Taeyeon was practically blind.

More than two decades in the industry, you’d think she’d gotten used to the flashing lights. On occasions, it’s both ordinary and unimaginable—the fame and success brought by her own blood, sweat, and tears. Except sometimes, a normal life without cameras around is the one she aches to relive for a brief moment.

Getting a daesang nomination is just one of the many natural events in her life as the brightest star to ever grace Kpop. At the age of fifteen, she was scouted to join SM Entertainment and debut solo. Flash forward to the present and winning her sixth daesang tonight is not that far off.

But one thing’s for certain: setting her eyes on Jessica Jung this evening is the most untoward and unfathomable thing to happen.

And Jessica… she loves having more.

Plain and simple, more. Just more of everything: attention, love, or gifts. The stereotypical celebrity who just can’t get enough of her fame and neither does her fans with her presence. She didn’t lack attention as a child, rather, the opposite of it. She was spoiled, but she was generous. You give her more and she gives you back ten-fold. Earning the title as South Korea’s princess—deservingly so—she’s known for being the sweetest, down-to-earth, and classy celebrities that, if you’re lucky enough, you could admire from afar.

Loving, however, makes them painfully human. Sacrifice seems to be synonymous with love in their dictionary.

It has been a decade, isn’t it?

Locking eyes with Taeyeon tonight couldn’t bring more misery than the last time they saw each other.

It wasn’t bad. It was worst. The most excruciating breakup (probably) known to mankind. The heart throbbing, the vein-popping bawling, the chest clutching. It was cruel, like they had just lost their country.

Before the peak of Taeyeon’s career and Jessica freshly debuting her first album, a red string tied them together.

Twenty-six. They met at Lotte World, in animal ears. One was a fox and the other was a cat.

“Oh my God!” Jessica squealed. Needless to say, she was starstruck.

Taeyeon scrunched her nose upon hearing the loud noise. It takes some time getting used to. A girl that looks about her age, screaming in front of her face is nothing out of the ordinary now that the world is finally seeing her potential.

“Sunbaenim, I’m so sorry,” she steps one foot forward in panic, yet not too close to invade her idol’s personal space. Taeyeon relaxed with this gesture, giving a small smile, and instantly ridding the new singer from her worries.

“I’m alright. Please don’t strain your voice,” said the smaller woman. Her tone showed a hint of genuine concern as well as her eyes.

“Y-you know who I am?”

“You’re a breath of fresh air in the industry, of course I do.”

A huge grin crept up on her face. She feels like passing out.

“Sunbae, your songs are exceptional. It’s much better than mine. Whatareyousaying?” she all said in one breath.

She lightly shook her head. “I’m too old for it. Besides, I’m way beyond rebranding every single comeback.” The mere thought of doing concepts she despises and abiding to SM’s orders every comeback ties a knot in her stomach.

“Soon,” they say. Her eleven-year mark on the company is fast approaching and yet they still haven’t given her complete creative freedom. Until today.

They’ve run out of ideas. With her releases flopping, as a final resort, giving her the chance to finally write and compose her own songs, to vocal direct them, and to present her own ideas gives assurance that the company won’t be booting her anytime soon. They’ve also saved up with this project.

Out of nowhere, a man wearing bunny ears approached Taeyeon from behind with two ice cream cones in both his hands. He gave the chocolate one to her. Jessica saw her idol thank the labelmate with a sweet smile, eyes twinkled so much, it was seen from the side. Jessica’s chest tightens but she mustered a fake smile at the view.

“I should be on my way. Thank you for being so kind, sunbaenim,” she bowed and hurriedly left the scene with no direction in mind, tears forming in her eyes for no reason she could think about.

Jessica watched the Lotte World commercial a month later. She took the subway home right after her radio interview, following the end of the album promotions, and she saw the fox and the bunny on the small monitor that hung above the seats. She audibly let out a breath of relief, a number of heads turned to face her.

It didn’t occur to the rookie singer that she would meet her idol again.

From hot debut to All-Kill OST, Jessica was dominating. The Kdrama soundtrack earned more praise than her first EP. Her sweet voice and raw emotions resounding from speakers, touching millions of hearts with every note. She has South Korea’s attention, but Taeyeon’s is the one she craves the most.

For her second CF, she agreed to do a Heineken ad. She was given notes about having a “good time” with B-list celebrities while gulping down fake beer in front of multiple cameras, none of which stated about being in the same commercial with her idol. When she stepped outside her vanity van after hair and makeup, the set shined with the singers and actors in the middle of the sunset-blue tinted backdrop. The Heineken mock-ups of cans, bottles, and transparent cups occupied the large wooden table for the group to fake-imbibe themselves in alcohol and faux friendship.

The rising star moved towards her costars, script in hand. Taeyeon looked up from hers and motioned for Jessica to come over, giving a wide grin as if they were old friends. Of course, she followed with no hesitation, knowing she’d choose her over anyone in the room.

She was too occupied asking the question of why her idol was more excited to see her than her mind to register the fact that she was in the same project as Taeyeon again.

She was seven years her senior in being an idol and she knows a thing or two about filming commercials. The sunbae directly taught her how to act on camera, she listened attentively as if her life depended on it. External noises became muffled, her hearing only focused on the small woman next to her.

The 1^st AD called everyone to be quiet, just in time for the actors to finish rehearsing. Taeyeon ended her speech about the norms of filming ads, once again curling her lips to a satisfied smile, like Jessica ever paid attention to her words when she’s busy enough admiring her presence as it is.

Taeyeon’s white printed tank top and short shorts was very distracting, to say the least.

The group was seated around the table, most of them getting into the moment of faking laughter for a split second since the entire part of this commercial were mainly the voiceovers. Jessica sat opposite her senior.

“Scene 1, Roll 1, Take 1,” says the 2^nd AC.

“Action!” boomed the director.

Jessica barely had time to react as everyone at the table changed characters so quickly, she only had time to blink and stare at the camera while gripping on a cup of fake beer.

“Cut!” The director yelled out. “Jessica-ssi, please follow your costars,” she advised in a jaded voice.

“I’m sorry,” Jessica bowed an apology.

“Rolling…”

“Follow me, okay?” Taeyeon raised her empty can. They have their own signal.

They took 156 takes in total, including their individual shots where they act like the beer was the best thing they ever drank. It was a short advertisement, most of the budget was spent on post-production for CGI and heavy color grading for a dull set. It looked okay-ish in Jessica’s eyes. She was at the back with Taeyeon as the most prominent ones took the most part of the frame in the group takes.

She had no other CFs lined up. Just beer and onion ring chips, perfect for her lonely night of binge-watching Netflix movies and ignoring emails before her manager harasses her with calls.

Taeyeon’s comeback promotions are nearing to an end. It looks like people are already bored of her single, her song went down the charts by 3 spots. She calls her manager to find variety shows to promote her comeback a final time.

It feels as though she’d bump down to a grey area between B-list and C-list. People may know her name, but not enough to scream it atop their roof exclaiming their undying love to the celebrity. She didn’t debut for the fame and fortune. She’s fighting to keep her relevancy and make people listen to her music. She was getting tired.

“Actually, scratch that,” she made up her mind in the middle of the call.

--

“Sunbaenim! You’re here too!” Jessica was wearing a dirty white off-shoulder sweater, skinny jeans with a Dolce & Gabbana belt, and Saint Laurent platform heels on the backstage of a mystery game show.

The newbie accepted the PD’s offer to guest in the program while Taeyeon pulled a few strings just to get a bit of screen time before the end of promotions. She went for casual black turtleneck and full denim for her outerwear, and a pair of beige Jimmy Choo wedges for the complete autumn look.

“Jessica-ssi, this is fate!” she mimicked the volume of her voice, pretending to be shocked when she’s just happy to see a familiar face. “I was afraid I’m going to be uncomfortable the whole time.”

“You’ve been to variety shows before, though,” puzzled Jessica.

“Yes, but I’m what you call ‘introverted.’” Taeyeon made air quotes and rolling her eyes at how silly it sounds. Retaking the MBTI test proves to be useless when there’s still the letter ‘I’ at the beginning of her new personality type.

