Unfortunately, the schedules of all the members of MAMAMOO clashed, and the usual celebration at the  of midnight was called off. The two older singers of the group realised that when they checked their message. Byulyi breathed a sigh of relief that the usual celebration was scheduled on a later date, which gave them time to get over whatever that was plaguing them.

She could not even put a finger on it after replaying their argument several times in her head. This was strange. After a shower and a change of clothes in her own apartment, she felt more normal. It was nice to be back home. She did not understand why her leader was behaving in such a strange fashion: her anger usually had a specific trigger and she would always let her know what that cause was since she was so blunt.

That was something she took a while to get used to. However, she started to appreciate this unique quality of her Yeba when she realised it was better to get disagreements out of the way instead of letting it simmer and snowball into something bigger. Hence, these few spats were strange. She doubted that the older woman even knew why she was upset.The only point that stuck with her was the sudden flare of temper when the older woman assumed that she had accused her of losing her temper at the thought of spending time with others. She sat up suddenly since she was reclining on her couch.

This Yeba is so frustrating.

Then, there was her glorious flee from talking about the issue at hand. If she had fled that way like her, she was certain that she would have a wonderful new collection of bruises to show under her clothes since she was careful not to hit in spots where clothes could not hide. So unlike her Yeba, mused she, scratching her chin as she dropped herself back on the couch. That helped her to eliminate several other possibilities which meant that her glorious leader was indeed upset with her for spending time with others.

She cocked her head slightly at that realisation.

Really?

Yongsun was upset with her spending time with others?

It sounded almost incredulous to her.

Her befuddled mind drifted to one of their many squabbles. There was one particularly fiery conversation about their fan, Dahee-unnie. Dahee-unnie who was the main host of the show dashed towards her to give her a hug at the very moment the show concluded. It irked Yeba to no ends because for a Moomoo, she seemed to be only interested in Byulyi. Her fascination so apparent that she ignored greeting its leader first.

She wasn’t so close to Dahee-unnie to ignore the social convention, but she did not mind savouring the attention from such a famous Moomoo. If she was being honest, she encouraged it because she did admire Dahee-unnie. Her Yeba, on the other hand, took it very hard. She could feel her shooting daggers from her eyes when Dahee held her far too long and far too tightly. Intially, she thought that it was her imagination when she felt her glare on her back. Then, she ascertained her anger when she caught the clip online of Yongsun’s immediate reaction to their more-than-friendly embrace. She had glared at the older woman and her until the rapper broke the embrace. When Yongsun caught the eye of Dahee-unnie, she bowed at her in the usual greeting with a public smile that did not reach her eyes. 

Yongsun had avoided talking about that too, choosing to switch the topic to other pedantic subjects when it was obviously bothering her.

She would not mention the flirty conversations they had on social media.

She bit the bottom of her lip: she seemed to be detecting a pattern of strange behaviour of her Yeba.

She reached for her mobile and jabbed a quick message. “If someone ask me on a talk show, who will I take with me to the deserted island, I will tell them I have already taken the one I wanted.”

“Moon Greasy.”

Her nose crinkled as she smiled widely at her normal reply. She could imagine the way she would grimace at the notification as she shrieked.

“Isn’t that how you like me?” She threw her head back, kicking her legs in the air like a child.

Her Yeba was typing a response.

“I guess it is good for my blood circulation.”

She slapped her hands together and guffawed aloud. It took her a while to regain her composure.

“I won’t save you if you are one of the two who dropped into the Han river though.” She ran her fingers across the screen to compose that reply quickly.

“You .”

Byulyi could only chuckled aloud, amused by her earnest counter. “Hey, you are a better swimmer than me. You can save yourself.”

She could imagine her grumbling to herself at her nonchalant response. “Besides, I think I should be kind to the other person. The person would suffer from perforated eardrum from all your shrieking.”

“Oh you little !”

Byulyi merely grinned widely, her nose crinkling adorably. Things would be OK.

