Safe haven. 

Those two words constantly ring in Taeyeon's mind. She flips over and slides off the bed. She heads to Joohyun's and Hyoyeon's shared room. Joohyun was still in the kitchen with her thoughts. 

Taeyeon sees that all of Hyoyeon's belongings were left untouched and right where she had left them. Hyoyeon's phone and glasses were still on their bedside table, iPod on the desk and half-read book on the bed, still lying upside down on the page she had left off. 

Taeyeon walks over and sits on the edge of the bed lightly. The forest-green covers still smelt faintly of Hyoyeon, Taeyeon notes with a small smile. Her eyes travel to the bedside table and come to a rest on a photoframe. Taeyeon takes the photoframe in her hands. There's young Hyoyeon and a middle-aged lady standing side-by-side in front of a beach-side house, wearing identical grins on their faces. 


"Who's that lady in the picture?" Taeyeon asks curiously. 

Hyoyeon follows her line of sight and smiles fondly once she sees the photo. "It's a distant aunt of mine, even my parents aren't aware I'm still in contact with her. That was the first time I met her and I guess you could say I like her best out of all my relatives." 

"Where is this place? The sea is beautiful." 

"Her house," Hyoyeon comes over and sits next to her on the bed. "I've always liked that place." 

"Because it's beside the sea?" Taeyeon asks innocently. 

Hyoyeon chuckles. "That's one of the reasons why I like it. But mainly because being away from the city, it made me feel safe. Like I'm protected; a place where I could just leave this hectic world and...breathe.

And my aunt, she's...amazing. Whenever something happened during trainee days or even after debut, I would talk to her. She made me feel appreciated, and that mistakes don't define who you are." 

She pauses, a small, affectionate smile gracing her lips as she stares fondly at the picture.

"It's a safe haven, you know what I mean?" 


Taeyeon almost drops the photoframe. 

                                                          /

It looks exactly like the picture: blue sea, a white-painted house with a hammock on its front porch and a well-manicured garden. 

It almost seems surreal, to be here when Taeyeon is almost sure Hyoyeon is in the house right now. 

She kills the engine and takes a deep breath to calm her racing heart. What if Hyoyeon isn't here after