Closing the curtains to her daughter's bedroom window, Kim Sooyoung cautiously tries to avoid creating any noise that could wake her sleeping five-year-old up. She had just put her daughter to bed early after reading her a few books and she was ready to spend the rest of her night with her husband who has been busy managing their precious two-year-old restaurant.

Sooyoung too had started a business of her own, opening a ritzy beauty parlour and spa in Gangnam about a year ago. However, she was never as actively involved in the on-going management of the business as she wished she could be. Ever since she had became a mother, Kim Naeun has always been the main priority in her life and she would always make sure that Naeun doesn't ever feel neglected despite her busyness. Even though Seokjin had employed a nanny to take care of their child when they're caught up with work, Sooyoung would always make sure that she would, at the very least, be the one to put her daughter to bed when the day ends.

Raised by nannies practically throughout her whole childhood, Sooyoung never enjoyed the experience, herself. Her mother's love was always a little more exclusive as compared to what she'd receive from her nannies. Being able to understand such differences as a child at the time, she'd often get upset whenever her mother leaves her with her nanny and even more shattered when her mother left her forever when she was only nine years of age. She has always wanted to be the ideal parent she once wished she had and give Naeun the best childhood she never got to taste when she was younger. Thankfully, she had her sister-in-law, Yerim, who she could count on to fill in for her in managing the parlour she owns whenever she couldn't be present to check on her staffs and the day-to-day business operations.

Entering her husband's office without a knock, Sooyoung casually joined him at his desk and sat down on the swivel chair right across of him. When she realised that her presence wasn't being acknowledged at all by her husband, she tapped her fingers against the surface of his table, producing a repetitive annoying sound with her long fingernails as she sullenly watched him go through some documents in his hands.

"I'll be done in a few minutes..." -he muttered absently, lowering his glasses down as he bit the tip of his pen and read the contents on the paper in his hand.

"A few minutes? Are you sure about that?" -Sooyoung asked, "The last time you said that I remembered sleeping alone in our room while I was waiting for you. I couldn't remember the last time we were able to have a proper conversation without Naeun, phone calls or anyone interrupting us. Now that we could actually talk, you don't even care to spare the time for me."

Lifting his gaze up to look at Sooyoung, Seokjin slowly placed his pen down on the table and took his glasses off. It had taken him two years to fully master the ability of reading and comprehending Sooyoung's mind just by looking at her facial expressions and he knew that the consequences would be ugly if he were to push her buttons, that night. Bearing that in mind, he stretched his neck and arms tiredly before he stood up from his swivel chair and gave her a tired smile. 

"Fine, baby. This can wait." -He walked over to Sooyoung and spun her swivel chair towards him so they could face each other. "You have my undivided attention."

"I read Naeun a book, earlier on..." -Sooyoung leaned back against her chair and crossed her legs as she gazed at her husband with a look of concern, "It's about friendship, apparently..."

"Okay..." Seokjin gave her a quick eyebrow lift, feeling a little let down by the topic Sooyoung wanted to talk about. He was expecting much more important news considering how Sooyoung was pestering him to pay attention to her as if there wasn't going to be another day. Feigning interest, he asked, "Cool. What about it...?"

"Well, she asked me why she doesn't have any friends like the character, Sally, has in that book..." -Sooyoung answered, "...and I didn't know how to answer to that..."

"What did you say to her?" -Seokjin chuckled, lighting a cigarette in between his fingers. 

"I told her that I'd find her one if she promises she'd head to bed right after I finish reading her the story." -Sooyoung snorted, watching her husband huffed smoke between his lips. "Am I a bad mom?"

"Oh, not at all. You're the best mom in the world. The hottest one, in my eyes." -Seokjin lightly pinched her cheeks only to get his hands smacked away.

" off..." -Sooyoung chuckled, snatching the cigarette stick out of Seokjin's hands to have herself a puff.

"Language, baby." -Seokjin reminded, "Well if Naeun brings up the question again tomorrow, I'll tell her that she doesn't need any. We're the only friends she needs."

"In all seriousness, Jin, I don't think this is something we could fool about, with Naeun. Not for long. Our baby's growing up. She's curious and she's learning." -she said, "I didn't realise that we've been keeping her in this house like it's a prison cell. I feel as if I'm holding her back from her freedom."

"Come on. How much freedom does a five-year-old need?" -Seokjin questioned and laughed, "It's not like we had never brought her out to play. I know it's not always but once a month is already good enough. I've seen her play catch at the park with the other kids living 'round this neighbourhood, last weekend. Aren't those 'friends'?"

