Yeri watched Irene hum a happy tune that morning, making her curious about how the day ended for the older girl. Irene is usually quiet and reserved when she arrives in the morning. She was a sad person per se but seeing her happy was a surprise.

“You’re in a good mood. Did you have a good time last night?”

“Yeah...” Irene smiled before picking up the dustpan and leaving towards the restaurant’s back.

She didn’t see how Yeri and Joy’s mouths hung open at her reply.

“Did she have a date last night?”

“No. Irene-Unnie left early. She told me she would pass by the store near the house for some ramyeon...”

“She’s being weirdly happy today. She was humming!”

“I’m sure it’s no big deal, Yeri.”

Yeri took a seat on an empty booth and placed her chin on the table. Joy stood beside the booth and eyed her younger friend.

“It’s going to be fine. Irene-Unnie can handle herself. You know that.”

“That doesn’t mean we should just let her go through everything alone. Shouldn’t we make her feel that we are happy she is happy too?”

@@@@@@@

Bona stood against her desk as she quietly read the final reports she would be bringing to headquarters when she heard people passing by.

“Isn’t that Kang Seulgi from IT?”

Bona looked up to see three women talking about her friend as they passed by.

“Too bad she’s leaving next week. Their last day is today.”

“Why?”

“Have you seen her? I’d like to ask her out.”

“Get in line. Some people from CSR had their eye already.”

“Isn’t she dating Miss Kim?”

Bona sat down to hide in her cubicle. Gossip wasn’t one of Bona’s strongest suits to handle. She hated it then. There was no way she would take a liking to it now. She hurriedly looked for a headset, stressed the women find her listening to the conversation.

“I don’t see them together. Seulgi even goes home before her. So I don’t think they do.”

Bona had to frown in agreement. So Seulgi and her agreed to talk about it but never had the chance. Were they two workaholic people who can’t even find time to have a conversation?

She recalled what had happened the night before. She arrived, and a sleeping Seulgi greeted her. It is okay, right? She didn’t want to wake up Seulgi to talk about how their day went. She was understanding.

Right?

She held on to the folder she was pretending to read tighter, and even without noise coming from the headset, she pretended not to hear the conversation.

“Bona... Lunch?”

The employee conversations about her and Seulgi occupied her head. She didn’t hear Seulgi calling out to her.

“Bona...” Seulgi called a little louder and placed a hand on her shoulder.

She looked around and saw that the previous women and others were trying to listen to their conversation discretely. But, again, the feeling made her uneasy. Why were people too nosy in these parts of the country?

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.”

Seulgi seemed not to believe her, so she took her hand and tugged it a little.

“Take a break. Let’s eat.”

Bona didn’t have the strength to stand up, but she felt Seulgi pull her up and support her.

“We’re having lunch. Whether you like it or not.” Seulgi whispered to her ear before holding hands with her.

@@@@@@@

Everybody was busy wrapping up their reports, but Eunseo found herself staring into space. The text her sister sent her bothered her a lot. She knows she still has a few days of school to attend. But this situation needed intervention.

Seulgi-Unnie My Love <3 Chat

Eunseo: Unnie!!! How is Daegu?

Seulgi: Tiring. Worse for Bona if you ask me.

Eunseo: Why?

Seulgi: She spends most of her time in the office. I fall asleep waiting for her. That’s how late she goes home.

Eunseo: You promised. :(

Seulgi: I know. Don’t worry. I make sure she eats before I leave. I also keep food on the table in case she comes home hungry.

But that wasn’t what Bona needed.

Eunseo knows Bona needed Seulgi to be awake. Bona needed someone to hold her, to tell her it was okay to rest. Eunseo can’t blame Seulgi for falling asleep. Her sister works hard as well. So Seulgi barely stayed awake on the train home when she was still in Seoul. Eunseo could list the number of days she and her brother had to pick up Seeulgi because she went way past her stop, and there were no more trips.

It’s decided.

She could be careless about what her sister and brother would say.

Eunseo closed her book and started to check schedules on her phone. Her distracted demeanor didn’t go unnoticed by her friend, who had just finished her report.

“What are you looking at?”

“Train schedules...”

Cheng-Xiao leaned over to check what her friend was checking on and laughed lightly.

“Really... You said you would give this to your sister.”

“Come again?”

“You said it’s your sister’s Bona time. You know, you should stop pretending it’s okay and just tells Bona-Unnie how you feel.”

“Aish. She likes Seulgi-Unnie, okay?”

“I don’t think Seulgi-Unnie likes her that way, and besides...” Cheng-Xiao moved a bit so she could whisper the rest to Eunseo’s ear.

“I think Bona-Unnie ado