A dull ache in the head woke Taeyeon up and she squinted as the light penetrated through the gap of the curtains. She massaged her temples and cursed herself from drinking too much. They were celebrating Jessica's birthday and she just lost track of the number of cups she drank. She turned over to her side and as expected, Jessica was still asleep. It had been three years since they had gone out and just recently, they moved in together. Jessica argued that they need their own personal space and she could not have Yuri looking over them every time they were at her house. Taeyeon liked it, though it felt weird at first when she had to live with someone else apart from Yuri. Now that she did not have her sister by her side, she had to do the chores herself because Jessica always acted like she was the princess at home, not that she minded but she just missed bossing someone (Yuri) around. 

Taeyeon peered at the clock to see the hour hand pointing to the number ten and figured it was about time to get out of bed, if she were to get everything done. She carefully lifted the comforter and was preparing to slide out of bed until someone grabbed her shirt, making her fall back. 

"Where are you going?" Jessica mumbled, her eyes still close. "Why are you leaving me?" 

"Uh, I'm not leaving you, Jess, what are you saying?" Taeyeon brushed Jessica's bangs away from her eyes. 

"You are." 

"No, you're just sleep talking, go back to sleep, I'll be back soon," Taeyeon planted a kiss on Jessica's eye lid and turned to leave but a strong hand pulled her back down again. She sighed and pulled Jessica into a hug. For all the times they spent the night together, this bound to happen and now they were living together, Jessica never let Taeyeon out of bed unless she did so first. "Alright, I'm not going anywhere, go back to sleep." 

"No, I'm not going back to sleep, you're going to go away once I do that." Jessica mumbled against Taeyeon's neck, her lips tickling the latter. 

"I'm not going to leave you like really leave, I need to settle something at the office." 

"You can always ask Sunny to settle it." 

"No, it's really important. Come on, I promise I'll be back really quickly, alright?" Taeyeon quickly placed a kiss on Jessica's lips and got off the bed. "I'll be back in an hour!" 

"You're a terrible person," Jessica sat up, wrapping the comforter around her, only sticking her head out. She glared at Taeyeon but her lower lips were stuck out.

Taeyeon laughed when she saw Jessica's expression and jumped back onto the bed, giving her another kiss. "I know I am, but you still love me right?" 

"What kind of question is that?" 

Taeyeon chuckled and said, "By the way, you look ridiculous." She quickly shut the door before a pillow could hit her in the head. 

-

"Hello," Taeyeon greeted as she entered the jewelry store. 

The shop attendant saw Taeyeon and gave her a smile. "Hello, ready to see the ring?" 

Taeyeon nodded and sat down at one of the stools. The shop attendant brought out a box from one of the drawers and laid it on the glass counter in front of Taeyeon. She looked at the ring in front of her, just exactly how she wanted it to be. Like she said before, she was not a designer, she only took care of the administrative work at her company but for Jessica, she made her first attempt and she was pretty proud of it. Taeyeon remembered the first time she saw the ring on Jessica's finger and smiled bitterly. Not anymore. "Thank you, it's beautiful." 

The shop attendant nodded in response, "Glad it turned out well. Whoever gets this ring is very lucky." 

Taeyeon smiled shyly and closed the box, clutching it in her hands. "Thank you." 

She made the payment and left the store. She still had thirty minutes left to get home before Jessica could get mad at her, just enough time to buy breakfast. She got some bread and sandwiches and two cups of coffee and drove home as quickly as possible. As soon as she entered the house, she heard Jessica's voice. 

"You said you'll be back in an hour!" Taeyeon looked at her phone. It was an hour. She made a face while setting the bags down.

"I bought breakfast." Taeyeon shouted back to Jessica who was probably in the bathroom. A few minutes later, the room was filled with a sweet light scent of peach and Taeyeon knew Jessica was approaching her. Three years passed but every time Jessica approached her, she would feel a little nervous, like she did not know what to expect but the past three years had been great. It was simple and she liked simple. Though they had their arguments, but those trivialities never got between them. Jessica once told her she did not want a luxurious life because if she wanted luxury goods, she could afford them. She just wanted her to be by her side when she needed her (that seemed to be like every morning) and leading a simple life would be enough. 

"Thank you." Jessica hugged Taeyeon from behind and kissed her cheeks before sliding into the seat beside Taeyeon. "How did you know I want sandwiches from this shop?" 

