“Wait, so we’re flying back to Seoul for this case?”

“Yes.”

Wendy falls silent at the firm answer; she knows nothing she says or do will change the outcome if that tone is in place. Truth be told, Wendy doesn’t know the big deal about this particular case, or why they’re choosing to do it pro bono. In comparison to the previous cases they’ve already taken, this one seems to be a bit more personal. Their boss might think Wendy has already accepted to do this without question but that’s far from the truth. The number of questions piling up one after another in her mind will come out eventually, whether towards the client or their boss. Nothing makes sense right now, and the unconscious guilty expression on her boss’ face gives everything away. Their law firm might not be as big as the other companies here in the country, neither is it the most well-known but the two lawyers along with their senior have tremendous achievements under their individual belts. No secrets between them, no hidden discomfort, nothing; so it's not surprising that Wendy has already seen through their boss' facade. 

Going back to the place that took her heart and crushed it into a million pieces, even traumatizing her with how shameless the people there could be…. why in the world would Wendy want to be back?

“Wipe that somber expression of your face,” Rosé reaches out and pokes the latter’s puffed up cheek mischieviously. She still doesn’t get used to her partner being serious and unsatisfied. The older woman has done nothing but be a happy pill to her after all. “It’s just another case, right? I mean, other than the fact that we’re going back to Korea.”

“Don’t pretend to be okay.”

A sigh finally escapes Rosé’s cherry-flavoured lips; it’s not that she is pretending, but what else can she do except try and forget the past? At least her relationship was still fresh, not at the point where they were in love enough to think of their future together.

Wendy almost feels the pangs of guilt banging against her chest immediately; technically, anyone would feel bad seeing an angel upset but that’s not the point. There is no way she’s going to hurt the only person who’s seen her at her lowest and highest after leaving Seoul. Going through the heartbreak of losing someone so close to her and not being able to see her take her last breath – that honestly killed Wendy for months. Everything had happened so quickly and circumstances did their past to screw her over as best as it could. The family figure who brought her up and took care of her until she was old enough to fly to Seoul alone had passed on while she was in the plane. She had cried and sobbed her heart out before boarding, unknowingly causing panic to arise in her family. If she had known her heart break would have caused so much pain in her grandmother... Wendy would never have called home to tell them anything.

“Look, I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to say that.” Wendy whispers, her fists beginning to clench again. She doesn't show the slightest reaction at the sensation of her nails digging into the flesh of her palms; it's just a part of her anxiety that comes alive when she starts to feel immense guilt towards a person. “I just… I just don’t want both of us to get hurt again. You mean so much to me, Chaeyoung-ah.”

Rosé’s gaze softens the moment she hears the reasoning behind her best friend’s tone. She knows just how protective and on edge Wendy can be when it involves relationship topics. It doesn’t help that their trust issues have been set deep into their very skins, getting the best of either despite their suitors. The person might as well lay their necks on the chopping board for them and it still wouldn’t be enough – it’s just too difficult.  

“Unnie, I will take care of you. I won’t let anyone hurt you again, okay? I know you protect me all the time but you need to let me in as well. We’re supposed to be there for each other, not you constantly trying to pamper and take care of me. It’s been years since that incident, and I promise, I will definitely take care of myself well. I just don’t want you to stress yourself out and start hurting yourself again…”

The two women fall silent when Rosé turns her gaze towards the older woman’s clenched fists; it’s been a long running problem for years now, and Wendy can’t seem to stop that bad habit of hers. Though it isn’t necessarily a life-threatening physical problem, it certainly did its part scaring Rosé when she saw it for herself. They were going to have breakfast together and enjoy a bit of freedom when she spotted the scars carefully printed upon Wendy's palm. It is definitely safe to say that it traumatized the poor woman. There was a lot of crying that day, pouring out of their problems and seeing a different side of each other as well. It was also the same day that Wendy had finally opened her heart and bared her soul for Rosé for the first time; she learned to rely on the younger bit by bit, even letting her in on her biggest secrets involving Korea. Some of the things Rosé knows now, not even her parents are aware of because Wendy can’t bear for them to end up like her grandmother did.

“Unclench.”

“Yes, darling.”

“Sleep outside the apartment.”

Wendy’s jaw falls to the ground, eyes glued to the confidant redhead walking away from her with her hips swaying from left to right. She is never going to get used to Rosé dropping all formalities and commanding her like that. It’s just the opposite of how the latter is around her, but she’s not complaining though.

It’s kind of attractive.

“UNNIE!”

“I’m coming, my love!”

Now as the two ladies are outside blatantly bickering over what to eat for dinner and supper after work, their boss – Tiffany Young-Kim – spins around on her favourite swivel chair. She was initially apprehensive about taking on this case because of her precious subordinates. They might have started out as just her juniors with no relationship at all but after years of working together and nurturig them to their fullest, Tiffany has a very skeptical outlook of them going back to Korea. She would have denied the case flat if her wife hadn’t started pleading with her to reconsider – Taeyeon does not ask for help unnecessarily, especially involving her two young ones. In that sense, Taeyeon and Tiffany try their best to protect them as much as possible. Watching over them ever since they applied for a job at her law firm, both broken and emotionally shattered, Tiffany made it a point to counsel them as often as she can in between their busy schedules. 

Now that Tiffany herself is sending back into the lions’ den, can she really take care of them like she promised herself to? How ironic is it, that the one place that shaped Wendy and Rosé got hurt in, will be the same place that strengthens them again? The guilt only increases in twice the amount, probably because Tiffany knows exactly who the client is and the danger it poses to Wendy’s mental health.

“TaeTae… you better look after my Wendy or I’m going to skin your small alive.”

***

Does it make sense?

In a span of a week, one of Korea's biggest actresses has had her life turned upside down because someone hacked into her partner's phone. She has been dropped from many of her endorsing firms, advertisements and shows that she was scheduled to go on. To make matters worse, the people in her very own entertainment company have not been very supportive either; not to say that all of them are, but it doesn't make her feel any better. The tabloids and reporters might always bring up the bonds between the artistes from her company and how they might seem like a genuine family, but Irene knows it’s all bull. If anything, this whole scandal just proved her words right through and through. That being said, Irene is not expecting much from any of them; all she wants is for them to shut their mouths and stop pretending they know the truth better than she does. Even people she has known since she was a teenager have began to doubt her account of what happened... she needs to stop trying.

“Um… Unnie?”

“Yes?”

Irene sighs when she realizes how cautious the trainee looks while speaking to her and this is also another turning point of her life: everyone is going to look at her in a different light from this moment. She, however, is not an idiot, and she’s not about to do something that will make the other trainees judge this particular one trying to speak to her. “You can let my manager know whatever it is you want to say, sweetie. I have another meeting to attend right now,” Irene smiles, patting the young girl’s head affectionately.

“Bye now.”

Everything that goes through the majority of people's mind, everything that happens before her very eyes; Irene just wants to know the different versions of what they've come up with. Throughout this whole ordeal, she’s extremely sure her nudes and video lies in one person’s phone. The same person who mad