London, England

Jessica slides the scarf around her neck and inspects herself in the mirror. She presses her lips together and smiles, satisfied with the shade of lipstick she’s wearing. She checks her makeup one last time and exhales, spinning around and exiting her bedroom.

She pauses in the hallway, her head tilting to the side when she notices her sister sprawled on the armchair beside the windows.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come with me?” Jessica asks, curving into a smile when Krystal shakes her head and pouts.

“I'd love to but I’m still waiting for my car to take me to the photoshoot. Will you be okay by yourself?”

“I’ll be lonely without you but I’ll manage,” Jessica says, walking over to ruffle Krystal’s hair. She giggles when Krystal releases a soft squeal and touches the top of her head to stop her from messing up her hair.

“Jess,” Krystal whines.

Jessica laughs and leans down to press a tender kiss onto her sister’s forehead.

She leaves her sister in their hotel room and sets out onto the streets of London, alone.

After treating herself to some delicious coffee to start off the morning, Jessica sets her sights on exploring the city that she’s come to love after many trips with Krystal. She steps out of the coffee shop and begins to walk down the street, her eyes taking in the busy city traffic passing by. The corners of her lips turn upwards when her eyes fall on an open bakery on the opposite street.

Before she can take a step forward, her eyes settle on a woman bent over at the front of the shop. Her brown locks blow gently in the wind as she leans on her umbrella. Jessica studies the way the woman tucks her hair behind her ears, temporarily showing the hints of a Pisces tattoo.

Odd. She’s sure she’s met someone with a similar tattoo behind their left ear.

A bus drives past and blocks her view for a few seconds. When she can see the woman again, Jessica furrows her eyebrows at the familiar figure. A smile spreads on her face when the woman turns her head to the side and Jessica can make out her side profile.

Oh. She’s definitely seen this woman before. Has known her for seventeen years even.

Why is it that they always happen to be in the same place at the same time?

Determined to say hello, she waits patiently and hurriedly crosses the street when the pedestrian lights turn green.

Her suspicions are confirmed when the stranger removes their sunglasses from their face, her features unmistakable even as the overcast weather casts a shadow over her face. Jessica observes Taeyeon reach into her pockets for a cloth and clean the lenses of her sunglasses. She slides the glasses back onto her face and ducks down to continue inspecting the display of baked goods at the storefront, her index finger tapping her lips as she contemplates her options.

Jessica smirks as she approaches Taeyeon, the woman too oblivious to notice her. She leans over Taeyeon’s shoulder and beams widely, lowering her voice as much as possible as she whispers quietly in her ear.

“Hi, Taeyeon.”

A laugh escapes when Taeyeon jumps out of surprise and hits her head on the display window. Taeyeon winces, her face scrunching in pain as she reaches up to touch her head. Jessica extends a hand and touches Taeyeon’s head, lightly rubbing her sore spot.

“Are you okay?” Jessica says, biting down on her lips to stop herself giggling further.

“I just hit my head on glass and you’re asking me if I’m okay?” Taeyeon says, rolling her eyes when Jessica shrugs and gives her a sheepish smile.

“I’m sorry that you hurt your head and that I surprised you so suddenly but you were too cute pressed up against the window like that.”

“Flattery isn’t going to get you anywhere,” Taeyeon replies, smirking when Jessica rolls her eyes and crosses her arms in front of her chest.

“What are you doing here in London? Are you on vacation?”

“No! This time I have a photoshoot but today’s my day off so I’m just wandering around and exploring London. What about you, Miss Creative Designer Jessica Jung? Which by the way, I find it amusing that we’ve run into each other in Nice, Las Vegas, Tokyo, Seoul and now here in London and you’re not wearing your brand’s glasses.”

Jessica does a double take at the revelation, a dent forming on her forehead at Taeyeon’s correct observation.

“You pay attention to the names of the sunglasses I have in my collection?”

Taeyeon coughs and shrugs. She slides her sunglasses through her hair to rest them on her head and turns away to avoid looking at her. Jessica shakes her head in amusement, a part of her swelling with pride that Taeyeon still keeps a piece of her in her life.

“Kim Taeyeon, I didn’t think you’d be the type of person to notice what sunglass styles I have.”

“You should be honoured,” Taeyeon teases, giggling when Jessica rolls her eyes again and lightly smacks her hand.

“I am,” She says, her smile widening into a grin when Taeyeon looks at her with her bright eyes.

She means it.

