Joy leaned against the window of the taxi, sobbing uncontrollably into her hand that covered . The cab driver repeatedly asked her if she was okay.

 

She scolded herself for being so emotional in front of a stranger but the crushing feeling of disappointment overwhelmed the tall, outspoken woman to know the object of her affection was in love with another and she stood no chance.

 

"Should've said yes when Wendy wrote the letter," Joy mumbled as a new wave of tears blurred her vision as her heart clenched in pain.

 

"We are here young lady!," the driver announced from the front seat. He shot her a concerned look through the rearview mirror. "Is there anyone you would like me to call?"

 

Joy wiped her nose with a tissue from her handbag.

 

"N-no t-thank you.....I'll be fine," she replied avoiding eye contact as she extended her arm to pay the fare with paper currency.

 

The driver flashed a warm smile as he took the money.

 

Joy opened the taxi door and stepped onto the pavement.

 

"Please take care of yourself," he said before he drove away.

 

The tall intern grinned as she clutched her winter coat close to her.

 

Her phone fumbled from her hands and landed on the ground with a hard crack sound.

 

"GREAT WHAT NOW!," Joy screamed bending over to retrieve her broken phone from the ground.

 

She panicked as a second set of hands reached for her phone with the spiderweb crack screen.

 

"Sorry about your phone but if you don't mind I have a friend who works at an Apple store who could fix this for you," the mysterious stranger replied.

 

Joy's breath hitched as she came face to face with one of the most popular girls on campus.

 

"Y-You're, you're.....," Joy attempted to speak but her words were caught in .

 

"Kang Seulgi, part of Phi Beta Phi, is that what you were going to say?," the sorority member smiled.

 

The tall intern nodded her head yes with agape.

 

Seulgi delicately placed the phone in Joy's hand.

 

"It's late so is your dorm nearby?," Seulgi asked eyeing the streaked eye make-up on beautiful stranger's face.

 

Joy pointed to the nearest stairwell, "Yes just a few feet away."

 

"Mind if I walk you?," Seulgi offered rocking on the balls of her feet.

 

Joy was speechless to observe the shyness that such a popular and attractive woman was presenting.

 

"Sure.....wait what about you?," Joy asked. "The Phi Beta Phi house is six blocks away."

 

Seulgi pulled out a stun gun, clicked on the power button, and let the device crackle to life.

 

The tall intern jumped back in shock.

 

"You have nothing to worry about," Seulgi reassured. She smiled to the point her eyes turned into crescent moons.

 

A warm feeling filled Joy's chest.

 

"Lead the way," Seulgi instructed allowing Joy to walk a few inches ahead.

 

Both women were too nervous to initiate conversation until Seulgi cleared with a cough.

 

"So unless I'm mistaken, you didn't tell me your name," Seulgi said hoping she didn't come across as too forward.

 

Joy stopped walking wanting to slap herself for being so rude. 

 

"Sorry my name is Park Sooyoung but I go by Joy for short," Joy replied facing the sorority member.

 

Seulgi looked directly into Joy's warm brown eyes.

 

"Joy, I like the sound of that," Seulgi said letting the name roll off her tongue.

 

Joy smiled as she quickly darted her eyes to the ground as her face was covered in blush.

 

"So pretty," Seulgi said in her head.

 

The university students walked in silence to the stairwell stealing looks at each other.

 

Joy turned to face Seulgi.

 

"So this is the building where my dorm is.....," Joy knew the conversation had to end here.

 

Seulgi played with her fingers, "I was wondering how come I haven't seen you on campus until now?"

 

Joy shrugged her shoulders, "Maybe fate? Or maybe we have different majors? So which building do you spend the most time in?"

 

"I'm a music major and you?," Seulgi asked.

 

"Broadcasting," Joy answered.

 

"So that explains it," Seulgi smirked.

 

"Yeah," Joy blushed.

 

Seulgi took a loose strand of hair that covered Joy's right eye and tucked it behind her ear. Joy's eyes bulged and she stared at the monolid girl puzzled.

 

Seulgi chuckled, "Sorry didn't mean to surprise you but your eyes are really nice and I wanted to get one last look at them before you head upstairs."

 

Joy blushed and patted her cheeks, "I bet my complexion is fire engine red from all of the compliments you are paying me."

 

Seulgi laughed, "Are you saying you don't deserve it?,"

 

Joy shamefully shook her head, "Not with the way I've been behaving lately."

 

Seulgi rubbed the younger woman's shoulder, "Get some rest and we can talk about it tomorrow."

