“yeri…? is that you?! it’s been so long!” 

 

“..” yeri whispered breathlessly, audible to only those nearby, which happened to be seungwan and seulgi.

 

the three organized a discussion meeting during breakfast time. the café they set towards was far less lively in the early mornings. which seungwan had thought, until someone, who she only assumed to be yeri's friend, interrupted their brainstorming. 

 

“sooyoung, what are you doing here?” the enthusiasm in yeris voice seemed to flatten. annoyed by this cheerful human above them

 

“well, i was about to meet your sister. i can hardly get a decent cup of coffee when she’s around considering she hates it so much—hey?! it’s you! from the other night” sooyoung hands rested gently on seungwan’s shoulders, making sure not to startle the brunette.

 

“oh..uhm—”

 

interrupting the latter, sooyoung gripped her hands tightly to her chest with embarrassment. 

 

“you probably don’t remember me since you were pretty wasted that night but i’m joohyun’s friend. seungwan right?” 

 

“yeah,” she paused momentarily when the two opposite of her face her with amusement, “nice to meet you sooyoung...again” she scratched the back of her head awkwardly as flashes of that night kept reappearing. 

 

seungwan couldn’t describe it. usually reading someone’s face was as simple as stealing candy from a baby. though sooyoung was unreadable. the chirpy tall girl was undoubtedly enthusiastic yet her eyes kept calculated.

 

thankfully, they were able to be left alone to resume their meeting. making sure sooyoung, who currently is ordering a coffee, was out of ear length. 

 

“don’t be fooled by that one. she like satan’s ” 

 

“yeri! that’s rude!” seungwan whispered and within seconds covered the youngers mouth receiving a scowl. she anxiously tilted her head towards the counter, pondering if sooyoung had heard that or not. the taller one was delightfully humming to the café’s music, tapping her phone brutally to which seungwan only assumed to be her texting. 

 

yeri, within instincts, tipped her tongue against the surface of seungwans palm. both scowling at each other actions, even without realizing seulgi frown pulled deeper. and she was the one to be called childish. 

 

“before this gets out of hand. i’m gonna head to the washroom,” she announced to no one in particular. the two nodded when finally deciding to end their staredown. 

 

it wasn’t to her better judgement to judge a person but from seeing the mood swings the younger consisted off, it was more likely that the title of satan should be given to her instead. 

 

“ok. back to business… after party. that’s for sure when you think they’ll strike?” 

 

“absolutely. she’ll be drowned in the media during the premiere except when actually watching the movie. though there would be too many witnesses in the theatre so it has to be in the after-party.” she sighed in frustration from a sudden realization, “meaning it would be a private event. how would i get in?” 

 

yeri laughed comically. getting a few stares from the booths. “easy. sway the women” 

 

‘sway’ easier said than done

 

“i’m not swaying anyone. i’m not a person who would boast about her popularity.”

 

“then just be you… i mean not completely you” she mocked, “but enough for her to invite you.” seungwan didn’t look interested in the slightest. “c’ mon this is our only way to stop the bidding.” the girl pouted with glassy eyes causing seungwan to sigh in defeat.

 

as much as she hated it, yeri was right. 

 

“fine but so help me god, you need to stop with the matchmaking” those glassy eyes and pouty lips slowly faded to an amused smirk. 

 

the title for satan stand corrected

 

…

 

seulgi hands repeatedly clenched and unclenched. within seconds of entering the bathroom, she locked herself inside the farthest stall, pondering each step

 

shortly after, the cluster noises of the café caught her attention, knowing that the bathroom door was opened. 

 

she moved silently to the very edge of the stall to where she tapped her fingernails in an incoherent pattern. 

 

the bathroom was silent. seulgi patiently waited and finally received a message back. an unknowing smile crept on her face listening to the distinct tappings on the bathroom sink. 

 

“i’m guessing seungwan hates me now” 

 

seulgi laughed bashfully, her eyes narrowed to create its own version of a smile, “not hate. but the name satan was thrown around a few times.” 

 

she paused for an abrupt second before continuing, “any updates?” her eye smile fading into a serious demeanour as she crept closer to the sink, besides where sooyoung stood rigidly.

 

“the vessel luckily had no implications of bodies or any presence of any life forms” 

 

“then what were they used for?” 

 

“guns. a -ton of them.” seulgi eyes followed downwards to see sooyoung grip on the sink tighten. her knuckles turning an odd shade of white to seulgi's surprise. looking up, sooyoung scowled in disgust. “and you know what ing . we couldn’t even take the weapons cause it would have potentially blown the whole operation if suho realizes the national security was involved.” 

 

“sooyoung. bathroom” 

 

“ sorry i forgot. it just got in my head.” her words trailed off, feeling the bitter aftertaste when clenched uncomfortably. she had just done a rookie mistake. luckily, aside from those two, no one had attempted in going to the washroom to seulgi's knowledge. 

