The next day, Sinb found her coat on her table, along with a note and vouchers attached to the plastic protecting it. She plucked both of them off the plastic and read the note.

"I wanted to say thank you again for showing me around and also for saving me from a lot of unfortunate falls. You mentioned that you frequented the cafe near the station, so I got you some vouchers for that store as a gift."

Sinb gawked at the vouchers in her hand, enough to feed her coffee every day for two months straight. She talked about the cafe in passing with Sowon yesterday, and she hadn't expected her to take note of it.

Sowon was working in her office, occupied with talking to someone through the phone. Sinb made a mental note to thank her for the gift as well as return her blazer when she was free. She slipped the vouchers into her wallet and put aside the clean coat, starting her work for the day.

She was invested in the mundane work of filing paperwork when Sowon came out of her office, her authoritative voice catching the team's attention.

"We have a case. Let's go," Sowon ordered, and Sinb jumped onto her feet. Finally.

Sowon briefed them on the case as they drove to the scene. A 27-year-old man, Woobin, was presumed to have kidnapped his ex-fiancee, Naeun, to force them to commit suicide together. Upon arrival at the suspect's house, they were met with a distraught elderly woman who bombarded them with words.

"Detectives, please save my son and Naeun! God, why would he do this to her?"

"We will do our best, Ma'am," Sowon placed a hand on the woman's shoulder and guided her to sit down. "May I see the letter he left?"

Woobin's mother shakily passed a crumpled up piece of paper to Sowon, who scanned the contents. When she was done, she handed it to Sinb, prompting her to read as well.

"Dearest Mother,

Naeun told me a week ago that she wanted to break off our engagement. All because she met her ing soulmate. Seven years, mother, SEVEN years of a committed relationship, and she leaves me for a man she just met?

Did she even love me? Was I a mere passing entertainment while she waited for her soulmate?

I don't think I can ever find love again. I was doomed from the very beginning. There's no one out there for me because I'm markless. What's the point in living a life filled with misery?

I'm not letting that man have Naeun. If I can't have her, I'll make sure no one does.

Goodbye, mother. I love you."

Sinb swallowed dryly as she gave the letter over to Suho. The lack of words on her right arm was a constant reminder that Woobin's tragic love was a fate she couldn't escape from. His current situation hit too close to home, digging up all of her own fears of unrequited love.

Would this be Eunha and her? If Sinb pursued her years ago, or even now? An end where Sinb is left standing alone with no one, picking up the broken pieces of her heart as Eunha lived her life with a soulmate that would sweep her off her feet.

She dug her nails into her arm, distracting herself from her tumbling thoughts. Sinb focused on Sowon questioning the mother in a gentle tone.

"How long have they been gone?"

"Since yesterday night...I didn't find the letter till this morning."

"Are there any places you think Woobin might go?"

Woobin's mother shook her head, wringing her hands together.

Sowon glanced up at the team. "Spread out and search for any clues to where he might have taken her. Jungwon, Suho, and Hyunso-sunbaes can take the second floor. Sinb, take the first floor with me.

Her seniors, to her utmost surprise, followed her order without a single protest. Even Jungwon merely nodded and headed upstairs.

Then again, it was hard to go against her orders when she was taking the lead with ease and driving the whole investigation. She heeded her instructions and scoured the first floor with Sowon.

"Who's this?" Sowon held up a picture frame and tapped on the face of an unknown guy posing with Woobin and Naeun.

"Oh, that's Woobin's best friend, Dohyun. He's like a brother to him."

Sowon hummed in thought, setting the picture frame down. "Sinb, call the cyber team and ask them to get a list of purchases made with all three of their credit cards."

Sinb did as she was told. "They said they'll get back to us in half an hour."

"We'll continue searching for evidence until they call back."

Sowon's hunch was correct, and they discovered that Woobin's best friend had booked a motel reserved two days ago.

