As soon as Solar disappeared up the stairs after Byul, Hwasa took Wheein by the hand and gently but firmly steered her away from the kitchen area to the living room and onto the sofa. She could feel the smaller girl trembling in her grip and knew even before she voiced it that she was close to having a panic attack.

“Is there any way I can help?” Hwasa asked as she ran her thumb over the hand in hers.

“I… I’m not sure but…” Wheein was trying her hardest not to descend into tears. “But sometimes talking about something random… helps…”

“Like a distraction? Um… how about I tell you about how Byulyi-unnie and I met?”

Wheein nodded immediately, knowing anything to do with the older girl would help.

“Well, let’s see… I met Byulyi-unnie in high school. She fought off some older students who had been bullying me on my first day and ended up in detention and we’ve been friends ever since. She was a lot… meatier then. And had braces".

Wheein could not help herself and snorted at the thought. Hyejin grinned back, “I know right? But she’s always been that same strong, kind and caring soul; fiercely protective of others yet wearing her own heart on her sleeve… I’d been bullied all through my life because I was different , you know? Too dark, too fat, looked too foreign (even though I wasn’t) but Byulyi-unnie helped me accept who I was, she helped me through panic attacks, she just… helped me a lot.”

She paused as she looked down at their joined hands and a soft nostalgic smile appeared on the model’s face, “You know how I’ve always wanted to sing, right? Well, she would skip school to work random jobs so that we could take the train to auditions and to buy me gopchang when I inevitably failed because I didn’t fit the Kpop aesthetic. Gosh, we were inseparable back then…”

Wheein watched as the smile faded slightly and her tone changed, “Byulyi-unnie joined the army straight out of high school because her family disowned her and she was basically homeless… You see, one of her sisters had seen her kissing a girl the day before high school graduation and her dad beat the out of her before kicking her out of the house. She stayed with me for a few days while she got paperwork sorted for the army and then off she went, with just the clothes on her back. We kept in contact while she was in the army - she never told me much but I know it was hard and it probably only got harder when they picked her for special forces training. And then you know what she did? When I told her that I thought that I would be better off auditioning as a model for foreign companies and that I had found one but it was in France, she sent me two plane tickets for me and my dad so that he could me since she couldn’t… it was worth 3 months of her pay because she was still training, you know? But that audition got me into the modelling agency in Paris and the rest is history. And I’ll be forever grateful for her. Sure, sometimes we were bad at keeping contact but we would always try to be there for big events and we could pick things up where we left off so easily. She can still tell what I’m thinking or what I’m trying to say when I can’t express it.” 

“What would count as a ‘big event’?” Wheein asked curiously and Hyejin replied, “Oh, like my first fashion show or when unnie graduated as a ‘black beret’… oh my god, Wheein, she looked so damned good in that uniform. I think I still have the photos...” 

They shared a giggle and Hyejin continued, “The last big event was her wedding… we haven’t really been to anything since.” 

At Wheein’s utterly stunned expression, she nodded understandingly, “Ah, I guess she hasn’t told you… I’m not sure it’s my place to say but I also know she won’t ever talk about it and I don't think she would mind me telling you… Byulyi-unnie's unit was assigned to the President’s security detail alongside the Secret Service for a few months and that’s where she met Lee Dahee, one of the President’s aides. I know some people don't believe in it but it really was love at first sight for them. I’m talking like, proper head over heels. But they had a seven year and Dahee-unnie was like this golden girl from some up and coming middle class family, who had an engagement arranged by her family to a high ranking politician's son. So, they tried to bury their feelings, which worked… until Byulyi-unnie got injured saving the President and his staff from an assassination attempt, including Dahee-unnie, and it was like Dahee-unnie suddenly realised she couldn’t take it anymore. She just went and confessed to Byulyi-unnie in front of everyone when she woke up in the hospital.” 

Hyejin glanced at Wheein, who looked so invested in the story and she carried on, “I know, like a movie right? Well, after that Dahee-unnie broke off her engagement and quit her job before the politician’s family tried to smear her or her family’s reputation. Her family disowned her, just like Byulyi-unnie’s, but they didn’t care. The two of them got married with Seulgi-unnie and I as witnesses. They were so happy for 3 years, proper domestic… Byulyi-unnie was promoted to officer in the special forces and Dahee-unnie found a job as a teacher.” 

Wheein once again felt the shift in Hwasa’s tone and she squeezed her hand to try and give some strength as she almost choked out the next part, “Then Seulgi-unnie rang me one day while I was in New York… Dahee-unnie was dead and Byulyi-unnie was severely injured. Turns out someone in Byulyi-unnie's team had betrayed them to a terrorist cell they had been tracking for months and they had shot the two of them in broad daylight before driving off. I flew back as soon as I could but when I landed, Seulgi-unnie told me that as soon as she had woken up, Byulyi-unnie had disappeared looking for revenge. I-I don’t know the details but from what Seulgi-unnie heard through other people , Byulyi-unnie tracked down and eliminated the terrorist cell and exposed the traitor within weeks, something they hadn’t been able to do in months , before surrendering herself. There was talk of court martialing but in the end they honorably discharged her because her actions had saved thousands of lives, including her team… this terrorist cell had planned what would have been one of the largest attacks in history and might have even succeeded if it wasn’t for Byulyi-unnie.” 

Hyejin sighed deeply as she whispered, “But Byulyi-unnie… she wasn’t… whole after that… I mean, who would be? She spent most of her recovery blaming herself and drinking heavily to forget…” 

She trailed off as she recalled the number of times she had found Moonbyul drunkenly crying o