The photo of Byulyi and Dahee hanging out together in private received a lot of attention. Yongsun knew that she had one of her rare day off on that day and that photograph of them explained her silence and absence instead of her usual check-ins.

The muscle under her brow ticked as she examined the photograph on her mobile for far too long. The way Byulyi truly smile, with her nose crinkled, adoration seeping from every pore and Da Hee, savouring the attention from her. She could feel an irritation blooming from the pit of her stomach.

She regretted looking at her mobile while they were at Hyejin's place celebrating the youngest singer's birthday. A cake, half eaten, stood in the middle of the dining table. A large spread of food and drinks filled the table. Naturally, there was alcoholic drinks.

Across her, Wheein and Hyejin were laughing at some private joke. Byulyi, who was sitting next to her, joined in by sharing anecdotes about their famous trip to the deserted island.

“She threw the poor fish net into the water along with the string,” added Byulyi, smiling “I didn’t know how to react to that action—”

“I got it back, didn’t I?” huffed she angrily, glaring at younger girl, turning off the screen of her mobile as she placed it next to her.

“And discovered that your boots aren’t waterproof. Yes, our wonderful Yeba,” chuckled Byulyi affectionately, shaking her head. Wheein and Hyejin joined in laughing until they noted the quick and sharp inhale of their leader as if she were trying to calm down.

The younger singers traded looks between themselves.

Byulyi tended to rile her and play her like a master puppet-master, pushing and pulling with enough finesse that ensure that Yongsun was OK. However, the leader seemed to be pushed over the edge.

“Why do I need a pair of waterproof boots in Seoul?” demanded the leader, her pitch hiking slightly. She raked her hand through her blond hair irately.

The laughter from her eyes faded slightly as Byulyi turned to look at her fully. She brushed her dark hair away from her face so that she had a full view of her. She was asking her if she was alright with a lingering gaze that was trying to look deeply into her soul.

Yongsun merely averted her gaze, brushing her blonde hair away from her face, knowing that she would know something was wrong if she held her gaze of that perspective woman for another moment.

Byulyi reached for the crook of her elbow slowly, giving her a chance to withdraw and the older woman shift away, while engaging the two youngest with another conversation about how much she missed them in the island, playing it down for the benefit of the birthday girl.

Ah. Byulyi had her answer immediately. She hated to admit that it was moments of rejection just like this that chipped at her. Her love language was touch which meant that she loved expression her affections, consciously and unconsciously, through simple touches: a brush of her hair, a squeeze of hand, a hug. She had to admit that Yongsun had adapted to the way she expressed love by allowing to hold her or by holding her hand so that they would not bump into each other consistently from the subconscious way she would walk into the space of someone she adored.

She could her own frustration simmering under the surface.

“Right. I told her you will kill her when we needed to evacuate,” smiled Byulyi, recalling the conversation. “We had to rush to the other side of the island, cutting through the undergrowth of the hill in the rain.” The smiled did not quite reach her eyes.

“Sounds like an adventure,” smiled Hyejin calmly. “Unnies always get into a tight spot together. I cannot imagine how to survive that."

“No, I won’t want to try even if you give me 10 million dollars,” protested Wheein, shaking her head ardently.

“Don’t say that too soon,” warned Hyejin, giving her an amused smirk as she eyed her older teammates carefully. "You're colleague 2."

Usually, they would move in synchronisation, like the orbit of the moon and the sun around the earth, as natural as breathing. Not this forced attempt of trying to be with each other. She raised a brow slightly when she noted that her leader jerked sharply away from Byulyi’s absent touch before forcing herself to remain still, allowing the barest of touches.

Were they fighting? Again?

Lovers' spats were common between them since they liked to prank each other. It was not difficult to see them as a couple since they could set a room on fire with the electrifying way they simply look at each other in public. But this fight, teemed with an underlying current of something more, was beyond ridiculous.

Would alcohol help?

Would that worsen the situation between them?

“Unnie, what is the deal with you and Dahee-unnie?” quipp