“What’s wrong with Yerin?”

Sinbi almost drops the cup she’s holding. She whips around to face Sojung, who has her arms crossed over her chest and her Leader Face on.

“W-what?”

“What’s wrong with Yerin,” Sojung repeats, steel in her voice. She clearly expects a real answer, and for once Sinbi has no cheeky or sarcastic one to offer.

“I—shouldn’t you be asking Yerin unnie this?”

“Believe me, I want to but there’s no way she’d give me a straight answer.”

“Well, why do you think I know?”

“You’re her best friend, aren’t you?” There’s a rather odd look on Sojung’s face, one that Sinbi can’t interpret at all. “Are you telling me that you really don’t know?”

Sinbi lowers her eyes. “I can’t tell you that. But I made a promise and I won’t break it.”

“You made a promise? To who, Yerin?” Sojung takes a step closer to Sinbi, who suddenly finds herself pressed back against the counter. “Eunbi,” Sojung says softly, eyes dark, and Sinbi swallows, feeling cornered yet having no desire to pull away. “Don’t you trust me? Won’t you tell me?”

“O-of course I trust you, unnie.” Sinbi hasn’t stuttered this much since—ever. “But Yerin unnie trusts me, and I can’t let her down. I won’t let her down.”

Sojung sighs and backs away. Sinbi suddenly misses her proximity, misses the feeling of Sojung hovering over her, like a shadow but one made of warmth and comfort. Oh god, what’s happening?

“Is she going to be okay?” Sojung suddenly asks. “Can you at least tell me that much?”

If you love her, she will be, Sinbi thinks, the thought making her stomach twist in a way that is both familiar and foreign.

“I think you should talk to Yerin unnie,” is all she says.

Sojung gives her a long, piercing look, and then sighs and runs a hand over her face. She looks weary, exhausted, and Sinbi feels a spasm of guilt, knowing how much Sojung worries about them, how much she cares.

“Sorry, unnie,” she says in a small voice.

“For what? Being a good friend?” Sojung gives her a small smile. “Don’t feel bad for keeping a promise. It means you’re faithful and that’s not something to apologize for.”

Is she really faithful, though, with the conflicting feelings she’s having?

“Even if the promise isn’t good for her?” Sinbi blurts out.

Sojung’s brow knits. “What do you mean?”

“What if me keeping the promise is actually bad for her? What if it’s better for her for me to say it but then she’d hate me for it?”

“I don’t think Yerin could ever hate you, Eunbi,” Sojung says, but now her frown is deeper, her expression more concerned. “This promise…this secret… It’s really serious, isn’t it?”

It is, and it’s about you! Sinbi wants to yell, but has locked up on her. It’s a good thing, because she doesn’t want to betray Yerin’s confidence, she doesn’t want to go back on her word. She doesn’t want to let Yerin down, but she can’t watch Yerin wither away in front of her and just do nothing.

If Yerin adamantly refuses to get the operation – and it’s not like they can just haul her onto the table and stick a needle in her, they need her consent and she seems set against giving it – then there’s only one other solution.

Sinbi knows what she has to do.

“There you are!” Yerin’s expression brightens as she sees Sinbi. “Weren’t you going to get a snack? Did you change your mind?”

“Uh, yeah. I changed my mind.” Sinbi’s stomach lets out a loud grumble, and Yerin raises an eyebrow at her. “I ran into Sojung unnie,” she blurts out, because she’s always been terrible at lying, especially to Yerin.

Yerin’s expression flattens out into a blank mask. “Did you?”

“She’s worried about you.”

“Well, of course she is. She’s the leader after all, and a very good one at that.”

“You know that’s not it, unnie. She’s super worried about you.” And so am I, Sinbi doesn’t add. “She was basically interrogating me about you.”

Yerin grabs Sinbi’s arm, and even through the material of her sleeve she can feel Yerin’s nails bite into her. “Did you tell her anything?”

“No, I didn’t.” Sinbi has to fight not to grimace at the force of Yerin’s grip. “I promised you I wouldn’t, right?”

Yerin’s grasp loosens, but only slightly. “Right,” she says. “You promised.” She sighs and drops her arm, curling into herself. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“I know you just want to tell Sojung unnie and the managers for my own good. I know you’re only thinking of me, but I still made you promise not to.” Yerin’s lips are pressed into a thin line, her face even paler than usual. “That’s not fair to you, and I’m sorry.”

“You know I’m only thinking of you, then?” Sinbi asks, meaning you know you’re the only thing I think of? Or, well, almost anyway, as her mind suddenly flashes to dark eyes and a long body close to hers.

“Of course, you’re a good friend, Eunbi. The best friend I could ask for.” Yerin smiles, not that bright, cute one for the cameras but the soft, sweet one that makes her dimples come out of hiding. Sinbi swallows and forces herself to look away because otherwise she’d never stop staring.

“You’re my best friend too,” Sinbi says, and tries to tell herself it’s enough.

She almost succeeds.

Yerin has another coughing fit, but at least this time less flowers come out. Sinbi hopes it means that she’s getting better, and not that the disease is progressing to the next stage: roots growing in her lungs.

“Are they always roses?” Sinbi asks, picking up a petal and rubbing it between her fingers.

Yerin is busy gathering the rest of them up into a black garbage bag. Sinbi wonders, suddenly, where she throws them out. Surely, someone has to notice heaps of rose petals in the garbage bin.

“Yeah. They are.”

“Not everyone gets the same flower, right?”

“No, I think that Taeyeon sunbaenim coughed up orange lilies. And for some actor – can’t remember which one – it was violets.”

“Don’t cactuses have flowers? What if you coughed up a cactus? That must hurt like hell.”

Yerin gives a startled-sounding laugh. “Why are you thinking about cacti all of a sudden?”

“Right, it’s cacti, not cactuses.” Sinbi grins at her. “You’re so smart, unnie.”

“Thank you, I am pretty sharp.”

It takes Sinbi a second to get it, and then she bursts into laughter and collapses against Yerin, who smiles at her, their faces inches apart.

“You’re so—” Sinbi starts, and she doesn’t even know what Yerin is so and she never gets the chance to say it because just then, Yerin doubles over and starts coughing so hard that she sounds like she can’t even breathe.

“Yerin unnie!” Sinbi says frantically, dropping down next to her and trying to make sure her airway isn’t clogged as Yerin gasps for breath and rose petals rain everywhere.

And that’s when Sojung bursts into the room.

A/N: Why do I always end up getting into these messy triangles when it comes to these three...