They arrived at the motel where Woobin was suspected to be holed up at. Sowon lingered at the entrance, staring up at the building.

"What are you doing?" Sinb questioned. She followed the team leader's gaze and there wasn't anything of note. The motel was just a small building consisting of seven floors, where each room had its own balconies.

"Making a substitute plan," Sowon replied stiffly.

Ever since they started working on the case, Sowon never once smiled or lost her intimidating composure. It made Sinb hesitant to approach her. It was like the clumsy Sowon from yesterday poofed into thin air.

Sowon soon finished her observation of the building, and they headed up to the third floor.

They readied their guns. Sowon counted down from three with her hand, unlocking the motel room and they rushed in.

They found Woobin threatening Naeun with a knife in one hand and a bottle of pills in the other. Upon their entry, Woobin swivelled around, hooking an arm around Naeun. He dragged them off the bed and pressed the blade of the knife against her neck.

"Don't come closer!" he warned, eyes darting around. Naeun whimpered as he continued backing off from them. "Put your guns down, or I'll slit !"

Sowon held her hand up, indicating to them they should stand down. She made a show of tucking her gun back into its holster, placating him. "We've lowered our guns. You should stop putting so much force into the knife, or you'll actually kill her."

The knife shook as Woobin's hands trembled, and he growled, "I brought her here to kill her!"

"You can't bring yourself to do it, can you?" Sowon pressed, "that's why you were trying to force her to overdose on pills. You can't bear to kill her yourself."

Sinb eyed Woobin. Is this how we're supposed to calm agitated aggressors?

"Shut up!" Woobin cursed, but the blade inched away from Naeun's throat. "She...she deserves to die. We were happy. We were going to get married in two months, dammit. But now she's leaving me for that man. Why?"

"We markless people don't get to have a happy ending. I foolishly hoped I could live my life out with her, but , she's still tossing me away for her soulmate. Because he's the ideal man for her, her fated one!"

Sowon disagreed, "soulmates aren't always ideal. Just like how markless people won't always end up alone. Nothing is set in stone because relationships can't be defined by words on your skin, feelings do. You love Naeun not because she's your soulmate, and Naeun did love you too even when she knew you weren't her soulmate. She wouldn't have agreed to the engagement otherwise."

"Then why did she leave me?"

"Because this society is fixated on soulmate relationships, and everyone expects you to be with your soulmate. Maybe Naeun truly loves her soulmate, maybe she doesn't. It doesn't matter. What matters is that you press on, and not give up on finding love."

Woobin shook his head, letting out a dry chuckle. "I don't want to try anymore. But you know what I want? Get Naeun's ty soulmate here, and I'll release her."

Sowon considered his demand and nodded. "Fine, but put the knife down." Woobin kept a firm grip on Naeun but took the blade away from her neck.

"Team Leader, we shouldn't be giving in to his demands," Jungwon interjected from Sowon's side, his face set into a disapproving frown. Suho and Hyunso agreed with him.

Sinb, for once, felt the same as Jungwon, but she had grown to trust Sowon's decision making. She had to have an ulterior motive for agreeing.

"Watch him. Make sure he doesn't make any sudden movements." Sowon turned and left the room. Sinb chased after her, unable to keep her curiosity in.

The team leader entered the next room, which had already been evacuated by the motel owner. Sowon unlatched the balcony doors. Sinb widened her eyes upon deducing her intentions.

Holy . She's planning to jump over.

There were pipes that ran up the sides of the building, and the balconies of each room were close enough for a human to make the jump.

Sinb had a horrifying flashback to Sowon tripping, slipping, and tumbling yesterday. Her heart thumped as Sowon tested out the sturdiness of the pipes.

Sowon grabbed one of the pipes and heaved herself on top of the railings of the balcony. Sinb watched her with bated breath, her hands clammy as if she was the one standing on the rails. Sowon jumped, catching the pipes lined on the other side, and landed perfectly onto the balcony of Woobin's room. She disappeared into the room without missing a beat.

