Chapter One

~~~

Problems? Taeyeon had that. What kind of problems? Even she wasn't sure. All she knew was that her life was taking a turn for it's worse as one by one, the people she loved left her. It came to a point where eventually, Taeyeon was used to the pain. She was accustomed to the fact that whenever she starts to care about someone, that person would leave her.

She started not to give a anymore. She built walls around herself to prevent anyone from getting to her heart again. That was just the way Kim Taeyeon worked.

~~~

The dark haired girl awoke from her slumber, opening her eyes only to be greeted by the dim sunlight that peeked through the dusty blinds. Letting out a groan, Taeyeon pushed the dirty blanket off of her body and stood from the small mat on the ground that she considered her bed.

She walked into the bathroom that was small enough to be considered a closet to most people. Heck, her whole house is practically a living room to most people. But, did Taeyeon care? Of course not, this was her home and it has been for nearly three years. She was comfortable with it.

Taeyeon was the little girl that sat under the slide reading a book while all the other kids ran around, screaming like maniacs. Even as a young child, Taeyeon never understood the way other kids her age 'played'. She found it stupid, running around and wasting energy like that. She'd rather sit comfortably under the shade and read a good book.

Even now, at the age of eighteen, Taeyeon was still not the biggest social butterfly out there. She barely talked but when she did it was only to say something important. She rarely smiled and when she did, it wasn't genuine. Through the years, the definition of 'happiness' slowly began to fade from her mind simply because, she did not feel happiness anymore.

Entering the small corner of the 'house', Taeyeon took a plastic cup and filled it with faucet water, only because she could not afford to get clean water. Drinking down the dirty water, Taeyeon had a thought, this is definitely not healthy for me. But, then again, Taeyeon didn't really care about her health all that much.

Grabbing her old, faded blue backpack, Taeyeon escaped out her front door that couldn't close properly and walked to Seoul University. Hours upon hours of reading textbooks as a child did not go to waste for Kim Taeyeon. Scholars found out about the girl and her amazing grades and offered her a scholarship to Seoul University.

Of course, Taeyeon said yes. Taeyeon had already started living on her own back then considering her parents left her when she was fifteen, right about the time she started high school. No one found out, thankfully. Taeyeon didn't mind living alone. She'd rather live alone than get stuck in a foster home with people she barely knew.

And just like every other thing she's been accustomed to through her years of numb pain, Taeyeon got used to the loneliness. Although she can't say she liked being lonely, Taeyeon didn't mind it.

Seoul University had even offered her a dorm to share with as she studied there. But, Taeyeon refused. The thought of having to live with someone after three years of living by yourself sent shivers down her spine. She didn't like the idea of it, not one bit.

So, Taeyeon continued living in the small house at the dead end street in a place in Seoul that nobody even knew existed. And of course, Taeyeon didn't mind.

Arriving at the school, Taeyeon attended her first class with her head lowered, ignoring the stares that were passed her way. Was she scared of people? No, Taeyeon just wasn't comfortable around people. The built walls around Taeyeon's inner personality made it hard for anyone to get through to her. Taeyeon didn't have any friends but that was simply because she was afraid if she'd become too attached to someone, they would leave her.

Just like how her parents left her. And her sister. And her brother. It happened in a split second when Taeyeon came home to an empty house one day after her first day of high school. She figured her parents had just taken a short trip with her older brother and younger sister. But, weeks become months and Taeyeon knew that they weren't coming back any time soon.

Thousands of tears were shed as Taeyeon continued on with school. She came home only to cry herself to sleep every night. After her first year as a freshmen, the tears stopped, the only reason being because Taeyeon could not force any more tears out of her eyes. The pain of all of your loved ones leaving suddenly shook Taeyeon's whole life and it broke the poor girl. Slowly killing her from the inside out.

And when the land lord came to ask for payment, Taeyeon couldn't say anything. She was thrown out the house with only a small pocket of cash, her baby blue back pack, and herself. She walked for days, in hope to get some money. She found a small noodle shop that was hiring and that's when Taeyeon started to work nonstop while keeping up with her school.

The old lady who ran the shop had once asked where Taeyeon lived but Taeyeon merely shook her head, pressed her lips together, and continued to clean the tables. She did not want people to worry about her, she did not want people to pity her. Taeyeon didn't want to even exist at that point of her life.

