Taeyeon closed the door behind and sighed sadly. Oh, what have I done? she thought miserably. He was the most perfect guy I could've ever asked for and I threw it all away for someone who will probably never like me back.
   "YAH!! HOW WAS IT?!!!"
   Taeyeon screamed in shock and turned around. She turned to see Jessica, Tiffany, Yoona, Yuri, Sunny, Hyoyeon, Sooyoung, Seohyun and even Donghae and Eunhyuk were there for some reason, all with expectant 
looks on their faces.
   "You guys are still here?!" Taeyeon exclaimed, still breathing heavily from getting scared so badly. They all nodded. Taeyeon turned her curious gaze to the two boys. "And what the heck are you two doing here?"
   Eunhyuk shrugged. "Hyoyeon called me here to talk about something. Turned out she was just bored from waiting for you to come back." Taeyeon looked at Hyoyeon, and Hyoyeon simply smiled and mirrored Eunhyuk's shrug perfectly. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously, but she decided to drop it.
   Donghae walked over and put his arm around Yoona. "I had some business to do with my lady," he said. Taeyeon raised her eyebrow and Yoona looked annoyed but didn't make any attempts to get away from 
him. "So, unnie," she smiled at Taeyeon. "How was it?"
   "Great!" Taeyeon tried. But she didn't have the heart to lie to her friends. Her fake smile dissapeared with a sad expression replacing it.
   "I rejected him," she said sadly.
   The next few minutes were a re-enactment of chaos itself.
   "BUOYA?!!!"
   "Unnie, you're crazy!!!"
   "Wae? WAE?!"
   "Yoona, you wouldn't do that to me, would you?!"
   "UNNIE-AH, YOU BABO!!"
   Taeyeon had no idea how to respond to all this, because she knew they were right. But somehow, she didn't feel regretful at all.
   At last, Taeyeon simply shrugged and told them, "I guess I simply just didn't like him as much as I thought."
   "Buoya, unnie?!" Jessica frowned. "He has a face of a god, the wit of a genius, the personality of a saint--"
   "You have him then."
   "He's not my type."
   "Not mine either."
   Eunhyuk stood up and brushed his pants. "Well, you girls--and Donghae--deal with your own drama problems. I have a meeting that I can't miss. I have nothing more to do here anyway. Hyoyeon-ah, are you coming?"
   Hyoyeon slowly shook her head. "Miahne oppa, my unnie's in a little bit of a crisis right now."
   Eunhyuk stared at her. "You know this could be our big break."
   Taeyeon nodded in Hyoyeon's direction. "You should go ahead, I'm fine, whatever it is you're doing."
   Hyoyeon shook her head. "Annyo, unnie. You matter much more than a a lame dance contract."
   Taeyeon smiled. "Komawoyo, Hyoyeon-ah, but I really don't need any 
help."
   Eunhyuk stared at her. "It's not lame," he muttered. But after he witnessed the touching scene he sank quietly back 
into his seat, guilt plastered on his face.
   Taeyeon stood up suddenly. "I'm going to bed," she announced. "I'm  exhausted. You guys should go home and get some sleep soon too." And with that, Taeyeon dissapeared upstairs, leaving the 10 people to stare at her empty spot.
   Suddenly, Yoona cleared .
   "I've got something I'd like to say regarding Taeyeon-unnie," she said.
   "Well, go ahead and spill it all out," Yuri urged. "I don't think we need to hide it anymore." The others imitated her and told Yoona to tell.
   Carefully and with detail, Yoona told every single event that she'd been aware of regarding Taeyeon to her friends, as she'd done with Yuri and Donghae before. Everyone listened intently, but was also afraid of the possibility that Taeyeon may appear at the staircase and catch them at any moment.
   Yoona finally finished the story with some help from Donghae and Yuri, and there was still no sign of Taeyeon.
   "No way," Eunhyuk smirked suddenly. All the girls became paralyzed suddenly. "Taeyeon-ssi likes our over-confident and loud Teuk hyung."
   "Hey, he could be quite the lady killer if he actually tried," Donghae pointed out.
   "YAH! Who said that's what this was about!" Sooyoung yelled, desparately attempting to defend her unnie.
   "NE! Taeyeon unnie isn't like that," Yuri concluded. The boys' smiles dissapeared immediately, and their heads bent down to hide their embarassment.
   "Omo, poor Taeyeon-unnie," Seohyun pouted.
   Sunny put an arm around Taeyeon and said, "Well, are you guys thinking what I'm thinking?"
   Tiffany smiled broadly and stood up. "We're going to have to meddle," she said. "We're going to have to dig the real truth out of Leeteuk oppa or otherwise change Taeyeon's mind. And also..." She turned to Donghae and Eunhyuk. "We're going to need your help."
   "We're in," Donghae said.
   "For dirt on Teukie oppa, I'm all for it," Hyukkie grinned, making Hyoyeon laugh.
   Yoona and Yuri smiled at each other and stuck their hands in the middle.
   "All in favour of Operation Taeteuk?"
   Ten hands went in. They looked at each other with determination and pride.
   "Let's do it," Yoona declared.
 