"Uhm, you were sleep talking about how much you love these sandwichese so I guess you were craving for them," Taeyeon said as she took a bite of her bread. 

"Kim Taeyeon," Jessica threatened. 

"Alright, I'm just kidding. I'm craving for the bread and since you love the sandwiches, I bought some for you." 

Jessica smiled slyly and touched Taeyeon's cheek before taking a bite of her sandwich. "Where are we going today?" 

"Mm?" Taeyeon took a sip of the warm coffee. It was Jessica's birthday and she took a day off (not that she actually needed to do that) to take her out. "Busan." 

Jessica's eyes lit up. "Busan? Are we going there for the sunset again? The last time we went was over the New Year break three years ago..." 

"That's why I'm bringing you there today, on your birthday."

"Why didn't you bring me there one my birthday previously?" 

"Uhm, that's because..." Taeyeon tried to come up with a reason before it gave Jessica a chance to get suspicious. "I have other plans!" 

"Other plans?" Jessica arched an eyebrow. 

"Damn it," Taeyeon said inwardly. "I mean, since we haven't been there for a long time, I figured we can go there this year." 

Jessica narrowed her eyes and took a sip of her coffee. "When are we leaving?" 

"After breakfast, you can sleep in the car if you're still feeling sleepy." 

"It's your fault!" Jessica hissed.

"Why is it my fault?" Taeyeon put down her cup of coffee and looked straight at Jessica. 

"If you didn't drink so much last night, you won't go all..." Jessica blushed and shoved down the rest of her sandwich. 

"Oh." Taeyeon managed to say that before turning red herself. "Well, that..."

"Don't say a thing or I'll do the same to you tonight." 

"Oh? Well, gladly." Taeyeon gave a sly smile before cleaning up the table and going into the bedroom, leaving Jessica still seated at the dining table, red from all the blushing. 

-

"Taeyeon!" Hyoyeon greeted excitedly as Taeyeon entered the small restaurant. "I thought you're going to disppear for years again! Well, actually you did..." 

"Sorry, buddy," Taeyeon gave Hyoyeon a hug. 

"Jessica! Jessica, right?" Hyoyeon turned to Jessica with a smile. "Man, I didn't know you'll stick around with Taeyeon. She's such a terrible person." 

"Hyo!" Taeyeon nudged her friend while Jessica laughed and nodded in agreement. "I agree, she's quite a terrible person sometimes." 

"Alright, I see how it is then," Taeyeon sulked and walked out of the restaurant. It was still early so there was no one at the restaurant. Hyoyeon grabbed onto Taeyeon's arm and pulled back, pushing her down onto a chair. 

"You're a terribly good person, Tae. Now sit down, food is ready to be served." Hyoyeon marched back into the kitchen. 

"Food? But we just ate!" 

"That was about four hours ago, honey, and don't tell me the ride didn't make you hungry." 

Jessica rubbed her tummy, honestly, she was getting a bit hungry. Taeyeon smiled at her and said, "Plus, I don't want growling stomachs to ruin the moment later." 

"Ruin what moment?" Hyoyeon asked as she came from the back with a plate full of seafood. Taeyeon glared at Hyoyeon and gave her a kick in the ankle. The latter realised what she had just said and immediately changed the subject, "Let's dig in, it's really fresh." She mouthed an apology at Taeyeon before lowering her head as she started on the crabs. Taeyeon was thankful that Jessica was not listening to Hyoyeon then, she was too busy staring at the food served. 

After the early dinner, Taeyeon and Jessica headed towards the beach but not before Hyoyeon shouted, "Good luck!". Taeyeon almost wanted to slap herself and then Kim Hyoyeon for being like a megaphone. She might as well have told Jessica her plan right there and then. Jessica was a little confused, however, because Taeyeon was acting quite strangely the entire day. From morning when she left the bed till dinner where she kept giving Hyoyeon death glances. But the doubts were gone as soon as they stepped onto the soft sand. They went back to the same spot where they first came three years ago. The beach was rather empty, making it more peaceful.

