CHAPTER FIVE: Taeyeon's backlash

Taeyeon sat in the triage room. An intraveneous drip was hooked into her right wrist. She was getting a shot of Ringer's solution since her energy levels were low but she had a mini guerilla concert at SMTOWN COEXartium to launch the music video she shot. The editing team pulled an allnighter, so it was going to be released two days early- Thursday instead of Saturday. Everything had been as per usual a'la SNSD pace of promoting,  but then there was Jessica's stupid slip up on Tablo's radio show. Taeyeon didn't believe it was a harmless accident on Jessica's part, but if she didn't think otherwise, she might strangle the Jung.

Yeah, so Jessica's, 'as real as Baekyeon' crap had kept her up all night, then she had forty-eight hours straight of music video filming, there was the emotional catharsis thing that Tiffany and Yuri orchestrated by bringing Jessica to the set. Pretty much four nights without sleep. 

As a result, she was in the hospital getting an IV shot of glucose for the two hour concert happening later. They'd all gotten shots before so it wasn't a big deal. But still. If not for Jessica she wouldn't be wasting time at a stupid hospital.

Taeyeon tried to focus on the positives. She was living the dream, and her album had broken solo female album sales records, and now she was going to get a small-scale solo concert with a bunch of fans up close- something she always wanted. And she was singing lyrics she wrote so she understood the nuance behind every word. The thought made her smile. A needle in the arm didn't seem so bad anymore.

Her phone rang. Taeyeon fished it out of her jeans pocket, saw Joohyun on caller ID, and answered it one-handed. "Sup?"

"Hello, unnie. What time does your schedule end tonight?"

"Eight, I think. Why?"

"I'm thinking of cooking ginseng chicken soup with my mother, but since you shouldn't be eating after six, so-"

"Ginseng soup! Joohyun, hyomigod please, you can't do this to me. I'll go to your's after my schedule. Save some for me?"

"Unnie, it's not good to eat so late. You-"

"Ya Seohyun. Did you call just to tease me with the good stuff?"

"No, I didn't... Fine, I'll bring a thermos of the soup to your dorm. Fany-unnie and Sunny-unnie can share it as well."

"You're the best maknae. Help me thank your mom too."

"It's the least I can do, and yes, I will. Your solo promotions must be really hectic, unnie, but I know you'll do your best," Joohyun said. "Why's it so quiet? Are you on a break now?"

"Nah, getting Ringer's."

Joohyun started a health rant, and Taeyeon suddenly found her nails interesting again. She had a professional manicure because she didn't have time to do her own, and the paint from her previous nail art had chipped after shooting the music video.

The guerilla concert was awesome. Even though it had been announced on location thirty minutes beforehand, the eight hundred-seater performance hall was packed. Taeyeon thanked all the staff for their hard work before retiring to the dressing room. On her phone she shot a video thanking her fans for coming out before posting it on Instagram.

On the van ride home, Taeyeon went into her Instagram app to look at the comments. She'd turned the notifications for comments off because getting told, 'You're daebak' and 'you're a ', was too much of an emotional rollercoaster to ride twenty-four hours a day. But ultimately she had to monitor everything, so she just read the comments at one go whenever she had a chunk of free time. 

Taeyeon found herself speed scrolling through thousands of furious, exasperated, know-it-all comments. A few lines were nicely about congratulating her on the guerilla concert, but the majority was just a big fight between EXO fans and her own. Eventually she just exited Instagram and sang along to the music her manager had on the stereo. If she looked like someone died when sharing Joohyun's soup with Tiffany and Sunny later, they would want to talk, and Taeyeon just wanted to get a beer and sleep it off.

It was less than three weeks to the group album release, so the eight of them gathered north of Huksan on Friday morning for the album photoshoot. Album cover, jacket, and in-album pictures. It was Yoona's turn for her solo shoot, and next would be Hyoyeon, so the other girls were just chilling. Currently, Taeyeon and Yuri were sitting opposite each other on roller chairs in the makeup room. Yuri had her long Pilates-grade legs on Taeyeon's lap. Both of them were on their phones. Taeyeon was trying to beat her high score on a mindless game. Yuri... whatever she was doing. She had both earbuds of her headphones in and was singing a song softly. It sounded kind of off-key. The tune was familiar. Taeyeon concentrated on the lyrics. Good god. It was a Soshi song.

A pair of hands landed on Taeyeon's shoulders. She didn't have to look up to know that it was Sunny, because Sunny gave the best massages of the group. Taeyeon groaned in relief when Sunny kneaded the tight kinks in her neck and shoulders. "Sunkyu-abunim, I love you sooo much."

"Taengoo-ah, abunim? Do you want to die?" Sunny squeezed a pressure point, and Taeyeon yelped. She fell off her chair, and Yuri pitched forward, both feet landing on the ground with a bang.

"Ya!" The three shouted at each other.

"Calm down, kids, I could hear you from the restroom," Sooyoung said as she sauntered in, looking down at the 89'ers. 

Taeyeon got back on her chair and Sunny sat on her lap. "Is it Hyoyeon's turn yet?"

"Yep. Then you're next, Yuri," Sooyoung said. "Better be outside on standby."

Yuri stood up, rolling up her earphones before placing her phone in her bag. "Oh yeah. Sooyoung, Sunny, are you free after Inkigayo on Sunday?"

