The first thing Jessica saw when she woke up in the morning was Taeyeon’s sleeping face, hair strewn all over the pillow and lips slightly parted. Taeyeon looked so peaceful and cute in her sleep with the blanket tucked snugly under her chin and Jessica could not help but smile at the sight of her Taengoo. She had wanted to wait up for Taeyeon last night but was so tired that she fell asleep almost immediately as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Jessica let her eyes wandered all over Taeyeon’s face, observing her features as the latter continued to sleep. Those eyes that only look at her with so much adoration, nose that is only hers to pinch and lips that are only hers to claim…they look so ordinary apart, but so likable together. It took all of her willpower to not lean in and kiss the person she had missed the entire night.

Lifting her finger, she let it traced lightly over the outline of Taeyeon’s eye bags, wondering how tired she must had been for them to be so dark. As soon as Taeyeon flinched a little, Jessica retracted her hand, not wanting to wake her up. It was still rather early in the morning and she wanted to let Taeyeon get a few more hours of rest.

As much as she wanted to stay in bed and cuddle with Taeyeon on a holiday eve morning, Jessica knew she had to get up. There was this document that urgently needed a client’s signature and Jessica had agreed to meet him at the coffee shop right across the street.

Shifting herself carefully, she planted a soft kiss on Taeyeon’s crown before getting out of bed to dress up. Though it was highly unlikely that Taeyeon would wake up before she returns, Jessica left her a note by the bed side just in case.

Jessica was lucky that she did not have to wait too long for her client who came earlier than expected. After getting the signature, she promptly returned home. It did not even take all of 20 minutes and just as Jessica had expected, Taeyeon still was not up yet. She went back into bed along with her laptop after changing back to comfortable clothing, figuring that since she was already up, she might as well get some work done while waiting for Taeyeon to regain consciousness.

Taeyeon seldom toss and turn in her sleep. She slept like a log most of the time so it was not surprising that she did not stir at all, not until almost 2 hours later. Jessica looked down at her when she did move, and found a pair of sleepy dark brown eyes looking back.

“You’re awake, baby?”

“Mmm.” Taeyeon hummed, shifting closer to Jessica’s side.

Jessica Taeyeon’s hair as the latter rubbed her nose to the side of Jessica’s hips, tickling her a little. An unconscious smile graced her lips as she watched Taeyeon let out a satisfied sigh, eyes closing again.

“What time is it?” Taeyeon asked just as Jessica thought that she had gone back to sleep.

“It’s almost 11. You can sleep a little bit more if you want. We don’t have to leave so early.”

“No, no…I’m getting up.” Taeyeon’s voice crack a little and with a flip, she was lying on her stomach, head titled up to give Jessica a huge silly grin.

“Someone’s in an awfully good mood today huh?” Putting her laptop aside, Jessica slid down to be on eye level with Taeyeon. Reaching over, she cupped Taeyeon’s cheek, it a little with her thumb before leaning in to give her a peck on the forehead. “Had a good dream?”

“Something like that.” Taeyeon pushed herself up, sitting up on her knees and offered her hand to Jessica who took it. “Come come, I need my brunch, Princess.”

Princess. After all these years, Taeyeon still called her that. At the age of 28, going on to 29, Jessica Jung honestly did not feel at all princess-ish, especially not when she was so caught up with work most of the time. But she had to admit that it still gave her a warm feeling inside whenever Taeyeon called her that.

Nothing had changed over the years, except for the fact that they had both gotten jobs that kept them busy. Taeyeon was still the Taeyeon she had first fell in love with and though she still annoyed the hell out of Jessica sometimes, Jessica had come to love her for who she is, good and bad. Sometimes when Jessica had a few quiet moments to herself and she thought of Taeyeon, she wondered if it is actually possible to stop loving the dork, as cheesy as it might sound.

“Aren’t you going to take a shower?” Taeyeon’s voice snapped her back into reality and she did not even realize that she had zone out.

“Nope, I had one before you woke up.” Patting Taeyeon’s , she pushed her into the bathroom with a smile. “Go wash up, I’ll tell Daddy we’re meeting them in an hour.”

“Can we make it 45 minutes? Please? I’m hungry.” Taeyeon pleaded, sounding very much like a 10 year old child asking for food.

