Needless to say, the birthday girl enjoyed her highly-awaited present very much, in ways that she did not expect. Kim Yongsun took her time in unwrapping her present, allowing that leather catsuit to pool on the floor as she feasted on her. She was very much amused when she found body tape on the flawless body of her partner, on her lower abdominal when she had unwrapped the trembling and taut woman slowly. It covered a silver of her flesh, right below her the adorable indent that was her belly button, preventing her from leaving marks at that area. The sight of that tape snapped her out from the need to devour her fully as she shrieked in laughter, nearly falling off their bed as she was tangled in their duvet. Of course, her partner had complained loudly since she was in the mood.

“I don’t know of anyone else who will do this, Crinkles,” grinned Yongsun wildly before she climbed on her bare body and ran her hand gently up and down her beautiful and toned body, causing the muscles to clench and unclench with every touch. She leaned in and kissed her lips affectionately, trying to sooth her. “To put tape on your body.” She shook her head, amused. “Those are mine. The ones I used to tape my ankle when I pole-dance righty?” She leaned in and alternated between kissing and nipping along the edges of the rough tape. The difference of sensations was intriguing since the rough tape juxtaposed against her salty smooth skin. Her crazy partner. “You drive me nuts with your antics, baby.”

Moon Byulyi could only fist the sheets as she writhed on the bed, overwhelmed. She released her hands finally and ensnared them in her short and dark hair, pulling her flush against her. “Don’t tease,” rasped she huskily, glaring at her lover lethally.

Yongsun merely smiled mischievously before she dived in to enjoy her present in the way that she had planned right from the moment she hatched plan of borrowing this outfit.

The filming of a segment of the performance started in the late afternoon, along with their last dry run. They performed a new rendition of their titled song from their latest album, exploring the culture versatility of that piece of music. Yongsun was glad that the most revealing outfit that Moonbyul was dressed for that day was a simple outfit with tied-up shirt that revealed a silver of her waist, the exact length of the tape. Byulyi was so tired from the previous night activities that she had forgotten to check on her choice of attire, as a result, she was incompatible to the rest of the group again.

“Unnie! Didn’t we decide on sky-blue?” chided Byulyi glaring at her partner when she returned to the changing area, dressed in an outfit of white. They had a few minutes before the start of the live telecast of the fan meeting.

The two other younger singers shook her head when they realised her error. They left their unnie to scold their leader for the apparent mistake.

“Did we?” retorted Yongsun as she reached to straighten her jacket over her sky-blue T-shirt. “Is that why you picked this shade? I thought you wanted something new to match your black tracksuit,” answered the older woman factually, looking unrepentant. "It was the only non-white shirt."

Byulyi merely shook her head out of exasperation. “Yeba strikes back. No more birthday privileges.” She smacked her on chest, expressing her frustration then winced in pain. Her brows narrowed when she remembered last night.

“Who is the Yeba now?” teased Yongsun, gently the area that she had hit herself as she sighed. Her gaze softened with affection, trying to calm the taller woman down.

The rapper merely shot her an accusing look: whose fault was this? Her crazy Yeba had to go overboard. No, she ought to admonish herself for having such high expectation of her self-control.

Bloody hell, she had no self-control when it came to her and leather catsuits.

Soon, they had to be on stage for the telecast. The next part of the segment went well.

The only hiccups happened when they had to change their outfits for the fan meeting. None of the younger members understood why their leader was suddenly struck by fits of hysterical laughter when the rapper changed into her most revealing outfit of a tied top, matched with loose jeans and canvas shoes.

Wheein studied Byulyi again. She looked good in that outfit and only a silver of completely blemish-free and fair skin could be seen. Then, it suddenly occurred to her why that was strange. When they had changed their outfits, all of them were treated to an eyeful of all her hickeys of different colour and sizes blooming across her milky-white skin on the front. It was quite a sight to behold. Neither of them knew if it was because she bruised that easily or she was too fair. They looked like red, purple fireworks playing across her flesh. It was amazing that there were no love bites on the waist of the rapper.

