Minju had been fretting for a while, having all of her and Eunyoung’s friends already gathered. As soon as the first girl had arrived, they had started asking for Eunyoung, obviously aware of her accident and subsequent hospitalization. Minju had only been able to tell them that she had had something to do and she would arrive soon. No one but Eunbi knew about Eunyoung’s condition, and she hoped that if it came to light, whether by Eunyoung’s actions or by her own words, it could all make Eunyoung remember more about her life.

 

Finally, after ten minutes of the friends conversing between them, Eunyoung arrived. Her hair was mussed and Eunyoung herself looked as if she had gotten into trouble again. It made Minju want to question her immediately, but knew she couldn’t, not in front of her friends.

 

Eunyoung stomped towards their table and sat in the only available chair.

 

“What up,” she greeted, her breathing as if she had run.

 

“What’s up,” Gyuri shot back, contorted in humor at her greeting. Everyone else just looked at Eunyoung, amused. Eunyoung, probably not having manners (as of late), just raised an eyebrow at her friends, who seemed even more amused.

 

“What? Are you cosplaying or something?” Go Yujin asked before taking a sip of her latte.

 

“Cosplaying what?” Eunyoung asked point-blank, making Minju internally cringe.

 

“I don’t know, a troublemaker from an 80’s film.” Eunyoung just laughed dryly, not answering the question.

 

“Well, honey, why don’t you go order something for yourself?” Minju asked Eunyoung.

 

“I’m not- Okay, okay. Something to drink. Yup.” Having Eunyoung leave for a moment gave her time to think.

 

“What’s wrong with Eunyoung?” Sae asked, turning slightly to look at the woman now at the counter.

 

“Yeah, girl just arrived and said ‘what up’,” Gyuri laughed. “I’ve never heard her say that, ever.” Eunyoung arrived just in time, sitting down without uttering a word.

 

“So, why are you so...?” Ahn Yujin asked, eyeing Eunyoung’s hair.

 

“Was in a hurry,” the woman answered shortly, taking a sip from her... hazelnut cappuccino?

 

“Why are you drinking this?” Minju voiced, hurriedly snatching the drink away from Eunyoung.

 

“Why? I can’t?” Eunyoung huffed, irritated.

 

“You are allergic to nuts!” Minju countered, already feeling her blood pressure go up. How did Eunyoung not remember one of the most important things about herself?

 

“What?” Eunyoung exclaimed in shock, turning to look at her body. She then turned to look at Minju, her eyes narrowed. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

 

“Because this is not something I should be telling you,” Minju pointed out.

 

“Bull,” Eunyoung snapped, turning to look at the window on the right, making Minju bite her lip. The younger woman turned to look at her friends, which were looking at Eunyoung in a combination of shock and, in Sae’s case, horror. Minju tried putting her hand over Eunyoung’s, but Eunyoung snatched her hand away, as if she was on edge. “How the was I supposed to know?”

 

Minju didn’t know what to answer, instead, lowering her head in both anger and shame at the way Eunyoung was behaving in front of their friends. Now the atmosphere was awkward, and no one said a word.

 

“I'm sorry,” Eunyoung said curtly after a moment. “I screwed up.” Minju turned her head, just in time to see her bowing to their friends and leaving the place. Feeling torn between staying there with her friends and chasing after Eunyoung, she looked at them, who all were still looking at the exit Eunyoung had gone through.

 

“I think you should go talk to her,” Go Yujin said, finally turning to look at Minju.

 

“I’m not sure I should,” Minju whispered in defeat. While she was aware that she shouldn’t have expected Eunyoung to know about her allergies, her fiancee shouldn’t have lashed out like that. It was unbecoming and undeserved. She wasn’t the one who had to apologize.

 

“So you’re just going to let her go?” Gyuri asked, drumming her fingers on the table.

 

“I am not going to run after her to apologize,” Minju said, gripping Eunyoung’s drink.

 

“I’m just saying that you’re getting married in a month. If you let this one go without talking to each other, then I am sure this is not going to be the last time you fight.” Minju knew Gyuri was right, but she was getting tired of having to deal with Eunyoung like this.

