Final.

        Almost eight in the morning, she drove her car to her office, nothing in mind, just one agenda for the whole day.

It has been tough, wasn’t it?

All the days she had been through, from the night she caught her wife cheating, having an affair, being willingly touched by someone else; to being a defendant accused of killing a friend, even owning that she is at fault for that night; to becoming the defense lawyer of her very own disloyal wife and proving to everyone she is not the one who committed the murder and seeking for who really killed the traitor…

Now, this is the last thing she has on the list.

Present the proposal of agreement and negotiate about dividing all their properties.

Stepping on the breaks one more time, she was able to park her car in their law firm’s parking basement lot, carrying nothing but a folder in her hand as she walks out of the vehicle heading straight to the law firm’s lobby to log in for her attendance.

Empty – that’s how the employees who know her would describe her the moment they greeted her and all she did was respond with a faint smile and a simple light nod. No one ever knew that they will get a sight of their most competent lawyer, usually lawyer of the month and one with the strongest persona in court wearing that same fierce mask in their office where they would usually see her enjoying doing her job.

Well, it must be unpleasant now, to even sit behind her desk knowing that her, being a competent, hardworking lawyer in the field of law and justice is one of the said stem reasons why her wife cheated. She was busy… all of the time. All she did was solve cases, she barely could eat properly and on time, rarely would give herself a 'me time', or a vacant to relax, to take a break, and she would go home usually so late…

And so, as a result, her wife longed for those things… those things she should be the one and should only be her to provide. But oh well, one’s mistakes should not serve as permission for someone to choose and act a sin, right?

“Yujin…” Professionalism, not present, the oldest in their circle of friends approached the younger who is now seated in her swivel chair, turning on her laptop, raising her eyebrows just to greet the older, despite emotionlessly.

But Eunbi, the oldest couldn’t help but drop her shoulders as she stares at the younger who later gave her a look with nothing in expression.

The goofiest, one of the most playful kids they know, it feels surreal to see the total contrary of how they used to see her back then – a mood lifter, the joker, the player, the one to initiate chaos, the first one to run and yell ‘The last one will buy me a drink!’, now it’s the total opposite – as she's the one who faced the problem by herself with both of her eyes wide open, letting herself experience it to the fullest, absorbing all the pain from the experience and would show no tears in front of anyone…

But you could see it, the amount of pain she held back. It looked like she’s just tired of feeling sadness and couldn’t get mad anymore and so her brain resorted to draining all of her, turning her to an empty bottle. Even with the mask, she’s been gripping on, it is still… transparent enough for keen eyes.

“What, Attorney Kwon? How may I help you?” Avoiding the eyes of the older, addressing her in a formal and professional way, Yujin asked, maintaining the emotionless image, breaking the tension building up in her office with how the older looks at her.

She is not dense, she knows Eunbi went here for a reason not of business but of personal matters. And she is right, proven when the older sat on the chair in front of her desk and asked, “Are you really going to do this?”

Yujin cannot help but give out a sigh there as she fixes her position on her chair while Eunbi continued, “Are you really sure? Why don’t the two of you have marriage therapy first? Try other things to fix the matter between you two.”

“Divorce should only be the last straw, Yujin.”

The younger looked at her Unnie, eyes dimmed, unreflective of any emotion. They both took a couple of seconds of silence; the younger remained composed, while the older showed empathy, while also convincing the prior through her gaze and yet…

“Do you believe marriage therapy will actually help us?”

Ahn Yujin questioned.

“Marriage therapy works mainly for failing marriage, but ours… already failed, Unnie. It did when I saw her letting someone touch her, willingly.”

“But she still loves you, Yujin, we both know that.”

Silence.

“You could still fix this with he-…”

“Attorney Ahn, your wife,” the secretary trailed off, “Is here.”

“Please, let her in.” Ordered by the lawyer before turning to the senior one only to shoo her away, “I have a meeting now, Attorney Kwon, if you could leave the room, please? Let’s talk some other time.”

And at that time, despite being the older, being the senior, Eunbi couldn’t do anything but stand, still looking at Yujin with hopeful eyes before turning her back to walk towards the door where she met a particular woman…

“Unnie…”

“Minjoo.”

Even to the eyes of the woman who just came, Eunbi could only send encouragement while squeezing both hands gently, with warmth and comfort. But with how the Doctor responded with just a faint shake of the head, Eunbi felt losing a grip to her own faith for the couple.

And as being just a friend of them, she couldn't meddle anymore so she just gave a nod and a smile, then after, walked out of the office letting the two of them with Yujin’s secretary inside who, “Excuse me.” Soon followed as Yujin signaled her to go.

Minjoo then stood there, next to the door, looking at her wife or mayhaps, we should say… so soon to be ex-wife?

Yujin didn't exert any energy to lift her head up to look at the older, she remained sitting there, laying all the papers she has to present to the Doctor and upon sensing the gaze of her soon to be ex-wife, Yujin broke the silence by requesting, “Please, have a seat.”

Which was obeyed by the medical professional silently, yet shakily.

“Let me just fix all the papers for a moment.” The Lawyer said, still not sparing the woman in front of her desk a glance.

And there, as Yujin takes her time to put the papers in order, Minjoo then took her own time to observe her wife.

Hardworking - that’s how they call her most of the time, along with the words persevere, rational, powerful, competent, and a woman of determination and loyalty. She could see it, in this workplace, or maybe… through the whole situation and through the entire time they're together, she was able to see, yet that was something she wasn't the one to describe even though being labeled as her wife.

Yujin looks intimidating, not because of their current position, but in a professional way and she remembers how it pokes her attention and turns her on as always, to see Yujin focusing on her studies, cases, papers, folders, computer…

Until that sight suffocated her.

Seeing Yujin just giving most of her time to her duty as a Lawyer, barely spending an amount of attention for her… it choked her up, but right, one’s mistakes should not serve as permission for the other to choose and act a sin.

It is still her fault, how they both ended up sitting across each other on this very moment as… in a minute, would be ex-wives of each.

“Okay,” Yujin began, and the Doctor could only look down on all the papers settled above the glass covering of the table, “We don’t really need to discuss much I’ll just let you know the percentage of the division of earnings and other properties we both had for the past years.”

Yujin sounded so natural, as if… it is not them she is discussing, as though they are not the couple having the divorce papers served for.

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