… But that was two weeks ago.

“Is she always that—”

“Serious…?” Sowon completed the sentence while observing how SinB patiently followed Yerin’s trail in the kitchen below them. “Hmm… I’ve always known her to be quiet since we met at The Academy.”

“Ahhh…” SinB dropped her hands onto the metal banister of the apartment’s second floor hallway. It was obvious in her expression that she was saddened by Sowon’s answer more than intrigued.

“BUT…! She isn’t always like that. It’s just that it’s been a little difficult making her smile lately.” Sowon added, in the hopes of uplifting SinB’s mood, if not her expectations of Yerin.

SinB wanted to suppress her curiosity but something inside her, though unwillingly, made it impossible for her to subdue her concern for the girl who finally settled on the kitchen counter with her head buried in a book.

“Is there a particular reason for her being like that? I mean, being difficult to cheer up?” She asked putting effort in making her inquiry sound less apprehensive.

“Hmmm… We have a speculation but I am not entirely sure if I should tell you because it’s not my story to tell. But... I also think that it’s necessary that you get to know us in order to trust us. And I’m certain you wouldn’t squeeze anything out of Yerin.”

“I can wait if you’re uncomfortable telling me. I don’t expect you to blindly trust me with your personal details. At least not yet.” But SinB told only half the truth. She knew the personal lives of the members since she had access to The Academy's trainee database, except for Yerin and Umji whose complete files were unavailable digitally after being the last to join the group.

“Oh, believe me it’s not a matter of comfort or trust because I never doubted you nor your boss’ intentions. I just thought it would be better if Yerin told you herself. But like I said, that opportunity will not come around soon, so maybe I can provide you with a little overview about her.” The tall girl winked at SinB who was not even remotely ready to give up her curiosity of the girl who was alone in the kitchen.

“Overview… I’d like that.” She smiled back.

“I’ve mentioned that only her and Umji attend school, and at times Yuju takes up a few units. But it’s Yerin who particularly wanted to finish a degree so bad, so, she could leave this job and make a more decent living.”

“Hmmm, so, it's school that drags her mood…”

“Not really, she likes to study more than anything. I don’t need to tell you about how much time she spends in the library.”

“Yeah, too much, if you ask me.” SinB unconsciously rolled her eyes but managed to neutralize her demeanor in a snap. “So, you mean something else is making her sad…”

“You might think that Yerin is a character straight out of a really tragic drama. Well, that’s because she lives for her mother who is ill in the province. Whenever we got paid, she sent almost everything back home. So, imagine how distraught she was when we got discharged from The Academy which was her only source of income.”

“Ohh…” She suddenly felt the distress being in Yerin’s shoes. “And on top of that, she has school… Hmm… What illness? If it’s not too much to ask.”

“Uhhhmmm… Wait, I always mispronounce this.” Sowon scratched the side of her head while her neurons struggled to locate the elusive memory. “Ahh! I remember now! Something like a lie-phobia.” She declared nodding, very convinced of her answer.

“It’s lymphoma, some form of malignancy.” Umji appeared from a room, with a book in one hand and an empty coffee cup in another. “I suppose your discourse is about Yerin-eonnie’s mom’s condition? Sowon-eonnie will never get the right word in her lifetime.”

Sowon turned toward the most quick-witted of the group and snarled at her. “Tsss, this whiz kid… Yeah, I remember now, it’s lymphobia.”

“See? I told you she’ll never muster the right letters.” Umji and SinB both gave out a faint laugh upon hearing the leader’s failed vindication of herself.

Sowon hissed again while side-glancing at the youngest girl and continued her narration. “As I was saying, Yerin seemed to have put all her effort to making sure she provides for her mother since she’s her only family. She just has so much on her plate, that’s why she’s a little moody.”

“You mean grumpy…” Umji objected.

“Her mom is her only family?”

“Hmmm… I didn’t put much thought into this overview."

“I’m sorry.”

After taking a deep breath, "Well, aside from her mom having that something-phomia…” Still incorrect but they let it slide. “…She also lost her father and brother. But their deaths, I can’t explain to you anymore.” It was not that Sowon did not want to, but it was because she did not have a clue. None of them knew how and why they died.

