Taeyeon watched as her phone slipped out of her grasp. She stared hard as the white smartphone bounced on the bed.

Once. Twice.

And then, it bounced right onto the floor, with a resounding thud. It lay there, untouched, like it hadn’t just fallen. It lay there, unmarked. The clear screen of the phone lit up as it buzzed helplessly on the parquet.

Taeyeon stared down at her hands. She was seated, uncomfortably, on an old swivel chair that had belonged to the study room several years before. Her leg was bent beneath her, her body half twisted, as if she were searching for something behind her. Now, the rickety old blue seat was the only chair in her small room.

She ignored the low buzz of the phone. She ignored the opening of the main door behind her. She ignored the annoying ticking noise of the analog clock in her room, keeping the time so steadily, almost as if it were counting down the minutes till everything ceases to exist. Tiffany was home. But even with all that, Taeyeon just stared at her hands, like they were the most interesting things in the world.

Her hands, Taeyeon deemed, were no longer as youthful as before. She had aged, expectedly. She was no longer the young idol she was before. The veins were showing at the back of her palm, her bones, jutting out like an annoying reminder that she would never be perfect.

Too skinny, some would say. Too fat, others. She could never seem to please everyone.

She heard her bedroom door open, and yet, the fact barely seemed to come to the front in her mind. Taeyeon heard a soft sigh, almost impossible to hear, if it wasn’t for the fact that the apartment was pin-drop silent. The door closed, as quietly as it had been opened.

No, it wouldn’t be worth her time to come in.

Taeyeon smiled bitterly at the thought that had just flashed through her head. Was that pity, she detected? Did she pity herself? Did she feel sad, that Tiffany hadn’t taken the time to come into her room? To check if she was alright?

And after everything that has happened, did she really pity herself?

Taeyeon laughed slightly at the thought. She looked back at her hands, to the thin, silver band on her finger. Scratches covered it’s surface. Taeyeon had contemplated getting a new one.

But that was before everything happened.

She twirled it around a little, wriggling it slightly, pulling it out just a tiny little bit. She was about to pull it out entirely when she heard the buzz again, the steady sound breaking her out of her trance.

She shoved the ring back onto her finger, where it belonged, as she glanced at the screen. The flashing name was a familiar one, and she thought of the caller with a gentle fondness.

Juhyun.

Their little maknae Juhyun. Who wouldn’t love her? The girl was perfect in so many ways and yet, one could never bring themselves to be jealous of her. She was special, Juhyun was. Taeyeon used to call her a ‘special snowflake’, back when they all lived together in the dorm. She had watched the girl grow since she was so young, back when the maknae was shorter that Taeyeon herself.  Now, the young lady towered over her, not that she had grown much herself.

The buzzing stopped just as she picked the phone up from the floor. Taeyeon sighed a little, before she re-dialled the number. She was acutely aware of the call she had missed just before that, from a number she would rather not see.

If only she had learnt how to block calls.

“Hello?”

“Unnie?”

“Hmmm.. Juhyun-ah, what’s up?”

“The sky, unnie. Or in your case, the ceiling.” Juhyun replied in a monotone.

Taeyeon blinked.

She wondered if Juhyun was being serious, because that would be expected of her.

“I’m joking, unnie!” The younger girl let out a short stream of laughter. It was a little infectious.

Taeyeon herself, chuckled, albeit a second too late. It would seem that she had picked up on Jessica’s habit of slow responses.

"How are you, unnie?" The girl was ever so polite, all formalities observed, no matter how many times the others had told her to ditch them. The concern was obvious in her tone, the pity was excruciating.

"I'm fine." That came out harsher than intended, but Taeyeon didn’t care. She was tired of their constant questions, and they seemed to have put their maknae to the job, after she had refused to respond to any one of them.

"You can tell that to the rest of them too. They don't need to send you to ask." Her frustration was evident in her tone.

"We care, unnie.” Juhyun sighed. “And they didn't send me."

And just like that, Taeyeon felt guilty. They cared, she knew that. It's just that, sometimes, she didn’t want them to care. It was her problem, and she could do without them butting their noses into it. She wanted to be left alone.

But they cared. And Juhyun cared. And, in essence, that was all that mattered.

"I'm sorry." Taeyeon mumbled into the phone, her voice, soft and thick with emotions.

"It's alright, unnie. Are you sure you're okay?" Juhyun asked once more, her voice was still kind.

"I'm fine, Juhyun-ah. I really am." Taeyeon's tone was softer now, as she reminded herself of who she was speaking to.

"Okay then, unnie. I was just calling to let you know that we're having dinner tomorrow. At Sooyoung unnie's new restaurant. She wanted all nine of us to be there, a quiet dinner before she officially opens it. This is very important to her. Can you make it, unnie?"

Taeyeon paused for a little while. She would do anything for her sisters, without even thinking. Clearing her schedule for the day, especially for something that would mean so much to Sooyoung, wouldn't be a problem.

"Of course, Juhyun-ah. I'll definitely be there." But Taeyeon knew what was to come next.

"What about Tiffany unnie?" The question was posed delicately; Juhyun knew she was walking on eggshells. They may not know what had happened between the two of them, but they knew enough that the ties between them were raw, bleeding.

Taeyeon cleared . A dull pounding had begun in her head, and she knew it would only get worse in time.

"I'll ask." Her answer was short, clipped.

That was the best she could do. And it would seem that Juhyun knew that as well, as the girl thanked her softly before ending the call.

A text message came shortly after, with the details of the gathering, and an open invitation for the other occupant of the house.

The pounding got worse as she thought of how she would ask Tiffany about this. It wasn't personal, so it was okay, right? Even Tiffany, especially Tiffany, knew that this would be very important for Sooyoung. Sooyoung would want her sisters there, and they’d learn to be civil, if that’s what it took to make the other girls happy.

And it was only after that she realised several things.

For one, they were meeting tomorrow, which meant that there was a lot to do. She should probably start by picking suitable attire for the dinner. It may be a small affair, but shoddy wear would only cause more questions. She should do something to her hair, of course. That was long overdue.

She also realised that Juhyun had said nine. Which meant that Hyoyeon was probably back from her exotic vacation, and Jessica should have flown down from America for a while.

Great. More people to meddle with my life.

She pushed the thought aside. As she pondered upon her predicament, she wondered why Juhyun had asked her to extend the invite to Tiffany. After all, didn't they have her number? Couldn't they ask her themselves? Why force her to go through that mental torture?

She let out a deep sigh as she contemplated the situation. If it was just asking her about the dinner, it wouldn’t be too difficult. But considering that they lived together, there was that small matter of getting there together. And yet another thing to worry about, was how much of the situation were the both of them willing to reveal.

How would Tiffany act in front of them? How should she? The girls knew there was something wrong, but they didn’t know what exactly had happened. To be very honest, Taeyeon herself wasn’t too clear about the details. How much should she tell them? Did she even want them to know? Did she?

It was all too confusing for Taeyeon as she leant back on the wooden headboard of her bed, hitting her head lightly on the hardwood, as if that might help reduce the pain.

It only made it worse, and Taeyeon groaned at the increased throbbing.

A/N: So.. Here's the first chapter~ I'll post part 2 in a week:) Do leave your comments~ They are greatly appreciated!