I forgot to say… I love you too...

"Ms. Jessica! Ms. Jessica!" 

She turned around, attempting to find the source of this frantic call for help amidst the chaos. Hats were flying, paper mache props crumbling, mothers were frantically zipping children into costumes… and one little girl, with her crayon hat falling off her head, was running towards her with a look of terror on her face. Her first graders were performing their end of the year play, a cute musical about crayons in a box all trying to fit in that was written and choreographed by the music teacher… and they were falling apart. But Jessica Jung was used to it… after 3 years of teaching first grade, 6 such performances and countless meltdowns… according to her experience, everything was going according to schedule.

"What's wrong, Tiffany?" she asked the little girl running towards her.

"Ms. Jessica… I forgot my line!" Tiffany said breathlessly. Jessica frowned… Tiffany was one of her more needy students, for sure… her mom had passed away when she was just a baby, and although she had an awesome dad and an actively involved grandmother, nothing could really make up for the loss of her mother. Tiffany was struggling in school, and Jessica had spent the year trying her best to help her keep up. The result? A strong bond between teacher and student. She knew that Tiffany looked up to her quite a bit, and knew she would be sad to see her little buddy go off to second grade.

Jessica brought herself back to the moment, where this young little girl was still looking at her pleadingly, asking about a line that Jessica wasn't aware of.

"Sweetie… you don't have any lines, remember?" Jessica clarified for the young one. Jessica had sat in on several rehearsals, one of which had just taken place not two hours before, at the end of the school day – she was fairly certain that Tiffany had spent the entire play in the background, singing along with her classmates.

"Yes, I do, and I can't remember it and I'm going to ruin the whole play!" Tiffany whined, on the verge of tears. The music teacher, Ms. Krystal , walked by at that moment, and Jessica quickly caught her arm.

"Ms. Krystal … Tiffany is very upset because she can't remember her lines, but I don't think she has any… was there some sort of mix up?" she asked. The music teacher's eyes flashed from the first grader, to the teacher and then back again, and a look of recognition dawned on her face.

"Ah… I know what she's talking about. Come here, dear, I'll help you remember…" Ms. Krystal said, taking Tiffany’s hand and hurrying her away. "We're about to start, Jessica, why don't you find your way to your seat? I can take care of everything from here," she said with a comforting smile. Jessica smiled back, turned and headed for the exit that would take her out of backstage and into the auditorium.

She made her way to a seat, smiling and waving at parents and other family members as she did, and she felt a slight twinge in her heart. Her girlfriend Taeyeon was supposed to be there for the performance – she was pretty supportive, as girlfriends go, and was well known around the school for being more visible at these kinds of events than most of the other teachers' husbands and wife. Unfortunately, she got called on a business trip at the last minute, so she couldn't come. She had left that afternoon and would be gone for almost a week. She missed Taeyeon already – although the two didn't live together, they spent practically every waking moment together.  Jessica sat down in an auditorium chair and couldn't help the smile that popped onto her face, as it did every time when she thought about the day that they met.

Jessica didn't hear what she said at first. He came up and stood near her, looking at her questioningly, but all she could hear was the Girl Generation song coming through her headphones. She pressed pause on her iPod and pulled the earbuds out.

"I'm sorry, what?" she excused herself.

"Is anyone sitting here?" the girl repeated. Jessica eyes widened a bit as she took in her appearance. She didn't look like a creepy guy or girl, about normal height and build, with dirty blonde hair that bordered on longish and a plaid shirt buttoned over broad shoulders. Not to mention that she was standing in front of Jessica at a table in a college dorm cafeteria, so that was a pretty good sign. Jessica inwardly sighed, chastising herself for overanalyzing. She probably just wanted to take the chair.

"Nope," Jessica replied to the girl question. The girl smiled impishly.

"Mind if I join you?"

Jessica was too surprised to really respond, and all she managed was a few stutters and a "O… okay." The girl pulled her backpack off her shoulders and plopped it down onto the ground next to her before setting her tray down and settling in across from Jessica. Jessica shook her head slightly, as if trying to shake herself out of something.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" Jessica asked. The girl shook her head.

"No, you definitely don't know me." The girl paused, and for a split second Jessica wondered if the girl was going to leave it at that. The girl wiped her hand off on her napkin before extending it to Jessica. "Taeyeon. My name is Kim Taeyeon." Jessica shook the girl hand amusedly.

"Jessica Jung. Nice to meet you," she introduced herself. Taeyeon smiled at Jessica before looking down at her tray and picking up her burger. They sat in silence for a moment, Jessica finding the whole situation funnier by the second. She finally decided to bring the subject up for herself.

"So… Taeyeon can I ask why you decided to sit with me? Someone you don't know?" she asked. Taeyeon nodded, then held up a hand to indicate that she wanted to finish chewing before she answered Jessica.

"Sure you can ask Jessica, it's a perfectly legitimate question," she finally said. Taeyeon took a sip of water. "So here's the thing… you are by far the most beautiful girl in this cafeteria." Jessica looked down at her tray, feeling a fierce blush come to her cheeks. "I mean, you're probably used to that. I'm sure you're the most beautiful girl in most cafeterias. Anyway, point being, clearly I don't have a chance with you, and I know that. But, since you are the most beautiful girl here, if I'm seen eating with you, it automatically boosts my potential in the eyes of all the so-so girls around here, and I have more of a chance with them anyway, so…" Jessica looked up at Taeyeon, unsure of whether she should be insulted and storm off or laugh her off. Taeyeon smiled up at Jessica through her eyelashes, then leaned a bit toward Jessica.

"By the way Jessica… in case you couldn't tell… that was a total ploy to ask you out," Taeyeon whispered with a wink. Jessica started laughing.

"Sure… why not Taeyeon?"

Jessica was pulled out of her thoughts when the lights dimmed and the curtains opened. A hush fell over the crowd before Ms. Krystal stepped onto the stage.

"Good evening and welcome families! Welcome to our end-of-the-year performance. As you are probably aware, we are performing a musical tonight entitled, 'All the Colors of the Rainbow.' However, before we get started on that, the first graders of Ms. Jessica’s class have prepared a special performance." Jessica sat up a little straighter in her chair, a smile on her face. Ms. Krystal winked down at her. "Enjoy!" she said before walking offstage. The curtains closed for a moment, and Jessica heard the noises of her class getting settled on the stage. She giggled. The curtains opened again, revealing a scene showing two of her students, Yuri and Tiffany, standing in front of a set showing two of the tables they used for lunch, with food spread onto them. Tiffany was sitting down at the table, Yuri standing next to her.

"Do you remember this place, my dear?" Yuri said dramatically. Jessica stifled a laugh behind her hand.

"Of course I remember darling… this is where we first met," Tiffany responded, just as dramatically. Jessica giggled again, wondering where exactly this little skit was going.

"I made the best decision of my life when I decided to talk to you," Yuri said. "I knew you were the most beautiful girl in that cafeteria, and I still think that today."

Jessica’s breath caught in . Suddenly this scene was extremely familiar.

Yuri got down on one knee. Jessica’s hands flew to .

"Jessica SooYeon Jung…" Yuri couldn't help giggling at this point. Yuri was looking over at her teacher, waiting for a reaction. Suddenly the rest of the class walked out from backstage, carrying a big banner reading "Will you marry me?"

Tears sprang to Jessica’s eyes.