Taeyeon’s POV

“Baby!”

“Coming! I’m almost done.” I yelled back.

“Seriously, why do you have so much stuff?” She asked, peeking into my room.

“Says the person who has got 3 huge bags of clothes.” I replied, putting the last book on the shelf into the cardboard box and taping it up. “You’re only saying that because you don’t have anything to do at all.”

I had packed Jessica’s things for her while she was out with Tiffany. But despite having brought over 3 bags of clothes, hers was an easy job for she did not bother to unpack, only taking out whatever she needed one at a time and putting them back after she was done using it.

“That’s because I’m smart.”

“Lazy more like.” *Smack* “Ouch! What was that for?” I asked, rubbing my arm.

“Hmph!” She turned her back on me, strutting out. “Hurry up! I’ll wait for you in the car. Fany’s helping with the loading.”

“Tsk. Look at you...” I mumbled under my breath, shaking my head. “Just because I call you Princess, you’re acting like one.”

Balancing the weight of the last box in my arms, I carefully maneuvered my way out of the apartment and into the lift.

It was moving day, finally. By some miracle, both Jessica and I had gotten into the same college, despite the tough competition for the spot in our respective courses. What surprised me even more was the fact that I was offered a scholarship as well. I would not have imagined it happening to me a year and a half ago, not with me flunking the end years and turning into a depressed and sensitive wreck. Heh. Yuri, though happy for me, could not believe it when I first told her during one of our webcam-ing session.

 

“Really? You’re not kidding me right, midget? You know how hard it was to get into that college and on top of that, a scholarship? No way!”

“It’s real though…” I pouted, a little sad that my best buddy would not trust me.

“Eyy, stop pulling my leg, Taeng……why are you looking at me like that?......No , you can’t be serious. REALLY?! Wait a minute.” I saw her fumbling with her phone before putting it to her ear. “Sweetheart? Guess what?”

“Sweetheart?” I murmured, cringing at how she had greeted whoever was over the phone.

“Taeng said that she has got a scholarship, can you believe that?...Really you thought so? Ahh…” She pulled a long face, looking disappointed at what the person on the other line was saying- that I was not interested in. Rather, I was more interested in trying to figure out who she was talking to, for she sounded quite affectionate. Girlfriend? “Fine, I’ll tell her that. No, wait, hold on for a sec.” Yuri turned back to me donning a huge smile on her face. “Yoong said to congratulate you and she miss you.”

“Yoong? As in Yoona?” Since when was Yoona ‘sweetheart’ and ‘Yoong’ to Yuri?

While I was busy taking in the new information, Yuri was back on the phone with Yoona. “I don’t know, she has got a stupid look on her face… Okay, okay, I’m sorry. I’ll call you back later alright? Love you.”

“Ha…What was that about?” I asked, still confused. “You called her just to tell her I’ve got a scholarship?”

“I got her Taeng! Finally!” Tossing her phone aside, her smile widen even more. “Sorry I didn’t tell you about it sooner. But that aside, wow! Tell me, why did you retain if you’re that smart?” She brought her fist up and I returned her gesture with a smirk, giving each other a ‘fist bump’

“Look who’s talking? Are you trying to say that we’re dumb?”

“No way in hell…retainee pride, remember?”

“Forget about that. Tell me more about you and Yoona. What did I miss while I was away?”

“Nothing much…I just gathered enough courage to confess…with the help of some alcohol actually…I mean, one thing leads to another…”

“One thing leads to another?”

“Well, let’s just say that we didn’t go about doing things in sequence like you and Sica did…We got into bed first before we had a talk.” She confessed.

“Okay, I think I get what you mean, so spare me the details.” I watched as a smug smile made its way across her face, making her look very erted in fact. “No, don’t look at me like that! We haven’t done anything yet and you’re not getting any stories out of me even if we had.”

“Fine. Be that way, Taeng, just because you aren’t getting any…”

“Hey!”

 

Apparently, the YoonYul couple got together a week prior to that conversation and it was after Jessica had left. Therefore, even my girlfriend did not know about it until recently. Speaking of which, Jessica had only stayed with Tiffany and I for a month, long enough to go for her interviews. However she came back with her father weeks later when the college had offered her a spot and the both of them went house hunting, searching for an apartment nearer to the college. I was busy with exams then, so I could not tag along. Jessica refused to show me pictures of it, even though she had showed them to Tiffany, so apart from its location and the fact that it was a one bedroom apartment, I had totally no idea how the new house looked like.

Moving up into the city was exciting yet upsetting at the same time. I had grown very accustom to the salty smell of the ocean in the air whenever I stepped out and I was surely going to miss it. 

