“So what’s going on between you and the princess?” Bomi asked that question so abruptly that Eunji nearly choked on her water.

Eunji cleared and lowered her bottle. “All of a sudden?”

“Come on, I saw how you reacted when you found out that the Shadow Clan had breached the palace,” Bomi said. “Don’t get me started on how you two look at each other. Your flirty glances make me want to throw up.”

“Do they really?”

Bomi grinned. “Of course not. I’m happy for you.”

“Thank you,” Eunji said. She ducked her head and blushed. “I’m happy too.”

Bomi was genuinely happy for Eunji. If anyone deserved to be happy, it was Eunji, who always sacrificed her own happiness for the sake of others. Her friend had always been so bright, but recently, whenever Eunji was with Naeun or spoke of her, she seemed brighter. Bomi couldn’t say that she had expected this. She had no idea until recently, and it was only made extremely clear until after Bomi had woken up in her hospital room. Something had changed between Eunji and Naeun during the day that Bomi had been resting, but she didn’t know what. 

“Tell me everything,” Bomi said.

“It’s a bit of a long story.”

“Eunji-ah, I’m going to be in this hospital bed for a while. It’s only my second day and I’m already losing my mind,” Bomi told Eunji. “Please, for the sake of your dear best friend.”

“Alright,” Eunji sighed. “Anything for my dear best friend.”

Eunji hadn’t been lying when she said that it was a long story. She told Bomi about visiting Naeun with ice cream, which seemed simple at first, but the story quickly became convoluted, just as Eunji's feelings had become. It seemed that Eunji had always been developing feelings for Naeun, but it had been made more complicated by her feelings for Chorong. Bomi noted how Eunji was able to bring up her unreciprocated love for Chorong without any sentiment of sorrow, and that physically brought a smile to Bomi’s face. Eunji was truly happy now, and that was more than Bomi could have asked for.

When Eunji finished, she said shyly, “I promised you that I’d be more selfish. This was me being selfish.”

“When I said that, I didn’t think that you were talking about the princess of our country,” Bomi marveled.

Eunji shrugged. “I was being exceptionally selfish.”

“So what I got out of that story was that you two went from sharing an innocent carton of ice cream to making out at the side exit of a hospital.”

“Bbom-ah!” Eunji’s face blushed so furiously that Bomi laughed.

“I’m kidding! Well, not really,” Bomi said. “I’m really happy for you, Eunji-ah. Does this mean I have to start calling you ‘your Highness’? When you two get married, you’re going to become the queen to the queen.”

“It’s too soon to start talking about marriage!”

“Don’t tell me you haven’t given it any thought, your Highness. You’re dating the heir to the throne.”

“Don’t call me that,” Eunji blanched. “I don’t know. We’re going to have to talk about that, I guess.”

“For the first time in the history of our nation, we’d have two queens. That doesn’t sound all too bad.”

“It doesn’t, but could you imagine the outcry if it does happen? Some people aren’t too accepting, even in this day and age. Plus I don’t know how I feel about getting involved with all these politics.”

“That’s true. It’s far off, but I’m sure things will work out,” Bomi said. “I just want you to be happy, Eunji-ah.”

“I will be. I am.” Eunji grinned and asked,  “How are you and Chorong-unnie?”

This time, it was Bomi’s turn to blush. “We haven’t really talked about anything officially yet.”

“Seriously? You two practically ogle each other when you’re in the same room. What are you waiting for?”

Bomi gestured to herself on the hospital bed. “I don’t know if you noticed, but I’ve been a bit preoccupied lately.”

“Oh,” Eunji said. Her expression faltered and she looked guilty. “Right. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…”

“It’s fine, Eunji-ah. I was only joking.”

“Still…,” Eunji murmured. She took Bomi’s hand. “How are you feeling? About the One-Eyed Man and your teammates?”

The mention of the One-Eyed Man and her teammates brought an odd feeling to Bomi’s chest. It still felt surreal that it was finally over. She was glad, of course, but she had spent two years hunting down the One-Eyed Man and trying to avenge her teammates. She hadn’t expected it to end so soon.

“I don’t know,” Bomi admitted truthfully. “It’s hard to believe that I’ve finally achieved what I’ve been chasing after for two years. I feel…lighter, I guess. Like I can breathe easier.”

“Do you still see them when you close your eyes?”

Bomi closed her eyes and saw the peaceful darkness. There were no flames and no faces of her anguished teammates or the One-Eyed Man. It was completely blank. 

