Ever since Moonbyul and Hwasa had turned their life around to open up a legitimate business as private security experts, things had been going slow for the two former assassins, who were used to dangerous cases of high risks and high rewards. They had set up a generously large office in a skyscraper that protruded all other buildings in the same district. But its professional set up was just a front, they hadn’t done any marketing for their new business and had no intention to accept jobs until they got really bored or, in an unlikelier event, ran out of money.

They had officially registered their company and gone through all formal procedures for a legitimate business certificate just so they had something to show for when people asked them about their jobs. Before, things like these didn’t matter as they would never make contact with people from mainstream society. But things were different now, Hwasa cared about Wheein’s closest circle of family and friends, and she wanted to be included in it. Moonbyul wanted to be introduced to Solar’s friends, wanted to be acknowledged as an important person in her life and not as someone to hide away.

And if they didn’t want to pull too much unwanted attention to themselves, they had to blend in with a normal day job.

Most of the time, the office was empty as Hwasa and Moonbyul either stayed at their own place or moped around in their respective lover’s place until they came home. But occasionally, when they had absolutely nothing to do, they would show up at their office to make it seem like people worked there as it was the case today.

“What are you doing?” Hwasa raised a sharp eyebrow upon seeing Moonbyul enter the office with a large cardboard box in her arms.  

With a strained grunt, Moonbyul slowly set down the heavy package onto the floor. “I’ve got some stuff here to make this office look like an actual office. Solar’s been hinting on wanting to see it.”

“Oh.” Hwasa glanced around the empty room that only had basic furniture. “Did she say when?”

“Judging from how she’s been unsubtly hinting at it twice yesterday, this weekend.” Moonbyul pulled out office supplies from the box and stacked them into an empty shelf. “Knew I should’ve just told her the truth…but no, I had to pretend to be a productive person and lied about having some customers.”

She sighed and let her gaze wander around the office. “If we don’t fill this space up, she’s going to know the second she comes in.”

“Hm,” Hwasa lowly hummed, walking over to take a look inside the large box Moonbyul had brought in. It was filled with basic office supplies like pens, papers, binders and more. “That’s not nearly enough.” She had the same concerns because Wheein had expressed interest in decorating their office with some art, which would require a visit beforehand.

“There’s way more outside the door,” Moonbyul gestured to the door with her thumb. “I’ve also ordered some more furniture and decorative stuff, should arrive this afternoon. Maybe we’ll be the ones to work overtime for once.”

Hwasa groaned, moving to help Moonbyul rearrange their office. “Having an office job . I don’t know how people do it.”

“Figured you’d say that,” Moonbyul mumbled. She walked out the office and came back pushing in another large box, rattling with the sound of glass clinking. “But you know what the best part about having your own office is?”

“Getting to have whenever you want?” Hwasa supplied.

Moonbyul rolled her eyes. “Aside from that.” She reached into the box and carefully pulled out a bottle of expensive gin. “Getting to drink whenever you want.”

Hwasa’s eyes instantly lit up as she took over the bottle and inspected its date. “Though I don’t think that’s how it works, I agree.”

“You know I’d rather kill off pasty old CEO dudes than agree with them, but something they’ve got right is having good liquor in their shelves.” Moonbyul nodded in satisfaction. “I’m going to have a shelf for each type of alcohol. This here is all gin, I’ve got more outside. Which is why I also had to order more furniture.”

“I’m starting to like the idea of an office job,” Hwasa said with a grin. “Do you think there’s also some room for a snack machine?”

Moonbyul smirked and pulled out her phone, showing its lit screen. “Already ordered. Along with a wine fridge.”

Hwasa snorted in amusement and playfully scratched beneath Moonbyul’s chin with her long fingernails. “In another life, we might have had something.”

“Oh, I’m sure in another life you would have appreciated my skinny more,” Moonbyul quipped before rubbing the itchy place Hwasa had scratched. “Come on, let’s get this finished before evening. I still have a surprise for Solar.”

“Is it the kind?”

“Um, not at first, but that’s the goal.”

