Taeyeon jolted awake and got the door. To her surprise, it was Onew! He was standing at her door with a satchel around his body. He refused to smile but said hello.

“What a surprise. I thought you didn’t want to see me again?”

“I have to see you! Kangin told me about what you did and I’m under fire for it, too.” Taeyeon invited him inside and went to the kitchen to fix him and herself some drinks. She emerged with two glasses of martini. Onew remained silent and stern as he sat down and took the glass from her. Taeyeon sat down right next to him and ran a hand through her hair, obviously pissed and stressed about the recent events. Onew took a sip of his wine and placed it down the table, wanting to start the conversation seriously.

“See what happens when you don’t think?! You see what your selfishness has done yet again?”

“Well she was asking for it! She got all y on me when I bumped into her!”

“According to her story you insulted her!”

“That’s because she talked to me rudely.”

“After she talked to you rudely, you insulted her and even challenged her.”

“I just defended myself and I believe-”

“Not to mention you pouring coffee on Leeteuk and hitting him repeatedly with your heels while yelling expletives and questionable things at him? Is that still self-defense?”

“It’s emotional self-defense.” Taeyeon stood by her claim.

“It’s bull, Taeyeon! It’s plain and simple bull!” Onew grunted. “Remember what I told you about your excessive use and obsession with the first person? You’re at it again! Why won’t you admit that you were wrong?” Taeyeon paused for a moment and looked down.

“Because I believe that I wasn’t wrong. I stood up for myself, for my dignity as a woman.”

“Leeteuk had nothing to do with whatever transpired between you and G.Na then. “

“She stole him from me.” Taeyeon blurted out.

“No she didn’t! She never stole anything from you! You and Leeteuk were done when he began flirting with her.”

“And Yoon Eun hye! And IU! And those other annonymous girls on Twitter!” Onew’s eyes opened widely at her statement.

“Boy you do spend a lot of time on that website.” Onew commented. “And on that guy.”

“I don’t even know why I spend so much time on him when he clearly doesn’t give a about me anymore.”

“Well if there’s something I got to tell you, just to keep your mind off of him, I gotta say it now.” Onew took a deep breath and a sip of martini. “I mean, sorry I kept this from you for a long time but I just didn’t want you to get hurt.” A worried look came across Taeyeon’s face.

“Wh-what is it?”

“When you two were together he talked about you. Behind your back. He told all his friends how easy to get you were and how you were all over him and so in love whereas in reality he was just fooling you to up his status amongst his peers. Believe me, that’s what I know. “ Taeyeon’s lips shook and so did the tears in her eyes. It was this kind of information that made her feel so depressed and made her just want to crawl back into bed and cry her sorrows away.

“Oh My God…” Taeyeon covered . Tears began to fall down from her eyes.

“I overheard one of his friends that he said apparently you weren’t hot enough for him. Since you were available and very much easy, he just got with you so he could prove something to his buddies.” Onew shurgged. “I’m sorry to say this to you but that’s the truth. I’m not saying this to make you feel bad or to talk about him but-”

“But that’s basically what he is.” Taeyeon kept her chin up and spoke with pride. “A piece of .”

“So what? After all this are you still in love with him?”

“Not a goddamn chance! After all I’ve done for him he goes on and forgets me and talks crap about me behind me back? Even when we were together! Dammit, I bet he talks more about me now that we’re no longer dating!” Taeyeon angrily said.

“And-”

“No wonder he’s been ignoring me! It’s not that he feels awkward and all! It’s because I didn’t mean anything to him and I was never a part of his life. In short, he’s acting like he doesn’t know me!” Taeyeon finally saw it all coming together.

“You know why Leeteuk can’t and won’t talk to you? Because he knows that you think he’s a and he’s afraid of the probability that you’d find out how right you are!”

“And now he goes around flirting with girls he thinks he has a chance with?! Ha! He ain’t no man. He was never a man! He ain’t got no cause it’s in his head!” Taeyeon and Onew laughed with good spirits, friends reunited.

“It feels good to have your best friend back!” Onew said.

“Yeah. Onew, I’m very sorry for all the crap I’ve said and done to you. I mean, I know I may be a little selfish at times but I assure you, I care about you more than any other person I know. You’re probably the only one who has stuck with me this long and I can’t afford to lose you.” she said. Onew refused to speak and just smiled.He went back to his serious, business state and said,

“Now that you’re suspended, you have to make your ‘vacation’ as productive as possible.”

“And we do that by writing songs, yes?” Onew gave her a thumbs up.

“Tomorrow. Stop by my music studio at home. We’ve got some work to do.” Onew and Taeyeon looked each other in the eyes and toasted to their new friendship and to new beginnings.

