just the mere thought of anyone harming joohyun formulated short circuits in seungwans head...

pacing around wasn’t helping either as all she wanted to do was take joohyun away. away from everything.

“ok-seungwan! take a second to breath...what do you mean they’re gonna do something to joohyun?” yeri let out a frustrated groan at the lack of information. seeing seungwan repeatedly clench and unclench her hands brought the younger close enough to grasp both sides of seungwan shoulders, making sure to lock eyes.

“what do you mean they’re gonna do something to joohyun?” yeri repeated. she commanded more than questioned.

seungwan doesn’t respond, simply getting hold of yeri’s arms. her mind filling with an exerting amount of thoughts and her heart rushing with emotions.

she was terrified.

she wanted to see that smile on joohyuns face again. the pureness that erupted too many butterflies to count. though their timings were terrible, it made the process worth every single conversation they ever had together.

but she was terrified. terrified and hesitant to admit any sort of feeling towards the older girl. frankly, irene already has countless numbers of fanboys and fangirls so she didn’t need another one weighting her plate.

but it wasn’t irene. it was joohyun she was falling for

seungwan let out incoherent whispers. breaking down in yeris arm.

the youngest was reaching a new level of desperation. “seungwan!” she rattled the girl with force.

“w-what?”

“answer the question, goddammit. what happened?” yeri had a tendency of being impatient and seungwan clearly wasn't helping

her grip on the latter's shoulder softened when she saw that familiar glint of determination in seungwans eyes.

“her bodyguards” seungwan started off cautiously, “were the exact same men who were having those meetings with suho. those meetings aren’t about dealing with drugs. they’re planning to abduct joohyun.”

yeri furrowed her brows in confusion. “how’re you so sure about that?”

before seungwan answered, she snapped her head towards suhos direction. the man clearly living up to his filthy title as three girls, who barely wore clothes, glued on each side on him.

when the cost was clear she grabbed yeris hand, leading her to the storage closet in the back side of the club.

little did they know someone kept staring at them.

“looks at this.” seungwan slipped a folded paper into the youngers hand, “this right here is what joohyuns bodyguard gave to suho before they left. when rubbing his thighs,” seungwan couldn’t help but cringe at what she did, “ i was able to get this and look..” the words were scribbles, barely enough for yeri to comprehend. she then realized it was written in english.

seungwan pointed at the very bottom of the crumpled page, “190525 transmit order at 36.70211°N 126.47158°E. starting bid of India Romeo Echo November Echo kidneys are 20 million.” though yeri could understand seungwans english, she barely understood the situation

seungwan continued in korean, “in the military, they use these code names for letters…” she paused to catch her breath, “these letters spell out irene.”

“in hell, you’re telling me—” both stood dead silent when hearing a creak. pulling out her gun, seungwan paced herself slowly towards the door. the little gap that separated both rooms were now open as she hoisted the door open only to see joohyun peeking through. seungwan immediately slipped her gun away before she could receive any unnecessary panic.

“jesus christ joohyun. you scared the out of me” it was yeri who spoke in frustration. she could barely look at her sister as the feeling of tears started trickling in.

“i’m sorry. i didn’t know you guys were having a meeting. are you guys ok?” after all that seungwan put her through, she still had the courtesy to be worried.

upon seeing yeris growing frown and glassy eyes, joohyun pouted at both their direction.

“what happened yeri?”

“—she’s fine” seungwan interrupted yeri before she could talk. within there close proximity, she signalled a ‘not now’ glance, looking behind her shoulder and into yeris eyes. “she was just a little stressed before that her nightclub might’ve been under fire if there were any drugs.”

“and were there?” joohyun question. stepping closer to the two.

“nope. yeri must have misunderstood.” if seungwan had spotted the look of offence on yeri’s face after what she said, she definitely would have apologized. but she couldn't. not now at least.

seungwan softened her gaze, reassuring the youngest to follow her lead. and so she did.

“yeah, i misinterpreted all of this. but thankfully seungwan cleared it up for me.” yeri took in a pregnant pause, narrowing her eyes then towards seungwan once again, “it would’ve been devastating if we didn’t do anything if the worst case happened.”

the tension was slightly bothering joohyun. she wanted to talk with seungwan but the moment wasn’t right. “yeah...ok i’m-i’m i’ll be outside getting myself a margarita. i’ll see you guys there.” and without hesitation, joohyun left the two with themselves.

