"It's no use, Chae. We've already sent multiple representatives to contact ZEUS, but he or she is still not responding" Lisa said over the phone. "I heard a lot of companies are also trying to reach out, but to no avail"

Chaeyoung pursed her lips. Park Corporation has been trying for weeks to get a hold of this mysterious person named ZEUS — no one knew their real identity, only that he or she holds the biggest share behind multiple companies. "Got it Lisa, let's continue trying. Getting ZEUS's buy-in is crucial for our project"

After bidding Lisa goodbye, Chaeyoung hanged up. She sighed and stared at the array of food on the table

Jennie had been anxious about a business deal for days, and she was finally closing it this afternoon. To celebrate, Chaeyoung went home early to cook the older girl's favorite dishes. But the blonde has been waiting alone for hours now, and the food has long gone cold as well. Her phone suddenly lit up with an incoming message, and Chaeyoung quickly checked it

3:04 pm
Jennie: Rosie! You're right, we were able to close the deal successfully!

3:45 pm
Chae: That's great! I'll prepare your favorites for dinner to celebrate

9:53 pm
Jennie: Sorry I only had the opportunity to text you now :( Kai suddenly went to my office and dragged me away for dinner. Please go ahead and eat without me


Chaeyoung’s stomach sank, and she gripped her phone tightly. This was already the third time the older girl cancelled on her. She expected this since Jennie already told her that she has decided to give Kai another chance to win her back. But still, it doesn't hurt any less

The blonde stored the food in the fridge, and proceeded to grab her jacket and go outside

I hope he makes you happy

-------------------------------

Chaeyoung went to a nearby club to blow off some steam. She was on her sixth bottle when she heard two voices nearby

"Hey, what's a pretty girl like you doing here alone? Let me buy you a drink" Chaeyoung glanced up and saw a scruffy-looking man approach a woman near the bartender table

"No thanks. I'm actually waiting for someone" the girl rejected flatly. She shifted uncomfortably as the man leaned in

"C'mon, just one drink. What's your name anyway?" he insisted. Chaeyoung inwardly scoffed at men who can't take no for an answer

"I said no" the girl repeated firmly, but the man moved his hand to grab the girl's arm

"Hey!" Chaeyoung shouted, causing the pair to look at her simultaneously. She took this opportunity to walk towards them, and lightly wrapped her arm around the girl's waist — careful not to touch any skin so as not to make the girl uncomfortable

"Sorry I'm late, babe" Chaeyoung greeted lovingly. The girl stared back in surprise and Chaeyoung silently signaled her to play along. The blonde then glared at the obnoxious man, "if you'll excuse us, my girlfriend and I are leaving"

She was pulling the girl away from the man when he sneered out loud, "do you think I'm that naive? I'm sure you guys just met and are faking it to play hard to get"

Chaeyoung was about to angrily retort that they don't owe him any explanation when she felt warm hands pressed against her cheeks. She was then suddenly pulled forward and kissed deeply. The girl's mouth tasted of alcohol and Chaeyoung was too shocked to react. The girl finally let go and stared at the man straight in the eyes, "which part of this looks fake to you?"

The man let out a growl of annoyance and slammed his drink on the table. He finally left while muttering curses under his breathe

Chaeyoung blinked herself out of her stupor and looked at the girl, who was now staring back with droopy eyes and a flushed face

"You are drunk" Chaeyoung pointed out. "You should go home"

The girl ignored her comment and sighed dreamily, "my hero"

"I'll book a cab for you, go home now" Chaeyoung disregarded the praise and went back to her table to grab her phone

"Wait!" the girl followed behind, "come back! I'll be your baby!"

She then proceeded to slump on the couch beside Chaeyoung's table

"What's your name, babe?" the intoxicated girl batted her eyes at the blonde

Chaeyoung ignored her entirely and started booking a cab

"Aww poor baby, you must be so heartbroken" the girl cooed

"What?" Chaeyoung whipped her head around at the comment

"Well, look at you! This is like your what? Seventh bottle already?" she pointed at the empty glasses on the table. "What happened must be pretty bad for you to sulk like a dejected puppy since you entered this place"

"Hey, I'm not a puppy!" Chaeyoung pouted and sulked like a puppy

"Call me Suzy" the girl said and glanced at the blonde's hand. "Seeing that you've been fiddling with your ring, does this mean your spouse cheated on you?"

"What? No!" Chaeyoung automatically denied. Suddenly curious that Suzy still hasn't recognized her yet, she asked, "wait, you don't know me?"

Suzy shrugged. "Should I? I mean, I just moved back here from Australia a day ago, so I’m not really up to date with what's going on"

Chaeyoung exhaled in relief at the answer. Suzy continued her monologue

"If it's not cheating, then is it unrequited love?" she inquired, and Chaeyoung's clenched jaw gave the answer. "If it helps, you can talk to me about it, baby"

"Stop calling me 'baby' " Chaeyoung huffed

"Oh, do you want other pet names instead? How about honey or boo?" Suzy teased, eliciting an eyeroll from the blonde. She gently nudged, "C'mon, people say I'm a great listener, you can tell me"

Chaeyoung observed the girl's sincere demeanor — talking to another person about her problems does seem very tempting. Plus, Chaeyoung is also drunk, and her current state is not really helping her think clearly. She most likely won't ever see Suzy again, right?

"Okay" Chaeyoung relented, and Suzy clapped her hands in glee

"This is all just hypothetical, okay?" Chaeyoung said, "So let's say there are two best friends. Person A really loves Person B, but Person B is completely unaware of her feelings. Then, something bad happened to Person B's family, so they had to marry each other as a solution. The arrangement was temporarily working, but suddenly, Person B's ex came back and now everything is a mess"

Suzy nodded, "which led to Person A drinking her sorrows away alone in a club, right?"

"Hey, I said it's hypothetical" Chaeyoung frowned cutely

"Okay" Suzy grinned and turned serious. "Then for me, Person A should just be honest and tell Person B how she feels"

"It's not that simple though" Chaeyoung dejectedly said. "Everything is so complicated, I just want her to be happy"

"But how would you know that she won't be happier with you?" Suzy noted thoughtfully. "You love her to the point of marrying her even if she doesn't feel the same — that says a lot"

"But..." Chaeyoung weakly protested

"You're scared right?" Suzy said. "You're scared of what would happen to your friendship, how everything might change if she knew about your feelings?"

Chaeyoung nodded faintly

"But nothing worth it is easy" Suzy gently coaxed. "It might be scary, but you have to take the risk. Not only for her, but also for you to have a chance to be happy"

Chaeyoung stayed mum at the advice

"Well, you should learn from me, I'm always direct with what I want" Suzy joked. "If she rejects you, you can always fall into my arms instead"

Chaeyoung laughed at the girl's shameless flirting, already feeling lighter. They proceeded to chat more, and Chaeyoung thought that at least t