A blaring car horn from the street blow was like a cold bucket of ice water on her brain, and Amber rolled over to see the rest of the apartment. Henry was already up in the kitchen, trying to find something good enough to eat. She dragged herself out of bed reluctantly, today was her first day she needed to report for duty. Her coffee provided a bit of a boost, but did little to alleviate the headache rocking her head.
       She wracked her brain as she stood on the trolley on the way to the station as to what she should tell the other girls in her unit. The whole story? That she had a lead at all? Probably best to lie a bit- maybe tell them about the club. Yeah, that would be a good enough hint.
       “Morning, Amber!” Min, one of the two other women on the team, said brightly. She was sitting at her desk diligently working away as Amber was just trying to stay awake.
       “Good morning, Min,” Amber gave her a nod as she found her own desk. There was a few files in her inbox that she glanced over with a sigh.
       “What’s wrong?” Min asked, cocking her head like a curious puppy.
       “Nothing, just, getting to work, haha.” she nervously brushed a wandering piece of hair off of her face and set her brain to the paperwork.
       “Whatever you say.”
       “Heloooooo everyone!” a cool wind blew in as the door opened from the street. The third and final member of their team had arrived. She was disheveled, yet somehow managed to have an air of glamour. Her long hair was somewhat tangled but was still pretty, and she of course carried only the most fashionable bag and wore the most fashionable hat. The way she dressed was infamously scandalous, even for the time, and rumor had it that was how she had come upon the job.
       “So, do we have any leads yet?” Hyuna made her way over to her desk and plopped herself upon it. Amber had heard she was from Korea, but by her accent she could tell she had lived in New York for a while.
       Min laughed in spite of herself. “It’s our first day at work, Hyuna. We still have loads of paperwork to do.”
       “Pish posh, that is work for the stupid little grunt workers. We are not at the bottom of the ladder now, girls. We’re at the top. Any leads?” how she spoke somehow managed to be both nonchalant and condescending. She rifled through her desk and lit a cigarette.
       “Well, I uh- think I found a club that has some suspicious activity,” Amber admitted, trying to sound the least guilty she could. Hyuna smiled somewhat knowingly and stood up again.
       “Let’s get going then, huh?”
       The bar was empty when they got there, as to be expected of a night club in the middle of the day, and it seemed almost eerie as the two detectives walked to the back where the manager’s office was. Hyuna have the door a few quick raps and the manager opened it, revealing the cramped office.
       “New York City Police Department.” Hyuna said confidently.
       "Ah. I'm not really used to visitors so early in the day," he said, with a nervous laugh. "What can I do for you miss- officers?"
        "We just have some questions about some suspicious happenings, sir. It will only take a little of your time." Amber butted in before Hyuna could keep talking.
       "Okay then, here, come in. I was just having a brief-" he paused to look over his shoulder as he let them in, "-meeting with our bartender about the same exact thing."
    , Amber thought, the bartender.
    They walked into the tiny office, and unsurprisingly there was Jaejoong, casually reclining one of the two chairs. He caught the eye of Amber and looked as if he was going to say something, but she gave him a warning look and shook her head; he seemed to understand.
   "Jae, stand up so one of the nice ladies can sit," he said, his niceness bordering on mean-spirited mocking.
    "That's okay, sir." Amber replied.
    "Alrightie then. Well, I'm Yunho Jung, the manager here, and this is our bartending aficionado Jaejoong Kim." he motioned gratuitously with his hands.
    "Pleasure. Now, I won't beat around the bush with you, Yunho- we're investigating some very suspicious happenings coming from here. Do you know anything about them?" Hyuna demanded.
    "Eh, I might, I might not. I don't really know." he said, and it was punctuated with a snort of laughter from Jaejoong.
    "Well, this behavior you know nothing about- do you know who is involved?" Amber asked, trying to play along.
   "It's not me," he laughed, "I uphold a perfectly fine establishment."
   "Oh, so if I sent a police force into your basement right now they wouldn't find anything incriminating?" Hyunah made a dramatic turn towards Yunho.
   "Ha- You're bluffing."
   "Try me. This place of yours looks plenty suspicious."
   "I may know a guy." Jae cut in, "Who may know what's going on."
    "Could you tell me the name of this guy?" Amber asked, gracious he was offering up something.
    "Sure thing. His name's Taemin Lee." Yunho said.
    Amber wrote the name in her notebook and moved to the door to leave. Hyuna looked confused, but followed her nonetheless. "Thank you gentlemen." Amber nodded and proceeded to leave. The two men nodded and bid them good bye- a thinly veiled laugh could be heard,
   "Come on! We could have pushed them much more!" Hyuna urged as soon as they were out of earshot.
   "They weren't going to spill anything. They think they're above the law." Amber scoffed.
    "So, you came here last night?" Hyuna asked, hopefully joking.
    "No, I stayed home and listened to Henry play violin," she lied.
     "Who's Henry? Your boyfriend?"
     "My cousin."
     "Who'd you take home with you?" she asked, being continually sly as they walked out onto the street.
      Amber laughed. "No one."
      "So you did go out." Hyuna had her metaphorically cornered. Amber just sighed frustratedly in reply. "Uh huh."
      "Come on, I have paperwork to get done."
----
The rest of the week they spent doing just that: drowning in piles of introductory forms and applications and checks. It was tedious and boring as all hell so it made it impossible for Amber to keep her mind off of Krystal. She kept a mental countdown in her  head until she was going to see her for lunch, thought constantly about what Krystal thought of her, and admittedly let her fantasies go a bit to far. She wondered what she should wear- if a suit was too boyish or if a dress was too awkward on her-  
Friday came just in time to save her anxious mind. She wore her best clothes and perfume, even her mom's pearls that she had inherited. She took a few slow breaths as she look a last
look at the cheap vanity mirror propped against the wall. "Don't get yourself too worked up, 'Ber, it's not like you're getting married," Henry commented from the other side of the room.
"Yeah, yeah. I'll be back," she took her coat off of the hook and paused to give Henry a nod.
"Don't do anything I won't approve of " he warned.
"I intend to, don't worry yerself."
----------
    The hotel lobby was eerily quiet, as hotel lobbies tend to be, and it was swanky to all hell. Amber wandered her way over to the restaurant, dodging preoccupied bellhops and the well-dressed patrons. She walked up the the desk and the hostess greeted her.
    “Name?”
    “Uh- I’m meeting a couple of my friends here and- goddamnit, she had never learned Krystal’s last name. “Do you know a ‘Krystal’?” Just as she said this she spotted the table Krystal and here friends were at, a wave of nervousness going over her. “She’s over there.”