Tiffany was hurling one of Jessica’s luggage into the boot along with the latter’s help when I approached them. The sight of Jessica straining her muscles was entertaining to watch thus I made no move to help as they struggled to fit it in.

“The boot’s full, Tae. The rest have to go in the backseat.” Tiffany informed me.

Taking a peek into the boot, I scoffed. Jessica’s belongings took up most of the space and they barely managed to squeeze in one of my boxes.

“Alright. Darling, could you open the door for me?”

Jessica did and I loaded the rest of my things in.

“Tae, make sure you drive safely okay? Watch out for cars before you turn.” Tiffany said, giving Jessica a big bear hug before she climbed into the passenger seat. “And don’t speed.”

“Yes mom.” I answered meekly.

The car was a gift from my dad for getting into college. I had gotten a license not long ago but being the speed lover that I was, I had the tendency to go slightly, just slightly, over the speed limit sometimes.

“And come back whenever you two horbits are free. It’s going to be boring without someone to make fun of.”

“Okay, only if you stop calling us horbits.”

“No way! You’re still a horbit, even if Jessi’s not one.”

It was a nickname she had come up with for the both of us; you know, by mixing rabbits and hor- you know what. I came clean with Jessica about the story behind the nickname but neither of us cleared it up with Tiffany. In fact just a few nights ago, Tiffany thought that we had been going at it again when Jessica and I had a little pillow fight behind closed doors while I tried to get the Princess to help me out with the packing. The soft thuds of pillows hitting the ground as we tackled each other into the bed along with the muffled sounds of us groaning and occasionally whenever one of us managed to land a blow on the other with the cotton stuffed sack had her imagination running wild.

The look that she shot us the next morning when we came out for breakfast was so epic that I could not sit up straight, stomach aching from laughing so hard. “Oh my god. The both of you were so loud last night I couldn’t even sleep.” She told us, and then with a cheeky grin, she added. “Mind lowering your voices if you’re planning to do it again tonight?”

 

After hugging Tiffany goodbye and promising her once more that I was not going to exceed the speed limit, I got into the car and reversed out of the driveway carefully.

“I’m so going to miss this place.” I mumbled under my breath.

“Well, there’s a Go- Kart circuit near our place…”

“Really?” My eyes lit up at the mention of it. It had been a long time since I had visited one and I missed the feeling of flooring the accelerator without having to worry about breaking any traffic rules. “Are you serious? Accompany me there tomorrow? Please?”

“We can, but…I’m not getting anything good out of it. I’m just watching you go round and round the track. It’s going to be boring for me...”

“Hmm…let’s see…” I raked my brains, trying to think of anything that she might like as a form of bribery.

“You know, maybe a certain street that I can go shopping…” She hinted. I groaned internally, knowing exactly where she was suggesting we go. “It’s not that far actually and it’s still early.” She added, seeing that I was peeking at the digital clock which showed that it was almost 10 am. “1 half hour from here and then another 1 half hour from there to our home, approximately…and I know it’s not exactly along the way but since we’re going to pass by it, might as well just pop by…..baby?” I took a quick glance at her and she was battling her eyelashes at me with a Cheshire grin. “…Or will all the driving tire you out?”

‘Tired from letting you drag me around more like…’ I added in my head.

“Please? We haven’t been on a proper date for the longest of time, without your mommy Fany tagging along…”

“Alright.” I finally conceded. “Because I love you so much and you’re being totally irresistible right now, we shall make a detour to London…And it’s so not along the way.”

“Yes! Oh my god! Yes!” leaning over the arm rest, she swiftly planted a kiss on my cheek. “I love you so very much baby! You’re the best!”

I chuckled seeing her jumping excitedly in her seat from the corner of my eyes.

“Hey, quit spazzing. You’re distracting me from the road.” I turned into the motorway, reaching out with one hand to retrieve the GPS from its holder. “Darling, mind typing the address into the system? We don’t want to get lost do we? If you want more time to shop around…”

She took it over from me, fingers flying over the screen, keying the address in with the fastest speed possible. When she was done, she placed the GPS back onto the holder, sinking back into her seat with a happy sigh. “You know Taeng, it’s still weird to see you sitting in that seat, driving...but I can get use to it…I think.”

“Was that a compliment or an insult?”

“Mmm…I don’t know. From the outside, you look like a child driving a stolen car or something.”

“But Tiffany drives too and I don’t see you telling her that.” I whined at the unfairness of it.