"What the—" Woobin cried out and a muffled thud sounded. A slew of expletives came out of Woobin's mouth, and Sinb rushed back to see what happened.

Woobin was flat against the ground with Sowon digging her knee into his body. She handcuffed him and passed his weapon over to an astonished Suho.

"Girl, did you just vault over?" Suho said with awe. "Sorry, I mean, Team Leader."

Sowon got off Woobin, letting Jungwon and Hyunsoo take over restraining him. They held onto the fuming man's arms as he struggled about.

"Yes," Sowon answered like she was talking about the weather. Sinb stared dumbly at her, not understanding how the clumsy Sowon from yesterday was the same person that dared to jump to another balcony three floors high.

Sowon was a light drinker.

Her eyes were unfocused, and her head nodded forward every few moments. Sinb glowered at Suho as he continued pouring shots for Sowon, eager to celebrate their first case solved together.

“Drink more, team leader!” He filled Sowon’s shot glass to the brim. Sowon turned her head away from him and downed it in one go.

After solving the case, Suho had suggested dropping by a barbeque restaurant for a team dinner. “To welcome Sowon to the team,” he said. The team dinner soon derailed into a flurry of pouring drinks for each other.

Sowon received the most drinks, and she couldn’t decline the shots out of respect. Sinb had poured a courtesy shot for her, but that was it. Her seniors had no such qualms. They refilled her shot glass whenever Sowon finished.

Sinb guessed that Sowon went past her limit after one soju bottle from how red her cheeks were. Sowon still moved on auto-pilot, grimacing as she drank.

She drummed her fingers on the table. How do I stop this?

She was the only sober person at the table. Everyone else was at varying levels of drunkenness. Jungwon lost his constant scowl and was grinning like a mad man, while Suho was a complete disaster. Hyunsoo’s face was smashed against the table, mumbling nonsense.

She wasn’t fond of drinking, and she had a high alcohol tolerance as well. Compared to Sowon, her seniors weren’t so interested in making her drink. They were bored with how she didn’t get fazed by alcohol.

The table vibrated for the nth time. Sinb searched for the culprit, spotting Jungwon’s phone lighting up.

“Jungwon-sunbae, your wife is calling again,” Sinb informed him.

Jungwon stumbled up from the table, picking up his phone. “Urgh! I’m ing going! My wife is going to kill me.”

“Get up, you fool,” He grabbed onto Hyunsoo’s collar and dragged him up from the table. “I’ll take a taxi back with him.”

“Wait, let’s share the taxi fare!” Suho scrambled up, yelling a quick goodbye before dashing after them.

“That was easy,” Sinb muttered. One drunkard left.

Sowon was squinting at the shot glass in her hand, eerily quiet. Sinb gave in to her fate of becoming Sowon’s babysitter for the night. She stood up and went over to her.

“Let’s go, Sowon-unnie.” Sinb patted her back, trying to coax her to stand up. “Where do you live?”

Sowon looked up at her. “I need to wash the dishes.”

“What?”

“Dishes.”

“Okay…” Sinb grabbed her arms and hauled her up from her seat. “You are so far gone.”

“Ladies, you haven’t paid yet.” The restaurant owner approached them and slipped the bill to her. dropped open at the price, with the soju attributing to most of it. Their seniors ditched them and the payment.

Her hands were reluctant as she reached into her pocket for her wallet, mourning the loss of her money. Sowon beat her to it and passed a fistful of cash to the lady.

“Keep the change, Ma’am,” she said. “Y-your food is excellent.”

Sinb blinked. Wait. That’s way too much.

“Sorry, she’s drunk,” she cut in, but before she could take back Sowon’s money, her hand was slapped away. She gaped incredulously at Sowon. “Unnie, I’m trying to save your money here.”

“Give it to her.” Sowon hiccupped.

