For the second time that night Taeyeon had found herself in the shower whilst crying in despair as frigid water poured all over her body. Every drop of water felt like dry ice briskly but continuously burning her now sensitive skin. All  this time, the person she had been constantly searching for was actually closer to her than she think. However, instead of excitement and gladness of finally being a step closer to Jessica, fear and guilt overpowered her taking over her mind, heart and soon enough her soul.

She clutched her heart and drew another breath; tears that streamed down her face melded with water and were instantly washed away.

I wonder if she’s doing well. I didn’t keep my promise. Did I come back too late? Thoughts about Jessica consumed her, taking note of all the gains and losses that may come from meeting her again.

And just when she concluded that running away to avoid Jessica was one option and that she couldn’t win against herself anymore she decided to end her shower session. No matter how convenient the first option sounded she realised that she must face the situation thrown at her and that it shouldn’t be dragged any longer - Taeyeon entered the bathroom with a clouded mind, she left falling apart.

Flashback

With her head low and chin tucked to her chest, Taeyeon sauntered her way down an empty hallway. A man in his early 20’s wearing a black suit trailed just a distant behind.  She stopped in front of a classroom, the teacher’s voice and the laughter of students faintly echoed across the closed door. Taeyeon lightly knocked on the door; a woman welcomed her and invited her in, however, before stepping in the classroom she turned to the man who was just about to follow suit. She held out her hand motioning to the man to stop following her.

“Class, I’d like you to welcome our new transfer student. Would you like to introduce yourself to the class, Taeyeon?” the teacher said with enthusiasm – too much as Taeyeon would think.

It took her a couple of seconds to compose herself and find the words to say, she slowly bowed her head and began to introduce herself.

“H-hello, my name is Taeyeon Kim. I’m a former student of Daewon Foreign School. Please take care of me” the students swooned, giving out a sort of violent reaction at the mention of the elite school.

The class began to whisper and talk to each other, speculating Taeyeon and her mysterious background. “She must be a chaebol”

“Okay enough with the chatter, Taeyeon there’s an empty chair over there by the window, you can have that seat for now” the teacher instructed after hearing the students gossip.

Taeyeon made her way to her seat with so much regret. I shouldn’t have mentioned my old school. Of course, that would give it all away. Way to blow your secret Ms. Obvious. She wondered if she can start all over again and reset what just happened. This was not how she planned things out in the first place.

As expected come break time, a flock of students came up to her to befriend her, asking her all sorts of questions and even to the point of caressing and poking her face – as it must be very pleasing to look at.

Though, what actually got her attention on the first day of class was the girl who sat in the row next to her. She was the only one who didn’t approach her, the only one who didn’t try to befriend her and the only person to always leave class during their breaks.

The days had gone by quickly and just like any other day, she was swarmed with a number of students trying to win her friendship – or her heart rather. Confession and love letters also began to surface coming from both guys and girls in her class. Taeyeon was absorbing way too much attention that she’s afraid she’ll have a nasty burnout just like what happened in her previous school. And she couldn’t let that happen this time around.

Taeyeon is not the type to socialise and the fact that she was getting bombarded with all sorts of question only made the matters worse. She couldn’t count how many times she had denied and said no to the question: are you a chaebol? Although it was quite clear that she had already set herself on fire on the first day of class.

One day, Taeyeon excused herself to the washroom from the couple of students trying to interrogate her and never came back the whole duration of the break. She wandered around the campus by herself, finally having some time alone. Taeyeon ended up at the school’s rooftop, where she broke down in tears. A sudden surge of emotion devoured her, with everything happening all at once – overwhelmed is an understatement.

“Are you okay?” Taeyeon heard a girl spoke ever so softly. She didn’t turn around; instead she used the sleeve of her school uniform to wipe her tears in haste.

She heard the gentle sound of footsteps getting closer and closer, every step making her stomach churn and heart pound from anxiousness. Taeyeon stopped breathing when the sound of the footsteps disappeared, she sensed the latter was already pass the social space and is now within her personal space - just a few more inches until it’s considered intimate.

A light poke vaguely startled Taeyeon, she didn’t have a choice but to turn around and face the girl. And when she did she staggered seeing how close in proximity the other girl was.

She realised shortly after that it was the strange, quiet girl in class that was reaching out and offering her a yogurt drink.

She considered it as some sort of a late welcoming gesture from the girl. Taeyeon reached out and accepted the drink from the latter; their hands brushed momentarily against one another.

When their eyes met for the first time, it was as if their souls knew somewhere in those few seconds that things would never be the same again.

The girl took out another yogurt drink from her pocket for herself and stood just a few inches beside Taeyeon who was now leaning at the ledge of the rooftop. No words were spoken, no solace and pity were exchanged and neither complained of the chilly temperature on a cold November day.

Over the next few weeks, following Jessica around during their breaks; always a little intrigued of where the other girl would spend her break next became something Taeyeon did on a regular basis.

“Your name is Jessica right?” Taeyeon asked her voice shy and timid. Jessica faced her and nodded with a slight smirk on her lips, “..and you’re Taeyeon”. The two looked at each other’s eyes and saw their own high walls beginning to fall apart.

When others predicted they’d have absolutely nothing to talk about and will quickly part ways, the two introverts unexpectedly became closer in comfortable silence. When one initiates a conversation they each do their very best to protect each other’s sensibilities as they take turns in venting and listening. It was much more like teamwork, helping each other grow and heal in a world full of terrible judgemental people.

On some days Jessica would grab a seat at the outdoor bleachers and read her favourite book for the entirety of the break on the other hand, Taeyeon would d