Jungeun had decided to just start baking something, feeling bored and thought her skills had been getting rusty lately; unable to find a reason why she had stopped, until Heejin and Hyunjin had marched into the kitchen. 

“What’re you baking?” Hyunjin quickly asked, eyes intensely staring at the bag of flour sitting on the counter, her tail straightening out and wavering in curiosity, “Bread?”

“Ooh~ I wanna help!” Heejin exclaimed, her bunny ears atop her head perking up, already rolling the sleeves of her sweater up.

“The last time you tried to help, the toaster sparked!” Jungeun said in a panic, remembering the chaotic scene during the holidays, “We weren’t even using the toaster!”

“Well it’s because Yeojin threw a fork into it!” Hyunjin defended the bunny hybrid, opening up the cupboard for a small snack of an entire baguette.

“I don’t care! Get out of my kitchen! Both of you!”

“Fine! I’ll go, but at least let Heejin stay and help!” Hyunjin protested, not wanting to deal with her dejected crush later, eager to inhale her bread in the safety of her room.

“Okay! Leave!” Jungeun screeched back, fists balled up at her sides, ready to throw hands.

“Aww, thank you Hyunjin..” Heejin grinned, tightly hugging the cat hybrid and placing a soft kiss onto her cheek, instantly making Hyunjin flash a hue of pink and causing her to run out of the kitchen.

Jinsol peeked her head in after watching Hyunjin sprint out, chomping on her bread while she was bright pink in the face. 

“What’s going on? I heard yelling.” Jinsol pursed her lips, obviously checking out her wife decked out in an apron at the kitchen counter, causing Heejin to unleash a chorus of gags from her spot at the dinner table.

“Baking, leave.” Jungeun replied in a monotone, not wanting to deal with anymore distractions, causing Jinsol to leave as fast as she had come.

She just wanted to make a cake, how hard is that?

Well apparently, it’s very hard.

—

Chaewon lay wide awake on her hard mattress inside her cell, blankly staring at the ceiling. She hadn’t heard or seen her favorite little wolf in a little over a week. She wanted to hold her hand and talk about the things she had enjoyed when she was still roaming the city, striving to hear Hyejoo’s teasing and her sarcastic jokes even if her infinite amount of whining could never make it stop. 

But lately, Chaewon’s been madly confused by herself and her emotions. 

For example, when Hyejoo poked her cheek when she had spaced out or when they held hands when things got particularly rough, Chaewon’s heart skipped a beat and butterflies fluttered around in her stomach. She had never felt this feeling before, and she was slowly becoming addicted to it. 

On the negative side, like times like these, Chaewon’s heart ached with worry and longing. She constantly wondered if Hyejoo was okay inside the box and if she could keep it together. Did Hyejoo miss Chaewon like Chaewon missed her? Did Hyejoo even think of her like that?

She didn’t know why she was acting up like this, but she loved it. Whenever the two would start a particularly deep conversation it was like Chaewon’s world faded away and it was only the two of them, distracting herself from remembering the horrible place she was residing in.

-

“You know, I have sisters? I think I could call them that.” Hyejoo smiled, tapping her fingers on her knee unconsciously.

The two were sitting in Hyejoo’s cell on their ‘day off’ - which was essentially a day the staff was too stressed out with existing work to deal with the two and conduct any research. 

Even if they were physically in such a horrible place, they were in their own happy little world with just themselves occupying it at that moment.

“Tell me it about it, if you’re comfortable with it.” Chaewon leaned forward, admiring Hyejoo with heart eyes.

“Well, their names are Hyunjin and Yerim. They’re hybrids just like me! We were created in the old facility, ++ Testing Facility or whatever. Since the staff transferred to a new building, I guess they didn’t want them anymore and they just abandoned Yerim and Hyunjin and my other Android friend, Vivi, at good ol’ ++ when we were younger and kept me. I hope they’re safe,” Hyejoo sadly smiled, looking out into space as if she could see them, “I miss them.”

-

Soon enough, it was sunrise and she didn’t get a blink of sleep. A guard tapped on the bars of her cell door with his gun, looking exhausted himself.

“Come on, we don’t have all day.” The guard muttered, roughly opening up the cell door and already walking ahead, expecting Chaewon to follow along.

As they were navigating the facility, Chaewon noticed a quite severe crack on an outer wall not too far from both of their cells. If Hyejoo ran into it fast enough with enough force, she could break through it and hopefully the two would be out of the facility. Sure, it wouldn’t be easy, but it’s worth it to give it a thought. Chaewon guessed the staff didn’t bother to waste time fixing it and assumed they wouldn’t be attentive enough to notice. 

Making a quick mental note of the location, Chaewon quickly caught up with the guard. The girl had absolutely no idea where they were going. This section of the facility seemed to be where all the offices were housed. It was eerie, completely silent, almost seeming as if it was abandoned.

Lately, Chaewon hasn’t really had any tests since Hyejoo’s been locked up; today is different, however. 

She learned so when she stepped into the small office while the guard stood watch outside, the blonde’s eyes immediately recognizing Dr. Ha sitting at his desk and scribbling away on some documents.

“Hello, Chaewon.” Dr. Ha acknowledged out of the blue, not even looking up from the paper he was signing off, Chaewon staying rooted in her spot in silence, “Unfortunately, Dr. Ahn wants to see you. Before you go, I just wanted you to know that you should obey everything he says if you value your life. Best of luck.”

Stepping out of the small office with trembling hands and a pounding heart, the guard nodded to the open door next to the office she had just left. 

Chaewon cautiously stepped inside the ominous room, only to see Hyejoo strapped to a chair in a padded cell; glass and concrete being the only thing putting distance between the two. 

“Welcome, welcome! Take a seat, we’re seeing how far Hyejoo’s pain threshold can go today!”