One Day

“Unnie!”

The marker I was holding suddenly slipped from my fingers, my eyes wide. It was a good thing I didn’t accidentally slip and messed up my calendar. I sighed, picked up my marker, and then turned around to glare at my sister.

“What?” I grumbled as I sat back down on my desk and took out a pen, ignoring her anyway.

“Umma said to come down, she made cupcakes.” My ears twitched at the mention of cupcakes but I still ignored her, continuing to write down my to-do list. I heard her padding her way towards me, Ginger’s collar tinkling as she set him down on the floor.

“What are you doing?” she asked and I felt her lean over my shoulder to see what I was writing. I kept scribbling for a few more seconds before putting my pen down and lifted the paper towards her, a grin on my face. She took it from my hand and read it silently as I stood up and stretched, Ginger and Zero near my feet asking to be petted. Then I heard my sister laughing beside me. I stared at her, a frown on my face as her laughter grew. I took the paper from her hands and reread what I wrote, looking for whatever it was she was laughing about.

“You’re so cheesy, Unnie! I don’t know if I should slap you or congratulate you,” Hayeon said as she tried to calm herself down. I just rolled my eyes and pocketed the paper then picked up Zero, determined not to let my sister bring my mood down.

“Yah, you just wait and see. You’ll be helping, anyway. This will be epic!” I exclaimed as I raised Zero up then ran from the room screaming cupcakes, Ginger right at my heels. I didn’t see the smirk my sister gave me nor see her glance at my calendar, eyes smiling.

“Finally. Congratulations, Unnie.”

Secretly write that day’s list

Mark on the calendar that only I know

Heart fluttering feeling like a young child

Day by day, it approaches, your birthday

Like a bouquet of flowers, I’ll give you happy

That day, sunshine shines only on you

Even food I’ve practiced making many times

Oh, I don’t even realize that time is passing

“You guys know what to do, right?”

“Of course, Taetae. Oh my gosh, I am so excited for you! You are just too cute! Can’t believe you got this idea from Tiktok, but it’s just so adorable that you’re including us,” Stephanie exclaimed as I noticed her jumping up and down from one corner of my laptop screen, a sheet mask on her face, and I was happy that my best friend approved.

Some of the girls and I decided to have a skype date to somehow beat the boredom and loneliness this quarantine brought. Despite the pandemic, it’s always wonderful to have any reason to just stay at home and be with my family after everything that’s happened. The public and the entertainment industry could wait for a while.

“We’re ready when you are, Taeng. Have you talked to the others yet? Show us when it’s done!” Sooyoung said as she laughed at Stephanie’s antics while munching on popcorn.

“I just finished editing the majority of it. It’s turning out great! I’m just waiting for a few more people to make it complete. It’s only a few minutes long but I just want to make it perfect,” I said, fiddling with my fingers, feeling giddy all of a sudden. The others must’ve noticed because when I faced the screen, they were all grinning at me.

“We’re all happy for you, Tae,” Sunny said gently, her eyes bright and sincere.

“Let’s celebrate when this quarantine thing is over,” Hyoyeon said, holding her wine glass high, toasting to the occasion.

“I will make lots of food for us, Unnie!” Yoona exclaimed, showing pictures of the dishes she’s made thus far.

“We’re all gonna pull this off, Taetae. This is for the two of you,” Fany said, giving me a wink and a thumb’s up. My smile was so wide as I stared at my sisters through the screen, their overwhelming support made my heart swell. Now there’s only one thing left to do for my heart to start mending and be full again.

One day I will, just wait until

Your wish made on the sparkling candles

My wish will be for it to come true, baby

One day I will, just wait until

Of all the days that have passed since you were born

I will give you a day that’s like the most amazing present

“…I love you! Goodnight, Baby.” I waved at my phone before ending the video call, my smile never leaving my face. I sighed happily as I plopped myself on my bed, staring at the ceiling.

“That’s a big smile you’re wearing, Taeyeon-ah.”

I smiled wider as I glanced towards the door where my mother was standing while holding a plate of milk and cookies. I sat up and crossed my legs on my bed as she entered the room, placing my snack on top of my desk. She made her way towards the bed and sat down facing me. We just stared at each other for a while, my mother softly caressing my head and tucking loose hair behind my ears. Our smiles turned bittersweet, and I closed my eyes as we both savored the quiet moment. I slowly opened my eyes as my mother spoke.

“Please be happy always, Taeyeon-ah. I’m sure that’s what Appa wanted for you, too.” I could feel my eyes sting a bit as I continued to stare at my mother, our smiles never leaving our faces. I reached out and wiped a few stray tears from her face before shifting and engulfing her in a warm embrace.

