Sooyoung sat on the couch, staring blankly at the television as a commercial for sparkling water played. She paid no attention to the ad, as she was too busy with her buzzing thoughts. She checked her phone.

It was already 11:34 PM. Where was Yerim? She’d gone out with Sae-Ron over five hours ago. Sooyoung’s hurt frustration had melted away into concerned anxiety. Although some of the other girls were also out (Seulgi and Joohyun had gone out to a nightclub and Seungwan was off somewhere with Taeyeon), Sooyoung couldn’t help but worry for the maknae. Yerim never came home later than eleven. Had something happened? She’d been contemplating calling for the past fifteen minutes, but every time her finger hovered over Yerim’s name on her contact list, she’d hesitate, not wanting to bother her junior, momentarily convincing herself that she was just overreacting and that Yerim would pop through the door at any minute.

It was midnight by the time the door opened, causing a half-asleep Sooyoung to jump up from the couch and spin around in surprised anticipation. Yerim stood in the doorway, wearing her favorite frilled black dress, accompanied with a wide smile that dominated her delicately pretty features. The younger girl’s chocolate-colored eyes fell upon Sooyoung and widened slightly.

“Unnie!” the maknae exclaimed, shutting the door behind her, “What are you doing still up?”

“Waiting for you.” Sooyoung said, folding her arms over her chest, “Do you know what time it is?”

“No, actually. Is it late?”

The older girl rolled her eyes and pointed over at the cable box on the television, the glowing green “12:07” displayed brightly. Yerim’s eyes widened further.

“Oh no! Me and Sae-Ron were having so much fun, we must have lost track of time…”

Sooyoung felt her heart drop at the mention of Sae-Ron’s name. Not that she was jealous or anything. Sooyoung simply felt that she was the one who Yerim should have been losing track of time with.

“You’re supposed to be home by eleven.”

“It’s the first time I’ve broken my curfew. And it was an accident.” Yerim muttered, her tone becoming terse now.

“That doesn’t matter,” Sooyoung said angrily, “Do you know how worried I was?”

“I was right down the street.”

“I didn’t know that. You didn’t tell me where you were going.”

“Why does it matter, anyway?” Yerim demanded, “Why did you even wait up for me?”

“Because Joohyun wasn’