The sound of running water and dishes clinking with the utensils resounded in the kitchen. Seulgi can hear the murmur of the television in the living room.

“Oh! Unnie!”

She was just about to put the plates to the drying rack when she heard Joy call out and the low clink of keys meeting the table. That must be Seungwan, she thought. Seulgi quickly finished her task, removing the pink rubber gloves from her hands to meet her best friend.

“So, how was your sleepover?”

Even without seeing her girlfriend’s face, Seulgi can picture wide playful grin and crescent-shaped eyes on Joy’s face, already teasing Seungwan not even giving their friend ample time to rest. Seulgi didn’t hear Seungwan’s response, so she went over to the living room and saw Joy’s back turned from her, facing Seungwan with the coffee table in between them.

She placed a hand on Joy’s back to get her attention, her girlfriend turned to her with a frown on her face. Seulgi looked over at the hunched figure of her best friend, arms on both legs while her hands massage the back of her neck as if in pain.

“Seungwan-ah, you okay?” Seulgi asked her best friend, walking over to rub a hand on her back in comfort. It’s clear that there’s something bothering Seungwan, and having known her for years, words don’t always needed to be exchange to get her to talk – only time and patience could make her best friend open up.

“Unnie, is it something to do with Park Bogum?”

Seulgi felt her best friend stiffen, hands that’s rubbing on her neck halted from its movement.

Maybe it’s the years they’ve known each or how close they are to each other that made her keen to everything regarding both her friends – most especially, Seungwan – her best friend could lie behind her teeth or keep something from her but her actions speaks louder than the words she tried to conceal.

She looked at Joy, who sat herself beside Seungwan, sharing a look with each other, questions apparent in their furrowed eyebrows and confused orbs. She mouthed something at her girlfriend: Let her talk!

Joy shrugged her shoulders, impatience written in the slight upturn of her lips.

That’s the difference between her and Joy. While she patiently waits for Seungwan to talk to her about anything that’s bothering her, Joy does the opposite. Sometimes it works, sometimes it don’t. Joy’s ability to forcefully untangle the webs of anxiety and distress from their friend can be helpful depending on whatever situation Seungwan is in.

But the thing is; they don’t really know what they’re dealing with right now.

This is beyond exes-that-doesn’t-want-to-exed or any school projects involving unhelpful groupmates that Seungwan can’t complain to their profs – which is rather annoying, to be really honest. Seungwan is too kind for her own good that she would rather do the hard labor than be talked bad for something she clearly had every right of. 

Seulgi noticed Joy nudged her best friend, clearly oblivious to the tension that she’s feeling right under her fingertips. Seungwan can be a ticking time bomb. She harbors all the negative energy to herself, tries to show to everyone, to them that she’s still smiling and fine, but the second all that pent up distress overwhelms her – well, let’s just say, it’s something Seulgi doesn’t ever wanna see. Not again.

“Hey, unnie, come o—“

“Park Bogum harassed Joohyun in her own office.”

Joy stared at Seungwan, dumbfounded, slack-jawed and unable to come up with anything to respond to that. Seulgi covered in shock the revelation was something neither of them thought of. Joy mentioned how this Bogum guy did inhuman things but to have it come out from their best friend's mouth and to actually have had it happen to someone they knew – she can feel Seungwan’s angry tension, coiled tight and just waiting to spring out to unsuspecting victims.

The way Seungwan slowly turned her head to Joy – her gaze devoid of the usual bright and warm sparkle – she gulped at the sight, fear twisting her insides. Joy had never seen her friend look this mad like she’s about to torn the world into shreds, wreck everything into pieces, leave the places she steps on in shambles. She knows of her unnie’s ability to keep everything to herself and she knows of that side of her that could will destruction if she wants to. So if she feels scared for her, its valid. Because she knows her – knows Seungwan.

"He almost her, Joy."

She's never seen her unnie so helpless, so devastated and the crack in the way her name was spoken -- like she's silently pleading for her.

Beyond that anger, that madness that shrouded her warm and kind eyes, she saw the fear and sadness and pain. Joy saw through it all and understands what Seungwan is feeling.

“Oh, unnie,” she pulled Seungwan’s arms and embraced her and Seungwan let herself be pulled towards her best friend, be comforted in ways she never knew she needed.

Joy saw Seulgi snap out of her shock induced state and immediately went over to them and joined the group hug. 

They felt Seungwan shake in between, felt the sobs that wreck through her being. Joy and Seulgi felt tears form in their eyes, the pain their best friend is feeling resonating within that small space they shared. They could only hug Seungwan tighter, hoping they could take away a bit of that weight from their best friend’s shoulder.

***

“Hello, Sunmi unnie,” Yerim greeted when the older woman picked up.
 

“Have you read my message?” she asked, pacing on the open space of her living room, biting her lips to keep her excitement. Odd, she thought, that she’d be excited to do something a far off cry from safe at all. She shook her head to keep herself from breaking into a grin and tried to muster a straight face, instead.

Their plan to defame Park Bogum would finally come into fruition with her girlfriend, Saeron, helping them out.

It’s quite simple, really.

They dig Park Bogum’s dirt (Sunmi does the hacking), she (Yeri) hypes them up and checks in on the files (some are quite, seriously, how does this guy stay under the police’s radar?), while Saeron, Saeron, Saeron, is the ace in the hole, she smirked at the thought of her girlfriend holding all the cards against the guy – and of course, protecting their identities on the sideline.

“Yeah, I read it. Are you sure this’ll work? Don’t you care if your girlfriend lose her job?” she heard Sunmi say, to which she just replied with a “Unnie, you know Saeron is literally the youngest lieutenant in their division, she’s practically on her way to a promotion.”

Sure, she’s worried for her girlfriend, too. But if there’s one thing she loves about Saeron; it’s that she loves saving Yeri’s from trouble. And girl, does she do a job at it, too. She actually has more confidence for her girlfriend that her worry seems minute when she thinks about it.

“Okay, whatever, Yerim. But,” Sunmi paused, she heard stuffs being moved around in the background, wondering what her friend is up to, “do you remember Park Joy? You know, one of those interviewees from before,” she gave an affirmative to that, nodding her head even when the older girl can’t see her.

“Well, I ran into her and we got to talk for a bit. She was actually pretty cool,” Yeri made clucking noise, impatient what her unnie is trying to get across off, “we