“Ah.”

“You’ll come up in five minutes,” a staff informed from behind.

The hosts are finishing their scripted witty discourse, and smoothly transitioned to introducing the two new guests who will help the cast in solving a murder mystery in the Halloween special of the show. They especially invited (half of it was true) the sweetest female idols to face the horrors of humanity and random ghosts, apparently, in the mansion of a fictional late actor that was horribly killed.

“Taeyeon! Jessica! So glad you guys made it!” One of the hosts cried happily. She was a veteran entertainer and she opened her arms for a hug. Taeyeon embraced her, then Jessica. After greeting everyone, they stood next to each other at the center, listening to the hosts, but not really.

“Don’t you both feel the creeps being here?” A middle-aged cast member asked, crossing his arms as to imitate the shivering motion.

“Not really, I find the set really cool,” Taeyeon scanned the room, remembering to smile at the cameras.

They were filming at a real abandoned mansion with impressive 10 feet high ceiling of the entrance, and two set of stairs wrapped at each side. The white paint was peeling off and nearly every inch of the walls and floor tiles had graffiti but it looked just as unnerving.

Jessica turned her head to her senior. “I agree, I’m so excited to be here!”

The cast members exchanged worried looks.

“You’re not really scared?”

“At all?”

The guests nodded, chuckling.

“So, Hyun-ssi is the only scaredy cat here.” Laughter from the cast erupted, all looking at the youngest member.

“I will still try my best to protect Taeyeon noona and Jessica noona even if I get taken away by ghosts,” he saluted to the cameras as a promise.

“You do know the ‘ghosts’ are our staff, right? The best they could do is slap you silly if you try to fight them.”

The camera panned behind to the staff members in costume and in normal outfits, fixing the crooked masks from behind cameras and sound. They realized they were caught and laughed, attempting to hide the zombies’ faces with their hands.

“Cute,” the guests commented in unison, both chuckling at their synchronicity.

The camera returned to the celebrities.

The host struck his palms together. “Well, are you ready to read the note that Actor Go left for us?”

Along the episode, Jessica unconsciously clung onto Taeyeon, despite the fact that they’re the bravest celebrities in the room. The cast were focused on solving the puzzles to exit the “deadly” escape room and from the corner of the screen, you’d find the two admiring props and occasionally popping behind other members like moles to ask if they need their assistance. Sooner or later, they affectionately earned the nicknames “Dumb and Dumber” after barely making it out of the room.

The pair didn’t help much, which should be obvious at this point—Instead, they accidentally gave themselves more screen time and an entertaining show that would eventually boost the episode’s rating by 2%, making the program achieve their overall highest viewership rating of 8% and trumping the previous 6%. It’s no question that the nation loved them.

Hours after the episode aired, articles of the Dumb and Dumber pair poured in the Internet. Within minutes, they all trended and took the top spots in the search engine’s homepage. Everyone truly loved their chemistry.

Their managers relayed requests upon requests of variety show appearances, together or by themselves.

As Jessica and Taeyeon wrapped up filming the Halloween special, the sunbae went back to her vanity van and undo the makeup and change into comfortable clothes before heading home. Jessica caught the door before it closed.

“Taeyeon-ah,” she sang, gently closing the door and guarding it with her back.

“Hey, Jessica,” quirked upwards, an amused look on her face as she sees her new friend body-blocking the door.

“If this appearance gives us more opportunities to guest together again, would you accept them?”

She pondered for a moment. It would be nice. She just has other plans at the moment.

“I’ll have to think about it,” her eyebrows furrowed in a disheartened frown.

“Yeah, I suppose it’s a little too much to ask.”

“But if this episode does well like you think, I’ll reconsider.”

As if turning on a light, Jessica’s face shone brightly in the vanity van like the lightbulbs on Taeyeon’s mirrors, but stronger. For good measures, Jessica shyly asked for her senior’s number if they ever need to discuss what shows to go next, and she gladly gave it. The former didn’t forget to add a heart symbol next to her idol’s name in the contacts.

Getting THE Kim Taeyeon’s number was certainly the greatest decision she has ever made. As soon as she arrived home, she waited for an hour to call Taeyeon and thank her for being so nice in the beer CF, variety program, and even after the cameras stopped rolling, she didn’t stop being so kind.

Jessica was constantly showering Taeyeon with praises left and right. Hearing them made her heart swell with gratitude even if they’re made on a phone call.

“See? What did I say?” Jessica yelled through the phone. She was ecstatic that she predicted something correctly for once, her eyes set on the recent Hidden Code episode’s viewership rating.

With the Mac on her lap, Taeyeon scrolled through the Naver homepage using the trackpad, flicking her two fingers to scroll up and down, and surely enough, they’re in the spotlight for being a cute and entertaining pair. Dumb and Dumber might as well have hacked the website since it’s all the articles showing in the page. A few music charts even have some of their songs rank up from the top 20s to the top 5s, recharting their recent releases because of one weekend evening program appearance.

“Jessica, you didn’t win a bet,” she let out a breathy chuckle.

Taeyeon clicked on the hottest article on the page with the headline, Dumb and Dumber Couple, Jessica and Taeyeon Proves to Have the Greatest Chemistry in The New Episode of ‘The Hidden Code’.

By Inseong Kim

The first half of the two-part Halloween special of TvN’s mystery variety show, “The Hidden Code” just premiered and viewers couldn’t get enough of the special guest stars.

At the beginning of the episode, Jessica and Taeyeon revealed that they’re not so much as a scaredy cat like Hyun who is known for his iconic screams of terror. The idol-turned-actor vowed to the audience that he would take care of the ladies, but the guests protected him from the jumpscares in the entire episode.

Jessica and Taeyeon are currently soloists.

Jessica debuted under Shine Entertainment with her first single, “Until Sunrise.” She released her first extended play in June, and her hit OST for a period drama achieved 3 PAKs.

Taeyeon is signed under SM Entertainment for 10 years and recently released her first self-written and self-composed single titled, “Cold” with its bside, “Don’t Love Me.” This earned her her first Best Vocal Performance nomination at YMA and Best Song nomination at RMA.

As the cast locks themselves in a deadly escape room, the segment features the couple entrapped in their own world and cast member Yoon-jae was playfully scolding them to do their jobs as detectives. And as you can see in the clip below, the Dumb and Dumber couple were too occupied in making each other laugh than cracking a 4-digit vault code that veteran host Jin spent her last 20 minutes solving.

Additionally, the next episode preview gets more intense as the plot thickens while the detectives unravel shocking secrets hidden inside the mansion.

You can watch “The Hidden Code” every Friday and Saturday at 9PM KST only on TvN.

“Au contraire, I did. You’re betting your time to be with me on another variety show,” replied Jessica matter-of-factly.

“Okay,” she conceded and closed her laptop, setting it next to her on the bed. “Have you chosen a program you wanna do yet?”

“Yeah, I have an Excel sheet. Hold on,” shuffling was heard at the other end of the line and Taeyeon was baffled.

“You know we can just—”

The phone dinged directly to her ear. Jessica sent a Drive link to the spreadsheet. She the phone speaker and proceeded to visit the link, redirecting her to the app. The title was written in bold Arial font, Dumb and Dumber Goes on Dates, it read. “Like a Dr Seuss book, nice.” she thought as the corner of her eyes crinkled in delight.

“So, any thoughts?” Jessica was chewing her lower lip, a little worried her sunbae might get turned off by the unnecessary effort she put into making a list of potential shows they could guest together in the future.

“Oh!” Taeyeon’s eyes fixated on an afternoon program called Café D’Adoration. She skimmed through the description, as provided by Jessica, written inside the row. “Should we get blind dates?”

“Café D’Adoration? Really? I think that’s too tame after Hidden Code.”

“Okay, we’ll get back to that later,” she scrolled a few more. Her eyes landed on Songs to Listen to at Night, a relaxing outdoor show with comedy couple Jae-jin and Kang-min where guests spend two days and one night at their portable home, cooking healthy food and listening—and sometimes playing songs on Kang-min’s guitar under the blanket of stars before spending the night at the tiny house on wheels.