“That’s because she’s more mature than you, emotionally and physically.” she retorted, pushing my face away. “And keep your eyes in front, Taeng, you’re such a road hazard.”

“Just be grateful that I can drive, or you can go get your own license…”

Our childish banter continued throughout the journey and 2 hours later, I found myself tagging by her side as she took her time looking at all the clothes in every single shop she visited.

My stomach was growling out loud and crying to be fed as I followed her into yet another store. It did not seem like I would be getting food anytime soon. But she was happy and it was all that mattered.

It was late afternoon when she decided that she had enough, a satisfied grin plastered on her face as she placed her shopping bags in the backseats. 10 minutes later, she was already fast asleep, burnt out from her shopping spree.

Without anyone to entertain me, the drive was boring and I was also starting to get sleepy. But I reminded myself to stay focused on the road, especially since I was driving with my most precious Princess beside me. Safety first. When we were around the neighborhood, I pulled to the side of the road, trying to get her to wake up, wanting to ask where were we going to have dinner. It took a while, but when I finally succeeded in doing so, she had only regained consciousness long enough to tell me to find a fast food restaurant for take- out before going back to sleep again.

 

--

 

“Baby…” The car was parked in front of an apartment as I attempted for the 3^rd time to wake the sleeping princess up. “Hey, we’ve reach home, I think.”

“Hmm?” She mumbled.

“I followed the GPS and it led me here. We’re home right?” I asked uncertainly, shaking her shoulders lightly. “Come on, open your eyes and take a look outside.”

“Where are we?” Hearing that from her, I panicked for a second, thinking that we were indeed lost. Damn the GPS, I can never fully trust them. “Oh…yea, we’re home.”

I heaved a sigh of relief, silently thanking God that I did not have to drive anymore for the rest of the day.

Suddenly, Jessica became very excited, the sleepiness gone within seconds. Grabbing our burgers, she unbuckled her seat belt and hurried me out of the car.

“What about our stuff in the car?” I asked as I let her drag me up 3 flights of stairs.

“We’ll get them later.”

Stopping outside a door, she punched in the code number and disappeared into the unit after ordering me to stay put outside. A minute later, the door opened again and she reappeared, urging me to shut my eyes. As an extra precaution, she placed her palms over them from behind and guided me in.

“You’re not going to let me fall are you?” I asked, feeling uneasy with my sight taken away from me, arms stretched out in front of me to make sure that she was not going to lead me into a wall just for the fun of it.

“Relax, Taengoo-ah.” Hot breath tickled my ear as her lips brushed over. “Haven’t you learn that it’s okay to fall? I’ll catch you if you do…okay, there you go.” She removed her hands from my eyes and I slowly opened them. “Ta-da! Welcome home, Taengoo baby.”

I was fine with her calling me ‘Taengoo’ and ‘baby’, but when you put the 2 together, it sends shiver down my spine, making my hair stand on ends. If I was not so busy taking in the layout and design of my new home, I would have said something about it

All the lights in the house was switched on so I could see every details. From the hallway, I could see the living area and the bedroom- our bedroom. Half the living room was converted into our study area, complete with desks and book shelves, considering the fact that the bedroom was only huge enough for a queen size bed, wardrobe and a vanity table. It was modestly furnished and had everything that was needed in a home; it gave off a warm, cozy feeling, simplicity at its best, just like how I liked it to be.

“How’s it?” She asked, twirling her way into the dining area where she had placed our dinner. “I’ve been cleaning this place up for the past few days.”

“I love it, as much as I love my bathroom back at the old apartment.” I noticed that the bed already had bed sheets on when I took a glance at it. It was a good thing though, for I was already tired. Besides, I never liked the process of putting sheets over the mattress. Mum had changed them for me all my life and I was only forced to learn how to do so when I started living by myself.

“Yea?” She playfully nudged me in the stomach. “I can’t believe you compared this to a toilet…Fany helped in choosing the furniture too, Dad gave me some money for it.”

“My dad did?”

“Yea, he gave me a budget.”

“Come here, you.” I held my arms out for Jessica, enveloping her in a tight embrace. “Thank you, baby. It must have been hard on you.” She shook her head, nuzzling into my neck. “Here I was thinking that you were slacking…You should have told me and I would have help.”

“You were packing our things, so it’s only fair that I tidy up our place…” Wrapping her arms around my waist, she buried her face into my neck. “You’re going to take care of me now that we’re living together…can you believe this? I feel like I’m getting married to you.” I chucked at her words, liking the idea very much. “And it gets a little too quiet here, at night, so you got to drive me home every day, even if it’s near to campus.”

