“What are you idiots gawking at?”

 

Seulgi, Wendy, Jisoo and Rosé look up at Joohyun who has her hands on her hips. They're surprised to see the owner here at 7 in the morning, she's usually caved inside her office at 8, around the time the young man comes in for his breakfast. Even more so was Joohyun surprised to see the four this early when the staff had just started their morning shift.

 

“How about you? Why are you here this early?” Seulgi reiterates, earning a slap on the back of her head.

“I own this place you idiot, I can come and go whenever I want.”

“Right.” Seulgi replies, eyes back to gawking at the cute cashier.

 

Joohyun notices where their eyes were focused at, then it hit her. Of course, Tzuyu.

 

“Are you just here to gawk at Tzuyu or are you dweebs gonna order something? And I thought you were interested in Joy, Wendy!” she points at Wendy.

“Her name's Tzuyu?” the three ask in unison.

“Wait, you know about that?” Wendy asks in surprise.

“Yeah, and she's out of your league. And of course I noticed. I doesn't take an idiot like Seulgi not to notice.”

“Thanks, man.”

“Jisoo, close your mouth. Good morning everyone!” Jennie greets with Lisa and Joy trailing behind her.

“Here comes another lovesick puppy.” Joohyun whispers to them and the other four laugh at how obvious Lisa is actually being.

 

The eight of them sit down at their usual table and order their breakfast specials. Seulgi, Jisoo and Rosé were still gawking at Tzuyu, with Lisa joining in as well. Wendy stopped the moment Joy sat on the seat in front of her, scared she might find out about her little crush. She wants to be loyal to Joy, even though she doesn't need to be because they aren't even together and Joy hardly notices her efforts for her benefit. Still, she's intent on pursuing a relationship with her. Even if it takes another three years.

 

“Lisa, I need to talk to you after lunch. Stop by my shop.” Jennie requests almost like a command.

 

Lisa stares at her. Her heart skipping beats. Jennie rarely asks her to stop by her shop. It's always meet me at Roses 'R Us but never inside her shop. She rarely asks anyone to visit her there unless it's to buy something essential. But other than that, anything outside shop matters is never tolerated.

 

“Wow, I'm surprised you're not having your rendezvous at my shop.” Rosé says.

“What if I won't? You didn't even ask me if I'm busy. I'm a busy person too, you know!” Lisa claims.

“Well, are you busy?”

“No. Okay I'll stop by.” Lisa says immediately.

 

Seulgi glances at her roommate and Lisa. She laughs at how under her friends are when it comes to the madames of their group.

 

“Don't laugh. You're one of them now. Don't think I didn't notice.” Jisoo whispers to Seulgi then points to Joohyun.

“Jisoo, wipe your mouth.”

“Yes, maam.”

 

Seulgi laughs louder. Them she claims? Ha!

 

“You were saying?”

“Shut up.”

“Seulgi! Your mouth's full!” Joohyun slaps Seulgi's arm. She's two seats away and she's so tiny. Seulgi swears she has other worldly characteristics within her.

 

Jisoo raises her eyebrows at Seulgi.

 

“You mean we.” Seulgi sighs.

 

The wind chimes echoed inside the store, signalling the arrival of three new customers.

Wendy shudders at the sight of the man next to Yeri, images from weeks ago flashed before her eyes. As soon as Joohyun's sight landed on the young man behind Yeri and Big Ed, she rushed out from their table and back to her office. Even during a Holiday? I can't catch a break!

From her small window, she signals Tzuyu who was looking back at her. Tzuyu then got her walkie talkie out from her small uniform pocket and prepared the other waitresses combat uniform.

Nayeon flipped her armband from its white color to a red with a star and 'C' stitched in the middle. Half of the waitresses immediately gathered by the cashier and the other half, under Nayeon's command, brought out the sacks and barricaded booth three before the young man could reach it.

 

“Approaching the enemy, over.” Dahyun whispers to her walkie talkie.

