— Chapter 4 —

Sweet Sorrow

"Taeyeon, have you taken everything?"

"Yeah! I already packed way beforehand, so no worries!"

"Did you take your jacket? Do you want me to pack your candy inside for you? No?"

"Dad... I'm a big girl now! You can stop worrying. I'll be fine, I promise!"

"Oh uh... To the car then. And is that Jinki boy coming along?"

"...yeah."

The ride to the airport was, to describe in a word, awkward. The radio only contributed to the uncomfortable atmosphere, almost as if on purpose. Jinki couldn't help but cringe slightly in the backseat while Taeyeon tried to keep a straight face, spacing out and staring out the window. Taeyeon's father knew better than to start a conversation, for he could sense what the two were feeling and didn't want to make things worse. Taeyeon thought Jinki was quiet because it was his first time in her father's car, but what she didn't see was the pink creeping up his cheeks throughout the trip.

***

"Yah! We were all waiting for you- Oh hello Mr. Kim!" Sunny bowed quickly the instant she spotted him. The chatty group quietened down and greeted the trio.

"Go go go, check in first and then we'll talk! We'll hold your luggage for you."

With that, the petite girl was whisked away to the check-in counter by Jessica, who couldn't stand watching her strolling leisurely.

"Can we have lunch now? I'm hungry..."

"Me too."

"Choi Sooyoung, Im Yoona, you two practically went to every snack stall you could find and ate everything you bought. Are you even human?"

The two looked at Minho indifferently, rolling their eyes. 

"And to think he would have gotten used to it after all the time we've been together. Really."

The next hour or so saw the group visiting places to eat, led by the formerly mentioned duo, followed by aimless walking, shopping and basically almost anything else you could do in an airport. Soon enough, Taeyeon had to leave. Everybody stood in front of the entrance to the departure lounge, a heavy silence surrounding them.

"Take good care of yourself, allright?"

"Promise me you'll come back in one piece."

"I'll miss you..."

"We love you, Tae, be safe."

"I love you all too, see you all in a while, okay?"

As she turned to head towards her next destination, a warm hand grabbed hold of her small wrist.

"Taeng? Do you really have to go?"

"I'm already here, and this is what I studied so hard for. Why?"

"N-Nothing... It's just... 4 years is a long time, especially without you."

"I understand, but don't think too much about it, and it'll pass faster than you expect. Look after my dad for me, okay?"

His hand tightened around her wrist. After much hesitation, he let out a sigh and nodded slowly.

"Sure. See you soon."

"Goodbye for now, Jinki." Taeyeon smiled softly, holding back her tears as she hugged her dear friend tightly.

Jinki reluctantly let go of her wrist, his head lowering as he watched her tiny figure fade away and disappear and his shoulders trembling lightly.

"Hyung, don't cry, it's going to be fine," Taemin consoled him, patting his back gently.

You just don't understand... He shut his eyes tightly, all efforts to put a stop to the waterworks failing.

***

The next year zoomed by without Jinki even realising, even though Taeyeon occupied his thoughts every day. He was worried and lonely, until one day, he received a letter. It's from her! It's really her! He almost ripped the envelope into half while he tried to open it.

" Hey, it's me again! Im pretty busy so I didn't get a chance to write a letter but yeah.
How are you doing? Is everyone okay? How's Dad? Me... I'm doing great! America
isn't that bad, and there are many nice people here in Harvard so don't worry I'm in
good hands. The downside? Oh Sehun. Oh god I don't even know where to start...
This guy, has managed to keep a larger distance, but no, he hasn't changed. Not even
a bit. Good thing I only have one class with him, and I already made sure his seat is far
away from mine. He's also been flirting with girls around. Typical. I am amazed how
these girls are smitten by him almost immediately. Guess they have to wait until his
ugly side rears up. I'm getting tired of him.

That idiot aside, things in university have so far been pretty smooth for me, I'm catching
up on lessons well, made quite a few friends, and my English improved! I have to test it
on Tiffany and Jessica when I get back. It's so fun! Oh and they have awesome pizza and
chicken here! I swear, this is food heaven. You, Sooyoung and Yoona have so got to come
and try this at least once. You can't miss it~ Still, I miss the food we have back home.