[TOMORROW]

Taeyeon arrived at Onew’s house in the afternoon. Onew had just finished working and made sure to come home early to make time for his best friend and his talent. Taeyeon showed up at his doorstep with papers and pens, ready to write brand new songs. Onew smiled and welcomed her into his house which had a really big and beautiful interior.

“Let’s take this business to the music room, shall we?” Onew led her to the music room. The music room was a small room that had a guitar and a piano, instruments that Onew was very fond of playing. The music room also had a chair and table for song and note writing.

“I work on the lyrics, you work on the melody.” The two exchange high fives and got down to business. Onew started producing sounds with both his guitar and piano while Taeyeon stayed in the study area working on some lyrics. She tried as much as possible to make the lyrics relevant to her current situation: hurt and rising from the ashes like a phoenix.

Taeyeon spent long and hard hours at the study table trying to come up with something good to write. She wanted something catchy and angsty without being to emotional. Something you could dance to. The pen was being spun around by her fingers as she thought with her tongue out. Soon, thinking was boring her so being the dorky person that she was, she decided to work a little bit of her ‘geek magic’ on the papers.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Of course, as shameless as Taeyeon was in front of Onew, she didn’t want him to see her dorking around while working so when Onew said that he needed to get a glass of water, Taeyeon used this opportunity to channel her, according to her, ‘dork powers’. Taeyeon closed her eyes and pat the papers thrice. She lifted her arms and with her palms outstretched, facing downwards, she pretended to work her magic like a DJ playing the turntables, chanting some unintelligible incantation in her head. This entertained Taeyeon and somehow helped her to come up with something. So entertained was she that she didn’t hear Onew open the door thus allowing him to see her in a very childish state.

“What are you doing?” Onew looked at her strangely with his eyebrow arched. Taeyeon opened her eyes and saw Onew staring at her. She tried to come up with a reasonable excuse for her current posture. With her hands up, she twirked the lamp and the switch that were next to her.

“I was trying to fix these things. They’re kinda faulty and old.”

“I just bought that lamp.” Onew said. “It can’t be broken.” Taeyeon smiled awkwardly and just presented whatever thought she had.

“I want a feisty, y revenge song.”

“I was able to come up with something while you were dorking around there. Want to hear it?” Taeyeon nodded and followed Onew to the piano. The equally talented manager played the melody that he came up with.

[a/n: I want the song to be a surprise…: ) ]

“It sounds fierce and feisty! I like it! Now if we could only add in the lyrics.”

“No problem.” Taeyeon said. “My brain’s coming up with something. The two worked on the song until they were able to come up with something that exceeded their expectations.

“This is going to be your comeback song!” Onew said. “It’s perfect for your situation!”

“I think this song would go great with a dance.” Onew smiled at her and knew that she had Daniel in mind. “I know just the person.” Taeyeon contacted Daniel and told him about her need for a good choreography to match her song.

“Well record your song and I’ll try to come up with some steps.” Daniel said. “And once I’m done, I’ll contact you so you can come over and practice with the backup dancers.”

“Backups dancers?”

“Yeah! You want your comeback to be explosive, right? You’re gonna show em a side that they ain’t never seen before!” Daniel said. Taeyeon could already feel her excitement rising with the support that they had been giving. Agreeing upon this, Taeyeon and Onew practiced the song over and over again for the next few days. Onew loved the way her voice suited the melody and the emotion of the song.

“This would sound better recorded.” Onew smiled.

“But I’m suspended!” Taeyeon said. “I can’t record.”

“You think?” Onew smirked and said, “I talked to Kangin. I said that since your suspension is definite and short, maybe he could let you record a few songs here for your comeback when your suspension has been lifted.”

“What’d he say?”

“He agreed.” Onew grinned. “Taeyeon, you’re the company’s top star. No matter how bad your situation might be, you make them famous. You bring home the bacon! They can’t afford to lose you!”

“I’m the top star? But what about BoA?”

“BoA’s on break and that was a mistake. Because of that, you’ve climbed your way to the top and beat her for that spot. “

“But I’ve only written and performed one song! How could I have possibly beat her?”

“She’s the number one singer. You’re the number one overall performer. That’s something she’s not.” Onew assured her.

“Let’s do it!” Taeyeon said with feist. For the next few days, Onew and Taeyeon rehearsed the song and once they were ready, they went to the studio to record the song. Onew collaborated with several music engineers in order to improve the song and make it more contemporary, more pop-sounding. When the recording finally happened, the blending between the hip beats and Taeyeon’s golden voice wowed Onew. With the record done, Taeyeon remembered what she had promised Daniel.

“We have to get this record to Daniel.”

The following day, Taeyeon let Daniel hear the track in the dance studio. Even Daniel was impressed and he then began to come up with steps. The steps that he had come up with were simple yet powerful and y steps that he was sure Taeyeon could follow.

