A/N: Second and final part of the Taengsic HSM/musical/theater AU

 

-

 

“So you can sing.”

“Of course I can sing." Taeyeon’s eyebrow shot up in challenge. “I wouldn’t be here if I couldn’t, Jessica-ssi.”

Something about the impersonal tone bothered Jessica.

“I apologize.” She heavily sighed. “It wasn’t my intention to question your skills like that.”

The girl in front of her suddenly chuckled lightly. Jessica’s head snapped up to regard the raven once more. She wasn’t expecting a smile being directed her way after everything she said, and just like clockwork, she feels her cheeks warm again.

“It’s alright. You know what? Why don’t we start over with a clean slate. Hi, I’m Kim Taeyeon and I’m excited to work on this musical with you, Jessica-ssi,” Taeyeon says with that dashing smile still on her face, unknowingly drawing Jessica in even more.

“Jessica.” Her voice was almost faint as a whisper.

“Hmm?”

“Call me Jessica, just… Jessica,” the words leave her lips before she could take them back.

Too late, all she could do now was curse whatever compelled her to say that. She didn’t want to look, feeling too mortified. But there was just something that always seemed to pull her back to her charming co-star; just like an apple falling back to the ground, a force of gravity.

“Okay, Sica.” Taeyeon grins in jest.

“Yah, I said you could call me Jessica. Not another nickname.”

Her lips uncontrollably purse into a sulk. Krystal once told her that her pout game was, quote and unquote— Weak as , unnie. And maybe part of it was true when it did nothing to stop Taeyeon’s grin from molding into a loud guffaw that in turn made her crack a smile despite not wanting to.

 

 

“And... five, six, seven!” Wansun hollered into the busy theater, voice reverberating throughout the hall.

The first week hasn’t even ended yet and Jessica already felt like they’ve been here for a whole month. She somehow forgot how much passion and drive Hyori had as a director and Wansun as a choreographer. Those two working together would always bring out the best results in terms of performance but not for Jessica’s woefully weak endurance. But Jessica somehow pushes on. She tries to convince herself that this was the type of exertion she's missed during the break, which, in hindsight wasn’t a complete lie.

They were learning the choreography for the opening number which was also unfortunately the most difficult to learn. Fast paced and energetic, the best way to impress and it definitely delivered.

After a few more repetitions, Wansun finally deems their initial performance worthy. Which was completely insane because it took them almost four hours of dancing the same sequence before she decided to end practice.

Jessica wanted the ground to swallow her whole. She was exhausted to the bone, and also— where the hell was an electronic fan when she needed it?

“I think I have a portable one in my bag, and normally I would definitely get it for you but my legs aren’t cooperating with me as of the moment.” Taeyeon suddenly replied from beside her, also sprawled on the wooden floor.

“Oh, that’s okay. I didn’t even notice I said that outloud.” An awkward laugh, Taeyeon also chuckled softly.

They lapse into a comfortable silence, both simply trying to catch their breaths. Jessica chanced a glance at her co-star and noticed Taeyeon’s arm over her forehead, eyes closed and breathing still a bit laboured. The sight alone oddly drew her in, studying her small frame. The way a small droplet of sweat ran down her pale neck, pooling into the notch of a sculpted collarbone. Jessica belatedly realized what she was doing and instantly shook her head, trying to erase every thought that came along with it.

With a grunt, Jessica stood up with sheer willpower and walked over to the wings. Taeyeon noticed the movement and opened her eyes to curiously watch what the blonde was up to. She sat up just in time as Jessica came back and tossed a water bottle in her direction.

“Drink up.”

Taeyeon flashed her a grateful smile before taking in generous gulps and leaving less than half of water left and handing the bottle back. Taeyeon was watching Jessica expectantly, the latter starting to feel self-conscious with all the unabashed staring, but to hell with it. She takes a drink too and somehow the thought that Taeyeon’s lips touched the same flask brought a pinkish hue to her cheeks once more.

