Slap. The sound of Hwasa's palm against Moonbyul's face echoed over the silent riverfront. Moonbyul staggered back.

Her jaw clenched, Moonbyul looked up at the fuming redhead standing in front of her. She cupped her reddening cheeks and flinched at the stinging sensation that was growing stronger and stronger. 

But she knew she deserved that slap. She deserved more than just that slap. She was only surprised that Hwasa had come for her soon.

"You damn , Moonbyul! How could you? How could you do this to Wheein?" Hwasa circled Moonbyul, yelling and gesturing wildly with her hands.

Moonbyul stood frozen, feeling the brunt of Hwasa's anger crash upon her. She had no right, no will to even respond or argue as she saw genuine, unbridled fury in Hwasa's eyes.

"And you just walked off? You just left her like that?" Hwasa glared, the mere memory of her previous meeting with Wheein sending her off into rage once more.

---Flashback---

"Wheein?" Hwasa rushed towards the girl, who was shivering with her head down as she closed the dorm door behind her. "What's wrong?" She led the small girl towards a couch and sat her down.

When she brushed back Wheein's tangled hair to the side, she gasped as the sight of raw, red eyes and tear stained cheeks came into full view. "Oh my god, Wheein! What happened? I can't even...Wait one second, I'll go make you something to drink and you tell me everything that happened, you hear me?" She quickly sped off to the kitchen as Wheein stared blankly at the table in front of her.

"Here you go." Hwasa forced the steaming mug of tea into Wheein's hands and patted her back gently. "Drink. And talk. I'm here for you." The sight of the small girl who was always cheerful now sitting, looking broken in front of her tore Hwasa's heart open. Who could be so evil as to hurt someone like Wheein?

After a while in silence, Wheein spoke up. "I..I got turned down today."

"By Moonbyul? I've known you've liked her for a while now."

"Yeah. I have." Wheein took a sip, eyes focused on her drink.

"Was she such an when she did it? I've never seen you so down like this Wheein...And we've known each other like what, more than ten years now?"

"Well, is one way of describing it I guess." Wheein chuckled hollowly. "She..she...I just wish..." Wheein was clearly struggling to find the right words. "I had hope you know."

"Did she say why?"

Wheein looked towards Hwasa. "You...you knew too right? You've always been better at spotting these things between the two of us. You probably know why."

Hwasa whispered, "Solar?"

Wheein turned her gaze away. "Mmm. You know, the funny thing is, she just ran away. I confessed, and she just ran away. To Solar. Funny, isn't it?" She bit her lip as tears threatened to fall again. Heads hurried to hand her some tissues. 

---End Flashback---

"I knew you were tactless, Moonbyul! Stupid, clueless, but innocent at least! And then you just had to go and prove me wrong didn't you?" Hwasa lunged forward and gripped the front of Moonbyul's shirt, shaking her. 

"I know, I screwed up!" Moonbyul trembled. 

"So? So what if you knew? How could you just leave her? Were you blind or something? Or just damn heartless?"

Moonbyul fought to find the right words to say. After facing Hwasa's expectant scowl, she said, "I...I couldn't lie to her. And I didn't know how to say no. Also..there was--"

"Solar."

"H-How--?"

"You're damn obvious. You and Wheein both. Damn lovestruck fools."

Moonbyul tugged her shirt out of Hwasa's grip and plopped herself down onto the grass. After a while, Hwasa sighed and sat down next to her.

"So you admit it? You like Solar?

Moonbyul nodded wordlessly as she watched the waves lap against the shore. 

"God, what a mess." Hwasa grabbed her hair in frustration. "Have you told Solar then?"

"No."

"No? Moonbyul!" The other girl leaned away as Hwasa reached out to grab her again. "So you haven't done anything. Haven't solved anything at all tonight." She shot her a death glare. "Except send Wheein crying heartbreakingly home for the first time in the ten years I've known her."

"..."

"Am I wrong?"

"No! It's just, I don't know where to go from here."

"You could go be honest with your feelings."

"You think?"

"Well look where you're at right now. Can't be worse." Hwasa couldn't help but smirk a bit as a shadow fell over Moonbyul's hopeful face. But a frown soon replaced the smile as she continued. "But first, you need to talk to Wheein."

"...You're right. I'll go talk to her soon. As soon as both of us have some time to get ourselves together."

"You better. Or else."

As Hwasa stood up to call a taxi and leave, Moonbyul called out, "Thanks. I really mean it." Hwasa didn't turn back, but she raised her hand in acknowledgement.

-----

It turned out, when Moonbyul said she needed some time, she needed a whole lot of time. She went to work at SM as usual, opting to drown herself in work for a couple of days to clear her mind.