Jessica chuckled, nodding her head. “Whatever you say, Taengoo. Whatever you say.”

Soon, Jessica found herself sitting in a booth at a diner with her parents, realizing that she had actually missed them a lot. It had not been very long since she moved out and even though they lived nearby, she had not had the chance to go back for a visit yet.

“Where’s Krys?” She asked her mother.

“Out with her friends. But she’s coming to your party in the evening.” Party involves lots of loud music and drunk people before the night ends, almost everything a quiet gathering is not but Jessica did not bother correcting her mother. “Have you girls got everything you need? Do you need me to help?”

“It’s okay, it’s just the family and a bunch of closer friends anyway, not a very big gathering. We’re keeping things simple and Taeyeon’s helping me with the spaghetti and pizza later. You don’t have to help. We’re gonna get some finger food from the fast food restaurant too, there’ll be more than enough food.” Jessica reassured her mother.

Glancing to her side, she found Taeyeon engaged in a conversation with her Daddy, the former trying to convince the latter into going for a full body checkup soon.

Throughout lunch, or brunch in Taeyeon’s case, Jessica had a wonderful time catching up with her parents. Jessica was especially proud of her baby for being able to get along well with her parents and treating them like her own all these years. Had someone else been her partner, would he or she love her just as much as Taeyeon did and at the same time accept her family? Jessica did not want to imagine. As imperfect as Taeyeon was, she was the closest to perfection Jessica could ever find.

The more she observed Taeyeon, the more she realized that her girlfriend was being extra bubbly that day…or maybe it was just Jessica over reading things.

“Baby, where were you just now?”

“Huh?” Taeyeon looked at her with a puzzled expression. “Didn’t we go to the supermarket together?”

“Yea, I mean…you disappeared with Daddy for a moment and when you came back you disappeared with Mummy again.” Jessica noticed the way Taeyeon her lips, keeping her gaze straight ahead as they walked home from the shopping center. “What are you up to?”

“Daddy wanted to look at some wine and I went with him. Mummy wanted to go to the washroom and asked me to accompany her. That’s all.” She replied innocently.

It was easy to know when Taeyeon was lying. Her eyes would go unfocused, darting everywhere, accompanied by rapid blinking of her eyelids. But since Taeyeon was doing none of those, Jessica was sure she was telling the truth but could not help but felt like there was something wrong with Taeyeon- she was just way too happy looking for some reason.

“No work makes me happy.” Taeyeon simply replied when Jessica eventually asked her the reason for being so hyped up.

For the rest of the afternoon, Taeyeon made herself useful in the kitchen, helping Jessica with the washing and what not. Taeyeon was in charge of making both the tomato and cream sauces for the spaghetti, still not trusting Jessica to not burn them, leaving her with the simpler task like sprinkling ham, pepperoni slices, pineapple chunks and mozzarella cheese onto the pizza dough.

Preparing dinner for 12 sounded easy but Jessica hardly have time to breathe before Taeyeon’s family came over, followed by her own, and their friends not long after. Luckily for them, both mothers took over the kitchen, allowing for Jessica and Taeyeon to wash up and change into a fresh set of clothes.

There were still some food left over after dinner and Jessica packed them into the fridge for tomorrow’s breakfast. Taeyeon was busy giving their guests a house tour, leaving Jessica with the dish washing. But it was not that bad actually. She just had to hand wash a few pots, leaving the plates to the dishwasher. It did not take long before she was out of the kitchen again.

The 3 bedroom unit that was too big for 2 people suddenly seemed very crowded with 12 people in it. Their parents were sitting at the dining table, talking amongst themselves. Sooyoung was sitting near the Christmas tree together with Hayeon and Krystal. Jessica did not know what they were talking about but Krystal and Hayeon looked like they were enjoying Sooyoung’s company a lot. Sunny and Yoona were lazing on the sofa with their drinks watching some Christmas Special program on TV. It took her quite some time to find Taeyeon but eventually found her with Yuri out at the balcony engaged in a serious conservation.

“Taeng? Yul?” She called, poking her head out. “It’s almost 12. We’re going to light the tree so you guys should come in soon.”

“Yea, sure, we probably should.” Taeyeon smiled at her.