Oh my god, Jessica Jung. Snap out of it, you're acting like a silly schoolgirl.

“You’re a really good dancer, Sica.” Taeyeon’s sudden compliment thankfully broke her internal debate.

“Oh, uhm...” She wasn’t sure how to respond to that. “Thanks. You’re pretty good yourself.”

And it was true. Although Taeyeon didn’t grasp the choreography as quickly as Jessica did, her movements were crisp and clean. Something not borne out of talent by itself but rather with time and effort. And probably tons of hours practicing in front of a mirror— or anything reflective for that matter.

“Wow, is this real life? Is Jessica Jung, Golden Girl of theater, actually giving lil’ old me praise?”

“Yah. Stop mocking my sincerity.”

“Nooo,” Taeyeon whined, cutely even. “You’re supposed to say ‘Or is this just fantasy’? After I asked, ‘Is this real life!’”

Instead of replying, Jessica gives her deadpan look, unamused, then slaps Taeyeon’s shoulder, hard.

“Ow, ow. Okay, stop. I was just kidding!”

Unlike earlier, Taeyeon seemed to have regained her energy back and quickly stood up, trying to run away from Jessica’s brutal attacks.

“Yah! Come back here!”

“Never!”

 

--

 

A time check-in from her watch told her it was already close to eleven in the evening. And yet the girl on stage that Taeyeon’s been observing for almost an hour was only just beginning her cool down routine. When the girl was finally done, she took a look around and it seemed to only dawn on her then and there that everyone else had gone home.

But not her.

The legend that Jessica Jung was always the first in and last out of the auditorium was apparently true.

Taeyeon chuckled before switching on the headset she still had on her head and experimentally humming into it. As expected, the sound and static resonated to the connected radio set receivers sitting at a corner in a box on the stage. The sudden noise startled Jessica and Taeyeon couldn’t hold back an amused giggle.

“Wh-who’s there?!” Jessica exclaimed while looking around warily.

After a few more moments of silence, she spoke up again, “A-Are you the rumoured ghost of the SM academy?” Her voice was wavering a bit in fear. “Look, I’m sorry you died but I heard it was an accident when a prop fell and crushed you, but... please don’t haunt me?”

Taeyeon was astonished. Her supposedly austere and icy co-star was… apologizing to a non-existent ghost? After confirming that yeah, Jessica was doing exactly that, she finally releases raucous laughter at the scene before her. The sound paralyzed Jessica in place until she finally seemed to recognize the familiar, albeit annoying laugh. She follows the source of the sound and finally finds the box of radios. After a beat of contemplation, she takes one of the sets, putting it on.

“I know it’s you Taeyeon,” Jessica said into the headset microphone and inspected the seats. “Where are you?”

“Look up. Mezzanine, center.” Jessica spots her waving and with a wide grin on.

“I didn’t even know someone else was still here with me.”

“That’s the whole point, I guess.” She shrugged, not entirely sure if the other girl could even see the motion from that far.

“Is this how you were able to evade any detection all this time? By hiding in plain sight?”

Taeyeon's lips curl into a smile at the correct assumption. “Bingo, Princess.”

She's always loved musicals, loved the theater in itself. But her aversion to the limelight was just as comparable. Until she was able to come up with a game plan, a compromise to discover herself without the added exposure.

She created an alter-ego, KTY. And it had worked out for her so well, until recently.

Even after she was ed (semi-against her will) right into the forefront of the stage, some things still wouldn’t change. Like right now, monitoring everything from above, giving her comments and opinions via radio. Difference was, she was finally found out. But the raven realized she didn’t mind it as much as she thought it would.

“So... you were amazing this week,” Taeyeon says, unable to hold the praise back. Something about her co-star just made her more honest with her opinions and thoughts. She was yet to find out why.

Jessica scoffed back in reply. “I was a judgmental .”

“That too.” She let out a chuckle. “But amazing nonetheless. I’ve also noticed how our voices go really well together.”