“I understand perfectly.” SinB’s expression turned pensive as she vividly remembered her own mother’s death, which she always thought was a pointless act of heroism.

“I know Yerin-eonnie is innately cheerful, it shows sometimes when she forgets the burden she's enduring. She has her cute moments too, but I’m not sure if we’ll ever see them again in this century.” Umji injected before situating herself completely between the conversing ladies.

“Well, I hope at least her boyfriend makes her smile...” SinB insinuated only to check the other girls’ reaction through her periphery. It was more to get a hint about Yerin’s love life more than being hopeful that some romance actually makes days better for the lady who was the center of their discreet discussion.

“Hah! Not in a thousand years would Yerin consider getting into a relationship.”

“I can swear that she never uttered the words love and boyfriend for so long that they have naturally just become archaic.” Umji added.

“Ohh…” SinB’s lips quivered to a smile. “Maybe after studies?”

“I can’t tell. She’s too focused right now, with work too.”

“So, does that mean none of you have someone special too?” After she got the information she wanted, she intended to change the topic to conceal her sudden elation.

“Ahh… I’ll leave that sensitive topic to Sowon-eonnie.” Umji was quick to evade and flashed a rather uncomfortable smile at SinB. “I need to refill my cup and finish this book today.” But the mark in her book suggested that she had, at the most, only twenty pages left, and so her sudden exit was not at all academic-related.

She darted down the stairs before Sowon could protest. “Tsss... Sometimes, I want to believe that her wit is anything but an advantage.” She shook her head, eyes glued on Umji who went straight to the coffeemaker and offered Yerin a fresh cup.

SinB tried not to laugh but the sound still escaped her lips. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh. It’s just that your expression...” But her laughter was partly because she had to find an outlet to release her gladness that rooted from the knowledge that Yerin was romantically unattached.

“Aish… So anyway, yeah, technically none of us is in a relationship but some of us have been, just months ago.” There was a trace of disappointment as her gaze turned to Eunha who sat on the couch watching a foreign movie only in closed captions.

“I suppose one was Eunha?”

“… And me. But we broke up. Well, it was a mutual decision, not that we were fighting or something.” It was apparent that Sowon just projected nonchalance, so much that it seemed more obvious that she was faking it.

“Ah that explains why I never hear her call you eonnie.” It was not only the dropping of honorifics that she noticed but also episodes of Eunha’s hole-drilling stares at Sowon and their often-inconsistent body language. “So, what happened? Things got in the way? Work? Priorities?” The younger girl blurted out, certain that none of the stereotypical reasons she enumerated could have caused the breakup.

“Yes, yes and yes. Whoa! Are you a psychic or what?!” Stunned by the accuracy of SinB's supposition, Sowon hit the girl’s shoulder eagerly.

“Maybe…?” She purposely chuckled before she returned her attention to the kitchen. “I think we should go down and join them.”

“Yeah, they might think we’re talking about them.” Sowon laughed at the truth in her words.

SinB did not intend to mingle with the group; she just wanted to approach Yerin in hopes of having a conversation. But as she was walking toward the kitchen counter to grab one of the barstools, Yuju entered the apartment and excitedly tugged her into the living room.

“I’m happy that I didn’t have to look for you!” She hastily sat and pulled SinB to sit beside her, causing Eunha to be lifted by the wave of movement from the other end of the couch. “I’m sorry, Euhna-yah! Just a little excited.”

“It’s not so obvious.” The shortest girl sarcastically replied before smiling at the duo who invaded her solitary occupancy of the couch. “Just tone it down, our master’s degree holder is studying.”

“I heard that.” Yerin spoke while running a highlighter almost through half the book's page. “And it’s only for a baccalaureate degree, not master’s… Yet.”

“I know... Geez! You’re too serious, eonnie. Mind your reading and don’t eavesdrop.” Eunha quipped.

“Anyway, as I was saying—” Yuju waved her hand at SinB who was suddenly magnetized by Yerin’s voice. “Are you okay?”

“I’m sorry. I just…” She instantly felt the need to hide her fascination of Yerin, but did not oblige. “… I just thought she didn’t speak.”

“Haha! What do you mean? Like she’s deaf-mute?!” Yuju was equally amused of the girl’s honest response.

