6.iv

Operation FML - Day 4.

“Soooo,” Yerim kicked a stray pebble in her path, stopped, and pivoted to wait for her members. “Here we go agai~n,” she intoned unenthusiastically.

The fourth day of their search finds the members with less hope than when they had started. After taking the individual search route, they had finally decided that they had nothing left to lose by going out and doing a group search this time around. To put it simply, with the next group schedule fast approaching, they need to work double-time to find their target.

The park is empty save for a few passers-by, as expected for 2 p.m. on a weekday. A good thing too, given the don't-look-here-we're-not-celebrities attire of caps, face masks, and loose sweatshirts that the group had donned to avoid catching attention as Red Velvet.

From their current position, Sooyoung noticed that their disguise does not seem to be working well. A few people who had happened to glance their way were already doing double-takes. She relayed this to the other members, who agreed that it would be better to split up to search– less eye-catching, and they would be able to cover more ground that way.

The group split into Joohyun-Seungwan, Seulgi, Sooyoung-Yerim. Yerim handed out printed copies of her map, with highlights in different colors splitting the area into three sections. The members checked their location assignments.

“Guys,” Seulgi addressed the elephant in the room. “How would we know if we find the right person? Do we even have the slightest idea of what we should be looking for?”

The group had forgone the cartographic sketch they had initially started with, having confirmed through experience that it was of absolutely no help. Three days of searching and skimming through faces in crowds had muddled their impression of the person they had been trying to find.

The members turned to look at Wannie, who bit her lower lip, suddenly unsure. “Um, she's...” She gesticulated wildly with her tiny arms. “...old.” The members groaned. “I remember she had gray hair tied up in a bun...”

Yerim rested her chin on her thumb and index finger. “Now herein is a dilemma. If we find an old lady whose hair is not in a bun, do we automatically dismiss her as being ‘ordinary’?” She knotted her eyebrows and pursed her lips in pretend thought.

Sooyoung took up the same thinking pose “Elementary, my dear Watson.” She affected a British accent and an imaginary beard. “We have to consider the possibility that our lady could have let her hair down, wanting to break free from the constraints of society.”

Yerim nodded. “What is it with little old ladies in buns, though?!? Are we putting people in boxes?” She had taken to gesturing empathically with her hands. “I mean, is it not possible for our lady to wake up one morning and decide to put her hair in pigtails, for a change?” She smashed a fist on her palm for emphasis.

Wannie pressed her palms to her cheeks and pulled her face downward, dispirited. She ceded to the maknaes’ valid point beneath all the mockery. “Yeah, I guess we can’t really rely on a hairstyle to identify her...”

Joohyun shook her head, smiling at the members’ playfulness. She glanced back at Wannie