Taeyeon woke up feeling heavy and tired. Her surroundings seemed a bit hazy but it was clear that Jessica was sleeping right next to her. Trying to get her bearings, Taeyeon shook her head and tried to sit up but it felt like her body was made of lead, “...” Noticing the needle in her arm and the signs of a hospital room, Taeyeon knew she was safe.

Seolhyun opened the curtain to see her patient awake, “How are you doing?” Taeyeon looked over to Jessica who didn’t seem to wake up, “If you are wondering, she was awake all night while we did the surgery on your leg. We have been here several times and she never woke up.”

Taeyeon chuckled at her sleepyhead girlfriend, “I bet she could sleep through a war but I don’t think that is all good in our line of business.”

Seolhyun chuckled along with Taeyeon as she took Taeyeon’s blood pressure, “Good thing you are around then but I don’t think you will be much help with that leg of yours.”

“So what is the damage report?”

Seolhyun reached over to the chart, “Umm let me see, you broke your bone in three places and strained several ligaments, but I must say, that isn’t bad. A broken bone could heal faster than a torn ligament.”

“When do you think I can get back out in the field?”

“You will be in a cast for several months and then some physical therapy for maybe another? Total, I think you can’t go back out for another 5 months at least.”

Taeyeon groaned in frustration, “5 months! That is so boring!! There is a war going on and I will be out for half a year?!”

“You will be lucky to get out by that time with what you did. 5 months is if you exercise and do therapy diligently but knowing you, that would be expected.”

Taeyeon grumbled and pouted, “I don’t want to be stuck in this hole for 5 months.”

Seolhyun chuckled again at her senior who was clearly acting like a child that was refused candy, “Well Jessica is here most of the time. Couldn’t you see that as a positive?”

Remembering a beautiful human being was next to her, Taeyeon reached over to run her fingers through the honey-brown hair of her girlfriend, “Yea...”

With the warmth of fingers tingling through her hair, the younger girl finally awoke from her slumber, “Taeyeon?”

Taeyeon smiled sweetly above the sleepy girl, “Look who’s awake.”

Jessica rubbed her eyes and sat up, “Mm yea...how are you feeling?”

Seolhyun smiled at the cute little interaction between the two lovers, “Taeyeon I will come back later but call if you need more morphine ok?”

Taeyeon nodded and thanked the nurse, “I will but I am ok.”

“Do you need water or anything?”

Taeyeon reached out for Jessica’s hand to hold, “No. Just stay.”

Jessica couldn’t help the butterflies fluttering in her stomach at Taeyeon’s gentle nature that was probably amplified by the morphine, “So I found Hyuna and she said the others were doing well although Yunho and Hyunseung haven’t given us contact...”

Taeyeon leaned her head back to look at the ceiling, “Yunho is smart...I am sure he will come back when he thinks it is safe.”

“Are you sure? It has been almost 3 days now.”

“During a mission we thought we were surrounded by Party police so we hid out in a Resistance sympathizer’s basement for nearly 2 weeks. It was early in my career and we were not that experienced...I doubt Yunho will be caught or be stuck in the Party for too long.”

Jessica let her thumb rub against Taeyeon’s palm, “I am glad I didn’t meet you then.”

“Why is that?”

“I feel like not knowing where you are is my biggest fear. You being injured like this is more of a relief because I know you will wake up and be by my side, but if you just disappeared, who knows if you would ever come back? That scares me the most.”

Taeyeon leaned over to give Jessica a chaste kiss on the forehead, “Don’t you worry. I have to stay around to protect you.”

--------------------------

Jessica tried typing a few lines on the computer but her mind wasn’t on her work. She thought about what Taeyeon told her regarding Yunho and Hyunseung not reporting back. Taeyeon looked so calm and sure that they would return. Once again, Jessica was caught up in this feeling that Taeyeon knew a lot more than her about the Party even though Taeyeon was never a part of it like her. Maybe the Resistance knew more about the workings in the Party than most of the Party members. If that is the case, then who was really running the Party? The Resistance or the Party?