“Copy, good luck. And as always, talk to me in person if necessary. Tell Tzuyu to record everything on the handbook. We'll review it later. Over.”

 

The waitresses and cashier salute to their captain before she reached the booth.

Yeri eyes her friends' table. She waves at them and they wave back. As soon as her and Joy's eyes meet, they start talking telepathically.

 

“Why are you still with that guy?” Joy asks.

“My business isn't finished yet.” Yeri replies.

“It's been weeks!”

“Gee, thanks for the reminder.”

“Whatever. You have to tell them soon. Everyone else is starting to get suspicious. Even Seulgi.”

“Please.”

“Okay, excluding Seulgi. But the rest are.”

“It's almost complete! Don't worry, one more day.”

“Fine. I hope you succeed.”

“Who are you talking to?” Rosé asks, telepathically.

“Oh, no one in particular.” Joy says.

“Did you guys see that? Wendy choked on the lettuce!” Lisa laughs.

“Shut up, Lisa. Hi, Joy.” Wendy reiterates.

“You have ketchup on your chin.” Joy replies.

“.” Wendy curses.

“It's been a while since we did this.” Rosé says excitedly.

“What are we guys talking about?” Jisoo joins in.

“Jisoo, stop stealing Seulgi's fries.” Jennie scolds.

“Nothing that concerns you.” Yeri says telepathically from across the room.

“Hey, Jennie.” Lisa starts.

“Aside from being y, what—”

“Are you objectifying me?” Jennie scolds.

“What? No, I—”

“Joy, are you a parking ticket? 'Cause—”

“Jennie! Look at the cute dog!” Joy exclaims.

 

“Ah!” Joohyun scrambles in her office at the sight of a little Poodle running around her shop.

 

“Seulgi, that sweater looks ugly on you. You look like an M&M.” Yeri comments.

“Joohyun! Hey, Hyun! Can you hear us?” Seulgi calls out to Joohyun.

“Shut up! I'm concentrating.” Joohyun eye screams. Everyone, including Yeri, shivered. Joohyun is much scarier telepathically than in person. If glares could kill, the entirety of Rouge Street, even the mean laundry lady, would be dead by now.

 

 

 

 

“Okay, loser.”

 

Rosé greets as soon as she enters Mysterious Recordshop. Wendy looks at her questioningly from behind the Indie section. They had just departed from CRABae Patty.

 

“The hell are you doing here? And is that my sweater?” Wendy points to Rosé's sweater.

“You just noticed? This is why you will never have a chance with Joy. Seulgi's infecting you with her aloofness!”

“Don't talk about my baby like that!” Wendy scolds.

“Why? It's true. Joy doesn't notice any of your advances.”

“I meant Seulgi!”

“Right. By the way, you're out of milk. Don't forget to tell her to buy some.”

“You're accusing me of getting infected by her aloofness when you sound exactly like Yeri right now.”

“Is that a bad thing?” Rosé her head to the side.

“We don't need another Yeri in our group.”

 

The two of them shiver at the thought. Joohyun's addition was enough. They've been hanging out for weeks now. Her, Wendy, Jisoo, Lisa and Seulgi agreed that Joohyun is a deadly combination of Joy, Jennie and Yeri. The three had their own unique trump card. Witnessing all three of that in one person was beyond their wildest imagination. They could only offer their pity for Seulgi, since Joohyun has shown some strong attachment towards the dumb bear.

 

“Are you planning on telling me the reason for your visit or are you just gonna keep on using your phone?” Wendy raises her left eyebrow.

“Wait. Why are you here anyway? Isn't it a Holiday?” Rosé asks. After sending her last text to Yeri: 'You're right, she does dress like those teenagers back in 2010.' she looks up at Wendy, who was by now dusting off the top shelf of the Country section.

 

“I'm here to make all of your dreams come true!” Rosé claims excitedly.

“You're gonna buy me the new Tesla?!” Wendy looks up from dusting the shelves.

