Under the dim moonlight, two lovers stand at the exit of the now abandoned warehouse. Bae Joohyun was an exceptional ringleader and a brilliant businesswoman while Moon Byulyi was a perfect double agent until their feelings got in the way of everything. Joohyun foresaw her downfall the day Byulyi walked back into her life and showed her what her life could’ve been like, every choice she’s made since was an attempt to chase after a world that she couldn’t have, a love that wasn’t meant for her.

 

“ You’re soft, Byulyi, “ Joohyun sighs with a tinge of sadness lingering in her voice, “ it’s what I loved most about you. “ 

 

The detective looks at the woman standing before her, she seems smaller now, more vulnerable compared to her usual icy cold facade.

 

“ I’m giving you a chance to run, Hyun, what are you doing? “ Byulyi demands, growing more anxious by the second because she knows they don’t have much time before the cops arrive.

 

When the cops arrive, it would finally mark the end of Irene Bae and the Velvet.

 

Joohyun takes a step closer to Byulyi and wraps her arms around the taller girl, it’s an action that has become so natural to her that she doesn’t even think twice. It didn’t matter if it was eight years ago or now, Joohyun has never felt this sense of belonging with anyone else.

 

“ I never wanted any of this, Byul-ah, “ Joohyun confesses as she feels her tears building up, “ I never wanted to leave you. “ 

 

Byulyi stands frozen in her spot, memories of their college days flash in her head yet the clearest memory that plays in her head is the day Bae Joohyun decided to leave her.

 

“ What? “

 

Joohyun shuts her eyes momentarily, there is no point in keeping up the lie anymore, a lie that she’s kept secret for years.

 

It happened two months after graduation. Byulyi was a month into her new job as a cop and she was just getting used to all of it with the help of Yongsun. It was a Friday evening and she had been looking forward to spending time with Joohyun all week considering how busy the CEO was. Joohyun came home much earlier and they had a casual dinner where Byulyi cooked a simple meal for the two of them. It reminded her of their days in the apartment that Joohyun shared with Yongsun.

 

So when Joohyun decides to break up out of the blue, it leaves Byulyi stunned.

 

---

 

“ We need to break up. '' Joohyun says quietly from her position on Byulyi’s chest, her head resting on the younger girl's sternum.

 

Byulyi looks down at the older girl with a slight frown, unsure if she heard things right or if this is just a ty prank that her girlfriend wanted to pull. Joohyun was never a great prankster in all the years they've known each other.

 

“ Huh? “ was all she could mumble in response to the shocking statement.

 

Joohyun avoids looking at Byulyi as she sits up, instead she stares at the wooden floors of their shared apartment. This isn’t going to be easy, she knew it, but she wasn’t prepared for how hard it was going to be.

 

“ We … I don’t think we should be together anymore, “ she continues even though everything in her body was screaming at her to stop, “ I don’t love you anymore. “

 

Byulyi feels her heart sink to the pit of her stomach as the reality of the situation hits her.

 

Bae Joohyun is breaking up with her. 

 

Every word feels like a stab to the chest and it echoes in her head for a few seconds as she tries to process it.

 

“ Where is this all coming from? Is this a prank? “ Byulyi asks with confusion and fear clouding her voice, her brows stitched tightly together.

 

Her brain tries to remember every moment she’s spent with the older girl over the past few weeks, was it something she did? Something she didn’t do? Had they become too busy to even love each other? She’s looking for questions without knowing that Joohyun held all the answers in her heart.

 

“ No, I’m serious about this, Byulyi. “

 

“ Why ..? Did I do something? What’s going on, Hyun-ah? “ The younger girl asks with desperation in her voice, this isn’t how she pictured their future.

 

Her future with Joohyun. A thought she’s had many times in the years she’s been with her, she has been so sure that Joohyun is the girl for her. That thought never wavered despite their disagreements, arguments and whatever obstacles that have gotten in their way. She slowly sees the signs, Joohyun had been more irritable and tired but she chalked it up to stress from work, not because she's fallen out of love with her. Byulyi should've known better.

 

“ It’s not you, Byul-ah, you have been sweet, loving and everything I dreamt of. But I just don’t feel the same way back and I don’t want to see you waste your life on a girl like me, “ Joohyun mutters softly, she could feel herself choking up with tears but she forces herself to swallow them.

 

She couldn’t cry, not right now. If she did, Byulyi would never believe her.

 

And she could never protect Byulyi if she didn’t leave.