 

“look” she began firmly, “we’ve been working on this task for over a year now so you have to focus.” seulgi carefully inched closer, making sure to not startle the latter but to simply grip her shoulders in reassurance. 

 

sooyoung was aware of her partner's fingers wrapped around her shoulders. looking back into the bear-like eyes instead with determination, overcasting the embarrassment she felt earlier. 

 

she couldn’t resist taking a bite into seulgi's situation, “how’re you getting seungwan and yeri out of this?”

 

seulgi gulped harshly, tasting her own bitter pills aftertaste with what seungwan told her. it was deteriorating what held her relationship with the brunette. mindlessly smiling along, even using humour to ignore her lips from spitting things she knew to regret. alas, some things are not in her control. 

 

seulgi uncomfortably shifted in her position when realizing sooyoung kept unresponsive for an answer. the oldest, now and then, glanced her way though quickly retorted to look past the mirror. 

 

“what?” sooyoung began, breaking the other in a frustrated sigh. 

 

“i’m seriously stuck. i know how seungwan is and i know how determined she gets when it comes to work. especially now that she likes joohyun i can’t get her away from this aside from actually physically detaining her.” 

 

sooyoung neck whiplashed at seulgis directions and her eyes gawked inhumanly. she didn’t expect that out of all things. 

 

“seungwan likes jooyhun. is it like, like like?!”

 

“we’re not high schoolers but yes, she like likes her. and if that isn’t the problem then yeri actively engaging in this case is problematic.”

 

to seulgi surprise, sooyoung was barely able to hold in a squeal. knowing best and certainly, from anxiousness, the elder took big steps towards an empty stall, dragging joy along. 

 

“joy this isn't a time to fangirl. what should we do?” her lips stretched into a thin line, the corners sinking. sooyoung, followed by those actions, leaned back against the stall and took in a deep breath. her thoughts pondered on the question. 

 

“out of all people, why did yeri involve seungwan?” 

 

“as far as i know” she thought for a breath, “you said yeri helped you take drunk seungwan into a hotel. she must’ve seen her badge and took advantage of that instead of going to the police.” 

 

sooyoung quickly added on, “the police would’ve only shut her club down if her suspicions were right. she panicked, i’m guessing and she used whatever she got.” 

 

it was as if they were singing a duet, going off on each others inquiry, “and what she got was the smartest person i know.”

 

“that’s it” sooyoung perked, her eyes still distractingly looking elsewhere.

 

“what?” 

 

“she smart. too smart.” seulgi waited for sooyoung to explain further, “that means she overthinks a lot too. we can use that to our advantage.” 

 

the latter squinted as if her vision grew blurry. the lack of information caused uncertainty since what sooyoung told her were attributes she grew up with.

 

sooyoung half expected to catch seulgis attention and when caught, she went for the bait. “we can give her false information, the same way she found the paper with the coordinates. we can give her something along the lines, make her believe in something else, and gives us a free shot without any distractions.” sooyoung smiled proudly which didn’t slip from seulgi’s eyes. 

 

“you sure that can work?” seulgi questioned thoughtfully, her mind visually calculated how the situation can playoff. 

 

“yes it can but we need to be discreet. leave now, i’ll call you later” with direct orders, seulgi looked at sooyoung one last time before opening the door back to the other meeting at hand. 

 

“were you ting? what took you so long?” yeri teased, her brows pressing dramatically.

 

seulgi only laughed it off, “i couldn’t find toilet paper” she said the only thing she knew the youngest won’t question further on, instead, earning a face of disgust. 

 

“yuck, i didn’t need to know that” seungwan remained neutral, her eyes focused on her coffee, which seulgi presumed she ordered after she left. 

 

“have you guys figured a plan” she easily continued the conversation that transpired earlier. 

 

seungwan started first, “yes we did. joohyun is allowed to invite a certain amount of people. four exact. and so…” the brunette sighed deeply at yeris face that smiled in anticipation, “i’m going to talk to joohyun into getting into the guest list. from there we decided to stay by her side until the after-party starts. then—”

 

“then we let them take her which was seungwan and only seungwans idea” yeri interrupted with an annoyed demeanour. her lips parted, blowing softly as she closed the distance of her coffee between her lips. it clear she had nothing else to say. 

 

seungwan eyes never left her coffee, it wasn’t a surprise that the idea created tension at the table. “it’s best if we do that. we have no chance in protecting her otherwise. by following them we can find their whole operation and that’s when we call national security.” 

 

seulgi gasped silently. did she hear that right? “you’re gonna call the national security of intelligence? i thought you guys would handle it on your own” she swayed her head to look at both sides with separate reactions. although, it seemed that they both agreed with this decision. 

 

“yup. i told seungwan to just beat them up but if they have guns that might not be a good idea.” she shrugged.

 

knowing seungwan, seulgi approached a new question, “wouldn’t the nci question how you guys were involved.” she felt bad for imposing on seungwans coffee. 

