Like fallen leaves in Autumn, Taeyeon was the embodiment of nostalgia and calm.
With one last stroke, the 27 year old completed her nail design and left it under the UV lamp, careful to not have it smudged.
Who does nail art at 5 in the morning?
Despite having felt exhausted the previous night, she had found herself staring at the ceiling as soon as the lights were off. Taeyeon was secretly envious of people who could fall asleep the moment they closed their eyes. For her, ever since morphing into a quiet being, sleep was never easy. The words that she had bottled up, the thoughts that she had held back in the day — they all haunted the cautious girl at night.
Still, there were happy occasions in her life, and she really was grateful for that. It wasn't that she had changed for the worse ; she simply matured and got her priorities right. She still was Taeyeon — a much, much stronger Kim Taeyeon.
Staring blankly at the rapidly drying polka dots on her nails, memories flitted into her mind ever so quietly.
"Stop moving!"
"It's ticklish." He had complained.
"Deal with it. The great Kim Taeyeon is doing nail art for you and it's free of charge. Do you know how many people would die for this?"
"... You mean I'm a guinea pig for your nail art experiments, don't you—" The hand that she was holding lightly onto suddenly tensed, causing Taeyeon to yelp in surprise. Baekhyun had been staring into the distance, leaning slightly towards Taeyeon for cover.
"What?" She asked, puzzled.
The boy had cleared his throat and looked down, a shade of red dusting his ears. "T-there was a flying cockroach."
It was the first time that Taeyeon had felt her heart flutter like a child's as her laughter boomed. It was the first time she felt a whole lot less stressed ever since promotions had started.
It was the first time the 25 year old allowed someone's light to enter her life.
Baekhyun had been more than just cold to her recently. It was as if their roles had reversed, and he was the one giving up on them now. Sure, he had done that before, but the encounter in the lift had changed everything. Or, perhaps, it was all Taeyeon's wishful thinking.
It was a night of fireworks and gloomy skies for he had left her hanging, yearning for more. His oak musk cologne that had lingered even after a long time had passed. But it had felt like they were both walking on thin ice — afraid that just one more step would bring them plummeting to their deaths.
Taeyeon had overheard the conversation between Baekhyun and Jaehyeong a few days ago, hence more or less knowing what's going on.
Much to her surprise, she wasn't disappointed or angry or any of that sort. She had expected it, after all. Yet, his words had hit her in the form of a bitter winter, crushing all of her tiny hopes. Tore down all of her resolve, and left her waiting in the crossroads.
Left her waiting for something that may never come.
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❝at the very least, tell me when you're about to leave.❞
