Taeyeon’s POV

"Taengoo ah~"

Someone was shaking my shoulder gently.

"Let’s...."

 Whoever it was continued to say something but my fried brain was swimming in a murky mess and I could not register anything at all.

"Taengoo ah...Darling..." The shaking persisted.

This time however, I managed to recognize the person's voice.

"Hmmm..." I answered groggily, opening my eyes only to shut it again when I was blinded by the lights. "Whachu wan?"

"Go to the bed and sleep if you're tired. You're going to get a back ache..." I had drifted back to dreamland even before Jessica managed to finish whatever she was going to say.

A tug at my arm woke me up briefly. I could vaguely remember myself getting dragged away from the study table and my back landed on something soft and fluffy moments later. I out once more.

"!" My eyes sprung open.

I took a moment to take in my surrounding.

'Room's dark...I'm in bed...Jessica's snoring beside me...I was writing an essay...Essay? Oh crap!'

Scrambling out of bed clumsily, my hands roamed about trying to reach for the alarm clock that would tell me the time.

5:00am

'Damn, I've got an hour plus before we had to leave for school and my essay is still not done...' I silently cursed myself for falling asleep while I was supposed to be writing.

My fumbled around in the dark for a few good seconds before I finally found the switch for the study lamp. Hoping that I had not wake Jessica up from the ruckus I had made, I proceeded to complete the essay that I had left off yesterday, or rather, earlier in the morning.

Jessica's alarm clock rang just as I wrote down my last sentence, dotting the full stop, feeling satisfied with my work. She had not stirred at all, leaving the alarm as it was.

"Time to wake up, Princess." I cooed into her ear, after dealing with the annoying device.

She shifted under the blanket but her eyes were still shut.

Jessica was not a morning person. It was hard for her to wake up in the morning but she had no problems with staying up late at night. She had rather sleep late to finish whatever she had to do, knowing that she could not wake up early to complete them. I decided to let her sleep for a while more while I get ready for school. It was a good thing that I had remembered to leave an extra set of uniform in her wardrobe.

"Baby, we're going to be late if you continue to sleep. Come on..."

"1 more min..." She mumbled.

I was tempted to join her back under the blanket but I knew better. We would end up missing school and Jessica would not be pleased.

"Get up, Princess. We had to leave in 10."

Finally, her eyes opened. She looked at me.

"What time's it?" She asked.

"Six twenty."

"We're going to be late!" She shot out of bed. "Why didn't you wake me up earlier?" Jessica scrambled around her room, packing her bag while putting on her uniform and brushing her teeth at the same time.

"I tried...but you won’t wake up."

"Come on, let's go or we'll miss that train."

"Wow. That was fast." I switched off the lights in her room before following her out.

We managed to catch the last train that would bring us to school right on time. The train carriages were almost empty since our station was one of the first few stops thus we had plenty of seats to choose from. As soon as my hit the bench, the drowsiness that I had held off came rushing back. Hugging my bag close to my chest, I leaned my head against Jessica and closed my eyes.

"Wake me up when we're there."

"What time did you wake up?"

"Five."

She chuckled, bending down to kiss my forehead.

"I'll wake you up, if I don't fall asleep."

"You better not...or we're going to be late."

The last time the both of us fell asleep in the train, we had missed our stop. We were lucky that we had board an earlier train so there was still enough time for us to reach school in time. That would not be the case today; we would definitely be late for school if it happens.

"I'll try" she told me.

I trusted her, for some reasons and started snoozing.

"I'll see you after school Darling." She gave my arm a light squeeze before heading off to her class.

It was 7:38 am, just two minutes before the bell rang. Students were still strolling in to the assembly ground and the discipline master had started yelling at them to get into their class lines quickly. Nice way to start off my morning.

I had a hard time keeping myself awake during scripture reading, even though I was standing. Yuri saw me swaying on the spot and nudged me.

"Stay awake, Taeng. You're going to fall at this rate."

She had already gotten used to it. It had been like this for the past few weeks, ever since the coach had extended our training hours. I had promised at the beginning of the year that I would listen up during scripture reading but I was just too tired to pay attention to anything. It was not like I had purposely drifted off, I was never a Christian to begin with; it just so happened that I had enrolled myself into a missionary school.