They end up in an electronics store a few blocks away, their arms brushing against each other as they walk side by side through the audio section.

“Please don't tell me you lost your earphones again,” Jessica says.

Taeyeon chuckles and shakes her head as she reaches inside her pockets and holds up her Airpods for Jessica to see.

“I know I’m prone to losing things but I’m not that bad.”

“Remember when you left your phone in the fridge?”

Taeyeon rolls her eyes and sighs.

“I don’t even know why I even bothered to defend myself,” She says as she walks down the aisle to the other side of the store.

Jessica giggles to herself and follows behind Taeyeon.

They find themselves on a bus to god-knows-where (she trusts Taeyeon because her sense of direction is that of a directionless arrow on a broken compass). Jessica stands beside Taeyeon who has her sunglasses back on her face.

They fall into a comfortable silence as the bus travels along the road. It’s only when they take off again after dropping off some passengers that Taeyeon turns to her.

“Has he contacted you since the letter?” Taeyeon asks quietly, a small dent appearing on her forehead almost immediately. Jessica reaches over and pats her hand to reassure her.

“I have my assistant to deal with that.”

“I see.”

Taeyeon doesn’t say anything else and stares down at her fingers gripping the metal pole. Jessica’s eyes fall on the way Taeyeon’s mouth is slightly parted, as if choosing the right words to say but hesitating on speaking. She studies the way Taeyeon’s eyes are bright and shining even if she can only see them from the side. She spends a little more time observing the way that Taeyeon’s lips curl upwards into a smirk as she turns her head to the side to take a glimpse at her. Her hair falls across her face, tempting Jessica to reach forward and brush her hair away.

The bus decides at that moment to run over a pothole, causing the passengers to lurch back and forth as they try to regain their footing.

Jessica stumbles forward, a tiny gasp escaping her lips when Taeyeon’s arms wrap around her and hold her up. She feels Taeyeon’s warmth radiate through her touch and blushes when her warm breath hits her cheek.

“Sorry,” Taeyeon says meekly, helping Jessica stand up properly before grabbing a hold of the metal pole again.

Jessica turns her head away and pulls her scarf up to cover her red cheeks, frowning when her neck feels a little too warm in this weather.

She catches herself taking glimpses of Taeyeon every few seconds, her heart thumping wildly when Taeyeon meets her gaze each and every time.

When they finally manage to secure seats on the bus, Jessica feels her face flush warm when Taeyeon’s arm brushes against hers as she sits down beside her. She looks out the window to control her nerves. When she turns to face Taeyeon again, she notes how Taeyeon’s eyes are trained on her music playlist showing on her phone.

A thought suddenly appears in Jessica’s mind and she smiles, leaning over to place her chin on Taeyeon’s shoulder.

“Can you sing to me?”

Maybe it’s the bus that’s extremely warm in this dismal weather because Jessica observes the way Taeyeon’s cheeks and ears immediately turn pink.

“What would you like me to sing?” She says softly, glancing up from her phone to look at Jessica.

“Something romantic.”

Taeyeon scoffs playfully and pinches Jessica’s arm.

“I think that's an ill-advised idea for someone who just came out of their relationship two weeks ago.”

“Taeyeon,” Jessica says, tugging on Taeyeon’s sleeve.

Taeyeon smiles and turns her face away for a few seconds. When she spins around to face Jessica again, she has a soft beam on her face.

“Airpod?” Taeyeon asks, her palm facing upwards to offer her right earpiece. Jessica smiles and takes the earbud, frowning when she places it into her ear but doesn’t recognise the tune currently playing from Taeyeon’s phone.

She watches as Taeyeon looks out through the window on the other side of the bus (she’s always had a habit of staring outside when they’re travelling) and sings softly, her voice a whisper just so that only she can hear her.

(Tell me what I want to hear)
I can’t explain the way I’m feeling
(Don’t wanna get close when you’re near)
Your mind is something I’m not reading yet
Tell me why I always gravitate to you

When they finally step off the bus, Jessica turns around to face Taeyeon. She blinks when she feels something wet fall onto her face and glances upwards. A frown makes its way onto her face when she realises that the sky has chosen that particular moment to rain on her.

“Drat,” Jessica says, beginning to shrug off her leather jacket to use as a shield to cover her from the rain. She stops when a shadow looms above her and shelters her from the pelting raindrops.

Jessica looks up, ajar when Taeyeon beams at her and tilts her head to the side as she holds her umbrella above them.

