Hyejin raised her head abruptly, feeling a little disoriented after that flashback.

“Hyejinie…?”

She blinked a few times to clear her blurry vision. Slowly, her best friend’s worried face came into view. Wheein was sitting beside Hyejin, tucking loose strands of black hair behind her ear with one hand and wiping the beads of sweat on her forehead with the other.

Hyejin didn’t remember telling Wheein where her schedule was before she left, so someone must have told her – most probably Eunbi.

“Eunbi called me,” Wheein suddenly said, as if reading Hyejin’s mind. “She said you didn’t respond to her when she tried to wake you up. Fortunately, she called me first before calling the ambulance.”

Hyejin grimaced. She could imagine the reporters having a field day with the news about her passing out during a schedule. She glanced around nervously, wondering what the producers and her co-stars thought about her sudden blackout.

“Don’t worry,” Wheein said again as she helped Hyejin to sit up straight, “the meeting has been postponed to tomorrow. Everyone’s gone home, including Eunbi.”

Hyejin let out a relieved sigh and smiled up at Wheein. “Thanks for coming, Wheein-ah,” she mumbled. “H-How long was I out?”

“Almost ten minutes,” Wheein quietly replied. She studied Hyejin’s face closely before adding, “How long have this been going on? You used to only space out for a minute at most.”

“I think it started on the night of your birthday,” Hyejin said, recalling that night with Byulyi, “I had a flashback…a few of them, actually…and when I finally came to my senses, Byul-unnie had moved me because I was out for so long.”

“Your flashbacks are getting longer and more frequent, Hyejinie,” Wheein commented. Then, she looked at Hyejin with expectant eyes. “Does this mean you’re remembering more?”

“I think so…”

“What’s your flashback about this time?”

“It was about that time you introduced me to Yongsun-unnie…” she smirked when she remembered a particular part of the flashback, “…and apparently, we kissed. Is that how you knew I had a crush on you, Wheein-ah?”

Wheein blushed and averted her gaze. “Y-Yeah,” she mumbled. “I still feel bad for rejecting you so harshly back then. I mean, you straight up ignored me for more than a month, Hyejin-ah.”

Hyejin winced. “I’m sorry. I was a hurt child back then.”

“I was hurt too when you ignored me, but looking back, I didn’t do anything to reach out to you either. So we’re even.”

Hyejin held out her fist towards Wheein who looked down briefly and scoffed before bumping her fist against Hyejin’s. It was their own way of confirming with each other that everything was okay between them.

“So how did you get here so fast?” Hyejin asked, craning her neck left and right to relieve the tension in her neck muscles. “The company is like twenty minutes away…”

Wheein hesitated, toying with the napkin on the table for a while before answering.

“I was actually at Yongsun-unnie’s office across the street,” she murmured. “I was bored because you didn’t show up for our lunch date…”

Hyejin recalled seeing Byulyi and Yongsun coming out of the building across from the café; the new agency must be Yongsun’s since Byulyi was essentially her employee.

“When I got the call from Eunbi,” Wheein continued, “the unnies were there too. They wanted to come over and help, especially Byulie-unnie. I reminded her that you were still at work and her showing up would raise unwanted questions…”

“Wh-what did she say to that?” Hyejin asked nervously.

“She didn’t say anything. She just…locked herself in the bathroom.”

Hyejin blinked. “That’s all she did?” she asked, a little disappointed with Byulyi’s lack of reaction.

Wheein shook her head, suddenly looking pale. “She was still in there when I left. But just before you woke up, I got a call from Yongsun-unnie and…” she raised her eyes to meet Hyejin’s, a pained look on her face, and Hyejin’s chest tightened with an uneasy feeling, “…she said that Byulie-unnie injured herself punching through the bathroom’s mirror.”

Hyejin mouth dropped open. “Wh-what…?”

“She’s at the hospital right now,” Wheein hastily added. “D-Do you want to go and see her, Hyejin-ah?”

Hyejin nodded her head distractedly, trying to imagine the kind of scenario that would lead Byulyi to be furious enough to hurt herself like that.

I guess I have to ask her myself and find out.

Byulyi was given four stitches on her right knuckle and another two stitches on the cut above her right eyebrow. The doctor said that she was lucky the glass shard missed her eye by a few inches or she could have been blinded.

Byulyi just nodded along to the doctor’s word distractedly. She kept staring at her bandaged hand with an awed look written all over her face, not even noticing that Hyejin was in the room along with Yongsun and Wheein.

“Let’s sleep over at our place tonight,” Yongsun announced once they were inside of Wheein’s car. In her panic, she had forgotten where she had placed her car keys and had taken Byulyi to the hospital via a taxi. “Doesn’t that sound fun?”

“Where is ‘our place’?” Hyejin asked curiously. Then, she smirked. “Did you move into Wheein’s apartment already?”

“N-No,” Yongsun answered, flustered by the sudden question, and tugged on Wheein’s cheek when she realized her girlfriend was grinning happily at the suggestion. “It’s Byul’s apartment actually," she explained. "I’ve been crashing there since I came back.”

Hyejin scowled. “She never told me that,” she muttered. She turned to Byulyi who kept her gaze fixed outside the window. “When were you planning to tell me about Yongsun-unnie being your housemate?”

“Well that’s a blast from the past,” Yongsun chuckled. “It feels like a zillion years ago since you called me that, Hyejin-ah. It’s always been ‘Yong-unnie, Yong-unnie’…" formed an adorable pout, "I felt a little lonely, you know.”

Hyejin blushed. “S-Sorry, unnie,” she mumbled. “I just had the flashback of our ‘real’ first meeting.” She paused and hit Yongsun on the arm, eliciting a sharp cry from the older woman. “Why didn’t you tell me we met before, babo unnie?”

“Would you even believe me if I told you that?” Yongsun argued. “Isn't it good though? Your secret’s safe with me as long as I keep my mouth zipped.”

Suddenly, a soft chuckle escaped Byulyi.

Hyejin turned to her, excited that Byulyi had shown an interest in the conversation, but when their gazes met in the window’s reflection, her words died in . Byulyi’s eyes were cold and distant, as if they belonged to a stranger’s.

“Yes,” Byulyi murmured, lips curving into a sardonic smile, “secrets are safe as long as you keep your mouth shut...but what if those secrets suddenly become a burden you can no longer bear?”

Hyejin frowned, confused by Byulyi’s words. “What are you talking about, unnie?”

Byulyi finally turned around to look at Hyejin, straight in the eyes. “I’m talking about us,” she said, sounding strangely calm, “I’m tired of secrets, Ahn Hyejin. Let's break up. For real, this time.”

______________________________________________________

A/N: Happy New Years everyone! ^^

I hope you're not too unhappy with me..haha...^^;

Let's meet again in 2019 with a new update, okay?Thank you for reading! ^^