“So… I’ll see you soon?” Joohyun can’t help but ask. They’re at the hospital now, attending to both of their injuries. Hospitals are usually pretty neat, but The Purge takes so many lives that the cleaning chemicals aren’t strong enough to erase the metallic odor of blood from the air.

 

The clock ticks and the fact that she can hear the sound proves how rich Joohyun must be to be almost alone in there with her.

 

“...Seungwan?”

 

Seungwan isn’t looking at her, after so many hours of not being able to tear her gaze from Joohyun, which is rather strange.

 

“I… can’t do this,” Seungwan whispers, “I’m so sorry.”

 

Joohyun frowns at first, confused.

 

“But you said—”

 

“I know what I said, okay?” She runs a hand through her hair. “It’s just… we have no future together. Hell, we can’t even be friends.”

 

“It’s not like I’m saying that I love you or anything,” Joohyun bites back. “What are you so scared of?”

 

“This isn’t… you’re just shocked and grieving and this—”

 

Seungwan doesn’t need to look at Joohyun to know how badly she messed up.

 

“Don’t,” Joohyun says, voice rough with a tinge of anger. “Don’t you dare.”

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

It takes Joohyun a moment to stabilize her voice so it won’t crumble under the weight of her heartbreak.

 

“Yeah, me too.”

 

 

 

 

“She really did it, didn’t she?” Jongin mutters with wide eyes.

 

"And you thought he was full of if I remember correctly,” Chen says, holding his I stand with Im Yoona banner.

 

“Well, we’ll never know if the deceased senator was full of that or not,” Jongin counter backs, moving across the Frito-Lay’s chips stand. “But her wife sure didn’t. I want to marry that woman.”

 

Joy laughs, pushing the candy box at the back of the highest stand row.

 

“Hey, that’s Wendy’s mother-in-law you’re talking about.”

 

“She’s not my—”

 

“She would if you weren’t such a and went to see Joohyun.”

 

Seungwan closes her eyes, pressing them with her index fingers. She’s sitting on the counter since clients have been rather short today.

 

“It has been months now, I can’t go see her.”

 

“That’s stupid, Joohyun is like the most gorgeous girl I’ve seen. If you don’t want her…” Jongin shrugs.

 

“No one is stealing Wendy’s girlfriend, okay?” Joy looks at her sister. “You’re only embarrassed that Yoona paid your medical bills and then you dumped her daughter. Would you be happier if you had lost your arm?”

 

“Do not exaggerate, Joy.” She rolls her eyes, taking a chip from Jongin’s. “It’s just… what if she doesn’t want me? Things are different on Purge Day, Joy, and you know it.”

 

“She has a point,” Seulgi sings. “What?”

 

“You’re not helping, dude.” Chen just shakes his head, picking an ice cream pot all for himself.

 

“Chen, what the ? That’s like the biggest and most expensive ice cream we have here. Pay for it.” Seungwan says, snatching the ice cream pot from Chen’s hands to pass it through the cash register.

 

“I’m sorry, Wen.” He murmurs. “But, seriously, you should go see her. Have you seen her on the news?”

 

“No.”

 

“Well, you should. She looks like a ghost. We all know she hated being in front of the cameras when her father was the senator, but she looks thinner now.”

 

“What Chen means,” Joy starts. “is that she’s only doing this to support Yoona. She needs support of her own. And you definitely need to fix this.”

 

“Why is that my problem? She has friends, right?”

 

Joy and Jongin look at each other.

 

“She doesn’t, Seungwan. How much do you know about her?”

 

“Not much. Like you said I didn’t really know her before the Purge.”

 

There’s a pause where Joy looks at Chen. She has her arms crossed over her chest, a gesture she does when she doesn’t want to be the one telling her something.

 

“Okay, shoot. I’m getting nervous.”

 

“Before the Purge, a thing happened at her university. Some people pulled a… prank on her.”

 

“Continue.”

 

“She got out late from class and someone put a bag on her head, dragging her through the campus. I don’t know what happened but she was found in bad shape. They beat her and broke two ribs.”

 

“Joy, tell all the story,” Seulgi says. “They stabbed her and I don’t believe for a second they didn’t try to do anything else to her.”

 

“Why do you guys know that and not me?” Seungwan asks, shrinking into herself.

 

“Maybe if you had stuck longer…” Joy murmurs, receiving a threatening look from Seungwan.

 

“It was all over the news last year. The campus security found her just in time. She would have bled out if one more minute had passed. Maybe you missed it because she’s publicly known as Irene Bae.” Chen says now.

