Today is the day. The day she would finally file the case of being scammed by a real-estate person. She is the victim here. One of the victims I must say. Taeyeon could have just not taken this onto her own matters but it went out of hand when an insider leaked this very personal issue of her. Plus, she didn't expect how tables would turn after that article was released. Netizens now think she did it for profit when it’s obviously not. 

 

The Korean Police was already aware of what Taeyeon was about to do and was expecting her to appear anytime today. Taeyeon had agreed to appear at the trial court by 9:30 am. But it’s already 8:03 and yet she is still sitting on the edge of her bed,zoning out. She’s ready physically but mentally, she’s not sure. There’s so many things running through her mind right now. She obviously can’t focus. 

 

Taeyeon frustratedly runned her fingers to her hair. She can’t even understand what she is feeling right now. She stood up abruptly and stopped functioning again. She screamed in frustration. She needs help. She needs someone at this moment. She needs a companion. Someone she can talk to. At the realization, she picks up her phone and unlocks it. First person who appeared in her mind was one of her members, her best friend, Tiffany. 

 

…!!

 

She can’t disturbed her members right now. They’re busy. She can’t be a burden to them. They must be still in deep sleep at this time. Probably because of late schedules. 

 

“What is wrong with you?!” She asked herself in the mirror. 

 

“This is the right thing you must do so why are you acting up, huh?” she asked again. 

 

She suddenly realized her fear of being the talk of the town. Especially about her personal matters. She hates being misinterpreted and misjudged. And this is exactly why she can’t function well now. She did everything to make her personal life private. Away from the spotlight. She was scared that this day might come so she tried so hard to keep her private life reserved. But here she is. That day has come. 

 

Taeyeon’s phone vibrates that led her back to her senses. 

 

Kim Hyoyeon is calling…

 

‘Hmm?’ she hums as an answer, not trusting her voice at the moment. 

 

‘Are you at the court now? How is it going?’ 

 

‘Ah...I’m… I’m still at the apartment, Hyo.’ 

 

 

‘Oh?! Why? You must leave now, Taeyeon-ah’ 

 

 

Taeyeon would lie if that doesn’t make her smile. Well, in fact, that made her heart race twice it’s original speed. Funny how just this simple gesture of Hyoyeon made her smile unconsciously.  

 

…..!!

 

 

! This isn’t the time to deal with this. Taeyeon cursed herself secretly and closed her eyes at the realization of how just the dancer calmed her down. Now she owes this bigshot. 

 

 

‘Mmhhkay. I will be leaving now.’ She hums again in response, not trusting her voice again. 

 

‘Alright. I’ll be hanging up now. Take care.’ 

 

She nodded in agreement and a hanging up sound was heard. 

 

Taeyeon releases her breath that she didn’t know she was holding. Taeyeon smiled unconsciously. And by that she walked towards her mirror, just to check she does look alright and presentable. That is also the moment she realized she was smiling. A completely different person from a while ago. 

 

Taeyeon gained courage and left her apartment. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

Taeyeon is now in the parking lot. She was rummaging through her purse and was about to fish out her keys when she heard constant beeping horns from a car. Not that long, a car pulled right in front of her. She confusedly ducks down to get a view of who it was. Just right in time, the car window rolls down revealing the driver. But before she can speak up. 

 

“Let's go?” By that voice she can already say who it was. 

 

“Kim Hyoyeon?” After confirming that it was Hyoyeon in the back of her mind, she still asked. 

 

Taeyeon can hear her chuckle. 

 

“Hop in, Taeyeon-ah. Or else you’ll be late.” Hyoyeon stated instead of answering Taeyeon’s question. 

 

Before Taeyeon could utter a word, another constant beep of horns was heard. Taeyeon looks up, realizing that it came from a car behind Hyoyeon’s car. Hyoyeon’s car is obviously blocking the exit.

 

Aish! This . 

 

She silently cursed the dancer. She had no choice but to hop in the passenger seat. Knowing that Hyoyeon is such a pain in the and definitely won’t leave not until the leader would hop in. 

 

“Alright. Let’s go.” Hyoyeon said with a successful smile plastered on her face. 

 

Aish. That smirk. I always have that urge to erase that smirk. Ah really...

