Once she hears her best friend’s name, Chaewon is prone to seek answers to the countless questions that jog through her head. However, as questions went unanswered and only keep stacking up, Chaewon moves over with her warning lights on. She isn’t sure if she should congratulate her father or curses at him. Yet, before she can choose one or the other, she hears the droning voice asks, “Did you hear me?”

Chaewon swallows the burning lump in , pushing back nasty words she’s itching to spit out. Knowing her father, it isn’t worth it. He’d only laugh and call her 'a crazy wench just like her mother'. But at the very last second, she couldn’t help it, “Why? Why are you marrying Goeun? Why you crazy bastard?!”

“Kim Chaewon! How dare you—”

Chaewon opens the door and speedily exits the car for a breath of fresh air. However, even the cool air appears to be pissing her off so with all her might throws her phone onto the cement beneath her. The device shatters and fragments of it flew in all sort of directions. And if Chaewon isn’t wearing long pants, she would have been scratched or cut.

It’s been a while since Chaewon saw red—last time she was 16 and it was all because of Goeun.

With a few deep breaths, Chaewon habitually recomposes herself as she bends over to retrieve the unscraped sim card. She puts it in between her teeth and lightly bites down on it, then she gets back into the car and speeds off without the broken pieces. 

Around 6 pm, Chaewon finally sees Eunbi striding into the restaurant with little to no energy. She arches a brow as she thought and was told that Eunbi went on a little trip and won’t be back for some time. However, seeing that Eunbi is back already, Chaewon assumes the trip didn’t go as the other has planned. Chaewon watches as Eunbi stops at the window by Sian only to be told to look her direction.

Once their gazes meet, Chaewon beams and waves at Eunbi, putting a weak smile on Eunbi's face.

When Eunbi joins Chaewon at her table, the lass asks for another glass then pours Eunbi some soju. Chaewon gestures for Eunbi to drink and cheer for her softly when she did. “Your boss said you went on a trip. Where exactly did you go because you look like ?”

Eunbi sigh, “It’s a long story,”

Chaewon scoffs, “There are ribs and soju in front of us. We have all the time in the world,”

Eunbi can’t tell if Chaewon is genuinely curious or just messing with her. So she changes the topic on her, “Why are you drinking anyway? And Sian told me this was your second time here,” Eunbi points out.

A flat smile is drawn across Chaewon’s pale face as she rests her chin onto her hand, “I ran out of Kwon Eunbi,” Chaewon admits, “Yesterday, I only got a taste but yesterday and today were rough so I’m drained,”

Eunbi furrows her brows, “Your family owns one of Korea’s leading chains around the world, what could possibly drain you?”

Chaewon one-shot her glass in the other hand before pouring herself some more. “That’s exactly why I’m drained. I’m the rightful heiress but I’m treated as a runner-up. Whether I turn left or right, up or down, everyone is out to test and manipulate me. Even after I’ve proven myself over and over again,” Eunbi isn’t positive what Chaewon is implying but remains silent. “They’re acting like I’m running for President of the world or something. My party is in jeopardized whether I answer yes or no. Anything I do is monitored. If I breathe, they compress me until I yield. After I yield they believe they can do as they please with me. When I let them do as they please, they throw me under the bus. After throwing me away, they make sure to roll over and kill me,” Chaewon chortles a little insanely, leading Eunbi to believe she’s drunk.

And although Eunbi has no clue what Chaewon is blabbering about, she somehow understood the feelings and emotions Chaewon is expressing. Then Eunbi observes Chaewon taking another sip and make a -in sound due to the spicy drink. “Chaewon, you should stop drinking,”

The younger lass, with her eyes closed, sets her glass down with a bang then asks, “Want to hear a funny story? My dad is marrying my best friend. Want to hear something else? I liked her first,” Chaewon pounds her chest before letting out a hiccup. “I, me, Kim Chaewon. The daughter Kim Hyukjin and Hwan Jisun had out of wedlock, the heiress of Soul Group liked Na Goeun. But what? She’s marrying my dad?”

Not only is Eunbi surprised by the news but she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Even rich people had problems too, she thinks to herself. When Eunbi reaches over to grab the glass out of Chaewon’s hand, she didn’t expect the lass to grab a firm hold around her wrist. Eunbi freezes as Chaewon slowly opens her eyes. To Eunbi’s surprise, Chaewon’s pupils were steady and she didn’t seem drunk at all, “Kwon Eunbi,” Chaewon begins, “you never gave me an answer. Will you be my housekeeper or not?”

Eunbi is baffle by Chaewon’s question and the sudden sturdy look in her eyes. “...what about the neighborhood?”  

“If I buy the neighborhood and leave it alone, would that buy you too?”

“...buy it then leave it alone?” Eunbi didn’t realize it but her voice is soft and she’s close to whispering.

Chaewon hums, “When I met with your landlord, he was keen on selling it regardless who’s buying. If I purchase it, I won’t make any changes but if someone else buys it, I can’t promise they’ll leave everyone, and everything alone and the same,”

When Eunbi tries to retreat her hand, she feels Chaewon fastening her hold, “Wh-what do you want from me then? To be your housekeeper?” Chaewon didn’t know what she was doing to Eunbi. The older’s heart is racing and pounding against her ribcage aggressively.

