“How did it go yesterday?” Umji asked before sharing a bowl of cereals with Sinb.

“She didn’t push me away and she said she forgave me. But I feel something is different.”

“That’s normal.” Eunha’s spoon invaded their breakfast bowl. “You don’t expect her to forget quickly, do you?”

“No, that’s what she said too. And I’m willing to wait.”

“Don’t just wait. Do something to piece together her broken heart.” Yuna interrupted while pouring more cereals into the bowl.

“I know I hurt her but I didn’t break her heart.” The girl went to the fridge to get more milk.

“Yes, you did.” Joon passed by the conversing quartet. “A broken heart comes in many different forms.”

“How do I make up for it? You have to help me.” Sinb rattled the fellow maknae’s arm.

Keeping in mind the plan that was discussed the previous day. “No. You’re on your own with this, eonnie.” Yewon declared.

Sinb’s gaze turned to the shorter girl.

“Nope, I’m not gonna help you on this one.” Eunha turned around and dropped her spoon in the sink.

Joon raised both hands. “Nope. Don’t look at me. I’m on Yerin’s side.” Joon smirked and cowered behind Eunha.

“Tsss… Yeah, you’ve always been!” Now the forsaken main dancer was looking at Yuna. “Eonnie, we’re the main-line, you have to help me.”

In spite being unaware of the rubber band project, “Since they won’t help you… I suppose I won’t either, I don’t know why, but I won't.” She laughed at her own proclamation, making the other girls confused as to why.

“Aish. Fine. I’ll prove to you all that I can do this.”

“Yes, eonnie, this way, you can prove to us if you’re ready to be a real girlfriend.”

“You’ll see.” She sneered at her audience and walked back to their room.

---

Today, the group will attend two television broadcasts, a fansigning event and a radio station appearance. Their schedule was packed to say the least, but they were all enthusiastic, except for the red ginseng who was still on a contemplative mode.

Sinb was last to come down because Eunha surprisingly insisted to shower before her and so when she reached the van, everyone was already settled, seatbelts on and ready to go. Everyone had their earphones plugged including Joon who was never seen by the girls to have ever worn one before.

The latecomer was about to take Yerin to the rear end to switch with Joon, but the older girl’s hands were tucked under the fleece blanket that covered her lap. “I hope we can sit together later.”

Yerin answered with a thin smile.

“Eonnie, what are you doing here? You’re supposed to take Yerin-eonnie’s seat.” Sinb asserted as soon as she reached the last row.

“She has her own seat. Leave me alone.” The foreigner replaced the earplugs that Sinb pulled out.

“Aish….” Being a victim to her own savagery, the young girl slumped in her seat and started texting.

SB to YR: I miss you. You should be beside me, not this alien.

YR to SB: But you said the other night…

SB to YR: Yeah, I know. But I’m taking it back. I miss you.

YR to SB: Maybe later she’ll sit here.

SB to YR: I’ll force her to. Don’t you miss me?

YR to SB: I do.

SB to YR: I want to hug you. (~_~)

YR to SB: You did yesterday.

SB to YR: I’ll hug you more later.

YR to SB: I’m getting dizzy texting. (-_-)

SB to YR: Okay, don’t reply. I’ll talk to you later.

As soon as they reached the broadcast station building, Sowon took Yerin’s arm and occupied her in a conversation on their way to the waiting room; while Umji grabbed the other maknae’s arm and started complaining about a headache that did not exist.

“I spoke with Joon the other night.”

“About what?”

“It’s stupid, but I asked her if Jin-oppa and I looked good together. I showed the raw files from the pictorial the other day.”

“Eonnie, you’re crazy. You’re not gonna make her jealous by doing that. But what did she say?” Yerin was shaking her head knowing the real reason for the foreigner being aloof and even neutral about Sowon’s effort to charm her.

“I wanted to kill her. She said we look cute in the pictures and she hopes one day we’ll end up together for real!”

“Haha! Why did you even ask her?? You know it would only break your heart.”

“I didn’t want to ask her, but I wanted to show the pictures.” Sowon sat on a couch and did not let go of her clasp around Yerin’s arm. Soon, the stylists called them one-by-one and the couple did not have the chance to talk.

After the recording, the group went straight to another broadcasting station. They sat in the same position as they did earlier aside from Eunha who sat in the middle and pretended to be sleepy and leaned against the obligated Sinb. The travel took an hour because of heavy traffic and Yerin was not replying to her girlfriend’s messages because of her motion sickness that becomes worse with slow and traffic-impeded driving.

