https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=958zJMCGpKY

The girls of Mamamoo woke up the next day with a hangover, but they had to go to Bighit to talk to BTS about the project. Reluctantly, they got up one by one.

“Hyejin-ah, do you have something for my hangover?” Wheein asked.

“Hold on, let me check,” Hwasa went to the cabinet to searched for some medicine. “Sorry, it seems like I ran out. There’s a convenient store just around the corner. You can go buy some while I make some haejang-guk. It’ll help with the hangover as well. Byulyi can come with you since she’s already up. I’ll take care of Yongsun unnie, she’s in no condition to be up right now.”

“Okay. Let me go get Byulyi and we’ll be on our way,” Wheein went to look for Moonbyul.

Hwasa got a big pot out and the ingredients to start making the hangover soup. It wasn’t before long when Wheein announced that they were leaving. Solar was gagging in the background to puke up the alcohol. Hwasa would occasionally leave the kitchen to check up on Solar but this was something of the norm. Moonbyul gave too much to Solar and now she’s throwing up. Once she was done with the soup, she grabbed four bowls and filled two of them.

“Unnie, come and have some soup!” Hwasa yelled.

Solar slowly walked to the kitchen and sat down. Hwasa handed her a bowl and Solar began eating the soup.

“Is it good?” Hwasa asked.

Solar nodded as she ate more of the soup.

“What’s taking them so long? The store is just around the corner.”

“I don’t know. Did they bring their phones? We could ask them to buy some ice cream too. I want some,” Solar said.

“I’ll text them,” Hwasa said as she went to go get her phone.

“I had a strange dream tonight again,” Solar started.

“As weird as yesterday’s dream?”

“Yeah, I was blindfolded again but I think I intoxicated in my dream too. I was laying down on a bed, I think, and my hands were tied above my head. I think that same person from my dream last night was there too. I felt his hands feeling my body before he gave me a heated kiss-”

“Unnie, I think I know where this is going. Please don’t continue.”

“It’s getting weird though. Two nights in a row that I have very similar dreams. Don’t you think it’s weird?”

“I guess so. Do you think it’s gonna come true and that’s why you had that dream twice?”

“I don’t know. I’ll wait until tonight to see if I have the same dream or not. If I do, I’m going to see a psychic.”

“We could all go together. We could get a reading on how our project is going to go.”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea. But really, where are those two. It’s taking them way too long. Byulyi hasn’t texted me back yet either. Did something happen to them?”

Just as Hwasa said that, the door opened abruptly. Wheein stormed in and went straight to the bathroom. Moonbyul followed behind and put the bag of medicine on the table before going to the bathroom.

“Wheein-”

“Can I just have a moment to myself, please,” her voice quivered.

Knowing that nothing but time will comfort her right now, Moonbyul went to join Solar and Hwasa at the kitchen table.

“What happened?” Solar asked with concern and confusion written all over her face. Moonbyul avoided eye contact as she let out a sigh. Hwasa gave a bowl of soup to her and she began to eat.

“After we bought the medicine, we ran into Wheein’s boyfriend. He was with another girl and they were too friendly with each other. Wheein charged up to him to ask him what he was doing and I don’t know how it escalated but they started arguing. I tried stepping in to stop them from arguing but her boyfriend just kept attacking her and she wouldn’t back down either. Eventually, I was able to drag her back here because we were drawing a crowd, but…” Moonbyul glanced at the bathroom.

“I’ve been warning her about her boyfriend but she didn’t listen,” Hwasa sighed out. “The next time I see him I’m punching him in the face. He doesn’t deserve her.”

“What are we going to do with our Wheein? I’m not so good with comforting when it comes with conflict between lovers,” Solar said.

“I don’t think we can do much right now. She just needs time with herself right now. Once she comes out, we’ll comfort her then,” Hwasa said even though what she wants to do is hug her dear friend.

Eventually, Wheein came out of the bathroom. She went to the kitchen and sat down with everyone. Hwasa handed her a bowl of soup but Wheein shook her head. She didn’t have an appetite anymore. Her hangover disappeared the moment she saw her boyfriend with someone other than her.

“I’m sorry guys, I didn’t mean for this to happen,” Wheein said.

“It’s okay. You don’t need to apologize for what happened. All of us would’ve done the same thing,” Moonbyul said.

“So then what is going to happen to you guys?” Solar asked.

“I’m going to talk to him tonight. I know he doesn’t have work tonight and we don’t have anything scheduled tonight as well. If we can make this work, I don’t want to throw this relationship away.”

“But he cheated on you, Wheein-ah!” Hwasa exclaimed. Wheein stayed quiet for a moment.

“I-I’m sure he had his reasons,” she weakly argued.

“There should be no reason for cheating!”

“Guys, we’re gonna have to continue this talk later. We have to go meet up with BTS on our project,” Solar said trying to break up the tension.

Hwasa sighed before she grabbed the empty bowls and put them in the sink. The other girls went to go wash up. On the way to Bighit, there was a heavy tension in the air. Solar and Moonbyul felt like they were suffocating but they also knew they couldn’t say anything to lighten up the mood. Hwasa and Wheein will have to settle this problem themselves. Not long after the car ride to the company, everyone split into their groups to discuss their plan.

