"We're here!"

Yerin and Sojung stepped through the door of Yewon's apartment, respectfully taking their shoes off before heading even further inside. The others - Yuna, Yewon, and Eunha - greeted them from the kitchen.

"I'm glad you guys are here!" Yewon shuffled from the kitchen to the living room, her cheeks covered in flour as her yellow apron hugged her body. "Sorry it's so small, but at least it'll be faster to decorate."

"Oh don't apologize!" Yerin gave Yewon a tight hug before taking her jacket off along with Sojung. "We love it, the place is adorable. And this is the first time Eunbi will have a birthday party in an apartment setting so it's refreshing."

Sojung kneeled down behind the coffee table to begin unloading the several bags of decorations they purchased beforehand. "Yerin is right. We hated being around being so many snobby, wealthy, and arrogant people. This is so much better. It's in a closed space and the people aren't ."

"Enough of that," Yerin laughed, sticking her hand in one of the bags as well. "Since you were nice enough to have the party at your apartment, we couldn't come empty-handed! We bought you a doorbell camera. Yuna told me they always worry because you live alone in this neighborhood."

"Oh my goodness... This looks expensive. You guys shouldn't have." Yewon grasped the white box that held the device, a sheepish smile on her lips as she hugged both Sojung and Yerin. "Thank you. I'll feel so much safer now."

Yewon watched as the two went back to the decorations, her eyes going back down to the box. Even though today was supposed to be Eunbi's day, they still bought her a present for her apartment. She felt lucky to have met Yerin and Sojung. They were two like blessings in disguise; they never treated her less even though she was once their best friend's assistant.

"Everything is in black and gold for Eunbi like the rich she is." Sojung held up the decorations that spelled out 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY' with a wide grin growing on her lips.

"Language!" Yerin stomped her foot out of protest, giving the others an apologetic smile. "I'm so sorry. She gets really excited over her friends' birthdays."

Eunha slipped on a pair of plastic gloves so she could begin marinating the meat to grill with the others later in the night. The counter faced the living room, giving her the perfect view of Yerin and (mostly) Sojung. She tried her best not to show that she wasn't staring, but the way Sojung showed her excitement about decorating her best friend's party made her heart melt. Eunha wasn't used to seeing Sojung like this with her hair up in a loose bun, the sleeves of her high school hoodie rolled up to her forearms, and her focus only on making every detail perfect. She seemed casual and Eunha couldn't look away. She found the taller too attractive to even notice she massaged the marinated meat for too long.

"Yah," Yuna whispered, nudging Eunha. "If you mix any longer, the meat will become too soft!"

"Oh, ." Eunha pulled her hands away almost immediately. "Sorry, it's all good now. Let's put it in the fridge."

Yewon glanced at the time after placing the cake pans to cool on the side. "It's already noon?"

"Is she not awake yet?" Yuna grabbed a piece of the fried sweet potatoes that were drying on a paper towel. "It's late."

"No, she likes to sleep in during her days off." Yewon untied her yellow apron, folding it soon after to wash later at night. "I can't say I blame her, she's exhausted."

Yerin and Sojung sighed in unison as they tied the signs and other decorations to the walls.

"It was worst last year," Sojung responded absentmindedly. "She cut her phone off so she could focus on her projects. The only way we could reach out was through email, and even then we had to wait for weeks for a response."

"You're joking," Eunha gasped. "She didn't talk to any of you guys for weeks? If Yuna or Yewon did that to me, I'd.... I'd cry."

Yuna and Yewon chuckled to themselves upon hearing their best friend's words. She was the oldest, but sometimes her personality could convince strangers that she was younger than her other friends.

"How do I get her to come here without acting suspicious?" Yewon held her phone with both hands, flopping down onto one of the bean bags her friends bought for her. Yuna and Eunha knew there weren't enough seats for all of them, so if they were going to buy chairs, why not make it fun?

"Scare her," Yerin grinned. "I'm sure as soon as she sees your text, she'll run straight here." 

"But don't be too obvious!" Sojung tied her hair up higher after finally finishing all of the decorations, black and gold balloons now sticking to the ceiling. "Leave her confused. It'll scare her more."

Yewon glanced down at her screen again, a gentle laugh passing her lips. "You guys are evil, but I'll try at around 3. I doubt she'll be waking up anytime soon."

Darkness engulfed Eunbi's room like the way she preferred. She swore she couldn't sleep in a room even with the tiniest ray of light shining through, so before sleeping at night, she took her time to ensure her curtains were tightly closed with her windows and doors locked to prevent any distractions. Sleep was precious to her during these times. If she didn't get enough, her mood would turn for the worst, ultimately taking it out on her workers. Only the hum of her air conditioner could be heard along with a few vibrations from her phone now and then. Sleeping in a hot room always made her uncomfortable. No matter what, the air conditioner or the fan had to be running.

Stretching beneath her black comforter, Eunbi gradually opened her eyes, being met with only darkness and the slight brightness of her gray walls. She could never tell what time it was whenever she woke up. If anything, it could've been morning instead of night.

Standing, she lazily made her way to her private bath where she could finally shower and brush her teeth. Eunbi was taught to never check her phone as soon as she woke up only because she didn't want to start her morning with stress.

Eunbi dressed herself in a pair of gray sweats, an oversized sweater, and her favorite Nike slides. She didn't give much thought to what she was going to wear for the day, it was her day off after all. Who was she going to impress?

3:22 PM.

The time on her phone didn't surprise her. Eunbi always woke up late whenever she had a day off. It was her way of catching up on sleep (not counting the handful of office naps she had during the week).

Like instinct, Eunbi's eyes immediately landed on the texts Yewon sent her from half an hour ago.

Yewon: Eunbi, I don't feel good.

Yewon: Can you come over?

Yewon: My head hurts so bad...

Yewon: My eyes feel so heavy.

And like magic, Eunbi threw on an extra jacket before running down her stairs. All of her maids looked at her in confusion, never having seen her wanting to get out of the house so fast.

"Miss Hwang—"

"Can't talk. I'll explain later," was all their boss could muster.

And just like that, Eunbi was off with her car keys and worn out slides. The maids watched through the doors, all of them facing each other.

"She missed her birthday brunch."

"I guess we can just eat it ourselves. She wouldn't mind, right?"

"No, she isn't selfish."

"How long has it been since you texted her?" Sojung looked up