It has been 270 hours since Hyo Won last saw their Creative Director.

She didn't answer her calls, rarely replying to her messages.

Jung Woo usually prefers to sign all documents that need her approval manually, stating that she's an old fossil that still likes scratching the paper with her own pen, but lately she just e-approved everything.

Hence, Hyo Won wondered whether she would find a zombie inside Jung Woo's apartment.

Tiptoeing carefully, she entered the quiet unit, grumbling at the cold air and thankful that her socks worked as a warm cushion to the cold white marble floor.

She walked toward Jung Woo's office on the left-wing of the apartment and mouthed 'omo' when she saw Jung Woo, face down on her cluttered desk, hair up in a tight bun, mouth hanging open in deep sleep, *Is that drool?*

On her right, she noticed that the door to the working station was left ajar. Making sure to make as little noise as possible, she opened the door and had to cover her lips with both of her hands to stifle her gasp.

Twelve mannequins were situated there, half-sewn fabrics draped on them, nearly structured enough for Hyo Won to know exactly the kind of designs that Jung Woo had in mind.

Each mannequin had their tripod banner on the side, tacked there were several carefully sewn together rectangle fabrics of many variations with different color combinations, detailed sketches of potential types of sleeves, detailed illustration of the type of accessories she wanted to use, and then Jung Woo cursive lettering naming each and every design with her chosen names along with her signature.

Hyo Won could imagine clearly in her mind's eyes the type of concept that she was going for and how easily for her to work on the details. The concept was so vividly Monika but also screamed youth, playful, daring, bold.

"Unnie is really out for blood." Hyo Won whistled softly, her heart warmed with pride. This. This is why their team was the best on their field. This is why a small nuisance won’t be able to knock them down. Pure talent, after all, always wins against trick and treachery.

She circled one mannequin, looking at it at several angles and let her imagination come to play, her mind instinctively knew the kind of visualization that she would work on.

"Ah, you found the treasure trove." Jung Woo's voice was scratchy from sleep. Yawning widely, she rubbed at her tired eyes and walked further inside. Crouching low near the opposite wall, she grinned widely at her partner in crime, "Do you like it?"

"Do I like it? Omo, are you insane? This! This is what I want!" Hyo Won pointed at the mannequins in case Jung Woo couldn't see the magic that she created herself.

"It took you, what, ten days to come up with a whole new concept and design? As expected of our Creative Director, and the choice of color!"

Jung Woo hugged her legs and laid her head on her knees, humming, "I had some help." She could still see it whenever she closed her eyes, the glowing sunset, the bright crystal prism of colors, the halo around Ji Hye.

"I could work with this. Do you want me to send some people and move them to the Vault?"

The Vault, their highly protected workshop where only certain hand-picked personnel can enter, the place where Jung Woo and Hyo Won crafted their magic together.

"No, not just yet, I’m still not really sure about certain things. Let me just let them rest and marinate for a bit. Maybe it's just me being too ambitious and wanting perfection, but not yet."

Hyo Won put both of her hands on her hips then and leveled Jung Woo with a stern look, "Please stop with the cooking reference, you've been around Hanee unnie for too long if you start using her lingo. Fine, let them rest and marinate. Now you, when was the last time you eat?"

"Uh."

Hyo Won glared at the deer caught in the headlights look on Jung Woo's face.

"Do you even shower?"

"Ya!"

Hyo Won raised both of her hands to placate the older woman, even though she always forget to eat, Jung Woo at least still cared about her hygiene.

"But still, I'm kicking you out. You need some fresh air and food! Coffee and tea are not food! Don't get me started on your love for granola bars."

Jung Woo was about to protest when Hyo Won literally pulled her up by the scruff of her hoodie – Hyowon might be shorter, but she's way stronger – and then dragged her arms as she hollered in protest.

Fresh from the shower, Jung Woo toweled off her hair brusquely with one hand, her bare feet padded the wooden floor of her bedroom and carried her straight back to the living room.

