It was another bright and sunny day in Seoul, South Korea and for a certain college known as SM National University, today was a perfect day to go out and enjoy the weather. Not only that, but it was also break for the students. Some students would go back home to family or take a vacation elsewhere. However, for most of the kids, staying at the university was the best option.

While the weather and atmosphere seemed perfect to do something fun, a certain commotion ruined that ambiance and caused a raucous among the students. Two girls were currently standing in the middle of the student lounge of their dorm building having a rather silly argument.

“Oh come on, Sica!” Taeyeon began to whine and stomp her feet like a little kid, “Just give me one chance and I promise you’ll fall in love with me!”

The girl switched the foot she was leaning on and crossed her arms, “No Taeyeon.”

“But whhyyyyyyyyy?” she pouted cutely

“Because” Jessica tilted her head upwards, “I don’t like you.”

Taeyeon first had a disappointed look on her face, but it quickly turned into an expression of determination. She smiled dorkily at Jessica, “You don’t think I’m cute?”

Jessica watched as Taeyeon began to do cute expressions and aegyo-filled gestures. All the students that were in the student lounge had their focus on the current situation happening in front of them. Everyone in SM University was fully aware of Taeyeons love for Jessica and how for the past three years in this school, she has tried to get Jessica to fall in love with her as well. Everyone, including Jessica herself, applauded the girl for her perseverance and dedication. But it looks like Taeyeon won’t be so lucky once again because Jessica just scoffed and turned her head to the side,

“Stop Taeyeon. It’s not going to work on me!”

“Please Sica…I know you love me! I know I can make you happy. I mean, I am cute, funny, super smart, totally attractive, and…” Taeyeon cheekily grinned at Jessica while wiggling her eyebrows, “I’m a great kisser!”

Jessica suddenly became flustered and students all around them began to giggle and whisper in excitement. It’s true that Taeyeon is a great catch…she’s practically perfect! Everyone loved her bubbly personality and how she can be both y and act like such a cute dork at the same time. So it comes as a shock to almost everyone in the school that Jessica can reject her so easily.

“Look Taeyeon,” Jessica’s voice softened a little, “You’re a cool person, but I just don’t think you’re the one for me.”

Jessica turned around and began to walk out of the student lounge but as she did so, Taeyeon yelled out loud for all to hear,

“Don’t worry Jessica! You WILL fall in love with me! I know you will…muahaha!”

People began to cheer and whistle in delight at Taeyeon’s rather brave statement to Jessica. The fun and loud atmosphere of the student lounge soon rece the commotion was over and many students began to surround Taeyeon, especially her three best friends: Yuri, Sooyoung, and Sunny.

As Jessica made her way out of the lounge and towards the court garden square, she sat down on a bench under the shade of a tree. She touched the sides of her face and smiled happily to herself, trying to stop the rush of blood to her cheeks. Her heart was beating erratically against her chest and it would not stop. What everyone did not know about Jessica, was that she actually did love Taeyeon…she’s loved her since they were in the same homeroom in high school!

It all started when Jessica was just a shy, little freshman in high school making her way to her homeroom class. She was nervous and scared about being in this new school because she had just moved from America and she did not know anyone.

*Flashback*

Jessica was walking through the halls towards her homeroom, books tightly clutched against her chest. She was extremely nervous about being in this new school, especially when everyone already knew each other. It would be nearly impossible for her to make friends! Suddenly, three girls roughly brush past her, making sure to hit her shoulders in the process. They stop and turn towards Jessica, preventing her from walking.

“Hey,” The girl in the middle said, with her y face on full force, “you must be the new girl! Haha! I don’t see what’s so pretty about you,” she took a step closer to Jessica and pointed her finger straight at her face, “don’t EVER talk to Donghae oppa, arasseo?! He’s my boyfriend!”

Jessica merely nodded her head while staring down, trying to avoid the girls gaze. When the girls could see the fear and timidity on Jessica’s face, they began to laugh, “Ha! You’re such a loser!” Then, they pushed Jessica by the shoulders and she fell back, leaving all her books scattered on the floor. Jessica looked at the palms of her hands and could see small scratches & it began to sting. She fought the tears that wanted to fall from her eyes when all of a sudden she heard a voice from behind her,

“Hey! What are you guys doing to this girl?”

Jessica then saw a person standing next to her, talking to the three girls. Strangely, she found this voice rather comforting and she felt safe next to this unknown person.

“You know, it’s not nice to treat someone like this!”

