Once again, sending thanks to my wonderful friend, Wheesus, for checking this chapter as well. ^^

CHAPTER 30: LEADS

The first orange hues of sunrise kissed and welcomed Naeun and Bomi on their fourth day as they reached the top of the hiking trail in the resort they were staying in. They stood in awe, witnessing the soft rays creeping and spreading quickly, until they completely devoured the last remaining traces of shadows, and while it was indeed magical, Naeun couldn’t help but think of it as a perfect analogy to how it was right then; how their white lies hid the truth from the world, from Eunji, as if nothing had happened.

“Breathtaking, right?” Naeun heard the voice from her right ask, which made her a bit tense. She then nodded in response without turning her head towards the older one.

“But you won’t see the rest of it if you’re that far. Come on, come closer.” The latter smiled and offered her hand. “It’s going to be okay, trust me.”

The younger one shook her head. “I...I really can-”

Yeondoo insisted. “Trust me, Ms. Son?”

Naeun, albeit her huge fear of heights, took her hand and bravely made a few steps closer to the edge of the cliff, until she was able to take in the full view. She then loosened her grip, but, surprisingly, Yeondoo didn’t. Naeun took a deep breath as she closed her eyes and subtly held on her hand once again, letting the warmth she longed for finally get back in her system. 

However, the stronger she held onto her hand, the weaker her resistance to just let it all out became.

“You understand why we had to do this, right? We need to keep Eunji safe.”

“Uhm...yeah, thanks.” Naeun suddenly withdrew her hand, and kept a distance from the girl. “I’m fine now.” 

“O-oh, I’m sorry.” Yeondoo awkwardly bowed as she apologized after realizing what she did. She then hid her hands behind her back, subconsciously relishing the remaining traces of warmth on her palm with her fingertips. 

Unknown to the two, Hayoung just stood a feet behind the two, curiously watching their interaction. It still fascinated her that Yeondoo’s past included the one and only Son Naeun, and though she initially never imagined this connection to be possible, it changed now that she saw them together. Hayoung took notice of how her amnesiac friend reacted when Naeun abruptly took her hand away, and one thing is for sure: this was something that they won’t be able to hide from her that long.

Awkward. 

“Alright, let’s take a pic!” Hayoung surprised the two. She draped an arm over Yeondoo’s shoulders and pulled her closer. 

“Want me to take a pic of you two?” Yeondoo sincerely asked, not knowing her friend’s ulterior motive. She was already taking a step back from them when Hayoung held her wrist and pulled her back closer.

“Please, Kang Yeondoo, we three are going to take a group picture...well if that’s okay with you, Ms. Son?” She then asked the celebrity’s permission after seeing Yeondoo’s concerned glances directed at Naeun. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to post this online, I swear.” Hayoung promised.

Naeun finally smiled and nodded.

“Yay! Thank you!” The youngest of the three exclaimed euphorically, before returning her attention back to her friend. “Now you stand here.” Hayoung then yanked her and made her stand beside the celebrity, fishing the phone out of her pocket in the process.

“But-”

“Do you really think I’d let you take a group pic with those short limbs of yours?” 

There was a short pause from Yeondoo until Hayoung finally met her gaze. “Do you want to die?”

Their bickering went on as they continued to pick on each others’ flaws and completely forgot about what they intended to do, much to Naeun’s amusement, since watching Eunji have petty arguments reminded her of those times when she and her best friend, Chorong, could go on bickering for days. However, she suppressed these feelings all within her just as usual.

“For god’s sake just take the freaking picture!” Namjoo, who just watched them this whole time finally erupted, unintentionally breaking the ice and making everyone erupt in laughter…

...except for one person who looked like she was praying, holding her phone tightly against her chest.

“You can do this, Yoon Bomi. You have to, because you can’t let this drag on for a long time.” 

Bomi murmured to herself and tried to gather all the courage that she needed. Today was d-day: the day when she planned to finally tell Chorong about her best friend. It should’ve been yesterday, but since she was still unsure of how to break the news to her girlfriend, Bomi postponed it for a day. Although her status for today wasn’t any different from yesterday’s, she definitely knew better than keeping a secret this long, especially that lying was in fact a trait that her lover would never forgive.

“Calm down, you can do this.” She continued her self-pep talk and stared at the screen of her phone, showing the dial pad.

---

Chorong, who just finished reading another book from her mom’s collection, comfortably settled herself on a hammock that was tied up in their balcony and enjoyed the cool, afternoon breeze of Oregon. 

