“YOU LITTLE DEVIL–” Joohyun hisses, dragging Yeri by the ear, before proceeding to wrap her arm around her cousin’s neck, cutting off her high-pitched squeal.

“UNNIE– ack–” Yeri sputters, desperately clutching at Joohyun’s arm, “ICANNOTBREATHE–”

“I should have bought duct-tape and sealed your mouth with it!”

“ACK!”

“I STILL HAVE AN IMAGE?!”

“B-BUT–”

“AND YOU RUINED IT!”

“MYYBURFDAY–”

“YOU MEAN YOUR DEATH DAY.”

“NOOOO–”

“SHADDUP.”

***

Wendy is a snowperson stuck in a madhouse. An idyllic, pretty-like-Ikea, walls plastered with Baby JooJoo photos, pink banners and blue turtles kind of madhouse. And she’s calm. She thinks she’s calm. She’s not going into another round of hysterics, for sure.

(And in this madhouse, they serve very nice tea. In very cute cups. Kind of like a scene right out of Alice in Wonderland really.)

She half-expects someone to appear from a cupboard with cameras shoved to her face screaming, “YOU’RE ON A HIDDEN CAMERA SHOW CALLED MEET YOUR SENPAI!”

Or at least, somebody would kindly wake her up from the impossible dream she is having.

Wendy hears another strangled squeal and eyes the wall warily, biting her lip. She isn’t certain how she manages to keep a straight face as she listens to Bae Joohyun choking the life out of her little cousin. (Note to self: If ever she needs to drag anyone away to kill them, always make sure that the door is closed and, as a plus, the walls are soundproof.)

Something that is common occurrence in the house, Aunt Soljin assures her. Considering it’s her daughter’s life that’s at stake, she doesn’t seem the slightest bit disturbed by a certain JooJoo possibly killing her little baby munchkins.

JooJoo. No, Wendy is still not over that. She will never be over that. JooJoo is definitely sticking for life.

“Don’t you think it’s such a lovely day for my baby munchkin’s birthday?” Aunt Soljin sighs dreamily, chin resting in the palm of her hand, “It’s a good sign for things to come, for sure!”

There’s a thud on the other side of the wall and a corner of Wendy’s awkward smile twitches.

“JooJoo did such a good job with the decorations! And the chocolate cake, you are amazing!” The older woman continues, clapping ecstatically.

Wendy decides to take that brief moment to inwardly pat herself on the back for not messing up the cake in any way. It’s still in one piece when they opened it to check on it. Thank God something is going right today.

Not that it’s wrong to be sitting right smack in the middle of the Bae family’s kitchen.

Another high-pitched shriek coming from Yeri. Aunt Soljin dabs at her eyes with a handkerchief, “Oh would you hear that? The two of them are so close, Yeri and JooJoo. Like sisters!” She sniffs, gesturing to a pot on the table, “Would you like some tea?”

She really should be calling the police at this point, Wendy thinks as she watches the crazy woman pour tea into a cup, but Wendy still holds out hope that her senpai is not actually a serial killer (although let’s face it, she only wants to ask Yeri what on Earth did she mean by ‘kryptonite with beautiful buns’)

The doorbell rings, and Aunt Soljin, if possible, looks even more crazed with her wide eyes, “Oh, munchkins! They are here!”

***

“Babe, why can’t we just be normal for, like, five minutes?”

Against her better judgement, Joy decides to follow Seulgi (and Pringles) on their mission to save all the caterpillars from their clutches of the evil Cabbage’s family, her sanity already slipping away with every step.

Unfortunately for Seulgi and Pringles (and thank the damn Satan for hearing her cries for help), a stream of 10-year-olds are storming into the house, guests for the kid’s party. Joy frowns at a lady clapping her hands like some wind-up monkey toy, her enthusiasm hardly letting up.

No sign of Wendy though.

Unfortunately for Joy (and she should know better than to trust Satan after all), Seulgi and Pringles are not deterred, with Seulgi getting it in her head to sneak around to the backyard instead.

(Of course, one could not simply just approach the bloody front door and inquire whether a certain Olaf has completely melted in the house. Of courseeeee.)

“They mustn’t know our mission, Joy,” says Seulgi seriously, “Think of the caterpillars!”

“I’m thinking whether the caterpillar has possessed you,” Joy sighs, idly checking her manicure before groaning a moment later, “Damn, I broke a nail! I blame you for this, Kang Seulgi.”

But Seulgi isn’t listening. She’s trying to climb a tree in a fruitless attempt to look beyond the tall wooden fence the Baes had fixed. The bear clambers helplessly at the bark and Joy simply gapes in disbelief.

“I don’t think climbing is part of a bear’s skill set, you know. Unless you’re a koala bear.”

Seulgi juts out her lower lip, disappointment painted on her face. Joy bites back another sarcastic remark and sighs once more.

(Satan or not, Joy has a soft spot for this idiot.)

“Why don’t we just, sit down for a moment, and talk about this?” Joy succeeds in coaxing Seulgi who immediately plops despondently onto the ground at the foot of the tree.

Joy squats down, brushing aside some dirt on the dead leaves before sitting down completely, “Okay. Why are we doing this again?”

Seulgi huffs, “To save Olaf and the caterpillars!”

Joy hums, nodding as she pats Seulgi’s back, “But Seul, what if the caterpillars are happy in there? What if they like being in the Baes’ front-yard?”

Seulgi is immediately stricken with horror, “But Pringles–”

“Perhaps Pringles is the only caterpillar who’s not happy in there!” Joy explains patiently, not even trying to believe any of the words coming out of , “Maybe Pringles and you are meant to be! Did you ever think that?”

Seulgi is silent, staring at the caterpillar now crawling down her shirt. Joy heaves a sigh of relief upon seeing the words finally sinking deep into the other girl’s brain.

Finally, Joy says, “I don’t mean to sound ridiculously musical-like, but Seul,” the girl looks up with shiny eyes, “Seul, you need to let it go.”

“What about Olaf?”

“Olaf has the power of Taylor Swift on her side, don’t worry about her,” Joy nods seriously, watching Seulgi think deeply over her words. It’s working, bless me, I’m so amazing –

“But don’t you think it’s wrong to simply assume that all caterpillars in there are happy?” Seulgi demands, Joy jerking her head back in surprise at the latter’s outburst, “What if they are terrified and alone but they don’t have the courage to stand up for themselves?!”

“Seul, caterpillars can’t –”

“They need a symbol!” Seulgi raises her voice, pointing at Pringles, “A symbol of rebellion! An example to the cause! They need hope that they can turn into butterflies in peace without humans trampling over them or flicking them away to God knows where!”

After her impassioned roaring speech, the two of them sit in total silence, Joy rendered completely speechless. Slowly, deliberately, she brings her hand up and flick Seulgi’s forehead hard.

“Remind me to take away your collection of the Hunger Games movies.”

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