 

the brunette frowned and averted seulgi's gaze. her plan quickly being reanalyzed as she took another sip. “it’s unnecessary for them to care but if they do” she paused to look back at her best friend, “we’ll just tell them the truth” 

 

seulgi felt her ears burning. calling the nci within a private investigation that she and agent joy took personal responsibilities on seemed haste. but she could never tell seungwan that. it would deteriorate their fifteen years of friendship within seconds. 

 

in a deep breath, she replied, “i’ve got to get going now” there was a momentary look of confusion on wendy’s face which made seulgi’s lip curve into a weak smile. “i have a job remember dumbhead.” 

 

despite knowing the situation, the youngest looked amused by her antics. she snorted unknowingly and proceeded to the exit of the cafe, her smile slowly losing its place when the bell sounded faded in the distance. 

 

…

 

me, i can’t do this. she hates me now how the am i suppose to do this?

 

seungwan pondered for hours on how to approach joohyun. she sent a text earlier but yet to no surprise, was left unanswered. a series of self-doubt caused one drink too two. and a couple more after that. she felt restless despite knowing it was 4 am.

 

she didn’t know if it was the drinks or from being sick of sounding pathetic, she quipped her phone from the farthest corner of the table and pressed the already favorited number. 

 

seungwan waited anxiously as she waited for joohyun to pick up her call. the ringing dragged until it went into voicemail. she called again, and the third time, she finally sighed in defeat. 

…

 

irene woke up groggily at the discomforting vibrations of her phone. her head tilted up at the digital clock that read 4:07 am. she murmured a few curses until her sleepiness ward off 

 

her tired attempt of a growl sounded whiny and sensitive. 

 

“who the is calling at this time?” she thought out loud to no one in particular. by the time her hand reached the bedside table, the ringing ended leaving the darkroom even darker. 

 

still annoyed, she hoisted the phone and flinched at the bright home screen. 

 

‘3 missed calls from son seungwan’ 

 

a string of incomprehensible words later left joohyun’s mouth. still, in the state of immense surprise, she unknowingly called back. 

 

“joohyun!” the other began hastily. the loud chirp made joohyun cringe a little, making her move uncomfortably in her bed. her attention went back towards the bright red flashing digital clock.

 

“seungwan… do you know the time?”  

 

“i know- and i’m sorry but i need to talk to you… um how are you?” seungwan started slowly.

 

joohyun immediately sensed that there was something wrong the moment she answered the call, the latters enthusiasm was timid, however, she read through it “seungwan..?” joohyun’s frown didn’t falter, creasing her brows within a line.

 

she was careful to minimize forcing things out from seungwan.  instead she waited, knowing it was seungwan turn to prompt the conversation.

 

a quick breath slightly startled joohyun, seungwan voice lowered in a whisper, making sure to take in the disappointment she knew read on joohyuns face. 

 

“i’m sorry for leaving you like that in the club. it was stupid of me and i should’ve explained to you.” 

 

it was joohyuns distrust that made her laugh a little, she wanted to believe about something that wasn't there.

 

 “it’s ok seungwan. it was my fault in drinking too much and kissing you like that. i don’t know what i was thinking and it shouldn’t be your fault in my actions.” 

 

seungwan gritted her teeth and squeezed her hand in reassurance, instead, marking her nails painfully against her palms. tasting of metal from the forced pressure her teeth sustained. those words gave a sense of betrayal and hurt. and it ing . 

 

“oh” she chuckled grimly, “it isn’t your fault” her sentence ended abruptly and joohyun hesitated to speak further. the awkwardness was thick and suffocating so joohyun tried to infuse an idea into the tense situation. “would you still like to come to my movie premiere this saturday?” it suddenly occurred to seungwan on why she made the phone call. the realization was accentuated by the fact that joohyun brought it up herself. 

 

“if it’s fine with you i’d love to come” 

 

“then it’s set, i’ll prepare a special something for you” joohyun gleamed, a far drastic dynamic than earlier. 

 

seungwan arched her eyebrows in curiosity, “what special something?”

 

“you’ll get it soon- oh, that reminds me, send me your address.”

 

“someone’s needy” seungwan replied mockingly as she looked back at the digital clock on the right corner of the darkroom. 4:25 am  

 

It was a truly a refreshing conversation especially to what seungwan had discovered. she was able to grapple her feelings with the time they spent with each other. her tired yawn caught joohyun’s attention, realizing that the time currently read 5:45.  

 

“you’re tired” joohyun stated, teasing the mumbling seungwan who brushed it off with an excuse that coffee could solve. 

 

she laughed softly, well aware to not startle the drowsy seungwan  “call me tomorrow if you have time. good night seungwan.” the words poured out sweetly, cooing at the adorable sounds seungwan kept making. 

 

“no stay” seungwan finally breathed out. her voice straining with exhaustion. “stay on the call with me”

 

and so she did, both leaving their phones on speaker as they both slept in a comfortable silence.

...

A/N: this is long awaited damn. i had a draft prepared but kept constantly reediting it so i apologize for taking too long.

summers ending so have fun while you can 0_o