- - - - -

Taecyeon watched as she cried despairingly. Slow tears arrived in his eyes as he watched her cry her heart out. If it hadn’t been for Yoona, he wondered if Victoria would be crying silently in the bathroom. He partially hoped that the cake would make up for the 14 years of life she’d lost celebrating the day she was brought down to earth. Even when he hoped that, he knew that it wasn’t enough. It hurt him to know that Victoria had lost 14 years to those men who’d brought her up cruelly.

That night he watched from the doorway as she slept peacefully like a child curled up on the bed.

Soon, he thought, soon he would find out who those men were and what they’d done to her.

- - - - -

October 18th the president’s son was assassinated in Kwangju by a female, Yoona read the headline of the old article dating two weeks back. Had it really been done by an insider who’d disguised herself as a maid, one of the servers? Yoona thought back to the hole she’d discovered in the window. What did that hole mean? A sniper could have possibly shot at the president’s son through that clear window from the building across.

If Victoria had been that woman who was disguised and listed as the fugitive, but the shot had come from somewhere else…that meant Victoria was innocent. But who would want to frame her? Obviously, someone who’d want to bring her down.

Yoona ran the words down on paper. It was a good theory. Lee Jung Hwa absolutely hadn’t thought her words over. Nor had he bothered to report it to custody. He would be annoyed with her as it is.

She wanted to call the Chief up but recalled she’d been told to lay low for a few weeks. But what mattered more than this right now?

No.

She couldn’t do that to Victoria. If she told the Chief about Victoria she was afraid that they’d bring Victoria behind bars. If Victoria admitted to being there that night that was the end for her.   

Yoona shook her head. If she just asked the Chief about the hole in the window that’d be enough. Yoona would take the rest from there.

Early in the morning, even on a Saturday, Yoona knew that she wouldn’t be able to sit still in her home. As the first birds of the morning took their leap into the sky Yoona grabbed her keys and started her car. While it warmed up she stared at the garage door in front of her. As if she had a theater in front of her eyes she saw Taecyeon pulling Victoria into a hug. The composed breathing coming from her body came to a stop and her heart froze on spot.

What was this feeling?

Yoona turned away from the theater in front of her, set the gear in reverse, and drove out of the lot. She had the day set in her mind already. After talking with the Chief she’d want to go see Taecyeon…if that didn’t seem like a smart move she’d call him out instead. She wasn’t sure now…if it was right to see Victoria.

The Chief was in his office leaning forward in his chair arching his back. At the noise of the door opening he looked up and an unhappy expression grabbed his face.

“I thought I made myself clear that you are not to come here,” his voice was solidly serious.

Yoona closed the door and sat down on the chair in front of his worn out desk. “I heard you, Chief. I’m not here to work.”

“It doesn’t matter whatever the case is. I said you are not to step one foot into the station.”

“I wanted to talk about something,” Yoona ignored him flatly. “When I was down in Kwangju. In the room where the president’s son was murdered, I spotted a hole in the window. It looked like a shot from the outside…I’m wondering if Lee Jung Hwa put that down in the files.”

The Chief let out an exasperated sigh tired of Yoona’s stubbornness. He rubbed his forehead and took off his glasses setting them aside on a stack of portfolios.

“I don’t have the authority to touch those files,” the Chief explained, “if he said he’d put it down, it must be written somewhere.”

“But…” Yoona began.

“I repeat: I don’t have authority to touch those files. I need to get through the DA’s office and it’s not a simple process, Deputy.” the Chief drastically tried. “Have you returned the articles I asked you to? I was waiting for you to make a move on your little friend’s case but you’ve been quiet all this while.”

Yoona gulped. “I’ll take my leave.”

Yoona got up and walked out of the room.  

As soon as she got in her car she grabbed her phone from within her bag.

- - - - -

Victoria stood outside of the store under the heavy dark sky as Taecyeon was paying for the few clothes she’d chosen inside. Traffic grew along the long streets like a snake, coming to a stop, then continuing down the road disappearing off the corners. She found that no matter how hot or cold the weather was, the amount of peoples on the streets never ceased.

The only thing that ran through her mind was that she didn’t belong there.

The opening and closing of the door made her turn to see Taecyeon climb down the steps.

“There you are, aren’t you cold?” he asked.

Victoria reached for the bag but he pulled it back.

“I got it.” he told. “Are you hungry? Now that I think of it, I never once bought you a meal.”

Eating meals with Donghae appeared as memories in her head. The good times.