“No,” Bomi breathed. “I see nothing.”

Bomi opened her eyes again and saw Eunji smiling at her. “Good. I’m proud of you, Bbom-ah.”

“Why?”

“You’ve come a long way,” Eunji grinned down at Bomi’s hand, “yet you still came around and came back to me.”

“I told you that I’d always find my way back.”

“Yeah,” Eunji said. “Thank you for keeping that promise, even after all these years.”

“Thank you for reeling me back in. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“I reeled you back in, but you’ve found other reasons to stay, haven’t you?”

“Yes,” Bomi replied. “I’ve found several reasons to stay.”

Despite everything she had vowed two years ago, Bomi had come back and found all the right reasons to stay. The One-Eyed Man and the Shadow Clan had been defeated, and her teammates could finally rest in peace. But that wasn’t it. There was Eunji. There was Naeun, and Namjoo, and Hayoung, and… 

“Chorong-unnie,” Bomi said as Chorong walked through the door.

“Bbom-ah,” Chorong greeted. “Eunji-ah, I didn’t know you’d be here.”

“Bbom-ah was lonely, so she begged me to come visit her,” Eunji said. “But now that you’re here, you can keep her company.”

“I most definitely did not beg you to visit me,” Bomi objected.

“I might have exaggerated a little.” Eunji stood from her seat and gestured for Chorong to take it. “But you can keep her company now. I’m going to visit Hayoungie now.”

“The doctor hasn’t said anything else, has he?” Bomi asked. “She’s still in the same condition?”

Eunji looked regretful. “She’s still in the same condition. He still thinks it could be a while before she wakes up.”

“And her legs?”

“We still can’t be sure,” Chorong answered. “Let’s just keep our hopes up, okay?”

Bomi chewed on the side of her lip and nodded. She felt some consolation in knowing that Hayoung would wake up, but the possibility of her not being able to walk again was horrible. When she had first been told about it, it had been difficult for Bomi to register what had just been said. She prayed that it would just be a speculation and nothing more.

“Hayoungie is the strongest baby I have ever met. If you knock her down, she’ll come right back up, twin pistols ablazing,” Eunji said. She picked up her bag and stepped away from the bed. “I have to go visit this strong baby, so I’ll leave you two alone.”

Eunji bade her farewells, and as she was passing Chorong, she whispered something into the leader’s ears. Chorong’s eyes widened and she yelped, “Eunji-ah!”

Eunji only laughed and skipped out of the room like a child. Bomi arched a brow and asked Chorong, “What did she say to you?”

Chorong slid into the chair that Eunji had once occupied. She looked flustered. “She told me to use protection.”

Bomi coughed, and she felt her cheeks heating up. “First of all, we’re in a hospital,” she sputtered. “Second of all, how?”

“Beats me,” Chorong shrugged with a touch of a smile on her lips. “How have you been?”

“I’m getting better each day,” Bomi answered. “I want to get out of this room already.”

“You know you have at least a week left here. Your injuries were pretty serious.”

“I guess you’re going to have to help me recover this time around as well, huh?” Bomi batted her lashes and flipped a lock of hair behind her shoulder. 

“Don’t do that.”

“Don’t do what?”

Chorong glanced to the side. “Act cute.”

“Park Chorong, are you blushing?”

Chorong hid her face by lifting up her jacket. “No.”

Bomi laughed, “How cute.”

Chorong was still glancing off to the side, but she lowered her jacket and Bomi saw that she was trying to retain her smile. “How are you with everything else? Is there anything you want to talk about? I know we haven’t been able to talk with just the two of us since the mission, and I wanted to check up on you.”

“This is an awfully roundabout way of trying to bring up our kiss.”

Chorong dropped her jacket and turned to Bomi. “I didn’t know if you remembered.”

“I wasn’t in the best state mentally, but something like that isn’t something I could easily forget.”

Chorong fidgeted in her seat and fiddled with her fingertips. Bomi had never seen Chorong fidget before, and she found it oddly cute. “I’m sorry that I did it so suddenly. When I saw you in that state, I didn’t know what to do. It was my first time not knowing what to do, and I just felt this urge to kiss you…so I did it.”

“Unnie, are you really apologizing for kissing me?”

“I…,” Chorong said. “Yes. I’m sorry.”

“Oh my God, Unnie,” Bomi uttered. Chorong looked at her with large, innocent eyes filled with genuine guilt. Bomi had to admit, she was mildly amused, but it was probably not the best time to laugh at the leader’s vulnerability. “Can I tell you something?”