I hope you're having a great time studying as well. I'll write more next time, but now I have
to go. Write back soon!

Love, Me. "

"I'm sorry I didn't write to you first..."

" Hi Taeng... I'm relieved to know that you're fine. Yes, everybody here is okay. Your
dad's still sleeping as I write this. We're going for breakfast together when he wakes
up. By the way, we're having a get-together with the "family". We're pretty upset because
you can't join us. But Seohyun and the others most probably fill you in on the happenings
Everyone has graduated now... I actually checked on our school's confessions page and
quite a few people were sad about us leaving. Hehe. One of them said this:

'Now that the Majestic 14 are gone, we need another team to go against the jocks. No one
else except them dared to stand up against them. The new batch makes me want to cringe
so bad. I'll start my own group. No more getting pushed over just because they think we're
weak! Who's joining?
P.S. I hope they'll come back to visit.'

Kinda nice, isn't it? We were actually role models to them. I feel so honoured ;;. Although
I hope they don't actually do something stupid. They should be smart enough.

And... Tiffany got a boyfriend! I've met him, and he's really nice. His name is Nichkhun.
He's actually Thai but his command of Korean and English is... wow. Tiff will definitely
be taken good care of. I'm so happy for them <3

Did I hear food? I'm getting hungry... I'm afraid to wake your father though. He needs all
the rest he can get. I'm definitely going to try some next time. I'm doing great in school
too! Some of the crazed girls followed me in... but on the bright side, they've quietened
down so my school life is pretty much peaceful. Key, Minho, Hyoyeon, Sooyoung and Sunny
are with me too! Minho and Sooyoung can't stop arguing though. Minho's always saying
how a lady shouldn't being eating so much and all. Guess how Sooyoung replies? 'Hello~
Are you living in the medieval times? The definition of the word lady has changed, sweetie.'
Even though they bicker quite often, I definitely see sparks between the twin towers.

Wait. I think he's awake now. Till next time!
Golden Chicken, signing out! "

***

Taeyeon lay on her bed, looking out the window. It was past midnight, but she couldn't sleep.

What is this feeling?

She took out her phone, knowing Jinki would be free around this period of time. Ah, timezones, what a pain you are sometimes.
 

What is this feeling?
It's so strange, it hurts.
Yet it brings so much joy
My heart feels complete
Oh, how swiftly it arrived.

Could this be the love,
that they so often mention?
Please don't let it fade away...

Taeyeon clutched her phone to her chest, her heart pumping faster than before. She felt so excited, yet so calm. Meanwhile, many miles away, Jinki was grinning stupidly to himself, gaining weird stares from his friends. He could feel the pounding coming from his chest. A bright pink slowly but surely tinted their cheeks.

I love you. The two whispered in unison, as if they were side by side.

"Earth to Jinki!" a hand waved in front of the boy's face, unsuccessfully breaking him from his trance. 

I'll always wait, until I see you again.

A/N: ANYONE ELSE LOVES MINHO X SOOYOUNG? /bricked/ AND THAT GOLDEN CHICKEN THING WAS TOTALLY RANDOM I SWEAR. Actually everything was random, Sorry for the cheesy poem, I had to. Also, I'm sorry I didn't update yesterday. I couldn't finish typing before bedtime.

We have 7 subscribers already! That's wonderful~ Thanks to kanJin and leehyelin for subscribing! I'll do my best to bring better chapters to all of you. But I really need help with my writing xD I'll gladly take constructive criticism any day so I know where to improve on. But don't go too harsh on it, that's not very nice. yes i'm sensitive

Just so you know, I won't be updating very often now because of my mid-years. I'll probably keep it off till I'm done, so meanwhile, please wait patiently for an update! ^^ By the way, the titles of the chapters are completely written off the top of my head. :P They don't really mean anything, but they do extremely subtly point out parts of the story (what am i even saying).

Anyways, I hope you have a nice day / afternoon / night! Once more, thank you and I'll see you again when I can!