Driving her home was an obvious, she need not have to tell me that. But then, it dawned on me that we had the whole house to ourselves, without Tiffany it was going to be quiet. Living with her, on our own…it was a concept totally new to me.

Oh, the many things we can do without people knowing…

I shook my head to calm the raging hormones and to get any erted thoughts out of my mind. It was not the time to be thinking about such things but my action did not miss Jessica’s attention.

“Why?” She asked, pulling away a little. “You don’t want to fetch me home?”

“No, it’s not that.”

“What’s wrong with you? Why is your face so red?” A palm landed on my forehead trying to feel my temperature.

I blinked, staring blankly at her.

“What?” She looked around. “Is the place too small? Should I have gotten us a bigger one?”

“Nope. I’m fine with this. Really.” Jessica did not looked convinced. “It’s just the two of us, darling, we don’t need that much space…unless you’re thinking of owning a private build-in wardrobe, then we might just need a 2 bedroom apartment.”

Pushing me away, she clicked her tongue disapprovingly at me before picking up a burger and plopping herself down onto the couch.

“Stop making fun of me. Or this couch will be your bed.” Unwrapping her burger, she took a big bite out of it before continuing. “You realize there’s only one bed? I can kick you out whenever I want.” She threatened.

“Fine, I’m sorry. Don’t kick me out of the room, it will make me sad.” Taking my dinner, I settled down next to her, offering her the soda. “You won’t want your Taengoo to be sad do you?”

“That depends. It’s okay for my Taengoo to be sad sometimes.” She replied, taking the soda from me. “Okay, okay. You’re not going to be sleeping here alright? So stop looking at me like that.” Jessica leaned over to give me a quick kiss on the cheek, leaving some sauce behind. “Opps.” it off my face, she patted the spot. “Let’s get dinner over and done with so we can bring our stuff up and go to sleep.”

“O-Okay.” She me. Gosh! She me! “Eww! You’ve got saliva on my face, baby!”

Without warning, she shoved my burger into my mouth, resulting in me getting mayonnaise all over my lips. “Eat up and stop whining.” She said, admiring her handiwork and grinning at me mischievously while I blinked blankly at her, stunned.

“Was that an excuse to kiss me?” Putting the burger aside, I leaned towards her. “You don’t have to resort to tricks like this, you know.” I wriggled my eyebrows. “Come on, me up…”

Puckering my lips, I pressed myself nearer so that I was inches away from her face. Squealing, she pushed me away and ran to the dining table.

“Ew, ew, ew, oh my gosh! Ew! Why does everything sound so wrong coming from you?” She ran round the table as I approached, trying to get away. “No, don’t come near me. Ew! Ahh! Stay away!”

“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about Sica-yah, care to elaborate?” I grabbed the air, missing her shirt by an inch, causing her to shriek again. “Come to me baby!”

 

 

--

 

 

“Is that the last one?” She asked, holding the front door open for me.

“Nope, there’s still one last box in the boot.”

“I’ll go get it then.”

Seeing that she was already out of the door, I quickly drop the bag which I was holding next to all the other luggage and ran out after her.

“Darling, wait a second.” I panted, managing to catch her before she made her way down the stairs. “I’ll go get it, don’t like you going into the dark alone, just stay inside.” Pushing her back into the house, I grinned and winked at her. “Be right back.”

By the time I came up with the last box, Jessica was already in the shower, preparing to go to bed. She had managed to find my pajamas and laid them out on the bed for me, saving me the trouble of going through my belongings. Unpacking was out of the question, for the both of us were dead beat. That could wait, we had plenty of time.

Jessica was curled up snugly under the blanket when I came out fresh from my turn in the shower, almost on the verge of drifting off to sleep.

“Hmm…you smell nice Taengoo-ah.” She mumbled, snuggling up to me when I crawled into bed beside her.

Leaning in, I showered her with kisses all over her face, sending her into fits of laughter.

“Haha…stop it, baby. That tickles.” She squirmed around, trying to evade my kisses. Finally cupping my face with both hands, she effectively put a stop to my attack. “What’s with you and kisses today?”

“My way of saying thank you, Taengoo- style.” I whispered, one hand resting on her waist. “For everything.”

“Cheeseball Taeng.” Her nose brushed against mine. “But I like it.” Without warning, she swooped in to capture my lips which she had been eyeing on.

I laid still, lips slightly parted, letting her take the lead. Closing my eyes, I was determined to memorize the way her lips moved against mine; so tender, gentle yet captivating. Hand moved down my jaw, nails slightly scraping along, leaving behind a hot tingling sensation. It slowly made its way down my neck, finally resting on my chest. My heart was beating rapidly against my ribcage and I was pretty sure she felt it too. A soft nibble broke me out of my trance and I realized that I had stop responding to her. Jessica started getting impatient and bit down harder than was necessary, nearly busting the skin.