“Yes, what is it?”

Bomi leaned back against the pillows supporting her and looked up at the white ceiling. “Do you remember back when I first joined the team, you caught me running in the gym?”

“Of course. I literally caught you in the gym. If I hadn’t been there, you would have flown off of the treadmill.”

“Yes, but that’s not my point. I was running away from my pain, just like I had been for the past two years. I thought that if I could outrun my troubles, then I’d be able to live my life normally. But I was wrong. I saw my demons wherever I went, no matter how much I ran. Running was a useless form of coping, and you knew that. You told me to stop running and to face my demons. Do you remember that?”

“I do,” Chorong replied. “It was after we sparred.”

“Right. I think that’s when it all started,” Bomi said. “You knew that I was scared to get close to anyone because I was scared to lose anyone that I cared about. So I ran. I ran away from the possibility of being hurt again, but I also ran away from those who cared about me.”

Chorong remained quiet.

“And yet here I am. I care about Hayoung, who's in an indefinite coma. When we first heard that she was in critical condition, I feared that I would lose someone that I cared about. The pain was just like how it was the first time.” At this point, Bomi’s voice quavered. “I care about you guys, despite everything that happened. I fear for your guys’ safety, and I know that it would destroy me if I lost any one of you.”

Chorong looked frightened, like she was scared of what Bomi was going to say next. “Bomi―”

“But that won’t stop me from caring about you guys,” Bomi continued, and Chorong stopped talking. “That won’t stop me from caring about you.” Bomi lowered her gaze from the ceiling and looked into Chorong’s eyes. “I love you, Unnie.”

“Bbom-ah,” Chorong whispered. 

“Like I said, I think it all started when we sparred and you told me to face my demons. You knew what I was going through. You understood my pain, because you had gone through the same thing, and instead of looking at me like I was a disdainful weak coward, you saw me as yourself. You forced me to stop running. You took me by the hand, pulled me back, and forced me to face what I was trying to run away from. You showed me what it was like to love again.”

“I didn’t do it on my own,” Chorong said.

“No, you didn’t. You, Eunji-ah, Naeunie, Namjoo-ah, and Hayoungie all helped me heal,” Bomi agreed. “But that’s not all that drew me to you. The way you guard yourself from others but let your guard down around me, the way your nose crinkles whenever you smile, the way you silently care for everyone in your own way―I love all of that and more.”

“What happened between us was completely nonsensical. It’s something no one would have ever guessed would happen,” Chorong murmured, partially to herself. “But love is nonsensical. It happens when we least expect it, and it is extraordinary, mysterious, and perhaps the most beautiful thing that could happen to someone.”

“Is that what we have?” Bomi asked gently.

“I learned that because of what we have,” Chorong answered. Bomi’s heart fluttered. “I love you, Bomi. It doesn’t make sense, but I do and that’s the beauty of it.”

Bomi leaned her face closer to Chorong’s. “To the nonsensical, I suppose.”

“To the nonsensical,” Chorong grinned and closed the distance between them. She was still smiling when their lips met in a delicate kiss.

Chorong was right. Their love was completely nonsensical. Bomi had even found Chorong a bit exhausting in the beginning, and it had never crossed her mind a single time that she would end up falling head over heels for her. But she did, and as Chorong slid her hand behind Bomi’s back and pulled her closer, Bomi realized just how right something so nonsensical could be.

Three weeks later…

“She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” Eunji whispered as she gazed lovingly at Naeun.

“She is. You got lucky,” Bomi agreed. She had been discharged from the hospital a week ago, and was now walking around normally. Eunji was glad to finally see the color back in Bomi’s cheeks.

In front of them, Naeun stood on the stage by the podium, as proper-postured and regal as ever. Today, she dawned a flattering light blue dress that hugged her waist nicely and flowed down to her feet. Her long black hair cascaded down her shoulders in gentle waves. Eunji and the others looked nowhere near as marvelous as Naeun. They were dressed in their formal uniforms, which seemed dashing under normal circumstances, but were utterly plain next to Naeun. 

Naeun smiled out at the crowd of cameras, reporters, and citizens before her, nodding politely to those who called out her name. The king and queen stood next to her on the stage, and Eunji and her teammates stood behind her, watching carefully for any potential dangers. There were also over a hundred agents and police officers guarding the area. At first glance, this might have seemed like an overkill, but this was Naeun’s first public appearance in years and the Shadow Clan leader had just recently been killed. They didn’t want to take any chances, especially with such a large gathering of people. 

