Jihyo hid her yawn behind her hand. 

Nayeon dragged her out on a night of karaoke and drinking, something about wanting to unwind after days of attending to guests, but Jihyo knew behind the hollow eyes and forced laughter that something—or someone—was haunting the poor girl. And from the amount of sappy loves songs that she kept singing throughout the night, Jihyo had a hunch who was at the root of all this unncecessary drama. She eyed the mess of bottles that Nayeon alone drank.

In the middle of belting out a sappy Ed Sheeran song, Nayeon slumped on the cold leather of the booth, hand still clutching the mic and vision getting progressively more blurry. The regret was seeping in but so was the alcohol. Her voice croaked with each sentence that didn't match what was on the screen and the room started to spin right round.

When the song ended, Jihyo took the mic slipping from her fingers and exchanged it with cool plastic. She crossed her legs and poked the wasted woman, earning a demonic groan. Not terrified at all by the cranky drunk, Jihyo poked her cheek again . "Are you okay?" Another groan, another poke. "You want to talk about it?"

Nayeon opened the cap of the bottle and tipped it to . Unfortunately, her trajectory was a little skewed and she ended up pouring most of the water on her face. She closed the cap and placed the bottle on the table, but she made no attempt to wipe her face and instead slumped further onto her seat in shame. Jihyo snorted at the spectacle, but straightened herself up—she had to be a good best friend now.

"That was some good water, huh?" At the question, Nayeon nodded her head, eyes still fixated on the flashing screen as her drunken self played the many scenarios of all the sappy romance dramas she'd watched over her lifetime except replaced by Jeongyeon and some random, probably not as good looking as Nayeon, guy. Watching the proud and confident woman she had known since her teenage years change to this pathetic lump before her pained  Jihyo deep in her heart, and at that she rolled up the sleeves of her blouse—God-Jihyo was going to fix this one way or another.

"What did Jeongyeon do this time?"

At the mention of the name, Nayeon sputtered and choked on her spit. Red in the face because of an equal mixture of alcohol and embarrasment, she glared at the straight-faced Jihyo whose eyes knew a hint of something Nayeon couldn't trace. Even when she was drunk, Nayeon knew that look and she had to change the subject fast. Wiping , Nayeon slurred, trying to play off what happened a second ago, "What're you talkin' about, Jihyo-yo? I just wanted to have a nice friendly karaoke night with you since...I dunno how long! And look at how much we drank, I think this is a new record for us!"

"None of those bottles are mine, I haven't drank all night. And don't change the subject. I'll repeat again: What did Jeongyeon do this time?"

Nayeon tilted her head, not having the ability to find a lie in time to fool someone as attentive as Jihyo, and instead looked at the ceiling and the dim lights that shone as if she was on a stage.

But she was no actor. Jeongyeon was. She closed her eyes and let the tears in her eyes fall freely while the ache in her chest burned her heart.

"Jeongyeon did nothing wrong," Nayeon whimpered, her quiet voice traveling in all four corners of the room. With the alcohol overtaking her system, honesty dripped from each syllable. "Jeongyeon is...she's so sweet. Sickeningly sweet. She'll make you a birthday cake behind your back and fail five times while trying to surprise you. She'll make your favorite pancakes, y'know the chocolate chip ones, and buy your favorite juice because you weren't feeling well the night before. She'll give you crappy jokes on post-it notes to make you laugh. She'll try to play your favorite song on a guitar even when she doesn't know how. She'll sing you to sleep when you're having a nightmare. She'll remember your favorite flowers when you were a kid. She'll remember the stupidest things about you. She'll play along every time you have a stupid plan to make money for your guest house. She'll do everything to make you happy..." With each phrase, more and more tears streamed down her face like a gentle river. Jihyo eyes softened as she watched the girl pour her heart out. 

"She's perfect, so damn perfect. How can anyone not fall in love with her?" 

So that's it. A puff of hair left Jihyo's lips as the corners lifted slightly.

It's about time, Nayeon.

Jihyo's arms pulled the sobbing girl close and tucked her face, wet from her tears, on her shoulder. She rubbed soothing