Today, Nayeon strolled to the building's entrance with her typical impassive expression. Despite her lack of interest and inability to appear friendly or inviting, the workers and employees still greeted her.

In any case, there are no hard feelings regarding her chilly demeanor. Everyone is used to her being indifferent about anything other than doing her intended job.

As she walked near the elevators, she noticed three women on their backs, standing in front of a still-closed lift. Nayeon kept walking until she was well behind the three. She chose not to say anything and instead listened intently to the discourse.

"How is married life treating you? Is it okay?"

"Why are you asking like that?" Momo chuckled, quietly shaking her head. "I've only been married for three months now." "You sounded like you were expecting me to express disappointment regarding it," she added, making the other two giggle.

"Even if you tell us your disappointments, we won't pay attention that much," Jeongyeon said, raising Momo's brows in amazement. "Oh, come on," she sneered, "if you're disappointed, how much more would it be for Mina?" she jokingly questioned.

"How dare you?" Momo reacted.

"I can't say Jeongyeon is wrong," Jihyo sided with the other, leaving Momo with no choice but to sigh. After all, she chose to be friends with these two, so she must live up to the consequences. "Don't be upset, Momo. You are a ten, no doubt about it," Jihyo replied, observing their friend's frown.

"Do you mean that?" Momo inquired, her smile growing.

"I agree," mumbled Jeongyeon.

"Right?" Momo hid her face behind her hands, pretending to be shy after such a compliment. "This is why I love you two," she declared passionately.

"It's just that Mina is a hundred out of ten," Jihyo stated quite clearly.

Momo, on the other hand, groaned in despair. Jeongyeon and Jihyo burst out laughing, even doing a high-five in front of her face. "I knew you were going to add something," Momo said quietly, rolling her eyes. "And I was only kidding when I said I loved you two," she continued.

"We don't need your love," Jeongyeon remarked disapprovingly as she pressed a button beside the elevator's door once more. "What's taking so long for this thing to open?" she wondered.

Momo snarled, "Can't you wait?"

Jeongyeon taunted, repeating, "Can't you wait?" Good thing, the door opened at the precise end of the sentence. She murmured, "Finally."

The three of them entered, and as they faced the already opened door, they spotted Nayeon in front of them. The woman smiled slightly as she noticed their shocked reactions. "You girls look like you saw a ghost," Nayeon commented as she followed them inside.

"How long were you standing behind us?" Jihyo inquired, seeing Nayeon press the door-closing button. "I definitely didn't notice or feel anyone standing there."

"I'd like to act more surprised, but Nayeon is like a mushroom," Jeongyeon added, making Momo hum in agreement. "She's everywhere," she continued.

"What kind?" Nayeon inquired, casting a brief glance back at Jeongyeon. "Which one, the healthy one or the one that grows in unsanitary conditions and places? The poisonous one?"

"Hey," Jeongyeon said, lightly tapping Nayeon on the shoulder. "Do we look like some unsanitary place?" she asked, raising both eyebrows, making the woman laugh. "You grew around us."

"You're the one who interpreted it that way," Nayeon pointed out. "I simply inquired as to the type of mushroom."

"Oh, is that it?" Jeongyeon rolled her eyes, eliciting laughter from the other three. "I apologize if you didn't utilize your common sense and understood the correct answer right away."

"Why are you so offended?" Jihyo inquired, still softly chuckling. "Did you really originate from the fungus family, and are you furious at it?"

"I'll tell mom and dad you referred to them as fungus parents."

"I did not say that!"

"Then I'll fabricate stories to make you look bad."

Jihyo could only say, "Damn you."

While the two were arguing, Nayeon moved her glance at Momo, who caught it pretty quickly. The woman lifted her brows as if to inquire as to the reason for the stare. "Follow me to the office because I need to talk to you about something," she said.

"Is it about Sana?" Momo asked, causing Jeongyeon and Jihyo to pause in their conversation. Hearing that name still piques their interest, especially considering the fact that they didn't receive much information from Nayeon.

"W-what?" Nayeon faltered, her cheeks flushing.

"Minatozaki Sana?" Jeongyeon inquired, only to receive a single bob of head from Momo. "Do you know her?"

"She's a friend of mine; why?"

"Then why did you want me to run a background check on Sana if Momo is friends with her?" Jeongyeon looked at Nayeon and wondered, perplexed because none of this made sense to her. "You should have just asked Momo." "She might even know more about her than those I could grasp."

"Wait a second," Momo interrupted, holding both sides of her forehead. "A background check on Sana? Why?" she inquired. "For what reason? "

This entire scene made Nayeon flustered, so she cleared and looked at Momo again, wearing a polite smile, saying, "I need you in my office to discuss an exhibit design."

"Okay," Momo replied, "but—"

"No. More. Questions," Nayeon stated firmly, shushing the three.

 

 

 

 

"Do you know that feeling?"

In response to that question, Dahyun and Tzuyu hummed. They turned their attention to Chaeyoung, who sighed and slumped her back on the seat. It took her a while to find the right words to communicate how she was feeling today.

"I love my job, the company," Chaeyoung said, prompting Tzuyu to nod, indicating that she was paying attention. "But there are times when I consider giving it all up for a week of uninterrupted sleep," she added, causing the two to laugh. They were both so convinced that their friend was discussing a serious matter.

"You can't do that," Dahyun said emphatically. "Giving up everything you've accomplished so far?" she scoffed, "I invested a lot in your company!"