“Oh, Krystal Choi. She was expecting another guest. Right this way,” the hostess shepherded her through the tables and large indoor plants to reach Krystal’s spot.

“Enjoy,” the hostess offered, and Amber could feel her heart continuing to pound i her chest, her stomach turning and her toes curling. So, so nervous.

“Amber!” Krystal stood up to greet her, spanning the brief distance between them to throw her arms over her shoulders. Even Amber had only seen her a small number of times, she was fairly certain the smell of her perfume was already familiar.

After Krystal’s body had, grievously, separated from hers, she began to introduce the other women sitting at the table. “So, this is Luna,” she pointed to the blond Asian woman. She looked a bit older than the other two, more motherly. She waved and gave a wide smile. “And this is Sulli” The other girl looked rather doll-like, with big eyes and lips. Sulli gave a slight nod as Luna held out her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Amber. Krystal has told us so much about you.”

“Ha, you say that as if I can ever get a word in with you, Luna.” Krystal remarked as she settled back into her chair. Oh god, she was so cute and funny and witty and smart and-

“Well, all good things, I hope,” Amber laughed, shaking Luna’s hand quickly, trying not to reveal the nervous shake in her voice.

“Absolutely,” Krystal laughed, her perfectly curled hair tossing over her shoulder.  Amber wasn’t sure if she wanted to sigh like a schoolgirl or take her on the table right then and there. You’re being creepy, Amber, stop it, she scolded herself.

“So, how do you all know each other?” Amber said, feebly trying to start a conversation.

“Our husbands all work together,” Luna chimed. So all of them are mob wives. Amber was either very lucky to have gotten this in or very, very screwed.  

“Makes sense. What business are they in?”

“Oh, it’s silly,” Sulli interrupted, with a flick of her well-manicured hand.