“Mmmh…”

Wait, did I just moan?

Cheeks burning at the realization, I pulled her in closer by the neck, not wanting her to see the sudden rush of blood up to my face. Out of embarrassment, I molded our bodies into one, willing her to continue as our lips moved in sync against each other.

The hand that was on my chest made its way further down. Hesitantly, it dipped its way under my shirt, shyly crawling up my stomach, stopping at where the hem of the bra usually was- if I was wearing one that is. I shivered at the contact, not because I was embarrassed; she had seen whatever was under my shirt when she changed my clothes that one time. Rather, it was because I was taken aback by her bold initiation. I was not expecting that from her. It felt weird, but it was the nice kind of weird, the kind that was hard to describe. It almost had me again but I held it back, releasing a giggle instead.

She pulled away, flustered, not believing what she had done. The way she refused to look me in the eye was so adorable that I could not wipe the grin off my face, teeth clamped down on my bottom lip. Her hand trembled under my shirt, not knowing if she should withdraw it or not. Reaching under my shirt for her shaking hand, I made the decision for her, I fitted my fingers between the spaces of her own, holding it firmly. She raised her head up to look at me questioningly and I gave her a reassuring smile before withdrawing both our hands out, bringing it up for a kiss before letting it drop back onto my chest lightly, fingers still intertwined.

“Don’t, if you’re still not comfortable. It’s okay.”

“But…I…” She stammered.

“I know we talked about…being more-more physical…and I know how you feel about it… one step at a time, okay?” I adjusted the hand that was on my chest, pressing it down. “There, can you feel it? My heart beat? It’s beating only for you, darling, remember that. I still love you, no matter what, so let’s take things slowly…until you’re ready, alright?”

I nudged her to make her look at me. Uncertainty was still evident in her eyes despite what had said.

“Still…I want you to be happy and I want to…to…satisfy you…” She whispered the last 2 words, cheeks flushed red. Her gaze shifted downwards again, unable to meet mine for more than a few seconds.

I managed to refrain myself from squealing at the sight of my embarrassed girlfriend, opting to plant a kiss on her forehead.

“I can die happy just with you by my side like this. And I’m not as desperate as Yul made me out to be.” I chuckled, remembering the reason why we even had that discussion of bringing our relationship to the next level in the first place. “I’m not Yuri and neither are you Yoona. Who cares about them, we’re doing things our way.”

“Are you sure? You aren’t saying this just to make me feel better right? And I know you’ve always wanted to be more intimate…”

“Look at me darling…” I gave her the best angelic face I could master. “Do I look desperate?”

“You look way too innocent and they say the most innocent looking people are the least innocent ones.” She giggled, after studying me for a while. “But I think I get what you mean, baby.”

“Good.” I said, tangling our legs together and drawing her closer to me. “God, I still can’t believe Yul managed to convince you that it’s ual frustration that made you uneasy with me being around other girls while you’re back home. Thought you would have known better than to trust whatever that Kkab has to say.”

“Stop teasing me.” She smacked my arm, burying her face into my shirt. “I didn’t know why I was being so sensitive about it and I was going bonkers because I couldn’t come up with an explanation for my mood swings. It just so happens that Yuri came up with one explanation for whatever I was feeling and I just have to believe it because I refused to think that I’m losing my marbles-”

“I’ve got a better explanation than Yuri though.” I cut in, giving her a peck on her temple. “Because you love me too much. Does that sounds better?” She nodded her head. “So no pressure okay? Until the right time comes, I’m just going to wait, patiently.”

“I love you Taeng.”

“I love you too.” I replied. “Are we going to sleep now?”  

“Yep, we’ve got lots of things to do tomorrow. Just look at the amount of stuff we have piled up outside.” Her hands moved down to pat my . “Switch off the light will you?”

“I thought you prefer to have the night light on?”

“But it wakes you up at night and you can’t sleep properly. Go on, switch it off so we can go to sleep.” She gave me a slight push to make me get out of bed.

After doing as she had instructed, I jumped back into bed, eager to have her in my arms again.

“Sica?”

“Hmm?”

“I changed my mind about Go-karting tomorrow.”

“Why?”

“Too much driving in a day, I can take a break from it.” I heard her snigger at my response.

“Fine, we’ll go next time then.”

“Okay. I love you. Goodnight.”

“I love you too.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That's it for now, till the next time~