“I’m glad you talked to Sojung unnie,” Yewon says. “She seems a lot happier now.”

“I do bestow the gift of happiness wherever I go.”

“You sure do,” Yewon says with a smile.

“All I did was say the truth anyway,” Sinbi says. “That’s what I did on the show too. It shouldn’t be a big deal or anything.”

“Sometimes the truth can be a big deal,” Yewon says, and Sinbi thinks about how she had teared up when Yuna complimented her, how Sojung had been wiping at her eyes too. Yuna’s comment about confidence had seemed like a casual remark, but it’s definitely true.

“Yewonnie, you know that you’re adorable, right?” Sinbi asks, slinging an arm around her.

“Eunbi,” Yewon says, looking embarrassed.

“I mean it.” Sinbi pats her head. “You’re our precious maknae.”

“You’re a maknae too.”

“Yeah, but I’m not precious.”

“What’s that, Bi?” Yerin asks, popping up out of nowhere because her mission in life is to annoy Sinbi. “You think you’re not precious? Aww, come here and let unnie show you how precious you are.”

Yewon looks like she’s stifling a laugh. One of these days Sinbi is really going to suffocate Yerin with a pillow. Or her hand will do, if she doesn’t have a pillow nearby.

“That sounds kind of disturbing,” Sojung remarks. Apparently their maknae meeting had turned into an unnie one. “Also, it sounds like you’re coming onto her.”

“I just ate, don’t make me throw up,” Sinbi says, her face scrunching up in disgust.

“Aww, are you jealous, unnie?” Yerin asks with a broad grin.

Sojung glances at Sinbi. “Should I be?”

“Come on, Yewonnie,” Sinbi says, taking her hand. “Let’s get away from these annoying unnies.”

Yerin starts to say something, probably protesting the title of annoying even though that should be her middle name, but Sinbi ignores her and walks away with Yewon in tow. She can feel the weight of Sojung’s gaze settle across her back the whole way.

Eunha is lying on her bed with her iPad, probably looking at pictures of herself, when Sinbi finds her.

“Hey,” Sinbi says. “I want to ask you something.”

Eunha flips her hair out of her eyes. “Here to seek my wisdom?”

“If that’s what you want to call it. It’s about Sojung unnie. I figured I’d ask you because you two are attached at the hip all day.” Well, not really at the hip because Eunha’s and Sojung’s hips are like a foot apart, but it’s about the spirit of the saying.

Eunha raises an eyebrow. “Is this jealousy I detect?”

“What? No!” Sinbi splutters. “Why would I be jealous of her?”

“I mean of me,” Eunha says, amused. “Since you want Sojung unnie’s attention.”

“I don’t want her attention. I would love it if she stopped nagging me all the time.”

“Sure you would.”

“Anyway,” Sinbi says forcefully. “Why does Sojung unnie lack confidence so much?”

“What do you mean?” Eunha asks, more seriously now.

“I mean – she’s, you know, a really good leader and really pretty but she basically cried after I said that.”

“You know Sojung unnie. She doesn’t know how to deal with praise.” Eunha’s mouth twists. “It doesn’t help that the company barely gives her any lines.”

“I don’t know what’s wrong with them. I would give half my lines to her if I could. Well, she and Yewon can split them.”

“You’re a good kid, Eunbi,” Eunha says, patting her shoulder.

“Thanks, unnie,” Sinbi says wryly. “Don’t expect me to say it back.”

“It’s nice that you’re so concerned about her. I mean, I know you care but you spend most of your time calling her old and a twig.”

“She is old and built like a twig. I’m just pointing out facts.”

“Then again,” Eunha continues like Sinbi hadn’t spoken. “I guess that’s the equivalent of a kindergartener pulling on pigtails. And you’re pretty similar to a kindergartener.”

“How am I—”

“Now run along and have fun in playtime,” Eunha says with a dainty flick of her hand. “The adults have things to take care of.”

She doesn’t know why she talks to Eunha.

After some deep contemplation (aka thirty seconds of thinking while she was waiting for an ad to load on her phone), Sinbi decides to just go with the direct route.

“Sojung unnie, you know I think you’re pretty, don’t you?”

“Of course I do,” Sojung says quickly. Too quickly. “Everyone thinks I’m pretty.”

Sinbi frowns. “You don’t.”

“What do you mean? I own a mirror, of course I do.”

“Does your mirror tell you that you’re the fairest of them all?”

“Yeah, and that you’re an evil queen.”

Sinbi grins. “You think I’m a queen, unnie? I’m touched.”

“You’re such a brat,” Sojung says, but she sounds entirely too fond.

