Taeyeon walked into the bustling restaurant and looked around, searching for her friends. It brought a smile to her face when she saw them sitting in the corner, talking and laughing. Finally the attendance is full today, she thought to herself as she walked towards the long table and sat at the empty seat between Sooyoung and Yoona.

"Yah Kim Taeyeon! You're late!" Sunny glared at her from where she was sitting, across Taeyeon with Joonhyuk to her left.

"Sorry, got held up at work. Kwon Yuri! Welcome home!" She smiled at the person sitting to Sunny’s right whilst taking off her jacket then draped it on the backrest of her chair.

"Thanks Tae. Good to be back."

"Unnie, can we start ordering? I'm so hungry!" Yonna whined from her right while pushing the menu towards Taeyeon. They had made up their minds while waiting for the older girl to arrive.

"Sorry Yoong. Let's order!" She opened the menu and ruffled Yoona’s hair. She laughed when the latter pouted as she fixed her messy hair.

While waiting for their food to arrive, they updated each other on their lives. Taeyeon looked at each of their smiling faces and felt warm inside. It had been a while since they all came together for a meal. For the past two years, Yuri was abroad and could only fly back once in a while.

Sooyoung's phone rang in the midst of their conversation and everybody stopped talking, allowing her to have a phone conversation easily without disturbance.

"Hey Oppa." Sooyoung's tone changed drastically, earning snickers from around the table. She glared at them, motioning them to shut up while listening attentively to her boyfriend on the line.

"No, we're not done yet. You don't have to fetch me. I'll just hitch a ride from one of them later. You have a long day tomorrow so just go to bed early. Don't wait up for me."

Taeyeon brought the cup to her lips and took a small sip of water. She had never told anyone about feeling envious of Sooyoung's relationship with her boyfriend. That her friend was able to find the one, and it's just a matter of time for them to get married. It’s not a question of 'if', but 'when'.

She had started to miss Inha badly, especially on days when she's home and the silence that engulfed her magnified the loneliness she felt. There were no more late night movies, no more cuddling, no more sharing of food when she's indecisive. No more warmth.

Could it be that he was taken for granted? She thought that he would always be there, and would wait for her. It never occurred to her that he'd leave, and she was the one who drove him away.

"Tae… Taeyeon… Yah!" Joonhyuk waved his hand in front of Taeyeon’s face.

"Hm?" She looked up and saw five frowning faces looking at her. "What?" She placed the cup onto the table and glanced at them. She was too deep in thoughts and spaced out unknowingly.

"I've been calling you for the past minute! You zoned out on us." Joonhyuk complained while still frowning, clearly upset that his friend wasn’t paying attention.

"Is something wrong?" Yuri asked with a look of concern, ignoring Joonhyuk's outburst. Whenever Taeyeon had on this blank expression meant she was doing some serious thinking.

Yoona placed her hand atop Taeyeon's and lightly squeezed it, while Sunny smacked Joonhyuk on the shoulder. He should not have reacted that way.

"She's probably just tired after a long day at work," Sooyoung remarked. She had an idea of what caused her friend’s sudden mellowness.

Taeyeon looked at the person beside her and gave her a small smile, conveying her appreciation. "Yeah, just a little tired so I spaced out. Sorry. What were you guys talking about?" She straightened up and made sure to pay more attention.

-----

 "Guys, I have to get going. I have a meeting and some trial runs tomorrow." Yoona stood up and wore her coat.

"Our poor little sister. You should just quit the modeling job and find a 9-5 job. Fixed hours and steady pay," Sooyoung commented, frowning in displeasure as she knew that there's not much time for the younger girl to rest.

"I'm fine, Unnie. And I happen to like my job." Yoona leaned forward and gave an assuring pat on Sooyoung's hand.

"Sooyoung-ah, cut the poor girl some slack. She likes what she's doing, so just let her be." Sunny shook her head a little, discouraging Sooyoung from commenting any further. Of course they were all just looking out for their friend and worried for her health. But she could see that Yonna was really happy with her current career.

"Yoong, I'll take you home. I have to get going too, anyway." Taeyeon stood up and put on her jacket, grabbing her phone that was on the table.

"Go on then, we’ll settle the bill." Joonhyuk gestured towards the others around the table, gaining approval nods.

