It was 3pm and Hyojin was in the kitchen trying to figure out how to cook something without burning her house down. She was about to begin, when she heard yelling coming from Solji's house. It was weird because Solji was usually silent. Hyojin went to the window and saw an unfamiliar car on Solji's driveway. That's when she left her house and moved closer to Solji's, hiding and listening in through an open window. She could hear a man's voice, he was yelling, and a woman crying.

"You're ing useless, Solji! I don't know what I ever saw in you."

"Don't say that, please."

"Shut up! Did I say you could speak? Dumb ."

Hyojin heard a slap, then more crying from Solji.

That's when she knew she had to act.

Hyojin ran to the door and luckily it was already unlocked. She found them in the kitchen, Solji was backed up into a corner and the man was towering over her. She grabbed the man, pulling him away and pinning him against the wall. He was clearly shocked and unprepared.

"Tell me you didn't just hit her." Hyojin growled.

"I--" He started, trying to think of something.

"Hyojin..." Solji whimpered.

"Tell me you didn't just ing lay your hands on her! Because it sure sounds like you did!" Hyojin yelled, her hands moving up around the man's neck, beginning to restrict the airflow. "Did you come here to bully her? Hurt her? You're ing pathetic."

"P-Please--" The man gasped.

"Touch her again, and I'll ing kill you." Hyojin hissed, letting go of the man.

He fell to the floor, gasping for air.

"Sorry... Won't do it again..." He wheezed, before scrambling to his feet and running out of the house.

Hyojin turned to Solji who was sobbing by now. She was about to speak when Solji suddenly threw herself at Hyojin, hugging her tightly.

"Hyojin... I was so scared..." Solji sobbed. "I thought he was going to kill me..."

"I'm here. It's okay. He can't hurt you anymore." Hyojin mumbled, holding onto the other woman tightly.

"I can't stay here, Hyojin. Not by myself. What if he comes back when you're not here?" Solji lifted her head, looking up at Hyojin.

"You can stay with me. I know it's only next door, but at least I'll be there. Or Hani will. Maybe even both of us if you're lucky." Hyojin said.

"You'd let me stay with you?" Solji tilted her head slightly.

Hyojin nodded. "You'd be a lot safer with me. Let's go. You can help me cook."

And with that, Solji grabbed a few things before they went over to Hyojin's house.

Solji had never been inside Hyojin's house before. It was cleaner than she'd imagined, seeing as she knew there were usually multiple people staying with Hyojin at any given time. However, right now it seemed to be just Hyojin.

"Is Hani not around?" Solji asked.

Hyojin shook her head. "She's helping Junghwa with her work. But she'll be here later."

"Does she ever stay wherever she actually lives?" Solji frowned. "She's here an awful lot."

"She doesn't like her roommates." Hyojin said as she pulled Solji into the kitchen. "They aren't nice people. She wants to get an apartment with Junghwa, but they both don't have enough money."

"Oh, I see." Solji went quiet for a moment as Hyojin handed her a box.

"Read this. I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing. I just want the pie. It's got a million instructions to follow. You seem like you'd know what to do." Hyojin said, folding her arms and watching Solji read.

Ten minutes and a lot of laughing from Solji at the fact Hyojin couldn't put a pie in the oven later, Hyojin's pie was in the oven.

"Hyojin, can I ask, how did you afford this house by yourself?" Solji asked.

Hyojin paused for a moment, before shrugging. "I have a job. It pays well. My uncle helped me buy the house."

Solji nodded. There was silence again before Hyojin spoke.

"Was he always that mean to you?" Hyojin asked quietly.

Solji sighed. "He was great at first. But then... I don't know what happened. I don't know what I did. It was a little while after Kyungmi was born. He just snapped. I had to leave, and I tried to take her with me but I couldn't."

"He's an ." Hyojin grumbled. "But you're safe now, right? You're with me."

"I'm just worried about Kyungmi. I don't want him to hurt her." Solji mumbled.

"Is there a way to get her to come live with you?" Hyojin asked.

"It'd be through the court and stuff. My lawyer failed. But I could appeal again." Solji said.

"I have a friend. She's a lawyer. She got me out of some bad situations in the past, maybe she could help you?" Hyojin suggested.

"I'll need to speak with her first, obviously." Solji said.

Hyojin nodded. "Of course. I can get her to come over tomorrow if you like?" Hyojin asked.

Solji nodded. "Okay."

Hyojin ended up sharing her pie with Solji before they moved to the living room and started watching a show together. They were two episodes in when the front door swung open.

"I'M HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOME!"

It was Hani.

"You don't live here." Said Hyojin.

Solji had to try and hide her laughter.

"Don't be rude, I sleep here almost every night. This is my home." Hani said before she walked into the kitchen, not noticing Solji on the couch.

"It's rude to ignore guests!" Hyojin yelled.

"You never have guests unless you're ing someone!" Hani yelled back.

"Shut up!" Hyojin grumbled, hiding further into a cushion as Solji laughed.

"Oh! Who's that?" Hani suddenly ran in and gasped. "Solji! What are you doing here? She hasn't trapped you here, has she?"

Solji shook her head. "I'm just staying for a while, there's some stuff being worked on in my house."

"Ooh! Okay!" Hani said with a smile. "Well, don't let Hyojin boss you around."

"Do you know if Hyelin's free tomorrow?" Hyojin suddenly asked.

Hani shrugged. "She should be. Why? Are you in trouble again?"

"No. I just need her for a friend." Hyojin said.

"Just tell me it's about you, Hyojin. Who did you punch this time?" Hani teased before running off into the kitchen before Hyojin could throw anything at her.

"You punched someone?" Solji asked with wide eyes.

Hyojin shrugged. "He swung at me first."

They continued watching their show, Hani eventually joining them and chatting away about what she did all day. After an hour, Hani passed out on the couch, so Hyojin ended up taking her upstairs to her bed before returning to Solji.

"You can take my bed tonight." Hyojin said. "Before you even try to decline it, you'll be the safest there. If he comes back looking for you and knows you're here, he'd have to get through me first."

"Are you sure it's okay? Won't you be uncomfortable on the couch?" Solji asked, frowning.

Hyojin shook her head. "I spent a year sleeping on various couches, and I know how comfortable mine is compared to some of the ones I slept on."

They finished watching the next episode of the show, before Solji retired upstairs to sleep.

Hyojin ended up curled up on the couch, looking at her phone. She decided to text Hyelin.

"I need your help with something. A friend of mine is in a bad situation."

A few minutes later, she got a reply.

"I'll be over tomorrow. It's nice to see you're not the one in trouble this time."

"Listen. I haven't been in trouble in ages. See you later."

And with that, Hyojin put her phone down on the coffee table and went to sleep.