SEULGI and Joy looked at each other in disbelief after finding out that there was only one bed in the pension house rented for them. Joy then looked at the other rooms but found no extra bed at all.

"They are so sick for doing this!" Joy stomped her feet as she went back to the living room where Seulgi was. "They even had the couch removed!" She bursted in annoyance when she saw Seulgi sitting on the floor.

"Just because none of us are in danger of getting pregnant if we cross the line…" Joy crossed her arms while her foot tapped in fast rhythm. "Dad's really not getting away with this."

Joy turned to Seulgi since she wasn't saying anything. She gasped loudly when she found the girl frozen, her eyes not even blinking and she didn't look like she's even breathing.

"Seulgi-unnie!" Joy immediately went to her knees and gave the older girl a hard slap on the shoulder.

With a loud yelp of pain, Seulgi's soul went back to her body. She immediately turned to Joy with those teary eyes. "Joy-ah…"

"Unnie! What the hell were you even doing!?" Joy continuously slapped her by the shoulder until she finally caught that rampaging hand.

"I was only trying to see if I could reach out to Joohyun-sunbae if I turned into a ghost..." Seulgi laughed awkwardly while scratching the back of her head.

"Are you really that desperate!?" Joy grumpily sat on the floor. "Sometimes you're really stupid, Unnie!"

"Haha. I just thought that would be funny–OUCH!"

"Do you want me to be the one to finish you off?" Joy let go of her favourite unnie then crossed her arms. "Stupid Seulgi-unnie."

Seulgi just laughed. "You told me earlier that I was being too hard on you so I thought of a joke to make you laugh. I'm sorry that it wasn't funny at all."

The knot on Joy's forehead flattened. Now that she thought of it, Seulgi actually calmed down after she tried to leave her in the restaurant.

"You scared me… Knowing what you did in the past…" Joy answered, now in a calm manner. "That wasn't funny at all."

"I know… I am sorry." Seulgi then leaned backwards with her arms supporting her. "Since father already sent Saitama*, I guess we don't really have any choice but to stay here until they set us free. I still have class on Monday so I think they won't jail us here. There would be no point even if we try to escape. Saitama will surely find us. (*the nickname Seulgi gave to the driver because of his [no] hair style.)

Seulgi gave the younger girl an apologetic smile. "I'm really sorry about what happened earlier, Joy. I just really felt betrayed and I panicked a bit."

Joy hung her head low. She suddenly felt guilty for shouting at Seulgi earlier. "What are we going to do now, Unnie?"

"Hmm..." Seulgi thought aloud as she looked at the ceiling. "I guess you were right. Let's just enjoy our time here. We can catch up with each other since we weren't able to hang out as much as we do since you got really in demand."

"Unnie…" Joy could still hint of worry in Seulgi's eyes despite her wide smile. "How about that Joohyun-sunbae? Are you still worried about her?"

"Of course!" Seulgi didn’t hesitate with her answer. "Joohyun-sunbae is really scary when she's angry. We had a promise with each other after that fake family dinner and she's most probably waiting for me with a samurai in hand now."

Joy scoffed. "You're overdoing it just like Wendy-unnie."

"I'm not!" Seulgi raised her right hand. "Have you seen minced spam?"

"Huh?"

Joy just let out a sigh with the absurdity. Her expression suddenly flattened. "Are you guys... dating now?"

The smile on Seulgi's face fainted. She then looked out the window where the ocean could be seen. "I want to say that we are but Sunbae doesn't consider it like that yet. I am still waiting for it to actually come out from her lips. For now, I can only say that things have gotten better for us."

Seulgi let out a sigh before pressing her lips together. 'When it finally got better this happened...'

"I don't understand it."

Seulgi turned back to Joy with that one sentence.

"Why can't she just say that you guys are dating? Is she afraid of your family? Does she have a missing screw or something?"

"It's not like that, Joy." Seulgi patiently answered. "Things are just a little bit complicated for Sunbae."

"Hmp!" Joy stood up and took a stretch. "I still don't get her. If I were her, your pictures would already fill my instagram feed."

"I don't want a publicised relationship like that." Seulgi said while scratching her cheek.

"Says the one who made crazy confessions for one whole week."

Seulgi stiffened but just laughed it out. Joy felt a bit more annoyed.

"You just don't want it public since I am not that Joohyun-sunbae of yours." The younger girl then marched back to the bedroom to take the change of clothes that was prepared for them. "I'm gonna go wash up, I am tired."

Seulgi could only sigh after Joy left her alone. She stood up to get a better view of the sea.

"Joohyun-sunbae…" she whispered. It was already 11 in the evening and she still hasn't told her one thing she swore she would tell her everyday. "I love you, Sunbae... Even this setup will never change that."

JIMIN let out a loud gasp the moment Joohyun stepped inside the staff room. The girl's state was more severe than in the BS (Before Seulgi) era. Her hair is in a (very) messy bun, her bangs were all over the place, she didn't even dare to cover the dark arcs under her eyes.

"U-Unnie, are you okay?" Jimin ran towards her senior. Joohyun lazily looked at her. “What are you doing here so early?”

"Morning, Jimin-ah." Joohyun greeted in a robotic manner. Even her smile was obviously very forced.

Jimin let out another dramatic gasp. "Are you being possessed by the spirit of Minjeong, Unnie?"

"The hell—I am very much alive here!" Minjeong, who was eating bread in a corner, shouted at Jimin.

