It’s the most average of nights where the most extraordinary things occur.

There was nothing peculiar about this day, nothing special, but Eunbi supposes that it all went by so normally because what would come later that night would startle her greatly.

In other words, she was quite surprised when she saw Chaewon in front of her.

She hadn’t even heard her door open or the footsteps gliding across her floor. The only reason she saw the other girl was because she had thrown a file on her desk.

“Jesus!” Eunbi exclaims as she jolts in her seat and nearly falls off.

“What the hell, Chaewon?! Where have you been?”

At the doorway, Chaewon stops her retreat for a moment to look back at the older girl. The motion is slow and deliberate, and for some reason it makes Eunbi hold her breath. It’s been months, no word from the other girl at all despite them being so close to the end of this whole mess. And here she comes, appearing out of nowhere without a single word? It made her head hurt with all the questions shooting back and forth.

As Chaewon came to face her and their eyes locked, all of the relief Eunbi felt was suddenly replaced by the cold shiver that ran through her, the same sort of feeling that Chaewon’s eyes emitted. They were cold; they were empty. If the younger girl’s eyes had previously been full of determination, longing, sadness, hope, this was the exact opposite. Now, all she saw in her eyes was her own reflection.

There was just… nothing.

And that moment, that fleeting moment, was all Chaewon offered before she turned back around and left.

Slowly a bit of relief crept back in, but just barely. She was glad Chaewon was okay, truly--she was back, and for that she was thankful.

But at what cost?

What the hell happened?

Running her hand through her hair in frustration, she finally turns her attention to the materials thrown on her desk.

Okay, this looks promising.

As she flips through the documents, the warmth inside her spreads.

This is it.

This was it! The more she sees, the more excited she gets. It’s all here, it’s all--

… Huh?

Eunbi blinks in confusion as she stares at the last page.

Where’s the rest?

She flips through again and again in bewilderment, turning the contents this way and that. This wasn’t everything--there’s just a bit more she needs before she can move forward.

Groaning, she slumps in her chair and throws her arm over her eyes.

Well, at least we’re a few steps closer.

Almost there, Chaewon, almost there.

~~~

Breathe in, breathe out. More slowly. In, out, in, out.

She’s heaving, choking, gasping for air. She knows the room is supposed to be cold, yet sweat rolled down her forehead and drenched her clothing. It’s nothing new, of course, but that doesn’t mean it ever gets any easier.

Chaewon couldn’t remember the last time she had a good night’s rest. Night after night, she found herself jolting awake with sweat covering her body and her heart beating erratically. The nightmares refused to stop--she couldn’t even find peace in her slumber.

As if the waking hours weren’t bad enough already.

Turning her head to the side, she sees the bright red numbers read 2:05.

She already knew she would spend the next few hours tossing and turning, so instead she lied on her back and just stared at the ceiling, thinking. The past few days had been more than she could handle.

Chaewon was well aware that something was wrong with her. Something inside her had snapped, jolted her so viciously she lost everything and anything that made her who she was. Even her mind could only grasp wisps of memories and make sense of none of it at all. She knew things, she remembered things, but she felt absolutely nothing.

She considered it a victory that she was able to bring those files to Eunbi. It was too hard to obtain any more information now that the gang had eyes on her at every job and meeting.

It was a bit funny how much surveillance they put over her during work, but failed to watch her at any other time. She guesses that they weren’t taking any chances during jobs, though, because that’s what they had done last time. Boy, they had been angry after she let off Minjoo’s dad. Perhaps there wasn’t much she could do during off-hours, but she could easily ruin tons of operations if something inside of her slipped during any interrogations or debt extractions.

Minjoo.

She mentally berated herself for allowing that name to slip through her mind. However, trying to expel her from her thoughts only allowed another to ade her mind:

Wonyoung.

Chaewon stared at the ceiling blankly.

It’s been awhile, huh?

For a few moments, her mind draws up the image of Wonyoung’s teary face.

I’m sorry, Wonyoung.

Help me just this once.

~~~

“Stupid, good-for-nothing sister!”

Wonyoung angrily throws her bag onto the couch as she stomps around the room, fuming.

Chaewon had always said she was a giant baby--

--evidently, she still was.

Wonyoung miserably plops down on the couch with a groan as she rubs her face, willing herself not to cry. After all these years, that was the long-awaited reunion with her beloved sister. She knew that something about her would be off after whatever happened those past few months she’d been gone, but this was just… It was really hard for her to fathom. What had happened? What did they do to her? The look in Chaewon’s eyes had been no joke, truly. She felt her heart ache at every thought that ran through her mind.

“No love for her sister, none, her cute, adorable, sweet little sist--”

Okay, what’s that.

Bewildered, Wonyoung picks up the mysterious documents that had fallen out of her bag when she had thrown it on the couch.

“How did these get in here?” She asks no one in particular as she stares at the blank manila cover.

Who--

Her mind flashes to Chaewon handing her her bag before she left the apartment.

“No way…”

She flips through the contents, noting certain places where there were blanks and question marks and little notes.

Wonyoung grins.

We always made a great team, sis.

“You know what to do?”

“This’ll be hard to get, Wonyoung.”

Wonyoung smiles and taps on the file in their hands.

“That’s what makes it so fun!”

The figure in front of her rolls their eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, roger that.”

The next smile that adorns Wonyoung’s face is determined, dark.

“It’s now or never, yeah?”

The figure mirrors Wonyoung’s own expression.

“It’s now or never.”

“This brat really likes to disappear on me!”

With her legs propped up on the only empty space on her desk (and partially on some papers), Eunbi leans back in her chair and lets out a dramatic groan.

She had been waiting for what must have been weeks for Chaewon to return, but nothing! Nada. Zip. Absolutely nothing, just like last time. Was she worried? Maybe. Would never admit it. But more than anything else (okay, maybe secondary to Chaewon’s safety), she needed the rest of the information. It was like an unreachable itch, a perpetual annoyance that refused to be calmed. They were so close!

“What the hell!” Eunbi yelps as something flops onto her desk and she nearly falls out of her chair (she’s hit with a bit of deja vu).

Something shakes her up a little bit as she looks into the eyes in front of her and sees a similar sort of determination and pain that she saw in Chaewon’s, before… whatever happened to her happened. It was odd, the similarity.

“Who are you?” Eunbi asks in confusion, looking away momentarily to glance at the file that had been thrown beside her.

“What’s this?”

“I think you’ll be happy with it,” Wonyoung smiles mysteriously.

Eunbi is perplexed, but she picks up the file nonetheless.

“Oh …”

Her excitement grows as she flips further through the contents, replacing her earlier wariness and bewilderment.

“Thank you!”

Eunbi’s head shoots up as the figure retreated through her doorway with a little wave and shout of thanks. That was it, no explanation. Although, she guesses that what she now held in her hands was explanation enough.

She clicks her tongue and her own grin spreads across her face.

“Yena!”

Her partner sticks her head through the doorway in question a moment later.

“Yeah?”

Eunbi holds up the file and shoots her a look.

“It’s time.”

Similar to how Chaewon and that girl held almost identical looks in their eyes, Yena and Eunbi shared one now as well.

Yena grinned.

“Let’s do this.”