“Wait, I haven’t seen this,” her eyes trailed on the row of the program and fast-reading the description.

“What is?”

“Songs to Listen to at Night—”

“Yes! Oh my God!” Jessica cried in relief, pumping her fist in the air. “I was about to suggest it to you if you happen to miss it.”

“Is it good?”

“It’s wunderbar.”

“Okay?”

“Aren’t you tired of your company giving you a hard time like a parent who saw your card?” she spoke as if she was introducing a product in an 80s TV advertisement.

“You’d be surprised,” she sarcastically remarked.

“Well, look no further because Jae-jin and Kang-min sunbaenim-deul have got your back!”

Taeyeon was giggling at the other line while Jessica had a smile that could reach her eyes.

“Is this our final choice?” Jessica asked once she heard that Taeyeon had calmed down.

“I guess so. Impersonations should be your party trick on variety shows, you need to utilize that talent more. God!” she groaned, still feeling the effects of the laughing fit she had not a minute ago, and wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.

“Sunbae, you don’t have to lie,” she chuckled a little to conceal the fact that she was touched Taeyeon found her lame humor entertaining.

“I’m dead serious,” she says in a positive manner.

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Do you have an estimate time when the filming will start?”

“Early next week unless they’ve found guests already.”

“Oh, okay. That’s perfect. I’ll tell my manager to call them for booking and you should call your manager unnie, too.”

“Sure,” Jessica immediately replied, but she feels something ominous behind her words. She added, “Do you have a schedule beforehand?”

“No, nothing important,” she dismissed and Jessica didn’t insist further.

--

As early as 10AM on a Monday, Jessica received the shocking news of her life. Taeyeon had gone blonde.

She was on her way to record another OST for a modern romcom Kdrama, and getting notified by Taeyeon’s latest Instagram post with no caption almost brought her to tears at how gorgeous she looks. She was dancing in her seat in the company van while repressing a scream.

32 seconds after it was posted, Jessica liked the photo and immediately replied with many purple hearts and heart eye emojis.

By the time she finished recording the song, news articles of Taeyeon swarmed the Naver homepage and Jessica’s social media feed.

Taeyeon Goes Blonde and Bids SM Entertainment Goodbye After 11 Years

By Yuno Shim

Soloist Taeyeon of her former label, SM Entertainment, finally leaves its doors.

Taeyeon is busy sporting her newly bleached locks around town amidst the announcement of her ending the contract with SM Ent., despite the rise of the company’s share prices. She posted on Instagram a mirror selfie of her inside an arcade in Seoul with no caption, capturing her casual outfit of sleeveless white tee and blue denim overalls, highlighting her fair skin and wavy blonde hair and blue contacts. And new shoulder tattoo?!

Looks like she’s giving SM a ‘cold’ farewell and “You’re gonna regret mistreating me,” from the recent post.

That’s not all, the Dumb and Dumber couple are reported to appear on ‘Songs to Listen to at Night’ and netizens are stoked to see them together on-screen again.

We wish Taeyeon the best on her future endeavors! Check out her latest MV of “Cold” below!

“Why?”

Taeyeon’s phone promptly blew up with missed calls and text messages following the announcement, but she only picked up Jessica’s call. That was the first thing she heard.

“What do you mean ‘why?’”

“Why didn’t you tell me you’re leaving your label?” Jessica’s accusatory tone softens.

“It was a last-minute decision. I’m just tired of doing music I don’t like,” Taeyeon admitted. She never said this to anyone. She was stunned it naturally came out of .

“Oh, honey.”

“It’s gonna be a financially difficult time for me,” she mustered an anxious smile. “But for now, I want to appear in variety programs with you before I go insane trying to hire beauty teams and collaborators for my new music as my next step.”

“Do you want me to come over and practice our cooking skills for the next show we’ll appear in?”

“I’m afraid I have plans,” Taeyeon frowned. “You’re welcome to join me and my friends, though. We’ll just go shopping and stuff ourselves with barbeque.”

“Yeah? What time do I need to arrive?”

“I’ll come pick you up.”

Taeyeon pulled up by the chest-high steel gate on her BMW cruiser motorcycle with matte black finish and matching helmets. She just sold her old white Honda Crider that she bought after releasing her first Japanese EP. It became like a best friend who accompanied her every step of the way. Money is tight, now that the industry has become more competitive over the years. Besides, paparazzies will eat up candid pictures of her in a lowrider after leaving SM for good.

Taeyeon buzzed the intercom by the gate. “Sica.”

“I’ll be done in a sec,” she said hurriedly through the speaker. “Wait, let me buzz you in.”

The gate unlocked and she drove the cruiser inside the driveway, and stepping out of it. Jessica resides at the top floor of a three-story residence in Myeongdong. Its exterior looks very square? and modern, it stands out from the entire neighborhood. After parking her motorbike, she walked up to her floor and rang the doorbell.

Jessica unlocked her front door in white camisoles, Adidas shorts, and… barefoot. “You’re here early!” turned up in a smile, yet her eyes looked frantic.

“Are you having trouble picking an outfit?”

“Yes!” she moaned and pulled Taeyeon inside by her wrist, slamming the door. “I have no idea what look I want to go with.” They both stopped at her bed that had every clothing spread out, some of them fell off the edge.

“It’s not a date. You know that, right?” she chuckled as Jessica messed up her updo in frustration.

“I know, but what would you do if your idol invites you to the mall and meet her friends?” she released the grip on her light brown locks.

“Okay, I get your point.”

To compliment her new blonde hair, Taeyeon went with a monochrome top of a slim-fit black turtleneck layered with slightly ed button-down white shirt and a large dark jacket, with a pair of denim jeans and pumps. She picked up a cream-colored tweed jacket from the pile of clothes with one hand, the other to pick up a pale-yellow knee-length pleated skirt.

“This one,” she handed the outfit as her lips turned up in a proud yet mischievous smile.

“Why this one? It looks bland,” Jessica scrutinized her own clothes, grimacing at the colors.

“It fits your persona. Plus, we’ll match,” Taeyeon twirled to show her black and white outfit, stopping with her arms extended for the ta-da.

Jessica looked at the clothes she’s holding and at her sunbae.

“Whatever you say,” she shrugged and grabbed a white V-necked cardigan from the bed before walking off to change.

Jessica insisted to drive her four wheels than Taeyeon’s two. “You picked my outfit but didn’t even consider how I would look like riding a cruiser in a skirt?!” she grumbled as Taeyeon handed her the helmet.

“I’m sorry my vehicle of choice slipped out my mind. You were right,” Taeyeon says after they stepped out of Jessica’s Audie and both slamming the doors shut. “I just wanted us to match since you gave me a choice to play dress-up.”

“You’re making me regret inviting you in my home, sunbae,” she playfully scorned and glared at her.

Approaching the round table outside a café, three familiar women were seated and gossiping. Each of them signed under different entertainment companies as both singers and actresses. Yoona, Sooyoung, and Seohyun saw the pair walking towards them.

“The idiots are fashionably late,” Sooyoung affectionately remarked, giving them both a hug with her long arms.

“It’s not my fault this time,” Taeyeon quickly took a seat as Jessica was left dumbfounded at the sudden pointing of fingers, agape at her sunbae’s audacity.

“Who’s the moron who brought a motorcycle?” she countered, taking a seat next to her.

“I do not know of any moron you’re talking about,” Taeyeon shook her head and began fake-reading the menu on the table.

“Alright,” Seohyun diffused the argument with a laugh. “We’re celebrating Taeyeon unnie’s seventh debut anniversary. Jessica unnie, please refrain from fighting our dearly beloved friend on her big day.”

“Wait, it’s today?!” she exclaimed in pure disbelief. “I’m a fake fan, how could I forget?” Jessica placed both her hands on Taeyeon’s under the table.

“You need a dunce hat right this instant,” she said in a serious tone and immediately breaking character at the thought of Jessica wearing a large cone on her head that says ‘dunce.’

“Oh, you think it’s funny, huh?” she stifled a laugh and tried to give a stern look.

“People would actually pay to see the Dumb and Dumber unnies fighting,” Yoona quipped. She was witnessing a good show at their table.

