“Why’d you bring SinB-ah?” Sowon questioned Eunha as the two girls entered her apartment.

“She’s my insurance.” Insurance? Really eonnie? I recall you begging me to come with you in the event Sowon eonnie ‘seduced’ you again. SinB rolled her eyes as she began taking in the sights of the apartment.

“Alright, I don’t have a problem with that. Welcome to my humble abode.” Sowon smiled warmly. 

Ignoring Sowon, SinB kept examining the apartment, and it was small; The perfect size for a single party. SinB envied it, it was much nicer and more fitting for her tastes, and it would certainly be cheaper. The first room she examined was the kitchen, which had connected directly to the living room, a simple divider separating the two rooms. Taking extra precautions, she was sure to check every nook and cranny to deem it safe, missing the two girls who had already moved on without her. Checking every speck, every picture frame that was askew, she finally deemed the apartment safe.

She realized that her two friends were already missing from the room. She examined the apartment once more to find a hallway she somehow missed before, she could have sworn there was no hallway, but it only made sense, she thought. SinB came across three closed doors upon entering the hallway. One screamed suspicion to her due to the thousands of locks on the door—that was an exaggeration, but there were a lot. A padlock, a biometric scanner... What is so vital that you need multiple locks? She began quenching her suspicion by reaching for the handle before Sowon called out to her.

“SinB-ah!” Startled by the unexpected sound, SinB her heels, now facing Sowon. The same smile from earlier plastered on her face as if it had been glued on.

“Taking a liking to the place?” She asked.

“A-ah, yeah.” SinB took a gulp of air before quickly responding. 

“Good! I’m glad you aren’t displeased!” 

“N-No, of course not! You have a wonderful home!” It took some time for SinB to regain her composure. On a regular day, it would have been no problem, but a regular day rarely included snooping in somebody’s house. SinB enjoyed doing things from a distance, not getting too close to people, staying far away and taking aim from a safe distance. 

“My room is this way, Eunha is already making herself comfortable,” Sowon spoke up. The nerves had dissipated and SinB was back to herself as she slowly followed Sowon into her room. 

“Finally.” Eunha snorted, but Sowon’s smile never left her face–she seemed ecstatic to have visitors. In a way, it warmed SinB’s heart, perhaps because she herself might not hate a visitor or two, but that was impossible.

“Make yourself at home, SinB-ah.” 

“Thank you.” This was a fresh experience for SinB since she hadn’t even visited Yerin’s home and was far more willing to experiment with the new freedom there. After scanning the area for a place to sit, SinB found a vacant chair adjacent to the bed that Eunha occupied. Once SinB got comfortable but still alert, she noticed Eunha taking far more comfort in this girl’s apartment. It made SinB happy that she was opening up to someone, but worried that she was letting her guard down too fast. She wondered that maybe Eunha had been running for so long, that she may have been subconsciously craving for something like this to happen.

“So, Eunha-yah, I heard you’re smart—supposedly.” Sowon started.

“Incredibly smart,” Eunha answered coldly. Jeez Eunha, pick an emotion and stick with it, would you? You can’t be so comfortable one second, and then extremely cold the next—unless your comfort is a façade. But it didn’t look like one to SinB, Eunha looked as if she were in the comfort of her own home.

“You claim to be ‘incredibly smart’, but you sleep in class? How can you expect to learn anything if you are doing something like that?” Eunha rolled her eyes, a look of boredom present on her face.

“Do I look like I care? I sleep in class; it doesn’t affect you, so it shouldn’t matter.” 

“Shouldn’t matter!?” Sowon stood up fast, raising her voice. “Eunha-yah, your future is on the line! Doesn’t that worry you? You’re wasting time sleeping when you should be learning!” Eunha chuckled under her breath, getting a kick out of the rising annoyance in Sowon. SinB sighed, becoming increasingly frustrated by the second.

“Didn’t you know that you learn better when you sleep?” Sowon rubbed her temples, Eunha knew she was taking it too far, but she wasn’t about to stop.

 “While it’s true you can learn in your sleep, you don’t learn any better, nor do you retain all the information.” Sowon huffed loudly. 

“Do you not want a happy future?” The two girls stayed silent, SinB glanced over to observe Eunha’s reaction who had been gripping the bedside. Her lips began moving, but if she was saying anything, SinB and Sowon couldn’t hear it.

“What was that?” Sowon seemed increasingly interested in what Eunha had to say, and it was worrying SinB by an alarming amount. 

“I said that I don’t care. I’ll be fine. Sleeping in some classes won’t hurt me.” Her voice was low and cracking slightly, but Sowon didn’t seem to notice. 

“But it will! You are so unbelievably stubborn!” She let out a sigh and slumped back onto the bed, making the smaller raise briefly. SinB was grateful that Sowon stopped; she wasn’t sure how much more Eunha could take. Their ‘future’ was uncertain, and the last thing they needed was another reminder of that.

The two on the bed went straight into studying after the heat died down. SinB’s eyes drifted to her phone, preparing to scroll through the latest news. Before she could unlock it, she got a text from Yerin. Just seeing her name on the blaring screen was enough to bring a smile to her face. But it just as quickly left as it reminded her of the predicament from weeks ago. There was this polarity Yerin had on SinB. She had no way to describe the feeling, but it made her mind reel. She stared at the screen, attempting incessantly to qualm her fears and raging mind. There was a war raging within her; the decision was much tougher than it should have been. Was there even a right decision? Yerin deserved someone who didn’t lie, didn’t kill, and someone who would never hurt her. SinB did all of those things, she was all of those things, and she hated herself for it. All she had ever done was lie to Yerin, to say you trusted someone with all your heart, but you could never tell them the truth. All SinB saw was a pathetic loser.

