All of a sudden, it’s 9 o’clock and Goeun fails to realize she has been chewing on the same tough, piece of beef for a while as she has been busy monitoring her friend drinking herself drunk.

Chaewon down her thirtieth glass of soju with her eyes closed then she starts to stagger in no specific direction. It’s clear to Goeun that Chaewon is hiding something she’s dying to share. Something she couldn’t states when sober and getting blackout drunk to spill her secrets has become a ritual between them. It’s one of the few ways Goeun learns about everything that goes on in Chaewon’s home. It’s when the cat is out of the bag. When the truth is spill without regret.

Chaewon smacked her lips before slurring her words and rambling, “Hyewon is my sister, regardless of what anyone says. No one can take her from me because I have to protect her. My dad is an insecure brat,” Goeun blinks sluggishly and smile weakly at her friend’s bitter last words. “My mom is pathetic. My second mom is well,” Chaewon chuckles foolishly, “a doctor and they’re idiots,”

Briefly, they share a moment of quiet and peace until Chaewon stretches a little and reaches for the nearly empty dark-green glass bottle and cup. There is a sharp clink when her metal rings strike the glasses. At the same time, Goeun grabs Chaewon by the wrist and stops her from pouring another drink. “Chaewon, that’s enough. Let’s take you home before your parents notice you’re still not home,”

Chaewon simpers, “What 22 year old have a curfew?”

“You do. Come, let’s get you home. I have a morning shift tomorrow and I’m about to fall asleep here,”

Despite being as drunk as Chaewon is, she doesn’t fight her best friend and waves the lady worker over. “Aunty, how much is everything?” Chaewon pulls out her wallet from one of her pockets and runs a finger over her cash.

“Altogether is 39.50,”  

Chaewon tries to pull out 40 with only an eye open but when she helplessly wobbles, Goeun grabs Chaewon’s wallet out of her grip and hands the lady the amount they owe. “Thank you, aunty. When you closed the shop be careful and have a safe trip home,” Goeun says and receives the same kind words before putting Chaewon’s right arm around her shoulder and half-drag-half-pull the other.

After Goeun wave down a cab, she lay Chaewon’s head on her lap and asks the driver to stop by Chaewon’s home. When they arrive twenty minutes later, the driver helps Goeun gets Chaewon out of the car and until they were standing in front of the wicket. Once Goeun rings the doorbell, the ding seems to have woken Chaewon up from her drunken state. Then through the speaker, they hear the housekeeper, “Who is it?”

“It’s me, Goeun. I have Chaewon with me,”

“Come in, miss,” the woman says then they hear the small gate unlock with a click. When Goeun tries to take a step forward, Chaewon holds her back by the shoulder.

“I can go by myself from here. I’ll see you tomorrow, Goeun,” although Goeun is hesitant on letting Chaewon go alone, she couldn’t stop Chaewon when she slams herself up against the gate to force it open. Then she turns around and waves to Goeun, “Bye, good night my friend,”

As the door closes behind Chaewon, Goeun heaves a sigh before returning to the taxi waiting for her. Once she gets in she kindly says, “Mister, Le Meridien, please,” 

Busan…

Eunbi and Joohyun were flipping rocks, on a mudflat, in search for some clams and crabs. In spite of it being six, the sun is unusually late due to it being a cloudy, cold day. Hearing that it might rain in the afternoon, Joohyun and Eunbi got up to rummage the field at four that morning. While Eunbi focuses, Joohyun is fascinated by the unknown. Colored pebbles to bugs and small creatures they don’t know the name to nor has ever seen one throughout their whole lives.

“I found a mussel!” Joohyun exclaims with a broad smile before struggling to run over right and squat down in front of Eunbi, “Look, it’s massive!”

“Good job,” Eunbi compliment then opens the netty bag in her hands for her sister. “That’s the fifth one today and we have twenty-six clams so far,”

Joohyun is thrilled with the numbers, “Perfect. If you want to go home first and make breakfast, I’m going to look for more and take it to the market later. We ran out of rice last night so I’ll go buy some and come home later,”

Eunbi didn’t want to leave Joohyun alone and in the dark but someone needed to check on their mother. So she obliged in defeat before setting the net down and quickly slipping her jacket off, although not fast enough to avoid dirtying it with her hands. “Here, wear this too. If you get sick, we won’t be able to afford medicine for you,” her consideration puts a warm smile on Joohyun’s face.

The shorter takes the puffy dark jacket and puts it on, over her own, without any objection, “Thanks. Now run home before you catch a cold yourself,”

“See you later. I’ll have some hot calms for you when you get home,” Eunbi says as she gets up to leave.

When Eunbi reaches their shack-like home, forty-odd minutes later, she is surprised to see that the front door is wide open. Instantly she panics, drops the net full of fresh catch, and runs to the bedroom. “Mom?” Eunbi cried before she even got to the door. To her horror, after opening the door with a bang, she sees that her mother is nowhere to be seen. In her place are the thin sheets the older use, but in a messy pile. “Mom? Mom!” Eunbi checks the bathroom, the kitchen, she searches every corner of the house but her mother is gone. Every step she takes, the faster her heart beats.

