Taeyeon frowned as she scrolled through the Internet articles. There were pictures of Jessica with some guy from her drama everywhere. Rumors were flying all over the place, and rightfully so. If Taeyeon didn't know any better, she would've though the two were dating just by looking at the pictures. Jessica and her costar were clinging to each other in most of the pictures, both laughing and smiling at each other with what looked like evident affection.

The rumors didn't bother Taeyeon much; rumors spread about them all the time. What bothered her were the pictures where Jessica looked completely smitten with the young man next to her, and how she did nothing when the guy flirted with her or touched her more intimately than just friends would. His arm around her waist would've made Taeyeon's blood boil in jealousy two months ago, but suddenly she was tired.

"Hey Tae." Sunny greeted as she walked into the living room of the Soshi dorm.

"Hi Sunny." Taeyeon replied lifelessly. Sunny paused to look over her friends shoulder and she instantly understood.

"Oh not again." The shorter sighed.

Taeyeon shrugged.

Sunny said nothing; there was nothing she could say. She sensed her friend and leader wanted to be alone, so she simply patted the girl's shoulders and quietly made her way to Tiffany's room where the pink monster, the shikshin, the khab, the flounder, the hyperactive dancing queen, and the righteous maknae were all gathered behind locked doors, not wanting to disturb their leader's pensive air.

The door to the Soshi dorm opened and the last member of the sacred nine walked in. "I'm home." Jessica called out, tossing her bag on the couch.

Taeyeon turned and gave her girlfriend a tired smile. "Welcome back." She said.

Jessica made her way over to Taeyeon and kissed her sweetly. "I missed you." She grinned at the blonde, twirling her own brunette strands over her shoulder. Taeyeon shot a tight smile.

"How do you feel?" Taeyeon asked, helping the brunette out of her sweater.

Jessica yawned. "I'm fine. A little tired, but I'm alright."

The blonde smiled at Jessica. "That's good. Let me put this away for you okay?"

Jessica nodded and pecked Taeyeon's lips. "Don't take too long." She winked at the shorter girl.

Taeyeon weakly smiled and headed to her room. Jessica yawned and took a seat on the couch next to Taeyeon's phone. She picked up the phone, easily punched in the passcode, and the first thing she saw was a picture of herself clinging to her costar' arm as they walked down the street. Her expression suddenly darkened.

Just then, having put away the sweater, Taeyeon walked back into the living room. Jessica's face suddenly morphed into an icy mask, and she stood up with the phone in her hand.

"So what were you reading before Taeyeon?"

Taeyeon froze midstep and glanced curiously at the girl. When she realized what the younger was referring to, she sighed.

"Why were you looking up those things?" Jessica asked demandingly, stepping threateningly towards the shorter girl.

Taeyeon pinched the bridge of her nose and exhaled. "I'm sorry Sica, I know you don't like me reading those but-"

"Do you really have nothing better to do than look these things up? Who told you about this anyway?" Jessica cut her off, waving the phone accusingly at Taeyeon.

Taeyeon stepped back to explain herself to her unreasonable girlfriend. "Look I know you're upset but-"

"Do you really not trust me that much? What do you take our relationship for?" Jessica glared, cutting Taeyeon off again.

"I just wanted to-"

"Wanted to what? Wanted to find evidence that I'm cheating on you so you can go off and use it against me?"

"Sica I-"

"Why would you even look this up Kim Taeyeon? Is this really-"

"It's kind of hard not to when everyone's asking me if we broke up or if you two are dating!" Taeyeon exploded, throwing her hands in the air.

Jessica was slightly taken aback, before her expression morphed into a stony mask of anger. "Whatever Kim Taeyeon." She angrily spat, then stormed to her room and slammed the door shut, leaving the kid leader alone in the living room.

Seven heads poked out of Tiffany's room. "A-Are you alright unnie?" Yoona cautiously ventured.

Taeyeon sighed and dropped on the couch. Seven pairs of eyes cautiously peered around the corner, then quickly rushed to their leader's side as they gathered around her.

"Don't worry Taeyeonnie, she'll come around." Yuri said, but she sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than anything.

"Tae you can't let her do this to you!" Sunny said to her roommate.

"She's right Tae, this is getting out of hand." Sooyoung said. "She's being unreasonable and ridiculous!"

"What is this, like the seventh time?" Tiffany asked, feeling rather angry on Taeyeon's behalf.

"Unnie, don't let her treat you this way!" Seohyun said sadly, grabbing her unnie's hand. "It's just not fair!"

"Taeyeon ah, you're gonna get hurt soon like this." Hyoyeon said desperately.

