10

Yerin was shocked at what just happened and couldn't utter even a single word. Sinb kissed her. Not on the cheeks, but straight away coveting her first real kiss! She couldn't even think straight after the incident and she absentmindedly touched her lips as if checking if they were all right. 'They're definitely not alright Yerin. You just had your very first kiss you dumb !' Yerin thought to herself. Not that she doesn't like Sinb's kiss, it was just too sudden. She wished for like five seconds more just to feel how was it like to be kissed by Sinb but the latter broke the contact before Yerin could even realize what happened. If any, Yerin was feeling disappointed though she was still yet to pinpoint why.

Sinb, on the other hand, was trying to keep her cool after what she did. The kiss wasn't really her plan and just came into her mind in a flash knowing Yerin wouldn't be able to keep silent for a second. She couldn't blame her unnie, she was used to having such a normal life before the marriage thing and the next event she knew, she were being hounded by some armed men whhich both of them have no idea about. She took a glance at the girl on her right and caught Yerin staring back at her as well. Sinb immediately turned beet red but no way she would let it show and just kept her poker face on.

"So unfair." Yerin muttered as she saw Sinb being calm from all that happened to them awhile ago. She doesn't understand how Sinb remained calm and collected while she was having a hard time catching her breath and straightening her thoughts out. More so, she envied that side of Sinb, being all reserved to herself with one having to guess what's running into her mind.

"What did you say unnie?" Sinb asked while keeping her focus on the road. Well, she couldn't afford looking back again at Yerin since the latter caught her and she was unsure of how her face looked. She knew she's still red and awkward from the incident.

"Nothing," Yerin asnwered dismissively. But just as she was about to change topic, a static sound could be heard from the car stereo.

"Can you hear me there Sinb?"

Yerin found the voice familiar but she didn't knew who it was. She looked at Sinb and found her smiling a bit, like whoever was on the other line, Sinb was thankful for the voice. And Yerin found that irritating, albeit not knowing why she did in the first place.

"I can hear you loud and clear Sowon-unnie," Sinb answered. She was relieved that Sowon managed to escape the ambush they went through. "So you got your cars synced to one another, I see. I thought you would never think of that."

"And what does that imply?" Sowon said on the other line. "Well anyways, glad you're safe. How about Ms. Yerin?"

Yerin just listened to what Sowon was saying and Sinb took it as her cue to answer in behalf of the other girl. "She's...perfectly fine unnie. Uhh...just a little shocked but she's physically fine."

"Sowon?" Yerin suddenly asked. "As in Kim Sowon, the math whiz?"

"Oh! so Miss Jung Yerin knows me after all," Sowon said. "Glad you're safe Yerin-ssi. I thought my dongsaeng didn't took care of you, but I guess she did huh."

"What do you mean?" Yerin asked.

"Well Sinb is a woman of bad impulses let's just say," Sowon answered. "And I wouldn't be surprised if she did something to you aside from the attack of course."

Both were silent and couldn't react on what Sowon said. Sinb was silently cursing her one hell of a giraffe unnie inside her head while becoming red as a tomato. Yerin was also in her serious case of red cheeks that she fanned herself using her right hand.

Sowon couldn't any words from the other line and smirked to herself. 'Aish, kids these days.' she thought. "So something happened huh? My, my, my, what fast progress we have here. So interesting."

"S-shut it unnie," Sinb managed to stutter. She needed to keep cool and focused on the attack that happened rather going with Sowon's teases. "We didn't do anything but dodge those chasers."

"Chill Sinb," Sowon said as she sensed the worried tone of Sinb. "We'll talk about that later on, what's important right now is for the both of you to change cars. They will eventually hunt that car you're driving so the both of you need to transfer to my car."

"Where should we meet you?" Sinb asked as she became serious.

"Alright, I'll meet you on the next intersection,"

"Wait," Yerin interfered. "How do you know that there could be an intersection to where we're heading to?"

"Wow," Sowon said on the othe line. "I didn't know I got two idiots in this situation. Just what kind of combination the  two of you can make."

"Yah unnie!" Sinb butted back.

"I got myself a video recorder placed at the rearview mirror so I still know where in the hell could you be. But since that bastard missed his shot, I lost access to watch you girls." The other line started to explain. "Good thing I wasn't reliant on videos and synced the car stereo to mine. Too bad though I didn't get to watch what happened after that."

"Good thing it broke." Sinb muttered to herself. She wouldn't know what to do if Sowon saw their kiss. She'll die of teasing from Sowon if ever that happened.

----

"Where the hell are you right now Jung?!" Joy snapped as the other line received her call. Both she and Eunha were worried for their bestfriend and the latter only got the time to answer their numeroues phone calls during the last three days. "Don't you know how worried we were looking for you?"

"I know right, you don't need to practically shout over the phone." Yerin said instinctively putting away the phone from her ear when she heard Joy. "I just drank the past days, but this problem just won't go away. Thankfully, I'm with Sinb right now and everything's fine."

"You're such an idiot unnie," Eunha answered. Though she was happy that they could finally talk to Yerin, it all reverted to zero once she heard the girl's dumb explanation. "Of course your problem won't go away just by drinking. And need not remind you unnie, you're practically running away from it, so how could you solve it?"

Yerin was happy talking to her besties especially when she and Sinb were nearly got killed. But she also didn't like the way they were scolding her. She felt like a small child that she pouted. "Could the both of you stop reprimanding me? I know what I did and I felt sick all this time I had to cut off ties with all of you, but I need this. I need some room to breathe."