I nodded my head as I tucked my head on the crook of her neck as I let silent tears finally pour down. We stayed like that for a while, my mother gently patting my back and whispering how she and Appa love me, how proud they were of me. We finally let go of each other and laughed as we both tried to clean our wet faces. She stood up after we composed ourselves.

“Tomorrow’s a big day. I know you’re not finished packing yet, so I’ll leave you to it. Eat your cookies, drink your milk, wash up, and get ready for bed when you’re done.” She kissed my forehead, bid me goodnight then left, closing my room door quietly. I sighed then stood up and went to my desk and my eyes automatically went to stare at a picture of my father. I smiled before gently slapping my cheeks. I needed to focus on my priorities at the moment.

My heart ached and yearned for him, but I knew that he lived a wonderful, happy life, and I was sure he’s very glad that I was finally starting to move forward and live mine.

More than any other time, even more special kiss

Gaze that speaks for too many words

This world that I can be together with you

The day that first started approaches

Even if you know, pretend you don’t and be surprised, honey

All day long, I get impatient alone

Endless feeling that something is missing

Oh, can’t I make it even more perfect?

Everything was set. Today was the day. I had been preparing for this for the past two months, and I was honestly really anxious to get this over with. I checked and double-checked and even triple checked with everyone involved if they were ready until they got pissed off and demanded that I should get a move on already or I’d be late.

“Drive safely, Taeyeon-ah,” my mother said as I hugged her goodbye.

“Don’t forget to call us when you arrive. You’re going to film the whole thing, right?” my brother asked as I turned to him and gave him Zero since I decided not to bring him along.

“Yeah, her sister already set up the cameras around the house. Funny how she didn’t notice anything, but I think she’s sort of suspicious that something’s about to happen.”

“Good luck, Unnie! You guys will do great! And thanks again for asking us to be a part of it,” Hayeon said as she hugged me goodbye. I laughed and ruffled her hair.

“Be good while I’m gone, alright? I’ll be back soon.”

I bid them one last goodbye then got inside my car. The three-hour car ride would help ease my nerves a bit. To be honest, it wouldn’t be her answer that I was worried about. I was more anxious if the girls and I would be able to pull this whole thing off without a hitch. But I trusted them to help me, and I knew that they wanted this to also be as successful as I did.

I had been driving for an hour and a half and had passed four checkpoints when my phone suddenly rang. I quickly checked my dashboard to see who it was before answering.

“Hey, you.”

“Hi, Unnie! I hope you’re on your way already. She’s still sleeping, obviously, so I had time to double-check everything. I just saw the video you made, and I really hate you for making me cry this early in the morning!” I chuckled as I heard her whine cutely, and I could just imagine the pout she’s making, very similar to her sister’s.

“Yah, you weren’t actually supposed to watch that until after your sister,” I reprimanded half-heartedly, not really minding that she watched it.

“Too bad, I already did. Mom and Dad haven’t, though. I’ll just wait for the bawling to start when it’s time.” It was quiet for some time and I would’ve thought that she hung up already if it wasn’t for the soft sniffling she was making.

“Thank you for loving her, Unnie. I know the both of you never had it easy ever since then, and I know that I also never made it any easier for the two of you. You know how much she means to me, and I know that everything you’ve done and everything you’re about to do is all for her, but I still want to thank you nonetheless.” I just smiled and let her words sink in for a minute before replying.

“Thank you. That really means a lot to me, coming from you. We’re family, and despite everything that’s happened, we can never abandon family.” She didn’t answer back but I knew she was smiling. I heard her chuckle.

“Save your promises for later, Unnie. Just call me when you arrive, okay? See you soon!”

Even something small

My heart wants to deliver it to you

Contain a shining day within it

I’ll never break it

Please wait a bit, baby

Oh, each step you take toward me

As if dreaming, you’ll light it, my all

Hey, you’re my all

Jessica’s POV

“Unnie, can you come here for a second? I wanna show you something.”

Strange. She usually wouldn’t call me via phone when she wanted to hang out, especially since we were inside the same house. I shrugged, thinking she was just feeling old. I glanced at my phone again and sighed for the nth time. Still no messages nor calls. I tried to bury my disappointment and stood up. I wouldn’t be going out anyway so I decided to just give my hair a quick pass with a brush and put on some lip balm before I left my room to look for my lazy sister.

The house was usually quiet, but I noticed that it was unusually too quiet this day. I checked the clock in the hallway and frowned. My mom should have been preparing for dinner at that moment, but when I took a quick peek inside the kitchen, she was not there. My sister could wait a while more, so I made a detour towards my dad’s study to check on him, but it was also empty. I snapped my fingers suddenly and felt stupid. They were probably with Chrystal inside the theater room.