“Nice, don’t forget to film it.”

“Hwasa!”

Solar had the longest, most tiring day at work again and she looked forward to falling through her apartment’s threshold and into Moonbyul’s waiting arms, who would then carry her exhausted body to the bathroom, wash her up, dry her hair and gently place her onto the bed before crawling in herself and cuddle Solar from behind.

It had become a routine when Moonbyul had found Solar staggering through the door like a zombie after a long day once and now whenever Solar texted her ‘I’m so tired’ after work, Moonbyul would be there, waiting to take care of her.

So when Solar unlocked and pushed the door to her apartment open, she was ready to be engulfed by a pair of soft yet firm arms and she nearly tripped over when nothing came instead.

“Moonbyul?” she weakly called out, dropping her bag. The lights in the living room were on. So was the TV, which was running on low volume.

If Solar hadn’t been too exhausted to care, she would’ve noticed another two pairs of shoes at the entrance. Instead, she kicked off her shoes in frustration and proceeded to stomp over to the living room with a big pout, wondering why Moonbyul hadn’t been there to welcome her home as usual.

“Hey.” Moonbyul awkwardly smiled at her from the couch, her back straight and stiff as a board.

If Moonbyul seemed like a nervous wreck, then Solar didn’t fare any better upon seeing the other two guests in the living room. “Hello…mom, dad…”

“Hey, honey.”

Unexpectedly meeting the parents of your lover was awkward enough, but things were turned up several notches if you weren’t even officially dating the other person or if, like right now, the living room had been decorated with a trail of rose petals and candles leading to the bedroom. The box of liquor chocolates and the can of spray cream as well as the blindfold on the living room table didn’t help. Neither did the massage oil. Or lube.

Solar didn’t think she had ever been less when all these things were combined with the sight of her parents.  Her father sat on a single couch with his legs and arms crossed, lips tightly pressed together in a conflicted frown. Her mother stood behind her father’s couch, hands on the furniture to support her tiny frame from collapsing most probably.

“I didn’t expect you…” Solar began slowly, still trying to process the situation with her tired brain.

“We wanted to surprise you because we haven’t heard from you in a while,” her mother replied, her voice strained. “Seems like we were the ones surprised.”

“Ma’am, please, let me explain,” Moonbyul burst out, “this here is all on me. I’m just a ert who stalked Solar down to her apartment, she doesn’t even know me.”

“She called out your name,” the father spoke up, still with a grim expression. 

“Yeah, but only because this isn’t the first time she’s caught me here!” Moonbyul quickly spun up random things. “I’ve been chasing her for a while now, but it’s all one-sided. She’s never returned my advances.”

“Moonbyul, you don’t have to do this,” Solar softly said when she realized what Moonbyul was trying to do.

“No, really,” Moonbyul raised her voice over Solar’s to cover up her remark, “we’re not dating. We're not in a romantic relationship. And that’s the truth.”

“Moonbyul…” Solar’s lips trembled.

“Child, is that true?” her mother asked, her faint voice tinged with hope. “Tell me you’re not dating that woman.”

Solar swallowed. “I’m not.”

“Oh, thank god.” Her parents breathed a sigh of relief. Moonbyul lowered her head.

“But I wish I was.”

Shocked, her father froze on the spot while her mother started whimpering.

Moonbyul slowly looked up with a stunned expression, her eyes wide open in surprise.

“I really wish I was,” Solar repeated in a firm voice, hands balling into fists, “so I could proudly introduce her to you as my girlfriend. As the person who takes care of me when I’m too tired and as the person who’d do anything to help me get closer to my dreams while all you did was talking me out of them.”

“You can’t be-“

“What? Can’t be serious? Can’t be gay?” Solar cut her mother off. “I’ve never been more sure about who I want to be.”

“And what is it that you want to be?” her father finally said, tone neutral. “Unmarried and jobless by thirty?”

“Actually, that’s the dream!” Solar retorted. “Imagine being this free!”

“So you don’t mind ending up on the streets,” her father concluded drily.