Taeyeon buried her face in her hands, trying to hold back tears. This wasn't the first time Jessica did this; there had been dating rumors flying all over the place, all of them concerning Jessica and some male celebrity. First it was Donghae, then Tyler Kwon. Then Jiyoung, Taecyeon, Dong Wook, Jaebum, Minhyuk, and a whole line of others Taeyeon couldn't even remember. Everytime Taeyeon asked the girl about it, she would instantly spring up defensively and accuse Taeyeon of absurd things that had no relevance to the topic at hand, and Taeyeon felt herself deteriorating.

"It's okay. I'm fine." Taeyeon muttered to the rest of the members, and spun to her room without another word.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Taeyeon returned to the Soshi dorm later that week with a light heart and unburdened smile. She'd just returned from a great restaurant that opened a few weeks ago. SHINee's Jonghyun, being a good friend of hers, had swung by her photoshoot a few hours ago and asked her if she wanted to hang out with him and some other SM artists after her shoot. Since Jessica had been ignoring her all week, Taeyeon saw no reason to decline and accepted the boy's invitation. He led her to a restaurant that had opened recently, and taken her to a secluded back room where Heechul, Shindong, Key, Victoria, and Amber were already sitting. They greeted her with smiles and jokes, easing Taeyeon's troubled heart. Heechul had paid for the meals, and they all agreed to get together again sometime soon, with more people next time.

Jonghyun and Key had walked Taeyeon back to her dorm since theirs was on the way. They dropped her off at the lobby of the building the  Soshi dorm was located, and bid her goodnight like little brothers would their noonas. Taeyeon felt much better after hanging out with them, and headed upstairs to the dorm.

Closing the door behind her, she took off her jacket and hung it on the rack humming f(x)'s 'Nu Abo.' Heechul, Key, and Shindong had done a rather hilarious parody of the catchy song at dinner to tease the f(x) girls present, and the whole group ended up singing it the rest of dinner. Taeyeon turned to put her shoes away when she suddenly heard a voice behind her.

"What is this?!"

Taeyeon turned to be greeted with the glare of a furious Jessica Jung. Said furious girl was holding her cell phone in her hand. "What?" Taeyeon asked confusedly.

Jessica rolled her eyes. "This!" She said, waving the phone as Taeyeon came closer. On the screen was a picture of Taeyeon and Jonghyun laughing amiably to each other while walking down the street. Jonghyun's hand was on Taeyeon's shoulder and Taeyeon's hand was covering as she laughed.

Taeyeon furrowed her eyebrows. "What? He invited me to dinner with some other people."

If looks could kill, Taeyeon would be dead by now. "I cannot believe you! Are you ******* kidding me?!"

Taeyeon felt herself getting angry. "He's just a friend, you know that!" She replied hotly to the brunette, her voice raising in volume. The seven other Soshi members suddenly stopped what they were doing and looked over. Taeyeon never raised her voice. Sunny and Tiffany shared a worried glance, but no one said anything.

"Just friends? It doesn't look like it to me." Jessica replied just as heatedly, voice raising as well.

"Are you kidding me?! That's nothing compared to what I've been hearing about you lately! Have you seen the news lately about yourself?!" Taeyeon shot back.

Jessica's eyes flashed angrily. The other members gulped nervously. Jessica was a jealous one and they all knew it. Sometimes she was a little too possessive, and that led to extreme irrationality and insecurity, especially where Taeyeon was involved.

It also led to a lot of anger.

"Kim Taeyeon don't you dare try to put me at fault." Jessica advanced murderously.

Taeyeon rolled her eyes, not wanting to pick a fight she knew wasn't going to go anywhere. "You know what, forget it." She said, turning away from Jessica.

Jessica looked shocked, then angrier than before. "I can't believe you." She muttered under her breath, pacing back and forth across the living room.

"Um, Tae?" Sooyoung nervously whispered, poking a finger at Jessica's direction.

Taeyeon turned to see her girlfriend seemingly ready to destroy their living space, looking angrier than she ever had before. The other seven members looked rather terrified, and as their leader and friend Taeyeon felt the need to take responsibility for her member's safety. She sighed and turned back towards Jessica.

"Sica calm down! Look, can we talk about this la-"

*SMACK*

A resounding thud sounded through the living room.

Taeyeon lay on the floor stunned. She had tried to go and calm Jessica, only to be greeted with an elbow to the face. The force of the impact had left the leader on the ground with a throbbing face and an expression akin to a shocked wounded puppy. It wasn't everyday that your girlfriend hit you with her elbow anyway.

Jessica stood, wide-eyed in shock. "Oh my gosh Tae… I'm so sorry-" she began, but Taeyeon abruptly stood up holding her cheek.

"I think you have more important people to talk to right now. Like that cute costar of yours right?" She said monotonously, moving to the door and pulling on her shoes and jacket.

