”Parting is such sweet sorrow,
That I shall say good night till it be morrow”
- Shakespeare
“TaeTae, look another shooting star” Tiffany squealed as she propped her head out of the basket to get a clearer view of the trailing light.
So maybe this is what we really ever are: a shooting star. Like burning debris, we make our presence known in a small space allotted for us. We light up the sky but for a second and then vanish. Each and every waking minute, the world takes away a small of piece of ourselves until we are left with nothing. Big chunks or small fragments, deep loss or minor deprivations, whatever it is, no matter how important, we all still fall in silent acceptance. The trail we leave behind is the trail of insurmountable emptiness where all our loss has compacted itself together, merged, and melted into one blazing path of light.
Taeyeon, like everyone else, has seen her own trail; the beautiful things she had lost. And from there, she reaches out into the blinding light, to capture it, hold on to it, and protect it. All the while, knowing that it is fleeting.
I'm sorry about your loss – was what the woman said.
“Thank you” Taeyeon robotically replied. Her weary eyes blankly staring ahead to this Kim Hyoyeon who wore a look of sincerity.
“This might be a bad time for me to talk about this,” Hyoyeon started again, “but I'm a lawyer in charge of Mr.Lee's will”
It felt like someone had just poured cold water all over her. “Will? Mr.Lee?”
“Yes,” the girl said, “I'm sorry to say this, but Mr.Lee died a couple of weeks ago. The only thing he left on his deathbed was his will for his property. Ms.Kim, Mr.Lee specifically wanted to transfer his estate to you and Ms.Hwang.”
Taeyeon stood there speechless, and not because of how shocking the new revelation was, but that she was physically, mentally, and emotionally too worn out to think, let alone produce an intelligent reply.
“Excuse me, miss” Sooyoung started in behest of her friend. “But I think that now isn't the time to talk about these matters.”
Hyoyeon nodded. “You're right, I'm sorry Ms.Kim. I'm sure we can talk about this later.”
“Thank you” Taeyeon muttered dryly.
“So what now?” Yoona asked to no one in particular. She kept her eyes glued to Taeyeon, treating her like fragile glass as she chose her next words carefully. “Taeyeon-unnie, do you have a place to stay here in Gyeonju?”
Taeyeon gingerly shook her head. “No Yoona, but I'll find somewhere to stay.”
“My house!” Yuri chimed in, raising her right arm to gain the attention of the others.
Jessica quickly brought her arm down. In a disciplining manner, she said “Yuri, you didn't ask your parents first.”
“Oh, yeah....” the raven haired muttered softly.
“There are rooms available at the hotel I'm staying at” Hyoyeon interjected. “It's relatively cheap, and I won't need to search the whole of Gyeonju again to look for you, Ms.Kim”
“Alright, well I guess it's set” Sunny said as she placed a light touch on Taeyeon's shoulder. She smiled softly to the girl before saying, “Taeyeon, it's going to be okay. You're going to be okay.”
Taeyeon doubted it.
♦♦ ♦♦ ♦♦
Seven days have passed since Tiffany's burial service. Sooyoung, Sunny, Yoona and Seohyun kept her company inside the rented hotel room while Yuri and Jessica would occasionally stop by. For meals, Sunny would cook for them but every time she did, Taeyeon would decline the food made for her and instead resort to consuming coffee and crackers. Her appetite was just simply non-existent.