While waiting for their turn to be summoned to the stage, Joon went to Yerin and whispered, “I can smell that the oppa is in the building. So stay close to me so we can prevent the two of you from seeing each other.” While it was true that the rejected oppa was in the building, keeping her within close proximity was largely just part of the ploy to prevent Sinb from getting near her.

“Daebak, you can remember people’s scents too??”

“What’s the use of having super-olfaction if I don’t know what I smell? C’mon, let me hide you.” Before Sinb can even escape from Umji’s grasp, her girlfriend was out of sight.

“Feeling better now?”

SB to YR: Where are you?

YR to SB: With Joon-eonnie, why?

SB to YR: Nothing, I miss you.

A reassured smile appeared on Yerin’s face but she did not reply to her.

“Yes, I feel better. She apologized but my heart forgave her even before that. I’ve just been preventing myself from being too clingy, it still hurts even if I know it was just impulse on her part.”

“Good!” Thinking of the impeccable coincidence that Yerin was also distancing herself, Joon exclaimed making the girl confused. “I mean, good that you feel better. I don’t like seeing my duck-chingu all heart broken and pensive.”

“But I miss her. She’s been texting me that she missed me and my heart jumps because she doesn't do that often. But I don’t want to show her how much I wanted to be with her. A part of me wants to and another part is afraid.”

“What are you afraid of?” Joon asked before checking her phone that lit up.

SB to JN: Eonnie, don’t tell Yerin-eonnie I’m texting. Just keep her with you.

JN to SB: Hmmm… I suppose you saw the oppa?

SB to JN: Yes. I saw and I want to punch him.

JN to SB: I did too that’s why I took her for a walk. You calm down. Yerin wouldn’t like that behavior.

SB to JN: I know. I won’t do anything stupid again.

JN to SB: Good.

SB to JN: Thank you for taking her with you.

“That she’ll behave the way she did. But I’m also scared that I ignore her too much. Her birthday is coming, I don’t want her sad either.”

“Oh yeah it’s in less than a week.” Feeling the internal tag-o-war inside Yerin’s chest, “Yerin-ah, being afraid is part of it but you should not let it defeat you. What use is it that you love but you’re not brave enough to withstand the challenges?”

“It’s easier if we didn’t have the whole group on our shoulders. You know how much it would affect them if we screw up.”

“You’ve thought of this before you proposed, but you had your reasons why you still did. Your friends are supportive, so don’t waste that too.”

“I know. And I don’t want to regret.”

“Let’s walk that way, I can sense him heading this way.” Joon directed the young girl to another alley after sensing both Sinb and the aggressive oppa going by their direction.

“I’ll let her make up for it.”

“That’s fine, it will teach her a lesson and she’ll miss you more. So, both works for you, right?” Joon winked at the girl whose eye smile has finally returned.

“Haha! I like that.”

“Remember what we did before? Don’t come near and don’t make the first move.”

“Yes. I’ll do that!” In spite the worry that lingered at the back of her mind, Yerin’s cheerful demeanor is slowly resurfacing.

“Let’s go back, I can hear staff mentioning your group. Maybe you’re next.”

The only time that the two were side-by-side was during interviews where they had to take their respective positions. It was noticeable that Sinb unconsciously wraps her arm around Yerin’s waist whenever she had the chance, but Eunha was quick to catch the gesture and immediately removes the younger girl’s hand. Even if Eunha couldn’t care less about the rumors circulating about the couple, she explained later on that it was only because she was trying prevent curious eyes from becoming more curious.

During the radio show and the fan meeting, Sowon was skillful at keeping the couple apart by making Yerin sit at the far end and then sitting beside her; and so that left Sinb without a choice but to settle wherever but not next to the other girl. They were not allowed to bring their phones with them and so Sinb could not text her like she did earlier that day. And during breaks, they were intentionally preoccupied by the other members as they engaged them in unnecessary and sometimes empty conversations which prevented the two from laying hands on each other.

As soon as all the scheduled activities were done and they were headed back to the van, Umji approached Sinb again the moment she saw her trailing behind her girlfriend.

“Eonnie, my head is still hurting, can I lay my head on your lap, I want to lie down at the back. Eunha-eonnie’s legs are sore, I don’t want to bother her.”

“Aish…”  Her tone turned savage to soft. “Okay, you can sit with me.” She replied knowing that Umji did not complain a lot and when she did, it meant that she just could not endure it anymore.

SB to YR: I guess we can’t sit together, goblin Yewon made me her pillow.

YR to SB: That’s okay.

Sb to YR: Eonnie? Why do I feel that you don’t want to sit with me anymore? :(

YR to SB: It’s not like that Sinb-yah, of course I want to.