Yoona’s comment brought the two to a silence, realizing how ridiculous they must’ve look to the public. They’re all they talk about these days, anyway. This isn’t a normal outing with friends when you each have reporters and stalker fans tailing behind and hiding in the woods, which is entirely possible.

Courtesy of Seohyun’s planner, the celebrity friends followed the schedule of celebrating Taeyeon’s departure from SM and debut anniversary by having grilled beef, purchasing luxurious clothes, and relaxing in a bar to sneak a surprise to the oldest member with cake and champagne. Jessica wouldn’t be having fun today if she hadn’t met Taeyeon.

Yoona emerged from the kitchen behind the bar counter, holding a two-layer vanilla cake with white chocolate flowers decorating the top and icing circled the two layers. It had a white chocolate sheet that says ‘TY for Debuting TAEYEON’ written with dark chocolate in English, propped up in the center of the top layer. A waiter was holding a bucket of ice with bottles of champagne beside Yoona.

Seohyun helped carry the cake and sang “congratulations on your debut anniversary” in the melody of the happy birthday song. Customers clapped along and Jessica, just as shocked as her sunbae, joined in the singing.

Taeyeon clasped her hands in prayer, silently wishing before blowing out the candle.

Three glasses in and Taeyeon finally asked, “Oh no, who will drive your car?” Jessica stopped mid-sip to stare at her wide-eyed.

“I didn’t tell my manager about this.”

“I have no manager.”

They gazed at each other in horror.

“That’s it, I’ll just face the consequences later,” she whipped out her phone and speed dialed her manager.

“Wait, you don’t have to do this,” Taeyeon bit her fingernail.

“Unnie, I did something bad.”

“Go on…”

“I can’t drive today,” she confessed and chewed on her lower lip, expecting a scolding from the company.

“Okay,” the manager let out a shaky sigh, defeated. “I will fix this. Tell me your location when you’re done with whatever you did.” Then she hung up.

“I’m so sorry,” mouthed her senior.

“Don’t be, Taeyeon.” she rested her hand on hers and smiled.

Wednesday past noon, they arrived backstage on set for the Songs to Listen to at Night program, wearing simple two-piece outfits and bringing their bags for the overnight stay.

“Honey, do you know who are our guests today without looking them up on Naver?” asked Jae-jin to Kang-min as they were slumped in their own foldable chairs, taking in the cold morning air outside the portable home.

“It’s the clumsy detectives, right?” he looked at her and smirked, recalling a few comical scenes from the pair’s first on-screen appearance together.

“Do you know their names?” quizzed his wife.

Kang-min didn’t answer. Jae-jin sighed.

“They’re very talented idols who can do everything!” she emphasized by extending her arms outward.

“Does that include harvesting and cooking, too?”

“We’ll see about that.”

As the duo entered the frame, they were instantly greeted by warm embraces from the hosts. Extra foldable chairs were laid out on the grassy soil and the guests took their respective seats in the center. The female host noticed them still carrying gift bags.

“What have you brought with you?”

Taeyeon took out a box of homemade assorted macarons, each piece has syllables written in icing, all of them spelling out the show’s title. “This is my guilty pleasure, macarons.” she opened the box and the hosts gawked at the presentation.

“You must love baking,” says Kang-min.

“It calms my mind like songwriting does,” she replied with a smile.

“How about you, Jessica?”

“I made tiramisu,” she chuckled a little, looking over to the box of sweets that Kang-min is holding. “We did not plan this, by the way.”

The hosts gave a hearty laugh. “You both need to consider opening a café one of these days.”

“That would be nice.” said Jessica.

At one point of the obligatory small talk, Taeyeon asked the comedy duo, “Do you have any advice for people planning to get married?”

“You must have your eyes set on someone!” Kang-min remarked. The blonde’s cheeks reddened.

“When you know, you know. It took us fourteen years to realize that it was time. You can’t rush love.”

The cast members smoothly transitioned to the main premise of their show: farming and cooking. Right after their introductions and conversation about the ups and downs of being a soloist, Jae-jin didn’t hesitate to horrify the guests about getting muddy and sweaty harvesting vegetables before they can begin cooking.

Taeyeon, an icon, kept repeating the words “omo, omo, omo, omo,” every time her boots get an inch deep in the wet mud, feeling its cold viscosity under the rubber boots. Just thinking about it makes her skin crawl. Jessica, on the other hand, wasn’t afraid to get dirty. She was in charge of helping Taeyeon get out of the mud by pulling her arm. Her basket was filled to the brim with vegetables in contrast to the fellow guest star who returned with two carrots, one cabbage, and a stray cat tailing behind her

“Oh, Taengoo-yah. You brought one more mouth to feed,” Jae-jin said disappointingly in a joking manner when she heard the kitten meow.

“I told her not to join us.”

It meowed again.

The kitten soon became a mascot in the episode. Like Taeyeon and Jessica’s chemistry on screen, it didn’t quite help them in the show, but it provided comfort and adoration for everyone around.

“Thank you for the food!”

Meow.

Jae-jin and Kang-min made bossam and naengmyeon for the main dishes. Taeyeon made rice cake soup as the starter and Jessica with tofu kimchi for the side. With the pair’s combined efforts, they made japchae while they playfully flirted in the kitchen for the fan service. Jessica giving a peck on Taeyeon’s cheek in front of the GoPro was also—under the guise of—fan service.

Stuffed with healthy lunch and dinner, Kang-min’s legendary guitar made an appearance that evening. He doesn’t use it very often which makes the instrument legendary. He decided to play it again for the first time since the early episodes of the last season, given that the guests are both vocalists in this episode.

Each of them took turns singing their favorite song as the male host plays the guitar. For the duet portion, Jessica and Taeyeon verbally agreed on singing “Time Spent Walking on Memories.” Both singers having a story to tell by the way they did their rendition of the song, harmonizing as they shared one emotion but their styles were exceptional; they gave it a new meaning so personal to them.

It was as if the moonlight had somehow gotten brighter after their duet. The singers shed a glow that permeated the set, their lips turning up in a satisfied smile and staring at each other’s eyes that glimmered with joy.

--

Taeyeon Celebrates Her Debut Anniversary with Friends Sooyoung, Seohyun, Yoona, and Jessica

Jessica and Taeyeon Flirting at Newest ‘Songs to Listen to at Night’ Episode

Jessica Seen Hanging Out with Taeyeon, Yoona, Seohyun, and Sooyoung

The blonde tapped on the second article as she brushes her teeth.

By Inseong Kim

You heard it right, the Dumb and Dumber couple are back!

The latest episode of “Songs to Listen to at Night” just aired featuring guest stars, Jessica and Taeyeon.

The singers admitted their qualms about having the label ‘idol’ in the music industry. Taeyeon, especially, after departing from her old label, is anxious about her future going forward.

“I won’t say it gets better,” host Jae-jin said. “But I will tell you that what you choose to do now is your own choice and you will have all the responsibility for it. I trust that you will make a decision you won’t regret.”

Jessica showed her love for her senior while they make japchae. She continuously showers Taeyeon with praise on her visuals while she was prepping ingredients. Taeyeon returned the compliments, earning a kiss on the cheek from the rookie singer, as seen in the screenshot below. Her reaction was adorable! She couldn’t process what happened.

When it was time to recommend their favorite songs, Kang-min finally played his guitar again. Jessica did a rendition of Uhm Jung-hwa’s Ending Credit, Taeyeon with Lee So-ra’s That’s Enough, and the couple’s first duet with Nell’s Time Spent Walking on Memories.

Very emotional song choices, as expected from Kpop’s youngest legends.

You can watch their covers below! “Songs to Listen to At Night” premiers every Thursday on SBS.

It has been a month since Taeyeon left her label for good. Her social media was left untouched from when she posted the mirror selfie and she chose to finally speak up about it. She kept refreshing her feed to see the public’s view on her heartfelt letter and so far, they’re probably letting her words sink in for a while.

It really has been quite long. Through her connections, she’s found stylists and a makeup artist, a new manager, and a PR manager. Only thing that’s left is to interview them and get on working for the new album.