“They work for a huge cleaning supply company,” Krystal explained, “Very high-profile sort of thing. I barely understand it.” It may have been hyper-awareness, but Amber swore she could hear wariness in her laugh.

“Don’t understand, or don’t care?” she joked, and all the other women laughed, and Krystal exclaimed “You slay me, Amber! Gosh, didn’t I tell ya she’s just the bee’s knees?” As she said this she playfully smacked Amber’s hand.

The cheerful mood was quickly broken by Luna spotting something in the distance. “Oh my golly god is that who I think it is?” she said, horrified.

Sulli and Krystal turned their heads to see the woman standing on the other side of the restaurant. They both looked equally as shocked to see her, turning back whispering and looking scandalized. “That’s Victoria Song. She’s moved here from China a couple of years ago, she’s a real quiff. Not a single thing man a pulse she wouldn’t sleep with,” Luna explained.

“Anyone with a pulse and a huge wallet, you mean,” Sulli joked, and the whole group followed with giggles. As soon as the mood sobered a bit, she followed with, “but regardless, I can’t believe she’s hanging out at a place as nice as this. Goodness, who does she think she is?” And everyone nodded solemnly in agreement.

   The conversation continued in a horrifyingly shallow way, talking about gossip and appearances and social drama, endless he said this and she said that. It was particularly torturous as Amber could not stop thinking about Krystal, her sitting less than foot away and just- being; laughing and tossing her hair and biting her lips and oh god Amber wanted her.
   "Well, I'm going to run to the ladies’ room to freshen up a bit," Krystal stood and turned around, and gave a nod in Amber's direction, making a small "come here" motion with her hand.
    Amber had to think fast, but her hormones did the thinking for her. "I could use to go as  well. I'll you," she announced, And before she knew it she was following the click of Krystal's heels down the hallway. She wasn't thinking too much about the situation as she was too tempted to think about what the other girl was hinting at. But as they kept walking down the maze of a hallway she was suspecting that they were /not/ going to the powder room.
   Krystal took a few quick steps towards a huge set of gold-gilded doors, and looked inside of the room through the crack between them. She looked back at her with a smile, a glint of mischievousness in her eyes. "Come on," Krystal opened the door and began to step inside. And didn't cross Amber's mind for a second to refuse.
  She wasn't sure if it was seconds or years before her back was pressed against the wall of the empty ballroom, but Amber still could not help but assume the worst, bracing for the other woman to yell at her for being creepy and horrible...
  But all Krystal did was silently stare a her, hands braced on her shoulders to keep her firmly on the wood behind her. Her smirk played across her face. This is what Amber thought really suited her, being fierce and commanding, she was definitely most y like this.
  "Amber you really need to cut it out," she hissed, still staring the girl pinned to the wall straight in the eyes.
  "I can explain, I really don't mean t-"
  Krystal's lips were on hers. She could barely even process the thought so without even thinking she kissed back, arms wrapping around her back and holding her tighter and closer. Their tongues slicked together and it felt perfect, exactly how they were supposed to be. on her bottom lip, dragging her teeth over it real slow was like heaven, and just as surreal as it was amazing.
   Oh lord this is so wrong. So many levels of wrong she thought, but it was not overpowering her so much to act upon it.
   But after a few moments of succumbing to her, the thought gnawed at her again and she voiced it.
“We shouldn’t do this. This is wrong-” she averted her eyes to avoid being tempted.
“You clearly don’t seem to have that much of a problem with it.” Kyrstal whispered, so close to her ear that a shiver ran down her spine, and slid a hand gently up Amber’s side.
“Right, gosh, well, I mean you’re married and I’m- and- your friends are waiting outside!” her logical brain was grasping for a decent excuse.
Their lips met once again, lightly though this time, reluctant to leave.
“I suppose you’re right. And you need to get back to work, yeah?” Krystal mused.
“Yeah, I- wait.”
“Don’t worry about it, sweetie, news travels fast in this town. How long were you planning on keeping your job a secret?” she patted Amber comfortingly on the cheek, “Especially when you and your cop friends are poking around my favorite hangout.”
“I’ll see you next week?” Amber asked though an awkward smile.
“I’ll see you at the club tomorrow night.” Krystal answered, stealing one more breath-taking kiss before flouncing out of the ballroom.
The remaining looked around the empty, lavish room in disbelief. This just gets weirder and weirder.