What she wanted to say: She wishes they could get along too, not just their voices.

It was silent for a while until Jessica sighed. “I’m sorry again,” she apologized for a second time, somehow reading into Taeyeon’s silent message.

“It’s okay, really. Though I can’t deny that I was slightly offended, but I do get where you were coming from.”

The blonde’s perplexed expression was visible even from where Taeyeon sat. “What do you mean?”

“You’re Jessica Jung.” A smile uncontrollably formed as she continued the study of the girl. “You care about a project more than anyone else. You just wanted to make sure everything was right and in its place.”

Jessica’s puzzled look transformed into one of surprise, her eyes widening comically and mouth slightly agape.

“Did I get it right?”

She timidly nodded her head. “I don’t even know how you got all that from just our first week of rehearsal but… thank you, really.”

Something about the completely opposite disposition stirred something inside of Taeyeon. Jessica Jung was cute when she was shy.

Taeyeon wanted to see more.

 

--

 

The weather forecast lied, Jessica accused as she braced the chilly temperature outside, wrapping her coat tighter around her thin frame. She woefully regrets forgetting her scarf in her room as the chill easily bit into her nape and ears. Her legs moved speedily through the sidewalk hoping to reach her destination right away. Anything to be out of the cold.

Ice Princess my , she snickered to herself. The inaccuracy of her campus nickname was hilarious right now, but she’d probably prefer that over the multitudes of monikers a certain raven has given her over a span of just two weeks.

The ‘Sica’ was cute though, she can admit that. But ‘Golden Girl’? Seriously? She couldn’t even decipher how Taeyeon came up with that one. Was she referring to her blonde hair? Ugh, Jessica Jung, why are you even so bothered by this. There were more pressing matters right now.

But even the cold weather wasn't enough to remind her of her latest run-in with the annoying playmaker just a few days ago.

 

"Hey, Golden Girl!" Jessica groaned upon hearing that maddening but lovely voice that was more than familiar.

Jessica doesn't stop and says over her shoulder instead, "Isn't that nickname such a mouthful? Why do you insist on calling me that?"

The blonde relentlessly walked ahead, hopefully trying to get away as far as she could from her tiny co-star. She unfortunately wasn't fast enough as she felt that familiar presence walking by her side now. Jessica refused to acknowledge her. Refused to look into those dark brown puppy-dog eyes that held so much more secrets to a universe only she could behold.

"Because you give out these cute, little, annoyed micro-expressions." Jessica's forehead frowned uncontrollably, further proving Taeyeon's point.

"You're such a jerk, you know that? Will you please stop teasing me?" Jessica all but grumbled as Taeyeon just laughed at the obvious exasperation.

Taeyeon abruptly jumped right in front of Jessica's way then, effectively halting her from running off. The theater major was about to lash out until she felt her co-star's index finger on her lips, shushing her. Taeyeon smiled then, the dimpled one Jessica secretly adored. That smile was more effective in rendering Jessica all the more silent as she found her eyes uncontrollably drop to the curved lips.

Taeyeon had really pretty lips, really pouty and kissa— don't go there Jung. Don't even.

The other girl's finger finally leaves her lips and moves upward. Jessica was about to question what she was planning to do until Taeyeon presses onto the middle of her forehead, smoothening the frown she didn't know was still present. Taeyeon gave a satisfied smile this time.

"There we go. Can't let you have wrinkles now, can we? We need that pretty face of yours to be perfect for show day."

"Y-Yah! I told you to stop teasing me." Jessica couldn't hide her flustered state even if she tried.

Stupid Taeyeon and her blindingly beautiful smile that always catches her off-guard.

"Oh, but who said I was teasing?" Taeyeon took a few steps back from Jessica, that frustrating smile still on her face. "See you later, Golden Girl." She winked before completely turning around and walking away, leaving Jessica to stand in the middle of the hallway like a statue.

What was that?