 

Taeyeon cursed again at the back of her mind, completely can’t believe what she witnessed. She decided to just go with the flow and just focus on getting ready. Taeyeon was quiet since she hopped in and Hyoyeon just let her be. Actually, they’re both quiet not until when they were about to reach the gate of the subdivision. Hyoyeon was being stopped by the guard so she pulled over. The guard ran to Hyoyeon’s side and immediately conveyed the guard’s concern. 

 

“Maam, I'm sorry but Kim Taeyeon’s car hasn’t left the parking lot yet. Do you want me to call her in her apartment?” 

 

“No. It’s fine. Don’t bother.” Hyoyeon answered. 

 

“Ah. I’m sorry, Maam. I’ll just tell Kim Taeyeon that you were here. I’m sorry once again.” The guard bowed, stepped aside and signal to proceed in exiting the subdivision. 

 

The guard honestly didn’t notice that Taeyeon was already in the gunshot seat with Hyoyeon. Hyoyeon purposely didn’t let the guard know. The whole conversation can be heard by Taeyeon and was about to speak to the guard but Hyoyeon already closed the window and proceeded to exit the subdivision. 

 

“Aish waee?!” Taeyeon whines at Hyoyeon. 

 

 

“Why? Do you want to say something to the guard? You want me to U-Turn?” Hyoyeon teasingly asks the older one. 

 

“Yah! For real?!” Taeyeon dumbfoundedly stated. 

 

Hyoyeon just laughed at her. 

 

“Ahwae~~ We’re getting late. That’s why.” Hyoyeon explained. 

 

But that’s not really the case. The case is she doesn’t want Taeyeon to know that she’s been waiting in the parking lot for like an hour. To the point that the guard was already concerned about her waiting in the car for an hour. She knows the leader too well and for sure she’ll receive an earful speech from her if she knew. If you all didn’t know, waiting in a fully-closed car for like an hour is very unsafe for anyone. It can suffocate anyone especially if the engine is off. 

 

Taeyeon just snubbed her explanations and fished out her phone. She dialed their guard house. 

 

‘Yes~ I’m out for the whole day for an important matter and I’m expecting a parcel to arrive this week. I’m not sure when exactly. I’m afraid it’ll arrive by today. Can please accept the parcel under my name?’ Taeyeon nodded and was about to hang up when she furrowed her brows. She turns her head to her left where Hyoyeon is. 

 

Timing. Timing is the best. Right after, Taeyeon hangs up her call to the guard. Hyoyeon stopped the car because they didn’t make it to the green light. 

 

“YAH!” Taeyeon screamed. 

 

That startled Hyoyeon. 

 

“Ahh waeee~~” Hyoyeon whines. 

 

“Why did you wait in the car?! For more than an hour?! Why … why didn’t you tell me you were downstairs waiting?!” Taeyeon asked. 

 

I wonder why she isn’t one of the rappers in our group if she talks this fast? Hyoyeon silently wonders then laughs at her thoughts. 

 

“What’s funny? Ha?! You find this funny, Kim Hyoyeon?” Taeyeon said with an irritated face. 

 

“No! I… I’m sorry, okay? I also don’t know why.” Hyoyeon is obviously trying to explain. “Besides, you shouldn’t have known that.” Hyoyeon whispered. 

 

That is almost impossible for Taeyeon to comprehend, but Taeyeon is Taeyeon, who loves to pay attention to almost everything, so she raised her left brow and faced the driver. 

 

“Why whyy?! WWHHY?” Taeyeon persistently asks 

 

I never thought she could be this whiny. Hyoyeon thought. It’s rare to see a whiny Taeyeon. That’s just not really her. Not her personality. But one thing Hyoyeon noticed is that Taeyeon tends to act weird like this when she’s nervous. She tends to do things as a distraction. 

 

 

“Cause I knew this would happen.” Hyoyeon answered calmly. 

 

“Yah, why are you calm, huh? We never know what could have happened to you while waiting in the car a while ago.” Taeyeon became frustratedly mad. 

 

“Arayo. Arayo'' Hyoyeon answered while facing the road. There's silence after that. 

 

Hyoyeon threw a quick look at Taeyeon. Worries can be seen in her face.

 

“Hey. I’m sorry. Okay? Can we not talk about this now? You’re obviously nervous. Are you sure you still want to go?” Now, Hyoyeon is the one who is worried. 

 

“I’m not nervous.” Taeyeon answered plainly. Trying to make a straight forward face. 

 

Liar. Hyoyeon said to herself. 

