The soft rumble of Nayeon’s car engine intensified as she merged onto the highway and began traveling away from the city of Seoul. The morning was sunny enough where Nayeon could wear the new pair of LV sunglasses she bought for herself. She had one window rolled down, and was nodding her head to whatever pop song Yena was playing from the car stereo. 

Yena was sitting in the backseat directly behind Nayeon. It was only the two of them in the car + Hoo, but Yena had gone on a rant earlier morning about how the seat behind the driver was statistically the safest. She was holding Hoo in her arms and was basking in the sunlight as she and Nayeon traveled on their top-secret mission. 

It was really nothing more than a small errand Nayeon had to accomplish, but they did not tell Mina nor Chaewon about their whereabouts--so it felt like a secret mission. Overall, it was a rather exciting occasion. Nayeon was just thinking that she should do this more often, but in came the first question. 

“Wait so, Can You Feel The Love Tonight was actually a song?” Yena asked as the song began playing.

Nayeon couldn’t help an amused smirk. She rubbed her forehead, anticipating the migraine that would soon come as once Yena started asking questions, it never ended.

Per Sakura’s analogy of “the look” three nights ago, they had re-watched the Lion King last night so that Yena could get the full context about what Sakura meant. Too much of Yena’s horror, she finally did understand that Nala and Simba were up to no good during their infamous night scene and it forever changed how she thought about the movie and the song that was playing right now. 

The next two hours comprised of the two girls singing throwback songs and playing stupid car games like ISPY and so forth. They stopped briefly at a rest zone about an hour and a half in the trip to let Hoo pee. Yena also bought Chaewon a new souvenir keychain of a cute guitar and a tasty pastry for Mina.

As their trip progressed, the city line began to fade further away until there was nothing but oak trees, farmland, and mountains. The road also became more rigid and bumpy, giving Nayeon a scare or two about getting a flat tire.

It was around mid-afternoon when they arrived at their destination. She took a right turn onto a dirt road and drove her way around a small hill until she was halted by a brick wall and house gate. The soft sound of a water sprinkler laid behind the wall and she could hear some type of garden work being done. 

Nayeon’s legs felt like jelly once she stepped out of the car. She had to lean against the side of her door to regain balance. There was also a large thumping sound stuck in her ear. 

At first, she thought this was the side-effects of driving up the mountains. Yet as she paid closer attention to herself, she realized it was her heartbeat that was ringing through her ear and her nervousness had been the cause of her weak legs. 

Too late to change your mind and head back now. Nayeon thought to herself.

Changing her attention to the sleeping girl in the backseat, Nayeon wiped her sweaty palms against her jeans and then opened the backdoor, causing Yena’s head to fall sideways. The other girl had been using the door as a headrest and would have fallen onto the dirt if it wasn’t for her seatbelt. 

Hoo squeezed out of Yena’s death grip and jumped onto the ground. He looked up to Nayeon with his big brown eyes.

Don’t make me sit with her again, Hoo seemed to tell her. 

“Finally we’re here,” Yena said after a yawn. “ I need to pee so badly!” The younger girl unbuckled her seatbelt and jumped onto her feet. This was poorly thought out as her body fluid sank lower down her body and she had to twist her legs together to avoid a Minhyun type accident. 

“I told you to pee while we were at the rest stop.” Nayeon rolled her eyes. 

“Bathroom breaks are for wimps.” Yena was able to barely make out. Her face was turning red like cherry and she was huffing her cheeks. 

Nayeon tapped twice onto the doorbell at the gate. There wasn’t a response at first, but soon she could hear the speaker below the bell muffle a static noise. Nayeon put her ear closer to the speaker. From there she heard the voice of a familiar older man.

“Ahh! Glad you two were able to make it.” The voice said. 

“Can you open the gate? Someone’s about to water your plants.” Nayeon said through the mic.

“One moment.” He responded. A small clank could be heard to her side and soon the mechanical motion of the gate opened. The orange sunlight seeped through the cracked gate and blinded both the girls.

Yena ran through the gate while cursing. The house was still some distance off as the front yard was at least half a football field long. Hoo chased after her thinking Yena wanted to race. He never let down the opportunity to show how fast he was.

Nayeon’s feet crunched under the gravel path. She was in no rush to reach the house and took the time to inspect the giant chunk of land. There were a few different types of vegetables being grown against the brick wall that Nayeon could not identify. A start of an additional garden was being made somewhere to the far side of the green yard where a small shed was set up, and there were two shovels placed firmly into the ground. Most of all there was a giant apple tree placed directly in the middle of the yard. Nayeon first spotted the top of the tree when she drove up the bend around the hill that led directly towards the house. Now that she was up close to it, she realized it must have been at least hundreds of years old to grow that big. She reflected with some amusement that it matched the owner of the property quite well.

