A/N: Thank you so much for the lovely comments! And thank you to my three new subscribers. I was so surprised and delighted to learn I had attracted more readers :D

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Before they knew it, it was  already October. The leaves had begun to change color and 2PM was no longer under house arrest. Instead they were working to release their next album, without Jaebum. When the members finally spoke to each other after he left, they decided that no matter how long it took, they would wait for Jaebum to return.

Now, things had returned to the normal routine, but everyone felt his absence and remembered what he did for them every single day. The only time Taecyeon felt free from their shared pain was when he was with Yoona. She didn’t make him talk about it or even bring up 2PM. When they were together, they only talked about topics not related to Jaebum and had fun. Since that night a month ago, he felt less tormented by Jaebum’s decision to leave. He and Yoona met several times since then, usually with Tiffany and Wooyoung.

Surprisingly, Taecyeon had not seen Jessica at all as of late, considering the large amount of free time he had. Sometimes he thought she was avoiding him, but he knew she was just really busy with rehearsals for the Legally Blonde Musical. Though she was only one of three people playing the role of Elle Woods, she had to be present at every rehearsal. Yoona always relayed messages to him from Jessica, so he knew she was doing well.

Today they decided to surprise Jessica with a nice dinner. Yoona had even called their manager, telling him not to come and to keep it a secret from Jessica. The security guards at the theatre company recognized them, and allowed them to go upstairs, away from the prying eyes of onlookers. They sat down on a bench outside the practice studio, waiting for the rehearsal to end. Yoona linked arms with Taecyeon and rested her head on his shoulder. She covered as she yawned.

“Tired?” asked Taecyeon. Yoona nodded.

“Didn’t you say you were going to take a nap after your practice this morning?” he asked.

“I ended up chatting with Sooyoung and couldn’t fall asleep afterwards,” said Yoona.

“You should go home and rest, I’ll take Jessica out,” said Taecyeon worriedly.

Yoona shook her head causing her cheek to nuzzle against Taecyeon’s shoulder. Taecyeon unconsciously held his breath.

“Aniyo,” said Yoona firmly. “Jessica unnie has been overworking and the girls are worried. This is the first time she’s had a long term solo schedule and it’s at the same time as our activities and promotions. She can’t miss our other activities since she is one of the main vocals. So between promoting Chocolate Love, preparing for the Dream Concert and rehearsing for her musical, she hasn’t had time to sleep or eat properly. I told the girls we were planning to take her out to dinner and everyone pitched in money so that we could take her somewhere nice.”

Taecyeon smiled and nodded. It was nice that they were all looking out for her. He didn’t realize she was having such a hard time. He felt guilty for even thinking she was purposely avoiding him.

Jessica leaned against the wall of the practice studio and slid down to the floor exhausted. She had SNSD practice for the Dream Concert from 6AM to noon that morning, but had to leave two hours early for Legally Blonde rehearsals which just finished. She wanted to lie down on the floor so badly, but she feared she would fall asleep. Her stomach grumbled loudly as it had been all day. She whipped out a bottle of water from her tote bag and gulped down several mouthfuls. She hoped the water would at least make her feel full until she got home. She didn’t have any schedules for the rest of the day. She had never felt this tired or this hungry in the past two years since her debut.

“Good work today,” said several of her co-actors. Jessica stood up and bowed to each of her sunbaes as they walked past.

“Good work,” she said back. She waved after them as they left the studio. Soon she was alone in the room. She looked at the time on her phone. Practice had ended late, but her manager was nowhere to be found. She checked her text messages in case her manager sent her something because he was running late. Instead she found yet another text from Taecyeon.

When are you done today? Want to grab dinner?

Jessica sighed. She scrolled through her past messages. She already rejected his invitations more than 10 times in the past month, claiming that she had no time. It was true after all, although she knew there were two or three occasions where she could have made time to eat out with him, but chose to spend that time resting at the dorm with the other members. How many more times could she reject him before he became suspicious? She had free time now, but was too tired to pretend to be cheerful. She texted back,

Just finished, but too tired. Going home.

Jessica grabbed her tote and headed for the showers, but when she opened the door, she found Yoona and Taecyeon waiting for her.

Yoona stared back at Jessica with a huge smile while Taecyeon stood behind her, grinning with his hands in his jean pockets. Yoona held out a bag for Jessica, who responded by raising an eyebrow in confusion. The creases in her forehead smoothed out as comprehension of the situation flashed across her eyes. She let out a breath of air and closed he eyes. When she opened them, she was about to speak, but Yoona interjected.

“Unnie, don’t even try objecting. I already cleared it with manager oppa and am under strict orders to feed you well and take you home to rest,” said Yoona cheerfully, all her fatigue from earlier nowhere to be found. “I’ve brought you a change of clothes so go ahead and shower.” Yoona exchanged her bag with Jessica’s tote. As much as Jessica wanted to say no, she knew they meant well. She silently shook her head and smiled. She gave Yoona a one-armed hug and made her way to the showers. Yoona turned to face Taecyeon.

“I’ll be right back. I’m just going to run down and give Jessica’s things to manager oppa” said Yoona.

Taecyeon lost sight of Yoona as she stepped into the elevator. He sat back down on the bench. He recalled Jessica’s appearance when she came out of the studio. She was even thinner than he remembered if that was possible. Her eyes were lifeless and sunken in with heavy bags and dark circles beneath them. She looked like she could barely keep them open for another minute let alone through an entire dinner. She had her hair tied back into a ponytail but several strands had escaped and became sweaty locks that traced the curvature of her face. Taecyeon wondered if it was such a good idea now to take her out to dinner. He tried to think of an alternative idea, but before he could come up with a plan b, Jessica reappeared. She was dressed simply in a black cardigan and dark blue skinny jeans, paired with black stiletto boots. Her hair, damp from the shower, was no longer pulled back. Jessica paused for a moment upon seeing Taecyeon alone. She resumed walking at a slower pace until she reached him. Taecyeon stood up in greeting. Jessica ran her finders through her damp hair and massaged the back of her neck.

“Where did Yoona disappear to?” she asked.

“She’ll be back soon. She just went to pass your things to the manager,” said Taecyeon. As Jessica nodded, she repositioned the bag, now containing her rehearsal clothes in front of her. She gripped the handles tightly with both hands. Was it really heavy? Taecyeon reached out to take the bags when Jessica suddenly moved past him. He turned around to see her greeting Yoona.  

The three of them take the elevator down to the lobby and step out into the night. As they walk along the sidewalk, they naturally fell into ste