A hand grabbed Moonbyul’s shoulder and the feeling of dread overwhelmed her. She turned around slowly as she cycled through the excuses in her head to find the best one. However, she knew no matter what she had to say, she was probably in for another long interrogation. To top it off, she might be teased for the rest of her life. She swallowed and took a deep breath to prepare for the worst.

“What’s wrong, boss? You looked like you saw a ghost.” Jade smirked, amused to see this side of Moonbyul for the first time.

Oh, thank God it’s just them. That scared the out of me. She let out a sigh of relief and smiled as though she had found her saviors. “D-Dong-Yul? Jade? What are you two doing here?”

“You’re that happy to see us?” Dong-Yul raised an eyebrow.

“We’re here to visit a friend.” Jade responded, not wanting to admit that their visit had long concluded and they were on the lookout for Moonbyul. “Are you also here to visit a ‘friend’?” She emphasized as she giggled.

Moonbyul was a bit confused but she couldn’t admit she had come to the hospital to spy on her ex. Or that she was hiding now because of this morning, which had thrown her plan into disarray. She gave a response she didn’t think could be thought provoking. “You could say that.”

“Is that so~?” Dong-Yul said skeptically. We’ll see about that. A mischievous smirk formed on a corner of his lips.

“Yes…?” Moonbyul shrugged as she responded; unsure how to answer. What’s going on? Why are they acting like that?

“You don’t have to hide it. No need to be shy.” Jade slapped Moonbyul’s shoulder. In her excitement she used too much force and knocked Moonbyul off balance.

Moonbyul rubbed her shoulder, a slight sting still lingered. “Hide? Shy? What?” She looked baffled. What are they talking about? “What are you–?”

Jade and Dong-Yul were already making their move before Moonbyul could question them. They grinned at each other before inching closer to Moonbyul. Standing shoulder to shoulder, they sandwiched her as if afraid she would escape. “You can tell us about it.” Dong-Yul looked at her with the beaming eyes of a curious little boy.

“Yes, yes tell us!” The suspense is killing me! I can’t take it!? Jade grunted.

“About what?” Moonbyul raised an eyebrow.

“You know~” Jade nudged Moonbyul, her fingers intertwined behind her. She swayed gently back and forth as if she was a school girl confessing for the first time. “That thing~” she said timidly.

“What thing?” What the hell are they talking about!? What is the point of this!? Moonbyul furrowed her brows, her frustration more apparent by the second.

“Come on, just tell us a little,” Jade pleaded. “We won’t tell another soul!”

Moonbyul, still visibly confused at the situation, asked, “Are you feeling okay?”

“Of course we are! Are you!?” Dong-Yul was having a hard time containing his emotions.

Moonbyul thought about it for a moment but she still couldn’t figure out why they were acting so strange. “Did you two hit your head?” She asked cautiously.

“C’mon, just a little.” Jade placed her hands together and pleaded.

“I think you should see a doctor.”

Dong-Yul didn’t want to beat around the bushes any longer and screamed, “the kiss! Who was the guy that you kissed!?”

The patients and staff who were within earshot turned in their direction, as if anticipating the gossip of the day. Most returned to what they were doing almost instantly, except for a few. They got closer and leaned against the wall, thinking it would help them blend in to their surroundings. It would have worked if they weren’t being so obvious that they were eavesdropping.

“What are…”

“We saw it, so don’t try to deny it.” Jade put her foot down before Moonbyul could refute. “You kissed him!”

“It’s not…”

Before Moonbyul could explain, a familiar voice screamed, “YOU WHAT!?”

F my luck. This can’t be happening. Moonbyul turned towards the person and smiled nervously. “Whee-In... Hwasa… w-what are you doing here?”

“Did I hear them correctly!? You-you KISSED some guy!?” Whee-In questioned as she stormed over.

“Not some…it’s a…nevermind…” Moonbyul sighed and rubbed her temple. What am I saying? I’m just making it worse.

“Who was it!?” Whee-In demanded.