“Unnie, sit here for a while.” Jimin then made Joohyun sit beside Minjeong who instantly felt like her personal space was invaded. She would move away but there’s no way she could do fusion with the wall.

“What happened to you, Unnie?” Jimin worriedly asked. “The midterms just finished and the results were already out. Don’t tell me you are already preparing for finals?”

Joohyun didn’t answer, she just remained looking blankly at her fingers. Jimin let out another gasp which earned her a slap on the shoulder from Minjeong. “Please stop gasping like that! Do you have any problem with your lungs!?”

Jimin just rolled her eyes on Minjeong before looking back at their senior. “U-Unnie… Don’t tell me you actually went to the next base with Seul—”

“Don’t even try to say her name.”

Cold wind suddenly blew inside the closed staff room. Jimin had to step back while Minjeong froze in place. The two looked at each other in fear.

“J-Joohyun-unnie—”

“Next base, my a$$! She didn’t even come home last night!” Joohyun’s eyes flamed up. “There was no message, no call. I kept waiting for her but she didn’t arrive at all!”

“U-Unnie, calm down!” Jimin turned to Minjeong whose cheeks were stuffed. She couldn’t even continue chewing her food. “Minjeong-ah, can you ask Aeri outside to make coffee for Joohyun-unnie? It might help calm her down.”

“O-Okay!” Minjeong left her half-eaten bread on the table and ran outside for the coffee.

Jimin looked back at the angry Joohyun. “Unnie, calm down. You can tell us what happened if it would help you to make it lighter. Aren’t you guys doing really well despite not having a label? What happened to Seulgi-unnie?”

Joohyun took a deep breath, looking like she was about to shout again but she managed to control herself. Her fists were clenched while she bit her lower lip a little bit too hard.

“I don’t know…” She sighed as her head hung low. “I don’t know… She had an appointment last night but she didn’t come back after that. I was here working so I didn’t see her leave.“

”But her things are still at your house?”

“She won’t care about those things. She can buy them again anytime!”

“Then can I have them?”

Joohyun turned to Jimin with her eyes squinted. The girl immediately laughed.

“Just kidding, Unnie. Just kidding!” Jimin repeatedly pushed the air. “Do you even know where she went? What kind of appointment was that? Do you think we have to report to the police?”

“I don’t think it’s necessary to report about it.” Joohyun let out another sigh. “She was called into a family dinner. I think she was forced to go back to their mansion. And knowing Seulgi, she probably disagreed with it and got hurt again just like what happened last time.”

Jimin already felt hurt when she remembered Seulgi’s face that one fateful night. “Are you saying that it was her family that hurt her that time?”

Joohyun gave Jimin a glare, a sign that she shouldn’t tell anyone about what she just heard. The junior immediately got the signal and gave Joohyun reassuring nods. She even drew a cross by her heart.

The senior then leaned at the wall and closed her eyes. “I don’t know anymore, Jimin-ah. I couldn’t help but to be worried about her. Knowing her, she would do everything to inform me about what’s happening but there’s nothing from her until now.”

Joohyun suddenly heard her head as her eyes went wide open. “Or am I wrong about how I know her? Is she already leaving me because she finally got what she wanted? Or is it because I am not letting us have a label and she got tired of me already? I don’t know what’s the truth anymore!”

“Unnie, don’t panic!” Jimin held Joohyun by the shoulders and gently shook her to somehow stop her from overthinking. This is the first time that she has seen Bae Joohyun like this and it is exactly like the rumours tell about her. Bae Joohyun really trembles in fear when things get out of her control.

“This isn’t the time for you to doubt Seulgi-unnie, Unnie!” Jimin made her look into her eyes. “We’ve seen how annoying she was when she was following you around. We believe she’s really sincere about her feelings to you. We believe she didn’t pursue the Bad Luck Queen just for the thrills!”

Joohyun looked at Jimin with those lazy eyes again. “Thanks for reminding me about being the bringer of bad luck.” She took one deep breath to calm herself down. “I guess you’re right. I shouldn’t doubt Seulgi at times like this. All I can do is wait for her to get back…”

Jimin was relieved that Joohyun finally calmed down but Minjeong is still not back with the coffee she asked her. With a light frown, Jimin stood up and gave Joohyun one of the bread slices from Minjeong’s tupperware.

“Wait here, Unnie. I’ll just get your cup of coffee. Minjeong is already taking forever.”

“Thanks, Jimin-ah…” Joohyun leaned back at the wall, munching the bread slice with her eyes closed. Jimin nodded to herself and ran out to the cafe. She could already smell the scent of the shot of espresso but it’s still by the coffee machine and is yet to be poured on the hot water.

She found the three girls gathered by the cashier while looking at something, most probably on a phone.

“This can’t be happening.” Jimin heard Yi Zhuo whining while stomping her feet. She took another look at Aeri’s phone and started whining again. “This can’t be happening! This isn’t real!”

Aeri bit her lower lip, irritation can be traced in her eyes. “Did we trust the wrong person?” She clicked her tongue in annoyance. “I didn’t know she’d do this…”

“Sunbae-nim doesn’t seem to know about this.” Minjeong finally spoke after engraving what Aeri showed her in her mind. “Joohyun-sunbae-nim has already arrived and I don’t think she’s in the best condition to know about this. Let’s be careful not to—”

“What is it?”

Jimin gasped when she suddenly heard Joohyun’s voice. She turned around and saw Joohyun by the door of the staff room. On her hand was the slice of bread with angry bite marks.

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