"I'm talking 'real friends'. The kind you see, play, grow and learn with, every day. Not the kind you meet at the playground once or twice and never meet again." -Sooyoung elaborated her point, curling her lips as she rolled her eyes at him. "Come on, Seokjin. I'm trying to be serious, here. I don't want Naeun to grow up not knowing how to...make friends..."

"Well, what do you want me to do? I can't possibly buy her a friend." -He said, "We could make one but we're not ready for another child, at the moment and you know that..."

"I was thinking of getting her into a kindergarten instead of...you know, the initial homeschooling thing that we planned out for her." -She shrugged, "Maybe we could also sign her up for ballet classes. Maybe then, she'll have friends and they could come over to play, have sleep-overs and birthday parties. Wouldn't that be nice?"

"Sooyoung, we've talked about it, before. It's not in the cards." -Seokjin massaged the bridge of his nose, seeming annoyed knowing where their conversation was heading towards, "The likelihood of Naeun getting into danger out there is high and I can't leave her in a school in the care of...strangers. This home is the only safest playground for her. We have the guards, the servants...everyone in this home, even her nanny and the tutor we've hired...they're capable of protecting her and we could trust them too. If you want her to take up ballet, I'll find her a ballet instructor and turn the extra room on the third floor into a dance studio. That wouldn't be a problem."

"Look, I know your concerns...but I think we shouldn't let one threat get in the way of our lives, specifically Naeun's. She deserves to have a normal life. She needs friends and -"

"Yoongi's child is gonna pop out in nine months. She'll have herself a friend, then."- Seokjin squeezed his cigarette into the ashtray, already feeling annoyed by Sooyoung's prompting. "You know I would give you anything you want...but not this. I won't allow it."

"I'm not asking for your permission." -Sooyoung folded her arms across her chest. "I'm telling you that I'm going to enrol her in a kindergarten."

"...and I'm telling you that I won't let it happen. Naeun's my daughter too and I have a say in this ing matter. I guess this talk is pointless since you're not even planning to consider my thoughts, in the first place." -he argued, "It's not happening. I want no more discussions."

"Ugh, since day one! You're always so ing uptight about everything!" -Sooyoung raised her voice at him in indignation.

"Your thoughtlessness is going to cost us -"

'Knock, knock, knock'

Both Sooyoung and Seokjin immediately turned silent as soon as they heard the door squeak open. When they turned around towards the direction of the door, they found Kim Yerim staring back at them with a look of concern on her face. Of course, too engrossed in their own heated conversation, they had completely forgotten that Yerim had moved back into the house and had also possibly overheard their argument. It was two minutes to 11 p.m. and Yerim was not asleep yet. She was surprisingly all dolled and dressed up in her ripped jeans and leather jacket as if she had somewhere to be, that night.

"Where are you going?" -Seokjin questioned sternly, giving his sister a once-over.

"I'm hitting the club, tonight. I just want to...get my mind off things for a little bit..." -Yerim hesitantly answered, "I was about to leave, actually but you guys were being loud and I just had to come and check on you. Is everything alright? I don't think Naeun would appreciate waking up to her parents fighting, you know..."

"We weren't fighting. We were just...discussing things. Everything's fine..." -He exchanged glances with Sooyoung and sighed,

"Everything except him." -Sooyoung continued Seokjin's sentence contemptuously, "Your brother has a huge problem with the idea of sending Naeun to a kindergarten, Yerimmie. He's depriving her of the opportunity to make friends and learning how to socialize with kids of her age-group. Isn't he such an ?"

"Sooyoung would rather compromise her daughter's safety for some dumb- friendship experience bull she wants Naeun to have." -Seokjin countered, "I think we all know that homeschooling is the best option for Naeun, for now."

"Are you saying that my idea's bull? What a !"

" off, Sooyoung. We all know those won't last. As soon as she turns 10, she won't even remember the names of the 'friends' she makes in ing kindergarten."

"Woah, Woah, Woah..." -Yerim quickly broke off the argument, "Whatever happened to the no-swearing rule you guys enforced in this house? I said the A-word last week and I had to put money in the freaking swear jar. You better be doing the same."

"The rule no longer applies when Kim Seokjin's being a big pain in the ." -Sooyoung narrowed her eyes at him hatefully. 

"Yah, Park Sooyoung. You started -"

"Alright, alright. Jeez..." -Yerim sighed, muffling her brother's mouth with her hand to