“Pfft. I meant one of your other dreams.”

“You're gonna take me to Canada to experience Western snow?”

“You have weird dreams. And no, one of your reachable-but-not-so-much-unless-we-do-something-about-it dreams!”

“You came up with a plan to get rid of the scary laundry lady from across the street?”

 

The two of them sighed at the thought. Ah, if that came true, Rouge Street would attain peace once again.

 

“Mood, but can't. That lady scares me too much. One time, I accidentally mixed a colored shirt with my whites and she screamed at me! Sometimes late at night I could still hear the screaming.”

“That's not your thoughts. She's actually screaming. I could hear it from our apartment too.” They wipe a lone tear that escaped from their eye. They could never survive an encounter with that lady. Even Taeyeon from Into the New Word is still scared of her girlfriend.

“Anyway, a different dream!” Rosé changes the subject.

“You're gonna buy me a sealed copy of The ReVe Festival Finale?”

“Don't you already have that here?”

“They just restocked. It's still for pre-order.” Wendy and Rosé sigh. Just when they thought the world couldn't get any more frustrating.

“Another dream!” Rosé changes the subject once again. They did not want to dwell on that subject more. They could go on for an entire month about how ty that company is.

“You're gonna get me my own Netflix subscription?” Wendy's eyes glimmered at the thought.

“Ugh! Forget it, Yeri was right. You're hopeless.”

 

Rosé secretly grabs a copy of Ariana Grande's Positions album and proceeded to walk out of the shop.

 

 

 

 

“Please, Hyun!” Seulgi begs.

“Come on, Hyun!” Jisoo exclaims.

“Hey! I'm the only one who's allowed to call her that!”

“Under whose terms?”

“BOTH OF YOU SHUT THE—”

“Boss, your parents are here.”

“UP! Holy .”

Seulgi and Jisoo were at her office asking for Tzuyu's number. They were too shy to approach the cute cashier on their own. Seulgi's initial plan was to convince Jisoo to get her number for her, not knowing Jisoo had the same plan. They ended up begging Joohyun, who was conveniently Tzuyu's boss, to do it for them. An inevitable competition on who gets to ask her out will take place right after. 

However, a new unexpected circumstance happened that had the three of them looking at Nayeon in disbelief. They couldn't believe the news. After weeks of being carefree and walking towards her own path, Joohyun's parents finally reached out to her. In person at that!

 

“Oh my god. What am I supposed to say to them?” Joohyun asks the two of them in a panic.

“I almost forgot! My class is waiting for me next door. See you at lunch, Hyun!” Seulgi excuses herself.

“Right! Me too, I have uh. Uhm, I have.. Uh... I have to take Dwayne to the park! See you later, Burger Boss!” Jisoo excuses herself as well.

 

The two of them scramble to run towards the door. They didn't want to deal with Joohyun's parents either. If Joohyun uses them as an excuse for her decision of choosing to stay her in Seoul instead of going back to her actual home, they're done for. They know how threatening and powerful her parents are. Based on past experiences and they can see it in Joohyun's Bae eyes.

Joohyun was too caught up in her panic to scold the other two for leaving her behind. As much as she hates to admit it, her parents scare her too. She could still remember that time her parents dragged her out of the movie theatre when they found out she was still hanging out with Seulgi, Wendy, Jisoo and Jennie after their sermon of the four being a bad influence on her.

She paces back and forth inside her still empty office. There's a reason why she didn't have the inspiration to fill it yet. She was waiting for her parents to interfere with her new life, like they always do every time she makes a rash decision. This must be another sign. A signal that's telling her she's made a huge mistake. It's much worse now, if they find out that she's been spending her weeks with her High School friends hanging out in a bar and eating a lot of takeout food, their shops will be in huge danger, even CRABae Patty. She can't let that happen to her beloved shop, she especially cannot let that happen to the others. They've worked so hard to be here and they only offered their hand of support. She can't allow her parents to mess with their own lives.