They bid their goodbyes and Taeyeon walked out of the restaurant with Yoona. "My car's this way." she pointed towards the right and walked alongside the taller girl.

---

"Something's up with her," Yuri said while she eyed her friends walking out of the restaurant. She then turned to face Sooyoung, eyes reducing to slits. "And you know what it is, isn't it?"

"I do, as a matter of fact, but I'm not saying anything. Let her sort things out and tell us when she's ready. I don't have the details anyway," Sooyoung replied coolly. She was not one to speak behind a friend's back, and definitely not when her friend was clearly unprepared.

"Well, since it's definitely not family issues... it could either be work or relationship. She has been dating Inha oppa for a year or so, right? I just hope this one stays. She has had enough of those heartbreaks already," said Sunny when she thought of the amount of pain her friend went through since high school.

Taeyeon's most painful breakup was when she caught her first love cheating on her. She really liked the guy but he was just toying with her feelings. He made use of her and treated her as a 'backup' girlfriend. They hardly met to go out on dates, but gave her his 100% attention whenever they did. She had the impression that he was just busy with his basketball practices and thought nothing of it. Taeyeon was not the clingy girlfriend type, and she had friends to hang out with, so all was well.

Until one day she went to his basketball practice out of the blue and saw him being intimate with another girl from another class. She had a better figure, she was taller, her hair was silky, she was everything Taeyeon's not.

She did not confront him but left and broke up with him the next day. The guy was persistent and did not want to let go of her. Not until Sunny came to her rescue and told him to stop being a jerk.

 "Don’t worry. I'm sure Taeyeon knows what she's doing. Just let her be and she’ll tell us what's wrong soon enough. That kid has always been like that." Joonhyuk reassured the ladies at the table.

Sooyoung kept quiet and gestured for the bill from the incoming waiter. He's definitely not the one, and I hope the right one will come by soon.

---

"How's work?" Taeyeon asked while keeping her eyes on the road, maneuvering through the late night traffic.

"So far so good. Starting to get used to the pace." Yoona answered while switching the radio channels to find one that's not on commercial break.

"Good to know. It's not too taxing is it?"

"Unnie, not you too?" Yoona frowned and stopped fiddling with the radio, knowing exactly where this conversation was heading.

"Hey, we're just worried. We've seen how tough the job is, okay?" Taeyeon defended herself and her friends. "The work condition at times. And don't let me start on the amount of sleep you're getting."

Yoona sighed and looked out the window. "I know," she paused, "but you can't blame me for being so popular because of my looks." She joked, hoping to lighten up the atmosphere and maybe steer away from this topic.

She really liked her job, it opened up her eyes and she was able to learn a lot of things. And she had the looks, height and body, so why not? People would kill to be in her position as one of the budding young models, especially since she had started to gain some recognition in the industry after three years into the job. There were even casting opportunities and drama scripts sent to her agency for her.

"Psh, you and your confidence." Taeyeon rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Yoona-ya, we've never really talked about this. But you do know that we care? And we're proud of you?" She glanced briefly to her right then focused on the road ahead of her again.

"I know, Unnie, I know. Thanks."

"Well then, that aside. Did any of your coworkers hit on you? A tall, muscular and good looking guy maybe?" Taeyeon smirked and turned to look at Yoona when they're at the red light.

"Unnie! You sound just like Umma!" Yoona groaned and buried her head into her hands. "I thought befriending you guys would be gaining more friends, not more ummas to nag at me," she muttered under her breath.

"Alright, alright, I'll stop making fun of you now," she paused. "But seriously, there has to be at least one? Come on, my dongsaeng's so gorgeous!"

"Unnie~!"

Taeyeon chortled while earning continuous light slaps on her shoulder. 

---

It's SONE Limited Party day! Was listening to the live stream while editing this chapter so it took longer than usual. 

Envious of those who were there. The games and all seemed fun. And they got to see Soshi perform Catch Me If You Can live! While I could only get updates through Twitter. Hahaha! The setlist was like a mini Tokyo Dome concert. 

Are you guys addicted to CMIYC yet? It has been on repeat for weeks! Love the choreography so much.

Once again, thank you for subscribing and I'll do my best!

Is the timeline confusing? I mean, I didn't state which day it was or things like that. So let me know if you need any clarifications. For future chapters too. Thanks! (:

-E