It’s been almost a year since Taeyeon left and she never saw Tiffany or Jessica ever again. She lived alone happily now. None of them knew her new apartment’s location nor her new phone number. And she found someone who wants to buy her paintings so she lived with that job.

The buyer is a younger girl named Seohyun. But she told Taeyeon that she is not the real buyer, her friend is. Her friend has a museum at another town and the friend asked Seohyun to help her send good paintings from this town. Seohyun once saw Taeyeon at the riverside, painting, and she thought her friend would love Taeyeon’s painting. So she bought it and sent it to her friend, and she was right. Her friend wanted to buy more of the petite girl’s painting. Until now.

Seohyun often stayed at Taeyeon’s apartment, waited for her to finish the painting so she can send it to her friend. They became friend as well and often go out together when the younger girl has more free time. Moreover, Seohyun is a nurse so she always take care of Taeyeon even though the older girl always told her to not bother doing that.

Taeyeon is finishing her new painting right now and Seohyun is watching her in silent as usual. The older girl turned to her and smiled.

“Don’t you feel bored watching me?”

“No.” Seohyun smiled back. “It’s beautiful.”

“Do you want to try?”

“Ah… Can I?”

“I’ll teach you, if you want.”

Seohyun widened her eyes. “Really?? You want to teach me??”

“Yeah. And for free.” Taeyeon smiled. “Consider it as a thank from me because you always accompany me. And take care of me.”

Sometimes they went to Taeyeon’s favorite riverside to paint together. They really had a fun time. And as the time goes by, Taeyeon has completely forgot about her past.

Meanwhile at the other side, Tiffany is going crazy. She never come to work anymore and locked herself in her apartment’s room all day long. She has tried to find Taeyeon everyday for one year, and now she’s hopeless. She stopped going out and meet people, she just lying down on the couch all day long with bottles of alcohol and broken glasses scattered around the floor, zoning out and biting her thumb, didn’t eat at all if only Jessica didn’t come and force her to eat. She cries everyday, her eyes are swollen and red, and she became really skinny. Jessica takes care of her everyday but whatever she did, whatever she said, the younger girl didn’t want to listen to her. She just crying her eyes out and called Taeyeon’s name again and again.

“I want Taeyeon!”

“Tiff. Tiff, listen to me. You can’t be like this everyday! You have to move on! Taeyeon doesn’t love you anymore!”

“No!!!” Tiffany yelled. Her tears covered all the surface of her cheek and she sobbed hardly. “I love her! I need her… P-Please… I want my Taeyeon… Why did I do that… Why did I cheat on her… She gave me the most perfect love and I betrayed her…  I’m such a fool, I’m a moron, I want to die, Jessie! Let me die!!”

“Tiff, you’ve lost your mind. D-Don’t say that. I’m… I’m here for you, Tiff! I will do whatever it takes to make you happy! W-Where are you going?”

Tiffany went to the kitchen, grabbed a small knife on the kitchen table and already put it on her wrist when Jessica slapped that thing away immediately. She held Tiffany’s both shoulder and shook it hardly like she could put Tiffany’s mind on the right place again if she did that.

“Hwang Tiffany!!! Now you listen to me!!” Jessica yelled. “You were a great woman!! You were a great designer and a great person!! You had the prettiest eye-smile in the world and now you lose it all just because of one little girl!!?? You have your own life, Tiff! You can’t stay with your past for the rest of your life! C’mon, Tiff, you can do it!!”

Tiffany fell to the floor weakly and cried even harder. Jessica drown her face on her palm and brushed her bang up to the crown of her head frustratedly. She groaned loudly and banged the table with her fist.

She knew it. She knew whatever she did, it won’t work. All Tiffany need is Taeyeon and only Taeyeon. Everything else is useless. Taeyeon is the only person who can help Jessica to stop Tiffany from all this madness. But Jessica also knew, she is the last person Taeyeon would like to talk to. She’s the reason behind all this, she wants to be with Tiffany but she admits it, she is not enough. Only her is not enough. Tiffany doesn’t want her. She wants Taeyeon.

Jessica knelt down on the floor and hugged the younger girl tightly in her arms.

“I will bring her back. I promise.”

..

..

..

“Seohyun, don’t move.”

Taeyeon chuckled when she saw Seohyun is trying hard to not move but her hair is tickling her nostril and it must be really annoying to the younger girl.

“Alright, alright, you may wipe away those hairs.”

“Aah, finally!” Seohyun sighed in relief and scratched her nose with her finger satisfiedly.

“Ahahaha, you’re so cute.”