Alas, Eunbi leaves the house again and rapidly scan the front of the yard. “Mom!” She shouts hands cup around her lips.

Eunbi couldn’t stand still for a second, her legs were shaky and she had to hop to fight off the fear consuming and freezing her legs. Without a break, she runs up and down the neighborhood, asking anyone she sees if they have seen her mother. When not a single person is helpful, Eunbi begins to lose her mind.

While trying to catch her breath, she loses track of the paths she hasn’t searched and the paths she has. “Mom, where are you?” she asks under a faint whisper. She tries to think of a place her mom would have gone to but her mind isn’t working and it further frustrates her. Eunbi pulls her hair at the roots then study the surrounding once more, and as if someone heard her desperate but silent plead, she sees a familiar back.

It is her mother, sitting alone on a rock overlooking the sea. Eunbi nearly cries when she runs to her. “Mom!” she calls, turning the woman around.

“Oh, Eunbi,” she says loud enough, although it didn’t matter as all Eunbi could hear was her stomps. Once Eunbi is beside her, the lass hug and squeeze the woman.

“Mom, I thought you left us behind, I was so scared,” Eunbi is crying now and nothing is going to hold her back. She pities their lives. Their mother’s life. The thin clothes that her mother has been wearing for ages whether it is freezing cold or scorching hot out. The old woman pats Eunbi on the back and patiently comforts her.

“Where would I go when I have my two beautiful daughters here?” she asks in a gentle, soothing voice.

Eunbi sniffles, “I-I thought you went back to Seoul. I thought Joohyun and I’ve lost you after losing our dad. I was so scared,”

The parent laughs weakly, “My silly daughter. I can never go back to Seoul. That place is just a part of my past. I will never go anywhere without taking you girls with me. Don’t cry. I couldn’t find you and your sister this morning so I came out for some fresh air. I didn’t mean to scare you. Don’t cry my beautiful daughter,” Eunbi nods but her tears continue to flow. In the end, she apologizes for surprising her mother. 

Chaewon wakes up with a groan and stretches before realizing she is in her own room. With one eye, she kicks the blanket out of her way and spins to sit on the edge of the queen size bed. She yawned before scratching her belly and walking over to her walk-in closet. Her eyes do all the mixing and matching until she finds a gold sweater and tight black jeans the perfect outfit for the day.

Dragging her feet out of her room, she sees Hyewon tiptoeing over to her. Startle, Chaewon jumps a bit when Hyewon miscalculate and bumps into her, “Is dad home?” she whispers as if nothing has happened.

Chaewon exhales sharply through the nose, “Should I find out?” Hyewon nods. “Dad!” Chaewon shouts, “Marco!” They never heard a “polo” but hears their father’s scooter downstairs.

“What do you want?” he asks in a loud, stormy voice.

Peeking over the rail, Chaewon beams, “Nothing. Good morning,” she says innocently but jumps again when her father barks.

“See me in my office this instant,”

The lass wants to blame her step-sister but when Hyewon gestures for her to listen to the man, Chaewon can’t defy her and heads down first.

When she enters the tidy, organized office with a desk and lots of shelves, Chaewon goes to stand across from her father and his work area. When she sees her father eyeing her hands hidden in her pants pocket, she humbling puts them behind her back and waits.

“It’s been a year since you graduate and hasn’t been working. Your birthday is around the corner so I thought once you turn twenty-three, I’ll give you a position at the company,”

Chaewon hums, “What position?”

“Before I trust you with a high position, you will start off as an intern first. I want to see how you work before I promote you at all,” the man says in a monotone, leaving plenty of room for Chaewon to feel threatened.

“Why don’t I shadow you instead?” Chaewon suggests and prompts her father’s interest. “You question a lot of your business partners’ loyalty, don’t you? I’ll be your nose, I’ll sniff out the corrupt and fickle,”

For the first time in a long time, a grin is seen plasters on the man’s face, “How can I trust you?”

“I’ll prove it here. Right here at home. You doubt whether step-mom is faithful or not don’t you?” Chaewon has no clue why she is saying the things she says. However, in the back of her mind, she wonders if she will be fine if Hyewon and her stepmom get kick out. Will she be fine being all alone again? Will she regret being the cause this time?

The man is all ears as his grin widens, “You’re going to break us up?”

Perhaps it is the heat and excitement of the moment but Chaewon couldn’t control the twisted words she is about to say, “You thanked me before. Just thank me again,”

A hefty scoff escapes the older’s dry lips, “I’ll give you a week to bring me the evidence. Oh,” he pauses to look her directly in the eyes, "I will need the divorce files back when you do find evidence,"

Chaewon inhales heavily and thinks to herself. Here goes nothing, again.