“Remember what I said about bringing backup dancers?” Daniel said.

“Yeah?”

“Well I got them right here for you! Girls!” Four beautiful girls emerged from the back to dance along with Daniel to the newly formed choreography. Their grace and passion wowed Taeyeon and only compelled her to perform it alongside the four girls.

“I can already imagine a costume for them!” Taeyeon said. “Pink, of course!”

“Well, pink is your signature color!” Daniel said. He then began to teach the choreography together with the four girls. Yes, the choreography was easy but it was still a challenge for Taeyeon who rarely danced. In a few days time, after several visits to the dance studio, she was able to learn the dance and lose the weight to look good dancing it!

“Visit me on Friday for your final practice!” Daniel said.

As her comeback drew near, singing and dancing practices became more frequent, as well as stage practices. Taeyeon basically spent her month rehearsing and rehearsing rather than reflecting on her wrongdoing. Taeyeon figured that in time for her comeback, she could pick out a good costume to dance in this new song to. Of course, it had to be the appropriate outift with the appropriate color. Pink. In time, Taeyeon was able to find a pink costume that would go great with the dance. She also found matching pink clothes for her back up dancers.

Not only did she find time to come up with a new song, she also found time to conceptualize a suitable music video that she would have for this song so that when Kangin decided to take her back in, she could already present some output for the music video. But right now, what she was most hyped about was her comeback stage on Music Bank.

[A WEEK BEFORE HER COMEBACK]

“This is it.” Taeyeon said. “I only have a few days before my comeback. I want everything to be in tip top shape. We’ve rehearsed the song and dance countless times so I can already expect perfection in those areas. Now we need a dress rehearsal.”

And a dress rehearsal they had. On Music Bank’s stage. Not only that, they remastered the song and added a rap. By someone who knew Taeyeon quite well…

[COMEBACK TIME!]

This was it. This was really it. Taeyeon was about to make her comeback and debut her new song as well as work on the music video a few days after. Tension was rising as Taeyeon rehearsed the song and dance in her head while Jennifer, her ever loyal stylist, worked on her hair and makeup.

“You must be pretty hyped for your comeback.”

“You have no idea, Jennifer! You have no idea!” Taeyeon said. Her heart was racing and her palms were getting all sweaty. In her nervousness, her brain began to dwell on the what-ifs. What if she forgot this, what if she forgot that. Taeyeon then pushed the thoughts away and filled her brain with positivity.

“I can do this.” she said out loud. Jennifer was finally done with her makeup and hair. Taeyeon stood up and looked at Jennifer reassuringly before meeting up with her backup dancers. She and her backup dancers formed a circle and prayed for a successful comeback. After the prayer, Taeyeon nodded and said with feist,

“Let’s do this comeback.” They all cheered and prepared to perform.

“And now, making her comeback, Korea’s overnight superstar, KIM TAEYEON!”

[song: “Goodbye Baby” by Miss A]

Taeyeon and her four backup dancers positioned on stage the way they did when they were rehearsing. While lying down, they were waiting nervously for the music to start and when it did, they began to perform the choreography perfectly. The crowd cheered wildly for Taeyeon whom they missed for a month or two. They had no idea this was how hard she had been working while she was away. The steps were very powerful and quite complicated from a viewer’s point of view. Their matching pink outfits really made a statement. Taeyeon was in a pink corset and leggings combination as well as pink heels. The dancers all wore pink tops and shorts with stockings and boots. They performed with coordination and syncronization. Even Taeyeon was surprised that she could dance the way she was dancing now. The crowd was now seeing a side of Taeyeon that they never knew existed!

What made this night more fun was the fact that Leeteuk was in the audience, waiting for someone to perform. G.Na perhaps? He felt nervous and shaky because he knew the song was for him and to see Taeyeon perform powerfully on stage while making eye contact really scared him. What shook him most was Taeyeon’s beautiful makeup and hair.

Kangin and Onew watched from behind and saw how dedicated Taeyeon was to performing. Onew then thought about the previous days, the previous months. That time when being a singer was just Taeyeon’s second option, just a revenge thing because she lost her job. Right now, that didn’t show. It seemed as though Taeyeon was born to perform with the energy that she was giving off on stage.

The rap part. Taeyeon didn’t know what to do in the rap part. That was when she panicked in her head and prayed that what they rehearsed would come true here perfectly. The lights went out, according to planned and what was supposed to be space for dancing while the rapping audio played didn’t happen. Taeyeon and the girls were really panicking now.

God please tell me this isn’t happening. God tell me it’s not happening please! Taeyeon prayed over and over in her head.

Until a good friend came to the rescue!