“Shall we?” Taeyeon says tenderly, her voice kind and gentle.

It reminds Jessica of the previous times Taeyeon offered her hand for her to take and hold onto and how all those memories have been pleasant and wonderful to experience.

She slips her hand into Taeyeon’s and together they walk in the rain.

They step inside a quaint restaurant on the corner of the street (according to Taeyeon, she’s filled to the brim with pastries and cannot fathom why she’s still hungry). They settle into a table tucked away in the corner of the establishment, hidden from view from the rest of the public. Jessica drapes her leather jacket on the chair beside her and watches as Taeyeon leans her umbrella against the wall and drops into the seat opposite her.

The waiter takes their menus away and leaves them alone once they’ve ordered. Jessica glimpses over the top of her phone at Taeyeon, who stares blankly at the table and absentmindedly plays with her fingernails.

She’s just about to open to start a conversation when her phone vibrates in her hand. She shoots Taeyeon an apologetic look, who waves her off with a grin, and slides her thumb across the screen to answer the phone call.

“Hello, pretty Soojung.”

“Hi Unnie. What are you up to?”

“I’m in a restaurant with Taeyeon at the moment. We’re –”

“Are you with Taeyeon-unnie?” Krystal practically shouts into the receiver, causing Jessica to recoil at the sheer loudness of her voice. Taeyeon glances up from her hands with a confused expression on her face but Jessica reaches over and pats her hands. When she’s sure she’s recovered from her temporary hearing loss, she brings her phone back up to her ear.

“Yes. She’s with me at the moment.”

“Interesting. Well, have fun!” Krystal says quickly.

Jessica blinks when she hears the end call sound and pulls the device away from her ear, her lockscreen now on display.

“Is everything okay?” Taeyeon says, furrowing her eyebrows when Jessica continues to stare blankly at her phone.

“Soojung hung up on me,” Jessica says, pouting at her phone screen. Taeyeon giggles and squeezes her hand, her smile disappearing when her phone lights up at the delivery of a new text message. Jessica observes how Taeyeon’s eyes scan the text and the way her eyes widen in surprise, agape and her face paling by the second.

“Is everything okay?” Jessica asks, her eyes narrowing when Taeyeon jumps slightly in her chair and gives her a nervous smile as she nods and pockets her phone away.

“It’s fine; nothing to worry about,” Taeyeon says, smiling when their food arrives.

Jessica lets the matter drop but she can’t help but feel as though Taeyeon’s hiding something from her.

She feels a dull ache in her chest, knowing that maybe they’re not as close as they once were many years ago.

When Taeyeon turns her head to request another glass of water, Jessica’s eyes fixate on the Pisces tattoo behind her ear.

Interesting, it seems that Taeyeon’s touched up on her tattoo.

Maybe it’s the adrenaline suddenly coursing through her and the sight of a rebellious, tattooed Taeyeon with her that makes her place her glass of orange juice down and cross her arms on the table.

“I feel like doing something reckless.”

Taeyeon laughs and raises her glass of water to her lips.

“What do you have in mind?”

“Busking.”

Jessica struggles to keep in her laughter when Taeyeon’s mouth hangs ajar and her free hand lands with a solid thud onto the table.

“What?”

“Come on! It’ll be fun!” Jessica says, already standing up from her chair and making her way to the doors. She hears Taeyeon say a hurried ‘thank you’ to the staff before following her out the door.

“Aren’t you worried about being seen?” She says when she falls into step with Jessica.

“I’m sure the fans, if they recognise me, would love to see me.”

Taeyeon sighs and rubs her temples.

“I meant, being seen with me,” She says, raising her head to look at Jessica with a sad smile.

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Well, according to the media we didn’t exactly end our relationship on good terms,” Taeyeon says, leaning against the wall and crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Jessica clucks her tongue and shrugs on her leather jacket.

“Well, if we do get caught which is probably a most definite yes, then let it be. We can give them the Taengsic duet they’ve always wanted.”

“There are fancams of me busking in Nice and Tokyo. You will be caught by the fans,” Taeyeon warns again, uncrossing her arms and frowning when Jessica doesn’t seem to back down from her bold idea.

“Excellent! Let’s go.”

“You really are throwing caution to the wind.”

“What can I say? I want to be impulsive,” Jessica says, winking at Taeyeon. She spins around and begins to walk down the street, turning her head every now and then to check if Taeyeon’s following her.

Taeyeon shakes her head and runs to catch up to her.