The girls just scoffed and walked away. Still sitting on the floor, Jessica felt the person next to her kneel down and stare at her with concerned eyes. “You okay?” The girl said as she began to pick up Jessica’s books. She faced her again and handed her the books, “Don’t worry about them, they do that to everyone. I hope you’re okay though!”

The girl took Jessica’s hands and helped her stand up, “If they ever bother you again, just look for me! I’ll be there for you!” And with that, the girl bid goodbye and left Jessica standing there, stunned by her kind actions.

When Jessica made it to her homeroom, she quickly took a seat and waited for class to start. After about 4 minutes, the teacher finally walked in and class began. She started by taking role.

“…Jung Sooyeon.” The teacher read Jessica’s name and waited for a response.

Jessica shyly raised her hand and whispered, “…here.” The teacher continued reading the names and landed on the last one, “Kim Taeyeon.”

A loud, cheery voice spoke up and Jessica’s senses suddenly perked up. She recognized that voice; it was a voice that was both comforting and soothing to her. It was the girl that saved Jessica just moments ago.

“Here Mrs. Sung!” She raised her hand with so much energy, “And might I add, you look very lovely today! How was your summer break?”

The class broke out in laughter at Taeyeon’s actions. The students always loved Taeyeon. She was the kid that everyone knew and could make friends easily with. In a sense, she was like the mood maker in class; always ensuring that the atmosphere was comfortable.

“Oh Ms. Kim,” Mrs. Sung began, “still your bubbly, happy self I see.”

Taeyeon gave her a dorky grin and nodded her head. The class resumed on with the relaxed atmosphere created by Taeyeon. One girl, however, was lost in her thought as she continued to stare at the girl who was her savior. Jessica noticed how she easily talked to all the kids around her and made them laugh with her jokes, or how she cutely pouted and bit her lip when she focused on the lesson that was being taught. Unconsciously, Jessica began to smile and feel a fluttering feeling in the pit of her stomach. She thought,

Kim Taeyeon. That’s a name I’ll never forget.

*End Flashback*

Jessica bit her lip as she reminisced on her first encounter with Taeyeon. She crossed her arms and let out a breath of frustrated air; she was having an inner conflict and could not figure out what to do,

“Jessica, you don’t love Kim Taeyeon, okay!?” She began to talk to herself, “She’s just really nice and you admire her for that!”

On the other side of Jessica’s mind, “But she says she loves you and wants to be with you! Shouldn’t that be enough reason to be with her?”

“No!” Jessica blurted out at the thought of dating Taeyeon, “You’re not worthy of her love anyways…she’s too popular and you’re just another random student,” Jessica was trying to convince herself that she can’t love Taeyeon and that she’s not the one for her.

“Aishh! I need to stop thinking about this!” Jessica scratched the back of her head and stood up to go to her next lecture.

………………………………………………………

It was later in the day and most classes were over already. The streetlamps were lit up all throughout the college campus as the night took over. Some students were out walking to get to their dorms as their classes ended late. One of these students was Jessica herself. She had the bad luck of having the last English class of the day that ended around 9:00pm.

The night was quiet and the air was briskly flowing in the wind. With her bag hung on her shoulder, Jessica turned a corner and found herself on an empty pathway. To the right of the big walkway was a huge empty field that had numerous trees on the sides. Benches were scattered all over the field and at the end of the pathway was a wide stairway that ran the direction of the field, only leading to more walkways.

The still air gave Jessica slight chills. It wasn’t helping that she was the only one within 100 meters of this area…..or so she thought. Jessica began to walk more rapidly and take quick steps so that she could already be back in the safety of her dorm.

As she passed by a clump of trees, she heard a rustle in the bushes. Jessica’s body tensed up and she slowly turned around to face the bush.

“H-Hello?” Her voice shook, “I-Is anybody t-there?”

Suddenly, a hooded figure jumped out of the bushes and stood menacingly in front of Jessica. Her eyes widened and her breathing shortened. Fear had taken over Jessica’s body and she turned around and began to run. The figure followed behind her, trying to catch her. Jessica’s mind was on high alert and she took quick breaths as she made her way towards the stairs. She was halfway down the steps when she saw another hooded figure jump out from behind a bench and walk aggressively towards her.

Jessica turned back up the stairs and decided to take another path; one that was smaller than the one she was just on. She continued running down the path and turned around to see the two figures far behind her. Smiling at her victory, Jessica turned back around, only to bump into another person.

The person had their arms around Jessica in a tight hold and Jessica looked at their face. Sadly, she could not recognize the person because of the black mask they were wearing. She noticed, however, that the person was shorter than she was.