“Director Song!” Nayeon waved as he approached her from the opposite side of the path. It had been some months since she had seen the retired doctor, but there was a new sense of charm to him. He was wearing a baggy flannel shirt that was covered in dirt, and a straw hat on top. His skin was a fair shade darker since she last saw him, and he had grown a decent-sized beard, of which, was completely white. All in all, it looked as if Director Song had been a country farmer all his life rather than a leading surgeon back in Seoul.

“It’s good to see you again Nayeon.” The director, knowing Nayeon was not a fan of nature, took her in for a big hug. Nayeon grimaced at the smell of manure and she made sure to brush all the dirt on her arms after they broke the hug.

“Choi Yena is quite lively again isn’t she?” They both smiled as they could hear Yena yelling at Hoo to slow down while running to the house.

“You’re half the reason why.” Nayeon acknowledged.

Director Song shrugged his shoulders. “That was the work of your girlfriend Myoui, and all the wonderful doctors in the States. My role was negligible compared to theirs.”

 Director Song was as modest as ever. The truth of the matter was that Yena would have likely died if it wasn’t for the surgery he performed on New Years' night for her. Not to mention he destroyed his whole career to do so, being both fired from the hospital and having his medical license revoked. 

Because of the low staff that New Year's night, he had made the decision to allow Mina, Momo, and Sana to participate in the operation as well, which was a big no no in the medical world as none of them had even graduated yet. His efforts, however, did not go in vain as Yena did make a full recovery.

 Without much choice, Director Song took the opportunity to check in on a well-deserved retirement. He traded the city-life for a good chunk of land and a life of solitude in the countryside. If asked if he ever regretted his decision, the answer was a firm no.

“Let us head inside shall we? It's getting late and I still hate these pesky mosquitoes.” He slapped the end of his arm and caught one sneaky bloodsucker. The sky was bleeding an orange-red and soon it would be pitch black outside. 

Nayeon agreed and they finished the remaining walk to the house together. By the time they made it to the front door, she could feel at least three areas on her leg she knew had been bitten.

If Nayeon thought the outside of the house and yard was impressive, the interior was a whole new level of luxury. Every room was furnished with the latest modern technology and gadgets one could imagine. Director Song had at least three of those really cute robot vacuum cleaners that went around the wooden floor. She noticed that neither of the robots ran into the wall, unlike the cheap one she had at home. As they headed deeper inside the house they made it to the kitchen which was covered in a stainless white marble pattern and island table. There was an extensive kitchen pantry that could rival a grocery store and not to mention he also had four refrigerators.

With all this food and furniture, this would mean that somebody else had to be here as well right? Nayeon thought to herself.

Her suspicion was confirmed as the loud sound of Yena screaming came from one end of the kitchen. Nayeon could hear some piece of furniture scratch against the floor, and then a series of books falling, and an even louder scream, this time by a male voice.

She and Director Song made eye contact across the island table.

“Oh, dear.” Director Song said in a hushed voice.

They both rushed to the side of the house where the commotion was happening. They turned a corner around the kitchen and were led to an open space at the back of the house where an additional staircase leading to the second floor was located. There, she saw a young man rolling on the carpet. The individual was screaming curse words in English as he rubbed his eyes from excruciating pain. He looked to be maybe around her age, possibly a year or two younger. He had medium-length black hair with a middle part and even as he screamed she could see that he had deep dimples on each side of his mouth. As Nayeon’s eyes traveled around the room she saw Yena standing some distance to the side, her iconic yellow pepper spray in hand. 

Yena made eye contact with Nayeon to reassure her she was okay. She then looked back to the man below her. She started stuttering a few incomprehensive words as she focused her brain power on her thoughts. 

There was something strange about the man she had just pepper-sprayed. His scream sounded familiar but she couldn’t quite put a name to it. She tried looking at his face but the man was too busy rolling on the ground with both hands against his eyes. She looked for any other signs that might identify who he was. Her eyes scanned up and down him until she caught something particular on his right wrist. He was wearing a stained yellow bracelet that was tied in an ugly knot. It looked awfully similar to one that she made for someone that should have been 2000 miles away on the opposite side of the earth. Yena smacked both hands over . She went instantly down onto her knees and attempted to help him as best as she could.

“OH MY GOD! VINCENT I AM SO SORRY!!! I DIDN’T REALIZE IT WAS YOU!” She began blowing on his eyes to help soothe the pain. Little did she know she was only causing the effects of the pepper spray to worsen. Vincent whined in pain again while telling her to stop. 

“Coming through,” Director Song ushered Yena to move out the way. When he saw Yena holding her pepper spray he turned around and headed straight back to the kitchen. He returned with a glass of milk in his hand and began carefully pouring it onto Vincent’s eyes.

All at the same time, Nayeon stood with one hand scratching her scalp. “Vincent? Who the hell is Vincent and why does his name sound so familiar?” She thought to herself. Her brain shot in a million directions as she tried re-tracing the time she had heard that name, and then it hit her.