She knows it’ll be tough on her own, considering her former label did most of the preparations on the album. It will also be hard on the fans who are waiting for her comeback. The singer decided to open a YouTube channel as a gift for them.

Taeyeon rinsed with water and dried it with a clean towel. She exited the bathroom and sprawled herself of the couch, flipping the channels to kill time. Her thumb stopped clicking as soon as Jessica’s voice resonated from the speakers for a split second. She was live on a viewable radio doing an interview.

The OST lineup for the romcom series has been announced and Jessica was talking about how amazing it is to sing for a drama that is directed by a renowned director, being as a Kdrama addict herself.

“Taeyeon sunbaenim is so wonderful,” she began. “Our relationship doesn’t feel like hoobae-sunbae at all. She just treated me as an equal—as a friend since the first time we met. I’m just so lucky to be friends with her.” Jessica gushed with a smile of admiration spread across her face.

And thus, the 26-year-old buried her crimson face in a pillow to suppress a scream.

The Dumb and Dumber couple continued on their outings and a few more variety show appearances for months, and soon it was a new year. Jessica was nearly done with preparing her first full-length album after nothing but OST and single releases prior to the first EP. Taeyeon’s YouTube channel gained two million subscribers while she secretly puts together her fourth studio album, which is undeniably stressful by herself. It’ll be her first work outside SM.

However, with their friendship going stronger, so does the rumors about them dating start to spread like wildfire.

“I think I don’t like this scandal,” Taeyeon thought out loud almost breathlessly, she trembled so much that her smartphone felt a ton heavier in her hand.

“Why? Are you homophobic?” kid Jessica in the kitchen as she was making herself oatmeal.

“No,” felt as dry as a bone. She struggled to form sentences with her thoughts in disarray. “The netizens are. They keep making up things and hating us for it.” she covered her eyes with her palms and trying to relax her heart that was beating so loud and so fast. She thought she could just laugh them off then it would slowly die down. It did the opposite. It was very damaging.

Jessica ran over with her bowl, setting it on the coffee table and gave her friend a comforting hug. “Don’t internalize your worries. You know I’m always barging in your home whether you like it or not,” she gave a small chuckle. “I’ll help you get through this.” she promised, rubbing the smaller woman’s back in a circular motion.

Taeyeon hadn’t been listening. All she remembered that time was that Jessica smelled of roses.

--

Taeyeon suggested for them to not be seen together for at least a week or until the articles stop. This was the last thing Jessica wants to happen but it would give them some privacy at least. Of course, being her senior, she completely predicted the public’s actions. The paparazzies were tired out, the couple were seen with their other friends or busy with schedule. And then it went radio silent.

Despite them always calling each other when carrying out the plan, the couple had grown to be attached and dependable. Jessica finally released her first studio album and they had a private celebration at her residence, popping champagne and ordering a terrifying amount of food for the two idols.

Like it was her birthday, Jessica invited her best friend to Lotte World under false pretense of a present. The reporters have moved past writing fictional love story of the couple and their attention being elsewhere to notice that Taeyeon and Jessica went to an amusement park after the random distancing.

The latter isn’t a big fan of rides and she let her senior pick it for them. She made this an opportunity to film a video for her channel with a title already in mind: Dumb and Dumber on a Date, directly inspired by the Excel spreadsheet that brought the two stars closer together. They wore the same animal ears as before.

Jessica bought churros as they had taken every ride that Taeyeon wanted. They strolled around the park, biting on the sweet pastry and Jessica stopped on a deserted area with rides on maintenance and dusty food stalls covered in a large net. She was shaking once they arrived.

“Why are we here?” wondered the fox.

“Um, this may sound bad depending on how you’ll take it,” began the cat. “But I love you. I loved you the moment you laid your eyes on me. I loved you the moment you relaxed with my touch. I loved you the moment you decided to trust me with your insecurities. I loved you the moment you made my problems yours. I loved you the moment you stop everything to talk to me whenever I need you. And I need you, Kim Taeyeon. I love being myself with you. I want to spend more time with you.” she barely managed to get the words out, getting choked up by her own words.

Tremor overtook the fox, tears flooding her cheeks to her quivering mouth that blocked the sounds trying to escape it, until she finally spoke, “You idiot, I love you, too.”

The red string tightened around their fingers. They finally had their world, and soon they will reign the universe together.

Coming home from Lotte World, with their faces red and puffy, Taeyeon had no choice ending her video by lying to her fans for the first time, in the moving Audie.

“Jessica and I watched a movie together. It had a happy ending, and it was very beautiful.” she said to the handheld camera.

Behind the wheel, the brunette smiled and briefly turned her head to the side. “I made Taeyeon watch the movie with me.”

When she turned off the camera, Taeyeon asked, “For how long did you plan this?”

“I went to Lotte World with Tiffany a couple weeks back. We searched for places with abandoned rides,” she grinned at the memory. Her fellow Korean-American friend helped her plan the confession from setting the mood to choosing the rides. She might as well have confessed herself since she was very enthusiastic with planning things. Jessica didn’t follow them at the end. She was too anxious.

“So, when did you start liking me back?” she looked over once more to her girlfriend. Yes, she can finally say the word: girlfriend.

“Since the first time you kissed my cheek. I went on a gay spiral after filming,” she answered, and chuckled. She added, “I realized I might have feelings for you then.”

Jessica was smitten. She responded with a smile that screams of love and adoration as she drove them home. They were home.

--

Taeyeon moved in with her girlfriend to the modern square house. She didn’t sell her apartment yet in case the public caught on.

The idols did their regular Instagram livestreaming on certain parts of the house. The couple revamped an empty room as their recording-slash-streaming area with generic sound-absorbing panels on the walls and generic LED lighting as the backdrops. The design choice was mostly Taeyeon’s as she had recently taken up streaming her games. All she played were RollerCoaster Tycoon, Sims 4, and RPGs, but her fans always tuned in. It was just to stall for time, her album took a little longer than she initially had in mind.

Meanwhile, Jessica was busy promoting her double title track for her first full-length album on music shows to even use the recording room. She was enjoying this new lifestyle. She would be coming home with different fragrances comparable to a bakery, but better—as the love of her life was the one baking.

Some of their fans began to notice the similar clothes, accessories, and the familiar backgrounds that they shared. This kind of scandal has been ancient history to the mainstream media and they only criticized the fans for it when they, in fact, did something similar. Jessica was troubled.

“Do you still wanna try Café D’Adoration?” she asked Taeyeon.

She was in the middle of picking photos from her jacket photoshoot of the upcoming album. MacBook on her lap, glasses resting on the bridge of her nose. “Why?”

“The fans are making up stuff again.”

“It’s true, though.”

“Yeah, but not to the public. Korea isn’t ready to accept us yet.”

Taeyeon breathed out through her nose and closed her laptop. She stared into her brown orbs, a window to her subconscious. “We live in a modern world now. Others have gone through wars and rebirth eras. Our digital age is constantly churning out new knowledge and we’re adjusting with the endless cycle of change by consuming media. My point is, who cares who we choose to love. It’s their own fault for not seeing what we see.”

“I don’t care if we come out. I’m worried if we go public with this relationship, the world will sabotage your comeback. You’ve been working really hard on this.”

Taeyeon contemplated for a moment. “Okay, I’ll think about it some more. This is just your first year as an idol, I don’t want to put this burden on you.”

“Thanks, babe.” Jessica rested her head on the blonde’s shoulder. The floral scent of her body reached her nose, her eyelids suddenly felt heavy, and she fell asleep.

As Chuseok grew nearer, Taeyeon unknowingly gave her girlfriend a scare over dinner by inviting her to meet the Kim family, which of course, includes her parents.

“I don’t think they’re gonna enjoy the holiday when they find out you’re dating a woman,” her face twisted with apprehension.

“What are you talking about? I already came out to them years ago,” she candidly replied.

“Is that true?”

“My siblings don’t even care who I date anymore,” she scoffed.

Jessica looked at her. So, she had other lovers, was her assumption. She couldn’t help but feel little at this moment. She was afraid she couldn’t compare.

“What number am I?” she echoed her thoughts.

“What? Is that a trick question?”