 

Thoughts of her fellow actor seem to unwarrantedly pop in her mind a lot these days. Something Jessica had little control over, she realized lately.

Luckily for her, she finally trudged the last few steps before arriving in front of an apartment complex just a few blocks away from campus. Jessica reads the address on her phone one last time to make sure she was at the right place before briskly pushing on the doorbell. Just a minute later and the door finally opened. Warmth wafted from the inside and instantly made Jessica wish she was on the other side of the door right now.

“Hello, Prof— Taeyeon?” She staggered back a bit, not expecting the other girl to appear before her.

Taeyeon’s eyes widen in recognition, her whole face lighting up and allowing for a bright grin to form. “Sica!” At least it was the cute nickname this time. “What are you doing here? Oh wait, sorry, come in. It’s freezing outside.”

The shock was still apparent and Jessica’s body wasn’t completely in her control as she allowed herself to be pulled in by Taeyeon, her hand tugging on her wrist gently. Taeyeon’s palm was warm, Jessica mused, completely opposite from her own cool skin. Once inside, Jessica felt warmer, the relief automatically washing over her.

“Here, let me take your coat.” Taeyeon doesn’t wait for her reply and already starts to remove the extra layer, her hand brushing Jessica’s shoulder and arm, leaving goosebumps in its wake.

“Th-thanks.” She was blushing, though it was probably because of being overexposed to the cool winter air, she reasoned with herself.

“Who was at the door?” The person Jessica thought would greet her in the beginning called out from what looked to be like the kitchen. “Oh, Jessica! You’re here. I wasn’t expecting you until the afternoon.”

“Unnie, it’s literally already 1:00 PM,” Taeyeon informs and stands by Jessica’s side after hanging her coat.

“Oh , sorry about that Jessica. I totally lost track of the time.”

Taeyeon leans over and whispers, “More like she stayed up too late last night watching reruns of an old 80’s soap drama and slept for most part of the day.”

“Yah! Stop telling my top student nonsense,” Hyori exclaimed while simultaneously cooking what smelled like kimchi fried rice, motioning her emphasis with a spatula in hand. “Anyway, are you hungry Jessica?”

“Oh, uhm—” she starts at the same time her stomach decides to grumble in revolt, her cheeks tinting into a rosy complexion. Taeyeon breaks out into a laugh from beside her while Hyori just gives her a knowing smile.

“Come on.” Taeyeon takes a hold of her wrist yet again, the playwright strangely fixed on the same spot as earlier.

This wasn’t how Jessica imagined her Saturday to end up like. Which was her sitting next to Taeyeon, Hyori across from them, and eating kimchi fried rice that actually tasted really good, or maybe that was her stomach talking. The theater student purposely strode into her professor’s home on a weekend for the extra instruction for their upcoming play. She wasn’t expecting Taeyeon and everything else that was currently happening right after though.

Her original theory that Taeyeon and Hyori had a close relationship was confirmed when the former explained how the professor was a close family friend who she’s known since childhood. Taeyeon’s family lived back in Jeonju and so she lived with Hyori for a while before finally moving into the university dorms.

“I just visit the old woman from time to time because I know how lonely she gets.”

“Aysh,” Hyori cursed while holding her fist up in warning, Taeyeon snickering beside her.

Jessica shook her head. The two really had the most peculiar bond. Although they do remind her of her own relationship with Krystal. Except, her own sister wasn’t too much of a rascal like Taeyeon, most of the time.

After a few more spoonfuls of kimchi fried rice and a bundle of comical childhood stories later, the group finally find themselves situated in the professor’s study. Hyori sat promptly behind the piano, playing the accompaniment as Taeyeon and Jessica sang some pieces from the musical. A few notes and instructions were thrown in, Jessica absorbing them all with ease.

They were singing one of her favorite songs from the musical now and just like the first time they sang together, Jessica catches Taeyeon’s eyes, the raven holding her gaze evenly and never looking away.

