Mask covering half her face, blonde hair wrapped up in a bun hidden under a baseball cap, Taeyeon slid her fingers along the wall of records. She couldn’t recall the last time she had set foot in this store, but a rush of familiarity overtook her the second she laid eyes on an autographed album. 

Her eyes traced the outlines of the signature, biting her lip as she held back a sigh. 

A group of young girls shuffled past her, giggling and gushing about the amount of CDs there were surrounding them. Taeyeon’s ears perked up when she heard her name. 

“Do you guys remember this one?!”

She peeked her eyes around the aisle, out of curiosity, watching them scramble over what she recognized as her first solo album. 

“Of course, it was iconic!”

“If you ask me, she should’ve come out with a solo way earlier.”

Taeyeon’s eyebrows shot up in amusement. She shared that same sentiment, but the company always told her it wasn’t the right time just yet. 

“Do you think she would’ve if that scandal didn’t happen?”

“What scandal?”

“Come on, you know what I’m referring to.”

Taeyeon froze at what they were implying, suddenly feeling like she should have minded her own business from the start, but her feet were glued to the floor. It was unavoidable, wherever she went, for that moment to be brought up. 

She, too, was just reminded of it while looking at an album signature only a few minutes ago 

Jessica Jung. 

Ten years had gone by since then and Taeyeon had forced herself to erase the memory of sitting in that office building as nine for the very last time. 

Tumultuous was all Taeyeon and Jessica knew. They never defined anything, but Taeyeon knew in her heart of hearts that Jessica was the one she would always go back to.

No matter who or what got in between them, the company, random men, the members, the fans, the hate comments, society, Taeyeon was always going to go back to Jessica. 

Until—

“They want me to marry him.”

They’re in Taeyeon’s room. She’s sitting at her desk, staring daggers into her notebook while Jessica sits on the edge of her bed, dropping an enormous bomb on her a week before their contract ends. 

Tyler Kwon. A nuisance, a leech, everything bad in this world in the shape of a human. Jessica’s boyfriend. 

They hadn’t discussed renewing their contracts since Taeyeon was afraid to hear what Jessica had to say. Afraid to hear the girl confirm her worst fear.

And as the nine of them gathered that next week, Taeyeon felt the office walls closing in on her as she watched Jessica twirl the engagement ring hanging off her necklace.

Her worst fear confirmed. 

Taeyeon felt like she couldn’t breathe, quickly exiting the record store after reminiscing the last moments of seeing Jessica in person. 

She was the only one who had managed to dodge the other girl while the other members had reconciled with her in private. Jessica has never reached out to her, and it’s what Taeyeon expected.

After the first few years, the members tried, but ultimately failed to convince the stubborn side of her back then. But Taeyeon wasn’t the same person she was ten years ago and it made her wonder.

Was it finally time to pay Jessica Jung a visit?