I attended lectures and tutorial, walking around school like a zombie though I had somehow kept myself from falling asleep during class. How I managed that, I had no idea. I guess I had adjusted to it, being sleep deprived. Coffee will not keep me awake, from past experiences, so I had resorted to eating sweets in class. When Jessica found out about it, she had warned me about getting diabetes if I continued chucking down large amount of sugar into my system.

"Caffeine kills you too." I had rebutted. "You can't compare that to a packet of gummy bears per lesson."

"You are going to go bankrupt buying all those sweets by the end of the week." She knocked my head, for talking back.

I should have been glad when the bell rang signaling the end of my last period for the day, the thought of having to go for training in an hour's time had me groaning. Jessica was waiting for me outside class having ended her lessons earlier. We had planned to grab some food before my training.

"Urgh...this thing is too sweet." I complained.

We were at the bean curd store nearby.

"Stop scooping up the syrup then. Of course it would be sweet if you keep drinking it, you dork."

I had not realized that I had been scooping up large amount of the syrup together with the bean curd until Jessica pointed that out to me.

"Right, what have I been doing?" I yawned, looking back at my girlfriend.

"Don't yawn when you're eating." She giggled.

"I can't control."

"I'll wait for you. Let's go home together after your training."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'll be at the study area."

"Okay."

How I wish I could skip training for once. I would have done so, had I not met the captain in school today. Luck was not on my side.

"Cheer up, Baby. It's Friday tomorrow. Just one more day to go."

"Precisely. It should have been Friday today." I didn't know why I had said that.

It was so childish, something a primary school kid would say. However, I had not been in control of my actions for the past few weeks. It was like I had no command over what I do or what I say. My brain was always a step behind.

There were not a lot of students left in school by the time we got back. Most of them probably went home or left for their respective CCAs. Jessica walked me up to the tennis court, looking around before capturing my lips for a short kiss.

"I'll be waiting. Don't die. I love you." She told me, before making her way down again, to the study areas.

Time for training. I hope I survive.

Jessica's POV

I looked back and saw Taengoo dragging herself into the tennis court. She had looked so drained. Taeyeon had changed since the term begins, for the better, I suppose. But, she had been pushing herself too hard, more than it was necessary and it pained me to see her forcing herself to go beyond her limits. She was less bubbly, becoming quieter as time passes and I was getting worried about her.

Sometimes, I would catch her staring into space for a long time, lost in her thoughts. But whenever I asked her if something was wrong, her reply would always be the same.

"Nothing."

I had gotten tired of hearing it but decided not to push her till she was ready to talk. She once told me something about making choices but had not elaborated on or given any explanations. Regardless, she had been out of it since the beginning of the year and it had only worsened during the exams period. As much as I would like to think that it was stress that brought about this change, I could not help but sense that there was something more to what it seemed like on the surface. Knowing her, she probably would not want to worry me. Besides, Taeyeon was the most loyal person I ever known; I would not have to worry about her cheating on me behind my back. She would always put others in front of her, so much so that I wish she could be selfish for once.

As I pulled out my file, something slipped out from it and landed on the ground. I bent down to pick it up. It was a picture that we had taken together last year. Taengoo had come over to my house to play the Xbox with Krystal, who had force us, in the middle of a game, to take a photo together. Though Taengoo was not happy at all to have her game paused, she had wrapped an arm around me gamely, pulling me closer to her so that Krystal could take the picture. She had a dorky grin on her face, still holding onto the game controller in her free hand. Her eyes were sparkling, a sight which was rare to see these days. Seeing my girlfriend in the photo made me yearn for the old Taeyeon to be back. Not that I do not love her now, but I would gladly trade a grouchy and exhausted Taeyeon for a happy- go- lucky one any other day. I missed those sparks in her eyes.

Putting the photo back into my folder, I willed myself to stop thinking about Taengoo, at least for the next three hours, so I could concentrate on my books. I gave up two and a half hours later. Having decided that I had studied enough for the day, I pack my bags up and made my way back to the tennis court. I could spend the remaining half hour watching her play.

