Part Four


"You may have caused me some pain, but nothing would compare to the agony of losing you."



The only sounds Taeyeon could hear were the continuous rhythm of strained, heavy breaths and the rapid thumping of her heart as she drove herself forward in a dead sprint.


Her lungs burned as they expanded and contracted rapidly, screaming out to her from the inside to stop and rest, but she couldn't.


She wouldn't.


Even if she were paralyzed from the waist down, Taeyeon would drag herself there on her elbows.


Nothing could stop her now.


Gulping down saliva and dodging oncoming pedestrians, she braced herself for the final approach to the tower, a chaotic whirl of thoughts and voices swirling around in her head.






A flash of light streaked its way across the darkened sky, and there was a deep rumble so low Taeyeon could feel her heart vibrate to the sound.


She stopped abruptly in her tracks.


Another flash of lightning exploded across the sky, and an earth-shattering crack of thunder burst in its wake.


Droplets of rain began to pepper her face, stinging her eyes.




"If you don't ever want to see me again...so be it."




Gritting her teeth, Taeyeon summoned every last ounce of energy in her body and burst forward, desperately trying to blink the rain out of her eyes.


"Please Tiffany, give me some time. I'm coming. I'm coming for you..."









Tiffany merely looked up upon hearing the thunder, unfazed.


She let her gaze drop to the bed of flowers in front of her, gently caressing the light pink petals of a flower with her finger.


One by one, raindrops found their way onto its petals and slid down to its center, weighing down on it and causing it to droop.


Sliding her hand lower and cupping it from underneath, Tiffany plucked the flower from its stem, tipping it over to drain it of the rainwater.


She brought it up to eye level, and twirled it thoughtfully in her fingers as she furrowed her brows.


"You're so beautiful...like this flower. I don't deserve this. I don't deserve you." She said softly, and turned to her right.


Tiffany was standing at the edge now, just behind the safety railing.


She looked out into the distance as raindrops continued to batter her face.


As her hand made contact with the cold metal surface, Tiffany shuddered briefly, her eyes fluttering closed.


"Thank you Taeyeon...for everything I had...everything I have...and everything I could have. I just want one more thing from you...but I can't..." Tiffany's voice choked up from her tears, and she in an unsteady breath.


Slowly unfurling her fingers, she held her hand up higher, and the flower danced about in the wind before finally being carried off, beginning its zigzag descent.


Lowering her now free hand, she grasped tightly onto the safety railing.


"I can't have it."








The rain had gotten heavier now, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to see ahead of her, but Taeyeon managed to make out the familiar facade of a tall building in front of her.


Slowing to a stop, she took a second to catch her breath while straining her neck to look to the top of the building.


As she gazed upward, she caught sight of a tiny object swaying carelessly in the wind, slowly making its way down toward her.


Holding a hand out, she waited as the object twirled around once before falling softly into her palm.


"Tiffany..." She muttered, holding it by its stem and twirling it around as she scrutinized it.


There was another tremendous crack of thunder; so loud that it sounded as if a bomb had just exploded over her head.


Crushing the flower in her hand, she burst through the front entrance of the building.









A savage wind began to blow over the rooftop, whipping around the plastic shelters that now hung unsteadily over the flower beds.


Tiffany was completely drenched by now; her long hair now a matted mass of brown flowing down her shoulders and back, and streaks of hair were strewn across her face.


Gripping tightly onto the railing, she raised a leg and brought it across, and stepped over.








There was a loud banging of metal against concrete as Taeyeon burst through the door of the rooftop access stairway, and she stood paralyzed at the sight which unfolded in front of her.


The ground was littered with crushed and battered flowers and leaves, surrounded by a scattering of wet soil.


Steel cables creaked and screeched as the plastic sheets they were struggling to hold down continued to flap violently in the wind.


And to complete the vision that Taeyeon had tried so hard to keep out of her mind, a slim figure stood motionless beyond the safety rail, head tilted downward, hands by its sides.


She wanted to scream. She wanted to yell for Tiffany to come back, but was afraid that her sudden intrusion might lead to worse consequences.


Fighting to keep herself under control, she took a deep breath and slowly made her way forward, carefully stepping around the litter that was strewn across the ground.


For a moment, the wind seemed to calm and the rain eased up a little.


Time seemed to slow down to a crawl as Taeyeon blinked her eyes slowly, still carefully placing one foot in front of each other, moving forward one step at a time.


In the short silence that followed, a sweet, husky tune wafted its way toward her.



"I will become a warm hearted person...I will become a person who puts others first..."



There was a soft sobbing and an unsteady intake of breath, and the familiar melody came again.



"I will fulfill the wishes of your love...The person who I share my dreams with...The person who used to comb my hair, I think of you..."



It was so silent afterward that Taeyeon could hear her own heartbeat throbbing in her ears and her slow breathing as sh