"Tae! Hey-Taeyeon!" 

Kim Taeyeon turned around as she heard a familiar voice. Her smile widened, "Hey Wooyoung!" 

Jang Wooyoung came to a halt before her, panting hard. He glanced at the girl beside Taeyeon and gave her a quick smile, "Hi Tiffany." Then he turned back to Taeyeon and asked, "Can I have a moment with you. In private?"

Taeyeon felt the smile slip slightly. She glanced quickly at Tiffany, whose expression had darkened. Then she replied, "Yeah sure. We're best friends, you don't have to ask for something like that."

Wooyoung smiled back. He looked at Tiffany expectantly, until she moved out of hearing range, before he continued, "I have to tell you before I...Okay that doesn't matter now. I just want to know your answer."

Taeyeon interrupted his hurried speech, looking confused, "Hold up. What's this about? Why are you so flustered?"

Wooyoung hesitated. The moment of silence stretched. Then he asked, quietly and sincerely, "I like you Taeyeon. A lot. More than as a best friend. Will you go out with me?" He met her eyes, and she saw the fire burning in them.

Taeyeon hardly knew how to respond. Wooyoung waited for her reply, but his expression grew more uncertain as the seconds ticked by. Finally, Taeyeon gave an answer, "Wooyoung, we're best friends. I don't know how to say this but...the way I feel for you...it would be best if we remain the way we are now. I like you a lot too, but just not...just not in that same way. And...and there's something I never told you. I actually...I actually have a crush on Junsu oppa. So..." Her smile, as she spoke, was slightly strained.

Wooyoung's smile was completely gone by then. His eyebrows were knitted, and his pain seemed nearly tangible. In a tone a lot more subdued than before, he said, "Oh. Okay. Sure. I guess...I guess I'll see you tomorrow then." He turned away, trudging back to the school, his back hunched and radiating disappointment. Taeyeon's heart nearly broke to see her best friend that way. But she steeled herself. He would get over it.

Or so she thought. And so she ran to catch up with her other best friend Tiffany, putting all the negative thoughts out of her mind. 

The next day when she entered the class, she found most of the girls in tears, and a couple of the boys looking gloomy at their seats.

Jang Wooyoung had moved out of the country.