Taeyeon’s POV

I was sweating like mad. The racket was starting to feel heavier by every second and my legs were about to give way soon. I smacked the damn ball over the net but had not realized that my training partner had hit it back. As a result, I was hit on the head by the flying yellow ball.

“Argh!” I groaned.

That hurts, considering the speed it was travelling at.

“I’m sorry, Taeyeon! Are you alright?” my partner asked, worried.

“Yea, I’ll be fine.”

“Alright! That’s it for today, I’ll see you back here 9:30am on Saturday!”

Finally it was over. There was no way I would want to go for training on a Saturday morning, at least for this week. I’ll just have to come up with an excuse. Ditching training would be healthy sometimes. Besides, the gang had planned to go out and celebrate my birthday which had passed a few days ago.

I was surprised to see Jessica sitting on the bench beside the tennis court, waiting for me. Usually, she would have waited at the study area, too lazy to climb 4 stories to the court. She had my bag slung over her shoulder, towel in one hand.

“Drink up.” My water bottle was tossed to me and I caught it.

“Does it hurt?” She asked, sweeping my messy fringe aside, inspecting my forehead.

I had no idea how long had she been sitting there, but definitely long enough to see me getting humiliated by that yellow ball.

“I’m fine.” I told her.

“You don’t look fine. The bruise is starting to show.”

“It will be gone in a few days’ time, I promise. I had had worse.” I took my bag from her and started to make my way to the washroom.

I felt a lot fresher after washing up and changing my sweaty clothes. There was nothing I could do about my aching muscles and I would probably have to buy some pain relief patches on my way home.

“I’m done, let’s go.”

Jessica pulled me back before I could head for the door, crashing her lips onto mine. I returned the kiss sloppily.

“Can’t you kiss properly?” She pulled away, frowning.

“Sorry, I can’t really control any of my muscles.” I told her meekly, pulling her back for another kiss before she could complain.

Moving my lips gently against hers, I made sure to pour my feelings into it this time.

“There, much better isn’t it?” I grinned at her.

“Whatever, let’s go home.”

“Damn, it’s peak hours. I bet we won’t get any seats in the train.”

“We’re taking a cab home today. I’m not letting you stand for an hour in a crowded train.”

“It’s not going to be that easy hiring a cab at this time too.” I pointed out.

She smirked.

“Oh, you’ll see.”

Instead of walking towards the side gate, she led me to the main gate instead. There already was a cab waiting for us at the foyer.

“You called for one?” I asked, staring at her unbelievingly.

“I’m awesome like that.”

As much as I hate to think about the taxi fare we would have to pay at this time of the day, I don’t think I could handle a 10 minutes’ walk, let alone stand for an hour. Jessica opened the door for me and I climbed into the back seat gratefully. She got in after me and told the driver our destination.

“You’re the best!” I told her, slumping into the cushioned seat.

“I told you so…sleep if you’re tired, there’s probably a jam along the highway. I’ll wake you up later.” She pushed my head down onto her shoulder.

It did not take long for me to completely shut the world out. By the time I woke up, we were already at my block and Jessica had paid the driver for the trip. She had to drag me to the lift lobby for I was still half awake and had trouble walking by myself.

“Are you going to walk home?” I asked, slightly more awake than before.

“Yup. Go to bed early today if you’ve got no homework to do.”

“I can’t, I’ve got an assignment due tomorrow.”

“Just try to sleep early okay? I’ll see you tomorrow. I love you.” She leaned in to peck my cheek.

“Okay, I love you too. Text me when you get back home.”

“I will. Bye.”

I watched her walk past the condo’s side gate and disappear from my sight before getting into the lift.

My parents would be home late from work, meaning that there would be no one who would cook dinner for me. Since I was too lazy to cook or buy anything to eat, I settled with a bag of chips and started on my homework after taking a quick shower. By the time I was done with my assignment, it was already 2 in the morning. I would have a little more than 4 hours to sleep before I had to go to school and I prayed that I would be able to hear my alarm ring. Hopefully, I would wake up in time to go to school.

A little Taengsic to make up for their lack of interaction from the last chapter(: Hahaha…Happy reading and I’m off to bed! It is super cold.