"Moonbyul you look like ." Joy sat herself down on a chair opposite of Moonbyul, forcefully gaining her attention. Seulgi, who had come in with Joy, forcefully snatched the headphones Moonbyul.

"Damn it guys, what's with you?"

"Maybe we should be the ones asking that," replied Seulgi, who pushed some papers away and sat on the edge of Moonbyul's desk. 

Joy added on, "It's pretty obvious Moonbyul. The bags under your eyes literally couldn't sag lower, and you've been coming to work with those red eyes for days now."

Seeing the determination and worry in the two's eyes, Moonbyul sighed and put her pen down, leaning back into her chair. She contemplated whether or not she ought to tell them everything that had happened to her recently. They were her best friends, but she felt as though the problems she was having right now would make it awkward or even jeopardize the two group's relationship. That wasn't something else she wanted to be responsible for. She finally decided to just say, "I've just been thinking a lot recently. I screwed something up and I need to think of how to fix it."

"You know what your problem is Moonbyul? You just think. In fact you just think too much." Seulgi admonished her, clicking her tongue. "Sometimes, you just got to be brave."

"And rock the world, right?" Joy nudged Seulgi and winked at Moonbyul, who chuckled at the girl's attempt to cheer her up.

"Booyah! Of course, of course, how could I forget?" Moonbyul gathered the two in a hug. "I'm going to have to ditch you guys tonight, sorry!" With that, Moonbyul rushed out, texting seriously on her phone.

M: Wheein. I know what I've done is unforgivable, but I'm hoping that you'll be willing to meet with me for a bit tonight. Please.

Minutes later, Moonbyul's phone vibrated with a new message.

W: Alright. I'll meet you at that cafe at 9.

-----

Moonbyul sat at a small table of two overlooking the street that led up to the small cafe. She had come a little early and had ordered an americano and a latte to calm her nerves. She sipped on her americano as she waited for Wheein to show up. 

The door bells jingled and Moonbyul looked up eagerly, to see Wheein stepping in with a mask over her face. She waved toward her, and Wheein nodded, heading over to sit across from Moonbyul.

"Here." Moonbyul pushed the still steaming latte across the table in front of Wheein. "For you. Latte with extra cream and sugar. Like how you've always liked it."

Wheein had been trying to keep her face stoic as she met Moonbyul that night, but she couldn't help feel her muscles soften towards Moonbyul's gesture.

"Thanks for coming." Moonbyul stared unabashedly at the other girl, gentle smile forming on her face. Truth be told, she had half expected Wheein to stand her up, which would have been no surprise considering what Moonbyul had put her through recently. She stretched her hand forward hesitantly, towards Wheein's own. When the girl made no action to move away, she placed her hand gently on top of the other's. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."

Wheein stared at their overlapped hands, wondering where her words had went. Earlier, when she told Hwasa she was meeting Moonbyul, Hwasa had given her a wild pep talk. Well, it had been a little more of a training instead, Hwasa, being the strict instructor telling her what to say and how to act. But all these thoughts of making Moonbyul feel guilty flew away as soon as she sat down. Gulping, she said, "I had planned what I wanted to say."

"Of course! Tell me. Let it all out."

"But first, tell me. I want to hear it from your own mouth. Do you love Solar?"

"Y-yes."

"I see." Wheein slipped her hands out of Moonbyul's and sat back. "I guess it can't be helped."

"W-Wheein. Please forgive me! P-please don't leave..."

Wheein smiled and poked Moonbyul's nose. "Idiot. Who said I was leaving. I just needed the truth to settle my feelings."

"O-oh. S-sorry."

Wheein glanced down at the table. "I've thought about it and this awkwardness between us isn't going to work out. So..."

"Yes...?"

"Let's forget it ever happened. My confession, that night at your place, everything. It'll be better for all of us trust me. Let's just act as we did before it, maybe even back to before the times I realized I had feelings for you." Wheein closed her eyes and let the weight of her words sink into the silence that ensued.

"Everything? Forget everything? I.."

"Please, Moonbyul. consider it my last request as payment for what you did that night." Wheein tried to laugh but it came out choked. "W-well, starting tomorrow, we'll start over, okay?" She stood up to leave. "One more thing. Tell Solar. Don't wait like I did." With a strained smile, Wheein hurried and left.

*Wow thanks for all the love and the interest! Here's another chapter, though it's kind of moving just a bit slow. (Cough cough can you tell I'm  also a red velvet fan lol)

I know we've been lacking quite a lot of the story from Solar's perspective, but that'll change in future chapters!  Moonbyul needs to stop procrastinating  (like me). Thanks for reading!