Morning unnie,” Chaeyoung marches into the kitchen, their little space looked like it had been hit by a tornado, with pots and pans, spices, and her unnie with flour on her cheek while looking through her phone. But Chaeyoung just brushes it off, going over the cabinet for her cereals. “You look busy today.”

“I’m researching for the best fried chicken recipe out there.”

“Oh yeah! Fried chicken for breakfast!” Lisa pops up from the couch, arms pumped up in happiness. The Thai dancer living it up on her bestfriend’s couch during these days.

“Oh, ummm well, actually it’s for one of the houses I’m going too.”

“Oh, unnie is this the one where you see the immortal Goddess in?”

The two younger girls knew exactly who their unnie is talking about. The image is still so fresh on their mind, when a few days ago, Day 1 of quarantine life, their Wendy unnie came back to their apartment and plops herself on the floor (she wants to plop in the couch, but don’t want to contaminate anything) and just dreamily starts murmuring about Goddesses smiling and the best thing in this time.

They’re already on Day 7, and it looks like the little crush turned into a full blown like.

“So, she’s immortal and a Goddess, so that means she can’t get covid-19?” Lisa asks in wonder.

“I didn’t mean literally. I meant with how she looks and she acts like a Goddess. She takes really good care of her dongsaengs, I just…” she lets out a lovelorn sigh once again. “I feel like I’ll be abusing my power as a case officer if I try to ask her out.”

“Oh, unnie. You can be like, if you want to see your hand sanitizer again, you better get me a date after lockdown.”

“I’m not going to hold her hand sanitizer hostage,” Wendy protested, “I take their temperature, make sure they’re doing alright.”

“Well, then, unnie maybe you can ask her out after?” Chaeyoung this time offers her dating know how, though in reality she’s just as bad at this dating game too.

“I don’t know. I can’t even talk to her.” Wendy sighs heavily, looking around her kitchen littered with flour, breading, spices, all to somehow make the Goddess in room 48 feel special. “I can’t remember what my life is without her.”

Chaeyoung and Lisa exchanged looks, the two girls turning green from all the cheesy spewing out of their unnie’s lips.

“Unnie,” Lisa cups the shorter girl’s slumped shoulders and shook her to the point that Wendy heard her bone crack. “As corny as what you said you was, I can totally relate. Cause when I found my only one, I knew… I knew!” She looks at Chaeyoung who just roll her eyes and focus on her true love, food, “That he’s the one, so the first time I saw him, I told him… hey…”

Lisa wiggled her brows like the greasy er that she is,

“Are you from South Korea? cause you’re my Seoul mate.”

“Oh my God…” Chaeyoung clutches her forehead, feeling an impending headache from all this.

Her unnie looks impressed though, from either Lisa’s uber confidence or from that greasy line actually working.

“Oh wow. Did it work?”

“Ummm… he told me he’s from China. But long story short, it made him laugh, and though it’s in my expense, still I got my man because I put myself out there.”

The world is truly ending if her unnie is taking advice from Lisa. But as cartoonish Lisa could be sometimes, Chaeyoung knows that Lisa does have a point. You have to put yourself out there for people who you think is worth it.

“What can I say?” the case officer asks meekly.

“Just tell her, Areumdawo sarangseureowo Geurae neo, hey, geurae baro neo, hey”

“Wait… did you just recite a line from Gangnam style?”

“I did.” Lisa says proudly. “I’m just saying that with the right swag, anything you say can win the heart of anyone, even an immortal Goddess.”

Chaeyoung looks over her unnie and a feeling of dread rises along her spine as she saw her unnie’s expression. Wendy Son is actually considering Lisa’s advice.

“Well,” Chaeyoung walks over to the sink, washing her bowl. “I’m heading to work, good luck on your day, unnie.”

Chaeyoung says with a sigh, cause if anyone needs luck, it’s going to be her.

***

“Hello, good morning, Welcome to Starblanks Coffee, I’m Seulgi, what can I get for you today?”

“Oh, just some venti green tea for me.”

There’s a tinge of disappointment on the customer from the other line, but her voice still sounds like it’s dipped in honey.

“Okay, venti green tea. anything else?”

“Oh. I don’t know if you have it available on your menu.”

“We probably don’t.” Seulgi says earnestly, blinking those almond eyes with such pureness.