But, Taeyeon continued on. She wanted to one day become successful and perhaps find her family again. Despite the anger she felt when her family left her, she knew there had to be a reason. Who would leave their daughter like that? So, Taeyeon used that as a reason to live on, to continue on the right path. But, even Taeyeon herself did not know if she was on the right path.

~~~

Taeyeon spun the pencil around in her hand, almost mechanically as she worked on the problem in her head, staring intensely at her worksheet. The giggles of people around her irked the dark haired girl as it interfered with her thoughts. Taking in a deep breath, she chose to ignore the constant giggling.

She'd aimed to become a doctor, to save people's lives.

But then Taeyeon decided to become a therapist. She wanted to help people. Taeyeon wanted to help people from ending up like her. Lonely, stressed, and hurt. Perhaps if she could help people prevent ending up like her, it'll give her a purpose in life besides finding her family. But, then again, maybe Taeyeon is the one who needs a therapist.

The pencil that was spinning in her hand fell as she lost concentration due to the nonstop giggling. Taking deep breaths, Taeyeon closed her eyes for a moment in order to calm herself. She did not want to make a scene. Attention was the least thing she seeked. Turning around, Taeyeon looked at the two girls that were giggling behind her.

"Can you please stop giggling?" Taeyeon asked as politely as she could.

The two girls looked at her, stopping their giggling before the red head nodded, "Sure, sorry about that," she apologized.

Taeyeon turned around and let out a deep breath, continuing with her work. The time for working was up as the professor went around and took all the worksheets. Taeyeon let out a small groan of disappointment, she only had one problem to finish. One problem that she could've done if it weren't for the two giggling girls behind her.

If only it weren't for the two girls, she could finish the worksheet. If only it weren't for the abandonment of her family, Taeyeon could be happy. If only.

~~~

At break time, Taeyeon escaped to the university's rooftop garden. Not many people knew about the beautiful place, but Taeyeon did and she was glad because it was one of the few places in the whole building that wasn't crowded with people. And when there were people up there, they didn't bother Taeyeon. 

Everyone knew Taeyeon as the mysterious, pretty girl who never talked and everyone thought of Taeyeon as a puzzle that needed to be figured out. Taeyeon didn't want to be figured out, she disliked the idea of people knowing her deepest secrets. She disliked the thought of getting close to someone. In fact, she hated it.

Taeyeon would rather be a locked diary than an open book. At least then she would know that the only person who could read her was the person with the key to her lock.

If only Taeyeon knew that the key holder wasn't that far from her.

~~~

Taeyeon rushed over to the noodle shop that she's been working at for the past few years. Her classes had finished late and she definitely did not want to get fired from the only job that's giving her money for food and shelter. Arriving at the small shop, Taeyeon entered and ran behind the counter, putting on her apron and rushing to the kitchen where people had already begun to cook the food.

"Taeyeon, you're here, take this to table six," One of the workers told to Taeyeon, handing over a tray with two bowls of noodles to Taeyeon.

Taeyeon used two hands to grasp onto the sides of the tray before nodding and turning on her heel, heading over to table six as she placed the tray down, putting the hot bowl of noodles in front of the two men, "Enjoy your meal," she said softly and hurried back to the kitchen where workers were running around hastily.

Trays upon trays, Taeyeon delivered the bowls of noodles easily considering she's been doing this for a long time. The petite girl took a napkin and wiped the sweat from her forehead and neck before throwing it away. Working in a busy noodle shop like this was hard, Taeyeon couldn't deny it.

After nearly five hours, her shift ended and it was already ten at night. Taeyeon put the apron back in it's original place and bowed to the workers as she took her leave. As she was about to leave, the old lady called out to her.

"Taeyeon-ah!" she called out fondly.

Taeyeon turned at the sound of her name being called and saw the elderly lady walking towards her, envelope in hand, "You almost forgot to take your pay," 

The dark haired girl took the envelope and bowed respectfully to the lady, "Thank you," she said in a low voice.

"Will you be able to work tomorrow?" The old lady asked, the corner of her eyes crinkling as she let out a smile. The smile made Taeyeon's heart warm up, more than it should.

"Yes, I can," she replied, knowing that she only had one class tomorrow and she would be able to work longer.

The lady patted Taeyeon's cheek softly, "Okay, good. Be careful on your way home, Taeyeon-ah,"

Taeyeon nodded once, "I will,"

A/N - OMG, what do you think? I think I serioulsy need to stop making all these new stories. LOL.

I think this might be the first time for me writing a story like this. I decided to try it out considering all my stories are fluffy/comedy. Please leave a comment <3