If time was reversible, she would go back and prevent from everything that occurred to happen.

The thought kept bugging Taeyeon. It was scientifically impossible, the laws of physics and time hasn't proven the use of time-travel to fix mistakes and mishaps from the past, putting the present-day life on the right track. As much as she wanted to save herself and the girls from inevitable danger, there was no denying that she couldn't. It was obviously too late.

And she hated herself.

Taeyeon watched the girls scattered around the room, sleeping in different spots as they set their minds away to a place far away where they could be free and safe. The complete opposite of the reality they are trapped in. Their closed eyes and tired faces showed her how exhausted they were, physically and mentally. And she hated herself for seeing them suffer like this.

She despised the man who trapped them in this wretched place. The man who gave the trials of hell to her friends that she looked up as 'sisters'. But she couldn't stop the growing feeling of self-loathing rising up her gut. And she didn't want that. It's slowly killing her on the inside.

Taeyeon lift up her hand, and settled her lips against the tip of the lit cigarette as she took in a long drag. She sighed, staring at the trail of smoke exiting .

Smoking kills. Taeyeon believed that it does. She took in all the articles, the billboard signs, the warning posters plastered across convenient stores and along the streets she walked through, and vow to never let herself get in the arms of death just through a couple of cigars. Taeyeon never allowed a single cigarette to kill her slowly, and she wants to keep it that way.

You put the killing thing right between your teeth, but you don't give it the power to do its killing. A favorite quote from a book Taeyeon finished reading a while back. John Green, in her opinion, makes the best relatable quotes than anyone she has ever came across upon.

Taeyeon chuckled at the reminiscent thought, and took another drag. She hoped that no one would suddenly be awake in the wee hours of the morning, and asked her why is there a lit cigar placed between her two fingers.

"Whatcha got there, Tae?" She spoke too soon.

Taeyeon jumped at the hushed voice whispering beside her, turning her head towards the source and glaring at the person which turned out to be Jessica. The latter giggled lightly at the reaction she got.

"I see that the famous leader of Girls' Generation is caught redhanded," Jessica smirked, sitting beside Taeyeon while the latter threw away nearly-finished cigarette to the other direction. "I can't wait to hear what our fans are going to say about this."

Taeyeon narrowed her eyes. "Shut up, okay? No one needs to know about this, not even Tiffany. Got it?" She sighed, leaning her head against the wall. "What are you doing up? You should go back to sleep."

"I couldn't," Jessica shrugged. "Have a lot of things in my head. Plus I kept smelling smoke so I figured it was you."

Taeyeon scoffed, shaking her head. "Yeah, well, it's good to know you can accompany me for tonight. But do you mind telling me about your thoughts?"

Jessica shook her head while she played with her nails. "There's really nothing to tell."

"Sooyeon," The use of Jessica's birth name surprised her, her fingers immediately stopped playing with each other. She stared at the floor not wanting to look at Taeyeon, as if her eyes can look directly into her soul. "Can you tell me what's on your mind?"

Jessica took a moment to steady her beating heart, and let out a shaky breath. "I just... miss what it's like to be outside. You know, being young and free, even when the media write made-up about us like ing rumors and scandals. I miss the feeling of being able to go to places without supervision. I miss shopping," She chuckled bitterly before continuing. "I just... miss the times where we can do whatever we want and feel safe at the same time. Now it's just like we're lost in a never-ending labryinth, always being watched and never finding the way out of this goddamn place."

Taeyeon watched as Jessica turned silent once again, wiping out incoming tears before it streamed down her face. People misunderstood the cold stares, the body language and appearance of the girl sitting beside her. It is only a shell; something to protect the true face of Jessica. Fragile, soft, genuine, kind.

Taeyeon turned her attention to the other girls sleeping in different areas and positions, and took in a deep breath. "Sometimes I feel like I don't matter."

Jessica looked at Taeyeon, scooting closer to the girl as she waited for the latter to continue.

Taeyeon gulped, feeling a huge lump on when she tried to speak. "I've thought about it few times. You know, wondering if the group could go on without me. Or start off without me. It would've been the same, but... I mean, I don't know. I jusf feel useless right now."

In the midst of another breakdown, Taeyeon felt a burden being lifted up from her. As if that's the only thing that she needed. Closure. Then without her knowing, she felt Jessica's head softly resting on her shoulder. Taeyeon turned to look at the other girl, noticing that Jessica's eyes were closed.

"You're not useless, Taeyeon," Jessica's soft voice filled her ears. "In my eyes, you're worthy of becoming a great person that you are now."

This time, she didn't hold onto the tears. She let it freefall down her eyes, her hand covering in order to conceal her sobs. She sniffed a couple of times, and was about to wipe her eyes when she felt something poking into her ear.

Taeyeon glanced at her side, catching her eye onto Jessica who's busy searching something on her phone with one piece of earphone stuck to her ear.

"Thought you needed something to listen to than just crying," Jessica said with a smile. "We both need sleep, anyways."

Taeyeon smiled slightly, giggling. She rested her head on top of Jessica's, and closed her tired eyes as soft music played through the earphones.

:::

A scream awoken the two girls from her deep slumber.

Everything was a blur. They see the other girls standing up, talking rather loudly as they tried to calm a panicked Tiffany down. Taeyeon didn't know what was going on intil she heard the girl shout again.

"Where the is Seohyun?!"

Taeyeon eyes widened, jolting upwards from her current position. Walking towards the group in a not-so-steady fashion as her head started to spin lightly, she spoke, "What do you mean?"

Tiffany has visible tears in her eyes, lips quevering as Sunny rubbed her hand against the girl's back. "I woke up... I got up to check on Seohyun... but she wasn't there..."

Taeyeon looked around the room, her eyes resting upon the spot where she last saw the young girl sleeping at. It was empty.

Her heart's was racing, legs were slowly weakening until she fell to the floor. Everyone excluding Jessica started to gather around the girl as Taeyeon started to scream hysterically with her arms flailing around crazily.

Jessica stood there in total shock, having her guts telling her to turn around. Once she did, a message written on the wall nearly made herswear out in anger. Her hatred for the man who's responsible for everything that happened to them increased, clenching both of her fists tightly as she read the text.

'And then there were seven.'

-

An update before the chapter will create a sea of chaos for the ones who's going to read it. Yup, it's that obscene. But please continue to read, trust me, you'll end up with a surprise on the last few chapters!

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