 

“I-I think you should see if something’s bothering her,” Sae proposed timidly, speaking for the first time after Eunyoung’s outburst. “Maybe something happened to her on the way here.” Minju looked at the exit, feeling troubled at the prospect. ‘What is she doing behind my back?’

 

The question (which she had hesitated to make to herself since Eunyoung woke up) rattled her more than it ever had. There were many things that Eunyoung did that were incomprehensible to her now. If she truly didn’t remember who she was, how did she always say she had things to do?

 

She needed to know. She needed to know now.

 

“Sorry, I’ll come back quickly,” she said, rushing out of the place. But she had lasted too long, as Eunyoung was nowhere to be seen. She tried calling her while walking in the direction she thought Eunyoung went, but the older woman didn’t answer. She tried calling again, and this time, Eunyoung picked up.

 

“Eunyoung! Where are you?” Minju asked before Eunyoung could even speak.

 

“I know I ed up,” Eunyoung said instead. “I know.”

 

“We need to talk about it,” Minju said firmly.

 

“There’s not much to say now, is it?”

 

“There is,” Minju assured her. “I want to know. What-” she paused when someone slammed into her. “What happened to you? What made you so... angry?”

 

“Just some ,” Eunyoung answered.

 

“But why? What did that person do?”

 

“Some dumb ,” Eunyoung evaded the question, making Minju sigh heavily.

 

“Eunyoung, please. I need to know.” Minju could hear the frustration on Eunyoung’s end.

 

“You don’t. You really don’t.”

 

“So there is something you’re hiding from me...” Minju stopped when she saw Eunyoung standing in front of a store.

 

“Is not something that will affect you.”

 

“Of course it does! You’re my fiancee!” Minju said, frustrated, finally deciding to walk towards Eunyoung. “Anything that you do behind my back affects me!”

 

“This is not Eunyoung’s problem. This is my problem.”

 

“You are Eunyoung!” Minju grabbed Eunyoung’s shoulder, making the latter turn to look at her.

 

“I am NOT Eunyoung. When the are you going to understand that?” Despite the fierce answer, Chaewon wasn’t able to maintain a harsh exterior when the light in Minju’s eyes dimmed. Even less, when she knew she was the one to up (why was she even agreeing to meet many people in Minju’s life anyway?). “It has to do with one of Eunyoung’s investigations.”

 

“You’re still trying to work?” Minju asked in disbelief.

 

Chaewon sighed, exasperated. “You know that’s pissing me off, right? You’re completely ignoring me when I say I’m not Eunyoung. I know! I know you don’t believe me,” Chaewon cut Minju off. “But even if you don’t believe me, and you think I’m mental, then, think, how the am I supposed to know about this person’s allergies? I don’t! I don’t know.”

 

“Sorry,” Minju apologized (wasn’t she resolute in NOT apologizing?). “I know you can’t know because of the accident. I just...” she trailed off.

 

“I was a huge . Pretty sure I scared your friends.” Chaewon scratched her neck.

 

“No, just surprised them. Eunyoung never curses.”

 

“Figured that already.” Chaewon thought for a moment. “What could I do to prove to you that I am not your fiancee?”

 

The question took Minju aback. What could she do to prove she wasn’t Eunyoung? It was ridiculous... but thinking about her previous words, maybe she ought to believe her, even for a moment...

 

“Well...” Minju trailed off. “I want you to do some blood work and scans.”

 

“Ah.”

 

“If everything comes back correctly,” Minju concluded. “Then, I might consider the possibility you’re not Eunyoung.”

 

Eunyoung was quiet for a moment, making Minju worry that she would receive a negative.

 

“Why not? I wanted to take some tests, anyway,” Chaewon shrugged her shoulders.

 

“Let’s go, then,” Minju said, grabbing Eunyoung’s hand.

 

“Now?”

 

Minju shook her head. “We still have to go back to our friends.”

 

Chaewon held back a groan. “Alright. Okay.” She owed Minju at least this much.