Another message broke her from her thoughts.

YR: SinB-ah!

YR: Let’s have drinks after work.

The smile came back as soon as she read the text, the war ceasing briefly.

SB: What are we celebrating?

YR: Nothing! This case is driving me nuts.

SB: alright, nutty, I’ll pick you up at the usual time. Maybe I can help you crack this case.

YR: Thanks, but you’d need fast reflexes to catch this one.

Yes, because a mercenary doesn’t have fast enough reflexes. Yerin didn’t know, but it still made SinB chuckle.

───────────

“Eonnie, how? Why did you get involved with something so dangerous?” Umji expected Eunha and SinB to be reckless, but not Yuju. Yuju was the victim of this sticky case, and it was Umji’s job as a detective to press her for answers. Sure, she wasn’t the most honest detective, but she respected confidentiality.

“Umji-yah, he has something I need.” Yuju admitted.

“He?” 

“I’m sorry, I can’t tell you who.” From the look on her face, she was probably forced to keep quiet; it wouldn’t be easy to get information out of her, even if Umji was her friend.

“Right, the predicament you’re in is a real pain. You shouldn’t have involved yourself in the first place.” ‘He’ stood out to Umji, the clan wasn’t a he no matter how you cut it. She couldn’t be happier knowing she might not be involved with them despite prior suspicions. She didn’t want to get her hopes up since the Pyeonghwa clan still could be part of the case, but it was significantly less probable now. It was good for everyone–except Yuju.

“Be careful, eonnie.”  Umji continued.

“I’m protected, no one’s gonna hurt me. Don’t worry your pretty little head.” 

“Who’s protecting you?” This struck odd with Umji, Yuju wasn’t part of some powerful family or group as far as she was aware.

“You, of course.” That most definitely wasn’t what she was alluding to, Umji was certain.

“Who am I kidding, people would be too scared by how weird you are, they wouldn’t even think of touching you.” Umji confessed, chuckling under her breath.

“Excuse you. I am not scary.” 

“Okay, weirdo.” The two girls laughed, a weight being lifted off of Umji’s shoulders. The possibility that the clan was after Yuju was diminishing, but it didn’t change the fact she could still get hurt, and Umji refused to let that happen.

“Yuju-ssi, we shouldn’t talk anymore.” As soon as Umji met her eyes, everything halted. To see Yuju so heartbroken was paralyzing, and knowing she caused it, Umji felt dead. She didn’t look worried or scared, she didn’t even seem hurt. There was an emptiness in her eyes, like a daughter who had just witnessed her mother’s murder. Umji forgot how to use her humanly functions, staring at nothing and unable to breathe. 

“Umji-yah,” Yuju called, but she couldn’t speak.

“I don’t want to lose you.” She forced out, “You’re..” Tears began falling from Yuju’s eyes, and the moment they started, they wouldn’t stop. “My only friend... I” Trying her best to clear before continuing. “I couldn’t... bare it… if I was left…” She took a deep breath, “Again.” again?

Upon hearing how broken she sounded, Umji’s resolve broke. Her only thought was Yuju, and how someone could be so cruel to leave her; she almost made the same mistake. Without hesitation, she pulled Yuju into a hug.

“Eonnie. I won’t leave you. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” Even if it means you get involved. Umji couldn’t have known that Yuju had a fear of abandonment. She didn’t disclose much about herself, which posed red flags, but it wasn’t like Umji was any different.

“Am I... that pathetic?” Pathetic? No. Scared, maybe. 

“If you don’t want to stay friends with me, you don’t have to. I’m just being selfish.” Umji stayed silent while Yuju spilled out her heart, but the tear-stained face of her closest friend tore Umji’s protective walls layer-by-layer.

“No, I want to. You’re my friend, and that wasn’t fair to you. But maybe we should limit the time we spend together... for now.” She couldn’t leave Yuju, but maybe she could separate herself from her, with the case as an excuse. “Just as long as this case goes on, we don’t want anyone getting suspicious of you hanging around a detective.” Umji winked, stifling a shared giggle with Yuju. 

“Alright, I better get back to the office, Yerin eonnie might get suspicious why I’ve been out so long.” Yuju grabbed onto Umji’s sleeve before she could leave.

“Please don’t tell Yerin eonnie what I told you. I’m telling you as a friend.” Umji shot her a smile. “Don’t worry. There’s a lot Yerin eonnie doesn’t know. I’ll keep it from her.” She didn’t bother checking Yuju’s expression as she left, sighing. There’s a lot you don’t know either, eonnie.

───────────

Walking into the office, a slew of scattered papers greeted Umji. Even though the place was fairly new, the careless detectives still covered the place in documents. The desks were scattered somewhat, but that didn’t matter to the wild articles that flurried. Rolling her eyes, she walked through the mess, careful not to step on any papers that had made their way onto the floor. As soon as she reached Yerin’s desk, hers was the worst of them all, papers all over the desk as she scanned each one intricately. This case was wracking both of their brains to no end.

“Oh good, Umji-yah, can you do the briefing?” Yerin asked without even lifting her head.

“On? I literally just got here, eonnie.” Bags were dressing her eyes, she looked tired and manic, Umji couldn’t blame her on not being 100 percent there at that moment.

“The extortion case,” She groaned. 

“Eonnie, are you sick? You look tired. You should rest. I’ll take care of the case.” The fewer people involved, the better. It didn’t matter if