Jihye ended up telling Sohyun and Jisoo about Monika over a large portion of budaejjigae, not leaving out any details. Her two most trusted people in the world listened well and didn’t pry with extensive questioning.

That, or they focused more on drinking enough water to ease the spiciness from the soup. Jihye could swear on her favorite beanies that she didn’t mean for the conversation (she refused to call it a confession) to develop that way, but it worked in her favor, so might as well savor the little win. By the end of the meal, both had been caught up with everything; Jisoo with what happened at the party and Sohyun with what happened in Hongdae six years prior.

There was nothing else she could say about Monika anyway outside of everything you could search on the internet. Including that time she saw the older woman in Hongdae, the party was only their second meeting (the first memorable one for Monika, even). For Jihye, their next meeting had to be better than the last; she made it her mission to make a lasting impression that would encourage the older woman for another meeting, which then may lead to many more.

Five days after the party, Jihye decided that maybe she should initiate the conversation. It was out of the norm for her; she’s used to be chased by admirers since school, even more so when she managed to gradually shed her baby fat. But Monika deserved to have a different treatment from her; she’s a busy woman with a lot on her plate.

With this in mind, Jihye sent a message on the way to her second schedule of the day.

Monika-ssaem, this is no:ze ! We exchanged numbers at

J Black-ssaem’s party last Friday. Have you been well?

Just checking in to see if you’re still good on

that discussion about dance styles ^^ Maybe over coffee some time?

01.47 PM

If she was busy chewing while contemplating what she should say, she stopped mid-chew when she saw that her message was sent, glaring staring at the screen in case Monika saw her message or even replied right away. After a whole minute of nothing, basically, she resumed chewing. She’s a busy woman, Noh Jihye. Let’s be patient a bit, yeah?

The message was quickly forgotten when she arrived at the location, quickly thanking her manager for driving well before dashing out of the car. She would need to get her second makeup done before starting the photoshoot for a fashion brand where they would take some shots of her wearing the upcoming line. In the same location, they would also interview her as a part of the promotional content.

As simple as it sounded, the shooting took longer than expected, finishing around eight in the evening. With no time to rest or a quick meal, the manager took her to the last schedule for the day, dance training with Jisoo and Sohyun, since WayB would shoot a video the following week.

“Unnie, have you eaten?” Sohyun asked when Jihye finished changing into her cropped top and sweatpants.

“I ate some bread.” About six hours ago but only her manager knew that. “Where’s Jisoo-unnie?”

“She’s filling up her water bottle in the pantry. Unnie and I came earlier to warm up and learn your choreo, is it okay if we make small changes to it?”

“Sure,” Jihye nodded firmly, both moved and proud at their efforts to speed things up.

For the upcoming video shoot, they’d be wearing sponsored apparel to be shot in the store, thus she had to choreograph it in a way where they would move along the rows of shirts, cropped tops, and sweatpants. It was a fairly new brand that was owned by one of their dance mates but that wasn’t a reason for Jihye to not give her all. It was almost midnight when they parted ways to go home.

“Unnie, I’ll see you tomorrow! Sohyun-ah, call me when you get home!” Jihye waved goodbye to both women until her car turned at an intersection. When she was closing the window, she could smell ahjummas’ cooking from the night stalls and her stomach reacted immediately with a low grumble, earning the manager’s attention.

Grabbing the plastic bag containing two pieces of bread, Jihye appeased the silent concern with a sheepish smile. “It’s okay, Unnie, I’ll just eat bread and order a delivery service at home later.”

Jihye looked out the window while appeasing her hunger with bread, the wireless headphone playing a random track from her playlist. The streets of Seoul were much quieter at this time of night, in which people were flocking to bars and clubs if they were not in the comfort of their homes already. Which prompted her to remember…

Checking the messaging app, there’s still no change to the message she sent. It was delivered, but not read yet. Even for someone as busy as Monika, surely, she would at least check her phone for incoming messages, right? What if there was something urgent that required her attention? And she missed it because she doesn’t check her phone?

“Then they should call her…” Jihye mumbled, answering her own questions with mont blanc remnants in . Even she knew that her message didn’t need urgent attention.

Sighing, she flung her phone inside her purse, opting on disregarding the gadget and the gnawing bitter thoughts at the back of her mind. She’s a busy woman, Noh Jihye. You are, too, but she’s… busy.

Turning the dial on the headphone, she let DPR Cream take over her thoughts while she watched the empty street that was her way home.