Yeah, Me

Taeyeon took slow steps as she reached her destination. She held up her arm, checking the time under the blazing sun. It was 1:58 in the afternoon – she was early by two minutes. Gently biting her lower lip, she let out a soft sigh before she lowered her arm, allowing it to dangle freely at her side.

Taeyeon slightly jumped when arms suddenly slid around her waist from behind. She didn’t have the time to even turn her head before Jessica’s face greeted her, her chin resting on Taeyeon’s shoulder. She couldn’t help but to smile when her eyes met Jessica’s.

“Hi, baby,” Jessica greeted with a gentle smile.

Taeyeon said nothing but shook her head and looked away, the corners of still tugged upwards.

Jessica released her arms and then took a step to stand beside Taeyeon. Slightly tilting her head, she asked, “What, aren’t you happy to see me?”

The slightly older girl narrowed her eyes at Jessica. “Let’s go,” Taeyeon replied with the smile still staying on her face and then she turned to enter the mall.

“No wait Kim Taeyeon! Aren’t you going to say that you missed me?!” Jessica shouted behind the girl as she took bigger steps to catch up.

***

“I don’t want to try this…” Taeyeon complained, her face showing every sign of reluctance to try on the dress that Jessica had chosen for her.

“Why not? I think it’s gonna look great on you,” Jessica insisted, pushing the dress nearer to the girl.

“I told you I’m not exactly a fan of dresses. It’s a hassle.”

“Well I’m not asking you to wear it often. I’m just asking you to try this on that’s all! Come on don’t be a spoilsport!”

“But I—”

“Please...?”

“I—” Taeyeon wanted to argue further, but the rest of the words were stuck in when Jessica gave her signature “sad cat” expression. She gave up as she let out a sigh. “I don’t even know why I agreed to come here with you,” she mumbled before she made her way to the dressing room.

Jessica was sporting a victory grin when Taeyeon snapped her head backwards to glare at her and she immediately tried to hide her grin. Without warning, Jessica winked and Taeyeon’s glare softened although she rolled her eyes.

Jessica paced aimlessly around the shop, looking through rows and rows of expensive dresses. It was a favourite shop with designer dresses that always suited her fashion preference.

“Jess,” a woman who wasn’t dressed in uniforms like the other staff approached Jessica.

Jessica spun her head around and broke into a smile immediately. “Hi Miss Park!” However, Miss Park narrowed her eyes upon the greeting.

“What? Miss Park who?”

Jessica only grinned. “You, Miss Rachel Minyoung Park.” Giggling a little, she added, “I missed you Minyoung unnie!” Throwing her arms around Minyoung, Jessica tightened the embrace.

“Look at you,” Minyoung said as she too wrapped her arms around the girl, patting her back gently. “Where have you been for the past month? You were supposed to come look for me the first thing you arrived. You promised me when we met in the States.”

The smile staying on her face, Jessica pulled away from the hug. “I’m sorry… I was caught up with some matters, but I came here once I settled them!”

“Good thing I was in the vicinity. Rushed back here immediately when they told me you were here. Were you not intending to let me know that you were going to come visiting?” Minyoung complained.

“I was really worried that you were going to be busy… Anyway, I brought a friend. You remember the white dress that I got from you a few months ago when I came to Korea for a short visit?”

“Uh-huh, yes. What about it?”

“I want to, uh, get the black one too. For my friend. I kinda wanna make sure that it fits perfectly. I mean, your people can do it right?”

“Of course. We’ve been doing this for your family for as long as I can remember. Has she made up her mind yet? We do have a new collection that I was intending to show you.”

Jessica gently shook her head. “She doesn’t have to make up her mind. I’m buying it. You can charge it to me as usual. But what is it about the new collec—”

“What?” Minyoung interrupted before Jessica could finish her words. “You do remember this dress is more than eight grand right?”

“Uh-huh,” Jessica replied nonchalantly, nodding her head.

“Wait. So, who’s your friend exactly?”

“She’s—”

The door of the dressing room swung open before Jessica could complete her answer. The dress was perfect for Taeyeon, if not more than perfect. Jessica looked at Minyoung for a slight moment and she smiled before she made her way towards Taeyeon. Minyoung said nothing but followed her.

Jessica suddenly slid her arm behind Taeyeon’s waist, gently cupping her small waist. Turning to Minyoung, she confidently introduced, “This is Taeyeon.”

Minyoung’s eyes widened, falling open without her knowing it as their last meeting in States started replaying in her head.

“So you’re saying that it was an arranged marriage?” Minyoung asked, taking a sip of coffee after.

