" I gathered you all here for an important meeting concerning our dear beloved sister, Wonyoung. " 

Liz looked around the diner they frequent in and saw a policeman dunking his donuts in a cup of coffee, a man in his forties devouring a sandwich and spilling crumbs in his cashmere coat, and two middle-aged Avon ladies, reading today's newspaper. 

Besides those very distinct characters, Liz was the only person who was concerned about what Rei has got to say. 

She took a sip on her one-dollar coffee and gestured for her friend to carry on. 

" Wonyoung has been skipping work recently. " Rei said. 

" So? She sent a sick leave. It's probably for the best if she stayed at home." Liz replied. The three of them are writers for a women's magazine called Opulence. Wonyoung is known for her hard work ethic and her columns in the magazine called " Wonyoung Knows What's Best For You " have collected many fans who anticipate every month's release of the magazine. 

Three days ago, Rei, Liz, and the rest of the company were surprised when their HR, Gaeul sent a mass email to everyone working in the office about Wonyoung submitting a sick leave letter. 

It's been a week already and Wonyoung is yet to come back to work. Her socials were turned off and no one really knows what's happened to her.

" Can you keep a secret? " Rei leaned closer to the table and grabbed Liz's collar. 

" I-I can... " The blonde muttered. 

" I saw her coming out of a club last night with a high schooler. " 

Liz's elbow nudged her coffee cup and immediately flinched. She was about to let out a shriek from being burned or from the information she just learned about Wonyoung. She was not sure. But luckily, Rei already covered , successfully muffling her screams. 

" God, I knew you were going to react like this. " Rei rolled her eyes and went back to her seat. She grabbed some tissues to wipe the saliva off her hand. " Can you calm down? Do you want to get Wonyoung arrested or something? " Rei pursed her lips to the Policeman's direction. 

Liz took a deep breath to calm herself down. The last thing she wants to happen is for her and Rei to defend Wonyoung in court for possible child ual harassment. 

" What does he look like? " Liz hoped that the guy was at least decent. Most high schoolers are tacky and act like dogs. 

Rei rest a hand on her forehead and closed her eyes. " It's a girl. " 

" Oh. " Liz shakily picked up her coffee cup, spilling its content all over the place. " What's the problem then? Maybe she's picking up her underage cousin in that bar, you know. " 

" It's her neighbor. " Rei felt a headache coming. She looked over to Liz and saw the blonde cautiously stealing a glance at the policeman at the counter. 

" THE TALL GIRL WITH DIMPLES?! " Liz whispered very harshly. 

Rei and Liz knew Wonyoung ever since they were college students. You could say that they were inseparable. They even got into the same job they have always wanted. Among the three of them, Wonyoung has always been the voice of reason. She's always rational and would not hesitate to tell Rei and Liz about what's good for them. 

Hence, her Magazine corner is called " Wonyoung Knows What's Best For You. " 

Wonyoung never really got into a serious relationship. She casually dates men who come to her but they never lasted long. As Wonyoung would say often " Men are just accessories. They don't have many purposes but it looks nice to have one with you. " 

She did not care much for romantic relationships nor did she see herself falling in love with a man that she would actually want to cook for him for the rest of her life. Wonyoung thinks it's too much work to devote yourself to someone.

" I didn't know she bats for the other team. " Liz looked down on the table, noticing the mess she just made. " That highschooler is cute, though. Very polite too. She would always greet us when we go to Wonyoung's apartment. " 

" You're right. That high schooler is pretty cute. She's the handsome type of beauty too. " Rei acknowledged but she immediately hit the table with her fist. " But that's not the point! When I saw Wonyoung that night, she looked pretty drunk. She was all over this highschooler. They were eating each other's faces until they got inside a taxi. What if she crossed the line and... and... " 

Rei almost let out an ear-shattering scream but Liz was quick to cover in return. 