She breathes in and out for a couple more minutes. She needs all the energy and peace of mind to get through this ordeal. She had weeks to prepare after all. Even though her parents are terrifying to other people, they do have a soft spot for their baby bunny. She's gonna use that advantage to the fullest. It's her ultimate trump card.

She reaches for the door. Her heart is beating so fast, she's afraid she might collapse the moment she steps out. She looks around her office once more, she could only hope to return to this small sanctuary with her new life still intact. She will not lose to her parents, that she promises for herself and for the others.

She lets go of the door knob. Her back towards the shop. She breathes another round of meditation. It's now or never. She repeats her promise, hoping that her deity might hear her call for help on this trying time. She closes her eyes, turns around and opens them.

 

“Nayeon!” she calls her head waitress.

“Yes boss?” Nayeon nervously walks over to her.

“What do you want for your Christmas bonus?” Joohyun whispers.

 

Nayeon looks at her in confusion before answering enthusiastically.

 

“A copy of The ReVe Festival Finale, boss! Didn't you hear? They finally restocked!”

“Okay then.” Joohyun nods

“Why'd you ask?”

“Because you're not getting it.”

“What? Why?” Nayeon pouts. Joohyun pinches her right ear before answering.

“Those people are not my parents, you moron! Those are just regular customers! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!”

 

Nayeon and Joohyun look over to the customers that Nayeon claims were Joohyun's parents. They were CRABae Patty's regulars; Hye Kyo and Joong Ki Song, whom she admits are eerily similar to her parents in terms of appearance. It's no wonder Nayeon didn't recognize them, they always visited at night. Joohyun breathes a sigh of relief and annoyance. She got scared for nothing. Although she admits she wasn't ready to face her parents just yet, there was a part of her that wanted that chapter of her life to be over and done.

 

 

 

 

“Seulgi!”

 

Seulgi looks around the street when she heard someone calling out her name but saw no one. She shrugs and proceeds to unlock her shop's glass door.

 

“Seulgi!”

 

She looks around the street again. Maybe it's all in her head? She didn't have much sleep last night. The laundry lady was FaceTiming someone last night, her voice was really loud. As if she wanted the person from the other side of the world to hear it directly from their apartment and not just on her phone. Who, by the way, lives two blocks away from their building!

 

“Hey, idiot!” Yeri flicks her forehead. She was calling Seulgi right in front of her face this whole time.

“Yerms! What can I do for you?” Seulgi smiles. Yeri was alone this time, she noticed.

“You're out of milk. Get some now before you forget. And get me some KitKat while you're in there.”

“Copy!” Seulgi runs towards the nearest convenience store.

“KIM YERIM!” Joy shouts from inside Sate Anne's boutique. She's been managing it alone for a week now. Yeri's been anywhere but there, which isn't something out of the ordinary.

“Yikes!” Yeri hides inside Seulgi's workshop, lucky for her the shop's already been unlocked. Idiot.

 

Yeri looks around Seulgi's shop. It's been a while since she's been here. She's been caught up with her important business with Big Ed that she didn't have time to hangout with Seulgi anymore, like they always do. She remembers claiming Sundays to be Yermseul day and fighting anyone, especially Wendy, who would dare interfere with her and Seulgi's day of doing nothing in particular and binge eating takeout food.

 

“Here bud!” Seulgi hands her the KitKat she requested.

“Why isn't this dark chocolate?” Yeri eyes the candy bar.

“Oh, right. I forgot you prefered dark chocolate. It's been a while since I got one for you. I guess it just slipped my mind.” Seulgi shrugs.

“Let's go do something fun!” Yeri suggests.

“Hey! It's Wednesday! I have work!”

 

Yeri flicks her forehead, a habit Seulgi has grown fond of. Joohyun's slaps and ear pinches are starting to grow on her too, like it did back in high school. As long as Wendy is there to soothe the sore spots, she doesn't mind being the group's punching bag. She just has to steer clear of Irene and Rubyjane when they're around. Even Wendy wouldn't be able to soothe the pain away if those two would ever land a hand on any part of her skin.

