“You want me to work in another hospital? I’m already taking care of a patient though, I told you.”

Yeri has her phone sandwiched between her shoulder and ear, two hands busy with portioning out Jisoo’s medicine. She hasn’t heard from her best friend in weeks now, so colour her surprised when the first thing that comes her way is a new job offer. “A spy in a general hospital? Are you ing crazy?” Right after she says that, Yeri spins around on her heels to make sure there’s no one standing there. She wants to keep being polite in all ways and not bite the hand that feeds her, after all. This house is now her workplace and home at the same time.

“I’ll… I’ll think about it. Thanks, Sooyoung.”

There are so many benefits to taking up her best friend’s offer; she can finally stop worrying about money or worrying that she’s going to end up living in the streets one day. She can even secure a good position that’s much higher than just a small-time nurse… maybe go back to a field she’s interested in.

God.

What about Jisoo? What about her potential family though?

Not trusting herself to think about this in a calm and poised manner, Yeri decides to shove the offer aside for now. She can’t possibly let go of the one lead she has; not till she can get some results out of it.

“Jisoo-unnie? It’s time for your medicine… Oh, Taeyeon-unnie!”

The well-dressed CEO gives the young nurse a little wave, turning back to her whining sister. “Wendy promises she’ll come back to visit though, after she takes care of her client on hand right now…” Taeyeon can barely hide the worrisome expression on her face, despite knowing her wife’s two best lawyers are taking care of this case.

Jisoo’s smile develops into a serene one, thankful that her sister is willing to help her out with this request. She doesn’t harbour any ulterior motive or feelings for that greasy lawyer but just the conversation they had somehow gives Jisoo a hunch that they’d get along very well.

“Thanks, Unnie…”

It might sound mean and completely sad but she never tried to open her heart to Rosé, not even once. Rosé is one of the nicest, kindest people she has ever come across but her status as a lawyer threw Jisoo off immediately. She had an amazing trial when she finally prosecuted Mr. Kim for domestic and child abuse over the span of a decade. At that point in time, Jisoo had already been admitted into the Institute of Mental Health so she no longer knew what was happening outside. A core memory of Rosé is the latter being on the receiving end of her violence and tantrums when they met for the first time again.

“Chaeyoung! Are you hurt?” Taeyeon rushes over, fearful that the young lawyer had been hit by the array of items flying out of the room.

Rosé shakes her head in an attempt to comfort the poor woman, but clutches her bleeding forearm. “At least it’s just my arm this time. I’m fine! I’ll just get this bandaged up and then try again tomorrow…”

“What about…. Um, what about Rosie? The other lawyer?”

Taeyeon a brow at the nickname; she’s only heard that term of endearment come from her wife and Wendy.

“What?” Jisoo’s cheeks dust themselves with pink, her hand coming up to play with her hair. “She said I could call her that before…”

It’s both amusing and entertaining for Taeyeon to see this bashful behaviour from her younger sister. Jisoo might have gone through some terrible times and been to hell and back but hey, she’s standing strong today. Till this very day, Jisoo remained silent about her past relationship – the one she was willing to marry. She only ever dropped hints that she was seeing someone and it wasn’t that long, but Jisoo never loved anyone as much as her. Clearly, seeing as it eventually landed her in the mental health institution.

“For someone who didn’t even spare Rosie a second look, you sure know how to use endearing terms for her.”

“Shut up, Unnie…” Jisoo groans.

The young nurse stands with her back resting against the cupboard, arms crossed over her chest and a wistful smile on her face. She also knows who the two lawyers are, especially Rosé. Whenever the woman came to visit Jisoo, Rosé has never once left the ward feeling productive. All the nurses and doctors there grew fond of Rosé over time, noticing how patient she was with Jisoo every single time despite getting hurt. Day by day, their sense of awareness and caution revolving around Jisoo increased tenfold after learning that she was a victim of domestic abuse and emotional manipulation.

And honestly…. Jisoo and Rosé don’t look half bad together.

Yeri definitely approves.

“Um… Taeyeon-unnie, Jisoo-unnie…. I have something to talk to you two about.”

The two siblings turn around to face Yeri with almost identical grins on their faces, and the nurse wants to take a picture of that moment. If only she could be a part of their tight knit family – well, part of the siblings at least – everything else in the world won’t be difficult to face.

“My best friend told me there’s a spot in a hospital that’s open to me… well, it’s more of a favour since she needs someone she can trust there.” Yeri mumbles reluctantly, unwilling to look at Jisoo.

It doesn’t take long before Taeyeon puts two and two together, realizing that Yeri will be the nurse that’s going to take care of Irene from now on. She and her wife were discussing possible ways to keep Irene safe, whilst making sure Wendy isn’t going to be dragged into another mess. Come to think of it, Yeri would be a fantastic choice because she has no connection to Irene whatsoever, so she has no motive or reason to be manipulated with.

Jisoo pulls Yeri to sit beside her on the bed, patting the younger’s head. “Well, that's good. At least you get to have another job that will pay you well, right?”

Finances are not my priority right now, Yeri wants to say. Clearly though, that’s a bold-faced lie if one might say so. Growing up to be such an independent person, Yeri wants to rely on herself and she needs as much money as possible. She wants to be beside Jisoo without worrying about never seeing her again; something about the older woman feels so close, so important. Truthfully, if Jisoo feels comfortable with Yeri’s presence and friendship, she wants to be in close contact.

“If you’re worried about me, you don’t have to be…” Jisoo whispers, nudging Yeri in the side. She doesn’t want to be the possible hindrance in Yeri’s career. “I mean, you’ll still be staying here with me, right?”

“Would that be okay?”

With the time passing and the two young women wrapped up in their own conversation, Taeyeon is watching with a tender gaze. The way Jisoo gets along with such an unexpected person warms her heart on so many levels; her sister is finally opening up again.

Perhaps…

There's something more to Yeri.

Irene looks beautiful.

It’s been terribly long since Irene looked so ethereal in her eyes, especially with the flowy white dress and cute sun hat blocking the sun from her view. She knows only too well that Irene can look amazing in either a dress or a pair of pants but either way, Wendy is awestruck.

“Why are you here, Joohyun?”

“Just came to say my goodbye, Seungwan.” Irene whispers, bending down to give Wendy the gentlest kiss on the forehead. She closes her eyes, and a tear falls upon Wendy’s eyelashes. “I love you…”

Wendy jerks awake, her heart racing at the last whisper in her dream. She doesn’t even know if she has too much at the back of her mind or it’s a forewarning before the tragedy. Dreams like this never bode well and don’t sit comfortably in her gut. It can be quite annoying because when Wendy was trying to forget about their relationship after returning to Canada, the recurring dreams with Irene in them were countless. If the timeline matches the time Irene’s life started going downhill, then her mind truly fascinates her.

The harsh wind of the air-conditioner soon knocks her out of her sleepy state, and Wendy makes her way over to Irene’s bed. She doesn’t stop herself from reaching out to Irene, placing her hand on the unconscious woman’s cheek.

‘I hope you wake up soon… we have so much to solve.’

Once upon a time, Wendy would call herself extremely delusional if she had any hope of Irene and her getting back together. Yet, with all the speculations and incidents coming to life… Wendy doesn’t doubt that possibility. She really, really wants to keep Irene safe.

“Miss Son?”

“Yes, doctor…” Wendy retracts her hand and runs her fingers through her hair, knowing she looks like a mess. “How did the tests go? Did you manage to test for substances in her blood?”

“We actually found traces of midazolam in her blood, alth