The once, laughter-filled space where children and families would gather, died out with the light of day. And along an empty path stood a man dressed in an all black attire, his appearance safely concealed behind a face mask and hood.

“This is hard stuff, lower the doses if you plan to use this on another human,” he sternly warned when handing over a paper bag to his brand new buyer. Scoffing at his advice, Ms. Kim ripped open the sack to confirm her purchase. 

“What makes you think that I would use this on another human being?” she flatly asked out of curiosity. Once satisfied with the purchase, she made sure he got an accurate cut of the payment. To secure herself a set seller, she also included a little cash tip for him. The woman carefully counted each one of her precious sedative vials until she heard a faint laughter coming from her dealer. He let out a sigh, leaning back against a metal railing with the corner of his lips tugged upwards into a smirk.

“I’ve been in this business for years. I know a psycho when I see one.”

Ms. Kim laughed at his snarky remark. How utterly accurate he was, she thought.

Almost a whole week had gone by since her last encounter with Sehun. To be informed about his leave abruptly that night still bothered her. Haemi knew her friend meant well, but she wished they would’ve said something to her first. She tried contacting him multiple times at the beginning of the week with no luck, nor was he home either. It was expected though, she figured he would stay away for the time being. As bad as it was, her only source of update on the writer was through the media. Although the last update she got of him was from days ago when they reported the lack of response on Sehun’s end. It seemed as if they were starting to give up on his story, seeing how his name was no longer trending either. In a sense, she was rather relieved by this than waking up to another scandal.

Pushing through another week at work, Haemi continued to drown herself in different projects until she could clock out. It was starting to become a rigorous routine for Mina to even watch. Her friend piled up weeks worth of work to finish in a few days, and as productive as it may seem, the girl was just overworking herself. 

“You’re not skipping lunch again. Come with me,” the working mother declared all while confiscating Haemi’s half eaten energy bar. The sugary snack had been a go-to meal for her sake, though without it wouldn’t make much of a difference either way. 

“I’m not hungry,” she said in defense. 

Mina did not buy any of that nonsense. She ignored her friend’s protest until they reached the populated cafeteria. Luckily, they found an unoccupied table or Haemi would’ve easily used an excuse to ditch the lunch date. Mina ordered the first menu item that she could think of to prevent the girl from backing out. Although it was clear that Haemi had already decided to stay for her friend’s effort to not be wasted. 

“Mina, you know I’m not mad at you right?” 

Ever since that night, there was an undeniably weird tension building up between the two friends. Neither of them spoke about it, but it was obvious enough to tell. Reaching for Mina’s hand, her lips stretched into a smile as she reassured her friend once more. 

“Stop…” Mina pulled back her hands as guilt began to consume her, “I feel like I just wrecked your relationship,” she mumbled sheepishly. 

“We’re n-not—“ Haemi quickly retorted, although the intimate memories that flashed her mind would say otherwise. She tried to avert Mina’s gaze by turning her head to the side, but the unholy private thoughts evidently caused her cheeks to glow beet red.

Mina returned a sly smirk, “Oh Haemi, do you have a crush on your ex-husband?”

To avoid answering the question, she dug into her food without a second thought. “Let’s eat, I’m hungry now,” said the younger one. 

The pair quietly enjoyed their meal until a gossip session nearby caught their attention. Both editors exchanged looks, all while chiming in to the debatable topic about Sehun