“Wait, Vincent from the hospital in Florida?” Nayeon gasped out loud. For some reason, the first thought that followed was, Chaewon was going to kill this boy if she ever finds out he is in Korea...wait, why is Vincent in Korea?

“Easy now.” Director Song helped Vincent to a sat position against the railing of the staircase. He took out his handkerchief and allowed Vincent to clear his eyes from the tears rolling down his cheek. The tears were a good sign as they would help flush out the pepper spray in his eyes, and the pain should go away within a few minutes. Satisfied that there was no other damage done other than the large scuff mark on his rich wooden floor, Director Song got back up to his feet.

“What even happened?” Nayeon asked. 

Yena explained, “Well, I was exiting the bathroom when Hoo and I heard a strange noise. When I walked back into this hallway, Vincent was hiding behind the piano and jumped out to surprise me.”

“And so you pepper-sprayed him..” Nayeon said in a dry voice.

“It was a reflex!” Yena whined. “I'm sorry!” Yena apologized over and over again.

“Glad to know you weren’t bluffing about how quick you are to pull out that pepper spray,” Vincent said with a grin. Director Song was correct and by now the pain had gone away. All that remained was a red sore beneath his eyes and he had the sniffles. 

“Up we go my son.” Director Song outstretched his hand and Vincent used it to anchor himself back up. 

“I always told you, you were never any good with the ladies.” The director said in an amused voice. 

“You have no idea about what I was up to back in the States, old man,” Vincent said with a sly smirk.

“Nor do I want to know.” He replied with a nod.

“Wait a second--” Nayeon interrupted the conversation. Both men turned to look at her.

“Did you just call him your son?” She pointed to Vincent. Nayeon never really bothered to think about Director Song’s personal life. From all she knew, Director Song had been a player all his life and still went on dates even though he was some ancient age above 60. She never thought to ask if he ever had any kids.

“He is my son; only on the good days.” Director Song replied straightforwardly. 

Vincent shrugged his shoulders. “I only call him dad when I need money.” 

♡

♡

♡

Mina yawned as she unlocked the door to her house and walked in. She was puzzled why all the lights downstairs were off, and why it was so quiet, and where the hell was Hoo?

She walked to the base of the staircase and cleared her voice. “Babeee?”

She could hear the sound of footsteps coming out of a room upstairs. She frowned knowing those footsteps did not belong to Nayeon.

“I thought she was with you.” Chaewon poked her head around the wall next to the staircase. Her voice was still groggy, evident from the 13-hour hibernation she just woke up from. 

Chaewon finished descending the remaining staircase and was confused as well as why it was so quiet in the house.

“You just woke up for the first time today?” Mina said with a raised eyebrow.

Chaewon groaned not wanting to hear the older girl nag at her. “I pulled up two all-nighters to study for my midterms. Where is Yena? I told her to wake me up at 2:00 P.M.” 

“Well I’m guessing since both our girlfriends are missing, that means they are probably together and did not want to tell us.” Mina nodded her head, satisfied with her guess. "They also took Hoo." She didn’t think much of it and walked towards the kitchen. She had been busy all day and missed lunch.

“Why would they not tell us they went somewhere together?” Chaewon thought out loud. 

Mina replied from the fridge, “Knowing Nayeon, she probably sold Yena in that they had a top-secret mission to accomplish but really she just needed an extra pair of hands to run an errand with.” 

Chaewon stood to think about that hypothetical. She wanted to believe that her girlfriend wasn’t oblivious enough to follow Nayeon in such a dumb trick, but then again Yena had been re-watching old spy movies for the past month and the word “secret mission” must have thrilled her. 

“Yeah, you’re right. That sounds like something Nayeon and Yena would do.” Chaewon acknowledged.

“Of course I am right, when am I ever wrong?” Mina replied in a straight voice. She was rummaging through her leftover ingredients trying to figure out what to cook. Concluding that there was nothing she could make + being too tired to cook anyways, she settled for plan b. 

“Yujin ahhh.” Mina raised her voice loud enough to be heard upstairs.

There was no response for a minute, but then the sound of even louder footsteps could be heard running down the staircase, and in came the giant kid...holding another kid.

“Take him from me please,” Yujin whined. She dropped baby Minhyun into Mina’s arms and gave a long stretch. 

“He was such a brat today. Can I go back to my dorm now?” Yujin yawned. It had been three days since she last returned to her dorm room on campus. She and Wonyoung shared a room in the freshman dormitory. It was the closest dorm to both the main academic buildings as well as the cafeteria hall. 

“You can go unless you want to catch dinner with Chaewon and me,” Mina responded.

Usually, Yujin would have taken the offer of free food in a heartbeat, but when Mina offered to go out and eat, that 99% of the time meant going to Mr. Seok Diner on campus, which she was sick of eating at.