting on her lips nervously.

Sooyoung smiled gently at the shortest, swinging her arm around Sunny’s shoulder and pulling her into a half embrace. “Just treat me dinner later.”

With that, the group started laughing, easing the tension off their mind. Yet as they chatted and caught up with each other, a burdened thought weighed in their mind.

Where’s the last member?

---

Fingers drummed on the steering wheel, eyes darted left and right, pent up frustrations released from her lips. She pressed firmly on her nose bridge as eyes glanced to the clock. It had been an hour since she was stuck in the jam and traffic did not even seem to be moving much. Fingers slid open on her phone, checking for messages but there was none. She wanted so much to text them or even call them just to reassure her anxious mind, but she remembered their promise. They used to talk about anything under the sun, except that promise. They promised to not mentioned it and see if anyone would remember that very promise of the date, time and venue.

Were they there? Did they miss her? Had they left? She wondered. A thought of giving up her car and running to the airport flashed across her mind, but she dismissed it as soon as it appeared. Her manager would be furious if the news articles the next day were to mention about her running between cars in the middle of a traffic jam.

Frustrated, she slammed her head against her wheel, regretting her decision to re-record her song hours before. If only she had been able to just leave ten minutes early, she would not have been stuck in this ridiculous long jam. She sighed once more, turning her attention outside the window while praying for the cars to move.

---

Cameras continued clicking away, occasional whispers from the fans as they gushed about the ladies. Reporters were already at the scene, clicking and filming with all their worth. Yet one question weighed in their minds.

Bodies leant against the door, standing casually as they waited patiently. They had long abandoned the thought of posing or even standing prettily for the cameras. The excited chatter between them had long stopped, replaced by a comfortable yet tensed silence. They were eight, minus one person.

“Do you think she will come?” Juhyun broke the silence. The question was soft. The ladies wanted to reply, but none of them knew the answer. They could only wait while hoping.

“She will.” Tiffany spoke up after a long agonizing wait. “She will come.”

“Do you think she’s still mad at me?”

Pairs of eyes turned to the only brunette, who was fiddling with her phone, not daring to glance up to meet her members. A crestfallen look appeared on her face as she bit down on her lips. An arm wrapped around her shoulders, bringing her into an embrace. A familiar smell of light perfume with a small tint of alcohol filled her senses as her lips curved into a small smile.

“You have been drinking, haven’t you?”

“No.” The blonde denied firmly, but a side stare of the brunette caused her to flinched as she smiled sheepishly. “Maybe, just a little bit.” She paused. “I was nervous.”

“It has been an hour.”

“Do you think she forgot about us?” Tears welled up in the doe-eyes, threatening to fall. “Or maybe she didn’t want to meet us?”

“Yoong…” Tiffany turned around, her hands reaching out to grip the hand of the actress. The doe-eyed was still as fragile, the one to be insecure of herself despite assurance from the others. “She still loves us. She wouldn’t forget.”

“Really?” The voice cracked, breaking the hearts of the ladies who heard it. “She isn’t going to blame us for leaving her behind?”

“She wouldn’t, Yoong. She wouldn’t. She isn’t that kind of person.” Fingers reached out, gently caressing the second youngest’s face with a loving smile. “I heard that you have been filming all night for the past week to catch the flight. Have a nap. We will wake you up when she arrives.”

The actress nodded, leaning her side frame against the seat. She would rest, but she would not sleep, not until she had seen her last sister.

---

Speeding down the highway and overtaking cars after cars, she was relieved when the traffic finally started to ease bac to normal. She knew she was driving recklessly, not to mention the obvious design and license plate on her car that screamed her name. She would definitely be going to be on the newspapers headlines tomorrow for reckless driving, her manager and company would be scolding her but she could care less. All she wanted was to see them, the people she had dreamed all day and night and missed so much for the past years.

---

Eyes glanced around frantically as feet started tapping. Most of the ladies were getting disappointed and impatient. It had been nearly two hours but no sign of the petite short leader they had been waiting for. Fans and reporters were getting tired as many were starting to leave. Most were whispering about the missing member, guessing if the last member was to arrive or if the group would always remain as eight since the bitter scandal and break up years ago.

