Taeyeon sighs hard when her parents start nagging her to get ready. Of course she was happy that day because it was the day of her wedding rehearsal. She was happy, ecstatic even, because she’s going to get married to her first love; not everybody gets to marry their first love.

She first met Jessica in college. What captivated her the most was how passionate the girl was in everything that she did. Though they were complete opposites, they managed to work things out until the time came that they decided they were both ready to start a new chapter in their lives. Everything was perfect for the both of them and the only thing that’s left to do is for them to get married.

Of course Jessica’s parents objected at first, for reasons such as, their relationship was unconventional, however, Taeyeon was filthy rich and Jessica’s family needed someone to drag them out of bankruptcy and humiliation. Soon enough, they agreed when Taeyeon’s parents offered to help them get back on track.

“Taeyeon, come on!” Mrs. Kim hollered, signalling for Taeyeon to come to the car immediately. Hearing her mother’s call, the girl quickly went down the stairs, stopping by the mirror for a quick look and voila, she was set to go. She entered the car and her parents started blabbering about the Jungs and how business minded they were. She sighs when the topic landed on her and how much money she’s going to inherit.

Sure, Taeyeon was rich but she never really wanted their money. She wanted to earn on her own but she knew that without their money, Jessica’s parents probably would have kicked her out of their lives. At some point, she’s still thankful for their wealth.

She breaks into a smile when they arrived at the Jungs’ residence. It was quiet, an old house that looked like an ancestry house but it still looked good though. Well-maintained. They were greeted by Jessica’s parents who looked not at all happy when Taeyeon greeted them but the girl thinks that she should get used to it by now. She doesn’t care. She’s not going to marry them anyway.

“Good afternoon Mr. and Mrs. Kim.” they greeted, flashing smiles that were almost too obvious and fake. Taeyeon fought the urge to roll her eyes and instead chortled quietly at the corner.

“Hello, it’s a pleasure that we meet.” Mr. Kim said, politely nodding at the couple in front of them. Deep inside he doesn’t mean it because he knows these kinds of people too well. He works with them everyday.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you too.” Mr. Jung replied, smiling at the couple who was probably from the same age range as him and his wife.

“Shall we?” Mrs. Jung directed them inside the house and Taeyeon’s eyes began roaming around, trying to find the girl she wanted to see the most. A frown became evident on her face when she saw no one around, just a plain old house with a grand piano in display. Pathetic.

“Your house is so...” Mrs. Kim crinkled her nose when she slid her fingers at the top of the grand piano. Dusty. She had always been so delicate especially when it comes to dirt. She always wanted their house to be squeaky clean, not a single pan of dust or dirt or else everybody in the house gets fired.

“Beautiful?” Mrs. Jung interfered, chuckling when Mrs. Kim smiled at her, “I could refer you to our interior designer.”

Mrs. Kim scoffed and Mr. Kim gave her a look,

“Thank you but I don’t think we’ll need one soon.” She politely declined the offer. Mrs. Jung nodded her head and Mrs. Kim ended up rolling her eyes at how cocky the woman was. She can’t believe they’re going to be their daughter’s in-laws.

Taeyeon watches old people getting caught up with whatever conversation they were having and they entered a room, completely forgetting that the girl was left there alone with the piano. Taeyeon giggled to herself as she pressed a piano key. She’s always wanted to play the piano but her parents didn’t want her to be interested in other things aside from getting business done. Fortunately, Taeyeon grew up with Youtube and she spent most of her time watching videos and learning the piano herself.

She scanned the place and found no one. Perfect, she thought. She’s never really played for anyone. Not even Jessica. She doesn’t even think that Jessica knew she played the piano. The girl was too busy with her business course to have time listening to music. Everytime Taeyeon tried to play music, Jessica would snap and they’d get into fights. Nobody wants to fight with their loved ones.

She started pressing the white and black keys on the piano, little by little, creating a melody only she could understand. Suddenly, she stopped, then looked around again just to check one last time. She smiled to herself and she straightened her back, getting into a perfectly comfortable position before letting her fingers glide through the keys. She pressed every single piano key with passion, smiling to herself as the melody started invading her mind. Music was so calming, she didn’t understand why people would think otherwise.

She wanted to pursue a career in music but everybody thinks that it’s impractical and that she doesn’t have a future. She furrowed her eyebrows as she started pressing on the keys harder, the melody getting heavier and heavier as her emotions surged up. She wanted to do things for herself. She wanted to follow her heart, but nobody wants her to do what she loves the most, not even Jessica.

Ah, Jessica.

Why does she want to marry Jessica? Honestly, she doesn’t know. Maybe because of her passion? But what about Taeyeon’s passion? Does she not have the right to do and talk about what she’s passionate about?

“What are you doing?”

Suddenly, Taeyeon’s eyes shoot open, flinching and jumping out of her seat because of shock. Jessica was already standing behind her with wide eyes and a raised eyebrow.Oh God, she was going to judge her again.

“N-nothing. I’m... I apologize.” She said, bowing at the woman who looked at her weirdly like playing music was a mortal sin.

“That piano’s gonna get thrown out of the house soon.”

“Oh?” Taeyeon simply answered. Her mind battling the urge to ask the girl if she could instead have it but she knew what the answer was gonna be anyway.

“Yep. It’s just a waste of space.”

“Oh.”

Taeyeon glanced at the piano for a bit before biting her lips, not wanting to say unnecessary things right now. They’re about to get married, she won’t let a fight get on their way. In the end, she swallowed all the words she wanted to say and she let out a sigh, relaxing herself to avoid unnecessary drama. It’s the last thing she wants right now, or so she thought.

“Come on, Tae. Let’s go.” Jessica motioned for her to come and like a little puppy, she obeyed. They enter the room and they are greeted by a number of people. Of course, their parents were there and the one who’s going to officiate the wedding. Taeyeon politely bowed at them and she let out a smile, which was returned by her parents of course. The Jungs, not so much.

“So... let’s start rehearsing?”

“Sure. Come now Tae.”

2 hours later...

“From the top Miss Kim Taeyeon!”

Taeyeon had been reprimanded for the nth time today and she isn’t appreciating the fact that everybody seems to be angry and impatient already. It’s not her fault that she couldn’t say her vows correctly. There’s just a lot going on in her mind right now that she can’t seem to do things correctly. She’s trying, but she can’t do it if people keep on judging her because of her mistakes.

“In sickness and in health, for better or for worse, I will stay by your side, ‘til death do us part.” The person who’s going to officiate the wedding yelled, glaring at Taeyeon who couldn’t even look at him in the eye. He sighed when Taeyeon failed to recite the whole vow again, frustrated, he slams his hands on the table and says,

“I don’t think you’re ready to get married, Miss Kim.”

Taeyeon’s eyes widens, shaking her hands and head furiously, denying his claims. It’s not that she’s not ready. She loves Jessica, she knows she does but... a lot of things are running through her mind right now causing her to be a bit distracted.

“I’m ready! I just... I just...” she takes steps back, intimidated because all eyes on the room are on her. She’s not used to this. She doesn’t like the feeling of people expecting something from her. Once her back reached the door, she gasps, her heart racing. The first thing that comes to her mind is to turn the door knob and run away to allow herself time to think, so she did just that.

All the people inside the room looks at her running away, mostly they were shocked, but the stronger emotion was anger. How could she run away like that? She’s not even brave enough to face them, how could the Jungs accept her as part of their family?

But none of those entered Taeyeon's mind. She just ran, trusting her feet to take her anywhere, hoping when she comes back, her mind is cleared from everything.