I quickly made my way to the other end of the house but suddenly stopped. I looked around for a bit because I swore someone was watching me, which was weird. Nobody ever came here, and, despite the occasion, I decided to just stay in with my family and not invite anybody. I just shrugged and continued on my way.

“Chrys, wha – “ I paused. My gaze automatically shifted towards the big screen. The lights were off except for a lamp near the back of the room, but I didn’t care to notice anything else as I slowly made my way inside and stopped right in the middle of the screen to see it clearly, my mouth agape.

I could hear Taeyeon’s ‘One Day’ playing in the background, and my eyes watered as I stared in front of me, dozens of very familiar faces looking back at me through the screen, smiling and waving. I knew it wasn’t live, but knowing that these people who I considered very dear to my heart made this kind of effort for me made me so emotional.

The whole screen was filled up with friends and family. School friends and friends from my previous company and other companies were there, even close hoobaes. Close sunbaes were also included. Everyone was in their own homes, and everyone was holding up signs and cards with different greetings and well-wishes on them. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that majority of them wore some kind of clothing or accessory from my brand.

Then the frames slowly started to move, giving me a closer view of every individual person included in the video, I assumed in no particular order. I laughed at the more unique and crazy messages from my friends and choked up when it was the sunbaes’ turn to give their greetings. My tears finally fell when it was the families’ turn.

Parents and siblings of my girls were there, looking so happy as they greeted me. Even the furbabies were included! Theirs were a bit different because they were holding multiple cards and, aside from the usual birthday greetings, there were also lots of ‘Congratulations’ written. I didn’t think much of it, though. My parents were also there, and I reminded myself to thoroughly hug and kiss them after. But what really made me bawl my eyes out was when it was Taeyeon’s family’s turn.

Our beloved Kim Appa, looking so frail inside his hospital room, was also holding a card and was trying to do silly poses for the camera, a proud smile on his face. His card read ‘Happy Birthday, my daughter,’ and I couldn’t stop the amount of emotion I was feeling as I clutched my chest, thanking and mourning him at the same time. Losing him was too much, but knowing that he still thought of me as a daughter made my heart very happy.

The video was transitioning to a pause, and I thought that it would be over soon since the song was ending, but, to my surprise, the screen blanked out for a second and was replaced by another set of frames, nine squares to be exact, and I started laughing while crying as I recognized the people in them, all wearing B&E shirts and sweaters, B&E sunglasses perched atop their heads.

“Hey, my Cali girl!”

“Aigoo, such a crybaby, our Jung Sica.”

“Yah, stop crying, brat!”

“Ahaha! I haven’t done anything yet but you already look like that!”

“Don’t worry, Unnie. You still look very pretty to me.”

“Don’t cry, Sica-ya!”

“Happy birthday, Sica-unnie!”

“This is epic, Unnie! Tons of blackmail material for me to use on you!”

I laughed harder as I realized that this time, it was a live video. I quickly took a glance upwards and finally noticed the webcam attached at the top of the screen, and assumed that my brat of a sister placed hidden cameras outside, too, which would explain my feeling of being watched before. I wiped my face with the sleeve of my sweatshirt and looked back at my girls, smiling. But I couldn’t help my sudden frown when I finally realized someone was missing.

There were nine frames all in all, but the middle frame was dark and empty. Did she forget? I was about to question the girls but they beat me to it.

“She’ll be here, Jessi,” Stephanie said, and I gazed at all the girls who were all looking at me with delighted eyes, yet there was something mischievous about their smiles that made me wary, even maknae’s.

“We can’t wait for you to open our presents, Sica-ya!” Sooyoung exclaimed suddenly before the mood turned cold. I laughed again and shook my head.

“You guys doing this is actually enough. But hey, I will gladly accept anything you give, especially if it’s expensive,” I jokingly said, laughing still. The girls started laughing, too and started talking about how their gifts were the best and I should just wait for them via mail.

“But we have one gift to give you right now, though. Don’t worry, it’s very expensive, just the way you like it,” Sunny said, winking. “Ready, girls? Cue music!”

A random EDM started playing in the background, and the girls were suddenly holding wine glasses from nowhere, jumping and dancing to the beat, as they finally wore their sunglasses. They painted a very funny picture and I wish I could capture the moment, but, knowing them, all of this was already being recorded, including my reactions and expressions.

