Seoul, November 2024

“Heehyun-ah?”

Heehyun, who was staring at her phone, looked up and almost got a heart attack when she saw Krystal Jung was standing in front of her. “O-oh, Krystal-ssi, what are you doing here?”

Weirdly, Krystal only chuckled at her. “I thought we had established that you can call me ‘Unnie’?” There is no sight of the cold and serious Krystal Jung as she smiled warmly at Heehyun.

“Oh, right,” Heehyun tidy up her clothes, although there is nothing wrong with it. “What are you doing at Diamond, U-Unnie?”

They were currently standing at the front door of Diamond Ent. After a long day, meeting Krystal like this is the last thing Heehyun need right now. 

“Meet up with Yebin and her group to discuss the possibility for us to work together.”

Heehyun remembered Krystal mentioned it on the first time they met. “Ah. So, you were serious about opening a branch here?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

Heehyun suddenly felt as if the temperature around them went down a few degrees from the stare. “Oh… No, nothing, I thought… Never mind, forget I ask.” She added a smile, hoping it would tone down the effect of Krystal Jung’s eyes on her.

She yelped when a smack landed on her arm.

“Why are you so scared of me, Heehyun-ah? Come on, I won’t bite you,” Krystal laughed at her.

Heehyun only snickered. Krystal probably wouldn’t bite her now, but there is a big possibility she would kill Heehyun in the future if the older Jung knew what happened between Heehyun and Chaeyeon.

“I won’t bite unless you give me a reason to bite you,” said Krystal, winking at her.

See?

“Right. Sorry, Unnie, I was just too surprised to see you here. Are you going somewhere after this?”

“No, I’m going home. I was going to call for a taxi until I saw you on the front door.”

"You were gonna taking a cab? Where is your driver?"

"Oh, he had to take my secretary to the airport so I told him I'll take a cab."

Heehyun nodded. “I’m about to go home too, how about I offer you a ride?” Heehyun said, ignoring the screaming inside her head for inviting Krystal to her car. “Well, you probably know, I’m gonna pick up Chaeyeon too in her office after this.”

“Oh, that’s very nice of you, and in a perfect timing too. I have no reason to reject it, right?” Krystal answered as she followed Heehyun to her car.

When they sat side to side on the car, Heehyun knew she was digging her own graveyard with this.

“So, you really pick up Chaeyeon every day?”

“Only when I’m available to.”

“And when you are not available, you send somebody else, like your friends, to pick her up.”

“…Yes.” Heehyun coughed, suddenly feeling warm under the stare. “Well, I’m sure you know that’s because some reporters have been really disturbing Chaeyeon since the news up. I can’t let her go be alone like that.” Both of them aren’t celebrities, and Heehyun doesn’t understand why there are people who seems so eager to get some news from them when there are tons of real celebrities they could chase instead.

Krystal chuckled. “I know, and Chaeyeon whined at me that you were so… care about her like that. She insisted that she’s okay with them and told you that you don’t have to do all those but of course, you didn’t really listen to her, right?”

“100% correct. She’s so stubborn sometimes.” Heehyun sighed, remembering when Chaeyeon rolled eyes at her when she picked her up for the first time after shooing some of the reporters. Not a good ride, but at least she knew Chaeyeon was safe. “She keeps saying that, actually she just asked me ‘do you have to pick me up too today? I’m really fine, Unnie’ before you called me, Unnie.”

“But she listened to you. At least, she still went home obediently with you, although she whined endlessly.” Krystal said, and Heehyun glanced to see a smile on the older girl’s face. “She said you must be busy these days to preparing Y2J comeback, that’s why she didn’t want to be a bother for you.”

Scoffed but not surprised, Heehyun smiled. “Of course she’s not. I told her that too, I just want to make sure she went home safely.”

“Sweet,” Krystal snickered and laughing when she saw Heehyun blushing. “I guess she really likes you, Hyun.”

Heehyun turned to see Krystal, surprised at the statement. “Eh?”

“Yeah, she let you to reveal her profile to the media, didn’t she? Letting everyone know about her family and everything... She’s never done that before, so you must be very special for her.”

If anything, that rare soft smile from Krystal only makes it worse for Heehyun. She would feel flattered if her mind wasn’t too busy caught up with the usual guilty feeling. She looked away from Krystal and focused on the road.