Hwasa gleefully followed, as if hearing this news had made her day. “I’m also dying to know,” she said cheerily, thoroughly amused at Moonbyul’s situation.

“It’s not what you think. It was an accident.” Moonbyul assured, but knew they didn’t believe her from their expression. She rubbed her temple and sighed. Why am I even explaining myself to them?

“Don’t listen to her,” Dong-Yul exclaimed. “We saw it. We’ll tell you what happened!” He said proudly, bumping Moonbyul aside.

“Oh, really? Do tell.” Hwasa said with a mischievous grin.

“Yes, do tell.” Whee-In said sternly as she glared at Moonbyul.

“You said you wouldn’t tell another soul!” Moonbyul protested.

“That was IF you told us something. You didn’t.” He waved her off, excluding her from their newly formed circle of four.

As they began to whisper amongst themselves, Moonbyul tried to protest, “hey, don’t…”

Before she could get another word in, Hwasa interrupted her, “Shh, let them talk.”

“It’s not…” Moonbyul tried to force her way in between them.

They denied her entry and tightened their little circle’s security. “Shh! I want to hear this! This should be good.” Hwasa giggled like a kid who just found her favorite toy.

Jade and Dong-Yul had gone to the hospital that morning to visit a friend. As they were leaving, an obnoxiously loud engine caught their attention. They followed the sound to find a beautiful sight. A man had gracefully fallen into Moonbyul’s arms. She wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, while his hands were placed lovingly on her chest. She vowed to protect him as the gentle wind brushed past their hair. Their eyes locked in that passionate moment and before long their lips brushed against one another. Jade and Dong-Yul acted out the scene with added intimacy for special effect.

“That can’t be,” Whee-In said skeptically.

“Yes th–”

“What if it’s true?” Hwasa stood in front of Moonbyul and interrupted her.

“It’s not–”

“I’m telling you it’s true!” Jade chimed in.

“We have proof!” Dong-Yul said with a big grin.

“You do!?” Moonbyul, Hwasa, and Whee-In said in unison.

“Of course.” Jade slapped her puffed up chest. “Show ‘em.” She gestured to Dong-Yul.

Dong-Yul pulled out his phone to show photographic proof of that glorious moment. The photo was zoomed so Hwasa and Whee-In didn’t know Solar was there as well. Moonbyul was shocked when she saw the photo. She tried to snatch it but they knew it was coming and prepared accordingly. Moonbyul was unsuccessful in destroying her incriminating evidence. She could only watch in terror as they displayed it in all of its glory.

Hwasa and Whee-In were speechless. Whee-In was unconvinced but all she did was grumbled when she saw the photo. Hwasa was intrigued although she knew the truth was probably something a lot less exciting. That knowledge didn’t stop her from playing along, instead it only served to encourage her. They all looked at Moonbyul for a confirmation and expected some more details, but she was no longer standing nearby. In fact, she had already run halfway down the hall.

When Jade and Dong-Yul were telling the story, Moonbyul rolled her eyes at the embellished facts. She decided she would just tell her version of events after they were done to clear up any misunderstandings. She waited for them to finish, shaking her head and sighing at the details they have decided to add.

After they finished and were flashing the photo for all to see, she tried to retrieve it but failed. As she was getting ready to correct them, she saw Solar heading their way. Without a second thought, she ran in the opposite direction, hoping that Solar didn’t notice her. The moment they realized she had taken off; Jade, Dong-Yu, and Hwasa pursued her, wanting to get more juicy details out of her.

“Hey! Where are you guys…” Whee-In screamed and went after them, but stopped when she heard Solar’s voice.

“Whee-In? Why are you here? Are you not well?” Solar said worriedly.

“No, I’m fine.”

“Is it Hwasa then?”

“She’s fine too.” Whee-In replied quickly.

“Then what–?”

“That’s not important! Did you know Moonbyul kissed someone?”

“Mhm,” she nodded nonchalantly. “I was there.”

“You were there!?” Whee-In jaw dropped.

“Mhm, it was pretty funny.”