The restaurant owner stuffed a bulk of the cash back into Sowon’s hands. “Child, if you really want to give me so much money, come back when you’re sober.”

“I’ll take enough to pay off the bill,” the elder woman addressed Sinb, who gave her a grateful nod. Sowon sulked at the side, clutching the notes in her hand.

“Trust me, you would have regretted that tomorrow.” Sinb pried the money away and placed it back into Sowon’s wallet. “Unless you’re rich, of course.”

They stumbled out of the restaurant as Sinb struggled to support Sowon's limp body. Sowon's penchant for falling was back at full force, and Sinb had several heart attacks from their close calls. She ended up hooking her arms around Sowon's waist and her shoulder to guide her.

"Where do you live?" Sinb asked once again. She pleaded with her eyes for her drunk team leader to give her a coherent reply.

"I have dishes to wash." Sowon glared at her.

Sinb was taken aback at her sharp stare. "I'll help you wash them, okay? Just tell me where they are."

Sowon scrutinised her, before giving her an address. Sinb hoped that it would actually lead to her home and not some random dishwashing place.

She flagged a taxi down and helped Sowon in. Sinb buckled her seatbelt for her, leaning back against her seat afterwards.

Five minutes into the ride, Sowon fell asleep, her head lolling back at a precarious angle. As Sinb watched her, she remembered how Sowon handled the case today. It certainly was intriguing how different Fieldwork Sowon and Normal Sowon were.

Sowon was athletic and keen in the field, completely suited for her team leader role, but outside of work, she was the complete opposite. It was a mystery that baffled her.

Regardless of her strange behaviour, Sinb’s doubts about her capabilities were vanquished by her performance today. Sinb regretted judging her in the first place.

They soon reached the address Sowon gave her. Sinb had to lug Sowon, who was a deadweight, out of the vehicle. The other woman was barely awake and she slumped into her hold.

"Feels like," Sinb grunted as she shuffled to the lifts, "I have a giraffe on me." She peered over Sowon's shoulder to jab the lift buttons.

In the lift, Sowon shifted and rested her head against Sinb's shoulder. Her breaths tickled her neck, making Sinb squirm in place. Can this lift go any slower?

The lift arrived and Sinb sighed in relief. She searched for the correct apartment unit and was even more relieved that it wasn't a passcode lock. It would have been a pain to convince Sowon to spill her passcode.

She dug into Sowon's bag, feeling around for her key.

“Are you trying to steal from me?” Sowon mumbled, and she weakly gripped onto Sinb’s wrist.

“No, I’m finding your key.” She shook her hand off, praying to the gods to give her patience.

“So you’re breaking into my home?”

“No, unnie,” Sinb deadpanned. Finally, she found the key and unlocked the door in a hurry before Sowon could stop her.

“I can arrest you for this...I’m a detective!” Sowon continued her accusations as Sinb dragged them into the apartment. She bent low to take their shoes off, amused by what she was saying.

“Yeah, okay, do that in the morning when you wake up.”

Sinb took in the interior of Sowon’s home. It was bare and mostly unfurnished, with only the minimum necessities like a sofa in the living room. Unopened moving boxes were shoved to the side, a sign that Sowon hadn’t had the time to unpack her belongings and settle into her new apartment. The only personal belongings decorating the house were two photo frames placed on a shelf.

One was a picture of Sowon dressed in her police uniform posing with a man in a uniform as well but decorated with high accolade badges. Both of them had expressionless faces, standing stiffly beside each other. The second picture was Sowon in the same uniform with a middle-aged woman holding her shoulders, and she wore a content smile.

Probably her graduation day from the academy, Sinb thought, moving on. She didn’t want to infringe on her privacy any more than she had. She tuned out Sowon’s incoherent slurring and went towards what she assumed was her room.

