“Yuri-ah. Is it just me, or is someone staring at us?” Yuri looked at her friend in confusion as Jessica paused to look at her surroundings. She just finished vocal practice when Yuri dropped by the studio to hang out for a bit before their next schedule.

“What are you talking about? There’s, like, only four of us here,” Yuri said dismissively and went back to eating. The older girl wasn’t convinced and stood up to check outside the room, but before she could open the door, her manager called her back. She didn’t notice the shadow that quickly disappeared as soon as she turned around.

Jessica was used to people staring at her all the time. It was part of the job description, and even though she usually shied away from any direct attention upon herself during interviews and such, she was comfortable when others preferred to just focus on her outward appearance instead. What she wasn’t used to was the recent feeling of foreboding, like she was intently being watched by someone with a hidden purpose.

It started the day after the practice room incident which was already a week prior, and she noticed that she only felt it every time she was with the members, whether they were in a schedule together or just hanging out at the dorm. The same uncanny sensation remained and it was making the usually stoic girl uncomfortable.

Jessica could actually recall a period in time in which she felt something similar, but hurriedly dismissed the memory because it concerned a certain someone, and that someone couldn’t care less about her at the moment.

The thought pained her but Jessica already told herself that she needed to move on. She just had to watch herself and keep her distance from Taeyeon as much as possible, along with being more observant in regards to this creepy stalker-ish vibe she was currently feeling.

“You’re scaring her, Taetae,” Stephanie casually said as she sipped on her latte after they were done with their sub-unit stage performance. They were currently on their way to meet up with the other members for another photo shoot.

“Unnie’s scaring who, Fany-unnie?” Stephanie choked on her drink and Taeyeon just mindlessly patted her on the back to help with the coughing. Fany actually forgot that Juhyun was in the car with them.

“O-oh, nobody important, Seobaby,” Stephanie assured the maknae as she cleared and scowled at her seatmate who just chuckled at her. Juhyun just looked at her unnies and shrugged.

“Tae-unnie, can I ask you a question?” Juhyun asked after a few minutes. Taeyeon hummed, not bothering to look up from her game.

“Do you still hate Sica-unnie?” That got the kid leader’s attention, her face morphing into a neutral expression as she and Stephanie subtly made eye contact. Taeyeon looked back down, not minding that her game already ended.

“Yah, Juhyunie. That’s not a very nice thing to ask,” Fany lightly reprimanded. Juhyun pouted but didn’t let the question go.

“Well, do you, Unnie?” Taeyeon sighed and looked out the window before answering, not really paying attention to the scenery.

“No, I don’t, Maknae. Why do you ask?” Juhyun actually seemed relieved upon hearing her unnie’s answer.

“Well, Sica-unnie introduced that guy Hyo-unnie said she was seeing to Yoona-unnie yesterday.” If Maknae wanted to see some type of reaction from the two, that statement surely did the trick.

“What?!”

“Seriously?!”

“Why am I only hearing about this now?!”

“What happened?!”

Juhyun became overwhelmed as her unnies quickly shot out from their seats and turned towards the back to look at her directly, ignoring their manager’s glare. Fany looked bewildered while Taeyeon looked irritated.

“Y-yoona-unnie had a free morning so Sica-unnie asked her out for breakfast. I think they met the guy there by coincidence,” Juhyun gulped as her unnies stared her down, silently demanding for her to continue.

“Unnie said that the two were awkward at first, but Sica-unnie seemed to actually like talking to him for some reason. The guy even asked her out in front of Yoona-unnie, I guess to show that he’s serious. He got rejected, though, since Unnie’s schedule is full for a while.” Stephanie glanced at Taeyeon whose mood was fluctuating from pissed to relieved. Maknae paused for a second before snapping her fingers, startling the two before her.

“Oh, right! It wasn’t really meant to be a secret but Yoona-unnie asked me not to say anything unless we’re sure if you still care for her, Tae-unnie. So, you really don’t hate her? Promise?” Taeyeon and Stephanie looked confused all of a sudden as Juhyun fidgeted in her seat, slightly uncomfortable from the stares she was receiving.

“I never hated her to begin with, Juhyun-ah. I promise. I know that I haven’t really treated her well for the past few years, but please trust Unnie when I say that I still love your Sica-unnie very, very much,” Taeyeon said, finding it easier to admit her feelings with each passing day. Her confession earned her delighted smiles from both Fany and Maknae (and their manager who had been eavesdropping).

“Then I really hope you do something to get her back soon, Unnie. Yoona-unnie said that he was a charmer, kind of like you, but there was something off about him. She didn’t specify what it was that she didn’t like about him, only said that she’d rather have Sica-unnie be with another girl that wasn’t you than have her settle with that guy.”

Taeyeon was downright pissed. And miserable. She honestly didn’t expect her emotions to start exploding all over the place when she decided to finally get her act together and pursue Jessica. Well, she hadn’t really done anything worth mentioning yet, but the intent was still there.

As soon as the three entered the dressing room where the shoot was located, Taeyeon immediately charged over to Yoona who was joking around with Jessica of all people. She took her dongsaeng’s hand and started pulling her away so that they could talk privately, but as soon as Jessica saw that Yoona got hurt by Taeyeon’s abrupt action, she immediately went to her sister’s rescue and yanked her away from their leader. It was the very first time, after so long, that Jessica raised her voice on the other girl, in front of the other members no less. The parting glare Taeyeon received capped off her current foul mood.