Sinb took glances at the girl who was talking over the phone. They were yet to arrive at the particular intersection Sowon just instructed them to go but Sinb felt like slowing. She wanted to spend some minutes more with Yerin alone, though she couldn't voice this out. And she knew she shouldn't slow down one bit when they're still not safe that she kept silent and contained herself by looking at Yerin's side profile.

"I need a favor to ask of you guys," Yerin started and once her loud friends stopped talking from the other line, she took a deep breath. "Don't tell where I'm at or where I'm going especially to Dad. I still don't want to talk to him or even face him right now."

"We understand that what he did was just absurd but you know, you shouldn't do this," Joy commented. "You will talk to him about this sooner or later Yerin. But if that's what you want then, we'll keep our mouths shut."

"But unnie," Eunha added. "Notify us your status so we wouldn't get worried and if there's something we could do to help you then why not right?"

Yerin was touched at her friends' support despite on what she was doing and she couldn't be more grateful than that. "Thanks buddies, that's all I need right now. I'll update you and ask some of your help if I need it. Let's talk later, okay?"

"So you don't want to go back yet?" Sinb asked when Yerin finished her call. She could sense that bringing Yerin home would be a hard task, now that she knew how Yerin doesn't want to be home yet.

"I still need to clear my head and maybe give Dad a dose of his medicine." Yerin said blankly.

Sinb didn't push her idea of going home any further and went to drive until they reached the empty intersection. They parked on one side and waited for Sowon's car to arrive. Sinb was alert all the time, trying to observe their surroundings if there are still danger lurking somewhere while Yerin was busy stealing glances of the younger girl. Ah, she was also silently praying that Sowon was a slow driver unlike Sinb so she wouldn't get nervous and so she could spend some time with the younger girl.

"Let's go unnie," Sinb instructed Yerin once she saw the familiar black car Sowon was driving since their early days of their jobs. She went out of the car and waited for Yerin to come out and guided the latter to the car that was parked on the opposite side of the intersection.

"Where do we go from here?" Yerin asked as she took a seat at the back. "You don't plan on taking me home right? Just so you know I don't have plans on going home."

Sowon faced Yerin once the latter voiced her concern then faced Sinb who was now seated beside her. Sinb looked at her knowingly like she should have known this from the start and Sowon just heaved a sigh. She was contemplating if this was a good idea, having Yerin go away from home just because the girl doesn't want to go back yet. Another thing she was considering was the ambush that they just went through. She was clear that it has something to do with Jung Yerin and that she might be in danger. Sowon has no other choices then left after she was reminded of the attack. They needed Yerin to be safe first. "Just so you know too, I'm not one to be bossed around. But sure if that's what you want, but I need to remind you that sooner or later, you'll have to face your father."

"I know that," Yerin answered as she felt like it was a deja vu. "You sound like someone else."

"What should we do now?" Sinb asked Sowon.

"Let Yerin-ssi decide for that," Sowon answered as she eyed the stubborn Yerin from her rearview mirror. "I don't have my phone with me so I can't know someone of help." Sowon and Sinb doesn't much have friends outside because of their job's demands and calling for someone to help in this kind of situation would just drag more people into danger. One minute, she was decided to take Yerin home so that Sinb would have nothing to worry about so she didn't thought of a plan B in case the latter badly doesn't want to see her father. And she also lost her precious phone just when she needed it the most.

Sinb turned her back to face Yerin when the latter was calling. "Are trying to contact someone right now?" she asked.

"I know someone whose parents owns a hotel," Yerin asnwered and called her friend, Eunha, on the other line. "Hello Eunha-yah..."

"Something happened?" Eunha asked on the other line frantically. "Tell me."

"Nothing bad happened yet," Yerin assured her friend. "But I actually need some help right now."

"What is it?"

"Could you give us an accommodation to one of your parent's hotels? We're in need of having to stay the night with and I thought my dongsaeng wouldn't fail me."

"I could pull some strings to that," Eunha answered. She was more than willing to help her distressed friend. "Give me your location and I'll let you know where's the nearest hotel you could check-in."

"But Eunha-yah, we'll use different names okay? I don't want uncle and auntie to know where I am."

"Of course, I'll take care of the names too and let you know about it." Eunha said as she went out of Joy's bed and went to grab some pens and papers. "I could use some help with Joy-unnie here too."

"Okay I'll wait for your message. Give me three names for three people and three rooms." Yerin said.

"No," Sowon butted in. "We can't afford to be separated when danger's just lurking somewhere. One room should be fine."

"Who's that?" Eunha asked as she caught someone ordering her Yerin-unnie around. And the voice seemed familiar to her. "Are you with someone other than Sinb?"

"Yeah," Yerin aswered. "I'll tell you who I'm with later, just book us a room for now."

"Okay, take care unnie," Eunha said and the other line went out.

Yerin ended the call and assured Sowon that they will be safe since the hotel they will be checking at have high security and that she has nothing to worry about. Sowon just heaved a sigh and looked at Sinb instructing the other girl to get out of the passenger seat.

"Why would I?" Sinb asked annoyed at Sowon's behavior.

"You go at the back. Passenger seat is reserved and you might as well accompany Yerin-ssi."

"Who are you reserving it for? Some ghost by the name of Eun--" Sinb struggled as Sowon immediately cupped Sinb's mouth from uttering the one name she shouldn't be saying. Yerin watched the two bickering and slapping at each other, albeit in a teasing and fun way, and she couldn't help but feel a sudden pang in her chest just by observing them. She didn't know what it was but she was kind of uncomfortable with the way Sowon and Sinb were close with each other.

"Dare try say one more," Sowon threathened. "You just don't dare Kim Sowon Sinb."

Sinb glared at Sowon. "Aish this unnie!" She went out of the passenger seat and went back, butterflies returning once again as she made contact with Yerin's skin while getting some space on her own.