I got intrigued when Sunny, who was at the topmost right of the screen, produced a small white box out of the blue. I couldn’t see it properly because she started juggling it up and down with one hand while dancing around. She suddenly threw it to her right, and Hyoyeon, who was in the next frame, made it seem like she caught what Sunny threw. It was very similar to Chris-unnie’s Tiktok video during her birthday with the toilet paper, but this was better because it was live! And I could see everyone on screen.

The same thing continued with the sequence being Sunny first, then Hyo, Steph, continuing from eldest to youngest, the order of their frames on-screen forming a G, with the center still being unoccupied by a certain annoying someone.

Chrystal, whose frame was located at the mid-right, finally caught the white box and was waving it around, taunting me with it. Just then, the middle frame finally lit up, and my eyes widened when it showed a very bright, very familiar hallway, with a very familiar-looking midget standing dead center.

“Tae-unnie, catch!” Chrystal threw the box to her right which Taeyeon supposedly “caught.” The others became silent all of a sudden, but I paid them no mind, my sole focus on my irritatingly beautiful girlfriend who, several hours ago, I deemed MIA on my birthday. Apparently, she wasn’t very far away as I initially thought. I saw her inspect the box and smile endearingly before looking straight at the camera, straight at me.

“Sooyeon-ah, are you surprised? I’m sorry for not replying to your calls and messages earlier and for worrying you. But seeing you become speechless and then crying like a big idiot was totally worth it!” The girls laughed and I choked out a laugh but continued to pay attention to the dork anyway. I could just hit her when this was over.

“You can probably tell the amount of effort everyone put into this. I’m not gonna lie. Arranging and organizing everything wasn’t easy, but the quarantine actually helped because everybody was available even on such short notice. Don’t worry, I’m going to help you write thank you notes to everyone, and I won’t allow you to sleep until you’re done with them.” I saw her fidget with the white box, and my eyes softened, finally realizing where this was headed. She was stalling.

“Taeyeon-ah.” I said her name with as much affection as I could muster. She looked at the screen and I smiled at her sweetly, encouragingly.

“Is that for me, Taengoo?” She let out an adorable chirp and clutched the box to her chest. My affection for her just seemed to grow more.

“Do you prefer if I stay here, or do you want me to go there?” I asked, and her eyes widened as she scratched the back of her neck, embarrassed. I could tell that she was getting uncomfortable, especially because she was just looking at me through a screen. I looked at the other girls who were giving her words of encouragement, and I knew their support meant a lot to Taeyeon.

“Wait for me, okay, Taengoo?” I didn’t wait for her response and just quickly made my way out the door and power walked to where she was waiting. When I was within sight, she breathed out a sigh of relief and I could tell she was glad to finally see me in person. The feeling was mutual.

I slowly walked over to her until I was within viewing range of the camera. Taeyeon and I stared at each other for several seconds, savoring each other’s close proximity after months of separation, until we heard multiple people unabashedly clear their throats to get our attention. Taeyeon finally realized what she was supposed to be doing and took a deep breath before looking back at me. She finally opened the box to reveal a classic artisan pave french cut diamond ring, which I later found out was custom made just for me. My eyes started to water again as Taeyeon knelt in front of me.

“Jung Sooyeon, marry me.” I stared at her in anticipation, waiting for her to continue and say something else, like a declaration of love or something along those lines, but as seconds passed and she just kept staring at me with a semi-serious expression, my jaw slackened.

“Yah, Kim Taeyeon!” I shouted at her in disbelief as she just laughed out loud and stood up then walked closer towards me. I pouted at her as she took my left hand and gently caressed it, effectively calming me down somewhat.

“Baby, you were supposed to say yes.”

I continued to pout as she teased me, but I couldn’t help the soft “Of course, yes” that I unconsciously murmured as she continued caressing my hand. Her face lit up and her smile grew so wide as she placed the ring on my finger despite the protests of the girls for not able to hear my answer clearly. I sighed but smiled nonetheless as I gazed at my hand where the ring now adorned. Taeyeon then gently held it again and kissed the ring while looking at me. Her charming smile never failed to make me melt.

“You don’t need lengthy speeches nor grand declarations, Sooyeon-ah. You know very well that my heart will forever beat only for you, and now we have physical proof that you are finally mine to keep forever, and know that I will never let go. Love me as I love you, for the rest of our lives.” My tears were falling again as Taeyeon cupped my face and kissed me deeply, not caring that the girls and my parents were watching. Despite my earlier reaction, I knew that nothing would ever top this weird, yet definitely “Taeyeon-ish” kind of proposal for me.

“Forever, Taengoo.”

One day I will, just wait until

Everything in the world that is more beautiful today

It’s a day where they’re all singing for you, baby

One day I will, just wait until

In the day that you’ll want to look back on

I’ll bring you the happiest moments, baby