(During Chapter 15 (Fate) and part of Chapter 16)

(Seohyun’s POV)

We were at the airport ready to go to America. My Sunny bunny was here giving me a reassuring hug and a peck before Taeyeon and I needed to take off. Sunny leaned into me and whispered, “Please take care of her.”

I smiled at my lover, “Don’t worry. That is the reason I am going.”

Sunny leaned in to give me another kiss before Taeyeon rudely broke us up, “Yah! Seohyun break it up! We have a plane to catch.”

Sunny and I laughed at Taeyeon’s outburst. She was so hypocritical at times. I remembered all the times she and Jessica used to kiss in front of us and flaunted their relationship but those were the times that were happy and carefree. Now, life was different. Taeyeon and Jessica lived a broken life. “I will miss you babe.”

I snuck in one last peck on my Sunny’s lips, “I will miss you more.”

We were on the plane for many hours now; almost ready to land. I was busy reading one of my self-help books while Taeyeon was asleep. My eyes were getting tired so I closed my book before looking over to Taeyeon. I saw the tears sliding down her face. Although I didn’t know what she was dreaming about, I could guess it must be about Jessica. The girl claims she has moved on and forgot about the past, but Sunny and I knew better.

I wanted to release Taeyeon from her agony so I lightly shoved her, “Taeyeon wake up. Wake up.” I saw her eyes slowly opening while she wiped her tears away, “Bad dream? You started crying…”

“I’m fine. It was just a dream.” That was clearly a lie. Who does Taeyeon think she is fooling?

I still played along with her little game because I couldn’t bear to see those tears again, “Okay…”

She smiled at me, “Seohyun, I am really fine. How much longer do we have anyway?”

I had to applaud her skills at avoiding certain topics, “We are almost there. Two more hours.”

Taeyeon got up quickly saying she was going to the bathroom. I knew she went there to think. She was odd and chose one of the most disgusting and unhygienic places to sort through her thoughts. Whatever she dreamt about, must have really affected her because she was taking longer than normal. I glanced over to the bathroom and saw the other patrons getting mad for the wait. I just sighed and waited for her return. It was then that I had a resolve, mend Taeyeon’s broken heart while on this trip.

After finding a cab, we made our way to the hotel but this was just temporary until Taeyeon’s apartment was ready for her to move in. I saw Taeyeon was lost in her thoughts so I decided to just watch the sights. It was my first time in America so all the buildings and people that lined the streets were captivating me. I knew English fairly well but it was hard reading everything as the cab drove past. We were at a red light while my eyes saw something very interesting. It was a billboard advertising a play, but the woman in the center was not just any woman. Even if 3 years aged her, I didn’t see it. A light bulb went off in my head at that moment and I knew what I had to do tonight.

We finally made it to our hotel. I started unpacking and organizing my things while my lazy friend just went to the bed. In the back of my head I was hoping she wasn’t too tired to go along with my little plan, but I should really check with Sunny if it was okay to do what I wanted to do. “Traveling is tiring. Do you mind if I call Sunny quick?”

I saw Taeyeon tilt her head up and look at me, “I don’t mind. She must be worried sick since you boarded the plane.”

I smiled before I left the room to call Sunny, “Seo!! You made it alright? I miss you so much already.”

I laughed when I heard her giving me her aegyo on the other line, “I miss you too bunny. I saw something interesting when I arrived.”

“You better not be eyeing out another woman.”

“Actually I was but she will never have my heart like you.”

“Then why are you so interested in this woman?”

“It was Jessica.”

“What do you mean Jessica?”

“I saw her on a billboard for a play.”

“Did Taeyeon see it?”

“No. I am glad she didn’t. I think she dreamt about her on the plane because I saw her crying.”

Sunny went silent for a second before answering, “Babe I know what you are thinking already but what if having them meet doesn’t go well? I don’t want to see them both hurt again.”

“I can’t see how this pain they have could be any worse than it is now. I mean it has been 3 years and Taeyeon still cries in her sleep. I can’t see her like this anymore. I really can’t.”

“I trust you babe. Do what you think is right. I miss you. Call me in the morning so I know how it went.”

“I will. Don’t worry, I will be there for her. I love you.”

“Love you too.”

I hung up the phone and went back into the room and saw Taeyeon now sitting on the edge of the bed, “What do you want to do? Should we go out or rest?” I was hoping she would say the first option.

“You only have two weeks with me right?” I nodded.