“Lets just get some coffee,” Victoria plainly suggested.

Various slow and fast songs played through the radio overhead while they sipped their warm cups of coffee at the circular plain wooden top table. Sitting on two wooden stools they were silent at first. The air wasn’t gloomy, nor was it an energetic happy one.

“You said Donghae and Yoona were fiancés,” Victoria started, “that would mean they loved each other at one point or another, right?”

She ran her finger alongside the side of the cup. An obvious smooth and warm texture.

“That’s right,” Taecyeon replied. “But why are you thinking about it?”

Victoria shrugged. “Then, how do you know Yoona? You two don’t work together.”

“I work for Lee Donghae’s company, you know that. There were times when Yoona would often drop by, that’s how I know her.” Taecyeon answered coolly.

“Ah…is that so?” Victoria said. “Do you like her?”

Taecyeon felt suddenly surprised with her question. It was too straightforward for him to react to. His mouth hung open and he muttered a few indistinguishable noises.

“I was just wondering,” Victoria excused and that was when Taecyeon’s phone started ringing.

She watched him glance at the caller ID and hesitantly looked up before answering. He tried to remain cool and focused as he spoke into his phone. Victoria turned away tuning herself out.

“The place for you to be isn’t here,
There’s no need to hold back if it’s for my sake,
Because it will end eventually,
My love can’t come to its place,
It’s going as far as many tears I’ve cried…”

The song on the radio went before Victoria also tuned it out of her ears.

“I have somewhere to go,” Taecyeon told, “I’ll send you back before I go.”

“It’s fine,” Victoria got off her stool, “I think…I have somewhere to go, too.”

“Where?” he asked.

“In the meantime, can I leave this in your car?” she asked holding the bag out to him.

- - - - -

Taecyeon was feeling sorry by the time he arrived at their meeting place. He stared at the shopping bag in the passenger’s seat. With a small sigh he took the keys and stepped out of his car.

They were meeting at a public park, usually where many people met up to exercise. Beyond a wall of shrubs and bushes was a courtyard with plenty of space for bouncing and running. Few people were there that day. Probably because of the weather, Taecyeon guessed. The fresh green color of the grass was dying out and a stale yellow color was waving up each strand of grass.

Around the corner of the shrubby walls Yoona was sitting on an old bench. Its colors, too, were fading out. Yoona looked as if she’d dazed out while waiting for him and he wondered if he’d made her wait long.

“Did you call me from here?” he asked sitting down beside her.

“No, a few minutes before I got here,” she answered handing him a warm water bottle.

“Thanks.” he took from her, took off the cap, and took a sip.

“How did last night go?” Yoona returned her gaze to the dying grass.

“I bought a cake. It might have been the first cake she’d had in a while.” Taecyeon said.

Yoona nodded fiddling her fingers around the water bottle. They were quiet and Taecyeon kept thinking of the dying grass’ color.

“All this while…you’ve allowed Victoria to stay with you,” Yoona began, “have you two gotten close at all?”

Taecyeon found himself stiffening up with her question. He hadn’t been ready for anything like it. It reminded him of Victoria’s straightforward question a while ago.

“Do you like her?”

He was sure, that Yoona was asking the same thing this time.

“I was really annoyed with her at first, but I never thought of kicking her out.” Taecyeon went on. “I barely know her, but I’m an observer. As I said before, she reminded me a lot of a wild child who knew nothing in particular and always asked questions. She was bubbly, barely angry, I yelled at her a lot but she never caught onto what I was saying. She got me frustrated at times but I wasn’t angry enough to think of making her leave. I don’t know why I never thought of making her leave. I think I felt sorry for her.”

From the corner of her eyes she saw him turn to look at her.

“You two are opposites, yet you’re alike in a few ways. You often talked to me when you were having trouble. I didn’t turn away because I like being there with you, listening to you.” he continued. “Though, honestly, I disliked it when you were so hurt over Donghae. And sometimes, I don’t like him.”

Yoona finally looked up to receive his smile. It was a nice sight but she felt as if she didn’t believe in his words. The way he talked…she didn’t want to think that he had some kind of affection toward her friend. But she was afraid it was the truth. How to hide the bitterness she felt?

***“The place for you to be isn’t here,
There’s no need to hold back if it’s for my sake,
Because it will end eventually,
My love can’t come to its place,
It’s going as far as many tears I’ve cried…”  <----  I took this from SM the Ballad's song Really Missing You