There’s no one day without Heehyun forget of what she did to Chaeyeon. From having Chaeyeon as her lawyer to be in fake relationship with Chaeyeon after indirectly rejecting her feeling, everything is just so messy. She didn’t understand how her life getting so messy like this. Yeah, she must be ‘special’ for Chaeyeon after what she did to the girl.

Heehyun let out a nervous chuckle, in hope to hide the mess she felt inside. “She’s special for me too, Unnie.” In many ways.

“Glad to hear that,” Krystal laughed. “You’d be dead if you ever make her cry, you hear me, Hyun?”

Heehyun nodded and hoping Krystal would never find out about her and Chaeyeon.

“So, what about her birthday?” Krystal asked.

“Her birthday?”

“Yeah,” Krystal said. “Do you have plan for Chaeyeon’s birthday?”

Chaeyeon’s birthday? Plan? Heehyun’s mind went blank for a second before she remembered the date. .

“Oh, I plan to…” Heehyun pushed her brain to find something good and cool to say. “…a surprise party.”

A what.

Krystal blinked at her. “Surprise party?”

There is no way Heehyun can go back from that. “Yeah, you know, pretend I can’t celebrate it together with her and suddenly we surprise her with cake and stuff,” she blabbered out any word that came to her brain. “I haven’t thought thoroughly about it, maybe I’ll ask Yebin and the others to help me. Maybe you can help me too, Unnie?” Oh my God, what am I saying.

“Oh, that’s a good idea!” Krystal clapped her hands, seemed excited. “She acts like she’s so cool and uninterested with stuff like that, but believe me, she’s a great fan of romantic stuff in the inside.”

“Oh?” Heehyun said, surprised with the new information.

“Yeah, I mean, that’s why you keep sending her stuff almost every day, right? She told me about the flower, snack, and chocolate,” Krystal said before laughing. “Those cards you sent are really cheesy, you know. Chaeyeon whined about it, but I know she secretly liked it.”

Heehyun was too embarrassed to say anything.

“Of course, I’ll help you with it. Let’s discuss it further later,” Krystal was grinning from ear to ear, her eyes were sparkling, and Heehyun wondered why. Maybe she missed celebrating Chaeyeon’s birthday, after so many years living separated from her sister? Well, at least Krystal supported her last-second idea so Heehyun saved for now.

When they arrived at Chaeyeon’s office, Heehyun can see the shock on Chaeyeon’s face when the younger girl saw her sister on the car.

“We met at Diamond, and I can’t just let her not coming with me. Sorry, I really didn’t have time to tell you,” Heehyun explained when Chaeyeon looked at her.

Chaeyeon seemed didn’t like it, but she only nodded and got inside the car.

On the ride to the Jung apartment, it’s Krystal who talked more between them, mostly asking Chaeyeon about her day and also telling about her visit to Diamond today. Heehyun let the Jung sisters talk while she thought about the surprise party.

Heehyun has no idea how to hold this party for Chaeyeon. Where? When? How? What she should prepare for it? She wondered if Yebin would want to help her with the party, and maybe Minkyung too? Should she ask Nayoung and Sejeong too? Heehyun held back a sigh, knowing her best friend would call her an idiot and laughing at her.

And, of course, a gift for Chaeyeon. Heehyun scratched the back of her hair while Krystal was excitedly telling Chaeyeon about her new project.

Well, let’s worried about the damn party later.

***

“It’s not about work, why are you so noisy?” With one hand still searching for a suitable puzzle piece, Nayoung continued her conversation with Seongwoo on the phone.

“Because you spent all of your weekends this month at Hourglass! I need to make sure you’re okay, Stupid.”

Ignoring the remark, Nayoung grabbed one of the puzzle pieces and put it on the empty spot. She hissed when the piece wasn’t match with the spot.

“Yah! Ellena Kim, do you hear me?! What are you doing huh? Playing puzzles?” Seongwoo’s voice made Nayoung groan, upset that her best friend could guess correctly what she was doing. She can hear Seongwoo scoff over the phone. “Of course you are. So there is no problem while I’m in Paris?”

