Moon Byulyi was placed on a tight spot. Never had she expected that Kim Yongsun was ready to sign the contract between them so quickly that she was at a loss at what to do. Bounded to each other was something she had dreamt for so long. It felt like she was on the edge of a precipice, a foot into stepping into the misty fog that obscured her sight, her stomach coiled because she had idea of what to expect.

She rubbed her bottom lip absently with a thumb as she stared out of the window of the car, barely paying attention to the loud uproar by the Angel line sitting in the middle of the car. They seemed to be making up strange raps to fill the upbeat song. Nothing noteworthy to pay attention to.

She spun the silver band on her left hand in thought, wondering if Yongsun expected a traditional event. Should she even plan for one? This was difficult to circumnavigate since there weren’t any rules or customs she could follow, just freefalling in the air, without a parachute. Would that be too greasy that it would embarrassed Yongsun? She bit her lip hard as she fiddled with the ring on her finger again.

“I haven’t seen you wore this ring for a while,” quipped Hyejin as she brushed her hair away from her face and munched on her snack. She pointed to the ring with a biscuit stick before she placed it in to crunch it.

Byulyi’s eyes widened slightly, pointing to herself, before she relaxed and extended the fingers of her left hand. She pointed to the one on her ring finger. She had many silver bands. “This one?”

Hyejin turned slightly to look at her as she took another biscuit stick out, polishing it at a fast rate. She looked like a little chipmunk in the way she chipped off the biscuit with her front teeth quickly.

“I didn’t actually know where I had stowed it until I had to pack my apartment. This is made of silver, so it rusts with frequent wear, not my first choice as accessories.”

Hyejin leaned forward to grab Yongsun’s hand suddenly, surprising the older woman. She yelped before she spun slightly to look at the youngest member of the group enquiringly.

“Jinie! Yong-unnie was rapping! Couldn’t that wait?” Wheein sulked, glaring at her best friend as she folded her arms.

Hyejin examined every one of her fingers carefully and spotted a silver band on her left hand. She slipped out the ring from her fourth ring and lifted it in front of the window to search for engraving. She nodded to herself before she returned the ring to a bemused Yongsun.

The leader glanced at her partner for answer but the rapper merely shrug, equally confused.

“Jinie? What on earth are you doing?” She took the ring and slipped it back into her fingers.

“Unnie, you’re wearing the couple rings that the fans gave you today,” answered Hyejin finally as she brushed her hand through her wavy black hair.

“Huh?” Yongsun and Byulyi traded confused looks before they extended their left hands to check the rings out. Yongsun brightened up when she saw the ring on Byulyi’s left finger. “Byul, I didn’t notice it until Jinie pointed out.” She grinned wildly as she waved her fingers playfully.

“Should I remove mine?” Byulyi reached for the ring and slipped it out as Yongsun complained loudly and tried to stop her. The leader managed to grab her ring and stowed it into her pocket.

“Hey, don’t steal my ring. You can’t wear it because your fingers are too fat—” The rapper shot her arm around the headrest and tried to reach for the pocket of her jacket as the older woman ducked and giggled.

“Settle down, Byul-ssi,” groaned the manager aloud when Byulyi dived through the middle of the seats and tried to grab her around the torso amidst the dolphin shrieks and the high-pitch spasmic laughter of Wheein.

It was a mess since Wheein tried to push Byulyi away from them.

“Baby, stop it!” shrieked Yongsun as felt hand plunging into her pocket. She backed away, bumping hard into the driver’s seat and the car swerved slightly to the left.

The women shrieked at the sharp turn.

“Ladies please!” The manager steadied himself and righted the car. “Don’t do that! Please!”

“Aish, Unnie!” Hyejin wrapped her arms around Byulyi’s torso and yanked her towards her hard causing the older woman to lose balance and sit on the youngest member’s thighs, a side of her face smacking flat on the hard armrest.

“That hurts!” Byulyi slipped back to her seat, pressing to a side of her face with her hand. “My eye!” She teared as she covered her right eye with a hand.

“Crap! Byul-unnie.” Hyejin snatched her hand away from her face to check the damage as tears continued to stream down her fair cheek as the rapper blinked continuously. “, my nails are too long. Unnie, sit still,” decreed Hyejin firmly. “I will bloody hell poke your eye if you don’t bloody sit still.” She placed a hand on her shoulder and forced her into the seat as she leaned in to check the damage thoroughly.

“Is Byul alright—”

“—Is Unnie OK?”

“Moon Byulyi, you better sit still!” hollered Yongsun anxiously, waiting for Hyejin to examine her eye with bated breath.