“Sir,” Moonbyul carefully jumped in, “you should know I’m rich. Your daughter will have it nice with me even if she decides to ditch her job. About the marriage thing, we’ll have that discussion another time.” She paused and glanced at Solar, lowering her voice. “It’s not entirely off the table, is it?”

“Of course not, I was just saying that to spite him,” Solar whispered back, “how else am I going to trap your fortune with me?”

Satisfied with the answer, Moonbyul nodded and relaxed a bit. “You see, sir, I’d be more than happy to be used by your daughter for my wealth.”

“…”

Solar’s mother let out a quiet wail and covered her face. “Oh, what am I going to tell my friends…”

“Ma’am,” Moonbyul stood up, respectfully giving a small bow with her head. “You should tell them that you have a very beautiful daughter, inside and out. She’s accomplished, talented on so many levels and has the biggest heart on earth. And if that’s not enough for you, then nothing ever will be and you’re missing out. Big time.” 

She flashed Solar a beaming smile before turning back to her mother. “And if it helps, your daughter chose a partner who’s very accomplished as well if my solid portfolio of stocks and real estates is anything to go by. You should know that I also happen to own several beach houses all over the world and I heard you like to travel.”

Solar’s mother visibly swallowed. “Well…”

“I can’t force you to accept me and I know it takes time to adjust. Take however long you need, maybe stay in one of my villas for that duration. I heard my place in Monaco is getting real dusty these days.” Moonbyul nonchalantly said.

Solar’s father furrowed his thick eyebrows. “Do you think money alone will impress us? Do we look like we need your financial support?”

“Dad,” Solar interjected quietly, but was ignored. Her father pushed himself up from his seat.

“Enough. I know how stubborn young people can be, especially when they think they’re in the right, so I’m not even going to try and argue.” He paused and released a heavy sigh as he gazed at his daughter. “So I’m only going to ask one thing. Her or us.”

“No, dad,” Solar exclaimed in exasperation, “you can’t…”

“Just answer the question,” he said in a tired voice. His wife anxiously stared between them.

Moonbyul suddenly stood up as well. “I’m sorry, Solar, but I can’t let you tear your family apart because of me. I’ll be going now.”

“No!” Solar shouted in a voice louder than anyone expected, startling everyone in the room including herself. “No,” she repeated in a softer tone. “I’m not the one tearing this family apart. I’m not the one forcing myself to choose one option when I’d rather embrace both.” She turned to her father with a calm look. “Please leave, we both need to cool down or we will say things we’ll regret. I had a really tiring day and I can’t guarantee I won’t collapse if we keep this up.”

Her father quietly stared at her as if gauging how serious she was about her words. His eyes wandered to the dark rings beneath her eyes and her hollow cheeks, before sinking to his own feet.

“Fine. You are a grown woman and though I disagree, I can’t tell you what to do. We will talk about this some other day.” He shot Moonbyul a distasteful glance. “This is not over. If I find even the tiniest bit of proof that you’re not suited for my daughter, I will end you.”

Moonbyul swallowed.

“Dad.” Solar crossed her arms. “Please leave now.”

Her father gestured to his wife to leave and marched towards the door. Solar and Moonbyul wordlessly watched them put on their shoes and exit the apartment. The sound of the door closing shut was neither loud nor soft.

“Ah.” Solar rubbed her tired eyes and sank down on the couch. “I really need a hot bath now.”

“I had one prepared,” Moonbyul carefully spoke up, touching Solar’s hanging shoulders. “It’s probably not as hot anymore, but I can just turn on the –“

Solar suddenly pulled at Moonbyul’s arms, making her plop down on the couch next to her. “I need a hot bath and you.” She grabbed Moonbyul’s face by the cheeks and pulled her close. “Thank you for standing up for me.”

Blinking rapidly, Moonbyul nodded with a beaming smile. “Always.”

Solar laughed quietly. “Though you could’ve chosen a better time to lay out the rose petals and stuff.”

