Jessica had somehow entered the twilight zone. Or her mind was actually still asleep and decided to just open her eyes to a never-ending dream with endless possibilities starring her and her moody ex. Either way, she was not a happy camper.

Scene one, wherein Jessica had a day off and was bored at home, her sister busy and her parents back in SFO, so she decided to leave her apartment and bother whoever was at the dorm that day. She just didn't think that, out of the eight, she'd be stuck with her leader instead.

Jessica was about to leave when she heard coughing coming from Taeyeon's room, and she groaned when she remembered that the midget ate a whole pint of ice cream in one go as a dare from Heechul-oppa the day before. So, being the caring member that she was, decided to make Taeyeon some tea, bring her medicine, and patiently wait for someone else to arrive before going on her merry way.

Jessica expected her to be asleep when she entered the room but was surprised and slightly embarrassed when Taeyeon was just lying in bed face up, wide awake. The younger girl cautiously placed the tray she was holding on top of the desk and was about to turn and exit when she saw Taeyeon shift to lay on her side, and Jessica blushed when her leader just gazed up at her for several seconds before smiling sweetly.

“Still the prettiest whenever you tie your hair up and I can see your nape, Sooyeon-ah,” Taeyeon said, too clearly for Jessica to mistake it as sleep-talking. “Thanks for the tea.” ‘And for making me smile today.’

Maybe it was because she was sick that Jessica thought it a fluke that the older girl talked to her, but Taeyeon, as always, was able to render her speechless and sputtering nonsense before leaving the room in a blushing mess. Sunny later commented that Jessica looked like she ate three bags of hot Cheetos straight with how red her face was.

Scene two, wherein the members coerced Jessica into doing some grocery shopping for the dorm along with her apartment because they were all too busy at the moment and anyone available was pressured to be a good samaritan.

Jessica was at the condiments section deciding on which brand of ketchup to get when she felt it again, the stare. She shivered and cautiously looked around, but there was no one in sight in her immediate vicinity. She decided to just ignore it like usual and pushed her cart towards the next aisle and stopped before the sandwich spreads when she suddenly felt a presence behind her.

“Almost done?” Jessica nearly screamed as the presence finally made itself known, and she turned around sharply to give whoever it was an earful and a good beating but ended up blushing madly instead.

Taeyeon smirked in amusement as Jessica almost tripped backward as she scrambled to put some sort of distance between them. Maybe it was a bit overkill when the leader decided to sneak up to her as close as possible with the risk of busted eardrums, but seeing Jessica so flushed because of her was worth it. At least the effect she had on the younger girl never faded which was playing well to her advantage.

“W-w-what are you doing here? I t-thought you guys were busy?” Jessica stuttered as she tried to compose herself. Being in such close proximity to Taeyeon was messing with her weakly constructed sanity. And the older girl willingly talking to her was something Jessica thought would never happen again in her current lifetime.

Taeyeon just shrugged and showed the other the basket she was holding with a few personal necessities. Jessica took a quick glance before turning back around and tried to concentrate on the current task at hand.

“You could’ve just texted me if you needed anything. Leave them there and you can go if you want. I’ll drop by the dorm later.” Without waiting for a reply, Jessica moved further away from Taeyeon to collect all that she needed along the aisle. When she turned around, she couldn’t hide the disappointment that crossed her face when the older girl was nowhere to be seen, her items placed inside the cart.

Jessica sighed and continued on her way along the other aisles but was surprised when, at the candy corner, she saw Taeyeon again, and it looked like the girl was seriously contemplating on which pack of gummy worms to get. The younger girl wanted to just ignore her but was startled when Taeyeon suddenly looked up, smiled, and quickly made her way towards Jessica, candies in hand.

“What’d you think I should get?” Jessica backed away a bit, blinking, as Taeyeon shoved the packs near her face.

The Ice Princess scowled at the sudden intrusion to her personal space the second time, but acquiesced and chose one when Taeyeon was looking at her so expectantly like her decision was the only thing that mattered. She’d just gather the remains of her sanity after.

They finished their shopping trip with Taeyeon paying for everything, even the ones for Jessica’s apartment. The younger girl helped bring the groceries up to the dorm but left right after to avoid any unnecessary awkwardness. But as Jessica climbed back inside the car, she couldn’t help but giggle, the giddiness she was feeling completely replacing everything else as she stared at a bag of marshmallows carefully placed on her dashboard, big smiling daisies on the cover.

Scene three was life-altering, in a matter of opinion. It took place inside one of the company’s practice rooms and Jessica, for the life of her, didn’t understand why their manager decided for her to have a joint vocal practice with Taeyeon all of a sudden. The last time they did this was during the year they debuted, then individual practice the years after that.

Jessica missed singing with Taeyeon. It was awkward but practice was practice, regardless of personal drama. They did what they could, and Jessica actually sang as if it was the very last time she was ever going to be singing with her leader like this; unabashed, unbridled, and definitely real.

Taeyeon also couldn’t keep the emotions at bay and couldn’t help but gawp as the younger girl sang her heart out for her to hear. It had been too long since they sang together, and hearing Jessica sing so beautifully induced feelings in Taeyeon that she thought would never resurface. If it was up to her, she’d lock the two of them away somewhere and work things out, to hell with everything else.

But Jessica deserved better than to just duke it out in an enclosed space. In time, maybe. Taeyeon was still being cautious, yes, but being too forceful might push Jessica away since she wasn’t used to being pursued. Like a do-over, even though they already skipped several stages throughout their active three-year relationship. The Ice Princess needed to come back to her on her own free will, and Taeyeon knew that it would take a ridiculous amount of effort, but she was confident that it would happen soon.

Then again, even if Taeyeon said she wanted to take it one day at a time, she was having difficulties trying to reign it all in. Practice was over but she continued to gaze at Jessica as she was fixing her bag, and she smirked as she saw the younger girl fidget in discomfort, obviously aware that she was being watched.

Jessica wanted to leave. She already had a hunch as to who was continuously watching her the past weeks but didn’t want to believe nor acknowledge it, but as Taeyeon was within range and shamelessly staring at her for some unknown reason, Jessica was starting to become anxious. If she was uncomfortable being invisible previously, she was even more uncomfortable being the recipient of currently unwelcomed attention.

In her haste not to be left alone when Jessica stood up to leave, Taeyeon accidentally clipped herself on the music sheet stand and yelped, loud enough for Jessica to drop her things and rush to her leader’s side and quickly inspect the wound.

“Oh no! Taengoo, your finger’s bleeding!” Seeing that she had no handkerchief within reach and that she needed to quickly stem the flow, Jessica mechanically placed the wounded finger inside and placed pressure on it with her tongue.

Everything seemed to stop for Taeyeon then. Maybe it was the wound. Maybe it was the situation. Or maybe it was simply Jessica, fussing over her, unconsciously calling her ‘Taengoo,’ and having her finger inside the younger girl’s mouth, that Taeyeon seemed to suddenly act on brazen impulse. Dazed, she took her finger back, wound her hand expertly on Sooyeon’s nape, and swiftly crushed their lips together, effectively shutting the world out.