Ice sparkled in the pine trees beneath the early morning sun. Still sub-zero temperature, but Seulgi barely felt it. Maybe because of the hot anger in her stomach. Maybe because of the absolute chill in her chest that only grew colder the longer Kang Sumin breathed next to her. 

“Did you drag me out here just so we could freeze to death or are you gonna say something?”

Kang Sumin flinched. Looked like a kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar. It was laughable, really. The woman who single-handedly ran a famous criminal organization shaking like a leaf in front of her. If it had been anyone else, she would’ve felt bad. With Kang Sumin all she felt was satisfaction.

“How have you been?”

“Oh, you mean since you threw me to the streets a couple years ago? I’ve been doing dandy.” She stopped. her. “You’re not seriously trying to play at being a mom now.”

“That’s not what I—”

“—as far as I’m concerned, Kang Sumin, I don’t have parents. Unless you have something important to tell me, I’m leaving.”

She searched the woman’s face for a moment. Saw nothing in it. Scoffed and turned to trek back down to the headquarters. She didn’t know why she’d bothered to waste her time. Should have known it wouldn’t amount to anything. And yet, she couldn’t deny something in her had hoped it would.

Then, “You were kidnapped.”

Dead silence. The kind you experience at four in the morning when the early risers aren’t up yet and the night owls have finally gone to bed. She stopped in her tracks. Turned around slowly. Saw that she was dead serious.

“…what?”

“April 26, 2008. The day I lost you.”

Seulgi laughed out loud. Heard the way her voice echoed through the trees. “What the hell are you talking about? You told me yourself at the Namsan Tower that you planned—”

“I only said that because I wasn’t sure where your loyalties lied. Especially your…girlfriend. She doesn’t seem very fond of me. I couldn’t risk giving the enemy that kind of information.”

Seulgi didn’t move. Planted her feet deeper into the snow and hoped it would ice over. Kang Sumin didn’t move, either. She only made steady eye contact, as if she had nothing to hide. Seulgi couldn’t stand it.

“Don’t bull me. You think I’ll fall for that?”

“It’s the truth, Seulgi.”

Another round of silence. A single hoot of an owl, the distant rustle of the trees, probably from a squirrel. She felt nothing but anger. Wanted to set the whole damn forest on fire and take Kang Sumin and her stupid organization down with it. 

“And how does that make it any better? You run a giant criminal organization. You’re telling me you didn’t have the manpower to find out where I was?”

Kang Sumin’s eyes flashed. It was visible even from where she stood. Something dangerous. Seulgi hated that it looked familiar, a carbon copy of what she saw in the mirror whenever something didn’t go her way. 

“I sent out all of my men. Every single one. You’d disappeared off the face of the earth. It took seeing you on national television to realize that it was because that agency took you in.”

“You’re lying. Why the hell should I believe anything that comes out of your mouth?”

Kang Sumin threw up her hands. Raked her fingers through her hair. “Then what do I need to do to make you believe me? Cut off a limb? Kill my men?”

Seulgi felt her expression harden. Thought about the pleasure of watching Kang Sumin suffer. Fought against it and suddenly thought of Irene. Thought of what she would do. This was an opportunity. It was one that would be completely and utterly stupid not to take. Truthfully, before this flawed, messy, impossible group had formed, she would have thrown it away just for the satisfaction of spitting in Kang Sumin’s face. She took a breath. Closed her eyes. Opened them again with a clearer head and less emotion. Maybe this was how Irene felt all the time. 

“No. None of that matters. I don’t care about you or your men.”

Seulgi caught something that looked like hurt flash across her face. The older woman schooled it into something more neutral. 

“Then what?”

Hook, line, and sinker. 

“Now we’re on the same page.”

Irene didn’t think she could last ten minutes in the same room with Jun Jaemin. She almost throttled him just for breathing. She didn’t understand what it was. The feeling was sharp in her chest, a mix of hot and cold that made her irrationally angry. She wondered if this was how Seulgi felt all the time. It was especially worse when the guy so much as looked in Seulgi’s direction. Maybe it was protectiveness. The girl was their greatest asset. It made sense. But she knew that wasn’t what it was. She’d felt protective before. This wasn’t what it felt like. She thought about it for another minute then promptly gave up. She’d never understood emotions. There was no point in starting now.

Jun Jaemin lounged around on one of the chairs by the bed. Irene sat at the desk. As far away as they could get being in the same room. She worked on the blueprints. Highlighted the important areas. Memorized the layout. Familiar, comfortable work.

“I’m not trying to steal Seulgi from you, you know.”

Irene froze. Felt the way her fingers pressed into the side of the pen. Wondered why her head was suddenly pounding and realized it was because her teeth were grinding into each other. Took a breath and tried to relax.

“The whole marriage thing. It was just a kid’s pact. Nothing serious.”

“I wasn’t worried.”

Jun Jaemin hummed. Shifted in his seat by the sound of it. “Then why do you hate me?”

“Hate and indifference are two different things,” Irene said. 

She could hear the tension in her own voice. Knew Jun Jaemin had caught onto it. He was sharp. It reminded her a bit of Joy. Just taller and broader and a bit softer. She hated him even more for that.

“True. But you glare a little too much at me for it to be indifference.”

She sighed. Closed her eyes briefly and finally turned around to face the incessantly talking man. She knew he wouldn’t stop until she acknowledged him. Knew because Joy was the same way. She wondered when she’d become so familiar with the girl’s personality and the rest of the team’s for that matter. Jun Jaemin was watching her with curious eyes and an expectant l