As soon as Solar had drifted off into deep slumber, Moonbyul slipped out of the bedroom and out of the apartment - making sure to turn off all the lights and check all doors and windows were locked before she did so. It was almost midnight as she entered the company car again and started driving to her next destination.

     A sleepy puppy opened the door a good few moments after Byul had knocked on it, complete with a barely concealed yawn and red-rimmed eyes. Wheein jumped in for a hug as soon as the older girl had entered her flat and closed the front door behind her.

“Wheein-ah… why are you still in my jacket?” Byul asked with a chuckle as she looked down and saw the familiar suit jacket on the younger girl, despite having changed into oversized sweatpants and t-shirt. She couldn’t help but laugh harder as the tips of Wheein’s ears reddened and she buried her embarrassment along with her face into Byul’s chest.

“I-I felt safer with it…” Came the eventual muffled reply. 

Instead of teasing her more, the bodyguard tightened her arms around the smaller girl for a few moments as if reassuring her that she was really there before quietly asking if she had eaten dinner. When Wheein didn’t really give her an answer, Byul immediately pulled out of the embrace to grab a tupperware from her backpack; it was an extra bowl of oxtail soup she had requested when she had ordered for Solar, and made her way to the kitchen. Within minutes, Wheein was seated on the floor at the table in her living room with hot soup, microwaveable rice and kimchi set up in front of her. As she ate slowly, coaxed by Byul to ignore her lack of appetite, and talked through the events of the day as well as what had happened once Solar had left the room. Aside from Eric also shouting at his employees for no other reason more obvious than his own guilt and shame, not much else had occurred - with each desperate to get home and forget the horrendous day had ever happened.

She managed to get through most of her meal before she finally burst into tears and angrily tried to scrub them away, not feeling like she deserved to cry. But when Byul pulled her into another one of her comforting hugs, whispering to her, “Let it out, Wheein-ah, it’s okay…” she really did. 

Wheein rarely cried in front of others but this? This felt safe.

She was an only child, brought up by her late grandmother while her mother was too busy trying to make ends meet after her deadbeat father had run off and left them saddled with his debts. She tried to help by becoming independent as soon as she could and tried to look happy even when she wasn’t, learning to hide her tears for private moments. Her only emotional outlet was through art and music, and despite the lack of money in this field, her grandmother had begged teenage Wheein on her deathbed to follow her heart when it came to choosing her college. She had enough talent to earn a scholarship to art school, where she eventually met Yongsun through extracurricular activities, and her mother accepting her choice was an olive branch after living like strangers for the majority of her childhood and teenage years. 

And as Byul held her, allowed (and encouraged) her to cry on her, accepted her weak and vulnerable side, Wheein realised that she could no longer see the older girl as just a hired bodyguard or even as a friend.

She felt like family. She felt like home.

And whatever happened after this, she was damned if she was letting this amazing person go.

Even if they knew so little about each other, it felt like they had known each other a lifetime.

     As Wheein’s sobs calmed to (what could only be described as) cute hiccups, Byul handed her tissues to let her blow her nose and tidy herself up before dragging her back into a side hug; her head coming to rest on a strong shoulder. 

“Feel better?” She asked in a light tone.

“Much.” Wheein nodded and tiredly snuggled into her side a little more. “I just… I don’t know what to do next.”

“Easy. Talk to Yongsun-unnie.”

“Totally not easy!” Wheein moved her head so she could look up and glare at the older girl, who merely raised an eyebrow at her.

“Just go and stay over, make breakfast and make up with each other.”

“But I’m scared~” The resident-puppy whined. “What if she doesn’t want to forgive me?”

“Look, Yongsun-unnie wants to apologise too… she’s just as equally scared as you are.” 

Wheein eyed her slightly suspiciously, “R-Really?”

“Yes!” She replied with a soft smile. “And don’t worry, I’ll be there with you… just in case you ladies decide to have a proper cat fight, you’ll need someone to record it for Worldstar*, right?”

Byul swiftly leant back while laughing to avoid slapping hands from an equally amused Wheein.

“Worldstar? Really? What century are you living in, unnie?”

She then squealed as Byul bundled her up into a faux headlock for her quip about her reportedly outdated reference. 

     Eventually, she was convinced into packing an overnight bag and preparing to leave with Moonbyul to go to Solar’s. As she grabbed her coat, she reluctantly shed Byul’s jacket to return to her and playfully shoved the grinning bodyguard but silently noted how good she looked in the slightly dressed down suit with the white t-shirt. Her eyes then travelled down to the bandaged arms and was sobered quite quickly. 