 

–

Chaewon was sitting on the waiting area, waiting for Minju to come out of the bathroom. It had taken a while to perform the brain scan that Minju was fighting for, but thankfully, the hell had already ended.

 

Looking at her phone, Chaewon re-read the answer she had gotten from Eunyoung’s coworker for the rain check she had to ask for. There wasn’t anything out of the ordinary with the answer, but Chaewon was just debating in her mind whether it would be worth it or not.

 

Finally, Minju came out of the bathroom, sitting right next to Chaewon.

 

“Has the doctor come to say anything?” she asked.

 

“No.” Chaewon huffed impatiently. “Is this going to take ing forever?”

 

“You don’t really like hospitals, do you?” Minju observed, turning to look at her fiancee. The thought of Eunyoung’s secrets made Minju want to notice even the smallest details of this new Eunyoung who called herself Chaewon.

 

“Not really.” Chaewon sniffed. “How long is this going to take?”

 

“It’s just some blood work and we’re free to go,” Minju answered, trying to comfort a fidgety Eunyoung. “Do you want to go somewhere after this?” she asked on a whim. At some point, Sae was right. Something was happening with Eunyoung, and she had let it go on unchecked for too long.

 

A part of her told her that it was Eunyoung getting into things that were unlike her because of any possible brain damage. Another, minuscule, part of her told her that maybe Eunyoung… or this person, Chaewon, was right, and she was not Eunyoung.

 

The mere idea was too crazy…

 

“Go somewhere?” Chaewon cocked her head to the side.

 

“Yeah, what do you like to do to unwind?” Chaewon was pensive for a moment.

 

“I like the arcade.”

 

“The arcade? Really?” Minju asked skeptically. Eunyoung really hadn’t been that big of a fan of videogames. She’d play at most Mario Kart and that was when they had game nights with their friends.

 

“Why? Too adult for your frog pajamas?” Chaewon crossed her arms, smirking.

 

“My pajamas are not childish,” Minju rebuked playfully, hitting Chaewon slightly.

 

“Sure they aren’t.” Chaewon cleared . “So, you want to go after this?”

 

“You have something else to do?”

 

“Not really.” Chaewon denied, although she herself knew she was lying. There was no need for Minju to know, anyway.

 

“Great!”

--

Chaewon entered the arcade with a spring in her step, her face contorted into a strange expression that can only be described as a toothy smile poorly hidden. Inspecting the games, she walked around the whole arcade. Minju followed behind silently, enjoying this new side of Eunyoung that she could see.

 

"What are you doing?" Minju asked when Chaewon stopped, amused.

 

"I'm getting to know the arcade."

 

"Know the arcade? What for?"

 

Chaewon cleared , as if she was trying to sound serious. "It's never a good idea to start playing the first game you find. You need to have an strategy to spend your dough."

 

Minju raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"

 

"Yeah, there are so many games that you can't get stuck on just the first one you find." Chaewon nodded.

 

"So? What's your verdict?"

 

"The asteroids one and the pong are a ing waste of time," Chaewon declared. "Street Fighter, Double Dragon… that's the ones we should play."

 

"I'm playing too?" Minju asked, surprised that Chaewon was trying to include her (honestly, she thought she'd end up watching Eunyoung play).

 

"Obviously. It's a bore to just watch someone play."

 

"I wouldn't mind that," Minju countered softly, making Chaewon scowl.

 

"So you don't want to play?"

 

"No, I meant that if you wanted me to watch you play, I would," Minju clarified.

 

Chaewon looked at her as if she was crazy. "Why would you even want to just watch?"

 

"You find entertaining to play. I find entertaining to watch," Minju answered simplistically. "What are you choosing to play, then?"

 

Chaewon hummed. "Maybe… Street Fighter." Walking towards the machine, Minju looked around, and was unsurprised to find not many people around. Who came to an arcade nowadays?

 

"Of course you would pick a fighting game," Minju murmured dryly as she followed Chaewon. "So? What's this game about?" Minju asked, analyzing the machine in front of her.

 

"You don't know Street Fighter?" Chaewon asked, astonished. Minju shook her head.

 

"The only games I know of is Mario Kart and Wii Sports." Chaewon shook her head.