Jessica squirmed in the person arms, trying to break free. She feared that the other two would reach them and she would be kidnapped. Suddenly, an idea popped in Jessica’s head. She leaned down and bit the person in the arm. When the person slightly loosened their hold on her, Jessica kneed the person in the stomach and they fell to the ground in pain.

She ran past the figure and reached another corner that was quite a distance away from the three hooded people. When she turned the corner, she bumped into another person. Thinking that it was another one of those hooded figures trying to attack her, Jessica began to beat and hit the person on the shoulders with her tiny fists.

“Hey! Hey!” The person cooed, “Jessica! It’s me, Taeyeon. Stop hitting me!”

Jessica stopped her actions and tilted her head up in shock to see that it was, in fact, Taeyeon. She was breathless from all the running and said, “T-Taeyeon?”

“Yeah, it’s me,” Taeyeon looked at Jessica with surprise and concern, “Are you okay, Sica? You look like you’ve seen a ghost!”

Jessica then remembers the three figures chasing her and her panic returns, “Taeyeon! We have to go! There’s three people back there chasing me!” She continued to ramble on until Taeyeon firmly held her shoulders, “Jessica, relax okay? Stay here and I’ll go check if they’re still there.” Taeyeon let go of Jessica and walked past her only to feel a hold on her wrist,

“No Taeyeon! D-Don’t go…it’s t-too dangerous!” Taeyeon could see the look of concern in Jessica’s eyes,” “You…you might get hurt!”

Taeyeon grinned and slightly chuckled, “It’s gonna be alright, Jessica. Don’t worry about me,” She gave Jessica a reassuring nod and turned to go but felt another tug on her wrist. Jessica pulled her around and held her in a tight hug, her head resting on Taeyeon’s shoulder. The latter couldn’t help but smile at the gesture and comfortingly patted her hands on Jessica’s back. Jessica mumbled in a voice filled with aegyo,

“Just…b-be careful, okay?”

Taeyeon nodded her head again and pulled away from the hug, “I will” and just like that, she left Jessica standing there with a heart filled with fear and anxiety.

………………………………………………………

It had been 5 minutes since Taeyeon left to go check for the three people. Jessica’s worry and panic began to grow the more time past that Taeyeon had not returned. She did not want to leave without the reassurance that Taeyeon was alright, so she stood rooted to her spot until the older girl returned. Suddenly, Jessica heard a loud cry and her eyes widened in terror,

“JESSICA!! HELP!”

Jessica quickly stood up and the first thing that ran through her mind was, Taeyeon’s in trouble! She ran back towards the direction of the scream and tears began to run down her cheeks. She could not imagine the thought of Taeyeon having a serious injury, or worse…dying! She loved the girl too much and couldn’t imagine life without her.

When she turned another corner, she found herself in the pavilion square located in the center of the campus. Jessica’s eyes quickly scanned the area until they landed on a figure lying limp on the ground. She silently gasped when she saw a knife laying right next to her. She ran towards the person and grabbed them in her arms,

“Taengoo!” the girl had her arms clutching her stomach in pain and her breath was ragged. Her eyes were opened slightly and her body shook, “J-Jessica…” Taeyeon began to cough and breathe heavily. Jessica laid the girls head on her lap and caressed her cheek, tears falling from her face,

“I’m s-sorry…I’m sorry Taengoo.” Jessica began to cry even more, “You shouldn’t have gone to check on them for me. We should have just left together!” she sniffled and breathed in hard, “That way, you wouldn’t be lying hurt right now!”

Taeyeon faintly brought her hand up to caress Jessica’s cheek, “No Sica, don’t apologize. I wanted to do it,” she breathed in air through her gritted teeth as pain hit her again, “I did it…so that I could protect you…I’ll always protect you.”

In the next moment, her arm fell lifeless to her side and her body went limp, eyes closing in the process. Jessica felt the motion and looked down in panic. Tears welled up in her eyes again and she began to sob, “T-Taeyeon…no Taeyeon. Wake up! Don’t leave me!” She blinked her eyes to fight the tears as she looked for the words to say, “I’m sorry…so sorry for ignoring you these past three years! The truth is…” Jessica was hugging and shaking Taeyeon at this point, “…I do love you! Taengoo, I love you so much! Please wake up…Wake up so that we can finally be together! Wake up so I can tell you how much I think about you and how much you mean to me!” Jessica was crying nonstop and kissing Taeyeon on the forehead, “…Taengoo…”

It was silent in that pavilion square. Jessica was kneeling on the ground holding tightly unto Taeyeon as she poured her eyes out. She wanted to savor every moment she had left with Taeyeon before someone found them and she would be separated from her love forever. As Jessica continued to rock Taeyeon back and forth, however, there was a tiny giggle that could be heard. She stopped her crying and sniffling when she heard this noise and stared down at the source of the laughing. Jessica’s eyes broadened and she had a shocked expression. She let go of her hold on the older girl and pulled back to look at her face.