"All because of your obsession with having beaten your sister's ," Tzuyu said, drawing a glare from Dahyun. She despises hearing that statement, but it's something her other two friends enjoy. They get a kick out of seeing Dahyun get extremely upset and annoyed.

"That's right," Chaeyoung agreed.

"Say that one more time and I'll bleed your gums," Dahyun rolled her eyes, though neither of them seemed to be scared. "I'm doing this to prove something," she explained.

"What exactly?"

"She isn't the best at everything," Dahyun replied. "Everyone thinks she's perfect, which is why she thinks so highly of herself."

Chaeyoung couldn't deny it because Nayeon was her competitor for the academic excellence award, and she was well aware of how the faculty staff always favored her. They appear to be very proud of all of her accomplishments, but when other students perform similarly in sectoral competitions, they do not receive the same recognition.

"I want people to see that there is at least one thing Nayeon isn't good at," Dahyun muttered.

"Losing once doesn't mean she's not good at something," Tzuyu said, making a valid point, but Dahyun only smiled.

"It's not about her not winning this one award," she explained. "If I'm being honest, her ideas are brilliant, and they're always on point." "But she's a lone wolf, you know."

"Yeah."

"Nayeon believes she can do everything alone, which is why she frequently overlooks her team, and not just her team, but everyone else," Dahyun explained as the other two stared at her. "That's the one thing that would bring her down, the one thing she's not particularly good at."

Chaeyoung nodded, gaining an understanding of where Dahyun is going. "She's not very good at recognizing and appreciating her team," she admitted.

"Which is one of the most important aspects of doing business," Dahyun added. "See, she's not without flaws," she shrugged.

"But is that really the only reason you want to bring her down?" Tzuyu inquired, piquing Chaeyoung's interest. She is, in fact, close to Dahyun, but the woman never tells her anything that is not business-related. As a result, she regards their relationship as merely casual, despite her desire to build something more substantial.

"Little things," Dahyun said, somewhat confusing the two. "Little things when they combine, they get bigger," she added. And, as much as the two would like to ask more questions, they are afraid they will not be able to. They wouldn't understand, anyway. Furthermore, it could be something they shouldn't be looking into in the first place.

 

Chaeyoung's eyes caught the image of the woman walking towards them, so she said, "Mina is coming." The other two didn't know because they were looking in the opposite direction.

Although Tzuyu had heard a lot about Mina and the other Myoui's, she had never actually met any of them. She is eager to speak with Mina because they both came from powerful families, and they both have a lot in common. While Tzuyu's clan is well known in Taiwan, Mina's family is famed in Japan.

Tzuyu said in a low voice, but it was audible enough for Dahyun and Chaeyoung to understand, "So, she is Mina." She couldn't help but say, "She's gorgeous."

Chaeyoung sighed, "Nobody thinks otherwise," which only caused Dahyun to chuckle and shake her head.

 

Mina's first words after getting close enough to them were, "What's funny, Ms. Dahyun Kim?" She turned her attention to the other two women when Dahyun didn't respond to her. However, there was no reaction. She hummed in reaction to the eventual silence as she closed her eyes. 

She grabbed one of Dahyun's ears and asked a little loudly and abruptly, "Are you making fun of me, Dahyun? "

"Ouch!" Dahyun cried out, one of her eyes closing from the pain. She struggled to get Mina's hand off her ear, yelling, "You just came back, and that is what you're doing to me?!"

In a low voice, Tzuyu went to ask Chaeyoung, who was helpless to stop her two friends, "Have they always been... like children?"

Chaeyoung mumbled, not knowing how to explain to Tzuyu that this had always been the case with Dahyun and Mina, "Well, they almost grew up together." She muttered, "I'm not sure." "Perhaps when they are together, their inner child comes out."

Tzuyu couldn't help but chuckle as she heard that. It's just that it seems ridiculous and a little unbelievable. She felt the need to believe it, though, after her focus had shifted to how Dahyun and Mina weren't continuously elbowing each other in the arm.

Chaeyoung smirked, sure enough that her assumption was accurate, "You thought Mina would be more of a shy woman, didn't you?" Well, it was correct after all. "Dahyun and Mina share the same attitude because they are the different ones in their families."

Tzuyu inquired, "Care to explain more?"

Chaeyoung said, peering directly into Tzuyu's eyes, "In powerful families, everyone is expected to behave appropriately at all times. Dahyun does far from that, which her father frequently reprimands her for. She doesn't care, though." "You do realize that Dahyun is a bit of a free spirit, right?"

Tzuyu responded with a cheeky smile, "I can sense that. But what about Mina?" "I couldn't believe it when she told me that she works in the legal."

"Mina is the same," Chaeyoung said in response. " She was the only member of the family who refrained from working for the company."

"A company owned by the Myoui's?"

"Yes," Chaeyoung nodded. "However, Mina's parents are very supportive of their daughter, which is obviously not the case for Dahyun."

Dahyun was casually trying to make an argument with Mina when Tzuyu asked, "Are they in favor of Nayeon?"  That caused Dahyun to stop for a moment. She didn't look at the two but remained silent to hear what they were saying.

"What else do you think Dahyun despises her for?" Chaeyoung inquired.

"But isn't Nayeon—"

Dahyun spoke out after hearing that name again in a row, hoping to alter the subject. "I'm hungry," she said, faking a smile, which Mina instantly recognized.

"Yeah, me too," Mina admitted, hoping to save Dahyun from the uncomfortable situation.

"Then we should get something to eat," Chaeyoung agreed before looking around to see if there was anyone on duty.