Then, there was her back. Wheein had gasped when she caught sight of freshly scabbed scratches on both sides of her back as if she were clawed by a particularly savage cat. Being an owner of a cat meant that she was occasionally grazed by her playful Ggomo, but those scratches were so bad, she wanted to check if Yongsun unnie had kept her nails long like her best friend. However, that would have been too obvious.

Hyejin, curious, crossed the room to poke at a particularly purple bruise on her right shoulder hesitantly when Yongsun stepped out of the changing room for a while to answer a call. The rapper hissed and glared at the youngest member furiously.

“How are you still awake, Unnie?” enquired Hyejin, impressed. She picked her ice coffee and sipped from it.

“Are you really asking me that question in front of our lovable Wheeinie?” asked Byulyi, jerking her head towards the other woman applying her final touches to her blue knitted dress that reached her thigh. Her eyes flashed with mirth.

“AISH!” complained Wheein when she realised what they were talking about. “Why do you have to talk about this matter when I around? I’m going out so that you can talk freely.”

“Don’t eat any more of the cake,” warned Hyejin, knowing what a sweet tooth Wheein had.

“Aish, do you take me for a ten-year-old kid?” chided Wheein, annoyed. “I just brushed my teeth so no more snacks.” She took her mobile and headed to the corridor, leaving the two of them alone.

That impassive façade fell straight away. “I am damn sore,” groaned Byulyi at last. “That’s keeping me awake.” The rapper sighed to herself, rubbing her back gingerly.

“You don’t look like you in pain. Your dances were fine,” pointed out the youngest singer. “Unnie! Don’t tell me you gave in to her last night!”

Byulyi merely raised a brow expectantly as she shifted nervously between the balls of her feet.

The youngest member merely laughed, knowing that there was no way that she wouldn’t give in to their leader when she wanted something. Byulyi loved to make the older woman happy. “I think I am incredibly happy for Unnie. No wonder she’s walking on cloud nine. Unnie, you should have saved it for tonight instead. You did give her a present last night.” joked Hyejin as she grinned.

“Lesser time for recuperating,” answered Byulyi factually as she straightened the youngest member’s hair carefully. “I have schedule from Monday, and I don’t know if the marks will fade by then. I know that my previous marks took a few days to become less visible. Otherwise, I’ll have to force the perpetrator to cover them with make-up.” She shook her head again before combing her long hair to tidy it. It was strange to be having long hair again.

“I think it might be better than you do it lest Unnie makes them worse,” advised Hyejin finally. “They are on areas that you can reach. Just make sure you don’t wear any outfit that reveal your back.”

Byulyi shook her head again, exasperated. “This savage.” Her tone bellied her fondness despite her harsh words.

Hyejin could not help but smile, seeing the love that the rapper had for their leader. It was sweet. The fight they had last night had worried her since the two women had not disputed with such ferocity for a while. She was happy that they were at peace with each other. “Unnie, how is the contract coming along?”

The rapper blinked owlishly before she ran her hand through her hair absently. “Unnie told you that too?”

“Yah, Wheein and I know about it.”

The taller woman nodded absently. “That’s good.” Her shoulder relaxed. “The contract is completed. I haven’t spoken to Unnie about it though.”

“Is it a turning thirty thing?” She was really intrigued with the reasons her unnie had gone ahead with this plan without consulting Yongsun-unnie.

Byulyi laughed brightly before she shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess. Most of our peers will try to fall in love, get married, have a family, by now. I can empathise with Unnie’s search for future security when she hit thirty.”

“Hence the contract?” quipped Hyejin, contemplative.

The rapper merely frowned. “If it’s something that it is within my power to give to her, I would like to do that for her.” Her lips curled into a sheepish smile. “Although, I think it is far too early to talk about this. Unnie is happy with what we are now.” She placed a thumb on her bottom lip as she contemplated. “Whatever we are that is.” She thought about the three rules between them and novelty of them in their developing relationship.

“Unnie, you are ready though,” prompted Hyejin, looking introspective.