" Do you want Wonyoung to go to jail?! " Liz widened her eyes and nudged her head to the policeman's direction. 

Rei calmed down and sat back in her seat. They have to think about their friend's predicament rationally. But first, they have to know what happened before they jump to a conclusion. 

Their friendship has withstood a lot of difficulties together. Even if Wonyoung did end up doing something wrong, Rei would do her best to smack some senses on her friend's face. " We have to go to Wonyoung's house and get to the bottom of this. " 

*** 

Wonyoung found herself watching a rerun of MasterChef in her living room. She just came back grocery shopping and wondered what she should cook for dinner for quite some time now. 

She felt a little bit silly that she went overboard buying ingredients for steak and pasta. Wonyoung thought that she had to buy the most expensive cut of beef to make everything perfect for dinner. Never in her life had she wasted so much money on food. Wonyoung opted to stick to her diet plan and only splurge on meat if Rei and Liz asked her to eat out with them during the weekends. 

The doorbell rang which alerted Wonyoung. She wondered if her neighbor had just gotten back to the apartment building. 

" Do they dismiss students this early? " Wonyoung whispered to herself as she looked at her wristwatch. It was only five in the afternoon and the neighbor kid usually comes around her house at 6 p.m. 

" Package for Miss Jang! " 

Wonyoung winced when she heard an almost distorted voice of an old woman who smoked a lot of cigarettes from the other side of the door. 

" Did I buy something online? " Wonyoung thought to herself. She twisted the doorknob and slowly peeked outside if the package was really for her. 

" Hey, Wonyo— " 

Without sparing a second, Wonyoung quickly closed her door when she saw her friends outside. 

" MY ING FOOT! " 

Wonyoung looked down and saw someone's foot in between the door. Rei took this as an opportunity to push herself inside Wonyoung's apartment. 

" SOMEONE HELP ME! HELP! THERE ARE INTRUDERS INSIDE MY HOUSE— " 

Rei tackled Wonyoung to the ground and covered . Liz followed inside limping as she closed the door behind her. 

Wonyoung struggled and threw several punches at Rei's face to escape but the Japanese girl was ruthless enough to suffocate her with both hands. 

" Will you calm down?!" Rei was just agitated as Wonyoung. " You're making it look like we're attacking you. " 

With the help of Wonyoung's skinny limbs, she successfully reached Rei's face and pushed her back. " You are!" Wonyoung snapped back."What are you doing in my apartment! "

" We're just here to talk to you. " Rei replied. She noticed that Liz was standing on one foot, crying a little. 

" Liz, can you stop limping for a second and help me to talk to her? " 

" You guys are serious nutjobs. I hate you all. " Liz cried in pain. 

Wonyoung stood up from the floor and helped Rei to get up. " Can a girl just enjoy her sick leave without the two of you disturbing my peace? " 

" Do you have to slam the door so hard?! " Liz interjected. 

" Get over it. " Wonyoung blew a raspberry. 

" I'm glad that you don't have any kind of sickness, but why are you not answering our calls? You could have told us you're resting and that you're doing fine. " Rei said putting a hand on her friend's shoulder. 

" I'm sorry. " Wonyoung sighed. " I should have just done that. " 

Rei hugged Wonyoung and hold her tightly. " Anyway, I have something important to ask you. " 

A sudden chill run down on Wonyoung's spine. Her hands and feet starts to sweat and it didn't help that Rei was practically crushing all the bones in her body. 

" I saw you three days ago going out of a club with that highschooler... " 

Guilt washed over Wonyoung's face. She can't even put up a fight to save her life. " L-let me explain... " 

*** 

24-year-old Jang Wonyoung wondered if she could have done things differently in her life. Being a writer at the most popular magazine, Opulence, was something she always dreamed of. She loves everything about her job including her co-workers, the nice couple from her local coffee shop who always prepare her coffee before going to work, and even her boss who likes to set an impossible deadline for their arti