“I want you to be strong for me. I may not show it but I’m shaking, really bad. For a little bit, let me be weak and vulnerable and when I’m done feeling lame, let me return to my place without having to rebuild myself completely. Can you do that for me?”

Eunbi couldn’t fathom what Chaewon means but one thing is vivid. Chaewon is at her breaking point and she is a breath away from bawling her eyes out. To answer Chaewon, Eunbi nods. Then quietly Chaewon hangs her head and pulls Eunbi’s hand closer to her. A second later, Eunbi feels wet droplets falling onto her hand.

Gently, Eunbi places her hand on Chaewon’s head and pets her, suppressing tears of her own. Although she wishes to comfort Chaewon with words, in the end, she can say nothing. She can only stay strong and wait for Chaewon to come back from whatever she’s suffering from. 

Eunbi opens the door to her room and is more than excited to show Chaewon where she sleeps at night. “Ta-dah, this is the room Sian is letting me stay in,”

While Chaewon studies the room from top to bottom, Eunbi goes over to her bed to pull out and show Chaewon an item she recognizes instantly. “Oh! That’s my shirt,” Chaewon says as she walks over to grab a hold of it. “Did you sew it? It ripped pretty bad,”

Eunbi lets the shirt falls freely into Chaewon’s grip as she hides her hands behind her back. “I did. I’m sorry about ripping it,”

Chaewon scoffs, “You should be sorry I was wearing something underneath not that you ripped it,”

Eunbi blushes, though luckily the light in her room is dim so Chaewon hardly notices her rosy cheeks. “Oh and I’ve been meaning to give—” before Eunbi can finish her sentence, Chaewon cuts her off with a hug.

Once again, Eunbi isn’t ready and can only halt in place, “So I heard,” Chaewon coos near her ear, “you’ve got a crush on me,” Eunbi tries to deny it but Chaewon’s shamelessness tempts her to keep still, “Sian scolded me for leading you on due to my excessive teasing and permissiveness. She said you’re a country pumpkin and once you fall, you fall hard,”

Eunbi scoffs then stutters, “Th-that’s not t-true—”

“Whether it’s true or not. It makes me happy that you like me,” Chaewon fasten her embrace around Eunbi then sigh in relief, “Thank you for being strong,”

When Eunbi can feel and sense Chaewon’s sincerity behind those words, she couldn’t keep her hands off of Chaewon. Slowly she wraps her arms around Chaewon’s thin waist and closes her eyes. Chaewon is a year younger but Eunbi is once again impressed by her ability to solve problems, uplift others, and expresses herself wherever and whenever she wants. 

Eunbi stands a step behind Chaewon as the younger hovers over a blinding, glass case. “This is the latest iPhone right?” she asks the female employee behind the counter.

“Yes, ma’am,”

“Great, I’ll take two,”

Eunbi gasps then step forward to smack Chaewon on the arm. “Two? Are you crazy? They’re 1,250 a piece,” she says in a low, dangerous tone.

Chaewon sighs, “Trust me a little, sister. I’m Soul Group, remember?”

“But two—”

“We’ll take two,” Chaewon says to the worker again before turning back to Eunbi, “this is why you’ve never had a handphone. I still can’t believe this will be your first one,” Chaewon mocks then quickly added, “then again, you’ll be having a lot of your firsts with me,”

Eunbi flatten her eyes, “What’s that suppose to mean?”

Chaewon doesn’t hide a pleased smile then she reaches out and ruffles Eunbi’s hair, “It’s not what you were thinking,” she crinkles at the latter. Quietly, Eunbi fixes her hair as the worker came back with two boxes.

“Will you be paying with cash or card today?” the woman asks.

“Card,” Chaewon says as she pulls out a black card.

Once the woman swipes it, she apologetically informs them, “Sorry ma’am, your card got denied,”

Chaewon smiles, “Try this one then,” as she hands the woman a gray card, she applies it again and with a grand smile says.

“It went through,” 

Sitting on a bench, Eunbi watches as Chaewon unboxes their new phones. Although Chaewon looks worry-free, Eunbi feels indifferent, “Why did your card get decline earlier?”

Without sparing her a glance, Chaewon reveals, “I called my dad a crazy bastard earlier so he probably blocked it, but little does he know I opened a personal account a while ago,” Eunbi hesitates, wondering if it’ll be alright to ask for the reason why. However, not a minute later, Chaewon comes out with the truth, “My dad is money crazy. He tracks down every penny he has. The flaw, however, is he has more than he can handle so he hardly manages money that isn’t directly under him,”

“Oh,” Eunbi says in a tiny voice. Shortly after, Eunbi sees Chaewon handing her one of the phones.

“This one is yours. You know how to use it right?”

“I’ve seen others use theirs,” Eunbi answer as she takes hold of the firm, yet, slim object.

“My number is on speed dial so just press and hold down the button one if you want to call me,” Chaewon says then stands up, surprising Eunbi.

“Where are you going?”

Chaewon blinks, “Oh, I have some things to take care of. I’ll be in Seoul for a while but if you need me, just call,” before Chaewon can walk away, Eunbi grabs her by the hand.

“Wait,” Eunbi pause for a moment, debating if she should ask for a favor or not.

“Need something?”

“Can I,” Eunbi takes a deep breath to organize her thoughts and words, “if it’s not too much to ask. Can I go to Seoul too? There’s someone I need to see,”

Chaewon wonders who it is but decides not to ask questions, “Sure,”