Fast forwarding to Monday aka the day almost everybody dreaded. Whether it was because of school or work, it was the beginning of a long week. For the Kim family, this meant the beginning of a long period of time to not see Taeyeon. Today was the day that she would leave her family to go fulfill her duty in the military. Although she did love her job, she would for sure miss her family.

Taeyeon was busy packing some last minute items before the bus came to pick her up. “Hey Tiff, have you seen my dog tag? It’s usually right-“ she paused when she saw Tiffany hugging the bear with an army suit on while rubbing the engraved name on the dog tag.

Tiffany sat up and gave a bitter smile as she stood up to put it on Taeyeon’s neck and leaving her hands on her collarbone. “Yeah my bad. I was just looking at it.”

“Baby, please don’t be sad. Think about the good times. Think about how much fun we had yesterday. Your eye smile was practically stuck on your face especially when we went to the arcade and don’t get me started on how happy you were with that eel at the picnic. I was starting to get worried you loved it more than me.” she lightly hit Taeyeon on her chest as they laughed from reminiscing the day they all went out and spent the day together.

“You know I love you, even more than eel.” she stopped and stared in Taeyeon’s eyes. “I’m really gonna miss you.”

“I’m gonna miss you too baby.” They closed the gap between them as their lips collided. Before the kiss could get too heated, a honk and a small voice broke them apart.

“Mommy Tae, the bus is outside!” Seohyun stood in the doorway while pointing to the direction of the bus.

“Welp, I guess this is it.” she broke apart from Tiffany slowly and picked up Seohyun while Tiffany grabbed Taeyeon’s bags and took them into the living room. “I’m gonna miss you princess. Be a good girl while I’m gone ok?”

“Ok but there’s one thing I wanna give you before you go.” Seohyun gave Taeyeon a folded picture that she drew.

Taeyeon unfolded the picture and it became blurry as her tears fogged up her eyesight. It was a picture of all three of them, plus the unnamed baby in Seohyun’s imagination, but this time Taeyeon was in a superhero costume. It was the same as Superman but instead of an ‘S’ on her chest, there was a ‘T’.

Taeyeon cleared as she could feel it burning from holding a cry and cleared her eyes. “It’s beautiful baby. I’m gonna carry this around everyday when I miss you guys too much. You do the same with your Sergeant Kim bear ok?” Seohyun nodded and they engaged in a tight hug before Taeyeon kissed her forehead one last time and stood up.

She grabbed her bags and started to head out to the bus. Just as the doors of the bus doors opened, she looked back to see a red-faced Tiffany and a frowning Seohyun holding hands. Taeyeon gave one last wave to her family and got on the bus after they waved back.

As she got on the bus, there was yelling of her name from her fellow soldiers she came to know over the years. They said their ‘hellos’ and patted her back as she made her way to her closest friends, Sooyoung and Yuri, whom she knew since elementary school.

“What’s up, buddy?” “How ya feelin’?” Yuri and Sooyoung asked as Taeyeon sat beside Yuri.

“I feel like for leaving but you know when duty calls.” she answered with a shrug.

“Man I’m so ing pumped about this mission. I’m literally itching to get there.” Yuri said excitedly but looked over to see a bummed out Taeyeon. “Tiffany’s not taking too well I assume.”

“She’s been crying every since I told her. She was ok when we went out to the arcade and on the picnic but...she usually doesn’t cry this much.”

“After what happened last time, I’d cry too. We almost lost you Tae. Thank god we had medics nearby.” Sooyoung said sympathizing with Tiffany. “What about baby Seo? How’s she doing?”

“Seohyun looked sad but I can tell she’s being strong for Tiff. She’s a really smart girl. Oh and look at this picture she drew!” Taeyeon exclaimed as she pulled out her superhero drawing.

“Dude oh my god. She drew that? This almost looks like a professional did it. I wish Yoong had a talent other than impersonating gag show comedians.” Yuri stated making them laugh as she imitated her daughter.

“Speaking of Yoona and Jess, how did they take the news?”

“Yoong got clingy as usual but I’m pretty sure it’s because I’m not gonna be there to give her ice cream when Jess isn’t around. Jess kinda distanced herself but that’s what she usually does when she doesn’t wanna face her problems. Then surprise surprise...she came crying right when I was getting on the bus. Old habits die hard. What about you, Soo? How’s Sunny?”

“She was pretty calm about it. I think dealing with Daehyun, Minguk, and Manse is gonna keep her mind busy for a while. I feel bad about leaving her with the triplets. I love them but they’re a handful and don’t even get me started on the food.”