“what were you thinking?! why didn’t you tell her!”.

seungwan noticed that glint in the girl's eyes, choking in a whimper.

“this is for her sake. if we tell her now then she’ll panic. it’s best if we make an actual plan for when the premiere happens”

“the premiere—omg they’re gonna kidnap her at the premiere.” yeri, of course, kept yelling her lungs out, decrementing the definition of a secret.

“that information is crucial. suho and his men don’t know that we know which will benefit us in the long run. we need to create a plan of attack first and foremost.”

yeri wanted to be reassured but the continuous doubt of joohyun, her sisters, safety was on the line.

“but jooyhun—”

“i promise you. i will never let anyone hurt joohyun.”

…

“joohyun”

a few feet away from her, joohyun eyes focused on how her drink swirled in her small hands.

her posture went rigid, sitting there awkwardly when seungwan called out for her.

“oh-seungwan hey! where’s yeri?”

“she had to take a rain check. mind if i sit?” her pale lips, as gentle as ever, curled into a small but sad smile.

“of course you can sit.” seungwan felt her chest tighten at the sudden contact of joohyun hands grasping her arms. she led her to the bar stool beside and when finally settling, joohyun waved for the nearest bartender who happily complied.

“yes ms. bae”

truthfully, the formalities surprised seungwan

“whiskey on the rock for this lady please” the younger disregarded her dilemma when joohyuns smiling face appeared beside her.

her hand slipped closer, barely touching joohyun’s pinkie with hers. the clouds of lust went unnoticed when the bartender interrupted their moment.

“right away ma’am”

seungwan brows furrowed as she thought about what joohyun had said before, “wait… how’d you know i wanted a whiskey on the rock”

seungwan creases of her brows deepened as she blinked twice. the sound of joohyun laugh was louder to anything she has ever heard before.

“i’m very keen on small things. especially that day when you kept ordering whiskeys until you got wasted. i’ll be truthful, it was very hard to carry you to that hotel.” joohyun kept giggling in between sentences, “my friend joy had a very fun experience in getting you inside the car.”

seungwan lips pursed, eyes narrowing to the distance between their hands. when finally recollecting her thought, she looked at her with a sheepish smile. “i must’ve been very annoying back then. i said this before but i’m really sorry for what i did before”

“where are you from seungwan?” joohyun eyes never left hers

“canada. why?”

and joohyun laughed. this time with the most iest aftertaste. “well, the number of times you say sorry had to have a reason.”

within joohyuns laugh, seungwan laughed too. as if time was going excruciatingly slow, she can see every action joohyun did. the narrowed eyes, the hair tuck, even the lip bite felt excruciatingly slow.

…

it had been approximately twenty minutes when seungwan approached joohyun. both were on their third drink and the comfort of each other.

they both welcomed a peaceful moment of i finishing their drinks but seungwan to feel the quick glances joohyun kept giving every few seconds.

she looked hesitant

“what happened..?”

“so… you and suho—”

“are nothing and will be nothing,” it could likely be the alcohol speaking but seungwan could see the glint of relief in joohyuns eyes.

“oh!” joohyun exclaimed a bit too enthusiastically, forcing herself to tone it down, “i mean… oh, i must’ve misunderstood then.”

was she overthinking the situation? most likely. but she couldn’t resist the overpowering temptation that left her stomach in knots.

seungwan leaned closer to the already close proximity. the faint smell of alcohol left each of their lips as their breaths synchronized. both hot and heavy.

with her fingers aimlessly touching joohyuns cheeks, she tucked reminiscing strains to the back of her ear. then trailing her fingers closer towards the latter jaws to which joohyun did not protest.

they both needed a distraction. it was only time till they figured it out.

seungwan didn’t hesitate, closing their distance as she brushed her lips against joohyuns.

the sweet, addicting taste was driving them both to an edge, deepening the kiss even further, each refusing to catch a breath.

joohyun fingers ran through seungwan silky short hair. tugging it a bit when their tongues fought for dominance.

an irresistible moan left seungwan lips, never losing distance with joohyun in the process. joohyun couldn’t help but smile in between kisses at the way seungwan got shy when realizing what she did.

when finally breaking apart, seungwan eyes widened comically. she wasn’t able to say such simple sentences as her brain short-circuited when joohyun lust-filled eyes haunted hers.