“Five more minutes. I’m just going to wait for five more minutes.” Sunny declared, crossing her arm as anger and disappointment built up in her. “I can’t believe she forgot.”

“Maybe she’s just busy?” Sooyoung tried to appease Sunny. “She’s probably recording her studio album and is unable to come?”

“Couldn’t she call us or send a text?”

“She wouldn’t. Neither did we. We promised not to.”

“And so we are waiting here for more than an hour.” Sunny pouted as she glanced towards the sleeping actress and the tired faces around her. Most of them had just touched down from various places around the world and she was sure that they had not slept as much as a wink on the flight, while others have rushed through their tight schedules just to free up this day. Because they remembered. Sunny sighed.

“She’s probably still busy and maybe she forgot to bring her hand phone out. You know how she is when she starts singing.” Sooyoung paused for a minute. “We are all tired. Let’s just go. Call her later.”

Releasing herself from the stiff posture she had been standing in, Sunny stretched her body as the other members stood up, ready to go. Disappointment clearly written on their faces.

“Let’s go. Sunny and I drove here. Juhyun and Hyoyeon’s vehicle is here, Yoona has her vehicle too.” Sooyoung paused, glancing at the remaining members. “I guess Yuri, Sica and Fany could hop on any vehicle then.”

The other ladies nodded as they gathered up their belongings, ready to head off. The fans and reporters seeing the situation started getting up, preparing to move off as well when a voice pierced through the crowd.

“Fany, Sica, Hyoyeon, Sooyoung, Sunny, Juhyun, Yoona, Yuri!!”

Heads turned towards the direction of the voice as eyes lit up with hope and lips curved into a wide smile.

“Unnie! Taengoo!” The ladies screamed, excited at the new arrival. “You are here!”

Without waiting for their leader to catch their breath, the group jumped in their spots and enveloped her into a big group hug, squeezing her tightly.

“Sorry.” She panted. “Stuck in a traffic jam. Sorry.”

“You didn’t call. We thought you weren't coming.” Yoona pouted and crossed her arms in anger, but a smile plastered on her tired face gave her away.

“I’m sorry, Yoong.” Hand reached out to pat the taller girl on her . “I wanted to call, but I thought…” Taeyeon pouted. “None of you texted me either. I thought you forgot too.”

“Well, we didn’t. We waited here for two hours.” Sunny started.

“I thought you were still mad at me. That’s why you didn’t come.” Jessica continued.

“I wouldn’t…” Taeyeon tried to answer but was carelessly interrupted. The perks of having too many members.

“But since you are late…” Hyoyeon carried on.

“You are buying dinner later!” Sooyoung continued, earning cheers from the girls.

"And dance to Kissing You while holding a lollipop." Hyoyeon finished off, sending a wink to all of the ladies.

"What?!" Taeyeon looked at the member in disbelief. "We are in our 30s."

"And so..." Hyoyeon shrugged carelessly.

"I can't remember the dance."

"Pretty sure they still have in up in YouTube." Jessica retorted, enjoying the flustered look on their leader's face. Taeyeon had always been calm and it was definitely nice to see a change.

"No way."

"Well, you were the latest. We had a bet just now. The last person would treat us to dinner and dance to Kissing You." Yuri had a nonchalant look.

"Wha..."

"Well, don't say we are heartless. After all it had been years since we saw each other. You can choose to dance to Kissing You with a lollipop only or you can choose to dance to OH! with pom poms." Sooyoung continued, a cheeky smile on her face. 

"Or Girls' Generation in cute buns. Or Gee with all your cute expressions." Yoona carried on, picking up the joke. After all, together with Sooyoung, Yuri, Hyoyeon, the four of them made the best pranks, having the best jokester chemistry among the nine.

"I..."

"I think the best is to just have her dance to all songs! That will be the punishment for having us and the fans wait for 2 hours!" Sunny interrupted, earning claps and cheers from the members, fans and reporters.

"But..."

"We were so excited to see each other, but you weren't here. We thought you were angry or you forgot to come. We thought you were too busy to even remember us." Tiffany pouted, a sulky and disappointed look on the face, prompting a wave of similar looks from the other members.