Why? It’s BoA! Rapping! For Taeyeon! BoA came out in her most elaborate costume-which was pink- and performed her part. Turns out that BoA was the special guest rapper in the song! Taeyeon breathed a sigh of relief as BoA came out and she and her dancers stood up to dance the complicated part of the choreography. Her prayers were answered! They were able to pull it off beautifully and what was more beautiful was that BoA sang and danced alongside Taeyeon. Idol and fan! What a great, heartwarming collaboration. This elicited even more screams from the audience, BoA and Taeyeon fans alike. Leeteuk was literally shaking in his seat and so was G.Na at the back. Yes, G.Na’s wounds had already healed and she too was about to perform a song but Taeyeon’s comeback number really intimidated her. She called her a midget? Well this girl may be small in stature but she was larger than life in performance and audience impact!

The end of the performance was met with applause and pyro effects. The lights also played on Taeyeon, BoA, and the dancers. Everyone chanted BoA and Taeyeon’s names. The two women embraced.

“Congratulations on your comeback! I love you!” BoA embraced Taeyeon. The backup dancers did the same thing. Taeyeon was teary eyed as her dreams of becoming succesful were slowly coming true, starting with this one! The MCs welcomed her and embraced her.

Taeyeon could swear that she was in heaven!

[AFTER QUITE SOME TIME]

An explosive performance. An equally hard-hitting music video with a lot of symbolism. A movie with top notch actors. Foreign endorsements. An Asia Tour. Innumerable awards. These were just some of the perks that the company granted Taeyeon after her comeback. Right now, there was no stopping the power of the Lady in Pink.

Come the Golden Disk Awards, Taeyeon kept it low and humble and didn’t expect any awards. In fact, if she didn’t go home with anything, she would be okay with it and just continue what she loved doing now. Performing.

Of course, the GDA was when all of Korea’s top notch entertainers came together for an awards night, a night of recognizing the land’s most talented people. Taeyeon was one of the nominees and boy she had so many nominations. People from left to right were congratulating the rookie star.

However, she had one problem…

The night of the GDA, Taeyeon wore a pink, polka-dotted petticoat dress that was slightly longer than the dresses of the other artists. As usual, Taeyeon made this dress herself. The superstar still had a little bit of an insecurity as well as a jealous spot so when she saw all or most of the girls in itsy-bitsy dresses, she felt jealous and felt the need to trim her dress a little bit. Onew was her that night and when she complained about her dress being a little too long, Onew sighed and shook his head.

“After all this fame, I guess some things never change!” Onew laughed at her while she was thinking of a way to shorten her dress. Taeyeon searched for scissors in her purse and turns out she did accidentally bring her shears with her.

“Sometimes, accidents are good!” Taeyeon said. She smirked and rushed to the bathroom, leaving Onew in his seat. In the bathroom were lovely actresses and singers in their mini dresses, making Taeyeon feel even more jealous. With her shears in her hand, she rushed to the cubicle, locked herself in, bent down and trimmed her skirt a little above the knees and once she was done, she rolled the excess cloth and threw them in the trash bin, exiting the cubicle confidently with a pair of shears. She kept the shears and swaggerishly went back to Onew. Onew smirked and said,

“I see your dress got shorter.” Taeyeon laughed and agreed. The awards show was about to start.

The awards night went on splendidly, awarding deserving talents their respective trophies. But the highlight of the awards night was the Artist of The Year. Taeyeon was one of the nominees and she was mighty excited and nervous at the same time.

“And the winner of the Golden Disk Award for Artist of the Year is…” the MC opened the envelope. “KIM TAEYEON!” The audience-celebrities and fans alike-roared and cheered and howled and clapped. Taeyeon for once was the most appreciated person on the planet as she slowly, shakingly yet happily made her way up the stage, escorted by Onew, her manager. She received the award and stepped forward to give her short and sweet thank you speech.

“I honestly didn’t expect this award. I never even expected fame! All this must be a dream because this night is really perfect. I never really dreamed of becoming a singer or an entertainer. Writing was my world. But when bad situations come into your life, you change and turn into something unbelievably good or bad. Good thing the former is what I turned into. Thank you so much to my fans who have supported me since the first day of my stardom. Since “Jiral”. Thank you to my manager Onew who has been my friend for over 8 years, who has stuck with me through thick and thin and helped me get to where I am, BoA, my dear friend, Daniel and all those people who have been behind me. I wouldn’t be who I am without you..And to God. Thank You…” Taeyeon started to get all teary eyed and before she knew it she was crying. Everyone chanted her name and this touched her even more. “After all that I’ve done in my past, You’re still by my side. Never left me. My endless gratitude to everyone. Thank you.” Right after her speech, Onew stood up and applauded loudly, making the crowd do the same thing. This brought Taeyeon to tears.

Sweet, victorious tears.

The things you want to happen can definitely come true. All you have to do is believe and work for it. Make it happen!

[closing song: “Geek in the Pink” by Jason Mraz]