Naeun had just given a moving speech regarding the Shadow Clan and her promises for the future. Hundreds of people had come out to the palace garden to hear and see the princess, and although Eunji had expected many people to come, she could have never anticipated the massive scale of the turnout. The garden was already enormous, but it seemed completely packed with people. The crowd even extended past the palace gates, which was so far off in the distance that Eunji could barely see it. 

Eunji couldn’t see Naeun’s face, but she just knew that the princess’s eyes were glimmering. It was her first official public appearance and her first time seeing her people so close. She had gone on trips outside with her parents as a child, but she had always been sheltered and unable to face such a crowd like this. For the past few days, Naeun had been extremely excited yet nervous for this event. On multiple occasions, the princess had gotten so anxious that Eunji had taken her into her arms and soothed her calmly until she was able to breathe again. On other occasions, Eunji had found her at her spot on the roof of the palace, just staring out at the city’s lights in the middle of the night.

For someone who had been cooped up in the palace for all her life, Naeun didn’t seem like someone who would have powerful speaking skills. One would have expected her to have a timid voice, but that was not the case at all. Naeun had just given one of the most powerful speeches that Eunji had heard. At some points, Eunji had even teared up.

Naeun had been terrified of how the public would react to her, but she apparently had no reason to be. They loved her, and as they cried out to her and praised her, Eunji felt the corners of her lips unconsciously perk up into a small smile.

The princess answered a few more questions from the crowd, then thanked everyone from coming. She took a step back from the podium and bent into a low bow. That was Eunji’s and the others’ cue to step forward and Naeun off of the stage.

Once they were safely off the stage and away from the crowd, Naeun snuck a sneak smile at Eunji, then left to speak to her parents. Eunji watched Naeun walk away, completely starstruck with how incredibly the princess looked in every angle.

“My God, you’re head over heels for her,” Bomi commented in mock disgust. “You can’t take your eyes off of her for one second.”

“And you don’t do the same with Chorong-unnie?” Eunji shot back.

Bomi glanced at Chorong, who only shrugged. Bomi said, “Fair enough.”

“How about you guys don’t make me feel like such a fifth wheel?” Namjoo joined. “I mean, I already know my position, but you don’t have to make it so obvious.”

“See?” Bomi said. “You’re making Namjoo-ah uncomfortable.”

With a sigh, Eunji turned to face her teammates. “It’s been three weeks since I told you guys about our relationship, and the teasing has not gone down one bit.”

“With Bomi, the teasing never goes down,” Chorong said. Bomi shot her a look, but Chorong just smiled sweetly at her girlfriend. “We have a few hours before our next schedule. What are you guys doing until then?”

In a few hours, they were going to meet with Seungri’s family. Seungri had been allowed to visit his family once before he was to stand trial with the rest of his Shadow Clan comrades, and Eunji and her team were going to him. Eunji still couldn’t understand how someone as cruel as Seungri could have such a loving family, and she didn’t think that she ever would. Still, it was obvious that Seungri loved his family dearly and they loved him just as much. This one meeting might not have been what Seungri deserved, but it was what his wife and daughter deserved.

A lot had occurred in the past three weeks, and Eunji and the others had been packed with work. Even though the most dangerous part of their journey was done, they still had to round up the remaining Shadow Clan members and clean up their mess. Two weeks ago, Mansoo’s operation in the back of his chicken restaurant was shut down, and he was also to stand trial with the other Shadow Clan members. He wasn’t in the Shadow Clan, but he was being charged for assisting in a crime. Eunji was a bit saddened by that, because when she had spoken with him, he had seemed like a sweet old man. She knew that it wouldn’t be wise to fall for something that could easily be acting, but it seemed to her that Mansoo was simply a man who was just trying to earn extra money to pay for his bills.

“I don’t have any plans,” Bomi answered. “Do you guys want to get lunch before then?”

“I’m going to visit Hayoungie,” Namjoo replied. Eunji had expected that. For the past three weeks, Namjoo had not left Hayoung’s side unless she really had to. Eunji and the others also often visited Hayoung, but Namjoo practically lived in the hospital.

“I have prior arrangements with Naeun,” Eunji said. “We’re having lunch.”

“So like a date,” Bomi said.

“The queen and king will be there.”

Chorong, Bomi, and Namjoo all looked shocked. Chorong asked, “Do they know?”

