To put it simply, Taeyeon was ignoring Jungsu.

During the ending of the concert, he was staring at her, and she knew he was. But she never returned the glances, the smiles, the laughs--any of it. He filmed her waving to the fans and playing with her beloved pea plush toys.

She never looked back.

On the bus ride back to the hotel, Taeyeon walked right pass the empty seat beside Jungsu and plopped down next to Kyuhyun, who was sitting further back.

“That seat is actually for Chang--”

“Can you help me with something?”

Kyuhyun shrugged. “I guess, if it involves gaming or--”

“How do you know if you’re in love?” Taeyeon smiled wryly. “I’ve seen the way you look at Seohyun, so I thought you could answer my question.”

Kyuhyun coughed awkwardly. “Ah, well, Seohyun, um...she and I--”

“How do you know?” Taeyeon repeated.

“It’s hard to explain, because it’s different for everyone, really. For one person, it could be that they think about the other a lot.”

“I see,” Taeyeon mused.

“For some, their hearts race when they see the other person just walk into the room.” Kyuhyun gave a side-glance at Taeyeon. “So...are we talking about Jungsu?”

“What?” she snapped.

“Nothing!” Kyuhyun gulped; Taeyeon had her scary moments.

“I just need to know,” she murmured. “I hate feeling confused.”

“The first step to solving this problem is admitting you have a problem.” the maknae advised.

“How do I do that?” Taeyeon asked.

“Admit to me that you love Jungsu--err, whoever it might be.” Kyuhyun chuckled nervously.

“It is him,” Taeyeon whispered, so no one would overhear.

“Knew it,” Kyuhyun muttered. “Ah, I mean, go on, now. Tell me.”

“Tell you...?”

“Tell me that you love him.”

Taeyeon took a deep breath. “I...”

“Continue,” Kyuhyun made a gesture with his hand.

“I love--”

“Taeyeon!”

“Jungsu!” Taeyeon yelped.

“Are you ignoring me?” he frowned, visibly upset.

“N-No,” Taeyeon stammered.

“Didn’t know she ever stuttered,” Kyuhyun said under his breath, casually looking out the window, pretending he wasn’t eavesdropping.

“Then what’s wrong?” Jungsu knelt down so he was looking up at her.

“I feel really...sick.”

Or I could be in love you.

“You sure?” he put a hand on her forehead. “You seem okay.”

“No, ah, my stomach hurts.”

Because now there are butterflies that were never there before.

“Get some rest, okay?” Jungsu smiled kindly, patting Taeyeon’s head adoringly.

“I’ll try,” Taeyeon smiled.

I know now; I love you.

Time Period: October 23, 2011 (SMTOWN NYC)

Song: Loveless (Instrumental) - Yamapi