It was only 5 in the evening and the sun was just beginning to set, signaling the start of the Winter Festival.

Because it was a Saturday and Hayoung didn't expect her to ask, she charged her extra to care for Hyewon. Naeun was prepared to be disappointed, but Hayoung changed her mind last minute because she'd forgotten she had plans with Sooyoung and couldn't cancel. Because Jihyo and Hyewon would be with her mom (who lived a floor below), Hayoung said it wouldn't have been fair to charge extra and said she'd only charge half. Naeun had stopped listening after she mentioned Sooyoung, a familiar annoyance having taken over her thoughts.

After Chorong began picking up Hyewon, their conversations had become more and more brief, usually only focused on the younger girl. It was harmless, but Naeun couldn't shake the awkward feeling in her gut every time she'd open or respond to Hayoung's texts. Especially because they hadn't seen each other face-to-face since Sooyoung, essentially, kicked her out.

Hayoung hadn't said anything about it, probably not wanting to bring it up either, but Naeun didn't have time to dwell on it. The police had called her back sometime within the week to let her know she needed to come in for questioning on Monday. Despite her strong objections, she had to bring Hyewon as well, the very idea of it being something she truly dreaded. Hyewon was still clueless, as far as she knew, and throwing her right into the fire was the last thing she wanted to do.

However, instead of planning how to protect her sister as best as she could, she was currently at a school festival with Kim Namjoo as part of a "co-erced date" (as Naeun liked to call it) planned by Chorong and Eunji.

It was the last place she wanted to be, but there was no way she could back out of it, and no way Chorong or Eunji would let her. In defeat, she'd thrown on a simple outfit and dragged herself into Chorong's car, meeting Namjoo and Eunji at the entrance.

"You really planned all of this?" Naeun asks Namjoo in awe as they enter, moving past another snow mountain.

It hadn't been long, but she already found herself having a surprisingly good time with the other woman. It was hard to be bored or uncomfortable around Namjoo, her infectious energy overriding Naeun's feeble attempts at maintaining a disinterested attitude.

"Along with a few others, of course!" She giggles as she leads Naeun down the main path. "It took us months and there were, honestly, a lot of setbacks, but it came out nice, right?" Naeun nods slowly. "Really nice." She breathes out in awe.

And it did. Winter was still early and snow hadn't yet fallen, so the entire area had been filled with fake snow in its place. Large, fake snowy mountains were placed in the background, and a few smaller ones were placed near the usual game stands. Styrofoam snowmen and scarily realistic reindeer were littered throughout the entire field, with candy canes of all colors lighting up the main path. The gazebo in the center of the event was converted into "Santa's Workshop" with a real Santa that sometimes appeared to give a lucky passerby a gift, claiming "the elves made too many toys". Photobooths were stationed near most games, with a table for props and a box for costumes placed next to it. To top it all off, Namjoo had somehow managed to recruit people to bring, and run, actual rollercoasters. A lot of work had been poured in, and Naeun could tell everyone was more than satisfied with the outcome.

Naeun gives Namjoo a soft smile before asking, "Since you planned this, what do you think we should do first? Rollerc