 

“ A girl like you ..? Byulyi’s lips tremble as she speaks, “ What do you mean? “

 

“ A girl that doesn’t love you anymore. “ 

 

A tear rolls down Byulyi’s face as she turns to look at the smaller girl, nothing about this makes sense to her, she questions whether the past few years were even real.

 

Did Bae Joohyun even love her or was it just one-sided on her part?

 

“ I’m sorry, it’ll be better for us in the long run. “ Joohyun gets up from her spot on the couch, that was the only truth in their conversation.

 

She’s going to make things right now, she’s not going to risk letting Byulyi get hurt. She’s not going to hurt Byulyi in the future when her identity is revealed. She’s not going to let Byulyi go through the conflict of having to choose between her and her dreams.

 

She’s going to do everything she can to protect Byulyi, even if it means having to leave her.

 

The conversation ends there because Byulyi is too stunned to even form coherent sentences in her mind and Joohyun just wants to run away. She can no longer look the younger girl in the eyes, if she did, she’s not sure if she’ll break down and apologize instead. It took years for them to build their relationship and ten minutes for Joohyun to end it all. 

 

She grabs the luggage she’s packed for her business trip the next day and leaves before Byulyi could even try to stop her. Over the weeks, she’s been emptying the shared apartment of her belongings without her girlfriend, or rather, ex-girlfriend, noticing. Joohyun has been planning this for weeks and now that it’s done, there’s no weight being lifted off her chest, if anything, it's only gotten more suffocating.

 

But Joohyun believes that she’s doing it because she loves her, that it’ll all be worth it as long as she’s safe.

 

Byulyi will be safe as long as she's not with me, she thinks.

 

Byulyi doesn’t move from her spot for hours, she stares blankly at the spot that Joohyun sat in a few hours ago. Her eyes dart around the apartment but all she can see are traces of her. She doesn’t cry either because she doesn’t believe that this is real.

 

How could Joohyun have fallen out of love with her so abruptly? Why didn’t they talk more before this? The suddenness of the whole situation leaves a gaping hole in Byulyi’s chest, she doesn't know what to feel or what to do.

 

If there’s one thing she knows about Joohyun, it’s that she has never lied to her.

 

Bae Joohyun has fallen out of love with Moon Byulyi.

 

---

 

“ Back when I graduated, I took over my family’s business, it included both legal and illegal ones, “ Joohyun began to explain softly, “ I never knew about my family’s illegal businesses until I took over. “ 

 

Byulyi stares at her with narrowed eyes, breathing slowly as she takes in every word the ringleader has to say. She’s changed over the years, she’s not the young girl that Joohyun left behind like it was nothing.

 

“ I tried as much as I could to leave but things weren’t easy. If I made one wrong move, dangerous people would come after my family … They would come after you, “ Joohyun’s tears begin to well up in her eyes, “ I had no choice but to stay. “

 

“ So you chose to leave me instead, “ the detective nods, she understands the situation but she couldn’t help but feel her anger boiling.

 

She feels the hurt from years ago resurfacing along with all her thoughts. She’s angry that Joohyun didn’t even think to share her troubles, that somehow, the years they spent together didn’t seem to matter when Joohyun made her choice.

 

“ Byul-ah … “ the older woman’s voice trembles, “ I just wanted to protect you ... I wanted to avoid this situation, I hope you understand that. “ 

 

“ You didn’t, “ Byulyi responds coldly before exploding, “ I didn’t spend months, maybe even years, wondering how it all went wrong only for you to come back years later to say that it was all a lie! “ 

 

She pushes Joohyun away and glares at the girl she used to love, holding her firmly by the shoulders as she in a deep breath. Joohyun jumps at her sudden explosion, swallowing nervously as she watches the detective process her emotions.

 

“ Would it have been easier if we stayed together?”  Joohyun asks, letting her tears fall freely, there isn’t a point in holding anything back anymore, her icy facade falls away with every word, “ Would it have been easier if the situation had been ‘my girlfriend of eight years, who’s a detective, has to arrest me because I run the biggest gang in Seoul’? “

 

Her words seem to have an impact on the detective because she shuts her eyes tightly, as if it’ll block out Joohyun’s words. The ringleader continues anyway, all the worries and thoughts that she had to think through before she rationalized that the only way to protect Byulyi was to break up with her.