“Do you have that article done yet?”

Jessica jumped hearing Seohyun’s voice, “Ah no.”

Seohyun leaned down to look at what Jessica wrote, “Jessica...why is the page blank?”

“I ah...”

“Jessica,” Seohyun sighed, “I gave you the spark notes on this over an hour ago. All you need to do is put it into a paragraph and give it some flare. It shouldn’t take this long.”

Bowing her head in shame, Jessica bit her bottom lip, “Sorry...I had some other things on my mind.”

“Taeyeon?”

“Oh no...I know she is doing ok and getting rest....”

“Really? I heard that she was in the gym?”

Jessica snapped her head back up, “What?!”

“I saw her limping around with the help of Siwon. From the direction they were going, it was definitely towards the gym.”

Jessica rubbed her temples in frustration, “Doesn’t that girl know the meaning of rest?”

Seohyun shrugged, “It isn’t my concern, my worries lie in the 5pm deadline that this article you are working on needs to be finished, edited, corrected and submitted for this afternoon issue.”

Jessica gulped as she saw the seriousness in her strict boss’s eyes, “Yes mam.”

“Good. Now stop your useless thoughts of what happened the past few days to work on that article. Sometimes you need to forget. You will get used to forgetting soon enough. It is the only way we can do our jobs right.”

Seohyun walked away from Jessica’s desk in haste. Looking at her blank computer screen she started typing because Seohyun was right. She wasn’t the only one that needed help forgetting. That is why she was here in Level 6 and why her section was so important. Everyone needed to find their distractions because life wasn’t always fair or made sense.

----------------------------

Taeyeon shivered a bit, “Are you cold?”

Watching Siwon do curls on the free-weights, Taeyeon shook her head, “No...I just have a feeling someone was talking about me.”

“Then you would shiver all the time. You are like a celebrity in the Resistance and I am sure someone wants your head in the Party.”

Taeyeon leaned back in her wheelchair, “I am a sitting target right now and all I can do is roll around in this chair.”

Siwon put down the weight to stand up and stretch his tired arms, “Yea but you are safe with me by your side...well that is until Jessica finds out you left your bed.”

“She won’t find out. After working in Level 6 before, I know she can’t leave until the 5pm deadline. I have some time before I have to return to the hospital room.”

Siwon shook his head, “You could have just stayed and rested. I know that your leg didn’t magically get into that cast.”

“I don’t like the hospital rooms. Nothing to do there.”

“We both know that isn’t the reason you hate hospital rooms.”

Taeyeon chuckled, “I guess I can’t hide much from you.”

Siwon stood up to roll Taeyeon away from the free-weights so he can do some shoulder presses, “We have been a team for a while now. If you see something, then I have seen it. I also know you are bothering me than the girl you have feelings for is not because she would be mad at you for leaving the hospital, but because you are worried Yunho hasn’t gotten in contact with us yet.”

“Something doesn’t feel right.”

Siwon huffed as he pushed up the weights, “It doesn’t.”

“I mean we have so many contacts...alive, captured or dead we should hear something right?”

“You know it.”

“So why nothing?”

Siwon finished his reps and threw down the weights, “Taeyeon you and I have been through a lot but I don’t know as much as you. If you hear nothing or know nothing, then there’s no way I would figure it out. I would say talk to Yunho but...well he is the problem here.”

Taeyeon reached down to prick at the cast, “If only I could get out of here...”

“Don’t even think about it. Not when you are like this.”

“I don’t like sitting here knowing that I could possibly be out there finding where they are in the Party or why they aren’t able to contact us.”

“Taeyeon look, if Level 1 wants us to do a search and rescue, I would be on that team. Maybe they know something we don’t and that is why we’re not on a mission like that at this moment.”

“I should talk to Level 1.”

“Do what you need to but Yunho can take care of himself. I mean he saved our lives numerous times.”

