Taeyeon. Forever the kid leader of SNSD.
The 6 of them were of the same age. Sometimes it would cause conflict with one another but she knew deep down inside they all had each others’ best interest at heart. She never introduced herself as the leader but unconsciously she took on that role. At times when choices had to be made she would speak her mind. Despite her cool exterior, Taeyeon was actually tougher and much stricter, but she loved her members like her own flesh and blood.

It was close to the end of the year and she knew the members would be busy. After 9 years of being in SNSD they had become more and more busy. She saw the pale faces of her members and droopy eyes they all had as they rushed around the dorm. Times like these she would sometimes would if it was worth it all. If working to the point where they were exhausted worth it all.

To be precise it was Christmas Eve. Instead of getting ready for the festive holiday, the girls were quickly packing for their trip to Japan. The members had just finished filming were getting ready for their 6 am flight. The members headed to their van ready to head to the airport.

Some of the members were sleeping while other headphones in and just wanting to have some peace and quiet. Yoona however was talking to Seohyun and Sunny had been disturbed by it. Sunny sat up and scolded Yoona who was shocked by the way Sunny spoke to her. But knowing it was her Unnie, Yoona kept quiet. Jessica saw this and was shocked too. She told Sunny that she shouldn’t have behave that way whereas Sunny argued her case. Taeyeon looked at both of her members and shook her head. They shouldn’t be arguing at a time like this. It would get them nowhere. The other members kept quiet watching the 2 begin to get irritated. Suddenly a song played on the radio, it was Taeyeon’s ‘Missing you like crazy.’ The van became silent and looked at one another with despair. They had not listened to the song for such a long time and it had taken then off guard. The song meant so much to them that they felt like crying. After that no one spoke till they reached the airport.

Throughout the flight the members tried their best to catch up on some well deserved sleep. Taeyeon wanted to take away all their tiredness but she couldn’t and wanted her members to stay strong. When they arrived in Japan they were met with their loyal fans. Even after many years, their fan base was as strong as ever. Taeyeon felt happy whenever she saw the fans. She remembered how much strength she felt when she saw the fans’ smiling faces. The members had their glasses on and did their best to quickly head to the exit. Today they were really in a bad mood and there body language said it all. The fans did the usual and got ready to give their gifts. Jessica kept her head down away from the flash. She was close to the exit when someone extended their hand to show her the gift. She stopped in her track in stared at the gift momentarily. Taeyeon watched her, wondering whether she would take it or not. She couldn’t see Jessica’s eyes and waited for her next move. Jessica quickly grabbed it and headed out, causing Taeyeon to smile. When Jessica got in the van Sooyoung saw the gift. It was the green 3 peas in a pod plush toy that Taeyeon loved. Sooyoung asked her why she took it and Jessica not facing Sooyoung answered her coolly asking her if she was there would she not have taken it. Sooyoung looked at her but didn’t respond because she knew herself she would have taken it even though deep inside seeing it would be a constant reminder.

The girls finally arrived at broadcasting station. Japan had snowed the past few days and the snow was slowly melting meaning it was somewhat slippery. Yuri carefully stepped out of the van and slowly made her way to the entrance when she felt her legs slide from under her, she braced herself for the impact which never came. She opened her eyes and saw she was stood with the legs bent but firmly up. She looked around but saw no one holding her up. She felt the wind blow on her face and she let out a small sigh of relief. Taeyeon look at her member and laughed softly ‘ Still as clumsy as always’ she thought to herself.