SB to YR: Really? I’m still your girlfriend? Not the group name, the real one.

YR to SB: Of course. Why? Did you break up with me? (o_o)

SB to YR: NO!

YR to SB: Then you still are my girlfriend.

SB to YR: Dizzy?

YR to SB: Yeah, and tired.

SB to YR: Okay, see you at the dorm.

When they got home, Yerin went straight to their room to prepare for bed, which her girlfriend found typical but it unusually made her feel sad.

“Eonnie, is she not telling you anything?”

“What do you mean?” Sowon replied while checking the refrigerator.

“I feel like she’s pulling away.”

“It’s just been two days, Eunbi-yah, you have to be patient.”

“I am. I’m just a bit worried. She went to your room already. I’ll just say goodnight.”

“She was dizzy the whole ride, you know her.”

She knocked lightly on the door before turning the knob. She climbed carefully checking if Yerin was okay with the movement of the bed.

“Yerin-eonnie, are you okay?” She asked as soon as her head was visible to the other girl, but she did not go further to sit on the bed.

“Just dizzy, after I sleep, I will be okay. Why?” Yerin lazily sat up preventing unnecessary motion.

“I’m just worried. I won’t disturb you. I just wanted to check on you and say good night.”

Her words made the other girl smile sweetly. “Thank you Sinb-yah, I’ll be okay. You better rest too.”

“I will soon. Goodnight.” She started to take downward steps but stopped at the middle of the ladder and decided to climb up again. “Eonnie…”

“Hmm?”

“We didn’t have a lot of time together today. Can I at least kiss you goodnight?”

Yerin blushed to the girl’s daring request as her eye smile slowly appeared. She did not answer and instead, she slowly scooted forward and held Sinb’s face tenderly before kissing her lips. Yerin slid her hand forward, fingers ran through her hair until they reached the back of her head. There was a 2-second blackout for the younger girl that she almost let go of her grasp on the ladder’s side rail.

“Omo! Be careful.” Feeling Sinb losing balance, she broke off from the kiss and grabbed the girl's arm firmly. “I better not kiss you when you’re on the ladder.”

“I… ah… my… my knees suddenly became weak.” Sinb turned red to her candid confession.

“You better rest then, before they become weaker.” Yerin winked at her and slid back to her previous position. “Goodnight…”

Sinb inhaled deeply before she could answer. “I miss you.”

“I miss you too…”

Sinb stepped out of the room dazed, with one hand clenched onto her shirt over her chest.

“What’s up with you?” Sowon asked.

“She aimed at my heart and my heart stopped.” She didn’t even pause to look at duo who sat on the couch as she proceeded to enter the other room.

“Tang! Tang! Tang!” Joon interjected. “She’s singing.”

“Crazy.”

“I guess it’s working.”

“Yup. Everything is falling into place, except the two of us.” She blurted out, talking speedily in Korean.

“Huh?”

“Nothing.”

YR to JN: Eonnie! I kissed her. I couldn’t control myself.

JN to YR: Yup, I figured. When she got out of your room, she looked like a love-struck dork.

YR to JN: Haha! She almost fell too. I really miss her.

JN to YR: I know.

---

The next 3 days were the same, because of their crammed schedule, the couple couldn’t find time to be together even when the other members did not put effort into separating them. Once they got home, they all retreated immediately to their beds to catch some sleep which was the most elusive thing in the world during their comebacks.

They attended radio and TV shows one after another, but not a single instance that they sat beside each other which made them suspicious until they came to realize it was intentionally being conspired by the members. In spite of the plot being discovered, they still could not beat the other members especially when Umji was instigating the seat plans. Joon has become a virtuoso at barring Yerin from coming close to the other girl and she has taken full control of the seat between the Eunbis especially that she goes to the van before them. Sowon on the other hand has been preventing Sinb from sleeping in their room while Yerin herself did not attempt to stay in the other room.

But after a not-so-busy day, the couple finally found an opportunity to hang around each other. They seemed like magnets when they came near each other that the other members didn’t have the heart to keep them apart.

“They’re not separating us anymore?” Sinb discreetly asked.

“I guess not. But we can’t bother Sowon-eonnie, she has a day-long filming tomorrow for WGM.”

“We can’t stay in our room either Eunbi-eonnie and Yuna-eonnie have early morning schedules. We should stay here then? Until we’re sleepy?”

“Joon-eonnie wouldn’t mind. She’s so busy nowadays.”

“What is she up to?” Sinb glanced at the foreigner who was quietly reading in the dining area.

“Studying.”

“For?”

“She’ll go back to the US in 2 months with a new job.”