Taeyeon couldn’t agree with that statement more, “I know. That is why I can’t let him die.”

~2 years ago~

“.”

“Yunho...what are we going to do now?”

Reaching for his gun, Yunho grasped it firmly, “Wait...if we go out now we could get captured or killed.”

“We can’t wait here forever!” Siwon whispered harshly.

“Siwon is right, they are scanning this entire area. They are bound to find us here.”

Yunho shut his eyes as he thought. His team was in danger and there was no way out. Not to mention capture could mean death this time, “I will go out.”

Siwon was quick to pull Yunho back, “No. Even if you go out, they will know there is more. Sacrificing yourself won’t solve anything.”

Yunho snapped his hand away, “I can distract them while you get away.”

Taeyeon, Junho, and Siwon blocked Yunho, “No. We go as a team. Live or die.”

Yunho gave his team a bitter smile, “You guys...”

“So you better think of something better because if you go, we follow.”

Yunho nodded and thought a bit longer, “Taeyeon did you take the bomb?”

Slinging off the backpack she handed the disarmed bomb to Yunho, “I wanted to take it back to get a better look at the...”

“Doesn’t matter, do you know how to activate it again?”

“Well...I have an idea of how I could but it could just go off and blow us up. It is risky.”

“I don’t think we have a choice. This is our only chance.”

Taeyeon took the bomb from Yunho to fix it and reactivate the countdown, “Once I connect this wire, we have 15 seconds.”

Yunho nodded in agreement, “That is ok. I am going to fling the bomb into that corner. After it goes off, run towards the explosion. Hopefully the smoke and dust will conceal our escape.”

“Yunho...the explosion will be huge. Even if you fling it over to there, the explosion will hit us.”

“It is the chance we take then. We are out of options.”

Taeyeon sighed to relieve her nerves before taking the foil and reconnecting the two wires that were cut before. With a connection set, the clock starts counting down again, “Get ready.”

*BOOM*

Taeyeon’s ears where stinging with a constant ringing as she looked around the dusty sky, “Come on!”

Seeing Siwon and Yunho grabbing for her, Taeyeon reached out to them as they helped drag her out of the area. Yunho noticed a person missing and rushed back to the area they were just in hiding whilst Siwon got Taeyeon to a place far from the Party’s government section, “Follow me.”

“Wait,” Taeyeon resisted Siwon’s pull, “Yunho is still there.”

Siwon shook his head, “No he is following.”

Just then, Yunho immerged from the dust cloud with a member that was unconscious on his back, “Go!”

Taeyeon continued to follow Siwon away from the explosion site. They wound through several side streets and alleys until Yunho had to stop and get some rest, “I think we are ok.”

“No...we have to get away from here.”

“Everyone is going towards the explosion though. We should just go back to the entrance.”

“No.” Yunho protested, “We can’t. An explosion in the Party will draw the police force. We need to wait it out.”

“He was right you know.”

Taeyeon broke from her thoughts, “We could have made it.”

“I found out later from another contact that 4 police divisions were surrounding the area. Anyone trying to leave the area was put into questioning. If you or Yunho got caught, it would be bad. Everyone knows you're both are on the top of the most wanted list. That is why we can’t do day missions anymore. Your faces are too recognizable.”

“Kim Taeyeon!”

Taeyeon turned immediately, “S-Sica...”

“Why are you not in your room resting?!”

“I just wanted to get out, but how did you know I was here?”

Jessica rolled her eyes, “Everyone knows.”

Siwon leaned in from behind to whisper, “Like I said, everyone knows you...and apparently your girlfriend too.”

Taeyeon gulped, “I didn’t know I had to hide my face in the Resistance too.”

Author's Note

More to the Yunho story to come! Although Taeyeon is injured, it will not hinder the amount of action I put into the story ^^ buuut I can't deny more Taengsic moments cause of this injury :D

HAPPY TAENGSIC DAY!

9/22