It had been merely over a week since she arrived at her mom’s home in the States, but she already started adapting to the far different culture of the said country and got used to her surroundings. Despite the language barrier, Chorong had also gained new acquaintances, thanks to her mom, whom she would hang out with whenever she was bored. Good thing that one of them was a Korean-American, who made her life easier by translating whatever she found difficult to comprehend or say. 

Lastly, Chorong was also already able to sync her body clock with the new time zone and memorize the time difference between South Korea and Oregon, which was important since now both of them knew when to call each other without any worries.

However, she had no idea that today will be different.

“Chorong-ah!” a voice coming from inside the house called. “Your phone is ringing!”

“Ringing?” She wondered as she sat up. Since she wasn’t the type of person who fancied phone calls, Chorong never called anyone, except for her parents and her girlfriend. While there’s no reason for her parents to call her since they’re just in the living room, Bomi couldn’t be calling her at such an hour, knowing that her girl should be sound asleep at this moment, it being her day-off. 

She jumped off the hammock, quickly making her way back inside the house and towards her room to answer the phone call. Chorong came across her mother along the way and told her that it was already the second time that the phone rang. 

“Bbom-ah?” a mix of surprise and confusion came out of her voice as she answered the video call.

“Hello, babe. Good morning from here.” A smiling Bomi greeted. 

“Good afternoon from here, babe.” Chorong greeted back. “Shouldn’t you be asleep? Is there something wrong?” She immediately followed up with the question after she noticed how her girlfriend sounded less enthusiastic than usual, albeit seeing the smile on her lover’s face. 

“No, no. I’m...fine. Uhm, still sleepy I guess. Naeun and I finally tried hiking, so we’ve been awake for hours now. We’re currently resting at the peak of the trail.”

“Ah really? That’s great then!” Chorong chose to dismiss her doubts even if she was still bothered about Bomi’s unusually calm demeanor, since she knew how her girlfriend was so excited to try hiking. “Is it beautiful there? How’s Naeun?”

“Hmm...I don’t think words would do any justice.”

It didn’t take that long before she finally saw the scenery, and even if it was only through the small screen of her phone, she immediately concurred that words weren’t enough to describe the beauty Bomi was seeing with her own eyes. “Breathtaking, isn’t?”

Chorong hummed in agreement. “Bring me there when I get back, hmm?”

“Of course.” Bomi answered, and then the camera switched back to front view, revealing her and Naeun who was now beside her. “Hi.” Naeun simply greeted with a smile before disappearing as fast as she appeared a few seconds ago. “Oh, there’s someone else who wants to --”

“Park Chorong!!!” 

Another face appeared on the screen even before Bomi could finish, and she can’t help but scream in response upon realizing who had her lover’s phone at the moment. “Oh my god! Kim Namjoo!!!”

“It’s really nice to see you!” Namjoo couldn’t hide her excitement, as she waved frantically. Hayoung’s head also popped out from the left side of her screen a few seconds after, almost covering Namjoo’s, which resulted in another round of bickering. “Scoot or I’ll kick you!”

Chorong laughed at the younger ones’ friendship on full display. “When will you guys ever stop fighting?”

“I think you should be more worried if that happens.” The older of the two responded after managing to push Hayoung away.

“That’s true. Anyway, where’s Soo-ah?” She then asked for the chairman’s daughter, just to give a proper greeting, but what she saw was a sudden shift in Namjoo’s mood. Chorong noticed how the latter kept on glancing to her right side, as if being cautious about something. “Is everything alright, Namjoo-ya?”

“O-of course! I was just looking if she’s around.” 

Chorong found it weird. "She should be, right? Bomi told me that hiking with the guests was a part of her training—”

But even before she was able to finish her sentence, Namjoo then passed Bomi’s phone to Ms. Kwon. “Hello, Ms. Park.” the Kwon heiress politely greeted. “You were looking for me?”

“Just call me by my first name, hmm? It’s not like we’re meeting for the first time.” Bomi’s girlfriend replied with a smile. “I just want to greet you too, and to thank you again for our last visit.”

“It’s always a pleasure, Chorong. It’s really a pity that you can’t be with us this time. Anyway, Bomi’s asking for her phone now, but before I give it back to her…”

Is there something wrong? Chorong wondered. It was that same atmosphere again. Even though she looked calm, she didn’t miss the uncertainty in Soo-ah’s eyes. It was starting to bother her, because it felt like they were hiding something from her. But then again, she trusted her girlfriend very much. Bomi knew better than to do this.

Right?

“I just want you to know that whatever Bomi does, it will always be for the sake of others, especially you.”

Okay. That’s it. 