“Really? Why?”

“On my birthday, her work with us is done.”

“Ah… I remember you mentioned that before. So, that’s true? Sowon-eonnie will be devastated.”

“We’ll all miss her for sure. Anyway, do you want to watch anything?”

“I’m okay with just listening to you as long as I can stay like this beside you.” The couple sat on the sofa and Sinb laid her head on Yerin’s shoulder while being enveloped by her arms, keeping their hands entwined.

The members walked past the lovers who were engrossed in a conversation and they did not dare bother them. Even Joon stayed out of their way and stayed in the kitchen for almost three hours to give the two the space they needed.

“I think we better sleep.” Yerin suggested.

“I’m not sleepy but you might be.”

“Just a little, but Joon-eonnie might need her sofa now.”

“Hmm… five more minutes?” Sinb pouted.

“Make it ten?”

“Fifteen?”

Joon forced a fake cough. “Hmmm… Yerin-ah, remember when someone got drunk and dozed off on my sofa?”

Yerin broke into a faint laughter. “Yeah… I remember.” She glanced at Sinb whose stares were aimed at killing Joon.

“Remember when you didn’t want to leave her alone?” Joon smirked at Sinb whose savage facial expression suddenly shifted to a curious one.

“You didn’t leave me?” Sinb darted at Yerin’s direction.

“Yeah… Joon-eonnie inflated the air mattress and I slept on the floor watching you sleep.”

“Sinb-yah do you want to tell her what happened-”

“NO!” Sinb did not let Joon finish her sentence. “You did that?” She refocused her attention on Yerin.

“Yeah, that’s how crazy I am about you.”

“I’m crazy about you too that’s why I ended up drunk.”

“Joon-eonnie…” Yerin called out but not taking her eyes off of her girlfriend. “… do you mind if we sleep here again?”

“I’ll get the bed.” Joon scurried to the storage area.

Joon rested on the sofa and the two continued to converse whispering while lying on the air mattress.

“I miss lying like this beside you.” Sinb was uncontrollable with her unusual sweet talk. She has never succumbed to her emotional side but today, she was more audacious than usual.

“It’s been a while?” Yerin teased by whispering too close to her ear.

“Oh my… please don’t do that.”

“Why?” She moved closer to her even more.

“It sends so much electricity, I could feel it in my toes.” Sinb wiggled her feet as if shaking off the sensation.

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Yerin wet her lips before whispering, intentionally brushing Sinb’s skin that she was already kissing her ear. Sinb gasped deeply a broken breath and clutched onto the older girl’s arm to stop her.

Yerin saw Joon transfer her ring onto her forefinger before wearing the earphones no one knew she owned.

“Please keep it low. I cannot sleep if I blast the volume up.” Joon said before turning her back against them.

“Sorry, eon-.” Before Sinb could finish, Yerin pounced on her soft lips lustfully which paralyzed her briefly. “Ye… ri…-nah… we… can’t.” Sinb spoke between hungry kisses.

“We won’t.” Yerin continued to kiss her but her hands were steadily just holding the girl’s face, purposely preventing them from wandering. Only the need to breathe interrupted their lips from fervently locking. Every time the older girl’s hand started to move, Sinb caught it and held it tightly; but in some instances that Sinb’s slender body rubbed too closely against Yerin’s, she pushed her gently before it could lead to something they won’t be able to control. Both could swear that they kissed ceaselessly the whole night and that only exhaustion caused them to finally be sent off to slumberland.

In the morning, the girls who had early schedules found themselves staring at the motionless couple on the floor covered by a single blanket, envious and happy seeing them peacefully resting beside each other with less than an inch of space separating their lips.

“Eonnie, you’re up too?” Eunha asked after finding Joon in the dining table drinking coffee.

“I didn’t sleep.” Her sluggish eyes glanced at the sleeping couple.

“Haha! Poor eonnie. I guess they had a marathon last night?”

“Movie? No. Kissing? Yes.”

“Haha! It’s obvious…”

----

The rest of the girls stayed in the dorm except for Sowon who went for the WGM filming and Yuna who had a family engagement after their recording.

“Hello manager?” Joon answered the phone. “I’ll pick her up? Now? Ah, is that so? Okay, I’ll be out in 15.”

Joon knocked at Yerin’s door. “Hmmm… I’ll pick up Sowon from the set. Do you want to come with me? The other manager couldn’t make it since he’s bringing the other van here after picking up stuff from the company.”

“We’ll pass for now, I need to memorize this script for tomorrow.” Yerin answered. While she was honest about having to memorize a script, her hesitation to go with Joon was largely because Sowon already texted her to not come. The tall leader especially requested the manager to have the foreigner pick her up and she did not wish to have her other members be with them.