It was definitely not what SinB wanted to say. And after realizing that the words did not come out right, her cheeks started to blush. It worsened when Yerin turned to her with a questioning look.

“NO!!! I mean, no, n- not mute. I mean, I j- just never heard her join a conversation.” SinB’s eyes met Yerin’s but she used the third person to address her.

“You meant, I never joined. So, I’m not deaf-mute, just antisocial?” Raising an eyebrow, Yerin responded but more to tease than probe after seeing how nervous SinB was with her quizzical stare.

“Yes, NO!!! No, n- not antisocial. J- just peculiar.” None of what came out of SinB was what she actually meant.

“Peculiar?! Should I be hurt by that?” Yerin’s tone became more serious than when the whole exchange started.

“NO!!!” SinB kept yelling her ‘nos’ seemingly jumping out of the couch to respond. “I mean, no, i- it’s a c- comment, I mean a compliment.” Again, she was plagued with the lack of coordination between her mind and her body. “Aish… I mean-”

“That’s fine, there’s no need to explain. Yuju was telling you something. It was my fault, I interrupted.”

Before SinB could respond, Yerin’s earphones were already plugged in and her highlighter was already in motion. Umji only smiled while watching the reviewing eonnie but refused to comment about what she was actually seeing.

“Aish… I didn’t mean to offend her.”

“Yah, she’s never easily offended, believe me. It will take an awful lot of bad things before you can offend her. You, of all people, should know that.” Sowon smirked.

“She’s just messing with you. That won’t cause her to shoot you.” Eunha jested while unconsciously caressing the arm of Sowon who stood by the couch near her.

“Urghmm…” Yuju cleared and it caused the estranged couple to jolt in separation. “Going back, I was on my way home and I heard this song, I wanted your opinion if it’s a good addition to my set.” She pushed an earpiece into SinB’s left ear instantaneously without waiting for the girl’s response.

“Oh, okay.”

Halfway through the song, Yuju exclaimed, “SO?? What do you think??” Her smile was ear-to-ear, that even Sowon was uncertain if it was because of the song or the person she was talking to.

“It’s great…? I mean, the tone and range changes are complicated for someone like me but you sure would pull it off.” She half-heartedly commented, still with Yerin’s facial expression painfully nagging her memory.

“Really?! Hah! I knew I came to the right person!” Yuju enthusiastically hugged her before sprinting to get Umji’s laptop, which was the only laptop they had in the house. “I need to get the lyrics! This will be a great Yujurgini cover!”

SinB was still stiff from the unexpected hug when Eunha poked her. “Yah… If I listened to the song and told her the same thing, she wouldn’t jump the way she just did.”

“Who’s Yujur…?” Uttered SinB who totally missed Eunha’s insinuation about the overly excited girl whose heavy footsteps could be heard from the second floor.

“Yujurgini? She calls herself that when she goes to work. A stage name of some sort. But don't be surprised, she actually goes by many names only she could remember. If there’s someone peculiar here, that’s her. Sorry, we couldn’t save her from her weirdness. She’s a lost cause.”

“Ahhh… It’s okay. I’m getting used to it... I think?” She smiled before scanning the kitchen in search of Yerin but only her book was left on the counter.

“A box came for you, Hwang.” The voice was coming from the apartment door.

“Huh? Did she say Hwang?” SinB asked in hushed tone.

“Yup, I most certainly heard Hwang.” Umji answered.

Before SinB could stand completely from her seat, Yerin was already walking toward her to hand her a medium-sized box. “Here.”

“Oh boy, this is heavy!” Unprepared for the weight of the package, SinB almost stumbled back onto the couch with the box resting unsteadily on her arm, but Yerin ensured the other girl did not lose her balance. “I-I’m not clumsy at all, but you c- carried it effortlessly, I thought it wasn’t heavy.”

“If you must know, I, sort of, am peculiarly strong.” She turned around quickly to return to her study while SinB trailed behind her to place the box between the stove and the sink.

“I really did not mean that you’re peculiar, eonnie…” She turned to Yerin at the middle of ripping the box open just to learn that the girl was already isolated from the rest of the world by her earphones. “… And she couldn’t hear me blabbing.”