“Kinda…” Jessica replied, a hint of helplessness lingering in her tone.

“Were you actually…not allowed to date freely?”

“Well, it depends on what you mean by freely.”

“Freely as in, freely…? Like, dating anyone you want?”

“Well… I could date any guy I wanted,” Jessica answered matter-of-factly.

“Uh-huh…” Minyoung knitted her brows, confusion starting to build up. “So why did you end up agreeing to an arranged marriage? You could have just gotten together with anyone you liked, or loved for that matter.”

Jessica let out a sigh. “I couldn’t. I did say I could date any guy I wanted.”

“What?” Minyoung was starting to get frustrated. “Stop playing with words. You’re not making any sense.”

“Just like how the fact that I like girls doesn’t make sense to my mother.”

Minyoung stared wide-eyed at Jessica. “You what…?”

Jessica only nodded. “Yes, I like girls. Maybe you have just decided to not be my friend any more?”

“Wait what, no. What has you liking girls got anything to do with us being friends? I was just surprised for that moment. You just sprung it on me girl.”

This time, Jessica laughed. “I was forced to break up with my first, and I guess you can say that it happened a second time.”

“A second time…?”

“I left her behind in Korea.” Sadness began creeping up inside of Jessica. “Everything with my husband happened quickly. It kinda helped me forget about her for a while, but I guess it was just an illusion. I still find myself thinking of her every day. It feels so wretched.”

“You’re at a point of no return, isn’t it?”

“Pretty much. There are times when I really want to leave everything behind and just fly back to Korea and look her up. You know, take her away with me and leave for somewhere else. But that’s just…plain selfish. I thought, if I really wanted to do that, I should have done that right from the start. She must hate me now.”

“She must have been a very special girl, huh?” Minyoung slightly reached out to squeeze Jessica’s hand.

Nodding gently, Jessica heaved another sigh. “Her name is…Taeyeon.”

Taeyeon. Minyoung’s eyes darted from Taeyeon to Jessica. The look in Jessica’s eyes said it all. This was that Taeyeon, Jessica’s Taeyeon. Minyoung took in a deep breath before she let out, hoping to clear the sudden congestion in her chest. Trying hard to shake the thoughts away, she held out her hand. “Hi Taeyeon, I’m Minyoung, the owner of this place.”

“More like, the owner of this entire building,” Jessica added.

Taeyeon was about to extend her hand when she froze, her eyes wide in surprise.

“Taeyeon what are you doing staring like an idiot?” Jessica whispered as she nudged the girl’s side.

Taeyeon snapped out of her trance as she finally took Minyoung’s hand and shook it. “H-hi nice to meet you, I’m Taeyeon.”

Minyoung knew why Jessica was in love with this girl in front of her. She was already very lovable at first glance. With a smile, Minyoung spoke up, “You look great in this dress, Taeyeon.”

Slightly taken aback by the compliment, Taeyeon scratched the back of her head cutely. “Uh… Thanks… Um but—”

“Unnie I’ll take this. I think she looks perfect in it.”

“What?!” Taeyeon stared at Jessica in shock. “I just tried this on because you told me to!”

“And now I’m buying this because…well, because I said so,” Jessica replied indifferently.

“No as in…” Knowing that it was pointless to argue with Jessica, Taeyeon turned to Minyoung instead. “May I know how much this is?”

“Ah, it’s eig—”

“A-yo GG!” Jessica suddenly said the words to the opening of Girls’ Generation’s song ‘I Got A Boy’, much to Minyoung’s amusement.

“What, is it eight hundred? Jessica I really don’t need this,” Taeyeon argued.

Jessica threw Taeyeon a look, and then she nodded. “Go change out of it then.”

“O-okay…” Surprised by Jessica’s sudden change, a baffled Taeyeon silently retreated to the dressing room.

Once Jessica was sure that Taeyeon was inside, she took out her purse and flashed Minyoung her card. “Charge it. I think I’m gonna have to get someone to collect this another day. This girl is really hard to love.”

Taking the card over, Minyoung only laughed. “You surprise me, Jessica.”

***

The two girls were walking hand in hand until Taeyeon suddenly stopped and stared at Jessica as she let go of her hand. Narrowing her eyes, she asked, “Tell me, did you buy that dress just now?”

Jessica blinked a few times, and then she shrugged with a cheeky grin. “Are you disappointed that I gave up so quickly because you actually like the dress?” Jessica responded while she wiggled her eyebrows.

“I— It’s not— As in, no.” Taeyeon loved that dress. She knew that Jessica was right when she said that she looked perfect in it, but an eight hundred-dollar dress was just too much for her to handle, although it was already a zero less than the actual price. “Just tell me you didn’t.”