“Hehe,” Moonbyul chuckled sheepishly, scratching the back of her neck. “I just…wanted to surprise you with something nice and I know it’s cheesy but I’m inexperienced and I’ve only seen stuff like this in movies and-“

She only stopped rambling when met something soft and she instantly melted into the kiss. Her hands found their way on Solar’s waist, pulling her closer.

“Hm,” Solar hummed against her lips, shortly pulling away to mumble, “c’mon, let’s take a hot bath, girlfriend.”

Ecstatic and thrilled at the new title, Moonbyul easily lifted Solar up bridal style and carried her to the bathroom, ready to make their first evening as a couple even more memorable.

--

“Stop looking so smug,” Solar splashed some water against Moonbyul’s smirking face.

“And what are you going to do about it?” Moonbyul triumphantly said, brushing her wet bangs out of her face. “You’re my girlfriend now. I won everything in life.”

“So childish,” Solar mumbled, sliding down the bubble bath to hide her blush beneath the bubbly surface. “You’re lucky you’re good looking.”

“Well, I had the money and time to develop a style,” Moonbyul shrugged. She fished in the soapy water and found Solar’s foot, tickling her sole. “Don’t you find it satisfying when two good looking people get together?”

“Less so when one of them is so conceited.” Solar squirmed and shook her foot to stop Moonbyul from tickling her. “But like my father said, it’s not over.” She sighed. “If there’s one thing I know about his thought process, is that he will want to know what kind of job you have and how you’re doing at it.” She shot Moonbyul a worried glance. “How are you doing? You hardly tell me anything about it.”

Moonbyul awkwardly chuckled, averting her eyes. “There’s nothing interesting to talk about. You don’t really go into an in-depth analysis of your patients with me either.”

“That’s different,” Solar furrowed her brows, “I share everything funny or sad or interesting with you. Of course I leave out the boring details.”

“So do I,” Moonbyul quickly replied. “Besides, I’m contractually forbidden to talk about my customers’ cases. It’s regarding their security after all.”

“I get that, but don’t you have anything funny to tell? Like, strange customers with peculiar tastes or shady people or whatever kind of people who would need consulting from security experts.”

“Ahaha,” Moonbyul weakly laughed, “yeah, but even that is something I can’t talk about without revealing too much about them. Isn’t it the same for doctors?”

Solar pursed her lips and slowly sat up in the bath tub. “That’s true, I would never reveal personal information of my patients. But I’m starting to think that you have none to reveal.”

“Why-why would you think that?”

“I don’t know,” Solar nonchalantly said. “Maybe because you’re nervously shaking your legs?”

Moonbyul instantly stopped twitching, which she wasn’t aware of until now. “Solar…”

“What is it that you’re not telling me about your business?” Solar crossed her arms. “You told me you were going legit-“

“I am-“

“Then what are you so nervous about? Am I going to find strippers at your so called office?”

“What?” Moonbyul’s face hardened, unable to take this as a joke. “After all this time, you still think that way of me?”

Solar got up from the bath and grabbed a towel, wrapping herself in it as she got out of the water. Her back was turned to Moonbyul.

“Moonbyul, I like you. That much I can’t deny anymore. And I’m willing to give you a chance.” She tightened the towel around her. “But sometimes, I can still feel the past in your habits.”

“Ha?” Moonbyul slowly got out of the bath tub as well. “What habits?”

Solar threw a new towel to her face, which Moonbyul caught before it slapped her.

“You always have multiple variations of the same thing, saying you need the variety-“

“Yes, I do, just like you wouldn’t just possess one jacket-“

“Clothes are one thing, but using three phones or five cameras at the same time is a bit excessive, don't you think? And this habit spreads throughout your entire household, you have four different kinds of soap taking up all the space on the sink just because you can’t decide on what smells best and you’d rather simultaneously use them all than just stick to one until it’s used up. It’s the same thing with your shampoo and body lotion, there’s hardly any space in your shower because of all the bottles.”