Jessica stood blankly, the reality of what she just did overcoming her. "Taeng-"

"Save it." Was the laconic reply as the kid leader slammed the door shut behind her.

Silence enveloped the Soshi dorm.

Eight members stood shocked and silent.

Jessica numbly turned and shuffled to her room. "I just hit her." She thought numbly to herself, the thought ringing in her head like a mantra repeating over and over.

Seven members exchanged shocked and worried glances.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sunny and Yoona had gone out to find Taeyeon a little later and found her in a nearby hotel sulking by herself. After a short chat, the two managed to get Taeyeon back to the dorm but it was only because the nine had schedules together for the week. Taeyeon came back, but refused to speak to Jessica. It was obvious she was hurt; the bruise under her eye was proof enough. When asked what happened, Taeyeon explained that she was accidentally hit at a basketball game. The manager had bought it, although Taeyeon was scolded for being careless.

Jessica kept casting glances at Taeyeon, whose makeup artist unnie had a hell of a time covering the blue bruise under the girl's eye. A wave of guilt washed over Jessica for the umpteenth time,  and she continued to rack her brain for ways to make it up to Taeyeon. The brunette sighed and spaced out, deep in thought.

Hyoyeon noticed and made her way to Jessica. The blonde dancer plopped next to Jessica with a smile. "What's on your mind Jung?"

Jessica turned and noticed Hypyeon. "Oh, Hyo. It's nothing, I'm fine." She replied quickly with a weak smile, and she turned away after.

Hyoyeon chuckled. "Ha. Nice try. You're thinking about Tae aren't you?" She asked, noticing Jessica's not-so-discreet glances she'd been shooting at Taeyeon all day.

Jessica looked sadly again at the short girl who was chatting with Yuri and Sunny on the other side of their waiting room. "I don't know how to approach her." Jessica finally confessed to Hyoyeon.

Hyoyeon chuckled slightly. "No kidding. I wouldn't know how to approach her either. You screwed up girl." She said, trying to lighten the atmosphere.

Normally a statement like that would earn Hyoyeon a death glare, but the ice princess just sighed and looked off into the distance today. Hyoyeon looked shocked. "What's up with you? Just go apologize."

Jessica glanced sadly at Taeyeon, who was laughing at something Sunny had said. "It's not that easy." She said.

Hyoyeon leaned back on her hands. "Well I'm glad you can admit you're wrong."

"I know I'm wrong." Jessica said desperately. "I don't why I was so jealous. I just got so upset seeing her with Jonghyun like that and she-"

"But you know she and Jonghyun are just friends." Hyoyeon cut her off, casting the brunette a quizzical glance.

"Yeah, I know which is why I'm all the more stupid." Jessica groaned, burying her face in her hands.

"And you know you've been treating her much worse than she deserves right?" Hyoyeon looked meaningly at Jessica.

The brunette sighed. "Yeah, I know. I didn't mean to hit her Hyo, and I didn't mean to get caught up in all those rumors and stuff. I just feel like she's gonna leave me someday and I don't know what I'll do if she does."

Hyoyeon quirked an eyebrow at the girl. "That's no excuse to treat her like that."

Jessica nodded. "I know Hyo. How do I fix this?" She asked despondently.

Hyoyeon leaned back in thought. "There's no easy way to do this. I think you'll just have to get some guts and apologize straight. Don't flower it up with notes and that stuff, just go and make sure to do it in person. Tae's personal like that."

Jessica looked over. "You think that'll work?" She asked hopefully.

Hyoyeon shrugged. "It's worth a try. Are there any better options?"

"You're right." Jessica nodded. "It's worth a shot."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It'd been two days since Jessica and Hyoyeon had their little talk. Since the group was packed down with their schedule, Jessica couldn't get a moment alone with Taeyeon, who seemed rather exhausted these days.

Today they finished early and went out for dinner. Taeyeon had excused herself after eating, saying she was going to sleep earlier today since she had a tough day. The girls had understood and they merrily sent her off as they themselves remained at the restaurant.

Jessica excused herself twenty minutes later, saying she was fatigued as well. In reality though, she wanted to talk to Taeyeon and the rest of the girls knew it.

Jessica quickly got back to the dorm and quietly opened the door. The living room lights were on, as were the kitchen lights, but there was no one in sight.

"I guess she's in her room." Jessica thought, putting her shoes on the rack. Taeyeon's boots were there as well, so the girl had to be home.

Jessica made her way to her own room, wanting to shower. On her way she saw the lights on in Taeyeon and Sunny's room. "So she is in her room…"

Jessica hastened her steps and took a quick shower. Feeling refreshed, she rubbed her hair off with a towel and pulled on a white v-neck and grey sweatpants that came down mid-calve. She took a breath and knocked on Taeyeon's door.