 

"Pity. So, it's game where your character fights other characters," Chaewon answered, putting a coin inside the machine.

 

"Press this button for a punch, and this one for a kick," Chaewon instructed. "There are some things called combos that you can do when you've hit me many times."

 

"O-okay." Minju had never been good at games, so she was even hesitant to try.

 

The game started and, predictably, Chaewon won. Minju hadn't known how to move her character to fight Chaewon fairly.

 

"I'd rather watch you play now," Minju said tiredly as she let the joystick go. "I don't even know how to play."

 

"Who said that it's an award to gain experience or some ?"

 

"You can't gain experience in a game," Minju pointed out, hitting Chaewon's arm for throwing her words back at her and for reminding her of their less than stellar first day after the hospital.

 

"Sure you can. You think I got good by watching?"

 

"How did you get good?" Minju genuinely asked, aware that Chaewon played well, too well for what Eunyoung could usually do. Had Eunyoung had a secret love for arcades that she didn't know about?

 

"I played a lot, obviously." Chaewon mock rolled her eyes.

 

Minju hit her arm. "I'm serious. I really want to know." Minju sighed when she saw that Chaewon wasn't budging. "Please?"

 

Chaewon turned to look at Minju when she used that pitiful tone and found herself staring into a pair of puppy eyes. It was… ad- tolerable. It was tolerable.

 

"Just…" Chaewon shrugged her shoulders, turning her head away to avoid the puppy eyes. It wouldn't hurt to tell Minju, right? "I have always liked videogames, but we never had money for a console, so I started getting some spare change and went to play to my neighborhood arcade."

 

Minju was surprised at how her eyes had worked. Usually Eunyoung would say, "Stop that. It looks awful," and would hit her arm to stop her from making those eyes, but instead, Chaewon had looked at her… almost affectionately?

 

"Did you have any kids to play with?" Minju asked, trying to find any thread of memory that she could remember.

 

"Nobody wanted to play with the kid that got punched her guts out," Chaewon admitted dryly.

 

"So, you had no friends?"

 

"Who needs friends anyways?" Chaewon shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, but it was apparent that it had meant something for a younger Chaewon. It made Minju's heart ache.

 

"You have me now," Minju countered, grabbing onto Chaewon's hand. She surprised herself with her strong reaction towards her story, but she couldn't help but feel heartbreak at the idea of a lonely Eunyoung, who wasn't still strong (emotionally nor physically) enough to withstand her circumstances.

 

Chaewon looked at Minju, her chest filling with some sensation she couldn't understand. But it was a pleasant feeling, so she held onto Minju's hand when the latter was going to let her go.

 

Clearing , trying to avoid the strange, bubble-like atmosphere, she said, "Let's go play Double Dragon."

 

Minju beamed at her, over the moon that Eunyoung had, for the first time ever, the initiative to hold her hand.

 

Squeezing her hand, she followed Chaewon to the next machine.

 

"Let me guess. This is a fighting game?" Minju asked rhetorically.

 

"Sort of. It's a beat-em-up. You go through levels and beat bad guys," Chaewon said, aware of the irony of playing a game where she beat people that she now worked with in her daily life. Inserting a coin, she continued, "You're my partner here. As always, you use this button to punch and this one to kick. Try avoiding getting hurt by them or you'll die and leave me alone."

 

However, it was no use. Minju was only able to last for a few minutes before she died. Chaewon stopped playing when it happened.

 

"You're still alive! Keep playing!" Minju said, watching the screen where the bad guys were already ganging on Chaewon.

 

Chaewon, encouraged by Minju, continued playing, but when she realized it would take long before she'd lose, she stopped playing.

 

"Wha- You were doing good!" Minju exclaimed when she saw the ending screen.

 

It was hard for Chaewon to hide her smile at the excitement in Minju's voice. "It was getting boring," she said simply. Although there were many games she'd like to play, it feels weird to be having fun while Minju is just there, accompanying her without any other thing to do. "What do you do to relax?"

 

"Me?" Minju was surprised at the question. "Well, I like watching TV or taking a walk in the park."

