She hopes she didn’t wait too long. She hopes she hadn’t been dodging Taeyeon for too long. But with the way their reunion went, she had confidence that tonight, things were going to change. This was the second chance Sunmi longed for.

After all that hard work, after all those years of waiting, Sunmi wants to believe that she deserves this.

And maybe, just maybe Sunmi thought, Taeyeon was just waiting for her this whole time.

“Sometimes, it’s all about the timing,” Yeeun says as she brushes Sunmi’s hair. “Maybe back then it just wasn’t the right time for you guys but now, maybe now it’s the perfect time.”

For this special event, all of the girls were gathered at Sunmi’s apartment to help her prepare and to give her the moral support they knew she needed. They were all going to spend those rare moments of free time sleeping and recovering for the continuation of their busy schedule, but they knew this was where they needed to be.

And after Sunmi hugged all three of them when they appeared at her doorway, they knew it was damn well worth it.

Sohee wanted to be there for her as well, but she was feeling sick that week and instead opted for a good luck text instead. Sunmi was thankful either way, knowing very well that she was going to have to call Sohee tomorrow to give her all the juicy details.

Lim was finishing up Sunmi’s make-up while Yubin helped her narrow down her choices for the perfect outfit. All of the girls were busy fussing over Sunmi, allowing the girl the chance to not bounce off the walls too much out of nerves.

“I hope you’re right, unnie,” Sunmi sighs as she runs her fingers through her hair.

“Of course she’s right,” Yubin calls out from her bedroom, “Tonight, you’re going to make her fall in love with you all over again.” Sunmi can see the older girl wink at her from the corner of her eyes, causing her to chuckle. It made her feel more confident, more ready and less like she might pass out as she gains more support from her friends.

“Who says she stopped loving you though?” Lim comments, putting the finishing touches on Sunmi’s face.

“Don’t give me too much hope,” Sunmi pouts, lightly pushing her over. She knows that Lim is just being supportive and the thought is reiterated when the younger girl pulls her into a tight hug, catching Yeeun off guard.

“Lim is right though,” Yeeun says as she puts the brush down and steps back to admire her work. “The way you explained things the last time we talked about it, it just seemed like obstacles were in the way. Your work, her work, both of you being too afraid to try again with everything going on. And now? There are no more obstacles it seems, no more excuses. Like I said, timing is everything.”

Yubin bursts out of Sunmi’s room, holding the perfect outfit over her head in triumph.

“Ta-da!!” she exclaims with pride, showing the dress off to her group mates. Yeeun and Lim nod in approval and Sunmi just stares at her with big eyes.

“Since when did I own that?” she yells in surprise, a blush very proudly sitting on her cheeks.

In Yubin’s hands is your classic date dress. It was short, black and backless and Sunmi is almost certain that she’s never seen that before in her life.

“Since now,” Yubin retorts with a smirk, “Yours truly will gladly let you borrow this for tonight.”

Sunmi reaches out to grab the dress and presses the fabric to her body, trying to imagine it on herself. It’s not like she’s never worn anything like it, but it wasn’t something she’d imagine sitting happily in her closet.

“But what if this isn’t even a date?” Sunmi mumbles as she’s being pushed into her room to change. “What if I’m just…”

All three girls place a finger over Sunmi’s lips at once, silencing the girl in her train of thought.

“We’ve been preparing you for about an hour now,” Yeeun begins, a wide smile across her face, “Don’t even try to tell me you didn’t already think of this as a date.”

“And believe me,” Yubin starts, a smile replicating Yeeun’s clear across her face as well, “Taeyeon thinks of this as a date too.”

The smile on Lim’s face is also exactly the same and Sunmi suddenly feels cornered.

“Just put on the dress so we can tell you how amazing you look!”

As soon as Sunmi shuts the door behind her, her three friends take the time to sprawl themselves across Sunmi’s couch, exhausted.

“It feels like her first date with Taeyeon all over again,” Yeeun recalls fondly, her head resting on Yubin’s shoulder.

“Are we gonna stay here until she comes back?” Lim asks as she leans her head on Yubin’s other shoulder.

“Mmm, something tells me that she won’t be coming back tonight,” Yubin chuckles, raising her eye brows up and down at no one in particular. “Or if anything, she really won’t want us here if they decide to come back here.”