Sinb pushed open the room door, and it was plain like the living room. She avoided the stray boxes on the floor and dumped Sowon on her bed. Hopefully, she wouldn’t remember Sinb tossing her around like a sack of potatoes when she sobered up.

She turned to head to the kitchen, but a hand grabbed her arm and Sinb lost her footing as she was pulled down. She dropped unceremoniously against a warm body, strong arms hugging her waist, and a leg thrown over her. Sowon hummed in satisfaction, snuggling against her back.

“For ’s sake, I’m not your teddy bear!” Sinb huffed, trying to pry her arms away so she could wriggle out of her hold. The death grip she had on her waist was impossible to remove, and Sinb surrendered after a few attempts.

She could imagine texting Eunha. Why can’t you come home tonight? she would ask, and Sinb would have to say, I became a body pillow for my team leader.

It wasn’t so bad, she had to admit. Sowon was cosy to lean against, her body firm yet soft enough to be comfortable. And her dumb perfume still smelled good.

Still, Sinb didn’t want to stay and explain to Sowon why she was in her arms when Sowon regained her bearings. As a last-ditch attempt, she twisted around and poked her side. Sowon made a face.

“Tickling always works.” Sinb murmured and attacked her sides. Sowon released her as she instinctively rolled away from the disturbance. Now free, she made sure to distance herself away from Sowon else she would end up on the bed again.

She left the room to pour a cup of water for her, to at least spare her some pain from the inevitable hangover tomorrow.

In the kitchen, Sinb couldn't help but peer at the sink. It was empty.

"Why did she keep talking about washing dishes when there aren't any?" She had expected actual stacks of dishes in the sink and was prepared to wash them for Sowon. She promised her, after all.

Sinb returned to the room with a cup in her hand. She nudged Sowon awake, who blearily stared up at her.

"Drink this." Sinb handed the cup to her. Sowon automatically gulped down the contents from her ingrained habit of drinking all the shots passed to her.

After finishing the cup of water, Sowon plopped back onto the bed, her eyes closing. Sinb decided to take off Sowon's jacket to let her cool down.

She tugged the outerwear off. Sowon moved once more by placing her arm over her eyes. It gave Sinb a full view of her soulmate mark, and she was about to look away when two words caught her attention.

Baby giraffe.

Sinb broke her own rule about not reading soulmate marks. Her eyes scanned the purple scrawls on Sowon, and with every word she read grew drier.

You must be the legendary baby giraffe, was what her mark said. It didn't take a genius to guess who would say those words, because Eunha's own words of, "I'm sorry, what did you just call me?" complemented Sowon's.

A perfect undeniable match.

Sowon was Eunha's soulmate. The one person Sinb never wanted to meet. Hoped that Eunha would never meet, no matter how selfish it was for her to think that way.

As the taxi drove back home, Sinb brooded.

Every time she blinked, Sowon's words would be seared into her mind. A relentless occurring nightmare.

Except it wasn't a nightmare. Sowon was very real, and there was no way to stop soulmates from meeting. No way to stop her fears from materializing into life.

Sinb wasn't naive. She always knew Eunha's soulmate would show up, and it had loomed over her like an impending doom.

Every single instance someone spoke Eunha's words, her heart would constrict, waiting with bated breaths to see if their words matched. And she could only breathe again when they didn't.

Such coincidences were rare, but each time they occurred, it was a warning to her.

Eunha would find her fated one, and Sinb would truly lose her minuscule chance of being with her.

She has known Eunha for a total of eighteen years, and figured out since she was 22-years-old she desired Eunha. She wanted to go on cringy, romantic dates with her. Hold her hand and whisper sweet words, flirt, all those stupid things couples did.

But how could she, when there was already someone for Eunha? A predestined love, guaranteed to bloom and last. Sowon was suited for Eunha in every way Sinb was not. She could provide the happiness Eunha had been seeking for. The stability of a soulmate.