Taeyeon slowly opened her eyes, fatigue still soaked in herself. She did her best to glance at the clock, and realized it was almost time for her to get to school again. She groaned and pulled the covers over her head.
   Taeyeon's mind slowly recalled the events that happened the other day, making her wanting to sink deeper underneath her covers.
   Ugh, what am I supposed to say if I see him? she worried. However, instead of continuing her thoughts about Junsu, she allowed her mind to drift to thoughts about Leeteuk. It was strange how easily her mind could grasp onto a thought about that one person and hold onto it for as long as she wanted to.
   She sighed underneath her covers. But how did her mind come to work that way? She suspected it was all an act of her heart, and how it always started beating faster when Leeteuk acknowledged her.
   Then she also started worrying about Yoona. How on Earth would her dongsaeng deal with two men who both seem to be truly in love with her? However, she shrugged the thought almost immediately--if Yoona could deal with the entire male population being in love with her, two more aren't going to be much of a problem.
 
Yoona and Yuri studied Taeyeon carefully as she walked with them. Gone were the princessy skirts and girly tops with flowery patterns she wore in the past week, and Taeyeon was back to her T-shirt and sweater combo with a pair of simple jeans. Her hair was combed neatly into a bouncy ponytail. She seemed to completely contrast the goddess-like image she'd been seen in last night almost and was back to being the quiet beauty she was so well known as.
   "So, unnie..." Yuri tried.
   "Please don't talk about it," Taeyeon pleaded. Yoona and Yuri eyed each other and decided to continue their plan later. They walked the rest of the way in an awkward silence.
   As they arrived at the school, Taeyeon bid Yoona and Yuri goodbye and ran off. Although they had almost fifteen minutes before then next class, Taeyeon wanted some time alone.
   She walked down an empty hallway and ended up at a window. It was a window overlooking a sad scenery; a barren landscape that was rare to be found in the beautiful city of Seoul. Yet, it seemed to exist, and it seemed to fit Taeyeon's mood perfectly.
   Taeyeon put her bag down and sat down, unable to think of a better place to be. It was a lonely spot, with no one around, and it was perfect for moments like these when she just wanted to think for herself and let herself wander in the world of her thoughts.
   She sat there for ten minutes, and then stood up and started to head to class. As she did so, a note fell out from where she was sitting. Thinking it was hers, Taeyeon picked it up and opened it. There was scrawl of perfect handwriting on it, and she read it to herself:
 
I've finally lost the chance to be with her,
She's now in the arms of another, safe and sure.
I thought she would eventually come to me,
But she never did, leaving me here alone in misery.
 
If time were not so unalterable, I would confess my heart.
I would feel relieved and happy, even if she still does part.
As long as she is smiling, I will weep sparkling tears of joy,
As I am nothing more than another of Cupid's pitiful toys.
 
Taeyeon clutched the paper tightly in her hands. It was an elegant poem, of mourning and of a wanting for love that seemed impossible. She flipped and turned the piece of paper around, looking for the name of the author that wrote such a poem that seemed to portray her very own feelings. There was none.
   Taeyeon knew she probably shouldn't have done it, but she shoved the poem into her bag. It was much too meaningful to just leave there, and she knew she felt something stir inside her when she read it. With that, she left the window, and slowly walked to class.
 
Class was dreary and boring as it always was. Taeyeon was in her seat behind Jessica and Tiffany, trying to pay attention to the teacher's lectures about some random historical event.
   As she was just about to dose off, Tiffany poked her gently with her pencil from behind.
   "Yah, unnie," she whispered. "You still up for tonight? We haven't been practicing at all in awhile."
   Taeyeon nodded, and smiled. Tiffany eyed Jessica who winked back.
   These 9 girls weren't just a large group of best friends...they were much more than that.
 