Now Hyoyeon hates that she knows Taeyeon so much. Ofcourse, it’s a lie. And Hyoyeon knew it. Even though, Hyoyeon didn’t argue and just went quiet. 

 

“Hyoyeonie..” Taeyeon called her attention. 

 

Hyoyeon hums in response. 

 

“Don’t do it again, okay?” Taeyeon is facing her. Hyoyeon can see it through her peripheral view. That made the dancer smile. 

 

“Arassji.” Hyoyeon answered while nodding her head. "Now, are you still sure you want to go to the trial?"

 

"I'm sure. And why are you insisting that I'm nervous now?"

 

"Cause you obviously are. You're acting up when you're nervous. You do weird things up front." 

 

"Really? I didn't know you'd know such things. Notice things like that." 

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

I know we have known each other for more than a decade now. I just never thought Hyoyeon would actually pay attention to me even in those slightest things like habits of mine. We're not the ‘awkward couple/pair’ for nothing though. I don’t know what’s not clicking, well in fact, all of our members say we have a lot of things in common. Tensions were all over the place when we interacted. And I don't know what caused that tension. 

 

It was like that not until I discovered something early this year. All of the awkwardness went away when I finally realized and admitted the reason why there's a tension between us to myself. And the reason is I panic everytime our eyes meet. My body reacts when we're close to each other. Whenever we're together,I lose control. 

 

It was actually Tiffany, my roommate/best friend, who pointed this out. It was when she caught me having wet dreams and was 's Hyoyeon's name. 

 

I can feel blood running to my cheeks as I remember that night. I suppress a smile and look in the opposite direction of where Hyoyeon is, silently hoping she didn't notice that blush on my cheeks. 

 

"What are you saying? I may not look like I am but I am paying attention." She answered and laughed. 

 

"Ahh. I'm flattered to hear.” I jokingly said. 

 

A silence creeps the whole ride until we reach the trial court. I checked my wrist watch. I still have time. Just a little time. My mind was all over the place that I didn’t notice we actually parked right in front of the court with plenty of media waiting for her to arrive and get insights about the case. She’s a public figure after all. My thoughts were interrupted when Hyoyeon called her name. 

 

“Taeyeon-ah..” 

 

“Hmm..” I hum in response and unconsciously turn to her. I can’t comprehend what she said because I was distracted by how those shades look good on her. 

 

I don’t know how long I was staring at her but I noticed her removing those shades. And there, I nearly lost it. This is exactly the reason why I always look away when our eyes meet. I feel like I’ll be lost in those beautiful-hazel nut eyes. So, I instinctively look down to avoid those eyes. But ! , my eyes landed at her luscious lips. My breath hitched. I unconsciously swallow hard and dig my teeth in my lower lip. it! I look up again and meet her eyes, and I lose it. I closed the gap between us and kissed her. It was just a smack kiss. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Taeyeon didn’t notice her hands casually went up to Hyoyeon’s face and corners it in between. Her eyes flew open when she felt Hyoyeon angling her face and deepening the kiss. Not that long, she felt a pair of hands snaking in her neck. She closed her eyes again and seized the moment.

 

Their moment was interrupted by a soft knock in the window. 

 

“.” They said in unison the moment their eyes opened. 

 

Out of panic, they both disentangled themselves from each other and Taeyeon out-mindedly got off in the car. But not long after, her nervousness hit her and got back in the car quickly. There was a brief silence until Hyoyeon spoke up. 

 

“You wait here.” Hyoyeon said while putting her shades back on and was about to get out of the car when Taeyeon stopped her. 

 

“Ahm..th-- there’s a smudge on your left.” Taeyeon said shyly. So Hyoyeon mirrored herself using the rear-view mirror and erased the smudge.  

 

 

“How was it?” Hyoyeon turned to her. 

 

Taeyeon just nodded. Hyoyeon takes that as a signal and gets out of the car. 

 

Taeyeon closed her eyes and swallowed hard. She is trying to calm herself down. Later on, she smacked the back of her head in the head rest. 

 

“Ah! Why did you do that?!” she asked herself pertaining to the kiss. 

 

After she asked herself, a smile creeped in her face then blush. Absent-mindedly, she caressed her lips. She snapped back to reality when she heard the car door open revealing Hyoyeon. 

 

“Kim Taeyeon..” A raspy voice called her attention. “Are you really okay? Your face is red.”

 

She blinked a few times and smiled as answer. Hyoyeon chuckled. 