“But I just saw the most delicious thing in your store,” There was a pause on the other line, as if she’s building the anticipation before she says the name, “Park Chaeyoung.”

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…” Seulgi glances over the other barista. The taller girl looks busy rearranging the baked goods in alphabetical order. “I don’t know if she’s going to taste good, she’s kinda skinny. It’s probably like eating chicken feet.”

Chaeyoung and Joy snaps their head over to their unnie’s direction.

“Seulgi unnie,” Joy quickly warns, pulling away from her intense game of Animal Crossing to put a stop to whatever their naïve unnie is getting herself into. “I know you’re my unnie but if you try like what you did last week-”

“This girl is asking about Chaeyoung-”

Chaeyoung turns away from the blueberry muffin, walking over to the older barista. She narrows her eyes to look over the monitor, but when she saw who it is, black cap and black Porsche, she turns into a woman possessed.

“Oh my God, it’s her. I’ll take care of this.” Chaeyoung was never the aggressive type, but she almost rips out the headset out of poor Seulgi’s head. “It’s you again.”

“Oh, hey there Rosie,” The voice on the other side of the monitor, doesn’t sound so disappointed anymore. She almost sound too delighted. “I was just asking that cute teddy bear barista about you. How are you?”

“I was doing okay until you drive by.”

The other girl didn’t seem bothered at all, instead she just laughs like she just read a meme of Tiger King.

When her chuckles slow down, she ramped up that iness in her voice again, “Always so feisty.”

“Well, you got me now. What do you want?”

“Chaeyoung…” Seulgi says meekly, surprise and at the same time scared less on how her good natured, sweet dongsaeng could be so riled up. “It’s okay. I’ll talk her.”

“You don’t know who this is, unnie.”

“Fine. Go get the tea, unnie. I’ll take care of this.” Joy says in exasperation, shooing the teddy bear away. “Hi, I’m Joy I’m the manager here.”

“Hi. One of your employees asked me what I would like, and I told her I would love Park Chaeyoung.”

Chaeyoung’s jaw drop at the audacity of this… this honey voice driving a sports car.

“Excuse me,” Chaeyoung steps in again. “You could probably buy all your girls with your fancy car, and that y voice, but you, whoever you are, got it wrong, I can’t be bought.”

“But I can…” Joy pipes in,

“Unnie… don’t do this.” Chaeyoung pleads through clenched teeth.

But all the girl had to do is raise her finger with her black card dangling on it and Joy forget where her alliance lies.

“Wait… is that a black card?” Seulgi’s jaw drop, as she brought the green tea in. “Like what Yoon Sera use to buy Captain Ri’s clothes with?”

“Yes, my dear unnie. So, how much can we charge?”

“Unnie,” Chaeyoung gasps, “Are you pimping me out?”

“It’s a black card, it doesn’t have any limits.”

“Wait… does that mean, you’re gonna pay me money instead of cinnamon buns?” Seulgi’s eyes got a little misty. She loves cinnamon buns but after eating it for breakfast, lunch and dinner and two snacks for three days straight, Seulgi feels like if covid-19 doesn’t get her, diabetes will.

“Well, I was planning to mix it up next week and pay you with cheese Danish unnie, but sure.” Joy reassures her, with a pat on the head. She snaps her head over her other employee. “See, Chaeng. See how happy Seulgi unnie is. Do you want to break her heart?”

It was clearly two against one and Chaeyoung knows she’s ultimately defeated. She can try to fight back against Joy, but she has such a soft spot for her pure hearted teddy bear unnie.

“When was the last time you went out on a date, Chaeng?”

“Unnie… don’t do this.” Chaeyoung isn’t going to let someone poke through her fragile dating life. But she should know better that what Joy wants, Joy will surely get.

“Chaeyoung, you go out on dates as much as Blackpink has their comebacks.”

Alright. That’s it. Chaeyoung raises her hands in surrender, if there is one thing that could make her weak, it’s when they poke the inner Blink in her. Her four talented girls deserve so much better.

“Fine. Fine.”

Even from the window, she could see how the girl’s lips curve into a deliciously scary smirk,

“Alright. I’ll see you in a week, baby.”

“B-baby?”

*

“You know what, unnie-“

After living with the teenager for all their lives, Joohyun had developed a quicker counter attack to interrupt before they could even finish whatever they have in mind.