 

"Oh." Admittedly, Chaewon usually had no interest in doing something that requires no effort from her, like watching TV, nor something so quiet, like walking around for no reason. "Maybe we can do one of those things." After all, she owed Minju, now that, thanks to the younger woman, had gone to arcade for the first time in a long while.

 

"Would you want to?" Minju smiled at Chaewon, grabbing onto her hand again.

 

"Sure," she said, not minding returning the favor. It wouldn't hurt to do so, right? While she searched for her body.

 

.

 

It was almost time to go.

 

"Maybe another day," Minju said softly. "Is there anything else you want to do?"

 

"Not really," Chaewon shrugged her shoulders. Knowing how stubborn Minju was in butting in her matters, she needed to be calm and conspicuous. "I need to go."

 

"Where?" Minju frowned.

 

"My room."

 

"Your room? To your house?" Minju asked, wanting to confirm her own hopes that Chaewon wasn't about to go do something dumb.

 

"Uh huh," Chaewon lied.

 

"Let's go, then," Minju said as inocuously as she could.

 

"It's fine. I'll get there on my own," Chaewon waved off.

 

"You don't want to spend time with me?" Now that she knew this Eunyoung… Chaewon… was weak to her aegyo, she would do it indiscriminately.

 

"No, I…" Chaewon wasn't sure how to answer to Minju's… attitude, so she just ended up hemming and hawing, until Minju spoke again.

 

"Then, let me go with you."

 

I can't. "Nah, it's okay," she stuttered, still thrown off by whatever the Minju was doing.

 

Chaewon was obviously hiding something, and Minju was completely aware of it. However, at this point, she knew that Chaewon wouldn't budge, and, most likely, they would end up fighting about it. Minju didn't want any more fights.

 

So, she'll have to use more underhanded methods to know what Eunyoung is doing.

 

"Okay, okay," she acquiesced. "I'll see you later?" Chaewon seemed to relax.

 

"Yeah, sure," she agreed shortly. "I'll see you." Minju waved at Chaewon, who returned it hesitantly, feeling dumb at greeting people like that.

 

Chaewon sighed in relief when she was far enough from Minju. "Thank ."

 

Minju, on the other hand, waited for a moment before she starting following Chaewon. At first, she'd try blending in with other people, but her nervousness at being discovered made her feel she stuck out like a sore thumb, so she ended up hiding behind buildings or cars periodically, ignoring the strange looks people gave her.

 

She could finally see Chaewon take a left turn towards an dead end, which made her rush towards Chaewon, worried that something bad would happen to the woman. Waiting for a moment, she finally rounded the corner, trying to hide behind the trash can in that alley, but she found herself looking into Chaewon's eyes.

 

"What the are you doing?" Chaewon asked, irritation seeping into her tone. She hated being followed, reminding entirely of the first times she was entrusted with jobs from her bosses, being threatened with a fate worse than death if she ed up.

 

"This is not the way home," Minju countered instead, making Chaewon narrow her eyes.

 

"Maybe this is my way home."

 

"This is going in the opposite direction of Eunyoung's house," Minju pointed out, making Chaewon huff.

 

"Why are you following me?" Chaewon asked point blank, already tired of going in circles (and being unable to explain going the opposite way from Eunyoung's house without having to confess she was staying at a hotel; she'd never hear the end of it).

 

"You lied to me." Minju said, already aware she wouldn't be able to continue changing the topic, not with Chaewon's temper. "Where are you going?"

 

"Somewhere." Chaewon's answer frustrated Minju.

 

"You can't tell me where?"

 

"It's nowhere important."

 

"If it's not important, then why can't you tell me?"

 

"What does it matter?" Chaewon was getting more irritated the more this conversation went on.

 

"It matters because I care about you. Why can't you be honest?" Minju asked in chagrin, frustration building up again.

 

"Because it has nothing to do with you, dammit!" Chaewon exclaimed angrily, unable to stop her irritation from taking over.