Lim’s face turns into a bright red colour as she instantly connects the dots. She slaps Yubin’s arm before starting to laugh herself.

“Hey unnie, since you had the dress this whole time, what were even doing in Sunmi’s room?” Lim asks innocently, knowing that Yubin had been in the room for about forty minutes before they heard her speak up.

“Probably sleeping,” Yeeun responds for the other girl, squeezing her arm lightly. “This girl’s been working way too hard lately.”

“We all have been,” Yubin responds with another light laugh, “But yeah, Yenny’s right. I took a good old fashioned nap.”

Suddenly there’s a knock on the door and all girls sit up immediately, surprised by the noise.

“Didn’t Sunmi say that they were supposed to meet up at like 8 at her dorm?” Yeeun asks, genuinely confused. The other girls just shrug before Lim offers to go get the door.

She feels a little hesitant at first but then remembers to look into the peephole. On the other side is a small blonde woman pacing back and forth with a beautiful bouquet of flowers. Her hair is down and sitting on one side of her head making it very easy to see the worried look on her face. Lim is relieved to see that the object of Sunmi’s affection is feeling just as nervous.

“It’s Taeyeon-shi!” she squeals in a whisper, “And she’s holding flowers!!”

Yeeun’s giggling at this point because Lim is just bouncing in place, clearly excited to see the girl on the other side. She feels warm on the inside as well, knowing very well that this evening was going to turn out favourable for her precious Sunmi.

As soon as she’s done jumping, Lim’s unsure of what to do but suddenly, Yubin is reaching around her and unlocking the door.

“Taeng!” she cooes as she opens the door. It’s hard not to laugh at the face Taeyeon makes upon seeing her, definitely not expecting to see her on the other side.

“Taeyeon!” Yeeun greets as well, waving awkwardly from her place by the couch.

“Taeyeon-unnie,” Lim finishes off the greetings, feeling a little left out as she steps behind Yubin shyly.

“Hi,” Taeyeon replies with a nervous laugh. She’s struggling to find words, not expecting to find Sunmi’s entire family behind the door. “I guess you guys…know, huh?”

The three women nod in unison, Yubin elbowing Taeyeon lightly in jest.

“But where is umm,” Taeyeon turns pink and shifts to hiding behind her flowers, “Where’s…”

As if right on time, Sunmi emerges from her room all dressed for the evening. However she doesn’t see the scene before her immediately as she’s trying to look at her back.

“Unnie, can you zip this for me?” she asks with her back now turned, not feeling the change in the atmosphere.

At first nobody moves and the four other women are glancing at each other. Well, it’s mostly the Wonder Girls staring at Taeyeon, gesturing for her to do the simple act. She doesn’t move however until Yubin has to push her, causing both Yeeun and Lim to snicker.

Taeyeon sighs to herself in defeat and lifts her arm to reach for the zipper. She’s blushing and her hand is shaking slightly as she holds the little zipper in her hand. She’s mumbling to herself before turning back to glare at Yubin who just looks like she’s eating up the entire scene before her.

“All done,” Yubin calls out instead of Taeyeon, and then Lim and Yeeun are holding onto her arms in anticipation, everyone holding their breath.

“Took you long enough,” Sunmi grumbles before she turns around. “You know we still have to pick my shoes before I go on my da-“

“Hi,” Taeyeon says shyly as she takes in the entirety of Sunmi’s look for the night. She knows that Sunmi’s surprised, which is exactly what she wanted but she’s feeling speechless as well. That part wasn’t exactly planned but she’s happy. It’s never a bad thing to unexpectedly get the breath knocked out of your lungs. All she knows to do now is stick her hand out and offer the flowers to the younger girl. “For you.”

Yeeun, Yubin and Lim take this as their cue to leave. Silently, they pick up their belongings and walk out the door, giving a speechless Sunmi whose jaw is hanging open a thumbs up before disappearing for the night.

“Th-Thank you,” Sunmi nearly falls over her words as she accepts the unexpected gift. “You really didn’t have to,” she mumbles before taking in the fresh scent of the flowers.

“Seeing you react like that definitely makes it worth it,” Taeyeon laughs, as if she wasn’t just frozen a moment ago. “Besides, what’s a date without a few flowers?”