“Am I your fifth girlfriend or something?”

It was like stopping at a sudden red light. Taeyeon’s movement promptly froze at her question.

“You’re better than them,” she said.

“I’m sorry,” Jessica rose from her seat and left the dining area, face flushing in regret, anger, and embarrassment.

She entered their shared bedroom later that evening.

“I’m sorry, Taeng. I had no rights to be angry at you,” she threw her one pillow to the empty spot next to Taeyeon who was sitting upright and reading a book.

The side of the bed dipped as Jessica came over to her spot.

“Don’t worry about it, okay? I still love you,” she leaned in and gave a short kiss.

She pouted when Taeyeon broke away already. “This won’t do.”

“What—”

Before she had time to react, she was on her back with both her wrists pinned on the bed and her girlfriend on top, peppering her with kisses.

The following day, Jessica was met with an unfortunate news: her family also wants to celebrate the holiday with her and her “best friend.”

“This is bad.”

Taeyeon peered over her shoulder to read the text message. “We are still best friends, though. Right? We just kiss sometimes. Just don’t tell them that,” she laughed at her own joke.

Jessica relaxed her body a little upon hearing her laugh. Maybe she’ll tell her parents eventually, not right now, however.

The Café D’Adoration filming started right after Chuseok. The idols were lucky to have spent the time with family and each other without any overlapping schedule, their minds were at ease over the holiday.

On the script they were given, it says that there would be young bachelors who will court the ladies by the power of baking and preparing caffeine. Pâtissier Lee and his other hosts of entertainers were the barista, playing the role of cupid in this entire show.

By the judging part of episode, Taeyeon ended up picking an actor named Park Il-woo for his mille feuille and Jessica chose Jo Yu-jeong, another actor, for the cream cheese and strawberry danish. Their “partners” are around the same age and they were genuinely having a lovely time, albeit platonically.

When the “getting-to-know” bit was done, the pâtissier asked the singers to create a pastry that they have never made before as a gift to the viewers. In reality, it was an impromptu time-filler as the broadcast turned out to be shorter. Jessica made cinnamon buns and Taeyeon made madeleines.

The episode came to an end as everyone indulged in the pastries that the singers made.

Jessica sneaked her way into Taeyeon’s dressing room after filming. She locked the door behind her.

“You think this would be enough to get people to stop talking?” Taeyeon asked.

“There will be people pairing us with the actors now, not together. We’re also doing those guys a favor since their recent projects aren’t doing so good.”

“What did those men do to you?” teased Taeyeon. Jessica walked over to the vanity mirror and sat on the dressing table, her hands grabbing the edge for support, and swinging her legs under it.

“They think they have a shot with you. I hate it.”

The blonde set her lip tint down and stepped closer to her girlfriend, she closed the space between them. “They’re nothing when I have you around,” she whispered seductively, eyes gazing at the pink lips in front of her.

Of course, Jessica gave in to this invitation and softly brushed her lips against her girlfriend in the dressing room (of a program where female stars get paired up with handsome celebrities). But none of that information sunk in as they tasted each other and took in their sweet scents, while their hands were busily roaming around to hold or to explore every inch of their lover’s being.

--

Taeyeon’s eighth debut anniversary was fast approaching and she wanted to get her first album as an independent artist eligible for awards. She released the teaser pictures on her official social media accounts, garnering attention from the country. A self-written full-length album screams nothing but freedom to her.

She chose a dark yet expressive concept with the color palette indicative of dusk. Its visuals capturing the feeling of desolation prior to the sunrise which happens to be Jessica. The tracks mostly consisted of love songs for her girlfriend and the rest are secretly about her old label. All of them having very telling emotions which the singer is known for, and her vocals giving each track a life of their own, like they were made to slap the listeners with the lyrics and emotional singing.

Jessica was given permission by her company to open a YouTube channel. Her conditions were simple: she needs an editor and she gets to post whatever she wants. And what she wants is a livestream as the first video.

“Taengoo, I think I’m ready,” she was bouncing a little and shaking her hands as if to dry it. She had never felt more nervous than today of all times as an idol.

Taeyeon laughed, brushing her locks aside, and fixed her hair. She straightened her hoodie with a sweet grin.

“We won’t start if you’re still shaking like that,” she chuckled lovingly. Rather than feeling anxious, she was actually calmer. Taeyeon adjusted the camera and sat down on her chair. Jessica slowly followed; her whole body tensed up as soon as she sat down with a squeak. The lights behind them faded from red to pink, giving the two women a contrast from the already dark sound-absorbing panels and their black hoodies.

The clock was ticking, her first livestream will commence in 60 seconds.

She broke down.

“I don’t think I can do this,” she cried. Taeyeon quickly held her in a hug.

“We can cancel the stream. The camera won’t start if I chose not to enable it.”

Jessica took a sharp breath and straightened herself in the chair, breaking away from Taeyeon’s embrace. “Okay, start it in thirty seconds.”

A random scheduled livestream with no description and a title that just says oh no will certainly get the viewers watching.

“Welcome, everyone,” says Taeyeon as the black screen faded to reveal the Dumb and Dumber couple in matching hoodies and in her streaming room.

It wasn’t until the live reached a thousand viewers merely seconds after they showed themselves that Jessica finally spoke, “Please don’t be alarmed at the title,” she nervously laughed, reading the chat. It soon reached ten thousand viewers a few minutes in while they greeted fans.

“This is an announcement video, guys. We have something very important to share,” Taeyeon informed, smiling at the camera.

25,000 viewers.

“’Unnie, are you opening a café together?’ Not quite,” laughed Jessica.

40,000 viewers.

“The hint is our hoodies,” said Taeyeon.

100,000 viewers.

“We’re dating each other. It’s not a joke,” Jessica abruptly confessed in all smiles, as she sees the viewer count, and actually felt the weigh on her shoulders lift as soon as she said it.

“The truth is, both of us are still questioning our labels. We truly love each other and it’s all we needed—you guys needed to know. It’s been difficult to keep lying to you guys.”

350,000 viewers. The emojis have taken over and had broken the chat system. Taeyeon laughed at the number of purple hearts and “congratulations” flooding it.

Jessica didn’t notice the tears forming in her eyes until it dropped on her skin. She sniffled. “Oops,” she said, wiping her face using the back of her hand.

Taeyeon grabbed a tissue and handed it to her, chuckling.

When she dried her face, she said, “Welcome to my new channel, by the way.”

Hours after the stream, and the couple once again took over news article sites and social media feeds. The overwhelming responses gave the answer to the age-old question of ‘will the world accept them as a sapphic couple.’

Jessica and Taeyeon Comes Out and Admits to Be in a Relationship with Each Other in Jessica’s YouTube Channel

By Namji Go

The Dumb and Dumber couple becomes the first gay couple in Kpop to have an open relationship.

Jessica had just opened her YouTube channel and immediately got heads scratching at a scheduled livestream named as “oh no.” It’s still available as a VOD in her channel, which everyone should watch RIGHT NOW.

The live had a slow start like they were waiting for the entire population of South Korea to tune in. Jessica was first to break the news to the viewers and Taeyeon followed with an apology of keeping this a secret to the fans, which was understandable, knowing the feedback of the country when exposed to LGBTQ+ media.

After the reveal, they each gave cute stories of when and how they first meet and confessed their feelings, and how their families and company (or lack thereof) reacted to them coming out. It was such a wholehearted, intimate, and eye-opening stream.

All the best for the greatest and cutest couple in history! Check out their latest music below!

It was not easy getting their PR team to agree to this event.

Taeyeon wanted to gamble before the music show promotions and settled with doing the livestream today or never. Normally, Jessica would reschedule it, but her girlfriend was just as convinced to let the world know of their relationship. Thankfully, the responses are mostly positive and cheering them on. Taeyeon was certain they’d get burned alive.

Their usual outings gave a whole new meaning. Their streams don’t hide the fact that they live in the same home together, and one of them sometimes brings over the camera to the other against their will.