The wind is blowing kinda hard at the riverside, and it’s a little bit cold. After Taeyeon finished her painting of Seohyun, she showed it to the model.

“Whoaa, it’s good, unnie!”

“So, how about the payment?” Taeyeon asked playfully.

“I’ll treat you dinner. How about that?”

“Eyyy, I’m just kidding.”

“No, I do want to do that, actually. Where do you want to eat, unnie?”

“Anywhere will do, but… I want to eat chicken feet. Hehe.”

“Alright, I know the best place to eat chicken feet. Let’s go!”

Seohyun pushed the wheel chair and they left the place happily, but then Taeyeon’s smile disappeared when she saw who is standing in front of them not too far from their place. Seohyun kept pushing the chair so Taeyeon stopped her.

“What’s wrong, unnie?”

Seohyun noticed Taeyeon’s unusual facial expression then directed her gaze to where Taeyeon is looking at.

Jessica looked at them with a sad face. She approached them slowly and stopped 3 feets away in front of them.

“Taeyeon.”

Taeyeon didn’t answer, she just stared at Jessica. Seohyun moved her gaze from Taeyeon to Jessica, then to Taeyeon again, confused. Jessica cleared and took a deep breath before continued.

“Can I talk to you? It’s… It’s about Tiffany. Please?”

“There’s nothing to talk about.” Taeyeon said coldly. “Let’s go, Seohyun.”

“Taeyeon!”

Jessica fell on her knees to the ground and bent down her body until it almost touch the ground as well.

“I’m begging you. W-We need to talk. I don’t know what to do anymore. She is… She is not Tiffany that we used to know anymore. Please, Taeyeon, I need your help.”

Taeyeon stared at Jessica’s small body on the ground, and it somehow moved her heart. The petite girl looked up to Seohyun and smiled at her.

“I’m sorry, Seo. Can we cancel the dinner? There’s something I need to… make clear of.”

“Oh. S-Sure, unnie. Uhm, do you want me to help you…”

“No, thanks. Thank you for today, Seo.”

“You’re welcome, unnie. Then I’ll just leave now. Ng, see you tomorrow, unnie.”

“See you.”

Seohyun left and now there’re only Taeyeon and Jessica there. Jessica is still in her position, Taeyeon thought she already fell asleep like that.

“Jessica.”

“Y-Yes?” The younger girl got up hastily. Her knees are covered with dirt.

“Where do you want to talk?”

They went to the nearest café to talk. Jessica wanted to help Taeyeon pushing the wheel chair but the older girl refused. After they sat properly and ordered their coffees, Taeyeon put her elbows on the table and rested her chin on the back of her hands, staring at the other girl intensely. Jessica tried to break the ice with small conversation.

“How are you, Taeyeon? We’ve been looking for you all this time but…”

“How did you find me?”

“Ng… Asking… some people. Well, it’s more like everyone in this city.” Jessica mumbled. “Anyway, is she your girlfriend? That girl who was with you earlier?”

“Not your business.”

Jessica looked down at the table. She knew this won’t work.

“Please say it to the point. And make it fast.” Taeyeon said.

Jessica lifted her face and their gazes met.

“Tiffany… She is going crazy. She cries and calls your name everyday. She never come to our office anymore and she tried to kill herself. She’s drunk every night and broke things, the room is a total mess. It’s getting worse recently.”

Taeyeon muted. Jessica is waiting for some reaction but the petite girl still stared at her coldly.

“Can you please… meet her?”

“No.” Taeyeon answered firmly.

“T-Taeyeon. She needs you. Please. Just once.”

“I thought you two already live happily after I left.” Taeyeon said. “Can’t you take care of her?”

“I’ve tried! But she doesn’t want me. She… She wants you. She loves you so much, Taeyeon.”

Taeyeon chuckled. A mocking chuckle. Jessica gritted her teeth hard. It’s already felt so hard to say it, and now she has to see that satisfied smile of the girl before her. She clenched her fist, kept repeating to herself that all of this is merely for Tiffany. If it’s not for her, she would never talk to Taeyeon and swallow her pride like this.

“Please, Taeyeon.”

“So you’re useless to her.” Taeyeon said. “You thought you can have her by ing her that night, but then you realized that she didn’t really love you? How embarrassing, Jessica.”

Jessica gritted her teeth even harder.

“You two disgust me, really. Do you really think I would go back and accept her again just because you spelled out her pathetic condition? I don’t care how she is now and what will she do if I don’t meet her again. I don’t care even though you beg me and my shoes.”

Jessica’s breath became heavier. She could feel the rage inside her body.