 

"You… you…" Minju felt that this was a rehash of their previous conversation, and it made her feel disheartened, like they were never able to get out of square one. She wasn't even aware of her own reaction to Chaewon's words until her sight was blurry, barely letting her see Chaewon's surprise.

 

"W-why? Why are you crying?" Chaewon asked, bewildered.

 

"You always do this," she said quietly. Maybe Chaewon's word had hurt her as much. Maybe it was the accumulation of all the things Eunyoung had said and done until now. "It has nothing to do with me? Every time you go out there and come back beaten up, it matters to me. Every time you go do something dangerous I don't understand, it matters to me. Your well-being matters to me."

 

Chaewon was rendered speechless. Her chest hurt at the sight of the tears running down Minju's cheeks, but she didn't know what to do about it. She was completely inept in these situations, leaving her floundering for an answer.

 

"But to you, I am a nuisance, right? Someone who continually pesters you and annoys you."

 

"That's not true," Chaewon defended, still flustered (and panicking about what to do). "I… Okay, you might sometimes be annoying…" Her statement saddened Minju even further. "But I… I don't think… I like you being here," Chaewon admitted, not only to Minju, but to herself.

 

Why had she accepted to get entangled in Minju's business several times? There was no apparent reason to. The typical her would've just rejected every invitation, every intereference, giving zero s about hurting anyone's feelings in the process.

 

But she knew the reason. She always knew.

 

"I like hearing about you… And… … I…" Chaewon didn't know how to word what she felt, what she wanted to say, so she took a moment. Minju only looked at her, not saying a word, as if waiting for her to verbalize her thoughts. "I… I want you to be okay. I don't want you to get into things that you shouldn't get into."

 

"Why?" Minju asked. "What are you doing? Do you really not remember?"

 

"I am not Eunyoung," Chaewon repeated for what felt the thousand time. "You don't believe, and I know you don't, but there's… I've done every ing thing possible." Her voice picked a hint of irritation, but Chaewon maintained her voice low and soft, moved by Minju's tears.

 

Minju wanted to scream in frustration, tired of what seemed to be the biggest problem between the two. She wanted to continue arguing about it, but she needed to be more rational about it.

 

"You have to understand. The idea of you, somehow being in Eunyoung's body, but not being Eunyoung is ridiculous," Minju pleaded.

 

"I know," Chaewon said. "I know. But that happened and I'm not her." Chaewon sighed. "What do you want me to do? I already went to those damn tests."

 

But really, what could Chaewon do? If Minju thought about it, her memories were extremely different from those of Eunyoung, her personality was completely different from Eunyoung's, and (if she was honest with herself) Eunyoung would never fake something like this without telling; she'd never be rude to her or to her family in the way Chaewon had.

 

God, she really couldn't believe it. She could barely believe it. It was ridiculous.

 

But she was tired. She was so, so tired of fighting with her.

 

If this somehow helped, whether it was true or not, then Minju would believe it. She would take Chaewon's story and believe it with all her heart. If it was all an elaborate lie constructed by Eunyoung, then she'd take the hit and deal with it then.

 

"Okay," Minju said breathlessly, scared of the pit she was falling into. "Okay. You're not Eunyoung."

 

Chaewon looked at her in surprise. "Just like that?"

 

"I… I can't do this anymore. Mistrusting you, whoever you are, has lead to nothing but fighting. If you are not Eunyoung, then I want to understand. I want to know what is going on… what has happened to my fiancee."

 

Chaewon was torn about Minju's words. While she was relieved that Minju was, at least, open to the idea of her not being Eunyoung, she didn't want Minju to get involved in this.

 

"I'll help bring Eunyoung back," she said, although the idea of Minju meeting Eunyoung again irked her for some reason.

 

"Is what you're doing related to it?" Minju asked. Although she was making the effort to believe… Chaewon, she wanted the other woman to do the same.

 

"A little," Chaewon said, but she knew that what she was doing was mostly taking revenge on whoever tried to kill her, hoping that would return her to her body. After all, she didn't know what else to do (and she was royally pissed at the idiot who dared shoot her).

 

"Then take me with you," Minju pleaded. "I want to know."

 

"I… Minju…" Chaewon hesitated. "You need to be safe."