“I’m here so all is well...” Nayoung nodded even though Seongwoo couldn’t see it. “We will have a meeting with The Arrow and Spring Artwork on Monday morning. I hope you won’t be late at Spring Artwork, Ong.”

“Hmm...” Seongwoo muttered in response to that information. “And I hope you don’t think too much about what will happen on the day after tomorrow.”

Nayoung rubbed her temples as she let out a sigh. The day after tomorrow is the first day of the new month. How could Nayoung not think about it? She is waiting for who will return to Seoul that day.

“I’m not sure Noona will comeback. She returned to Seoul a few months ago.”

“We know anything can happen, Ong. Like, who could make sure all the files we got are not fake files? You know that Unnie’s database is under protection of The Phantom. Not only Unnie, everyone on the list that we’re looking for. All of them were well-protected.” Nayoung’s voice sounded frustrated. “I’m not even sure if using all my connections can penetrate their database.”

“They are too strong for us to intervere. We are nothing more than a bunch of children who try to fight adults. Let it be...”

Nayoung took a deep breath and jumped from her seat when she heard her apartment door ringing.

“Sejeong just came home. I will contact you later. Bye, Ong... Safe flight.”

Nayoung took off the earphones and left the half-finished puzzle on the table. She walked quickly toward Sejeong who was hanging her coat.

“I miss you.” Nayoung engulfed Sejeong in her arms and gave a kiss on Sejeong’s forehead.

“I miss you too, Baby.” Sejeong laughed with her own words. She raised her head and kissed Nayoung’s jaw. “You smell nice.”

Nayoung stretched her arms and looked down giving a quick kiss on Sejeong’s lips. “Have you eaten? I bought food for dinner and… Well, do you want to eat something?”

“I want to eat you…”

Nayoung’s eyes rounded at Sejeong’s words. Her cheeks turned red and quickly burying her face on Sejeong’s shoulders as the surgeon laughed at her reaction.

“Ugghhh, don’t say that.” Nayoung’s voice sound muffled. The thought of mentioning their ‘activity’ was still making her embarrassed.

“Why are you so adorable, hmm?” Sejeong’s hand rose to caress Nayoung’s head. Nayoung didn’t answer and tightened her arms even more. “Hey... Let me take a bath and wait for me in the dining room hmm?”

Nayoung let go of her arms and nodded. Her stupid grin came out so naturally shortly after Sejeong kissed her cheek and walked towards their room.

They have been living together at Nayoung’s apartment for almost a month. As Sejeong had predicted before, Nayoung was busy again with her works after discharged from hospital. Not only Nayoung, Sejeong was also busy with so many meetings related to hospital management and surgery schedules. Even on the weekend, they spend the weekend in office and hospital. Usually Nayoung returns from office when Sejeong already asleep and wakes up when Sejeong has left for the hospital and vice versa. But they still take care to each other by leaving breakfast, notes and morning kisses before leaving for their job. Sometimes, both Sejeong and Nayoung will stay awake and wait for their partner to talk about their day.

Considering how Nayoung and Doyeon were still in a cold war, Sejeong’s presence was a safe haven for Nayoung when she felt alone. Several times she woke up in the middle of the night because of nightmares and unpleasant memories that carried to her subconscious mind, but Sejeong always managed to calm her down and make Nayoung to sleep peacefully in her arms. Doyeon had given her enough information about Nayoung shortly after they announced their engagement. Although Nayoung never said it openly, Sejeong knew that the older girl often took sleeping pills every time she had insomnia. That was one of the reasons Sejeong chose to live with her fiancée.

Now, after taking her phone, Nayoung walked into the dining room and reheated the food. In less than half an hour, Sejeong had joined next to her and ate their dinner.

“...so yeah, Heehyun suddenly came to Orion this afternoon, and you know what, she told me she has to hold a surprise birthday party for Chaeyeon, and I have to help her or–” Nayoung stopped for a while, frowning, “–well, you don’t need to know the exact words but that girl threatened me to help her. Like, really, how could she threaten me when she needs my help? I can’t believe her,” she grumbled while taking another bite of her food.

Too busy whining at Sejeong about Heehyun, she didn’t realize about her rounded cheeks because it was full of food and the sauce on her chin. Sejeong was amazed a