“Okay, hear me out. Yoohyeon is literally the biggest baby out of all of us. Physically and emotionally.” Jiu started.

“Yoohyeon is literally 10 feet tall...how exactly is she a baby physically?” Bora was skeptical.

Bora and Handong sat across from her in Yubin’s private detective office. It was a slow day and the two detectives were out doing some sleuthing. And so it was “middle-aged ladies’ gossip time” as Bora liked to refer to it as even though none of them were even past their twenties.

Handong calmly set down her cup of tea. “No, no. You are mistaken. Yubin behaves most like a baby when she’s tired.” Jiu gasped as if Handong had just revealed a scandalous secret. It might as well be, since it was about the resident stoic detective.

The oldest leaned across the coffee table. “...Is she...you know...cute?” Jiu gestured vaguely into the air. Handong just smirked and took another sip of her tea, not giving Jiu a proper reply. She’ll just keep Yubin’s cute sides to herself for now.

“Now, now, children. I would like to announce that if...if Siyeon were here, she would be crowned babiest baby.” Bora said all of the sudden. Jiu gave her an unimpressed look while Handong just sipped her tea some more.

“But Siyeon-”

The front door to the office opened before Jiu could say anything more. Yubin trudged in, closing the door behind her.

“I’m back, Dongie.” She said, tired from the day’s work. When an old lady called her for an emergency, she was not expecting to get a cat out of a tree. But she did anyways because she didn't want to seem like a jerk in such a public place. It would be bad for business. Though the physical work did make the scar on her back ache a little.

As she hung her trench coat on the rack, she noticed two other people in the office. “Ah, Jiu and Bora are here.”

“Yep! Don’t sound too excited to see us! I have a day off from the hospital.”

“And I got half of the day off from the academy.”

Yubin hummed as she sat down next to Handong and wormed her way inside her girlfriend’s comfortable embrace. The younger girl closed her eyes, wanting to take a short nap before her next assignment. She could feel Handong’s lips pressing against her temple, making her relax.

“See. Total baby behavior.” The blonde commented randomly.

“Okay but have you seen Yooh around the puppies...”

--

“Thank you for your help. Your input was valuable, detective Lee.” Principal Kwon said as he signed a check off to one Lee Gahyeon. “How’s your private eye business coming along?”

“Pretty good. Yubin and I are working our butts off everyday.” Gahyeon never thought that principal Kwon would ever acknowledge her input. She was sure that he saw her as some kid, even when they were planning for the war. Speaking of which…

“How are the students at the academy?”

The old man sighed. “They’re assimilating into society again. Kim Bora being an instructor here helps a lot since she was a highly respected rank 5. If she could move on with her life as a combat instructor without the help of her powers, so could they.”

“Well, we knew that this was going to affect people who have only known how to live with their powers their whole lives. This goes for everyone else in the world as well.” The young detective paused, with a chin on her hand. “But, they’ll get over it.”

Perhaps the most surprising thing that Gahyeon witnessed since the birth of the “new age” was how the lower ranked heroes stepped up. Those people were so used to being in the underfoot of society that they learned how to adapt to normal life rather quickly. They were the first to steel themselves and burn their comrades’ remains at the pyre. She even witnessed a low ranker slapping (literally) some sense into a rank 5 hero who was distraught at not being able to fight anymore. It was a work in progress for everyone but they can do it if they put their minds to it. Humans were resilient like that.

Gahyeon skipped out the door to her next destination, elated to have gotten a hefty sum from the principal.

Crepes, here I come~

A stop at her favorite crepe stand was all she needed to elevate her mood. Gahyeon happily ate her crepe as she walked to the hospital Jiu worked at. The older girl had texted her earlier that they were all gathered at Lee’s Private Eye so she wasn’t working today.

Oh well. Gahyeon still had someone to visit there. After she finished her crepe, of course.

--

“Here for Miss Lee Siyeon, again, detective?” The nurse at the front desk had seen Siyeon’s friends so many times that she began to recognize them.

“Yup!” Gahyeon signed the visitor form and walked to the room without needing directions. A whole 3 months worth of coming here contributed to that.

After getting the okay to visit, the detective made her way over to her friend’s room. Siyeon was asleep on the bed when Gahyeon opened the door. A pot of fresh yellow flowers sat on the side table with a pitcher of water.

Ah, Bora must’ve stopped by earlier today. She thought to herself. The room itself was pretty plain so having flowers really spruced up the place. The curtains were also closed so Gahyeon drew them to allow sunlight into the room.

She sat down at the visitor chair placed at the bedside and held her friend’s cold hand. Suddenly, Gahyeon felt tired from the day’s weight. If only Siyeon were awake...the older girl has been sleeping for too long…

....

….

….

“Gahyeon?” A groggy voice from the bed.

“Oops sorry. Did I wake you?” the younger girl swept around the bed to get a glass or water prepared for the bedridden girl.

“S’okay. My nap time is almost over anyways. Thanks for dropping by on such a short notice.” Siyeon said with a yawn. She reached over to put a pair of thick glasses over her eyes.

“...And were you doing that thing again where you pretend I am dead to the world? I’ve been awake for at least 2 months now.”

“No? Hehe.” Siyeon narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Gahyeon grinned at her longtime friend. “Hey, Si. Physical therapy treating you well?”

The older girl beamed. “Yeah! Jiu said that I can be discharged by the end of the week! But don’t tell Bora, it’s supposed to be a surprise.”

It was nothing short of a miracle that Siyeon came back to them. At least, according to Jiu, it was a total miracle (Gahyeon was completely knocked out by the end of it). When the battle concluded with Sun’s death, Siyeon’s organs and body functions began to deteriorate at such a fast rate, there was no time to get a professional doctor to her. Jiu’s necromancy was already gone by the time the pillars and whatever Haetem/Siyeon did stopped.

(Such was the price of being an Arbitrator. It was heavy but Siyeon bore it like a true hero.)

Bora sobbed and held Siyeon close despite her own injuries sustained during battle. Her arms were completely burned from the intensity of her fire. She even attempted to lift the younger girl and get her to a medic. But the redhead was too weak to even move herself to a safer location.

But then, a portal appeared a few feet from where they were and Jiu’s Ava appeared.

(“Ava?” Jiu breathed heavily from exertion. She was attempting to revive Siyeon but to no avail. Her hands were so, so bloody.

“Jiu...” But Jiu turned her back to Ava to continue the task at hand.

“The battle is over and Sun and the pillars are gone. If you are not here to help, then please, go back and never return.” Hurt flashed through the older woman’s eyes but she approached her daughter.

She kneeled on the ground and got a good look at her child’s friends. They were all in very bad shape, especially the Arbitrator. “Kwon cut a deal with us.” At that, Jiu and Dami whipped their heads over to the woman.

“In exchange for getting rid of the pillar, we will use our