“I really don’t want to know, Yeri so you can stop what you’re about to say.”

But obviously, the youngest in their home is suffering from selective hearing as she kept on,

“You should stop watching that show unnie, no human being like that exist.”

“I know that…” Joohyun says in defeat, “Doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy it.”

Yeri places her hand on her older cousin’s shoulder, her doe eyes filled with both mischief and sympathy.

“You’re already thirty, watching this show will just raise your already high standards.”

“There’s nothing wrong with having standards, Yeri. You’re still twelve-,”

“I’m nineteen…” Yeri corrected her.

Joohyun’s lips hinted in a smirk, if there is one thing that could piss Yeri off, it’s her age.

“-after this quarantine you could still go out and date whoever you want. But at the end of it, your standard is what is going to set you apart. If you just settle for whoever, it’s like you’re saying to yourself you don’t deserve better.”

Well, that sure turned the little demon into a stuttering mess. Speaking of little demon,

“Jisoo?” She calls out for younger sister. Most of the time her sister is harmless, all she just has to do is start her mobile game and Jisoo goes down, down, down the rabbit hole. Joohyun is making sure her little sister doesn’t look like she just came from a zombie apocalypse.

“Jisoo get off your game now, come here.”

She heard some scuffling inside her sister’s bedroom until she came out with a remote control red car. Should she even ask?

“Why do you have that?”

“I bought it for my nephew.” She said it so easily, while racing her Lightning McQueen through their tables and chairs.

God damn it, Joohyun starts massaging her temples,

“Congratulations unnie!” Yeri pipes in. “I guess that’s why you’re more emotional these days.”

Save by the doorbell,

“The food is here!” Jisoo abandons her new toy but before she could jump out. Joohyun was quicker in getting to the door.

“Oh ummm, ahhh Hi Ms. Bae.” Says the too adorable case officer with that familiar box in her hand.

“Just Joohyun is okay,” She took the box away, they both froze when their hands slightly touch.

“I…I… I sanitize my hand, Ms. Bae. I promise my hand is clean.”

Joohyun chuckles, not one of those bitter chuckles when she wonders to God, why is she with Jisoo and Yeri. But a good chuckle, she needed that and this cute case officer and her clumsiness just does it so easily. “Don’t worry. It’s okay,”

“So, I have like the breaded chicken,” Wendy says proudly, “So all you have to do is fry it and voila you get the best fried chicken.”

“Thank you. I’m pretty sure Jisoo and Yeri will appreciate it.”

“Oh… ummm… there’s 6 pieces. Two for each one of you.”

“Well, I’m actually allergic to it.”

“Oh what now-“

The case officer’s face looked stumped. All her effort of researching, cooking and taste testing to which fried chicken is worth of Bae Joohyun is unexpectedly shut down. What can she do now?

“Oh, okay, ummm… ahhh, I hope they can enjoy it. Let me just get your temperatures and I’ll be out of your way.”

She has 7 days, seven more days left before she runs out of reasons to go see Ms. Bae.

It’s now or never…

“You know what, Ms. Bae, sometimes you got me feelin like a psycho.”

Oh … of all the red velvet songs she has to use, she used the one that’s going to land her in jail or a restraining order. The three girls all looked at her with shock expression. A rare protective look from the younger girls, Jisoo raises her arms, like she’s going to karate chop her face and Yeri is trying to glare her to death.

Oh God, that turned terribly wrong, reverse, reverse.

“Psycho- got me feelin like a psycho is my favorite Red Velvet song. W-w-what’s yours?”

She fakes a laugh that made her sound like she’s wheezing. The three beauties softened up, now debating whether they should call an ambulance for her.

“Oh, I like Bad Boy, mostly their B sides,” The eldest of the three says,

“Oh, that’s good to know. Well… I’m gonna go ahead,”

She took the temperature of the younger girls. Jisoo quickly returns inside with her toy in hand. Kim Yeri the youngest one leaned over for a split second, whispering what sounds like gibberish in her ear.

The case officer steps back, bowing politely with a more relieved expression on her pretty face.

She walks away with a smile, armed with a new knowledge about the girl she’s been adoring for days,

“She likes tteokbokki.”

TBC

Hope you guys enjoy! More stories and fic updates coming this week. Stay safe everyone!