 

Joy furrowed her eyebrows, "How do you know I will see you again? We study different majors, you live in a sorority house while I live in a dorm, and I would say we met by chance at best so we may never see each other again since the campus is huge."

 

Joy froze when she saw the twinkle in Seulgi's eyes.

 

"Who says we can't change that? Here take my phone and type your number in so we can stay in touch unless you don't trust a mysterious stranger you met late at night after your heartbreaking cab ride home," Seulgi said placing her phone in the younger woman's unsuspecting hands.

 

Joy started to type her number but stopped.

 

"Wait! How did you figure out that I was heartbroken?," Joy replied cocking her eyebrow.

 

Seulgi laughed, "You aren't the only girl I asked out who just went through a break-up."

 

Joy went back to typing, "Hold up! What did you say?!"

 

Seulgi held up her arms to shield her face, "I'm joking! C'mon have a sense of humor!"

 

"You better be joking!," Joy threatened swinging Seulgi's phone at her arm.

 

Seulgi ducked and ran in circles, "Take it easy! My friend can only fix one phone at a time!"

 

Joy laughed, "I wasn't going to break your phone. Here take it."

 

Seulgi's fingers brushed against Joy's hand, "Thanks."

 

Both women stood in silence staring.

 

"I better get some sleep as should you," Joy said.

 

Seulgi scratched the back of her neck, "Yeah you're right so I guess this is goodnight."

 

Joy smiled, "Thank you for making my night better."

 

It was as if time stood still as Joy slowly closed the distance between the two students to place a light peck on Seulgi's cheek.

 

Tingles traveled throughout Seulgi's body and she touched her cheek after Joy pulled away.

 

"I hope to hear from you," Joy whispered in Seulgi's ear before pulling away.

 

Seulgi watched Joy sway her hips to the stairwell before she climbed the stairs, she turned to direct a flirty wave at the sorority member.

 

As soon as Joy entered her dorm, her phone vibrated with a new message.

 

Sweet dreams, beautiful. xoxo Seulgi

 

A warm smile decorated Joy's face as she held the phone close to her chest.

 

 

 

 

Irene woke to a light shaking of her arm.

 

"Mmmm.....I'll get up soon," she groaned.

 

Wendy snickered, "Babe you must be so uncomfortable so lay right beside me instead of sleeping in the chair."

 

The meteorologist rubbed the grogginess from her eyes.

 

The blonde lifted the thin blanket to make space for her girlfriend to lay down.

 

Irene walked to the right side of the bed and climbed in carefully as to not knock one of the wires out of place. The raven hair woman glanced at the time on her Apple watch.

 

"3:15am," she yawned. She sent a text to the producer to inform the news studio she was taking a personal day today as she didn't have the energy to complete a broadcast while being sleep deprived.

 

"Do you have to leave to get ready for work?," Wendy asked in a soft voice.

 

Irene smiled as she placed her phone on the bedside table.

 

"I'm taking a personal day so I can sleep but more importantly spend time with you," Irene replied as she slowly laid down next to Wendy in the small single size bed.

 

Wendy swallowed the lump in , "I hope you won't get into trouble for calling out."

 

Irene caressed her girlfriend's cheek, "I don't think it will be an issue besides the CEO owes me."

 

The meteorologist's expression turned stern recalling how CEO Ahn purposely set her up to be harassed by Yang Hyunsuk.

 

The blonde eyed her girlfriend suspiciously, "Is everything okay, babe?"

 

Irene faked a smile, "Yeah of course because I'm here with you."

 

Wendy wasn't convinced her girlfriend was telling the truth but decided to save the topic for further discussion tomorrow morning.

 

Wendy extended her left arm for Irene to lay on and the raven hair woman snuggled into the small woman's embrace.

 

"I missed you so much last night," Irene whispered into the blonde's ear. Wendy felt a teardrop on her collarbone as the meteorologist nuzzled her nose into her neck.

 

The small intern stopped herself from asking more questions as she felt the rise and fall of her girlfriend's chest and a light snore.

 

"Once I recover I'll do whatever I can to protect you," Wendy thought. She stared into the dark room and listened to the steady beeping of the monitors until her eyelids felt heavy.

 

 

Earlier That Night

 

Sunny was in a deep slumber when her phone rang continuously. She let it ring until the voicemail picked up but the caller waited to call again.

 

The store manager groaned as she placed a pillow over her head to drown out the sound but the ringing continued. She glanced at the time on the phone and her eyes bulged.

 

"12:22am! Who in the hell is calling me at this hour?!," Sunny complained as she unlocked her phone to answer the call.

 

"Yeah who is it?!," Sunny didn't mean to sound rude but her peaceful sleep was interrupted.