“No,” Eunji said. “But they will soon.”

In all honesty, Eunji was only slightly nervous about the lunch. The queen and king had always been accepting of Naeun’s preferences, and they were always kind to Eunji. She and Naeun had agreed that they wanted to tell the queen and king as soon as possible, and they had planned a private lunch in the palace. In just thirty minutes, Eunji would be sitting at a marvelously crafted mahogany table, dining on the finest cut of steak with Naeun and her parents.

“Good luck, your Highness,” Bomi said jokingly. “Your queen is coming back, by the way.”

Eunji looked to the side and saw Naeun approaching them. Her parents had already been escorted back into the palace. Naeun stopped next to Eunji, and Eunji asked, “How do you feel?”

Naeun’s eyes, just as Eunji had predicted, were glittering. “Exhilarated. Words cannot explain how excited I am for the future. It’ll be difficult, but we can only go up from now on.”

“Spoken like a true queen,” Namjoo said.

“Not yet. That isn’t going to happen for years,” replied Naeun. She wrapped one delicate finger around Eunji’s thumb. “Shall we go? I have to get ready.”

Eunji eyed Naeun up and down, taking in her flawless makeup, dress, and overall sheer beauty. “This isn’t ready?”

“Not even close,” Naeun said. She regarded the others. “I’ll see you all soon.”

“You two have fun,” Bomi teased.

Eunji stuck her tongue out at Bomi, then let Naeun pull her away towards the palace, where the queen and king awaited.

“Everything’s going great. The Shadow Clan is practically dismantled, the princess is safe, and we’re slowly trying to return to normal…whatever ‘normal’ may be,” Namjoo said. She sighed and brushed away some unruly strands of hair from Hayoung’s face. “It would be better if you were awake, though.”

Namjoo half hoped that Hayoung would wake up right then and there and reply to her, but she didn’t. For the past three weeks, Hayoung had shown no sign of movement, and Namjoo had begun to stop hoping that she would wake up suddenly. It’s not that Namjoo had lost hope that Hayoung would ever wake up; it’s just that she had stopped teetering off the edge of her feet, expecting impatiently for Hayoung to wake up at any second.

“Your parents have been very worried about you. They come every day and bring their own food so they can have a meal with you. They’re at work now, but I’m sure they’ll come later,” Namjoo said to an empty audience.

Since Hayoung had been hospitalized, Namjoo had been by Hayoung’s side every second that she could. Oftentimes, she would be all alone in the hospital room with Hayoung. About a week into visiting Hayoung, Namjoo had started speaking to her like she could hear, and now she couldn’t stop doing it. It was her only way of staying sane, even when it made her go a little insane.

“You must be tired of me,” Namjoo continued. “You hear my voice everyday. But I suppose that’s not much different from what you normally hear.”

Namjoo examined Hayoung’s face. There wasn’t so much as a flutter of an eyelash.

“We’ve been inseparable since we met, haven’t we Hayoungie?” Namjoo murmured. “It’s been so long that I can’t even remember what my life was like without you.”

Hayoung remained perfectly still. Namjoo reached over and intertwined her fingers with Hayoung’s.

“I don’t want to remember what my life was like without you. I don’t want to even imagine it. We’ve been inseparable since the day we met, and we’re sure as hell not going to separate now.” Namjoo squeezed Hayoung’s hands in her desperate plea. “Wake up, Hayoungie. Wake up so I can tell you what I’ve been wanting to tell you for years.”

There was no reply, and Namjoo expected as such. She still went on, “Wake up so I can tell you that I love you. That I’ve loved you for years now and I can’t ever stop loving you. That I always think about you and that seeing you hurting hurts me more than anything in the world. Wake up so I can tell you all of these things.”

Namjoo’s voice choked, and she wrapped her other hand around Hayoung’s hand. “I love you, Hayoung. I love you so much that it hurts. And I need…I need to know that you will be fine.” Namjoo brought Hayoung’s hand up to her lips. “If you can hear me, please just give me a sign. Let me know that I won’t ever have to live a life without you.”

Like always, there wasn’t a whisper of movement from Hayoung. Namjoo blinked away her tears and lowered Hayoung’s hand.

And there it was. A reply.

It was the slightest of movements, and Namjoo probably wouldn’t have felt it if her hands hadn’t been bound around Hayoung’s. The fingertip of Hayoung’s index finger twitched just slightly, but it was enough for Namjoo to bolt up in her seat.

