Chapter 7

            Feeling her body begin to shiver, Sunny put her phone down and pulled her blanket up over her shoulders.  She lay back on the couch and gave a long sigh.  It was too cold to even text in her plush apartment.  If she let her hands out from under her blanket for even a moment, she risked suffering from frostbite.

            Prince jumped up onto her lap and rested on her tummy. 

            “My little Prince.  Daddy is here.  Come on, snuggle with me.”

            Before she could pull him closer, his attention suddenly shifted to the window.  He began to bark viciously as he jumped off of her and stared into the night.  Sunny pushed herself up from the couch and looked carefully through the glass.  A faint glint of orange first caught her interest.  But, as she looked closer, a pair of large, frightened eyes became clearer.

            “Way!”  Sunny jumped up and ran to the window, flinging it open with little effort.  “I saw you, Way!  You can’t escape!”

            Already half way down the ladder to the next fire escape level, Way appeared scared and frustrated.  She gazed at Sunny pleadingly.  “Please, Sunny-ssi.  Let me go.  I don’t want us to get in trouble with the boss.”

            “I swear I won’t tell anyone,” Sunny insisted urgently.  “Just get in here!  It’s freezing out there!”

            Reluctantly Way followed Sunny’s orders and carefully climbed through the window.  Sunny closed it behind her and scooped an anxious Prince up from the floor.  “Is your track jacket warm enough for you?”

            Way looked down at her bright orange jacket and sighed at its conspicuousness.  “It’s warm enough, I suppose.”

            “Well, you still look very cold.  I can’t have you out there like that.  It’s going to snow later on tonight, you know.  And you don’t have to worry about Taeyeon and Tiffany.  They’re out tonight.”

            “I know,” Way reminded quietly. 

            Sunny put Prince in her room and returned with another blanket.  “Here.  Put this on.”

            Before Way could object, Sunny was wrapping her up in a soft warm blanket.  It felt too wonderful to reject.  Way smiled politely.  “Thank you, Sunny-ssi.”

            “If you’re all that you say you are,” Sunny started with an amused smirk, “you know more about me than some of my sasaeng fans.  You don’t have to call me Sunny-ssi.  I’d say it’s best if we become friends.  It’ll ease some of my reservations and it might make your job easier.  Make yourself at home.”

            Sunny marched into the kitchen without another word.  A few pots and pans banged together to make truly hideous noises.  As Way sat down on the couch, she heard Prince give a dissatisfied whine from Sunny’s room.

            “I’ve been baking cookies for the past hour to try to heat up the apartment,” Sunny explained, returning with a plate of hot cookies.  “The manager hasn’t been able to fix the heater for quite some time now.  It almost makes me want to tour again to be in a warm hotel room.  Please!  Take one.”

            The cookies were absolutely beautiful.  The chocolate chips glistened with oven freshness.  They were a perfect color, a perfect texture.  Way knew of Sunny’s baking skill, but she was eager to finally experience it.

            “Wow,” Way beamed, finally swallowing her first bite of cookie.  “This is amazing.”

            “Thank you,” Sunny laughed excitedly, placing the plate on the coffee table and taking a cookie for herself.  She sat beside Way and placed her own blanket over her legs.  “I love to bake.”

            “Is that why you invited me in?” Way asked.  “To try your cookies?”

            “No, actually,” Sunny began reluctantly.  “I want to know more about you girls.”

            “Sunny, we explained this,” Way sighed.  “We already told you all we could.”

            “No, I don’t want to know more about your mission,” Sunny corrected.  “I really just…I want to know more about your personalities.  I want to know your stories.  For crying out loud, you girls follow us around wherever we go.  You can have your secret reasons.  I just want to know who is stalking me around everywhere.”

            “I don’t understand-“

            “Treat this as a fan interview.”  Sunny shivered slightly and pulled her blanket tighter.  “I’m just a fan right now.  Tell me about what you like to do.  Tell me about your interests and hobbies.”

            “Alright-”

            “Actually, can we talk about the MAMAs real quick?” Sunny pleaded suddenly.  “You showed up with capes and laser guns.  Is this how you dress when you’re protecting us?  Do those guns work?”

            Way stared at Sunny in amazement before bursting into uncontrollable laughter.  “What?  No!  Well, actually, my sister suggested those capes when we were first chosen for our mission.  We ended up not using them in our uniforms.  They were deemed too silly.  So we just used them for our MAMAs performance.”

            “And the helmets aren’t silly?  How did they become part of the uniform?”

            “The helmets are actually very practical,” Way informed.  “They are completely protective and have many features that we use on a regular basis.”

            Sunny stared at Way’s helmet curiously.  “How interesting.  I have to admit something.  Soon after we met at your first concert, I did a lot of research on you guys.  You’ve been around for almost two years.  Have you been protecting us for that long?”