 

“You’re acting weird. But whatever, let’s go! They are waiting.” Hyoyeon said and grabbed the olders’ hand, guiding her out of the car. 

 

She was shocked but Taeyeon didn’t ask about it. 

 

As the two went into the trial room with hands clasped together, cameras went flashing but the duo decided to ignore it. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

It was past 11am when Taeyeon realized something. She immediately turns to Hyoyeon who is seriously paying attention to the trial. She chuckled at the behavior. 

 

Is she the complainant? Taeyeon jokingly asked in her mind. 

 

"Hyoyeon-ah.."

 

Hyoyeon hums in response and faces the leader. 

 

"Don't you have a schedule today? Why are you staying? Isn't today your sched for shooting Dessert MV?" Taeyeon asks in almost whisper. Carefully not to disturbed the on-going trial. 

 

Hyoyeon breaths in. 

 

"Do you think I can leave you in this state?" Hyoyeon said, looking straight into the latter's eyes then lightly squeezed Taeyeon's hands.

 

Taeyeon looks down and realizes that their hands are still together since they entered the room. 

 

"But--"

 

"It's fine, Taeyeon-ah. Don't worry, I already informed everyone that I can't make it today." 

 

That's true. That's why Hyoyeon stepped out of the car a while ago to settle things and decided to stay with Taeyeon the entire day. 

 

"You shouldn't have to." Taeyeon in a low, cute voice. 

 

"Do you want me to leave?" 

 

"No!" Taeyeon's voice went a little louder and earned everyone's attention. 

 

They both bowed and muttered sorry. When the coast is clear, Hyoyeon lets out a small laugh that earns a slight slap from Taeyeon. Taeyeon pulled the hand of Hyoyeon that she was holding as a signal to bend down. Hyoyeon understood it and bent down. 

 

"Thank you." Taeyeon whispered then placed a light smooch on the latter's cheek. Then faces front as if paying attention to what's going on in there. 

 

Hyoyeon looks around and faces the side profile of Taeyeon. 

 

"You're gonna pay this later on, Taeyeon-ah." Hyoyeon whispered with a lower octave than usual. 

 

Taeyeon would lie if that doesn't send her shivers cause it does to the point that her breathing stopped for a moment. So Taeyeon decided to be just quiet the entire time. 

 

 

It’s been 5 minutes since the trial ended but everyone was still inside talking about things plus the police personnels announces that it isn't safe to go out as of the moment. A commotion exploded when someone almost assaulted that real-estate agent on his way out. So Hyoyeon had an idea. She asks the valet parking attendant to get something from her car and is instructed to ready the car in front. She is sure Taeyeon isn’t in the right state for ambush interviews.  

 

The valet parking attendant came back to the room with two oversized jackets in hand. He handed it to Hyoyeon and Hyoyeon handed the other one to Taeyeon. Taeyeon wore it with no question. When everything was settled, Hyoyeon asked the leader. 

 

“Let’s go. We can’t stay long, there’s another trial to be held next.” 

 

Hyoyeon opened the door for her. They went down to the stairs and swam to the bunch of people consisting of mixed media mens, fans and others. Out of instinct, Hyoyeon’s arms flew over Taeyeon’s shoulders and pulled her closer as they went through those bunch of people. Hyoyeon made sure Taeyeon doesn’t get a glimpse of those interviewers so she doesn’t get pressured into answering them. She really made sure Taeyeon is safe to the point people around them weren't sure if it’s really Taeyeon aside for a fact, Hyoyeon protected her in all of her might until they reached Hyoyeon’s car. 

 

Hyoyeon opened the shotgun seat. Taeyeon was about to get in when they both heard a triggering question from someone they assumed was one of the media. Taeyeon was triggered as well as Hyoyeon. Taeyeon can sense that Hyoyeon is losing it by the clench of the younger’s jaw. 

 

Hyoyeon was just holding her temper since they left the room. But this time, she’s losing it. She was about to turn around and confront the person who asked such a thing. But she was held by Taeyeon and shook her head as she mouthed ‘no’. Hyoyeon rolled her eyes and nodded. 

Taeyeon knows Hyoyeon so well. The dancer is known for being bad tempered. No one messes Hyoyeon up, even their members. Well, if you wish to meet Hyoraengi then go. Actually, Hyoraengi was about to show up. Good thing, Taeyeon was quick to tame down the tiger. 

 

LATER THAT NIGHT ON TWITTER