“What do we do now?” Sojung asked in frustration as she ran a desperate hand through her dishevelled hair. This was not how she planned to start her day. She had gone to wake Eunha up for breakfast only to discover the note on her neatly made bed.

“We have to follow her words. She probably knows something that we don’t so she’s trying to protect us.” Eunbi said and the taller girl shot up from the couch, enraged. The note was crushed in her balled fist and she waved it at Eunbi.

“Follow her wor--” she scoffed and took a step back, throwing an exasperated hand into the air, “--SHE’S IN TROUBLE! SHE ALONE CAN’T PROTECT ALL OF US!” Sojung yelled, causing Yewon and Yuna to flinch and look away. Eunbi however, wasn’t going to let Sojung intimidate her that easily.

“LOOK!” she yelled to get the attention of the older girl. “I’ve known her for more than a decade. When she leaves stuff like this behind without a word, it’s serious. Okay? Just listen to her and everything will be alright.” Eunbi said through clenched teeth, trying to keep her cool. Sojung narrowed her eyes at the younger girl.

“You know something... don’t you?” Sojung snarled. Her shoulders tensed up as her gaze burned into Eunbi’s equally fiery ones. The quiet couple could only watch in discomfort as the atmosphere thickened with each passing second.

“That’s not the point! The point is that she knows better than us and she’s trying to keep us safe! For the love of God, just listen to your girlfriend!” Eunbi cried and Sojung pounced at Eunbi. Before the former could reach the latter, she was intercepted by Yerin who had been watching silently the entire time. The surgeon lunged forward as well and managed to grab the front of Sojung’s shirt, pulling her back just before she could grab Eunbi and slammed her down onto the floor, narrowly missing the glass coffee table. Eunbi could only sit there, eyes wide in shock at what had just happened before her eyes. Yuna let out a gasp and Yewon stood up to check if Eunbi was alright.

“DON’T TOUCH HER!” Yerin seethed as she struggled to keep the taller girl under control. She wasn’t one to get physical, especially not with her members but Yerin wasn’t going to hold back if Eunbi’s safety was threatened.

“LET GO!” Sojung screamed and punched Yerin in the face. The latter fought back with equal ferocity and returned a punch to her abdomen. She fisted Sojung’s shirt in her hands and rolled to the side, separating them from the younger girls.

“GET YOUR TOGETHER KIM SOJUNG!” Yerin bellowed as the older girl continued to flail her arms, hitting Yerin who blocked each strike. The younger girls could only watch in horror as their two eldest members wrestled around on the ground.

“YOU KNOW SOMETHING TOO DONT YOU? ING TRAITOR!” Sojung howled and kicked Yerin off her, causing the girl to roll backwards. She managed to catch herself before she could slam against the wall.

“YES, I KNOW WHAT EUNHA WAS HIDING. SHE TOLD US ALL BUT YOU! YOU KNOW WHY? THIS IS THE EXACT REACTION SHE WAS AFRAID OF!” Yerin screamed and fuelled the fire within Sojung, causing her to jump at Yerin once more. The force of Sojung’s jump sent them both tumbling and Yerin blocked another punch from Sojung.

“UNNIE STOP! PLEASE! STOP FIGHTING!” Yewon pleaded as she tried to pull Sojung off Yerin only to get shoved away. In her blind rage, she exerted more force than she thought, causing Yewon to stumble back. She would have crashed onto the coffee table if Yuna and Eunbi hadn’t caught her. Yerin saw it and her eyes widened. Sojung took the opportunity when Yerin was distracted to pin her down onto the floor, straddling her and held a hand against Yerin’s pale neck, choking her. Before Sojung could deliver another blow to her face, Yerin grabbed her wrist, stopping the punch just in time. She kneed Sojung’s side which caught the older girl off guard and allowed her to flip their positions. She twisted Sojung’s arm behind her back, pinning her to the ground as the leader thrashed about.

“STOP IT!” Yerin roared assertively as she dug her knee into Sojung’s back. “SNAP OUT OF IT AND LOOK AROUND YOU!”

Sojung, who had no choice but to obey since she was already subdued, looked around. She saw the youngest members gathered by the couch with fear and apprehension in their eyes. They shouldn’t be looking at her in fear. She was their leader. They were supposed to feel protected and safe. She turned back as much as she could and saw Yerin in her peripherals. The corner of her lips was split and bleeding from the punch she took earlier. A red mark was also beginning to show on her pale neck from Sojung’s earlier chokehold. Her gaze was cold but she could feel the desperation within them.

In her fit of anger, she had hurt everyone. How could she? How could she hurt the people she swore to protect with her life? She was a failure. She didn’t deserve to be their leader.

Sojung let her head fall back to the ground in defeat and she stopped struggling completely. Yerin slowly released her arms and they fell limply to her sides.

“Unnie...” Yewon called out and Sojung started to cry. The younger girl sounded so... fragile. And it was all because of her. They were all probably deathly afraid of her now that they saw the kind of monster she could become. Her soft cry became louder as she sobbed. She managed to roll onto her back and brought her weak arms up to her face, covering her eyes. The girls exchanged glances, unsure of what they should do.

“I know you’re hurting. We all are. We’re as worried as you are for Eunha’s safety but this isn’t the time to go berserk. You have to get yourself together, Sojung. For us. For Eunha. Don’t let your emotions get the better of you.” Yerin said as she knelt beside Sojung.

“How…” Sojung managed to croak in between sobs.

“It’s easier said than done, yes. But you have to try. We need you. You’re our leader. Our pillar of strength. If you give up like this… I don’t know how we’re going to continue.” Yerin said tenderly as she rubbed the older girl’s arm.

“I’m… I’m not your leader. I don’t deserve to be. I failed you. I hurt Yewon and I probably scared all of you. I failed to protect Eunha and notice her problems. I failed to protect my members. How can I be a leader?” Sojung said in anger. She was infuriated at herself. There were signs that Eunha was dealing with a bigger problem than she let on and times where she could have stepped in to help but she missed them all. “I’m sorry. You don’t have a leader anymore.”

“Stupid Sojung.” Eunbi suddenly said and walked closer to the girl. She knelt on the older girl’s other side only to give her a tight slap.

“Eunbi!” Yewon gasped and rushed forward to hold the younger girl back. Sojung cupped a hand across her cheek as a stinging sensation began to spread across her face.

“I dare you to repeat all that. If you look me in the eye and say it, I’m going to beat the daylights out of you. When will you wake up? You didn’t fail anyone. People make mistakes, Sojung. They’ll only fail if they don’t learn from their mistakes. You’re not useless or good for nothing. How many times have you protect