The only difference between this trip and the last was that they had gotten much closer. Jessica held Taeyeon's hand comfortably, without worrying that she would not like it. They walked along the coastline, letting the cool water swept up their feet. The sun was setting and the beach was getting dark. Like the first time they were here, the sky was a beautiful shade of red and orange, harmoniously blended together. Jessica looked up at the sky and smiled, remembering the first time Taeyeon brought her here to distract her from one of the worst news she could possibly receive. Taeyeon looked quietly at Jessica, smiling, just enjoying the moment of looking at the blissful expression of her lover. This was just what she always wanted - just the two of them, walking along the beach after dinner, quiet and serene. 

She did not want to break the perfect silence but there was just one more thing she needed to do. "Jessica?" 

"Mm?" Jessica answered as she snuggled close to Taeyeon as the sea breeze blew. 

"When you said you intend to make me your last? Do you really mean it?" Taeyeon asked in all seriousness, catching Jessica off guard but she nodded in all seriousness as well. 

"Why did you ask suddenly?" 

"Because..." Taeyeon let go of Jessica and reached into the pocket of her coat where the ring was hiding the whole day. She took it out of the box because she figured it would be too obvious for her to be carrying it around. She knelt down on one knee and held the ring up to Jessica who was staring at her in shock. "I don't know if you have lost all your trust in a happy marriage but I hope you haven't. I have been asking myself these three years if I have treated you well and wondering if you're happy, but whenever I see you smiling at me in the morning, I figured that was what I want. I want to see you smiling at me in the morning and bidding me good night before going to bed. I want you to believe that love still exists."

When Taeyeon knelt down, Jessica was lost for words. She could not even ask, "What are you doing?" because her mind just blanked out. When Taeyeon took out the ring, she had so many things to say but she did not know how to say them. When Taeyeon told her all the things she just heard, she knew she did not have to say anything more. And in the moment, a golden hue from the sky surrounded them. 

"Jung Jessica, will you marry me? Will you give me a chance?" Taeyeon asked, waiting anxiously for the answer. The seconds that passed by were really agonising. Maybe she was too anxious to pop the question? 

Jessica looked at Taeyeon's expression changed to one of anxiety and burst out into laughter amidst the tears. Taeyeon frowned, confused over the meaning of the laughter.

"Silly, what's with your expression?" Jessica bent down and caressed Taeyeon's cheeks. "Of course I do." 

Taeyeon's ears twitched when she heard the two words and a wide grin appeared on her face. She leaned forward to hug Jessica, tackling her onto the sand. "Thank you!" 

Jessica laughed at Taeyeon's reaction and they stayed in the embrace for a brief moment before lying side by side, staring up at the sky with traces of orange in the dark sky. Taeyeon took Jessica's hand and slid on the ring onto her ring finger. She raised the hand towards the sky, the diamond looked like it twinkled, just like the stars in the foreground. Turning her head, she saw Jessica looking at her, eyes wet but she was smiling. She leaned in and kissed her for what could appear to her like an eternity. 

"Taeyeon?" Jessica whispered. On the beach, where they could only hear the waves crashing onto the sand, even a whisper sounded like a shout and to Taeyeon, it sounded like cymbals crashing. 

"Mm?" 

"What made you propose?" 

"The thought that you would leave me even if I let go the slightest bit." 

Jessica turned to her side and laid her head on Taeyeon's arm. "Silly, why are you worrying over such things when I'm already clinging onto you like a koala?" 

"Because the koala might be tired one day and when it decides to let go, this tree would be lonely." 

"This koala won't," Jessica said. "I love you." 

"I love you too," Taeyeon answered back, kissing the crown of Jessica's head. 

The sky turned completely dark but it still appeared to be as bright as ever to Taeyeon because she saw happiness, she saw hope, she saw the only thing that mattered then. Jessica was with her and that was all what mattered. She would not have to worry about the past or even the future, as long as the present was spent with Jessica, she had no regrets. "Thank you, Jessica." 

"Why?" Jessica dragged out the word, her eyes closing.

"Because you're the best thing that happened to me." 

-

A/N: So this is the end of 'Best Mistake'! I'm really thankful to all my readers who have shown their support for the story either by commenting or even just by reading. When I started on this story, I have no idea people would like it, so really thank you. When I was having a tough time, reading your comments really cheered me up. Also, thank you for staying with me while I was on my rather long hiatus, that means a lot to me too. I'll start on my new fic 'Centuries' soon, as soon as I've made the final decision on how the story will go. It won't be the same as the fic so it would be best to detach yourself from the characters of this story while you read the other one. Once again, thank you, it has been a wonderful journey writing this fic.