"I have FM Date at night, as usual," Sunny said, "but I'm good before and after."

"I have nothing on," Sooyoung said.

"Okay, then let's meet at my place. Anywhere else would be too conspicuous and who knows where Dispatch's going to be next," Yuri said. "Sica's free. We'll probably get a late lunch."

Sooyoung and Sunny were round-eyed. "Sica?"

"Yes," Yuri said. "You know I've been talking to her. A few days ago she talked to Fany and Taeng too."

Sooyoung and Sunny looked at Taeyeon. "You did?"

Taeyeon shrugged. "Forced by YulTi to an impasse."

"Sounds like we having some catching up to do," Sooyoung said to Taeyeon. Then to Yuri, "Well, you know I've been wanting to get in touch with that princess, but I don't want a crappy reunion. So if Jessica is fine and if Leader-nim is fine, then I'm all for it."

"Me too," Sunny said.

"Settled then. I just have Joohyun left to ask and I'm pretty sure she'll say yes," Yuri said.

Taeyeon took KBS Music Bank that night as the clear winner, Jessica took MBC Music Core on Saturday by a slim margin of thirty-five extra votes, and Taeyeon took SBS Inkigayo on Sunday. 

"The management is happy with your sales," her manager, Keunsuk, said. "So just hang in there for two more weeks, and then we can start group promotions. I'll ask for a lighter load for the last week."

"Thanks, oppa." Taeyeon said. She wasn't too worried about how tiring group promotions would be, because the other seven would be around.

To be honest, Taeyeon was surprised by the wins. Her manager and stylist had been sensitive around her, Heechul and Jiwoong texted her not to mind the netizens, and the members were particularly nice. So Taeyeon had thought that the backlash of Baekyeon and about being the crap leader of Girls' Generation who kicked Jessica out was astronomical. She had expected to be doomed to the unsung rungs of the music programs this week. Instead, she'd won two out of three and the music video for You Know Nothing already charted eight million views on YouTube.

After Keunsuk left the dressing room, Taeyeon changed out into a loose sweater and jeans. She went to the restroom to wash off her makeup before going into a stall to use the toilet.

Taeyeon heard the restroom door open and a few people entered.

"If only they weren't around. We'd have been one of the top three today."

"Yeah, seriously! KBS, MBC, SBS... it is so annoying."

"It's because they're from SM. They have all that support and money, and the brand name. It's like being born to a rich family. Of course you'd do well."

"Yeah, seriously it's only because they're SM and have been around for like eight years. We're all doing the same thing. If we had that kind of upper hand we'd be up there too."

"What kind of dancing was that, anyway? It was nothing special. The singing was okay, but in the end, it's all idol-level singing."

"Ugh. Seriously though, the company should hire better singing instructors for us."

"Nevermind. They're old and breaking up already. People are going to want the fresher version of the same thing."

"Yeah, just clear out already. Give everyone else a chance."

Taeyeon didn't make a sound. She waited until they left. She did not recognize their voices, so they were definitely very recent hoobaes. There were three girl groups that performed today who had debuted less than two years ago. She had heard from her friends in other idol groups that hoobaes nowadays talked like that, but this was the first time she heard it directly. 

Taeyeon wanted to go up to them and say that even if they swapped places, they wouldn't have gotten the same level of success because all of her members were the best and they were the tightest team on the scene. Even if Jessica was gone, they were still the top girl group because they didn't take what they achieved for granted.

But she didn't. Hoobaes with that sort of mentality would self-destruct. She shouldn't explain herself to them. It was refreshing not to get her kissed anyway.

Taeyeon exited the stall and washed her hands calmly. She left the restroom looking straight ahead and quickly went to the carpark, where Keunsuk had the van ready.

Sooyoung and Tiffany, who came to support her (and Jessica) today, were waiting inside the van too. 

"Sunny told us to get some drinks on the way back," Tiffany said.

"Hello, it's three in the afternoon," Taeyeon said.

"We won't drink that much. It just seems like a necessary thing to have," Tiffany said. "Besides, Sooyoung here and Joohyun will be there so you won't be left out."

"Aish," Taeyeon said. "Daytime in the dorm on a Sunday, all of us not doing anything. Meeting up after almost eight months of zero communication... it seems like a recipe for major awkwardness."

"If there wasn't me, sure," Sooyoung said. "But I'll be there and Hyoyeon and Yoona too so it's gonna be just fine."

"Yes, what would we do without the Choi," Tiffany said.

"Just imagine it," Sooyoung said. "The TaeTiSeo featuring Jessica. Joohyun misunderstanding Sica, Fany talking one hundred percent in English, and Taeng havings the awks every episode. That would have been a mega flop."

"Ya, Choi Sooyoung," Tiffany said. "Tae, say something."

"She's not wrong though," Taeyeon said, and Sooyoung laughed in Tiffany's face. 

Taeyeon considered telling them about the hoobaes talking smack about Soshi, but thought better of it. It might ruin the mood, and meeting Jessica had to go as smoothly as possible for the group's sake. It wasn't something to get riled up over anyway. She would tell everyone later, like when they slacked off during practice to motivate them.

A/N: Thanks for the response last chapter. Let me know what you thought of this one:)