“woah..” was all joohyun let out from the dry attempt of catching her breath. she found herself breathing heavily in anticipation.

seungwan caught herself stalking those laviosusing lips. those porcelain lips that she shamelessly claimed only a few seconds ago. those lips that tasted so divine as it traced on hers. those lips that could possibly get kidnapped in only a few days.

subconsciously, the image of yeri choking to hold back tears came into seungwans mind. the very reason she confronted joohyun was to keep her aware of her surroundings. not telling her but instead advising her for the near future.

what she received instead was far much better. but it had to wait. for both of their sakes.

“...joohyun. not right now. i promise i’ll explain later but not right now… i have to- i have to go”

it was like a deer caught in headlights. joohyun couldn’t resist what they had there. “w-wait?! don’t leave please. what happened. did i do something wrong?”

“no! no, absolutely not. you’re incredible…” seungwan bite her lips to stop the temptation.

‘and you’re the best thing that ever happened to me’

but alas, she needed to stride the conversation in another direction

“...but i need some time to think. i’ve just been through a lot these last days and i want to make sure this is what i want” it was hard to admit that what she spoke wasn’t a complete lie. after all, joohyun was the most famous actress in korea currently. it would be wrong to haste through decision purely on what lust desires

‘but this is joohyun we’re talking about. the caring, soft, nice, sweet, gentle joohyun that overcame against all odds.’

“i have to go joohyun…” seungwan struggled as she got off the bar stool, only making the latter lend her arms out weakly. but with no success, her knuckles clench, building a new shade of white.

…

the short-haired mess heaved a heavy sigh and snapped the elastic band around her head, letting her hair fall back into a ponytail

wiping the remains of the dishes, seungwan then craned her neck at the direction of the loud thump.

“don’t break anything bear!”

“sorry, it was my pringles” seungwan rolled her eyes.

“we just ate. stop eating pringle’s this late at night”

“it is my duty as a pringle lover to eat what i love now shush.”

she scoffed at her best friends remark. mostly from feeling bitter after leaving joohyun only to arrive at seulgi playing video games on her couch.

tossing her rubber gloves aside, seungwan eased the door open into the living room. their seulgi sat comfortably on her cream-coloured couch with a tube of pizza pringles. it was devastation in the youngers eyes as that couch costed a fortune.

“yah! don’t eat on the couch. take you and your pringle’s to the table!” seulgi blinked twice, unfazed and unaffected by seungwan usual banters. though today seemed different.

“what's got you in a sour mood. was it your stakeout today with yeri or the heavy makeout session you had with irene” upon hearing seulgi speak so nonchalantly, seungwan whipped her head, face twisting in shock.

“wha—how…?!”

seulgi puckered, pointing to her lips covered with pringle dust. “you went out with a colour lipstick and came back with red splotches. also your hair was a mess when you first walked in.” the oldest winked teasingly only to fuel more fire to the already stressed seungwan.

seungwan thought to say something, to call her out, but her voice was lodged in .

she wasn’t in a mood to fight so she instead groaned loudly in defeat.

…

“you ed yourself! holy wannie you’re a . i swear you had the hottest girl making out with you and you just left. and you tried making me feel guilty about the pringle’s,” she gasped dramatically, “how dare you!”

“can you please focus on the important details. the trade off is on the premiere of ‘crawl’ which is exactly seven days from now. we need to elaborate a plan for joohyuns safety.” the girl sat cross-legged on the couch, laptop in hand, scanning through any possible information needed to sturdy out a concrete plan.

“ok i got something” seulgi chirped enthusiastically, gawking her head closer in seungwans direction. the short-haired girl pressed her round glasses closer, she raised an eyebrow questioning the latter.

“your planning a raid right?

“yes, the national security is already informed and will take actions if anything happens during the premiere. you know what, maybe i should just tell joohyun”

“are you crazy?! that’s insane. that could jeopardize your whole operation”

“i want her to know. she’s an actress and she can help us track down both the buyers and the seller. it’s like killing two birds with one stone”

“no. no absolutely not.” it wasn’t rare to see the professional side of seulgi. but this unusual tension that built in this situation confused seungwan. seulgi never resented her ideas that much before.