Yuri leaned in, whispering something into Taeyeon’s ear and giving her a fist bump before going in first.

“Come on Princess, 1 more minute to 12, the tree’s waiting for us.”

“Should we switch off the lights now?” Sunny asked, holding on to the controller.

“Yep. Switch them off, switch them off!” Someone said enthusiastically and judging from the voice, Jessica figured it was probably Sooyoung.

Taeyeon had the switch to the LED lights in her hand and signaled to Sunny that it was okay it switch the rest of the lights off. Soon, the entire unit was plunged into darkness, save for the moonlight shining through the full glass sliding door at the balcony.

Someone wrapped an arm around her shoulder. She instinctively knew it was Taeyeon and her arm automatically found its way round her waist, holding her girlfriend close. It was their first Christmas with friends and family after being away for so long and they were about to light their first Christmas tree in the first home they bought with their own money. So many firsts and Jessica was honestly starting to get emotional. All those people whom she cared about was with her and nothing could get any better than that. Or so she thought.

As soon as the digital clock flipped from 23:59 to 00:00, the LED lights came on. The tree sparkled in the darkness to the cheers and shouts of ‘Merry Christmas’ from the young adults in the room. It was not bright enough to light up the entire unit but it was enough to see the faces of everyone. Their parents were still sitting at the dining table, smiling at the enthusiasm of the younger people. Jessica knew for sure that Hayeon and Krystal were snapping pictures of the tree probably to upload them onto their social media accounts later on and some of their friends were chatting among themselves admiring the lighting.

“Merry Christmas, Princess.” She heard Taeyeon whispered into her ear.

Turning her head, she looked into Taeyeon’s eyes briefly before leaning in for a chaste peck on the lips. “Merry Christmas to you too, baby.”

Their moment was interrupted by Yuri, who jumped onto Taeyeon’s back, almost squishing the poor girl to the ground.

“So, Taeng, aren’t you going to say something as the host?”

“What do you want me to say?” Taeyeon chuckled, trying to pry Yuri off her back.

Someone else slung their arm around her shoulders again and this time it was Krystal. The sisters exchanged light chuckles as they watched Taeyeon sway her body pathetically in hope that Yuri would magically detach herself from her.

“I’m not letting go until you say something…like your Christmas resolution or something.”

“There’s no such thing as a Christmas resolution, Yul! Let me go.”

“Nope.”

“I’ll say something, just let me go. Please. You’re heavy. Yoona, get your wife off me.”

After much struggle, Taeyeon eventually managed to free herself from Yuri and cleared .

“Ah ah…right…erm…Merry Christmas?” Taeyeon, started, and Jessica could not help but giggle at Taeyeon’s stuttering, knowing full well that she had never been good at making speeches, impromptu ones especially. But despite her nervousness, Taeyeon went on. “Thanks for coming over today? I mean it’s nice to have people I…we love and missed dearly while we were away, you know, all gathered together in one place…you are my Christmas present, all of you. There’s nothing more I could ask for. Fine, there’s actually one more thing on my wish list…and I am hoping that my wish will come true soon, like real soon.”

Jessica saw Taeyeon took a step closer to her and raised an eyebrow.

Okay, things were starting to get weird. Now that she thought about it, since when did the host had to say anything after lighting a freaking Christmas tree? Krystal was nudging her side and she could not help but nudged her sister back.

The entire room was quiet by then and Jessica could feel that she and Taeyeon had everybody’s attention.

“I know I can be cheesy most of the time, Princess.” Taeyeon was directly addressing her now, even using the nickname which was reserved for when it was only the two of them. “But I kind of when it comes to things like this, not very romantic I know…I’ve thought a lot about what I should say when the time comes, but I honestly can’t remember any of it right now.”

Jessica felt her heart skip a beat. The direction at which the speech was going…all the weirdness that had been going on today...they were starting to make sense. Unconsciously, she squeezed Krystal’s hand tightly.

“Sica-ah,” Jessica nodded once at the mention of her name. “I’m just going to keep this short.” She nodded again. “Thank you for being there for me, even when I was such a wreck. Thank you for telling me that everything’s going to be alright…And thank you, thank you for staying.”

How can I leave when I can’t even breathe without you? Jessica wanted to say, but could not bring herself to interrupt.