It was only Umji’s chuckle that could be heard mixing with the harsh sound of the clear packaging tape shedding the box’s outermost layer.

“What is that anyway? Gold bars? You almost got crushed back there if not for the peculiar strength of my roommate.” Umji teased.

“Aissssh… Stop it with the peculiar. I didn’t mean it like that.”

“I bet you didn’t.”

After struggling to pull out the content of the box that was anchored with Styrofoam stabilizers and an oddly situated bubble wrap, “Hah! I bought us a new microwave!”

“Oh yeah??” Sowon and Eunha exclaimed almost at the same time while approaching the other girls. After their old one short-circuited, a microwave was one piece of appliance that they’ve always wanted to have only if it fitted it in their meager budget.

“Yeah, I just couldn’t believe you survived 6 months without a microwave. I won’t, so I bought one.”

“Wait, but SinB-yah, isn't this a really expensive brand?”

“Uhm… Uhh… I searched for a while and saw it was on sale. Like a clearance thing from the website, so I chose this one.” SinB was sure that her acting was far from convincing, but Yuju’s jovial return to the first floor distracted everyone, especially when she discovered that a new kitchen gadget has arrived.

“Oh my god! You bought this?? You’re really heaven-sent!” She hugged SinB in yet another awkward and unsolicited expression of gratitude.

“I’m sure she’s gonna find all the reasons to hug her.” Sowon whispered to Eunha who giggled not because of what she heard, but because she felt the taller girl’s warm breath on her ear.

“It’s just a microwave. You make it seem like your life depended on it.” Yerin said while pulling the earplugs that landed on her book.

“Eonnie…! I’m just thankful.” Not removing her arm around SinB’s waist, Yuju continued, “Shouldn’t you be the most relieved to see this? At least now you won’t have to reheat our food using the stove.” Turning her attention to SinB again, “Yerin-eonnie is our manual microwave for the past 6 months after the electric one broke. She’s happy, she’s just not showing it.”

“Thank you for buying one. Not because I hated reheating food, but because we can save gas.” Yerin responded, still indifferently, while keeping her attention on her book.

“Not just gas, but ultimately, money, water, time, human resource—” Umji was about to continue her narration if not for Sowon’s sardonic smirking that emerged immediately after she started talking. “Yeah, yeah… I’m not going to elucidate you on the matter. SinB knows anyway.”

“No, it’s okay, I want to hear it.” Insisted SinB who was finally released from captivity- Yuju’s arms.

“Oh! Trust me, SinB-yah, you wouldn’t want to. Our child wonder can go on and on explaining things, it could make you believe that she was the one who actually invented it. She can go as detailed as the anatomic level of every single part of that microwave.”

“Atomic.” Umji and Yerin blurted in unison.

“Tsss... Okay, okay, a-to-mic it is. Nerds.”

“That’s not even nerd stuff.” Umji negated.

“We both know it’ll get to that point if we let you continue. Yah, go back to what you’re doing. SinB and I will take care of the microwave. Go, go.” Unlike other oldest siblings, Sowon was not the type who would boss around and ask the young ones to do chores for her. She was the kind who would do everything before asking for assistance. Yerin was the same except that she would never ask for help.

“I better stay in the room to read…” She glanced briefly at SinB who was already all ears after she uttered her first word. “… Not because I don’t want to join the conversation. I just need to finish five more chapters for my exams tomorrow.”

“Aish… Eonnie, it’s not like—” SinB was resentful looking at the older girl climbing the stairs, again with her earphones on. “Are you sure she’s not in a relationship?! I swear she’s having an affair with those earphones! She’s just not admitting it.” Feeling defeated, she complained to Umji who was shaking her head, lips pressed, her expression wanting SinB to stop talking; but she didn’t get the message across before the girl’s statement was completed.

“Who told you she had something playing through those earphones?” Umji muttered.

“Saying something??” SinB asked irritated.

“Nope. I was just reading this paragraph to myself. And don’t suggest that she’s attracted to inanimate objects more than humans, if you don’t want to get yourself into deeper trouble.”

“Aish…”

Two weeks ago, she didn't stutter talking to Yerin.

Two weeks ago, it wasn't part of her plan to fall in love.