“Dear God put the ing knife down Chaewon.” 

“...”

“Please, just listen~”

“...”

“Kim Chaewon I love you, Eunbi loves you...think about Yena?”

“...”

“CHAEWON NO-”

Chaewon quivered as she was abruptly woken up. Panting, she wiped the perspiration from her forehead before sitting up. She attempted to gulp but gagged at the dryness in . The same daunting nightmare refused to leave her since she was at that damned apartment. Underneath her, Chaewon feels a shake and turned to see Yena yawning.

“Are you okay Wonnie?” Yena sat up immediately. She studied Chaewon’s face with concern.

“Yeah, just a bad nightmare.” The said girl reassured before sinking back into the hospital bed. “How can you sleep on this plate of iron?” She groaned while rubbing her shoulder.  

Yena smiled while ushering the girl to use her arm as a pillow. Chaewon didn’t hesitate as they exchanged body heat to combat the tundra. 

“Ducky.”

“Hmm?”

Chaewon tilted her neck so she was looking up into Yena’s glistering eyes. “What if I told you I did something really bad?” 

She studied as Yena’s plump lips turned into a pout as she contemplated the strange question.

“It depends… Did you do something bad to me?” She raised a confused eyebrow.

“No of course not.” Chaewon was quick to throw out that notion. “It’s more or less, what If I-” She paused as she fumbled with her word choice. “Would you change your mind if someone told you something bad about me?”

 Chaewon was stunned when she heard the girl chuckle.

“Who are you laying on?” 

“You?” Chaewon rearranged herself thinking she was hurting the sick girl.

“And guess who gets to judge what she thinks about you for herself?” 

“...You.” Chaewon bit the end of her lip.

“We all make mistakes Chaewon, even me. I’ll be the judge of who you are by myself and I don’t need anyone else’s opinion to teach me otherwise.” Yena poked the side of the red-head girl’s cheek.

“And what do you think of me?” Chaewon’s voice shrilled as she finished her sentence. 

“Hmm.” Yena took a deep breath. “Well for one, you’re pretty clingy.” She held up her wrapped arm. “ You’re caring; I mean you drove in a snowstorm just to see me. A bad daughter apparently, but most of all sassy.” 

Chaewon glared at Yena, “Sassy?” 

“See! Look at how you reacted.” Yena pointed. Chaewon's glare only intensified. 

“This is how I naturally look.”

“You’re only proving my point.” Yena received a harmless flick to her shoulder. 

“Thank you, Ducky.” 

“For letting you sleep against me?”

“That too.”

They both laid in silence for a few minutes. Yena was still groggy and was slowly drifting back into sleep. Chaewon, on the other hand, was still absorbing Yena’s words. She had to admit, the level of maturity Yena sometimes showcased was sort of attractive. The girl could have been Nayeon’s alter ego...if Nayeon was shorter, blonde, and picked her nose still. Chaewon’s thoughts were interrupted as she heard her cursed stomach rumble louder than a v5 engine.

Covering her face in embarrassment. “I didn’t eat dinner.” 

“Here.” Chaewon watched as Yena dug deep under the pillow she was laying under. 

“You’re giving me your leftover cookie…” 

Yena shook her head sideways in dismay. “Nooo, I saved this cookie for you! Look, it’s from the cafe you said you liked.” Yena pointed to the label on the plastic wrap.

“Who the hell took such a big bite into it?” Chaewon held up the cookie to the night light.

“Hyewon…” The back of Yena’s ears burned red. She felt guilty for lying about something as simple as this to save herself. 

“Thank you, Ducky.” Yena was overjoyed when she saw the girl smile at her. The scent of mint chocolate was giving the girl a headache for the past three days as she awaited Chaewon’s visit.

“We can get food tomorrow morning, the nurses said I can start eating solid food.”

It was Chaewon’s turn now to give an excited expression.

“Does this mean you’re going to be released soon?”

Yena nodded her head “They said I could leave tomorrow afternoon if my temperature doesn’t fluctuate.”

“That means we better get some more sleep.” Chaewon quickly tucked herself next to Yena. 

“I'm sorry if my stomach growls this time, thinking about actual food is making me hungry.” 

“Nothing worse than Mina’s snoring,” Chaewon whispered back. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To Chaewon, there were only three things that scared her; The first was the consistent nightmares she's been having, the second was having to see Eunbi. The third. The third would be discovered when she felt a sharp burning sensation on her right arm that quickly woke her up. 

“What were you thinking?” 

Chaewon rubbed her eyes to see Mina right above her with two arms firmly placed on her hips. It must have been only two or three hours since they had both fallen asleep again. The sun was dimly rising outside the window. 

“Unnie that hurt,” Chaewon complained from the rather rude smack she had received.

“Why are you sleeping in her hospital bed? You could get her sicker.” Chaewon heard Nayeon's footsteps behind her. She watched as Nayeon removed her grey winter gloves and then placed the back of two of her fingers onto Yena’s forehead. Nayeon made eye contact with her girlfriend to reassure Yena was okay. Heaving a gigantic sigh of relief, Mina turned her attention back onto Chaewon. 