The rapper instantly snapped into a proper sitting position, leaning into her seat. It was quite a pitiful sight since tears continued to roll down her cheeks.

“Unnie, you need to lift your eyelid,” ordered Hyejin solemnly, her face inches away from hers. “Two fingers. Pry your eyelids open. I want to check the upper eyelid.” She reached for her mobile and turned the flashlight so that she could look at it better. The rapper blinked continuously at the sharp light but kept her eye open as ordered. Her teary eye had speckles of blood in the white of the eye from the impact but there were no visible wounds.

“Does it hurt, Unnie?”

She shook her head as she pressed around the eye area carefully.

Hyejin expelled a breath, placing her hand on her chest. “It’s fine. Her eye is a little red. We’ll need an ice pack, just in case.” She turned off the flashlight of the mobile and placed it aside. “Unnie is such an idiot!” rebuked Hyejin, glaring at the other woman who was wiping the tears off her cheeks. She wasn’t wearing any eyeliner so there was no smudging of makeup.

“Do we need to bring her to a doctor?” asked Yongsun worriedly, studying her partner intently, her brows narrowed. She could barely see the blood spot in her eye from her angle, and it did not seem as if she had bruised the area around her eye.

“We should buy an ice pack. Bruises don’t often appear immediately. We can take her to see a doctor after the end of the screening if it’s not too obvious,” answered the manager immediately.

“I am sorry for the trouble,” returned Byulyi sheepishly, bowing. Hyejin leaned in and strapped her into the seat with the seat belt.

“Don’t you dare move away from your seat, Unnie.”

“You should be, Unnie,” sighed Wheein as she patted her chest, trying to self-sooth. “My heart stopped for a second.” She returned to her seat as she shook her head.

“Should Byul continue to wear contacts?” asked Yongsun, concerned. She remembered reading somewhere that it might not be a good idea.

“It should be fine if there isn’t any irritation,” returned Wheein, turning to look at Byulyi carefully.

“I have stopped tearing. No irritation.” She wiped her cheeks with her hand roughly, cleaning the tears away.

The rest of the ride was deathly silent.

Suddenly, the manager pulled up at a convenience store and headed out to pick it up. Yongsun immediately unbuckled and switched place with Hyejin, wearing a scowl on her face. The two Maknaes were terrified to see their usually bubbly leader so stern and neither of them wanted to be at the end of stare.

Byulyi remained still, afraid when Yongsun gave her the pointed look. She reached to prod the area around the injured eye carefully, ensuring that it was not discoloured or bruised before she checked her eye by lifting her eyelid.

The rapper could only hold her breath as her beautiful but enraged partner continued to study her injured eye. So beautiful. Her heart was hammering so hard that she was certain that the two Makanes could hear her rapidly heartbeat.

“I hope it won’t swell,” murmured Yongsun, dropping her hands on her chest absently, leaning on the rapper. She blinked continuously, feeling how rapid her heartbeat was.

Byulyi couldn’t help but smile sheepishly when their gaze met briefly, the leader’s full of curiosity as the latter woman stared deeply into her eyes. “Will you kiss it better?” Her voice was unusually deep before her intent gaze glued on her red lips. She her bottom lip absently.

Yongsun threw herself back into her seat, her cheeks pink. She broke their gaze. “Byul, can you be serious? It’s your eye and face we’re talking about.”

The rapper could only clear her voice loudly before she straightened herself. “My eye is fine and it doesn’t feel bruised even though it came into contact with the armrest,” answered she earnestly. A furrow appeared between her brows. She studied the other woman and noticed that she looked very tensed. She reached to hold her hand. “I am alright, Squishy.” She was relieved when her partner allowed her to touch her. She reached to squeeze her thigh comfortingly as she studied her expression.

Yongsun brushed her hand through her hair agitatedly before her shoulders relaxed completely, as if resigned to the fate that there was nothing much to be done.

The rapper ran her hand through her short black hair and straightened it carefully as Yongsun continued to stare at her openly.

“I am sorry, Crinkles,” offered Yongsun quietly. It was so soft that the other woman could barely hear her. “It’s partly my fault that you’re hurt.”

She shook her head. “No, it was mine. I wasn’t being careful,” chuckled the rapper. “I am sturdier than you think. I’m fine.” She reached for Yongsun’s bottom lip and smoothed it. “Don’t bite your lip. The skin will break.”

She rolled her eyes at her. The manager returned with ice packs and handed it to the members as he ignited the engine again. They needed to be at the studio for filming. They passed it to Byulyi so that she could press it against her face.

“Cold.”

