A fragrant smell.

A fragrance consisting of flowers and mint.

Taeyeon opens his eyes at the images of him being in a recording studio of an established company running through his mind, wincing at the sunlight shining through the half-covered window. A smile crawls upon his face when he finds Jessica's head resting on his arm; the so-called ice princess is nowhere near her title, it seems. Taeyeon doesn't call Jessica that in any way but it puzzles him as to how others could see Jessica like that. Not, that he's complaining, because Taeyeon knows many others would fall for Jessica harder than he did if they ever got a chance to know Jessica as in-depth as he does. He is naturally a morning person, after all, so it doesn't bother him as much as it would his girlfriend.

Pressing a kiss on Jessica’s forehead, Taeyeon makes sure to tuck Jessica in so she wouldn’t get a cold. He, on the other hand, gets dressed decently and goes to the kitchen – another chance to impress Jessica? Yes, please.

“Eggs? Bacon? American, it is.”

Taeyeon tries not to turn the volume of his music too high lest he woke Jessica up, but it doesn’t stop him from dancing like a cute dork. He cracks an egg with one hand, the other turning up the heat so he could make sunny side-ups. Jessica loves having American-style breakfasts and Taeyeon happens to be pretty damn good at making those. He never thought opposites in a relationship as a positive trait but it’s proving to be helpful. The things Jessica hates, Taeyeon likes; the things Taeyeon loves, Jessica hates deeply and vice versa. It's probably the reason they complement each other so well.

Jessica sits up from the bed, stretching her limbs as she basks her body in the sunlight. The music that can be heard from the room is a sign that Taeyeon is well awake and busy already. She comes out of the room dressed in one of Taeyeon’s white shirts and she leans against the doorframe, biting her fingertip as she watches Taeyeon move in the kitchen. She knows Taeyeon is a huge fan of one of the hottest groups of all time, 'Red Velvet' and plays their songs all day long. Jessica too, knows a bit about them and the song he's singing right now is upbeat. She wonders, though, how can Taeyeon make a simple, fun dance look so y?

‘Those muscles will be the death of me,’ Jessica swallows nervously, her eyes scanning Taeyeon from head to toe. She can hardly believe that they spent the whole night loving each other and she didn't even notice Taeyeon's hot body.

“Jung Sooyeon, stop ogling my body already,” Taeyeon exclaims out of the blue, placing their breakfast onto the table. He can feel Jessica’s strong gaze on him; he just didn’t say anything because he expected her to move on her own. “Come and have your breakfast before we go to class.”

Jessica walks in with her cheeks resembling cherry tomatoes, hugging Taeyeon from the back. She mentally feels at ease now that Taeyeon can’t see her embarrassment - Taeyeon might be a gentleman through and through but it doesn't mean he isn't good at teasing her to the ends of the earth. In fact, Taeyeon happens to be terrible at getting signals, whether it's for him to stop the teasing or whether it's a signal for him to start getting seduced. She finds extreme fun in realising that actually. Her boyfriend is so whipped and lovely; there's nothing Jessica can complain about. With the way Taeyeon treats her like a princess, Jessica can’t begin to imagine life without him.

There are many things that Taeyeon doesn't need to do actually, including worshipping Jessica the way he does now. Jessica fears that one day, it'd be the exact reason why Taeyeon leaves her.

“Shall we have lunch out?”

“Mmhmm… up to you,” Jessica mumbles, her face digging deeper into Taeyeon’s back. She is in the midst of paradise right now; there isn’t any reason for her to be bothered about lunch.

Taeyeon holds Jessica's arms around his waist tightly, tenderly rocking the two of them back and forth. He relishes the feeling of being this close to Jessica all the time because they don't get many opportunities once campus reopens. Neither of them are a fan of gossip, though Jessica has no qualms scaring the lot of people who dare to even take a glance in their direction. She is in complete control of their privacy, whether others want to abide by it or not. Jessica is not known as the ice princess for nothing, and it does come in beneficiary at times.

Jessica giggles when Taeyeon stops moving completely, standing as stiffly as a rock. She finds it more comical because he was originally doing something but he stopped so they’d be more comfortable in their position. It’s cute and strangely arousing: Taeyeon putting down whatever he’s doing to make Jessica comfortable and happy. A rare trait in men but Jessica's even prouder to have Taeyeon like that.

“Clingy Sica is cute. You should show it more, y’know.”

“Shut up.”

Taeyeon feels Jessica’s lips pressed against his cheek before quick footsteps are heard and all he gets to see is Jessica’s vanishing back out of the kitchen. He ruffles his hair with a chuckle; it's pretty cute that he is still learning new things about Jessica even while they're dating officially. His eyes follow Jessica's prancing self in the living room and the sharpness of his vision doesn't fail him at all - Jessica is cupping her cheeks like a child because she's blushing so adorably. The fact that Jessica is embarrassed makes it all better for Taeyeon to watch.

An adorable ice princess, that is.

“Jessica! Jessica, wait up!”