In a small conference room, Hwasa waited for the arrival of Jimin and RM. She looked at her phone and started listening to music to stir up some possible ideas on what kind of music she wanted to produce. Wheein still crossed her mind no matter how much she tried to focus on music. She was still mad but Wheein is her friend regardless of her decision. Now worried for her friend, she sent a quick text asking if she was okay and that she was sorry for her outbreak earlier. Jimin and RM walked in right after she sent her text.

“Sorry for being late,” RM apologized.

“No, it’s okay. I was just brainstorming on what kind of song to write,” Hwasa replied; Her phone buzzed and she quickly looked to see who it was.

“Sorry, please excuse me. I’ll be right back,” Hwasa said before exiting the room. She quickly made her way to the conference room Wheein and V was supposed to be. When she got there, she expected Wheein to be crying hysterically. However, she was calmly sitting with V and discussing. The both of them turned to see her. V was surprised to see her.

“I’ll be right back,” Wheein said before leaving the room with Hwasa.

“Are you okay?” Hwasa asked once Wheein closed the door. Wheein nodded but Hwasa knew better. She pulled Wheein for a hug and Wheein started to break down. “How could that bastard just break up with you like that? And through text at that too? Do you want to sleep over tonight? We don’t have to drink. We can just watch a movie or something.” She could feel Wheein nodding her head. Wheein pulled away from the hug and wiped her tears.

“I have to get back now. You should go back as well. Don’t want to keep the boys waiting,” Wheein said. Hwasa gave her a worried look but she knew she had to go back. She watched Wheein go back to the room before she went back to work.

“Hyung, Jeongyeon said that she wants to break up,” Hwasa could hear the boys talking from outside the room. “I don’t know what I can do to keep this relationship.”

“Maybe it’s best to let her go. It seems like you’re putting too much into this one sided relationship.”

“Even if it’s one sided, it’s okay. As long as I’m with her…”

“Jimin, that’s not how being in a relationship works.”

“I know, I know. But I don’t know anymore.”

“You should talk to her again tonight.”

Hwasa entered the room and it fell silence once again.

“Welcome back,” RM greeted. Hwasa only smiled at him. He rubbed his nose and rotated his neck. “Should we get to work?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she answered.

---------

That night at Hwasa’s apartment, Mamamoo gathered around her living room engrossed in a romantic comedy movie. Hwasa could see that Wheein was still texting her ex periodically throughout the film. This was not a good sign. As much as she hated where this is going, she couldn’t do anything. As much as she wanted to just take Wheein’s phone away from her, she knew that she couldn’t because the cycle was starting over again. It’s been cycling for way too long for her to know how powerless she was in trying to break it.

“Hyejin, is it okay if I stay a few nights here?” Moonbyul asked out of the blue.

“I’ll explain later,” she said after seeing Hwasa’s confused face. “Please, I just need a place to stay for a while and then I’ll be back at my place.”

“I guess it’s okay. You can stay for as long as you want. You have to tell me though. Is something wrong?” Hwasa asked.

“There’s been someone who has been following me. He’s been persistent for the past week.”

“Have you told the police?”

“I went to the police but I don’t think they’re gonna do anything about it soon. I’m getting scared. He’s not doing anything right now that’s harming me but it’s still creeping me out. He’s always outside just looking inside whenever I’m home. I can’t stand it anymore.”

“You should go tell the police again.”

“I will, once this week is over, I’ll go back to the police station.”

“Okay, just be careful for now. You’re welcome to stay for however long you need to,” Hwasa reiterate the last part to make sure Moonbyul got the message.

“Thanks, I’ll be able to sleep well tonight.”

“You’re welcome. I’m worried now.”

“Don’t be. It might not be anything serious.”

“It’s not something to be taken so lightly though. What if he’s a killer or someone who’s a part of human trafficking. You never know what kinds of people stalkers are.”

“I’m sure everything will be fine. I have you guys and there’s also the police.”

“I’d still keep an eye out though.”

“I know and I will.”

Hwasa looked at Wheein after they finished their conversation and she immediately, she knew Wheein and her ex got back together. Wheein was visibly happier than how she was before. Hwasa could only let out a sigh at how blind her friend was.

After the movie was finished, the girls washed up to go to bed. Hwasa checked her phone to see if she had any messages. She had a whole bunch of texts from Jimin. It seemed like he was drunk when she wrote the texts. And from the grammar and errors, she could tell that he was gradually getting more and more intoxicated. She decided that she’ll talk to him tomorrow when he’s sober. Reading the messages, she could get a general idea of what was going on. He did have his talk with Jeongyeon but she persisted on breaking up with him and so now he’s texting her. She sent a text to RM asking if he knows about Jimin and his situation.

“Sorry for making you worried, he’s sleeping right now. He’ll be okay, he just needs to rest is all,” RM sent back. Hwasa smiled in relief.

“That’s good to hear. I’ll see you tomorrow then. Have a good night.”

She was glad they had someone who was as reliable as RM. That night, thoughts of Jimin stopped floating around her head.