Jessica thinks it might be pure coincidence or a sign that they find themselves standing on a bridge and above a body of water again.

Taeyeon leans her umbrella against the railing and begins to take photos of the sunset. Jessica feels her breath being taken away when Taeyeon’s hair blows gently in the wind and exposes her pale neck and defined jawline. Her heart beats faster when Taeyeon continues to look into the distance, parting slightly as she grins at the setting sun. Jessica bites down on her lips to stop herself from smiling when Taeyeon stands beside her, in her leather jacket, with the sun’s rays shining on her and the sunset glow hitting all the right angles of Taeyeon’s features.

It’s when Taeyeon closes her eyes and breathes slowly that makes Jessica take her phone out of her pocket and quickly snap a photo of her. She stares at the image on her screen, an index finger lightly tracing Taeyeon’s side profile.

She blushes when Taeyeon props her chin on her shoulder to look at the photo.

“Wow, I actually look really nice in that,” Taeyeon says, throwing her head back to laugh when Jessica lightly slaps her arm and quickly stows her phone away out of embarrassment at having been caught staring at the picture she just took.

She tears her eyes away from Taeyeon and stares down at the river below them, watching as a boat passes by underneath. It gives Jessica enough time to address an issue that’s been bugging her ever since her disastrous would-be wedding a few weeks ago.

“Why did you give me back my money?”

“I said I would sing for you for free,” Taeyeon says nonchalantly, leaning forward on the railing of the bridge. Jessica watches as her hair continues to blow lightly in the wind and frames the side of her face to hide her features from view.

“I paid for you to be there.”

“And I came as a friend.”

Jessica tastes Taeyeon’s name on her lips, opening and closing as she tries to vocalise her thoughts and feelings.

“We are friends, right?” Taeyeon asks softly, as if she’s crossed some imaginary boundary between them. Jessica frowns and steps closer to Taeyeon, a little hurt about the implication of her words. Or maybe she's been looking through negative lenses for too long that she's not sure about anything when it comes to Taeyeon anymore.

“Do you think we’re not friends?”

“Well, I would hope that after running into you all over the world we’d still be friends,” Taeyeon replies, her tone gentle as she looks away into the distance.

It makes Jessica’s heart rise and drop to her stomach, knowing that Taeyeon’s unsure if they can even be considered as friends. A lump forms in when Taeyeon still doesn’t look at her and keeps her eyes fixated on the sky. She reaches forward and grasps Taeyeon’s hands, squeezing them to convey her emotions.

Taeyeon turns her head to look at her, her eyes dark and warm.

“Thank you,” Jessica says, knowing that even though she’s still searching for the right words to say, Taeyeon gets her and knows exactly what she wants to say.

Taeyeon always understands her.

“Thank you, for being an amazing friend I can have and supporting me with some of the lowest moments of my life.”

Taeyeon just smiles at her.

Jessica almost doesn’t feel bad when Krystal calls to ask about her whereabouts, until she realises that she’s very late for dinner with her sister. She tugs Taeyeon along with her, not wanting their day together to end.

When they step into the restaurant and search their way through the crowd to find their table, they smile sheepishly at Krystal who places her glass of wine down on the table. She arches an eyebrow and crosses her arms in front of her chest, sending chills down both their spines at the sudden change in attitude.

“It took the both of you long enough to get here. I’m starving,” Krystal says, handing Taeyeon a menu as she pats the seat beside her for Jessica to take.

Jessica frowns at Krystal’s words, noting how she’s not surprised by Taeyeon’s appearance. She’s about to question her sister when Taeyeon laughs and reaches over to ruffle Krystal’s hair.

“Unnie!” Krystal says, pouting and slapping Taeyeon’s hand away to prevent another incoming attack.

“Ah, such a warm reception,” Taeyeon says, giggling when Krystal reaches over and pinches her cheek.

Jessica watches the interaction with a fond smile on her face and busies herself with tonight’s menu.

Jessica chuckles when Krystal rubs her stomach and leans against Taeyeon, too full from their delicious meal. Taeyeon supports her by the shoulders, laughing when Krystal grumbles and pushes off her to walk away into the distance.

Taeyeon turns to Jessica, curving into a silly grin as she touches her elbow.

“The London Eye is still open,” Taeyeon says, a knowing smile on her face.

Jessica lets Taeyeon tug her along the footpath, fighting the urge to beam widely when Taeyeon’s hand slides down from her elbow to hold her hand.

