"Hello?"

 

"Taeyeon ," I breathed, hearing her voice for the first time in days. "It's me."

 

"Dara ," she recognized by my voice. "Thank God you called."

 

"I wasn't going to," I said truthfully.

 

"What made you change your mind?"

 

"It's kind of a long story."

 

"I'm just glad you decided to talk to me."

 

"I shouldn't talk," I said cryptically. "I think it's better that I listen."

 

"I don't even think there are words, Dara ."

 

"Well, I hope you find them," I said, finding the strength inside myself to actually take charge.

 

"There's a lot of talking to do."

 

"Baby," she began, and I sighed. I so wished she wouldn't "Baby" me. "I am so, so sorry. You know I never meant to hurt you."

 

"I don't know that," I said tersely.

 

"Well, I didn't. I never did. Dara , you mean everything to me. I love you."

 

"Then why did you do it?"

 

"What?"

 

"If I mean everything to you, why did you do it? I should have been enough. I was everything."

 

She sighed. "It was an accident."

 

"It didn't look like one."

 

"I made a mistake."

 

"You planned it!" I found myself yelling.

 

"No, I didn't. It started out as a meeting," she explained. "For work. She was a colleague. She wanted to meet in a casual setting, which should have been a warning sign, but I agreed, and I'd had a couple, and she started coming onto me, and one thing led to the next..."

 

"Just exactly what was the next?"

 

"What do you mean?"

 

"What did you do with her?"

 

"Dara , you don't want to hear this..."

 

"Yes I do, Taeyeon . Don't let me sit and imagine it, because I'll imagine something ten times worse."

 

"We kissed," she spit. "That's all."

 

I sighed. It wasn't as bad as I'd anticipated, but it still hurt to think about it. I asked the question that had been on my mind since that night. "How could you do that to me, Taeyeon ?"

 

"Dara ," she urged. "It was one time and it will never, ever, happen again."

 

"It definitely won't," I said. "We're broken up."

 

"You don't mean that."

 

"I don't? Taeyeon , you cheated on me. You broke my heart. You can't expect that to just go away."

 

"I know, Dara , and I don't. But we were together for two years. We love each other. You can't expect that to go away either."

 

"I never did," I agreed. "You completely blindsided me."

 

"Listen," she said. "I know. I'm sorry. I'll say it a thousand times, and I'll never forgive myself for what I did. But it was a one time thing, and I need you to give me another chance."