Indeed, there Taeyeon was, laying on the ground, laughing and clapping her hands while doing so. Jessica was beyond confused and decided to speak up,

“Taeyeon?! You’re not dead?!”

In between laughter’s, Taeyeon said, “Kekeke…no…I’m not dead!” She wiped the tears from her eyes and sat up.

Jessica began to pout, “Yah! You think that was funny? I was so worried about you!”

“I know you were…I heard you”

Because of both embarrassment and anger, Jessica got up to leave, wiping the remaining tears from her eyes. Taeyeon saw the angry expression on her face and got up to chase her. “Sica wait, it was just a little prank.” Taeyeon grabbed her wrist.

Jessica turned back around and crossed her arms, “Why would you do that?! So that you can tease me more and play with my feelings! Well that wasn’t nic—“ she got interrupted when Taeyeon pulled her into her embrace and held her tight.

“I didn’t do it to tease you, I promise. I would never want to hurt you like that!” Taeyeon pulled back and stared at Jessica’s eyes lovingly, holding her face, “The real reason why I did this was so that you can fall in love with me…and to my surprise, you confessed your feelings to me instead!” she chuckled, “I knew you liked me~ I’m just too irresistible to keep away from!”

Jessica’s anger subsided, mostly due to Taeyeon’s dorky actions and cute smile. Deep inside, Jessica was actually glad she finally released all her pent up feelings for the girl. It felt like a huge weight has been lifted from her shoulders and she could breathe again. Jessica playfully hit Taeyeon on the shoulder and pulled her into another hug, her head resting on the older girl, “Pabo~ Don’t ever do that again!”

Taeyeon chuckled as she placed one hand around the girls’ waist while the other was behind her head, pulling her closer, “I won’t…since I know you like me now!” Jessica giggled as well. She pulled away from the hug and saw the happiness and excitement in Taeyeon’s eyes, and because of it, she smiled too. “So you did all this just so I could confess my feelings for you?”

Taeyeon nodded, “Yep. I told you that you’d fall in love with me, didn’t I?”

Again, Jessica laughed but soon stopped when she realized something, “Wait, then who were those three people chasing me earlier? Are they a part of this?” Taeyeon smiled, “Oh right! I forgot!” she turned around and yelled aloud, “Guys! You can come out now, the plan worked!”

Jessica looked over to where Taeyeon shouted at and saw three hooded figures walk towards them, instinctively, she held on to Taeyeon’s hand. Taeyeon turned around to look at her and reassured her, “It’s okay, they’re my friends!” When the three people got close, they revealed themselves.

They were none other than Taeyeon’s three best friends: Yuri, Sooyoung, and Sunny. Yuri took off her hoodie and shook Jessica’s hand, “Sorry we scared you Jessica. This midget practically forced us to do this!” Jessica slightly giggled and could see Taeyeon turn towards Yuri with an expression that read, Shut up! Don’t tell her that! She shook her head,

“No, it’s fine. This girl explained everything!” She looked at Taeyeon with a mischievous smirk. She then saw Sunny clutching her stomach and have a sour expression on her face. It was then that she realized Sunny must have been the one Jessica bit and kneed in the stomach.

“I’m so sorry for kneeing you earlier, Sunny!”

“It’s alright Jessica-shi. I think anyone would do the same if a stranger grabbed them like that...but I have to admit, you have quite the kick!”

Jessica chuckled and agreed, then she looked over to Taeyeon who was talking to Sooyoung, probably reenacting the scene from earlier. She smiled and all three of them walked over to Taeyeon and Sooyoung. Sunny spoke up again,

“So Taeyeon, you guys are finally together?

Taeyeon smiled triumphantly as if she had won a marathon. She grabbed Jessica by the waist and held her close, “Yep! After 3 long years, Jessica Jung finally fell in love with me!” the dorky kid started to give out an evil laugh and fist pump at the same time. Her three best friends shook their heads while laughing at Taeyeon’s dorky antics. Jessica, on the other hand, smiled in embarrassment and began to blush. Taeyeon turned Jessica to face her and held her cheeks, “I love you so much, Jessica…but I think you know that already!”

Jessica placed her hands over Taeyeons and stared lovingly back at her. After so many years, Jessica was finally able to confess to her long time crush and now, she can proudly be together with her.