Taeyeon looked on speechlessly. Even after years of not being together or talking to each other as nine, she was surprised at her members' ability to continue each other so well, a prove that their chemistry was not lacking despite the physical communication. However, she was even more surprised at her lack of comeback lines, something that she had trained and become very good at since her solo debut. Taeyeon sighed at her predicament. When they were in a group, she could never counterattack them. Now that they were split, she was still subdued under her members.

Desperate, she turned to the only member she believed was still as kind-hearted as ever. 

"Juhyun-ah..." She whined, putting down her pride in front of the cameras who were happily flashing away. After hitting 30s, Taeyeon had refused to show any ageyo for any variety or radio, stating that it was not in her concept for ballads and she was too old despite her still baby-face looks and occasional dorky actions.

The youngest, however, cringed in disgust as she shrunk away. "Unnie, maybe you want to try Baby Baby? Or I got a boy? Or Hoot? I think Sica unnie's latest fashion line has a space-like suit that would match the song." Juhyun shrugged as Taeyeon stared at her unable to believe that it was the youngest talking while the other members laughed.

"Yah! Kim Hyoyeon, what did you do to the maknae?"

"Nothing. Our Juhyun has grown up so well after being away from that scary leader of ours." Hyoyeon shrugged, chuckling at the angry leader while the other members burst into laughter.

It took some time for them to finally stop laughing and sober up, thankful for the momentarily relief from their hectic schedule and tensed emotions.

“I missed Korean food.” Tiffany started.

“Bulgogi, Kimchi stew, beef, tonkatsu.” Yoona continued.

“Soju, beer, champagne, makgoli.” Yuri followed.

“Patbingsoo and ice cream too!” Seohyun ended.

Taeyeon laughed at the childish actions of her members as fond memories of them finishing one another’s sentences flashed across her mind once more.

“Fine! I’m sorry I’m late. I wanted to reach here early, but I couldn’t. You can’t imagine the frustration I had while waiting for the cars to move, and when I’m finally here, all of you had to bully me together.” Taeyeon pouted once more, her eyes glancing across the cheeky faces that her beloved members were sporting. “But, I will buy dinner tonight, and we will get drunk! No one leaves till we get drunk!”

"Does that mean we get to see drunk Taeyeon dancing with a lollipop?" Sunny winked cheekily, earning a high-five from Sooyoung.

Taeyeon rolled her eyes and wide smiles plastered across the faces of the ladies as they eyed each other, lost in their own world.

“Let’s go. I’m tired and hungry.” Yoona pouted, earning chuckles from the other eight ladies.

“Let’s go then.” The ladies gathered their luggage once more, but not before turning around to face the long-forgotten cameras.

“Right now, it’s Girls’ Generation. From now on, it’s Girls’ Generation. Forever, it’s Girls’ Generation!” They screamed together with their fans echoing after them.

They are finally 9, even if it took years and hours.

---

Seoul Times 2022.8.7

9 members of Girls’ Generation wowed fans with their sudden appearance after they arrived one after another. It came as a surprise to fans who were waiting for the musical actress, Seo Juhyun, along with Kim Hyoyeon, her companion to touch down in Incheon to celebrate the musical actress’s return after a successful broadway debut in America when the two half- Americans, Tiffany and Jessica who had been living in the States, called out to her. It was said that Yoona appeared soon after, followed by Yuri, Sunny and Sooyoung. Taeyeon had taken a while to arrive, but her presence was definitely welcomed by the ladies.

As overheard by fans surrounding them, it seemed that the ladies have promised to reunite on this day, 7^th August 2022, 25 years after their debut, no matter where they might be. Past fans of the group were exhilarated of the ladies’ reunion, especially after the scandal that had a member kicked out 8 years ago and the group going separate ways 5 years ago. It seemed that the nine ladies of the group have managed to maintain their strong bonds despite their hectic schedules that had the members living in and flying in and out various parts of the world.

With their solo activities, the members had managed to gather new and old fans, supporting them. However, what fans young and old are most concerned with is, does this sudden reunion hint a possible comeback from the ladies as they attempt to recapture the hearts and souls of their fans?

-END?-

A/N: I can't decide if I want to write the next part of them celebrating and getting drun and maybe a possible comeback? That will be too long... For now. Let's leave as this.