“Unnie?” Taeyeon looked up from where she was sitting at the back of the studio. Sensing her mood earlier, almost everyone present went out of their way to give her space and only talked to her when necessary. Yoona sat down beside her unnie and looked straight ahead.

“Seobaby told you?” Taeyeon sighed and nodded her head.

“Sorry, Yoong. I didn’t mean to hurt you,” Taeyeon mumbled but Yoona knew she was sincere in her apology.

“I’m okay, Unnie. You know how Sica-unnie is when we get hurt. She doesn’t hold back, regardless of who it is. You really got to love her for that.” Taeyeon just stayed silent, and Yoona frowned seeing that her Tae-unnie was upset, indirectly because of her.

“You wanted to talk to me, Unnie?” Taeyeon looked up again, suddenly remembering the reason for the spectacle earlier, and nodded.

“I’m not even going to delve too deep into him because he’s really not worth my time. What I want to know is if Sooyeon will be safe even if he keeps on following her around. Maknae mentioned that you think there was something off about him?” Taeyeon clarified. Yoona was clearly amused.

Taeyeon was always protective of Jessica, in her own silent way. From simply checking if her shoelaces were tied, or making sure her costumes were secure and won’t fall apart on stage, or reminding her to take off her contacts before going to bed. They really did complement each other. One just began wanting more while the other wasn’t willing to leave her comfort zone. Yoona was still glad to know that some things never changed. But unfortunately (or fortunately) for Taeyeon, her dongsaeng was also protective of her Sica-unnie and won’t allow her to get hurt again.

“He’s okay, I guess. I’m not sure if he’s entirely decent, though. He seems like a poser. You know how dense Sica-unnie can be, especially with the “too friendly” types. That’s why she had you before.” Yoona didn’t even bother keeping the bitterness from that last sentence, but Taeyeon just laughed it off.

“Going to give me a hard time, too, Yoong?” Yoona shrugged but her eyes were filled with mirth.

“Depends on how serious you’re finally going to play this game, Unnie.” The kid leader smirked and held her hand out for her dongsaeng to shake, which the younger girl eagerly took.

“I assure you, I never planned on losing to begin with.”

It was a weird couple of weeks for Jessica Jung. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but something seemed different somehow. Like everyone knew a secret that she wasn’t privy to, and Jessica was starting to become restless because of it. Not to mention the weird feeling of being watched was still there and becoming more potent each time. Although for some reason, she didn’t feel as scared anymore. Kind of like a pleasant buzz, but she still didn’t let her guard down regardless.

Jessica also noticed that the girls seemed to be debating about something the past several days. If it was a disagreement between them, as long as it didn’t affect the group and there were no fists or weapons involved, then she preferred to stay out of it. Someone would just fill her in whenever. Stephanie was the nosey one out of all of them, anyway.

But the weirdest thing out of all that was happening was the notes that she suddenly started receiving on a daily basis along with some of her favorite treats. No signature, and it always said the same thing with a drawing of a daisy beside it: “Thank you for making me smile today.”

Manager-oppa said it was probably from a fan. Some of the girls teased that it was from a secret admirer. Jessica’s initial thought was that it was creepy and that it was probably related to the intense, watchful eyes that she was reluctantly getting used to. But despite her apprehension, Jessica had to admit that it was sweet. She hadn’t felt this kind of attention on her in such a long time, and she would never admit it aloud but it would really disappoint her if it stopped.

“Taeyeon.” Said girl didn’t even bother turning around as she continued to stare at the Ice Princess from across the dressing room with a smile on her face as she kept the note she just received while drinking her smoothie that came with it.

“Would you please stop staring at her for a second?” Taeyeon sighed and finally looked at her sister.

“What is it, Soo?” Sooyoung quirked an eyebrow as she stared at her leader.

“We may have decided on a truce to give everybody time to adjust to your change of heart or whatever, and I still believe that it’s best for her to find someone else, but I just want to give you a heads up since I still love you and all.” It was Taeyeon’s turn to raise her eyebrow.

“Jessica finally decided to accept a date.” Taeyeon’s eyes widened. That surely got the older girl's emergency signals blaring, but she tried hard not to let it show that she was really panicking inside.

“Finally convinced her, huh?” Sooyoung just raised her hands in defense.

“She called me last night and said that she was willing to meet up with him even once because she felt bad every time she rejects him.” Taeyeon snorted at that. Jessica really was too considerate for her own good.

“For everybody’s peace of mind - and no, I didn’t do it for you - I suggested a group date instead. She accepted. Sounded relieved, to be honest.” Taeyeon just nodded her head and turned back to resume staring at her Sooyeon.

“Don’t let me stop you. I trust that you’ll take care of her.” Sooyoung nodded and glanced at Jessica, too.

“I hope you know what you’re doing, Tae. We won’t back down if she gets hurt again.” Taeyeon stayed silent and just took out something from her pocket and held it in the middle of her palm.

“Never again, Soo. I’ll make sure of that.”