“Soo-ah, tell me. Is there something I need to know?” Chorong snapped. “Why are you guys—”

“Love.” Bomi lovingly called out her name after getting a hold of her phone. “I need to introduce you to someone.”

“I’m so confused right now, Yoon Bomi.”

“I know, babe. I know. I’m sorry about this.” The younger one apologized. She then waited for her girlfriend to respond, but after a good ten seconds of silence, Bomi knew that she had to get over with this. “Something happened a few days ago, and it’s something I really can’t fully explain right now. Not when this person I’m going to introduce to you is around. Can you do me a favor, though? Please...please just act normal.”

Patience. Chorong mentally conditioned herself. She also noticed the quick glances that her girlfriend took, obviously affected of whoever’s presence that was outside her vision. “Bomi surely had a reason, and I know it’s a good one...it better be…” Her train of thoughts went on as she watched Bomi’s every move with a deadpan expression. 

It didn't last long though, as she suddenly found herself in an emotional rollercoaster after seeing the said person on her screen. 

“Babe, this is Kang Yeondoo, an uhh...an employee here in the resort. She’s the one assisting us.” Bomi almost whispered as she took a few quick glances at the person she’s revealing.

Yeondoo, who finally stepped in the frame, dipped her head at Chorong and flashed an awkward smile. “Good morning from here, Ms. Park. I’m Kang Yeondoo.”

“O-oh. Hi.” Those were the only words that came out of . That was how Chorong fought to keep her calm from crumbling down because she knew that once she opens again, she’d just choke up and start crying. Act normal? How could she, when the person whom she thought was long dead showed up with a smile that she had been missing for so long? Chorong felt her insides turn upside-down, her chest rose higher as she took a deep breath, and her eyes burned because she tried not to blink and let go of her tears. 

“Ah yep! Thanks, Yeondoo!” Bomi then immediately switched it to voice call after seeing the look that the older one gave her. “And don’t worry, she’s fine.” she lied when Yeondoo expressed her concern. Chorong was far from being fine at that moment, and hearing the cries of her beloved one felt like a punch in her gut. 

Bomi hated the fact that she caused it, but she’d rather hurt her with the truth than a lie, and she knew Chorong preferred that as well.

“I...I’m sorry...” The younger of the couple whispered with a shaky breath. “I didn’t mean to-”

“I know.” Chorong sniffed, voice struggling to remain stable as she continued to sob. “I just— I need some time, Bbom-ah...”

“I understand.”

And just like that, Chorong ended the call.

---

“Seems like Naeun went for a hike along with Bomi.” Junghwa sat on the couch as she reported to her half-awake boss. “The assigned employees to assist the two accompanied them back to their rooms after dinner.”

“Assigned employees, huh? Interesting…” Hani rubbed her eyes and yawned. “Do you know their names?” 

“Oh Hayoung, Kim Namjoo…” Junghwa listed. “Kang Yeondoo, and the owner’s daughter herself.” 

“Ah, same old people. Though I haven’t seen the Kang person yet.” the older of the two shrugged. “Is that all?”

“Yeah. A pretty normal vacation if you would ask me, except that I didn’t see Chorong with Bomi.” The younger commented, which somehow fully woke the latter up. “I asked the lobby person about it, and no one by the name of Park Chorong checked in.”

A smirk flashed across Hani’s face as she listened to her subordinate. The thought of having Bomi all by herself, even just for a few moments, was stronger than any coffee to wake her up. “Finally!” she exhaled all her frustrations. “No pesky . And nope, you’re not coming with me.” she added after seeing Junghwa stand up when she headed towards the door.

“I really don’t think you should show yourself—”

“I’m not that stupid, Junghwa. I’ll just roam around and see if I can get a glimpse of her.” Hani said in defense. “I miss her, you know.”

Junghwa snickered. “I thought you said you’re not that stupid?”

Annoyed, the older one rolled her eyes and finally went out of the room. "Shut up and get some rest."

---

.

It was the first thing that came into Bomi's mind the moment her hangover kicked in just seconds after she tried to open her eyes. She felt like her head was being repeatedly hammered by cooking pans, and the taste of made her question why she even thought of drinking margaritas and beer in one sitting.

Bomi had a hard time getting up, until she remembered the reason why she drowned herself with booze the night before.

"What the is this…" Bomi muttered under her breath after a note fell down when she lifted her phone up. She bent her body down, and it took a few more curses and groaning before she finally got the piece of paper off the carpeted floor. 

It read: You’re being watched.

As if she didn’t have any hangover, Bomi rushed out of her room.

---

AN: I keep my promises. Forgive me for how long it took ><