“you can’t risk that and you know that” seulgi could tell seungwan was scared. the hinges of would fall low, her teeth clenched painfully and by far worse, that fierceness her eyes held loses its balance.

“irene really means a lot to you doesn’t she?” an outsider would perceive it as jealousy, but seungwan knew seulgi heart was filled with sympathy. the sympathy that kept her strong through the speed bumps in her life.

she vividly remembered the time her mother fatal accident caused her death. that death left seungwan miserable and pathetic. not being there for her mother when her time was due. it was one of the biggest regrets she ever had by far. but seulgi kept by her side within each of her stages. the angry ones. the depressed ones. and even when she found peace with herself.

“i don’t know what i feel for irene… for joohyun. i just know that i would hate myself if anything happens to her.” truthfully, seungwan wanted to cry. but the constant expectation of staying the strongest held her back. so she let her whimpers lodge in , choking back her tears.

“hey look at me” seulgi cupped both sides of seungwans cheeks. perfectly cupping those cheeks in her direction, “i love you and as your best friend, you shouldn’t tell joohyun about this.”

“but—”

“you won’t because you know how much it will hurt you if this your plan backfires. if you care for her then show her that you care. you sometimes have to sacrifice things when you care about someone.” that typical smirk was one of many things seungwan loved about her.

both rested in a comfortable silence until seungwan softly poked seulgi's round cheeks, “i love you too”

“of course you do. ok since that’s settled. you and i will go meet yeri tomorrow.”

“wait why would you come?” it was startling to see seulgi bear-like behaviour come into action.

“bold of you to think i’m not going to involve myself after what we just discussed. seriously wannie?! cut me some slack here, please. please please please!”

“fine fine! you can come but only if you behave” seungwan teased

“shut up” seulgi stretched her arms out with a yawn and casually replied, “i’m going to bed. don’t stay up for too long wannie”

she smiled widely, “i’ll try too. sleep in my bed tonight”

seulgi does what’s she’s told. she grabs her emergency pyjamas that were kept on seungwan’s high self, taking short strides to the bathroom.

as quietly as she could, seulgi paused in her position to double check her best friend. everything around her screamed to not be disturbed with. her head deep in research until she turns and sees who she can only assume as yeri calling her.

thankfully she knew she wouldn’t be disturbed.

the bathroom door was cautiously locked. slipping out her phone from her back pocket, seulgi pressed in an already saved number.

three rings

“hey” seulgi starts, staying aware of the volume of her voice

“hey” seulgi adjusted the volume of her phone, she could barely hear the opposite line.

“i can’t hear you properly”

“sorry,” the sound of shuffling could be heard, “joohyuns asleep so i didn’t want to disturb. how your day?” a small frown crept on seulgi's face. she found trouble in understanding the latter's intention.

“it was good. any updates?”

“same as always. though we did track the shipment vessels that suho bought. we’re in all clear for now for a warrant. did you convince seungwan to tell her?”

seulgi listened attentively, this operation weighted her future career and she rather not risk faltering it. “yeah she bought it. i’ll update you when it’s done” the other line hummed, satisfied with their quick on call updates.

“hey, sooyoung.”

“yeah?”

“take care of yourself…” sooyoung let out a weak laugh. barely audible to reach seulgi.

“my best friends life’s at risk so that’s clearly out of the question” it was meant to be taken sarcastically but seulgi saw otherwise.

“it lying to your best friend and i understand. but seriously, take care of yourself… for my sake too”

“of course” and though each couldn’t see it, they both smiled softly in the comforting silence

“see you tomorrow”

...

 

A/N: anddd i'm back. so from further on, the chapters will progress faster to develop more plot. i'm a little frustrated at myself at how long some scenes are so I apologize if this story feels underwhelming. my goal is to create an exciting story that is enjoyable to read so if you guys do enjoy, i would love to hear about it! 

also ok can we talk about wendy's solo photo shoot for nylon magazine. like hot damnn i can't get over it ;)))  

ok. now i'm done sorry. until next time ~