Obviously, Shine Entertainment isn’t always a flexible company. Jessica is still an idol and while they gave a green light to this announcement, PDA will be too much and too sensual for the public. South Korea is slowly adapting to male celebrities coming out and the MLM content being mainstream in the nation, it sadly wasn’t the same for female celebrities. The couple was the first and only ones to come out and it will be a bumpy road ahead of their future.

Taeyeon had seven music show wins, and she thanked her fans and Jessica with every one of them. Her album has been charting in the top 5s for two consecutive weeks. She wonders if it’s because of the announcement or because her music is great.

She printed an article and cut out a paragraph that she likes to pin it on the large corkboard near the dining room. Polaroids of the couple barely occupied half of the left side, she wanted the right to have their achievements laid out in front and center, like it was supposed to be.

“Taeyeon’s fourth studio album debuted at Billboard’s Top 10 after its initial release, making it her first release to ever achieve such feat. Leaving her label and going independent definitely proves that Taeyeon shines brightly on her own and SM was concealing it.”

This piece of paper was her milestone. She held onto it high with her fingers, the lightbulb illuminating on the printed words.

“Babe, what’s that?” Jessica came over to her study room carrying a tray of pressed juice.

“The fruit of my labor,” she replied as her eyes twinkled.

“That’s so cheesy.”

“Well, get used to it ‘cause there will be more,” she beamed and revealed her eye smile.

“Get your total music show trophies to surpass mine first, then we’ll talk,” Jessica chuckled.

“I will get a daesang before you,” she teased, sticking out her tongue.

Jessica playfully rolled her eyes and pinched Taeyeon’s cheek. “Ow!”

“The RSVP to the wedding is until the weekend, by the way. Let me know when you’re going with me,” she winked and slid out the door.

--

Introverts can understand that attending a social gathering sounds very exhausting. Even if they want to, they’ll ultimately be left a lot tired than most, desperately needing some alone time to recharge.

As for the blonde, this is just one of those events that she’ll gladly join just for the woman she loves and nothing else. The bride was Jessica’s cousin who Taeyeon hasn’t met yet. The unfamiliar faces of extended family and friends looked very daunting from their table. Jessica dragged her everywhere to meet the uncles, aunties, more uncles and aunties, great grandparents, nephews and nieces, and so much more. Krystal was the only person aside from Jessica that she was acquainted with.

Pictures of them attending the wedding flooded the tags on Instagram that night. For privacy reasons, the bride and groom’s faces were blurred out as well as the people invited. A vertical video of Jessica singing her debut song “Until Sunrise” for the newlyweds had already gotten 3.4 million views on the app alone. Besides that, candid pictures of the couple were taken as they were seated next to each other and users assumed they were flirting.

Another one for the history books: proofs of sweet moments together, feeding the media with writable material of how the public absolutely loves the couple.

Taeyeon and Jessica celebrated their 29^th birthdays. Taeyeon had a private garden party with only a number of guests including her family, and Jessica threw her grandest birthday party yet, making her girlfriend meet new people again. This was a clear contrast in their personalities, but it was tolerable. For the most part.

Their famous “oh no” livestream hit the two-year anniversary mark and the couple was still going strong. Taeyeon proposed an idea to her girlfriend as she recalled the events that led up and followed the memorable program that they appeared in.

“Should we go back to Songs to Listen to at Night as a couple?” she held her phone up to Jessica who was standing behind their couch, eating cereal.

“Taeyeon, I think you’re the most genius woman in the universe!” she set the bowl down on the cushion, grabbing the phone. “Their show deserves to have a powerful premier for the fourth season renewal. Obviously, we should have the first episode.”

“This is why the universe brought us together,” she arched her neck upward and gave a close-lipped smile, and closing her eyes.

Jessica leaned in and pecked her lips. She joked, “Keep saying more cheesy stuff and I’ll break up with you.”

“Cheesy what?”

“Good girl,” she patted Taeyeon’s head and ruffled her blonde locks.

Hosts Kang-min and Jae-jin welcomed back the couple in open arms, on set and behind the scenes. They were part of the community that truly supported their relationship. Jae-jin legitimately cried upon seeing them both come in the green room to greet the cast before the filming, saying how much they changed for the better in just two years.

Before the cameras started rolling, scripts were handed out, the papers brought Jessica to a small giggle.

“Why? Is there something here?” Taeyeon asked, laughing as well.

“No, the last time we were here, you just left SM and I was still a rookie,” her pearly whites gleamed with much mirth as she scanned the script with her eyes.

“It has been a long while, isn’t it?” Taeyeon mused with gladness, lucky to be where she is today.

“Our PD told us that Jessica’s manager insisted for you guys to return to our show, he felt afraid to sleep that day,” Jae-jin addressed in their small talk.

Jessica responded with a laugh. “My manager unnie is really intimidating to talk to, I’m not gonna lie about that. But Taengoo is really the one to blame.”

Taeyeon stared at them, wide-eyed, and pointed a finger to herself. “I was set up.”

Over the course of two years, Taeyeon enjoyed filming outdoors ever since joining this show and had participated in a few variety programs that required working under the sun or travelling. She commented that she was more than ready to face the muddy crops.

The hosts were once again in charge of the main dish which was soy braised chicken. With the extra white meat, Jessica and Taeyeon made chicken kalguksu (with no cucumbers, of course) as a homage to their iconic moment of flirting while making noodles. The chopping board happened to be next to the sink and looking out the house-on-wheels like an open kitchen. Given no warning, Taeyeon kissed Jessica on the lips in front of the many cameras, and continued slicing the dough into noodles, with a victorious smile plastered on her face as if nothing had happened.

As their episode aired on SBS, Jessica had released her first full-length album, and with the credits rolling, her music video for the pre-release single played. The title track and B-sides topped Korean music charts and the album hitting number one on Billboard, completely surpassing Taeyeon’s last album. She didn’t feel envious nor angry. By Jessica winning, she felt like she had won, too.

“Congrats, baby.” Taeyeon said after Jessica’s screaming died down.

“I am amazing!” she leapt onto the couch with her , hand clutching on her phone with the screen showing MelOn charts and her title track at the very peak.

“Yeah, you are,” the blonde loved the view of a happy Jessica.

“You know what this means, right?”

“What?”

“It means that I’ve outdone a fourteen-year idol with my first studio album,” Jessica bubbled in excitement, unaware of the fact that it was rubbing salt in the wound.

“You do know how hard I worked on my last album. Was it that hilarious?” Taeyeon’s expression was grim.

“No, that’s not—”

And she left.

Taeyeon returned late, slightly drunk. She neither called nor accepted calls while she went away somewhere.

“Taeyeon,” Jessica stood up from the cold floor, worried sick, and her lower lip spotted with blood and scars. “I’m really sorry.”

She took off her pumps and replaced it with indoor slippers, dragging her feet to the fridge and grab water. “Let’s just forget about it,” she took a long swig at the bottle like she had traveled the desert for days, water trickled down to her chin and her sweater. She almost threw the half-finished bottle inside the fridge and just slept on their bed without saying anything else.

Jessica laid on her side, “Again, I’m really sorry. I should’ve watched my words, it was only a joke,” she muttered before turning her back and closing her eyes.

This was their first real fight and it didn’t have any closure whatsoever.

--

Releasing the tenth extended play as a musician and second one as an independent artist, Taeyeon came back strong in the industry with a bold statement as the album’s main theme. The general public loved it, but Jessica didn’t.

“The instrumentals kinda ruined it,” “You should stick to a lower register in this part,” or, “I don’t like the title track. I think it should be track four.” These had her in a silent fit of rage. But she began to try understanding the point of each critique. She polished them a little to fit Jessica’s standards and you can guess how many “I told you so” were uttered after the audience responses.

Following the EP release, the couple arrived at a gala dinner. Mostly, Jessica dragging Taeyeon to the event regardless of promising to meet her old friends from middle school at the same day. She couldn’t say no to her.

Jessica wore a custom designed rose gold midi dress and a pair of silver strap heels. Around her arm was Taeyeon who went with a peach one-shoulder slit dress and rhinestone embellished strap heels.

They waved to the cameras at the red carpet with a smile, whispering sweet nothings and acting like there was nothing going on at home. The dinner dragged on longer than the brunette had promised.