 

“ Would it have been easier to have hitmen come after us? Would you want to spend your days worrying about how you could die just because you were important to me? Would you rather see my body on an icy table in the morgue? “

 

Byulyi squeezes her shoulders tightly, looking down at her feet. Joohyun is right, perhaps this is the easier route even if it didn’t feel like it. She wonders if in another reality, a reality where Joohyun doesn’t leave her, that there’s an alternative ending, one that doesn’t involve her arrest. A reality where Bae Joohyun and Moon Byulyi could be more than a pair of heartbroken lovers.

 

Byulyi snaps out of it as she remembers why she even went back to Joohyun again and she’d choose this reality any day. At least in this reality, she gets to love another in the trail of anguish that Bae Joohyun left.

 

" It wouldn't, would it? " Joohyun scoffs cynically, " I would do anything to see you alive and well, even if it hurt you, because anything is better than a world without you! Even if I have to love you from a distance, it's okay because at the end of the day, you're still here and it's all that matters to me ... "

 

“ It might have been harder, but it’s no excuse for what you did either, “ Byulyi says after a moment of silence, “ why didn’t you even try to tell me? “

 

Joohyun shoots her a wry smile, “ Would you have let me leave so easily? “

 

Byulyi purses her lips and exhales slowly, she knows that the Byulyi she was back then would’ve chosen Bae Joohyun over anything. The Byulyi she was back then lived and breathed for her.

 

But the Byulyi now knows that there’s so much more to life than one person.

 

“ I would’ve tried to make things work … “ she scoffs under her breath. 

 

She’s feeling a lot of things right now, but she stops herself from overthinking because the last thing she can do for her ex-girlfriend is to provide proper closure. There is no time for her to let out all her emotions when she hears the blaring sirens in the distance. Over the year they’ve spent together, Byulyi could feel how much their sudden break up back then has affected Joohyun’s life. Time has tormented her enough for the choices she’s made, the younger girl didn’t need to torment her further.

 

“ We don’t have much time left, Hyun-ah, so I’ll make this quick, “ the detective says seriously, “ I was hurt and angry for a long time, but this second time with you has made me realise that we wouldn’t work even if we wanted to. “

 

Joohyun looks at Byulyi as she sniffles, if she knew back then that no matter what she did, they’d end up in this situation again, she would’ve taken the risk to stay with her for as long as she could.

 

She would have held on and given the detective all the love she deserved until she couldn’t.

 

“ Our paths always seem to go against each other, maybe it is our fate to be so perfectly incompatible. “ Byulyi muses quietly as she wipes away the tears on the older girl’s face, no one could cry their eyes out and still look as beautiful as her.

 

This earns a pained chuckle from Joohyun, “ The Moon Byulyi I knew didn’t believe in fate. “

 

“ I’m not the Moon Byulyi you left behind even though you’re still the Bae Joohyun I know, “ Byulyi smiles sadly, “ you’ve got a chance to become a different Bae Joohyun now. “ 

 

The tiny ringleader purses her lips and draws in a deep breath, she doesn’t deserve this kindness from Byulyi, not after everything she’s done.

 

“ Go and start a new life, Hyun-ah, “ Byulyi says sincerely, “ don’t waste your life on a girl like me. “

 

“ A girl like you ..? “ Joohyun questions, feeling a sense of déjà vu when the detective speaks but she’s not exactly sure why.

 

“ A girl who doesn’t love you anymore, “ the younger girl smiles sadly, remembering the same line that echoed in her head for months after Joohyun left, “ I’ve got a girl who deserves the love I give now. “

 

Joohyun feels a pang in her chest but couldn’t help but feel happy, she cracks into a small smile and hugs the detective tightly. The detective wraps her arms around the ringleader as well, embracing her warmly.

 

“ Thank you, Byulyi. “ 

 

“ You’re welcome, now you gotta go, you’ve spent too much time on a girl like me. “ Byulyi rushes the older woman with a lighthearted tone.

 

“ A girl like you was worth it, “ Joohyun nods gratefully, “ I hope she can put her anger aside and see that too ... “

 

Byulyi shrugs and smiles at the thought of returning to her best friend’s side, “ She’s seen my worth years ago, otherwise, she wouldn’t be coming after us right now. “ 

 

“ Apologize to Yongsun for me, will you? She was a good friend and I miss her friendship. “

 

“ Maybe I’ll bring it up after she accepts my apology, I’ll let you know in a couple of years hopefully. “

 

Joohyun lets the detective go albeit a little unwillingly, but she finally sees that things have changed over the years, the Byulyi she loved back then is gone. Perhaps it is time to start a new chapter in her life, one where thoughts of a certain detective don't leave her crying into her pillow on empty nights.