Jessica stared deep into Taeyeon’s eyes, and then with determination, she emphasized, “I did not buy you the eight hundred-dollar dress.”

“Really?”

“I swear.”

“Then what were you doing while I’m changing out?”

“Peeping at you maybe?”

An embarrassed smile crept up Taeyeon’s face while a victorious grin graced Jessica’s. Not wasting any time, Jessica reached out to grab Taeyeon’s once more, their fingers interlocking.

As they began walking, the corners of Taeyeon’s lips curved upwards cheekily. “You know, you could have joined me.”

“Inside Minyoung unnie’s shop?” Jessica only laughed as she shook her head. “No thanks. I prefer your room.”

“Seriously!” Taeyeon joined in the laughter while she smacked Jessica’s arm. However, Jessica’s laughter faded when she turned to face the front, as Taeyeon followed suit.

A serious expression taking over her face, Jessica bowed as she greeted, “Mother.”

Taeyeon’s eyes widened in horror before she turned to stare at Jessica. This wasn’t Mrs Jung. She had seen her a few times when she was working at her company. If it wasn’t Mrs Jung, then this could only be…Mrs Ok. Instinctively, Taeyeon let go of her grip, wanting to pull her hand out of Jessica’s. However, Jessica held tight.

Mrs Ok’s eyes roamed to their interlocking fingers, then to Taeyeon, and then back to Jessica. “Hi Jessica.”

Jessica swallowed her saliva, forcing herself to remain calm. Taking a deep breath, she managed to smile slightly. “Mother, this is...” She had no idea how she should introduce Taeyeon without hurting the girl nor causing any trouble. She turned to look at Taeyeon and she swore she could see the understanding that flashed in the girl’s eyes for that split second. Relieved, she looked back at Mrs Ok. “She’s Taeyeon, my best friend.” Her eyes back to Taeyeon, she continued, “And Taeyeon… This is my mother-in-law, Mrs Ok.”

Taeyeon finally brought herself to meet Mrs Ok’s gaze. Bowing slightly, she greeted, “Hi Mrs Ok, it’s really nice to meet you. My name’s Taeyeon.”

Mrs Ok studied the petite girl before her whom she had never seen before. A short moment after, she smiled, much to Jessica’s surprise. “You’re a pretty kid.”

“Ah t-thanks…”

“I’ll leave you girls to your shopping date,” Mrs Ok said warmly. “Jessica do come by with Taecyeon some time. It’s been a while since you last visited.”

“Yes I’ll do that.”

When Mrs Ok was out of sight, Jessica finally let go of the breath that she didn’t know she was holding.

“Why didn’t you let go just now?” Taeyeon asked, baffled.

“Don’t you think that it would have been even more suspicious if we had let go all of a sudden at that point in time?”

Taeyeon thought about it for a moment, and realization suddenly struck her. “You’re…kinda right. But…” Taeyeon paused for a moment. “Why are you trying to sound so confident when your palm is so sweaty?”

As if she got an electric shock, Jessica pulled her hand out of Taeyeon’s while Taeyeon laughed away. “Shut up.”

Taeyeon’s laughter slowly faded away, and then she gazed lovingly into Jessica’s eyes. “Can we go home?”

“Huh? We barely walked half the mall. Is something up…?” Jessica responded worriedly.

Adorably, Taeyeon shook her head. “I said 'we', right.”

“Uh-huh…” Jessica nodded but she was utterly confused. “You asked if we could go ho— Oh.” She couldn’t help but to grin when it suddenly got to her. “So…we, huh? To your home?” She asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

“Mm-hmm,” Taeyeon hummed while she smiled.

“To do what?” Jessica cheekily asked the obvious. “You?”

Expecting Taeyeon’s face to flush, Jessica was surprised when Taeyeon smirked instead.

“Yeah, me.”

[A/N] 15/3/15

Hey. I know it's been pretty long since I last wrote something decent. I've still been terribly busy lately, and there haven't been many happy things happening so...it was a rather difficult period. I'll be trying my best to finish my ongoing stories as soon as possible.

If you haven't already realised, I've written the first chapter for a new TaengSic story - Disappearing Shadows. It's basically a story about secret agents. I've always wanted to write stories whereby there is a strained relationship between the main characters as a start. The story might (or might not) surprise you, but I pretty much like the start already. This is a new type of story that I'm trying so I might not actually update it fast in order to sustain the pace in each chapter. Still hope you'll like it though.

I hope I'll be back soon. Write me something.