The couple went home totally exhausted, especially for the introvert. While Taeyeon was trying to zip herself off from the dress, her girlfriend sneaked up from behind.

“You really looked wonderful,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around the smaller woman’s waist and tucking her chin on Taeyeon’s shoulder.

“And you’re perfect,” she replied as her hand held onto Jessica’s and they swayed in unison with only the sounds of the air conditioner providing them the closest thing to a melody.

“You know, we haven’t done it in a while,” mentioned Jessica out of nowhere.

“I would love to, but I’m really tired today,” she slipped off her grasp to look at her in the eye.

“But your dress,” she whined.

“I’m sorry, I’m super drained. Next time.”

“You always say that.”

“Huh?” she was reaching for the zipper on her back again.

“You don’t have time for me anymore.” Before she could respond, their bedroom door was slammed shut.

Jessica refused to speak to her that morning and Taeyeon couldn’t stand the silence. She did the only thing that she could do: evade the problem.

It became her way to cope. Partying and drinking with people she knows than people she was forced to meet. The red string was loosening and both of them knew it.

A week passed with radio silence, Taeyeon decided to finally address the elephant in the room.

“Jessica, you should know how your personality is different from mine and how I don’t appreciate you critiquing my music,” she spoke to the dirty stove that she was angrily scrubbing.

Jessica stopped reading her book and gazed at her back. “I just wanted you to meet the people that I love. Is it that so bad?”

“You don’t even give me time to recharge sometimes,” she stopped from picking off a rust using a cloth and looked behind her. “Am I just a trophy that you carry around?”

“I-It wasn’t supposed to mean a-anything like that,” she stammered. “I’m s-sorry that you felt this way.”

Taeyeon removed the kitchen gloves and rubbed her temples with a sigh. Maybe she was a little aggressive. She stared back from afar and said, “I’m sorry I snapped.”

Jessica reflected on their exchange for weeks. As Taeyeon was busy preparing for her tour, Jessica took the time to knit a light pink scarf as an apology while she was away. Her girlfriend loved it. She loved wearing it on the road. But that doesn’t mean they had fixed their relationship.

Jessica and Taeyeon on The Rocks?

By Hwayoon Min

The beloved couple had lately gone on dates once in a blue moon and fans begin to suspect that there may be something going on behind closed doors.

Jessica and Taeyeon are idol singers and they have been dating for 5 years, according to Jessica in their first livestream. This news has inspired many queer communities in many parts of the world to never be afraid to speak up about who and what you love. They’re the very first idols in the country to pull this wholesome PR stunt. Unfortunately, they have grown distant in the last few years.

Our favorite sapphic couple might be calling it quits soon. The world hopes they never do!

Jessica knew an article like this would come up and bulk filmed YouTube videos with Taeyeon months beforehand. They were really great at acting like nothing was happening outside, it was almost sad.

She uploaded her regular scheduled video of a “Day in the Life” and replaced the previous one due to the timing.

The routine continued like that until their sixth anniversary as a couple. The silence, the secrets, the jealousy, the cold bed. And yet they still fooled the world, as they knew the industry from the inside-out.

“Taeyeon, we need to have this talk,” she said, blocking the TV on the living room.

She looked up and sighed. They walked over to the sitting area. Jessica started, “I don’t like how our relationship became this way.”

“I don’t like it either,” she replied.

“You know it’s our sixth anniversary today, right?”

“I do, but—swear to God, we’re beyond repair at this point.”

“You really think we don’t have a chance? After everything we’ve been through?” she spat.

“That’s just how I see it—”

“It’s because you refuse to see it, Taeyeon!” she raised her voice, face reddened and her hands curled up into fists.

“What else should I see?” she retorted, shouting back. “That you ask so much from me and all of them were for benefiting your career?”

“You are not putting words in my mouth,” Jessica monotoned, crossing her arms and leaning on the chair. She was in so much disbelief that shouting won’t seem to work anymore.

“Jessica, this isn’t working for us.”

“You think?”

“I’ve sacrificed so much for you and all I’m asking is a little respect,” she articulated the last statement.

Jessica leaned in. “Look, I know damn well how reserved you are,” she started. “And I also know how you just don’t give a about me.”

“That is not true!” Taeyeon’s fist slammed the table so hard it reverberated with the thud.

“You don’t care. You could’ve just said so from the start and we wouldn’t be in this situation right now,” she huffed and returned to lean in the seat with her arms crossed.

The sunbae went silent for a few seconds and said, starkly, “I get physically ill whenever you ask anything of me.”

She pushed herself off the table and stood up, walking towards the bedroom. The closet door flew open, its doors hitting the wall and emitting a loud noise, yet Jessica didn’t flinch. She didn’t even blink the whole time Taeyeon was rummaging through their closet and throwing her things in a duffel bag.

She was frozen in time in that sitting room. Taeyeon had taken all her belongings and simply leaving Jessica who was still processing the last words her girlfriend had said to her.

Thirty-two. That was their final straw. The fox moved out and the cat was left crying in an empty home.

--

Taeyeon booked a hotel suite and immediately dropped on her knees as she entered, agonizing sounds escaped from and filled the room with her cries, clutching the welcome rug by the entrance. Her tears stained the soft cashmere and creating a monster-shaped blob that darkened the rug.

She stayed by the door for hours until dark with only the moonlight from the window illuminating one part of the suite. The sensor lights at the entrance had gone out as Taeyeon hadn’t moved an inch from her position on the floor and hugging her legs, spaced out.

It had taken her weeks to pick up her phone again and answer her manager’s calls and messages. When she had the courage to unpack, she saw a pair of animal ear headbands, matching hoodies, and the knitted pink scarf. She neatly stored half of them in a shopping bag.

Taeyeon commuted to Jessica’s. Her lights were out at noon yet she rang her doorbell anyway. She waited and waited by her door, holding a bag of clothes that smelled like her.

“Taeyeon?” she turned her head to the ever-familiar sound. Jessica was in full makeup and a suit. She had a schedule and just came home.

“Jessica,” she whispered. Part of her misses coming home to someone so beautiful as her and part of her thinks their relationship is long gone.

The brunette looked down the bag Taeyeon was carrying, and said, “We’re not done talking.”

“I know. I’m sorry I hurt you.”

“Do you really think we’re unsalvageable?” she softly spoke, trying to swallow a lump in .

“I don’t see a future for us anymore,” she answered.

“I’m sure you don’t,” Jessica said coldly and snatched the bag from Taeyeon’s clutch. She unlocked her door and entered, slamming it close on the unwanted guest’s face.

Until then, Jessica stored the polaroids in a locked box in her new home in Pyeongtaek, at the farthest of the basement, left untouched for years. Taeyeon still kept printing articles of her milestones. It accumulated over the years—on the fridge this time—along with Crayola and watercolor drawings. Her achievements took up so much space on the door that she might need to buy a corkboard after all.

The machine spits out the papers and she had no memory printing half of them.

“Jessica Marries Labelmate Yoo In-young”

“Singer Taeyeon and Actor Park Il-woo Welcomes First Child”

“Jessica Launches Fashion Brand and Announces Tour”

“Taeyeon Starts Her Own Entertainment Company”

It was probably one of those instances where she spaces out and goes down a rabbit hole of reading random news. Even after a decade, regret is burning a hole through her heart, aching for the love that she lost. In a new life with a new family where they’re loved and they are happy, but their pasts have always haunted them.

To this very day.

As the applause subsides, they had broken eye contact. Taeyeon’s two-year-old daughter squirms in her husband’s arms as if she was eager to hear her mother win another daesang. Jessica’s eyes landed on the pink scarf that wrapped around the baby.

“And the winner for the Album daesang is…” the emcee opened the envelope and his eyes lit up at the name.

Jessica felt a light tap on her thigh. Her gaze turned to her husband who was waiting for her name to be called out.

But neither was mentioned.

Taeyeon and Jessica left the venue with their own family, arm-in-arm, to their rides. A decade since they’ve last seen each other and only meeting tonight at an arm’s reach—words were still left unsaid, and they will never be spoken.

The cat kept the polaroids and the fox maintained the scarf. Perhaps preserving them gave closure to some extent.