The girls were getting ready for the recording but were al extremely hungry. They hadn’t eaten breakfast and it was already late morning. Sooyoung wanted to eat good food. Good Korean food. She contemplated on the best place to order from. She knew of one but it had recently relocated. She slumped on the sofa and picked up a magazine from the table but when she did a piece of paper fell from under it. She picked up the paper and noticed looked at it and noticed the sign ‘best Korean takeout.’ Her eyes lit up and she quickly dialled the number. Taeyeon watched her giddy member and smiled ‘ So that’s all it takes to make you like that.’ Sooyoung made her laugh, she had never called her unnie, but she always behaved in a immature manner and when push came to shove Sooyoung would always turn to her to make a decision. When the food arrived the girls’ faces lit up. They happily ate while watching the TV in their dressing room. They saw Kang Dong Won appear, the members stared with a bittersweet smile plastered on their faces, whereas Taeyeon stared at the screen her eyes forming hearts like they always did. Sooyoung remembered how her and Taeyeon would banter about who Kang Dong Won belonged to, but now she would happily give him without a second thought. The girls were soon called for recording to start. They had been on Hey Hey Hey a few times and the hosts knew them quiet well. The show was light hearted and full of laughter, something which the girls could do with some for a while. The members were in one of the last segments of the show where they would watch funny videos sent from fans. One of the last videos was o a man who had taken his slippers and put them in the sink and started washing them in the middle of the night, it was revealed that he was actually sleep walking causing the girls to smile softly. The hosts then asked was there anyone in the group that behaved like that and the members looked at one another somewhat caught off guard by the question. Sunny decided to speak, she smiled but her eyes were saying something else, she told the story of Taeyeon leaving her phone in the fridge while sleepwalking and not realising till the next morning. Taeyeon laughed when she heard the story while the members smiled but avoided looking at the camera. The show had finally ended and the girls headed back to their dressing room. The member were beginning to pack up their things to head back to the airport, however Seohyun brought out her plastic box and began putting some leftover food inside. After a few minutes Tiffany saw this and made her way over the youngest. She asked what she was doing and maknae innocently told her that she was getting food ready for the members just in case they got hungry just like what Taeyeon did. Taeyeon felt touched by her maknae’s actions. She watched her beautiful baby before her and realised what a lovely young lady she had grown to be. She treated Seohyun like a daughter, she was strict on her but loved her wholeheartedly. She did not display her love with hugs and kisses but subtly she would always put vegetables on the maknae’s plate before putting food on her own, she would always buy her goguma treats whenever she was coming back from schedule, bringing the book that maknae had forgotten to bring as she would rush out the door and she would always defend maknae even when she was wrong and would scold her lovingly when it was just the 2 of them.  Tiffany patted the youngest on the head and told her to pack up her things while she put more food. Seohyun was reluctant but she didn’t want to argue with her unnie. Taeyeon smiled to herself knowing that Seohyun would always be looked after.

The girls had a few hours before they had to go to the airport and they all had one place they wanted to go to. It was cold and a weekday so the members knew it wouldn’t be as packed as it usually would be. When they got there they were right, the scenery was covered in show but the smile always brought back many memories for them. Taeyeon remembered when they first debuted in Japan, they took a tour of the Kamo River. They had come here in the summer and it was a lot different but it didn’t matter she was there with the members. The members looked around, drifiting away in their own thoughts, many filled with what ifs and maybes. Hyoyeon looked around her, the snow had covered most of the area and the trees’ leaves were no longer blossoming. However something beside the tree caught her attention, something purple. She brushed some of the snow from it and it revealed itself to be a little purple flower. Despite its small size the purple was strong and evident, it looked so precious. Hyoyeon stared at the flower intently. Taeyeon watched her closely and she knew instantly that Hyoyeon had a lot of things on her mind. The 2 of them hardly spoke to one another about deep intimate things they had stored inside when it was just the both of them, they chose to laugh and play with one another. When they first debuted Taeyeon couldn’t believe that Hyoyeon would have any problems since she was always happy how stupidly wrong she was. Even though they would not discuss their problems with one another as much, Taeyeon kept a close eye on Hyoyeon, she would watch her facial expressions to get a better understanding of how her friend felt, for them that way of communicating worked. They had this mutual understanding between them, nonetheless Taeyeon loved Hyoyeon very much, Hyoyeon breathed the fresh air that flew around her, looked up and smiled. Taeyeon looked down on her member and smiled, she knew how lucky she was to have had her in her life.

The girls gathered together by the river and stared into the distance. Yoona kept her gaze ar ahead while she spoke. She asked the members what exactly was happening in a desperate tone. Hyoyeon who was stood beside her asked her what she meant. Yoona, eyes still forward  replied in a somber tone,        ‘we have so much, we’ve come so far, but ever since... ever since that day, why do I feel that none of these things matter anymore. I feel so empty,’ then she cried, her tears just began flowing out uncontrollably. The members wanted to comfort her, say something positive, but they couldn't because that was exactly what they were feeling. The wind blew against their skin, it may have been cold but the members felt some sort of warmth within their hearts as if something was trying to comfort them. Taeyeon watched powerless at her members emotional pain. She wished it would go away. But right now she couldn't.