The three of them secure a pod all to themselves, the capsule rising hundreds of feet above the city of London where its features become smaller by the second.

Jessica finds herself staring a little too long at Taeyeon being pressed up against the window as she stares at the late night city lights below. She turns away, catching Krystal’s attention as she sits down on the bench.

“Can you guys sing together?” Krystal says, clasping her hands together and staring at the both of them with large, bright eyes. Jessica turns to look at Taeyeon, smiling when Taeyeon rubs the back of her neck.

“We kind of did that today,” Jessica says, her eyes falling back on her sister.

“Please?”

Jessica pats Krystal’s arm and grins, knowing her sister is just stating the truth like the person she is. She pats the space beside her, her heart beating wildly when Taeyeon settles down beside her and waits for her to choose a song to sing. She observes Krystal lean against the wall and hold her phone in the air to take a video of them duetting. She shakes her head at her sister, who shrugs and sticks her tongue out at the both of them.

Jessica closes her eyes and searches her mind for a song, beaming widely when she finds what she’s looking for.

After the wreckage
After the dust
I still hear the howling, I still feel the rush

Jessica notices how Taeyeon blinks and sits up straighter, surprised at the random choice of a song. She quickly recovers from her initial shock and smiles softly at her as she opens to continue the song.

Over the riots, above all the noise
Through all the worry, I still hear your voice

Jessica counts down the beats in her head, grinning widely when Taeyeon’s voice blends with hers right on cue.

Tell me how to be in this world
Tell me how to breathe in and feel no hurt
Tell me how could I believe in something
I believe in us
Tell me when the light goes out
That even in the dark we will find a way out
Tell me now ‘cause I believe in something
I believe in us

Taeyeon, being the type of person she is, insists on taking Krystal and her back to their hotel. She stands aside as Krystal hugs Taeyeon and rubs her back, a dent forming on her forehead when the embrace lasts a lot longer than Krystal’s known for giving out hugs.

“Goodnight Taeyeon-unnie. It’s always lovely to see you,” Krystal says, wiggling her eyebrows in a suggestive manner. Jessica slaps her sister’s arm, frowning when Krystal giggles and pulls another face before ducking inside the hotel and heading up to the room first.

Jessica turns to face Taeyeon and smiles warmly.

“Thank you for today. I had a lot of fun and it made me feel much better about myself.”

Taeyeon smiles and pats her arm reassuringly.

“I had fun too. We can do this the next time we meet up somewhere else in the world,” Taeyeon says, beaming widely when Jessica nods in agreement.

Taeyeon begins to turn her body away when she stops and looks at Jessica.

“I want you to have this,” Taeyeon says, extracting a Tiffany blue jewellery box from the inside of her leather jacket.

“Taeyeon,” Jessica says, stopping when Taeyeon presses the box into her hands.

“I saw this the other day and immediately thought of you. I think it would go well with your outfits.”

Jessica opens the box and gasps, her fingers touching the sterling silver necklace carefully positioned and held in place in the box. She holds the pendant between her fingers and turns it over, noting the brand’s engraving on the ornament. She carefully places the necklace back inside its box, her mind acknowledging the fact that Taeyeon’s carried this jewellery box with her and kept her in her thoughts.

She steps closer and wraps her arms tightly around Taeyeon’s neck. She feels Taeyeon’s giggle vibrate throughout her body as she returns her embrace, her arms sliding around Jessica’s waist and holding her close.

They break apart but it doesn’t stop Jessica leaning forward to press a soft kiss on Taeyeon’s cheek.

“Thank you, Taeyeon,” She says, blinking in surprise when Taeyeon immediately turns red and shyly scratches the back of her head.

“No worries,” She says, a silly grin forming on her lips. She steps back and adorably stumbles, laughing off her embarrassment as she makes eye contact with Jessica.

“Until we meet again,” Taeyeon says, spinning around and heading down the steps.

Taeyeon reaches the bottom and turns around one last time to give her a two wave.

Jessica watches as her figure becomes tinier in the distance until she disappears completely from view.

We’re halfway through this story! Originally I was going to write a scene where Taeyeon and Jessica would get caught busking and they’d run for it but I could never word it right or find a song that was appropriate for that scene so I took it out.

Hehe I think I’ve left enough hints for you to discover where Taengsic will meet up in chapter 6 😉

I love your interpretations of this story so please keep sharing your thoughts with me.

Songs included in this chapter:

• Jessica Domingo – Gravitate
• James Bay & Alicia Keys – Us