There are certain advantages to hitting zero in life.

When one has absolutely nothing to lose, they obtain the ultimate freedom. They acquire a special Don’t-Care-Anymore vibe that is only achieved when a person has no worldly possession of any value to cling on.

At this point, Joohyun had zero s to give.

She felt fearless.

And so whatever the hell this bewitching neighbor of hers meant by a trip to Japan, Joohyun did not care.

All she could reply to the offer was… “Do I have to pack?”

“No need.  You just need to bring that little hot body of yours.”

Liar. Joohyun smirked at her. Ages ago, she would have a reason to believe in such flattery.  But over time, she had gotten alarmingly thin for constant lack of food. Her malnourished hair lost had lost luster. Sleepless nights caused dark circles around her eyes. “I’m not hot.”

“, let’s not argue about that or we’ll never get to Japan.”

The sweetness of the dispute made Joohyun grin. “Just telling the truth. I’m everything but hot.”

“You’re EVERYTHING…” Seulgi disputed with a sigh. “Period.”

She always says the right things, Joohyun thought. “Why are you so… so pleasant to me?”

“We fell in love with the same cat,” Seulgi replied matter-of-factly. “That makes our souls related by fate.”

Yeah, about that… Joohyun knew her soul would soon be reunited with Da Ling. She hoped Kang Seulgi would never be alone. “Will we ever meet again, I wonder…” Joohyun said wistfully.  In the next life, Kang Seulgi… will I be blessed to see your face once more?  Maybe?

Seulgi rolled her eyes. “We haven’t even parted yet, agassi (young lady).” She made shooing motions with her hands. “Go.  Prepare.”

Joohyun could think of nothing prepare for. “We can go now.”

“Uh-uh.” Seulgi shook her head. “It’s our first date. We both should dress up fancy... like really look date-worthy.”

“Oh.” Joohyun looked down at her old green tracksuit. Ugh. She looked like a dirt-poor, desperate candidate for the next Squid Game.

“Do you have something to wear for our trip in Tokyo?” Seulgi inquired.

Scratching her head, Joohyun gave it a little thought and eventually nodded her head.

Seulgi was delighted. “You do?”

“Yeh.” Joohyun nodded with more certainty.

“Great! So how much time do you need to prepare. An hour?”

“That’s kind of tight.”

“Mmm…” Seulgi understood. She’s a girl, too. “How about two hours?”

Joohyun smiled in approval. She’s being swept away in a dream. It felt exciting. It felt uplifting and sweet. She hadn’t dreamt in a long, long time. “All right. In two hours then.”

“You have to keep track of the time.” Seulgi glanced at Joohyun’s empty wrist. Seulgi took off her necklace and approached Joohyun. She slipped the long gold chain over Joohyun’s head and stepped away.

Joohyun held the small heart-shaped pendant with an “S” engraved on it. She pushed the cover with her thumb and it slid to the side to reveal a watch inside. “It’s so pretty.”

“It’s yours.”

Joohyun’s head lifted up. “No! No, no… I can’t take this—you mustn’t give this to me—”

Seulgi clasped Joohyun’s wrist tightly to prevent her from removing the necklace. “Keep it.”

“No, please— I can’t take this!”

“Yes, you can.  You must.”

“Whyyyy?!” Joohyun whined.

“I want to give it to you.”

“Because you feel pity for me???”  That must be it, Joohyun thought.

“You make me feel a lot of things,” Seulgi admitted. “Pity is not one of them.”

“How do I make you feel?”

Seulgi did not answer right away.  Her eyes took a luxurious, first class trip all over Joohyun’s face.  And then she rasped… “You got me feeling like a psycho.”

Joohyun stared at the lovely pendant again and shot Seulgi a disgruntled look.  “You ARE crazy, Kang Seulgi.”

“Look… I had an affair with your cat and painted her behind your back. That’s the least I could do for my betrayal.”

Joohyun’s mouth tugged at the corners. She wanted to laugh but pretended to take the reasoning seriously. “You know what…?  You’re right. You used my cat! I deserve payment.”

She let go of the pendant and the metallic weight slid down gracefully between her s, ending in the middle of her chest.

Kang Seulgi’s golden heart… resting against Joohyun’s own.

“You got more to give me, ?” Joohyun challenged jokingly.

The other girl lifted her chin arrogantly and winked. “Baby, I’ma give you the best night of your ing life.”

Joohyun nodded. “I can’t wait.”

“See you in two hours. GO!”

And Joohyun sprinted out of the room.

**********

Joohyun withstood the coldness of the water and bathed. Having no electricity, she towel-dried her hair and hoped it would dry after over an hour more left with preparations.

She went to her room to dress up.

Once upon a time of innocence, when the world was still whole and love was new… Bae Joohyun was like any young woman with stars in her eyes. She was financially secure. She was happy. She had a bright future with a man she was going to spend forever with.

And like any lovestruck female, she used to put great attention to her looks.

Those days were long gone.  But she had kept a few clothes that were remnants from her carefree, happier past.

She removed a huge suitcase from under her bed. This was part of the set of luggage that she was going to take with her when she would have started a new life with Allan.

Joohyun ped the suitcase and removed an expensive cocktail dress.  Allan had given it to her.

“I w