She saw Taeyeon took a huge breath, a look of determination in her eyes. Taeyeon was sounding a lot more confident than when she had first started her ‘speech’.

“I love you…and I’m sure there won’t be anyone else besides you.” That had better be true. “You make me the happiest person on Earth and as long as you’re with me, no matter how difficult the situation is, I think I’ll make it through just fine…But it will make me a happier person if you could just grant me my Christmas wish.”

Taeyeon took another step forward and was standing right in front of her. She kind of knew what Taeyeon would say next and suddenly, Jessica found it hard to breathe, not realizing that she was the one holding her own breath.

“Jung Sooyeon, will you marry me?” And then Taeyeon was down on one knee, holding a blue velvet box up to her.

The ring sparkled even more in the dimmed lighting but Jessica had her gaze locked on Taeyeon’s. More than the sparkly diamond, the sincerity in Taeyeon’s eyes shone even brighter.

There were a lot of reasons why she should be saying no, the same very reasons why she should have left years ago before any of this could happen. But no, there were more reasons why she should accept the proposal, more reasons why she should stay. She knew what she wanted long ago and Taeyeon was right, as long as they are together, everything will be okay…as long as they have the support of those who mattered.

A smile tugged at the corner of her lips and a tear of joy escaped from her eye. She was painfully aware that everyone in the room was waiting for her answer, especially the one kneeling in front of her. Knowing how much it would hurt kneeling on one knee for too long, she decided that she had better hurry up and give a response so Taeyeon could stand.

“Yes. Yes, I’ll marry you.” She could hear Taeyeon’s sigh of relief as she stood up to bring her into her embrace. Immediately, Jessica wrapped her arms tightly around Taeyeon’s neck, almost about to weep into her shoulder. “I’ll marry you, idiot.” She whispered, feeling Taeyeon her hair, rocking her lightly on the spot.

Jessica barely heard the sound of applause and words of congratulations around her. All she could hear was Taeyeon telling her how sorry she was for making her wait so long and she shook her head, signaling for Taeyeon to stop.

When she calmed down after a while, Taeyeon slipped the engagement ring onto her finger, replacing the couple ring which she had worn for the past 9 years. Despite having family and friends around, Jessica took Taeyeon by her cheeks and kissed her right there and then, in front of everyone.

It was only after everyone had left did Jessica manage to take a proper look at her new ring. And that was how Taeyeon found her-staring and fiddling at it-when she came out of the shower.

“Do you like it?”

“Mmm…I’ll love everything you buy for me…You have this all planned didn’t you?”

“Sort of. Only our family and Yuri knew I was going to propose today.” Taeyeon replied with a smug smile on her face. Pulling the blanket over herself she snuggled closer to Jessica. Jessica felt Taeyeon playing with the band, probably admiring the way it looked resting on her finger. “I had to ask your parents for permission first so I disappeared to get some alone time with them at the supermarket when I thought you weren’t looking.”

“You didn’t have to ask for permission, you knew they wanted us to get married soon.”

“Just thought it would be best if I told them beforehand…You have no idea how nervous I was just now. I thought I was going to die…there were so many people watching.”

“Baby?”

“Yea?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too, Princess…Wife, wifey?”

Wifey? Jessica could only giggle at the sound of it. She was going to be Taeyeon’s wife soon, but she sure needed time to get use to the new title.

“Thank you for saying yes, Sica-ah.”

With that, Jessica felt Taeyeon’s soft lips pressing on hers and soon it turned into a full blown make out session with Taeyeon straddling Jessica’s lap. Jessica gasped when she felt Taeyeon’s hand creeping under her shorts, quickly pulling herself away from the kiss and grabbing Taeyeon’s hand.

For a few seconds, Taeyeon had a look of confusion written all over her face at being rejected but she was soon pouting, having realized that Jessica was not going to let her get what she wanted.

“Sorry, baby. Not today. I’m on my period.”

The crestfallen look on Taeyeon’s face was so hilarious that Jessica allowed herself a few more seconds to enjoy it before flipping her over and kissing her.

“Kidding. I’m all yours tonight, love.”  

One more chapter to the end. Hahaha…just hold on a little more. As usual comments are very welcome so…

Till the next time (: