Chapter One

That morning, the sun rose to signal another day just like it always did. However, for two Wondergirls, the sun was signalling the end of a sleepless night.

“Are we gonna talk about it?,” Sunye asked as she sat on the sofa next to Yoobin. Not close, but not far either. Just the perfect distance to be awkward.

Sun Ye received a headshake from the girl next to her which caused a sigh to escape from her dry lips.

“I really think we need to talk about it.”

Another headshake was offered.

“I’m sorry I reacted that way really I was just surprised ok? It’s not that I don’t... but... you can’t just tell me things like that so suddenly.”

Yoobin closed her eyes tightly causing Sun Ye to sigh and give up on speaking for a moment.

“Sunye,” the slightly older girl offered gently. “We spent the entire night not talking about it, let’s just consider that good practice for other, large, continuous amounts of time we’re going to spend not talking about it ok?”

“You’re being an idiot.”

“Let me.”

“I would let you, just ask me again.”

“That’s not what I meant. And that’s not what you mean either. I was wrong to bring any of this up. You’re just,” she stopped at Sunye’s interruption.

“What, just young, just emotional, just a girl?”

Yoobin’s no doubt equally as emotional response was halted by a yawn and audible stretch.

--
“Wow, what’s with the general air of extreme awkwardness?,” Ye-eun asked as she walked in from the bathroom.

At the lack of reply which went somewhat unnoticed due to the early morning time displayed on the clock, the girl continued.

“Why are the youngest ones missing? Did Sun Mi do something weird again? Oh my God did Sohee kill her?”

As if taking the mention of their names as cue to enter, the younger members made their appearance.

“Goooood morning my more silent than usual unnies!” Sun Mi said as she strolled cheerfully into the dining area.

“Where’s the food?,” asked a sleepy Sohee close at her heels.

“Morning,” Ye-eun replied. “Actually I’m sure I’ve been speaking for a while now, asking questions, suggesting possible deaths, but apparently I’m the only one who knows that.”

“Huh?,” Sun Mi and Sohee replied at the same time, one cheerfully unaware and one unnecessarily annoyed.

“Speaking of which Sun Mi,” Ye-eun said with a nod. “You’re not dead. Well done. Let me hug you.”

“Okay!”

Sohee scrunched up her face at the two busily hugging next to her.

“Feed me now, hug for no reason later!,” she said.

--
Yoobin was thankful the others didn’t seem to be suspicious of the different air that lay about their apartment that morning.

Taking a deep breath and shooting Sun Ye the best ‘we’ll talk about this later’ look she greeted the younger girls with a smile.

‘She should really get into acting,’ Sunye thought to herself as she watched. ‘There are times I have no idea what she’s thinking. How can she be so calm right now?’

“How long have you guys been awake?,” she asked aloud as she blinked worried thoughts out of her mind for the moment.

Yoobin let her eyes fall on the owner of the voice for a second before quickly looking away.

‘I hate the way she sees right through me,’ she thought. ‘Does the fact that I don’t want to hide anything from her mean that I should completely lack the ability? This entire thing was my fault, why, why would I even leave that thing lying around?!’

Sohee leaned her head to one side and struck a thoughtful pose. As sleepy as she was it was rare for anything to get by her and she felt something odd about that particular morning.

She let her eyes scan over the group.

‘Weird ones still hugging,’ registered her brain as she saw Sun Mi and Ye-eun. ‘Older, usually dependable ones giving each other odd looks, and, hey what’s that,’ she asked herself as a flash of white showed itself underneath a dark coloured cushion on the couch.

--

“Hello?, hugging people?,” Sun Ye continued as she found her previous question unanswered.

Ye Eun raised a hand as the hug ended.

“Twenty minutes for me, probably around fifteen minutes for Sun Mi and,” she trailed off as she saw Sohee’s still-dreaming but actually thoughtful look. “As for Sohee, I think mere seconds. What about you two?”

Both Yoobin and Sun Ye threw glances at the clock.

“I guess about an hour,” Sun Ye answered. Although she rarely had to tell a lie to any of the members, admitting to a mostly wordless all-nighter was something she didn’t see as an option.

“As expected of the hard working pair!,” Sun Mi said as she stood in various ‘wonder’ poses.

“What were you two practicing for? Oh wait you have that interview thing at that radio station today right? They’ll probably make you guys sing without warning, or possibly bring up half fun half awkward conversations like when Ye-eun uunie told everyone I liked kissing her hands. Fun, awkard. Funawkward! Wow what a cool new word!”

“Is she still talking?,” Sohee asked with her eyes barely open. “Make her stop, save a life."

“Ok ok come on people, let’s get breakfast done,” Ye Eun said as she let the more responsible side of herself take over.

Sohee nodded as she caught Yoobin and Sun Ye share another look before the eldest girl headed straight for the ‘flash of white’ Sohee saw earlier.

The revelation of its complete appearance made the younger girl raise an eyebrow.
‘Interesting,’ she thought.
--
The rest of breakfast passed by without incident except for Sun Mi making unnecessary jokes and Sohee threatening to kill her.

Sometime after that however, when Yoobin and Sunye had gone and made their way to their scheduled event for the day, Sohee managed to guide the remaining two Wondergirls into being henchmen for her plan.

“Why are we doing this again?,” Sun Mi asked as they sat outside a large building. She adjusted the ‘uniform’ Sohee insisted they all wore.

“Because it’s fun and you look the stupidest,” Sohee replied easily with a smile.
“Ok even though that’s actually true, why do I have to tag along?,” Ye-eun asked, her voice dripping with embarrassment and confusion.

