3

Moonbyul got home and immediately went straight to the shower. She had to wash away the disappointment of how her originals plans played out. She knew it was important for her to find out what the gang took. She had a very bad feeling about it. Something has been going on with all the gangs in the area lately. The most suspicious thing being how civil the gangs seemed to be acting towards one another. Recently there hasn’t been any sort of gang on gang violence, which didn’t sit well with Moonbyul. There was clearly something big going on.

But she decided the whole night wasn’t a total bust, even though it should have been considered her worst night ever, considering some girl took off her mask. Plus, the girl was a reporter no less. So she should have been pissed, livid even, but when she thought back to everything that happened, she smiled. Moonbyul didn’t know why, but she did.

So after she took a shower and got herself something to eat, she sat down at her computer to create the email. She really shouldn’t be doing this. She should try to get away from the girl named Solar, and let her figure out that Moonbyul was impossible to find. But oh, how the curiosity ate at her.

Seconds. It took seconds for her to receive an email. She laughed the moment it popped up. She had a feeling the girl would be persistent like this. She laughed again when she saw the sender email. It read: Solar Hates Moonbyul 22.

Subject: I swear you better respond

or I swear when I find you I will punch you. And I WILL find you. You can count on it, buddy.

Such an aggressive girl. Moonbyul thought with a tilted grin plastered on her face. Her mouse hovered over the response link. Solar knows that Moonbyul made the account because her message sent, but she didn’t have to respond. She really shouldn’t respond. She’s a reporter, and reporters have big mouths. Solar literally had a big mouth.

And yet, she clicked it.

Subject: :( your email name is so rude :((

              So were you just clicking the send button until this message sent or what? Anyway, there’s no way you’d be able to punch me even if you did find me. I saw you out there and let me tell you, I wasn’t impressed.

When the email finally sent, Solar was over the moon. She happily wiggled in her seat and refreshed the page constantly just waiting for a response. After ten minutes, she disappointedly got up and got ready for bed. She needed something to distract her. There was still the possibility that she wouldn’t even receive a response. Moonbyul could still very well act like their encounter never even happened. She almost regretted not blackmailing her harder. If she doesn’t receive something by tomorrow she probably will do just that.

After she was ready for bed, she grabbed her laptop and brought it to her bed. She slowly opened the lid and sent out a silent prayer.

There was one bolded email sitting in her inbox waiting to be opened. First she saw the subject title and smiled with satisfaction. There was no way she was going to let Moonbyul get away with her email address, so she made a new email just for that

.

 Subject: well it’s closer to the truth than yours :P

              That’s exactly what I did and I’m not at all ashamed. I wouldn’t have been able to sleep if it didn’t get through to you anyway.

              I’m pretty certain I’d be able to punch you despite your special case. The special case being that you’re a conduit. You can expect me not to drop this because I feel it in my gut that it’s true. You should know that my gut has never let me down.

Moonbyul, or Silver Fox, I really think that we can create a mutually beneficial relationship. You just have to put a little trust in me. I won’t expose anything about you if that’s what you’re afraid of. I’m not writing for TMZ. I just want justice, just like you do. I’m not looking to put you or anyone around you in danger.

What do you say?

Solar didn’t understand why she felt so hesitant sending that. She could feel her heart thumping in her chest. She doesn’t remember any other time she felt nervous sending an email like that. Maybe she’s never wanted something to work out this much before.

Moonbyul didn’t have to wait too long for a response. She barely moved into her bed and settled in before she received a ping on her phone.

She pretended that she didn’t smile again when she looked at the bolded email from the girl, and she pretended that she didn’t actually giggle at the subject line. Looking at her, no one would guess that she was talking to a reporter that could single handedly unravel her life.

Although, the content on the inside reminded her that that was indeed the case. Moonbyul wasn’t wrong to be guarded.

When you grow up hearing about the conduits as horrible, scary people that were wiped out for a good reason, you hide. You hide who you are and you don’t tell anyone. No one. It’s just better that way. Safer.

Anyway, it’s only a small part of you. Like if you were double jointed, only you don’t show it to people to gross them out or impress them. If you showed people this they don’t get grossed out, nor are they impressed. They’ll probably freak out. They’ll freak out and tell someone that will take care of you just like all the rest of them.