 

“Isn't it a holiday? You don't teach classes when it's a holiday.”

“Yup. Jisoo, you in?”

“You know it.” Jisoo says.

“What? You've been there the whole time?” Yeri asks Jisoo in surprise. She didn't notice her presence until Seulgi made it known.

“Yeah, I was with Seulgi earlier when you called her too. We were gonna hangout here in her shop.” Jisoo shrugs.

 

Yeri squints her eyes. Jisoo's always been like a ghost. She comes and goes without anyone ever noticing it. She's just... there.

 

“Your apartment it is!” Yeri exclaims.

“Alright!”

“Not you, Casper. Seulgi's.”

“Oh thank god.” Jisoo sighs in relief.

“Let's buy some snacks!" Seulgi suggests.

“Or better yet, let's invite Wendy and let her buy the snacks for us.” Yeri suggests as well.

 

Yeri took a clean paper out of Seulgi's drawers and started writing on it. It's a message for Wendy. She didn't want to invite her casually, where's the fun in that? She drags the other two outside of the shop and orders Seulgi to lock the glass door. She planned for them to go straight to apartment 4B after sending the message to Wendy. She walks over to the recordshop right next to KSGalleria and looks around the inside of the shop through the glass door. She spots Wendy behind the cashier wearing really big headphones confidently jamming her head to the beat of SNSD's Gee, but no one has to know that.

Yeri taps on the glass door and orders the other two to wave their hands to catch Wendy's attention. She notices the three of them and smiles. Yeri then slaps the entire paper on the glass door and gestures what seems like knife slitting her own throat, coming off threateningly. Wendy's eyes widened at the message. She couldn't believe what she's reading.

 

 

GO TO THE CONVENIENCE STORE AND BUY THE MOST EXPENSIVE SNACKS YOU COULD FIND. DELIVER IT TO APARTMENT 4B IN UNDER 30 MINUTES OR IT'S OVER FOR THESE TWO.

 

 

Yeri eyes Wendy one more time as if asking if they've come to an agreement. Wendy nods frantically and decides she's done for today. She starts tidying up the place, it's a holiday after all, she's allowed to take just a day off to save one of her closest friends and her baby.

As soon as they arrived at WenSeul's apartment, they saw Rosé lying in their couch binge watching Adventure Time.

 

“Wachu doin' here?” Jisoo asks.

“Closed up shop. Holiday.” Rosé replies plainly.

“Oh, I forgot. Today's our schedule.” Seulgi shrugs and they proceed to make a mini setup out of their couch pillows and teepees they have stocked in the closet, like they always do whenever they hangout at their place.

“You got food?” Rosé asks.

“Wan's getting 'em for us.” Yeri answers.

“Cool.”

 

 

 

“Where are the others?” Joohyun asks as she looks around the burger place. She noticed five of her friends weren't with them.

“Yeri isn't here too?” Joy asks, not looking up from her phone.

“Nope.”

“Then who knows what they're up to. As long as they're alive and no police sirens can be heard within the area it's all good.” Jennie shrugs, looking over at Lisa. Strange how she's here instead of being with the others.

“How would you know if they're still alive?” Joohyun asks.

“Do you hear any ambulance blaring around the area?”

“No.”

“Then they're still alive.”

“Even Rosé?”

“Chaeng's neutral. She just goes along with whatever the people around her does. Be it with us normal mortals or the five idiots. Yes, that includes you.” Joy points her fork at Lisa.

“Hey! I'm telling the others about this!” Lisa exclaims.

“Then tell them.” Jennie challenges, raising her left eyebrow at Lisa.

“Fine. I won't.”

 

It's crazy how a really small and insignificant action can manage to destabilize four idiots in just a second, not including Yeri of course.

 

“Only because they didn't invite me. Not because you guys scare—”

“We what?” Joy looks up from her phone to look at Lisa.