Namjoo stared wide-eyed at Hayoung’s hands. Slowly, the twitching became larger movements and her finger was eventually grasping Namjoo’s hand back. Namjoo stifled a cry and watched ecstatically as other parts of Hayoung came back to life; her other fingers began to curl, her other hand shifted, and her lips twitched.

Then Hayoung’s eyelids began to flutter softly, and slowly, all of Namjoo’s prayers were answered. 

She was awake. Hayoung was awake.

If Namjoo had a camera, she would have captured the exact moment that her teammates and the princess burst through the hospital room doors. Chorong and Bomi were still dressed in their formal agent uniforms and looked frantic and wide-eyed. Eunji had changed into a flattering blazer, black slacks, and heels. She looked stunning in her own way with her light makeup and nicely-done hair. Next to her, Naeun was her own definition of beauty. She was still dressed in the same dress that she was wearing earlier, but she had done some touch-ups with her hair and makeup. They all looked fine on their own, but together, they looked like a mismatched group of people with only one thing unifying them: their stupefied faces.

“That was surprisingly fast,” Hayoung observed, and Namjoo agreed. It couldn’t have been over fifteen minutes since she had informed her teammates, yet they were already here.

“Hayoung-ah,” Bomi said in one breath. She had a look of disbelief on her face.

“Bomi-unnie!” Hayoung exclaimed. She broke into a huge smile, and suddenly Namjoo remembered that the last time Hayoung had seen Bomi, it was in a warehouse with the Shadow Clan leader. “I’m glad to see you. Are you alright?”

“Hayoung-ah,” Bomi said again and rushed forward towards Hayoung. She threw her arms around Hayoung and held her tightly. “Thank God.”

The others pushed through the door and joined Bomi in hugging Hayoung. Namjoo sat back and watched their touching reunion with a warm smile.

“What about your plans?” Namjoo asked them once they had pulled away from Hayoung.

“You said that Hayoungie was awake,” Chorong said. “So we came.”

“Our plans can be postponed,” Naeun said and shared a glance with Eunji. “This is a more pressing matter.”

Hayoung must have caught the glance that they shared, because she stared at them quietly. Hayoung didn’t know that Naeun and Eunji were officially together, but from the look in her eye, it seemed like Hayoung already suspected something. Still, she grinned and said, “I feel so special. I’m a pressing matter.”

“I’m glad to see you still have your jokes,” Naeun said.

“I’m glad to see you’re safe and sound, Princess.”

“All thanks to you,” Naeun noted. “Thank you for risking your life to save mine, Hayoung-ah. If there’s anything I can do to repay you, just let me know.”

Namjoo knew that Hayoung and Namjoo had left off at a bit of an awkward place, and she certainly felt the slight tension between them. Hayoung replied, “You don’t have to repay me. I didn't do it for the reward.”

“I owe you my life.”

“You owe me nothing,” Hayoung said seriously, and her word was final. Naeun retreated, albeit reluctantly, and accepted Hayoung’s defiance.

“This was your chance to ask her to finally start playing Overwatch with you,” Eunji said jokingly.

“Or for a puppy,” Bomi offered.

“A lifetime supply of food would be nice,” said Namjoo.

“So would a new pair of twin pistols,” Chorong added. “You can personalize them. They’d make great gifts.”

“I can vouch for that,” Eunji agreed. She made a gesture to her back, where her sword was usually strapped to. “My sword is like my firstborn child.”

“You’ve lost your firstborn child before,” Chorong reminded. 

“It happens.”

“It really doesn’t.”

“Remind me never to let Eunji babysit my children,” Hayoung said.

“Hey, I can be a responsible babysitter!” Eunji protested. “I swear I wouldn’t lose your child.”

“Yeah because if you do, I’d kick you to another dimension.” Hayoung shifted like she was going to kick Eunji, but suddenly her face froze.

Namjoo was up in her seat in a second. “Hayoung-ah? What’s wrong?”

“Why can’t I feel it?” Hayoung asked shakily. She looked terrified.

“Feel what?” Naeun questioned.

“My legs,” Hayoung said. She leaned forward and began to frantically touch her legs over her blanket. “Why can’t I feel my legs?”

Hey, everyone! Very sorry for the longer wait. I was finishing up finals, but now I am free (for a few weeks). There are only a few chapters left of this story (Hint: More than one but less than three) -- can you believe it? Thanks for supporting me on this long journey :) Until next time!