 

“ I wish you all the best, Moon Byulyi, thank you for loving me. “

 

“ Likewise, Bae Joohyun, I wouldn’t be who I am today without you. “

 

Joohyun tiptoes and plants a soft kiss on Byulyi's cheek, an action that has become almost second nature to her. A surge of bittersweet feelings flutters in her chest as she realises that this might be the last time she sees or holds Moon Byulyi.

 

She knows in her heart that Yongsun would love Byulyi more than she ever could. The detective is right about them being on conflicting sides of fate, perhaps it’s time she makes her peace with the fact that she and Byulyi will never work out like she wants them to, their love will always end in a tragedy.

 

Turning away from the detective, Joohyun gets in her getaway car and drives off without any second thoughts. All that mattered to her was Byulyi’s happiness and now that she knows it’s in safe hands, she no longer has any regrets.

 

The weight that settled on her chest years ago when she became Irene Bae is finally lifted and Joohyun feels like she can finally breathe again.

 

Byulyi watches as Joohyun leaves her yet again, it doesn’t hurt as much as the first time but she couldn’t help but feel sad.

 

A girl like Joohyun was special, she helped her see many things, including how important Kim Yongsun is to her.

 

She steadies herself as she hears footsteps approaching from behind. This marks the end of Bae Joohyun’s involvement in her life and a new start for the two mending souls.

 

Now it's time to go home.

 

---

 

Byulyi has no regrets when she turns to face the girl who deserves her love, Yongsun looks beautiful under the pale moonlight and it finally feels like she could return to a place she wants to call home.

 

“ I watched you let Bae Joohyun go, what are you planning? Yongsun asks with clenched teeth, her pistol raised towards Byulyi’s chest.

 

“ I’m planning to go home and apologize to the girl I’ve hurt, “ Byulyi responds with a wry smile, “ I think she’s really mad at me, any ideas on how I can make it better? “ 

 

“ Don’t play games with me, I’m giving you one last chance, Moon Byulyi! “ 

 

“ I’m sorry, Yong. I know you’re mad at me, but for the past few weeks, I’ve been trying to make up for my mistakes– ”

 

Yongsun doesn’t fall for her tricks again, she’s too hardened by Byulyi’s betrayals to ever let herself believe what her ex-partner has to say. 

 

A deafening gunshot reverberates through the empty building and for a moment, Byulyi isn’t exactly sure what happened. Her eyes are locked onto Yongsun and time seems to slow down for a few seconds, she sees the bullet flying out of its barrel but she doesn’t process it.

 

Wait.

 

The detective is still stunned, then all at once, a searing hot pain hits and she’s left clutching her leg in agony. Blood begins flowing out of her wound at an alarming rate and she collapses on the ground.

 

“ Yah! What the hell, unnie? I was talking! Does shooting me make you feel better? “ Byulyi exclaims loudly while crying out in pain, her eyes well up with tears as she curls up into a ball on the filthy ground.

 

“ It would’ve been your heart if I didn’t have to bring you in. “ Yongsun responds coldly as she struts over to the detective.

 

Byulyi could barely think straight but her lips tug upwards into a small smile at the girl that just shot her, “ You’ve already got my heart, Detective Kim. “

 

Yongsun freezes momentarily at her words, she just shot her and all she could think of is how she could flirt.

 

“ Shut up, you know the procedure. “ the older girl hisses mercilessly as she whips out a pair of handcuffs.

 

Catching up to her ex-partner isn’t as satisfying as she thought it would be, she had so much leftover anger that shooting her couldn’t negate it. An apology surely won't be enough either, not that she intends to forgive her anyway.

 

She hears footsteps behind her and she glances behind her shoulder to see her team racing into the room.

 

“ Yongsunnie! Stop! She’s with us! “ Hyejin rushes to the fallen detective with Wheein and Seungwan in tow.

 

“ What? “ Yongsun frowns questionably at her friends who are all rushing to stop Byulyi from bleeding to death.

 

Seungwan looks at her with apologetic eyes, “ I will explain everything later, right now, we need to get her some medical help. “ she points towards the detective groaning in agony behind them.

 

“ Yah! Unnie! Stay still! “ 

 

“ But Wheein-ah! It hurts so much! “ 

 

“ It’s the least you deserve, unnie, quit whining! “

 

It’ll be a long time before things can return to the way they were before and Byulyi doesn’t mind because she knows that a girl like Yongsun will be worth it.