“No friendship is an accident.”

- O. Henry, Heart of the West

Indeed Taeyeon and Jessica’s friendship was not so much an accident as a defining moment in both their lives. It was the moment when fate decided it was bored and perhaps it would be amusing if two completely incompatible people became friends. It was quite the typical story, really.  Jessica had already established her reputation as the ice princess. A weirdo. A loner. A scapegoat. The target of all the other students’ unforgiving cruelty. Then came Taeyeon, the brand new transfer student from the city. There was something rather charismatic about Taeyeon that quickly made her the darling of the school. Oh, how it enraged Jessica.

All through her earlier years, she had desperately wanted to be popular and adored, but try as she might, her wishes did not come true. But instead of fading into the background or becoming a wallflower, she decided that she would rather be infamous instead. Better to be hated or misunderstood than forgotten, she thought.

If you think about it, it was rather heartbreaking.

But it did not matter in this case because Taeyeon had only heard of Jessica through hearsay and Jessica had only envied Taeyeon’s meteoric rise to popularity from afar. Neither had actually met the other until that one fateful day when their unconventional friendship began.

The day itself was nothing special, not even the weather was anything out of the ordinary; not particularly sunny nor was it overly cloudy either. In fact, the entire day had been mundane for both girls up until recess. But unfortunately for Jessica, the kids were feeling particularly unforgiving that day and she was fully at their mercy. Even though she was used to being treated so ruthlessly, it still hurt especially for one at the tender age of eight. There were those who tolerated her of course but they never quite stood up for her for fear of retaliation from the masses. But that day, that humdrum day, something out of the ordinary nay something miraculous happened; someone actually spoke up.

Even Jessica was surprised. How could she not when she had no expectation of anything otherwise and more so from the last person she would have expected: Taeyeon. It was then that Jessica had never quite had a good look at Taeyeon nor had she actually even been near that girl and yet she envied that girl so badly merely by reputation. And for the second time in under a minute, Jessica was surprised yet again. She had not expected Taeyeon to be so… humble looking. Taeyeon was definitely pretty, even she admitted but not in the plastic doll sort of way but rather the subtle, natural way.

Taeyeon did not say much except that it was not necessary for them to pick on Jessica but it only made the other kids about needing Taeyeon to stand up for her. Oh, how kids can be so cruel. Despite the best of intentions, Jessica was displeased with what Taeyeon did. She did not need anyone standing up for her, or at least she wouldn’t admit to it. She didn’t like to be seen as weak nor did she like to be pitied. But she knew that any form of retaliation on her part would only exacerbate the situation so she just gave them, including Taeyeon, a glare so cold it sent shivers down their spines before making her exit.

The truth was, the other kids rather feared her. Somehow or rather, her reputation for being frigid had preceded her. And although Taeyeon had been told about her numerous times, she was not fazed. She didn’t believe any of the gossip, none of it, for she believed in getting to know someone before judging them. Her nature was kind in that way. So she followed Jessica out. The truth was, she was more curious than anything, aside from the fact that she was now repulsed by the behaviour of the other kids. Taeyeon made no attempt to hide the fact that she was tailing Jessica yet she did not bother to stop her either.

It was yet another surprise. Jessica was puzzled as to why Taeyeon would follow her. What could Taeyeon possibly want? And the fact that Taeyeon did not say a word just agitated Jessica more. Stopping short, Jessica whirled around furiously not realizing that Taeyeon had just caught up to her. Jessica stared at Taeyeon menacingly; she was not in the mood to entertain any sort of annoyance. But when Taeyeon just stood and stared blankly at her, she finally demanded an answer as to why she was being shadowed. Taeyeon simply shrugged but smiled, perplexing Jessica yet again. For a brief moment of silence, both girls just gazed at each other, trying to figure each other out. Alas Taeyeon did not provide a response nor did it matter to Jessica any longer. She gave Taeyeon a stern warning not to follow her any longer and left in a huff.

Funnily enough, Taeyeon was not deterred by Jessica’s demeanor towards her. As a matter of fact, she found Jessica to be rather amusing; flustering when she was angry, and adorable; the little crinkle above her nose when she frowned. Unlike the other kids, Taeyeon was exceedingly intrigued by Jessica. Or perhaps Taeyeon had the patience of a saint. However, Taeyeon thought it wise not to bother Jessica anymore that day. Jessica was clearly in a foul mood and in need of time to cool off. So she just watched as Jessica walked out of her line of sight.

It wasn’t until a few days later that Taeyeon found Jessica alone in a quiet corner in their school library. Without even giving it a second thought, Taeyeon took a seat across from Jessica and whispered a soft “hi”. Jessica who was deeply engrossed in the book she was reading at the time, dropped her book in startlement only to notice that it was Taeyeon once again. Jessica let out a grunt and picked up her book again, choosing to ignore Taeyeon. She thought that if she did not acknowledge Taeyeon’s presence, she would perhaps give up and leave. Unbeknownst to Jessica, Taeyeon was no ordinary girl.

Taeyeon remained quiet, just sitting across from Jessica while Jessica continued to read her book. At one point, Taeyeon got up and left her seat. Even though she felt relieved for a second, the feeling was quickly replaced by a different one, one she couldn’t quite identify, at least not at the time anyway. But moments later when Taeyeon returned, Jessica found herself welcoming Taeyeon’s return, but of course she never let it show. She just remain silent for the remainder of their time together. And to most, that would mean that they were unwanted, but the fact that Jessica did not tell Taeyeon to leave her alone, Taeyeon took it as a sign that she could stay.

Long story short, Taeyeon found Jessica in the library the next two days or so and joined her just the same, but neither said a word to the other. The following week, Taeyeon made it a point to sit elsewhere but still in Jessica’s sight. Jessica found herself constantly peeking over at Taeyeon to see what the latter was up to and a few days later, Jessica eventually decided to approach Taeyeon. It was a slow blossoming friendship and despite being highly incompatible, the two girls somehow grew accustomed to each other. Jessica gradually opened up to Taeyeon and Taeyeon slowly drew Jessica out of her shell again.

Jessica was still awkward of course. And she still hated the other kids for tormenting her. But Taeyeon was unbelievably understanding, and despite Jessica’s unpredictable temper, Taeyeon stayed by her side and became Jessica’s only real friend. By association, Jessica became more tolerable to the other kids, but only when Taeyeon was around to mediate, otherwise there was no real difference from before. The problem, however, was that Jessica was still a shrew. And even though they were “friends”, Jessica still wasn’t quite all that fond of Taeyeon. Or rather, to put it more accurately, Jessica wasn’t quite sure how to feel about Taeyeon because she never really had a friend before who was completely loyal.

So it wasn’t an accident at all. It wasn’t even close. Nonetheless, this was the start of their peculiar friendship.