But Solar doesn’t seemed scared. Moonbyul reads the email over and over again trying to find a hidden trace of fear about the possibility of Moonbyul being what she is, but there is none.  Nothing but a want of some sort of comradery. This girl is odd. Moonbyul’s certain of that.

Subject: we’ll see how long that remains true ;)

I say, it’s late and I’m tired, which means it’s time for sleep. You’ve had a long day, make sure to get some rest. I’ll tell you tomorrow how I want to work with you. If I want to work with you.

For now, don’t worry too much. Justice will be done whether you’re involved or not. I know that isn’t what you want to hear, but if anything were to happen to you after I let you get involved, how could I live with myself?

I promise you that I’ll sleep on it if you promise me you’ll get some sleep.

What do you say?

Solar rolled her eyes when she saw the response in the subject line. It was so signature Moonbyul, and she’s only known her for a couple of hours. She didn’t miss the way she grinned when she read it, however.

She finally felt how tired she was after reading Moonbyul’s message. Or maybe it was the message that made her tired because it was such a cliché thing to say. Solar had been putting herself in danger before she even met Moonbyul, so if she were to get hurt it was her own doing.

Subject: I wouldn’t hold my breathe if I were you

              Fine, I’ll go to sleep, but after I tell you off.

              First of all, I’m a grown woman who is more than capable of making my own dangerous and kind of dumb decisions. I don’t need you to protect me. But if it makes you feel more chivalrous or whatever, I’ll be working on this with or without you. The only difference is, if you work with me you’ll get the honor of watching over me.

              Secondly, I want you to look at my work. I don’t just report on the news, I find it. Here’s files of some of my favorites. Just read them and accept that we’ll be seeing each other again soon.

Moonbyul actually felt disappointed in herself after reading Solar’s final message of the night. She was acting like one of those guys in the movies she hated so much. It was true, she didn’t want Solar getting hurt and she would prefer it if she didn’t get involved, but that wasn’t her choice to make. So she opened the first file to see what Solar was all about.

The girl was a detective in her own right. Solar was justifiable in her agitation with her. Moonbyul saw that Solar wasn’t simply reporting on things she’s heard, she went out and uncovered the truth. These raw files Moonbyul was given really showed her that. The respect Moonbyul gained for Solar passed anything she’s given to anyone in a long time.

Moonbyul set the alarm on her phone and finally set it aside. She stared up at the ceiling willing sleep to come, but she had to make a decision first. She would help Solar out and maybe she’d help her too, but she wasn’t going to reveal anything to her. She couldn’t, right? It was too dangerous.

Then again, she might be forced to reveal it in front of her at some point and wouldn’t it be better if she wasn’t caught off guard? Moonbyul groaned and turned over. Her heart said to tell her but her mind told her differently.

She always followed her brain. That’s how she’s been doing this for so long because she played it safe. Moonbyul also knew this situation was different. Although she didn’t know what exactly was going on, she could feel it in her gut that the stakes were somehow higher. Solar trusted her gut, that’s how she uncovered all those stories and brought all those people to justice. Maybe it’s time Moonbyul does the same.

The first thing Solar did when she got up was check her email. There was nothing. Again. It’s been two days. She sighed and got dressed. She just had to have a little patience, there’d be a response soon enough. She knew there would be. Solar just didn’t know when there would be, so she had to figure out what to do in the meantime. I should see if Hwasa got any new information. Hwasa was definitely her favorite asset.

Solar walked out her apartment door and headed down the stairs. The first the thing she noticed when she walked out was the cloudy sky. I really hope it doesn’t rain today. She thought, glad that she always had an umbrella in her car just in case it did.

The second thing she noticed was the girl standing against a pole looking out across the city before them dramatically. She had on a nice navy blue long coat. It looked really good coupled with her silver hair.

Solar smiled widely and practically skipped over to her.

“I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist working with me after you saw my work.”

Moonbyul turned around with a grin. “I’ll admit it, you’ve done some amazing things, but I mostly did it because-“

“Stop right there. Your other reason was good enough.” Solar put her finger to

Moonbyul laughed and pushed it away. “I’m that predictable already, huh?”

“You really made the right decision, Moonbyul.” Solar looked at the girl before her seriously. Moonbyul nodded like she agreed, but her words immediately made the mood lighter again.

“We’ll see won’t we? Although, I’m not so sure I trust your gut.” Moonbyul poked Solar’s stomach for emphasis. Solar automatically smiled and turned away feeling squirmy. “Didn’t it bring you out into Exo territory by yourself?”