 

"What is it that you're doing that is dangerous?" Chaewon sighed, not wanting to start the conversation.

 

"Do you remember the first day after being released from the hospital?" Minju hummed.

 

"How can I not?"

 

"Do you remember when Eunyoung's dad asked me questions about me?" Minju grimaced, the memory of Chaewon telling Eunyoung's parents off fresh in her mind.

 

"I do."

 

"I told her dad that I was an office worker…" Chaewon sighed. She needed Minju to back off, and this was the only way. "That was a lie."

 

"Then… What are you?" Minju asked, feeling as if she felt she was falling further into this bottomless pit.

 

"I work for a gang." Chaewon's words took time to register in Minju's mind, but when they did, she just barked a laugh.

 

It made sense… too much sense. The beatings, the sailor-mouth, the know-how of dangerous places within the city, the lack of fear for violence, the backstory she had given her after they had visited her mom at the hospital...

 

"It makes sense," she said, holding fiercely onto the last thread of belief. After that, Minju said nothing for a moment, making Chaewon think that either she was in disbelief or she was contemplating getting away from her. What she asked then was a surprise.

 

"Should I call you Chaewon?"

 

"Would be nice, yeah," Chaewon answered. "So, Minju… Just… I'll find Eunyoung… You just need to wait."

 

"I want to help," Minju asserted.

 

Chaewon bit back a groan. "Didn't I tell you it's dangerous?"

 

"Who you are talking about is my fiancee, my childhood friend who I love. I can't stay still knowing I can do something."

 

"You can't do ," Chaewon countered. "What I'm doing has all to do with you."

 

"Why? Because it's gang stuff? What are you going to do?"

 

Chaewon huffed. "Minju, drop it. It's not a ing game."

 

"'I'm going out to do stupid thing A.' Is that difficult to say?" Minju retorted.

 

"Stop it," Chaewon growled, already getting irritated.

 

"Chaewon." Somehow, Minju calling her name made Chaewon freeze. "You asked me to suspend my disbelief and I did, for you. Is it so hard to tell me what are you doing?"

 

"It's-"

 

"Dangerous, I know. But I want to understand." Chaewon sighed, scratching the bridge of her nose.

 

"Okay. I'll tell you, but not here." Minju had been so fired up that she had forgotten they were in an alley. Embarrassed at the idea of having had a fight with… Chaewon… in the middle of the street, she lowered her head.

 

"Do you have something to do right now?"

 

"I do," Chaewon answered after some hesitation. "And no, you can't come. The person I am meeting wants to be anonymous."

 

"Just… you're going to be safe, right? No beatings?" Minju bit her lip, still hating the idea of Chaewon being beat up.

 

"No beatings," Chaewon confirmed, her lips quirking at the relief on Minju's face. "Just… I'll tell you later."

 

"Okay," Minju agreed. "Get to my house after, then tell me everything, okay?"

 

Chaewon nodded, although she still had her reservations about letting Minju know everything. Maybe she should have left the moment she saw Minju when climbing to the window in Eunyoung's room.

 

"Don't you dare run away," Minju warned, as if she could read Chaewon's mind. "Don't you dare."

 

"Didn't plan to," Chaewon answered. After all, she had gone this far for Minju, there wasn't any other thing to do but to go forward and tell her everything (or, at least, as much as is safe for Minju to know).

 

"Okay." Minju smiled, her expression relieved from the stress of the conversation, but her cheeks still littered with stray tears.

 

"Uh," Chaewon said, then raised her hands to clean Minju's tears. "Sorry."

 

"For what?" Minju asked, already aware of the reason for the apology but wanting to hear it from Chaewon.

 

"For making you cry."

 

"Not for hiding things from me?" Minju asked, surprised at Chaewon's train of thought.

 

"For that, too," Chaewon said quickly, though it was obvious her words had no conviction. Minju narrowed her eyes, but not wanting to fight anymore, she accepted the apology.

 

Regardless, she still said, "Please, stop hiding things from me." Chaewon sighed, whether in resignation or in frustration, Minju didn't know.

 

"Okay."