As she was normally the last one to depart the office, Eunbi was used to the eerie silence and dark hallways, a stark contrast to the normal chaotic bustle of the agency. Now, for example, she sat alone in the building with a cold, half-full cup of coffee to her right and a monstrous stack of papers and documents on her left. She’s probably had ten thousand cups of coffee in the past hour—a standard day on the job.

Although, she admits that on this particular night (and a few before it), she feels increasingly wary of the hauntingly empty darkness around her dimly lit office.

Why?

Chaewon hasn’t come.

The girl rarely, if ever, set a specific date for when she’d come back with more material, but she always came eventually. The time between meetings never exceeded two weeks, yet this time it was measured in months. There had been no word from her at all.

Did she understand Chaewon?

Not really.

She found her to be a peculiar character in a peculiar place, yet she also found something bright and spectacular in the younger girl. When she first approached her all those months ago cloaked in black in the dead of night, Eunbi admits she had been woefully terrified. Hey, the girl had a knack for piercing, intimidating gazes.

But now, after many meetings, she’s grown fond of the girl. She’s well aware of her “job” and family, but she’s also very sure of where that girl’s heart lies.

Surely, it took a heck ton of balls to try to take down the very gang her father led (if she wasn’t being fooled, anyways).

She was amazed at how Chaeown had managed to slip through and deliver her all of this information. Heck, they were almost done too!

And then she disappeared.

Eunbi can’t imagine Chaewon running off before the grand finale, thus her current state of worry and caution.

Had they caught on to her?

The thought makes her heart sink.

She bangs on the table roughly, jostling the coffee in her cup a bit. Eunbi couldn’t deny the frustration. They had known about the gang for years, but they always managed to slip right through their grasp. And then magically, Chaewon appears like an angel sent from above. The daughter of the boss? It was hard to believe.

But, again, she now knows she can trust her with her life.

Does she have anything to really back that statement?

Not really. This could still be a trap, honestly.

But she just knows.

Eunbi sighs and leans back in her chair, swiveling around to face the window behind her.

Come on, Chaewon. I need you.

~~~

“Hey, what’s up?” Yujin grins as Minjoo lets her through the doorway.

She immediately plops down on the couch as she always does with that same bright smile on her face, but it quickly begins to slip as she notices the look on Minjoo’s face.

Yujin worriedly turned towards Minjoo as she sat down next to her.

“What’s wrong? What happened?”

Looking at the other girl now, she sees the dark circles underneath her tired eyes. Normally, Minjoo would greet her with just as much enthusiasm, but this time was far different than any other. It didn’t take a genius to see that something terrible had happened.

Finally, Minjoo sighs quietly and leans back against the couch, closing her eyes.

“I saw her.”

Yujin didn’t need any further elaboration.

“What? When? What happened?”

Before Minjoo can respond, there’s a knock at the door.

“I’ll get it,” Yujin offers and heads to the door.

“Hey!” Yujin smiles as she’s met with an equally smiley Wonyoung. She can’t help it; Wonyoung never fails to bring a smile to her face no matter the situation.

“Yujin!” She greets happily.

“What brings you here?”

“Ah, I wanted to ask Minjoo if I could borrow one of those fat spoons,” Wonyoung replies sheepishly while pointing towards the kitchen.

Yujin chuckles.

“Minjoo?” She calls out, trying to mask her still-present concern.

“Yeah, she knows where it is.”

“Thanks!” Wonyoung exclaims gratefully as she heads toward the second cabinet to the right of the fridge. Perhaps she borrowed Minjoo’s things too often.

As she opens the cabinet and grasps the spoon handle, Wonyoung notes how despondent Minjoo is but doesn’t press her. It’s worrisome, but it doesn’t seem like she should bother her right now.

Well, besides coming in to borrow more kitchen utensils.

“So what happened?” Yujin asks as she settles down next to Minjoo again.

“I don’t know. I just--I saw her, but it didn’t really feel like it, I guess.”

Yujin tilts her head in confusion. Minjoo opens her eyes and turns her head to look at Yujin helplessly; she knows how little sense she’s making right now. Minjoo had filled Yujin in on quite a bit of Chaewon’s story a bit after their talk from before (Yujin was absolutely shocked, to say the least; it was quite amusing to see her wide-eyed, open-mouthed expression), but she had to watch her words since Wonyoung was still here.

“I ran into her late at night, at some dark, obscure place that I don’t even remember. I hid when I heard footsteps, but it turned out to be her… and some others,” she gives Yujin a pointed look.

She understands.

“I don’t know how, but she knew I was there, or at least someone was there. But when she turned to look at me, hell, the look in her eyes… they were empty, Yujin, completely empty. And I thought, you know what? Maybe I can believe this was the person that, you know, did those things. But at the same time, I can’t come to peace with that realization, I can’t. It really just doesn’t make sense despite what happened before, despite how I reacted. It didn’t feel like I was looking at her. I--ah, I don’t know!”

Minjoo groans in frustration and buries her head in her hands. She knows she’s just rambling, but that’s exactly how things are going around in her head. Ever since that encounter, her thoughts have just been a heaping pile of confusion.

“I don’t know what to do, Yujin,” she mumbles through her fingers.

“Well,” Yujin starts off thoughtfully, placing a hand on Minjoo’s shoulder. As she does so, she sees Wonyoung heading out to door while throwing her a wave as well as a slightly concerned smile. Yujin returns both.

“Haven’t you been waiting to talk to her? It seems like you still believe in her, huh?”

It’s silent for a few moments as Minjoo processes her words.

She’s right.

“You’re right,” she sighs in resignation.

“So why don’t you go see if you can find her and talk to her?”

Finally, Minjoo brings her head up and looks at Yujin gratefully.

“Yeah, yeah, I think that’s a good idea,” she smiles slightly.

“Thanks, Yujin.”

Yujin laughs as she’s enveloped in a big hug; rolling her eyes, she wraps her arms around the other girl. She just needed someone to give her that final push forward.

“No problem.”

~~~

“What the hell,” Chaewon grumbles as an obnoxiously loud banging reverberates throughout her apartment. Unfortunately, it was coming from her own door.

She furrows her eyebrows as she looks through the peephole and is met with someone she didn’t expect to see.

I need to move.

“No one’s home,” she calls out in annoyance after the knocking refused to stop.

While she would much rather leave the door unopened, the unwelcomed pest kept pounding on the door.

Eventually, she gives in.

“What?” She asks with very obvious vexation laced in her tone as she swings open the door.

She glares slightly at the girl in front of her.

Wonyoung stares right back.

“So you are back,” Wonyoung whispers to herself while keeping her eyes trained on Chaewon’s.

They really are empty.

“What do you want?”

She didn’t have time for this. The last thing she needed right now was some stupid bean pole knocking at her door, just standing there and--

“Hey!”

She watches in bewilderment as Wonyoung pushes her aside and heads into her apartment without another word nor an invitation. Chaewon can only stare, stunned, as Wonyoung walks right into her room. She stomps after her angrily.

“What do you think you’re--”

She pauses at the doorway.

Wonyoung is standing next to her bed, in front of her dresser. It looks like Chaewon had left the top drawer open, because Wonyoung was holding the single picture it housed.

Shaking herself out of her stupor, she walks right up to Wonyoung with her fists clenched at her sides. She was mad before, but now, looking at Wonyoung with that picture in her hands, she’s absolutely fuming now.

“What gives you the right to--” she starts off loudly. She doesn’t get to finish her sentence, because Wonyoung effectively renders her speechless with her next words.

“This is a cute picture of us, huh?”