The Last Goodbye
It was an ordinary morning when the news broke. The members of Girls’ Generation were scattered across their individual schedules. Taeyeon was in her studio, headphones on, working on her latest song. Tiffany was preparing for a brand meeting in Los Angeles. Yoona was on set filming her new drama. Hyoyeon, Seohyun, Sooyoung, Sunny, and Yuri were each immersed in their own lives, busy but content.
Then the notifications came. First a single ping, then another, and another. It was impossible to ignore. Headlines blared across social media and news outlets: “Jessica Jung Passes Away at 35.”
Taeyeon’s phone vibrated on the desk. Her producer glanced at her with concern as she froze, staring at the screen. The words blurred as her breath caught in her throat. “No... This can’t be real,” she whispered.
Across the ocean, Tiffany dropped the lipstick she was holding, the bright red streak smearing across the table. Her assistant called her name, but she didn’t respond. She was already scrolling frantically through the articles, hoping—praying—it was some sort of sick joke.
Yoona’s manager hesitated before handing her the phone. “You need to see this,” he said softly. Yoona frowned, confused, until she read the headline. Her knees buckled, and she had to grip the back of a chair to steady herself.
The calls started almost immediately.
“Yoona?” Taeyeon’s voice was shaky, unrecognizable.
“Unnie...” Yoona’s voice cracked, barely audible. “It’s true, isn’t it?”
Taeyeon didn’t answer immediately. Her silence was answer enough.
“She’s gone,” Yoona whispered. Her tears began to fall, her makeup smudging as she covered her mouth to stifle her sobs.
Yuri clutched her chest, her breathing uneven. “How? How could this happen?”
Hyoyeon was next to join the call, her voice unusually quiet. “Have you spoken to anyone? Is there... is there more information?”
“No,” Taeyeon said, her throat tightening. “I just—I don’t know what to do.”
Seohyun joined the call moments later, her voice trembling. “No. No, it’s not true,” she cried, her voice cracking as tears streamed down her face. “She can’t be gone.”
Tiffany finally answered, her voice thick with tears. “I’m booking a flight back now. We’ll all meet in Seoul.”
Taeyeon stood abruptly, the chair scraping harshly against the floor. Her face was pale, her eyes wide but unseeing. She reached for her phone, refreshing news feeds in a desperate attempt to disprove what had been spoken. But the headlines remained, glaring and merciless.
Jessica Jung was gone.
The days that followed were a blur. News outlets confirmed the story: Jessica had been found unresponsive in New York. Though her death was still under investigation, preliminary reports suggested cardiac arrest. She had died alone.
“I don’t understand,” Seohyun said softly, her voice barely above a whisper. “How could this happen? She was… she was fine, wasn’t she?”
Taeyeon sat silently in the corner, her face pale and unreadable. She hadn’t said a word since arriving, but her clenched fists betrayed her inner turmoil.
“Was she really fine?” Yoona finally broke the silence, tears streaming down her face. “We don’t know anything about her life anymore. We didn’t even try to…” Her voice cracked, and she buried her face in her hands.
Tiffany tried to comfort her but broke down herself. “We should have tried.” she whispered. “We should have reached out, even if she didn’t want us to.”
Jessica’s body was brought back to Korea days later. The funeral place was steeped in an unshakable stillness, broken only by the soft patter of rain against the windows. Her casket rested at the center of the room, surrounded by glowing candles and an array of white flowers that seemed to mourn her as much as the people gathered around. The air smelled of lilies and incense, a bittersweet fragrance that clung to every moment.
Friends and colleagues from Jessica’s life filled the room, a testament to the impact she had made. SM idols from the past and present came to pay their respects, their somber faces reflecting the respect they held for Jessica despite the years of estrangement.
Krystal stood closest, her trembling fingers brushing the smooth edge of the casket. Her eyes, swollen and red, never left her sister’s face. Jessica looked peaceful, as if sleeping. Her soft brown hair framing her serene face. Her lips are slightly parted, her hands gently resting on her chest. The quiet stillness of her form reflects an eternal calm, a final moment of peace.
“Unnie...” Krystal’s voice was a whisper, breaking under the weight of her grief. Her hand moved gently, tucking a strand of Jessica’s hair back in place, as if this small act could bring her back. “How can you just be... gone?” she murmured, her tears spilling freely now.
Their father stood a few steps away, his broad shoulders hunched under the weight of loss. He didn’t speak. His fists were clenched tightly, and his jaw quivered with the effort to keep himself composed. He wanted to be strong, for his family, but even he couldn’t hide the grief in his eyes.
Mama Jung sat nearby, silent but visibly shattered. She held a crumpled handkerchief in her hands, her tears soaking through the delicate fabric. Her gaze was fixed on Jessica, her lips moving in a silent prayer—or perhaps a please for just one more moment with her eldest daughter.
Outside, the rain grew heavier, as if the sky itself was mourning. The Jung family clung to one another, their sobs echoing softly through the room.
The members of Girls’ Generation stood together on the other side of the room, their faces pale and tear-streaked. They had arrived quietly, unsure if their presence was welcome but unable to stay away. The weight of the past hung between them—years of silence, misunderstandings, and regrets that could no longer be fixed.