Sinb couldn't move on from her. She tried, over the past four years. She dated attractive women who were interested in her, slept around, and sought desperately to rid her feelings. And each time, she failed, her thoughts winding back to Eunha, Eunha, and Eunha over and over again. Half of her exes complained that Sinb was obviously fixated on someone else.

So she gave in to her fate. Harboured her crush, never daring to confess. Because really, who would date a markless person and live out their lives with them? It was like signing up for a cursed romance that would crash and blaze in an instant.

She couldn’t even hate Sowon for being Eunha’s soulmate, because Sowon was good. Sinb only met her yesterday but she could tell that she looked out for people. She was attentive to other people’s needs, a selfless detective yet also refreshingly clumsy. Eunha would love her duality.

Yet, as Sinb stood before the apartment they shared together, she fought a dilemma of whether to tell her about Sowon. Any sane best friend would, because meeting your soulmate was the momentous pivotal point in your life, and only a selfish soul would withhold that opportunity from someone.

And maybe, Sinb was a selfish person.

She unlocked the apartment door and stepped in. The living room was still lit up, and the soft sounds of the television signalled to her that Eunha was awake.

“I’m home,” Sinb called after she took a deep breath to steady herself.

Eunha didn’t answer back her usual greeting, which was strange. Sinb shook her boots off and went further into the apartment, spotting Eunha on her usual spot leaning against the sofa. A blanket was wrapped around her front, her legs pulled to her chest. She was resting her chin on her knees and staring straight at the television which played a video of Eunha's favourite cat-raising youtuber.

Warning alarms blared in her mind when not a single hint of happiness was on Eunha's face, and her eyes were red-rimmed. She was usually a giggly mess when she fawned over cat videos.

"Unnie?" Sinb called once more, softly this time. Eunha jolted and rubbed her eyes with her arm.

"You're back?" she smiled at Sinb, but it didn't reach her eyes. Sinb scowled and sat by her.

"What's wrong?"

Eunha turned away from her, diverting her gaze back to the television. "Nothing. How was work today?"

"Don't try to change the topic." Sinb shifted closer to her, feeling the need to comfort her. "You at lying. Why were you crying?"

Eunha gave up on her act, and she sighed. She leaned against Sinb, resting her head on her shoulder. "I'm just stressed. Work has been tough lately." She took Sinb's hand, fiddling with her fingers.

Something didn't feel right. Eunha refused to look at her, and her whole demeanour was off. She had years of experience dealing with Eunha and she could tell when she was lying.

"Is that really what you were crying about?" Sinb took her hand away from Eunha's grip, cupping her face with both hands instead to force her to meet her eyes.

Eunha shuddered. She pushed her away, her tone biting as she snapped, "I don't want to talk about it."

Sinb let her hands fall back to her sides,backing off. There were times when she knew to push her to talk, and times when Eunha needed her own space to process her own thoughts. Forcing her to share her worries when she wasn't ready to would only result in a disaster.

"Can you just...tell me about your day? Or anything?" Eunha softened, lowering her voice. Distract me, was what she wanted her to do.

Sinb nodded. She spoke of her work, of Woobin and Naeun's situation. She narrated Sowon's expertise and skillfulness in the field, how she vaulted from a balcony on the third floor to the other balcony. And as she did so, Eunha listened, an indecipherable look on her face.

"Do you think everyone really has to love their soulmate?" Eunha asked after she was finished with her rambling.

Sinb tensed. "You're asking me?" A markless person?

"I want to hear your thoughts," Eunha said. "Do you think marked people can fall in love with someone who's not their soulmate? Live out their lives with them?"

"I…" Sinb faltered. "No."

She didn't think that Eunha would ever fall in love with her.

It didn't stop her from hoping, though.

"I've always wondered," Eunha continued after an awkward silence, "are soulmates truly meant to be? Waiting for someone because I was born with their words..." she hesitated, trailing off.