Jessica walks even faster, pretending she doesn’t hear anyone calling her. She knows very well who is chasing after her but she’s not interested in having a conversation and never will be. After causing such a turmoil and torturous journey in Jessica’s life, as if she’d want to talk to her like they’re on good terms.

“Yah! I just want to apologize.”

A groan leaves her lips; why are they doing this in front of everyone watching them? Jessica is not looking for any gossip right now, not that she wants to be involved in anything either. Drama is not on the agenda. She hates it even more because Taeyeon is still one of the people that got hurt by this woman before. There is nothing short of a scowl when she turns around to face the said woman, arms crossed over her chest. Goodness, how can she still be smiling after practically starting a staring contest with herself?

“What is it, Sunmi?”

Sunmi gulps audibly when she sees the icy cold stare from Jessica; not that she blames her but it is still scaring the living out of her right now. She can feel her palms getting sweaty as a sign of nervousness but she cannot run anymore. After all, she made a promise to Tiffany – and that is to apologize for everything that happened in the past. It is the only way she can get the closure she wants and the same closure Taeyeon needs. Running from their past has been the only thing they've been doing and it's going to stop right now. At least they can start by becoming proper friends with no ulterior motives, which is exactly what Sunmi wants.

No more motives, no bad thoughts.

Jessica gasps when Sunmi bends at ninety-degrees right in front of her; she most definitely did not expect this to happen when she responded to Sunmi’s constant calling. A y ex-girlfriend who came back to interrupt their lives suddenly bowing like that? It doesn't make any sense. “What the bloody hell are you doing? Everyone’s looking at us!” Jessica hisses, eyes averting from Sunmi. Her initial emotion might have been anger and annoyance but not anymore, If anything, she knows this is more likely to cause an uproar rather than solve the problem between them.

Sunmi doesn’t care how embarrassing this can be for her; she just wants to express her sincerity in apologizing to Jessica while she still has the courage to. She has caused enough damage to the couple, after all.

“I don’t think I can ever make it up to Taeyeon for what I’ve done but I truly am sorry. I don’t think we will be talking much anymore so here I am. I wish you two every happiness.”

“It’s okay… I guess.” Jessica automatically feels her heart soften. She isn’t exactly a stranger to heartbreak or pain but she will never know what it feels like to be abandoned by someone like that. “I just hope you’re at ease now. That isn’t the way to get over your pain, Sunmi. Good luck.”

For the second time since Sunmi has come to this school, a genuine smile crawls onto her face. She never took the time to realise what kind of people Taeyeon has been associating with since they broke up.

Text Message from Tiffany

i'm done with class whenever you are 💌

we can go get some sushi

Sunmi's smile only grows wider at the timely text message; she will always be thankful for Tiffany and her endearing ways. If there is one person who can possibly make her life better in a more selfless way, it would be none other than Tiffany herself. Her therapist was right through and through; as long as one person believes in you and your ability to change, it marks a new and easier start. It’s difficult to even think about recovering to full health again but with Tiffany by her side, a huge load is lifted off her shoulders. A pair of unlikely friends they are, despite the odds against them.

“Is that Tiffany?”

“Um, yeah…” Sunmi mumbles. She knows Tiffany isn’t planning to patch up the friendship with the rest anytime soon, and it breaks her heart. “Look, I’ll talk to her about things, okay? She’s just hurt so give her some time.”

As much as Jessica didn’t fancy people telling her how to feel or what to do, she knows this time is different. She begrudgingly acknowledges the advice and sends Sunmi on her merry way.

Jessica turns around and leans against the lockers with her books hugged to her chest, eyes focused on Tiffany’s locker opposite. The mere sight of anything that reminds her of the latter fills her with so much guilt and pain, yet Jessica has no idea how to solve this. Well of course, Taeyeon did give her similar advice. Since they've shared the same room for months now, Jessica can barely find a place to cry on her own without Taeyeon interferring. Not that it's a bad thing to have him around, but she knows how stressful this period is for him. “Ah, Jung Sooyeon. Stop moping around and start thinking of ways to get her to forgive you. That’s the only way you’ll ever move forward.” Jessica whispers to herself, taking a deep breath to calm herself down.

Hopefully, her cousin and her best friend will have cooled their jets by now... 

*

Yuri has the covers up to his chin as he tries  not to think too much about the pain down below, his hand holding a bag of ice against his crotch. He didn't even get a chance to respond to Yoona before the pain shot through his bones; it was an understatement to say it hurt a little bit, Yuri swears he saw the room spin and his vision blur. The high-pitched shriek that escaped Yuri's lips was loud enough to wake the dorm rooms on either side of his, and his falling to the floor was almost cinematic. 

“Yul… Yul… how are you feeling?” Yoona mumbles, fingers running through Yuri’s messy fringe. She didn't mean to hurt him this badly; it was just a reflexive action. Either way though, she'll try her best to make it up to him. 

“In pain.”

An audible snort is heard, and Yuri removes his arm to glare at Yoona straightaway. He struggles to sit up with his hand still grasping at the bag of ice, leaning against the headboar