Taeyeon smiled, “Should we go out? Or are you tired?”

I felt like I was holding my breath this whole time. I was so glad she let me choose but I can’t act so obvious, “I was more worried about you. You were the one not sleeping on the plane. I slept well.”

“No, I have lots of energy. Should we go out to eat and catch a play? The theater district is only a few blocks away.” Even better she made the suggestion that I wanted.

“That sounds like fun! American food and Broadway!” I was happy that everything was going according to plan.

Maybe it was fate that these two should meet again because we were lucky to get the tickets for the play Jessica was in and it happened to be the night she was acting. We entered the theater and got situated in our seats.  The lights dimmed and the curtain opened. I smiled when I saw my friend again. There Jessica was, now all Taeyeon had to do was put the pieces together. It didn’t take her long to see that she recognized the face. I really wanted to enjoy the rest of the play but my thoughts were caught on if Taeyeon would want to approach Jessica after the play or not.

I saw Taeyeon stay glued to her seat for the whole thing, even the intermission. She was really acting weird so when the play was over, I questioned her, “Are you okay?”

“Did you see that?”

I decided to play dumb, “See what?”

“Jessica! She was on stage!”

“Of course I saw it was her. How could I not recognize your past girlfriend?” I swear Taeyeon thinks I am stupid at times.

She looked up at me with concerned eyes, “What should I do? I mean I thought it over many times how I would meet her again, but this is so sudden. Do you think she saw me?”

I sighed, “Tae you need to calm down. I doubt she saw you. I am sure she wasn’t expecting to have you come either.” I put my hand on her shoulder to give her some reassurance, “I think the question you should be asking is, do you want to see her?”

I saw her eyes turn soft and full of worry, “Would she want to see me?”

“Tae…you can’t control what she will do, but you can choose to see her and go from there. I’m sure we can get backstage to see her now if you want to…”

“No!” That startled me and was not the answer I was waiting for. “I mean I am not ready.”

I kind of was tired of Taeyeon always doubting herself. Maybe I needed to be more forceful to get these two to meet, “Three years of being lonely wasn’t enough waiting?”

I saw that I might have gotten through to her because she was deep in thought again, “Alright. Let’s ask if you can get backstage.” My insides were flipping when the girl finally agreed to meet her! However, things didn’t work out well. We asked to go backstage but Jessica had already left.

I was disappointed but when we made it back the hotel, I could see that encounter affected Taeyeon even more when she just slumped down on the bed ,“Tae are you okay?” Taeyeon didn’t answer. “At least you were able to see her again, even if it was just on stage.”

“I know…I really didn’t expect much, but I thought maybe…” Taeyeon started crying so I pulled her into a hug and rubbed her back until she fell asleep. This was not the outcome I wanted from tonight. I tried preventing her tears but they only came out again. Am I really a bad friend for doing this?

A few days passed since that incident. Taeyeon was hard at work preparing for an exhibit she had to do, but I knew she was indulging in work to forget the pain I brought upon her that night. “Did all your paintings come in?”

“Yep. Last one came last night.”

I looked at all the paintings she had sent over but my eyes went to a familiar one. “Oh! You brought this one,” I said while motioning to the painting. Oh I knew this painting well. Sunny told me about Taeyeon’s senior piece and how it was Jessica. This girl can deny all she wants, but she is clearly still in love with the girl. Maybe I need to find some way to get Jessica to notice Taeyeon is here? Question would be if Jessica would take my bait.

Before leaving the exhibit hall, I saw that there were some posters made to advertise the event. While Taeyeon was talking to someone, I took a few and snuck them into my bag.

Taeyeon was busy with her exhibit so she left me to explore the city, but I used this time to set up my trap for Jessica. I made my way to the place where Jessica had her performance. I asked around and found the actor’s entrance into the building which was behind the building. I went there and put up several posters while highlighting Taeyeon’s name. Now all I could do was hope that Jessica would show up.

Finally the night of the exhibit approached. Taeyeon said I didn’t have to come but I decided to go and support my friend while ignoring her warnings that it would be boring. It was in fact very boring since Taeyeon was so busy talking to random people. I was walking around when a flash of red passed through my view. Recognizing the blond hair, I followed while the woman headed to Taeyeon’s exhibit.

There they were. They saw each other. They kissed (again kissing in front of me. Habits never change). That night Taeyeon didn’t come back to the hotel. It was then that I knew my mission was a success.

~END~