As they moved down in the elevator to the car, she asked, “Byulyi-unnie, you will go and see Dr Son about your arms, right?”

“Of course.” Came the quick reply.

“You promise?” Wheein knew Byul was a woman of her word and she needed a way to make sure she went.

“Yes, I promise.” The answer came with a slightly amused smile. 

It was a quick drive back to Solar’s and the pair crept in after Wheein typed in the code for the door. Byul waited for Wheein to get ready for bed and tucked her in, staying until she fell asleep like she had done for Solar. She then once again slid out of the idol’s apartment after making sure both occupants were sound asleep and that the flat was secured. Jogging down to the ground floor, she pulled out her phone and ordered a taxi via an app, opting to leave the company car parked at Solar’s. 

She was hoping it would be the final stop of the night.

Well, by this point, it was early morning of the following day according to the time on her phone and her body finally acknowledged its pain and exhaustion as she shrugged on her suit jacket. Giving the taxi driver the address to RVSM, she slumped into the backseat with her head resting against the window as her mind rolled over the events of the day as well.

It wasn’t the attack or confrontation in the classroom/dressing room that had her in a brooding mood.

Violence unfortunately wasn’t new to her.

No, it was her interactions with the people, who were meant to be her clients. 

Moonbyul knew she needed to be more careful because she was getting dangerously involved.

And the last time she cared so much, she had ended up married.

Her eyes fell on the two rings resting on her left index finger and her heart clenched.

It was meant to be a reminder of how that ended.

She grit her teeth and curled her left hand into a tight fist before resting her chin against it.

A reminder why she must never be allowed to love again.

     By the time she was dropped off in front of RVSM, the sun was already up and Wendy was not as upset as she might have been when she banged on the door of her accommodation. She was one of the few who stayed in the onsite dorms as she was supposed to be available 24/7 as the resident doctor but they all stayed over sometimes if they were working on a case late into the night. As she took down the dressings, Wendy winced appreciatively at the jagged cuts of varying lengths and depths.

“Yikes, all this damage with a rusty hook?” She dragged the examination light closer. “But I must say, whoever gave these a clean did a really good job.”

Dr Son got straight onto giving everything one last clean before suturing any lacerations she could and bandaging everything back up. She sensed the dark mood and noted Byul’s distant look (only focusing for a few moments when she had to answer any relevant questions) as she worked.

“You okay, unnie? You seem… distracted.”

The ex-soldier blinked a few times and looked back at the doctor.

“S-Sorry, Wendy… I think I’m just tired… Haven’t slept yet.”

Wendy frowned, knowing that it was a good excuse but there was something more. She wasn’t as close to Byul as Seulgi or even Irene, having only met the older girl when she joined RVSM, not long after Byul herself was recruited. The bodyguard slowly opened up over the last few years she had known her, going from being the perfect soldier to amiable colleague and now (she would class her as) a friend. Byul had always been stoic but always kind, always taking in her environment more than she spoke. And she knew from Joy, the resident psychotherapist, that getting Byul to talk was indeed like getting blood from a stone. So, instead she focused on giving her a tetanus booster and handed over a course of antibiotics with a stern warning to take them and complete the course. 

Who knew where this rusty hook had been before it was used to slice Byul’s arms open?

But as she waved goodbye at her retreating patient, she glanced at the calendar on the wall of the medical clinic and almost fell off her stool as the realisation hit her. And whipping out her phone, she quickly sent a message to the bosses.

     Moonbyul, meanwhile, headed down to the RVSM car park to her (only) prized possession: her precious Mercedes GLC. She had decided that it was now too late (or perhaps too early) to sleep and hopping into her car, braved the rush hour traffic for her final mission. Stopping by at a fancy cafe that served breakfast and bougie coffees, she picked up an order and returned to Solar’s flat one last time. Leaving the well wrapped takeout and coffees by the front door, she texted both Solar and Wheein individually with a small scheme playing out in her mind. Settling back into her car, her eyes fell on the rings again as her left hand curled around the top of the steering wheel. 

Byul let out a sigh and checked the date on her phone.

Solar taking the next few days off meant Byul was also having those days off by proxy.

‘ Maybe this isn’t such a bad thing so close to the anniversary…’ Was her last thought before she got her car into gear and drove away.