 

"Hello sorry to bother you but is this Lee Soonkyu, by any chance?," said a woman's voice that Sunny didn't recognize.

 

"Yes this is her," Sunny replied clearly annoyed assuming a telemarketer was calling her in the middle of the night.

 

"Before you hang up my name is Choi Sooyoung and I bartend at the Run Devil Run bar here on Hongdae Street and I ran into your friend, Hwasa who needs help getting home."

 

Sunny slapped her forehead and groaned.

 

Sooyoung replied from the other line, "If you are unable to help your friend maybe I can contact someone else, only if you know another person because she gave me your name and number to call."

 

The store manager paused as it dawned on her that she didn't form a connection with Hwasa. She didn't take the opportunity to ask the CEO if she had a boyfriend or girlfriend or any close friends. In fact, Hwasa's personal life seemed to be a mystery to Sunny since she considered the CEO a threat to the store and tried to avoid her.

 

"Excuse me, Miss? Are you still there? Should I call someone else? And do you have their number?," Sooyoung asked snapping Sunny out of her sleepy daze.

 

"No...no I'm still here. Give me 20 minutes to get ready and drive to your bar," Sunny responded stumbling out of bed. She dragged her weak body to her walk-in closet to select a pair of frayed blue jeans, gray t-shirt, and white Adidas shell toe sneakers.

 

Sunny entered the bathroom to splash cold water on her face, carefully insert her prescription contact lenses, run a comb through her hair, and put a dash of mascara on her eyelashes.

 

She gave herself a look from head to toe, "Decent enough for going out in the middle of the night."

 

She grabbed her handbag and car keys from the coffee table and walked out of the front door.

 

"Hwasa owes me big time," Sunny mumbled under her breath. "My store better get a passable evaluation grade."

 

Sunny started the ignition once inside her 2016 white Kia Optima. She typed the address of the bar into the GPS and drove in the direction of Hongdae Street.

 

 

 

The Shilla 

 

Mrs. Shon was nursing a scotch at the hotel bar for as exhausted as she felt she had a hard time getting any rest as her thoughts were consumed with her daughter's fragile condition. 

 

"I hope the investigators come across some evidence that holds the staff accountable," she said in her head. She took another sip of the bitter liquor letting the toxic taste travel down .

 

An older man with a much younger woman occupied the stool a few feet away but Mrs. Shon heard every word of their conversation. The older man leaned in close to whisper into the younger woman's ear while his left hand rubbed her leg that she pushed away but continued to flirt and giggle.

 

"Hey why are you being so shy? Don't tell me you are acting like that stuck up I had to deal with earlier?," the older man asked with an ugly sneer on his face.

 

"No, no it isn't that......," the younger woman's voice trailed off as she bowed her head, shaking in fear.

 

The older man grabbed the younger woman's chin harshly to make direct eye contact.

 

"If you want your company to succeed then you will do what I say," he spat as he released the younger woman's chin.

 

The younger woman rubbed her chin in pain as her eyes filled with tears.

 

"C'mon don't cry, we are here to have fun, don't ruin the mood," he turned back to the bar to gulp the cup of whiskey he ordered. "Besides look at the way you are dressed, I mean it is obvious you came here for one thing."

 

Mrs. Shon studied the young woman's outfit which was a shiny silver spaghetti strap dress that showcased her cleavage, the length was very short and when she bent over anyone would get a clear view of a silver thong, and 6 inch crisscross lace heels.

 

Wendy's mother assumed the young woman was a e.

 

The older man grabbed the younger woman's wrist roughly to sit in the empty stool next to him. The younger woman resisted and stumbled which resulted in her falling.

 

"Great! I told them not to send the stupid s to entertain me!," the older man yelled slapping the counter top.

 

Mrs. Shon feared the older man would cause harm to the younger woman so she stepped in.

 

"Yang Hyunsuk! I thought that was you!," Mrs. Shon said walking over with her scotch in hand, occupying the stool next to him.

 

The younger woman stood up with disheveled hair as Yang Hyunsuk turned to looked at Mrs. Shon. The young woman fix her dress that hiked up and her lipstick was smugged.

 

"You are free to leave young lady," Mrs. Shon ordered in a gentle tone.

 

The young woman bowed and whispered a thank you.

 

"What? You just sent away my investment for the night! What should I tell the CEO of that company?," Yang Hyunsuk his teeth while taking another gulp of whiskey.

 

"You really believe a young, naive woman like her was ready to have with an experienced businessman like yourself? And as rumor has it you like it rough like whips and chains, am I right?," Mrs. Shon whispered in a husk voi