“Nothing. I-I didn't say anything.” Lisa purses her lips. She feels defenseless alone against the three of them. Not that having the others around her for suppport would change anything.

The other girls at the table were too busy doing their own thing. Joohyun was talking to one of her waitresses, Dahyun and Joy was busy with whatever the hell she was doing with her phone.

 

“So Jennie.” she clears . Third time's the charm.

“Did you just come out of the oven? Because—”

“Jisoo, eat your lunch.”

“She's not here?” Joy looks up from her phone again.

“I know. I was saying the text that I sent her out loud. What were you saying Lisa?”

“Nothing, Jen. er.” she whispers the last word. Taking a mental note to slap Jisoo if she sees her tonight.

 

 

 

 

 

Lisa sighs as she looks up from the pavement towards a shop that had the familiar design of painted green leaves and raindrops on the glass door and windows. Courtesy of Seulgi, who was almost choke-slammed to death at the owner's violent method of asking for a discount. She shivers at the memory. One of the rare times Yeri was too scared to defend Seulgi. Well, she didn't defend her often, but at that time she was too scared to even laugh at their friend's situation, an even rarer time.

She gulps before pushing the door that clearly says Pull. A kid who was passing by with her mom laughed at the meerkat's lack of initiative. Joy and Jennie who were inside the shop wasted two minutes of their time staring at Lisa who was still pushing the door. Jennie rolls her eyes while Joy took a video of the whole scenario. She's saving it for later under the file Reasons Why Jennie Will Never Go Out with You. Jennie takes out her phone and dials Seulgi's number.

 

“Hello?” Seulgi says from the other line.

“Tell your friend to stop being stupid. And to read the sign that clearly says Pull.”

“Tell her yourself.”

“Seulgi. Uno—”

“That won't work on me. You're not Joohyun.”

“KANG SEULGI IF YOU DON'T—”

“Which friend?” Seulgi surrenders instantaneously. One should not mess with Jennie when she starts talking in all caps.

“The one with the bangs.”

“Wendy?”

“No, you idiot.”

“Joy?”

“I'm not dumb enough to do that.” Joy yells from behind the counter.

“The meerkat!”

“K.”

“DID YOU JUST—”

“—eeping Up with the Kardashians. I was suggesting a show. Bye!”

 

Seulgi quickly dials Lisa's number.

 

“Hello?”

“I just called to deliver a message from Rubyjane.”

 

Lisa's eyes widened in horror. Oh no, this is not good.

 

“Just kidding. It's from Jennie.” Lisa sighs in relief.

“You almost gave me a heart attack!”

“Thanks for sharing. Anyway, she called me to command me to tell you to stop being stupid and to read the sign. Bye!” Seulgi quickly ends the call.

 

Lisa stares at the glass door of the shop. Silly her! How could she miss the sign? It was staring right back at her. Lisa lets go of the handle as she reads the sign once more.

 

 

CLOSED

 

 

Joy and Jennie watch as Lisa starts to walk away from the shop with confident strides. They could only slap their own faces in frustration. Jennie dials Rosé's number this time.

 

“Hellur?”

“Tell your idiot friend that she's a huge idiot and to not show her face in front of me if she still values her life!”

 

Rosé walks towards Seulgi who was playing with her stuffed whale, Mr. Whale.

 

“I have a message for you.” Seulgi looks up from Mr. Whale.

“Who's it from?” she asks excitedly.

“It's from Rubyjane.”

 

Seulgi's eyes, much like Lisa's moments ago, widened in horror. She just did what she asked!

 

“She said you're an idiot and to not show your face in front of her if you still value your life.”

 

Wendy rushed to cover Seulgi's ears but she was too late. Seulgi heard everything. She could only caress her roommate's head in comfort. There's no escaping Rubyjane.

 

“How'd you know I was talking about Seulgi?” Jennie asks from the other line.

“You say idiot and my mind automatically goes to Seulgi.”

