Taeyeon,

I'm sorry.

I guess you can't be Mrs Wu anymore.

Just remember and forever keep in mind…

I still remember the sparkle in your eyes when you smile.

It's stuck in my mind like a painting: detailed and a masterpiece, a creation like no other.

I hope you smile at him… the way you used to smile at me.

-Kris

Slowly, Taeyeon dropped the piece of paper as she tried to process what she just read. Her breathing slowed, her eyes wandered everywhere so quickly and both of her eyelids became dams holding back her tears that were threatening to fall.

Suddenly, her phone rang and she checked it without being in the right state of mind. It was only a text message.

‘Noona, practice this afternoon? :) – Baekkie’

Taeyeon only stared at it blankly, thinking whether she needed to do something or to go to practice. Her fingers typed onto her phone as she replied to Baekhyun.

‘Not sure. Will let you know by 12. – Taeng’

Her phone vibrated again moments later.

‘Understood, noona. I’ll be at the café if you need me. – Baekkie’

‘As always. – Taeng’ She knew he was only there for a certain reason.

‘Noona. – Baekkie’

‘I’m kidding. I’ll see you some time then? – Taeng’

‘Ne. – Baekkie’

After finishing the short conversation with Baekhyun, Taeyeon sat on her couch in silence and stared into space. Her breathing slow and controlled as her eyes locked onto the piece of paper she had just read. Taeyeon was in fact confused as to what was going on.

Once she had made up her mind, she stood up quickly and took the piece of paper along with her. She drove quickly to Seoul University and rushed to find Kris’ friends. Sure enough, she found them where they always hang out, in front of the lake, where she first found out Kris had left.

“Jiejie,” Tao called, “what brings you here? You don’t have any classes until later.”

“I’m giving you a minute to explain,” Taeyeon sharply replied, ignoring the younger male’s question, “Make it count.”

“Explain what?” Jongdae inquired, seemingly utterly confused.

“How Kris knew I now have brown hair, and how he sent me this letter from here in Seoul,” Taeyeon answered. However, the boys only glanced at each other and then back to her. Taeyeon let out a frustrated sigh and she took out the letter she received that morning, “This.”

Lay leaned in and tried to read what was written. After finishing, he leaned back again, “He’s here. He’s back.”

“What?”

“Kris is back in Seoul,” Jongdae responded.

“And you weren’t planning on telling me?” She asked, “Since when did you know?”

“He came back two days ago,” Luhan answered, “and we only bumped to him yesterday afternoon. We didn’t know until then. He saw you at the practice room with Baekhyun. We were planning on telling you the next time we meet you, which was supposed to be this afternoon.”

“Are you okay?” Minseok asked Taeyeon, who was frozen and had softened. She just didn’t know what to do.

“Where is he? I want to see him,” she demanded.

Once again, the boys glanced at each other, “We don’t know.”

Taeyeon let out a sigh, “Fine. But tell me once you see him.” The boys only nodded and Taeyeon spun around and started walking away. EXO-M watched as her walking figure had completely disappeared before taking off their jackets off their bags, which were on top of Kris.

Once they had gotten all their belongings, Kris sat up from where he was hiding.

“You owe us one, ge,” Tao said, “Why are you hiding from noona?”

“Why would I not?” Kris replied, “After what I’ve done, I don’t have the guts to face her.”

“You should’ve told her, then,” Jongdae shot.

“If I told her, I wouldn’t have been able to go.”

“I guess the question right now is… Was it worth it?” Luhan asked, “Did leaving Taeyeon give you the satisfaction you were searching for?”

Kris closed his eyes and sighed, “It is. But every day was a living hell because I kept on wanting to see her.”

Kris’ friends smiled. So maybe the painter couldn’t live without his muse after all.

The day passed and Taeyeon couldn’t keep her mind straight at all. Her mind would always wander as to where Kris was. After two long years, she started feeling butterflies in her stomach again; the same feeling she got when she first started talking to Kris. Every time she didn’t have class, she was roaming the whole campus in search for her painter.

There were occasional times where she would see Kris, and when she tried to approach him, he would always disappear. Taeyeon had the idea that maybe Kris didn’t want to see her.

This routine went on for the next month until Taeyeon finally gave up; just like when she gave up trying to contact a person who had fled the country two years ago. It was just that she had more faith in herself this time; faith that she would finally see Kris again.

“Noona, are you okay?” Baekhyun asked, worried, “You’ve been out of yourself this past month,” he stated as his arms were over Yoona’s shoulders.

“I’m okay,” Taeyeon replied, “Uhm, can we do our practice tomorrow instead?”

Baekhyun blinked, “Why so?”

“I just have something to do.” With that, Taeyeon stood up from the lunch table and walked out of the cafeteria.

Baekhyun looked at the others instead, his eyes searching for answers.

“Don’t worry too much,” Jessica told him, “she just got a blast from the past.”

“Kris came back from France last month,” Tiffany added. Finally, Baekhyun nodded.

Taeyeon went to the lake again and this time, she was more than eager to make those boys spill out where Kris was.

“I’m done searching and waiting for him, okay?” Taeyeon coldly stated, “Just tell me where he is.”

“Jie, we really don’t know,” Tao denied.

“You’re lying,” she countered, “it’s been more than a month. You can’t possibly have not seen him this whole time.” She continued. “Look, I trust you. Don’t ruin that trust and just tell me where the hell Kris is.”

“Taeyeon…” Yixing muttered.

“Yixing, I need to know,” she interrupted.

Yixing then sighed, “Fine. He doesn’t have the guts to see you, Taeyeon. He’s embarrassed for what he did.”

“So what? He’s just going to avoid me forever?” Taeyeon asked so softly, but the pain was audible in her voice.

“We don’t know, jie,” Tao answered, “He never mentioned anything about it anymore.”

Taeyeon sniffed a little and then let out a sigh, “Tell him I’m done looking. When he’s ready, then just tell him he’s the one that has to come. I think he knows where to find me.”

Taeyeon walked into the library, her hands hugging a notebook tightly as she headed towards a long empty table. The library was fairly quiet as it always should be. She put down the notebook onto the table, and then her bag and she sat down. Her hands made their way to her bag to grab her pencil case and she brought it out onto the table as well. She took out everything that was inside and then stared blankly at all the materials.

Taeyeon inhaled deeply and let out a deep sigh before slowly lifting a pencil. Her eyes stared at the lead before holding it properly and placed it on top of a clean white sheet from the notebook. She made lines, and then curves, until finally… she was drawing again.

Everything just came back to her. From getting the shape of the face right to the detailed features of a person. Her hands moved swiftly and freely across the page like they had a mind of their own. Taeyeon’s face had a monotonic expression as she focused on her drawing; her head even moved from side to side. She was still able to do the perfect shadowing. One last gentle smudge and finally, Taeyeon lifted her hand, put down the pencil and stared at her drawing.

She got the jawline, the hair and pretty much everything right. So she hasn’t forgotten the ‘image’ of when she last saw Kris. Her drawing showcased Kris the last time they were talking; he had no emotions on. With the sight of that, the corners of Taeyeon’s lips curved upwards.

Suddenly, her phone rang and, knowing any type of noise irritates the librarians, she answered it quickly and rushed outside, leaving all her things on the table.

As she rushed past the shelves of books, someone from between two shelves had removed their eyes on a book they were reading and saw