“We’re all brats to you.” Sinbi waits a beat before asking, “That’s what the grandmas call kids, right?”

“Yah, Hwang Eunbi—”

Sinbi starts running because with Sojung’s ten thousand mile long legs, a head start doesn’t mean that much. Then again, Sinbi is a fast runner and Sojung, given her age and all, isn’t so Sinbi has that advantage.

“I don’t think you should do so much running,” Sinbi calls without looking back. “You know running is slimming and you really can’t afford to lose any more weight. They’re going to mistake you for a stick insect soon.”

“I’ll show you a stick insect!” Sojung, being the expert she is at comebacks, yells in reply.

Sinbi speeds up.

When someone wraps their arms around her from behind, her first instinct used to be to ram an elbow back but now she just resigns herself to it because—

“Bi, what are we having?” Yerin asks brightly, as if they’re having a picnic although Sinbi is just standing in front of the fridge.

“We are not having anything,” Sinbi says pointedly. “I am having some cherries.”

She can actually see Yerin’s pout even though her back is to her. “Are you saving your cherry for Sojung unnie?”

“Jung Yerin!” Sinbi throws the first thing she finds that doesn’t seem like it would break at Yerin, which turns out to be a tub of gochujang. The lid must not have been put on properly, because some of the paste spills out, splattering the ground with red.

Yerin whistles. “Wow, you’re really violent these days,” she says, completely unscathed because the universe hates Sinbi. “Maybe Sojung unnie should keep a leash on you.”

Sinbi’s hand closes over a tub of doenjang, and Yerin takes some hasty steps back. “Okay, I’ll see you later, Bi! Leave some cherries for me!”

And then she’s gone and Sinbi’s left with the smell of chili paste.

Because the universe hates Sinbi, the first person to come across the scene is – wait for it – Sojung.

“What happened here?” Sojung asks wryly. “Did you kill someone?”

“I wish,” Sinbi mutters.

“I mean, when they made me the leader they didn’t tell me I’d have to help my members hide a body.”

“You don’t have to help me hide a body. You can just pretend you didn’t see anything. Or you can turn me in.”

“I would never turn you in.” Sojung offers a hand to Sinbi, who’s crouched on the ground. She looks taller than ever from this angle, and Sinbi feels like she’s craning her neck to look at her. “Are you going to get up anytime soon?”

Sinbi sticks out her tongue. “I’m not the one with bad knees.”

“Yah, Hwang Eunbi—”

She grins and takes Sojung’s hand, pulling herself up. Sojung takes the roll of paper towels, tears off a bunch and wads it up. Even though she has complained about pain in her knees, she crouches down and starts wiping up the mess.

“Hand me some more paper towels, will you?” she asks without raising her head. Sinbi tears off two squares and passes them to her. Sojung looks at her, the corners of quirked up. “I’m going to need more than that.”

Sinbi hands her the whole roll.

“I was going to make tteokbokki tonight,” Sojung says, “but I don’t think we have enough gochujang now.”

“Sorry,” Sinbi says sheepishly.

“I would make you cook instead but you’d probably burn down the kitchen.”

Sinbi pouts, even though she had set off the smoke alarm before trying to make eggs. “I know how to make ramyun.”

“You once ruined a pot because you forgot you were boiling water.”

Sinbi has no way to refute that, so she just ends up making a disgruntled face. Sojung laughs at her expression, reaching out and patting Sinbi’s cheek.

“It’s okay, you’re still precious even though you can’t boil water.”

“Unnie!” Sinbi whines.

“Here, run this under some water,” Sojung instructs, handing her a bunch of paper towels. “Not too much, just get it a bit damp.”

Sinbi does that, but Sojung still deems it too damp and has to wring some of the water out. “There,” she says, throwing out the dirty paper towels and washing her hands. “Try not to throw any food next time you get into a fight with Yerin.”

“It wasn’t a fight,” Sinbi says, “and how do you know it was Yerin unnie?”

“You only fight with me and Yerin,” Sojung says wryly. “You bicker with Eunha but I don’t think you would dare to throw anything at her.”

“What do you mean I wouldn’t dare,” Sinbi says indignantly. It’s not like she’s afraid of Eunha.

Sojung pats her head. “We know you’re all bark, no bite, Eunbi.”

“I’m not a dog!”

Sojung grins, that dimple-like line popping out again. Sinbi’s going to need a new name for that; it would take too long to say “dimple-like line” all the time. Maybe…dimpline. Yes, that sounds good.

“Good girl,” Sojung says. “Do you want a treat?”

Sinbi doesn’t know why she felt grateful toward Sojung at all. She takes any good thoughts she had toward her back. This is what she gets for being nice.