“Don’t be a baby. Didn’t you say it wasn’t painful? Just press it to your face,” ordered Yongsun as she strapped herself in and continued to monitor her partner.

The rapper reluctantly did as she was done. She had to apply ice consistently for the rest of the trip under the hawkish stare of her partner. Byulyi had to admit that it was weird that she was watching her uncompromisingly and she was resigned to her overprotective ways.

They reached the carpark of the studio. The manager stepped out of the ride while the two younger women scrambled out of the car. Yongsun leaned over to unbuckle Byulyi’s seatbelt and kiss her lips sweetly. Byulyi lightened up at the peck, staring at her as the shorter hair woman drew away from her slowly, a gentle smile on her lips. She patted her cheek, uncovered by the ice. “Baby, be good.”

Her eyes widened dramatically as her heart skipped a beat.

Yongsun followed the Maknaes out of the ride as the rapper tried to come in terms with what had happened. She touched her lip absently, the tingling sensation of her lips still on hers. Her lips curled into a goofy smile as she climbed out of the backseat and out of the ride. Yongsun held her elbow as they headed towards the studio for work.

Many of the background staff were concerned when Byulyi turned up, holding an ice pack to her face. However, she thanked them politely for their concern and explained that she was fine. The damage was barely visible if they did not zoom into her eyes since the blood spot was hidden by her eyelid and her bangs. When they were reassured of her well-being, they continued business as usual. They had to check their outfits and get ready for the program.

Yongsun grabbed Byulyi’s left hand suddenly so that her fingers were extended.

“Yong-unnie?”

The rest of her finger curled over Yongsun’s hand as she rubbed her fingers absently with her thumb. Then, she separated her fourth finger from the other fingers by slipping her thumb under it, propping up the ring finger.

Byulyi lifted her face to look at Yongsun and noticed that she looked remarkably serious, a crease between her brows as she eyed her finger intently.

. She wouldn’t right? They were at work, for goodness’s sake!

Her stomach coiled painfully. Should she withdraw her hand and walk off?

Her heart stopped when Yongsun carefully held the silver band with her index finger and thumb and slid the ring into her finger cautiously. Byulyi could only swallowed visibly as she watched Yongsun slip the silver band past her finger joint until it rested snuggly at the base of the finger.

Yongsun finally looked up from her task to meet her gaze again. Her gaze was gleaming with liveliness. “There you go.”

Byulyi withdrew her hand from her sharply as if scorched by the touch. “WW-what are you doing?” Spluttered Byulyi, her cheeks dyed crimson. She cradled her hand and backed away from her quickly.

Yongsun merely clapped her hand then shrieked in laughter. The two Makanes only looked on, curious, before they returned to their work. Wheein helped to adjust Hyejin’s tendril of hair framing her face.

“I’ll get back at you, Yong-unnie,” scowled Byulyi as she stowed her both hands into the front pockets of her jean and sulked like a petulant child. For a moment, she thought that crazy Yeba was going to propose to her. She placed a hand on her heart when she was away from her view and breathed a sigh of relief. That stupid Yeba wanted to give her a fit.

“Bring it on,” challenged Yongsun and she stuck her tongue out at her.

Byulyi could only blow a raspberry in reaction before she returned into the default mode of pouting.

Hyejin jerked her thumb at the two unnies. “Kids.”

Wheein nodded sagely. “Turning thirty is scary.”

They traded looks of exaggerated horror before they chimed in peals of laughter.

Byulyi was presented the chance to get back at Yongsun though it meant traumatising the kids too. The hosts wanted the rapper to lip-sync to their song, sang by one of the contestants. MAMAMOO were so excellent at performing live that it also meant that they were equally horrendous at lip-syncing. The idea of getting her revenge crossed her mind briefly as she scrambled to the middle of stage and begin her performance. She smirked to herself briefly as the music came on. Well, let’s just give them an unforgettable performance.

Moon Byulyi became the Moon snake as she pulled off an electrifying performance with her usual swag which sent her members screeching and cringing in horror at her. Wasn’t that one of the tenets of a magician: hide a sleight of hand by executing an exaggerated gesture that will capture the audience’s full attention? She had a lot of fun watching her teammates squeal at the top of their voices. Hyejin kept waving her hand as if swatting the image of her away while Yongsun merely buried her face into Wheein’s neck and shrieked.

Oh, their poor kid.

She could feel her cheeks pinking at her attempt, but she soldiered it through, savouring the way her members squirmed. Yongsun was hugging herself with both arms. She collapsed into Yongsun’s lap before she withdrew herself and sat on the stool and continued to laugh at her humiliation.

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