“Because two of us walking around in Santa costumes is too weird and there’s safety in numbers?,” Sun Mi offered.

“What’s wrong with you two? Asking all these unnecessary questions. We have a mission people. We must fulfil it or I went to the trouble of putting the Sohee effect on full blast just to acquire these costumes from the time we were one Wonder Bakery for no reason!”

“When did she get so into this?! It’s not even Christmas!,” Ye-eun asked a giggling SunMi next to her.

Unfortunately for her, she completely failed to grab Sun Mi’s attention as it was already fully directed at her most favourite accessory she ever had to put on as a Wondergirl.

“Hehe its so cool. My moustache moves up and down and up and down. Wriggle moustache wriggle!”

“Please God, don’t let me get arrested today,” Ye-eun prayed.

“Hey, hey are you people listening? I just spent the past five minutes explaining to you where we’re going but the mixed looks of stupidity and fear on your faces are giving me bad vibes. You did listen right? Did you listen? SunMi! I’ll kill you! Turn your face off!”

“Up and down hehe.”

A flash of red flew past Ye-eun’s face and she cringed as the arm it turned out to be made contact with Sun Mi.

“Oww Sohee! That hurt! And you’re still looking at me, and you still look angry, and I’m starting to feel a little afraid fine fine I’ll turn it off. So much anger for such a little person.”

Sun Mi frowned for a split second before deciding the situation wasn’t so bad after all.
“Actually this is kind of fun,” she said. “I can do whatever I like really and only Sohee will yell at me. There aren’t even any cameras around to capture it all and cause Sohee to yell at me at a later date! Look see.”

“Everyone! Let’s all do our best to save the Earth!,” she yelled as countless passersby distanced themselves from her.

“Isn’t it a little too late to have Santa visiting?,” asked a teenager walking past.

“Don’t make eye-contact they might talk to us!,” her friend replied hurriedly.

“Sun Mi!”

“See? She even yelled at me at the exact moment I thought she would.”

“You mean at the end of the unexpected and somewhat scary Greenpeace plug?,” Ye-eun replied.

“What?”

“Sun Mi I think you may have the memory of a goldfish.”

“Actually I like puffer fish better. I thought you knew that unnie.”

Ye-eun blinked in confusion.

“What? Pufferfish?”

“Hmm?,” Sun Mi replied. “I’m not so hungry right now.”

Sohee looked on with slightly open with disbelief.

“I don’t understand how that conversation just took place in front of me. You know the fact that you people are my non-blood related sisters really just, it just comforts me sometimes. It really does.”

“I’m like a sister to you?,” the other two asked happily in unison.

“You of course,” she said while motioning to Ye Eun. “You, mostly non-blood related sister with a tiny bit of adopted idiot mixed in.”

“Oh my God Sohee. You love me!,” Sun Mi said as she glomped the girl.

“Get off, get her off, unnie help me get her off.”

“Sun Mi your moustache is gonna break,” Ye Eun said calmly and watched as her words achieved the desired effect and Sun Mi shot off Sohee at breakneck speed practically throwing the other girl away from her.

“Oh my God is it ok? Is it? Is my precious face ok?!”

“Ok look!,” Sohee said as she felt the situation unwinding too much out of her control for her liking. “Regardless of the fact that I already explained, you’re both probably still wondering what we’re doing here. Or at least you both would be if Sun Mi could keep her brain on one particular subject for longer than a few seconds.”

Sun Mi smiled brightly before letting her eyes wander round their surroundings.
“Quickly Sohee,” Ye-eun urged. “I think we’re losing her.”

“Ok basically we’re here to do research.”

“On what?”

“On what the heck is going on between Yoobin unnie and Sunye unnie.”

“There’s something going on between them?” Ye-eun asked completely unaware.
Sohee sighed.

“Unnie, I’m sure you didn’t completely missed the odd air between them this morning?”

“Yeah,” Sun Mi added.

“It was like one of them just found out the other liked them or something and the other person had no idea that the other other person probably liked them back but its like they were so nervous or excited or they were just like wow what just happened there that they couldn’t even understand or even realise what was going on outside their own feelings of deep affection towards the other. They probably spent the entire night just sitting there half thinking about each other while trying to ignore the fact that a warm hug was just an arm’s length away because it was just too much for them to process. It’s all like totally complex in the brain.”

Sohee and Ye-eun started at the girl who had obviously redirected her attention back to thinking hard about turning her moustache back on.

“Unbelievable,” Sohee breathed.

“I know,” Ye-eun replied. “You guys think there’s feeling of deep affection going on?!”

“No I already guessed that. I meant Sun Mi. With the knowing. It’s... I was afraid.”

--
At that moment, Yoobin and Sunye walked through the sliding double doors and out of their radio interview.

Sohee nodded to her two partners as she hid the group behind a strategically placed tree outside the building.

“Remember people, we are on a reconnaissance mission. Keep the Santa disguise on at all times aaaand follow me! Remember, we can't lose them ok? Follow them as best you can. We have to find out what really happened.”

“And also prevent them from further ruining their relationship by forcing such awkward situations upon themselves instead of talking it through like normal adults and possibly cuddling afterwards,” Sun Mi said with a nod.

“Sun Mi,” Ye-eun started before looking over to Sohee for help.

“Sun Mi you have to stop with the brilliant analysations because to be completely frank with you, its weird and I don’t think I can take it.”

Sun Mi nodded and turned her moustache on instead.

==