I don’t know what happened. All I know that so much blood rushed up to my face that I had to shout at the bartender.

“WHAT THE DID YOU JUST ASK?”

I am so out of control. What am I going to do now when I know a drink would be the remedy to something outrageous as this feeling? I wasn’t drunk enough yet. I wasn’t deep into auto-pilot yet. God damn.

She was planning on taking a cab home, but since she knew she wasn’t drunk enough, she took the challenge of walking home. She knew it would stir her mind off ‘Tae’ as she braces herself hard in walking straight. Even though she didn’t go auto-pilot, she was a little more intoxicated than the usual. It took her more than half an hour to get back to her new flat. The digital clock read 2:38 when she got home.

“I guess that best mix of that nosy bartender is unexpectedly stronger compared to how it tastes. What a traitor, that drink is.”

It has been months and months of self-control of not popping pills. Alcohol has always been her best shot at getting a good sleep. She needed to get some sleep, she still had to look for a job when the morning comes. Despite of being dissatisfied with having a conscious and clear mind, she dropped her whole body on the bed as soon as she saw it. The woman’s heart was alive for the night, but her body couldn’t handle any more effort of moving. After a few moments, Yuri fell asleep.

~

It’s your fault!

You broke our trust.

You should be ashamed.

Stop playing the victim!

~

Yuri woke up to a pang of pain in her temples. She woke up with a slow long groan.

“. What the hell was in that drink?”

She tried her best to stand up and prepare for the day. She was unemployed. Even though she has enough savings from her college years and a nice flat given to her by her parents as a gift for her life as she welcomes her adulthood, she knows that it’s only practical to be working. Money can be saved and given to others if it’s in excess after all.

Yuri was able to finish preparing at around 9 am. She wore a pink top, light denim jeans, and a gray coat over since it felt a bit cold that morning. She was off to inquiring hospitals and schools with serious sports affiliations to hopefully land a job. She had a lot of choices to pick, but she has her eyes fixed on one particular employer, Gangnam Hospital. If things go south, she would have no choice but to consider her remaining choices. Yuri finished her Bachelor’s degree in Physical Therapy in Teikyo University in Japan. She had her internship in a secondary-level school that had a competent swimming team. The team was grateful not only for Yuri’s care in conditioning their bodies, but to her personal tips to the sport as well. Despite of bringing home only stories of experiences, she was still highly recognized as a challenger in the Olympics.

~

[Tiffany]

 The woman who was lying in bed, almost , woke up to the ringing of her cellphone. After a few seconds of squinting her eyes to check who was calling, she answered it.

“Hey, wake up. Let’s have lunch.”

“Wow. Good morning to you too, sis.” Tiffany answered in annoyance.

“Yeah, sure. I’ll wait for you here in the hospital. Let’s have Dornos.”

“ARE YOU GONNA TREAT ME?”

“When you make up your mind like that… Do I really have a choice, Miyoung?”

Tiffany shrieked in disgust in hearing her Korean name over the phone. She didn’t like being called by that name.

Her sister, despite of her very serious and professional character, laughed it off.

“I’ll forgive you since I’m in for a treat.” Tiffany pouted.

“11 o’clock. Take care, Miyoung.”

With another shriek, the call ended.

~

Tiffany arrived in the hospital a quarter to 11 in the afternoon. She asked the front desk to page Dr. Hwang, her sister who was an Orthopedic surgeon. After a few minutes, they met. They talked as they walked to their destination which was 4 blocks away from the hospital.

“Hi, sissy. How’s work?”

“Barely have any operation. How’s prince?”

“Really? You haven’t seen me for about a week and the first thing you ask me is about my dog?” Tiffany asked with her hand on her chest and her eyebrows raised as if physically hurt by the question. “but yeah, I just got him groomed.” Finishing off her sentence with a chuckle.

“Of course, I believe you’re getting by your dues and necessities. How’s your work coming through?”

“Well, I’m working with my designs and once I get it done I’ll see who’s interested in buying it. I’m not really in any rush to make a deal and I want to have a lot of time to enjoy what I’ve been earning, so….”

“Good.”

“What?!” Tiffany asked, surprised.

“What do you mean what?” Michelle responded with clear annoyance.

“It’s just new that you’re being nice to me even though I just indirectly told you I don’t want to work in the meantime.”

“Way to tell me I pressure you that much, huh? With what you’ve been through, or still