Whee-In placed her hand on Solar’s forehead to check her temperature. “Feels normal…”

Solar grabbed Whee-In’s hand. “I’m fine,” she assured

“You don’t mind it?” Whee-In raised an eyebrow.

“Not really,” she shrugged. “Should I?”

Is she just hiding how she really feels? Whee-In sighed. “Okay…I’ll stop asking.”

“I’m fine, really!” She pointed to her smiling face.

Whee-In nodded and smiled. I should change the subject. “How was work?”

Whee-In accompanied Solar and Solar explained what she had done to Seung-Ho’s lab coat. She showed Whee-in where it was damaged and they went about fixing it together, making it fun in the process.

At this point Moonbyul had made it out to the courtyard but her pursuers would not relent. Hwasa was a bit further behind, having difficulty keeping up with the officers who ran on a regular basis.

“Stop chasing me!” Moonbyul screamed.

“We just want to know what happened!” Dong-Yul yelled.

“Nothing happened!” Moonbyul protested.

“Then stop running!” Jade added.

“Stop chasing me then!” Moonbyul grumbled.

“Not happening!” Jade and Dong-Yul yelled.

While Moonbyul was running through the courtyard, she noticed a flash, not unlike that from a camera, and turned in its direction. What is it? This feeling…She looked around but couldn’t find the source of her unease. As she was trying to figure out what had caught her attention, she was tackled from behind. An attempt to prevent her from making an escape.

“Got you!” Jade screamed with glee.

“Damn that hurt…” Moonbyul grumbled.

“Why did you stop?” Dong-Yul and Jade helped her up.

“I thought I saw something…”

“What?” They looked around and didn’t see anything suspicious.

“I’m…not sure.” Moonbyul thought it through but couldn’t figure it out either.

“Should we…?” Before Jade could finish, Hwasa ran up to them.

“Finally…” She tried to catch her breath.

“You okay?”

Hwasa stood up straight and took a deep breath. “I’m fine. Now,” she began slowly, “tell us about the kiss.”

“Right! The kiss!” Jade and Dong-Yul remembered what they were pursuing Moonbyul for and piled on the pressure.

“It’s not like that. There’s nothing going on. Hwasa, you know me, tell them.” Moonbyul pleaded.

“Not sure what you mean,” Hwasa shrugged.

“Really? You’re doing this now?”

“What are you talking about? What am I doing?” She smiled innocently.

Moonbyul rubbed her temple in frustration. “God forbid– you really are–”

“C’mon, tell us! Please~!” Jade pleaded.

“Yeah, tell us! Tell us!” Hwasa chimed in excitedly.

Moonbyul groaned. I need to find a way out of this. She thought for a moment. Oh, I know. “Here’s an idea. You could ask him. He’s over there.” She pointed behind them. When they all turned around to confirm, she bolted.

“Where?” Hwasa asked.

“I don’t see him. Do you?” Jade questioned.

“No.” Dong-Yul shook his head. “Where is…?”

They turned around but Moonbyul was gone. “Hey! Stop!” They screamed as they took off after her.

“Again!?” Hwasa sighed but refused to be beaten.

Moonbyul ran back into the hospital, which she believed was the best course of action. She took a few flights of stairs up and looked back to see her pursuers were not on her heels. She let out a sigh of relief, but didn’t dare to let down her guard. She entered the third floor and made it part way down the hall when Solar stepped out from a room nearby. Luckily, Solar was chatting with someone so she didn’t notice Moonbyul. Moonbyul couldn’t turn back around either, the others were closing in.

In a panic, she went into the room closest to her but there were barely any places to hide without getting notice. That was when she heard chatter, her pursuers had also entered the third floor. She was blocked in from both sides and staying in this room was her only option. After a quick scan, the only viable hiding place was the closet in front of her. She went for it without missing a beat. When she swung the door open, she could not believe her eyes.

“S-Seung-Ho, wha—”

Before she could utter another word, he grabbed her arm and pulled her inside. Closing the door quickly but gently so as to not give away their position. Seung-Ho raised his finger to his lips and pointed outside the closet. They peeked through the holes and saw Solar and the others chatting in front of the room.