    "Ok girls! Once again! From the top!" Taeyeon declared.
    "Yah, unnie-ah, we did it four times already!" Tiffany moaned.
   "It's still not flawless!" Taeyeon yelled, and blew her whistle. She was wearing a blue T-shirt with white shorts and a yellow number 9 printed on the front of her shirt. There were sparkly blue and yellow 
hair extensions in her normally plain brunette ponytail and she was wearing simple white sneakers. The rest of the girls were wearing similar outfits and carried blue and yellow pom poms in their hands.
   These nine girls were the cheerleaders of Soo Man High School, and were very talented at it. They've been the inspiration for the sport teams at every game and they'd won countless cheerleader trophies for their amazing teamwork and eye-catching routines that would put a smile on anyone's face.
   At the sound of Taeyeon's whistle, all the girls got into their positions. The music blared out of the speakers they danced perfectly synchorized and sang and cheered with perfect aegyo. Taeyeon lead the group with skills and elegance, and they all looked more beautiful than usual when they were performing.Pom poms flew around in the air, arms and legs moved perfectly in an uplifting and joyful choreography.Ponytails bounced in every single direction and perfectly natural 
smiles complimented the overall performance. It really was a spectacular performance.
   "HWAITING!!!!" they all yelled in clear and inspiring voices at the end, holding their pose. As soon as the music stopped, the radiant smiles dissapeared immediately from their faces and were replaced with tired expressions. They all slumped down onto the floor or on a bench.
   Only Taeyeon still seemed wide awake.
   "You guys! The competition's in a few days, we've got to have it perfectly done!" she yelled. The girls simply groaned in response and flicked their hands disdainfully. Taeyeon huffed angrily and crossed her arms. With nothing else to do, she sank onto the bench beside the dazed girls and thought of the routine in her head. Normally she was a very shy girl, hiding from the spotlight constantly, but when it came to things like these, success always goes pretty high on the list.
   "Annyonghaeseyo pretty cheerleaders!" called a manly voice. The nine girls looked up to see three guys walking towards them with boxes in their hands. The three were Eeteuk, Eunhyuk and Shindong. Taeyeon felt her heart whirl a little bit as she saw a smiling Eeteuk walking towards her.
   "Your new uniforms are here!" Eunhyuk annouced. There were some squealing and cheering noises mixed with thank yous and greetings as the girls went to check out the uniforms that they would be wearing for their next competition.
   "Aigo! They're PINK! I love it!"
   "Soooo cute!!"
   "I can't wait to wear them!"
   The girls didn't notice, but their unnie Taeyeon was hanging back, and didn't even glance at the uniforms yet. She was too busy staring at her feet and avoiding Eeteuk's glance. However, if she'd looked up, she would've noticed that Eeteuk too, was standing a far distance away from where his dongsaengs were talking and laughing with the rest of the girls and looking down at his feet.
   All of a sudden, the giggling and squealing was interuptted by a loud, screeching and deafening bell. Everyone in the gymnasium covered their ears and yelled out in surprise. All of a sudden, the room started slowly filling up with dark, thick and horrendous smoke.

   A lady wearing a worker’s uniform ran in with a horrified look on her face!

  “EVERYONE GET OUT!!” she yelled, and disappeared immediately.

  "It's not a drill! There's a real fire!" Taeyeon yelled as loud as she could.
   "Baelee! Baelee! We should get out of here!" Eeteuk yelled as he beckoned everyone towards the door. The girls' high pitches screaming complimented that of the alarm, and they all bolted as fast as they could out the door.
   "WAIT!" Jessica hollered suddenly. She started turning back. "The uniforms!"
   Taeyeon ran after her and grabbed her arm. "ARE YOU CRAZY?!" She gave Jessica a push towards the door. "Get GOING!" The room was quickly filling up thicker and thicker with smoke, and it was getting darker.
   Suddenly, Taeyeon tripped on the edge of a bench and fell down hard. Jessica was already way ahead and assumed that her unnie was still behind her. Taeyeon slowly got up, and found that she was completely surrounded by the smoke by now, and was starting to lose air. She started coughing and had no idea where to go.
   No, no! I can't lose now! she thought. It was getting harder and harder to breathe, and she fell onto her knees and grasped her chest.
   The next thing she did surprised her, because with the last amount of strength she had she screamed with the loudest voice she could:
   "EETEUK OPPAAAAA!!!!"
    And then she collapsed.