The members were quietly standing in front of their company’s president, shifting uncomfortably in place but none of them daring to speak up.

“Bad times.” The president spoke first. “Bad things are happening. To all of us. But we cannot stop and let them drown us.”

He looked at the girls, expectantly. Apink’s manager elbowed Eunji on the side and the girl took a step towards the front.

“This is Bomi-ah’s hospital report,” she said, handing the president a couple of sheets of paper.

“How is she doing?” He looked genuinely interested.

“She’s with Chorong-unnie still at Jeju,” Namjoo answered. “She was discharged from the hospital and is now living with a nurse for a week or so before they are completely reassured of Bomi-unnie being able to fly back.”

“Once here, she’ll have to go to chemotherapy sessions,” Eunji said, “quite regularly.”

The president looked at the girls’ manager and nodded.

“The company will be in charge of paying those, just like the hospital fees,” he told the girls. Eunji sighed in relief. She hadn’t planned on asking for that because it might be too much, but when he offered selflessly, everything sounded better. “Please tell her not to worry excessively.”

Eunji nodded, taking a step back so she was in line with her members.

“Now let’s talk about your plans for the future,” the president said. “You girls have the final decision, after all. Do you want to keep promoting and preparing for a new album without Bomi-ah? Or do you wish for disbandment?”

“We have talked this through.” It was Hayoung who spoke. “And we do not want to keep doing our activities without Bomi-unnie. We are not Apink without her, so we do not want to do it without her by our side.”

The president nodded slowly, lifting his hand to scratch the soft spot behind his ear. He tilted his head and took a deep breath.

“Then these are my last two options: whether you come back without her for now and we’ll see what happens in the future or you yourselves announce the disbandment of Apink.”

The members looked at each other, their gazes full of anguish and sadness but determination at the same time.

“We have talked about this. Chorong-unnie too,” Naeun said, and she lifted her chin towards Eunji so it was the older girl who said it.

“We will announce the disbandment.”

Hayoung closed her eyes as if she was suffering from great pain, and Namjoo held her hand tightly, tears forming in her eyes.

“Then it’s decided,” the president said.

He was going to continue, but the beeping of his own cell phone cut him off. Everyone could see the caller’s ID: Yoon Bomi.

∼

The movie had had the three girls in complete silence, even if it only lasted for a while. During the action scenes, Chorong tilted her head towards one of the sides and started a conversation with whoever she felt like it. Currently, she’d been ignoring Bomi and talking with HyeNa, making the younger girl look at them in suspicion.

“Have you seen the chemistry between them?” The nurse was still a simple girl, after all.

“Oh my, yes!” Chorong answered with excitement. “I thought no one thought like I did!”

Bomi tried to bring her attention back to the movie, but she couldn’t help but keep listening.

“We have so many things in common...,” HyeNa was saying, taking a spoonful of Chorong’s ice cream with the girl’s own spoon. “This is so good.”

- Right? I am so glad someone agrees with me, unnie.” Bomi’s eyes went wide when she heard the latter part, dropping the handful of popcorn she was about to eat. Unnie.

“Do you want any more?” HyeNa filled the spoon with ice cream and brought it to Chorong’s mouth, the younger girl eating it all at once with a smile.

Bomi almost choked on the popcorn. There was clearly some flirting going on right next to her and she couldn’t believe it.

“I am so glad I met you, Chorong-ah.” The informal speech was making Bomi nervous but Chorong didn’t seem to notice. “Let’s just hope Bomi-ssi gets better and we can spend some good time together. I’d like to know you better.”

Bomi’s eyes almost went out of her sockets.

“That would be nice, unnie.”

There was this sudden shooting in the movie that scared Chorong, and the leader grabbed on Bomi’s wrist for support, their hands intertwining. The feeling of Chorong’s skin against her calmed Bomi down a bit, but her heart was still beating loudly, anger reflected on her eyes. After all the time she’d been dating Chorong, the older girl had never tried to make Bomi jealous or anything like it, so this was a new feeling to her.

When they came out of the cinema, there was this awkward silence going on, but the only one who didn’t seem to notice was Chorong. The girl got a text message as soon as they were in the street, and a frown appeared on her forehead. Bomi came closer and peeked at it over her shoulder.

We are on our way to meet the president. He’ll probably offer us to come back w/ Bomi-ah but that’s obviously a no. We’ll talk about disbandment. Call you later.

- Eunji

Bomi’s eyes went wide, and she grabbed her phone from her pocket and walked towards a quiet place where she could speak comfortably. Chorong tried to follow her, but Bomi threw a harsh stare towards her and the leader stayed put.

∼

They were on their way home after the president dismissed them. After Bomi's call, he had postponed any sudden decision until he had thought it through a bit more. He hadn't told them anything about his conversation with Bomi, but that had obviously made him think about the possible disbandment again.

“What do you think Bomi-unnie said?” Namjoo asked while kicking a pebble so hard it bumped into a container, making a huge lot of noise.

“Namjoo-ah!” It was Naeun who chastised her.

“I am calling her as soon as we get to the dorm,” Eunji said, apparently oblivious to whatever was not Bomi. “And Chorong-unnie.”

The girls walked down the street towards their dorm. They had asked their manager for a time for themselves, at least the walk back home. They couldn't talk properly if they were stuck with him all day.

“Can you wait for me?” Naeun asked, pointing at a supermarket entrance right in front of them. “I need to buy something.”

While they looked at her in surprise, Hayoung and Namjoo shrugged. Eunji didn't even look in Naeun's direction.

As soon as the girl had disappeared inside the store, the two maknaes turned around so they were facing Eunji completely.

“Unnie. Explain. Now.” Hayoung was the one to speak first. “Naeun-unnie and you...? What have you done?”

“Oh Hayoungie...” Eunji smiled sadly. “When did you get this straight-forward?”

That's not an answer, unnie,” Namjoo added, supporting Naeun and Hayoung's case but never forgetting the politeness and respect for the older girl.

Eunji looked at them for a long silent minute. She was considering where her answer should go. Her mind wandered around what she and Chorong had spoken about earlier that day, and her decision was made.

“I don't know what you've heard from her, but that's it.” Her voice was so cold it cut the silence like a sharp razor. “I've thought about it, and I don't see us having a future together. Just like I told Naeun-ah, it was fun while it lasted but we need to go back to real life now. I don't love her. And I don't think she does either. I guess it was all part of a delusion that we need to overcome now so we can move forward. She just needs to know the truth, no matter how hard.”

Hayoung and Namjoo looked at their unnie, speechless. Eunji had always been the caring one, the one who looked after her members and was always good towards them all.  They couldn't recognize her right then and there.

This is too much, Eunji's inner voice kept talking. They have always come first and now, just because manager-oppa said so, you are going to get them all against you? Don't turn your back on love. Eunji was shaking.

Naeun came out in that same moment, putting whatever it was that she had bought inside the purse and being too secretive at the moment. The girls just shrugged and kept walking, but Naeun could feel the tension in the air from the girls’ previous conversation.

They got to the dorm in awkward silence, and they only talked about what it was necessary. Hayoung asked to be her who called Chorong, so the other girls just started getting ready for cooking themselves a late lunch.

“Are you cooking, unnie?” Namjoo asked Eunji, and the older girl just shrugged, like she didn't care about anything anymore.

“I'll do it.” Naeun walked into the kitchen and started getting pots out of the cupboards.

“Don't poison us, please,” Namjoo joked.

 “She'll probably do it on purpose.” Eunji's voice was freezing cold, obviously no joke intended.

Naeun's gaze could probably kill. “You'd probably deserve it anyway.”