"Who's there?" Came the muffled reply. Jessica swallowed thickly.

"It's me."

"…"

"…"

"Come in."

Jessica opened the door to see Taeyeon rubbing her wet hair with a towel. The room smelled like vanilla, Jessica's newly-found favorite scent. Taeyeon was wearing white short shorts and a tight black tank top, her damp blonde hair tumbling down her back.

Jessica mustered a nervous smile. "Hey."

Taeyeon looked at her through the mirror, bruise showing since her makeup was washed off. "Hi."

"…"

"…"

Jessica shifted her feet. "Can I come in?"

"Sure."

Jessica shut the door quietly behind her as Taeyeon turned back to her mirror, and sat tentatively on the bed. Silence settled over the two, although Jessica found herself relishing the sight of her freshly-showered girlfriend.

"H-How's your eye?" Jessica stammered nervously, looking at the ground.

Taeyeon glanced up. "It feels better. How are you?"

Jessica shuffled her feet. "That's good to hear. I'm good, but I've been tired lately."

Taeyeon nodded. "You should get some sleep." She said softly, glancing at the girl with evident concern.

Jessica felt her heart melt at the gaze and she blushed. "A-Actually…"

The blonde looked at her through her mirror. "Yes?"

Jessica bit her lip and looked at the ground. "I… I'm really sorry." She whispered.

Taeyeon stopped drying her hair and turned around slowly. "For what?" She asked softly.

Jessica couldn't meet the dark onyx eyes. "For hitting you… and getting so jealous… and being stupid…"

Taeyeon stood and hung her towel in her bathroom. "It's alright."

Jessica looked up. "What? That's it?" She asked confusedly.

"Well no." Taeyeon smiled. "But I forgive you. For hitting me and getting jealous and being a pabo."

Jessica looked at Taeyeon incredulously. "Really? You're just gonna to forgive me like that?"

The older hummed. "Mhm. I just want to know why you were so upset over that one picture."

Jessica looked down in shame. "I… I just…"

"What?" Taeyeon asked softly.

"I... I'm afraid you'll leave me for someone better." Jessica quietly confessed, holding back unshed tears. She kept her gaze on her lap, fiddling with her hands.

The space next to her suddenly smelled like flowers, and she felt a hand gently lift her chin. She found herself staring right at Taeyeon, who gazed at her affectionately. "Is that what this is all about?" Taeyeon asked.

A tear fell from Jessica's eye and she suddenly felt ashamed. Taeyeon frowned affectionately. "Aw, don't cry. That makes me want to cry." She smiled, gently wiping Jessica's tears.

Jessica sniffed and took a breath. "I- I don't know what I'd do if you left me." She said, furiously wiping a tear from her cheek.

Jessica suddenly found herself lying on her side on Taeyeon's bed, facing the curtained window. She felt a pair of arms gently wrap around her waist and a face nuzzle her hair. "Don't think about it cuz it won't happen." Taeyeon murmured in her ear as she kissed Jessica's crown. They stayed like that until Jessica's soft cries reduced to sniffs and hiccups.

Taeyeon turned Jessica to face her. The blonde had a serious expression on her beautiful features. "I just don't want you to treat me like a possession you can disregard whenever you want. I'm your girlfriend, and I get hurt if you do things like that without thinking about me."

Jessica reached out and brushed the bruised flesh below Taeyeon's eye. "I'm so sorry." She whispered, caressing the blonde's cheek.

Taeyeon turned her head and kissed the hand gently grazing her skin. "I said it's okay already didn't I? Don't worry Sica, I can cover it with makeup. And it doesn't hurt anymore."

Jessica bit her lip. "Still."

Taeyeon reached out to gently push Jessica's hair from her face. "And you don't have to worry about me leaving you. I'm not going anywhere."

The brunette looked away. "How can you be so sure?"

Jessica looked up to meet Taeyeon's eyes. Baby brown met dark onyx in a breathtaking gaze. Neither said a word; both just lay there in the other's warmth, drowning in their own world that no one could ever begin understand.

Taeyeon suddenly brought her face closer to Jessica's and gently brought their lips together, her fingers tilting Jessica's chin up the slightest bit. The kiss was simple, yet sweet; there were no feelings of lust but it was enough to make both girl's heartbeat faster than normal.

After a few moments, Taeyeon broke the kiss and looked into her lover's eyes. "It's gotta be you."

Jessica cast a quizzical glance at the blonde. "What?"

Taeyeon reached out caress Jessica's pale cheek. "No one else can make me feel like this. It's gotta be you Sica."

Jessica finally realized what she meant, and a small smile graced her features. "My one and only."

"It's gotta be you…"

~FIN.~

2NE1's "Gotta Be You"