Jung Woo was touched when she saw Hyo Won washing her dishes, the robo-cleaner already sweeping around on the floor.

Sensing her presence, Hyo Won hollered from the kitchen, "Are you decent?"

Rolling her eyes, Jung Woo hollered back, “Yes! I’m putting on a T-shirt." Although she sometimes walks around in her undies, she’s not an exhibitionist, not even around Hyo Won who already felt like her own sister.

"I made you some omelet and smoothie. You better finish it off." Hyo Won pointed at her with pink scrub full of foam, trying to look intimidating but only managed to look cute.

Jung Woo's stomach grumbled loudly at the mention of food and Hyo Won whined in protest, "Just how long did you skip your meal? Ya! Can you take better care of yourself?"

Laughing at her Art Director’s cuteness, Jung Woo sat on the chair by the kitchen island, towel wrapped around her head and dug into the omelet with gusto, chewing happily as Hyo Won gave her an exasperated look.

"You know what, Unnie? You don't need a husband, you need a wife."

Jung Woo pondered what Hyo Won said for several seconds, still chewing, "You think so?" She laughed then, "Ya, is that your way of saying that I need a caretaker? I'm not that old, you little ."

Hyo Won's loud laughter rang through the room, "No, but you seriously need someone to take care of you. You are just useless when you are in your zone."

Putting more egg into , Jung Woo nodded, "I agree with you, I mean who said a man cannot be the caretaker while I'm the one working and bringing food to the table."

Hyo Won snorted, "Let's not talk about gender-assigned roles. It's too early in the morning and usually I will just end up agreeing with what you said anyway."

Toweling off her hands when she finished with the last of the dishes, Hyo Won put her hand on Jung Woo’s arm, "Can I at least take pictures of the designs? So I can start working on the details."

With her consent, Hyo Won squeezed on Jung Woo's arm and walked to the workshop, hollering as she walked, "Put the dishes on the sink after you finish, I'll clean it up later."

Scrapping her plate clean of any lingering morsel, Jung Woo put the dishes on the sink and scrolled through her phone. She winced when she saw the amount of missed calls and texts that she forgot to answer or just blatantly ignored.

She saw Ji Hye's name and quickly sent out her reply, ensuring the younger woman that she's fine.

Ignoring the other messages, she opened her email and winced again, making a mental note to herself to at least check on her phone once a day to avoid the sudden influx of things that she needed to read.

She clicked on the email from the Law Firm that the Company retained and read through the report. Her heart felt heavy when she saw the potential jail time that Jo Eun would face if they move forward with the charges.

"Dear Miss Moon, please drop the criminal charges. The civil and IP Rights lawsuit should be enough."

She sent out her reply, knowing that the Company would probably scold her for being soft. Jung Woo sighed, well as she gets older, she is getting softer, but putting someone in jail was not always the answer.

She scrolled through the news headlines that she missed, catching up on some YouTube and checking out any new place that she could go to.

"Oh, food art exhibition," she said excitedly and marked the place, maybe she could go there.

***

"Ah, what's wrong with me?" Jung Woo shook her head to herself when she found herself in front of YB Coffee.

The Food Art Exhibition was fun, but afterward, she was not sure where to go. All of her friends were either at work or busy with their kids, so she just drove around and somehow ended up here.

She entered the bustling coffee shop, saw the ordering lines, and joined in.

A tap on her shoulder pulled her attention sideway. Recognizing the small blond waiter from before, she followed when the waiter motioned her to move, chuckling when she saw the empty spot on her usual sofa.

"Do you bring your tumbler?" She asked once Jung Woo was comfortably seated.

"Unfortunately no. Do you still have the croissant?" She looked at the long lines and doubted that there were any pastries left.

Barely 15 seconds elapsed since the words left her lips, another waiter already on her way toward them bearing piping hot coffee and their famous truffle cheese croissant and put them on her table.

Laughing lightly, "Do you have a psychic