“She was just using you, to satisfy her lust and now to get me back because she’s bored with you. Maybe she dumped you because you’re not good in bed?”

Jessica closed her eyes tightly. She’s trying hard to not flip the table and punch Taeyeon in the face. “Taeyeon. You may mock me and make me feel like , but please don’t say those things about her. Please stop. I don’t want her to be more hurted than…”

“Wow, so I’m the bad guy here now? Do I live only to obey your will? I left because you seized her from me and ruined our marriage. Now you want me to go back and help you. What am I, your toy?” Taeyeon chuckled sarcastically. “I’m sorry, but I have my own life as well. And what happens to someone who decided to be my ty past is not my business. Goodbye.”

Taeyeon put some money on the table for her coffee and pushed her wheel, left the café immediately before Jessica could stop her. The younger girl banged the table with her fist and clenched it really hard, attracting people’s attention around her.

“ you, Kim Taeyeon. . You.”

Jessica whispered those words with every raging breath of hers. She really wanted to scream and break things around her right now. She was mocked and she couldn’t do a thing about that. Everything that Taeyeon said was right. And it made her even more mad.

Jessica went to Tiffany’s apartment that night, and welcomed by drunk Tiffany. She’s really messy, so did the room. There’re more bottles on the floor and the younger girl looked like she could die if she drinks one more bottle.

“T-Tiff.” Jessica wrapped her arm around the drunk girl and sat her on the couch. “Stop drink, it’s not good for your hea… I said stop drink!”

Jessica slapped away the bottle in Tiffany’s hand when the younger wanted to take one more gulp. The bottle fell to the floor and broke into pieces.

“What the hell are you doing!!??” Tiffany yelled angrily.

“Stopping you from killing yourself slowly.”

Tiffany leaned her back to the couch and mumbled random words before suddenly moved closer to Jessica and grabbed her arm. “T-Taeyeon. Where is she? Where is Taeyeon?”

Jessica can’t answer that. She gazed down to the floor.

“Have you talk with her? W-What did she say? Does she want to meet m-me?”

Jessica closed her eyes, then slowly shook her head.

“What?”

“She refused to meet you. I’m sorry, Tiff.”

“N-No way…”

“Moreover…” Jessica mumbled to herself.

“What?” Tiffany shook the latter’s arm impatiently.

Jessica bit her lips. She accidentally let out that mumble and looks like it really attracted Tiffany’s attention.

“What is it, Jessie?? ‘Moreover’ what??”

“N-Nothing.”

“Don’t lie to me!! Tell me!”

Tiffany grabbed her arm tighter and Jessica knew she couldn’t avoid anymore. “I don’t know for sure, but… But looks like she already has a new… girlfriend.”

Tiffany left her hand on Jessica’s arm fell to the couch and stared blankly to the wall. Then suddenly she started to cry. Jessica wrapped her arms around Tiffany’s shaken body. She just hug her, without saying any words. Because words are useless. She is useless, just like what Taeyeon said. She is useless.

..

..

..

Taeyeon pulled her table cloth as she screamed loudly, everything on the table is falling down to the floor and breaking into pieces. The petite girl pushed the table and threw everything near her. When she finally stopped to catch some breath, she drown her head on her palms and gritted her teeth hard.

“What the hell, Hwang Tiffany.” Taeyeon whispered. “Why do you do this to me. I hate you. I hate you so much.”

Taeyeon went to her painting room beside her bedroom and stopped before a big curtain hanging from the ceiling to the floor on the left side of the room. She grabbed the soft cloth and pulled it with all her strength. The curtain fell down, showing a wall behind it, filled with like a hundred of sketches and paintings of a beautiful girl with pretty eye-smile.

“Why do you still love me? Why did you cheat on me if you still love me? Why did you have to hurt me like that and torture me more by being pathetic after I left? I want you to be happy, but why do you do this?? Why!? Tell me, Tiffany!!!”

Taeyeon grabbed a painting of Tiffany on the wall and threw it across the room, causing it to hit the wall hardly and the canvas broke. She did that to all the paintings, only stopped when she already lifted high the last painting in her hand. She couldn’t continue. Her arm is too weak now. Taeyeon pulled down her arm and looked at the last painting in her hand. Tiffany smiled really beautifully there. The first painting Taeyeon made after she came to this apartment one year ago. She has made many paintings of Tiffany everyday since she arrived at this place, the painting she made with just imagining the model’s face, the smiling face she really wanted to see everyday, until now, until forever. She can’t forget those eye-smiles.

“Why… can’t I forget you, Hwang Tiffany?”

Taeyeon had that pain expression on her face, and her tears kept rolling down again and again.