Byulyi chuckled wryly, scratching the side of her face. “I am. I am in love with Unnie for a long time, probably even from the time when she was on ‘We got Married’. The idea of ‘as long as I live’ isn’t that a large leap of faith for me. Besides, I understand where Yongsun’s parents were coming from and a contract like this will reassure them greatly that she will be cared for. My family is obviously aware of this move since it kinda affects them. If this contract becomes legal, my executor will be Unnie and she will have to take care of my family.” She scratched the side of her nose distractedly.

“Right.” She nodded, comprehending why her family was involved. Byulyi was the oldest in the family and took her responsibilities towards them very seriously, including planning for their future comforts.

There was a knock on the door and the two other members popped up, looking curiously at them. “Byul and Jinie, we need to get ready for the next segment. Done with changing?” asked Yongsun, looking inquisitively at the two women.

Wheein stuck her head above hers and peeked in too. “Oh, you’re done with that talk.”

Yongsun turned to look at the woman curiously before someone called for her. She gave them each a long look that translated to ‘hurry up’ before she headed off.

Byulyi smiled at them. “I’m glad to have you and Wheein. I am happy that Unnie goes to you kids to talk about her feelings.” She slung an arm around Hyejin’s shoulder and placed a hand on Wheein’s back as they fell in step. “Let’s go before Unnie gets upset with us.” The three women returned to the stage.

Soon, the telecast ended with their performance of ‘Goodnight’ a befitting end to the wonderful night. The manager did not even ask where Byulyi was heading, and she dropped her and Yongsun at their apartment.

All Byulyi wanted was a warm shower and sleep, while leaving her partner alone with dealing with her channel. She bid the older woman goodnight before she began her night routines to sleep. Eventually, she collapsed in their bed and gave in to her exhaustion.

After Yongsun had completed her Vlog for the night, she felt inspired to re-look at her lyrics. She withdrew an incomplete piece of lyrics to revise it again. She leaned into the white office chair as she swirled around slightly, lost in contemplation. In another two days, she had to be away for another episode of Gamsung camping, the final episode, before they were thrown into a series of performances as MAMAMOO.

“I convinced I am the one,” recited Yongsun in a quiet whisper as if she were afraid that someone else would overhear her. Her cheeks pinked at that plain declaration that she was completely in love with her soulmate. It was an epiphany that amazed her even though she had already committed it in writing a while ago.  She was indeed in love with Moon Byulyi. She run her hand through her hair absently, as she thought about the three rules that they had decided for themselves since they were entering uncharted waters.

The singer mused about the three rules and decided to refine them first. She opened another document and typed them out as she refined them.

Rule One: We must always sleep together.

Rule Two: We must respect each other’s space but agree to talk about our disagreement in person within twenty-four hours.

Rule Three: We must honour each other, our commitment to each other and cherish the time we have together.

Yongsun studied the rules she had revised critically and grinned, especially the third rule about commitment. They were devoted to each other, for better or good and that thought filled her heart with overwhelming tenderness.

Suddenly, there was a gentle knock on the door and a drowsy Byulyi was looking at her with half-closed eyes. Her long hair was tousled messily, and she was bespectacled. She wore her favourite cotton pyjamas with corgis, matched with her bedroom slippers. “Squishy, are you done with the broadcast?” asked she hoarsely, barely able to keep her eyes open.

Her eyes lighted up as they curved like crescents when she looked at her. “Why are you not in bed, Crinkles?” snickered Yongsun, amused by her adorable looks. “I thought you were planning to turn in for the night.”

The taller woman shook her head lightly before she straightened her hair absently. “It’s not the end of Solar day,” countered the rapper, letting out another yawn. She covered awkwardly. “I want to keep you company until the end.” The rapper shuffled into the office tiredly, stretching her stiff muscles slightly. “What are you up to? Planning for the next episode of Solarsido?”

Yongsun immediately blocked the screen as she rose to her feet nimbly, a hand on her shoulder to halt her. “Nothing worth mentioning. I would love company.” She smiled encouragingly at her before she decided to direct her attention to something else. “Do you want to watch some drama?”

Byulyi cocked