She never thought singing could be this… easy with someone else, yet it was also just as intense. It was like her voice had a mind of its own and just naturally blended with her co-star’s.

Most of the time, she’d be thinking of her technique, absorbed with how she would be able to execute a note perfectly. But whenever she sang with Taeyeon, she somehow forgot all that. What was even more amazing was that the result was still good if not even better than when she would be stuck in her head thinking of the specific and right time to breathe in.

She still couldn’t believe someone like Taeyeon was hidden all this time. Talent like hers wasn’t meant to be locked up.

Jessica kept watching even as Taeyeon broke their locked gaze as her eyes naturally close, her voice rising higher, the girl sustaining the note perfectly. Damn, now that’s singing. She was so engrossed in the melodic voice that she almost lost the timing for her to sing along until she felt Taeyeon’s hand on her forearm, reminding her of it, grounding her back.

Practice at the professor’s home became a usual for the trio now, and Jessica can’t deny how something as simple as that made her a little bit more excited to start the day. It shocked the life out of her sister at first, that she would get up at seven, on a weekend, just so she could arrive quicker.

She was really thankful for all the hands-on training from Hyori, and as a bonus, she got to watch and learn from her co-star as well. It was rare to have someone support you one-hundred percent and she was simply glad to have even half of it. But Taeyeon and Hyori went beyond that, Jessica just didn’t want to let them down.

As much as Jessica’s told Krystal it was just a practice routine, something to help hone her mastery, it was never just that either. Jessica’s come to learn that her fellow actress was really good company, well, whenever she wasn’t being an annoying nerd.

Oh, who was she kidding. She was starting to really, really like Taeyeon’s company. Maybe a little too much.

 

 

“You’re totally messing with me, aren’t you?” Taeyeon accused, as she finally gave up trying to match with Jessica who made it her personal goal to screw her over. The guilty party just giggled in response, pausing when she almost didn't notice the incline in step until Taeyeon held onto her forearm. Jessica shooting her a grateful smile in return.

The two were walking back to the dormitories after a solid two hour vocal practice over at Hyori’s place. Taeyeon already automatically followed into step as Jessica exited the apartment and bid their goodbyes to the professor.

A minute later and Taeyeon had the most brilliant idea of practicing their lines while trekking the busy university belt. It went smoothly at first, both exchanging lines as Taeyeon pictured every scene vividly in her mind, until Jessica’s mischievous side reared its head. She would rearrange some words in her lines and add portions that Taeyeon was sure she didn’t write into script.

“Me?” Jessica says with mock innocence. It was Taeyeon’s turn to slap her arm, Jessica letting out a mixture of a laugh and a shriek as she tried to move away, not noticing how dangerously close she was to a car zipping past them. “Okay, okay! I concede!”

Taeyeon closed the distance between them and moved past Jessica so she was walking on the side of the street next to the traffic instead. She was starting to notice the small clumsy moments from her co-star and she was just trying to keep her in one piece, at least until they reached the dormitories. Jessica noticed the gesture once more and muttered a soft thanks with pink dusting her cheeks.

“You really thought I wouldn’t notice you adding that line from Lion Heart? Have you forgotten that I wrote the whole screenplay for both musicals?”

“Oh, I remember alright.” She playfully smirked. “It’s just fun seeing your flabbergasted reactions whenever I change it up. You should have seen your face. You looked like this cute, disgruntled puppy.”

Taeyeon was probably doing the exact look Jessica described but she pursued and replied, “You’re a tormentor, that’s what you are. But at least you called me cute, so I’ll take it as a win anyway.” She knew she was smiling dorkily now but she couldn’t care less when another blush rose from Jessica’s neck and overtook her face.

“That’s all you got from everything I said? That you’re cute?” Jessica scoffed. “How do you always end up being the one teasing me in the end?”

“Now that is a trade secret, Princess.” Taeyeon winked at her, Jessica huffing at her reply before rolling her eyes and up