“Since when is this a crime? Don’t you have a ton of perfume bottles to choose from?” Moonbyul retorted heatedly. “I admit I should do something about this mindless consumption, especially since I know that the companies are just baiting people like me with their fancy repackaging of the same old product, but , I am a er for good looking and good smelling things and you should know. You’re one of them.”

Solar exhaled a long breath and strode out of the bathroom into her bedroom. Moonbyul followed closely behind, carelessly slinging her towel over her shoulders as her body still dripped water.

“You think just because I can’t stick to one product at a time, I can’t stick to one girlfriend at a time?”

Solar paused in her movements, eyes zooming out of focus, before she moved to dry herself and slip into a silk bathrobe. “You keep single use items in your bag. The kind of toothbrushes that you use for one night and leave at wherever you’ve been staying.” She looked up at Moonbyul, who still stood there, looking lost. “Even the toothbrush you’re keeping in my bathroom is one you took from a hotel.”

“That’s just…” Moonbyul stopped herself from finishing the sentence with the word “dumb” because it wasn’t. Solar wasn’t completely wrong. It was an old habit, wherever she went, she always had a small pouch ready with cheap disposable items one would need for staying a night outside home. She hadn’t thought of anything when she used it at Solar’s home, she just regularly kept exchanging the items when they got empty or too used.

“I can change that,” Moonbyul fiercely said, “I will throw all of this away right now and go buy brand stuff. Quality stuff to stay. Because I’m staying, too.”

Solar’s lips curved into a small smile. “Go dry yourself first, will you? You’re going to get a cold like this.”

Moonbyul absentmindedly toweled herself off and slipped into a bathrobe Solar had prepared beforehand for her. “I mean it,” she said, tone low and steady. “If there’s any behavior of mine that upsets you, you need to tell me. I won’t know otherwise because I’m dumb, but I like you and don’t want to lose you over stupid stuff that I can change.”

This finally elicited a laugh from Solar and she turned to Moonbyul, pulling her in by her bathrobe. “You acknowledge that you are dumb?”

“Absolutely,” Moonbyul said with confidence, her arms circling around Solar’s waist. “I’d explode if I knew everything. Staying dumb is just a way of self-preservation.”

“For the weak, you mean,” Solar hummed, putting her hands on Moonbyul’s shoulder. “Because it’s also called ignorance. And only weak people decide to not deal with the truth.”

“Mhm, hate it when you have a point,” Moonbyul mumbled, leaning in to let her forehead rest against her lover’s. “I’ve never been a morally upright character…If there was a fight I could win without even getting detected, then I’d go for it, no doubt. It’s because I know I’m too weak to win in a direct confrontation.”

Solar’s shallow breaths ghosted over Moonbyul’s lips. “What should I do…I don’t like cowards, but I do appreciate honesty.” Her eyelids fluttered as she looked up. “You’re really a bad influence on me, you know? I came to accept so many unspeakable things because of you.”

“Hm, why does this kind of ,” Moonbyul grinned, “did I perhaps corrupt the prim and proper Miss Kim?”

Solar reached behind Moonbyul’s ear and pinched it. “You really are only fueled by your primitive urges.”

“And it’s your fault,” Moonbyul lowly whispered, capturing Solar’s lips in a short and teasing kiss. “All my primitive urges only come out when I’m with you. And it’s telling me we should do what nature would have wanted us to do.”

“Nature better be telling you to shut up,” Solar growled, grabbing Moonbyul’s bathrobe by the collar and pushing her onto the bed. “Your stupidly hot face is making me madder the more you talk.”

“And what are you going to do about it?” Moonbyul smirked as she was shoved onto her back. “Sit on it?”

Solar straddled Moonbyul’s waist, her breath getting ragged in rising arousal. “That’s not even a punishment for you.”

“Oh, it will be deeply punishing for my lungs,” Moonbyul her lips, “but so worth it.”

“Shut up,” Solar breathed out as she untied her bathrobe. “Time to put that loud mouth of yours to better use.”

Moonbyul couldn’t suppress her smug remark. “My pleasure.”

And Solar let it slide for once because she forgot about everything in her head the second she surrendered to Moonbyul and her primitive urges.