 “It brought me to you didn’t it?”

“That it did. That it did.” Moonbyul murmured softly, thoughtful.

“Alright, you thirsty? Let’s go get coffee. Which car’s yours?” Moonbyul turned out towards the parking lot and looked around.

“Wow, so this is what it looks like from the inside. I always wanted to know since it looks so impressive on the outside. I’m surprised the paper even makes this much money.”

“Well, we’ve expanded a bit past the paper, so things have been doing better,” Solar said leading the way to the elevator. “I have to get some things from my desk first, then we’ll go to the office so we can talk privately.”

“Sounds good.”

They walked into the elevator and quietly stood with the other people. It remained like that until they reached Solar’s floor. Moonbyul took one step out before she made a quiet yelp and jumped back in the elevator. Solar looked back at her confused.

“Come on. This is the floor.” Solar grabbed her forearm and tried to drag her out, but Moonbyul wouldn’t budge.

“I’ll just meet you on the floor. Which one is it?”

“It’s this one too. Come on. People are waiting.”

“But Solar,” She reluctantly stepped out. “I didn’t know she worked here.”

“Who are you talking about?” Solar stared at the wide eyed girl, her heart feeling a little heavier.

“Let’s just be quick and get to the office.”

“Whatever, you were the one holding us back.” Solar muttered making her way through the chaos. She stepped into her and Wheein’s area while Moonbyul, with her head down, followed behind.

“Hey Wheein,” Solar greeted quickly gathering some folders and other things she might need.

“Hey!” Wheein whipped around to look at her friend. She froze just like silver haired girl did when she walked in. The color drained from both of their faces, neither of them said a word.

Solar sensed the tension and turned around to look at them.

“What’s wrong with you guys?”

“What are you doing here?” Wheein asked her voice higher pitched than usual. She was a little scared.

Moonbyul opened still shocked but nothing came out. Then she took a deep breath and her eyebrows immediately furrowed. “I didn’t know you worked here because you never told me anything. Why did you leave? How could you do that?” Moonbyul looked angry but when she stepped closer she just looked hurt. She grabbed Wheein’s chin and turned her head, checking her out. “You look healthy, that’s good. You get enough to eat, right?”

“Yes Moonbyul, I take care of myself well.”

“Yeah, I see that. Sorry.”

Solar was beyond confused. She wanted to ask what was going on, but at the same time, interrupting didn’t feel right.

“Your hair’s different,” Wheein observed. She reached out and pinched a strand.

“Yeah, it happened a little after you left. Do you like it?” Moonbyul turned a little shy.

Solar had never seen her like that before. What is going on?

Wheein laughed in a reassuring way. “Yes, it’s different. It’s- Oh my god. You’re the Silver- the Silver.”

Moonbyul suddenly turned to Solar. Her anger back and now focused on a new target. “You told her?” It was almost a growl.

“Well, she’s my best friend and I can’t do what I do without her.” Solar defended herself, although she did shrink back a bit.

Moonbyul was forced to look away from her when Wheein smacked her arm.

“Don’t yell at her! You should have told me! I can’t believe you kept me in the dark on this. I thought we told each other everything.”

“Well before you left we did,” Moonbyul bitterly retorted.

“I had to!”

“Why would you have to?!”

They were getting too loud. Solar had to calm them down and move them to the office so they can talk whatever was going on between them out. What was going on between them? Solar thought. Are they exes? She really hoped that wasn’t the case.

“Come on guys, let’s go to the office. We can’t talk here.” Solar picked up some folders and pushed them into Byul’s arms. “Let’s go.”

They followed quietly behind, walking with a distance between each other. Solar just wanted to know, she really needed to know what all of this was about.

They all quietly settled in the seats at the round table, but neither of them said a word so Solar was forced to take the reins.

“Why don’t we start with your guys’ relationship towards one another? I think that would help me a lot here because I’m just so confused. How could the world be this small that you guys already met?”

“Well Solar, Wheein may have never told you this but-“

Wheein cut her off giving the Silver haired girl a hard glare. “I want to tell her she’s my friend.”

Moonbyul rolled her eyes and nodded.

“Well Solar, you know I always avoided family talk because it was a sore subject for me. She’s one of the reasons why… She’s my sister.”

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