The news hit them hard, more painfully than any of them expected. It wasn’t just the sorrow of losing a former member, but the overwhelming weight of a life cut short, one that none of them had been able to repair, to reconcile with. Jessica, whom they had once been so close to, was now gone, leaving behind only fragments of their shared past.
Taeyeon approached the casket slowly, her steps faltering as if each one brought her closer to an unbearable truth. She stood there for a long moment, staring at Jessica’s face, so peaceful yet so still.
“I’m sorry Sica-ah,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “I should have said it when you were still here. I should have fought harder to keep us together.”
Beside her, Tiffany gently placed a hand on her shoulder. “She knew, Taeyeon. I’m sure she knew.”
Hyoyeon, Yoona, and Seohyun stood together, each lost in their own memories. Seohyun, always the youngest, whispered softly, “Unnie, wake up. Please. I miss you.”
The sound of her quiet plea broke something in Yoona, who sank to her knees beside the casket, her tears falling freely. “We failed you,” she choked out. “We all failed you.”
Krystal watched them through her tears, feeling a strange sense of connection. These were the people Jessica had loved, even after everything. She turned to them, her voice unsteady. “Unnie loved you all. She loved you despite everything that happened. She kept everything you gave her. Letters, photos, little gifts... she never threw anything away.”
Taeyeon’s heart ached. She wanted to reach out, to wrap Soojung in her arms and apologize for the years lost, but the words stuck in her throat. “We loved her too, Soojung-ah. We never stopped loving her.”
Krystal’s eyes narrowed, but the anger was tinged with grief. “Then why didn’t you try harder? Why didn’t you fix it?”
The question echoed in the room, piercing them all with its undeniable truth.
Yuri placed a hand gently on Soojung’s shoulder, her own voice choked with emotion. “We didn’t know. We didn’t know that there wouldn’t be more time.”
Seohyun, her eyes red from crying, added softly, “We thought we had forever.”
The girls exchanged glances, their grief mingling with regret. They hadn’t known. They hadn’t tried harder. And now, it was too late.
As the funeral continued, the air around them thick with grief, the girls tried to ease the pain in their hearts by recalling the moments they had shared with Jessica, the memories that felt so distant now.
“Remember the times Jessi couldn’t stand cucumbers?” Tiffany laughed softly, wiping away a tear. “She used to make the most ridiculous faces when someone tried to sneak them into her food.”
Yuri chuckled, her voice cracking slightly. “She'd look at you as if you’d poisoned her. And then she’d push it all to the side of her plate, like it wasn’t even there.”
“It’s so strange to think she won’t be here to do that anymore,” Sooyoung added, her voice distant. "I still remember how she used to tease me whenever I ate them. She’d act like I was the weird one."
The memories seemed to momentarily lift the heavy sadness, the small moments of lightness in their relationship with Jessica. They were the moments that now felt so precious, now that she was no longer here to make those silly faces or voice her dislike for cucumbers.
"And remember how she could sleep anywhere?" Hyoyeon's voice cracked as she smiled faintly, remembering. "We’d always laugh at her for it. I don’t know how she did it. In the middle of practice, during long drives, even when the whole room was buzzing with noise, there she was, sound asleep."
Sooyoung nodded, wiping away a tear. "She’d just curl up in the weirdest positions. Like, how is it even possible to sleep like that? She’d always end up with her hoodie over her face or her mouth open, like she couldn’t care less about anything around her."
"Do you remember that time, after we wrapped up a long shoot?" Yoona said softly, her voice trembling. "She just looked at us, all exhausted, and said, 'Is it over? Is it finally done?' And the moment we told her yes, she fell asleep right then and there, without a second thought."
Sunny laughed through her tears, wiping her eyes. "She was always like that. The second the cameras stopped rolling, she’d be out like a light. It didn’t matter where we were, or what we were doing. She’d just find a corner, close her eyes, and disappear into sleep."
Hyoyeon’s voice was barely above a whisper. "She’d always say, 'Sleeping is my favorite hobby.' And it really was. She could do it anywhere, at any time. It was like she was in her own little world, free from everything."
They all sat in silence for a moment, the weight of their shared memories hanging in the air. Jessica's quirky, endearing habit had been a constant source of comfort, and even now, as they sat in the shadow of her absence, it felt like she was still there, in those small moments that defined her. Despite the tragedy that had brought them together once more, these memories gave them something to hold onto. Something to remember her by.
"We’ll never forget those moments," Taeyeon said quietly, a soft smile crossing her face. "They’ll stay with us forever."
“And we’ll never forget her,” Seohyun said quietly, her voice filled with finality. “Even when we were far apart, she was always a part of us. In so many ways, she’ll live on in our hearts.”
“She had this aura about her icy on the outside, but warm to those lucky enough to see her heart,” Yuri said, her lips trembling as she fought back tears. She paused, taking a deep breath before continuing. “I’ll carry that warmth with me forever.”
As they bid their final goodbyes, they clung to those moments—small, quirky, and beautiful—reminding themselves that Jessica would forever be more than just a memory. She would always be a part of who they were, and who they would always be.