Sunmi nods before bravely making the attempt to make eye contact again, “So this is a date?”

Taeyeon laughs again and Sunmi has to close her eyes to take in the sound. It’s familiar yet unfamiliar, a sound she had missed this whole time. The laugh that only came out for her.

“Of course it is,” Taeyeon responds, grabbing Sunmi’s free hand and giving it a kiss. Tingles go up her spine and she wonders if Taeyeon can see the goosebumps on her arm.

“I really missed you,” and Sunmi’s surprised that it’s not her voice saying those words.

“I missed you too,” she replies almost breathlessly, almost immediately, as if on reflex.

Taeyeon smiles at the younger girl before squeezing her hand lightly. Her thumb is gently caressing the back of her palm and despite the erratic beating of Sunmi’s heart, the action seems to be calming her down.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?” Taeyeon chuckles, knowing exactly what she just heard.

And Sunmi knows this, she knows this tactic and suddenly she can feel her heart and head bursting. The smirk on Taeyeon’s face is unmistakeable and Sunmi resists the urge to pinch her cheeks.  No more holding back, she tells herself as she flings her body forward to catch Taeyeon in a breath taking embrace.

“I missed you!” she almost yells this time as she cries into the older girl’s shoulder. Taeyeon quickly follows up the hug by wrapping her arms around Sunmi’s waist, pressing the girl to herself as tightly as possible, returning the affection.

Taeyeon is rubbing circles into the small of Sunmi’s back as the younger girl lets out her tears. She knew their reunion would be emotional and she knew how much Sunmi could cry when she felt overwhelmed. And in all honesty she also wanted to cry, but she wanted to stay strong for Sunmi, to run her fingers through her hair and tell her everything is okay. She wanted to be her rock again, to be her support, if possible, despite her shortcomings the first time around.

“I’m not leaving anytime soon,” Taeyeon whispers into her ear, squeezing Sunmi before lightly patting her playfully. “I promise things will be different this time. I won’t let you go so easily.”

Promise. Sunmi had heard that word before and they had promised each other the same thing years ago. She was hesitant, but she knew things really could change. There was no way she’d suddenly be flung into the States again and there was no longer a childhood she wanted to reclaim, a different life she wanted to try. She was happy where she was, back with her favourite girls and back in the arms of the love of her life.

“Pinky promise?” Sunmi asks as she sticks her pinky in Taeyeon’s face. Her eyes are still watery but she’s looking at the older woman with so much sincerity, so much love and so much need.

“Pinky promise,” Taeyeon doesn’t hesitate and links her pinky immediately, the two solidifying their words. “Now, let’s get going. As much as I want you all to myself, we have a reservation waiting for us.”

“Let me just put these in water,” Sunmi says as she scurries off to find a vase. She also needs the extra time to make sure she’s not red eyed when they leave the apartment. Not wanting Taeyeon to wait too long she hurries the process as much as possible. And when she’s back to her living room, Taeyeon is just slouched on the couch with her eyes closed and her limbs spread out.

Sunmi can’t help but smile at the precious human being in front of her. She must be as exhausted as she was, probably even more so knowing how hard SM worked their artists. And a double single comeback with a full album? Sunmi really appreciated Taeyeon taking the time to come see her.

She leans forward and kisses Taeyeon on the forehead, feeling incredibly content when her face contorts from its sleepiness to a wide smile. And suddenly, a hand is on her arm and pulling her back and Taeyeon’s lips are pursed now, one eye opening to take a peek at Sunmi.

Sunmi turns a bright red at the gesture and she just slaps Taeyeon, not sure if she’s ready for that yet.

“Fine,” Taeyeon whines as she lets go and gets up from her slouching position. It’s strange how casual she’s acting despite being all dressed up. Sunmi feels like it’s years ago again and they’re just hanging out at her dorm with no one else around. Back then, Sunmi had no problem giving into Taeyeon’s requests and often times that kiss on the lips turned into something much more…

“What are you thinking about?” Taeyeon asks slyly, raising her eye brows at Sunmi, knowing exactly what the answer to her question was.

“None of your business,” Sunmi retorts with a shake of her head, her face doing its best to cool down. She almost feels 17 again and once again she wonders if she’s dreaming.

Tonight, they really were starting over again.