            “Yes.”

            “But you’re a girl group,” Sunny noted, her tone full of uncertainty.  “Hyoyeon told me that you called yourselves the Guardians of the Nine.  What takes first place, your music or our safety?”

            “Your safety of course,” Way replied with a grin.

            “But you’re an international sensation.  How do you manage protecting us?”

            “It’s actually a very funny story.  You see, we put out some music meant to help fund our efforts to protect you.  Our manager never wanted us to become so famous.  We were performing songs based on our martial arts training and fitness exercises.  Our choreographer is actually a martial arts expert.”

            “And your five cylinder dance?”

            “That whole routine is basically our leg work out,” Way giggled.  “Aish, it’s so ridiculous.  I wonder if I should be telling you this.”

            “Please, don’t be so scared to talk,” Sunny smiled.  “If your boss ever gets mad at you, I’ll defend you.  I promise.”

            “Okay.”  Way tried to ignore the uneasiness she felt in her mind.  “Essentially, our fame has been beneficial to the mission.  Now we attend the same music programs and award shows that you do.  We can guard you better now.”

            “This whole thing is so amazing to me,” Sunny confessed.  “The truth is, you’re superheroes posing as a girl group…posing as superheroes.  How has no one found out your ploy?”

            “It’s very clever.  I don’t know how it’s worked out so well.”

            “Don’t you ever want to just…sing and dance?  I mean, it must be exhausting to monitor us all the time.”

            “Our fans are very lovely.”  Way felt her heart skip as beat as she remembered their dedication.  “It’s easy to become caught up in their embrace.  But we try to balance it out.  It would be rather nice to do only one thing though.”

            Suddenly Way’s helmet earpiece crackled and Ato’s words interrupted the silence.  “Taeny has arrived.  They’re on their way up.”

            “Oi,” Way replied professionally, rising from the couch.

            “What happened?” Sunny asked, staring at her with concerned eyes.  “Is everything okay?”

            “Taeyeon and Tiffany are coming up the elevator as we speak,” Way reported.  “I’d better go back outside before they come in.”  She handed her blanket back to Sunny.  “Thank you for this.  It was very comfy.”

            “No, please take it with you,” Sunny insisted, pushing Way’s blanket back to her and picking up the plate of cookies.  “And take these as well.  I can’t have you freezing and starving to death out there for our sakes.”

            “Are-Are you sure?”

            “Of course.”  Sunny gently opened the window and grimaced at the cold air upon her skin.  “Oh, I wish you could stay here where it’s warm.”

            “I’ll be fine, Sunny.”  Way grinned coyly and climbed back out onto the fire escape.  “You seem more like an unnie than a subject to observe.”

            “I’m very glad,” Sunny beamed.  “Take care of yourself, Way.”

            “Thank you, unnie.”

            Sunny hesitantly closed the window after Way.  She didn’t feel right sending that sweet girl into the dark night again.  But she was probably more equipped for it than anyone else.

            “Did Yuri actually say that?”  Sunny could hear Taeyeon’s voice right outside the front door.  She quickly ran back over to the couch and sat down. 

            The door opened slowly as Tiffany let out a strident laugh.  “She did!  I was amazed.  I don’t want to discourage her from speaking English more often…but it’s just…so painful.”

            “Anyway, weren’t you in Switzerland?  Hopefully they didn’t understand what she said.”

            “I don’t think she understood what she said.”

            “Hi girls!” Sunny greeted happily.  “How was that new restaurant?”

            “It was pretty good!” Taeyeon insisted.  “It’s nice to have this week off from rehearsing.  There are so many new shops and restaurants to visit.”

            “What did you do while we were gone, unnie?” Tiffany asked, placing her purse on the coffee table and sitting on the couch.  

            “I’ve been baking cookies.  Another batch is in the oven right now.”

            “Another batch?”  Taeyeon glared at her inquisitively.  “Where is the first batch?”

            “I…ate it.”  Sunny’s expression became very serious.  “I ate it all.”

            “Aish, Sunny-ah,” Taeyeon sighed.

            “Are you sure you weren’t watching Crayon Pop videos the whole time?” Tiffany suggested playfully.  “What is your obsession with them, anyway?  You’ve been studying them online so diligently.”

            “I just…I admire them.  Perhaps they’re more important than you think.”

            “Unnie,” Tiffany called, looking at Taeyeon.  “Check the wine cabinet.  I think Sunny unnie is a little wasted.”

            “Aigoo, watch your mouth!” Sunny cried, laughter overcoming her scolding.  “I’m going to bed.”

            “See, unnie?  She’s drowsy from the alcohol.”

            “Watch it!”