“Okay, good. Thanks. Tell Jisoo to stop hogging the remote like she always does. Also, tell Wendy there's no use in hiding Seulgi from me so don't even bother. See you later!”

 

Jennie ends the call and dials Lisa's number. She has no choice but to take matters into her own hands.

 

“Jen?”

“GET BACK HERE YOU STUPID MEERKAT. PULL THE GODDAMN DOOR AND STOP WASTING OUR TIME.”

“Y-yes maam!”

 

Lisa, as quickly as she walked away from the shop, rushed back to Rubyscents and pulled the door open. Two glaring eyes immediately greeted her. She gulped at the sight of the two ladies. Her fear was growing by the minute. Then, to her surprise, their eyes softened. But her fear did not waver. Based on her past experiences, looks really are deceiving. Especially from the madames.

 

“Lisa.” Joy starts.

“If someone from your past, family or friend, came back to your life without notice, would you accept them wholeheartedly?” she asks.

 

Lisa thinks for a moment.

 

“It depends.” she answers.

“On what?” Jennie asks.

“On their reason for leaving.”

“What if their reason for leaving was to pursue their dream? And that she felt her own family was holding her back from pursuing it, so she left without saying anything.” Jennie asks in reluctance.

“It depends.” Lisa shrugs.

“On what?” Joy asks.

“On how badly she wants me back in her life.” Lisa answers.

 

Joy and Jennie stare at each other for a brief moment before Jennie walked towards the back room. When she came back, someone was trailing behind her. Lisa couldn't recognize her at first. Of course she wouldn't be able to, she was wearing an Attack on Titan bodysuit. Then realization hit her.

 

“Wendy?!” she gasps.

 

Joy threw the round pillow she was holding at Lisa.

 

“Stupid Meerkat! When did Wendy ever leave your life?”

“It was a wild guess.”

“Wild guess my .” Jennie rolls her eyes.

 

Joy took the figure's hand and led it towards Lisa, who was still confused about everything that's happening. Jennie stood beside Lisa and smiled at her reassuringly.

 

“You have a kind heart. I'm confident about this.” Jennie whispers to Lisa who smiled at the compliment. She doesn't know what's going on, but with the woman of her dreams beside her, she knows she'll be able to take it.

The figure reaches for the back of its head and ped the bodysuit all the way down. Lisa gasped at the revelation.

 

“Oh my god. Niki?!”

“Hi, sizt. Long time no see.” Niki smiles shyly.

 

Lisa didn't know how she felt at the moment. Anger? Confusion? Excitement? Happiness? She wanted to run away and process the situation. She was about to back away when a firm hold gripped at her right hand, causing her to stay in place and her heart to beat faster.

 

“Hear her out.” Jennie whispers.

 

Lisa stays still and waits for her little sister to speak. Niki glances at Lisa, who was staring at her in what she assumed was confusion rather than anger. She took this as a sign to explain herself.

 

“I'm sorry for running away. I'm sorry for leaving all of you behind. I wanted to pursue my dream. I've always wanted to become a mukbanger, but a professional mukbanger? The title speaks for itself. I felt like our parents were holding me back. They wanted me to become a singer. But I wanted to use my mouth for something else, so I ran away. I'm really sorry, Lili.” Niki shifts her gaze from Lisa's glossy eyes towards the tiled floor.

Lisa didn't say anything. She was still processing everything. Niki's words and Jennie's hold on her. More of the former, though.

 

“Last year, when mom and dad disappeared for a whole week without explanation, they found information about my whereabouts. They didn't want to tell you about it because it was supposed to be a surprise. A surprise that took me a whole year to give. I'm really sorry.” Niki apologizes once more.

 

Lisa's head snapped up at that. That was all the information she needed to hear. She isn't a complex person after all. She loosened Jennie's grip on her. Three eyes immediately look up at a teary eyed Lisa. She took small, easy steps towards her little sister and envelopes her into a tight hug.