She frowned. Eunha had never expressed her views on soulmate relationships before. Come to think of it, they rarely talked about soulmates and skittered around the subject. Sinb assumed it was because she was markless and Eunha didn't want to throw her soulmate status in her face, but maybe she was wrong.

Was Eunha tired from waiting for her soulmate? Was that why she was doubtful of soulmates? Maybe Eunha didn't believe her soulmate was going to appear and was contemplating if she could love someone else.

"Unnie, is this about your soulmate still not showing up?" Sinb questioned, and her voice wavered from her uncertainty.

It was the most opportune moment to tell her about Sowon. I know who your soulmate is, she should say. But the words were stuck in , and when Sinb tried to force them out, her chest tightened in protest. She gritted her teeth and took the coward's way out. "I'm sure they'll show up soon. You know the average person meets their soulmate in their twenties."

Eunha smiled forlornly. "Yeah. I guess they will appear, sooner or later."

Tell her, Sinb's mind screamed, Can't you see that she's waiting for her soulmate?

She kept shut.

"Sinb, can I sleep with you tonight?"

Eunha's abrupt request baffled Sinb, and she tilted her head at her. "We haven't done that since you left for the States."

Four years ago, Eunha briefly went overseas to further her songwriting career. She came back two years ago, and that was when Sinb offered to live together in the same apartment.

Four years ago, Sinb suffered through the loneliest days of her life. She never understood the phrase "distance makes the heart grow fonder" so well until then.

Eunha came back from the States a bit different. They were as tight as ever, seamlessly falling back to how they were before she left, but Eunha wasn't as clingy. Before the States, she was fond of cuddling Sinb and was incredibly touchy—not that Sinb minded—but she stopped since she returned.

Sinb was both disappointed and glad that she stopped. With her current feelings, she would combust if Eunha kept trying to cuddle her.

"I know, but I don’t feel like sleeping alone,” Eunha muttered, and she looked so crestfallen Sinb couldn’t refuse. Since Eunha wouldn’t tell her what was troubling her, she could only help by fulfilling her request. Even if she felt like she was so going to regret this.

“Okay,” Sinb agreed, standing up from the sofa. “I need to clean up first. And I’m going to be the big spoon, right? As usual?”

Eunha brightened up a little, shaking her head. “Not tonight.”

“Ah.” Sinb narrowed her eyes. “Then it’s a no! I’m the cuddler, not the cuddled.”

“You say that, but you know you love being hugged.” Eunha laughed, and Sinb felt affronted.

“Says who?”
 

“The subconscious Sinb who would start off as a big spoon but somehow wake up being hugged instead.”

“That only happened once!”

“Yeah, because every other time I always got up before you realised.” Eunha was full-blown amused by her, and while Sinb disagreed with what she was saying, she was pleased Eunha was cheering up.

“Whatever. I’m still going to be the one doing the cuddling later.”

A quick shower and hair-drying session later, Sinb ended up caving into Eunha's puppy eyes.

Her back was tucked against Eunha's front and Sinb could feel every rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. A calming, rhythmic pattern that eased some of her anxieties.

Eunha's face laid comfortably by her neck, her arm wrapped over her and hand resting on her stomach. Her bare legs were pressed right against Sinb's, skin on skin, making her regret wearing shorts to sleep. Or maybe she was actually rejoicing, but she rather not think about that.

It was so warm, but it wasn't the kind of heat that irritated her. It made her comfortable and provided a sense of safety that Sinb didn't even know she needed.

The gentle hum of the aircon, the occasional rumble of a passing car's engine, and Eunha curled beside her. It was peaceful, like she was in a little bubble where she couldn't be harmed. A world where soulmates were non-existent and Eunha didn't have words on her arm.

I'll tell her about Sowon tomorrow, Sinb swore, just let me have this moment for the very last time.

---

A/N:

Drunk Sowon was a joy to write :D

Quite a few things happened in this chapter, do let me know your thoughts in the comments!