2

Comfort And Captivation

It wasn’t a rare sight to witness the young girl spending her time alone practicing after regular hours. Although she tried her hardest, something was still not right and she was persistent to perfect it, especially due to the upcoming showcase that she was going to participate in, she was determined to stand out from other trainees.

Stephanie’s body elegantly moved to the slow count of the beats within the song as her eyes focused upon the reflection of herself, inspecting her own every movement from the mirrors on the studio walls.

She grunted frustratedly and collapsed to the ground from the overbearing exhaustion that coursed through her, grasping her water bottle she combed her fingers through her hair that had dampened slightly from perspiration. She glanced up to the mirror in defeat, that is when she noticed a familiar figure leaning casually against the door frame as if she’d been observing for some time.

“You’re back”

“I am”, Taeyeon’s voice began to echo as she approached, her footsteps becoming audible in the silence that existed.

“You scared me there, how long have you been here?”   

“A while”

“I saw you on the news”, Stephanie informed quietly, “Congratulations on your Japan Tour”.

Her exhaustion seemed to disappear as Taeyeon’s presence comforted her.

“Thank you”

Not minding the short answers, Stephanie softly smiled, showing off her eye smile as she is did so, for some unknown reason she was feeling somewhat happy to see the star once again, inwardly believing that Taeyeon’s feelings mirrored her own. They shared a moment of comfortable silence until Stephanie realised that she need to continue her practice as the night drew closer with every passing minute.

"I would love to talk to you more but I really have to practice I hope you don't mind", she bowed apologetically before turning away and regaining her focus.  

Taeyeon’s eyebrows furrowed as she expressed her confusion with the girl’s lack of attention, although she despised being constantly in the limelight, she was unfamiliar to the outside world and such behaviours that did not revolve around her.

“Let me help you”, instead of waiting for a response, Taeyeon grabbed hold of Stephanie’s wrist and pulled her to the middle of the studio. Unaware of the sudden action, this caused Stephanie to trip over her own feet and stumble into Taeyeon.

With a quick reflex she was easily caught, suspended above the ground in Taeyeon’s arms. This time, Taeyeon offered out a hand to Stephanie as she slowly guided her to the center of the floor. She unravelled her scarf from around her neck and concealed Stephanie’s eyes with the garment, eliciting a gasp from the latter. Silently, she brought the pair of hands she had been holding around her neck, before closing the distance between the two of them, wrapping her arms around the girl’s waist.

Stephanie’s breath hitched from the sudden movement and Taeyeon wasn’t afraid to vocalise her amusement with a low chuckle as she witnessed the girl’s reaction. Her lips slowly closed in on Stephanie’s ear, enough for her to feel hot breath against her skin.

“Do I make you nervous, Stephanie?” Taeyeon whispered with intrigue.

“N-no”, she stuttered. “How am I suppose to practice if I cannot see anything?”

Loosening her grip, Taeyeon kept a slight hold on Stephanie’s right hand as she gracefully spun her around and brought their bodies close again.

“Breathe”, she simply stated.

“It is not about what you can see” Taeyeon explained “but it is what you can feel, that is what you are really projecting to the audience”

“And if I tell you that I will be invisibly guiding you through the night,” Taeyeon spoke as their bodies swayed side to side.  “holding on to you just like this,” she tightened her embrace around Stephanie’s waist, almost like she was trying to emphasise her point, observing every facial expression as she continued her words.

“and that if things ever go wrong, if you fall, I will be there to catch you,”

“Would you trust me?” Gentleness in her voice as she spoke.

As if fate was trying to toy with their emotions, the flimsy fabric that was doing the job of blindfolding Stephanie became untied and fell delicately onto the floor. The music that was playing slowly became a distant background as the silence engulfed between the pair when the two undestined eyes met and came into contact with one another.

It was as if she was trying to figure out what could possibly be on the older woman's mind, Stephanie remained unfazed as her eyes fixated upon Taeyeon's dark orbs.

“Why are you so nice to me?”, the younger girl questioned.

“Perhaps I’m captivated”

“Captivated by what? ”

“By you”

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A/N - Credits to Anaxandra for the support. Happy 1 Year Anniversary boo, I love you.

Minoko ♡