“Time to get off.” 

“Nooo, it’s ing cold.” Chaewon groaned while she raised her blanket higher onto her face so only her eyes were exposed.

…

“Okay, okay okay.” She tiptoed off the bed quickly before Mina could raise her hand higher than a devastating 80-degree angle. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that either the nurse of Minayeon had asked for the pull out bed. Either way, Chaewon was thankful to be under bedsheets again even though Yena’s body heat wasn’t there.

Chaewon squealed as Mina approached the pull out bed as well. Instead of laying down though, Mina only sat at the base of it in front of Chaewon. She knew something was up when she felt Mina’s fingers trail through her messy bangs.

“Is everything alright?” Chaewon hesitantly whispered. The sudden shift in Mina’s actions were both confusing and creepy. 

“Next time you want to do something stupid, at least let me know.”

Now, Chaewon was starting to feel guilty for sneaking out and taking Nayeon’s car last night. Nayeon was right at how dangerous the roads were as Chaewon had to carefully navigate her way with her inexperienced driving skills through the heavy snowstorm brewing.

“I won’t do it again.”

 Mina ruffled Chaewon’s chin before walking away. 

Chaewon's body sank like quicksand into the bedsheets. She turned her head to see Nayeon’s frightening smile. “If you dented my car, I'm going to dent you.” She whispered as she pushed the blanket onto her. 

“I was careful.” The girl mumbled before turning around and attempted to get more rest.

Mina carefully pulled up a chair next to Yena’s hospital bed. Mimicking the same actions she performed on Chaewon, she tenderly parted the sleeping girl’s hair. She continued this movement until she decided to press the back of her fingers on Yena’s forehead to check her temperature. Even though there was a machine just to the right of her that said Yena was in perfect condition, Mina remained skeptical. After reading through the research papers Momo had compiled in the email she sent her last night. Mina had discovered how volatile Yena's condition could be. It truly was a wonder how she had managed to sustain a normal college life thus far. Most signs indicated that Yena would have to live a vacant life cut off from most people yet here she was; Smiling and being the joy everyone had known her to be.

Somehow her light touch had caused a stir in the hospital bed and before Mina knew it, Yena was blinking rapidly while staring into her face. 

“Good morning my patient.” Mina warmly whispered.

“Good Morning!” Yena gleefully responded before furrowing her eyebrows.”You weren’t quite the image I thought I would see when waking up.”

“Chaewon is in the pullout bed.” Mina pointed to the corner of the room. Yena nodded her head once she recognized the location. Pushing herself up, Yena stretched her arms as if she was a bear that had finished hibernating. 

“You feeling better?” Mina had observed how the flesh in Yena’s face and body had turned into the healthy yellowness it ought to be compared to the paleness she found backstage. Although the girl was visibly thinner and weaker. There was nothing a luxurious spa day couldn’t fix. 

“I need to take you to the hair salon to get your hair re-dyed.” Mina held the side of Yena’s hair.

“What's your favorite color?” Yena excitedly asked.

Mina paused for a moment to consider the thought. “Purple?”

“That’s what color I'm going to get.” Yena smiled.

“Okay there Thanos.” Yena's smile disappeared. She was beginning to have second thoughts on her impulsive hair color decisions. 

“Do you think I'll be discharged today?” Yena pouted trying to change the subject.

“That depends on what Director Song thinks when he stops by any minute.” 

Mina giggled as she watched Yena attempt to slap her cheeks to give it color and do morning stretches while in bed. 

----------------------------------

Later that morning

For the third and final time, Chaewon is awoken to a small tap to her shoulder. At first, Chaweon thought she was still dreaming. She blinked multiple times in disbelief as she stared at Yena who was in a pink hoodie and tight blue jeans. She looked like a toddler with hair knotted in a high ponytail while she savored the strawberry milk through her straw. 

Chaewon realized she wasn’t dreaming when a snap to her ear from Nayeon woke up her senses. 

“Wait-are you, are you being discharged?” Chaewon's voice shrieked as she finished her sentence. She jumped to her feet the moment she saw Yena throw a victorious peace sign with her free hand while sporting her famous duck lips.

Chaewon ran her fingers through her scalp as she laughed “How did I sleep through all this?” 

“Beats me.” Nayeon shrugged, she too was drinking the same brand of strawberry milk Yena was.

“I want pancakes. No, I want steak. Oh my gosh, I can finally have pasta, I want Italian so badly!” Yena’s mouth watered just thinking about all the dishes she had taken for granted for the past year.

“Well, there’s only one place you can have it all?” Yena focused her attention on a mischievous smirk from Chaewon. 

-----------------------

Within twenty minutes, the four girls were sitting in a small booth on the outskirts of campus at Yena’s new favorite restaurant, Mr. Seok’s Diner. What was different from the last time Chaewon and Yena had visited compared to now- Was a strange figure of a girl standing tall in front of their booth.

“When did you start working here?” Mina was surprised as she checked out Yujin.

“Minju and Yena recommended this place to me. Don’t I look cute?” Yujin pridefully showed off her work uniform.

“I'm surprised you even got a job.”