“Wonder where they got it from.” Yuri said before flinching away and laughing from Soo hitting her.

Taeyeon shook her head at the childishness of her friends and looked out the window. She noticed they were closer to their destination and further away from home. She wondered how Seohyun and Tiffany were feeling, would she be back for their birthday, and most importantly would she come back and come back alive.

She pulled out the folded drawing from her pocket and opened it. Even after scanning over its content for the nth time, it still calmed her down from her thoughts and brought a smile to her face. Of course she would come home. She is Super Tae after all, right?

A week after Taeyeon’s departure...

Dear Taetae,

Hi honey! It’s been a week since you left right? Seobaby and I miss you so so sooo much. She’s been drawing pretty pictures for me when I’m sad. She replaced her Keroro doll with Sergeant Kim bear. I can tell she’s kinda bummed out too but she always tells me to stay strong for you. She’s really a strong kid just like you. How about you? Are you doing fine? The bed feels cold without you so come back home soon~ I love you baby~

From, Your lovely wife Tiffany and Seobaby<3

Tiffany had a teary smile as she finished the letter. It had only been a week but she could already feel the effects of her not being there. She did her everyday things like cooking, cleaning, going to work and taking Seohyun to school but it all felt a little lonelier. No one to help her with chores, no one to help take Seohyun to school, and no texts while at work. It was even harder at night when there was no one to cuddle with. Suddenly, the doorbell rang breaking her away from her thoughts.

She opened the door and was faced with two of her best friends, “Hey Jess and Sunny! Come on in.” she gave them a hug and stood to the side to let them in.

“Hey Tiff, how are you feeling?” Sunny asked as they sat on the couch.

“I dropped Seohyun off at school and I’m off work today so I just wrote a letter for Tae. It’s always so quiet around here. I hate it.”

“Aaaand that’s why we’re going shopping! I think we all need a mental break from this. The triplets miss Soo and I think they’re acting worse because of that.”

“Yoong is actually behaving but she’s not cracking any of her jokes like she usually does. She seems a little sad when she plays with her toys since Yul isn’t there.”

“Maybe we should get the little ones together one day like a little playdate.” Tiffany suggested.

“That seems like a great idea and I’m here for it and all but there’s this new Michael Kors purse out and I need to get it today so let’s go!” Jessica grabbed their hands and dragged them out the door.

—————————————————————-

“Hey Serg, got some mail for ya!” Corporal Liu said and handed her a envelope.

“Thanks Liu.” Taeyeon opened the envelope and read the letter inside. Tears started to fog her vision as she read the letter from Tiffany. She was close to saying ‘ this’ and drop everything to be by her family’s side but she knew she had a job to do. She could only hope it wouldn’t take a long time for the mission to be completed.

“Hey, did Tiff send you a letter? How are they doing?” Yuri walked over to Taeyeon making her quickly wipe away her tears.

She cleared before responding, “Ah yeah, they’re fine. You got yours from Jess?”

“Yeah they’re doing good too. Apparently Yoong is being good, which is surprising, but she’s kinda sad. Poor kid.”

“Welp we shouldn’t keep them waiting. Instead of being bummed out we need to use that energy and finish this so we can go home already.” she patted Yuri’s shoulder for support.

“You’re right Serg. Oh yeah, the company’s having some drinks. You comin’?”

“I’ll be out in a minute. I gotta finish some business real quick.” Yuri just nodded and left Taeyeon to her devices. She sighed before going over to her bed and pulling out a pen, paper, and pad to lean down on.

To my lovely wife Tiffany and Seobaby,

Hellooo my beautiful family! I miss you guys so much already. It’s only been a week but I can tell Soo and Yul are tired of me talking about you guys already haha. I really wanna quit the mission and come home and give you guys the biggest hug but I know you two would be disappointed in me. I gotta live up to my name SuperTae right? Seohyun, keep being strong for me and Mommy Tiff so you can be SuperSeo. I’ll make sure to finish quickly so I can be back soon. Always remember that I love you guys with all my heart.

From, SuperTae

Taeyeon sat down the paper and laid down to look at the ceiling. She thought about what she said earlier to Yuri about turning sadness into strength and took the advice for herself. She didn’t need to be sad or have distractions during this mission if she wanted to get out alive. Nobody wanted a repeat of last time.

I hope I get out alive and go home. I have to. I’m SuperTae.