“I love you too, Taengo—” Jessica was about to call Taeyeon by the nickname she secretly gave her but stopped herself, hoping that the latter didn’t catch on. Unfortunately, Taeyeon heard what she said and smirked at her, “Oh right! What was that name you called me earlier?” She feigned ignorance and began to tease Jessica with what she said earlier, “Taengoo, I love you so much! Please wake up…” Taeyeon placed the back of her hand on her forehead and posed dramatically.

“It was uhh…n-nothing…just a n-nickname,” Jessica shyly said.

Taeyeon couldn’t stop laughing at Jessica’s cute attitude but soon stopped. She leaned in closer and looked down at Jessica’s lips; lips that were so inviting and captivating. She unintentionally her own lips and Jessica knew exactly what she wanted. Truthfully, Jessica wanted to do the same thing…so why not make the first move?

Jessica grabbed Taeyeons face and pressed her lips on hers. It really felt like sparks were flying all around them when their lips touched. Both girls have been waiting for so long to have the other in their arms, being able to kiss like this. Wanting to savor the moment, they continued to kiss in sync for about 2 minutes until someone cleared their throat.

“Ehem!” Sooyoung said, I’m really happy for you both, but I’m starving! Can we please go have dinner now?”

Jessica was the first to pull away from the kiss in embarrassment while Taeyeon gave an irritated look. She was not too happy that Sooyoung cut the kiss short, “Yah!! You saw that I was kissing my girlfriend! Why’d you have to interrupt us?!” Taeyeon pulled Jessica closer to her by the waist. Jessica, on the other hand, was flustered by what she just heard. Although she knew that Taeyeon loved her and she loved Taeyeon, hearing the girl call her “my girlfriend” was new to Jessica. No matter how flustered she was, however, she liked the feeling of being called “Taeyeons girlfriend”. Jessica hugged Taeyeon by the waist in response,

“Yeah! We just confessed to each other and you had to ruin it!”

Taeyeon smiled at her girlfriend, proud that she was also defending her. She leans over and kisses her on the forehead, “That’s my girl!”

Sooyoung scoffs, “You don’t have to yell at me! If you don’t wanna eat, then fine, we’ll just leave you here and go ourselves!” then she walks away hurt by their words. Sunny and Yuri both chuckle at her actions but decide to follow her. Before they go, Sunny turns to Taeyeon and Jessica and says,

“Hehe, don’t worry about her. She gets cranky when she’s hungry.”

“Yeah…enjoy your time you two!” Yuri says and she bids them goodbye.

After the three girls left, Taeyeon and Jessica were alone in the pavilion square once again. The atmosphere of the night filled the air and left a silence between the two girls. Except this time, it wasn’t an awkward silence, but a comfortable one. Both Taeyeon and Jessica were thinking the exact same thing, processing the events that have just unfolded within the last hour and a half.

They stared into each others eyes and smiled sweetly to one another. Taeyeon was the first to break the silence. She wrapped her arms around Jessica’s waist once again and pulled her up against her body, “Thank you.”

Jessica quirked an eyebrow, “For what?”

“For finally accepting my love,” Taeyeon tilted her head down, looking at the ground while laughing silently, “I probably sound really cheesy to you…but, I’m just so happy right now!” She looked back up to Jessica again and stared straight into her eyes, “I really do love you, Sica. I know that I’ve openly confessed my feelings to you for the past 3 years and it probably seems like I just did it to tease you but, trust me, everything I’ve said in the past is true. Even though I act like a kid and joke around at times, I do have a side to me that’s more serious and mature…and when it comes to my feelings for you, that’s when I’m the most serious.”

This is a side of Taeyeon that Jessica’s never seen before, and to be quite honest, she’s surprised by it. Sure she loves when Taeyeon acts like a dork and makes a fool of herself, but seeing Taeyeon become so heartfelt and sincere just melts Jessica’s heart. She tilts her head up to look into Taeyeon’s eyes. Jessica leans upwards and gives her a peck on the lips,

“You’re welcome.” She smiles sweetly at the older girl, “Now stop acting so serious! I’m not used to it.”

Taeyeon just laughs at the girls’ statement and kisses her on the lips, this time without any interruptions. She pulls back and wraps her arms around Jessica’s neck in a protective manner while the younger girl laces her arms around Taeyeon’s waist. They stay like that for a couple of minutes before Taeyeon lets go and jumps in excitement. She does multiple fist pumps and yells out loud,

“FINALLY! After 3 long years of waiting, Jessica Jung is officially my girlfriend!”

-END-