 

“I'm just glad you're back. You don't have to say anything more. Lili understands.” Lisa whispers to her little sister and the two of them start crying.

 

Joy and Jennie hug each other in jubilance. Two sisters, after years of being apart, are finally back in each other's lives. Outside the shop, a cool autumn breeze blew across the entire street. Wind chimes from different stores harmonised in unison, bringing a warm tune to the lovely sight.

 

 

 

 

“Ow!” Jisoo rubs the back of her head.

“That's for earlier!” Lisa says.

“YOU IDIOT! MY MESSAGE WAS LOUD AND CLEAR. THE ONLY THING LEFT FOR YOU TO DO WAS TO PASS THE F—”

“Rubyjane stop! You're gonna kill her!” Wendy exclaims, trying to hold Rubyjane back from laying a finger on Seulgi.

“—ING MESSAGE AND YOU COULDN'T EVEN DO THAT RIGHT!” she shoves Wendy to the side, grips Seulgi's collar and starts banging her head against the sofa of their booth.

“I'm sorry! It's not my fault she's as stupid as I am!”

“YOU'RE WRONG! IT CLEARLY IS YOUR FAULT! Jisoo, wipe your mouth.”

“I'm sorry! I'm sorry!”

“Seulgi! You're gonna break the couch!” Jisoo complains.

“It's! Not! My! Doing!” Seulgi screams against all the violence.

“Rub—” 

Jennie glares at Jisoo.

“I like your top! Keep doing what you're doing! Hehe.”

“Rubyjane you're ruining Seulgi's favorite sweater!” Wendy exclaims.

“Grip her neck next! Her neck!” Yeri suggests, zooming her camera on Seulgi's distraught face.

“I'm sorry, man. Today's an emotional day for me.” Lisa says, helpless against the wrath of Rubyjane.

“Ding! Ding! Ding! KO! Rubyjane: 76, Seulgi: negative 43!” Rosé announces.

“So, yeah. You don't have to be scared of Poodles. Especially male Poodles. They're friendly and hypoallergenic.” Joy explains to Joohyun.

“What's the second one got to do with my fear of dogs?” Joohyun questions.

“NEXT TIME JUST SAY THE WORDS EXACTLY AS I SAY THEM!”

“Yes, maam! Noted! Noted!”

“Remove your hands! I want to record your face!” Yeri orders.

“Seulgi, hand me my beer.” Rosé requests.

“Now the couch is ruined!”

“Aw, man. Now I have to stitch Seulgi's sweater again! Rubyjane!”

 

 

 

 

“So, that's all of it.” Yeri concludes her story.

“Let me get this straight. You were hanging out with Big Ed all this time because you were stopping him from charging us for tolerating underage drinking?” Wendy asks while rubbing an ice pack on Seulgi's head.

“Yup.”

“Cool.” Lisa and Seulgi comments.

“Our hero!” Jisoo fist bumps Yeri.

 

Their booth finally calmed down after Rubyjane's tantrum. In her defense, she did warn Seulgi not to show her face in front of her for the mean time.

Rosé turns to face Joohyun.

 

“Hey, I've been meaning to tell you.”

“Yeah?” Joohyun shifts her attention to Rosé.

“You can stop calling me Rosé by the way, it's too formal. Just call me Chaeng from now on. Like the other guys.” Rosé smiles.

“Is that okay? I mean, you've known them for a long time. It's understandable if you're still warming up to me. I'm still warming up to you guys myself.”

“Nonsense! You're a part of the family now. And we're gonna see each other for a long time. Specially during Mondays and Tuesdays. Why prolong the agony, right?” Rosé reassures.

“Right. Chaeng it is.”

 

Joohyun smiles at the new nickname. She looks at Rosé for the last time before looking back to her new family. She loves calling them that. She looks at how Wendy takes care of Seulgi, how Jennie takes care of Jisoo, how Yeri stands on top of the four idiots, how Lisa looks at Jennie, how Joy looks at everyone else.

 

 

 

 

A family indeed.