 

“Even I know that, and I wasn’t a fan of the Baes,” Jongin says. “She had a bodyguard after that I think.”

 

“I still don’t get why she needs my support because of something that happened long ago.”

 

“They were her friends, Seungwan. Her friends tried to kill her when they found out her father was going to run for the elections.”

 

Seungwan’s face falls. Joohyun almost died at the hands of her friends.

 

“What?” Seungwan looks in utter horror at her sister. “Why didn’t you tell me this before?”

 

“I didn’t think you were that stupid.”

 

“Clearly, you were wrong,” Seulgi says.

 

“Shoot, I have to go,” Seungwan murmurs, emerging from the other side of the cash register with the keys in one hand. “Do you think you can actually sell something without getting scammed?”

 

The question is directed at Chen, whose mouth is filled with ice cream.

 

“That was—” He stops, coughing. Seulgi hands him a glass of water before he continues. “That was one time! Why can’t Joy do it?”

 

“Because I have an appointment in one hour and I have to get going.” Chen huffs. “Besides, you work here.”

 

“Details,” Chen mutters.

 

Seungwan zones out, grabbing her things to get going, but Joy stops her.

 

“Do you even know where she lives?”

 

It takes a second for Seungwan to acknowledge that, in fact, she doesn’t know. Probably it would have been more if she had climbed into the car and started driving.

 

“That’s what I thought,” Joy shakes her head, laughing. “She’s at a conference at the moment. It’s closed doors, but you can wait outside I guess, or talk to Tiffany. I saw she was the personal bodyguard, but the event has a lot of security.”

 

“Can you give me a ride? I don’t think I will be able to park then if it is as crowded as you say.”

 

“Sure.” Joy crosses the front door with Seungwan behind her. “Just a question, though.”

 

Seungwan hums.

 

“Didn’t you tell me you were going to keep in contact with her with this friendship bull?”

 

“...Yes?”

 

“Why does it sound like you’re asking me?”

 

“Because I’m tryna see your point here, Joy.”

 

“Didn’t you guys think about how you were going to do that? Like, a telephone number, an address or something.”

 

Seungwan’s eyebrows lifted.

 

“I guess we didn’t… think that far ahead?”

 

Joy laughs again.

 

“Just get in the car. You, gays, are more stupid than I thought.”

 

______________________________________________________

 

When they get to the venue where the event is being hosted, Seungwan is beyond nervous. Her whole body trembles like she’s convulsing, and she has to take deep breaths to get air into her lungs.

 

“Why are you like this? It’s just Joohyun.”

 

“It’s just Joohyun,” Seungwan mutters under her breath, trying to convince herself about the words. “It’s just Joohyun.”

 

“You know she likes you, right?” Joy puts her hand on Seungwan’s shoulder. “I would be surprised if she isn’t in love already.”

 

“I don’t know that,” she says, self-deprecating. “What if she… rejects me?”

 

“Then, she rejects you and you will go on with your life like it was before you knew her.”

 

“I don’t think I could do that.”

 

“I thought we were past the co-dependency phase.”

 

“You know it wasn’t a phase, as you like to call it.” Seungwan fiddles with the belt. “It’s just different with Joohyun.”

 

“If she’s the right one for you, the universe will make it happen,” Joy says, smiling at her sister. “But the universe won’t help you if you don’t get your to the conference and go talk to her.”

 

Seungwan nods, opening the car’s door. She’s at a decent distance from the main door of the event, but it is so full of security that she doubts they will let her talk to Tiffany. Joy closes the door, rolling the window down before leaving.

 

“One last thing,” she calls, obtaining her sister’s attention successfully. “Whatever you do… don’t be your normal self.”

 

It is clearly meant to be a joke, and Joy is delighted to find that her words make her sister laugh.

 

Joy leaves Seungwan behind, and her sister looks at the car until it disappears at a turn.

 

“Come on, you’ve got this.”

 

The place is crowded like she’s at a Britney Spears concert. She guesses the Baes are very popular by the looks of the venue. Still, it is weird for a political conference to be this full.

 

She searches for Tiffany, but it’s impossible to see past the sea of people blocking the entrance. She’s sure there should be a service entrance that she’s going to put to good use. She is very experienced at tail-gaiting after all. It doesn’t take much to find it since the catering service is pushing cars through it. Security isn’t visible outside, but knowing Tiffany she would have put guards inside, far enough from the door so they won’t block it but close enough to catch any party-crasher. To be fair, she does usually look like part of the service staff and she didn’t even change from her store apron before getting there.

 

A man looks at her, frowning.

 

“Hey, I don’t pay you to hide back here while others do your dirty work. Get inside now!”

 

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