“Are you sure? Manager wanted me to pick her up because she said she wanted to eat before coming home.” Joon hoped to sway Yerin and Sinb but the two were not moved by the enticing culinary invitation.

“We’re okay. Take care.” Both were smiling ear-to-ear as they sent off the hesitant friend. “And eonnie, Yuju is coming in a few minutes. Just letting you know.” Yerin mentioned it to her so she could keep the door unlocked for the other member’s arrival.

“Okay, the other manager might also come up to deliver clothes, he might be on his way to Source as we speak. You sure, you don’t want to come?”

“NO.” Sinb answered. “Leave us alone, eonnie!”

The foreigner left defeated.

“I don’t know what Sowon eonnie is up to, but she was dead-serious when she told me not to come. Somehow she knew Joon-eonnie will ask us. Now going back… Sinb-yah I want us to talk but I really need to memorize this.”

“No, that’s okay, I just wanted to stay beside you. I can help you too. I have nothing to do.” Sinb crossed her legs properly and faced the cramming girlfriend.

“It’s not helping that I’m so sleepy. I really need to be prepared tomorrow.”

“Ahhhh, poor Yennie is sleepy…” Sinb was smiling to herself and looked at her phone to check for a number. She excused herself immediately as soon as she found it. “Yerin-ah, I’ll just charge my phone, I left my charger outside.”

“Okay. I won’t go anywhere.”

“I’ll be back.” Her eyes glued on Yerin as she was preparing to climb down. “Yerin-ah…”

“Yes?” She smiled with the dimples under her eyes showing behind her glasses.

“I love you.”

Yerin briefly covered her face that started to turn red. “You made my heart jump... And I love you too.”

Sinb went out to make a call.

>>>

“Where do you want to get food?” Joon asked as soon as Sowon put on her seatbelt.

“I didn’t want to eat. I just wanted you to pick me pick.” The tall girl kept her eyes on the road  and started fiddling her fingers.

Noticing the downbeat aura of the girl in the passenger seat. “Is there something wrong? Did something happen during filming?”

“Yes, something happened. I realized something.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re leaving us in 2 months, right? Do you really have to go?” Sowon spoke but kept looking at every direction except Joon’s.

“I have a contract and another work is waiting for me in the US.”

“Joon, I like you. I know sometimes you think I only joke around, but I really do.”

“But-”

“I know, I know. But can’t you give me two months?”

“Sowon-ah…”

“I realy like you. I don’t know why and I don’t want to. But please. Don’t you like me??” Sowon’s voice started cracking. “Even just a little?” Her English was jumbled but Joon understood her clearly.

“I-” Joon was interrupted by her phone that started ringing. She could have ignored the call or sent it directly to voicemail but it was a call she would not want to miss. It was not common for a security team leader to call, but even the caller utilized a secured line which was rarely used during missions.

“This is Joon.” The foreigner’s voice had a tinge of fear as she anticipated the report from the other line. “WHAT?? WHAT’S WRITTEN ON THE NOTE?” There was a moment of silence. “DAMMIT! WHERE IS SHE? LOCATE HER! I’M COMING IN 5. SECURE THE OTHERS. TRACE HER! THERE’S A BUG ON HER PHONE! WHAT?! Launch the aerial! Review the CCTV! FIND HER!” She ended the call.

“Sowon-ah please call Yerin NOW and hold on tight. I will drive really fast.” Before she could even finish her statement, the van moved to a speed that Sowon has never imagined possible for the service van to do.

“WHAT’S HAPPENING?? WHO CALLED YOU? WHO’S MISSING??” Sowon was shouting through the sound of the van’s roaring mechanism.

“I SAID, CALL YERIN!”

“IT’S RINGING! HELLO? YERIN-AH!”

Joon grabbed Sowon’s phone. “YERIN-AH! WHERE IS SINB? WHERE DID SHE GO??” She was speaking in fluent Korean.

“Eonnie, I don’t know. Wait, she left her phone here, did she go somewhere? Why is it noisy? What’s happening?!” Yerin can be heard yelling out Sinb’s name and a few seconds later the other members got out of their room puzzled.

“Eonnie! She’s not here! WHY IS THERE SECURITY OUTSIDE THE DORM?? WHAT’S HAPPENING?! WHERE’S SINB??”

“YERIN-AH, STAY INSIDE. I’M COMING!”

“EONNIE! ANSWER ME! WHERE IS SHE??” Yerin started crying while the other girls can be heard panicking in the background.

“Yerin-ah, she’s missing…”